1 10 20 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/79b44b7d5c1f6b1828ba801473462420.pdf 61b627c5666258f02f2471d3741e5e53 PDF Text Text December 30th - January 12th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 27 (No. 346) advocating justice | Building community Acting and Honoring the Passing of Important People | 2 This issue sponsored by Katie and Daniel INSIDE THIS ISSUE Jobless Not Homelss | 3 the 1st Push To Dump Trump | 4 Local Woman Pushes Through Obstacles for Success | 7 Possibility of Passing Redistricting Reform In Ohio IN 2017 | 11 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: Acting and Honoring the Passing of Important People been in such high demand. In fact, 35 years ago, most shelter beds in this city did not exist, because they did not need to. Shelters were started to keep people alive through the new phenomena of homelessness. We know that homelessness can be ended, because we know it has not always been like this. Many who gathered work for our member organizations and JOSH SPRING D Executive Director ecember 21st is National Homeless Memorial Day. It is the first day of winter and marks the start of the longest night of the year. We joined hundreds of other organizations across the country in coming together to honor those people who died in 2016 because of homelessness. This year we honored the 72 people we know about as well as the people we do not know about who died as a result of homelessness in Cincinnati in 2016.  Our Homeless Memorial gathering was one of the largest crowds we have seen at a memorial.  As each person present called out at least one name, together we held 72 flowers with the names of these important people attached. The average age of those who died because of the systematic and solvable problem of homelessness in our community was only 51.  Last year we compared the number of people we know about who died because of homelessness with that of homicide. The resulting trend line predicted that if nothing changed, death from homelessness in Cincinnati would outweigh death from homicide in 2018. But it happened this year. In 2016 there were more deaths from homelessness than homicide in Cincinnati. In recent years, the number of homicides has been going down. This, of course is wonderful D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 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 National Homeless Memorial Event At Washington Park Photo: Justin Jeffre and we should do everything within our power to stop homicides. The reason we compare these two numbers is because we can all agree that homicide is a problem that has existed for nearly all of human existence, and while we must work to prevent homicide, we can likely all agree that we will never end homicides. Homelessness, however, to the extent that we see it today and in the forms that we see it today, has only been around for approximately 35 years. It has not always been like this. Shelter beds have not always Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: personally knew people on the list.  We are thankful for the love shown by our service providers and we are thankful to work, educate, advocate and organize together for a day when there is enough affordable housing to end the need for Homeless Memorial Day. Those present called out the name of an important person missing from the circle this year.  Ruth "Cookie" Vogelpol, who was known to so many (Continued on page 10) 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, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Malia Pitts, Robert Park, Bill Woods, Jason Haap, Ricardo Taylor, Ron English, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, 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. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �3 LOCAL Jobless Not Hopeless: Employment for a New Future No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 O ne recent statistic put the rate of joblessness for men experiencing homelessness at a mere 40% – meaning that 60% of men who experience homelessness have jobs and are working almost every day. This shows how impossible it is for many to maintain steady housing when incomes are so low. There is no place in America where someone can afford a two-bedroom apartment while working full time in a minimum wage job. There is also no where in the country that there is enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it. The Homeless Coalition works hard to ensure that there is opportunity for people to make some money through two programs: Streetvibes and the Employment Pipeline Pilot. Since you are reading this, you know what Streetvibes is – a street newspaper that gives everyone an opportunity to express themselves and to help educate the public about homelessness. Distributors purchase the paper from the Coalition for 75 cents, making $1.25 on each paper. This money is used for food and other necessities, which are becoming DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer self-esteem as they learn to become entrepreneurs in our community. In 2016, one milestone that we reached was the creation of the Employment Pipeline Pilot. This was no easy task, and became a reality when members of City Council, including Yvette Simpson, questioned if we could start a program to bring employment opportunities to people who are experiencing homelessness. There had been stories circulating around social media about cities that have instituted programs that pick up people who are panhandling on the side of the road and offer them the menial, often back breaking, task of picking up litter. These jobs were often only given on a day-to-day basis, and didn’t offer any way to move up. We envisioned something different for Cincinnati. Cincinnati City Council approved the pilot with $50,000 in funds to get the program off of the ground. The city funding was matched 3 or 4 times in private donations (including in-kind) to make sure the program is a success. In the beginning, it was Joseph Jackson shares his feeling about the Pilot Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman more and more difficult to receive as food pantries and soup kitchens disappear. There are Distributors who make over $300 each month – some use the money to pay rent and utilities – but it is still seen as panhandling by the city. An advantage to being a Streetvibes Distributor is that you can set your own schedule and make it to doctor’s appointments and other meetings. It provides flexibility and helps people gain confidence and history. Once they begin the process, they are entered into VESTA, fill out several forms, and Aquashia speaks to them regarding each job that is available and helps them to make a resume. Once participants pass a drug test their application is sent to the hiring companies. going to be run by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, but much of the day-to-day working of the pilot fell on the shoulders of Aquashia Peterson, an intern at the Homeless Coalition. Aquashia is a third-year Paralegal Studies student at Mount St. Joseph University, with minors in Communications (New Media) and Business Administration. She also is the President of the Black Student Union at the university. She has been with the Coalition since May working on several Aquashia Working on the Employment Pilot Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman projects including the Employment Pilot, Puretz properties, the Homeless Bill of Rights project, Final Fridays at buddy’s place, and the Sam Dubose trial. Aquashia has made great strides with the Employment Pilot and I was able to sit down with her, on her last day at the Coalition, and speak with her about the Pilot. Aquashia told me of many successes of the Pilot: currently, there are 11 people employed with 10 people in line for employment. A couple workers have moved into higher paying fulltime work, including one man who went from working at Building Value to utilizing his Bachelor in Information Technologies at Innovation Labeling Solutions. Another worker has gone from part time at the Cincinnati Parks Department to fully employed with a private management firm. These are just a couple of the many successes of the workers who are placed at Building Value, the Parks Department, and Nehemiah Manufacturing in the West End. People who want to get into the Employment Pilot are referred into the program by a caseworker from many different organizations, who are there to support them through the process. Partners include Beacon of Hope, St. Francis St. Joseph Catholic Workers, Abraxas, PATH, City Gospel Mission, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing/Jimmy Heath House, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Shelterhouse, Caracole, and the Anna Louise Inn. Caseworkers identify people who fit the Pilot well – they will work hard, but often get passed over for employment because of illness, how they look, or their work THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Aquashia, in concert with case managers, worked hard to make sure that people remained employed by connecting them to transportation, whether car pool or bus passes, or to childcare through 4C For Children. She was also integral in making sure one participant, who relapsed into drug use, was able to get the help they needed and then had their job waiting for them when they got better. She has worked to help them overcome the problems they are facing, but she still feels that the biggest obstacle is simply stability – whether it be around housing or family issues. The Employment Pilot has been extended because most of the money is still left. We are really going to miss Aquashia’s bright personality, willingness to help, and kind heart here at the Coalition. One of the people she helped get enrolled in the program is Joseph Jackson, who shared this with us: "The Employment Pipeline Program is a Godsend to me. It’s helped me in every way possible, with my confidence, with my ability to get out of the house and do something useful. In virtually every way that a normal person – quote “normal person” usually operates and goes to work everyday and does productive things – I am able to do now, and it’s because of this program. I really appreciate it; I appreciate all the people that are helping. Thank you!" To learn more about the Homeless Coalition's Education Programs please contact Dr. Mark Mussman at markmussman@cincihomeless.org ------------------------ �4 LOCAL The 1st Push to Dump Trump M JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer onday, December 19, 2016. 6:30 AM. 16 degrees. My friend and I head up I-71 for Columbus. Today the nation's Electoral Colleges will meet at state capitols to officially elect the next President. Cincinnati activist Kate Gallion and I will join others in hopes of helping to convince these “electors” to vote for someone other than Donald J. Trump. When we arrive in front of the Capitol Building we find a scattering to enter the Capitol garage and the building. I pullout of the chain to do a head count. There are around 185 by this time and more stragglers will be joining us over time. Although we remain “mellow,” we are nonetheless noisy. Shouting and repeating a series of chants all along the line. “This is what democracy looks like” is one of the favorites, of course. “Hey hey, Ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” Of course we are aware that all of our passionate dissent might be Protest at the Capital Building in Columbus, OH Photo: Jim Luken of maybe forty others, most holding hand lettered signs, similar to the ones we made. Almost immediately a man and his wife accost me smiling. His sign is almost identical to mine which reads: “The Whole World is Watching...Do the Right Thing!” The crowd swells. A young woman organizer congratulates us all for braving the cold and for doing something patriotic for our country. She says that the event has been called for by two nationwide groups, the Hamilton Electors and Protect Our Vote. She tells us we must remain on the sidewalk in front of the Capitol because we do not have a permit to be on the grounds themselves. She instructs us that this will be a peaceful demonstration. She tells us, at least three times, that we should remain “mellow,” even if we are stopped by counter protesters (there were none), or police (there were no problems). Then we walk in a long single and double file line around the building to State Street where we march for two hours (some longer) in a block long chain where the designated electors are supposed for naught. Nevertheless, we are all there because we want to express that dissent in public, because we sense the dangers of another reactionary President. And we understand that, in a very real sense, the whole world is watching the United States at this time, the whole world worried about how much worse things might get. We demonstrators, old...young, women...men, white...black...Asian, we all sense that together we can, we must, stand up against this tidal wave of corruption and hatred that is heading our way. Most of us know that this may be just the beginning. The Electoral College: how it works. Monday, December 19, 3 PM. I am home from the rally, sitting at my computer. At the time I am writing these words I have no idea of what exactly will happen on this momentous day, after each of the 538 “electors” in statehouses around the country has cast his or her ballot for the person who would or would not become the next President of the D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 United States. Here's how it works. In in each state a certain number of “electors” form a “college” every four years. The party that wins the popular vote in any state sends its group of electors to vote for its candidate. Ohio was a Red State, going for Trump in the general election, The Buckeye State has 18 of these electoral votes, all are pledged to the President elect. He needs 270 of these votes to win the Presidency. If 37 electors, nationwide, were to defect, they could switch their votes to Hillary Clinton or send the election to the House of Representatives for a decision. Someone other than Trump would become President. This was our hope in rallying at the Statehouse. The thing is, the electors are given a marginal amount of freedom to vote their consciences. By this day, three electors from as many states had already gone public to announce that they were not going to vote for their party's candidate. So it could happen. By the end of today, Dec. 19, we will know. This election season has been anything but normal. We had the first woman candidate running against a Reality TV star, who seems to lack a basic respect for women. Trump had been a polarizing candidate, breeding fear and hate among many of his adherents. He used these emotional “triggers” to inflame passionate hatred of his opponent. A “Yu-u-uge” majority (2.8 million) had voted for the Democratic candidate, believing that Trump would cause catastrophic damage to our country and to democracy itself. Perhaps 37 or more of these pledged electors would feel a conscientious imperative to use the Electoral College system the way Alexander Hamilton had intended, of preventing the will of the people in their respective Red States of electing a demagogue. History of the “Electoral System” Monday, Dec. 19, 7 PM. Stick a fork in it. It's done. The “electors” have done what they have been told to do. Donald Trump will be the next President. The history of using electors chosen by the political parties to decide who will be President is somewhat complex and convoluted. But it can be simplified by applying one word to the arcane equation: Slavery. The use of “electors” to make the final selection of President was dreamed up by the Founding Fathers to prevent the people of the United States, We the rabble, We the unwashed masses, from voting someone who might be a demagogue into office. In addition, many of those Founders were slaveholders in the South, especially in Virginia. White landowners and other white people in the South were a minority of the population. Slaves weren't counted as people, so they couldn't vote. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, it was decided that southern states would find a better balance with the northern states, by counting each slave as 3/5s of a person, increasing the South's “Elector” count by 60%. This was known as the Three/Fifths Compromise. Another disgusting page of US history. Slaves of course had no vote, but their numbers increased the population of southern states, providing them with additional “Electors.” Pretty nifty. So a low white population state, like Virginia, wound up with greater electoral clout than a higher population state like Pennsylvania. In the first 36 years of our country's history, Virginia boasted four of our Presidents, all of them slave-owners, together holding office for 32 of those years. Slavery is long gone. But the electoral system continues to provide low population states, many of which are southern, with the opportunity to determine who lays claim to the White House. Obviously, The Presidency of the US is a national office. Its occupant should be determined by a national popular vote. Footnote As of 2016's election, when Hillary Clinton clearly won that popular vote, there have been four other elections similarly decided. This includes the election of George “W” Bush in 2000. In Bush's victory, often (Continued on page 7) Protest at the Capital Building in Columbus, OH Photo: Jim Luken THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 CPI Games MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer T he Consumer Price Index, or CPI, is the official index used to measure inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) surveys people around the country to find out what they buy and how much they pay. This results in what is often called the “market basket” of goods. It has two forms, CPI-U and CPI-W, which produce very similar results. The superficial implication is that the amount of inflation is the same for everyone, or at least it is about the same. But is this really true? I want to drill down a little and see if we should really be content with how inflation is currently measured. First, and this should be obvious, people with higher incomes purchase more goods than those with lower incomes. This is the result according to income quintiles from 2015 according to the BLS. The BLS does not break the market basket of goods into different consumption quintiles – everything goes into one basket and the CPI measures the rate of inflation for the entire basket. So the goods that the highest quintile purchase have four times the weight in the market basket as the goods that the lowest quintile purchase. If the prices of the goods that those with high incomes go up just a little or maybe even go down, this would swamp possible price rises of the goods that those with lower income purchase. We are on pretty safe ground when we say that those of higher incomes consume different goods than those of lower incomes. Housing is one obvious example – upscale apartments are simply unaffordable for many. Potatoes, rice, beans, pasta, (some) baloneys, and instant ramen noodles are all examples of foods that are comparatively cheap and probably eaten disproportionally by those of lower income -- at least that is how it was with me when I went to college. In other words, are the prices of pasta, baloney, and peanut butter going up faster than the price of 5 LOCAL steak and lobster? Are rents for basic 1-bedroom apartments going up faster than rents for upscale apartments? Are prices for used cars going up faster than prices for new Lexuses and Mercedes? Unfortunately the BLS does not break it down this way. The BLS publishes two different variants of the consumer price index. The CPI-U is the one that is normally reported as the inflation index in the press. It measures inflation for urban consumers, from poor to rich. The other is the CPI-W, which is the index used to adjust Social Security payments for inflation (the “W” stands for urban wage earners and clerical workers). There is a certain irony in This, however, doesn’t address the question about inflation for those who can afford it least – those in the lowest income quintiles. We should suspect that inflation might be different here because, in Cincinnati at least, the lifestyles of those who are comparatively better off are often subsidized. Their housing often gets tax breaks if not outright subsidies – think of the developments in Overthe-Rhine and The Banks. Restaurants at The Banks get special deals to open there. The fare for the streetcar, servicing the new developments and downtown is only $1.00 for two hours, while a bus fare for a single trip within Cincinnati is $1.75. (The bus can take you farther for a single fare, but even if your trip was short you would still pay $1.75. Plus, people who travel further on the bus often are forced to do so because they had to go far from downtown and/or work to find decent housing they can afford.) There is another reason why I think that the CPI may not be accurate for those with lower incomes. As we have all experienced, the prices of electronic goods have plummeted over the past 20 years or so. For example, large flat-screen, high-defini- using an index based on what workers purchase to adjust Social Security payments for retirees. They do wind up being very similar in practice, as seen in this table. This table shows that for a basket of goods that cost an average of $100 in 1982 through 1984, one would have to pay over $230 in 2015. But there is almost no difference between the CPI-W market basket and that of the CPI-U. One would cost $235.06 in 2015 and the other $237.02. The difference is less than 1% after over 30 years. One wonders why go through the bother of a separate index except that because there are tens of millions of retirees and the lower CPI-W is used, the Social Security system saves huge amounts of money. tion televisions that used to cost 2, 3, or even $4,000 now can be had for one tenth that price. This is a 90% cost reduction, even without taking inflation into account. But when the price was in the thousands, it was those who had the higher incomes that bought them. As the prices came down, this put downward pressure on the CPI. At the low end of the market, however, there was not a comparable reduction in the price of new televisions. A $100 small television did not go down to $10. Instead, the low-end style of television almost disappeared. To find a small portable television that could run off of a battery I had to go to a large truck stop – truckers, after all, don’t have THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED room for large screen televisions in their cabs. (I did this to replace my old style portable when broadcasting went digital, instead of adding a converter box.) Yes, televisions have a much better picture than before – whether they are more reliable is another question. Undoubtedly the better picture counts as an upgrade in the logic of the CPI. So this is more television for the money, so to speak. But it is not an actual price reduction, only a virtual one. Something of the same also happened with big price decreases for home computers, video players, and mobile phones which became “smart” phones. The news often report the “core” rate of inflation, that is, inflation without counting food and energy costs. But those non-core costs are very important for those in the lowest quintile who spend proportionally more on food, heating fuel, electricity, and gasoline than those in the top quintile. The mere fact that inflation is often reported without changes in food and energy costs, and the different proportions of these costs among income groups, strongly implies that there are indeed differences in inflation. When I asked a representative from the BLS about this he said that the inflation rate for everyone will be different. That is true, but not helpful. Why gather and report this information at all then? As a general guide it is far better than nothing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. In fact the BLS already have the data – they only need to break down the market basket of goods by income quintile, but they do not do it. There is an experimental index, called BLSE, which attempts to find the inflation rate for those 62 years of age or older. (These data show a slightly higher rate of inflation, but unfortunately the data I received from the BLS do not show the average income of this group.) This experimental index uses the market basket data that the BLS already gathers, focusing on the goods purchased by those at least 62 years old. Something similar could be done by income. This should be done so that we can better see the economy’s effects on those who are most vulnerable. As I showed in my previous article, “The Income Squeeze,” once inflation is taken into account, income was generally stagnant for a few years following the Great Recession. Only in the past 2 or 3 years has it begun growing again. Those in the highest income quintile have, on average, surpassed their income before the recession while those in the lowest quintiles still lag behind. But this assessment is based on the assumption that the same CPI is equally valid for all. The situation might be worse, or it might even be better for those with the lowest incomes. Shouldn’t we stop playing this game and use better data to judge the results of our country’s economic policies? ------------------------ �6 LOCAL D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �7 LOCAL No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 Local Woman pushes through obstacles for success MALIA PITTS Contributing Writer Y ou’ve heard the saying before, “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.” You may have heard the saying from a spouse, friend, or family member when you went to them for advice. You may have even heard it in the early 2000’s when R&B icon Aaliyah made it into a popular song. While most may feel like it’s just a saying, some take it more personally, especially when it comes to their experiences from day to day life. has suffered many setbacks when it comes to being a single parent and trying to attend college, but her setbacks only fueled her drive for success. “I’ve been through more than your average 24-year-old,” she said. “But you know what? I’ve suffered long enough. I told myself that if I want a better life for my kids and I, I need to push through and stop feeling lazy and sorry for myself,” she added. After graduating from Shroder High School back in 2011, Jade had Jade and her Children Credit: Malia Pitts Jade Price, 24, is a local woman who uses the saying for daily motivation. Throughout her life, she planned to attend college to become a sign language interpreter, but love took her on another path. “I moved in with my boyfriend at the time. My mother practically disowned me for it, but I was in love and I followed my heart instead of listening, that was my first mistake,” she said. Jade began to experience a great amount of physical abuse while in her relationship. Her life began to spiral out of control when she used alcohol to help cope with her depression. “I would sit in the house and drink, drink all my problems away so I could be numb to the pain. I depended on him for so much, that JIM LUKEN virtually proven that W actually lost Florida. Had it been proven at the time, Florida's electoral vote would have gone to Al Gore. So would the Presidency. As for today, there are a number of investigative journalists analyzing voter suppression in various Blue States gone Red, like Wisconsin, which Trump won by a very slim margin. We must wait and see how this all pans out. But in the meantime, the arcane Electoral College system has given Jade's Graduation Credit: Malia Pitts (Continued from page 5) referred to as his “selection” by the Supreme Court, there had been a major suppression of the vote in a key state, where his brother was Governor. By now it has been Protest at Trump's Cincinnati rally Photo: Jim Luken I accepted the abuse because I knew I wouldn’t be anything without him,” Jade said. Per the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average, “nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women, specifically women between the ages of 18-24.” Researchers have also found that domestic victimization is correlated us, as of 2016, a genuine demagogue, a hothead with a very short attention span, and a penchant for petty vindictiveness. The people haven't spoken. Instead, a bad system has shouted: “I'm broken. Please, someone, fix me. (Continued on page 10) Protest at Trump's Cincinnati rally Photo: Jim Luken THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �e 8 WORLD Cross Atlantic: Dave and Raelene compare street vendors’ lives in the UK and US D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 DAVE AND RAELENE COURTESY OF BIG ISSUE NORTH / INSP.NGO Dave sells Big Issue North in Altrincham, near Manchester. Raelene sells the Denver Voice in Boulder, Colorado in the US. In a Skype conversation they compared notes about their lives, interests and what it’s like to be a street paper vendor on either side of the Atlantic. fell on some hard times and a friend of mine introduced me to Big Issue North and I’ve sold it ever since. I’ve been selling quite a long time – about R: Do you have a car? D: No. I use public transport. I’ve not had a car since 1988. That was the last car I had. they are going to do a lot of stuff but never deliver. R: Oh yes. D: I’m 45 and I’ve never voted, A t first glance Dave and Raelene have very little in common. But something that bonds them is their experiences of homelessness - which led to them selling Big Issue North and Denver VOICE magazines respectively. Over a Skype chat, the pair share very candid life journeys and some of the challenges they’ve faced over the years. They both agree that selling their street papers has left a positive impact on their lives. Dave: Is there a lot of street homelessness or begging in your city? Raelene: Oh yeah. There’s a lot of people who will hold up a sign on a street corner saying that they’re homeless, in the hope that someone will throw money out of their cars. And there are people asleep right on the streets in Denver. They just set up tents and after a while the cops will move them on and they will move to another block and start all over again. D: That’s what it’s like here. Exactly the same. And what’s the healthcare like in America, for people like yourself with not much money? R: Well, I’m on disability so I get healthcare from the government. But a lot of people out there can’t qualify to get that. That’s why the jails are very crowded. They would rather jail the homeless instead of finding a place for them and getting them mental health evaluations… Do you ever write for the paper? D: No. R: Why not? Don’t you have anything to say? D: Who would really listen? R: Whoever reads the paper! D: I suppose so. I’ve never thought of doing it. R: Well, all my life they said I couldn’t do nothing. I taught myself to read and write at 28. Now my editor says that I write with such passion because I can talk about the pain and the abuse and the homelessness, and people appreciate how far I came and what I’ve got to say. You can release a lot from inside you if you can let it out. D: Yeah of course. A problem shared is a problem halved, as they say. R: And I like the title – paid author. What was your life like before the paper? D: My life was good. But then I Dave from Altrincham, near Manchester sells Big Issue North. Raelene sells the Denver Voice in Boulder, Colorado in the US. Via Skype, their chat uncovered some surprising contrasts and comparisons of being a vendor in their respective cities. Credit: Courtesy of Big Issue North 20 years. R: Wow, 20 years. I think that’s awesome. When I started selling The Voice, I was sleeping under a bridge. I was a drug addict and the paper gave me a job. They didn’t care that I was homeless, a felon, they didn’t care that I didn’t have a high school diploma. They gave me 10 free papers and a badge. Two years later I broke a 30year crack cocaine addiction and in March I’ll be seven years clean. D: Wow – brilliant. R: Now I have my own home. I’ve got pets, I’m even raising two chickens. I’ll get eggs from them soon. D: A friend of mine used to have one of those baby pigs. R: Yeah? D: But it grew to be a big pig. R: That’s what people don’t realise. They say they’re small pigs, but they grow into big ones. D: They used to have it in his house. R: Do you have your own home? D: I used to but I fell behind with the rent so instead of letting them take it off me, I gave it up, because that way I could go back. R: Right. So do you rent a room? D: I stay with a friend at the moment. R: At least you’re not on the streets. D: I have been. It’s not nice. R: You know what I’m driving? A 1977 Chevrolet Caprice classic. It’s all original. I have automatic windows, cruise control, automatic lock. And it’s got a speedometer that says fuel economy, if you put your foot down too fast that gauge shoots to the right and says, get off the gas, you’re burning it up. My car outlasted the dealership in Denver. They’re no longer in existence but my car’s still going. D: I like driving. I used to drive all over England. R: You see, I never had my driver’s licence until six years ago, in my mid-fifties. And now I just love driving. The gas is cheap. I just got it yesterday for two dollars and five cents a gallon. D: You wouldn’t get that here. It’s a lot more expensive and I don’t miss the cost of it. What do you make of the American political elections? R: It’s a joke. We got a man who has never been in office at all, who has bankrupted his own businesses three times and he wants to run the government? And we got Hillary, who I voted for because she’s been in government, but she’s very secretive. She does stuff that we don’t know about. So this year has been a joke. D: Well, I always got brought up not to trust them, you know? Government people. Because they always say THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED and that’s the reason why. R: What is the biggest thing that the paper has done for you? D: It’s given me my confidence back. Just gave me my life back. When I became homeless I didn’t have a lot, like yourself. R: All my life they told me I was mentally retarded. They said I’m incapable of an intelligent conversation after two minutes. I don’t have a watch on but we’ve broke that side of the record because you’ve been understanding everything I say, right? D: Yeah, course I have. Yeah. R: When I started selling the paper, it built the self-esteem up within me and I started getting self-worth, self-confidence. I think that’s the biggest thing it has done for me, to make me believe in myself. D: A lot of people couldn’t do what we do. R: Oh yes. Most people do not have the confidence to walk up to a perfect stranger, start a conversation and try to get them to buy something. D: I get a lot of people telling me their problems, problems with their health, the breakup of their families. I give them a lot of good advice because I’ve been there myself. I’m a bit like the street social worker. R: Exactly. We’re willing to listen to their problems. We’re willing to give them advice from our (Continued on page 9) �WORLD Martha Reeves: “I met Stevie Wonder when he was eight, playing bongos on waste baskets” No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 9 MALCOLM JACK Courtesy of INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK bigissue.com @BigIssue Motown legend Martha Reeves talks about her strict childhood, performing with her musical icons and how Stevie Wonder got his name. Known for some of the best soul hits of the 1960s, the 75-year-old says, “I still feel like I haven’t reached the top of my talent.” to sing behind Marvin on one of his creations. So I called in the girls I had previously sung with, The Delphis, and we sang behind Marvin Gaye on making sounds and rhythms on the typewriter. He went to the telephone and “beep-beep-beep-beep” became a song. I had to take the phone from T he first thing I would say to myself at 16 years old is to ask if my daddy might let me stay out a little bit later. Living in my father’s house we had rules. Momma would remind me, being the oldest girl of 12 children, that I would have to study hard, and that I would have to do my housework before I could go out for recreation or leisure. My biggest thrill was singing, and going to a neighbourhood house, where Mrs Rogers would let us sing and teach us how to walk on stage and how to carry a microphone and sing with a big band because her sons were musicians. So it would be about getting my schoolwork done and getting my housework done, and then being allowed to go to this house and sing the standards and songs that I was very interested in learning. But the rule was you would have to be in the house when the street lights came on. I didn’t just stroll into Motown, I was invited. The only thing was I didn’t go through the protocol. I was supposed to call for an appointment but I had a difficult time sleeping after meeting William Stevenson [Motown’s head of A&R] at a nightclub where I was singing at the age of 21. I got a card, and after performing I took it backstage, and it was from Hitsville USA. I realised I had been discovered – he said I had talent: “Come to Hitsville USA.” The words rang in my ears. So I showed up Monday morning and William Stevenson looked at me and asked me what I was doing there, he didn’t even remember he’d given me a card. I was told I could answer a telephone that was ringing off the hook. It was like a divine order. I knew how to answer a phone, I knew how to type, how to take dictation with my shorthand skills, and I fitted in very well from the minute he asked me to answer the phone. They asked me not just to come back to Hitsville USA but to become part of that company. Marvin Gaye was a drummer when I became aware of him. One day The Andantes weren’t available DAVE AND RALENE (Continued from page 8) past experiences. I’ve got one friend – they own a jewellery store – they are one of my biggest fans because they watched when I was sleeping under a Motown legend Martha Reeves continues to perform live her 1960s classic soul hits at the age of 75. Hits such as Dancing in the Street, Heat Wave and Nowhere to Run continue to draw the crowds five decades after their release. Credit: Courtesy of The Big Issue UK / marthareeves.com Stubborn Kind of Fellow, and he took that pipe out of his mouth, and the glasses off of his eyes and the hat off of his head, and we saw how attractive he was. He was a gentleman, he was so fine. We went “do-do-do-bow!” and history began with Martha and the Vandellas [below] and Marvin Gaye, as our record, Come and Get These Memories, began to be played on the radio and started to be distributed all over the world. So we were sort of discovered and created together. I happened to be in the A&R department when Stevie Wonder was brought in aged eight years old. I immediately was so in love with him – a beautiful spirited child. He started emptying waste baskets and playing bongos on them. He started him: “Child, you’re going to call Russia.” We went over to studio A and he played every instrument in the room, then finished with a tiny little harmonica out of his pocket. Berry Gordy [Motown founder] said “this kid is a wonder” and that’s how he got his name. When I hear hits like Dancing in the Street or Heat Wave on the radio now, I can be as young as I was when I first sang them. And when I sing them, that’s a different experience. Some people would think after some of the years you would tire and they wouldn’t be fresh but for me it’s total recall. It’s a great moment of happiness and achievement. We were happy to know that other people liked what bridge. They watched when I was on drugs and when I got off of it. They watched when I changed my life over the years and that’s what they like about the paper. And I help to fundraise for The Voice when we do our silent auctions. The last time I went to see them they gave me almost $300 (£240) in silver jewellery for us to auction. I love the worth that people see in me that I can walk out of the store with merchandise and they know it’s THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED we did and cherished the memories and that same spirit that Berry Gordy wanted to put in the grooves of his songs. It was ‘The Sound of Young America’. I can feel as young as when they were first written when I sing songs like Jimmy Mack or Nowhere to Run. I didn’t work with David Bowie but I remember Ready Steady Go! back in the 1960s when we performed with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Lulu, Cilla Black, Petula Clark. We’ve got history in England. When they [Mick Jagger and David Bowie] did a cover of Dancing in the Street they celebrated a good song. When I saw the video I wanted to be with them, I wanted to be right there in the middle with a coloured dress, and dance and sing with them. When he passed on, I celebrated David Bowie’s life, I love his music. He is one of our loved ones. I felt the same when we lost Dusty Springfield or when we lost John Lennon and George Harrison. There’s a lot of people who have passed on. I take life and death as an act of God and pray for strength. People ask me when I will retire and I say: “When I’ve passed away.” I’ll sing as long as I can and I’ll enjoy singing as long as I can. I don’t think I would tell my 16-year-old self to do anything differently. Because I was overwhelmed by becoming a singer. It was a mindblowing thing, when you’re in front of your relatives and your mother and father’s friends and being put on display – “sing that song momma taught you”. And they actually appreciate it, and family and friends call on you and ask to share in the gift that God gave me. I strove to be a performer, I worked hard about it, I had dreams that have come true. And I encourage anyone else that has dreams and desires: don’t give up on them. I think the 16-year-old Martha Reeves would believe me if I told her I would still be performing over 50 years later. Because I haven’t changed. I’m still the person who’s hopeful. I’m still the person who has a lot of confidence and a lot of trust and a lot of faith. I pray everyone can experience the success in life when they can feel that they have achieved their greatness. I still feel like I haven’t reached the top of my talent. going right to where it’s supposed to go. The first year I did it, I was blown away – that people actually trusted me and I actually got it to where it was supposed to go, you know? (Continued on page 11) �10 LOCAL Crime and Punishment – The Tensing Drama D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 C rimes of racism are societal crimes. It’s not enough just to look at the perp. The whole institutional environment needs to be assessed and put on the stand: our police culture that says it’s OK to shoot rather than stand-down if threatened; that a black person objecting to petty law harassment is inherently threatening and needs to be killed. In the case of the UC cop that shot and killed a driver attempting to pull away from a traffic stop for a missing front license plate, all of these matters are brought to the surface. We get a hung jury (8:4) when even Prosecutor Joe Deters, the champion of killer cops for decades, previously said it looked like murder. Clearly racism is alive and well in Cincinnati. Here’s what should have happened. First, the defense and MALIA PITTS (Continued from page 7) with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior. Even though she was in an unhealthy relationship, she chose to stay, for fear that he would follow through with threats he made. Her depression became worse but with help from a family friend, she was finally able to escape. “I snuck and moved out one day and I never looked back. I moved in with a friend of the family and I slept on their couch in the basement. I never had to depend on myself so it was a very stressful learning experience for me,” Jade said. After a month of being free from her abusive relationship, Jade found out she was pregnant, which scared her since she had trouble supporting herself. With no prior JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) who have experienced homelessness and/or work in this field, passed away on December 17, 2016. Cookie was the passionate and passion-inspiring founder of Our Daily Bread (ODB). Staff at Our Daily Bread have stated ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer always back the shooters? And never question policing policies that have these consequences? Why don’t they advise their members to take risks like backing down and seeking de-escalation and then defend them if brought under administrative sanction? Sentencing arguments: why doesn’t the defense argue for institutional commitments to addressing flawed policing policies in lieu of a heavier sentence? Make every incident a public examination, calling witnesses and supporting evidence. Instead of wasting public money to argue phantom law, the defense should have pleaded guilty and argued sentencing… and plea-dealed for institutional commitments. The trial should have been over in one week. prosecution would (and probably did) stipulate (agree at the outset) that UC officer Tensing did shoot DuBose when he disobediently attempted to drive away from a traffic stop. Then the defense should have either a) made a plea deal for a lesser charge and simultaneously brought suit against the police establishment for derelict supervision and racist policies, or b) gone to trial and subpoenaed local police materials and called witnesses sufficient to demonstrate a racist criminal justice culture that encourages unlawful killings by police; including subpoenaing Joe Deters and his handling of previous cases of police killing unarmed black men. The arguments would demonstrate administrative tolerance and promotion of policing behaviors predictably resulting in unlawful deaths by police organizations both civic and private, such as at UC. Here’s what an honest prosecutor would have done in jury selection. Test for prospective juror: “If in a trial of a killing by police it is shown that a reasonable unprejudiced observer would have judged there was no unavoidable threat, would you convict?” (Yes or No). “Is disobeying a police officer grounds for lethal response? When would it not be? When would it be?” Unfortunately, the best test for racism in a juror is how they vote in a trial such as this, but that’s a little too late. The Police union? Why do they work experience, Jade found it very difficult to find a stable income and housing, but she refused to go back to the father of her children. “My first thought was to abort the child, but then I couldn’t bring myself to make that appointment. After finding out about the pregnancy, it was like a switch turned on in my head, telling me to get my shit together and prepare for this baby,” she said. After being turned down from many job offers and not receiving call backs, Jade felt discouraged. She found motivation, and she remembers it from her mother’s own lips. “My mother would always say that saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again,” every time I went to her about how awful I was at cheer practice. I called her for the first time in a couple of years and told her about my pregnancy and my relationship and how I’m trying to get out there and find a job,” she said. “You know what she said after I told her I couldn’t land a job? She said that same exact saying so I used those words to help push through the days,” she added. Jade continued her search for work, leaving her discouraged attitude behind. In August of 2014, she found work as a front desk agent in at a Hotel in Sharonville Ohio, where she worked long hours with a big belly. “I found out that I was having twins and I was completely shocked, but I was happy because I now have a job with a stable income. I got approved for housing, food stamps and I did it on my own,” she said. Jade didn’t stop there, after having her twin boys Chase and Cobe, she enrolled into Beckfield College for dental assisting, where she later graduated at the top of her class. She now works for Valley Dental Group in Bond Hill, as a dental assistant. She raises her boys on her own with a very stable foundation. “I’m raising them to be young men and to treat woman with respect. I’m blessed to have gotten out of that relationship, my kids saved my life, they helped me get to where I am today. For the women, out there, that are in abusive relationships, please get out and never look back, it will be the best thing that has ever happened and so many blessings and opportunities await you,” she said. Overall, Jade’s experiences stressed one of the most important lessons of all, never ever give up! that “…ODB would not exist without her vision, hard work, leadership and dedication. She was an inspiration to all she met, and a great source of comfort to the thousands of people who have come through our doors since 1985.” Looking to the future, they add, “We are so proud to continue Cookie's legacy of service at Our Daily Bread and know that her light will continue to shine through each meal served and each smile shared.” Our grief and our reflection must lead us forward to action and we need to bring more people into the fold to work with us. Homelessness will end when enough of us create the systematic changes necessary to build enough housing that is affordable to everyone at her or his own financial level. We value the big picture, because we value all of the individuals that are a part of it. As we close out 2016 and make plans for 2017 we ask you to join us in honoring these important people who have gone before us by continuing to commit to work for the end of homelessness. National Homeless Memorial Event At Washington Park Photo: Justin Jeffre National Homeless Memorial Event At Washington Park Photo: Justin Jeffre THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL THE POSSIBILITY OF PASSING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING REFORM IN OHIO IN 2017 No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 O hio possesses one of the most gerrymandered collection of Congressional districts in the U.S. As a state that is approximately fiftypercent Republican and fifty-percent Democrat, Ohio currently has twelve Republican members of Congress and four Democrats. In complete control of the last redistricting process in 2011, the GOP employed computer skills to draw districts that would give them the maximum number seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Catherine Turcer, Policy Analyst for Common Cause/Ohio, came to Cincinnati on December 16th with a tentative plan that would reform this state's unfair process for establishing Congressional districts. As a leading participant in a series of recent meetings devoted to drafting a Congressional redistricting reform proposal, Turcer described this draft proposal to a group of local reformers meeting at the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. After the recent election, the attendees were heartened to have a potentially significant reform to promote in the coming year. Turcer explained that the current proposal was not unlike the wording of the Ohio Constitutional Amendment on state redistricting BILL WOODS Contributing Writer that voters overwhelmingly passed in November 2015. For instance, it calls on the same bipartisan commission to draw the new Congressional district lines every ten years. It also requires that at least two members of the minority party on the Commission approve the final product. The proposal to date also new Congressional districts. One criterion strictly forbids gerrymandering, while another calls for compact districts that minimize splitting counties and municipalities. A third criterion requires that the overall allocation of Congressional seats corresponds closely to the statewide political preference of the emphasizes the criteria the Commission must follow in drawing voters of Ohio. Another important criterion establishes a transparent M regarding healthcare. Costs feel outof-control, but most of us don't know details about how doctors charge insurance companies. The exact same service, provided by two different doctors, will not cost the same. That's because medical bills are based on how medical coders interpret doctors' notes and "translate" them into billable codes. But one code, 99211, stands out: this is the extra money your doctor charges your insurance for checking your weight, temperature, and blood pressure at the beginning of every visit. Let's say you visit the doctor for a D: It’s unnecessary because I’d only ask them if they wanted to buy a magazine and it’s either yes or no, isn’t it? R: Well, I don’t care who don’t like me because I like me today. I love me today! And I can’t take up space in my head worrying about what someone else is thinking about me. Let them think what they think about me. If you don’t got nothing positive to say to me I don’t have to stand around and listen to you. D: I just wish them a good day. R: I had a woman that went up to me and I said: “Hi, I work for the Denver Voice.” And she said: “I don’t help people like you.” And I couldn’t figure out what “people like you” meant. I’m not begging. I’m not bumming. I’m not out there lying, cheating and stealing. I’m out here working. So what did “people like me” mean? She went past me and I said: “And you have a very blessed day ma’am!” D: Well, to me that’s just her putting you down to make herself feel good. R: Well, as the saying goes, misery loves company, and miserable people like to make others feel miserable. D: I think you’ve got to be happy. It’s the only way forward, isn’t it? I mean for people who have been where we have been in life. It’s not nice being there, is it? R: No. That’s why I just try and be the best person I can be, the kindest person I can be, the happiest person I can be. I wake up smiling. Every day is a beautiful day to me. Contributing Writer DAVE AND RALENE D: Well, it goes to show you how far you’ve come, with the help of people and yourself. I’ve been there myself. A lot of people – you’ll get this yourself – people walk past and their pace gets quicker. They’ll pull out their phone just to look at it rather than look at you. R: Oh yeah, I’ve seen that – when all of a sudden they see you standing there and they purposely walk around you. I just look at them and say: “Have a blessed day!” ------------------------ In any event, if we paid directly for various services, it would probably change our view on levels of medical care profoundly. For example, when getting an oil change, if the technician offers to give me a new air filter, I know I can do it myself, rather easily, for a fraction of the price. I never purchase those up-charges. If, upon entering the doctor's office, a medical assistant offered to weigh me and take my temperature for $20, I would turn the service down. But that's basically what happens with code 99211 - a doctor's office can earn at least $20 per patient every time they do this. Some insurance companies may pay more. Don't you wonder what would happen if all of us started turning down this up-charge? JASON HAAP (Continued from page 9) process with public hearings and all Commission meetings open to the public. Although the Fair Districts Coalition that drew up this reform will lobby the Ohio General Assembly to put its proposal on the ballot in the form of an Ohio Constitutional Amendment, Turcer believes that the current House and Senate will not take this step. She is convinced that it will have to take the form of a citizen initiative, and such a process will require a great deal of citizen education and coalition building. Turcer's redistricting plan was the most tangible reform that emerged from the December 16th forum. Hastily called by Applied Information Resources, this session was promoted with the slogan "Where Do We Go From Here?" The meeting was designed to get local activists and reformers to begin thinking about a reform agenda for 2017, and protecting voting rights and addressing the warping influence of "big money" on campaigns were also discussed by attendees. "Thinking outside the box," noted one person, will be necessary for reformers during this disturbing and unpredictable time in our country's history.. persistent cough, but not for having a fever. Using the stethoscope on your lungs makes sense. Your bronchitis will likely be treated the same way whether your temperature is 98°, or 99°. In fact, though my temperature has been taken every time I've ever visited the doctor for a sick visit, I usually do not have a fever. My medical records, presumably, are filled with data about my lifetime's unremarkable temperature ranges. What is anyone doing with this longitudinal data? It has never impacted my diagnoses. Naturally, there are people who have probably had dangerously high fevers, but that's a separate matter. I don't think anyone has ever had a 103° fever without being somewhat aware of the fact. Health care profiteering ost people, when visiting the doctor, do not give any thought to medical codes, such as "99211." According to an item published by the American Academy of Family Physicians, this code can be used when service to established patients does not need to be provided by a doctor - such as when a medical assistant takes your weight or temperature. AAFP explains that "reporting 99211 can bring additional revenue into your practice." Whatever your political stance on health insurance, one thing is clear: we have a crisis in our country 11 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �12 STREET VOICE How to play the game D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 RICARDO TAYLOR ‘I Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor f by design or by chance; you reap what you sow’ Too often the life of the street places the individual in situations, for which they have no experience or resolution. {This is the time when the question arises; how to play the game}. It is these instances that the gut comes into play. It’s that instantaneous decision making, where right or wrong have no meaning; it becomes do or die. Have or be without! {Or so our thinking tells us}. One’s survival is absolutely predicated on the choices they make! Those choices are honed in our thinking, a thinking of survival. The order and rules of the game! How do I get to the next station of my existence? What do I need to do in order to progress to the next phase? Ah! We come to the, oh, so much to speak, that proverbial fork in the road. That place where we scrape from the bottom or lavish at the top! The way we play the game has to be dictated by the change or direction we want for our lives. The changes which are most important for us is simply getting away from those old ways of doing things, which have little or no benefit for the long term. Of course that idea would be easy to construct, yet, the reality of such takes more then a thought! We have to align ourselves with both materials This Is My Dream MR. ENGLISH I Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor ’ve been hospitalized in institutions and treatment centers. I do believe my brain needs to be cleansed of all pains of self-consciousness, of negative thinking, from suffering, from misunderstood guidance in order to guide myself into peace and happiness, to overcome my mental disorder, to be spiritually and emotionally stable. I am sick of physical pain and unhappiness with my health. Sometimes I am doing better with the emotional and physical way I feel about my health. I want peace, love in and networks. Accessing the raw materials {monetary, tools of the trade, etc.}, is just the tip of the iceberg and can be frustrating or discouraging. However, with the fortitude and determination there can be accomplishment. The key from my thinking is that after we come to that phase, we have to take on the equally important task of networking; finding those sources of support, advice and encouragement. That phase of interacting with those who are based in the community. my soul and peace of mind for the way I think of my heart and the way I love. And love’s like a concept of whole peace combined with feelings from my soul, together creating feelings of warmth and of emotional thoughts. All in one enormous behavior of my actions made up of personality and the way I feel about myself. This is my mind, heart and soul trying to love myself and be a whole unique person. I can be physically fit to help myself and to live spiritually. I told myself that I am a man trying to be someone that others “Breakdown Stereotypes” This is where our attitudes must change or evolve so that it becomes of, instead of me. Shedding the, oh, so important me and engaging the community as one entity. Personally, I believe that if an individual commits themselves to that change/direction in which they’d truly like to be then it can be realized, once the individual makes the choice of change/direction. ‘It becomes a part of how we play the game.’ The obvious is not always so clear, especially when you live as many street people do, however, change can bring about the unknown and unexpected! When you believe that all the cards stacked against you it becomes hard to see relief, yet, again with that drive to overcome combined with the will to succeed I believe that one can indeed realize a change and all its rewards. It all depends on how you play the game. ------------------------ might enjoy being around, trying to act like it, carry myself like it and try to be a great person and to do things right so that I will feel love in my heart, compassion in my feelings and to do something that will make people happy. I want to do something great and enormous. I want to do something great so that people will look at me and say, “Mr. English is a great man amongst men, standing tall out in the eyes of God. This is my dream, to help all. P.S love, Mr. English “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 Educational Programs Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau We will come to your organization, school, or business Alternative Breaks: Cincinnati Urban Experience College students stay with us and participate in service and learning in the community Social Justice Walking Tours Please sign up for an Educational Program on our website CinciHomeless.org Learn about the rich cultural history, struggles, and collaboration in our community Streetvibes Shadow Experience distributing Streetvibes newspapers and learn fron a seasoned professional THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �13 STREET VOICE No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 PREPARING FOR THE NEW CONGRESS Crackling (Sung to the tune of "Santa Claus is coming to As I raised my window town.") Get ready to curse. The sound was clear Get ready to cry. With the crackling and the movement It's gonna get worse. I'm telling you why. The new Congress Is coming to town. of the leaves through the trees the leaves dropping from the trees to the ground their special noise with that crackling sound I was very pleased with the nature of the leaves They'll take away your health care, And cut assistance for the poor. That had fallen from the trees They'll cut taxes for the super-rich, There’s something special about the leaves And show environmentalists the door. On the ground that make that crackling sound (Repeat the opening chorus.) KIM GREEN BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer MISTAKEN CONTROL TO HAVE CONTROL OVER ONESELF AND WELL BEING IS ENOUGH TO HAVE CONTROL OVER OTHERS LIVING HABBITS NOW THAT’S JUST TOO MUCH STUFF TO HAVE THE CHOICES AND A CHANCE TO VOTE WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG TO HAVE THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THIS FREE LAND WAS NOT THAT A SONG TO HAVE CONTROL OVER WHAT I DESIRE TO SWITCH OFF AND ON TO HAVE THE BELIEF THAT INSPITE OF MY PAST MY LIFE IS NOT ALL GONE TO HAVE TRIED TO LEAVE MY PAST BEHIND WHERE I HAD NO CONTROL TO HAVE FOUND A PLACE TO LIVE, HERE COMES CONGRESS LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL! TO SEE SO MANY CHANGES, NEW APARTMENTS, PARKING LOTS ALL LOOKING REAL GOOD TO BE AROUND TO SEE ALL THE PEOPLE RICH, POOR AND THE HOMELESS STILL BEING MISUNDERSTOOD TO REMEMBER WHEN I WAS HOMELESS HOW I OFTEN PLEADED TO GO TO JAIL TO GET OFF THE STREET TO KNOW THAT JAIL WAS WHERE I COULD GO TO EAT AND SLEEP ALL FOR FREE I COULDN’T BEAT TO TAKE AWAY HOUSING, RAISING RENT, LOWERING FOOD STAMPS I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND TO KNOW FOR SURE THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD HAVE MISTAKEN CONTROL AND IT’S WIDE SPREAD ALL OVER THE LAND…. WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 115 Across 1. Asterisk 5. Proverb 10. Hit sharply 14. Step 15. Concentrate 16. Heap 17. Halo 18. Keynote of a major or minor scale 19. Not in use 20. Tumble 22. Remake 23. Inert gas 24. Average 26. Straying from the right course 28. Moving very fast 31. Twitch 32. Appear 35. Metal fastener 37. Youngster 41. Paddle 42. Simple crane 44. On the sheltered side 45. Cheer for a great performance 47. Short note 48. Scale drawing of a structure 49. Mischievous fairy 51. Greek letter 53. Kind of something 56. Bicycle for two 60. Main body of a written work 61. Wading bird 64. Flatbottom boat 65. One of a pair used to control a horse 66. Outspoken 68. Wheeled vehicle, can be pushed or pulled 69. Small island 70. Call forth 71. Pitcher 72. Look searchingly 73. Religious doctrine 74. Counter tenor Down 1. Cramp 2. Fuscous 3. Strong and sharp 4. Pragmatism 5. Towards the stern or tail 6. Entrance 7. Skin condition 8. Usher 9. Accompany 10. Leaves eaten cooked or raw 11. Broaden 12. Distribute 13. Adolescent 21. Jurisprudence 25. Square root of eightyone 27. Stack of hay 29. Cultivate by growing 30. Fatigued 32. Weep 33. Organ of hearing 34. Division of geological time 36. Green acidic fruit 38. Unwell 39. Pasture 40. Lair 42. Hemispherical roof 43. Young male horse 46. Wine merchant 48. Cure all 50. Type of hedge 52. Restaurant bill 53. Migratory aquatic birds 54. Expatriate 55. Higher up 57. Slow manner of speech 58. Type of heron 59. Paris subway system 60. Journey 62. Graphic symbol 63. A reason for wanting something done 67. Allow D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 245 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 114 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 244- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 346 | D e c 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Bethany House 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 381-SAFE 557-2873 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & 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 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 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 562-8841 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 Prospect House 921-1613 Shelter: Both Starting Over 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 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 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 221-HELP 721-8666 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 351-0422 381-6672 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline CCAT 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-2256 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & 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 $100 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 771-4800 751-0600 579-8547 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 Northern Kentucky Health 621-5300 981-5800 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 Advocacy Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 351-3500 977-4489 Other Resources Hamilton/Middletown 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 421-0065 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 977-6800 859-572-6226 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 271-5501 535-2719 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 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 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Housing: 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 & 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 30 - J a n 12 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 6 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 3/2000 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 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 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 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 cincistreetvibes.org THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 30, 2015-January 12, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Jobless Not Hopeless Pg 4: The 1st Push to Dump Trump Pg 5: CPI Games Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: Local Woman Pushes Through Obstacles for Success Pg 8: Cross Atlantic Pg 9: Martha Reeves Pg 10: Crime and Punishment Pg 11: The Possibility of Passing Congressional Redistricting Reform in Ohio in 2017 Pg 12: How to Play the Game Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 30, 2015-January 12, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Dr. Mark Mussman Jim Luken Michael Earl Patton Malia Pitts Robert Park Bill Woods Jason Haap Ricardo Taylor Ron English Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Justin Jeffre Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Crime Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman Employment Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Malia Pitts Martha Reeves Michael Earl Patton Ohio reform Ricardo Taylor Robert Park Ron English Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/f778c5c87cb9e645b1a42f66530456c0.pdf 1cb5acc86a99af2e8a5f1d692141c571 PDF Text Text January 1st - January 14th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 1 (No. 320) advocating justice | Building community Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati calls for justice for Tamir Rice | 8-9 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Uplifting Events at the Homeless Coalition: From My View | 3 Jimmy Heath House At least 52 people experiencing homelessness Celebrates Five Years| 7 died in Cincinnati in 2015 | 2 Cincinnati calls for the Tamir Rice case to be reopened | 11 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 We Have a Significant Problem Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, JOSH SPRING advocating justice and building Executive Director community. Streetvibes reports on I t is holiday season for many people. This is the time of year when more people volunteer at various non-profit organizations. Volunteering is important and should be encouraged now and all year around. This is the time of year when we see tens of thousands of Cincinnatians arriving at various locations to receive a turkey or chicken, other fixings, presents, coats, etc., items they could not afford otherwise. And we see hundreds of volunteers boxing, carrying, loading and unloading these goods. We see smiling faces and immediate needs being met. Perhaps relationships are formed, ideas are exchanged as well as good-wishes. Learning happens. All of this is important and valuable. It is good that people get involved on both sides of these programs. The problem I want to bring up is that there are two sides. One group at a special time giving goods to another group that cannot afford them. As all of this happens and we recite the large numbers involved, what about working for a day when none of this is needed? I don’t mean a day when people don’t care for one another- we will always need that. I mean a day when people can operate on the same, level field, both able to have their needs covered without having to deal with the lines, the forms, the questions, and the poverty. A day when people can have a strong, lasting connection instead of a brief exchange. Another, intertwined issue that must be dealt with out loud is race. In every instance of such lines or programs, most people giving the charity are white and most people receiving the charity are black. In our segregated city, these moments are probably some of the most extensive times in which black and white people interact in large numbers. When we live in a city in which major large-scale interactions between white and black people happen because the black people in the interaction are experiencing poverty and the white people in the interaction are “trying to give back at the holidays,” we have a significant problem. ------------------------ JUSTIN JEFFRE O 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 At least 52 people experiencing homelessness died in Cincinnati in 2015 EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Leslie Moorhead Editor n Monday, December 21 the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition hosted the annual Homeless Memorial Day gathering in Washington Park, across from Music Hall, just south of 14th and Elm, under the trees. One tree has a plaque remembering Joanne Burton. Burton – who was experiencing homelessness at the time - was accidently run over by a police car several years ago that was driving in the grass as she laid in the shade under a thin blanket on a warm summer day. economic issues, civil rights, the Director of Education: Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Peter Kobak Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper Pastor John leading a prayer Photo: Justin Jeffre The Memorial was a time set aside to honor those who died because of homelessness in 2015. We honored those we know have passed and also honored those whom we do not know about. This year we know of at least 52 people who died because of this solvable systematic problem. The number of people dying because of homelessness in Cincinnati continues to rise each year. If this same trend continues, in a few years there will be more deaths from homelessness in Hamilton County than deaths from homicide. “Homelessness is a systematic problem that shortens the lives of individuals, as it takes a significant physical toll. It is the call of all the bodies found under bridges, in alleys, in abandoned buildings, on sidewalks Homeless Memorial Photo: Justin Jeffre (Continued on page 6) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, Andy Hutzel, Jason Haap, Michael Earl Patton, Steve Sunderland, Bill Woods, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, OTRCH, Jesse Fox, Bill Woods, Aaron Roco 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 Uplifting Events at the Homeless Coalition: From My View 3 No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer S ince I’ve been with the Coalition for a few months, I have witnessed many great events that the Homeless Coalition puts on every year. From the Streetvibes Music Festival, to the Homeless Memorial, each event has had a meaningful impact on our community. I would like to share some of my thoughts on the events I experienced, and I would like to invite you to join us in all of our events in 2016! Over the summer, during the summer rallies for police accountability, organized by Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati, the Homeless Coalition played an important part in organizing and engaging the community. While we marched for the accountability of U.C. Police officers, the Homeless Coalition was behind the scenes making sure megaphones were ready and the word was out on the street. Josh Spring, our executive director, marched hand-in-hand with Sam’s family as we made our way to and from U.C.’s campus and the location in Mt. Auburn where Sam was brutally murdered. Organizing is just one aspect of the work of the Homeless Coalition. As the summer wound down, Streetvibes put on its first Music Festival at the Woodward Theatre. The Woodward is owned and operated by MOTR, a local favorite for daily live music, and great vegan BLT’s. The music festival showcased many different types of local music, including Cincy Brass and the Blue Wisp Big Band. The venue was filled with supporters of Streetvibes and even some of the writers and distributors. Berta, one of the Coalition’s longtime supporters and Streetvibes Distributor, even held an impromptu protest outside the venue. One thing the Homeless Coalition is used to, even from our supporters, is a strong opinion. We are thankful to those who speak their minds and help us refine our positions. As soon as I came on as the Director of Education, I was awash in the City-wide Shantytown. Shantytown, which I’ve written about before, is really many events under one umbrella – to educate students on issues of homelessness while increasing awareness around the issues. Shantytowns are different at Annual Lunch Meeting Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman every school, but they typically take place during the month of October, which is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month. The Homeless Coalition is a great asset to Shantytown because we provide speakers and activities for teachers and students. The Homeless Coalition is in front of hundreds of students during October alone! Another uplifting event that I was lucky to participate in was the press conference to oppose Issue 22. This event took place on the steps of City Hall, and was attended by many of the sitting council members and community leaders. The Homeless Coalition voted to oppose Issue 22 at our annual lunch potluck, which is another positive event for our member organizations. The press conference was held to announce city council’s support for Wasson Way – regardless of the Issue 22 vote. I felt a sense of pride holding the No on 22 banner with my Homeless Coalition shirt on – mainly because I was standing with a lot of Cincinnatians that I respect deeply. The Day-By-Day Calendar is a very rewarding project that takes place over the summer. High School students, and people experiencing homelessness, work together to create a wall calendar using their stories and photography. Everyone works together with a photographer to develop photography skills. In the 2016 Calendar, participants focused Gifts for Streetvibes Distributors Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman on organizations that serve them – whether it be shelter, food, or even spirituality. We had the 2016 DayBy-Day Calendar release party at the Mayerson Foundation’s community space on Walnut. So many of the students and their families showed up, along with the Streetvibes Distributors who participated in the project. During the reception, students from different schools reconnected, distributors and students shared stories about their participation, and everyone was given a chance to look at all the photography that was included in the calendar. The community space provided a very positive atmosphere. Moving into this month, we had our amazing Annual Dinner at the Syndicate in Newport. The DJ’s iGrind and Shines are a dynamic duo team who kept the music pumping all night! We started off with dinner and some powerful speeches. I was tasked with talking about the educational programs and I wanted to do something special, so I invited two guest speakers, Lydia and Melissa, to share how the Homeless Coalition has impacted their lives. Lydia talked about how her life was changed by participating in a Streetvibes Shadow Activity with us. Her moving story was a testament to the type of important work the Coalition does in our community. Melissa talked about how Streetvibes and being a member of the Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau has changed the direction of her life. The night continued with the silent auction, dancing, more speeches, and a heartwarming split-the-pot result. What an amazing night! The Streetvibes annual holiday party also took place in December. This is a fun time that gives the distributors a chance to socialize, eat some good food from Venice on Vine and SoupCycle. I was the one handing out the salad! We heard some good stories and everyone was in a cheery mood. Distributors who signed up early were given gifts from the Adath Israel Congregation. Even though the number of gifts varied between individuals, joy and thankfulness were both present at the holiday party! The final event that I want to write about is the Homeless Memorial. This takes place on the longest night of the year. In years past, the weather is usually pretty cold, but this year, it was warm and a little foggy, which really set the mood for the event. Before we started, we gathered in a circle in Washington Park. Josh began the event by having us light our candles and then Pastor John from Prince of Peace gave a very moving opening prayer. Josh talked about the rise of homelessness and how deaths due to homelessness will surpass gun deaths by 2018. We read each name of local people who had died this year due to homelessness and then Josh opened it up for comments. Some spoke about those they had known, while others talked about the issue in a more general manner. Everyone’s voice was welcomed at the event. A member of the police force even shared that they are taking a different approach now, trying to get people into housing first. As the event ended, many stayed around to talk about how they can get involved and how to bring the issue to the surface. Each of these events has left a lasting mark on myself and our community. From the celebrations to the sincere, it was more about how the community comes together, rather than the organization itself. We have a strong base of supporters, as do our member organizations, but I’m always amazed at the great turnout for the Homeless Coalition’s events. I hope you will join us in the new year as we continue to push for a more equitable society, a more just legal system, and a more compassionate (and well-tuned) support system for those experiencing homelessness. ------------------------ James Brown, Ronnie Phillips and Jimmie Gipson at calendar launch Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL The Goat Rodeo: Watch it if you dare 5 No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer Y ou might wonder what exactly a Goat Rodeo is. Well, even as I write and (a week later) as you read, we are being treated to one. Some leftie pundits also call it a ‘Republican Clown Car’ (see accompanying photo). Goats are funny animals. Clowns are funny people (or they are supposed to be). This special Streetvibes editorial will attempt to explain what is going on as insanity becomes the order of the day for the Grand Old Party, the GOP, The Republicans at this moment in history. If, Reader—as unlikely as this seems—you happen to lean toward Republican values, more conservative ideologies and memes, etc., you are now forced to deal with an ongoing spectacle reminiscent of vaudeville, or slapstick comedy—a genuine circus (or rodeo) with candidates painting themselves in every imaginable shade of ultra­nationalist war paint, each trying desperately to secure the GOP nomination for the Presidency of the USA, each trying desperately to appeal to the so­called Republican “base.” The eleven clowns have spent decades coddling the lunatic fringe on the American political scene. And now chicken vultures, drones...are coming home to roost. They have dug themselves into a hole they can’t climb out of. Their solution: keep on digging. Here’s how they got into that hole: The Eighties It all goes back some 35 years, when a B Hollywood actor (the “human” star of “Bedtime for Bonzo”— Bonzo being a chimpanzee) became President of the USA by secretly talking the Ayatollah Khomeini (our most hated Muslim enemy) into delaying the release of the 52 American hostages who were being held by Iran until after the election, thus insuring that Jimmy Carter would lose his bid for a second term. I won’t tell you the name of that bad actor, but today he is referred to, by cynical liberals and sincere conservatives alike, as “Saint Ronnie.” The man’s sainthood consists of having pushed an extremist conservative agenda, destroying trade unions, closing mental institutions, pushing disabled people into home- lessness, and beginning the decimation of the so­called “welfare state.” Reagan was a kind of robotic, good old boy, a creation fashioned and controlled by his handlers. He was notorious for sleeping through most meetings, and for lying about everything, including his hair coloring (which at age 80 he insisted was natural). At the behest of his advisors, Saint Ronnie pushed the Republican Party further and further toward the extreme right, toward the dark side, now manifesting itself in the candidacy of fascists like Trump, Cruz, Carson and Rubio. Until St. Ronnie’s day there were actually liberal­leaning Republicans like Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits and Arlen Specter in the GOP. Since the 80s, Republicans have pushed the conservative and neo­ conservative agenda in all areas of America’s political and social life. They have reduced taxes on the rich and the corporations, marginalized women, scoffed at science, and pushed for more guns after each mass shooting. The level of crazy seems to have gone off the charts. The Bush years. 2000­-2008 George W. Bush was selected as President by an over­ reaching Supreme Court. It has been virtually proven that his minions (and his brother) stole Florida in 2000, and Ohio in 2004 (thanks to our own, Ken Blackwell, then Secretary of State). Bush used the events of 911 to lie our country into the most economically costly wars in US history ($2­ 3 Trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan), wars which have proven to have caused increased Islamic radicalism, wars which created not only Al Qaeda (now all but forgotten), but now ISIS. Bush took Reaganism to a new level, turning corporations loose on the environment, allowing them to run for­profit prisons and schools. He made mandatory testing the top priority, which continues to have horrible consequences for our schools. He defunded many Pell grants that enable poor students to attend college. A so­called born­again Christian, Bush pandered to the religious right, especially regarding women’s reproductive rights, setting the stage for today’s deceitful attacks on Planned Parenthood. As I see it, W’s “frat­boy” personality still looms large over the Republican Party. He created an image of himself that we find mirrored by so many of the current Republican standard bearers: arrogant, dumbed­down­and­proud­of­ it, cynical...a liar in word and deed. Proven to have deserted his unit during the Vietnam War, he postured in a pilot’s flight suit, under the infamous banner announcing “Mission Accomplished,” as the Iraq war became bloodier and more horrific. Bush famously declared, “We don’t torture.” We did. He had clearly signed onto it. Many of us believe he committed a list of impeachable offenses. In terms of today’s Republican candidates, he is a poster child for making the most ridiculous of statements and getting away with it. And now the Goat Rodeo • This might all be hilarious if it didn’t manifest almost dangerous implications. Egomaniac, reality­show star and corporate billionaire Donald Trump has been leading in the Republican polls for months. His legions of supporters like his candor and his tough­nosed “you’re fired” persona. He can joke about dating his daughter and get away with it. His 100” high fence proposal for the Mexican border is silly, but taken seriously by the paranoid right wingers who make up the Republican base. • Second in most of the recent polls is Benny the “blade” Carson, a mild­ mannered brain surgeon, who felt he had to make up bad stuff about his youth in order to prove himself a tough­guy candidate. He believes the US is like Nazi Germany. And he would like to be the Fuhrer. • The rest of the clowns in the clown car are professional politicians: • Ted Cruz, Canadian born son of a Cuban immigrant hates the very thought of granting citizenship to immigrants. He is most famous for having shut down the government, costing us taxpayers millions of dollars. • Carly Fiorina is the Republican tough­guy, token­woman candidate. They need her in the race in order to pretend that they are OK with “the women­folk” whom they seem to push further and further away as they refuse to see them as equals deserving equal pay. Fiorina was apparently a terrible executive at Hewlett­ Packard and brings little but her experience there as an attraction to a top­heavy, white male Republican base. • Marco Rubio, another Cuban scion, has had personal money problems plague him for many years. He seemed to be the darling of the Republican establishment, but that nasty old Republican base has fostered many bad feelings toward the ‘insiders” like Rubio. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED • And the biggest insider of all is Jeb! [code­name] Bush, the rightful heir to a pretty appalling political birthright. Bad memories of 41 and 43 don’t bode well for a possible Bush 45. Although he has tons of big corporate money, Jeb! Doesn’t seem to have much heart for the campaign, probably because he can see the writing on the wall: Hillary’s gonna triumph, no matter which one of the goats wins their rodeo. • Christie, Kasich, Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul and Huckabee seem ready to be falling out of the clown car. Each of them seems pretty unlikeable and carries some problematic baggage there in the trunk of the car. A Brokered Convention The most exciting news of late has to do with the rumblings about what is known as a brokered convention. Those most excited about this are the media folks and the talking heads. A brokered convention would bring high ratings to an otherwise boring convention. But Republican insiders like the idea of their “big night” being “brokered.” What exactly does that term mean. It means simply that if no candidate goes into the convention with enough votes to secure the nomination, the delegates themselves get to decide instead of all the people who voted in the primaries and caucuses. Simply put, the Republican Establishment hates the fact that The Donald continues to lead the field of people they consider serious candidates. In a party that trades on being a total embarrassment, Trump trumps the field in terms of being a buffoon. Ted Koppel said recently that Trump has parlayed himself into being ISIS’s best recruiting tool. Everybody knows Trump is nuts, but he has remained consistently ahead of the GOP pack. If there is such a thing as a head clown or a bully­goat, he’s it. And the pols who pull the strings inside the party establishment don’t like him stealing their thunder. They would love the chance to “fire” the Donald, and have a more traditional clown drive the car. The problem with this plan has to do with that big, white, male, racist base that has dominated the polling so far. It (they) like/s Trump. And they will be furious if he is denied his chance by the pettifoggery of a so­called, “smoke­filled room.” At this point, Readers, the insiders are saying that Cruz will be the final choice for Presidential candidate. My call is that either of the two Democrat contenders would make Teddy (or any of the other ten goats) wish they had stayed out to pasture. Stay tuned. [The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition is nonpartisan and does not endorse political candidates.] ------------------------ �6 LOCAL Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 2) and in shelter etc. that we must as a society decide to end this life stealing problem,” said Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Stories were shared, candles were lit and the names of those we knew of were called out. Together we can prevent this in the future. ------------------------ We are proud to show you what your financial support has accomplished in 2015: Education and Outreach: 95 Speaking Engagements were held. Over 4,700 people learned what systematically causes homelessness and the hardships people experiencing it go through. Approximately 30 local schools and over 1000 students participated in our Citywide Shantytown 2015. Three groups of university students spent extended time with us in intense, hands on learning. Streetvibes: This year Streetvibes turned 20, making it one of the oldest street-papers in the world. Currently we have over 50 active Distributors. Our hard-working Distributors put out approximately 2000 papers every two weeks. Our Distributors also joined with local high school students and together created our sixth Day by Day Calendar. Advocacy and Organizing: After a year of organizing by the Coalition and legal work by Legal Aid and the City of Cincinnati, a judge ruled that due to the negligence of an out-of-town landlord, five affordable apartment buildings in our city have become a public nuisance. We spent 2015 organizing Residents, and collecting evidence of building violations; 1800 just last month. Thousands of people have had to endure crime, mold, collapsed ceilings and roof, constant leaks, windows that won’t close, electric that threatens fire, threats and intimidation from the owners, etc. Because of this decision, in January we go back before the judge asking that she appoint a third party company, answerable to the court, to receive all of the rent monies and put them back into improving the properties. After 14 years of advocacy, we became the 3rd city in the country to have Homeless Hate Crimes legislation. The Winter Shelter was open all of last winter and will be this winter as well. More than 800 people are expected to move through its doors. Coordination: We held well-attended monthly Membership Meetings. Our Membership has continued to increase. We are constantly trying to provide opportunity for our MemberOrganizations to be involved in our systematic work. We work hard to listen and act according to the needs of our Members; without them, we would not be a Coalition. After a decade of our advocacy and organizing, City Human Services Funding, which many of our Members receive, was finally increased. Additionally: We received and distributed mail for nearly 3,000 people without an address. “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 �LOCAL Jimmy Heath House Celebrates Five Years of Service to the Homeless, and to the Community No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 7 ANDY HUTZEL Contributing Writer “E veryone needs a home. It’s part of our humanity.” This simple statement from Dave Elkins, Jimmy Heath House’s Program Coordinator, best captures what the Jimmy Heath House (JHH) represents to the community. On December 3, 2010, Overthe-Rhine Community Housing held its ribbon-cutting ceremony for the JHH. Jimmy Heath House was created to house the most vulnerable and longest-term homeless men on our city’s streets. The project provides fully equipped and furnished apartments to 25 residents at a time, providing the safety and security to struggle with recovery from addiction and to regain physical, mental and spiritual health. Jimmy Heath House uses the “Housing First” philosophy, a nationally recognized model that asserts that housing is the first priority of all homeless individuals, and their primary goal when seeking assistance. In the first 5 years, we have provided housing to 50 long-term homeless individuals. Half came from a shelter and half directly from the streets, 40% have chronic health conditions, and 14% are veterans. 7of our original residents still live at JHH, 15 have moved into permanent housing, 6 moved to a nursing home, and, sadly, 5 have passed away. How does the Jimmy Heath House benefit its residents? First, it provides the opportunity to have a safe place to call home. With this first step in place, alcohol use is reduced, an array of services is available, and housing stability is achieved. In the first five years, only 1 of our 50 residents has returned to life on the streets. There are also very important benefits to the community; use of costly emergency rooms is reduced, as is contact with the police, the jail, and the criminal justice system. Many churches, colleges, and civic groups have opened their arms to the residents of Jimmy Heath House. Over 20 church and civic groups have invested time and resources to help with meals and engage with residents over the years. Jimmy Heath House has meant different things to different residents. For Brad, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 bone cancer before entering JHH, it was a safe, warm home where he could receive hospice care. Brad died after only two months at JHH, and did so with dignity. Don had lived in a homeless camp on the river bank for four years until, after having been severely beaten, he was brought to JHH by the police. He stayed for over four Sole Bros. JASON HAAP Contributing Writer T here is a new television show on TruTV called Adam Ruins Everything. It’s great! The host takes the viewer through an intellectual journey complete with documentation - about the truth behind things so many of us fail to question. Recent episodes have showcased how having herpes is not really a big deal, how engagement rings were invented in the 20th century by the De Beers corporation, and how breakfast cereal was originally invented to discourage people from masturbating. (Did I mention all of these claims are documented with reliable sources?) Hold that paragraph on the back-burner for a moment. On December 4th, WCPO ran a story about three Cincinnati 8th graders who have started a non-profit designed to send shoes to kids in countries where they don’t have any. One of the student’s mothers went on a business trip to Jamaica, and saw kids wearing cardboard on their feet for shoes. This story inspired the three teens to start their charitable project: Sole Bros. You can find them online at solebrosinc.org. Now, hold that paragraph on the back-burner for a moment. One episode of Adam Ruins Everything featured a bit on Tom’s Shoes - the company that donates a pair of shoes to kids in need for every pair purchased. Many of these donated shoes end up in African countries. One of the show’s citations leads to a paper by Garth Frazer, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Toronto. According to the paper, entitled “Used-Clothing Donations and Apparel Production in Africa,” Frazer years and attended and completed substance abuse treatment for the first time in his life. Recently he moved into his own apartment. Most of our residents tell us this is their first apartment. They have to learn the basics of maintaining a home; e.g. how to use a microwave, take the trash out, and do laundry. They don’t learn this by themselves. There is an array of supportive and compassionate staff from several organizations helping them along the way. Jimmy Heath House has been central to a community-wide effort to help those individuals whose addiction, mental health, medical and legal issues has kept them cycling among shelters, jails, emergency rooms, treatment centers and the street. Jimmy Heath House has reduced chronic homelessness in Cincinnati. One of our first residents, Paul, who had been homeless 30 years, summed up his experience at Jimmy Heath House by saying, “I’m learning how to live again.” In the past five years, we have all been learning and growing from our experience at the Jimmy Heath House. notes that “used-clothing imports are found to have a negative impact on apparel and textile production in Africa.” In other words, clothing donations (such as shoes) ruin local economies in these under-developed nations. When we give shoes to those kids, we take away a sale from a local shoe-seller, and maybe even a job from local textile manufacturers. But more importantly, do we even know that these clothing donations are what the recipients really need? Did we even ask them what they really need? What if “shoes” are not at the top of the list? Should we give what we think they need, or what they actually need? I reached out to the contact information for Sole Bros., providing them the clip from Adam Ruins Everything about Tom’s Shoes. I heard back from Jackie Taggart-Boyd, mother to one of the Sole Bros. “I am a Sole Bro Mom. Spencer Boyd is my son. I look forward to sharing the attached video with the boys when they meet next,” she wrote. “They are multi-sport athletes as well as scholars, so that leaves Saturday af- The College Sports Scholarship Betrayal MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer T here are two different storylines about college sports scholarships. The one that people like to tell is that sports scholarships offer a way for many families to send one or more of their children to college. In fact, my neighbor for several years encouraged his children to practice sports – especially basketball and golf -with this goal in mind. I’ll get back to that goal later. The other storyline is that most of the people who do get sports scholarships take relatively soft courses. If they graduate at all, it is with a degree in something like physical education. Science? Engineering? Math? Maybe not “never,” THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED We asked three JHH residents to share with our readers a message of hope and new beginnings, something they have come to know: • My HOPE is to learn how to sleep at night without the fear of getting beat up, told to move down the street, to another doorway, to animals sniffing me and trying to bite me to get to my food stash. T. • My HOPE is that whenever I go to my mom’s to work around her house that this is the way I can show her that I really do love her so she can see me as the son she always wanted, not the son who turned out to be. N. • My HOPE is that my family will remember me and the love that I have for them. O. -----------------------ternoon for philanthropy. I will have them review the clip at the meeting and reach out to you. I will allow them to speak for themselves at that point.” I was eager to hear back from the students. But I never did. I followed up a few times, but received only silence from the Sole Bros. Some readers may be tempted to think I am harassing some well-intentioned young people when instead I should be celebrating their desire to do good work for those in need. I understand that sentiment. But what if Adam Ruins Everything is right? Do these students know what children in their targeted countries really need, or are they making assumptions? What if their actions take away from the local economy? Could they inadvertently do more harm than good? I would have loved to engage Sole Bros. on this matter. Unfortunately, they did not respond to multiple inquiries. ------------------------ but certainly very rare. The “dumb jock” is something of a running joke in the United States. From what I have learned this month I am going to have to rethink both of these storylines. Not that the storylines are totally wrong, but they are certainly incomplete. In fact, college sports scholarships may be doing more harm to our country than good. For me the curtain began to be (Continued on page 12) �8 PHOTO ESSAY Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 9 PHOTO ESSAY Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox Photo Credit: Jesse Fox THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Photo Credit: Jesse Fox �10 WORLD Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 The B Word What are you saying when you call someone a “bum”? All too often when we discuss the phenomena of homeslessness, we use words like “bum,” “hobo,” or “vagrant” to describe people. But what are we really saying when we label people with those words? REMEMBER: PUT PEOPLE FIRST *Always use “people-first” language when discussing the issue of homelessness. It is a misconception that those who “People experiencing experience homelessness do so out of homelessness” choice; many work long hours. Homelessness is a multi-layered issue. When we dismiss people who live in extreme poverty as being NOT lazy or deserving of their situation we are actively contributing to the problem. “Homeless people” Learn to change your language. Now Hiring Learn how to make a difference. Caracole Caracole.org - Resident Assistant - Medical Care Coordinator Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Family Service Worker - Teacher - Assistant teachers - Special Needs Assistant Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - After School Program Teacher Assistant tendermerciesinc. org - Accounting Assistant To learn more about the lack of affordable housing and the inadequacy of services - Client Service Specialist Coalition at that force people into homelessness, contact the Homeless Shelter House UpSpring shelterhousecinti. (513) 421- 2701 upspring.org Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org org - Multiple Openings - Cook - Shelter Director - Resident Aid Our Daily Bread ourdailybread.us Tender Mercies THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED *hiring for the 2016 Summer Program - Class Intern - Office Manager - Volunteer Manager - Instructional Assistant �LOCAL No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 11 Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati calls for the Tamir Rice case to be reopened JUSTIN JEFFRE Editor O n December 28th about 150 protesters gathered in Findlay Park to express outrage that the two officers involved in the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice in a park in Cleveland. Rice was playing with a pellet gun. Police pulled into the park and quickly drove within a few feet of them when police officer Timothy Loehmann jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop and shot the child in less than 2 seconds. Rice died the next day. The officers said they believed the 12 year old was an adult. Ohio is an open carry so if he had been an adult it would have been legal for him to have a gun. Loehmann had previously been declared unfit for duty and “dismal” with his handgun in a nearby police department. The officer driving the police cruiser, Frank Garmback, also has a checkered history, with the city of Cleveland paying $100,000 to a resident who accused him of using excessive force. After an hour of speakers and chanting at the park protesters began to march down Vine Street and over to District 1 on Ezzard Charles. They delivered toys there, held a long moment of silence, sang and delivered toys in remembrance of the slain child. The toys were later distributed to kids in Over-the-Rhine. ------------------------ The Mysteries of Cancer Care in Cincinnati STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer 1. I n t r o d u c t i o n : I am plunged back into anxiety. A family member has relapsed. The cancer has returned or, more accurately, sprouted in new areas. More treatment. More uncertainty. More stubbornness. My family member faces this new reality alone. No one is by his side. No one holds his hand. No words of support to counter the harsh words of reality. Just another ticket to a ride into the abyss. We do talk on the phone. The phone is the bridge to hope, despair, and magic. In the absence of telling the future with certainty, we dance in the ambiguity, darting this way to courage, that way to fear, and upward to a leap to faith. I have been on a journey with family members into the world of cancer these last two years. Our experience has been a lens to stare into the face of health care for everyone in dire need. Having experienced care that cannot be called a success, I am left too often to think about those who have also entered the healthcare system without any road map. Income is irrelevant in cancer care. The poor and minorities and women are dying in greater numbers. Too many working poor are making choice-less choices: food or medicine? But for the middle class and the upper class, those with “good” health insurance, the choices are not fundamentally different: there is no evidence about which hospitals are best, little but public relations about what doctors have good track records, no agreement about what will be my quality of life, and ongoing confusion about whether or not my will insurance cover most of the expenses? These questions poke into our minds and deepen the pain. I am driven back to the basics, the questions that choke belief in the authority of doc- tors and hospitals: Why is isolation, uncertainty, and professional misdirection the status quo of medicine, healthcare, and the patient’s quality of life? And, most importantly, why hasn’t something like patient navigation, helping the patient gain confidence in making choices, emerged alongside medicine, nursing, social work, and counseling? 2. Blaming the Victors: Who wins by keeping caring at such little value? Clearly, the systems go on providing employment, procedures, and opportunities for magic to happen. “Modern medicine discourages doctors from getting to know the human beings they are treating. A physician is given twenty minutes with a patient, and then the doctor’s performance is judged based on how much revenue was generated for the medical institution.” So says Raymond Barfield, professor of medicine and theology at Duke University. (Janice L. Schuster. “The Miracle in Front of You: Raymond Barfield on Practicing Medicine with Compassion.” The Sun. January 2016. Page 6.) So what does medicine and healthcare win from this orientation? Is what matters totally consumed by finances, day in and day out? Is this focus on dollars the main reason that every cancer hospital presents itself as capable of working with every kind of cancer? According to the accrediting agencies for cancer programs, there is no top cancer program in Cincinnati. Only the James in Columbus at the Ohio State Medical School, and Cleveland Clinic have achieved a top rank. Yet, the patient in Cincinnati who wants to stay in Cincinnati has to struggle with the puzzle parts of every cancer program and hospital. The puzzle is challenging to anyone serious about their life. Even one part of the puzzle might help with other parts: for example, are the outcomes for breast cancer better for patients at University Hospital than Good Sam and why? Or, are only some doctors, programs, and procedures really at the top level? Who can verify that the doctors have successes with similar kinds of treatment? Who knows whether certain treatments can extend life and have a group of people who have had the treatments and are still around? (Michael Porter and Elizabeth Teisbert. Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition and Results. Harvard Business School Press. 2006. Chapter 2.) As adults, we are faced with measures of healthcare competence that are nothing more than magazine popularity contests and we are reduced to choosing the most “well known.” The insurance companies are also closed doors to knowledge about what really works well. Why insurance companies have been silent partners in undermining the confidence and education of the cancer patient is a question worthy of exploration. Finally, what are we to expect from the American Cancer Society? In some cities, the ACS has underwritten patient navigators and played a vital role in helping patients? Where are they in Cincinnati? When should patients and doctors and nurses and social workers refer to their excellent materials? Who knows? 3. Changing the Status Quo for the Sake of Patients: Research on cancer treatments that prolong life have accomplished a great deal in extending the lives of patients. Thanks to the work of Harold Freeman, M.D., and those who have accepted his program, every patient who starts on the cancer journey can THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED have a great chance for a successful treatment if they have a patient navigator helping them at both the earliest stage and throughout the course of their treatment. (H. Freeman. A Model Patient Navigation Program. Oncology Issues. September/October 2004.) Why isn’t this program at every cancer program? Freeman has proved that timely care works for everyone, rich and poor, male and female. A patient navigator provides lifesaving assistance by being a partner with the cancer patient at the early and critical introduction to screening and treatment. Why is this relationship important? Standing by the patient during this time encourages the patient to overcome obstacles to screening and treatment. It is not hard to believe that knowing you have cancer may be the scariest experience of adult life. Often through no fault of the patient, they are introduced to a world where prior experiences may not work. Leaving the friendly arms of a general practitioner to face a group of doctors and nurses that are strangers, and facing confusing and fearful treatments, may leave even the most mature person so frightened as to have little balance. A patient navigator, recognizing the signs of confusion, having the time to sort them out with the patient, stands with the patient as they right themselves for their next steps. Freeman’s success and the reports from other researchers reveals that cancer can be found earlier and treated sooner if the patient navigator stays with the patient throughout the screening and treatment process. Accepting the patient navigator as a key partner in the health care team will require retraining of medical people so that a different model is felt. Barfield notes: “Those of us on the inside need to model the changes we want to see made. We could start by showing med students what it looks like just to be quiet and listen to patients as they try to say what matters in their lives. Model the habit of reminding patients with chronic (Continued on page 13) �12 MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 7) pulled back when I attended a Christmas fund-raiser. At the dinner I sat with a woman whose son had a full college football scholarship. That was wonderful, I thought. Well, there was a problem. You see, her son had his heart set on a rigorous college degree, one that would take a lot of study time. And the time the college required for him to practice football was so large that that wouldn’t be possible. His mother was telling him that he would have to settle for an easier degree. When I mentioned that story to my friend who had had his kids practicing sports all those years, he told me that his oldest daughter had indeed won a golf scholarship. But she turned it down. And the reason was that she would have had to practice for several hours every day and that would not allow enough study time for her major. She (and her dad) settled for another college and he is paying for it out of his pocket. By the way, she also made the dean’s list. I mentioned both of these to my niece at Christmas dinner and she told me a similar story about a friend of hers! She and her friend are going to a college out East and her friend turned down a scholarship for volleyball for that same reason. She also related that her friends who did play sports did play to win and to advance in tournament play, but they were of two minds about winning tournaments. Of course it is nice to win, but if you win that means you will be traveling and practicing more, which means less time for study. And this often happens as finals approach. This could all be coincidence, of course. I could have just happened to hear about three of the handful of students in the entire country who had to face this. Or we could recall what LOCAL Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 Auric Goldfinger said to Agent 007, “Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: ‘Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.’” Okay, so it’s not enemy action but the point is that it is the result of deliberate actions. And those actions result from colleges putting sports above academics, and money and publicity from sports above the good of the students. But it might as well be the result of enemy action. We always hear about the need for more students majoring in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These degrees require more than just a couple hours of study and homework a day. Much of our country’s manufacturing has gone overseas. Other countries are catching up in science and technology; in some areas we are already behind. And our country’s major response is to offer more sports scholarships under conditions which often prevent, or at least intimidate students, from STEM degrees. Hard courses are not just limited to STEM, of course, but as an engineer I am sensitive to the need in those areas. Actually, the same would be true for any field where a student was more passionate about excelling in the study than in the sport. Who came up with the idea that so many scholarships should be offered on the basis of sports and design them to deter students from hard courses or from excelling in general? Was it someone in Russia? North Korea? China? Could have fooled me. That is why I call this a betrayal. For the United States to adequately compete in a competitive world, we need that students who want to study hard and learn and make advances should be able to do so. From what I have learned this month too many sports scholarships are designed to prevent exactly that. ------------------------ 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. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 11) diseases that they are more than their disease, which is easy to forget. Ibid.)” There is a lot to be known about how doctors and nurses reduce communication with cancer patients because the information may be too painful for the doctors and nurses as well as the patients. Building relationships as professionals on a shaky foundation may cause the professionals to deny that suffering is too much a part of their experience. It is possible that another person may also help with the quality of life of the professional team. If the doctors and nurses can accept the patient navigator, then a message is sent to the patient about what compassionate care means. How valuable is this kind of action? If hospital administrators, insurance companies, health plans at businesses, and health foundations agreed that reducing the pain and confusion of a patient is also the best use of the health care dollar, then a system of support can be established. Hurting patients, confused by their pain, may miss important meetings, avoid treatments, and take the wrong medications and seriously endanger themselves as well as expand costs for treatments that are more complex. Professionals that are caught in giving painful information may also be rude, dismissive, and highly sensitive to questions raised about the value of their experiences. Why would any serious management plan want to encourage this kind of behavior? cancer care. What they are suggesting is that friends and family members would now be alive if treatment had been more compassionate. Staring all of us in the face is the reality that cancer care is too fragmented to be managed by standards that inform patient decisions. We are also aware that the cancer care world is ruthlessly competitive about everything but clarity about what works. Having less useful information means poor decision making and more expensive decision making. We are a rich country, able to afford the most expensive care. Yet, sadly, we are slow to change what is not working even though it looks like it’s working. The death rate for low income, minorities, and women from cancer is an international disgrace. The death rates from cancer for the middle class are not that much better. We need to stir ourselves to demand the best treatment options, the best care, the care that increases the odds that everyone will survive and have a good quality of life. It is time to write our “favorite” hospital president a letter about patient navigation. ------------------------ 4. Reducing Cancer Mortality for All: People have written me suggesting that patient navigation is critical for all walks of life, and not just for the poor. Many of these letters document a personal friends’ added pain as a result of being “lost” in the system of Branches Winter, spring, summer, fall The branches have survived the four seasons All the leaves are gone There’s nothing left but the branches So bare, so empty The autumn is here and winter will arrive The branches will be lonely once again Waiting for the warm up of spring Nature is doing its thing KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer A Fear for the New Year The fact that 2016 is already here Is causing me both anxiety and fear. Next November we elect a President, Who will be the White House resident. I will surely go into a permanent slump If that resident is Donald Trump. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer A New Beginning 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 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 PASSED 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 BEGINING IS WHAT’S UP FOR THE POLITICIANS AND THAT INCLUDES YOU AND ME WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 1 Across 1. Writer Waugh 5. ‘’Miss America’’ host 10. Merganser 14. Singing syllables 15. Wed 16. Beginning of greed? 17. Words between ‘’put’’ and ‘’writing’’ 18. Accustom 19. Muscat’s former partner 20. Start of a quip 23. Flynn of ‘’The Sea Hawk’’ 24. OPEC concern 25. Edict 28. Anode-directed particle 29. Underhanded 32. Words before ‘’about’’ 33. Smallest of the litter 35. Word for early morning hours 36. Middle of the quip 40. Beret’s center? 41. Georgia of ‘’The Mary Tyler Moore Show’’ 42. Grayish-brown sea eagle 43. Director Howard 44. Co. with a Victrola logo 45. Use Novocain 47. Consumer’s protective agcy. 48. Bigwig in Istanbul 50. End of the quip 56. Opera’s Gluck 57. Ford model 58. Dairy stick 59. ‘’Aurora’’ painter Guido 60. The ‘’E’’ in literary monogram TSE 61. Prepare to mail 62. Pipe opening? 63. Big name in farm equipment 64. William with the bow Down 1. Landed 2. Plaster backing 3. Nobelist Wiesel 4. Down Under capital 5. Political refugee 6. Tropical fruit 7. Unusual partner? 8. Goofs 9. Canine, but not a dog 10. Thread unit 11. Office missive 12. Cheese in red wax 13. Preferred outcome 21. Angry reaction 22. Dishwasher setting 25. Widow’s inheritance 26. Calendario part 27. Rumsfeld’s predecessor 28. Part of IBM (Abbr.) 29. Excalibur, e.g. 30. ‘’Fistful of Dollars’’ director Sergio 31. Aden is its largest city 33. Latvian capital 34. Employ 37. ‘’La Traviata’’ composer 38. Set up the tents 39. Farthest back 45. Give, as time 46. Wide shoe size 47. Physically delicate 48. Banks of the diamond 49. Word with coach or home 50. Fido’s bane 51. Potent front? 52. Carpet characteristic 53. Gen. Robt. --54. Patricia, who co-starred in ‘’Hud’’ 55. Tunnel fee 56. Paul’s singing partner SODOKU PUZZLE NO 219 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 319 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 84 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 218 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 320 | Ja n 1 - Ja n 1 4, 2 0 1 6 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Mercy Franciscan at St. John OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 981-5800 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, 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 Housing: 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 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Jan 1 - Jan 14, 2016 | No. 320 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource January 1-January 14, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: We have a Significant Problem A Least 52 People Experiencing Homelessness Died in Cincinnati in 2015 Pg 3: Uplifting Events at the Homeless Coalition: From My View Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The Goat Rodeo Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: Jimmy Heath House Celebrates Five Years of Service to the Homeless, and to the Community Sole Bros Pg 8: Photo Essay Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: The B Word Pg 11: Black Lives Matter The Mysterious of Cancer Care in Cincinnati Pg 12: Michael Earl Patton Continued Pg 13: Steve Sunderland Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1-January 14, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Dr. Mark Mussman Jim Luken Andy Hutzel Jason Haap Michael Earl Patton Steve Sunderland Bill Woods Kim Green Willa Denise Jones OTRCH Jesse Fox Aaron Roco Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aaron Roco Andy Hutzel Bill Woods Black Lives Matter Cancer Care Cincinnati College Dr. Mark Mussman GCHC Jason Haap Jesse Fox Jim Luken Jimmy Heath Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Michael Earl Patton OTRCH Photography Protests Sports Steve Sunderland Tamir Rice Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/696b6dff732a75977bee03eac20c3523.pdf acc7245911c0830834219fb66e8f3d5e PDF Text Text January 15th - January 28th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 2 (No. 321) advocating justice | Building community Sr. Mary Grafe died and went home to her God | 2 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Extraordinary Ordinary Life | 3 The Wayward Bus | 5 Political Reform Prospects Candid images reveal what Swedish vendors do after for 2016 | 11 work | 8-9 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 Don’t Vote for Anyone You Couldn’t Work Alongside in the Struggle JOSH SPRING P elected and sworn-in and as time goes by, nearly all of us will be dissatisfied with nearly all of the candidates that are elected - regardless of party affiliation. I know this sounds pretty pessimistic, but can you honestly predict anything much different? No, because you generally know this is how it will all go. You generally know that with the way we do elections whoever gets elected to sit in the Oval Office or on Capitol Hill, this country will fund war by the trillions, will continue tax breaks for the financial 1%, continue to have corporations embedded in decisions, all at the cost of affordable housing, education, health, peace, living wages, inclusiveness, etc. But here is the thing: it does not have to be like this. Sure, this is the deathly cycle we have been in for a very long time; starve the world so that we can live comfortably; starve and blame people into poverty so that the super wealthy can guard their wealth and control, but it does not have to be like this. There is a lot that we have to do to change the direction. There is so much hard work we must do to get the power into the hands of the People. There is something we all can do this year. It is a really simple action economic issues, civil rights, the to take. We can vote only for who we really believe we could work with and who is in line with our ideals. How often would you say you have voted for someone who you really thought would represent your beliefs well? How often have you thought there was no good candidate, so you voted for the lesser of two evils? Or how many times have you agreed with a certain candidate but did not vote for her or him because you thought she or he had no chance of winning? I’ll bet nearly all of us have done this quite a bit. Here is the challenge: stop voting for people who you don’t actually believe will properly represent the People. If you don’t believe there is a good candidate for a particular position, then don’t vote for anyone in that position. If you believe in the stances of a candidate you don’t think will win, vote for them. Research candidates from parties that are kept out of debates and don’t have huge donors because they actually stand for something. Vote in such a way that you can walk out of the ballot box believing you stayed true to your morals. ------------------------ 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: Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bonnie Neumeier, Joy Croy, Jim Luken, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Ron English, Jimmie Gipson, Kim Green, Willa D. Jones Photography/Artwork: Josh Spring, OTR Movement Sr. Mary Grafe at her desk at Peaslee Photo: OTR Movement Archives about women and children experiencing homelessness. Often on the streets youth would call her by name, for they met her in prison when she served at Juvenile 2020. She was active with Church Women United and planned many days of prayer for world peace. Mary was a member of Sr. Mary Grafe’s Memorial service at Motherhouse Chapel Photo: Josh Spring against homelessness and poverty. Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Contributing Writer O spirituality and the struggle Reception: BONNIE NEUMEIER ing the cause of justice. There isn’t an Over-the-Rhine organization that she didn’t support. She worked for years as an outreach worker for Peaslee Neighborhood Center. She was the glue that kept the women’s group going at Peaslee. She was a member of the Justice Seekers Writing Circle. She was an active member of the Contact Center always advocating for basic human rights. Mary was instrumental in the founding of Bethany House and cared deeply environment, the peace movement, Peter Kobak Sr. Mary Grafe died and went home to her God ur dear friend and justice seeker, Sr. Mary Grafe, SC, died New Year’s Day with family and community surrounding her at Mercy Hospital West. Sr. Mary chose a green burial and was laid to rest on Monday, January 4th at the cemetery of the Sisters of Charity. There was a celebration of her life and Mass of Resurrection at the Motherhouse Chapel on Friday, January 8th. Mary was everywhere support- advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on Executive Director resident Barak Obama will give his final State of the Union Address this evening, January 12. At this point only his speech writers and he himself know what he will say. By the time you read this, the address will have been read, the tele-prompters will have been turned off and media will be in the midst of quoting it, critiquing what the Obama administration has and has not accomplished mixed with all sorts of conjecture about how the speech will affect the current Presidential and Congressional races. 2016 will be spent in reality TV show - like debates. There will be multimillion dollar ads across TV screens with candidates endorsing statements that polls have told them will gain the most votes. Promises will be made to the General Public; many, if not most of which will never be kept. Behind closed doors promises will be made to very wealthy individuals and corporations; promises that the eventual President or Representative will do everything possible to keep. We will end up with two major candidates for the presidency; one Republican and one Democrat. This two-party controlled election will show true for the vast majority of races across the country. In the end, people will be Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, (Continued on page 11) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Archives, Joy Croy, Google images, Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, 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 Extraordinary Ordinary Life No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 JOY CROY Contributing Writer A n alarming 2013 statistic from the New York Times cites Cincinnati as one of the least economically mobile cities in the nation. In other words, if you are born poor in Cincinnati you are likely to remain poor. Nothing new but after spending time with Dr. Troy Jackson the need seems even more critical that we come together within our community and we respond to basic human rights. If not now, when? If not us, who? Dr. Jackson is the Executive Director of AMOS and former pastor for 19 years at University Christian Church where he was instrumental in establishing Rohs Street Cafe. He is also a professed Jesus follower who is a community organizer involved spiritually and persuasively with organizations and movements concerned with issues involving the multi-faceted challenge of civil rights, especially justice and poverty. Roots matter to him and he would never want to be uprooted from his religious heritage. He believes there is an amazing amount of space within evangelicalism supporting the opportunity to be engaged within our community. Over the past 50 years, with some few exceptions, he acknowledges that perhaps this religious tradition was simply evangelism but feels strongly the tradition is much richer than that now. He is obviously more of a praxis (action) person rather than a tightly wound theology guy. Yet make no mistake, Dr. Jackson grounds himself in sacred text, daily prayer and faithful attendance at the Assembly of God Church, the People’s Church, pastored by Chris Beard. Dr. Jackson was possibly attracted to AMOS because of his college dissertation on Dr. Martin Luther King. He was surely motivated by the spiritual community values that led to Dr. King’s involvement in the struggles and challenges in the civil rights movement. There are many faith-based congregations involved with AMOS and its social justice community organization. All are mobilized and committed to help the most vulnerable in our city The Biblical prophet Amos spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. His themes of social justice, God’s dominion and divine judgment seemingly influenced both Dr. King and Dr. Jackson, each considered civil rights leaders, each beginning within the grass roots of their own community. The AMOS website includes a video of Dr. Jackson comparing the Dr. Troy Jackson at Tryed Stone New Beginning Church Photo: Joy Coy Exodus story of Moses and the Pharaoh to what is going on in Cincinnati now. He questions how any of us are complacent or able to sleep at night with a majority of our children living in poverty and hunger. Let’s begin where it really counts, with the children. At the time of the 2001 uprisings in Cincinnati, childhood poverty was around 30% and considered a crisis statistic. Depending on what current stats are cited, 47-53% of our children now live in poverty. If you look at African American children under the age of 6 it’s 3 out of 4, ranking Cincinnati 2nd-5th in the entire country. TODAY! RIGHT NOW! Seriously? Cincinnati…home of the first North American World Choir Games and the 2015 All-Star game, both successful events made possible because of the combined involvement of companies, corporations and the community. Dr. Jackson shakes his head in dismay when referring to statistics that we have the fastest growing economy in the Midwest while at the same time we have this kind of poverty. Yet he feels we have a very generous city. We do not have a generosity problem, we have a systemic justice problem. Ban the Box is the name of an international campaign by civil rights groups that advocates for exoffenders, aimed at persuading employers to remove from their hiring applications the check box that asks if applicants have a criminal record. Dr. Jackson feels ban the box needs to be broader. Additionally, there are people who have never been incarcerated but have a felony on their record because of a plea bargain and “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King the plea bargain machine. Just getting rid of a box doesn’t do everything; he feels reform must be broader in scope and that a cultural shift in terms of how to support those who are released from prison or leaving other difficult circumstances and reentering the workplace can have a smoother transition. He cites some supportive training programs in prison but the bottom line is that they are not tethered to any reality outside prison. Another challenge is that often prisoners are paid less than a dollar an hour. Furthermore, there are companies and corporations profiting from this cheap labor. This is critical because Dr. Jackson feels that what is going on in our prison system today is slavery by another name. Douglas Blackman was awarded the annual Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction by Columbia University for his book titled Slavery by Another Name which documented the era after the Civil War until World War II. In doing so, he was credited as revealing “moving, sobering and shocking stories of human labor trafficking and companies that profited most from neoslavery.” This insidious legacy of racism reverberates today. It is virtuous for companies and corporations to view these returning members of society as important and it is admirable to provide them second chances for redemption and opportunity. Yet one of the fears Dr. Jackson has is that these workers will be viewed as vulnerable in the work force and could be easily exploited. Undocumented workers or returning citizens are more likely to live with substandard working conditions; they can also be easily manipulated because they are so vulnerable. Another part of the problem is that not only do we face mass incarceration in the culture at large but also mass criminalization of people of color. These challenges effect our entire community. Those incarcerated in Hamilton County are 73% African American yet represent only 26% of our county’s population. Another worthy program supported by Dr. Jackson that could and would THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 3 make a different in these two major challenges is The Preschool Project. The Cincinnati Preschool Promise is an independent, cross-sector initiative to provide (nearly) universal public or private preschool that meets every child’s need. This is near and dear to my heart as a retired educator. This initiative could and would make a difference in a child’s success in his/her life and trickle down for generations to come. Speaking from my own experiences of working with underprivileged and special needs children, a child who enters school ill-prepared struggles from day one trying to catch up. Current testing assumes a child will be able to read by third grade and that preparation must begin with a quality preschool. Poverty is not a reason, and should not be an excuse, to accept a lesser education. Dr. Jackson believes the new frontier is health issues. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital ranks in the top 3 hospitals in our nation. Yet the life expectancy for children in the surrounding neighborhoods is more than 10 years below the national average. Our Cincinnati community celebrates Children’s Hospital as an amazing hospital that is a destination hospital for people around the world. Dr. Jackson feels that those who work at Children’s are “truly amazing, dedicated caretakers with the goal of providing the best health care for their patients.” The challenge is that you have to actually enter that facility or that network to receive the care and to receive the benefit of the brilliant minds and passionate staff. If we look at the social indicators of health and what drives health outcomes in this community the answers are not once you get to a doctor’s office or an institution. They are found in the community. They are found around diet. They are found around exposure to pollution. They are found within poverty. Dr. Jackson has witnessed the love for children that exudes at Children’s; the problem is there is not yet significant investment in the neighborhood around the institution. He does not lay that primarily at Children’s Hospital’s feet. He believes it to be a Cincinnati challenge involving solutions that we have yet to create and put in place. We should be able to boast of having one of the healthiest children’s health outcomes in the country because of Children’s Hospital. We do have a corporate committee committed to children’s health and many dedicated advocates doing everything they can to flip the script on this city. Dr. Jackson believes together we can unite political leaders, business leaders, nurses, doctors, health officials, pastors and faith communities in the successful effort to collectively provide good heath for our children, the most vulnerable and valuable part of any community. He acknowledges that land and tax incentives to institutions taking massive amounts of resources from our city might be cloaked in good intentions, but how do we hold that system accountable to include a more redemptive role in our city? And when, if not now, will we see that investment go directly to solving our overwhelming poverty and civil rights concerns? Dr. Jackson feels Black Lives Matter is a sad but profound declaration. A Black Lives Matter banner (Continued on page 6) �4 LOCAL Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 The Wayward Bus* LOCAL JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer W arning: this is a small, and not very important story about a bus ride I took last night. Yes, I ride the bus. The Metro... and sometimes the TANK. I ride them a lot. I gave up driving several years ago after totaling a friend’s car. Now I get most places by riding my bike or—especially in the cold weather—climbing aboard the various buses, heading out toward the suburbs and back. Sitting down to write this piece, I find myself recalling that—as a freelance journalist—I have ridden on buses in many places around the world. All kinds of buses, large ones, tiny ones. Fancy buses, or falling­ apart jalopies. Buses in Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, Mexico and Central America. Nowadays I regularly take what is known as “the Chinese Bus” on 12­ hour­ long overnight trips to and from Chinatown in New York City. This is challenging for an old man who has trouble sleeping in his own bed. But it’s worth it. $100 for the round trip. These buses, and several others, transport me to New England where my son lives. In 1999, while spending three months in Haiti, I often caught 10­ cent rides aboard that country’s famous “Tap­taps,”—small, outlandishly painted, pick­ up trucks that had been converted into little buses. They are everywhere in Haiti, a symbol of the creativity and joy that remains in that impoverished land. Always they are festooned with crazy names—many in English—like, “Good God.” “Sexy girl,” “Immaculate Conception.” On one of my tap­tap rides, an attractive, middle­aged Haitian woman wanted to take me to her home in exchange for goods (money). I told her that my wife (at that time) was “yon pe femme,” a woman priest (Episcopal), and that she would not approve. She smiled shyly, several gold teeth glistening in the open­air sunlight. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that riding on pub- 5 lic transportation can be interesting, and even a bit adventurous at times. Almost every time I ride, some small occurrence (or person) will fascinate me. The reason for this has to do with one simple fact. Unlike the rubber­stamp, middle­class folks who take airplanes on long trips (including myself sometimes)—mostly poor people use the buses. The thing is, sometimes poor people are prone to reveal themselves publicly, in ways that middle­ class people might find annoying, or embarrassing. Poor folks are not so much into maintaining decorum. Often, I find these revealing moments (outbursts?) to be fascinating. Although the poor share many similarities with one another, they are never carbon copies. They are not trying to “fit in” the way middle­class people are prone to do. In Cincinnati, most of the people who use our buses are African­ American. But lots of us poor white people access the Metro as well. The stories I will relate here happen to be about white people, only because these were the people who were most noticeable on my most recent late­ night ride from College Hill to OTR, where I live. I was feeling downright sorry for myself, as I waited for the 17 bus on this below­freezing night. One bus flew by me, headed for the “Queensgate Garage.” As the minutes dragged on, I got more stressed. My emotions were raw. “Where’s the damned bus?” I groused. I needed a drink. The “Downtown” 17 finally arrived. I climbed on board, using my half­fare senior card. My habit is to take an empty seat on either of the three­seat benches that line the walls of the front of the bus. The back of the bus contained a scattering of maybe a dozen black men, each sitting alone. As I sat down, my eyes fell upon the young woman sitting opposite me on the edge of the seat. A baby, which I couldn’t see, slept in a carrier next to her. A bunch of Kroger bags, stuffed with provisions, lay on the floor surrounding her feet. She was talking across the aisle to a young guy, obviously her “man,” who sat on the first forward­facing seat to my left. His bags and packages had been placed on the seat nearest me. The woman mumbled a question and his response was: “I guess because I do stupid shit.” She asked him again. Once again, I didn’t catch the question (“Why do you... something or other?”), only to have him repeat what he had just said. Inwardly, I applauded the guy’s honesty. As we neared the bottom of Hamilton hill the couple began gathering their belongings. She stuffed an eight pack of toilet paper inside her winter coat. He got on his knees to gather an endless series of bags in both hands from under her seat. She asked me to grab the wire signaling the bus driver to stop. I did so. He picked up an enormous handful of Kroger bags. The bus pulled to a stop. She hoisted her purse along with a huge handful of bags, then grabbed the baby carrier in her right hand. I handed the guy his last item, a large plastic bag with two huge cereal boxes in it. He held on to it with his free middle finger. The bus driver waited patiently for them to squeeze their way off the bus. “Did you get everything?” he asked. They told him “Thanks” and got off the bus. Always the bleeding heart, for a split second I thought about going with them to help them make it to their home. I wondered how far they had to carry that enormous array of food and supplies. And I couldn’t help thinking about the huge burden their young lives had taken on. They were car-less, in winter, with a new baby, and a certain very clear absence of love (at least at that moment) in their life together. I knew my problems were minor by comparison. A few stops later, In Clifton, a heavily bundled­up woman climbed on the bus, ladened with various large black garbage bags...a mop handle sticking out of one of them. In the other hand she hefted an upright vacuum cleaner. As she put the stuff down, the mop handle swung toward the bus driver’s face. He pushed it aside without reacting. I’ve learned that—for obvious reasons—the drivers have been instructed not to start the bus moving until the fare is in the meter. This woman removed a shiny, foil­ like sleeve, the size of a dollar bill, from her bulky coat. She began fishing in this odd pouch for her fare, which was apparently buried deep within. This took a long time. Not wanting to delay any longer, the driver headed out. At last the woman located her change and dropped it in the meter, nickel­by­dime, until she had inserted 75 cents. Then her dollar. “Ding” came the approval of the meter. She tried to pick up her stuff and make her way down the aisle, but it wouldn’t cooperate with her. So I helped her with her vacuum cleaner. She sat down wearily on the same seat the young man had vacated. Obviously, this woman worked as a cleaning lady. Now, having finished a late job, she was making her way home in the cold night, with an entirely different kind of burden (and an entirely different kind of life) than the couple with the baby. She said a few words to me about the difficulty of carrying the vacuum cleaner wherever she went. Then she simply stared into the darkness out the front windows of the bus. No doubt this woman would go home to an empty apartment, as I would. With an odd kind of certainty, I knew that her aloneness, her isolation, her misery, dwarfed my own self­pity. For a while, I thought about handing her five or ten bucks, but sensed that this might be a patronizing intrusion. I could no more “fix” her life with a kindly gesture, than I could help the young couple by carrying a few bags to their home. These people, like the rest of us solitaries on that bus, would have to live out their lives as best they could. No miracles will intervene. At least (or so I concluded), we all have the bus, “the wayward bus,” to get us—not really home—but to our destinations. *The Wayward Bus is the name of one of John Steinbeck’s novels. A Tap Tap bus Photo: Google images THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �6 LOCAL JOY CROY (Continued from page 3) hangs in the AMOS office and it has been carried to and from Columbus and elsewhere. He believes it is sad that any group of people in our country feels their lives are not valued and so they have to declare it. To him that statement demonstrates the dehumanization of people of color. No one should have to declare that their lives matter. Isn’t that an inalienable right in our Constitution? This dehumanization can occur in any government, police force, judicial system, religious institution, corporation, or school and in the actions and words of individuals. Over and over again in American and World history groups have felt the inherent need to declare that their lives matter. Women, the homeless, returning citizens, and children have all raised their collective voices reminding us that their lives do matter. Most current social movements include social media, twitter and other tools that Dr. Jackson thinks are great. The challenge is how does this moment get catalyzed into strategic longtime power-building. The power analysis at times has been good and the strategies have been strong and the courage amazing. Yet the question is how do the leaders of Black Lives Matter get together a power analysis and strategy. Dr. Jackson believes that at times there is tension between generations, even those supporting the same cause. He feels the experience of young black leaders clearly is that clergy and others come in and want to dominate, control or silence certain members of the group. How do those who are most seasoned let go of some of that ego so the group can enjoy a trust-building relationship over time? How do we get through the insults of the first few encounters? Sometimes it is just about staying committed to one another. One of the biggest challenges and problems facing white folks now is what Dr. Jackson called paralysis. Whites are paralyzed by uncertainty which is destructive and counterproductive. He gets “triggered” by the idea that there is no space for whites in this movement for racial justice. There has to be but it cannot be “just” white leadership that repeats the pat- Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 terns of colonialism, dominance and paternalism. There also should not be a frustrated packing up and going home or settling for online chatter as a replacement for an investment in time in social justice. He hates the (Continued on page 11) Dr. Troy Jackson speaking about Preschool Promise Photo: Justin Jeffre We are proud to show you what your financial support has accomplished in 2015: Education and Outreach: 95 Speaking Engagements were held. Over 4,700 people learned what systematically causes homelessness and the hardships people experiencing it go through. Approximately 30 local schools and over 1000 students participated in our Citywide Shantytown 2015. Three groups of university students spent extended time with us in intense, hands on learning. Streetvibes: This year Streetvibes turned 20, making it one of the oldest street-papers in the world. Currently we have over 50 active Distributors. Our hard-working Distributors put out approximately 2000 papers every two weeks. Our Distributors also joined with local high school students and together created our sixth Day by Day Calendar. Advocacy and Organizing: After a year of organizing by the Coalition and legal work by Legal Aid and the City of Cincinnati, a judge ruled that due to the negligence of an out-of-town landlord, five affordable apartment buildings in our city have become a public nuisance. We spent 2015 organizing Residents, and collecting evidence of building violations; 1800 just last month. Thousands of people have had to endure crime, mold, collapsed ceilings and roof, constant leaks, windows that won’t close, electric that threatens fire, threats and intimidation from the owners, etc. Because of this decision, in January we go back before the judge asking that she appoint a third party company, answerable to the court, to receive all of the rent monies and put them back into improving the properties. After 14 years of advocacy, we became the 3rd city in the country to have Homeless Hate Crimes legislation. The Winter Shelter was open all of last winter and will be this winter as well. More than 800 people are expected to move through its doors. Coordination: We held well-attended monthly Membership Meetings. Our Membership has continued to increase. We are constantly trying to provide opportunity for our MemberOrganizations to be involved in our systematic work. We work hard to listen and act according to the needs of our Members; without them, we would not be a Coalition. After a decade of our advocacy and organizing, City Human Services Funding, which many of our Members receive, was finally increased. Additionally: We received and distributed mail for nearly 3,000 people without an address. “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 �LOCAL No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Counting On Us... DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer T wice a year, the Homeless Coalition participates in the PIT Count with our member organizations, such as PATH and the VA. The PIT Count stands for Point-in-Time, which essentially means finding and counting people who are living on the streets, in encampments, or in shelters. I took part in my first PIT Count in September, when we attempted to get an accurate number of individuals living on the streets at the end of the summer. Organizations are required by HUD to do a PIT Count during a cold night in January, but the actual effect of it is greater than just a count. According to HUD’s website, https://w w w.hudexchange.info/ hdx/guides/pit-hic/: “The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in January. HUD requires that Continuums of Care conduct an annual count of homeless persons who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night. Continuums of Care also must conduct a count of unsheltered homeless persons every other year (odd numbered years). Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally. The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a point-intime inventory of provider programs 7 within a Continuum of Care that provide beds and units dedicated to serve persons who are homeless, categorized by five Program Types: Emergency Shelter; Transitional Housing; Rapid Re-housing; Safe Haven; and Permanent Supportive Housing.” While I’m not looking forward to being out in the cold this month, I have to be realistic and compassionate to those who spend every night outside. However, I am looking forward to developing relationships with people and working as part of a team to complete the count this month. The following are some of my reflections on the first PIT Count I participated in last year. I was fortunate to not have much warning about the PIT Count – I think it was during my first week with the Homeless Coalition. It didn’t give me an opportunity to stress about it. We met at the Coalition to form teams to split up between the downtown business district and Over-theRhine. Before we left, we were told about the importance of keeping the locations confidential because there are people out there who might target individuals who are experiencing homelessness. It’s important to realize just how vulnerable people are when they are sleeping outside – not only to the weather, but also to peo- ple who look to hurt them. Violence towards people experiencing homelessness has happened here recently, but hopefully our educational program helps to stop it in the future. Once we had an idea of where we were going, we set off on foot to the first location. At first, I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I thought that people would be mad when we woke them up, or try to harass us as we travelled down the street. There were some new people in our group and some PIT Count veterans. The veterans wanted us to jump right in, so we began by waking people up who were sleeping in a parking garage. A couple of new people decided to leave because they said it was “unethical” to wake people up – they would rather just estimate the needed data (age, sex, ethnicity, veteran, etc.) – instead of disturbing their sleep. I was sympathetic to their feelings, but the reality is that the PIT Count does more than create a data set, it also helps outreach workers, such as PATH, create and sustain relationships with people. PATH works hard to get people into supportive housing, and when we woke people up, most of them knew the outreach workers already. Many of those who were awakened by our team were elated to see us. For one, we weren’t there to tell them to move, or harass them in any way. They saw friendly faces who are connected to resources that can help them get through the winter. We would ask them to fill out their homelessness certification sheet. Abandoned properties are some of the most unsafe places to seek shelter. Photo Dr. Mark Mussman A business installed gates to keep people out Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman The sheet is basically an application for a VESTA Card, which is the ID card that individuals can use to access shelters, food banks, and other supportive services. By filling out the sheet with us that night, they are able to update their status and keep current with the system. This wouldn’t happen if we let them sleep. After we left the first parking garage, I was at ease and happy to lead the group through the neighborhood to each location. We met people who were having health crises and we were able to talk to them about where to get services. Others were happy to know that someone was checking on them. I just wish I was more prepared, (a few clipboards would have been helpful when filling out the forms and when taking the demographic data), so that things would have gone more smoothly. I learned that in the past, during the PIT Count, people have brought donuts and cookies, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. It seemed to go pretty smoothly without the food. We came across an individual who had a motion detector set up around the sleeping spot. This person had only been experiencing homelessness for about two weeks and had never heard of PATH or even the Homeless Coalition. We spent a few extra minutes explaining what services are available, in terms of housing and health resources, before moving on. We combed through underpasses, wooded areas, and abandoned properties. By 2am, we were starting to lose steam, and we were wrapping up all the areas that were on our list. We went to a couple of places that weren’t on the list, but I knew from living in the neighborhood. It felt good to add something to the process. I look forward to a time when these types of counts aren’t necessary, but I am thankful we have such a strong Homeless Coalition in Cincinnati that stays on top of the issues while helping people access life-saving services. Even though it appears that HUD only requires this activity in January, on odd numbered years, I’m sure that we’ll do it, not just for the numbers, but for the outreach opportunity. ------------------------ Stoops such as this may be someone’s last resort. Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �8 PHOTO ESSAY PHOTO SERIES: Candid images reveal what Swedish vendors do after work Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 LAURA SMITH www.INSP.ngo W orking, not begging. It’s a mantra adopted by many street papers around the world, and has been very successful in reinforcing the fact that vendors work hard to earn a living. Still, few members of the public will know what their vendor does at the end of a long day’s slog - or how it compares to their own after-work routine. In Sweden, these private moments have been revealed by Gothenburg-based street paper Faktum, who have enlisted a Condé Nast Traveller photographer to capture candid images of vendors in the various places they call home. “We want to show that people selling street papers have a job like anyone else, because a lot of people think they give money to charity when they buy a street paper,” Faktum’s director Ãse Henell said. “We also want to put the spotlight on how our vendors live after they finish working.” For Romanian brothers Victoras and Cristinel, this is the floor of a church in the centre of Gothenburg; Csaba from Hungary finds shelter in the mobile home gifted to him by a Faktum customer; while Anne is marooned on a friend’s couch, which she shares with her faithful dog Tjabo, her few precious belongings stowed away in the small cabinet beside her. These images form the basis of the paper’s 2016 annual calendar, titled Thank God It’s Friday. “It’s a term that most of us associate with something nice, like discussing the week over a drink with friends after work,” Henell added. “We wanted to take that saying and put it into another context, where we show our vendors’ Fridays - which can look a lot different.” The photos are by long-time Condé Nast Traveller photographic artist Håkan Ludwigson and fellow Swedish photographer Bo Kågerud. Håkan previously collaborated with Faktum on its innovative and hugely successful 2012 calendar Faktum Hotels. The calendar and accompanying website encouraged people to book a ‘hotel room’ in a place where a homeless person or Faktum vendor might be forced to sleep, such as the woods, a street corner or under a bridge. Each of the locations was pictured in the calendar. Faktum, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, has pro- duced similar calendars since 2010. The project has become an important source of additional income for vendors during winter, and is so popular that many readers pre-book their copies months in advance. The 2016 edition can be purchased from a Faktum vendor or online for 150 SEK [£11/€16.22/$17.62]. Vendors buy the calendar for 75 SEK [£5.50/€8.11/$8.81] and keep the profits. Vendor Bertil Schmidt happily invited the photographers into his home, which he is able to afford thanks to Faktum. Selling a street paper also helped him to overcome his social anxieties. Schmidt is pictured standing proudly in the apartment he now shares with his dog and three cats. “Instead of telling the customers that I’m in it, I tell them about my cat being in there - they have to guess the rest!” he said. “I think the calendar turned out really well, it has sold much better than last year!” ------------------------ Csaba is from Hungary. He sells Faktum and saves as much money as he can. He lives in a second-hand mobile home near a church in Mölndal. The caravan was given to him by a customer that has become a good friend. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson Emmelie has had a tough life with addiction, drugs and so-called friends that made her feel even worse. The turning point came when she met her boyfriend Mattias in a treatment center. Now they live together in Jönköping and she has got a new lease of life. Selling Faktum helps her move forward. “Today I’m clean and doing well,” says Emmelie. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson Lillemor thrives when she sells Faktum. She loves to meet people and talk a lot, both with customers and her colleagues. They have become like family to her. She lives in Malmö and collects porcelain figurines. Every Christmas, she takes out her extensive collections of 280 figurines. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 PHOTO ESSAY Vendor Bertil is a familiar face around Gothenburg’s North Town when he sells Faktum. Selling a street paper has helped him to overcome his social anxieties and find permanent accommodation. He lives in his own apartment with his dog and three cats. Credit: Håkan Ludwigson Khan thought he had found love when he met a Swedish girl in India. She got pregnant, went home and Khan followed. But the relationship ended. Now Khan sells Faktum so he can stay in Sweden and see his son. “If I cannot support myself, I have no chance to shared custody,” he says. At 7pm every night, he checks in at the City Mission in Malmö and stores everything he owns in a locker. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson Lakos says that nature is magical. It is a manifestation of the power of our entire universe. He lives in a tent near a cemetery in Gothenburg and is both natural philosopher and musician. But he mourns his violin stolen. Now he carries his instruments and other important items with him whenever he leaves the tent. Lakos sells Faktum on the outskirtsa of Gothenburg. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson Frans is an artist and practices painting in his apartment. He wants to sell his art and has even seen his work in a few exhibitions. Photo Credit: Håkan Ludwigson THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 WORLD Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 The B Word What are you saying when you call someone a “bum”? All too often when we discuss the phenomena of homeslessness, we use words like “bum,” “hobo,” or “vagrant” to describe people. But what are we really saying when we label people with those words? REMEMBER: PUT PEOPLE FIRST *Always use “people-first” language when discussing the issue of homelessness. It is a misconception that those who “People experiencing experience homelessness do so out of homelessness” choice; many work long hours. Homelessness is a multi-layered issue. When we dismiss people who live in extreme poverty as being NOT lazy or deserving of their situation we are actively contributing to the problem. “Homeless people” Learn to change your language. Now Hiring Learn how to make a difference. Caracole Caracole.org - Resident Assistant - Medical Care Coordinator Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Family Service Worker - Teacher - Assistant teachers - Special Needs Assistant Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - After School Program Teacher Assistant tendermerciesinc. org - Accounting Assistant To learn more about the lack of affordable housing and the inadequacy of services - Client Service Specialist Coalition at that force people into homelessness, contact the Homeless Shelter House UpSpring shelterhousecinti. (513) 421- 2701 upspring.org Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org org - Multiple Openings - Cook - Shelter Director - Resident Aid Our Daily Bread ourdailybread.us Tender Mercies THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED *hiring for the 2016 Summer Program - Class Intern - Office Manager - Volunteer Manager - Instructional Assistant �LOCAL No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Political Reform Prospects for 2016 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer “I t was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” These opening lines of Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” seem to capture the reality confronting political reformers in 2016. Since this is a Presidential and Congressional election year, we will certainly experience a new record for the most campaign funds raised and spent. The pre-primary activities of 2015 already revealed the effects of huge and hidden donations that are allowed under the Citizens United ruling. In addition, efforts to make it more difficult for certain groups to vote will undoubtedly take place in various state legislatures. This can take the form of rigid ID-laws or decreasing the opportunities for citizens to vote? Protecting the right to vote will definitely be on the progressive reform agenda in 2016. Furthermore, extremely gerrymandered Congressional districts such as Ohio’s will definitely be on display this year. Since Ohio is a swing state that is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, these unfairly designed districts will become even more apparent. That appears to be the bad news for reformers. What also makes this “the best of times” for activists concerned about the health of the democratic process? Primarily, all the media coverage of big money and Fat Cat donations will prime the public to be more aware of the flaws in our campaign process. 2016 will be a critical year for reformers to educate folks about what is wrong with the system and what can be done to fix it. In other words, with this current overabundance of political lemons, it behooves activists to make some reform lemonade. In Ohio, reformers and groups such as the League of Women Voters and Common Cause are already buoyed by last November’s victory for state redistricting reform. The easy passage of this State Constitu- tional Amendment kept its backers on the offensive to take the next step and put in place a similar amendment to reform Congressional districts. The initial hope was to have the Ohio House and Senate pass a reform Amendment proposal to put before the voters in November. Although reformers currently press key legislators to make this happen, the prospects for such legislation now appear doubtful. Nevertheless, the backdrop of last year’s success and the glaring examples of our current Congressional districts give reformers a bully pulpit for preparing voters for a grassroots campaign in 2017. The growing domination of “big money” in politics is another matter. Although 2016 will provide a multitude of examples of money warping the political process, the prospects for achieving effective remedies are long term at best. The Citizens United decision of 2010 looms as a gigantic legal obstacle to reform. Bill Woods hosting a forum with Vice Mayor David Mann Photo: Justin Jeffre BONNIE NEUMEIER (Continued from page 2) St. Francis Seraph Church, but ecumenical in spirit. Mary was our ambassador. She spoke good news about our work. She raised money for all of our causes; she was always telling her family and friends about the work of the people. She served on many committees, always willing to give of her time. She visited the sick through Hospice. I’m sure each of us has a card from Mary, a bookmark, or a journal she made. She was always cutting out beautiful images and phrases to use in her homemade gifts to friends. Mary was small in stature. When JOY CROY (Continued from page 6) term white privilege and feels it is a paralyzing dehumanization of people of color. Dr. Jackson reminds us that Occupy’s bottom-line lesson was that real 11 Sr. Mary Grafe and Mildred Grinney Photo: OTR Movement Archives A recent report shows that the millions of dollars already donated to candidates running for President came from a very small group of wealthy donors. Much of this money is filtered through so-called independent committees that are not tied to the official campaigns of the candidates, and these groups are subject to very little public accountability. Another disturbing new activity of these independent PACs is financing actual campaign field work besides their usual TV and radio ads. What are the reforms that can be put forward to counter “big money?” The public financing of campaigns still remains the best tool available to reformers. Although it must be voluntary for candidates to choose or reject, public financing has worked well in a number of states and cities as a way of leveling the playing field for office seekers who don’t have access to Fat Cat dollars. However, because of the potential impacts of “big money” as a result of Citizens United, a movement to limit or repeal this Supreme Court decision will be necessary in the long run. That is why utilizing an election year such as 2016 for educating citizens is so critical. Organizing for a movement such as a Constitutional Amendment to abolish Citizens United is going to require a lot of effort, skill, and time. At the local level, Applied Information Resources (AIR, Inc.) will continue its efforts in 2016 to involve more and more people and groups in promoting campaign reform. Last year, with the assistance of a Seasongood Foundation grant, it organized an informal coalition that studied and then supported the state redistricting proposal. It also conducted some public forums and other educational activities to enlighten area citizens about this State Constitutional Amendment. Focusing on money in politics, voting rights, and Congressional redistricting reform, AIR plans to enlarge its coalition and to organize more forums in the months ahead. -----------------------was determined to get herself wherever she wanted to go, and she was always willing to pick up neighborhood people who had no transportation. Mary could be seen at City Hall, by someone’s bedside, praying with youth in prison, or knocking on a door for a home visit. Her gift was her presence. Mary was known to be soft spoken, but the way she lived her life spoke loud and clear about her commitment to justice and her faithfulness to her family, friends, and community. She lived the beatitudes. We give gratitude for her life. We had a gem of an activist in our midst. We will miss our Mary. she drove her car, you could barely see her over the steering wheel. But she ------------------------ privilege is concentrated in 1% of our society and the rest of us are “given” fringe benefits. Experiences between whites and African American are distinct and not equivalent. If whites enter the game as do-gooders and as people without skin in the game, that is destructive. None of these individual issues and concerns can be separated from the rest. Dr. Troy Jackson has the gentle strength, relentless determination, eloquent speech and God-given stamina to be involved because it is the right thing to do and he will not build his community on sand. Paralysis can take the form of insulation and isolation but those are just excuses. His sincere, passionate words have touched me. You? Get involved. Together we will make a difference. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �12 LOCAL Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 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. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Stand My Hope and my Dream I’m Ronald English and I try to better myself so that I leave my legacy behind and go down in history as a man amongst men. Where I will try to do something positive in my life. This is my hope and my dream is to become great because of my soul and the way I feel about myself and others. Of the way I think of something with love and compassion. It builds me up when I am down. It helps me to think of the way I feel deep down in my soul. Of love, compassion of beautiful feelings of great honor, of purity and righteousness of one’s soul. And emotions of hurt and pain, made up of evil things. I pray for hope and peace. Coming together for happiness and love of God’s creation of man’s faith in believing in the Lord’s salvation of spiritual blessings. And hoping for dreams of man’s image of Heaven’s gates. To enter into man’s everlasting life. For people’s repentance of love, of feelings of happiness and joy of spiritual faith and praying for guidance to better one’s belief in the world of the sanctity of people’s knowledge and misunderstood trust and wisdom of good and not evil. Of sin and to propel us into righteousness. For father’s freedom and mother’s love, sister’s hope and brother’s peace. Stand. We stand for something, whether we know it or not. Just being a part of something means a lot. The stronger the feeling and belief, the greater we stand. It can be political, spiritual, financial, sociological or competitively. Whatever the cause you stand for, it has meaning, truth and reasoning to us. So whatever you stand for let it be right, so others can be aware of what you are standing for. And use all you have to do so. By standing you become great and proud of your accomplishment. By standing you obtain rewards and benefits and show what you’re about. That’s what a stand is. So stand strong and don’t ever stop so others can see you got guts and stand for something. The Zen of Streetvibes “So believe in something and make a stand.” JIMMIE GIPSON Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer You and Me RON ENGLISH Contributing Writer Mistaken Control TO HAVE CONTROL OVER ONESELF AND WELL BEING IS ENOUGH TO HAVE CONTROL OVER OTHERS LIVING HABBITS NOW THAT’S JUST TOO MUCH STUFF TO HAVE THE CHOICES AND A CHANCE TO VOTE WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG TO HAVE THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN THIS FREE LAND WAS NOT THAT A SONG TO HAVE CONTROL OVER WHAT I DESIRE TO SWITHCH OFF AND ON TO HAVE THE BELIEF THAT INSPITE OF MY PAST MY LIFE IS NOT ALL GONE TO HAVE TRIED TO LEAVE MY PAST BEHIND WHERE I HAD NO CONTROL TO HAVE FOUND A PLACE TO LIVE, HERE COMES CONGRESS LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL! TO SEE SO MANY CHANGES, NEW APARTMENTS, PARKING LOTS ALL LOOKING REAL GOOD TO BE AROUND TO SEE ALL THE PEOPLE RICH, POOR AND THE HOMELESS STILL BEING MISUNDERSTOOD TO REMEMBER WHEN I WAS HOMELESS HOW I OFTEN PLEADED TO GO TO JAIL TO GET OFF THE STREET TO KNOW THAT JAIL WAS WHERE I COULD GO TO EAT AND SLEEP ALL FOR FREE I COULDN’T BEAT TO TAKE AWAY HOUSING, RAISING RENT, LOWERING FOOD STAMP I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND TO KNOW FOR SURE THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD HAVE MISTAKEN CONTROL AND IT’S WIDE SPREAD ALL OVER THE LAND…. WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer You and me We’re the same Red Blood runs through our veins But I am not free I am full of thoughts Yet short for words I’m there in the crowd But I am all alone I need a special moment just for me To clear my head and rest my feet And try to see what life has in store for me My room is big yet empty You and me are the same But we don’t walk the path the same KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Protecting the American Way The NRA protects the Constitution By killing every gun safety solution. It upholds the Second Amendment, As the way to keep us independent. This means no law should ever stifle A crazy man buying an assault rifle. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 90 Across 1. Flip of a coin 5. Particle 9. Battery contact 13. Musical instrument 14. Mark indicating insertion into a text 16. Malevolence 17. Inclination 18. Selected as the best 19. Ego 20. Text of a song 22. Observance 24. Globe 26. Solitary 27. Leave the tracks 30. Type of footwear 35. A small drink 36. Garish 39. Life form before metamorphosis 40. Affirm 42. Single mast sailing vessel 44. Deep hollow sound 45. Relating to the vicinity 47. Allowed by official rules 49. Brim 50. Cultural 52. Antique 54. Zeal 57. Sense organ 58. Festival 62. Parable 66. Part of 57 Across 67. Decoration 69. State of extreme poverty 70. Not in active use 71. Saltwater 72. Mob 73. Feat 74. Large woody plant 75. Minature whirlpool 6. Tropical fruit 7. Unusual partner? 8. Goofs 9. Canine, but not a dog 10. Thread unit 11. Office missive 12. Cheese in red wax 13. Preferred outcome 21. Angry reaction 22. Dishwasher setting 25. Widow’s inheritance 26. Calendario part 27. Rumsfeld’s predecessor 28. Part of IBM (Abbr.) 29. Excalibur, e.g. 30. ‘’Fistful of Dollars’’ director Sergio 31. Aden is its largest city 33. Latvian capital 34. Employ 37. ‘’La Traviata’’ composer 38. Set up the tents 39. Farthest back 45. Give, as time 46. Wide shoe size 47. Physically delicate 48. Banks of the diamond 49. Word with coach or home 50. Fido’s bane 51. Potent front? 52. Carpet characteristic 53. Gen. Robt. --54. Patricia, who co-starred in ‘’Hud’’ 55. Tunnel fee 56. Paul’s singing partner SODOKU PUZZLE NO 220 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 219 Down 1. Landed 2. Plaster backing 3. Nobelist Wiesel 4. Down Under capital 5. Political refugee PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 320 Clue Answer Clue Answer Clue Answer CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 84 Flynn of "The Sea Hawk" ERROL Pageant host EMCEE ELIOT Ford model PINTO Part of IBM (Abbr.) INTL The "E" in literary monogram TSE SPOOL ELEE NEAL Thread unit Gen. Robert ___ Patricia who costarred in "Hud" Tropical fruit MANGO Paul's singing partner ART Tunnel fee TOLL Physically delicate FRAIL Underhanded SLY Pipe opening? TAIL Unusual partner? CRUEL Plaster backing LATH Use Novocain DEADEN Political refugee EMIGRE Wed MARRY Clue Answer Clue Answer "Aurora" painter Guido RENI Carpet characteristic PILE "Fistful of Dollars" director Sergio LEONE Cheese in red wax EDAM RCA Georgia of "Mary Tyler Moore" ENGEL "La Traviata" composer VERDI Co. with a Victrola logo FDA DEVOTE Goofs ERRS Accustom INURE Consumer's protective agcy Give, as time YEMEN OLEO Angry reaction IRE Director Howard RON Grayish-brown sea eagle ERNE Aden's land Dairy stick ALIT OMNI Wide shoe size EEE Anode-directed particle ION RINSE Landed Potent front? Dishwasher setting Widow's inheritance DOWER CANBERRA RIGA WIN Down Under capital Latvian capital Preferred outcome SEAL William with the bow TELL DECREE SMEW Prepare to mail Edict Merganser Banks of the diamond ERNIE Rumsfeld's predecessor Word for early morning hours WEE USE WEHAVEISTHEROOM COHEN PEDI Employ Middle of the quip Beginning of greed? Beret's center? ERE End of the quip Set up the tents ENCAMPED MOTOR Words before "about" EMEER Farthest back REARMOST MEMO RUNTS Bigwig in Istanbul (var.) Office missive Smallest of the litter ONOR SWORD ELIE LALA Excalibur, e.g Nobelist Wiesel Singing syllables Word with coach or home DEERE Muscat's former partner OMAN Big name in farm equipment FORIMPROVEMENT THEBIGGESTROOM Words between "put" ITIN and "writing" Calendario part ENERO FLEA OIL Start of a quip Fido's bane OPEC concern Opera's Gluck ALMA Canine, but not a dog EYETOOTH Writer Waugh ALEC PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Mercy Franciscan at St. John OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 981-5800 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, 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 Housing: 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 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource January 15-January 28, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: Don’t Vote for Anyone You Couldn’t Work Alongside in the Struggle Sr. Mary Grafe Died and Went Home to Her God Pg 3: Extraordinary Ordinary Life Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The Wayward Bus Pg 6: Joy Croy Continued Pg 7: Counting on Us Pg 8: Photo Series Pg 9: Photo Series Continued Pg 10: The B Word Pg 11: Political Reform Prospects for 2016 Pg 12: GCHC Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 15-January 18, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bonnie Neumeier Joy Croy Jim Luken Dr. Mark Mussman Bill Woods Ron English Jimmie Gipson Kim Green Willa D. Jones OTR Movement Archive Google Images Justin Jeffre Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Bonnie Neumeier Dr. Mark Mussman Google Images Jim Luken Jimmie Gipson Josh Spring Joy Croy Justin Jeffre Kim Green OTR Movement Archive Photography reform Ron English Sr. Mary Grafe Sweden Voting Willa D. Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/b294577b5ead7567f9551711402e41dd.pdf b68e3bfa4a9f5bd3bc31b4defd5cfc25 PDF Text Text January 29th - February 11th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 3 (No. 322) advocating justice | Building community “No person should have to live or die homeless” US street papers unite to cover National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day | 8-9 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE City Legislation Drafted to Protect Workers | 3 From the Director: One Year Ago... | 2 Stick with it! | 5 1789 Cincinnati Letter on American Settler - Indian Relations | 7 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 From the Director: One Year Ago... 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. JOSH SPRING Executive Director I t has been one year since Cincinnati became the third city in the country to enact homeless hate crimes legislation. This was a very important step forward for our local government to send the signal that crimes targeting people experiencing homelessness will not be tolerated and will hold extra criminal charges. It took 15 years of advocacy by the Homeless Coalition; advocacy to get these stories in the press; in city council chambers and in the minds of Cincinnatians. More importantly it took 15 years of individuals directly suffering these crimes. This is certainly the type of legislation we wish we did not need. We wish there was no homelessness and we wish that nobody would target another person because she or he is without a home. Ending homelessness requires the creation of affordable housing. The creation of affordable housing requires the attitudes many people, neighborhoods and politicians have about people experiencing homelessness to change. Enacting legislation that values the humanity of people who are often marginalized by people, Homeless Coalition with city leaders Photo: Jon Harmon 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 neighborhoods and politicians is a part of changing attitudes. We believe that both freedom from violence and access to quality, affordable housing are human rights. Last year at this time in Cincinnati, we took a step forward. We have so many more steps to go and they are all up-hill, but we can do it together. ------------------------ Remembering Martin Luther King Contributing Writer W Bill Woods Photo: Applied Information Resources cessful City Charter changes of 1924. A municipal election campaign was then in progress, and Charter was running a slate of six candidates. Cincinnati politics was complicated in 1963. Besides Charter, the Democrats and Republicans each ran a slate of nine candidates, and a group of reform Democrats led by John Gilligan ran three Council candidates. Charter at that time had only one member on Council, former Mayor and longtime reformer Charles P. 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 BILL WOODS e celebrated another Martin Luther King Day on January 18th. Although I have often walked in the traditional march downtown, I managed to conjure up some reasons beyond the cold weather to justify my not taking part in this year’s event. Possibly guilt due to this behavior caused me to think back to that time long ago when I first became aware of Dr. King. It was the summer of 1963. I had just graduated from college in June, and I was rather at loose ends. Later, when I saw Dustin Hoffman in the movie “The Graduate,” I could identify with his portrayal of a young man who felt: “What do I do with my life now?” In 1963, one was scooped up by the Draft once one left school for good. For that reason, I was enrolled to begin law school at the University of Cincinnati in September. For much of June and July, however, I suffered from a case of ennui. Then a lucky break landed me a temporary job working in the office of the City Charter Committee, the reform group that continued on after leading the suc- Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 Taft, and its goal was to win at least two more seats. My job was to work with Charter’s Executive Director Forest Frank to help garner news media coverage for our candidates. To be quite honest, Frank didn’t trust me with the three candidates who were potential winners, but he let me have free reign with the certain losers, the three sacrificial lambs on our slate who were running in order to increase Charter’s overall vote. The Charter Committee’s office was then in the Carew Tower. Forest Frank, its Director, was a former journalist with a gruff, take-no-prisoners demeanor. On several occasions he reduced a young intern to tears, but I somehow managed to stay on his good side. From the start, I loved the job, because I liked dabbling in journalism and reform politics. A word about Charter that summer will set the stage for describing my introduction to Martin Luther King. As a reform party that kept on reforming, Charter believed in diverse representation on City Council. Since its founding it defended Proportional Representation as the best method (Continued on page 5) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Mike Brown, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Lee McCoy, Steve Sunderland, Jimmie Gipson, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Jon Harmon, Western Regional Advocacy Project, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, 1894 book called “The Treaty of Greenville” 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 City Legislation Drafted to Protect Workers No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 MIKE BROWN Contributing Writer C ouncilman David Mann unveiled draft legislation to protect workers against wage theft and payroll fraud at a Thriving Cincinnati event on Jan. 15 hosted by the Woman’s City Club. The legislation would apply to all workers on a construction site where the developer receives more than $25,000 in incentives under an agreement with the City of Cincinnati. The developer would risk losing the incentives and could be barred from future city contracts if any contractor or subcontractor on the construction site is found to have committed wage theft or payroll fraud. People have to be treated fairly, said Mann, if our society is going to work. “We have too long a tradition in this country of building wealth on the backs of people who, at one time, weren’t paid at all and, more recently, aren’t paid what they should be paid.” The legislation not only promotes fairness and equity for workers, said Mann, but it also protects city income tax revenues which suffer when workers are not fully paid or when employers commit payroll fraud by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Independent contractors are often paid in cash with no tax withholding. Through its “Just Pay Cincy” campaign, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center has advocated for more than a year for city legislation to protect workers against wage theft. Peter Metz, Councilman Mann’s chief of staff, worked closely with Brennan Grayson, the center’s executive director, the city solicitor’s office, and the offices of development and economic inclusion to help create the draft. This is good legislation that deserves to be adopted, said Mann. Mayor John Cranley “has indicated his support.” Rolando Perez, a Guatemalan immigrant, also voiced his support. Perez, who was twice victimized by incidents of wage theft on construction jobs, spoke of the hardship on his family who is depending on him. “It’s not easy when they steal your wages because we live on the money I make each day.” The legislation, in Grayson’s view, encourages developers to set clear expectations among their contractors and subcontractors to follow the laws protecting workers. The Susan Noonan and Brennan Grayson present Photo: Harriet Kaufman, WCC. legislation helps create a culture of compliance in construction and empowers developers to monitor and fix problems or face consequences. The Woman’s City Club gave special recognition in absentia to Molly North, president and CEO of Al. Neyer, for squelching an instance of wage theft by one of the company’s subcontractors and for her resolve to prevent such abuses in the future. The workers center, a local nonprofit, advocates for low-wage and immigrant workers. Since it was founded in 2005, the workers center has helped workers recover more than $1 million in unpaid wages. Despire the center’s efforts, Grayson estimates that tens of millions of dollars in unpaid wages go unrecovered each year in Cincinnati. The workers center needs more tools like Mann’s legislation, said Grayson, because state and federal enforcement resources are not adequate to address the problem. The number of state wage and hour investigators has dropped from 14 to six due to budget cuts at the Department of Commerce, according to Grayson, who says the closest investigator is located in Montgomery County, and none of the investigators speaks Spanish. The number of federal investigators also has declined, and some smaller cases “do not get caught in the federal net.” Col Owens, a policy advocate for a living wage and a former LeRolando Perez, center, with Manuel Perez and Pam Dixon, translator. Photo: Mike Brown, C4AD. gal Aid attorney, spoke Vice Mayor Mann discusses his proposed wage enforcement legislation Photo: Harriet Kaufman, WCC. to what he called the “ultimate wage theft” -- that is, people working full time “at a legal wage that is below poverty and radically below what they need” to sustain their families. Inadequate wages that force reliance on public benefits is part of the “underbelly of our country that is weakening our social fabric,” said Owens. He made the case that increasing wages is in the best, long-term interests of corporations because it improves worker productivity but also supports consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the country’s economic activity. While the scope of Mann’s proposed legislation is limited to certain construction workers, Grayson hopes the city will consider using its authority to enforce existing laws protecting workers in all industries in the city. The Woman’s City Club, which has been active in Cincinnati for more than 100 years, “promotes civic literacy through open public forums and models the democratic process through courageous dialogue and debate,” according to its web site. The WCC created Thriving Cincinnati in 2015 to be a collaborative of nonprofits, funders, employers, residents, and policymakers addressing income inadequacy in Cincinnati. “It is imperative for the five sectors to work together to make any headway in decreasing poverty, increasing self-sufficiency, fighting wage theft, and fostering diversity and equity,” said Susan Noonan, WCC spokesperson. “We hope to make Thriving Cincinnati a transformative movement in this region.” ------------------------ Col Owens. Photo: Harriet Kaufman, WCC. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Stick with it! 5 LOCAL DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer T he feedback I most often get when working with High School or Middle School students is that I speak over their heads. We get into some pretty complex discussions around poverty, homelessness, healthcare, education, housing, organizing, and, in general, topics that I am passionate about. I try to simplify the messages, but reality is messy and detangling history while keeping contemporary issues in context is difficult. Students are often sheltered from hearing about heavy topics, so when we enter their school, they can be unprepared to hear about systematic oppression. I am working on ways to help clarify the message of the Homeless Coalition to help students grasp the important work that we do on a daily basis. I remember the first time a student used their hand, passed it above their head, gesturing to me that I was speaking over their heads. I was talking about the Affordable Care Act and how it was saving tax payers money because less people were using emergency rooms as primary care physicians. The Medicaid expansion in Ohio has also had a big impact on improving the health of individuals living in poverty or on a fixed income. While this was important for our discussion, it wasn’t something that middle school students can easily digest. This sparked my interest in making our message more streamlined, so I came up with… stickers! Well, to be honest, I first thought of making buttons. I had made buttons at the Public Library’s Makerspace before, and it’s easy and relatively inexpensive. I wanted to design buttons that aligned with the main ways that students can get involved: affordable housing, a living wage, and tenant’s rights. Since we don’t do many volunteer activities at the Coalition, I encourage students to seek out resources in these areas or to find opportunities with our member organizations, such as Tender Mercies (who do game nights and serve meals). I made buttons that have the Homeless Coalition’s logo, Beyond the Box, People First, Social Justice Leader, and Love Affordable Housing. After designing the buttons, I brought them to the Makerspace, along with a volunteer from Northern Kentucky University, and we used the button maker to make about 30 buttons. Each button means something different, but I tried to make them obvious; for instance, we say “put people first”, or use “personfirst language” when we talk about people experiencing homelessness. This is one way you can become an advocate. Beyond the Box takes a little more decoding – it is meant to encourage people to see people experiencing homelessness for more than just a stereotype. Humanizing those who are experiencing homelessness is a very important mission of ours because it is only through genuine human interaction that people will get into a stable housing situation. We were also able to print an outdoor-quality banner of the Homeless Coalition that we will be able to use at different events. I plan to use it when I have an information table or when we take photos with students. Usually, when I table events, I hang Stickers made at Makerspace Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) for insuring minority representation, and Theodore M. Berry, Charter’s African American candidate, had emerged as one of the top vote getters in municipal elections in the early 1950s. In fact, Berry’s success at the polls spawned a racist backlash that succeeded in abolishing this voting system in 1957 with a whispering campaign that claimed that a Negro would become Mayor unless PR was scrapped. Without PR, Ted Berry was defeated in the next election. Certainly part of Charter’s reform update of the 1960s included Civil Rights especially with regard to voting. Its top goal for the 1963 election was reelecting Ted Berry under the current at-large system. This priority meshed with the national Civil Rights movement that was picking up steam with the well planned March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In fact, five-hundred Cincinnatians including Ted Berry traveled to Washington, D.C. for that march and rally on August 28th. Local labor, religious, and Civil Rights leaders organized this large contingent that joined the 200,000 plus attendees at this Washington event. A number of people affiliated with Charter took part. On the 28th, I was in Charter’s headquarters when coverage of the Buttons made at the library Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman our T-shirts (you can purchase them at the Homeless Coalition) over the front of the table. Now we will be able to use the banner during photo ops. While I love the buttons, I realize that it’s not economically feasible to give everyone buttons. Sometimes, we talk to groups of 100 students or more at a time! I found out that you can print stickers at the Makerspace as well, so I took my designs, and added a couple more, to the Makerspace to print as stickers. I added an “I Love Streetvibes” sticker to the mix and printed out about 40 or 50 of each. Each sticker costs about 20% of the cost of a button, so they are more cost effective. I had a little trouble with the sticker printer, because it can cut the stickers out, but it wasn’t coming through the program. So, in the end, some had to be cut by hand. I took some stickers to the next Speaker’s Bureau and I felt that it transformed the students. We had a group of about 15 students from Mount Notre Dame High School who did a service-learning trip. I began my usual discussion, but this time, when I asked them questions, if they got it right, or at least tried, I gave them a sticker that had something to do with the topic. For example, when I asked them “What does advocacy mean?” I gave them a Homeless Coalition sticker. When I asked them “What percentage is considered affordable for housing?” I gave them an Affordable is 30% sticker. By the end, only 3 students didn’t have stickers, so I let them pick one. I feel that it created enthusiasm from students who had spent a long day doing physical service. It was also gratifying to see them putting them on their shirts right away. It was also a good test run to see what worked and what gaps there were in my sticker story. I realized that I didn’t have anything for housing first, raising the wage, tenant’s rights, or recognizing privilege. Beyond the Box speaks to stereotypes, but I think I may need something more explicit. I am really excited because I am meeting with an Art Academy of Cincinnati student who wants to help out with our educational program. I feel that this student may be able to add a new dimension to these stickers – as long as it is taken seriously and not as a quick project. I can’t wait to see what an art student can do with our ideas. I think the stickers will also be very useful when we have college students here for the Cincinnati Urban Experience, or even during Social Justice Walking Tours. It might be a good visual to have when we are roaming the neighborhood between service experiences or tours. I particularly like the “I Love Streetvibes” sticker because it is such a great resource for our community, and it will increase visibility during Streetvibes Shadowing Activities. We have one next week with high school students here in the Over-the-Rhine, so we’ll get to test it out! In the end, whether or not we have swag for students, it’s about giving them a message that they can understand and empowering them to find ways to get involved in the struggle for human dignity and rights. Our speakers provide heartfelt, in-depth, accounts of their struggles and successes, and knowing someone who has gone through so much to come out stronger, is a powerful way to get students motivated to learn more and do more about social justice. Wearing a sticker may be a small way to start a large conversation about our role in this society. March on Washington began on national television. Forest Frank had a TV going in his office, and he invited staff to come in and watch the rally and listen to the various speakers. It was the kind of event that galvanized our attention, but the speech by Martin Luther King is the memory that is still etched in my brain. Known as the “I have a dream” speech, Dr. King awed me with his uplifting words. He spoke with such sincerity and passion, and his sentences rolled down like poetry. It was one of those stop action moments when I was totally caught up in what this man was saying. After the completion of the speech, I knew without a doubt that I had been witness to something very memorable and important. In rehearing his speech on the news that evening or in later reruns, I never experienced any disappointment or feeling that my original impression was over blown. After such a moment, normal life goes on. That November Ted Berry was reelected to Cincinnati City Council, President Kennedy was assassinated, and I dropped out of law school. Nevertheless, words such as Dr. King’s become part of one’s experience. I like to think that remembering them from time to time can even help to bring out our better selves. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ ------------------------ �6 LOCAL My First (Winning) SuperBowl Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer “B eing in politics is like being in a football game. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important.” Eugene McCarthy, Democratic Presidential contender in 1968. Let me apologize. I usually write about politics and social issues. This is a sports story. Streetvibes seldom covers sports. The editor is a musician and a would-be politico. He hates sports. But—since this is actually a human interest story—Mr. Jeffre is permitting me one opportunity to write about the most important ASPECT in our lives as Americans: FOOTBALL. I’ll never forget it. 2001-02. I was a flatlander from Cincinnati, having moved east into the Patriot nation that summer. I don’t think it was even a nation back then, but it proudly claimed to be something bigger than a city or a state. They were the New England Patriots. I liked that. Since I was a new New Englander, I adopted the local team, or should I say that I got adopted by “the Pats.” I had tagged along with my wife, an Episcopal priest, as she took over a small parish in St. Johnsbury, located in the most remote corner of Vermont, known as “The Northeast Kingdom.” A freelance writer, I soon found a job at daily (very small) newspaper, the Caledonian Record. I was one of three full-time reporters. And, as I recall, there were three full-time sportswriters as well. Proving that even small-town America has its priorities right. All through the previous, turnof-the-millennium season, in which the Pats went 5-11, I remember these sports guys being totally down on first-year coach Bill Belichick. The reason: because...well, he was Belichick then, as he is now (on the big national stage): crotchety, poorly dressed, sometimes flippant with reporters, not an ass-kisser, the way so many coaches are. And, he was a loser that year, 11 times. Sports reporters draw many more readers when their local teams win. Beyond that, sports reporters like to be stroked. In the first game of the 2001 season, I rooted against the Patriots. My hometown team, the Bungles whupped up on the visiting boys from Beantown. But in the second game (just after September 11) against the hated NY Jets, golden boy QB Drew Bledsoe got hurt in the fourth quarter. Brady took over, but the Pats lost the game. So they were 0 and 2. The rest, as they say, is history. The third game against the Colts (2-0 at the time) ended in a resounding Patriot win (44-13) Brady threw for 168 yards. This game proved to be the first of 17 clashes between two soon-to-be iconic QBs, Tom Brady and Payton Manning. [In head-to-head meet-ups, Brady has won 11 times, although Payton is 2 and 0 against Tom in the playoffs since 2006]. By the time this issue of Streetvibes goes to press, we will know which of the two is going to Superbowl L. Anyway, I became a permanent Pat that year. Game after game, Brady was awesome. Bledsoe recovered from his injury, but “the job” remained in Brady’s hands. The boys from New England went 11-5, winning the AFC east. On January 19, cabin fever in Vermont got the best of me. I decided to go skiing across the river in New Hampshire instead of watching the Patriot’s divisional playoff game with the Oakland Raiders. It was snowing hard as I took to the slopes in the White Mountains. And it was snowing on Foxboro (Massachusetts) stadium as well. That game became known as the “Snow Bowl,” and also the “Tuck-rule” game. The “tuck rule,” instituted in 1999, saved Tom Brady from losing a crucial (Continued on page 11) We are proud to show you what your financial support has accomplished in 2015: Education and Outreach: 95 Speaking Engagements were held. Over 4,700 people learned what systematically causes homelessness and the hardships people experiencing it go through. Approximately 30 local schools and over 1000 students participated in our Citywide Shantytown 2015. Three groups of university students spent extended time with us in intense, hands on learning. Streetvibes: This year Streetvibes turned 20, making it one of the oldest street-papers in the world. Currently we have over 50 active Distributors. Our hard-working Distributors put out approximately 2000 papers every two weeks. Our Distributors also joined with local high school students and together created our sixth Day by Day Calendar. Advocacy and Organizing: After a year of organizing by the Coalition and legal work by Legal Aid and the City of Cincinnati, a judge ruled that due to the negligence of an out-of-town landlord, five affordable apartment buildings in our city have become a public nuisance. We spent 2015 organizing Residents, and collecting evidence of building violations; 1800 just last month. Thousands of people have had to endure crime, mold, collapsed ceilings and roof, constant leaks, windows that won’t close, electric that threatens fire, threats and intimidation from the owners, etc. Because of this decision, in January we go back before the judge asking that she appoint a third party company, answerable to the court, to receive all of the rent monies and put them back into improving the properties. After 14 years of advocacy, we became the 3rd city in the country to have Homeless Hate Crimes legislation. The Winter Shelter was open all of last winter and will be this winter as well. More than 800 people are expected to move through its doors. Coordination: We held well-attended monthly Membership Meetings. Our Membership has continued to increase. We are constantly trying to provide opportunity for our MemberOrganizations to be involved in our systematic work. We work hard to listen and act according to the needs of our Members; without them, we would not be a Coalition. After a decade of our advocacy and organizing, City Human Services Funding, which many of our Members receive, was finally increased. Additionally: We received and distributed mail for nearly 3,000 people without an address. “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 �LOCAL 1789 Cincinnati Letter on American Settler - Indian Relations 7 No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 MICHAEL EARL PATTON- I had to live here for over 20 years before I began to realize that much of the early history of the white settlers in Cincinnati was glossed over. Specifically, what about the Indians who were already here? I have written some about this early history of Cincinnati before. What follows below is an extract from a long letter by John Cleves Symmes, dated May 18, 19, & 20, 1789. This letter, which was printed in Charles Cist’s 1841 book on Cincinnati was one of the earliest threads I found on the missing material. Interestingly, Mr. Cist says that although he has gathered a great quantity of historical material, that it was too much for his small book so he printed only a few portions. I would love to see what he omitted. A few notes: John Cleves Symmes had a promise from Congress to sell him much of the land which later became Cincinnati. Before he had clear title he was reselling the land and encouraging the settlers to come. Of course, many of the Indians disagreed that Congress had the power to sell their land at all – only some of the tribes had agreed to this. Nonetheless, the first white settlers arrived in late 1788 by present-day Lunken airport. They called their settlement Columbia. Mr. Cleves thought an area further west would be better and he settled there, calling his settlement Northbend (North Bend). In between was Losantiville, which was quickly renamed Cincinnati. “ … Captain Blackbird – for so the chief was called – assured me, that I need be under no apprehensions of mischief from the Shawanese nation. He even asked me permission, to come down with his tribe and settle on a prairie or plain in the purchase, about thirty miles from this place up the Great Miami which I assented to. “After they had sold to me all their furs and skins, which were several hundred, and almost stripped me of all the linen and cloth that I had brought out for the use of the surveyors and my workmen, which almost ruined me as to those articles, so much were wanted, and having lived at my expense (nor was it a very small one, as they had whiskey at their pleasure gratis,) for about four weeks, they took leave in a most friendly manner, promising to return to Northbend again by the third new moon, which is already some days past. “Those Indians which had continued in the neighborhood of Columbia all this while, moved off about the same time; not without being somewhat offended by the treatment they met with from the traders who came down the Ohio with whiskey and some other articles. They had sold the Indians whiskey that had frozen in the cask, before they reached their camp; they made an Indian pay for a rifle gun thirty, the Indians say forty, buck-skins, which they value at one dollar each, besides a horse of fifteen pounds price. A worthless gunsmith, who undertook to put a new chop – worth one and six pence – for the flint, to the cock of an Indian’s rifle, made the Indian Contributing Writer leave two bucks for the work, before he would undertake it; another Indian calling for the gun, was forced to pay two bucks more before the smith would give up the gun. “This ill usage the Indians complained of very much to me; the consequence was, that in a short time after the Indians left Columbia, several of the horses were stolen from that place; and it was not long before another attempt was made on their horses, and some more carried off; again, a third time, horses were stolen from Columbia, when a party under the command of lieutenant Bailey went in pursuit of the horses. They followed the trail of the horses about eighty miles, and came up with fresh signs of Indians being very near. Mr. Flinn went forward in order to reconnoiter and make discoveries. He soon espied an Indian camp, as he thought, and creeping out softly to inform himself more particularly, he did not perceive three Indians that were as softly creeping behind him, until one of them clapped him on the shoulder, crying out, yo ho! Yo ho! Flinn looking around, not a little dismayed to see himself a prisoner, yielded without resistance. “They led him to their camp, the Indians settling their guns, together with Flinn’s beside a tree. No interpreter being present, they could not converse together. They had not stood long at the Indian camp, before Mr. Flinn observed one of them go to get some tugs – so they called straps made of hide – and supposing they intended to bind him therewith, conscious of his own agility, he sprang from them and made his escape; they did not fire at him. Returning to his party, with whom, seizing five horses belonging to the Indians, they made precipitately for Columbia, and came in safe with only the loss of Flinn’s gun. “They had not been long at Columbia, before the same party of Indians (Wyandots) came there with their squaws, bringing Flinn’s gun, and requested of Mr. Stites the horses which had been taken from them by lieutenant Bailey and party; assuring Mr. Stites, that they were innocent of the robbery of those horses previously taken from Columbia. Several of the Indians were of those who had been formerly at Columbia. The matter was soon compromised, and the horses restored. One of those Indians, a Wyandot chief, demanded of Mr. Stites twenty dollars, which colonel Morgan, on this way to Mississipi, had promised should be paid to him, for his trouble in carrying letters from Little Miami to Muskingum and Sandusky. He promised the Indian forty dollars; but a Mr. Magee at Sandusky had paid him twenty, and he now came down to Miami for the other twenty. “Mr. Stites brought the Wyandot chief to me, on the 30th of April. I endeavored to show him, that for what colonel Morgan had promised him I was not accountable. I gave him a new calico shirt, telling him, by the interpreter, that as he had worn out his shirt in colonel Morgan’s service, I would replace it with a new one. He seemed dissatisfied that he was not likely to get this twenty dollars, and could not otherwise be made sensible, but that what one white owed an Indian, every white man was bound to pay until the debt was discharged. I informed him that I could not part with money; he replied that he would take the value thereof in whiskey, which I agreed to give him whenever he might call for the same. He had left his horses at Columbia, and came down by water with Mr. Stites. On his return to that place, they freighted their horses with whiskey, and set on for their towns, leaving behind the whiskey I told him I would pay for colonel Morgan: since which I have not heard one syllable from them. “About three weeks previous to this transaction, as several parties of surveyors were surveying in the neighborhood of Mad river, Mr. John Mills, with his party, as they were rising out of their camp early one morning, were fired upon by a party of Indians, three or four in number; two men, Mr. Holman, of Kentucky, and Mr. Wells, of Delaware state, were killed; Mr. Mills, with three others, escaped unhurt. This is the only instance wherein violence has been done by the Indians to any man in the purchase, since the death of Mr. Filson, in September last. It remains yet unknown to us, of what tribe they were who fired on Mr. Mills. The Indians who came in after the tragedy, pretended to be entirely innocent and ignorant of the murders. Some of the settlers at Columbia, were for detaining a few of the Indians, until the rest would bring in the offenders: but I thought this measure not warrantable and forbade it. “Our living hitherto in the friendly manner we have with the Indians, has excited the jealousy and ill will of many of our neighbors on the Kentucky side of the Ohio, and some even threaten to cross the river, and put every Indian to death which they find on the Miami purchase: this, however, I believe is only a threat, and will not be executed. I am very sorry, that the people of Kentucky cannot enjoy equal peace and quiet from the savages; perhaps if they would act as moderately towards them, they might live in as much safety as the people of this purchase.” Postscript: This situation did not last. About the first of June of 1789, shortly after this letter was written, Major Doughty arrived with 140 men to construct Fort Washington. The purpose was to back up the claim of the United States to this part of the country with military force. On December 29, General Harmar arrived with 300 men and took possession of it. In 1790, the peaceful relations with the Indians were definitely at an end as “fifteen or twenty” of the inhabitants of Cincinnati were killed by Indians during the course of the year. Attacks in 1790 and 1791 became so strong that even abandoning the settlement was considered. There is much more to the background and situation with the Indians in Ohio. Some of this was covered in “The Cincinnati Frontier” set of articles published earlier in Streetvibes. One further note, and an observation on events today. The young United States often took the position that it was good enough to get agreement from some of the tribes to a treaty, but not necessarily all the tribes, or even the most powerful one. Interestingly, Mr. Symmes makes a similar comment about the Indians when he says that they thought that “…what one white owed an Indian, every white man was bound to pay until the debt was discharged.” Today I often hear something along the lines that all Muslims are somehow responsible for the crimes of those who practice violence in the name of Islam, even though the Koran is quite clearly against this and most Muslims speak out against the violence. Sometimes when I look at our country’s recent mistakes in Iraq – where we pretended that the corrupt Baghdad government spoke for all Iraqis – I wonder how much we have learned. ------------------------ Image: 1894 book called “The Treaty of Greenville THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �8 WORLD “No person should have to live or die homeless” - US street papers unite to cover National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 ETHAN COHEN, ONE STEP AWAY; COLLEEN COSGRIFF, DOTTIE KRAMER AND REGINALD BLACK, STREET SENSE; ALEX RAMIREZ, SPARE CHANGE NEWS www.INSP.ngo / Street Sense Just days before Christmas, thousands of people across the U.S. gathered to remember the homeless and formerly-homeless people who died in 2015. INSP members were on the ground to cover these moving memorials and amplify their message that no one should have to live or die homeless. Since 1990, the National Coalition for the Homeless has encouraged communities to host public events on or near 21 December - the longest night of the year - to mark National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day. Every community does so in its own way. Some hold vigils, some organise candle-lit processions, and others even put on open mic performances of stories, poetry and songs. Each memorial event shares a common sentiment, which is to honour and celebrate lives lost, and to call for an end to homelessness. It is a particularly poignant and moving time for street paper staff and homeless or formerly homeless street paper vendors, many of whom attended memorial services and vigils across the U.S. The street paper Denver Voice reported 132 dead in Denver, Colorado - with an additional 30 names memorialised that had not been recognized at the 2014 service. One Step Away reported 168 lives lost while homeless in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Street Sense reported 42 dead in Washington, D.C. - with an additional 11 in neighbouring Northern Virginia. Real Change reported 60 dead in Seattle, Washington. The Journey reported 55 dead in Fort Worth, Texas. At Philadelphia’s memorial, held on 17 December, volunteers from the community read aloud the names of those who had passed away, while audience members stood up, holding signs bearing the names of the deceased. “I think the best way to honour those who we have lost is to take the dignity that we afford the people who echoed that sentiment. “The best way to honour someone who has passed from homelessness is to see another person who is in need and help them live. In small ways or large ways, help someone else live,” he said. In Boston, the memorial service held on 21 December marked the first The same names were labelled on packaged blankets piled beneath the altar and lined up along the pews. There were 125 names in total. Diamond O’Connell, who was homeless for 20 years, knew 75 of those people - including her best friend, Risa Latinville. “[She was] fun-loving, wild. Everyone mentioned tonight I shared a part of my life with… we ended calling each other brother and sister.” O’Connell remembers huddling out in the streets for warmth, sharing meals, laughing, and getting hot chocolate with many of them. After the service, she pointed to a small vial on her necklace in which she carries some of Latinville’s ashes. “Every night she can have a home,” she says. Homeless Memorial Day in Washington D.C. on December 17, 2015. Photo: Alexandra Pamias passed this year tonight and apply that dignity to a lot of the folks who are still out there and are overlooked,” said Patrick McNeil, a case manager in Philadelphia. One Step Away vendor Jeff Rev. Laura Shatzer (second from the right) leads several other Faith Leaders in the final prayer over the candles that were lit in the name of the deceased homeless people after the 26th Annual Interfaith Homeless Memorial Service at Church on the Hill in Boston, MA on December 21, 2015. Photo: Alena Kuzub time in 26 years that last names were included, rather than simply a last initial. A flute solo played while a list of all the full names available was read aloud. A candle was lit for each one, covering the small altar of Church on the Hill in light. O’Connell gained housing last year, but still has friends on the streets. “75 people… and only one lives… What’s wrong? Who failed them? Every day I cry, because they deserved to have a warm home like I do,” she added. “If it wasn’t for each and every Homeless Memorial Day in Washington D.C. on December 17, 2015. Photo: Alexandra Pamias THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 9 WORLD Homeless Memorial Day in Washington D.C. on December 17, 2015. Photo: Matailong Du one of my friends whose names are on the blankets, I wouldn’t be where I am today. If they didn’t help me, hold me, and love me. And I’m never gonna forget ‘em.” In the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., a vigil began at Luther Place Memorial Church to honour 42 men and women who passed away in 2015. Each person’s name had been written on posters carried by participants, along with electric candles. Street Sense vendor Ken Martin gave his first-hand account of homelessness. Martin suffered two heart attacks in one week. He was returned to the street immediately after his first heart surgery. “I could have been number 56,” Martin said, referencing the 55 people who were honoured at the 2014 vigil. He went on to reminisce about how he watched a homeless woman seize up, after her complaints of headaches and blurred vision. He lamented the fact that he did not know the woman’s fate and if she was one those they were commemorating that night. “If I break the law, I am guaranteed a safe place to lay my head, a warm place to sleep, and three meals a day, but when someone does everything right, they get nothing,” said Street Sense’s Executive Director, Brian Carome. He talked about remembering Roberta Bear, a Street Sense vendor who had experienced homelessness, but died housed in 2015. He expressed frustration with attending the Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day each year; an event he believes has been needed for “far too long”. After the vigil, organised by the People for Fairness Coalition, homeless advocates marched to Freedom Plaza and City Hall, where overnight protests took place. They called on better provisions for housing as a way to save lives and emphasized the message that “housing is a human right.” “In a city that has declared itself to be a ‘human rights city,’ there are still unfortunate lost lives of people that are facing or currently experiencing housing instability,” vendor Reginald Black later wrote in a report for Street Sense. “The deaths of 42 people in the District of Columbia that have died without the dignity of a home sends a loud message to the community at large. The challenge is to produce housing in the community that those who are living in poverty can access, barrier-free. “Washington is a changing city and nights like this remind us that there are less fortunate people out there, as well as people who care.” Another Street Sense vendor, Angie Whitehurst, read an original poem ‘Wake up Dead’ at their open mic event. Her poem expressed the feelings of hopelessness and abandonment she faced when she was homeless: “Woke up dead, from exposure and death/Cold and ill from no housea home or a place to heal./The cost too high for my town to meet/Now, I am not here for you to touch and see.” As is tradition, most services ended with a call to end homelessness - one that is simple and sobering: “Homelessness is an intolerable condition. It is degrading to persons who experience homelessness and a disgrace that our society permits homelessness. “No person should have to live or die homeless.” INSP street papers are one of many organisations working to change this injustice by helping homeless and formerly homeless people help lift themselves out of poverty by offering meaningful employment and support. You can find out more about the work they do at www.INSP.ngo Rabbi Victor Reinstein (Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue) delivers a jewish prayer during the 26th Annual Interfaith Homeless Memorial Service at the Church on the Hill in Boston, MA on December 21, 2015. Credit: Alena Kuzub THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �10 STREET VOICE Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 The B Word What are you saying when you call someone a “bum”? All too often when we discuss the phenomena of homeslessness, we use words like “bum,” “hobo,” or “vagrant” to describe people. But what are we really saying when we label people with those words? REMEMBER: PUT PEOPLE FIRST *Always use “people-first” language when discussing the issue of homelessness. It is a misconception that those who “People experiencing experience homelessness do so out of homelessness” choice; many work long hours. Homelessness is a multi-layered issue. When we dismiss people who live in extreme poverty as being NOT lazy or deserving of their situation we are actively contributing to the problem. “Homeless people” Learn toBugaboo change your language. Learn how to make a difference. LEE MCCOY Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor 2 015 hasn’t been the greatest year of my life. I am so grateful that the Lord has seen fit for me to live this long. If I live until April 30th I’ll be 64 years young. And all the glory has to go to him. The good and the bad. I truly believe you have to go through the bad to get to the other side. I have been homeless since 2010, no fault of my own. I was living in Mt. Auburn. I moved there in 2008. I was the happiest camper in Cincinnati, but like anything, things happen. All of the sudden Christ Hospital wanted to expand and asked the nearby landlords to either evict or relocate and they (Christ Hospital) would buy the property. Well $200.50 in relocation money is not enough to do anything with so I have been homeless since 2010. I have slept on the Court House steps, Music Hall steps, in empty buildings and in empty cars. You name it, I’ve probably been there. This is nothing I am proud of, but one thing is for sure. You can say Lee McCoy is a survivor. Some nights I almost froze my tail off. But like I said, by the grace of God in 2015 God put me in an apartment. I slept on the floor for the first two weeks, good thing I had a carpet in my living room. Things are coming along slowly, but I am not worried about that. All things come in time. But I keep on thinking about 2015. Some of you know the issues I have been going through. First a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy has arrested me for selling Streetvibes. And they even made up charges like jaywalking and criminal trespassing. And I was on city property with 100 people around me, but I am the only one that they have charged. Can you imagine that? I can. I have been in front of a judge three times and three times the judge be looking at the police or the Hamilton County sheriffs like, ‘No you didn’t bring this shit in my court room.’ Three times charges were dismissed in the same year. The Cincinnati Police have taken me to court for selling papers too close to ATM machine. Did they measure the distance? No. The city law says I have to be at least 20 feet away and I can understand that law. The second time the police officer told me I had to be 100 feet away. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or bad thing when another cop came up, and he told him, “No it’s 20 feet.” But guess what, he cited me to court anyway. The third time police just stopped in the middle of traffic like I had committed a crime. “You have to be 100 feet away. Why don’t you go somewhere else,” he said. I told him as long as I am 20 feet away I can sell papers here. I guess he thought I was being a smart ass, so here comes those bracelets when he could have easily written me a ticket. All the crime that is happening in Cincinnati. Why me? I mean if this was 20 or 25 years I probably would have been doing something illegal. But how can you tell me the people up here on Vine Street didn’t come down here to buy a paper. I could show him in one year 6,600 people would have told him he was wrong. Bugaboo, Bugaboo, Bugaboo. To learn more about the lack of affordable housing and the inadequacy of services that force people into homelessness, contact the Homeless Coalition at (513) 421- 2701 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �LOCAL No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Cancer Justice in Cincinnati: What Needs To Be Done STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer “Social injustice is killing on a grand scale.”--M. Marmot, M.D. (2015). The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World. Bloomsbury. “The secret of quality is love.” A. Donabedian (R. Wachter (1/16/16). How Measurement Fails Doctors and Teachers. NY Times.) 1. Definition: Cancer justice could exist in Cincinnati. Here are some of the steps to reaching this goal. Were Cancer Justice alive and well then a person who is diagnosed with cancer would normally expect the following: A. A friendly, helpful, and efficient process of moving from diagnosis to treatment. Cancer treatment with justice recognizes that a person is frightened and ignorant of a lot of the cancer process and that this is normal. The health system that works with people with cancer expects people to go through emotional difficulties in facing the uncertainties of cancer. Built into a just cancer system is a helpfulness in answering basic questions, as well as a supportive set of procedures to entering into the world of cancer treatment. ACTION: A TELEPHONE SERVICE THAT ANSWERS ALL CANCER QUESTIONS ON A 24/7 BASIS. B. A patient navigator. It is normal to ask for help with basic questions, to get second opinions, and to seek support with obstacles of transportation, finances, and emotional challenges. Lay patient navigators serve a crucial role in guiding new patients to places where questions can best be answered in ways that the patient can understand and use in decision making. Most important, the patient navigator helps the patient get a timely screening to determine if cancer is present. JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 6) (seeming) fumble during a fourth quarter drive. The ski resort had an outdoor bar with its own TV. I remember skiing up to the bar, and sipping a beer as that memorable game was winding down. In the closing minutes the “tuck rule” was invoked. Brady then passed to bring the ball within field goal range. Adam Vinatieri kicked the tying field goal through a white-out of snow. Some considered that kick almost miraculous. Then, in overtime: more snow, and the winning field goal. The Pats went on to beat Pittsburg in the AFC championship game, and were scheduled to take on the World Champion St. Louis Rams [Should we refer to them as the LA Rams once again?] in SB XXXVI, the first Super Bowl that “my home town regional team” would go on to win. My wife and I had rented a huge old farm house up on a mountainside in one of Vermont’s smallest towns. ACTION: 12 LAY PATIENT NAVIGATORS PLACED AT CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY HEALTH CLINICS. C. A race and class free set of relationships. People with cancer should normally expect the best treatment irrespective of racial and economic conditions. In a just cancer treatment process the statistics about mortality for minorities, poor people and women should be similar to white, male, and affluent people with cancer. ACTION: A COMMISSION ON RACE AND CANCER TO MONITOR ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR MINORITIES, POOR PEOPLE, AND WOMEN. D. Clarity about which cancer doctors, hospitals, and methods work best. Cancer justice recognizes that cancer is a name for many kinds of diseases. With information about how successful doctors and hospitals are with certain kinds of cancer, a person can expect to enter these systems with the normal expectation that the doctors and hospitals will be as successful as their reputations indicate. G. A relationship with doctors and hospitals that is a true partnership. Cancer patients in a just cancer process are fully aware of the results of tests, informed about orthodox and alternative approaches to treatment, and engaged in a true process of patient discussion of benefits and dangers of any treatment. Patients are encouraged to be learners about the kind of cancer they have and the successful treatments that have occurred for other patients. ACTION: A COMMISSION MADE UP OF CANCER PATIENTS AND DOCTORS TO RECOMMEND CROSS CULTURAL SKILLS FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. H. A strong relationship with the American Cancer Society. In a just cancer system, information from the ACS is readily available, in multiple languages, and aimed at a lay person who has important questions. People with cancer are made aware of the ACS at the very beginning of their process. ACTION: AN EXPLANATION OF DRUG COSTS RELATED TO CANCER AND EFFECTIVENESS OF DRUGS TO BE PUBLISHED IN STREETVIBES. ACTION: IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL STAFF AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS, EMAILS, AND MATERIALS OF AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY TO BE PUBLISHED IN STREETVIBES. 2. Cancer Justice is an Economic Boom for Cincinnati: Saving people with cancer from dying as a result of injustices would directly increase the economic well-being of Cincinnati. Unjust systems have “unnecessary deaths.” Because of untimely diagnosis, or poor treatments, or prejudiced attitudes of healthcare professionals, or the lack of lay patient navigators, groups of people die earlier than is expected. In Cincinnati there is a 20 year life expectancy difference based on the “place” a person lives. Connected to zip code is faulty cancer treatment. Millions of dollars are being lost as people die unnecessarily as well as serious disruption of families, lost work opportunities, and the reduction of the economic power of minorities and women. Early and unnecessary cancer injustice increases poverty of individuals and families as well as removes groups Our TV’s rabbit ears picked up a PBS and an ABC station. Neither were the channel I needed in order to watch the big game. I scouted around “St. J” for a bar that would carry the Superbowl. Every bar in town...CLOSED on Sundays, including that day, which resulted in perhaps the most important Patriot win in the team’s history. I never could figure why nobody stayed open for the game. Finally, I located a sensible bar in Lyndonville, VT, 7 miles west of the bigger town. I talked a friend into meeting me there. As we walked into this hardscrabble, rambling drinkery, we saw the sign: “Superbowl cover charge—$10.” Although a bit angry—if not insulted— we felt we had no choice. So we anted up. A snack table had been set out with various unexciting salty snacks and dips. “For this, they’re charging $10,” my friend groused. We bought a couple beers at the bar and sat down in a loungy area to watch some of the endless preliminaries. Finally the teams took the field. For the first time ever (apparently) the Pats chose to be introduced as a team, rather than as starting individuals. Then, at the moment of the opening kickoff, as if on cue, one of the waitresses approached our table and asked if we needed drinks. We stared up at her incredulously. She was exquisitely topless. One of us mumbled something stupid, like, “We’re OK for the moment...um, Ma’am...but please come back.” I looked around the saloon. Six other waitresses were equally topless. As she walked away, I said to my friend, “I guess that explains the cover charge.” No more whining from the two of us. The topless server, or one of them, did come back, often of course. When the second half began she returned to our table, now topless AND bottomless...as were all her co-workers. Quite a sight. My friend and I—both aging married men—did our best to focus on the game. And a great game it was for this newly-minted Pats fan. As many in New England will recall, the Rams came back from a two touchdown deficit to tie the game in the closing minutes. Then Tom Terrific marched the boys down the field, and Vinatieri kicked the game-ending field goal in the final second. ACTION: A COMMUNITY LIST PREPARED FOR ANNUAL REVIEW THAT LISTS BEST HOSPITALS FOR CANCER TREATMENT BY OUTCOMES AND PUBLISHED IN STREETVIBES. F. Treatments and drugs that are directed to the personal patient’s cancer. A just cancer system is highly personal and accepts that certain procedures, drugs, treatments may be carefully tailored to the person’s unique experience of cancer. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 11 of people from improving the quality of their lives. So many industries are tied to a “just cancer” process but are unaware of the connections of poor health to reduced economic success. Researchers have estimated that economic losses from cancer in 2003 equaled $89 billion dollars in the U.S. (E. Budish, B. Roin, and H. Williams (2015). Do Firms Underinvest in Long-Term Research? Evidence from Cancer Clinical Trials. American Economic Review, 105(7), 2049, 2080.) 3. Cancer Justice is a Spiritual Strength for Cincinnati: A city that prizes justice in health care, is a city that attracts and retains people who know that this is a compassionate environment. Having a strong cancer hospital or hospitals is a magnet for individuals and families that believe that the community is interested enough in the health of all. Looking at Cincinnati from a health statistic perspective from the viewpoint of children in poverty, or from mortality for different groups, casts a gloom over Cincinnati’s future, a belief in hopelessness for too many citizens. The lack of clarity about which hospitals are strong in what areas of cancers deepens the despair. Researchers on hospital rankings have found that 1600 medical centers claim to be in the “top 100” best hospital list. (R. Wachter (1/16/16). How Measurement Fails Doctors and Teachers. NY Times.) 4. What Can Be Done to Create Cancer Justice in Cincinnati? Plans are underway to put together a network of social agencies, health clinics, and hospitals that can provide cancer justice. What would it be like to consider every social agency in Cincinnati a site for cancer justice? Or, every school or college a place where cancer information and ties to patient navigation can occur? In order to create cancer justice a different way of thinking and a different action must occur in Cincinnati. We cannot wait for a federal “moonshot” to bring cancer justice. Justice can be a local issue with local projects to make a difference in screening and treating cancer. -----------------------With this ecstatic conclusion to the season, the flat-lander reporter had been completely won over...by the plucky team, by the irascible coach, by the (almost) unflappable quarterback. A footnote: the two of us old coots may have been among only a handful of fans at that bar who paid much attention to the game. During those closing quarters, we could hear behind us a lot of wild yelling and carrying-on. Occasionally we turned to check it out. Ongoing lap dances were taking place in various niches around the large room, each one with a small, noisy audience circling it. Some may find such people shocking. Fun lovin’ Vermonters is how I remember them. How the bar got away with it, I’ll never know. Oh, and the sports guys at the newspaper? They were pretty content with Coach Belichick after that. Proving once again that nothing succeeds like success. I’ve told this story many times since then. No one has ever questioned why I so vividly recall “my first Patriot Superbowl.” ------------------------ �12 Caracole Caracole.org - Resident Assistant Center for Chemical Addiction Treatment catsober.org - Nurse PT-3rd Shift Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Family Service Worker - Teacher - Assistant teachers - Special Needs Assistant - Cook Cincinnati VA Medical Center- Community Outreach Division vacareers.va.gov - Registered Nurse HUD-VASH Case Manager Hamilton County Public Health hamiltoncountyhealth. LOCAL Now Hiring org - Water Quality Technician 1 - Medical Receptionist - Health Educator - Sanitarian 1/11 - Nurse Program Manager Hamilton County Planning and Development hamiltoncountyohio. gov - Masters Plan Examiner Imani Family Center imanifamilycenter.org *Volunteer based - Freelance Photographers, Filmmakers and Documentarians League of Women Voters lwvcincinnati.org - Part Time Office Manager Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - Client Service Specialist - Paralegal- Co guardian- Ad Litem - Staff Attorney Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org *Multiple openings including: - Case Managers - Therapists/Counselor - Wrap around Service Aids - Registered Nurse - Residential Manager - Service Coordinator - Street Outreach - Intervention Specialist - Intervention Specialist - Youth Worker Shelter House shelterhousecinti.org - Cook - Shelter Director - Resident Aid - Facilities Maintenance - Service Assignment Specialist St. Vincent DePaul svdpcincinnati.org - Communications Coordinator - Conference Manager - Thrift Store Employees UpSpring upspring.org -Director of Development *Below are positions for the 2016 Summer Program - Class Intern - Office Manager - Volunteer Manager - Instructional Assistant Volunteers of American of Greater Ohio voago.org - Resident Monitor 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 �No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 13 STREET VOICE THE IOWA CAUCUS - THE GOP The Iowa Caucus is about to get raucous, And who will those Hawkeyes choose? Polls give a bump to “The Donald” Trump, But evangelicals feel right with Ted Cruz. THE IOWA CAUCUS - THE DEMS Will she prove a charmer to the Iowa farmer, Or will Hillary’s poll numbers steadily wane? Meanwhile underdog Bernie’s unlikely journey Is shaping into a possible upset campaign. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Dreams We all have dreams, they’re gifts and things we want to happen and become. They’re precious to us. We cherish, hope and wish to be that miracle we pursue and obtain. It means so much to us. We focus all the energy we can to make them come true and become reality. It’s in our mind, our heart and our soul. And we do and wish everything we can to make it come true. For that which we live for, to make our dreams come true. We work hard to make them a success that becomes miraculous. Yes the dream we make happen, it’s so rewarding and joyful, that we have dreams that we accomplished and made. The Struggle WHAT WAS ALL OF THE FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REALLY FOR? WHY STURGGLE FOR RIGHTS WHEN HALF OF THE WORLD IS WRONG? NOW THAT’S AN EYE SORE! WHAT ARE THE MARCHERS SAYING OR WHAT’S THE BOYCOTS ALL ABOUT? WHY DO THE PEOPLE STILL CRY FOR “JESUS TO HELP”? FOR IN GOD PEOPLE KNOW THERE’S NO DOUBT WHAT DOES BEING HOMELESS HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THESE DILIMAS? WHY THE HOMELESS GET BEAT WHILE THE WRONG GO FREE JUST TO BE LATER CALLED A KILLER? TODAY WE AS A PEOPLE STILL HAVE CONTROL OF ALL OUR CHOICES AND DECISIONS SO TODAY LET’S NOT FORGET THE PAST, THE MARCHES, THE BOYCOTTS OR WE’LL BE IN A COLLISION COLLISON COURSE WITH THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY AND THE BLACK AND WHITE SYNDROME COLLISION COURSE OF WHO CAN DO BETTER OR WHY SHOULD I HELP THE PEROSN WHO’S ALL ALONE WE MUST NEVER FORGET WE ALL LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME SO WE MUST LIVE JUST FOR TODAY WE NEED NEVER FORGET NO MATTER HOW WE LIVE IN THIS LIFE, WE ALL WILL DIE ANYWAY! SO SINCE WE ALL HAVE THAT SAME COMMON GROUD WHICH IS SIX FEET DEEP FORGIVE THE PAST AND RECOGNIZE THAT OUR FUTURE WITH GOD’S BLESSING IS WHAT WE NEED!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer The Zen of Streetvibes “So keep dreaming dreamer, and remember dreams do come true!” JIMMIE GIPSON Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Orange Barrels Orange Barrels, Orange Barrels They’re everywhere Each day the construction workers are there Putting up the construction signs Placing Orange Barrels all around From block to block, from street to street Construction work is on the streets So just sit down and take a seat Orange Barrels are what you’re gonna see KIM GREEN Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 91 Across 1. The most outstanding or excellent 5. Fastener 10. Rib section of veal or pork 14. Report or maintain 15. Large artery 16. Eagerness 17. Rescue 18. Sound of a sheep 19. Painful 20. Paragon 22. Den 23. Concentrate 24. Detection device 26. Inform 28. Drama set to music 31. Hard-shelled seed 32. Fish-eating diving bird 35. Birdcall 37. Whiskers 41. Possess 42. Height 44. Twenty-four hours 45. Harvest 47. Ascend 48. Catch with a lasso 49. Owed 51. Pursue 53. Bushy 56. Test for acid or alkali 60. Fake 61. Artifice 64. Copy of a movie on film 65. Molten rock 66. Enthusiastic approval 68. Not in favor of 69. Kitchen appliance 70. Frighten 71. Metal money 72. Moved away 73. Fur of the marten 74. Long and difficult trip Down 1. Foundation 2. Elude 3. Square root of forty-nine 4. Subversiveness 5. Taxi 6. Be lazy or idle 7. Length by width 8. Tarnish 9. A regular customer 10. Reprieve 11. Remote in manner 12. Transport 13. Leg joint 21. Cut off 25. Remainder 27. Hollow cylindrical shape 29. Bellow 30. Caper 32. Captain’s journal 33. Nocturnal bird 34. Single 36. Sudden rapid flow 38. Fuss 39. Blame 40. Used for staining 42. Cosy 43. Actual 46. Intransigent 48. Recant 50. Emerge 52. Small drink 53. Cut closely 54. Shelter 55. Evergreen plant 57. Not of legal age 58. Unfasten 59. Stench 60. Decelerate 62. Block 63. British peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount 67. Golf peg SODOKU PUZZLE NO 221 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 321 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 90 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 220 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 321 | Ja n 1 5 - Ja n 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Mercy Franciscan at St. John OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 981-5800 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, 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 Housing: 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 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Jan 15 - Jan 28 , 2016 | No. 321 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource January 29-February 11, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Remembering Martin Luther King Pg 3: City Legislation Drafted to Protect Workers Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Stick with It! Pg 6: My First (Winning) Superbowl Pg 7: 1789 Cincinnati Letter on American Settler Pg 8: “No Person Should Have to Live or Die Homeless” Pg 9: “No Person Should Have to Live or Die Homeless” Continued Pg 10: The B Word Pg 11: Caner Justice in Cincinnati Pg 12: GCHC Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 29-February 11, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Mike Brown Dr. Mark Mussman Jim Luken Michael Earl Patton Lee McCoy Steve Sunderland Jimmie Gipson Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Jon Harmon Western Regional Advocacy Project 1894 book called “The Treaty of Greenville” Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cancer Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Homelessness Jim Luken Jimmie Gipson Jon Harmon Josh Spring Justice Kim Green Lee McCoy Martin Luther King Jr. Michael Earl Patton Mike Brown National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day Native Americans Steve Sunderland street papers Superbowl Western regional Advocacy Project Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/b68a63822ecba68f8973329ef3b02383.pdf 21e7e639905567d57310a8ec007e1206 PDF Text Text February 12th - February 25th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 4 (No. 323) advocating justice | Building community March and Vigil in support of Immigrants on Ash Wednesday | 12 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Director: We Get To Work with Some Powerful People | 2 Xavier’s Town Hall meeting reflecting on the civil unrest in 2001 | 11 Making Cincinnati Preschool Promise a Reality | 7 This 30 Day Challenge Changed Our Community | 5 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: We Get To Work with Some Powerful People JOSH SPRING Executive Director On Monday, February 1st, the Alms, Entowne and Burton Residents’ Associations, along with Legal Aid, the City of Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition made history. Six-hundred local households representing thousands of Cincinnatians won in Judge Beth Myer’s courtroom. Judge Myers put the five properties in which we have been organizing residents into receivership, meaning that all rent monies and managerial responsibilities will now lie in the hands of the Milhaus Management Company. Milhaus has been appointed by the court to abate the nuisance the Puretz family, represented by local attorney Steve Rothstein, have turned these five local properties into. In December Judge Myers ruled that the owners had turned these properties into public nuisances after organized residents allowed city inspectors into their homes. Inspector cited 1800 violations. For more than a year we have worked with residents to form official Resident Associations. As these Associations have formed, they have elected Legal Aid to represent them and have voted to join the lawsuit filed against the owners by the city in February 2015. Milhaus will work with the Resident Associations to improve each of these homes and make the properties safe, healthy and sustainable. This court-appointed manager will report on a strict schedule to the court and the Residents’ Associations to show the improvement plan is being followed and is successful. Considering rent monies from residents and the federal government as well as two mortgages, the Puretz family and their partners have received approximately 32 million dollars in two years. Despite claiming that they have spent large sums on improving these properties and further claiming they have not had enough money to do full repairs, there is no proof they have actually spent any remotely significant dollars on these properties. Instead a roof has caved in, ceilings are falling, plumbing is leaking, doors are broken, mold is growing, hallways are unlit, sewage is backing up, the heat isn’t working, floors are coming up, elevators are getting stuck, electric outlets are creating fire hazards, there are not proper means of emergency egress, there has been no security… We do know the owners purchased a luxury building in the state of New York recently for approximately $28 million. Now, finally the millions of dollars in rents collected here, forward will have to be spent honestly for the purpose they are intended, improving and maintaining the properties. The receivership will last until the court is satisfied that the properties are safe, healthy and fully livable. In addition to these five properties, two additional properties owned by the Puretz family were part of this order. These properties were not a part of the December public nuisance finding, primarily because of time constraints, but are in similar conditions. These two properties, Georgia Mason and Founders’ Home in Walnut Hills are a part of the same defaulted mortgage as the other two and therefore were included in the receivership order. For two years, thousands of people have had to incur the pain that comes with living in buildings not maintained, repaired or kept safe. Finally, after a year of fighting, residents should start to see improvements soon. We still have a ways to go and a lot of work to do to ensure these buildings become what they should have always been, but we took a major step forward at saving these invaluable affordable homes. P2 Residents with Legal Aid at the courthouse Photo: Josh Spring We hope that this success thus far and the hopeful eventual full success can serve as a model in cities across the country. Often slumlords like these get away with injustices because cities, press and the general public tend to blame the people living in such properties for the conditions. This either results in conditions worsening to the point of closure or the use of laws similar to our public nuisance ordinance to shut the properties down, displacing people and creating more homelessness. This happens in cities across the country and has happened in Cincinnati in the past. In this situation we have shown a productive way of dealing with slumlords. Residents have been at the core since the beginning; we reached out to the press early on and the Resident Associations shared their situation, hopes and demands; the city’s building, health, fire and law departments have been able to cite the many problems with the properties because the residents were prepared to allow inspectors into their homes, these departments have kept the focus on improvements for residents and responsibility falling on the owners; the Law and Public Safety Committee of City Council and City Council as a whole has publically shown support for the residents and encouraged city staff to hold them accountable and the public nuisance decision of the court squarely put the public nuisance decision on the owners. It is angering that all of this and more to come has to be done to save peoples’ homes. We wish that people were honest and cared about the health and safety of fellow humans instead of caring about getting as financially rich as possible, while walking on whomever it takes to do so. That is not the world in which we live however. Therefore we need additional legal resources to protect the human rights of home; living wages, health care, affordable rents, protections against money laundering, quick acting governmental bodies working for those experiencing the problems, more checks and balances, just cause eviction laws, rent control, etc. We are so thankful, as a coalition to have a mission statement that requires us to work alongside people living in the Alms, Entowne Manor, Burton, Reids Valley View, Shelton Gardens, Georgia Mason and Founders’ Home; some of the strongest, most powerful people in our midst. ------------------------ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 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, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jason Haap, Michael Earl Patton, Thomas A. Dutton, Valeria Degutis, David Burns, Sarah Busemeyer, Justin Jeffre, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Josh Spring, Dr. Mark Mussman, Justin Jeffre, Bill Woods, Renae Banks 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 Student Reflections on OTR 3 No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 THOMAS A. DUTTON Director T he completion of our Fall 2015 Miami University Overthe-Rhine Residency Program marks its tenth year of this special community-university collaboration. Offered through the University’s Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine, students from many walks of life moved to Over-the-Rhine for a full semester, living together, taking courses, engaging in reflection, and serving deep community need with neighborhood organizations, residents, and organizers. Like the prior nine iterations of this Program, a primary goal is for students and community members, through the relationships and trust they build, to come to see the humanity beneath the narratives that circulate about Over-the-Rhine. Too often these narratives dehumanize; we come together to develop empathy. Below are a few samples: Valeria Degutis (ARC) Over-the-Rhine and all its glory, it was all a misunderstanding. The once impressive place I thought was all about the people and redevelopment, I found out it was not. You might say, “well look at how great it is”, but I say “what defines greatness?” Is it the businesses and bars? Or is it the little neighborhood centers and services? So maybe I’m biased, but after living here for a semester and experiencing Overthe-Rhine as a resident every day, I think I’m allowed to go against the popular vote. I’ve done a lot of reflection this semester and one of my first reflections stemmed out of someone asking me how my soul felt. At this point my eyes had been opened to another Over-the-Rhine and here’s what I said three days into this Residency Program: All this is, is writing in a journal, but this night of journaling is too hard. Why can’t I just write my thoughts today? I think the answer to that is that there are too many. There are so many things to wrap my head around today and every day, but more so now. I feel the beginning of a difficult semester ahead. How does my soul feel? My soul feels shattered. I am shattered and torn. My values, beliefs, preconceptions along with my passion and attitude lies before me like a shattered mirror. I can see myself, but I’m distorted. The pieces of me and everything that makes me are up in a mess of unknown and discomfort, of desire and passive attitude. The shattered pieces of my soul lie scattered before me, waiting for me to pick them up and glue them back together. Even if my soul isn’t shattered, I want to break it so that I can put it back together and feel whole and fixed again. The uncertainty leaves me feeling desperate for answers and change. Change. The good kind. The kind that makes us relate and love one another, bringing us all to be one. This is how I felt about Overthe-Rhine before classes had even started and before I had the chance to sit and talk about it in our talking circles and journaling circles at buddy’s Place or the Senior Center. There’s been hope since that initial entry, but I’m struggling to find myself outside of Over-the-Rhine, forgetting about the people here and their unjust issues and things that I’ve witnessed. I’m not sure what I’ll feel about life after this. I’ve seen a sign and it reads, “How can I go back to living the way I did, knowing what I know now?” That is one of the truest statements to describe my feelings at the end of this semester. I am dreading going back to Oxford and dealing with the ignorance, especially the ignorance of those who do not wish to see outside of the life they know. Why does the world that I once knew have to be the world I now dread? I’ve found myself so enraged by this semester, festering over the injustices and inequality that exists. The way that I’ve felt has inhibited me from seeing things in other ways and subduing this anger is still something that I am working on. There have been countless debacles with friends and family members over my safety and my being here. They act as though they have a right to be dissatisfied with what we’re doing or where I’m living. And then there have been silent four-hour car rides home because my traveling companions just could not handle what I had to say. I think they just haven’t seen the beautiful side of Over-the-Rhine. The side that provides endless love and support to their community members, even temporary ones like me. The side that is so kind and friendly it could startle you based on the world we live in today. The side that sustains one another with service and justice. The side that lends itself freely to your service and benefit, and the side that allowed themselves to be vulnerable with me. This experience and these feelings and emotions have led me through such an impactful journey of growth throughout my time here. Over-the-Rhine is such a beautiful place, and not because of its architecture. It is beautiful because of the people that live here and the way that they are. They’ve provided me with an endless comfort and support and made me feel like their own family. I’ve grown to love Over-the-Rhine for the sense of community amongst long-time residents and the members of various organizations. This beautiful place has a heartbeat, and I am glad to have been a part of that even if just for a few short months. Unfortunately, my time here went by too quickly, but I am forever impacted by my experiences here. David Burns (ARC) Throughout my life I’ve heard people compare their personal experiences to a new set of polarized lenses. Peers return from their studyabroad trips and announce that their time across the pond has appended a different color to their perspective. It’s an additive process that keeps what you have already learned and gives you something extra to keep in your pocket when it’s needed. However, when I think of my time here in Over-the-Rhine, the comparison is just the opposite. I feel a polarized lens has actually been removed from my vision and a new level of clarity and truth has been added to my perspective instead. At my last journaling session, I was given a prompt that asked me to choose three things to take with me when I leave. I chose “big words, conversations, and empathy.” The first thing I saw when I removed my polarized lens was a world of racism. Through the courses, I learned that the civil rights movement never ended, and racism has been at the forefront of this country from the beginning. But let’s be real, it took more than reading from a book to understand the concepts of neo-colonialism. It took more than a film to understand that oppression lays beneath the facades of the newly developed downtown. Most that I learned came from interactions with people, who have been at the spearhead of activism since the days of buddy gray. The daily conversations with Over-the-Rhine residents have provided my life with clarity. In a conversation with a man who spent fourteen years in prison for shoplifting, I discovered truth. I found closure when my peers and I helped a traumatized woman home with the assistance of two men, who were experiencing homelessness. Then, above all, I discovered empathy when I realized that every person in this city is a beloved human being, that deserves more than they are given. I’ve always thought I could be there to help someone when they needed it. But this experience has made me understand that there is no level of help that is greater than walking side by side with the people in your neighborhood. On the last day of our studio, while our architecture group was boring holes in the walls of the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, a woman with wisdom beyond her years told me something that stuck. She said that college students, above the rest, have the most power to make change in the community. If college students didn’t fight for the freedom of African Americans, she said that she would still be sitting at the back of the bus. She made it clear that my role as an individual with resources and knowledge is to “stand up for the people who can’t stand anymore.” As architects, we have the choice to design within our own heads or with respect and empathy towards others. The beauty of getting out of a studio and into the real world is that my stance will affect the daily routines of human life. The work we did at Peaslee is about people. It’s about the need to open up a room to welcome all members of the neighborhood and to provide yet another space for people to sit and have a meaningful conversation. So much of my clearer lens calls for change that it is overwhelming at times. As I finally reflect on my time here, I realize that I don’t feel wiser, nor smarter, and it doesn’t seem like I’m going to walk away from this ex- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED perience and say, “ah, well that was nice.” My back has been broken and my bones have been rattled; yet it feels amazing. I was given so many tools this semester, and yes, when I first picked them up, I hurt myself, and maybe even bled a little bit. But now I know how to use those tools, and I’m excited to teach others how to use them as well. When I took off the polarized lens, I realized that the truth is permanent. I don’t intend on ever putting the lens back on my perspective, because that would be choosing to live a lie, utterly ignoring the fact that this year I grew in Over-the-Rhine. Sarah Busemeyer (FSW) Being in school for five years now, I was over-the-moon excited to have an opportunity to live and study in Over-the-Rhine, work with other majors, while completing courses that would work towards graduation. I happily applied, and after acceptance, started to get acquainted with a city that I soon found out that I truly knew nothing about. I have been well-acquainted with various suburbs throughout my life, but nothing compares to the ever bustling life of the city. Professionals in suits and ties in the bars or hustling down the sidewalk, individuals homeless on the stoops, and vendors on the corners. Once it hit me that this place was my new home for four months, the comfort of familiarity was nowhere to be found. With the exception of some welcome greenery in the trees and lawn of Washington Park as our front yard, nothing familiar welcomed me here in my beginning days. This feeling of discomfort is one that we all came to know, not only in our unfamiliarity with the city itself but what lessons and experiences it had to offer. Soon enough, we would begin to know them well. Early on in the Program we discussed subconscious biases and past personal experiences, as all good social justice focused efforts should do. Thanks to my psychology and social work background, I was already fairly aware of perceptual misconceptions that can stem from growing up as a child of white, middle-class parents. I began to realize in these discussions that certain things I considered to be a personal preference may instead be a cultural difference. This has become more important to me than any other lesson about race or class. A person shouting ‘Hey baby!’ from the corner does not always mean you’re being hit on, nor do people gathering and talking on sidewalks mean they’re doing a drug deal. It could mean that you’re used to a different way of life, and a different way of communicating. I soon started catching myself subconsciously treating this unfamiliar behavior as confusing, wrong, or something to be wary of, instead of using what I know to make a conscious decision to change how I react to it. As you may have noticed, though, that is a common theme with things unfamiliar; treating it as dangerous is much easier than trying to understand and engage with it. Fortunately for me, I entered a Program that encourages engagement, so much so that the learning environment here is actually called the “Center for Community Engagement.” Our hours were spent reading and discussing articles that explain and argue disparity, and using (Continued on page 10) �4 LOCAL Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 �LOCAL This 30 Day Challenge Changed Our Community No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 5 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer “U ltimately, the 30 Day challenged helped us ‘rethink homelessness’ and ‘shatter stereotypes’ that hinder and desensitize our community.” Renáe Banks, Youth Program Director, of the Future Leaders of OTR (FLOTR), a strong advocate for people experiencing homelessness. With the help of the Homeless Coalition, Ms. Renáe has exposed the dedicated youth of FLOTR to the realities of homelessness and she has empowered them to get involved in ways that they can. Often youth feel that they are powerless against the forces of the world, but Ms. Renáe has helped them build empathy, understanding, and compassion for people experiencing homelessness. The 30 Day Challenge is a great way to get students involved in the struggle to eradicate homelessness. The challenge is a mix of educational, hands-on, and reflection activities. It is a powerful tool to raise awareness, and I hope that more teachers and students use it to deepen understanding and to provide opportunities for dialogue. One thing that I’ve noticed, as the Director of Education at the Homeless Coalition, is that student’s perceptions of things are easily changed when they are given all the information that they need. Sometimes, students might find service to be a chore, or in the case of the FLOTR, a punishment. According to Ms. Renáe, “I believe the youth originally perceived the 30 Day Challenge as a punishment. To some extent, they may have felt that they were paying for the few privileges that they have: apartments, cell phones, access to internet, toilets, clean water etc.; however, they soon realized that these small amenities were assets that people experiencing homelessness do not have access to. At that point, placing a few dimes or quarters in a jar seemed like a small token.” The students’ perceptions had changed dramatically through the 30 Day Challenge, when they became more aware of inequity and had a few experiences to help them put a face on homelessness. Ms. Renáe made sure the students actively kept a journal through the process. Reflective journal writing helps students understand the complex feelings that they are having while preparing them to have their own thoughts to look back on. “As our Future Leaders wrote about their experience, they became more invested in taking action to advocate for those experiencing homelessness, as a result the youth engaged with: job shadowing with Streetvibes’ distributor Lee McCoy; planning and assembling care packages for the winter PIT Count; hosting a day-long lockout with great activities to express themselves and learn more; donating canned goods to the Freestore Food Bank; engaging with a Homeless Coalition Speaker, Melissa Mosby; and taking a Social Justice Walking Tour with Dr. Mark.” Ms. Renáe’s work is often difficult and unpredictable. FLOTR is a program that is continuously up against barriers of attendance, due to the changing demographics of the neighborhood. There have been times when families have been displaced out of the neighborhood, but recognize the importance of FLOTR, so they do everything they can to keep their child in the program. In my interactions with FLOTR, I can see how important it is to everyone – from those who support and run it, to the junior and high school students who participate. The program helps expose the participants to work-readiness and job skills, as well as, social FLOTR participates work on personalizing their donation bottles. Photo: Renáe Banks justice and neighborhood issues. It is the type of program that everyone who gets involved is better for being a part of it. Ultimately, it is about getting the students to see themselves as philanthropists to our community – no matter how much, or how little, they have to give. Ms. Renáe saw the change in the FLOTR participants as they became more aware of the injustices surrounding homelessness. She is even impressed by the effect on the participants: “Ultimately, the 30 Day challenged helped us ‘rethink homelessness’ and ‘shatter stereotypes’ that hinder and desensitize our community. Outside of giving tangible goods we are spreading awareness to our community. We want neighbors to know that homelessness is primarily due to the lack of affordable housing and/or livable wages and we (the community members) should advocate that all people to have access to Bottles slowly filling up! Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED both. In addition, we encourage our community to change its vernacular: instead of saying, ‘homeless people’ we invite our community to be more compassionate, empathetic, and understanding by saying ‘people who are experiencing homelessness.’” I want to encourage all teachers and students to become advocates by participating in the 30 Day Challenge. There is a link to it under the Education and Service Learning on our webpage. Although it is a fundraiser for the Homeless Coalition, students are asked to give what they can. Even if they can’t contribute monetarily, (most individual donations through the challenge are less than $10), part of the challenge is to teach other people what you’ve learned. Spread the word about the 30 Day Challenge and see what can be done at your school or community group! ------------------------ �6 LOCAL Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �7 LOCAL Making Cincinnati Preschool Promise a Reality Community Issues Forum Focuses on the Next Steps for This Initiative In 2016 No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer C incinnati Preschool Promise is an initiative with the goal of making quality preschool available for every local three and four year old. Buttressed by research and examples that show how a rich preschool experience provides a foundation for success, CPSP-supporters are at the stage of implementing a plan to make their dream a local reality. At the Community Issues Forum on January 28th, Greg Landsman, the Co-Convenor and organizer of the project, outlined the current status of CPSP and responded to questions about the next steps. “National and local examples of quality preschool programs,” noted Landsman, “reveal how such experiences make a significant difference in early childhood development. Beyond the long standing studies of educators and experts on the learning capacities of young children,” he continued, “we have the results of good preschools here and in other communities across the country. The goal, then, is how to make this experience available to every preschooler.” Problems of cost and availability put such programs beyond the reach of a majority of parents, especially families living in poverty. Landsman pointed out that 80-percent of Cincinnati’s 9,000 three and four year olds live in families with incomes near or at the poverty line. That means that finding adequate funding support to cover the preschool costs of these children is crucial. Finding that proper funding mechanism has occupied a lot of the time of the Steering Committee that guides this initiative. According to Landsman, members have looked at a variety of sources including a Hamilton County property tax. Although a final decision has not been made, a specific City earning’s tax appears to be the most likely approach, and Vice Mayor David Mann, who serves on the Steering Committee, believes that Council will support such a tax. Besides covering the tuition assistance that so many families will need to pay for preschool, the revenue source will also provide grants to improve the quality of many preschool programs. Quality is as much a part of the promise, emphasized Landsman, as making preschool available to all three and four year olds. Therefore, adequate funding will be needed to raise the standards of many of the preschools that will want to be included in the official Preschool Promise network. Instead of working exclusively with Cincinnati Public Schools while it increases its preschool classrooms, CPSP decided to use the whole mix of public, private, parochial, and home preschool facilities in order to have a sufficient number of places to potentially absorb all the Queen City’s three and four year olds. Thus the need for a funding resource that both provides tuition assistance to parents and enriches preschool environments. Landsman praised the fortyplus Preschool Promise Steering Committee for its hard work and dedication to bringing this initiative to fruition. Racially balanced, the Committee is comprised of parents, Weed, Murder and the Price of Prohibition JASON HAAP Contributing Writer L ast November, mostly wellto-do liberals bemoaned the threat of “monopolies” and “legalized drug cartels” as a way to stump against the legalization of marijuana in Ohio. Even though it’s not easy to get something on the statewide ballot, and even though none of these naysayers had any desire to become commercial marijuana farmers themselves, they scared supporters of legalization into voting against legalization, promising a better ballot initiative later. It’s later. I’m still unfamiliar with a credible recreational marijuana ballot proposal, and just this month a recent high school graduate - accompanied by his three friends - shot and killed another over a dispute involving marijuana. In other words, we have a dead teenager, and “Breakdown Stereotypes” Greg Landsman at community forum Photo: Justin Jeffre education providers, and community leaders. This very diverse leadership means that CPSP is not another “establishment project” that is suddenly foisted on the community. If we believe in equal education opportunities for all children, emphasized Landsman, then we need Preschool Promise now. It is morally wrong and economically fool hardy to have only a minority of our children receive the extraordinary benefits of good preschool programs. Not only will CPSP level the educational playing field for children, but its tuition assistance will help economically squeezed families in their efforts to improve their quality of life. Finally, if an initiative like Pre- school Promise succeeds, concluded Landsman, it will show leaders and citizens alike that transformational projects for this city can and should be undertaken. Preschool Promise is an initiative designed to overcome these barriers, and it is at a stage of seeking funding and support in order to make quality preschool available to all Cincinnati three and four year olds. As usual, time will be available for questions and comments. Lunch can purchased for $6.50. Next Forum is Feb. 11th. four more with the rest of their lives ruined - which, apparently, is better than a “monopoly.” For those who don’t know, a group of kids, including a gun-toting Demarcus Staley, went to Tyler Kassow’s house in West Chester to steal his illegal weed. Staley was known for being a star football player at Princeton High School. Full disclosure: I used to teach at Princeton High School. I never taught Staley, but I recognize him. One of the other kids was from Princeton, too. I recognize him as well. (From their published mug shots.) So, maybe this is slightly more personalized for me, however loose the connection, than a typical “someone got shot” item in the news cycle - but I can’t help but wonder if the lives of these kids was worth the avoidance of so-called marijuana monopolies in Ohio. If it’s possible for a “better” recreational initiative to come later, it’s possible to fix less-than-perfect solutions later, too. I don’t know what the future holds for legalization in Ohio - but whatever the next option is, I certainly hope more people will vote “yes,” not because of some obscure intellectual point about a political philosophy, but because they realize the cost to people’s lives when we keep things like this illegal. * See Page 10 for a rebuttal ------------------------ *See page 10 for rebuttal ------------------------ “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 �8 WORLD Photo Essay: All You Need is Love Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 STAFF WRITER www.INSP.ngo / Reuters W e’re getting close to that time of year again when love isn’t just in the air - it’s everywhere, and all over the world. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we’re spreading the love with a series of romantic images from Reuters that can be used separately or as a photo essay. It’s packed with hearts, passionate smooches, red roses, weddings and a car plastered in Post It notes, naturally Two men kiss each other during a pro-gay demonstration in front of the Nossa Senhora da Paz church in the Ipamena district of Rio de Janeiro, August 03, 2003. Photo: REUTERS/Bruno Domingos ------------------------ A youth selling balloons counts money on Valentine’s Day at a shopping district in Beijing February 14, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 9 WORLD A customer selects roses at a flower shop ahead of Valentine’s Day in southwestern China’s Chongqing municipality February 13, 2007. In a sign of the increasing influence of Western customs on Chinese culture, the celebration of love has become a hugely popular festival in China in recent years. Picture taken February 13, 2007. Photo: REUTERS Revellers kiss on a street during the Carnival of Sao Luis do Paraitinga, 170 km (106 miles) from Sao Paulo, March 7, 2011. The event is part of the ongoing Carnival celebrations taking place across the country. Photo: REUTERS/Nacho Doce Donald Smitherman, 98, kisses his wife Marlene at the end of a dance in Sun City, Arizona, January 5, 2013. Sun City was built in 1959 by entrepreneur Del Webb as America’s first active retirement community for the over-55’s. Today’s residents keep their minds and bodies active by socializing at over 120 clubs with activities such as square dancing, ceramics, roller skating, computers, cheerleading, racquetball and yoga. Photo: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Men kiss among other couples participating in the Guinness World Record attempt in the longest continuous kiss in Pattaya February 12, 2012. The “Longest Continuous Kiss” event is organized to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Thailand, started out with seven couples trying to set a new record of kissing for more than 46 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds. Photo: REUTERS/Damir Sagolj THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL THOMAS A. DUTTON (Continued from page 3) the remaining hours to explore the disparity for ourselves in our servicelearning environments. Our engagement faces the disparity that still exists in a neighborhood that claims there is none. We would learn a lot about systemic reasons of disparity, who it is coming from, and why it is here. Many questions posed in those articles poked at areas I had never considered before, and made me squirm a little. When we would hear the same ideas posed in a different fashion from people who have experienced the disparity first-hand, everything started to become real. Originally, I pulled myself away from my ignorance too quickly and walked through the neighborhood with a nose held high and a fiery glare towards everyone white and middle- class. It took me a while outside of the classroom to come to terms with the idea that not everyone who looked the part may have alternative intentions for those lower class. In fact, thanks to deeper reflection in my social work processing, I realized that most of the actions, reactions, or lack of actions from the ‘new’ people of the neighborhood has resulted from my same ignorance, rather than stemming from a brooding seed of malice. This world is not full of fairytale good guys versus bad guys, like we often discuss as a picture of the ‘OTRCH vs. 3CDC’ struggle, but instead, brimming with people who believe their way is the best way to achieve their priorities. We all have different views of what is truly right. I’m personally still wrestling with a lot of ideas and a good number of questions. Many were too against the flow to feel safe to discuss in the classroom, but many more also wrung my Do We Have Enough Laws? MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer E ric Garner died in 2014 while being arrested for supposedly selling a legal substance – tobacco cigarettes. His crime was that he was supposedly selling them loose from packs that did not have the state tax stamp on them. He denied to the New York City police that he was selling them, but they grabbed him, put him in a chokehold, and suffocated him. We will probably never know all the details about what happened, first because he died on the Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 heart out for the people that continue to experience the thrash of “progress.” My relationships with the people that experience the anguish of disparity have opened my conscience a little broader than I came in with, a conscience that will continue to question the consequences of action. I cannot argue that what has happened in this city has been a certain type of progress, even success, for some. After hours in the classroom with Tom and Bonnie, I can also argue that it has created regress and distress for others, and that the city is not unique in its struggles. Some people may choose to push it out, tear it down, repaint it, cover it up, or simply keep focused on their own goals, but the problems people face here are real. As I gear up to leave this place, at least I can say I am confident that the city and people have made their mark on my life. The weeks have flown by, I have come to enjoy the energy that it gives me and the warmth that I feel from familiar faces and voices, in place of the unfamiliarity I felt before. Yet, there are not only more places to explore, relationships to build, but lessons to learn and questions to be answered. Not having the perfect answer may be the most difficult realization while I’ve been here. I can say that I enjoy Over-the-Rhine, and everything that it incorporates, and also admit that my time has been too short to fully appreciate all that it is. I leave more thankful now to have learned so many important lessons in this short period, and am happy to have called this place home for a time. sidewalk and second because the police were never brought to trial for their actions. While there are several lessons that can be drawn from this the one that I want to focus on is that purported violations of even minor laws can lead to someone’s death. Assuming that the laws will be enforced in the first place (many are not), then the more laws, and the more complicated they are, then the more opportunities there are for misfortune – and even tragedy. Another way to look at it is that most laws reflect a failure of society. Oh sure there are some that are needed in order to co-ordinate large numbers of people living in close proximity to each other, such as laws so everyone knows that red traffic lights (and not yellow or green or blue) mean stop. But laws about speeding, honking horns, tall weeds, theft, rape, homicide, etc., food safety, house repair, burnedout car headlights, etc. wouldn’t be [Editor’s note: We will run more of these Student Reflections in upcoming issues of Streetvibes.] ------------------------ (Continued on page 12) Now Hiring Caracole Caracole.org - Medical Receptionist - Sanitarian 1/11 Center for Chemical Addiction Treatment catsober.org Hamilton County Planning and Development hamiltoncountyohio. gov - Resident Assistant - Accepting Ongoing Applications Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Executive Assistant - Off the Streets- Case Facilitator - Family Service Worker - Teacher - Assistant teachers - Special Needs Assistant - Cook - Plan Examiner Imani Family Center imanifamilycenter.org *Volunteer based - Freelance Photographers, Filmmakers and Documentarians League of Women Voters lwvcincinnati.org - Donor Relations and Development Campaign Director Hamilton County Public Health hamiltoncountyhealth. Legal Aid Society of org - Water Quality Technician 1 Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - Client Service Specialist - Paralegal- Co guardian- Ad Litem - Staff Attorney - Paid Internship Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org - Case Manager - Resident Aid - Facilities Maintenance - Service Assignment Specialist St. Vincent DePaul svdpcincinnati.org - Communications Coordinator - Conference Manager *Multiple openings including: - Thrift Store Employees - Software Developer - Case Managers UpSpring - Therapists/Counselor upspring.org - Wrap around Service Aids *Below are positions for the - Registered Nurse 2016 Summer Program - Class Intern - Residential Manager - Office Manager - Service Coordinator - Volunteer Manager - Street Outreach - Instructional Assistant - Intervention Specialist - Intervention Specialist Volunteers of American - Youth Worker Shelter House shelterhousecinti.org THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED of Greater Ohio voago.org - Clinical Social Worker �11 LOCAL No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 Xavier’s Town Hall meeting reflecting on the civil unrest in 2001 JUSTIN JEFFRE Editor O n February 2, Xavier University hosted a 2 hour Town Hall meeting called “Fifteen Years Later: The Cincinnati Riots and the Future of the City”. It featured an interactive panel that reflected on the civil unrest in 2001. Nearly 500 people packed in to XU’s Cintas Center. In 2001 three days of civil unrest followed the death of Timothy Thomas, a 19 year old unarmed black man that was shot in the back while running from police in an alley in Over-the-Rhine. Following that, then Mayor Charlie Luken declared Marshall Law. At the time there had already been a civil rights lawsuit going on. Thomas had been the 15th African American killed by police from 1995-2001. The tension between the community and police was high well before Thomas’ death. Many different community or- Iris Roley speaking to a packed house Photo: Justin Jeffre ganizations led a boycott of Cincinnati which led to black entertainers like Bill Cosby, the Temptations, Xavier’s well attended Town Hall meeting Photo: Justin Jeffre Wynton Marsalis and others to cancel. The National Urban league and others also cancelled their conventions. The following year many organizations participated in tense negotiations and finally in 2002 a Collaborative Agreement was reached with the Cincinnati Black United Front, the ACLU, the city and the Fraternal Order of Police that would change the way policing is done in Cincinnati forever. The Department of Justice oversaw these changes. Former Mayor Luken gave opening remarks and a panel featuring civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein, Rev. Damon Lynch, III, longtime community activist Iris Roley, Cpt. Maris Herold, and was moderated by Donna Jones Baker. After a lengthy discussion they brought up Brain Taylor, an organizer for Black Lives Matter Cincinnati. According to Brian Taylor real change only occurs when people take to the streets. “Where does our power lie? In mass actions,” said Taylor. Lynch agreed later, saying to the younger activists, “Don’t go on the inside. You will lose your power.” Rev. Lynch described how at the time of the unrest he received calls from people he didn’t know in Indian Hill. “They said Damon, Damon, what are we gonna do,” said Lynch. He continued, “I was like, who are you?” “If there is unrest in Over-theRhine, there’s unease in Indian Hill. The symphony is in Over-theRhine and the people in Indian Hill couldn’t go to the symphony,” he said. Then they opened the discussion up to questions and comments from the audience. Many people spoke passionately and it was clear that this conversation was long overdue and the wounds still run deep. Many spoke of the continuation of deep inequities between blacks and whites, rich and poor in the criminal justice system and our other institutions here in Cincinnati. Lynch referred to recent reports about the ongoing inequities in our community. “We’re number 2 for child poverty is how it’s being described. We know the reality is if the children are poor their parents are as well,” said Lynch. Iris Roley said that we must continue to build upon the work of the Collaborative Agreement and these conversations will continue. There’s more Town Hall style meetings coming up April 14th-16th at the New Prospect Church. ------------------------ Now Hiring: Part-time Peer Specialist (20-25 hours/wk) Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services Minimum Qualifications: High School Diploma or GED, Personal experience with homelessness, mental health, and/or substance use issues. Duties include working as part of a housing support team and engaging clients who have housing related needs. Position requires frequent driving of own vehicle. Valid driver’s license, vehicle and insurable driving record required. If interested in applying, please contact HR at 513-354-5200 to submit resume. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �12 LOCAL Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 March and Vigil in support of Immigrants on Ash Wednesday JUSTIN JEFFRE Editor F ebruary 10th was a bitterly cold day, but that didn’t stop about 40 people from coming out to support immigrants in our community. They gathered in a circle on the corner of 5th and Walnut Street. After Sr. Paula spoke to the crowd they began MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 10) needed if we all treated each other as we would like to be treated ourselves. I remember some years ago when Cincinnati passed a law forbidding people from keeping lions in their homes. For almost two hundred years there had been no need for this law. The reason they passed it was because there was a house in the West End whose owner kept a couple lions inside. I remember this house and seeing the lions through the windows myself. Rumor was that the owner was a drug dealer and kept the lions in the house for security. It may have been more secure for him but it certainly wasn’t for the neighbors. So the city passed the ordinance, the lions were gone, but the underlying problems remained. The neighborhood didn’t become a nice place to live just because the lions were gone and there were enough laws now. Human nature being what it is, we do need at least some laws. But I am skeptical of the cry “there oughta be a law” to every problem. (Trivia note: that was also the title of an old to march around the federal building repeating “Lead us to justice or Lievanos a la justicia” and biblical quotes in between. Like this one: “Do what is just and right; rescue from the defrauder him who is robbed; do not wrong the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow; commit no lawless act, newspaper comic strip that some readers may still remember.) I bring all this up because another article in Streetvibes is looking again at Issue 3 – the Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative – and arguing it should have passed. While I agree with the legalization of marijuana, all the other laws that would have come along with the amendment weighed more heavily. Only a relatively short abridgement of the proposed amendment was actually on the ballot. The full text was several pages long. There would have been hundreds of restrictions. Yes, you would have been able to grow a small amount, but only after obtaining a license and inside an enclosed, locked facility that is inaccessible to persons under 21. Other regulations and rules were to be written by a commission after the amendment passed. You would NOT have been able to give marijuana you grew to your sick child, even if the child had a prescription for it. You would have to purchase such marijuana from a licensed, not-forprofit dispensary. The not-for-profit dispensary could only obtain its marijuana from one of the 10 for-profit growers al- lowed in the state, and only on very limited areas. As for the price, well, all the amendment says it that the growers will sell their marijuana to the dispensaries “at their lowest wholesale prices.” There is no guarantee that the medical marijuana would be in any way affordable to the majority of patients. And that is important because I seriously doubt that insurance companies would be covering the costs of a treatment that is still banned by the federal government. The amount that is grown in Ohio would be greatly restricted because the number of growing sites is restricted to 10 with the possibility of increasing that by ONE after four years. And that is all. This is totally unlike the situation in Colorado which has no such restriction. The same 10 sites are also the only places where so-call recreational marijuana could be grown. If the demand in Ohio is high, the prices would be much higher than in Colorado because of that restriction. Interestingly, while medical marijuana could only be sold by not-for-profit stores, there is no such restriction on stores that would sell recreational marijuana. A commission could, though, restrict the Sr. Paula addresses the crowd Photo: Justin Jeffre (Continued on page 13) number of such stores in any precinct. So much for the free market. Because this would have been an amendment to the Ohio constitution, changes would also have had to be through the constitutional amendment process. This amendment was written by business interests who hoped to profit greatly from its passage; it is to be expected that any citizen initiative campaign would be greatly outspent by those same interests. I rate the chances of significant modification as nil. So, while I am in favor of the legalization of marijuana, Issue 3 just had too many restrictions favoring a select few. All of these restrictions would have wound up hurting others, such as those who could not afford the high prices for medical marijuana, those who didn’t follow all the regulations while growing their own, and those who try to undercut the prices from the state-controlled monopoly. Ohio voters made the right choice by voting down Issue 3. We deserve much better. ------------------------ 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 �STREET VOICE No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 12) and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place.” Jer 22:3 Nationwide, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been conducting targeted enforcement ac- March for immigrant’s rights Photo: Justin Jeffre tions, focusing on immigrant women and children who have arrived from Central America in the last two years. With the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Price Hill just last week, fear continues to plague the local immigrant community, many are afraid to leave their homes for work or school. Cities across the nation including Chicago, Minneapolis, and Raleigh have held public protest and vigils in opposition to these enforcement tactics asking DHS to stop separating families. Local community members and organizations, including Church of Our Savior, Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, LULAC of Greater Cincinnati, Nuns on the Bus Cincinnati came together to plan the march and vigil. President Obama has deported over 2 million undocumented immigrants. Hardline Republicans say Sarah Gets Back Her News Media Coverage Sarah Palin dropped out of the news. The loss of attention gave her the blues. She then decided to take to the stump, And there to endorse The Donald Trump. The event won her a big news media day, And a new impersonation by Tina Fey. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer 13 he is soft on immigration, but he has deported at least as many as he predecessor George W. Bush. Advocates for immigrant rights disagree and call him the ‘Deporter in Chief’. Organizers chose to hold their vigil on Ash Wednesday. They say, “The significance on this Christian day of repentance is to commit to personal change and societal change as we reflect on welcoming the stranger and the local immigrant and refugee community.” ------------------------ The Sorrow of Tomorrow The sorrow of tomorrow Is here today The future looks Dim and gray The Earth has been Polluted Children in the world Are starving and crying Many animals are now extinct But this doesn’t affect the way The killers of them think Their motives are furious And notorious Wash your hands Rinse your food These are the basic rules Our waters are polluted Ozone layer’s almost gone A whole lot of viruses People are dying and crying Farm land unreliable People are getting killed Mankind is dying The sorrow of tomorrow is here today! KIM GREEN Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor Now Do you know what you feel? Do you hear yourself when the world is standing still? Do you recognize the difference in the sounds that you hear? Do you believe that you can make a difference in this world today? Be for real!! Do you recognize the world and hear the world as it so slowly revolves around? Do you understand that it is your life that you are hearing and only your life you’ve found! Do you know your rights to live without disrespect, being happy, and loving your life? Do you know anything about your past, present, not to mention being born in strife? Realizing that we are born from one womb and destined to die in one tomb ALONE With all this knowledge do we know right from wrong or how to be strong?! Now knowing everything and living our lives, and 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? WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 92 Across 1. Box on a pole handle for carrying bricks 4. Air pollution 8. Group of animals 12. Rescue 13. Rate 14. Relating to birds 16. Kitchen appliance 17. Length by width 18. Subway system 19. Strong suit 21. Attire 23. Necessitate 24. Perform 25. Tibia 27. Consume 29. Whirl 30. Small indefinite quantity 31. In the past 34. Forever 37. Brought into existence 38. Steal 39. Closed circuit 40. Regret 41. Heap 42. Male title 43. Wading bird 45. Unwavering 47. Single 48. Chromatic color 49. Jump 50. Understand 51. Do business 52. Egyptian cobra 55. Powdery starch 58. Fodder 60. Voice part 62. Expiate 64. Seaweed 66. Tusked swine 67. Marine colonial polyp 68. Stride 69. Redact 70. Fringe benefit 71. Fruit filled pastry 72. Decimal base Down 1. Mayhem 2. Open 3. Impression in a surface 4. Health spring 5. Permissible difference 6. Large body of water 7. Cogwheel 8. Amateur radio operator 9. Circumstance 10. Customary observance or practice 11. Challenge 12. Couch 15. Indicate assent 20. Catch sight of 22. Ale 26. Belonging to him 28. Appendage on the bracts of grasses 29. Deplete 30. Enemy 31. Elaborate song 32. Precious metal 33. Comply 34. In addition 35. Cut of meat 36. Had on 37. Public transport 40. Relieve from 41. Livelyness and energy 43. Anger 44. Cattle reared for meat 45. Division of 6 Down 46. Fine grained mineral 49. Account book 50. Echo sounder 51. Greek letter 52. Positively charged electrode 53. Blot 54. Larboard 55. Pouch 56. At the peak 57. Bloodshed 59. Compass direction 61. Assist 63. Moose 65. Pertinent SODOKU PUZZLE NO 222 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 322 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 91 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 221 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 323 | F eb 1 2 - F eb 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Mercy Franciscan at St. John OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 981-5800 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, 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 Housing: 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 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Feb 12 - Feb 25 , 2016 | No. 323 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource February 12-February 25, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Student Reflections on OTR Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The 30 Day Challenge Changed Our Community Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: Making Cincinnati Preschool Promise a Reality Pg 8: Photo Essay Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: Do We Have Enough Laws? Pg 11: Xavier’s Town Hall Meeting Reflecting on the Civil Unrest in 2001 Pg 12: March and Vigil in Support of Immigrants on Ash Wednesday Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 12-February 25, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Michael Earl Patton Thomas A. Dutton Valeria Degutis David Burns Sarah Busemeyer Justin Jeffre Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Renae Banks Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cincinnati Civil Unrest David Burns Dr. Mark Mussman education Immigrants Jason Haap Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green March Michael Earl Patton Over-the-Rhine Photography protest Renae Banks Sarah Busemeyer Thomas A. Dutton Valeria Degutis Vigil Willa Denise Jones Xavier https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/2c2dcc25658ae498bab208c5fbc674da.pdf a60a19c87ea23a0c2cd174d5ca43decb PDF Text Text February 26th - March 10th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 5 (No. 324) advocating justice | Building community Not So Great a Distance: from “The Drop” to the Shelterhouse | 7 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Director: Police Officers are not Social Workers | 2 Black Lives Matter Returns To The Forum | 5 A Crucified Cuba -- Still Lives! | 3 DIY: Taxes and Credit | 5 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 From the Director: Police Officers are not Social Workers JOSH SPRING H ave you ever noticed that often when a person or persons sees an individual or group doing something they personally have never done or believe they would never do, the observer decides the action taken is wrong and should be stopped? There are many examples of this currently and historically. One example that not only frustrates us as an organization but also causes us to wonder about the life perspectives of people involves a regular reaction to people without homes who are sleeping outside. By every winter in Cincinnati the leaves have fallen off of the trees. When this happens the police department receives an increase in calls from people complaining about the existence of camps where people live outside, because with the leaves gone, camps are now visible from a distance. This then results in an increase in police runs and subsequent evictions of people from where they have been finding some safety on public land. Of course, in nearly every situation, the persons that have been pushed out, move to another location outside knowing that eventually they will be removed from there as well. The question is why do the onlookers feel the need to call the police? Sure, some folks may be truly concerned about the hardships folks sleeping outside are facing and believe that the police will somehow be able to assist. That said, most of these calls do not come in as caring calls directed to the wrong agency, but instead as complaints, saying these public lands should be “cleaned” up. So let’s break down what a person’s provocation may be to call the police and complain about a camp, asking that it be “cleaned” up. It is likely that the caller believes those sleeping outside choose to do so and because of that are somehow dangerous or criminal and therefore should not be allowed to sleep in public locations. Also, callers often believe that the people sleeping outside are bad for business, progress and general cleanliness of the city. Finally, the complainer may likely be offended personally by the sight of someone they deem dangerous and unclean and believe they should not have to see such a person in a public setting. Simply put, these complainers are not only very ignorant, but are ego-centric and selfish. How can the simple act of someone seeking sleep and some safety Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on 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. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com Police follow a Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati march Photo: Justin Jeffre out in the open be a hazard to anyone else? How can this act be wrong? How can this be something that is blamed on the person seeking the sleep and safety? Isn’t it considered very natural and normal to seek a place to sleep, keep belongings and have some safety? The selfish and entitled drive of the complainer blinds them to the fact that we live in society that operates within a financial system which creates poverty and homelessness and because of this people are forced to make decisions based on survival. Think about what a person who calls the police to complain about people camping outside is really saying: “I saw a group of people seeking to continue to exist by getting rest and safety. I believe the fact that they are living like this, a way that I would never live, means they are dangerous. I am offended by the sight of them and believe the sight of them will drive away business and opportunity for myself. I demand that you remove them from my sight.” Think about how disgusting this perspective is. Now next thought, why is it that when the police department receives these complaints they believe they must evict the person or person’s seeking rest? Why is it that the police department believes they have an obligation to displace and hide people without a home because of the discomfort of people with a home? I regularly hear stories of people being forced from public spaces for seeking sleep and protection because someone housed complained. I also regularly hear stories from people experiencing poverty or homelessness who seek assistance from the police department in dealing with a difficult or dangerous situations and are either denied service or not given respectful service. This is what you call a double-standard (to put it too nicely). If you are housed and issue a complaint against someone who is not housed, action against the person without housing is taken. If you are not housed and you issue a complaint against someone, it is unlikely that adequate, if any action will be taken. In this I am clearly not writing in regard to every police officer as an individual, I am writing about the institutional and regular behavior of the department. Finally, to the folks that make these calls because you care and want to see more opportunity for people, it is good that you want this. And in emergency situations, calling the police can make sense. But please consider the fact that police officers are not social workers. Officers nor their department is equipped or prepared to properly assist people experiencing homelessness. If your son, daughter, mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandmother or grandfather lost their housing and after staying with every bit of family they could, was finally sleeping outside and you wanted to find assistance for that person, would you call the police? My guess is that you would not, because something would tell you there is a better way. So, instead, please use the list of resources listed in the back of this paper. There are groups of trained, passionate street-outreach workers who will visit people and work with people for real solutions. ------------------------ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Martha Stephens, Robert Park, Jason Haap, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Michael Earl Patton, Jim Luken, Willa Denise Jones, Kim Green, Shanon Johnson Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Martha Stephens, Jim Luken, 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 WORLD A Crucified Cuba -- Still Lives! No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 MARTHA STEPHENS Contributing Writer I RETURNED recently from two weeks in Cuba, and I want to remember here some of the workaday Cubans I met there. I should say at the outset that it was painful for me, as I had assumed it would be, to see what our blockade of the island has accomplished. Our group from Cincinnati rode around in an old yellow school bus from Pastors for Peace. On one side it displayed in huge letters this script: End the U. S. Blockade Against Cuba! We know that the U. S. embargo represents the longest set of sanctions any state has ever imposed on another country. For some years this embargo has not been supported by any nation in the U. N. except the state of Israel! Havana has been broken almost to bits, it seems to me -- it’s much as I remember it from my visit 25 years ago. Apartment buildings are in desperate need of repair, ugly and dangerous. Walls sometimes fall in on people. The old cars and buses still smoke up the air everywhere you go. Many sidewalks are still full of holes and broken chunks of concrete; two travelers in our group had falls on them. Pipes are often ancient, pre-revolutionary affairs that need replacing almost everywhere -- the whole kit and caboodle of them. (Imagine that -- if we think we have infrastructure problems in our own impoverished country, and of course we do!) Cubans are used to whatever animals or substances come through their pipes, but for visitors it’s bottled water all the way. Be careful even brushing your teeth, we’re advised. Yet here is the mystery of Cuba we must try to explain: life seems to go on in a spirited sort of way amongst those who remain in the country. They can enjoy still their beautiful arts, their world renowned dance, for instance; their free and responsive healthcare, admired around the world; their opportunities in a tremendous variety of good schools, institutes, and universities. WE SPENT a week in Havana but also traveled southward to Camaguey and the towns in between. I liked taking little walks around our small casas particulars (about $25 a night), and seeing the kids skipping along home from school in their smart yellow and white uniforms, boxing and teasing each other as kids do. There’s plenty of evidence that revolutionary Cuba has never given up on its revolutionary schools -- the small classes, that is, and the well-trained teachers who live in the neighborhoods where they work, just as the doctors and nurses do. (A neighborhood medico at one of our casas examined me right away one day when I came down with an infection.) In 1998 UNESCO carried out an extensive study of elementary school data in language and math in all 13 Latin American countries. They found that Cuba was outpacing all the others. Cuban children scoring in the lower half of the tests were doing better than the upper halves of children elsewhere -- and with scores comparable even to the most developed states of the world. ONE DAY in Camaguey, I got my hair cut in a little house where the front room became, by day, a beauty parlor. My duena at the casa where I stayed, a wonderful woman who became a good friend, helped me line up this excursion. I had gone into her front parlor one night and said, “Eufemia, do you know anyone nearby who could cut my hair?” Yes, she did, she said. The next morning, she was ready to see me off. She said I must go by pedi-cab (or bicycle taxi), and I must pay the pedi-cab one dollar (or one convertible peso). “No mas!“ said she. For my haircut I must also pay one dollar. “No mas!” said my friend. When I got down off the worn seat of the pedi-cab and walked into the front room of a small casa, the olive-skinned woman who would trim my hair was painting, in a smart green color, the nails of a black client. The two women were very much at their ease with each other and very friendly to me. They sat me down in a little rocker and placed in my lap a guinea pig I could pet while I waited my turn. The bespeckled beautician, when she finished her smart job on my hair, and I was looking in my pocket for my pesos, said no, she could accept no pay. She had no English, but we had talked a little in my broken Spanish. “A woman of seventy-nine coming all the way from her country to see us in Cuba? We will not charge you anything! We will honor you!” Bus they traveled on Photo: Martha Stephens IN HAVANA ONE DAY I was told, with regard to comparisons with the U. S., “You know we don’t shoot each other here, and we don’t have a heroin problem.” I was speaking with a leader of the Cuban Council of Churches (yes, there is such a thing and has been for many years). Our group was in Cuba on a religious visa, and we had been honored at a luncheon in the Council offices. I walked about the halls and read the church posters and the ones from the government -- Say No to Violencia Contra La Mujer, i.e. We honored our religious visas by meeting almost daily with local Unitarians and conversing with the ones who rode the bus with us on all our travels. WE ALL KNOW about the Obama “opening” with Cuba, and we all wonder what it will mean; but somehow for a government which has survived as much as this one has, it seems like a good bet that Cuban socialism will also survive this opening -- and the island’s changing relations with the U. S. The U. S. once bought over 85% of the island’s sugar harvest, but within two years of the 1959 revolution, it was buying none at all and hoping, under John F. Kennedy, to “starve” the island into submission. In modern times demon sugar has been yet another cross for Cuba to bear, after the loss of its Soviet trading partner in the 90‘s, for instance, and many attempts are being made to diversify its agriculture. The abandoned sugar cane fields, the broken sugar mills, are a relic, so to speak, going back to the conquistadores and the many Batista-style governments that would come along. Will the tourist trade take over Cuba now -- U. S. investment in general? Will there be vast outcroppings of American-style senior villages across the land? Will the almost pristine environment of mountains and seas be poisoned by us carpetbaggers from the north? THE SUNNY ISLE of Cuba has had tourists throughout its history, and it has them today with a vengeance. Smart air-conditioned busses ply up and down the main thoroughfares. To exchange dollars for pesos, some of us walked from time to time People’s art everywhere Photo: Martha Stephens from our Havana casas to a huge, relatively new hotel nearby, the Melia Oshiba, near the famous Malecon road by the waterfront. Our CubanAmerican leader, Jorge Vila, feels that the Melia Oshiba is at the center of maneuverings by U. S. businessmen and ambitious Cubans. They’re all waiting for the moment when Cuba will burst wide open to global finance. An enormous ocean-front compound for internationals called Veradora has existed in Cuba for many years. Our group stayed two days on its border in a facility run by the Presbyterian Church, and traveled by local bus into this maw of the tourist trade. Was it thrilling to buy four dollar lattes at the coffee bars there? Some of us didn’t really see the point of that, and would have preferred, I think, to visit an organic farm, or a neighborhood health clinic, as I had some years ago. I spoke briefly with a family from Finland and another one from France, and I wanted to ask them this: Do you know anything about the nearby city of Havana and the Cuban Revolution in this land . . .? I wondered what their take on it was, but I didn’t feel I could ask them that. We also spent a long morning at a government medical campus called La Pradera. Cuba needs funds, to be sure, and this campus is set up to treat sick people from around the world. We saw afflicted children getting complex hearing tests, seniors treated “in new ways” for arthritis. Any visitor who arrives in Cuba from abroad can make use of the medical offerings on this estate and enjoy its pools and personal (Continued on page 4) Front room of a small casa that is a “beauty parlor” by day Photo: Martha Stephens THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 OPINION Open letter to the Bern ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer D ear Bernie, Love ya. Love your campaign. You’re showing why some of us didn’t give up. You’re proving why others shouldn’t have given up, and it’s not too late. But we’re worried. There are things you haven’t talked about that are really important. Things that leave you vulnerable to broad-side, blind-side, slam-dunk politics. Here are the things we are so concerned about. 1. War on terror Why are there terrorists? Why are some people around the world abandoning all hope of progress under existing arrangements and going crazy and truly pathological. Do we think the rigged system of the global banks and corporations that abuses Americans is treating the rest of the world any better, especially in poor countries? Do these people not see that American foreign policy has consistently supported and defended the ruling elites with their own rigged economies? Take Egypt for example. We were a major part of the problem all the way until the Arab Spring and then we dithered long enough for the Generals and crony capitalists to take back control again and now we’re right back in the same situation. 2. Small business and the Great Recession Tens of thousands of small businesses went broke because of the Great Recession (with a little help from the IT monsters – Amazon, Google, etc.). These businesses were treated by the banks almost as badly as the people having their homes foreclosed; credit disappeared. These small proprietors are backing the wrong horses – always have. With your political revolution, putting stolen income back into the hands of working people, local markets for small business goods and services will expand. Universal, efficient healthcare, with a level playing field, will be a great benefit to small business and their employees. Increasing minimum wages and even unionization will GROW their businesses. Small businesses thrive in socialist countries in Europe. It’s the big guys we’re after; the little guys should help. 3. Presidential When talking heads ask if you’re Presidential, ask them if they remember Ronald Reagan, the B-film actor who was one of the most successful Presidents ever. His goal was to make rich people richer and weaken the working class, and he was incredibly successful. How did he do it? Was he a closet genius? No. The GOP appointed smart corporate thugs and operatives to positions of power and administrative importance. That’s what you will do: appoint smart, experienced operatives who happen to share YOUR vision behind the political revolution you are advancing. There are lots of qualified candidates for those positions. Start introducing some of them. 4. Economics The media are having a feeding frenzy because they found some “liberal” economists who say your numbers don’t add up. Which of these economists actually is in favor of your political revolution? I suspect none; they’re all establishment flacks, former Democratic Party technicians. If they really cared, they would be helping you engineer the economic revolution that follows the political revolution. It seems like none of them is even willing to affirm that single payer is a huge money saver in our bloated corporate medical delivery system. 5. Iraq and experience You’ve been good at nailing Hilary on Iraq but go further. She has blood on her hands. She followed the advice of the very experienced neocons Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, with years of Cabinet-level involvement. The sanctions and invasion of Iraq have caused the death of over 600,000 Iraqis, not to mention 3500 Americans, and launched the Donald Trump Isn’t The Next Hitler JASON HAAP Contributing Writer G o to YouTube and search for one of the presidential debates featuring Ronald Reagan. If you are like me, the first thing you might notice is the lack of “showmanship.” The cameras hold tight shots on candidates in front of solid-color backgrounds free from headline-style advertisements or slogans. The pacing feels different, too. It feels slower, more calculated. This probably comes as no surprise, as our cultural sense of pacing was very different in 1980 or 1984 than we have come to expect in the globally connected and technological age of 2016. More on this in a moment. Go to Google, and you can be just a few clicks away from tons of articles about the demagoguery of Donald Trump. Most of these articles immediately fall victim to “Godwin’s Law” - which, if you don’t know the term, is an internet premise that states, “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison in- volving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” We seem to honestly think that Donald Trump may be capable of causing all of us to look the other way while we murder millions of Mexicans, or Muslims, or something. That’s absurd. Donald Trump is not a mass murderer. He’s a clown, but I don’t mean the term in the derogatory sense you might think. According to Wikipedia, here is some history on the function of “clowns” in global culture: “The comedy that clowns perform is usually in the role of a fool whose everyday actions and tasks become extraordinary—and for whom the ridiculous, for a short while, becomes ordinary. This style of comedy has a long history in many countries and cultures across the world. Some writers have argued that due to the widespread use of such comedy and its long history it is a need that is part of the human condition.” In 1985, late cultural critic Neil Postman wrote a book entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. In short, the book warns that our undoing will not come from an overbearing government that strips us of our rights; instead, he warns that we will become so distracted through the impact technology has on our minds, everything will become reduced to the level of amusement. Serious public discourse will disappear while we demand the kind of soundbites and showmanship for which television was designed. In 1985, the fact that we had a movie star for president, and that televised debates gave only a few minutes for each candidate to speak, were (for Postman) harbingers of our impending downfall. During the LincolnDouglas debates, for example, each candidate had an hour before the opponent’s half-hour rebuttal. Politics were a serious business, and the public expected depth and thoughtful- MARTHA STEPHENS a chance in a million!” people said. “Your ruling class will wipe him completely out!” People were going inside to a tiny strip of kitchen where spaghetti lunches were being made, and I spoke at length with a good-looking young woman of 32 named Leisil. She’s studying English in graduate school and lives in a small house with her mother and grandmother. “I like it that way,” she said, “and my grandmother is like my baby. I told her today, ‘Grandmother, your slippers are dirty, and I’m going to wash them out for you!’” (Continued from page 3) services. A strange contradiction in a way, considering the hardships of normal Havana life, but again, Cuba must live -- somehow. A final note about my afternoon visiting on the tree-lined patio of a small Havana bookstore. Cuba Libro is run by an American woman, and speakers of both Spanish and English like to meet there. I met a Cuban fellow who said he was in love with Bernie Sanders. “But he doesn’t have Note: Many factual details here appear in a book by Salim Lamrani, The Economic War Against Cuba (Monthly Review Press 2011). See also works on Cuba by Julia Sweig of the U. S. Council for Foreign Relations. Martha Stephens hopes to continue her discussion on Cuban life in another issue of Streetvibes. She would like to take note of the Castro brothers, of the magnificent Spanish churches and monuments throughout the island, of the many international THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 current disastrous crises in the Middle East. 6. Defense of Israel Bernie, surely you know that Israel is run by 19 families with their own version of a rigged economy and foreign policy, just like here. The Israeli people and the Palestinians need a political revolution like we do. Why do you uncritically support the “defend Israel” party line and not put forward proposals for real solutions? Why is the one-state solution not on the table? 7. Immigration Why are people trying to come here? It’s part of the same big picture of global corporate behavior. You need to explain how local economies are being destroyed, political solutions crushed and people left with very dismal options. That is what NAFTA, CAFTA, PPT are all about. Lastly, dear Bernie, NEVER navigate toward the MIDDLE (well, OK, maybe with your hair, just a little). If you turn toward the middle you will lose most of your true base including large numbers who don’t quite yet understand that you’re the one, but are coming along nicely, and they are the only way you can make it to the White House. In exchange, you’ll pick up just a few confused liberals and libertarians. It will all be over then. Hopeful in Cincinnati ------------------------ ness. How public consciousness has changed in the post-technology era! Though Postman wrote before everyone was connected to the internet in their pockets, and before the 140 character limit on Twitter, his warnings are more true today than they were in the 1980’s. Donald Trump, for example, is an avid tweeter, which literally means he’s conducting public discourse in a format that disallows anything but the soundbite. Donald Trump is not the next Adolf Hitler. He’s the natural conclusion of our culture’s decade’s long trajectory privileging amusement over serious discourse. The function of our media is no longer to inform, but to entertain - so we favor conflict and spectacle over analysis and substance. Donald Trump has mastered this. I wonder what Postman would think about the difference between a movie star and a reality television star. Reality television, a genre that continues to grow in popularity and influence, is founded on drama and conflict. How can we be surprised that our politics are following suit? -----------------------fairs and conferences, and of two extraordinary Havana museums, the National Gallery of the Arts and The Museum of the Revolution. Stephens can be reached at stephem@ucmail.uc.edu, and she blogs at marthastephens.wordpress.com. A new book of hers, Me and the Grandmas of Baghdad, was reviewed in Streetvibes last year. Streetvibes, as always, welcomes other viewpoints on the same subject. ------------------------ �5 LOCAL No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 DIY: Taxes and Credit DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer P reparing people’s taxes for free is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have this time of year. As a Benefit Bank tax counselor, I was fortunate enough to receive training to learn how to quickly and easily prepare taxes through http://www.thebenefitbank.org/. But did you know that you can do it on your own? If you have a pretty simple tax situation (something like 1 or 2 W2’s and your student loan form), I highly suggest using the Benefit Bank, as it is free, safe, reliable, and there are no hidden strings attached to using it. There are some restrictions, as it is for people who make less than $65,000, and some forms aren’t compatible, but most everyone can use the Benefit Bank. Additionally, the Benefit Bank can connect you to cash assistance, EBT, Medicaid, and other resources based upon your tax return. You can e-file and see past year’s forms as well. The Benefit Bank is really the Do-It-Yourself of tax and benefits. Did you know that one of the oldest (and largest) federal anti-poverty programs helps people get their taxes done for free? The VITA program has been around for many years – perhaps you’ve seen advertisements for “Make Work Pay!” which feature locations where you can get your taxes done for free. In Cincinnati, if you call 2-1-1, the United Way hotline, you can find the locations that will prepare your taxes for free. If you want to learn more on your own, tips on budgeting, credit, taxes, and other resources can be found on the web: http://www.makeworkpay.com/ There are site supervisors at the VITA locations that are friendly and very knowledgeable. Many of them have been doing the VITA program for several years, and they work hard to keep up on any changes in the tax code. Every year there seem to be both complex and simple changes to the tax code. Homeless Coalition members and the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, have been instrumental in helping keep VITA active in Cincinnati. Call 2-1-1 and ask where the nearest Make Work Pay site is for you! Finally, it’s really important to stay on top of your financial credit situation, no matter if you use credit cards or not. We all know by now that identify theft can be a real problem. Someone might get a hold of your social security number and your name and try to use it to buy something or open up a credit card. So how do you know if someone’s doing this? Well, using Credit Karma (https://www. creditkarma.com/), the only free and Credit Karma helps you keep an eye on your credit. federally sanctioned credit reporting site, will allow you to keep in touch with your credit score in real time. You do not need to sign up for a monthly paid subscription or anything like that, but you will have to register to use it. There may be advertisements for credit cards on the site (they will say, “Looks like this is a good card for you to help build your credit, do you want to sign up?”) but you can easily deny them. Other than that, this is a free-to-use site that you can check your credit score and see if you’ve been a victim of identity theft. I certainly recommend using this site for several reasons, but especially because it does not put a hard credit inquiry on your account. The Benefit Bank, VITA, and Credit Karma are ways that you can keep your money in your pocket and not be swayed into pay-day lending schemes with high interest rates and lots of fine print. Many people don’t The Benefit Bank’s site: use the Self-Serve Option to do it yourself! BILL WOODS Contributing Writer B cilitator, Taylor also fielded questions and led a dialogue with Forum attendees. In the last several years, branches of Black Lives Matter have sprung up in communities across the country. Responding to fatal shootings in Ferguson, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio, New York City, and other cities, young “Breakdown Stereotypes” ------------------------ Make Work Pay Website Black Lives Matter Returns To The Forum lack Lives Matter: Cincinnati returned to the Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral on February 11th. Brian Taylor, a local leader and spokesman for the group, gave an update of the organization’s activities and concerns and discussed its purpose and focus. A skilled fa- realize that when they get their “refund” the day they submit their tax return at cash checking places, or corner pop-up tax places, that they are really signing up for a loan. If the federal government denies the tax return, these pop-up tax companies and pay-day lenders will come looking for repayment on their loans, leaving you with fees and interest to pay off. Because so many of us are working poor, we deserve to keep our hard-earned money in our pockets and not give it away when we can do if for free! Take the time to either find a VITA site near you, or do your taxes yourself with the Benefit Bank. Everyone should sign up and use Credit Karma, because it’s best to know what’s going on with your money (or lack of it!) than be wondering what’s happening in the dark. activists banded together to hold rallies, vigils, and forums to protest these events. Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati formed in 2014. When Brian Taylor and other Black Lives Matter members spoke at the Forum a year ago, Cincinnati had not in recent years experienced police actions that led to the tragedies that took place in communities like Ferguson. Attendees noted that after the fatal shooting of Timothy Thomas in 2001, the Collaborative Agreement and other reforms had changed policing in this city. Some even questioned whether the approach of Black Lives Matter was really necessary in Cincinnati because of these reforms. Taylor referred to this former Forum dialogue, and asked whether anyone had changed their minds during the last twelve months? He then (Continued on page 6) “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 Authorizing War: Back to Libya? Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer C lose readers of the news may have noticed that some outlets have quietly mentioned possible expansion of the War on Terror – including American “boots on the ground” – into Libya. The target would be the selfstyled Islamic State, a reprehensible organization that relies on terror and suicide bombers to advance its agenda. Following Russian intervention in Syria and recent setbacks, the IS fighters seem to be expanding their presence in Libya. Libya, of course, no longer has an effective central government after the United States and its allies helped drive Qaddafi from power in 2011 and he was executed. The question here is not whether military escalation is worthwhile, or whether the United States could do it successfully (a necessary question in light of recent history). The question is, does the president already have the authority to expand the area of military operations or does he need specific authorization from Congress? Article I Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war. Article II Section 2 states that the president is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. If we are talking of something short of an all-out war, how much authority does the president have to commit our troops to battle? In 1973 the War Powers Resolution attempted to limit the authority of the president here by at least putting a time limit on the duration of armed conflict before obtaining authorization from Congress. Presidents generally say that they won’t be limited by this act but for the most part go along with its provisions. In the case of the War on Terror following the attacks of 9/11, Congress did authorize the president to respond. Here is the relevant section from the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Section 2 – Authorization For Use of United States Armed Forces (a) IN GENERALThat the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against BILL WOODS (Continued from page 5) brought up several local fatal police shootings of Black men in the last year including the tragic death of Samuel Dubose. He used these examples to point out that something was still terribly wrong with police practices toward African-Americans even in Cincinnati. Brian Taylor and most Black Lives Matter activists start from the belief that institutional racism is alive and well in most police departments across the country. This institutional racism is at work in the daily practices of these departments as well as in the criminal justice system as a whole. The worst outcomes of this omnipresent factor are the tragic deaths of people such as Timothy Thomas and Samuel Dubose. Black Lives Matter emerged in response to the tragic results of this institutional racism embedded in police departments in Ferguson, New York City, Cleveland, and Cincinnati when young activists felt they must take a stand. The appropriate strategy, according to Taylor, is protest that demands justice for the illegal or criminal actions of the police. Only when members of the police are brought to trial for wrongful acts will the potential for transformational change become possible. Taylor also touched on some positive news. Despite the current flurry of protests against police shootings and other injustices in communities across the U.S., national attitudes about race are improving. He cited surveys that showed a trend toward more tolerance and acceptance among a majority of Americans. Young adults, noted Taylor, lead the way in views that reflect a color blindness and a lack of discrimination toward all groups in the society. This trend, emphasized Taylor, bodes well for the future. Besides his involvement with Black Lives Matter, Taylor is a journalist who has also worked as a union organizer. A those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons. (b) War Powers Resolution Requirements(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTSNothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution. Only one member of either house voted against the bill, on the grounds that its wording was too vague. And Representative Lee may well have been right. Though this was passed in 2001 in response to those specific terrorist acts, this is the authority that that President Obama has used for air attacks against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. (A different authorization was used for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In a prelude to the current question, there was also no authorization for the 2011 use of the Air Force in Libya.) Government officials have claimed that the Islamic State has been in affiliation with Al-Qaeda, which carried out the September 11 attacks. There are two problems with this. First, the Islamic State opposes Al-Qaeda and says they are not true followers of Islam, often even warring with them. Second, the AUMF states that it extends to those who “planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, … or harbored such organizations or persons…” There is nothing about affiliates, and as for the Islamic State it didn’t even exist in 2001. Democrats in Congress are naturally reluctant to oppose the president on this. On the other hand, most Republicans seem afraid to go on the record with a vote on a new AUMF. A new AUMF would, of course, would mean that they would have to answer questions as to how long, where, and how the War on Terror would continue to be fought. Well, tough. If they don’t want to do their job they shouldn’t have campaigned for it. They seem content to criticize President Obama and his efforts as Commander-in-Chief, but will continue to provide the funding he requests. One more thing. Enlistees in the armed forces take an oath: “I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” Note that both obeying the president and defending the Constitution are a part of the oath. Congress should demonstrate that the Constitution is being followed. ------------------------ Young activists with Brian Taylor and Bill Woods Photo: Justin Jeffre skillful facilitator, he ably fielded questions and conducted a dialogue with Forum attendees. For a video clip of this Forum go to www.airinc.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �LOCAL Not So Great a Distance: from “The Drop” to the Shelterhouse No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer F ull Disclosure: When I headed across town to do a story about the new Drop Inn Center, now on Gest Street (and now named the “Shelterhouse”) I carried a certain amount of negativity along with me. I had been a friend of buddy gray back in “the old days,” when it was called the “Alcoholic Mens’ Drop Inn Center.” I grieved (and ranted) upon learning that “The Drop” would be moved out of Over-The-Rhine, where it had maintained a powerful presence, both actual and symbolic for so many years. The Drop had saved thousands of lives. Now it is housed in the former Butternut Bread factory more that a mile away, surrounded by commercial properties. This is not a neighborhood with houses or apartments, the neighbors living nearby are the people experiencing homelessness who live in the encampments under the overpasses. Upon my arrival, Arlene Nolan, Shelterhouse Executive Director, met me and gave me an extensive tour of the new facility. She explained that the shelter had had its largest number of clients ever (270 men) the night before, a frigid February 10th . I found myself immediately impressed by the cleanliness, lack of chaos, and by relaxed way the men were going about their business. And I was impressed by this vibrant, youngish-director—a transplant from South Africa. Clearly she loved her job. Clearly I could see that she related well to the men. And clearly she was thrilled with the newly remodeled facility. “We knew the things we wanted and needed and we made requests of the developers,” she said. As an example, she pointed out the ice machine. “We didn’t have one before, and the men really wanted it.” It was just after noon. Many of the client-guests were moving through the cafeteria lines. Others were lounging in comfortable chairs or chatting in small clusters in he main lobby area. At one side of Arlene Nolan, Executive Director of Shelterhouse Photo: Jim Luken the lobby was a bank of computers, which the men are encouraged to use in order to keep track of personal matters, like job searches. Nolan described this service as a client “portal,” an on-line service named HIP, the Homeless Internet Partnership. If a client has a problem or an “issue” that he feels the staff should be aware of, he types in his code number and writes out his need, problem, complaint. Someone from the staff then provides timely feedback. Three shelters Nolan explained that there were actually three men’s shelters at the facility as there had been on twelfth street. She walked me through all three. The main one was the “low barrier” or “safe shelter.” Clients who had been processed into the Shelterhouse were assured of having a bed and a locker for their stuff for as long as they chose to stay. There are two other smaller dorms called the “Green Dot” and the “Blue Dot,” each housing about 30 individuals. In the Green Dot, there is a section designated for Veterans. The clients who stay in these “Dot” shelters are men who are working with social workers and with advocates who are assisting them in preparing for more permanent housing. Nolan explained that an individual might remain in these shelter for Arlene Nolan at the winter shelter Photo: Jim Luken THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 7 up to 90 days, or even longer if the man’s situation called for it. I walked through the health clinic which had it’s own outside access. People experiencing homelessness can come to the clinic in the late afternoon or evening, even if they were not in an ongoing relationship with the Shelterhouse. The same is true for those individuals who are accessing alcohol and drug treatment there at the facility. Separate entrances make so much sense. Our last stop was the “winter shelter.” The new building allows for much more space for those seeking safety from the winter weather. The room is huge and barren. “Bare bones,” is how Nolan described it. Men can come in out of the nighttime cold whenever they want. No one is turned down. Each one is issued a plastic-covered foam mat, and a blanket. Couples may come in together. 95 people had slept in this room the previous night (see photo). At mid-day the mats are piled up in adjacent rooms. The big room is totally empty. The Executive Director Arlene Nolan has worked as what she calls an “operations director” on two Continents. A native South African, she was the finance director and de facto director of operations for the SOS Children’s Village in Swaziland, before bringing her skills to the United States 18 years ago. Nolan began work as Chief Operations Officer at “the Drop” 7½ years ago, after working as the chief finance officer for several local nonprofits, including St. Aloysius Orphanage. “I didn’t know much about the Drop Inn Center until I applied to work there,” Nolan admits. “The more I learned, the more it became really intriguing. Honestly, it’s a fascinating place. Residents are really, really interesting.” She became the Director five years ago, succeeding the popular Pat Clifford. “Even though we serve so many people. Truly, everybody’s story is different.” Nolan recognizes that some people weren’t pleased with the fact that the name of the facility was changed with the move to the new location. Nolan explained that, even when it was “The Drop,” the official name was (and remains) the “Shelterhouse Volunteer Group,” doing business then as (DBA) the Drop Inn Center. Now it is DBA The Shelterhouse. Nolan says that the decision to change the name came about painfully. “We were trying to incorporate new services. “The board felt that the (old) name didn’t fit in with all we were trying to accomplish.” The staff, both in house, and those affiliated with other non-profits who come to the Shelterhouse to provide various services has grown from around 50 to nearly 70. Nolan explains that they have an in-house saying which goes, “Stay in your lane,” meaning do the thing you were hired to do, the thing you are good at. In terms of herself, she says, “Early on, I figured out what I am good at. I’m good at operations, at making decisions, at maintaning systems and infrastructure. I’m not the social worker type.” She says that she is here to make sure that the organization stays functional for a long time. Financially stable. In compliance. I had taken a very cold ride to The Shelterhouse that day on my (Continued on page 11) �8 WORLD Professor Green: Can we create a utopia where we end youth homelessness? Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 ADRIAN LOBB www.INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK W ho are we as a society? What kind of society do we live in if there is no desire to help the people who need it most? Homeless young people really are the most vulnerable people in society. They are someone’s daughter, someone’s son, and something has happened in their life - either by their own hand but quite often not - that has meant they fall between the cracks. We live in a society with very little safety net. But you can’t begin to help anyone without having an understanding. I made my new documentary, Hidden and Homeless, after a man in a suit tutted loudly when he saw me offering money to a young homeless man in Shoreditch. What went wrong in that man’s life to make him react like that? There was such a lack of empathy. We live in a society where some people demonise the most vulnerable, and I find that disturbing. I wondered whether that was everyone’s opinion. I found that everything is set up for people to fail. It is the demonisation of an entire class. There are twice as many people sleeping rough on the streets of Manchester as there were a year ago. And those are just the people who have been counted. And to be included in this statistic means you have to be in a sleeping bag and actually British rap artist Professor Green. Photo: The Big Issue UK asleep when they do the count. They try everything not to put you on that list. And those sleeping rough are not all the people who are homeless. If you are in a hostel, you are homeless. If you are sofa-surfing, crashing on a mate’s couch, you are homeless. It is such a multi-faceted problem. With the benefit cuts to under 25-year-olds, so many young people are going to lose their homes. And what happens then? Government departments are looking at a spreadsheet, ‘here’s how we save some money’. But it is a real short-term fix. Prevention is always better than cure. Can we create a Utopia that will help these young, vulnerable people? It is such a clusterfuck. That has been the hardest part about doing this film - I haven’t come out with any result. I was naive to think we would. The situation as it stands doesn’t look like it’s getting better. But I absolutely have faith in young people. We went into a school. In the beginning, they started out with quite stereotypical ideas of a homeless person as an old man, maybe with a dog and a begging bowl. But within half an hour they began to see them as individuals, as humans. They were really thinking about who a homeless person might be and what might be going through the head of someone who is homeless. Introduce these ideas everywhere and we can change a whole generation’s outlook. You have to encourage it. In the same way hatred is taught, so is compassion. Introduce these Collapse of Iraq’s largest dam could herald national crisis TAYLOR SMITH T he Mosul Dam is in danger of collapse due to increased rainstorms. The resulting flood would be devastating. As Iraq’s largest dam, it would send a 15-foot wall of water down the river to Baghdad, and Mosul would be engulfed in a flood. The immediate impact would result in approximately 500,000 people’s deaths and the environmental impact could severely harm the quality of life for people in the Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahadin provinces. Specifically, the resulting famine and disease would affect the region for years to come. Maintenance work on the dam is the Iraqi government’s responsibility, but it has not, allegedly, taken place since 2014. The necessary repairs to stop the erosion are estimated to cost $250 million to $500 million, according to members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Kurdistan parliament. The threat of demise arises from the soil foundation of the dam. It is built on water-soluble soils that must www.INSP.ngo / Spare Change News USA be constantly replenished to prevent collapse. The combination of gypsum, anhydrite, marl and limestone continually dissolves in water. The Mosul Dam was once known as Saddam Dam. Constructed in 1983, it stands 113 meters high and 3,650 meters long on the Tigris River. It is the second-largest dam in the Middle East and provides electricity to 1.7 million residents in Mosul. Following the immediate wave, disease would surely follow. Waterborne diseases, such as cholera, would run rampant. Iraq has already experienced a cholera outbreak in September due to the influx of refugees and internally displaced persons. Floods typically submerge with sewer systems, which would only intensify the outbreak. The strength of the water deluge from the Mosul Dam would also destroy several buildings that could contain an array of toxic materials such as paints and gasoline. The danger of the Mosul Dam isn’t solely structural. In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seized the dam, but Kurdish peshmerga forces took it back. Sitting on the frontline, there is no doubt a collapse would have a significant impact on the battle between ISIS and the peshmerga forces. However, Iraqi officials are dismissing the US reports of the danger as alarmist. A US Army Corps of Engineers report stated that decomposition of the soil is occurring at a faster rate than it did before construction in 2007. The report went so far as to call the dam the most dangerous in the world. The comprehensive report reveals that maintenance on the dam has included grouting since inception to stop water from causing the rapid dissolution of foundation soil. If the catastrophic floods in Pakistan are any indication, a flood from the Mosul Dam would affect Iraq for years if not decades to come. The floods in Pakistan disrupted vital supply lines to troops in Afghanistan, which would be of even greater concern in Iraq. Furthermore, there would be an THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ideas everywhere and we can change a whole generation’s outlook. We need to be more compassionate, and remember that these people are human, they have got names and faces. Just say hello. Look people in the eye. See there is a person there. And don’t blame them or make assumptions. They are there for a million different reasons. The bits of hope I saw were in the organisations picking up all the slack for the authorities. Don’t get me wrong, the success stories were few and far between. But the looks on their faces when they told of people who had got off the streets or who had found work was brilliant. A lot of them had been through this situation themselves, seen it first-hand. They have got the patience of saints. That is where you start - as a government, you talk to people working in the sector and learn from the people who actually help. I met a lad teaching sports classes at New Horizon Youth Centre, near King’s Cross [an inner city area of London]. He used to use the facilities there, now he is fully qualified. Talking to the young people there, none would be picked out of a line-up as homeless. But their stories, the things that they have gone through… man, it’s so tough. If this documentary starts the conversation, that makes me proper happy. The thing is to never become preachy. That is not how people take things on board. I am trying to stay smart, introducing people to subjects they otherwise might not give a fuck about, and encouraging compassion. -----------------------increase in the need for foreign aid workers to cope with the situation. When the floods washed over Pakistan, terrorist groups such as the Taliban threatened to attack Western aid workers. Again, this would certainly be a concern if there was a flood in Iraq due to ISIS’s infamous reputation for beheading Western aid workers and broadcasting the actions to the world. If repairs are not carried out as soon as possible, Iraq will have another national crisis to deal with. Nature Iraq, an Iraqi non-governmental organization, has found a potential solution to the impending collapse, but has not received any indication that the country is moving forward with it. The founder and CEO, Dr. Azzam Alwash, believes the repair money would be best spent by leasing the Illisu Dam in Turkey to store Iraq’s water. According to him, the benefits would be twofold. First, the reduced pressure on the Mosul Dam would stop any collapse from being devastating. Second, the evaporation of water in Turkey’s dam would occur at a slower rate than in Mosul. To date, there is no known plan in place if something were to cause the dam to collapse. ------------------------ �WORLD Uneducated women entrepreneurs defeat poverty No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 ALIYA BASHIR www.INSP.ngo M aryam Yousuf, 50, gently washes her hands under a common tap outside her house in Saida Kadal, a grassy middle-class locale encircled by the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital. She puts on a Pheran, the traditional long loose gown, and holding a large steel bucket walks towards a dimly-lit cowshed, made up of wooden shingles, in a corner of her home backyard. Nearby, children are playing cricket, flaunting wooden sticks as bats, and a flock of chicken cluck and nibble at left-over vegetables. As the milk squirts into the bucket, Maryam says she can’t forget the day when her husband sold all the three cows after she had fallen ill. As a mark of protest, she didn’t eat food for three days. “My cows are very dear to me. They are like my children and when he sold them, I told him to give me back my identity,” she said. Her husband not only brought back the cows, he even purchased another one for her. “It was not less than Eid (an Islamic festival) for me,” added Maryam who has trodden the path of entrepreneurship as a dairy farmer for the last 30 years. In this conflict-ridden Himalayan territory, entrepreneurship has witnessed many a metamorphosis. Initially, it was taken up by the educated upper class men who invested their own money to build their fortunes. Then educated women followed and few have made a significant mark over the years. However, what has not been recognised is that many uneducated women are also enthusiastically raising family incomes through micro ventures and reinvesting their earnings in their families and communities. These women also inspire other women in their localities to pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship at the grassroots level. Turning tragedy into opportunity In her community, Maryam is considered an inspirational woman who is making money in dairy farming. She believes that no one can stop a woman other than her own self: “We are managers by default. If we can run a house without doing any course, we can run a business too.” Her journey of entrepreneurship started when her husband fell ill due to strenuous work in carpet weaving. She had to look after six children - five sons and a daughter. “My children help me to manage the accounts. They respect my struggle in life and owe their achievements to it,” she says. Maryam earns Rs 8,000 rupees ($117) each month from each cow. From her three cows, she is able to look after her daily needs and add to her savings. She believes that rearing cows is her asset as she is managing everything from her home-based business. “The thing of satisfaction is that I don’t have to depend on my children. I recently married off my elder son without anyone’s help,” she added proudly. Maryam Yousuf, 50, a dairy farmer spends most of her time looking after her three cows to earn a livelihood for her family. Photo: Aliya Bashir/IPS She sold off her belongings and started her venture with Rs 2,000 rupees ($29). When she first started, Maryam possessed less than one kanal (0.125 acres) of land. Today, she owns three kanals (0.375 acres). Each cow produces 10-18 litres of milk per day and she sells it at a fair price. She also makes cheese, curd, sweets and takes orders on special occasions. Maryam not only generates revenue for her family, she also offers small loans to other women in her community and encourages them to work. She is known by the name of ‘milk woman’. Building Her Dreams Daulat Begum, 65, is inspired by Maryam’s words of encouragement following her husband’s death. She has been growing a household Kashmiri vegetable, Haakh (collard greens) besides several others through conventional farming: animal manures, multi-variety cropping, crop residues, plant nutrients and other natural and sustainable ways of agriculture. Begum’s husband passed away after a brief illness in 1999, leaving behind three daughters and two sons. She Daulat Begum, 65, who grows local vegetables on her land was encouraged towards entrepreneurship from the death of her husband. She is a proud mother who transformed her challenge into opportunity. Photo: Aliya Bashir/IPS THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 took on the entire responsibility of the household on her shoulders as her children were young. Begum started growing vegetables without anyone’s help and learned by her mistakes. “I didn’t want my children to starve,” she says, while picking vegetables in her garden. “I chose to control my own destiny and became what I wanted to become.” Begum never felt sorry for herself. Her passion to become economically independent helped her to nurture her dream. She sells vegetables in the bustling market outside her home near the famous Hazratbal shrine of Srinagar city. “Poverty teaches you much in life,” Begum says. “I learnt the hard way.” Begum resisted family pressure for her decision not to remarry. “In a close-knit society like ours, independence is often synonymous with opposing moral and cultural values. I had already waged a war against my family,” she said, adding that “I was left with no option other than to struggle alone and push myself hard.” Her memories are fresh with past struggles, when her family had nothing to eat for days. But that didn’t deter her and she kept going until she sowed the seeds of her fortune. “I feel so contented not to beg before anyone. People don’t pity me,” Begum says. “I provide them fresh and healthy food to live a happy life.” She owns four kanals (0.5 acres) of land and earns more than Rs 15, 000 rupees ($220) on a monthly basis. “I was very shy. I would struggle even talking to men. But today I have no apprehensions. I believe in myself,” Begum emphasised. Transformational Leaders Kashmir is an agrarian economy with more than 70 per cent of the population depending on agriculture for their livelihood. Even though grassroots female entrepreneurs like Maryam and Begum are not undertaking their businesses at a commercial level, they are breaking barriers and inspiring other women to become selfreliant. Unlike many working women who are finding it difficult to manage their professional and personal life, Maryam and Begum set an example. The trend of women entrepreneurs is substantially increasing in Kashmir, says Dr. Farooq Ahmad Shah, Associate Professor, Department of Management Studies at the Central University of Kashmir: “The uneducated women entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas, still do not have access to technical and financial support that can give a fillip to their businesses from a domestic to a commercial level.” Dr. Shah has extensively worked in the field of entrepreneurship and published many books and research papers in the field. There are cultural and societal norms that hinder equal participation of women in ventures that men undertake. But women have to contribute to entrepreneurial activities in the best way possible, he argued. ------------------------ �10 LOCAL Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 7) bike. I was aware of the distance (one mile +) from OTR, and from the various amenities that exist for the poor in the downtown area, the library for example. Responding to my question about the new place being a bit far away, Arlene Nolan responded, “Far from where? Where is the starting place?” Nolan explained that clients are coming from places that are further and further away. “We are over capacity,” she said, “so people are getting to us.” Then she laughs, “I come from South Africa where everybody walks. When people talk to me about walking they’re talking to somebody who is not real sympathetic.” Arlene Nolan says she shares with all of us many deep personal memories of the Drop Inn Center. “Certainly people have fond memories of the old place. You miss the neighbors and the energy. But this organization will always have a certain energy. “So many people thank you for your work, thank you for what you do. I feel like, honestly, I get more out of this than...” And her voice drifts off, but her meaning is clear. The Shelterhouse will continue to be a very special place. Three stories: 1. Saved by the Shelterhouse Would you like to meet someone who proves that homelessness can happen to anyone? Then meet Frank Schneider. 55 years old. For 28 years he was a route driver for Coca Cola. Then a DUI ended his career. Bad knees inhibited his re-entry into the workforce. His life fell apart. He describes himself as having been overwhelmed...financially and psychologically. He lived as a homeless man for three years. But now, after six weeks at the Shelterhouse, he feels much better about himself and his situation. “I am totally capable,” he says. “I’ve got more done in the past three and a half months than in the three previous years, all because of the Drop.” Well, 11 the Shelterhouse. I am very happy to be here,” he says. “The Shelterhouse is providing me stability. They have put me on the path to getting permanent housing.” But on this particular day, Frank Schneider is stressed. His anxiety has nothing to do with his living situation. That part is good. It is Hamilton County’s institutional bureaucracy that has him upset. He has been fighting for two weeks to get an updated identification card (similar to a driver’s license) from the BMV, but they won’t budge. He needs the ID in order to get one of several possible jobs that are available to him. Frank shows me his ID card, his picture is on it. It’s definitely him. But several months ago, the ID expired. The BMV is demanding that he prove he has a social security card. He says the card “fell apart” in his threadbare wallet. Not hard to believe. He has his birth certificate, a proof of residence, and the expired ID. He even had a police background check. “It’s a Catch-22. I need a new ID, and I can’t get the ID without a social security card. All they have to do is press a few buttons and they would see that I am who I claim to be. They could easily find my social security number.” Almost in tears he says, “i don’t understand why they are acting the way they are.” Thanks to the staff at the Shelterhouse, Frank Schneider is on the way to a brand new life for himself. He knows it will happen, but he is frustrated that the State of Ohio is putting up unnecessary roadblocks. I tell him this seems like yet another example of the system playing games with the lives of the poor. He nods in agreement. 2. Nine on a Scale of Ten Ricky Gore is 52. When we met on Feb. 11, he had been at the Shelterhouse for just two weeks. He came there directly (almost) from the Madison State Penitentiary in London, Ohio. He had done a hellish year there because of long ago failure to pay off his child support expenses. He said the daughter in question was now 32 years old. “She won’t get a penny of Ricky Gore at the Shelterhouse Photo: Jim Luken Frank Schneider holds up his expired ID Photo: Jim Luken the money I owe. It will all go to the state.” Gore left the pen on January 27 with literally the clothes on his back. No money. “They took my gate pay,” he said. That is what they call the money that a prisoner is supposed to receive on leaving. After spending hia first night of freedom in the Hamilton County jail (as part of the release process), the County charged him $40...which of course he did not have). “Where does it end?” he asks rhetorically. The next day his sister drove him to the Shelterhouse. Gore was already a cheerleader for his new surroundings. He gave it a “9.” He gave the food a “9.5.” “Ninety-five percent of the employees are respectful and helpful. Of the Executive Director, he says, “Miss Arlene in the most approachable person I have ever seen, besides buddy (gray). If there is an issue, she will address it.” So Gore seems quite happy to be camped out in the “Safe” dorm. He described for me the intake process. First: an orientation program. Then a staff member took him around the entire facility, showing him the showers and the sleeping quarters, etc.. Then, they went over the rules and regulations. The whole thing took “an hour or so.” After that, he received a mental health assessment. He looked forward to moving from the safe dorm to one of the long term, colored “dot” dorms, because this would mean that he was further along the path to establishing a new life out in the so-called “real world.” Although I spent less than an hour with him, Ricky Gore appeared to be competent a quite capable of creating this new life for himself. But a huge cloud hung over his future. A financial cloud. Gore owed the State some $15,000 for his failures to pay child support. If he finds a decent job he must repay the State $250 a month. If he fails to do so, he can be sent back to jail. The Shelterhouse is providing many services to its client-residents. Will there be a solution available that he and someone at the Shelterhouse can access to help him deal with such a huge indebtedness, along with all THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED the other obligations that come with leading so-called “normal life?” Gore introduces me to one of the staff members. He describes her as being “the hardest working person in the Shelterhouse.” 3. A View from One Employee Meet Laura Rudowitz, resident advisor at the Drop Inn/Shelterhouse for past two years. So Laura was among those who helped in the move from 12th Street (The Drop Inn Center) to Gest Street (The Shelterhouse). “It was a really good transition,” she says, “and it’s really good to be able to offer the residents all we have now.” Rudowitz recalls the location in Over the Rhine with mixed feelings, “That place has a history we can never forget, but we’ve come a long way now. I think this is better for the men.” “Miss Laura” believes that after four months, most of the staff feels the way she does. Most are happy with working in the new facility. She obviously has a special rapport with many of the clients. “It’s a courageous thing to walk in and to ask for help. You have to understand that anyone can fall under these circumstances.” Rudowitz seems to have a clear, personal notion of what lies beyond her job description. “It’s all a matter of just taking the time to hear, to listen. Five minutes of listening can go along way in terms of making the men feel like people. We provide the supplies they need, and emotionally we try to make them feel like people.” Ricky Gore had been one of the people she had listened to. He was one of her biggest fans. The most recent effort to move the Drop Inn Center started for political reasons, led by those who have a very exclusive vision for Over-the-Rhine and did not want the region’s largest shelter in that vision. What I saw clearly during my visit is that the successes of the Drop Inn Center/ Shelterhouse has everything to do with its heritage; its hard-working, creative and caring staff and its strong, resilient, hard-working client-guests. Despite all of the struggles, the staff of the Shelterhouse continue to serve the many people they meet with dignity and urgency. ------------------------ �12 LOCAL The Catalyst for change: new street paper launches in the US Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 LAURA KELLY A merica’s newest street paper has just launched in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Catalyst was unveiled on 23 February at a council meeting, where the team behind it explained the street paper ethos to local representatives and media. Immediately afterwards, the paper went on sale for the first time on the steps of the town hall. A handful of homeless vendors will continue to sell the paper within the community. “It’s about dignity and empowerment. Vendors of The Catalyst can become micro-enterprises,” says Ryan White, the man behind the new project, adding that he hopes to see vendor numbers rise quickly. Two thousand copies of the first edition of The Catalyst will be available. Vendors will buy each paper for 40 cents and sell them for a dollar. Ryan says that the title of the paper refers both to the change he hopes to bring to its vendors’ lives - and to the increase in empathy that he hopes to drive in the broader community. “My wife is in biotechnology and she deals with chemical catalysts. It’s a compound that you add to other chemicals, which creates a change but the catalyst agent stays the same,” he explains. “We want to be the change agent in people’s lives and propel them forward. There’s this quote that’s often attributed to Gandhi: ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’ So www.INSP.ngo there’s also the opportunity for the customer to be part of the vendor’s story - to be part of their catalyst story beyond poverty or marginalisation.” Ryan began working on The Catalyst almost a year ago, following a visit to a nearby homeless outreach centre which changed his views. “Before this point, I’d seen people suffering from the effects of poverty or homelessness and I felt bad, but I thought they must have messed up somewhere along the way. I had this negative attitude towards them,” he admits. But after a moving sermon in his church, Ryan met Diane Waddell, who runs Living Waters Center of Hope. She invited him to come and meet some of the homeless guests who use their services. “Speaking with them touched me,” says Ryan. “One of the issues that kept coming up was that they wanted to work but it wasn’t possible to find a job for many reasons - either they had disabilities or they had a [criminal] record.” Ryan immediately thought of Spare Change News, which is sold 30 miles away in the Boston area. After some research, he realised that Spare Change News was part of a global network of street papers and so he reached out to INSP for assistance. Though he already had a full time job at the Raytheon factory in Lowell, Ryan was moved with a “vision of a street paper in Lowell”. With support from INSP, and hands-on advice from Spare Change News and Megaphone, in Canada, the vision is now a reality. Richard Edwards was the first vendor to sign up. “He’s become quite a friend of mine,” says Ryan. “Richard is a construction guy. He got really bad arthritis in his back and he wasn’t able to work anymore. He didn’t have any savings, any 401k [workplace savings plan], and one thing led to another and he ended up on the street. “He’s been living in a tent for four years, through the winter and everything. But this is a guy who doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t use drugs, doesn’t have mental health issues - it’s just his situation. “Speaking with Richard really opened up my mind to what the face of poverty and homelessness is. It’s not what you would think it is.” Ryan got to know Richard through a photography project in association with Diane at Living Waters. The pair gave out eight one-use cameras to some of the guests at the centre. “We asked people on the street to take pictures of their lives and their struggles, their difficulties and their hopes,” he says. “Then we got them developed and put them on canvas. We took them to an art gallery and we did an exhibition at the art gallery. We have this great folk festival in Lowell in July - it was displayed at the festival. Now it’s up at a local coffee shop.” Ryan and Richard stayed in touch after the project and got to know each other better. “Richard would never panhandle. He does odd jobs to support himself,” says Ryan. “He said to me, ‘I would never panhandle. If you would give me something like The Catalyst to sell, I’d gladly be you first vendor.’ So we signed him up.” Though the paper took some time to get started after that initial conversation, Richard says he is looking forward to starting selling. “I think it is a good opportunity to make a few extra dollars to supplement my income,” he adds. In common with many areas of the US, Lowell has recently been attempting to crack down on panhandling. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts recently celebrated the decision of a federal judge to strike down Lowell’s ban on panhandling in the Downtown Historic District, saying that the activity was protected under the First Amendment. Lowell was hit with a bill of $736,466 in legal fees following the judgement. Following this ruling, Ryan hopes that The Catalyst will have strong support as an alternative to panhandling. “People really love the idea of the street paper model,” he says. “Once people understand that vendors have to purchase the papers then sell them on, they really like that idea. The support cuts across the two-party system - both Democrats and Republicans here support the idea of helping people help themselves.” ------------------------ 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 �No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 STREET VOICE President’s Day 2016 A Slave A SLAVE IS ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN SEE AND CONTROL A SLAVE IS ANYTHING YOU ALLOW YOUR MIND AND BODY TO BEHOLD A SLAVE CAN BE A MAN OR WOMEN STUCK PLAYING VIDEO GAMES A SLAVE CAN BE AN ADDICTION, ALCOHLISM, OR DRUGS! I BELEIVE THEY ARE ALL THE SAME BONDAGE IS SOMETHING THAT WITHOUT SLAVE MENTALITY YOU COULD MAKE A DIFFRENCE BONDAGE WITHOUT SLAVE MENTALITY YOU CAN SEE GOD HAS ALREADY DELIVERED US BEING IN BONDAGE WITH A SLAVE MENTALITY YOUR SOUL JUST REFUSES TO IGNORE BEING IN BONDAGE ONLY THE POLICE AND POLITICIANS TALK ON THE FLOOR BEING HOMELESS IS NOT ALWAYS ONE’S FAULT SO WHY RIDICULE OR BELIEVE YOU’RE BETTER BEING QUALIFIED TO ERRADICATE THE ISSUE NOT HURTING PEOPLE CAUSE THEY MATTER BEING SCARED OF WHAT HAPPENS NOW BEING BONDED BY MY LIFE AND A SLAVE TO MY BELIEFS HAVING FAITH IN GOD ALMIGHTY AND KNOWING THAT A PLAN HAS ALREADY BEEN SET FOR MY LIFE BEING IN BONDAGE OR AS A SLAVE WITH MY MIND I DO NOT HAVE ANY STRIFE THANK GOD WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer 13 On February 15th we cried Hooray, In celebration of Presidents’ Day. On that day we could fire a cannon In honor of Prez James Buchanan. Next we might give a patriotic rant In memory of Ohio’s U. S. Grant. Then at times our eyes would glaze Trying to recall Rutherford Hayes. Finally we should wish upon a star That we could elect another F.D.R. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Each Morning Each morning from the dim secrecy of my cot I lay and prepare myself for the day. Sounds of the morning fill the air from alarm clocks, elevator chimes and slippers on the floor. The day has begun once more. Today there is no distinct aroma that comes to mind. The sound of the RA’s voice reminds us of the time. “Breakfast ladies!” rings through the floor as I sit up and prepare myself to walk out the door. Another day with a hot breakfast to enjoy. “Good mornings” and “How ya doings” greet me once more. Time to start the day. Just a lady on my journey trying to make a way. SHANNON JOHNSON Contributing Writer The Copy Cat Copy Cat, Copy Cat climbing up the Copy Cat tree The Copy Cat is always waiting, hanging around On the prowl looking for a victim in the crowd The Copy Cat scratches, bites, lies and deceives Needing attention, it’s what the Copy Cat needs The Copy Cat is a lost soul, wore out and old Bad behavior that can’t be lost Copy Cat you should stop Let’s hope one day the Copy Cat can grow And ask for forgiveness and a new soul KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 93 Across 1. Search and find 6. Stinging insect 10. Treaty 14. One over par in golf 15. Reverberation 16. Dull pain 17. Worship 18. Liberate 19. Currency of China 20. Majestic 21. Gear projections 23. Bind 24. Males 26. Here and now 28. Alone 33. Wild ox of Tibet 34. Heroic poem 35. Perspective 37. Consticted 41. Operated 42. Electronic communication 44. Hawaiian garland 45. Soft part of a fruit 48. Catch sight of 49. Part of a window 50. Consume 52. Atrocious 54. Seize 58. Snakelike fish 59. Historic period 60. Water lily 63. Patois 67. Cut into cubes 69. Insect between larva and adult 70. Fruit of the oak 71. Zeal 72. Object of worship 73. Aggregate 74. Look after 75. Fractional monetary unit 76. Foe Down 1. Alpine lift 2. Traveled by horse 3. Highly excited 4. Artifact fired at high temperatures 5. Fastner 6. Yarn woven across the warp 7. 4840 square yards 8. Horned ruminant 9. Verse 10. Remuneration 11. Extremely sharp or intense 12. Concantenation 13. Religious doctrine 22. Warmth 25. Central area of a church 27. Snow runner 28. Helot 29. Translucent mineral 30. Telephone connection 31. Hoarfrost 32. Leavening agent 36. Rub 38. Slick 39. Perdition 40. Roofing material 43. Harp of ancient Greece 46. Unit of play in tennis 47. Transport in a vehicle 49. Nonmetallic element 51. Either of two parallels of latitude north and south of the equator 53. Colligate 54. Pertain 55. Nimble 56. Type of nut 57. Short musical composition intended as an exercise 61. Au fait 62. Seasoning 64. Brief written record 65. Metric unit of weight 66. Merely 68. Finish SODOKU PUZZLE NO 223 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 323 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 92 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 222 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 324 | F eb 2 6 - M a r 1 0 , 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 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 981-5800 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 Salvation Army 762-5660 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 Shelter: Men 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Housing: 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 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Health Network $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2016 | No. 324 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource February 26-March 10, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: A Crucified Cuba Pg 4: Open Letter to the Bern Donald Trump Isn’t the Next Hitler Pg 5: DIY Pg 6: Authorizing War Pg 7: Not So Great a Distance Pg 8: Professor Green Pg 9: Uneducated Women Entrepreneurs Defeat Poverty Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Jim Luken Continued Pg 12: The Catalyst for Change Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 26-March 10, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Martha Stephens Robert Park Jason Haap Dr. Mark Mussman Bill Woods Michael Earl Patton Jim Luken Willa Denise Jones Kim Green Shanon Johnson Justin Jeffre Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bernie Sanders Bill Woods Black Lives Matter Cuba Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman Iraq Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Libya Martha Stephens Michael Earl Patton Police Officers Robert Park Shanon Johnson Social Works street papers War Willa Denise Jones Women https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/afa71eec2274afacd7597cb7c188df6d.pdf e49062bebe75f4130d755fa027089c1d PDF Text Text March 25th - April 7th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 7 (No. 326) advocating justice | Building community Becoming an Active Citizen: Alternative Breaks with the Homeless Coalition | 5 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Men dominate reporting on women’s reproductive issues | 8 U.S. women push back against stigma, cost of menstruation | 8 What Would It Take To Seriously Reduce Poverty? | 3 How internet access can change lives of homeless in Brazil | 9 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Public Education Brings Successes JOSH SPRING T Executive Director he other day I was at an event for incoming senior social work majors who are looking for internships. At the end of presentations, two students came up to me expressing interest in interning with the Homeless Coalition. This, of course, was exciting. We want more social workers and future social workers to be involved in the work of the Coalition. Adding to the excitement; the two students explained how their interest in the work of our organization began. The first student explained that in high-school she had taken part in our Streetvibes Distributor Shadow; an opportunity for participants to walk and talk with one of our many Distributors, learning about her or his experience of homelessness, while attempting to sell Streetvibes to the general public. Afterward, the participants discuss with our staff and Distributor the ways in which people reacted to them and what systematically may have caused those reactions. The second student explained that in high-school she had taken part in our Citywide Shantytown; an annual event in which students from around the county set up shantytowns on their campuses. The purpose is not to “experience homelessness” because homelessness cannot be mimicked by people who are housed. Instead, the purpose is to get students together so that they can hear the stories of one of our Speakers’ Bureau Speakers who has experienced homelessness and learn about the system- atic causes of homelessness from one of our staff and eventually discuss solutions. While doing this, students, faculty, parents and other community members are spurred to ask what is going on thus starting new conversations about the realities of homelessness in Cincinnati. These are two examples of public education programs we offer. In addition to our Streetvibes Distributor Shadow and Citywide Shantytown we also complete over 100 Speaker’s Bureau speaking engagements in area school, universities, faith settings and civic groups annually. We offer a Social Justice Walking tour; participants walk with us learning about affordable housing, gentrification, displacement and solutions that are right in front of them. Groups of college students from local schools and from around the country also join us for a week at a time. Half of their time is spent volunteering with our direct-service member organizations and learning what they do and why. The other half of their time is spent with our Streetvibes Distributors, Speakers and Director of Education learning about the systems, politics, legislation and societal decisions that cause homelessness and poverty. Every year we reach thousands of people with the truths of homelessness and the ways to end homelessness. When years later someone tells us they are involved or want to be involved in ending homelessness or when we are at city hall speaking for new legislation and a group of people show up in support or we get a note Tax Dollars for Primaries MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer I f you voted in Cincinnati in the recent primary election you surely noticed that there were no issues being decided. Every box on the ballot that you could fill “Breakdown Stereotypes” in had to do with a party primary – for a race either for the Democrat, Green, or Republican parties. These 3 parties were in the primary election because they were the only Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 from someone saying she or he went back to school and changed their major in order to be involved in the fight for economic justice or perhaps they started a group on their campus; when we hear this we are so thankful. We are thankful to work for an organization whose mission statement specifically says that a part of ending homelessness is educating the general public. Getting this feedback, means that our education programs are having success; attitudes are being changed; empathy is being fostered and passions are being found. The most important part of our public education programs that makes them effective is the fact that people who are currently or have in the past experienced homelessness are in leadership roles. It’s one thing for our staff to share the systematic causes of homelessness with a group, it is a whole other thing for someone who has experienced homelessness to tell her or his story and show the group on a personal level why ending homelessness is so important. Of course, I could not say all of this without mentioning that our public education programing requires funding. We pay our Speakers shadowed Distributors. While they would probably do the work for free; we know that their work is very valuable and deserves an income. We also employ a Director of Education who pulls all of this together in what really could be more than one full-time job. In the case of most of our education programs, the participating organizations pay a small fee which we are thankful for but very partially covers our cost. If a group cannot afford the fee, we still go because this is a part of our mission. Donations and grants have to make up the difference for us to continue this work and grow it because the need is certainly greater that we are currently able to meet. -----------------------three which received a certain minimum percentage of the vote for the Ohio governor race last year. What wonderful publicity this created for the Republicans and Democrats! (The Greens have not received anything close to a proportional share from the media.) Here we are with a primary election that is mandated by state law and paid for by us taxpayers. The news me- (Continued on page 3) “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 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, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Michael Earl Patton, Bill Woods, Jim Luken, Jason Haap, Dr. Mark Mussman, Thomas A. Dutton, Stella Norris, Lauren Gould, Jill Elfers, Steve Sunderland, Willa Jones, Kim Green Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, 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 WORLD What Would It Take To Seriously Reduce Poverty? Josh Spring, Executive Director of the Homeless Coalition, Is Second Speaker in a Community Forum Series No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer A t the Community Issues Forum on March 10th, Josh Spring addressed the question: “Are we really serious about reducing poverty.” Spring, the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, was the second speaker in this Forum series focused on what it would take to significantly reduce poverty in Greater Cincinnati. As the leader of a coalition that serves and advocates for homeless families and individuals, he is well suited to take on this issue. Josh Spring began his talk by intimating that too much time and money go into studying the various aspects and phases of poverty. “Do we really need,” he asked, “exhaustive studies on the culture of poverty? Let’s get serious,” he added, “people don’t choose to live in poverty.” What we need to be focused on, according to Spring, are major steps that would immediately lift people out of the conditions that keep them at or below the poverty line. One obvious problem that currently receives a lot of attention is the growing income inequality in our midst. While a few corporate executives are earning millions of dollars every year, there are millions of full and part time employees with wages that keep them in poverty or one pay check away from poverty. “Is it right or moral,” he queried, “for someone to work hard at a job and still be in poverty?” “Pay everyone a living wage,” declared Spring. By “living wage,” he does not mean the current minimum wage that covers the cost of living in 1968, but a salary computed regionally that would allow an individual or family to afford decent, housing, food, health care and the other amenities for a decent and secure life. Spring envisioned for Forum attendees a fantasy in which the CEO of Procter and Gamble, who receives $22-million a year, and the CEO of Kroger, who receives $13-million a year, announce their decision to provide all their employees with a living wage. Other Greater Cincinnati employers then follow their example. “This would be a huge step toward eliminating poverty in Cincinnati,” he stressed. “Why hasn’t this happened?” Spring asked. “Too great a culture of greed currently exists,” he answered. “To question the right to make huge profits and salaries,” he continued, “is like questioning the existence of God.” Spring doesn’t see greed diminishing anytime soon, and he advocates a grassroots campaign for greater equity led by people of good will. “We can legislate more equity and balance.” he averred. He pointed to other communities that have established minimum wage legislation that comes close to a living wage. “Our City Council has the power to set a living wage,” he explained, “and it could pass a minimum wage ordinance in a month’s time.” The lack of affordable housing is the other factor, cited by Spring, that keeps so many families and individuals in poverty. “Over the last thirtyfive years,” he said, “we have decimated our affordable housing stock in the city, and during that same period, federal housing assistance programs have been slashed by billions of dollars.” He pointed to the fact that virtually no affordable housing now exists in downtown Cincinnati. Spring emphasized that we need more local public programs that cre- ate affordable housing. Policies exist elsewhere that require developers to set aside a percentage of their new units as affordable, and this legislative model could easily be adopted here. At present, the trend of reducing such units continues to place our low-income individuals and families at great risk, and coalitions such as Advocates For Affordable Housing and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition have their hands full in fighting to keep the housing we still have. During the informal question and answer period, several people commented about the growing economic inequality in our city and country and how difficult it is to get elected public officials to focus on this dilemma. Spring responded by noting the expanded impact of money on our political system. “The fact that you have to have a barrel of money to win any legislative seat,” answered Spring, “means a government more and more controlled by the economic elite.” ------------------------ Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Executive Director Josh Spring speaks at community issues forum Photo: Justin Jeffre MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 2) dia have covered this like the play-offs to the baseball World Series. They concentrate on the two major parties as if they were the only possible choices, just like there are only two major baseball leagues that can participate in the World Series. This reinforces the perception that no other choice is possible. Here are a couple of proposals. One is that the political parties pay for their primaries, or at least a portion of it. There were a handful of jurisdictions in Hamilton County that had issues on the ballot – Fairfax, for example, had an operating levy. The Village of Fairfax will be charged for the extra expense involved for the additional work by the Hamilton County Board of Elections. A small change would be to charge the parties for this work in the same way. Most of the cost – such as the poll workers -- would still be paid by the taxpayer, but at least some would be paid by the political parties. If the parties don’t want to pay any of the costs, then they can hold a convention or do private voting, perhaps electronically. After all, that is what the parties that didn’t make the minimum cut-off have to do. That is what the Libertarians, Socialist, and Constitution parties have to do. Why, just because your party is big, should you get a free ride? Another proposal is to put ALL the choices on a single ballot. As it was this time and in most years, there are races in which I am interested in at least two parties. But I can only choose the ballot for one party. I would love to be able to choose among the Democrats in some races and among the Republicans or Greens in others. But I can’t. If the parties were paying for a part of this I could understand, but they don’t. Yet they are making the rules. Why don’t we taxpayers make the rules? Finally, some party officials have been saying that the choice for presidential candidate lies with party insiders, not the public. Some Republicans have been pointing out that they have the power to change the rules before the convention, with the aim of denying Donald Trump a first-round victory. Some Democrats pointed out earlier that it really doesn’t matter if Bernie Sanders won most of the states since the so-called super-delegates – chosen by party insiders and not the voters in the primaries – hold the decisive power. So again, why are we taxpayers financing the entire cost of the political primaries if they are just for show? This needs to change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (UN)OFFICIAL ISSUES-ONLY BALLOT for City of Cincinnati March 15, 2016 There are no issues to be decided today in today’s primary in the City of Cincinnati. There are no boxes to fill in. You may feed this sheet of paper into the scanner but nothing will be recorded. This polling station is open and the poll workers are here because Ohio state law requires them for certain political party primary elections. These political party elections are the only elections taking place today within the City of Cincinnati. If you are not voting in a party primary, there is nothing for you to vote upon. Thank you for coming. Your tax dollars are at work today supporting the political process. ------------------------ �4 OPINION Climb the Hill or Feel the Bern JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer H ello Streetvibes readers. Let’s talk politics, a subject that I love to hate. My most recent diatribe, I mean: “essay,” had to do with what I cynically referred to as the Republican “goat rodeo.” At this writing, only four of those 16 goats remain, but the embarrassingly juvenile circus has continued, degenerating to what might euphemistically be called “locker-room humor,” or a grade school cafeteria food fight. This time, let’s talk about the Democrats. Only two left, battling it out for the coveted nomination, but doing so in a manner that makes the Republican “goat rodeo” even more absurd by comparison. Hillary and Bernie have chosen the high road, criticizing one another’s position on issues, voting records, and intentions, but refraining (almost entirely) from attacking each other’s character (or “endowments”). They are conducting what could be termed a “more civilized” debate over things that matter to those of us who comprise the body politic. Less entertaining, perhaps, than the boisterous Republican “goats,” but way more substantive. Clearly, most readers of this paper will vote for one of these two candidates (although some, for excellent reasons, will be voting Green, for Jill Stein). Let me make several potentially outrageous statements up front: It matters that people (you) vote, but your actual, individual vote…makes no real difference…unless an election were to be decided by one vote, which—except in the smallest of local elections—never happens. When we go to vote, we put such thoughts out of our minds as we perform what we see as a civic duty or privilege. Voting (participating in the choosing of officials for public office) is part of the democratic process, but—unfortunately--we no longer live in a democracy. Historian and wag Gore Vidal famously stated that “America does not have a two party system. There is only one party, the Corporate Party, and it has two wings.” Let’s call them the Repugs and the Dims. In painful fact, we live in an oligarchy, dominated and controlled by wealthy business interests. Basically things have always been this way. Proof? The founding fathers were slave owners… businessmen, first and foremost. Fortunately, social contracts (laws) are in place to protect some of us more vulnerable citizens from the greedy power of the corporatists. None the less, these money men shape and (through the media) control much of our lives. Of course, it makes a difference whether the democrats or the republicans are in control of the mighty ship of state, because the democratic wing of the Corporate Party tends to be more concerned about those of us who occupy lower berths on the ship, or--to switch metaphors like horses in mid-stream--who live on rungs closer to the bottom of the social ladder. So, a few days ago, those readers who voted the Democratic ballot in Ohio helped decide between two aging political war horses, Hillary and Bernie. Hillary had the backing of those who control the “machine” of democratic politics. Bernie (who is technically an independent), attracted a huge “populist” following. Bernie has been going to “we the people” for his campaign money and support. Full disclosure: This writer decided to cast his primary ballot for the Senator from Vermont. Mrs. Clinton won in our state, and--absent some huge campaign calamity-she will most likely be the nominee. [I have yet to decide whether I will vote for her in the general election.] Here is my take on the two candidates: Bernie Sanders (Age 74) Officially, the Bern is the only declared “Independent” in the US Senate. Ideologically, he is a Socialist, which--until he proceeded to run this very effective campaign--was a dirty word in US politics. Bernie has made us way more comfortable with socialism, which is the river of benign governance in which most of us swim, off and on, from cradle to grave. He almost always votes with the Democrats in the Senate, but the Party does not hold him in very high regard. Bernie is also a Jew. Just like Jesus was. He has had a long political career in a state where I lived for five years (1999-2004). He was one of Vermont’s two representatives for 16 years, before he won a seat in the senate in 2006. I shook hands and chatted with Sanders at a fundraising barbecue in 2002. Straight forward. Likeable. Not cloying. Not a baby kisser. Most famously, he has never taken contributions from corporations or their PACs. He is a populist, meaning his appeal is to large groups of ordinary people, and it is from these grassroots connections that he receives his funding (In February, he raised more money than his opponent, with all her corporate connections). Have protesters lost their Trump card? JASON HAAP I Contributing Writer decided to attend the recent Trump rally in West Chester, just so I could see, firsthand, what it really feels like inside the spectacle we’ve seen on television. After reflecting for several days, I’m more disappointed in the protesters than the kind of people who would consider voting for Trump in the first place. I’m inclined to feel a nebulous sort of solidarity with progressives In 2004, I had a second encounter with Sanders, an encounter which disappointed me. At a large union hall in a small Vermont town, I sat among three hundred others, listening to a campaign speech. When the Congressman opened the floor to questions, I asked him if he was aware that on September the 10th, 2001 (one day before the day which “changed everything,” Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, held a press conference, wherein he revealed that the Pentagon had lost track of (could not account for) 2.3 Trillion dollars. Not billions. Trillions!! A staggeringly unimaginable amount of money. The day following this incredible announcement, three buildings at the World Trade Center were demolished, and no one seemed concerned about the loss of 2.3 TRILLION dollars. Sanders’ response to my question was shamefully inadequate. “Yes, I am aware of that,” he said, “but it is a very complicated matter, and I am not going to go into it at this point.” Complicated? Indeed. But no one has yet attempted to unravel the mystery of how a government agency could lose so much money without so much as an accounting. This failure to provide accountability includes Senator Sanders. 2.3 trillion dollars could provide college tuition for every eligible student in the US for years to come. 2.3 trillion dollars could solve the problem of homelessness forever. Here’s the thing about Bernie. He talks about creating a revolution, about the need to radically change the “System.” In 2008, Obama campaigned on the notion of “change.” Whatever. Leftist journalist Chris Hedges makes it clear that Sanders is not a revolutionary politician. He is trapped, as Hillary is trapped, in the political “matrix.” He will support Hillary if/when she gets the nomination. Hedges says, in no uncertain terms, that revolution stands a chance of happening if and when enough people (you and I) take to the streets and force the “System” to grind to a halt, in the way that Charlie Chaplin shoved a monkey wrench (literally and figuratively) into the grinding gears of the corporate machine in his brilliant film, Modern Times. As one who participated in the Occupy Movement in 2011, I find myself in total agreement with Hedges. We the People might someday create revolutionary change. But a politician, working within the system, who mount marches and protests -- and, while hundreds of people brought a hullabaloo to West Chester, what did they accomplish? Making noise and getting on TV? Sure, there were a couple of people who tried to interact directly with Trump supporters, such as the three Muslims who wanted to prove not all Muslims are bad because they handed out donuts. Maybe I’m being cynical, but I don’t think a misinformed foreign policy position is going to be radically transformed by a sugary breakfast treat. Don’t get me wrong: I recognize THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 doesn’t have a chance. So, for me, Bernie is a good choice, but we are still choosing between greater and lesser evils. Hillary Clinton (Age 68) Among the many ways I think of myself: activist, writer, actor, teacher, one of my most profound self-images is that of an ardent feminist, or as Alice Walker (The Color Purple) expresses it: a “womanist.” I believe that, unless patriarchy is eliminated, the world will never come to its senses. Unless women share equally with men, in all things, the world cannot mature. With that in mind, I am totally ready for a woman to be President of the US. In her day, Eleanor Roosevelt might have been better than her husband. In some ways, I will be happy to see Hillary as President. But, unfortunately, I will most likely not be voting for her. The main reason: Hillary has proven herself to be a war-monger. As a journalist for the international Franciscan order, I have been up-close-and-personal with too many wars (Nicaragua, Croatia, Haiti, Bosnia). I believe that most wars should never have happened. But continuing to resort to the violent solution is the American way. Vindictiveness is in our breakfast food. And Hillary Rodham Clinton has supported every war the US has waged since 9/11. Some of these wars were propagated during her time as Secretary of State. Like her husband Bill, Hillary seems always drawn to the militarist solution. Perhaps—as a woman—she feels she must prove herself macho by opting for the military solution, time after time. The killer fact for me is that Hillary has never met a war she didn’t like. She has other tragic flaws, like a decided affinity for Wall Street and for business as usual. Her husband made war against the poor in our own country, and she supported that war as well. I could go on and on with a list of reasons why my conscience may prevent me from voting for her. That said, there should be little doubt that another Clinton Presidency would be less catastrophic than having a Trump, a Cruz, a Rubio, or a Kasich in the White House for the next four years. Those of us who are waiting for a revolution will continue to bide our time. As Leonard Cohen sang in his amazing futurist song: “Democracy is coming to the U-S-A. But it is not going to come as result of this Presidential election. [Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does not endorse political candidates or political parties.] -----------------------the fact I agree with the sentiment on most of the handmade signs protesters held in the air that day. Like them, I oppose hatred and racism. I’m just not sure what a sign at a Trump rally is supposed to do about those facts. If anything, I think this sort of behavior just activates “The Backfire Effect.” If you haven’t heard of The Backfire Effect, it is a fascinatingly unfortunate reality of many of our psychologies. Sometimes, when presented with opposing views (or even facts that contradict deeply (Continued on page 11) �LOCAL Becoming an Active Citizen: Alternative Breaks with the Homeless Coalition 5 No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer T his month, the Homeless Coalition, along with many of our partners and member organizations, has been leading college students in service learning throughout Over-theRhine. Our approach is different than many service-learning programs because we focus a lot on education – whether it be learning about our community’s history from Bonnie Neumeier at Peaslee Neighborhood Center, from M. Shannon at Venice on Vine, or Chris Schuermann and Bubs at St. Francis Seraph, among others – students get a holistic understanding of the struggle of the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement. We also hear from many other speakers from the Voice of the Homeless Speakers Bureau and other community members who give up their time to help put social injustices, like gentrification, in perspective. We also do direct service with several organizations, like the St. Francis – St. Joseph Catholic Worker House, Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, Future Leaders of Overthe-Rhine, Our Daily Bread, St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen, and other life-giving organizations in our community. I would like to dedicate this space to the voices and images of the college students from the University of Vermont and Southern New Hampshire University who have (or are currently) participating in the Cincinnati Urban Experience with us this month. Upon arrival, we ask them “What do you want to learn or experience this week?” Here are some of Southern New Hampshire University’s expectations: “I would like to learn about Cincinnati’s initiatives to end homelessness and also learn ways that I can make an impact on the community. I would like to know what I can do as an individual to help people’s experiencing homelessness. How can we end the cycle of poverty? I want to feel what people go through on a daily basis. I want to learn about the racial divide in the city, and more about the economic issues of the city. I would Dr. Mark giving a Social Justice Walking Tour Photo: SNHU like to learn about the impact of race on poverty. What are the stereotypes that people have about homelessness? I want to learn more about the history of Over-the-Rhine and what led to the terrible living conditions in the city today. I want to become an Active Citizen.” As you can see, students are eager to learn about the causes and effects of poverty, racism, and homelessness. Becoming an active citizen is about making community a priority in one’s values and life choices. It means going beyond curiosity about social injustice, educating oneself, and asking why? and putting community as the most important priority in your life. Ask yourself if this is something that you do, or are you more of an armchair social justice leader. Do you do things in the community even when it’s inconvenient or difficult? At the end of their experience with us, which typically lasts a week, I ask students to give us some feedback on their time in Over-the-Rhine. I asked them to write down injustices that they witnessed during the week. Here are some of the responses from SHNU handing out lunches Dr. Mark Mussman Photo: Dr. Mark the University of Vermont: “When distributing Streetvibes people rarely made eye contact or outright ignored us and Lee. It was very dehumanizing. The police made us move down the street and made inappropriate comments about people experiencing homelessness. When we asked people to take our picture with Lee, there were people who refused to listen to him. In addition, it was disheartening to see housing being destroyed by 3CDC in favor of parking or condos for the upper class. I noticed that there is a large problem with giving tenants rights, people losing their homes to developers who are gentrifying the neighborhood (as seen on Vine Street). There are not enough resources for people experiencing homelessness. For example, a man wandered into the church where we were staying because the cold shelter closed and he had nowhere to go to get out of the rain.” As you can see, the Vermont students are very aware of what happens around them during their time here. They wrote about what impacted them the most: “The active process of gentrification and seeing it unfold in real time was both shocking and motivating. I am now more aware of the impact this has on communities and what role I can play in helping the process be more community-friendly. I feel better equipped to be an active community member. What impacted me the most was learning about all the people who are forced out of their homes with nowhere to go. It is so unfair to do that, and I could not imagine what it would feel like to have that happen to me. I will take away the increased knowledge on gentrification and causes of homelessness.” “I was impacted most by seeing social justice firsthand by experiencing and interacting with people experiencing homelessness directly. I loved getting the educational aspect and understanding how to be an advocate for underprivileged populations. I will take away knowledge from this trip to become more active in my community. I was impacted by what people are doing and how they are advocating for people. I was able to see how I can do that in my own life. I will take lessons learned on what it means to be an advocate, how to be compassionate, and so many other lessons.” So many people come together to make the Cincinnati Urban Experience the most unique service-learning trip on any college’s roster. Students gave shout outs to Lee McCoy, Samuel Jackson, Melissa Mosby, Key Beck, students at Rothenberg, and of course, myself. I’ll leave you with just a little love that I got from the Vermont students: “I was most impacted by Dr. Mark’s work and passion for the community. His teaching about the community and about homelessness as a whole definitely laid groundwork for me to follow his example in my own community.” Although I may be exhausted after this month, every ounce of energy I have put into the Cincinnati Urban Experience will be amplified in communities around the country, and for that I am truly lucky. I am humbled by the work that our community does to end hunger and eradicate homelessness. Thank you everyone! ------------------------ University of Vermont with Lee McCoy Photo: University of Vermont THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL More Student Reflections on Over-the-Rhine THOMAS A. DUTTON Director O ver-the-Rhine is undergoing rapid change—often referred to as the “urban renaissance”—where it seems new upscale condos, businesses, bars, and eating establishments are opening every day. It is the new urban playground, when on warm nights music pumping at full volume disgorges into the streets and keeps residents awake well into the wee hours of the morning. Though changing, Over-the-Rhine is still mostly Black, and poor. The median income in the neighborhood just a few years ago was roughly $10,000/ year. Amid these changes, long-term residents lament feeling like strangers in their own neighborhood. Immersed in this cauldron, students see the disparity right off the bat. And as the Residency Program unfolds, the questions that rise to the surface, become clear: Have we confused the proximity of class and ethnic populations with true com- Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 munity? In a neighborhood where ethnic and class differences now occupy the same geographic space, to what extent do the different groupings actually engage one another? In the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Beloved Community, do differing groups actually learn from one another and become their neighbor’s keeper nurtured by a radical empathy? A related question that Bonnie and I put to the students is: What is your theory of social change? It’s a trick question actually, because inherent in the question is the prejudice that only something large and grandiose (national policy or a new social movement or a new political party) can stand up to the overwhelming, systemic issues of poverty, gentrification, segregation, unemployment, inequality, violence, racism, etc. Grandiose actions will be necessary, but what the students come to find through their experiences is that it may well be the “small things” that equally matter too—the new relationships formed and the new perspectives gained that come out of conversations across difference, however defined. Notice what’s happening here: As students interact with people across difference, the abstract issues of poverty, etc., become less so—they become real and personal—and once that happens students have difficulty casting community people as abstractions. Here is how the personal and political become linked, related, seen as mutually constitutive. The intention here is to open up new horizons that allow future practitioners to merge (Continued on page 7) New Foundations New Foundations is a spiritually based, safe place for men and women. We focus on a continued transition into recovery after successfully detoxing or being discharged from the court system. Sometimes called sober living, or a halfway house, we provide group housing with a main goal of recovery from drugs and alcohol. This is the place for anyone who is seeking a new way of life, free from addiction. Start your journey today. Now Hiring Caracole Caracole.org - Case Manager Center for Chemical Addiction Treatment catsober.org - Recovery Coach - CDCA Counselor Churches Active in Northside C.A.I.N. churchesactiveinnorth side.tumblr.com - Development Coordinator Position Cincinnati Health Department hamiltoncountyhealth. org - Division Manager (Maternal Infant Health) - Nurse Practitioner - Public Health Nurse - Public Health Practitioner Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Quality and Compliance Manager - Payroll and Benefits Specialist - Special Needs Assistance - Family Service Worker - Teachers - Assistant Teachers - Cook Hamilton County Planning and Development hamiltoncountyohio. gov - Sanitarian 1/11 - Patient Registration Speacialist - Assistant Finance Officer - Water Quality Technition - Medical Receptionist - Accounting Specialist Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org - Multiple openings Shelter House Imani Family Center shelterhousecinti.org imanifamilycenter.org - Resident Aid Specialist - Volunteer Photographers and Filmmakers Joseph House josephhouse.com - Volunteer Photographers and Filmmakers Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - Administrative Assistant THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED - Case Manager - Service Assignment Specialist - Facility Maintenance Worker - Resident Aid YWCA ywcwcincinnati.org - Children’s Program Coordinator (Part Time) �No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 THOMAS A. DUTTON (Continued from page 6) the personal and political in new ways that can lead to more socially just directions. In the reflections that follow, Residency students grapple with these challenging questions. They have become keenly aware that engagement across boundaries of ethnicity, culture, class, and gender remains quite rare. But as you’ll read, many students took this challenge straight up, and have come through with a social skill set through which others can learn. The world needs people like the students of this cohort, who have learned to navigate socio-economic and racial borders. And who are now able to take their experiences and see how they are absolutely vital to understand and usher forth new kinds of professional and social practices the world desperately needs. Stella Norris (FSW) As the semester comes to an end and I look back on my time here in Over-the-Rhine I have a mix of emotions. This semester was a rollercoaster and full of experiences that have forever changed me. There will be parts of the semester that I will miss immensely and parts that I am happy to leave behind. I think back to the first day, I was like a deer in the headlights and completely unsure of myself to become successful and integrated into the community of Over-the-Rhine. I walked into buddy’s Place for the first time and looked out to Vine Street. I was at a loss for words. I couldn’t start to imagine what was in store for me over the next sixteen weeks. The first week was hard. I recalled an interaction with myself and my journal, questioning everything. I couldn’t decide if this Program was right for me. I felt like an outsider and I was worried I would spend sixteen weeks in a place where I felt out of place and uncomfortable. Would I ever feel at ease? Then uneasy feelings became frustration. I told family and friends about my experiences and my truths but all I felt was judgment and lack of empathy. When would these horrible feelings end? The first month was hard to say the least. I had more days than not going to bed frustrated and unsure of the days ahead. I would tell myself it’s just a semester and it will be over before I can even realize it started. Little did I know that is exactly what happened. Now I have days that brings tears to my eyes because of the joy and beauty of this world. I struggle to understand how the semester went by so quickly. Over-the-Rhine has etched a spot in my heart. It’s not the location or the new buildings but the people in Over-the-Rhine and the experiences that have taken my heart. I will never forget. My journal entries went from questioning my decision to be in Overthe-Rhine to enjoying my days and experiences in it. I would be lying if I said all my days are good now; I still have bad days from time to time but they are few and I know how to handle them. The injustice still breaks my heart and it forever will. But I know that my experiences in Over-theRhine have helped solidify my abilities in social work. I am a better social worker because of those good and bad days. My favorite, most impactful memory had to have been when I saw my first client sign his lease. This moment brought more happy emotions to me than Christmas morning. As Iwatched as my client was explained the rules and regulations of his apartment the 7 LOCAL gratitude and excitement that was radiating around him were incredible. I was honored to be a part of his journey to housing. He had never had a place of his own and now he just signed his first lease. The pride he felt was something unexplainable and so intense it created butterflies in my stomach. I walked away from that experience over-joyed. That will be a day I will never forget. I am forever thankful for my experiences and the people I have met being a part of the Residency Program. I will look back on the good and bad days and know that I have been forever impacted. I also know that I will be a better social worker because of my internship through the Program. My hope is that one day I will be able to come back to the community and continue fighting the injustices. Lauren Gould (FSW) My time here in Over-the-Rhine has been by far the most meaningful and influential experience I have ever been a part of. Through this experience I was not only able to gain knowledge about the neighborhood through classes, or gain skills through social work practice in my field placement, I was able to gain a sense of community and a better understanding of different individuals and their backgrounds and experiences. I was able to walk in another’s shoes, not just in my placement with my clients at the Drop Inn Center, but in community member’s shoes such as Mr. Earl or Miss Dorothy, in my professor’s shoes like Bonnie, Tom, and Alice, in my classmate’s shoes like the architects and the teachers as well as the many others I encountered throughout this semester. Allowing and willing myself to walk in others’ shoes and alongside their journeys with a spirit of humility and a genuine desire to meet and talk with others helped me expand my view of the world and gave me a new framework of thinking about the world. This lived experience and new way of thinking reminded me of two different quotes from two of our journaling sessions. The first is a quote from our first journaling session, by Richard Rohr: “we don’t think ourselves into a new way of living; we live ourselves into new way of thinking.” The second quote is from our journaling session with Steve Elliott, who I am a very big fan of and respect very much. The quote reads, “I learned that my instincts are not always right, my first impressions are not always true, and my way of doing things and of living is not the only way to live.” These quotes are both very powerful to me because there were several times throughout the semester that I seriously questioned my thoughts, beliefs, and values and how I viewed the world. Discovering the enrichment that comes from seeing other ways of life allowed me to let go of some of my toxic ways of thinking and let these new ways of thinking wash over me like a wave, each and every time. A journal entry I did on November 11, 2015 is a great example of the ways in which my thoughts, values, beliefs, and views of the world were challenged. The prompt asked how we have been stretched throughout this experience. My response was: “I have been stretched in every sense of the word. I have been stretched physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have been stretched physically by taking on too much. A thirty-hour work week, three classes, volunteer work, and my work with NAMI have taken a toll on my body. I have been stretched mentally because I am constantly in a mental conflict about how to think and feel and act. Why do I feel like I’m being forced to change the way I think? If I don’t think a certain way, am I still a good social worker? Am I doing everything I can to help and advocate for my clients and their needs? Am I doing everything I can to be the best version of myself? I have been stretched emotionally through the Program, but especially through my placement at the Drop Inn Center. Working with clients who have nothing, who are stereotyped and discriminated against, who have so many challenges and obstacles to face, and knowing I can only do so much, which is usually not enough, has been very hard on me.” This entry was difficult for me to write, but was also very helpful because it made me take a step back and look at what was really challenging me and allowed me to rethink my stressors. My life could be so much worse or I could have real problems and real challenges I have to face like so many of the people I’ve encountered during this experience. Knowing this helped me open up my mind, body, and spirit and helped me rid myself of those negative thoughts and feelings I felt rolling in like a freight train with no breaks. My time in Over-the-Rhine has been by far the best experience of my life thus far. I grew so much as an individual, as a community member, as a student, as a social worker, as a family member, and as a leader. I learned to appreciate the little things like a funny conversation with a homeless man or a meaningful group discussion with my classmates. I learned to not take anything for granted because I saw firsthand with my clients that nothing is guaranteed and you can lose so much so quickly, regardless of your race, class, ethnicity, etc. Finally, I learned to be more understanding and empathetic of others and their situations because you truly never know what they have been through or are going through. I am so thankful for this experience and for my time here because it not only opened my eyes to a new world, it made me a better person, and for that I will be forever grateful. Jill Elfers (ATH) I start my reflection with a draft of my final presentation speech: “I am a senior anthropology student and during my time in Over-theRhine I have interned at Crossroads Health Center. Crossroads is a federally qualified health center, based here in the community, with the mission to provide quality healthcare despite an individual’s ability to pay. As an intern at the clinic I was part of a newly formed care coordination team committed to closing the gap between traditional clinical care and patient self-management of chronic conditions. I was involved in coordinating care for the patients diagnosed with hypertension or high blood pressure. Through mainly outreach calling I collaborated with patients, families, community partners, and insurance companies to ensure that these individuals had improved care experience, better health outcomes, and decreased health expenditures. Over a two-month period, I called over 130 patients and spoke to almost 60. I helped these individuals schedule follow-up appointments, request refills for their medication, and obtain blood pressure cuffs. Additionally, our team connected many of our patients to community resources to aid their attempts to eat healthy and exercising regularly. While making these calls I realized the numerous barriers this pa- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED tient population faces. In the beginning, this made my task seem incredibly daunting and I questioned what difference could one girl from the suburbs make in their lives. Over the course of a semester I have realized that I was wrong to think that it takes grandiose interventions to make a difference. Every person I spoke to I affected and in turn they affected me. That has been my take away from this program: everything matters; every detail from history, every active policy, every seemingly mundane interaction. I have many plans for my future but I know I will always carry these experiences with me as a reminder of the power of the individual in their community.” During my time in Over-theRhine I have learned to never underestimate the ability of one person to effect change. From the story of Peaslee and the mothers that saved a piece of their community to the struggles shared by individuals who have experienced homelessness or addiction. I have been raised in a society that has taught me that “bigger is better.” I have been trained to think interventions must have endless amounts of money and resources to succeed. This experience has taught me that the opposite is true. All that is necessary for real change is the investment of the individual. This is my largest “takeaway” from my time in the community. I had one interaction, in particular, that facilitated this conclusion. While calling patients at Crossroads, I interacted with a woman who was struggling with mental health issues. After talking to her on the phone, listening to her struggles, and scheduling an appointment for her with the counselor I realized the effect one person can have. She asked if she could meet me and I agreed to introduce myself to her at her next office visit. During that encounter I realized that it was not only me affecting others, but that they were affecting me. This interaction allowed me to foster relationships and empathy with community members. I believe that living in Over-theRhine was integral to my growth in this program. Without the residency aspect of this Program it would be impossible to have the same encounters with community members and therefore experiences in the community. As I prepare to go back to Miami, I struggle with how I will interact with others who do not share my experiences. However, this is not a new struggle for me; between family and friends I have a history of trying to persuade others to see things from a different perspective. After careful consideration I have decided that patience is what I want those unfamiliar with Over-the-Rhine to have. It takes patience to learn the burdens of history, to listen to the stories of the oppressed, and to care for the underserved. It will take patience to counteract the oppressive systems built over centuries and to fix the mistakes of our forefathers. What I will miss the most about my time in this community is the way it challenged me. Never before have I been forced to think about how to aid a population of people who are chronically homeless. Never before have I needed to contemplate where mental health issues stop and substance abuse starts. Never before have I struggled to talk to someone whose every thought and feeling differs from my own. I have relished these challenges and I will miss them immensely. I am incredibly grateful for these experiences and will carry these lessons with me throughout my life. ------------------------ �8 NATIONAL Men dominate reporting on women’s reproductive issues in U.S., report reveals Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 REBECCA SIRULL Spare Change News - USA W ith the Supreme Court currently investigating the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt*, which involves a challenge to provisions in a Texas bill, known as HB2, that would severely restrict women’s access to legal abortion, reproductive rights are once again making headlines in the U.S. But the odds are that any news coverage of the case, and its implications for women, will be reported on by a man. A report released by the Women’s Media Center has found that male voices and perspectives continue to dominate reproductive rights coverage across America. The Gender Gap in Coverage of Reproductive Issues report found that 52% of news coverage from the country’s highest circulating outlets was written by men, compared to 37% written by women. [The remaining 11% had no bylines.] These findings were based on over 1000 articles published from August 1, 2014 - July 31, 2015 by twelve high-circulation media outlets and wire services, including Reuters, Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today. It also revealed a common trend among male reporters to frequently cite male sources over women. Overall, 41% of quotes in articles covering reproductive issues were from men, and just 33% were from women. Women reporters were found to favour female sources. The gender disparity in bylines and quote sources is reflective of the general statistics across all news topics. But according to Cristal Williams Chancellor, director of communications at the Women’s Media Center, in an issue so closely linked to women’s lives, it is necessary to hear not just from men and women equally, but to get a majority of women’s voices. “Women’s voices, experiences and perspectives must be given greater priority and should mirror the population whose lives are often shaped by reproductive health issues,” she stated. The report’s author, Jill Filipovic, Pro-life and Pro-Choice demonstrators stand in front of the Supreme Court during a pro-life rally in Washington, January 22, 2004. Credit: REUTERS/William Philpott acknowledged that the topic of reproductive health in general does include men, but the majority of laws in place around the issue have a much greater effect on women and women’s bodies. For this reason, she believes women are better equipped to speak about the lived experience of contraception, pregnancy, and abortion as they relate to standard health care, while men tend to approach reproductive rights from a political standpoint. According to the data examined in the study, the majority of those stories framed through a political lens dealt with funding for reproductive health services and political candidates’ stances on the issues. Filipovic explained the problem with this approach, particularly given that the majority of reproductive rights stories are written by men. “Covering abortion and contraception purely as political issues, rather than normal parts of life for millions of women, may contribute to the stubbornness of the political debate, the hostility women and abortion providers face, and the continued treatment of reproduction as more about politics than about health-all of which leads to further political encroachments on a range of reproductive freedoms,” she stated. The public perception of abortion is also impacted enormously by disproportionate reporting of the rare instances of extreme, negative cases rather than the many positive and proactive movements made by reproductive rights activists. Megan Amundson, the Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, discussed the tendency for the media to portray abortion as a hugely polarizing issue when in reality seven in ten of those polled by the organization supported abortion. “Having a political frame be a much stronger frame, it makes the public forget that it is actually a health care issue,” Amundson said. “The challenges of accessing abortion are completely drowned out because of this false dynamic of controversy.” For more accurate and nuanced coverage of reproductive rights, Filipovic suggested diversifying news U.S. women push back against stigma, cost of menstruation BARBARA GOLDBERG INSP.ngo / Reuters S ixteen-year-old Emma Joy and her younger sister Quinn recently spent an evening stuffing bags with a full year’s supply of tampons or sanitary pads for women who often miss work or school because they cannot afford menstrual products. The South Orange, New Jersey, residents got the idea for their charity, Girls Helping Girls Period, when Emma learned that federal assistance THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED staffs, centering women’s voices, and cultivating expertise. This, she stated, would give readers access to more articles that move beyond surface level coverage into some of the deeper complexities of women’s health care. Part of that process would start with editors making a conscious effort to train staff to cover the issue in a way that adequately portrays the experiences of those most affected by the legislation. Yet Chancellor is optimistic about the future of reproductive health coverage. She concluded that, “as editors become more aware of the disparities and make a commitment to implement the required changes that more accurately and credibly reflect their audiences, news coverage will improve and better reflect the opinions, lives and realities of women.” * Formerly Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole Rebecca Sirull is a communications student at Northeastern University. ------------------------ programs for the indigent do not cover menstruation products, leaving many low-income and homeless women to cope with their cycles on their own. “We found out a lot of people don’t know that,” Emma said. “That’s the point: to educate the public and to eliminate this issue of being afraid to talk about it. It shouldn’t be a thing we hide.” The project, Girlshelpinggirls- (Continued on page 9) �WORLD How internet access can change lives of homeless in Brazil 9 No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 IRIS QUEIROZ INSP.no / Aurora du Rua A ccording to University of Dayton sociologist and criminologist, Art Jipson, homeless people who use social networks like Twiter and Facebook feel more equal and accepted. Jipson got the idea for the study while presenting his university radio show. When he asked one caller for their name and location, he discovered that the listener was homeless but had a mobile phone. In Brazil, mobile internet usage is fairly widespread, but most homeless people have no way to take advantage of it. Because of this, a number of organisations, NGOs and projects are working to ensure that this kind of access is available to all, including homeless people. One such organisation is the Cultural Centre at the City Hall of Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia. The centre hosts the Citizens’ Digital Centre (CDC, from its Portuguese name Centro Digital de Cidadania), a digital inclusion project developed in collaboration with the State Department for Science, Technology and Innovation (Secti). The CDC comprises BARBARA GOLDBERG (Continued from page 8) period.org, is part of a growing national movement to address the inequities that have sprung up as a result of the stigma that still surrounds menstruation. Some prisons, for example, force female inmates to buy pads at the commissary, and public restrooms rarely provide them free of charge for emergencies. New York and 39 other states impose sales taxes on tampons and sanitary napkins, while exempting the Rogaine hair regrowth treatment, condoms and other products mostly used by men. Advocates have sued in New ten computers connected to the internet which are made available Monday to Friday every week. “For me, this is such a fulfilling project. It is absolutely vital to ensure that people who can’t access the internet are included,” said Lydia Sá, a so- cial worker and coordinator for CDC. “This movement is something completely different for City Hall. It’s opened up a new way to communicate with the community, especially homeless people.” Aurora da Rua vendor Lázaro is one of many homeless people in the area to benefit from CDC’s digital inclusion programme. “Lázaro was one of the first homeless people that came here and I remember how thrilled he was when he came to the CDC,” recalls Lydia. “It was an air-conditioned room with comfortable chairs where he could interact with a wide range of people. After a while, he felt completely at home. I believe that he gained (Continued on page 12) Aurora da Rua vendor Lázaro uses a computer to access the internet thanks to CDC’s digital inclusion programme. Photo Credit: Iris Queiroz York, citing a double standard. Women’s advocates say budgets for homeless shelters, schools, prisons and public restrooms should provide free tampons and sanitary napkins, just as they do for soap, toilet paper and other essentials. In a country where erectile dysfunction ads fill television commercial slots and jokes about flatulence and bowel movements have inspired entire books, the bodily function of menstruation endures as a taboo subject. “It goes all the way back to Eve, to religion, misogyny, all the societal norms we’ve been brought up with,” said Maplewood, New Jersey, lawyer Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, who advocates for equitable menstrual policy in the Emma Joy (L), 16, and her sister Quinn, 12, pack feminine products for delivery at their home in South Orange, New Jersey March 6, 2016. The South Orange, New Jersey, residents got the idea for their charity, Girls Helping Girls Period, when Emma learned that federal assistance programs for the indigent do not cover menstruation products, leaving many low-income and homeless women to cope with their cycles on their own. Photo Credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton United States. The shame and embarrassment that many women still feel is reflected in the proliferation of euphemisms for menstruation around the world. “Shark week,” “the curse,” “a visit from Aunt Flo” and “having the painters in” are a few of the 5,000 names documented in a 2015 survey of 90,000 people in 190 countries that was carried out by German healthcare company Clue. “We are trained not to talk about it,” Weiss-Wolf said. “When we don’t talk about it, we don’t consider it. We don’t think, ‘Hey, for poor people, this is actually expensive; this can be a problem.’” “NOT LUXURY ITEMS” Experts say the average woman spends $70 a year on tampons and pads, not to mention the cost of replacing underwear and clothing when accidents inevitably happen. Eighty-six percent of U.S. women aged 18 to 54 say they have experienced the unexpected onset of their period in public without the supplies they needed, according to a 2013 survey conducted on behalf of FreeTheTampons. org, an Ohio-based initiative to provide free tampons in restrooms. “Menstrual products are not luxury items,” said U.S. Representative Grace Meng of Queens, New York. Because of her efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency updated its rules to allow homeless people to pay for tampons with funds once restricted to such items as diapers and toothpaste. “We’ve heard stories of young girls using rags, where girls are not able to go to school on days that they get their THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED period,” said Meng. “If you’re missing an average of five days of school each month, this affects more than just menstruation time.” The problem extends far beyond the United States, with 17 percent of women around the world saying they had missed school, work or an event because they were afraid someone might find out they had their period, the Clue survey found. At the same time, American girls are menstruating at an increasingly earlier age due to improved nutrition. The average girl starts having her period at age 12 and bleeds for up to seven days a month until she is about 50 years old, according to the womenshealth.gov website. A more matter-of-fact attitude toward menstruation appears to be gaining traction, as evidenced by straightforward advertisements on New York City subways touting Thinx “periodproof” underwear as absorbing “2 tampons’ worth of blood.” In another sign of change, a free tampon dispenser is being installed in a Queens high school as part of a pilot program aimed at putting the machines throughout the New York City public-school system, the nation’s largest, with more than 1 million students. “It used to be a nasty subject in health class,” said 12-year-old Quinn Joy. “But the moment I found out people were missing school and work, I got over it. Now it’s just woman toilet paper.” ------------------------ �10 LOCAL Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 When Will Cancer Cross The Color Line In Cincinnati? ing twenty-year difference in life when a citizen lives in a poor community. (8) Cancer deaths play an important role in this difference. (9) Cancer has not crossed the color line. 2. How do you change a health system with such bad outcomes? In order to have a different outcome for minorities and the poor it is necessary to have a different approach to access. Without access to timely screening and treatment, cancer will unnecessarily kill minorities. Gaining access means a procedure that invites the patient to receive a screening, respects the fears of the patient about what could be a negative diagnosis, and offers a treatment that is effective and successful in stopping the cancer. (10) Access needs to start in the community with citizens learning about how they could best survive cancer by getting early screening. Right now, there is no hospital or social service agency that offers cancer education or a “road map” to rapid screening. Many citizens, minorities included, have little or no experience with the health system except through the emergency room. (11) The place to go for a screening is not the emergency room. But no hospital advertises just where the best location is within the hospital. Equally important, many citizens have little real idea about exactly what cancer is, how it grows, and why it appears in some people and not others. There is no general education about cancer, and especially the cancers that might most likely have serious, even deadly consequences. Minorities are bystanders about these important medical issues, too often waiting until it is too late to seek the necessary screening and treatment. (12) 3. A major change program: Lay Patient Navigation: Harold Freeman, M.D, surgeon, former president of the American Cancer Society, and now director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Patient Navigation Training, has designed a major intervention that doubles life expectancy for minorities, the poor, and anyone with cancer. Freeman realized that his surgical skills could not be used when people came for treatment after their cancer has fully progressed. He devised a program of hiring community agents, “navigators,” training them in compassionate skills, and focused his efforts on getting citizens to screening and treatment at the earliest time in the development of their cancer. Over five years, he doubled the life of people with cancer by getting them to screening and treatment. (13) Freeman’s program has spread across all cancer programs and having a patient navigation process is now a requirement for certification for all cancer programs. (14) Freeman was invited to a conference in April, 2015, to present to Cincinnati hospital and social service staff the methods and outcomes of his program. He was enthusiastically received. The program looked necessary for changing cancer education, cancer screening, and cancer practice. Cancer, Freeman thought the conference, could cross the color line and be successful. 4. The Cancer Justice Network: No hospital based program has begun. Instead, a group of social service organizations have agreed to initiate a cancer education program at weekly dinners, food sharing at pantries, special meetings, and any way that cancer education can be offered. Physicians, led by Nemat Moussavian, M.D., will provide knowledge about how cancer works and how it can be survived. A group of volunteers from the University of Cincinnati’s school of social work and community volunteers will be trained to be the first “navigators.” They will meet with people at these dinners and meetings and, if needed, assist the person to an appointment with a Cincinnati Health Center. An appointment for screening will be made and the navigator will accompany the person to the screening, helping with transportation, childcare, and other obstacles to making the appointment. And, if needed, the navigator will assist in helping the person get rapid treatment. A pilot program is being planned with Churches Active in Northside(CAIN), FreeStore Food Bank, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Francis Seraph, Madisonville Education and Assistance Center(MEAC), St. Vincent de Paul, Santa Maria Center, the school based clinics of the Cincinnati Health Department and the Cincinnati Public Schools. A navigator directory will also be created. A city wide calendar is being developed showing the dates and places for cancer education. Streetvibes, the biweekly newspaper of the Home- less Coalition, is planning to publish the calendar. 5. The Goal: Reduce cancer deaths in a significant way: The Cancer Justice Network will create a learning and action system to promote early and timely screening and treatment using the Freeman navigation process. In time, we expect to see many more people coming for screenings of colon, prostate, breast, and uterine cancers, all cancers that can be caught early and survived. And, we expect to see a longer and better life expectancy for minorities and the poor in Cincinnati when cancer crosses the color line. References: (1) C. Sagon (March 2016). “An End to Cancer? Vincent DeVita, M.D., discusses his memoir, The Death of Cancer.” AARP Bulletin, P. 24.; (2) K. Wailoo (2011). When cancer crossed the color line. Oxford. p. 2.; (3) Wailoo, p. 33.;) (4) Wailoo, pp. 3-4; (5. Wailoo, p. 35.); (6) (Wailoo, p. 143.; (7) Data: 2008-2012 Trend Period, State Cancer Profiles. National Cancer Institute, Center for Disease Control; (8) N. Maseru and C. Jones, M.D., “Why we die: Cincinnati Mortality Data Project. City of Cincinnati Health Department, 2011.; (9) Hamilton County Public Health. August 2014. “Does place matter? Health equity in Hamilton County. 2008-12 Trend Period. State Cancer Profiles, National Cancer Institute, Centers for Disease Control.; (10) H. Freeman (4/14/15). History and principles of patient navigation. Peace Village Patient Navigation Conference.; (11) H. Fader and C. Phillips. Frequent-user patients: reducing costs while making appropriate discharges. Health Finance Management. 2012 66(3):98-100.; ; L. Taylor et al., Leveraging the social determinants of health: What works?. June 2015. Yale Global Health Leadership Institute. p. 24. ;(12) S. Sunderland(September 2015). “Should your neighborhood affect your life expectancy?” The Northsider.; (13). H. Freeman and R. Rodriguez (8/1/2011) History of patient navigation program. Cancer.; (14) E. Paskett et al, “Impact of patient navigation on timely cancer care: The patient navigation research program. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2014 Jun; 106(6): dju 115. that guy think he was going to accomplish as he drew cartoon penises on his protest sign? On the inside, I had an hourlong conversation with a farmer from about 50 miles north of West Chester. I mostly just listened. By his own admission, he was not college educated. Based on the evolving opinions of his daughter, currently in college, he wonders if colleges try to turn people liberal. I certainly didn’t agree with many of his views, but I can’t say that I find his support of Trump totally ridiculous. He doesn’t see the same Trump I see. Maybe it’s because he’s uneducated. Maybe it’s because he is a self-employed businessman. I don’t know. It certainly isn’t because he is some sort of hate-filled monster. Trump said some crazy things at the rally - but, taken as a whole (as opposed to an outrageous soundbite only) he comes across as an engaging speaker. I’m not defending him. He’s totally ego-maniacal, and shallow. At the same time, he has some charm. It’s what attracts his supporters to him. Undoubtedly, they just don’t hear the same things I hear. The rally itself certainly had a great energy, in that people were cheering, and clapping, and smiling. The friend I was with, noticing all this exuberance, made an observation about the protesters, and his criticism has haunted me for the past several days. When someone asked why he would possibly want to attend a Trump rally, he pointed out how the seats we occupied meant two less Trump supporters would be able to attend. There were only about 1,200 seats in this particular venue. Why were the protesters all outside, making noise of no consequence, with at least one guy bragging about his penis size? Why weren’t they all inside, taking seats away from Trump supporters? Imagine, my friend hypothesized, if even just two hundred STEVE SUNDERLAND, PHD* Contributing Writer “You’ve said there are therapies that could cure an additional 100,000 patients a year.” --C. Sagon “That’s a conservative number that the American Cancer Society has cited. It’s based on access to care, which can be uneven across this country. This does not necessarily mean access to new drugs, just getting everything that we already know works. That’s why I say, if you go to a doctor and he says you have cancer and he can do nothing for you, find another doctor.” --V. DeVita, M.D. (1) “Although blacks have suffered and died from cancer throughout the twentieth century, the images associated with cancer--particularly cancer awareness and prevention--had been for more than fifty years overwhelmingly of white Americans.” --K. Wailoo (2) 1. I ntroduction: Cancer screening and treatment has a troubled history and present, especially for minorities and the poor. Minorities, especially blacks, have rarely fit “scientific” definitions of being a person and having similar human characteristics as whites. (3) In fact, for many physicians, blacks were not seen as capable of having cancer as segregated practices reflected prejudiced attitudes.(4) As one historian of cancer has stated: “Public health itself was a segregated enterprise, and the health problem of “the Negro” have little resemblance to the health challenges of the wellto-do whites.(5) Even after a 1947 scientific study by the black medical school, Howard, showing poor cancer treatment of blacks and the resulting difference in outcomes, the acceptance of blacks with cancer was minimized.(6) The history of cancer practices in Cincinnati has not yet been written. However, the latest statistics about cancer mortality for minorities show that same troubling pattern of less life expectancy for all types of cancer. (7) There is a shock- JASON HAAP (Continued from page 4) liefs), we are simply inclined to double-down, and believe what we already did even more. I’m sure Trump supporters saw a bunch of liberals being loud and trying to cause trouble. And I’m sure protesters saw thousands of mindless white people casting their support, inexplicably, for a cartoonish billionaire. One protester had an illustrated sign, with drawings of two penises one large, and one small. Replacing images for words, the sign read “My penis is bigger than Trump’s penis.” What possible productive thing did 11 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED *Steve Sunderland is director of the Peace Village Cancer Project. He can be reached atsteve.c.sunderland@icloud.com ---------------------- (Continued on page 12) �12 IRIS QUIEROZ (Continued from page 8) much more from the experience than a formal understanding of technology. Lydia says service users like Lázaro gain far more from the programme than basic IT skills. Having access to the internet means they can locate vital support services and also expand their own social networks. “We’ve kept in touch with Lázaro,” she adds. “He got married, got a regular job and started renting accommodation. Just knowing that Lázaro is doing well means that all the effort to keep this space open has been worth it.” Lázaro also received a diploma after completing his vocational course with CDC. “I’ve learned a lot. I like using the internet, connecting to people and learning new things. I’ve got a certificate and everything!” he said. “I’m hoping to put this knowledge into practice so I don’t forget it. I work as a vendor for the newspaper Aurora JASON HAAP (Continued from page 11) seats were taken up by protesters, and all they did was sit silently. It would have totally ruined the vibe in the room. It would have significantly killed the spirit of the rally, and made the whole thing rather awkward. This awkwardness would be markedly different from when two alleged “Bernie fans” stood up while Trump was talking so they could hold WORLD Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 da Rua and I can access the internet at the paper’s head office, which is good because I don’t have a computer at home or mobile internet. I do have a phone though.” Another organisation that aims to help homeless people access the internet is the Salvador Homeless Movement. Based in Pelourinho, the organisation is currently taking a break while the coordinating team looks for an assistant to help its regular users. They aim to provide free access to people denied access to other spaces. “We aren’t just helping people to access the internet, we’re giving them the chance to gain knowledge to ensure they are included as citizens,” said Sueli Oliveira, the Movement’s coordinator. “If we want to build a country united in solidarity, we need to foster inclusion.” Translated from Portuguese to English by Carmen Swanwick-Roa / Translators Without Borders -----------------------up their Bernie signs. It felt, to me, like those people were plants - part of the spectacle, giving everyone someone to “boo” at for fun. If they weren’t plants, then I can’t possibly imagine what point there is to holding up a “Bernie” sign in a Trump rally for 30 seconds before being escorted out. It’s like protesting has been replaced by spectacle. When I see those old photographs of white people protesting school integration, screaming in the face of little black children, I realize those protests Lydia Sá, a social worker and coordinator for CDC. Photo Credit: Iris Queiroz were for a purpose. Those racists wanted to intimidate the black families attempting integration. It took bravery to walk past them into the school. They weren’t there to create a spectacle, but to try and accomplish something. I’m not supporting them, just making an observation about utility. Their protest had a goal. If there was a goal to the Trump protests, I have no idea what it could have been, other than to make the protesters feel like they did something. I’m sure seeing themselves in the news later made them feel good about the whole thing. But really, I think they just added to the spectacle - because that’s what politics are these days, especially in the Age of Trump. Trump has learned how to get the cameras to point his way. I guess the protesters got the cameras pointed their way. Each side can walk away from such a scenario with their preexisting views concretized. I’m not sure what good that does any of us. ------------------------ 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 �STREET VOICE No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 2 0 1 6 Spring Spring has always been my favorite out all four seasons Spring has no snow and not too much heat, maybe that’s the reason Spring with it so many misinterpretations and misunderstandings Spring to the light so we can see just what mankind is demanding Spring to the facts: Unemployment and homelessness on the rise, can these things be an illusion Spring into the reality: We as a people trying to control each other, now this is the confusion Spring into new horizons, now living with new politicians, new fights and new killings Spring into arrest which means nothing today for the facts state the state is doing the stealing Spring to the wakeup call so I sprung up one morning and realized my seasons had come Spring into the real understanding that the battles only God has won Spring is the understanding that like all things that come and go, spring is here Spring back to know that all men are created equal is that not what should be made so clear Spring to the knowledge that we as people have choices and can make positive decisions Spring into the word of God and believe with faith, with trust only then can we stop these collisions! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Small Hands - Big Mouth Marco Rubio was not so shrewd To utter something quite so crude. Referring to the small hands of Trump Was his locker room joke on the stump. It’s Trump’s big mouth we worry about, And all the trash and hate it spouts. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer The Birds Your birds are amazing dear Lord What a wonderful sound to hear your birds signing their beautiful songs From all around they all join in with their little tweets and chirps The older birds work hard to help the little ones learn to grow Teaching them how to join in on the songs the baby birds grow So many different types of birds Some red robins, some humming birds, some baby sparrows Some wild, some loud, each bird is so precious with its own different style The birds learn to fly and soar high KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 13 �14 PUZZLES Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 95 Across 1. Aromatic substance 6. Crib 9. Pleased 13. Behemoth 14. Wonderment 15. Short prayer before a meal 16. Torpid 17. Precious stone 18. Supple 19. Feeling of deep regret 21. Trailblazer 23. Jurisprudence 24. Rooster’s crest 25. Metal container 28. Plant tissue 30. Straw hat 35. Elliptical 37. Necessitate 39. Tied 40. Remake 41. Spooky 43. Merchandising transaction 44. Optical device 46. Process grain by grinding 47. Grade 48. Move quickly in a straight line 50. Block 52. Allow 53. Directional antenna 55. Restaurant bill 57. Vivacious 61. Reversion 65. Dialect 66. Poem 68. Warhorse 69. Term of a contract 70. On the sheltered side 71. In front 72. Alleviate 73. Conclude 74. Jovial Down 1. Disturbance 2. Coniferous tree 3. Detail 4. Religious song 5. Ensnare 6. Coop 7. Be indebted to 8. Speed of a piece of music 9. Smile 10. Tardy 11. Dull pain 12. Cervid 15. Worldwide 20. Short-legged omnivorous animals 22. Mischievous fairy 24. Hold dear 25. Army unit 26. Obviate 27. The lowest point of anything 29. Swarm 31. Bird shelter 32. Be of use to 33. Noisy riotous fight 34. Warning signal 36. Fail to win 38. Aromatic herb 42. Fill with optimism 45. Title for a married Frenchwoman 49. Family 51. Unguent 54. Moved stealthily 56. Cleanse by immersion 57. Despicable 58. Notion 59. Preconception 60. Dusty pink color 61. Part of a woodwind instrument 62. Look searchingly 63. Scorch 64. Small whirlpool 67. Lair SODOKU PUZZLE NO 225 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 325 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 94 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 224 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 326 | M a r 2 5 - A pr 7 , 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 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 981-5800 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 Salvation Army 762-5660 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 Shelter: Men 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Housing: 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 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Health Network $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Mar 25 - Apr 7, 2016 | No. 326 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 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 25-April 7, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Tax Dollars for Primaries Pg 3: What Would it Take to Seriously Reduce Poverty? Pg 4: Climb the Hill or feel the Bern Have Protesters Lost Their Trump Card? Pg 5: Becoming an Active Citizen Pg 6: More Student Reflections on Over-the-Rhine Pg 7: Thomas A. Dutton Pg 8: Men Dominate Reporting on Women’s Reproductive Issues in U.S., Report Reveals Pg 9: How Internet Access Can Change Lives of Homeless in Brazil Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: When Will Cancer Cross the Color Line in Cincinnati Pg 12: Iris Quieroz Continued Jason Haap Continued Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 25-April 7, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Michael Earl Patton Bill Woods Jim Luken Jason Haap Dr. Mark Mussman Thomas A. Dutton Stella Norris Lauren Gould Jill Elfers Steve Sunderland Willa Jones Kim Green Justin Jeffre Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Abortion Bernie Sanders Bill Woods Brazil Cancer Cincinnati Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman education GCHC Internet Jason Haap Jill Elfers Jim Luken Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Lauren Gould Michael Earl Patton Over-the-Rhine poverty Protesters Stella Norris Steve Sunderland Students Taxes Thomas A. Dutton Voting Willa Jones Women Rights https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/be0fd6b6376e2d709b6abacf7a75a9ae.pdf 9b56882b4ff056533ef3b36e1c4ac9e2 PDF Text Text April 8th - April 21st 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 8 (No. 327) advocating justice | Building community Good White People short film screening | 4 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Director: Kidnapped| 2 Who’s Afraid of Richard Wolff? | 3 Reducing Cincinnati’s Child Poverty Rate | 5 Making Metro More Accessible | 7 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Kidnapped JOSH SPRING T Executive Director he last resident at the historic Dennison Hotel was removed from his home in handcuffs. Due to the fear and stress induced by the constant pressure from the new owners for him to move and this final forceful removal, he was admitted to the hospital because his heart was not functioning properly. He had committed no crime and had done nothing wrong. The new owners simply would not allow him or his previously displaced neighbors to continue to live in their homes. One such neighbor, an elderly woman in fragile health left before the handcuffs came out and was forced into homelessness. She had been the initial whistle-blower that came to tell us that Model Management and Talbert House were planning to displace everyone in the building. She asked our Homeless Coalition to join her in organizing her neighbors to fight to save their homes. Until August 17, 2011 for many decades the Dennison Hotel boasted 114 homes which were affordable to people on low incomes, fixed incomes or sporadic incomes. For countless people, the Dennison was the difference between the sanctity of a home and the exposure of homelessness. The Dennison at 716 Main Street was one of the last of its kind in the city and specifically in Cincinnati’s Central Business District (CBD) neighborhood. Before it fell, after a two-and-a-half-year battle waged by Residents and the Homeless Coalition, the residents of the Metropole Apartments at 609 Walnut Street had been forced out by 3CDC in order to open the exclusive 21c hotel. This was a loss of 223 affordable homes in the CBD. Before this, the Fort Washington on Main closed; a loss of 75 homes. And before that the Milner Hotel was torn down and replaced by expensive condos on Garfield, another loss of 114 residences. Most recently Western and Southern forced the century-old Anna Louise Inn out of the CBD. In fact, since 1990 Cincinnati’s Central Business District has lost approximately 984 affordable homes, due primarily to gentrification through the forced removal of people with low incomes and the subsequent flip to expensive housing for an exclusive group of people. In 1990 there were approximately 44 buildings with 1248 affordable homes in the CBD. Today there are approximately 19 buildings with 264 affordable residences. 105 of these are at the YWCA building on Walnut. The loss of the Dennison is an example of poor planning, lack of respect for the Residents that lived there, an undervaluing of the need for significant quantities of affordable housing, the disregard of reality and eventual gentrification. In 2010 Model Management purchased the Dennison. In partnership with Talbert House they hoped to empty the building and rehab its single room occupancy apartments into 65 larger affordable supportive housing apartments. As they considered this plan they did not consult with the people who called the Dennison home, the Homeless Coalition or its many direct-service Member Organizations including shelters, soup kitchens, outreach workers, housing organizations, etc. Instead they took over the property and inconsistently told Residents they would eventually have to move. This of course caused fear and anxiety and some people left, heading to less stable situations while other people stayed feeling they did not know what the near future held. We began working with Residents who in a united front wanted to save their housing, but because the rental arrangement was of a month to month nature, Residents did not have a strong legal argument to save their housing and Model and Talbert were sticking to their plan. Working with an organized group of Residents, we were successful in convincing Model to communicate with Residents in a more consistent fashion so that people would not leave prematurely. We also got Model to agree to pay moving expenses and assist people in finding reservation housing. While some people did end up in potentially stable housing, most likely did not and virtually none desired to move. People had chosen to live at the Dennison because it worked for their lives. It could be that it was near their place of employment, or near friends they enjoyed or near many bus lines or any of the many reasons people choose to live where they do. Instead of respecting the desires of the people who lived in the Dennison and consulting with organizations that would better understand the need for the type of housing the Dennison offered, Model and Talbert emptied the building and then began publically working on their plan to reduce the number of units to 65 supportive housing units. They claimed that this plan was a part of the city’s Homeless to Homes plan, even though that plan called for Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 more housing, not less and though the Homeless Coalition publically explained that this displacement of people should not be considered a part of the Homeless to Homes plan, the city did not take a stance. Model and Talbert applied for low-income tax credits to fund the renovation of the property. They were denied. They applied the next year and were denied. They were denied for various reasons. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency said that their overall proposed cost of renovation was too great. In addition to that the Joseph family of the Joseph Auto Group used their close ties to the local Republican Party to influence the decisions because they desired to own the Dennison in order to tear it down and create parking. The Joseph family was successful and eventually took ownership of the property. Guess what, now they are hoping to tear it down. In fact, they will be in front of the city’s Historic Conservation Board on April 18th at 3pm to attempt to convince the board to allow them to tear it down despite the building’s historic designation. The Joseph family would rather see paidparking than people with low incomes residing on Main Street in the Central Business District. So, that’s the history. If Model and Talbert had properly valued the people who lived in the Dennison and the great need for large quantities of affordable housing, they would not have displaced people to begin with. They would not have moved forward with a plan to deplete the number of affordable homes while having no confirmed source of funds. And they would not have exposed the property to the greedy influence of the wealthy Joseph family. In short, all of this was preventable. In fact, every bit of the massive displacement and affordable housing loss in the Central Business District neighborhood has been preventable. In 1985, city council stated that the number of affordable homes in the CBD must be kept at no less than 1300. The need for affordable housing is greater now than it was then and many more individuals and families with children are experiencing homelessness today than in 1985. Despite that fact, instead of maintaining and adding more affordable housing to the CBD, we have eliminated approximately 984 affordable homes since 1990, leaving the CBD with approximately 264 affordable homes, 115 of which are in one building and specifically for older people. Once the Metropole closed, the CBD lost its long-standing designation as a racially integrated neighborhood. We have turned the CBD into an exclusive neighborhood for people (Continued on page 5) 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, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Griffin Ritze, Erick Stoll, Jason Haap, Bill Woods, Jim Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Steve Sunderland, Sharon Doering, Leslie Moorhead, H. Lee Bowen, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Michael Earl Patton, Dr. Mark Mussman, Grace Place Catholic Worker, 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. �WORLD Who’s Afraid of Richard Wolff? 3 No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 GRIFFIN RITZE F or generations, working people have shied away from Socialism as the political alternative to the inequality and misery generated by the excesses of capitalism. In the mainstream, the collapse of the Soviet Union seemed to indicate the culmination of the international Socialist political project and its defeat. In the following decades, capitalism developed into a near global consensus through the military, economic, and political domination of the United States. In recent times of economic recession and stagnation in the United States, international capitalist investment has driven India and China into a period of incredible economic growth while developing countries and post-industrial economies like the U.S. compete for investment resources. Since 1998, China for example has achieved between 7.8-14% annual growth in terms of GDP compared to the 3.8% average growth of the U.S. economy during the post-war boom of roughly 1946-1973. (GDP meaning, the gross domestic product: the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country in one year.) With the increasing demand of consumer goods brought on by the postwar boom, the capitalists in the U.S. realized that they could meet the demand for consumer goods while generating increasing profits by outsourcing the production of consumer goods to cheap labor markets in other countries, such as China, where they could pay workers much lower wages. For working people in the U.S. and throughout the world this has meant a loss of jobs and income due to the increasing global competition between workers. The long term effects of this reconfiguration of the global economy were not anticipated by working people in the U.S. Through the economic gains won by unions in the U.S. and the civil rights reforms won by movements of people of color, women, LGBT people, and disabled people it seemed that living conditions for the working class would infinitely increase and expand to those social groups that were historically shut out of middle class ascendance. The prosperity of the postwar boom was not sustainable. A series of national and global economic crises unfolded throughout the 70’s and into the present that further displaced investment to wherever it was most profitable for the capital- Contributing Writer Richard Wolff speaking at NKU Photo: Justin Jeffre ist system. In the U.S. factories were closed, the city centers were abandoned by the ‘white flight’ of capital into the ever expanding suburbs. Jobs in the U.S. were outsourced to cheaper international labor markets, lost to unemployment, or whittled away by automation and demands by the management class for increased productivity from workers. Unions suffered massive decreases in membership and strength as the capitalists beat back wages, employment benefits, and working conditions through collusion with the labor union bureaucracy. For the average household in the U.S., incomes stagnated from 1973 to the present while productivity rose substantially. Wealth became increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small group of people as income inequality grew. Today, the top one percent of income earners in the U.S. hold 40% of the wealth. Globally, the 67 richest people on the planet own more wealth than the 3.5 billion poorest. Throughout this period of increasing hardship for working people in the U.S. Socialism had been cast aside as a failed experiment. The limits and failures of the Soviet project came to be seen as a condemnation of a political alternative to capitalism that could enhance the lives of working people and end the domination of the capitalist imperial powers. Critics of capitalism in the U.S. who were censored and marginalized through the channels of capi- Wall in Eden Park made by the Works Progress Administration Photo: Justin Jeffre talist ideological rule during the Cold War era were cast aside by the 1990’s as irrelevant or crazy. There was a new global capitalist consensus as indicated by international trade agreements like NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) which further displaced production of goods such as cars and allowed companies like Volkswagen to pay Mexican autoworkers $8.00 an hour today over the average $35 an hour that an American autoworker is paid. Workers in the United States and other post-industrial Western countries were forced to compete against workers in developing nations in a global ‘race to the bottom’ for the lowest wages that the capitalists could get away with. Capitalism’s critics, supposedly made irrelevant – have become increasingly louder and more influential since the most recent economic crisis that began in 2007. Richard Wolff, one such critic has observed a dramatic surge of interest in Socialism as a renewed political force in recent years: “For the future of the left, there is encouragement in the more positive view of socialism among younger generations. In a recent YouGov poll, 52% of Americans had a favorable view of capitalism, while only 26% had a favorable view of Socialism. However, among those younger than 30s, 36% had a positive view of socialism, while 39% had a positive view of capitalism.” Richard Wolff, has been a professor of economics nearly all of his adult life and was trained as an economist at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. Wolff made critical contributions to Marxist economic and political theory during a time when the capitalist ideological consensus was pervasive throughout academia in the U.S. and all of society’s social and cultural structures. (For context, Janet Yellen, the current chair of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. Was one of Wolff’s classmates at Harvard.) Through this dark period for capitalism’s critics in the university, Richard Wolff remained convinced of the fundamental instability and injustice of the capitalist system. In 2011, following the cry against rising income inequality in the U.S. embodied in Occupy Wall Street, Wolff began a weekly radio program called THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Economic Update. The program initially aired on one public radio station in California and has since expanded to dozens of radio outlets and become wildly popular as an online podcast. Economic Update provides working people an analysis of economic developments nationally and globally in a plainly spoken and accessible style of delivery. Wolff’s dry sense of humor and relatable observations have proven to be instructional devices for economic and political theories that can be daunting for people to comprehend without guidance or encouragement. Wolff has also been a longtime advocate for cooperative democratic worker ownership of businesses within the capitalist economy. Imagining Socialism as a renewed political project, for Wolff, demands the proven success of alternative methods of organizing the workplace under capitalism: “An enterprise only qualifies as “Socialist” once the distinction between employers and employees within it has been abolished. When workers collectively and democratically produce, receive and distribute the profits their labor generates, the enterprise becomes Socialist. Such enterprises can then become the base of a Socialist economy - its micro-level foundation - supporting whatever ownership system (public and/or private) and distribution system (planning and/or market) constitute that economy’s macro level.” Additionally, Wolff is the cofounder of Democracy at Work a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that advocates for the creation of workers self-directed enterprises (WSDEs) through the conversion of existing capitalist enterprises and the support of new businesses in that model which centers the ownership and democratic control of production in the hands of the workers. Amidst the rising calls for a $15 minimum wage and meaningful employment for working people – worker self-directed enterprises are an important project that points to the potential of a Socialist movement that can inspire alternative ways of organizing the workplace and the economy. The taboo of Socialism has been broken in the United States. The capitalist class has abandoned working people throughout the world in their search for cheaper labor and larger profits. Millions of people have been inspired by the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and his proud identification as a ‘Democratic Socialist’. The Black Lives Matter movement has galvanized the struggle for civil rights and fueled the desire for a politics that rejects capitalism. Critics like Richard Wolff are an important voice among many for a renewed international Socialist project. Working people throughout the world are beginning to realize the power that we can achieve today when we begin to think and act collectively. In a time of growing class consciousness in the U.S. it is crucial that we begin to move toward a Socialist politics that can exceed what was seemed to be impossible only years ago. ------------------------ �4 LOCAL Good White People short film screening ERICK STOLL 45 Contributing Writer days. 200 dollars. That’s what Reginald Stroud Sr. and his family were offered when the building they rented in Over-The-Rhine was bought. Reginald lived at 1232 (?) Walnut St. for over ten years, running two businesses below: Anybody’s Dream, a popular variety store, and a martial arts school, where he taught. Watching Over-The-Rhine gentrify around him, Reginald thought he might be able to survive the wave of development and white newcomers. Anybody’s Dream was no common convenience store. In addition to the usual snacks, soda, and canned foods, the store carried Halloween costumes, used video games, incense, lingerie, classic literature, and most famously, 2 cent candy. On the average afternoon, Anybody’s Dream was packed with folks from the neighborhood, exchanging gossip, sampling out the many varieties of candy, playing a video game in the back corner, or just hanging out. Reginald knew nearly all his customers by name, and had seen neighborhood children become adults before his eyes over the years. In contrast to the controlled chaos of his busy store, Reginald ran his karate school next door with a firm, but caring touch. He taught his students, many from Over-The-Rhine, classic martial arts techniques and practical street-safety moves alike. He emphasized the importance of offering affordable lessons, so that kids in the city who couldn’t pay $200 a month could still study martial arts. In 2014, Urban Sites, a marketrate developer with a large presence on Main Street, bought the buildings that housed Anybody’s Dream, the karate school, the apartment shared by Reginald, his wife Miranda, and their three children, as well as a dozen or so other elderly and lowincome tenants. When the building sold, Reginald says, someone from Urban Sites briefly entered his store to introduce himself, insisted that they weren’t going be making any changes right away, and then left. The next time Reginald heard from Urban Sites, it was in the form of a noticed taped to his door, telling him he had 45 days to move his home and two businesses, and offering $200 for their inconveniences. $200 might be enough to rent you a moving truck to move across town, but it’s nothing to a family who is losing their source of income, their businesses. And 45 days isn’t near enough time to relocate two businesses. I met Reginald Stroud shortly after he received this notice. A friend, Jarrod-Welling Cann, and I had heard about what was happening and approached him with the hopes of following his family for a documentary film about gentrification in Over-The-Rhine. Reginald didn’t hesitate: he knew what was happening to him was wrong, and he wanted to tell his story. To Reginald, as to much of the community, it was obvious: white people with money are moving into the neighborhood, pushing black people out. What most insulted Reginald, I think, was that Urban Sites didn’t even entertain the possibility of his businesses returning to the building after it was renovated, nor did they offer him any extra time or compensation as someone losing two businesses. According to Reginald, “they had another plan, and we weren’t in that plan.” But why not? Wouldn’t two family-owned businesses beloved by the community be the exact thing that developers would strive to maintain as they pay lip service to the notion of a “diverse, mixedincome neighborhood”? Of course not, and we know why: gentrification is a racist, classist process, and a “diverse, mixedincome neighborhood” is just a stepping-stone on the way to exclusively wealthy, white neighborhoods. The white executives at Urban Sites took one look at Reginald’s businesses, which served a predominately black clientele, and knew it wasn’t what they wanted in their newly renovated building; they see no future for low-income black folk in Over-TheRhine. For the next month, we filmed as Reginald and his family closedup shop and prepared for the move, maintaining karate classes and the stocking bare essentials in the store until the day they left. We saw his friends and customers react to the news with anger and sadness, but also resignation, as though they knew it was inevitable. And up the block, in the evenings, we saw growing crowds of boisterous white newcomers, commonly drunk, shuttling down 12th street between the bars on Main and A Triumvirate of Anti-Thought JASON HAAP C Contributing Writer onfirmation bias, negativity bias, and the backfire effect: these constitute a Triumvirate of Anti-Thought, and my fear is there isn’t anything we can do to stop it. First, a quick summary of our Three Harbingers of The Intellectual Apocalypse: 1. Confirmation bias: We are psy- chologically predisposed to interpret information in a way that supports what we already think. And, if something really challenges our positions, it’s pretty easy to find something that debunks our opponent and further emphasizes our sense of rightness. I am an atheist, for example. Sometimes, theists will try to convince me that it is “logical” to believe Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 Vine streets, ignorant of and indifferent to the struggles of long-time residents around them. This is why Jarrod and I made our short film, now titled “Good White People”. We wanted to show that the redevelopment of Over-TheRhine might be exciting for white professionals moving to the city, but was a racist, violent process for those whose livelihoods and community are threatened by it. Our film is a testament to the experience of Reginald and other OTR residents who have been displaced, and a call to the ‘good white people’ moving into the neighborhood to confront their role in this process, and, hopefully, to join the struggle against it. On April 16th at 3pm, “Good White People” will be premiering in Over-The-Rhine at St. Francis Seraph School at the corner of Vine and Liberty streets. We’ve teamed up with the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, and will be hosting a discussion after the screening featuring Reginald and other current and former residents of Over-The-Rhine sharing their perspectives on race and gentrification. The event is free and all are welcome. It’s too late to save Anybody’s Dream and the karate school on Walnut St. from being pushed out. But we hope “Good White People” will contribute to a growing awareness that economic development without economic justice is just another brutal capitalist process that perpetuates the marginalization and incarceration of our low-income brothers and sisters of color. Learn more at facebook.com/ goodwhitepeople in God, if for no other reason than the universe must have been caused by something that exists outside of space and time. When I refuse to accept the premise (because if God can exist without being caused, then why can’t the universe?), they will ask me to explain what “caused” the Big Bang. I have no idea what caused the Big Bang (if the Big Bang is even what really happened, as some newer theories are starting to emerge). To them, it is absurd that I would say “I don’t know.” They think I’m dodging the issue because I don’t want to acknowledge the “logic” of their position. I think they are just arguing for “the God of the Gaps,” simply inserting the supernatural whenever we find an area not solved (yet) by science. In other words, though we each have the same conversation, and examine the same “evidence,” we each end up having our beliefs confirmed - “we” are right and “they” are wrong. 2. Negativity bias: This is a tricky one, though it probably served us rather well from an evolutionary standpoint. (There I go again with my atheistic beliefs, so apologies to any fundamentalist readers who believe in Creationism.) Generally feeling a sense of contentment doesn’t help us protect the tribe from predators. For millions of years, this trait helped us survive. The problem, THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ (Continued on page 11) �LOCAL Reducing Cincinnati’s Child Poverty Rate by 22-Percent By 2020 5 No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer H ow do you significantly reduce child poverty in Cincinnati? At the Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral on March 24th, Ross Meyer, Vice President of Community Impact at the United Way, addressed this question and encouraged Forum attendees to offer their ideas for shrinking the high number children living in poverty in the Queen City? Last year they launched the Child Poverty Collaborative. Although the Collaborative was initially going to launch the project this June, it recently announced that more planning and information gathering were needed before forging ahead. The Rand Corporation, a think tank based in a Washington, D.C., has been hired to do this preliminary work. Meyer began his presentation by citing some of the dismal data concerning child poverty in this city and region. 2012 Census statistics revealed 53-percent of Cincinnati’s children living in poverty, and that fact gave the city the second highest ranking for child poverty in the na- tion. Another study in 2014 came up with a slightly lower number, 44-percent, and reported that one out of every five children living in Hamilton County lives in poverty. The child poverty rate for the entire country is 22-percent. Acknowledging the impact of the Urban League’s report, “The State of Black Cincinnati -2015: Two Cities,” Meyer called it “a wake-up call” for this community. This comprehensive report, he said, revealed the long term and systemic failure of this city to effectively address the causes of poverty. However, the amount of public concern about these grim statistics, he continued, provides us with “a unique opportunity to act - to launch some bold goals for our community.” What are some of these bold goals? Meyer cited making quality pre-school available to every poor child as one major advance, and he described “Preschool Promise” as a current local initiative that seeks to achieve this end. He also noted that children are part of families in poverty, and effective new initiatives must be aimed at improving the lives of these families. Meyer admitted that low paying jobs are keeping most of these families in poverty, and that more and better employment programs are needed to give people the skills for higher paying work. He said that one recent effort funded by the United Way had succeeded in training 10,000 people for such jobs. Since the Child Poverty Collaborative is still in the planning stage, Meyer stressed that his job now is to hear from the community. One attendee questioned whether enough high paying, skilled jobs existed to emphasize job training as the key strategy for ending poverty. The same speaker cited studies that predict that technology is going to steadily reduce the number of total jobs available for all people in search of employment. “In the end,” said another attendee, “don’t we have to say that all work is valuable, and pay people a living wage?” The huge cuts in recent years of federal, state, and local dollars for programs and services to assist the poor were stressed by a Forum attendee as a key factor that must be considered. “The elimination of the entitlement program, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, in 1996, was a major setback for struggling families with children!” Another attendee declared that a lack of affordable housing kept thousands of families in dire economic straits or homeless. A giant step toward ending family and child poverty, said the questioner, would be to rehab and build many more units of decent, safe, and affordable housing. Meyer admitted that many of the Forum attendees already knew the major causes of poverty and the steps needed to reduce it. People like them, he said, would be crucial in the long term struggle to adequately address these causes. As an “insider,” Meyer sees his role as engaging business leaders and the community at-large in the Collaborative’s goal of lifting 10, 000 children out of poverty by 2020. He reiterated that this initiative would hold one-hundred community meetings in the coming months. (Part IV of this Forum Series on reducing poverty will take place on April 14th. A panel will discuss innovative approaches to creating new jobs in Cincinnati’s neighborhoods.”) ------------------------ Ross Meyer speaking at the community issues forum at Christ Church Cathedral Photo: Justin Jeffre JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) with deep pockets and because of vast racism in our country, deep pockets also systematically means white skin. This is not the end of the story however. The only way to reverse a negative path is to start down a good one. We can stop the Joseph family from being able to tear down the Dennison, by convincing the Historic Conservation Board to not allow the demolition. We can then push city council to fund the re-establishment of affordable housing in the Dennision. People started and fed this problem, people can also end it. And we must not stop with the Dennision, the CBD, like all of our neighborhoods should be a place that anyone can call home if they so desire. *1990 Housing Numbers taken THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED from a study of affordable housing in Central Business District jointly completed by the Legal Aid Society and the City of Cincinnati in 1990. ------------------------ �6 LOCAL The Game of a Lifetime or It’s Only a Game JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer “The fight is won or lost, far away from witnesses.” Muhammad Ali I sit down at my machine, late on the night before the absolute final deadline for Streetvibes. I have written hundreds of articles and essays here over the past five years. Many are intense, some angry. Tonight, for only the second time. I will do an article about sports. Sports—especially national sporting events—do not fit comfortable into the “mission statement” of the Homeless Coalition or of Streetvibes. This paper has—as they say—more important fish to fry. But sports are a part of most of our lives, even the lives of the poorest of the poor. Most of my neighbors, and my friends among the vendors of this paper, enjoy sports, and support our local teams. I write this article on the night when the Reds played this year’s “opening game.” I confess: I don’t really like baseball, and do not even know who won the game. This article is about basketball. Earlier tonight I went to a bar and watched the collegiate national championship game. Villanova, my graduate school alma mater, won with a “three pointer” at the buzzer. Hockey is my favorite sport. I played men’s hockey until I was 63. But it is very expensive to play. As much as $1000 for equipment and skates. Rental fees every time you take the ice. And six players on each team. I love watching professional football. But in order to play the game you need expensive equipment and 11 players per team. Basketball is different. More than any other competitive sport, basketball, to borrow some of my earlier words, fits pretty comfortably into the OTR neighborhood where I live. All a kid needs is a ball and a ten­foot­high net. He or she can shoot hoops all by themselves. Add another player and you can go “one-onone” in “head-to-head” competition. I am almost 72 years old. I live in a tenement near the casino. My wonderful wooden balcony that looks out on a tiny city park which has its own basketball court. Over the years, at this isolated venue, I have watched many poor people—young, older; males-females; single shooters and full five person teams playing against one another with a paid ref. I have seen a few incredibly gifted basketball players on that small court. Such expert skills can be thrilling to watch. In all likelihood, no player from the Spring Street court where I live ever made it to the pros or to the NCAA finals. But a number of these neighborhood players probably played credible high school ball, and a few of them—no doubt—went to college thanks to their round ball skills. My point is that this little court, and dozens like it around town, can evolve into a kind of “field of dreams” for young people from the neighborhood. They can imagine themselves moving into another, brighter world as they practice their lay­ ups and their fade away jump shots. In an intimate, imaginative way, they can go for the gold, reach for the stars, see themselves as winners. All this is a kind of preamble to the Villanova win last night and to the complex, and quite sad, set of memories that victory evoked for me. My History with Villanova Basketball In 1970, at age 26, I left Cincinnati with my then small family to do a masters degree in theater at Villanova, a somewhat unknown Catholic university located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Having taught at Elder High School for the previous four years, I was a huge basketball fan. That year, the Villanova Wildcats were a scrappy team, but no one expected them to make it to the finals. [At that time, only 25 teams competed in a two weeklong tournament]. But they did indeed beat several better teams in order to face off against the dominant UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden. The Bruins had won the championship for the four years previous. It was a case of a small school David against a West Coast powerhouse Goliath. Need I say that our campus was abuzz in anticipation of this nationally televised championship game. Not exactly “abuzz.” Maybe I should say “afire” with passion for the team. On the day of the game, a rumor drifted around the quiet, gray stoned Villanova campus. We learned—everyone heard this—that some of the students were threatening to burn down the “Bandbox” if our team lost, Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 as was expected. The Bandbox was a V­shaped former army barracks where the school band practiced and kept its instruments. One half of the “V” comprised the rehearsal space for our (my) theater department. No one believed that this would be allowed to happen, because the warnings had been so clear. Villanova played a great game that long-ago night and kept it very close. Midway through the second half, Coach Wooden had his team begin executing a “four corner stall.” At that time, the NCAA did not use the 30 second shot clock, so a leading team could stall indefinitely, forcing the other team to foul. Villanova fouled again and again, and UCLA made most of those foul shots, winning the game 68­62. This would prove to be the greatest—and the most ignominious—moment in the school’s basketball history, until the team’s 1985 victory over Georgetown to win its first national championship. So the Wildcats played well, but lost the game. And the students followed through on their threat. They burned down the all wood Bandbox. [I won’t detail the difficulties we theater folks had securing decent rehearsal space]. The Howard Porter Story (tragedy, reconciliation and redemption) The drama of that night did not end with the game’s heroics or the late-night fire. Although UCLA won, Villanova’s three-time all-American power forward, 6’ 8” Howard Porter was named the game’s “most outstanding player.” Several months later, it was revealed that Porter (a naïve, poor kid from Sarasota, Florida) had signed a (Continued on page 7) Now Hiring Caracole Caracole.org - Case Manager Center for Chemical Addiction Treatment catsober.org - Recovery Coach - CDCA Counselor Churches Active in Northside C.A.I.N. churchesactiveinnorth side.tumblr.com - Development Coordinator Position Cincinnati Health Department hamiltoncountyhealth. org - Division Manager (Maternal Infant Health) - Nurse Practitioner - Public Health Nurse - Public Health Practitioner Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Quality and Compliance Manager - Payroll and Benefits Specialist - Special Needs Assistance - Family Service Worker - Teachers - Assistant Teachers - Cook Hamilton County Planning and Development hamiltoncountyohio. gov - Sanitarian 1/11 - Patient Registration Speacialist - Assistant Finance Officer - Water Quality Technition - Medical Receptionist - Accounting Specialist Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org - Multiple openings Shelter House Imani Family Center shelterhousecinti.org imanifamilycenter.org - Resident Aid Specialist - Volunteer Photographers and Filmmakers Joseph House josephhouse.com - Volunteer Photographers and Filmmakers Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - Administrative Assistant THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED - Case Manager - Service Assignment Specialist - Facility Maintenance Worker - Resident Aid YWCA ywcwcincinnati.org - Children’s Program Coordinator (Part Time) �7 LOCAL No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 Making Metro More Accessible MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer P lease don’t misunderstand me. I am grateful for the mobility the local bus system, Metro, provides for many citizens of Cincinnati. For many elderly who no longer drive, or for those who can’t afford a car, or those who are handicapped, there is often no realistic alternative. And I love that the busses “kneel,” or lower the front, to make it easier to get from the sidewalk to the first step. Because the elderly and handicapped are so often unable to afford alternative transportation, Metro offers a “Fare Deal” card for them that cuts the bus fare in half. Just show the card – which has your photo on it -- to the driver when you get on. One can also purchase a monthly sticker for $38.50 for the card which enables you to ride Metro everywhere without any additional charges for that month. All good. I just wish that Metro would make it a little easier to get the card in the first place. The only Metro office that issues the card is in the north-east part of the Cincinnati area, in Silverton. Metro says that is served by the No. 4 bus and Metro*Plus lines, but their website is confusing on whether it is really served by Metro*Plus (www. go-metro.com. The reason it is confusing is because Metro*Plus is not listed as one of the routes that stops at the Park & Ride adjacent to the office, and the Park & Ride is not listed in the schedule for Metro*Plus). I can verify that it is served by the No. 4 bus because I saw one stop there. And yes, the bus stop does state “Metro*Plus” on its side. But I’ve even seen signs at bus stops in the past for routes that had been abandoned. Using Metro can be frustrating at times, which after all is the point of this article. If you have a lot of time you can get there by bus, but you will probably have to transfer. It can easily take over an hour. It is outside the city limits so it is in zone 2, meaning the regular bus fare is $2.65 instead of $1.75, each way. A transfer costs $0.50. You don’t get the card right away as it is mailed to you, meaning you can’t use it to get a discounted fare to go back. So if you don’t have a Fare Deal card already it will probably cost you $5.80 in bus fare just to get to and from the place where you can get the discount card. Fare Deal cards can only be obtained on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Public taxis are expensive, unlicensed taxis (“bootlegs”) are less expensive but still much more than a bus, and friends with cars are often busy when you need a ride. Ironically, there are three handicapped parking places in front of the building, all of which were empty when I was there. The building itself sits down in a hollow and there is a long slope down from the bus stop. Accessible, yes, but I don’t know if I would call it easy, especially if you had to use a walker or a wheelchair and the weather were bad. See the accompanying photo for the relationship between the bus stop and the building. Until two or three years ago, Metro bus stop by Metro office Photo: Michael Earl Patton Metro used to make the Fare Deal card available at their downtown office. I called and talked to a couple representatives. Both said that Metro changed this in order to save money. They already owned the Silverton office, which is off a bus line, and the downtown office was too expensive. I stated that I had heard several comments from Metro riders that the Silverton office is far less convenient and I wished Metro could find a way to offer that card downtown again. One more thing I wish would change – if you let your card expire, you have to produce another government i.d. to show that you are you. But if you don’t let your card expire, the Metro office will accept their card as sufficient proof that you are who you say you are. The reason given for this is that they have had problems with people using the Fare Deal card from someone who is de- Bridges to Access and Cancer Justice STEVE SUNDERLAND, PHD SHARON DOERING* Contributing Writers CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: “...differentiated access and treatments defined the line between survival and death.” (1) “Fewer and fewer large and medium sized companies offer their JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 6) mid­ season contract with an agent from an NBA team. Villanova’s name was quickly expunged from the record books. Humiliated and disgraced, the man who continues to be regarded as Villanova’s greatest basketball player, became a kind of pariah at his own university. It would be decades before Porter would return to his alma mater and receive some of the recognition he had earned there as an outstanding student athlete. Porter did turn pro and played for seven years, his career ending early because of cocaine addiction. Eventually, in 1989, he admitted himself for treatment and went on to become a respected parole officer in Minneapolis St. Paul. His life seemed to be on the right track, except for his relationship with Villanova. Then, in 1996, on the 25th anniversary of that infamous champion- workers full health coverage-74 percent did in 1980; under 10 percent do today.” (2) “The experiences of minorities remain strikingly marginal in cancer literature...” (3) “Not only are we in need of new and more effective therapies, but we need a health system that reliably delivers such therapies, particularly to underserved and poor populations.” (4) ship game, he returned for a celebration of his team and its accomplishments. His jersey was retired, and Porter once again became part of the Villanova basketball “family.” In 2006, he was named the second greatest round ball player in Philadelphia’s “Big Five” college history. But tragedy still dogged him. In May of 2007, he was found severely beaten in a trash strewn Minneapolis alley. He would die a week later. According to some accounts, he had been the unlucky victim of a brutal robbery. As I researched Porter’s post­ basketball career, I had hoped this was the case. Tears had come to my eyes as I thought about this man’s tortured journey. I had hoped to dovetail Porter’s story of shame and redemption, of failure and success, into the picture of those young people—mostly poor and black—playing basketball on the court below my balcony in OTR. In fact, Howard Porter seems to have been caught up once again in a situation that involved drugs and prostitution. He had been beaten un- mercifully, gangland style. How then could I make a moral of his story? Well, there is a moral there, because the story is real. Some of the kids playing basketball there on Spring Street may become stars of one kind or another. And some, no doubt, will be killed in the epidemic of violence that surrounds inner-city, black youth. Life, especially for those who come into it with two strikes against them, will often be muddied, and sometimes end tragically. Happy endings are the stuff of fairy tales. Villanova: 2016 National Champions Without cable TV at my place, I wandered to a local bar, jam-packed with young people to watch the game. My team was an underdog to the North Carolina Blue Devils, a team which had won the big prize many times. In the second half, Villanova came back from a ten-point deficit, then went ahead by ten themselves. Slowly, North Carolina chipped away at that lead. With Villanova up by three, NC guard Marcus Paige sank an incred- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ceased, to the point that they will even alter the photo. That is a problem, but I think their system hurts more than it helps. I was assisting a friend trying to renew her card, but it was expired and her government i.d. (non-driver’s license) was also expired. But she was still clearly the same person, and now needs to make another trip there. All Metro has to do is to compare her to the photo that they have on file. If anyone tried to renew their Fare Deal card but looked 20 years younger and very different, okay, then challenge them. And Metro should do that even if the current card had not expired. As I said in the beginning, I am grateful for the mobility that Metro offers. I just wish it weren’t so bureaucratic at times. ------------------------ A. Introduction: What these astonishing facts illustrate, is the lack of access minorities and low income people have to cancer information, timely screenings, treatment, and care, and help in navigating the maze of their cancer journey. Cincinnati must provide a bridge of access for its poor and minority population to navigate (Continued on page 11) ibly acrobatic shot from outside the circle. Tie Score. 4.7 seconds left on the clock. Taking the in­bound pass, Villanova’s star point guard, Ryan Arcidiacono, rushed down the floor, then—incredibly—passed the ball to junior forward Kris Jenkins who flew into the air, sinking a three pointer at the buzzer, the first three-point buzzer beater in finals history. 77­74. Streamers cascaded down from the rafters. My alma mater had done it again. Cameras focused on Jenkins, beaming, and they replayed his winning shot over and over. As I stared at the TV screen, a very attractive, tipsy young woman leaned toward my ear, and whispered, “I know he’s going to get laid tonight.” I smiled, sensing that—in an oddly inappropriate way— she had summed up the game, the season, and my five­decade relationship with Villanova. And had given me a closing line for this odd story. Sometimes things do have a happy ending. ------------------------ �8 PHOTO ESSAY Keeping up with the Coalition! Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 LESLIE MOORHEAD Staff W e just wrapped up a busy month of alternative spring break programs! Dr. Mark arranged countless hours of volunteer opportunities and social justice education for 55 students that came from the University of Vermont, Southern New Hampshire University, Harper College and University of Colorado Boulder. We are sincerely thankful to our Coalition Member Organizations and Community Partners who showed us how to make community a priority in our lives. Thank you for making this such an amazing experience for each participant! ------------------------ Bonnie Neumeier with Colorado and Harper College Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Southern New Hampshire at King Me with NinaMdot Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Southern New Hampshire at Rothenberg Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Vermont Cleaning buddy’s place Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 PHOTO ESSAY Southern New Hampshire Double-Bagging at St. Francis Seraph Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Southern New Hampshire with Future Leaders of OTR Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Harper College and Colorado with Melissa and Lee Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman Lunch on Foodstamps Activity Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 11 LOCAL Meet the former director of Grace Place Catholic Worker H. LEE BOWEN Contributing Writer O n Sunday, the 28th day of February, I sat in the congregation of St. FrancisSt. George when the finest JASON HAAP (Continued from page 4) now, in a modern and developed society, is that “tribalism” mixed with “fear” generally leads to things like racism, or sexism, or an irrational fear of people with political views different from your own. As a professional educator, I know it takes something like three or four positive comments to offset the impact on a student of one negative comment. That’s because of the negativity bias. The bad stuff just stays with us longer. You could be having a great day, but if someone cuts you off in traffic on the way home from the office, it could ruin your evening. We are hard-wired to focus on threats. 3. The Backfire Effect: This one is particularly troubling. From the perspective of reason, we should reject our beliefs whenever presented with STEVE SUNDERLAND, PHD SHARON DOERING (Continued from page 7) away from such devastating discrepancies in cancer outcomes. 1. Access to timely cancer information: Minorities and other underserved populations are denied access to the information that they may have cancer. Health and educational systems have ill prepared this population to ask the critical question: what is cancer? Not having the opportunity to ask a physician or nurse for the warning signs of cancer has contributed to the mortality of minorities and the poor. In Cincinnati this population has the highest death rate from cancer in Ohio (5). When people, poorly educated about health matters, finally find out they have cancer, it is often too late for successful treatment. The latest drugs and other treatments are unable to be used as the cancer has advanced to an untreatable stage. Changing death rates depends on providing a bridge between the citizen and information about cancer survival based on early screening and treatment. 2. Access to timely screening and treatment information: Communication about cancer requires a sensitivity to people’s fears about death and pain as well as an appreciation of the person’s prior experience with cancer in their family or with friends. Misinformation about the nature of cancer and confusion about screenings as well as fears of treatments can distort accurate understanding. The key to heightening comprehension may be in providing cancer education in social agencies that are trusted. Already a firm foundation, the social service agency can be the most important bridge to both education and rapid movement to screenings. The opportunity of community educators, some with personal experiences of surviving cancer, can make the connection to understanding that will be best understood. human being I personally know an- near her daughter and family. She, over 45 years because her Alzheimer nounced that she is leaving Cincin- Joyce Asfour, is leaving this parish has progressed to the point where nati and moving to Columbus to be where she has been a member for (Continued on page 12) evidence that shows us we are wrong, simply adopting the new (and better) position as our own. In this, we are not wired for being reasonable! Often, when people are presented with evidence that contradicts deeply held personal beliefs, they don’t simply change their entire view of the world from one breath to the next. Instead, their brain goes into defensive mode, doubling down on the “wrong” belief, making it seem even more justified than before. Taken together, we are naturally inclined to view those from another “tribe” as “threats.” We are good at finding evidence to support the things we already believe, and when anyone tries to prove us wrong, we become more convinced how we are right. What are we possibly supposed to do, given these realities? The more globally connected our world becomes, and the more democratized ac- cess to media becomes through technology, the more we find ourselves surrounded by too much information. When trying to make sense of everything, we do so in a way that convinces us that we are right, that others are a threat - and if someone tries to argue with us that fact proves our point. I predict the Trump-ification of American politics is only the beginning. The modern media circus we all love to hate is just the beginning of a brave new world. My fear, however, is not that our mindlessness ushers this into existence. Mindlessness can be remedied through education. My fear is that our minds are what does this to us. How do we possibly win a fight against the way the brain is structured? Some of you reading this like to believe we have the ability to impact the world in meaningful ways. We absolutely do. I’m not saying we are incapable of doing things in the world. But I am saying this trajectory in our public life, as demonstrated by the 2016 presidential race, might be inevitable - a natural conclusion of the Triumvirate of Anti-Thought. Many of you, by now, are disagreeing with my conclusion. That’s probably just your confirmation bias. The backfire effect makes it difficult for you to stomach information that contradicts what you already believe. And your bias towards negativity makes it easy to classify what I’m saying as “crazy.” Of course, you may be tempted to turn that thinking right back onto me. That would be unfair, however, since I am the one who is right and you are the one who is wrong. 3. Access to navigating the health care maze: The creation of the patient navigator role by Harold Freeman, M.D., surgeon and former president of the American Cancer Society, recognized that true access to necessary cancer treatment may require a trained and trusted person who will accompany a person through the barriers that too often block action. (6) Navigators understand the transportation system to the screening and hospitals. Navigators understand how easily a person can be slowed or stopped by confusing communication between doctors and patients, especially when fears about cancer are present. Navigators can also help with financial and family logistical issues. In sum, the navigator is a vital part of the bridge to survival as a trusted companion on the journey. 4. Creating a caring bridge: Moving through phases of uncertainty in the discovery process for cancer requires great resilience on the part of the person with cancer and their loved ones. Too often the experience shatters self-confidence as the fears of failure overwhelm the experience. One family member described this crisis: “I wish that some, anyone-any of these people who are paid to do this-would actually tell me what to do...I have not yet opened my mouth and I am defeated...I need tactics: a manager, coach, a trainer who knows about the death stuff...about the understanding of young children, about the deep fatigue generated by stress, about what the illness does to concentration, financial support, about anger...and all the skeins involved in the [un]raveling out of the whole.” (7) The navigator will assist in working with realistic needs of the patient and their family and assist in encouraging the patient to find some degree of peace within the experience of doubt and fear. 5. Navigation with the Cancer Justice Network is the bridge: Social service agencies provide important, indeed, critical provisions for people in need. Whether it be food, help with housing assistance, emergency funds for transportation and bill paying, occupational training, and/or clothing, social service agencies are major sources of relief, strength, and compassion for many people in our community. The Cancer Justice Network builds on these strengths, unites the community desire to decrease cancer mortalities, and provides direct links to people who may likely fall through the cancer cracks. By providing cancer education and individuals trained to navigate the cancer maze through agencies in the Cancer Justice Network in Cincinnati, a bridge to survival from cancer emerges. In the coming year, our education and navigation option will be offered at the FreeStore Food Bank, St. Vincent de Paul, Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, Caracole House, Churches Active in Northside, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Francis Seraph and the Homeless Coalition. We expect navigators to come from the community as well as the University of Cincinnati school of social work, the UC Cincinnati Project, and the UC Peace Village. The American Cancer Society will provide printed cancer information, assistance with transportation to and from centers and hospitals, and critical 800 numbers that may be used 24/7 for people to access information. The Cincinnati Health Department will coordinate their health centers’ schedules to assist in screening processes. A team of volunteer physicians, led by Nemat Moussaivian, MD, will provide information on how cancer can be overcome with early screening and treatment. Support for these activities is provided, in part, by grants from the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine and Molina Insurance. 6. A Bridge to Improving Survival from Cancer: Research on navigation programs in other cities and states shows success in reducing mortality and improving screening due to assistance in overcoming obstacles. (8) Cincinnati could be a national leader in the transformation of social service agencies into new organizations that prevent the expansion of cancer stages and assist in successful treatment options. Changing the mortality epidemic in Cincinnati requires a new and bold approach that reaches outside the hospital and to the community, especially to those agencies that have a foundation of compassion. The message for the 21st Century is that this new approach of navigation following cancer education can make a major difference in the survival of low income people and minorities. The bridge to caring treatment is being built with the hands of strong partners. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ References: (1) K. Wailoo (2011). How cancer crossed the color line. Oxford. p. 137; (2) R. Reich (2012). Beyond outrage. Vintage. p. 13; (3) S. Gubar (3/10/16). Living with cancer: Being erased. NY Times; (4) J. Groopman (3/10/2016). Cancer: A time for skeptics. The New York Review of Books; (5) National Cancer Institute, Center for Disease Control (2008-2012). State Cancer Profiles; (6) H. Freeman (2015). History of patient navigation. Peace Village Cancer Project, Cincinnati; (7) M. Coutts (2014). The iceberg. Black Cat. pp. 45-6; (8) E. Paskett (2/3-4/16). Multilevel approaches to addressing cancer disparities. American Association for Cancer Research Prevention Summit: Shaping the future of cancer prevention. Leesburg, VA. * Steve Sunderland is director of the Peace Village Cancer Project (steve.c.sunderland@icloud.com) and Sharon Doering is the secretary of the board of the Peace Village Cancer Project. ------------------------ �12 H. LEE BOWEN (Continued from page 11) she needs additional family support and this is best option and Nadia lives the closest of her daughters. I don’t know about anyone else, but I fought back a few tears. I have refused to think about her leaving and the effect that it will have on my life. Joyce is my best friend and has been a constant source of support and love that I cannot measure, nor replace. I know no one who laughs as much, takes my jokes as well and has a 1,000-watt smile. I cannot claim to have met her in her prime, but she was an amazingly dynamic and tireless worker when I first came to dinner at Grace Place Catholic Worker House many years ago. “Bubba A” (I am “Bubba B”) created a model for a transitional living facility that few ministries could or have matched. Joyce gave of herself in the true catholic tradition by sharing her time, her talent and quite a bit of her treasure. She did so quietly and without fanfare. I believe without a doubt that Grace Place was the best kept secret in the city as far as ministries and agencies go. Joyce operated Grace Place in the Catholic Worker tradition. While GP was a non-profit, it was not, during her tenure a 5O1© (3). In short, it neither sought government funding, foundation grants nor offered tax write offs to its generous donors. Donors gave because it was the right thing to do. So did Joyce. Joyce was and is a woman who marches to the beat of her own drum. She has the unique ability to be very STREET VOICE generous and frugal (a nice word for cheap) at the same time. I love her. What amazes me is that she loves me. Joyce sees the best in me when everyone else sees the worst. I have spent so much time with her over these years, and I have watched the changes caused by age and that damn disease. I talk to her usually twice a day. She is a creature of habit, but struggles staying on point as the disease progresses. When I call her in the evening, I always ask what she had for dinner. Frequently she doesn’t remember, and simply states that it must have been good because she ate it all. Joyce does not believe in wasting food. At Grace Place she would fix herself a lunch of the oldest leftovers, and I would fix myself a lunch of the best leftovers. She was happy and so was I. She would see that every after- dinner cleaning task was done, even if she had to do it herself. Personally, I wanted those spoiled females to get up and do it themselves. She was an indulgent “surrogate mother or grandmother”. Joyce was an operational genius. I am still amazed by my memory of all the little internal systems that she created for the day to day operation of GP. Her attention to detail was almost anal retentive. It was an amazing example of planning and execution. Everything had a place and every tool or gadget needed was there and accessible. From time to time a guest or family would try to take advantage of her or flaunt the rules. When enough got to be enough, Joyce could flip the switch. Joyce hated putting out the children and there were guests who took advantage of that fact. I remem- Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 Lee Bowen with Joyce Asfour Photo: Grace Place Catholic Worker ber guest who if they had not had those BAKs, (bad ass kids) would have been out on their butts. She loved kids. The Christmas production (a miniplay, gift giving and French toast) was a joy that no one loved more than she, and she wasn’t getting the gifts. Personally, I appreciated my annual gift of a new pair of long johns. She gave all the staff a new set. Joyce is still a very practical person. Joyce was a member of three parishes. Simultaneously. St. Francis-St. George the 45-year relationship, with St. Clare probably a 15 year or more relationship, where she and I would attend mass primarily during the week. Then there was the small inner city predominantly black parish Mother of Christ. She loved the singing and spirit. Before you start measuring Joyce for her Angel’s wings, I should mention her few foibles. She has a quick temper and occasionally a sharp tongue. She does remember a few of the words her mother taught her not to use, and she occasionally uses them. She is quick to forgive and forget. She made me a better person though frequently you can’t tell. It has been said, that saints are people who make others believe there is a God. Joyce is a Saint. Saint Bubba A. Goodbye Joyce. I will visit. So will Cincinnati but it really doesn’t know it. ------------------------ 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 �STREET VOICE No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 Starting Over AFTER BEING HOMELESS AND LIVING ON THE STREET FOR FIVE YEARS AFTER THE LOSS OF ALL I HAD, I OWE A LOT OF MY RECOVERY TO MY PEERS AFTER THE TALBERT HOUSE, BETHANY HOUSE AND THE DROP INN CENTER I FOUND THE OFF THE STREET PROGRAM ONLY THEN DID MY LIFE REMOVE THE BENDER THEY TAUGHT ME HOW TO COMMUNICATE AND SPEAK WITHOUT DOUBT, FEAR OR SHAME THEY GAVE ME ALL THE INSIGHT NEEDED AND IF I FAILED ONLY I WOULD BE TO BLAME I FELT REBORN AND STARTED SINGING AINT NO STOPPING ME NOW AND I STOPPED LOOKING BACK I FOUND A PLACE OF MY OWN WHERE I COULD BE ALONE AND GET MY LIFE BACK ON TRACK NEXT I FOUND CINCINNCTI HOMELESS COALTION WHO LIKED AND APPRECIATED MY POETRY LET ME KNOW THAT I WAS NOT HOMELESS ALONE AND FOR THEM CARING I HAVE LOYALTY THEY INTRODUCED ME TO THE STREETVIBES PAPER FOR THE CINCINNATI HOMELESS COALITION SAYING MY BEING HOMELESS MY POETRY NEEDED TO BE SHARED SOUNDS LIKE A MISSION FINALLY, I FOUND MYSELF ON FINDLAY MARKET WHERE MY LIFE FOUND A NEW DIRECTION THE DAY THE COALITION TOLD ME THAT FINDLAY MARKET AGREED TO GIVE ME A SECTION SO MANY NEW FRIENDS, MR. POTTERY MAN, MR. POPCORN MAN AN THE SEASONING LADY TALKING ABOUT HOW WE ALL MUST PAY BILLS, SAVE MONEY AND BE HAPPY NOW NOT MAYBE I’VE LEARNED STARTING OVER IS THE WILL WITHIN YOURSELF WHERE THERE IS POWER WITH THE BELIEF AND FAITH THAT YOU HAVE IN YOURSELF YOU WILL CHANGE HOUR BY HOUR WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer The Campaign Mother Goose JEB PROVES MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING Jeb, Jeb, Prez George’s son, Formed a PAC and began to run. To his Fat Cat donors’ great dismay, Jeb never figured out what to say. DEBATES MAKE COLE UNMERRY Plain citizen Cole Was a merry old soul Until all the debates on TV. He said: “They rant and they huff, And I’ve heard quit enough. They surely don’t speak for me!” LOOKING FOR MIDDLE GROUND Hey diddle, diddle, The voters in the middle Look for someone to support. They best check the views Of Trump, Sanders, and Cruz, Who are hardly the middling sort. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 13 �14 PUZZLES Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 96 Across 1. Percussion instrument 5. Mariner 8. Retail outlet 12. Approximately 14. In the past 15. Ambit 16. Measuring instrument 17. Guided 18. Jury 19. Something very ugly and offensive 21. Distinguished 23. Digit 24. Bellow 25. Part of a circle 28. Heap 30. Violent denunciation 35. Reflect deeply on a subject 37. A small cut 39. Claw 40. Supplication 41. Creep 43. Not any 44. Depart 46. Furnace 47. Disasterous destiny 48. Short trip to perform a task 50. Ring recurrently 52. Cook on a surface using fat 53. Caprine animal 55. Large tub 57. Specific kind of something 61. Frighten greatly 65. Broaden 66. Secret agent 68. Stringed instrument 69. Slant 70. Make a mistake 71. Part of a church 72. Rind 73. Also 74. Area of cultivated grass Down 1. Amusement or pastime 2. Comply 3. Short letter 4. Invitee 5. Story 6. Mature 7. Exhibition of cowboy skills 8. Make a wide sweeping search 9. Make perfect or complete 10. Overt 11. Animal hide 13. Cavalry unit 15. Supernatural being 20. Used to control a horse 22. Floor covering 24. Acknowledgement of payment 25. Copious 26. Measuring stick 27. Accurately stated or described 29. Part of a chain 31. South African currency 32. Distant in manner 33. Benefactor 34. Foe 36. Molten volcanic rock 38. Hardy cabbage 42. Jack in a deck of cards 45. Machine 49. Female deer 51. Immature form before metamorphosis 54. Useful or valuable quality 56. Warble 57. Exchange 58. Languish 59. Slight competitive advantage 60. Cubicle 61. Novice 62. 9th letter of the Greek alphabet 63. Defect 64. Thread 67. In favor of SODOKU PUZZLE NO 226 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 326 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 95 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 225 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 327 | Apr 8 - A pr 2 1 , 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 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul Charlie’s 3/4 House 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 First Lutheran Church 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry Mercy Franciscan at St. John 784-1853 Prospect House 921-1613 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 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 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 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 768-6907 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Food/Clothing 562-8841 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 271-5501 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men 721-0643 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Talbert House Tender Mercies 621-6364 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 241-5525 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 421-0065 Health Center for Respite Care 621-5300 981-5800 721-4700 421-7803 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 762-5660 961-1983 535-2719 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing Our Daily Bread FreeStore/FoodBank 981-5800 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 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 15 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 351-3500 977-4489 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 241-2600 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-0111 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place Talbert House United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Apr 8 - Apr 21, 2016 | No. 327 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 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource April 8-April 21, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Who’s Afraid of Richard Wolff? Pg 4: Good White People Short Film Screening A Triumvirate of Anti-Thought Pg 5: Reducing Cincinnati’s Child Poverty Rate by 22-Percent by 2020 Pg 6: The Game of a Lifetime or It’s Only a Game Pg 7: Making Metro More Accessible Bridges to Access and Cancer Justice Pg 8: Keeping Up with the Coalition Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Meet the Former Director of Grace Place Catholic Worker Pg 12: H. Lee Bowen Continued Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 8-April 21, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Griffin Ritze Erick Stoll Jason Haap Bill Woods Jim Luken Michael Earl Patton Steve Sunderland Sharon Doering Leslie Moorhead H. Lee Bowen Willa Denise Jones Justin Jeffre Dr. Mark Mussman Grace Place Catholic Worker Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cancer Justice Child Poverty Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Erick Stoll GCHC Grace Place Catholic Grace Place Catholic Worker Griffin Ritze H. Lee Bowem H. Lee Bowen Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Leslie Moorhead Metro Michael Earl Patton Photography Richard Wolff Sharon Doering Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/01230a1f82c83199e2f9769f10a9ed7e.pdf 71de07003e0692b7d1e8cba609ecf7f3 PDF Text Text April 22nd - M ay 5th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 9 (No. 328) advocating justice | Building community A Death in the Hood | 3 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Panama Papers, Free Trade, and the Poor | 4 Keep Our Courts: Kids First | 8 Fear Overtakes Common Sense in Rise of "Bathroom Bills" | 6 Homeless people face agerelated conditions earlier than people with homes | 9 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Go To Our Ole City Hall JOSH SPRING Executive Director “Half of democracy is just showing up.” - Ralph Nader I f you have not been to City Hall before, please go. Walk around and become familiar with the building; our building. Please attend a city council meeting and some council committee meetings. Most Cincinnatians have probably never been in City Hall and certainly most have never been in council chambers. This and low-voter turnout are connected. Perhaps people feel there is nothing they can do to change what occurs at City Hall. Or perhaps people think what happens there doesn’t really affect their lives or the lives of people around them. Both feelings are incorrect. Individuals and especially groups can affect what occurs at City Hall, yes through voting, and also through being there, speaking and meeting with council members. The Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 decisions made in council chambers do affect our lives. Certainly we may not feel as much of that positive affect as we should because 70% of our taxdollars go into police/fire alone and much of the dollars that pass through our city go to for-profit developers and the like, but we can change that. It is both disappointing and alarming whenever I go to a council meeting and very few people are sitting there for the meeting. And that probably happens more than not. Real decision making power by the People requires that decisions and discussions happen in the light. The government must be transparent and operate in the light, and we need to shed light in order to display the truth and fight for positive change. If you can get away from work on a lunch break or at another time, go by our City Hall. ------------------------ 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: Fran Barrett and Tim Burke discuss their strategy to tear down the Dennison Hotel Photo: Justin Jeffre Are We Really Serious About Addressing Poverty? What Would It Take To Bring Real Change? Kristen Barker Depicts Worker-Cooperatives as Part of the Solution in Part IV of a Series of Community Forums BILL WOODS Contributing Writer F actors that continually arise in deliberations about reducing poverty are the loss of traditional industrial jobs and the large number of employees now working at jobs that do not pay a living wage. Innovative efforts are emerging in communities across the country to create alternative employment in an economy now dominated by large corporations and global markets. Part IV of the Community Issues Forum series on reducing poverty in Greater Cincin- nati focused on one promising initiative that is currently underway locally. Kristen Barker, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative, discussed progress to date in launching worker-owned coops in this region. She began by explaining that cooperatives of various kinds have been part of our national development, and that approximately 29,000 coops exist in the U.S. today. One of the big success stories for cooperatives came when people 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, Dr. Mark Mussman, Hannah Ramlo, Peter Kobak, Jen Arens, Steve Sunderland, Lee McCoy, Kim Green, Will Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: banded together to bring electrification to many isolated rural areas of our country. Worker-owned coops, however, are a different story. Barker estimated that only about 350 workerowned businesses now operate in the U.S., and they provide work for approximately 7,000 people. However, despite Mark Twain’s joke about the backwardness of Cincinnati, quipped Barker, this area is (Continued on page 7) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Justin Jeffre, John Bealle, Michael Earl Patton, Dr. Mark Mussman, Leslie Moorhead, 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. �No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 A Death in the Hood 3 LOCAL JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer be ironic. It refers to the good white entrepreneurs and business people and residents who have come into our neighborhood following the 2001 riots. The “newbies” a friend of can community that has inhabited the Hood for so many years, gentrification continues to be a disaster, a festering wound. The film “Good White People” illustrates the re- “The killing of one’s soul, little by little, day after day, is a lot worse than someone coming into your house and lynching you.” - Samuel L. Jackson S aturday, April 16, 3PM: I watched a 16-minute documentary on gentrification and racism at St. Francis School, Vine and Liberty, OTR. The film chronicles the eviction of Reginald Stroud Sr. from his home and businesses. Its title: “Good White People.” Saturday, April 16, 4:45 PM, as I left the video event, cop cars screamed by me on Vine St. I climbed on my bike and rode a block north to Vine and Green, where, only a minute earlier, a 32-year-old man had been shot several times. Greg Tremble’s blood was oozing into the gutter. The cops pulled his shirt up, revealing several bullet wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Synchronism Sometimes things dovetail in a way that immediately makes them symbolic, or iconic, a hundred times more powerful than when they happen in isolation. Sometimes these comings—together are visible to millions, as when a songbird landed on Bernie Sanders’ outdoor podium as he was campaigning in Portland several weeks ago. Bernie saw it as a sign of peace. He said it meant we should end all war. As I sit down to write this review of “Good White People,” I find myself dealing with the mutuality of the killing of Greg Tremble and the documentary on gentrification. I see Tremble’s murder as extreme disrespect, and this disrespect has its roots in racism. Taken together, the two events spoke these words to me: “Racism (like war) must be ended.” The killings will only end when the marginalization and the systematic dehumanization of African Americans in our country is brought to a close—dramatically (over time)—but once and for all. This can be made to happen. Sociologists know how to do it. Anti­racism Reginald Stroud Sr. speaks about gentrificationfrom first hand experience Photo: John Bealle classes can be taught in every grade school and every high school. Four hundred years of racial torment in this country must be pro—actively brought to an end. The previous issue of this newspaper featured a front page story announcing the screening of “Good White People” by Jerrod Welling— Cann and Eric Stoll. Welling­ Cann said of their work, “I hope the film can help mobilize people to organize and resist racial injustice in OTR. And,” he added, “stop the gentrification.” Many more than a hundred of us—black and white—attended. Most stayed for the panel discussion afterward. I thought the film was incredibly pointed and powerful, short enough to be accessible to all. For me, Tremble’s death was like a huge exclamation point at the end of “Good White People.” Good White People? The title of the film is meant to mine calls them. The filmmakers use Stroud’s story as an emblem for the hundreds (thousands?) of displacements and evictions that have gone on for the past ten years, it also refers to the thousands of good white suburbanites, loaded with spending money, who come into the neighborhood, day and night, to wine and dine and party, in places that are “priced out” for most of the poor folks who live here. These good white people are not evil...but they aren’t exactly good either, especially for our neighborhood, our “beloved community,” as the People’s Movement describes OTR. The so called “renaissance” of OTR, has created more problems that it has solved. During the most recent election cycle, David Mann suggested that if the poor are pushed out, OTR will no longer exist. It will become another Anderson or Glendale. In terms of the African Ameri- OTR resident gives a powerful speech about ongoing racism in Cincinnati Photo: John Bealle THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED alities of that disaster in terms of one black businessman, Reginald Stroud. It chronicles his expulsion by Urban Sites (one of the gentrifying companies) from his home, along with the two small businesses he ran, all at 1123 Walnut Street. Stroud had a variety store, “Reggie’s Anybody’s Dream,” which specialized in selling 2 cent candy. Next door was a small “dojo” where Stroud taught martial arts and self-defense. He was given 45 days to move his home and his businesses, an impossible task. Aftermath of the screening After the screening at St. Francis, each of a panel of six people had three minutes to give their “take” on the neighborhood blight, known as “gentrification.” Reginald Stroud spoke first. He was participating in the screening, even though his wife had died only two days earlier. He described himself as “an activist for righteousness, seeking that which is right for humankind.” Although he had named his store “Anybody’s Dream,” Stroud insisted that “there has never been an American Dream for the black man.” Panelist Ashley Herrington of Black Lives Matter made the claim that “police are complicit in the gentrification process, but they are left out of the conversation on gentrification.” Nobody sees the police as involved in the process, according to Herrington. But she insisted that the cops are aiding and abetting the legal crimes against the poor that are happening all over the neighborhood. Longtime activist Bonnie Neumeier talked about the “People’s Movement for Justice,” which she has been involved in for decades. She stated that “The film reminds me of our vulnerability as renters. Places of our history, memory and meaning are simply being erased.” Vanessa Sparks, who for many years has been the director of the Mohawk Area Development Corporation, spoke of the encroachment of (Continued on page 12) �4 WORLD Panama Papers, Free Trade, and the Poor MICHAEL EARL PATTON Y Contributing Writer ou’ve probably heard of the Panama Papers by now. These are the millions of pages of confidential documents from a firm in Panama that an anonymous hacker sent to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. This firm, Mossack Fonseca, specializes in setting up shell corporations so that their clients could avoid taxes. Through these corporations, which are little more than a legal address, wealthy individuals and government leaders are able to channel money and in this way hide profits from government authorities and the public. Often the purpose is to avoid taxes, but these shell companies are also used for drug trafficking and weapons smuggling. Profits from these illicit activities are then hidden, again using shell companies. Dirty money is made “clean,” at least as far as the government authorities can see. Mossack Fonseca is just one firm that sets up shell companies; they alone created over 200,000. The Global Financial Integrity organization estimates that over a trillion dollars is siphoned out of poor and emerging market countries every year, in large part by using shell corporations. And by avoiding taxes, those who rely the most on government for education, health care, roads, security, and protection from unsafe working conditions are the ones being hurt the most. In short, the poor are the ones who pay. The Global Financial Integrity organization attempts to track illicit flows of money from developing countries and produces an annual report on their analyses. The latest report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2004 – 2013, was released in December 2015. They admit they are probably seeing only a fraction of the illegal flows of money. By far the biggest portion they see is from “misinvoicing” where the true value of the goods imported and exported are falsely declared. In short, if country A – let’s call it Freedonia – exports a million dollars’ worth of shirts to the United States, then the United States should have received a million dollars’ worth of shirts from Freedonia. It is far too difficult to match up individual cargoes, but many countries report the sum totals of the values to and from each country that is imported and exported. So at the end of the year if Freedonia exports $10 million dollars’ worth of goods to the United States but the United States reports that it imported $40 million dollars’ worth of goods from Freedonia, and this sort of thing happens year after year, there is a problem. At least one side is lying and possibly both. Using Freedonia as an example, the fictional country made famous in the Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup, is appropriate because the scheme is worthy of the plot for one of their movies. Let’s go back to the million dollars’ worth of shirts exported by Freedonia. But in this case the Fredonian exporter says that the shirts are only worth half a million dollars and that is all they received for them. When the Freedonian profits are calculated, the company says that since a half a million dollars is about what it cost to make the shirts, then there is little or no profit on which to pay the taxes. The country and people of Freedonia lose out on the tax revenue for the half million dollars’ additional profit that was, in fact, made. And the importer in the United States can play a similar game. The million dollars’ worth of shirts will be sold for $2 million. But instead of paying $1 million, the importer says they actually cost $1.5 million. By the time the shirts are shipped to the stores and all the cost for running the stores is paid, the total cost is almost $2 million. In the end, the importer says that very little profit was made and pays the taxes accordingly. The country and people of the United States lose out on the half million dollars’ extra profit that was, in fact, made. Free trade is important for this scheme to work at its most effective level. Most countries traditionally levied import duties on goods. The taxes the importer avoids by falsely declaring the value of the goods to be too high will be offset by the increase in tariff duties. As Global Financial Integrity pointed out, “[i]f the marginal duty rate on imports is lower than the corporate tax rate, private businesses can still profit by over-invoicing imports as long as the higher import costs reduce taxes more than they increase the additional duties payable.” Reduce the duties to zero and the scheme can become profitable regardless of the corporate tax rate, something that is never addressed by proponents of free trade. It may be difficult, but the authorities in Freedonia and the United States might be able to compare invoices and shipping declarations. Then they will find that the two don’t match. Shirts that were worth a half million dollars when they left Freedonia were worth a million and a half when they arrived in the United States. There is a total profit of a million dollars on which no taxes were paid. Corrupt officials aside, and bribes are a business expense that companies would rather avoid in any event, this poses a problem. And here is a place where shell companies are useful. Let’s say the Freedonian exporter did not sell the shirts directly to the American importer. Instead, the Freedonian exporter sold them for a half million dollars to a shell company that was based in a country that has no corporate income tax, like the Cayman Islands. And the Cayman Islands shell company was the one that sold them to the American importer for a million and a half dollars. The shirts went from Freedonia to the United States, just as before. But now it is this Cayman Islands company that, on paper, made the million dollars’ profit. Since there is no corporate income tax there, it doesn’t matter how much profit was made. In fact, there is virtually no reporting necessary. So it’s all legal in the Cayman Islands and, on the surface, appears to be legal in Freedonia and the United States. There is almost no way for government authorities to track down what really happened. If one uses shell companies to own other shell companies, it becomes even more difficult. The Freedonian exporter may own a shell company that has a partial interest in the Cayman Islands shell company, for example. With nesting and interlocking shell companies, there is almost no chance Money hanging on a laundry line Photo: Michael Earl Patton THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 of finding out what happened to the profit. And no chance that the proper taxes will be paid. The European Union released a list of 30 countries and territories last year that it called tax havens. Some may have a small income tax, but allow certain income to be tax free. Others are used as way stations while moving money around. Their list of 30 is: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Guernsey, Monaco, Mauritius, Liberia, Seychelles, Brunei, Hong Kong, Maldives, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, and the US Virgin Islands. Note that the Panama Papers come from just one firm located in just one of these 30 countries and jurisdictions. By some measures the United States should be on that list. In early February Bloomberg BusinessWeek had an “Opening Remarks” article on how money from Switzerland is finding its way to an “unlikely haven,” the U.S. Yes, the U.S. has a federal income tax, but certain states such as Nevada and South Dakota have very tight secrecy laws. And the tax does not apply to income earned abroad by foreigners. This is ideal for foreigners who want to hide income from their home countries, such as China, Russia, and countries in the Mid-East. Creating shell companies which hide these assets from the home countries is a growing business for a few states. The irony is that the U.S. had been in the forefront of going after Swiss banks that were helping Americans from sheltering income. More than 80 Swiss banks have paid a total of $5 billion to the U.S. in fines, penalties, and restitution. Now a lot of money that had been in Switzerland is coming here. In theory, those foreigners have already paid the taxes due to their home countries, but there is no way of checking. The German newspaper Die Zeit, in an article explaining how the poorest wind up paying the costs for tax evasion through schemes as illustrated by the Panama Papers (Auf Kosten der Armsten), pointed out that while the U.S. is aggressive in demanding information from other countries, it is much less willing to reciprocate. All this hurts the poor, through such things as lousy schools and poor health care. Oxfam estimates that the richest 1% own half the wealth in the world. The bottom half, on the other hand, own just 0.6% of the wealth. It should be obvious that this system is not sustainable in the long run. As technology advances and competition increases, we need the brightest and the best to receive the appropriate education. Right now the idea seems to be that if your family is wealthy, then of course you are one of the brightest and best. Uh-huh. The children of the wealthy get the best education even though there might be millions of people who would be more suited and could make better use of it. But they are the poor, so they never get the chance. Even good vocational training is often difficult to obtain. The countries that give all their citizens a fair chance to get a good education suited for their abilities will, I believe, prevail. ------------------------ �5 LOCAL No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 Pay it Forward: Park + Vine’s Ethical Challenge DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer L ast month, I took a group of students to Park + Vine on Main Street, which bills itself as a “Vegan General Store” to check out their Pay It Forward and sliding scale options. The more that I work within the community, I realize that everyone can use their talents to create opportunity for those who are struggling and suffering. Park + Vine has taken inspiration from a restaurant in North Carolina by creating a model that has been beneficial for people experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. We were walking through the store and I overheard a student stay that veganism is a “first-world problem.” I didn’t get an opportunity to delve deeper into the concept because we were heading out the door, but it really stuck in my head and has been something I’ve been wrestling with since. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been vegan for several years, and I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years. I became vegetarian to decrease my risk of colon cancer – a disease that took my mother’s life while she was in her 40’s. I did not come to vegetarianism “because of the animals” or the “environmental impact” but rather to save my own life. Since last month, I’ve been walking around wondering what connections can be made between the suffering of humans and animals. I think there are real easy connections between the health effects of animal consumption, and the fact that farm animals consume huge amounts of grain and other food that humans could eat, if they had access to it. To get another perspective on this, I decided to ask Dan Korman, the owner of Park + Vine, a few questions about his journey and the Pay It Forward program. I asked him whether he thought veganism is a first-world problem, and he immediately responded with compassion, trying to figure out the perspective of the student. He connected it with how “most meals are centered around vegetables, not meat” in many parts of the world. He saw the comment as possible deflection, or that they don’t want to take responsibility. “We are living in denial about a lot of things that we take for granted, where they come from, and how they get to us.” Dan grew up in a typical American middle-class family, that ate most of their meals at home – typically centered around meat. He became vegetarian 30 years ago while living with a vegetarian roommate, and when out with a friend, he saw how disgusting noodles with creamed beef seemed to him. He immediately dropped red meat, and phased out all other animal products. While “it’s hard to avoid” animal products, Dan says that becoming vegan has been one of the easiest decisions he has made, and one of the easiest to stick to throughout his life. He would like to know how people have been impacted by the availability of vegan food at Park + Vine, or even the composting and home care items they carry. For me personally, Park + Vine has been an important establishment for those reasons, but also because I can usually walk in and run into a friend. There seems to be a strong community feel at Park + Vine, which is why, I believe, the Pay It Forward program has been such a Pay It Forward Board needs more love Photo: Mark Mussman “Breakdown Stereotypes” Pay It Forward and Sliding Scale item available Photo: Mark Mussman natural feel. Zef, the chef at Park + Vine, wanted to do something like Pay It Forward before Dan went to Rosetta’s Kitchen in North Carolina. Pay It Forward works when people put a little extra money on their bill, and then they put the amount on the board. Anyone can pull the value from the board and use it at the lunch counter. “There was a period of time that the board was bustling, but now it’s not so much.” In the past, they have posted a success story from someone who was experiencing homelessness and using the board to eat. “Another piece of the puzzle is letting people in the community know about it.” Dan says he’s concerned that there aren’t enough people who know that it’s happening here on Main Street, but the Symphony has been inspired by Park + Vine, and they are doing something similar for their shows. Park + Vine also has a big plate of beans and rice available on sliding scale. People can pay $2 or $7 for the same size plate. A couple of months ago, I went with a gentleman who was sitting at the Coalition and was suffering from severe hunger. I asked if he wanted to check out Park + Vine and he was excited because he wants to eat healthy. He used the Pay It For- ward board, and we ate our meals, and he said it tasted amazing – “It kept me full for hours!” We are starting a new program through the Coalition called A Place at the Table that will encourage restaurants to get involved in eradicating homelessness. Restaurants will be able to use the model that we suggest, including a “round up” feature on their bill, or use their own strengths to find a good way to contribute. Nation Kitchen and Bar, in Pendleton, donates a portion of their “burger of the month” sales. As cliché as this is, I am a firm believer that until all of us are free, none of us are free. Over the years, my understanding of the connections between animal and human suffering has grown immensely. I get wary when people say things are first-world-problems when we have an ability to make changes. If you feel guilt about what you are doing, deflecting the issue is not a good look. It is a problem that animals are better fed than our neighbors. My hope is that people will try to live ethical lives, in the ways they feel most comfortable, and strive to do better with every bite. ------------------------ Zeff, head Chef at Park + Vine, makes awesome food 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 �6 NATIONAL Fear Overtakes Common Sense in Rise of "Bathroom Bills" Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 HANNAH RAMLO PETER KOBAK Contributing Writers A merican history has a reputation for attempting to use legal frameworks as exclusionary controls, which is why the recent energy behind discriminatory “bathroom bills,” while disappointing, is not surprising. The women’s suffrage movement, protesters decrying Jim Crow laws, and current criminal justice activists fighting against mandatory minimums are all groups who have confronted the discrimination inherent in similar exclusionary legal controls. Following the recent progressive realization of laws protecting the rights of the LGBT+ community, the most prominent of which is marriage equality, a wave of restrictive legislation has served as the opponents’ response. In this vein, many cities and states have attempted to pass bills that would prohibit transgender individuals from using restrooms that match their gender identity. In doing so, these states target an even more vulnerable group than the gays and lesbians who championed marriage equality, since transgender individuals often wield even less influence in society’s power structures. The legal and psychological effects of the bathroom bills, most recently passed by North Carolina and Mississippi, are damaging and deplorable. While trips to the bathroom are a trivial element of a cisgender (alignment between gender identity and assigned sex at birth) person’s daily routine, the opposite is often true for a transgender individual. According to a study performed by the UCLA School of Law, 18% of transgender people have experienced simply being denied access to a bathroom. Another recent study of transgender students revealed deeply troubling statistics with an astronomically high 70% reporting problems with “access, harassment, or assault.” 15% of transgender students were driven to drop out of school due to harassment at some point in their lives. Some states even require an individual to undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to change their legal gender and use the restroom that aligns with it. Not only do such laws reinforce a misinformed, outdated, and inadequate understanding of gender, they also disenfranchise many transgender individuals who choose not to undergo gender reassignment surgery for a variety of reasons, including health and financial concerns, or simply because they don’t want to. If we look even more closely at the marginal- ization of transgender people, we see that there were more transgender homicide victims in 2015 than any other year previously recorded, and nearly half of all black, transgender people will statistically spend time in prison at some point in their lives. These injustices are driven by the poverty, homelessness, and participation in informal economies that comes with being discriminated against in mainstream society. The psychological, emotional, and physical effects of discrimination are reason enough for cities and states to become seized of the issue and search for effective ways to defend the rights of the transgender community. Fortunately, in twelve states that have waged attacks against the LGBT+ community by attempting to pass discriminatory restroom legislation, bathroom bills have failed. However, support for these proposals is becoming increasingly mainstreamed. In recent months there has been a flurry of activity and support that has enabled states like North Carolina and Mississippi to successfully pass discriminatory legislation. While there has been public backlash (PayPal and Deutsche Bank backtracking on investment plans, and cities including Dayton and Cincinnati banning city-funded travel to either state), the fight doesn’t end here. There are five other states with similar bills pending. If North Carolina and Mississippi are any evidence of the direction of this exclusionary movement, potential bathroom bills in other states pose a real and increasing threat to people’s safety. Rather than a case of some fringe conservative groups trying to tack bills onto their legislative CVs, this is a growing movement looking to strip the LGBT+ community of their human rights. The campaign to enact antitransgender laws is not only discriminatory, but also uses misleading and factually incorrect arguments under the guise of public safety and privacy. Perhaps the most cited rationale for barring transgender individuals from using restrooms that match their identity is the belief that some people may cheat the law to commit a sexual offense. The attempt and subsequent failure to pass anti-discriminatory protections in Houston used fear-mongering in its television commercials, saying that “even registered sex offenders could follow women or young girls into the bathroom. And if a business tried to stop them, they’d be fined. Protect women’s privacy. Prevent danger. Vote no on the Proposition.” Unsurprisingly, there is no evidence to support scare tactics like those used in Texas. The distressingly painful irony behind the recent slew of bathroom bills is that transgender individuals are the ones already being harassed and assaulted in bathrooms. While there are exactly zero crimes reported to have been committed by transgender individuals in bathrooms that match their gender identity, 9% of transgender individuals have reportedly been physically assaulted in bathrooms. These statistics have led some com- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED mentators to wryly suggest that the few known cases of impropriety and lewd sexual conduct by politicians in bathrooms should be a source of greater public concern. School districts that have already implemented policies protecting transgender students have never encountered instances of individuals temporarily claiming a gender identity solely to access a bathroom or locker room. California’s School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266) stands as a model for inclusion and equality. The bill, which came into effect in January of 2014, proactively requires schools to permit students to engage in activities and access facilities that are “consistent with [their] gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records.” While many efforts to pass legislation in the United States that would discriminate against the transgender community have failed to succeed, there are still legislative initiatives in the making. Five states either have bathroom bills in committee or are set to vote on them soon. State governments, NGOs, and activists would do well to consider the model of AB 1266 in California as a safeguard against discriminatory policies moving forward. If a shared goal of human rights seems too aspirational, then let common sense and evidence guide us towards adopting policies that protect our neighbors, regardless of personal beliefs and preferences. States looking to imitate North Carolina and Mississippi are placing the lives of their residents and our fellow citizens in danger. When arguments against equality are met with levelheaded responses and solutions, we can get serious about safety and put the political parade behind us. ------------------------ �NATIONAL Nashville vendor explains challenges to personal hygiene while homeless 7 No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 TAMMY HUNT I n housing, getting ready for the day takes 30 minutes, maybe 45. Running water, the ability to flush your toilet, and rinse your toothbrush means maintaining your daily hygiene pretty easily. However, for the past year, I've lived at a rural camp here in the Nashville area. A lack of identification, an injury that required surgery and a struggle to find work have all resulted in camping outdoors being necessary for me but not the best option for keeping clean. When discussing daily hygiene, the first thing that comes to mind is the simple task of taking a bath or shower. People with their own apartments or houses have access to instantly warm running water. Bathing at the camp is much more difficult. If it is not too cold, I can boil water and bathe in the privacy of my tent. This is the quickest method and takes up to an hour and a half. If I've been working or have gone several days without bathing, I have to bathe twice which can take over two hours. On cold days it is harder because bathing at the camp isn't an option. I then have to go to Ken and Carol's daytime homeless shelter at a church in East Nashville, or maybe a friend's house if possible. To do this I need a bus fare because without it, I'm stuck. Even with bus fare it can take up to four hours to get to the church, wait my turn to use the shower, and then take a bus ride back to my camp location. If I don't have bus fare I won't be able to bathe. Or I could walk, which could take up to eight hours in total. Just to bathe. I try to bathe every other day. If I have a few dollars I purchase toiletries. In the past, I've shoplifted a few times because I needed toiletries and had no money. If I don't have shampoo at the camp, dish soap it is. If we don't have dish soap, I'm pretty much screwed. When I do have some money, I buy a huge bottle of Scope mouthwash. I want to conserve water at my camp so I use scope instead to pour on my toothbrush and to rinse with while brushing my teeth. It's also diffi- BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) currently considered to be a leader in worker-owned enterprises. Although worker-ownership had interested Barker for a number of years, it was not until her visit to Mondragon, Spain that she became committed to developing this work model in Cincinnati. Located in the Basque region of Spain, the Mondragon area was in dire economic depression when the coop movement took hold in the mid-1950s. Coops soon developed into Mondragon’s economic base, and produced a thriving economy and workforce in the region. Currently, THE CONTRIBUTOR - USA cult because the toothpaste will freeze when it gets too cold. Finding a clean place at the camp to keep the toothbrush so it won't get dirty or contaminated is always a challenge. Gel or hairspray attracts bugs so it isn't good to use them while living at a camp. I usually just put my hair in a quick ponytail in order to avoid the struggle of playing with my hair while living outside. You can't use perfume while living in the woods. I like good smelling things too, but I got tired of being attacked by mosquitoes. Obviously, mosquitoes are an issue as bites can bring viruses and infections. I don't fear mosquitoes, but I don't want them to bite me. So I had to quit using the good smelling stuff. At least for now. You can't smell like a girl while living outside. Many donated toiletries are scented and things like Dove and Spirit have flowery scents that smell good to us but also to the bugs. I don't wear makeup except on really rare occasions, but for other women living outside it is not a good idea because you can't wash your face thoroughly on a daily basis. It clogs your pores and has the possibility to create infections on your skin. Lotion is a struggle because while you might need to use it, especially in winter for dry patches of skin, bathing is less regular and once again your pores get clogged, which can lead to types of infections. In addition, nail clippers have to be replaced often as they get used regularly and get dirty without ability to properly disinfect. It's best if they are replaced every few weeks or months as clipping with dirty equipment could give you an infection. That's expensive but it's not cool to get an infection when you are living without housing. Just like getting infections, small cuts and scrapes and other things that require simple first aid are hard to take care of outdoors. You can have the cleanest tent out there and still get a cut and infection. Even the air has pollutants. Most people can get a hold of disinfecting products like hydrogen peroxide but not everyone. That makes caring for even the small the Mondragon Corporation, a collection of 257 companies, employs 74,117 workers and represents assets of 24,726-million Euros. It is the tenth largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover and the leading corporation in the Basque Country. Barker described developments to date in Greater Cincinnati. “Our Harvest” represents an initial successful initiative. It constitutes several worker-owned farms in the Cincinnati area that produce and sell fresh natural produce. Bahr Farm is a thirty acre farm in the neighborhood of College Hill, while White Oak Farm is located on the periphery of Morrow Ohio. The goal, declared, Barker, is to injuries more difficult. Wounds take longer to heal while living at a camp than they would in an apartment or house where the wound could be washed regularly, treated and easily kept clean. When it comes to using the bathroom, areas are created far away from the tents to avoid the smell and mess as we can't flush after using the restroom. Some campers use buckets next to the tent for quick use. For lengthier bathroom trips you have to go across the camp and join the bugs and spiders with other creatures for the sake of keeping your sleeping area clean. This doesn't change even in snowstorms or the dead of night. I have a fear of spiders and that makes trips to the bathroom in the dark of night even more anxiety provoking and difficult. Waste has to be covered occasionally and new holes dug in order to keep the area as clean as possible. There are gnats everywhere. You have to do a lot more just to use the bathroom than other people do. That's why I can't wait to get into a house. Feminine hygiene is an even bigger problem. Used feminine products have to be bagged tightly and taken into the tent with me until I can find a trashcan away from the camp. Feminine products can't be disposed of in the same way toilet paper can as it may attract animals or create other issues. The items need to be removed from the campsite as soon as possible. It's also difficult to maintain hygiene during this time since I don't have the ability to bathe daily. The best scenario is getting a hold of baby wipes to stay clean but due to the cost, that isn't always possible. When trying to keep clean, laundry is also a big obstacle. I can boil water and hand wash a few items when it is warm. During cold weather, if you are lucky to have a propane heater you may be able to hang items to dry in the tent. Otherwise it is back to Ken and Carol's for laundry services. It's important to remember that the only time Ken and Carol's is open is on the weekdays so if you have a job, using a free community center becomes pretty impossible. If you have some money, dirty laundry can be taken to the laundromat, which requires bus fare and plenty of time to load bagged clothing on and off of buses and around the city. I've heard people complain because their washer and dryer keep them awake while it is running at night. Stop complaining. Give up your house for a week. I'd love to have that problem. ------------------------ Being able to take a hot shower, brush our teeth or put on deodorant is something most of us take for granted. But what if you’re homeless? Credit: Sole Moller create family sustaining jobs that are open to anyone who agrees to the coop employment practices. Our Harvest currently employs a workforce of eighteen that includes women, men, new immigrants, and workers who were formerly incarcerated. Educating people to think as owners as well as workers, she noted, is necessary as well as challenging. A workbook entitled, “The Great Game of Business,” has proved to be an effective educational tool. Our Harvest Coop experienced a break-even year in 2015, and took in approximately $500,000 in revenue. Meanwhile, Barker said that at least thirteen different groups are inter- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ested in establishing worker-coops in Greater Cincinnati. Already underway is the Apple Street Market, a worker and community owned cooperative, and a local housing cooperative. Barker pointed to the fact that unions are beginning to get involved in the coop movement, and in nearby Dayton, unions have launched the Greater Dayton Union Coop. Although she realizes that years of hard work lie ahead in establishing coops as an integral force in the country’s economy, Barker brings enthusiasm, energy, and talent to this mission. “We,” she challenged, “could transform Cincinnati!” ------------------------ �8 LOCAL Keep Our Courts: Kids First Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 JEN ARENS ‘T Contributing Writer is the season for Queen City basketball blues. Maybe Xavier or UC left you devastated, or maybe you’re just a proud Cincinnatian disappointed that we couldn’t will a local team to tournament victory. But there’s good news—Cincinnati has another chance at a basketball win this season! Before we pack up our game-inspired sense of solidarity until next year’s tournament, there’s another team that needs us. For a year, a number of children and families in our city have been fighting to protect a few public basketball courts from being bulldozed by a development plan. There’s nothing grand about the courts, or the communityserving garden and greenspace that abut them, except that they are wellused and loved by good people. They sit at one corner of an otherwise vacant 76,000-square-foot, city-owned property directly across the street from Rothenberg Preparatory Academy—the only neighborhood-serving public elementary school that remains in Over-the-Rhine. And, should the city strike a pending deal with private developer NorthPointe Group, they will be destroyed in order to make way for 4 of 22 single-family homes, each costing around $500,000. These kids and families, along with a number of community advocates, have organized cookout rallies, petition signings, committee meetings, public input sessions, a demonstration at a community council meeting, a presentation at a City Council committee meeting. They have tried for a year, in vain, to meet with the developer to share their concerns for the courts, for the community garden, and for the striking lack of affordability in the housing plan that would be imposed next to a school with 99% of its children in poverty. This is not just about protesting change. These community folks have plans in their dreams too. Investors who bother to ask could help realize improved recreation space, housing across an economic mix, decent jobs for the local underemployed, and assets built to further strengthen a community school with tremendous knowledge and commitment. The community’s hard work has spurred closed-door talks of a court relocation, but not a seat at any decisionmaking table. Those of us who played sports know that there is no post-loss solace in the words, “It’s just a game.” And those of us who know these fami- Photo: Leslie Moorhead lies know even more deeply that this is not “just a court.” This is one small fight against the crushing feeling that poor folks have to lose out in order for economic wealth to be invested in their communities. This is an effort to urge someone—anyone— in city government to have enough courage to tell a private developer that our public assets and resources are not theirs for the taking. In a country crying out that “Black Lives Matter,” this is one tiny chorus of voices demanding that we not simply accommodate plans to move poor black kids out of sight so that real estate can more easily sell to the wealthy. These kids may not be in the jerseys of your alma mater, but they deserve the support of their city. Let’s all take the time we would have spent watching the Musketeers and Bearcats, and use it to lend our voices and energy to this struggle! Contact me to find out how. Jennifer Arens is a resident of Cincinnati and the Community Education Coordinator at Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine. She can be reached at Jennifer.arens@peasleecenter.org or 513-621-5514. ------------------------ OTR youth gather on the courts for a celebration of their community space and in protest of new plans for development. Photos: Leslie Moorhead THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �9 WORLD Homeless people face agerelated conditions earlier than people with homes No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 KATHRYN DOYLE Reuters H ealth conditions usually seen among the elderly are more common among middle aged homeless people than older people with housing, according to a new study. Those conditions include thinking problems, visual impairment, urinary incontinence and falls, write the researchers in The Gerontologist. "I think in a sense this is a problem of severe poverty," said senior author Dr. Margot B. Kushel, of the University of California's San Francisco General Hospital. Geriatric conditions occur earlier in life for people in poverty and even earlier in life for those who are homeless, said Kushel. However, researchers didn't know how common these conditions were among homeless people, and if those rates varied by where homeless people stayed from time to time. For the new study, researchers interviewed 350 people who are homeless and aged 50 and over. The participants stayed in unsheltered locations, shelters, intermittently with family or friends, or in rental housing. Half of the group was younger than age 59. A third of the homeless group said they had suffered a fall over the past six months, a quarter had cognitive impairment, 45 percent had vision problems, and almost half screened positive for urinary incontinence, regardless of their living arrangements. These issues typically first arise for housed adults aged 75 and older, write the researchers. The homeless participants had as much or more trouble bathing, dressing and eating, using transportation, taking medications, managing money, applying for benefits, arranging a job interview and finding a lawyer as 80 year olds with housing in the general population, they found. "Some of these impairments come out because of a lifetime of poor access to healthcare, and potentially substance use disorders," Kushel said. The rate of cognitive impairment was "astonishingly high," she said. "In my mind that raises the question, did the cognitive impairment potentially lead to their homelessness," she said. But homelessness itself, and the struggles or trauma that precede it, can have physical health effects and cause old age to express earlier, said Dr. Josh Bamberger, medical director for housing and urban health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "One of the ways we handle geriatric conditions is we make changes to the environment, add grab bars in the A man sleeps on a seat at the Borough Hall subway station in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Credit: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton bathroom, we light their path to the bathroom with nightlights to prevent a fall," Kushel said. "When people are in unstable environments, we can't do that." More than 40 percent of the homeless group had not been homeless before age 50. "That makes me fearful that cognitive impairment or physical limitation contributed to their homelessness," Kushel said. "It's already hard to fight an eviction notice, but if you're cognitively impaired or having difficulty walking, that only makes it harder." "What we ask them to go through to leave homelessness, that includes cognitively and physically hard things," like taking public transportation to various offices and filling out paperwork, which may be too difficult for people suffering the health problems common to 80 year olds, she said. Permanent supported housing may help prevent and treat some of these health problems, she said. "There doesn't have to be any new allocation of funding, just repurposing of funding," said Bamberger, who was not part of the new study. Most adults who become homeless first start utilizing the healthcare system more and more in emergency rooms, as inpatients or in nursing homes, he said. Repurposing those healthcare expenditures for housing has been done successfully in some U.S. cities and states, he added. "We define housing as something other than healthcare but that's purely a theoretic definition," Bamberger said. "We can define things however we wish." ------------------------ Homeless guides to show hidden side of Scotland’s capital with Invisible Edinburgh BARBARA GOLDBERG INSP.ngo / Reuters E dinburgh is second only to London when it comes to UK city breaks, so finding a new take on Scotland's capi- also worked with the Homeless World Cup and Edinburgh's social business café Social Bite. Speaking at the launch celebration earlier this month, Zakia paid tribute to the organisations that have helped her get the project off the ground - and to the tour guides who have already signed up. "It's unbelievable that we're here," she said. "It's been a team effort. I'd like to thank Crisis, The Big Issue and INSP for their work. And all my friends for their support. "Most importantly, I'd like to recognise the work of our tour guides. I am really proud of you." Invisible Edinburgh is planned to be open to the public in mid-May with be four tours to choose from. Each guide will offer a different theme - from 'Crime and Punishment' tal city might seem improbable. But inspired by Greek street paper Shedia, Invisible Edinburgh has found a way to reveal the hidden cor- ners beyond the castle and Princes Street. The unconventional project will reveal a different side to Auld Reekie by employing homeless and formerly homeless people as their tour guides. The Edinburgh project is the brainchild of Zakia Moulaoui, who has to 'Community Sport' and 'Food in the City' - but all the stories will be filtered through the tour guides' experiences of Edinburgh whilst homeless. Biffy is one of the first guides, alongside her partner Sonny. "I'm really excited. Me and my partner always joked we could be tour guides, because we're always telling people directions," she said. Her tour will be titled 'Powerful Women' and she said that the training she's been through has helped her realise that she, too, is a strong woman. "I know I'm not stupid," she added. "But I felt like I was wasting away just being in the house all the time. Now I doing something. It's amazing." Biffy became homeless following the breakdown of a previous relationship, but since she and Sonny had their daughter Charlotte, they've both man- aged to turn their lives around. "We have somewhere to stay. Life is quite good at the moment," she said. "I hope I'm going to make lots of money with the tours!" ------------------------ Invisible Edinburgh guides Sonny, Biffy and George. Credit: Zoe Greenfield THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL The Unique Role of the Navigator as Agent of Health Justice 11 No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 STEVE SUNDERLAND* 1.I ntroduction: There is agreement about the health facts facing minorities and the poor in Cincinnati: A large number of people do not have access to health resources and a significant number of people are suffering and dying as a result. Basic health information about illness when it is critical is seriously lacking for this population. Basic information about how to negotiate the health care system in a timely way is missing. Health professionals are untrained in working with minorities and the poor about both their health and non-health needs; often financial reasons are used for denying care. Most importantly, there is shoddy care coordination between the patient and the health care system and the patient and the non-health care system. In sum, the minority individual in Cincinnati faces life threatening obstacles to receiving minimal guidance in health and non-health related concerns. A navigator, placed at health centers throughout the city, or placed in social agencies that work with the poor, or based at hospitals can make a significant difference in the health outcomes for poor people. A better use of health care systems will occur if the navigator is permitted to coordinate both health and non-health related needs. People, gaining access in a timely way to the "best" health or non-health service, can reduce both mortality and the waste of the citizen's time and life. 2. The Cincinnati Health Crisis: Large numbers of minorities and low income people face a crisis in health care. Mortality rates for cancer, infant mortality, and other diseases are near or at the top of state and national surveys of poor health. In Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Health Department, Contributing Writer the Hamilton County Health Department, the Urban League "Two Cities" report, and the recent reporting of the NY Times state the same conclusion: Life expectancy for minorities and the poor are generally 15-20 year lower than majority populations. Hospitals throughout Cincinnati do not reach out to the communities with the worst statistics. The outcome is that there is dramatic increase in mortality in those communities that have hospitals located in them. Going to the emergency room in any hospital is a difficult and often scary reality for citizens who do not know if they will be accepted and/or if they have sufficient financial resources. Often, due to extreme pain, the citizen winds up in an emergency room and is treated badly. Sadly, the citizen may have to go to the emergency room because they do not know another place to go with a sick family member, or to find temporary shelter, food, or safety. Hospitals are ill-prepared for nonhealth related crisis. 3. The Cancer Example: Minorities and the poor have greater mortality than majority populations. One of the reasons is that access to information about danger signals about cancer is very limited in this population. Also, failing to follow up with timely screenings increases the likelihood of the cancer advancing to a stage that cannot be treated. Added to this is that there is not a single program in Cincinnati to reach out to the minority community with either information about cancer or a way of getting screened. Another factor is physician discomfort with minority or poor citizens when they come for cancer treatment. Research indicates that health care professionals are frustrated by not being able to understand, be understood, or by implicit and explicit stereotypes of poor citizens. 4. Navigators Increase Life Expectancy: Research on navigator programs in minority populations indicate a doubling of life expectancy due to navigator involvement with citizens at the earliest stage of their cancer. Navigators provide assistance in overcoming obstacles to getting to the screening and treatment processes. Navigators that are community based have been documented as successful in helping the citizen a) face housing, transportation, and cultural obstacles, b) find resources to solve conflicts that may prevent compliance with screening and treatment times, c) assist the citizen in understanding how the health and non-health systems work so that citizen choices about overcoming obstacles can be accepted, and d) assist with citizen's fears about taking necessary steps in both the health and non-health area. Navigators are trusted to work in both areas and need to demonstrate both competence and compassion for the difficulties facing the citizen. Being community based, well trained in finding and sharing resources, the navigator increases the possibility of successfully navigating both the health and non-health care systems. As successful as navigators can be in getting citizens to the door of a health center, a hospital, or a social agency, the citizen has then to cope with the treatment by the agencies. Too often, the fears of the citizen are met with indifference, minimal treatment or worse: unnecessary or non-existent treatment. It is clear from some of the research on navigation that the citizen must have the navigator as a team member to see just how entry and information about service is offered. Poorly educated physicians, with little cultural competence, and poor communication skills, or overwhelmed by their schedules, challenge the citizen with their abrupt and confusing behavior. The navigator can serve as another pair of eyes and ears for the citizen, helping to decode both the behaviors and the information. 5. One Model: The Cancer Justice Network (CJN): The CJN is a network of agencies that work with the poor and minorities in Cincinnati. A navigator, placed at each agency, attends community events, i.e., dinners, health fairs, training sessions, employment discussions, pantries, and other related agency based experiences. The navigator is part of a team that includes a physician, and an American Cancer Society staff member. At the event of the agency, the agency staff member will introduce the team and encourage people who would like to learn more about cancer to join a brief 15-20-minute talk. At the talk, the navigator will be introduced, cancer materials will be left, and a time for navigator-citizen connection will be set, either at that event or at a mutually agreed upon time. The navigator will meet with the citizen and discuss both health and non-health related needs that connect to the citizen at that point. A schedule for screening and/or other agency resources will be shared. Another meeting may be scheduled with the citizen and their family to discuss concerns that have recently become evident to the citizen. Cancer can be a foreboding experience for anyone, even people familiar with the health system. For people new to health care, the diagnosis of cancer may seem like a death sentence. The navigator steps into this emotional confusion with skill, compassion, and some experience with other cancer survivors. The major positive outcome of this approach is that it builds trust between the navigator and the citizen, begins the exploration of how the citizen can get their resources for either/or health or non-health concerns, and increases the probability of follow up. By being agency based, this model may have rapid access to resources for non-health related con- (Continued on page 12) Now Hiring Caracole Caracole.org - Social Work Supervisor - Case Manager - Resident Assistant Churches Active in Northside C.A.I.N. cainministries.org - Development Coordinator Cincinnati Union Bethel cinunionbethel.org - Quality and Compliance Manager - Payroll and Benefits Specialist - Special Needs Assistance - Family Service Worker - Teachers and Assistant Teachers - Cook Hamilton County Planning and Development hamiltoncountyohio. gov - Sanitarian 1/11 - Patient Registration Speacialist - Assistant Finance Officer - Water Quality Technition - Medical Receptionist Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment catsober.org - Dietary Supervisor - Assistant VP Nurse - Nurse Manager - Staff Nurse. Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati lascinti.org - Administrative Assistant - Accounting Specialist - Equal Justice Worker/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED AmeriCorps Attorney Fellowship Lighthouse Youth Services lighthouse.org - Multiple openings Shelter House shelterhousecinti.org - Resident Aid - Case Manager Tender Mercies tendermerciesinc.org - Volunteer Coordinator �12 STREET VOICE The Month of February to fire his arrow but he shouldn't miss me. Oh well, maybe next time. We'll see. But as I write this it’s also black history month when the wind is cold. It couldn't have been when it's warm outside, when black people like to go outside and barbecue. Oh well. But when I think about black history I have so many different emotions. I think about how the country of Africa had slavery. So they had their own people enslaved. What was the price? I have no idea. I think about the slave ships that brought them across the whole ocean and they were packed in like sardines in a can. How many of them became shark bait? Because a lot of them didn't survive and how many were just thrown overboard because they were a bit rebellious. I don't know. I don't know how many of them were really rebellious. is a mess,” she insisted. “We’re not together. We haven’t fixed anything. But I will not lie down. I will not lie down.” Then a series of questions were posed by the moderator, UC sociologist Sarah Mayorga­ Gallo. A strange (nonetheless logical) thing happened at this point. The moderator tried to focus the questions on the specific issues raised by the “Good White People” documentary. Instead a succession of black people spoke, some were panelists and some were audience members. What came out as they addressed the audience was ANGER, huge amounts of pent-up anger, from one speaker after another. It was as if this short film had been a kind of visual emblem of the indignity and the suffering that these people and their families had endured for years, for decades, for centuries. And that sordid history was being re­ enacted once again—now—by the good white folks who were taking over the neighborhood, forcefully intruding themselves in the lives of all the “good black people” who have lived for so long on these mean streets. Of course, the “good white people” have no direct connection with the killing of Greg Tremble. But, in a manner that was absolutely clear to so many African Americans in the auditorium at St. Francis School that Saturday afternoon, those “good white people” are living representatives of a system that has been brutalizing the blacks for generations, creating an ongoing environment in which young black men have no hope, as they find themselves competing for their dangerous notion of the American Dream. Theirs is—as Reginald Stroud claimed—an impossible dream. navigator have all come into the neighborhood of the citizen and thereby indicated that the agency where they are meeting is a good place to start. 6. The Compassionate Benefits of Navigator Role: Treating people sooner for both health and non-health concerns increases survival and wellbeing. The more advanced the problem, the more complicated may be the helping process. Facing the unknowns of disease and related crisis may understandably reduce the emotional and physical capacity of a citizen. There is no one best way of facing crisis; yet, facing a health or non-health crisis with a team member, a navigator, opens the possibility of expanding the strengths of both the navigator and the citizen. Compassionate care, having the time to listen to questions or the time to hear fears being spoken, ignites the feelings of strength and solidarity. Facing hard problems with a navigator may make solutions, financial, decision making, and spiritual, more visible. Changing to a navigatorcitizen team process offers a new set of services to those in crisis. And, with these services, comes the possibility of restoring faith in human relationships that matter in terms of survival. The navigator, the more educated they are to handle knowledge about resources and personal coordination, can increase the chances of survival. LEE MCCOY Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor S ometimes you have to be late for work. It can be because of a lot of things, like Valentine's Day. Cupid’s supposed JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 3) gentrification in that northernmost OTR neighborhood. “They are making a concentrated attack on our area,” she said. “We have refused to recognize the ‘Brewery District,’ because they have made no attempt to relate to my corporation.” Sparks lamented “the disjointed relationships the newcomers have with the poor people who are walking down the street.” Dorothy Darden, another longtime African American activist, noted that “Urban renewal is not a new thing. It started in the West end. Gentrification,” she continued, “is about our disconnect from one another. Cincinnati STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 11) cerns. It is likely that the citizen will trust this navigation process because the navigator is based in the agency, the navigator is prepared to talk about and help with health and non-health concerns, and the navigator is prepared to work as a partner with the citizen at the "home base" of the citizen. In effect, the physician, the cancer information specialist, and the Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 (Continued on page 13) [The documentary film was entered in the recent Aspen Film Festival. In the next few weeks, it will be screened in Columbus and Bloomington, Indiana. Check this newspaper for future screenings in Cincinnati]. [Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition doesn’t endorse candidates.] ------------------------ ------------------------ 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 �STREET VOICE No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 2 0 1 6 LEE MCCOY (Continued from page 12) Good black slave women must’ve been the strongest people in the whole world. They were raped, their children were taken from them and sold to other slave owners. Our lives have been taken from us. Our culture, our customs, it was a lost art. All for the love of America. Some tried to escape to the north, where the dogs would chase them. Some made it, some were caught and were brought back to the slave owners. And as punishment they would cut off an ankle or put chains on them to keep them from running again. When freed slaves were getting their papers for freedom sometimes they were just lost. What was the reason they still weren't a part of America? It was a lot worse then. It was still, yes master. No sir, master. They couldn’t even drink water anywhere a white person would. Think about the people who tried to make a difference like Rosa Parks who refused to move to the back of the bus just to name a few. I think of the ones who wanted to make a difference knowing there was a lot of bullets aimed at them, but they kept on doing what they thought was right. Malcolm X had been a pimp and a robber, but once he got caught he saw a purpose, even though he was fed to believe that all white men were white devils. On a trip back to Africa he saw there were many white people who believed the same thing that he believed. Martin Luther King Jr. said not to judge people by the color of their skin. That 13 dream was real back in the day, but reality has been a nightmare to a lot of black people. I used to hear my parents say that they would never see a black president in their lifetime and they had me believing that. I also never thought I’d see that either. I wish they could’ve seen that dream come true, but I have seen their dream and mine come true. Not one time, yes twice. And still they have tried to kill him a grand total of six times. And we have our younger generation killing each other. Today you have people being killed over somethings that are silly. You have cops killing many black men and they have gotten away with it. It has come to the point where people are chanting ‘black lives matter’ but I also truly believe that all Iives do matter. One of the greatest commandments said that, “thou shalt not kill”. Look at our prison system. You can look at the system for yourself. There are more black people who are jailed than white. Tell me if I am right or wrong. I have seen the prisons myself, firsthand. I think about Medgar Evers who was in his own backyard when he was killed because he was trying to step up for equality. The Civil Rights movement’s been a long and hard battle that is still going on today. Has America started waking up or is it really what America is all about? I'm sure we all know that there are haves and the have-nots. How quickly we forget we are our brother’s keeper. Treasures Life is a treasure or life be can a jewel Life is made of choices made of win, draw or pull Looking back on my life not to mention the bridges I've burned Understanding that I do have a choice which way my life will be turned Having this knowledge, I wonder what changes could I have made in my life Seeing my past and believing in God knowing with him there will be no strife Treasures of recognizing my past and always asking would I have changed to be younger or right Treasures are things I cherish from childhood up to date, anything else is out of sight Knowledge of my past and in the belief of a change which would come with a new day Having lived and grew into who I am right now, question: "who are you?" ANSWER I SAY!! Treasures to me are things of the past that I have memory of, where making changes is too late Treasures, my belief in God and to know with faith his love and grace is forever great! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer ------------------------ Escape Escape to a special place where you can be free Escape to a quiet place with good thoughts Escape from all your worries and all you have lost Escape from your everyday tasks Relax, close your eyes, sit down, lift up your feet Enjoy the warmth of the sun upon your face today And float away Escape, get away even if it’s only for a day KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer The Secret of Getting Press Coverage Holy smoke and great merciful heaven, Trump gets headlines twenty-four seven. No matter what time I turn on the news, There is "The Donald" spewing his views. It just goes to show if you rant to excess, You're bound to get a lot of free press. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 97 Across 1. Yore 5. Curved masonry construction 9. River duck 13. Horrible looking 14. Uncommon 15. Impressive display 17. Snare 18. Leg joint 19. Saltwater 20. Religious doctrine 22. Seaweed 24. Betting ratio 25. Up to now 26. Shout 28. Paddle 30. Large woody plant 31. Written record of events 32. Summit 35. Security group 38. Wan 39. Vine with evergreen leaves 40. Not present 41. Gratuity 42. A great distance 43. Annoy 44. Male red deer 46. Smother 48. Cereal grass seed 49. Sense organ 50. Ale 51. Jinx 52. Singe 53. Perform 56. Reverberate 59. Scintilla 61. Lesser in scope or effect 63. Mentally responsive 65. Ceremonial staff 67. Wander 68. Pester 69. Metallic element 70. Notion 71. Liberate 72. Look after 73. Transmitted Down 1. Used to secure panes of glass 2. Concur 3. Angle 4. Variety 5. Biblical boat 6. Make resentful or angry 7. Wicker fish basket 8. Part of a shoe 9. Restaurant bill 10. Mistake 11. Desiccated 12. Bring ashore 16. Affirmative 21. Novice 23. Consortium 27. Fish 29. Historic period 30. Attempt 31. Circuit 32. Petty quarrel 33. Ellipse 34. Funeral mound 35. Brace 36. Askew 37. Receive something given 38. Domestic swine 41. Seaman 42. Atmosphere 44. Understand 45. Cab 46. Large body of water 47. Limited period of time 50. Lighthouse 51. Gymnastic apparatus 52. Gaze 53. Positively charged electrode 54. Gathering of witches 55. Delicacy 56. Consume 57. Musical notation written on a staff 58. Take heed 60. Leave out 62. Part of the eye 64. Golf peg 66. Conclusion SODOKU PUZZLE NO 227 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 327 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 96 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 226 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 328 | Apr 2 2 - M ay 5 , 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 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 981-5800 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 Salvation Army 762-5660 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 Shelter: Men 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Housing: 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 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Health Network $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Apr 22 - May 5 , 2016 | No. 328 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 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource April 22-May 5, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Are We Really Serious About addressing Poverty? Pg 3: A Death in the Hood Pg 4: Panama Papers, Free Trade, and the Poor Pg 5: Pay It Forward Pg 6: Fear Overtakes Common Sense in Rise of “Bathroom Bills” Pg 7: Nashville Vendor Explains Challenges to Personal Hygiene While Homeless Pg 8: Keep Our Courts Pg 9: Homeless People face Age-Related Conditions Earlier Than People with Homes Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: The Unique Role of the Navigator as Agent of Health Justice Pg 12: The Month of February Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 22-May 5, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Jim Luken Michael Earl Patton Dr. Mark Mussman Hannah Ramlo Peter Kobak Jen Arens Steve Sunderland Lee McCoy Kim Green Will Denise Jones Justin Jeffre John Bealle Leslie Moorhead Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newspaper Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Edinburgh February Free Trade Hannah Ramlo Jen Arens Jim Luken John Bealle Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Lee McCoy Leslie Moorhead Michael Earl Patton Nashville Panama Papers Park + Vine Peter Kobak poverty Scotland Steve Sunderland Will Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/4e0ca3a6376dc269a263fd69c61303e3.pdf a900d3069df543ec600f9090c74e57d1 PDF Text Text M ay 6th - M ay 19th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 10 (No. 329) advocating justice | Building community On Notice: Loss in OTR | 5 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Civil Disobedience Pioneer on $20 Bill | 3 Are We Really Serious About Addressing Poverty? | 4 How Seattle helps drug users instead of punishing them | 8 An update on the Alms Hills Apartments | 2 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Join the Homeless Coalition JOSH SPRING S Executive Director oon we will be initiating our annual membership drive. This is when our many member-organizations renew and new organizations join. The Homeless Coalition is in its 32nd year and has a long history of consistency, diligence and commitment to people experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness and the organizations directly bringing services to them. Our mission is to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati and Hamilton County and we know it is possible. We work hard to educate the general public about homelessness so as to build empathy and action. We publish important stories and information you won’t see in the commercial media and people earn an income and meet each other in the process. We May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 promote our member organizations and bring them together to discuss the future of our efforts. We organize people experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness to create legislation, change societal norms, save housing and create economic justice. We plan to exist until we are no longer needed. If you or your organization has a mission that matches ours, please join us. We know that our strength is in our people. To join, contact Leslie Moorhead, Director of Development at lesliemoorhead@cincihomelss.org. ------------------------ An update on the Alms Hills Apartments WILLIAM FINN 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 Contributing Writer Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 D uct tape lines the cracks and crevices inside Terri Williams residence at 2525 Victory Parkway in Walnut Hills- everything from small cracks in the baseboard to gaps in the kitchen cabinet doors and even the vents for the heating ducts. “I have tape all over my house” said Williams, 45, “because I can't stand bugs.” Williams moved into The Alms Hills apartments almost 6 years ago and since PF Holdings LLC of Lakewood, N.J. purchased the building in June of 2013 and others like it in Cincinnati. Since then, she and other residents say the living conditions within the building have steadily declined. Water damage from a prior leak in another apartment has been untouched as mold grows in the walls of her bathroom. Just down the hallway, the ceiling fell down months ago as a resident was exiting her apartment. The ceiling was replaced, yet leaks are still apparent from the water stains that adorn it. The walls remain soft and bubbled much like those in Williams apartment just down the hallway. On Feb 1, the properties were put into receivership as ordered by Hamilton County Judge Beth A. Myers following a suit filed by the city against PF Holdings LLC. The Homeless Coalition worked with Residents to form official Resident Associations at the five primarily affected buildings. These Associations joined the suite, represented by the Legal Aid Society. Residents of The Alms have seen their fair share of crime in recent years, owners and their previous management companies would not hire full-time security nor maintain the locks on the front door despite complaints regarding safety from Residents. Residents believed they should feel safe in their own homes, but in several cases, when Residents complained, the previous management instead targeted them with harassment and threats. Court documents show that in September of 2014, officers re- Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, 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 Ceiling at the Alms in need of repair Photo: Homeless Coalition sponded to calls of shots fired within the building. While their officers witnessed health and safety concerns such as mold and water damage within the building. They referred their concerns to the police departments Neighborhood Liaison Unit to follow up, but little progress was made to address their concerns. Instead, the owners prohibited police from entering the building unless they obtained a search warrant. In January, a man was shot and pistol whipped at the apartment complex. Since February, the building has been put into receivership and the new managers, Milhaus Management LLC, have added a security guard and keyed entry into the building which has slowed down crime within the building dramatically, residents say. Though Williams is searching for a new place to live, if it wasn't for the addition of a 24-hour off-duty police officer, “I would have moved out and put myself into a shelter” she said. She fears not only for her own life, but for the children, the elderly and the 144 other households, representing hundreds of people who also live there. Williams describes the building currently as being “in chaos.” It is not just the deplorable living conditions that the residents live with day to day, she said. It's not knowing what is going to happen next in a building where children may find a stash of drugs behind a fire extinguisher while roaming the hallways. In 2006, the City of Cincinnati passed the Chronic Nuisance Ordinance “to target the 50 highest offending properties at any given time” said Jon Harmon, legislative director to Council Member Chris Seelbach. These offending properties use up a disproportionate amount of police resources because landlords have failed to provide reasonable security in the buildings and around them. Many tenants have also approached the city about the deplorable conditions they live under. Under the ordinance, once a property is declared a nuisance, the owner must abate the nuisance within 30 days. If the nuisance is not abated during that period, the owner may be billed up to $10,000 for the cost of law enforcement. Historically these sort of laws have not been favorable to people with low-incomes in need of affordable housing because they have in the past lead to blaming the Residents, condemnation and housing loss. It may have stopped the problems with that specific building, “but then you have 150 people who have just become homeless” said Harmon. The Homeless Coali- (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Layout: Peter Kobak Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, William Finn, Michael Earl Patton, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Willa Denise Jones, Kim Green Photography/Artwork: Homeless Coalition, Stephen Wuesthoff, Alice Schneider, Dr. Mark Mussman, 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 Civil Disobedience Pioneer on $20 Bill No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 MICHAEL EARL PATTON A Contributing Writer s you probably have heard, Andrew Jackson will leave the front of the $20 bill and go to the back, replaced by Harriet Tubman. Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States, a slave-owner, famous for winning the Battle of New Orleans and infamous for forcing tens of thousands of peaceful Indians to move west in the “Trail of Tears.” Harriet Tubman was a slave who had fled north for freedom but was not content once she reached relative safety. She joined a network of both whites and blacks who worked both to abolish slavery and to help slaves escape from the South. She made repeated trips there herself to conduct slaves north, making more trips than anyone else known. The first activity – trying to make slavery illegal – was generally protected by the Constitution as long as peaceful means were used. The second activity – helping slaves escape – was not only against the laws of several states, it was against federal law. The Constitution itself at the time said there was no such thing as an escaped slave living in freedom in the North (see Article IV, Section 2). Being an escaped slave herself, her “owner” had the legal authority to go north to claim and re-enslave her. Yet she believed that she needed to disobey all these laws and risk her freedom to help others. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain laws or commands of the government or authority in charge, but falls short of opposing the entire system of government. It is generally used to describe those who put their own liberty at risk for a certain cause to help others or to bring attention to an issue. Those in the United States who helped slaves escape did so even though the Fugitive Slave Act made this illegal. If a slave made it all the way to Canada where slavery was illegal, those who helped there were not breaking the law and so were not engaging in civil disobedience. Invariably authorities frown upon even relatively minor transgressions. An example from a few years ago was the mass arrests made for trespassing during the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here thousands of people from across the country were illegally “occupying” tiny areas of park land to bring attention to the current economic and political systems which permit 1% of the population to control everincreasing amounts of wealth and power. In Harriet Tubman’s case, not only was the system of slavery abhorrent, she herself was supposed to be freed even according to the slave laws of that time! Her mother’s original owner had specified in his will that she and her children were to be kept in slavery only until the mother reached 45. Instead, she had been sold. Harriet had a lawyer look into the case. He said that regardless of the will, since so many years had passed and since both she and her mother had lived all their lives as slaves, no judge would take the case. It wasn’t just her case, of course, that showed slave owners themselves sometimes flouted the law. Even though the importation of slaves had been made illegal in 1808, about a thousand slaves per year were brought in. To meet the demand for slaves from plantations in the Deep South, traders often came to Maryland, where she lived, and offer cash for slaves. Several of Harriet’s brothers and sisters were sold and taken south in spite of the will’s provision that they were to be freed when their mother turned 45. Harriet was physically strong. Being female she was first hired out when a young girl as a domestic slave, where she endured severe whippings brought about by the smallest real or imagined slight. Eventually she was hired out to work in the fields and logging camps. The background no doubt aided her in her eventual escape and subsequent trips back to bring slaves north. Not only did she gain familiarity with her immediate surroundings, the men with whom she worked were part of a broader communications network of free blacks and slaves that reached beyond the borders of the slave states. Someone told her about sympathetic Cartoon by Stephen Wuesthoff THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 3 families to whom she could go if she wanted to escape. When she began her escape, the first sympathetic family told her about the next one, and so on. How many were white who helped her and others to escape, and how many were black, is not known at this time. Certainly the Underground Railroad had many people of both races who were active in breaking the laws. What makes Harriet Tubman stand out among the others who helped is that she went back again and again to help slaves escape. The exact number of trips and the number of slaves she guided north is not known. The book Harriet Tubman: Anti-Slavery Activist says it was 19 trips and over 300 slaves; others say 13 trips and 70 slaves. Either way, there are two important things to note. First is that she went again and again, primarily to free members of her family but also others. Second is that the Underground Railroad functioned again and again. She spoke of herself as a conductor in that railroad who never lost a passenger. And all of this was illegal, several times over. It is important to note, because it was important to her, that she had a deep Christian faith. She prayed often and said that it was God who guided her. At times she was audacious, as when she stole a horse and carriage to take her aged parents north. At other times her careful planning was evident. She would avoid the summers with its long days and short nights. She would send word ahead to the slaves she would guide to meet her several miles from where they lived. That way if any were caught during the first part of their escape, she herself would avoid capture. Saturday night was a favored time to begin the journey because Sunday was when many slaves were allowed to go to service or to visit family. So an absence would likely not be noticed until Monday. Repeated trips brought her more familiarity with the routes and safe houses. She made her last trip in 1860 before the outbreak of the Civil War. Articles and books mention that she aided John Brown in his preparations for his raid on the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry. Brown, a white abolitionist, intended to seize the weapons stored there and use them to ignite a rebellion among the slaves. The raid itself was a disaster with most of Brown’s men being killed or captured. Southern attitudes towards slavery and against the North as not being trustworthy hardened. Certainly Harriet Tubman knew Brown and met him, and he asked her to recruit former slaves to join him. But chasing down the sources in the Wikipedia yielded little firm information beyond initial meetings. I mention this because I think of Harriet Tubman as a pioneer in civil disobedience, willing to break the law in actions that would directly free slaves. I do not think of her as an advocate of violence. I think the case for any direct involvement on her part in John Brown’s raid falls short of proven. I also offer the following, which is admittedly circumstantial, but so is the case for her involvement. First, Harriet Tubman related how, before she escaped, she prayed for the conversion of her owner. Then she heard that her owner was planning to sell her and two of her (Continued on page 4) �4 LOCAL Are We Really Serious About Addressing Poverty? The Role of Affordable Housing BILL WOODS W hat would it take to bring about a significant reduction in poverty in Greater Cincinnati? Part five of this Community Issues Forum series focused on the role that a lack of affordable housing plays in keeping families and individuals in poverty. Elizabeth Brown, the recently retired Executive Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), and John Schrider, Senior Attorney/Director, the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, depicted the reasons for the affordable housing crisis and the stresses that this shortage produces for people with limited means. Elizabth Brown began by saying how fitting it is to include housing in a series on reducing poverty. Housing, she continued, is often kept in a silo as somehow isolated from other issues. In fact, the cost of housing or the lack of affordable housing has a major impact on causing people to fall below the poverty line, while it also keeps families or individuals in poverty or one pay check away from it. Brown noted that appropriate background reading for this Forum discussion is a new book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond. The book follows several families in Milwaukee as they experience the process of eviction. It depicts how debilitating eviction is for families and also how common eviction has become in that city. Brown concluded that Desmond’s finding in Milwaukee mirror what is happening in Cincinnati. In agreement with Brown about Desmond’s portrait of housing in Milwaukee, John Schrider provided some facts about patterns in Cincinnati. This city recorded 16,000 evictions in 2015 (approximately 100-evictions a day). Not only are individuals and families evicted for MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 3) brothers. She changed her prayer so that God would kill her owner if he wasn’t going to be converted. Soon her owner became ill and died. She was horrified that her prayers might have something to do with his death and said she would have given anything to bring him back. This does not sound like someone who would have encouraged an armed, undoubtedly bloody uprising. Second, she had had a recurring dream about a serpent whose head became that of an old man with a long white beard. When she met John Brown she recognized him as that old man. She said that she did not know what that dream signified, but in Christian imagery the serpent is generally associated with evil – think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. That association must have occurred to her. It seems that she never talked about any possible involvement afterwards, so we shall probably never know for certain what happened or not. I’ll admit to the possibility that she might have encouraged him at first when his plans were not fully formed. Contributing Writer their inability to pay rent, but property owners are often forcing lowincome tenants out because they have an option to transform their buildings into commercial projects or higher paying rental units. Since the Legal Aid Society assists many of these tenants facing eviction, Schrider was able to describe the dislocation and chaos that evictees experience. The stark statistic to fasten on is the fact only one household out of four that qualify for government housing assistance actually receives it. That fact means that most low-income families and individuals must deal with the private housing market without any help, and in Cincinnati the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $760 a month. A family making $20,000 a year paying that average rent would have $907 left a month for food and other essentials. Of course, many poor families and individuals have far less than $20,000 to work with, and they are paying almost all their income for rent. That leaves thousands of Cincinnati residents only one crisis or paycheck away from losing their housing. Beyond the lack of affordable housing units and the steady decrease in federal housing assistance, Schrider also called attention to an economy that doesn’t produce enough jobs that pay a livable wage. “In my opinion,” he stated, “the big picture context is that there aren’t enough decent paying jobs. Unless there are more jobs, we can’t expect low-income people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” Publicly built housing and housing assistance programs have been cut drastically over the last thirty-five years, and both Brown and Schrider see a need to bring about a huge increase in these programs. By contrast, they point to the $170-billion that upper income and middle-class families write-off as mortgage deductions from their federal taxes, and they compare it Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 to the $40-billion HUD budget for housing programs for low-income Americans. While waiting for a political shift in Washington, D.C., they advocate that local governments pick up the slack with ordinances that require large housing development projects to include a certain percentage of affordable rental units. They also cited examples such as Seattle’s housing tax. With an increasingly expensive rental market, both speakers concluded that more housing vouchers for qualifying renters are essential. ------------------------ Elizabeth Brown speaking about the need for affordable housing Photo: Alice Schneider But even if so, I think she must have backed out as others did, and might have even tried to dissuade him for all we know. In the end, only 21 men accompanied John Brown and only 5 of them were African-American. I could find no reference to any of them being recruited by Harriet Tubman. During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman first worked for the Union Army as a cook and a nurse. Later she worked as a scout and a spy, and even led an armed expedition in the war. She guided 300 black Union troops under Colonel Montgomery in the raid at Combahee Ferry in South Carolina, which liberated more than 750 slaves and destroyed Confederate supplies without the Union troops losing a single man. After the war she was active in helping aged former slaves, in starting a retirement home for poor blacks, and was active in the women’s suffrage movement. Although I was aware of Harriet Tubman and knew a little about her before her selection to appear on the twenty-dollar bill, it was only after I researched her life that I became enthusiastic about it. It is a recognition not only of a courageous, intelligent woman, but also of those who labor in the face of strong opposition for justice. It is remarkable to me that a government – any government – would strongly commemorate someone who first gained prominence by disobeying its own laws to the point of putting their own freedom at risk. Those unjust laws did change due to her and many others. The choice was an excellent one. I recommend that anyone interested in learning more about Harriet Tubman read one of the several books available about her. For this article I read Bound for the Promised Land, by Kate Clifford Larson, which I checked out from the Public Library. I also read Harriet Tubman: Anti-Slavery Activist by M.W. Taylor, which I ordered used from Amazon. Both are fine books. The first is a somewhat scholarly work filled with many references and remarks as to what we know for certain and what is not certain. The second is a very readable book, but is relatively short and with few references. I also consulted The Underground Railroad: First Person Narratives of Escapes to Freedom in the North, written and edited by Charles L. Blockson. The Wikipedia’s entries, although helpful as a starting point, THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED will probably be insufficient for those who want to know more. ------------------------ Harriet Tubman stamp �No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 On Notice: Loss in OTR 5 LOCAL DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer Sometimes I feel like I’m punishing myself. Living, working, and focusing my life around Over-theRhine is a difficult and relentless existence. I am a very emotional person, guided by a sense of justice and beauty. What is balanced brings me joy, and right now, I feel no joy about OTR. My story is long and complicated, and for right now, doesn’t feel wrapped up nice and tight. This is a meandering walk through my current struggle – the struggle for a peaceful existence. In our neighborhood today, a young artist, a budding revolutionary, calls me to tell me that he is being evicted because his name wasn’t on the lease. He and his roommates have less than 24 hours to vacate the premises. They have nowhere to go, thrust out of OTR, as there are no options here now. Peaslee has been working on showing just how many housing units we’ve lost in the past 15 years – a number that is staggering, yet still unclear. Affordable, or market, the number of housing units available has decreased significantly. Where is the renaissance for the artists? Yesterday, as I walked past the basketball courts on 13th, the devastation has begun, and the construction workers get their parking lot. No more basketball court. A place where people played even in the cold winter, running laps around the lot, and occasionally picking up a game of 3 on 3 to stay warm. This spring saw a lot of friendly activity on the court. To my knowledge, 3CDC has never built a basketball court. One simple question will answer why: Who uses basketball courts? Last week, a fence was placed in front of Imagination Alley. Over 300 Over-the-Rhine residents, mostly children, spent a hot summer creating the mosaics that you see on the walls, ground, planters, and arch on Vine Street. This was a project that I participated in, and now 3CDC has it fenced off, leaving us wondering what will happen to the space in the near (or distance) future. Will we be able to access our community work? In Washington Park last month, a huge tree fell on the dog park fence. Just feet from where Joann Burton was killed. Remnants of the tree still mark the fence posts. Just a month before that another 100+ year-old tree was removed from the 13th street entrance to the park, looking at the trunk, it seemed healthy. People fought to keep the trees in the park before, during, and after 3CDC’s renovation. Why was it removed? Did they remove the wrong one? Walking up Pleasant Street, on my way to Findlay Market, I noticed the “Field of Greens” park, which was used last summer by our kids, was also fenced off. Of course, we knew this was coming, as new condos will be built on the entire block, but it still doesn’t lessen the impact when I see Field of Greens fences going up for condos Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman “Breakdown Stereotypes” Keep Our Courts greenspace across from Rothenberg Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman it. The center of the block will be a surface parking lot, with condos on the Race, 14th, and Pleasant sides of the block. It may be a small lot, but it was one where kids would play while listening to their own music, without having to follow the strict rules of Washington Park. Where can they listen to their own music now? Hopefully, you have seen the push to Keep Our Courts, in the paper and even in video online. The #KeepOurCourts campaign started last year when developers were rewarded a preferred developer status for the block across Main Street from Rothenberg Elementary. The City, in all its infinite wisdom, wants to sell a city block for $1 to build $600,000 single family homes on it. In a neighborhood where the average income is just $12,000/year. This land was the first donated to create Cincinnati Public Schools. The development put on it will pay no taxes for up to 30 years, which means the schools will not receive any property taxes on the parcel. Why do we think it’s a good practice to shortchange our children? The Homeless Coalition is focused on educating the public about injustices that happen in our neighborhood, but also the wider community. We resist privatization because it represents a loss of community wealth. A good way to learn more is to come on a Social Justice Walking Tour with me. It’s rather inexpensive ($40/group up to 15 people), and it’s a good way to support the Coalition as well. Consider getting a group of friends together and sending me an email to schedule the tour. We can do a short tour (1 hour) or a long tour (2+ hours) depending on your time frame. I would act quickly, as the neighborhood is changing right before my eyes. Each time I give the tour it’s a little different because of rapid pace of gentrification. ------------------------ Fence posts going up on Imagination Alley Photo: Dr. 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 �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 �OPINION An Update on Political Reform in Ohio 7 No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer W here does political reform stand in Ohio in May, 2016? After a successful 2015 that saw an Ohio Constitutional Amendment pass last November that truly reformed the process for drawing state election districts, political activists were optimistic that eliminating the state’s gerrymandered Congressional districts would take place the following year. Not only is this not happening, but Ohioans need to beware of a proposed bill in the General Assembly that would further weaken voting rights in the state. Through January and February, reformers such as Catherine Turcer of Common Cause/Ohio and Carrie Davis of the League of Women Voters of Ohio were confident that the Constitutional Modernization Commission and then the Republican and Democratic leadership of the General Assembly would draft and then promote a proposal for changing Congressional redistricting that would look very similar to the new process for drawing state districts. Their hopes were dashed when the Republican leadership began to balk and question what was thought to be the agreed upon criteria for mapping the districts. It now appears that no action is likely from either the Commission or the Legislature. Further- “Which Side Are You On” JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer "They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there You'll either be a union man Or a thug for J. H. Claire" - "Which Side Are You On" by Florence Reece for United Mine workers in Harlan County Kentucky (1931) the S o...as this issue of Streetvibes goes to press it appears that, next November, Americans will choose between the billionaire reality TV star and the (multi­millionaire) first woman to head a major party ticket for President of these United States. Spoiler: Unless something really chaotic or incredibly quirky occurs—a very real possibility in the insane climate that surrounds both candidacies—Hillary will win in a landslide. And shady “business­as­usual” will continue in the halls of US governance. I have watched politics intensely for fifty years. I'm not a betting man, but I would risk my family fortune on this being the outcome. The Trumpster Let's talk about Trump. In spite of his being fabulously wealthy, and having a narcissistic personality disorder that could make Freud rethink his notions of the Ego, The Donald has managed to do what many felt was unthinkable before it happened. He and his angry white followers have managed to wrest control of Republican Party Presidential machinery out of the hands of the party “bosses.” The party is adrift, and all attempts to bring it under the control of mainstream, “sensible” Republicans by party chairman Reince Priebus, and others, have failed. Right­ w ing Trump, like Bernie Sanders on the left, has run a populist campaign, even though he has always been an elitist. He has rallied mostly poor, under­ educated white people to see him as a kind of pied piper, seeking to “Make America Great” again, whatever that means exactly. Trumps take no prisoners. This “I'm­gonna­do­things­my­way” style has painted him into a strange political corner where he influences an ever smaller portion of the overall electorate. His ongoing inflammatory rhetoric, and his violence­ inducing bellicosity has alienated huge segments of the voting public, including: women (comprising more than half of eligible voters, blacks, who were already decidedly pro Hillary, the immigrant population, those with post­high­school education, and the “youth” vote, the 18­30 year-olds. As his probable nomination nears, Trump has shown modest signs of behaving in a more controlled, Presidential manner, but it will be difficult for the proverbial leopard to change too many of his spots. If he becomes a pussycat, much of his populist base, which he has worked so hard to inspire, may not show up at the polls. In the past week, former House Speaker John Boehner referred to the Donald as Lucifer. Senatorette Lindsay Graham (S. Carolina) followed up those comments by stating that Trump supporters “are destroying Conservatism.” Many pundits maintain that it has been the Republican party itself which has created and funded this mutating monster, which continues to encourage more and ever more radical racism, xenophobia, and anti­womanism. Now the rabid politics of Trumpism seems to be biting more, even if a good reform proposal did emerge, there is not sufficient time to mount a successful fall campaign. At best, the reform “Fair Districts Equals Fair Elections Coalition” will continue to educate the public about the need for eliminating Congressional gerrymandering. Meanwhile, State Senator Bill Seitz of Greater Cincinnati and several other Republican members of the General Assembly are proposing a bill that would discourage average citizens from petitioning the courts to extend voting hours on Election Day when procedural delays or other unusual circumstances prevent people from voting during the regular the hand that fed it, and the Republican mainstream is beside itself in terms of finding a way to prevent the “orange man” from carrying their banner into the fall election. HRC It has been clear from the beginning that the former FLOTUS is the presumptive heir to Democratic Party's nomination. All indications are that Hillary will assume the throne in November. She will be elected as POTUS. Her husband will be the new F­ GOTUS (First Gentleman of the United States). Depending on your point of view, this will have become a marriage made in heaven...or hell. From my (limited) perspective, everything in this election cycle has been too bizarre, too other-worldly, to try to put words around it. But I'm still trying. A native of Chicago, Hillary attended the best schools, Wellesley (political science) and Yale, where she earned a law degree. She met an ambitious young politician from Arkansas, moved there, married him, and soon became first lady of that State...for twelve years. The rest as they say is history. Bill beat out GHW Bush to become President in 1992. As FLOTUS, Hillary was no wallflower. She used her political pedigree and skills to attempt to create a nearly universal health care plan for the US. The Republican congress would have none of it. In 2000, while her husband remained President, Hillary—a carpet bagger—was elected the first woman senator from New York. In 2009, after failing in her bid to become the democratic nominee for President, Barack Obama selected her for the highest­ranking job in his administration. She became Secretary of State for the next four years. As I've stated before, there never was a war she didn't like. She's feeling the Bern There seemed to be nothing in the way to Mrs. Clinton becoming the democratic nominee for President. Then—exactly a year ago­­Bernie Sanders, the independent, selfproclaimed “Democratic socialist,” announced his intention to run for President. Few took his candidacy seriously. Refusing to take any donations from corporations, the 76 year-old Senator from Vermont, created a populist revolution on the left that mirrored the one Trump was creat- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED time frame. The Bill would require citizens to come up with a bond that would cover the costs of extending voting hours in order for judges to approve a petition. Potentially such a bond could cost the petitioner as much as $60,000. Seitz says he is attempting to stop frivolous, last minute judicial decisions to extend voting hours causing extra work and wasting tax-payer dollars. Reformers such as Catherine Turcer see such a law crippling a legitimate legal procedure established to protect someone’s right to vote. “The right to vote,” declared Turcer, “shouldn’t be dependent on the size of your bank account.” Numbered as Senate Bill 296, it is scheduled for a vote in the Senate this week. ------------------------ ing on the right. Many thousands of (mostly) young people volunteered to work for him. “Populism” is a political stance that supports and promotes the interests of ordinary people, as opposed to the interests of corporations and the politicians who do their bidding. The United States has never elected a truly populist President, because the two parties traditionally select candidates who are pro­big business, big Pharma, big Agra, Wall Street. The way it is. The way it's always been. Sanders has mounted an incredibly strong campaign (as has Trump). It could be an amazing phenomenon for the two populist opposites to go at one another mano­a­mano. But the insider Hillary supporters have too strong a hold on the democratic political machinery. So the American voter is left to decide between Donald Trump, whose personal fortunes were built on a lifetime of corporate deal­ making, and Hillary Clinton, who has the support of Wall Street and K Street (corporate Washington lobbyists). For a number of very objective reasons, this writer will not be able to vote for either candidate come November. Simply put: Trump is a racist demagogue. And Hillary is a corporate war-monger. I could not vote for her, even if mine were the deciding vote that gave the Presidency to The Donald. It (voting) is first and foremost a matter of personal conscience. Trump would be horrible, but we have survived monsters as Presidents before: Andrew Jackson, Warren Harding, George W. Bush. We would survive a Trump Presidency (which is a virtual impossibility at this point). Maybe this would mean that a true populist like Elizabeth Warren would be the candidate in 2020. This time around, I will vote for a third­party woman populist whom you may not have heard of: Dr. Jill Stein, of the Green Party. Yes, I am wasting my vote (that doesn't matter anyway). But I have had it with, year after election year, voting for the lesser of two evils. [Editor’s note: the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does not endorse any political candidates. The views reflected in this editorial are the writers own personal views.] ------------------------ �8 WORLD Decriminalisation of drugs a success in Portugal May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 HENRIK SØNDERGAARD PEDERSEN POUL STRUVE NIELSEN D Hus Forbi - Denmark rugs do not become more widespread, if you stop punishing people for possession. This is a lesson that can be drawn from many years of experience from Portugal. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the possession of drugs for personal use. Since then the number of drugrelated deaths have decreased. There is also nothing to suggest that young people are more inclined to take drugs for that reason. "The substances are still illegal in Portugal, but users are not punished. Drug users can consume all kinds of drugs, including heroin and cocaine. They may be fined, so there is no impunity - the only thing is that they do not receive a criminal sentence. It is considered as an administrative matter and not a criminal case," said the Portuguese criminologist Rita Faria. Speaking after a conference on drugs held by the Council for Socially Disadvantaged People in Denmark, Faria added that the purpose of the amendment in its time was to improve drug users' health and address social problems. Drug users will not be prosecuted under criminal law, but they must appear before a local commission, which is composed of social workers, lawyers and medically trained people. "There are 6503 newcomers per year into treatment. Before the law, there were 8208 newcomers into treatment per year," Faria added. There has been a slight increase in How Seattle helps drug users instead of punishing them HENRIK SØNDERGAARD PEDERSEN POUL STRUVE NIELSEN Hus Forbi - Denmark There are many great companies and very rich people in Seattle. The airline Boeing and Internet companies Amazon and Microsoft are among those based in the largest city in Washington State, in the north-western corner of the United States. Seattle is also the home of Starbucks, the world's largest chain of coffee shops. The world's first Starbucks at the city's famous Pike Place Market is actually a tourist attraction. But fortunately there are smaller, more humble cafes that boast quality fresh coffee and a more personal style than the multinational conformity with the worldwide chain. This is where we meet Kris Nyrop one of the city's socially engaged activists who for decades has worked to improve the situation of the homeless and drug users here. In Seattle, wealth is far from being evenly distributed. The city is located in King County, an areas the size of Denmark. But homelessness is a much bigger problem here. In any small un-inhabited area parks, grass between traffic lanes or under busy bypasses - you will often find people living in tents. There are entire tent cities home to up to 100 homeless individuals that have an agreement with the municipality to move from place to place, often pitching on church properties. A few homes There are claims that 20,000 dwellings for low-income families in Seattle have vanished as a result of urban planning. Instead there are more offices and expensive and attractive apartments. "It is the poor, the homeless and minorities who are caught for possession of drugs and punished," says Nyrop. He has worked with drug users in Seattle for many years and has seen how it was the individual user who was a victim of the "war on drugs" - a war that has contributed to the US having the highest percentage of its population in prison in the world. Five percent of the world's population lives in the United States, but 25 percent of the people who are in prison are in a US prisons, according to legal aid organization The American Civil Liberties Union. And there is a link between being poor and 38-year-old Rachel buys ten grams of marijuana from homeless and being on salesman Jacob at the Cannabis City store. drugs. They are always in Photo: Trond Ola Tilseth A former drug addict demonstrates how to use a needle for the proper injection of drugs during a workshop at a community drug rehabilitation centre. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Wong the number of people who use drugs in Portugal. But the increase is still in line with other European countries. Faria believes that decriminalization has no bearing on how many people who use drugs. In other words; it is not a miracle cure, but it means social authorities can instead concentrate on helping people with their problems, while the police can use their resources in other criminal cases. ------------------------ risk of being taken for possession and imprisoned. "It was on this basis that we suggested the LEAD project as an alternative to the war on drugs. In 2009-10 we began to negotiate about the project, and in 2011 we started," says Nyrop. LEAD is an acronym for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion. The program has been developed in cooperation between prosecutors, police and social services. It allows law enforcement authorities to provide an alternative offer to offenders on the possession of drugs and prostitution. The aim is to reduce the criminal behaviour of people who participate in the program. And by the way: We are not discussing the use of cannabis. This is legal in Seattle. in treatment and would like to be drugfree," he says. The program has only reached out to a few people so only a small percentage of the homeless and drug users in Seattle are getting help from the program. But it has already been a success in altering how the authorities deal with drug users. It has changed the police officer's mentality, so that they now consider those they meet in the job as fellow human beings in need of help, rather than criminals they have to fight. "Police have started talking about harm reduction. When we started on LEAD, the police a very negative attitude towards drug users," says Nyrop. He adds that the program is not just about drugs: "It is also about prostitution. The majority of women who work as prostitutes do it to finance drug addiction." Option "When a person is arrested for possession of drugs and does not have a criminal record in advance, the officer concerned is given an option: I can put you in jail, or I can refer you to a social worker, who takes action immediately," says Nyrop. "Eighty six percent of the people who will be part of the program are homeless. For them, the first problem to be solved is to find a home." He explains that the LEAD program uses the principles of Housing First. First you ensure accommodation. Then you provide all the further help that is needed. But there has to be housing, people can pay. It is also difficult in the United States. "We work with people who have many other problems. Perhaps they are taking the drugs because they have other problems," Kris Nyrop says. Voluntary Nyrop adds that it is completely voluntary to participate in the project. "We make no requirement that people need to stop taking drugs. But 56 percent of those in the program are THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Obamacare "It is essential for decision-makers in this context to see that project participants do not commit new crimes. Here, it has been found that there is a reduction of 58 percent in terms of whether the participants commit other offenses. So it reduces costs to society significantly. And it creates better quality of life, which of course is quite evident when the homeless get a home," adds Nyrop. President Obama's health care reform has been important to the program. Many participants need help from the health system. Without the so-called 'Obamacare' they had not been able to afford medical care. As far as the war on drugs is concerned, Kris Nyrop believes a paradigm shift is imminent. "In more and more cities the authorities realize that it is not possible to arrest or imprison people out of the problems," he says. ------------------------ �WORLD No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 Photo essay: Students run mobile amputee clinic in Syria KHALIL ASHAWI Reuters I n what looks like an ordinary white truck, two men are helping victims who have lost limbs in the conflict in Syria to walk, play, and even herd sheep again. In the past four years, the two technicians have made and fitted about 5,000 prosthetic limbs for an estimated 2,500 people. Their mobile clinic has been running for about six months, and has gone some way to improve access. The five-year war between the government of President Bashar alAssad and insurgents has killed at least 250,000 people and wounded many more. While most of the wounded are between 15 and 45, the clinic also fits children and the elderly with replacement limbs. "The feeling can't be described when you put the new prosthesis on a patient, especially kids," says technician Amjad Hajj Khamis. "They love to move and play so it's a wonderful feeling to help a child to walk again." Khamis, 24, was studying French literature at the University of Homs, and his colleague Abdalrahim Khlouf, 25, was training to be a school teacher. Both had to give up after just four months because of the worsening situation in the city. Starting work in a field hospital, the men were trained how to make and fit artificial limbs, including a stint in the Turkish border city of Rihaniyya Khamis, 24, (Back) and Khlouf, 25, prepare an artificial limb inside a mobile truck clinic in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Homeless on the banks of Rome’s Tiber River MAX ROSSI Reuters On the banks of Rome's historic Tiber River, the homeless use wood, cardboard and plastic tarpaulins to make a shelter, protecting themselves from the elements as best they can. This corner of the city's Prati neighborhood is a far cry from the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum or other parts of the Italian capital thronged by visitors from the world over. Nearby are the headquarters of the Italian national broadcaster RAI. Belongings in plastic bags hang on nails hammered into the wall of a pedestrian arch under a bridge that spans the Tiber. Litter is strewn on the ground and, with no washing or toilet facilities in the makeshift settlement, the acrid smell of life on the streets is hard to ignore. People end up living on the streets mainly because of losing their jobs and divorce or the breakdown of a relationship. Even so, with no residency 9 papers, many of the homeless people Reuters spoke to were reluctant to tell their stories for fear of problems with the authorities. "That's life," says Gerard, 60, from the Netherlands, his sparkling blue eyes filled with sadness. He sleeps on an old mattress in a pedestrian tunnel under the Tiber. Victor, 46, from Romania lost his job as a bricklayer. Vassily, also from Romania, says he is unable to work because of problems with his back. According to ISTAT, Italy's National Statistics Institute, more than 50,000 people used an official night shelter for at least one night in November and December 2014. Many of the homeless here are from overseas. Maria, 38, comes from Romania and lives on the banks of the Tiber with her husband. The highest proportion of homeless people is found in north-western and distance learning from Pakistan, Britain and Germany. Patients come from oppositionheld areas including the north-western province of Idlib, the Douma neighborhood of Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, which was Syria's biggest city until the conflict erupted in 2011. Demand from amputees far outstrips the services the clinic is able to provide. In each location the mobile clinic visits, keeping patients safe from bombing is a recurrent problem, Khamis says. The U.N. estimates there are a total 4.6 million people in Syria who are hard to reach with aid. Among those who have benefited from the traveling prosthesis clinic is a 9-year-old girl who stepped on a landmine when walking through a field to visit her grandfather. "I woke up at the hospital and didn't find my foot, it must have proceeded me to heaven," says Salma. "In the beginning I was depressed, but when my dad told me I was going to get a prosthesis and walk again, I was very happy." Qusay, 14, lost his foot and his right arm when he and his twin brother Adi found a landmine while herding sheep in February 2015. His brother dropped the mine and died immediately from the blast. Qusay still has shrapnel lodged close to the brain. Thanks to his prosthetic limbs, Qusay, who comes from the town of Abu Maki in Idlib province, has regained some of his former independence. "I always go out to play or herd the sheep," he says. "I don't like sitting at home." ------------------------ Khamis (R), 24, helps a man with an amputated leg walk using an artificial limb in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Italy, accounting for 38% of the total. Italy's business capital Milan has 24% of the total, followed by Rome with 15%. Whatever their stories, told or untold, the future for these homeless people gathered on the banks of a river is far from certain. Even when they do manage to get a place in an overnight shelter, after hours of queuing, they have to leave early the next morning, they say. For another day on the streets. ------------------------ Belongings of homeless people are seen along the Tiber river in Rome Photo: REUTERS/Max Rossi THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 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 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �11 WORLD No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 American political satirist returns to deliver The Naked Truth JASON GREENOUGH Spare Change News I n the last 27 years, Grammy Award-winning political satirist and writer Lewis Black has become one of the most recognizable names in American comedy. The irate stand-up comedian has made a career out of turning his angry rants into searing critiques of anything that gets under his skin, from politics to cultural trends. He has hosted his own show, Lewis Black's The Root of All Evil, and been part of The Daily Show team with his regular segment, Back in Black. On the big screen he's wellknown for voicing hot-headed Anger in Pixar's smash hit Inside Out, and his role in Man of The Year alongside Robin Williams. But despite this, Black jokes that the Republican presidential candidates are making him irrelevant this campaign season. "This election is the most psychotic thing I've ever watched in my life! As I keep saying, even all the LSD I took when I was young didn't prepare me for this," Black said. "I don't even know why I'm necessary. I don't know what my job is now, because they're already doing it on a regular basis." Audiences at his new stand-up show The Emperor's New Clothes: The Naked Truth Tour will no doubt disagree. As its title suggests, Black is back on stage to highlight the absurdities of life, and bemoan the current state of America politics. While politics may have been ingrained in Black since childhood, given the fact that he grew up in Washington D.C. ("My local news was national news," he said), the prospect of being a full-time standup comedian wasn't even on the cards until he turned 40. "I was writing plays and running a club here in New York that had a theater and a bar in it called The West Bank," said Black. "I was doing stand-up on the side, while hosting these shows [at the club], and people seemed to really gravitate toward it. I was 40, I was writing plays and I was broke." He continued: "I guess it was [meant to happen that way]. Either that or the American theater just didn't realize how talented of a writer I was." Black has made a name for himself, due, in part, to his distinctive brand of comedy that has enraged and educated in equal measures. But even in his line of work, which could be equated to the little boy in The Emperor's New Clothes, he's having a hard time wrapping his head around what the political landscape has become, and how politicians are making his niche harder to be a part of. "I feel like I'm in high school again and I'm watching the same sort of things I saw when I was in high school," Black said. "Only this is being done by people who call themselves adults, and specifically Trump and Cruz, who don't even have the right to be referred to as adults." "It's not reality, it's fiction. Reality is like going to see a movie like The Martian. That's where we should be. What we're moving toward is fictional. I can't treat this as reality. They are attempting to turn reality into fiction, and they've only done a good job because the news has bought into it," he continued. "What it's doing is taking time away from me talking about the Democrats, because Republicans take up so much of the airtime. On the contrary, while Black finds people like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz incredibly frustrating, it doesn't necessarily take all the fun out of it for him. He'd rather focus on what they do rather than their public personas. "It does [take the fun out of it] a little bit," said Black. "I mean, I've figured out how to go about it, and I don't really like talking about them so much, but I like talking about the things they say, how they affect people. I don't give them the kind of time they think they deserve. You just have to find other ways to talk about it." Black finds that problems in America's education system are to blame for many other prominent problems, such as homelessness and poverty. "The most important thing is education, and we aren't doing that very well," he said. "That's the bottom line. Everything starts with education, everything follows with education. The smarter we are; the better off we're going to be." He continued: "We can talk about jobs and the economy, but if you don't educate your children, you're missing the point. When a school system doesn't have enough money to pay for itself, something is wrong. The kids aren't at fault, but [the system] drops the ball, and they're punishing the kids for the sins of the adults in charge of making sure the schools have enough money to run." "Education and poverty are directly tied to each other," he added. "If you put those under-privileged kids into pre-Head Start programs, just look at the difference it makes. That's how everyone got out of poverty. I've always said the reason that education went down the tubes was because parents didn't want their children to become smarter than them." You would think that after years of rants and political criticism, Black might be getting a little weary of highlighting the absurdities he observes. Luckily the comedian is still up for dishing the naked truth, and his latest offering is no exception. The challenge, he says, is making those issues fresh for potentially jaded audiences. "It's just a matter of coming up with a different way of saying what you said before, in a more interesting way than the last way you said it, and maybe it will still be funny," he said. "It's all still fun, though. If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't be doing it anymore." ------------------------ Cast member Lewis Black poses at the premiere of "Inside Out" at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California June 8, 2015. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Vancouver street paper calls for action after homeless deaths hit record high in B.C. LAURA SMITH A nita Hauck was well-known in downtown Maple Ridge, north-eastern Metro Vancouver, for her passionate defence of homeless people's rights. It was a fight that claimed her life. On 27 September, Anita heard that a fellow homeless person at their camp on Cliff Avenue was struggling to get warm. Determined to help, she climbed into a nearby clothing donation bin to find a jacket and blanket. But she got trapped. Anita was unconscious by the INSP time rescuers were able to free her. She died in the hospital the next day, her family by her side. Anita's case is not uncommon in British Columbia (B.C.). A new report by INSP member Megaphone has revealed that at least 46 homeless people died in the province in 2014. This figure represents a 70% increase from the previous year and the highest number of homeless deaths in a single year in B.C. since 2008, according to the Vancouver street paper. In light of the findings, Megaphone is calling on the Canadian government to take action by implementing a poverty reduction policy and increasing equal access to housing and support. "Homelessness is an early death sentence," (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Dying on the Streets: A report from Canadian street paper Megaphone recorded a shocking 70% increase in largely preventable deaths of homeless individuals in 2014. Credit: Megaphone �12 LAURA SMITH (Continued from page 11) said Megaphone's executive director Sean Condon. "These deaths were tragic and unnecessary. They could have been prevented had safe and secure housing and support been available to these individuals." According to the local Coroners Service, a total of 325 homeless people died in B.C. between 2006 and 2014. But the body admits the data is an undercount and the true figure could be twice as high. The data also shows that 48.3% of homeless deaths were "accidental", compared to just 16.5% of all deaths in the general population. The median age of death for a homeless person in B.C. is between 40 and 49 years, compared to an average life expectancy of nearly 83 for the general population. Sean believes the statistics highlight government inaction that is proving fatal for homeless people across B.C. He echoes the report's recommendations - that the majority of deaths can be prevented if safe, affordable housing; health support; and harm reduction services are made WILLIAM FINN (Continued from page 2) tion recently began working with local officials to improve properties such as The Alms apartment building in Walnut Hills. This work is changing the tune of the public nuisance ordinance because Residents have been in leadership roles, proper responsibil- STREET VOICE May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 widely available. "A homeless person is likely to die three decades earlier than the average population… and the overall number increase shows that we are heading the wrong way," Sean told INSP. "We know what the solutions are to this crisis and we know it is more affordable for governments to provide this housing and services than to not. Yet we clearly lack the political will. "Many people continue to view homelessness as a Anita Hauck. Photo: Colleen Flanagan/ Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News/ Megaphone personal problem rather than a health in low-income buildings increasing; lessness, which can happen with cocrisis and their prejudice on this issue and affordable housing still not meet- ordinated effort from all levels of govis having fatal results." ing demand, the number of homeless ernment. We hope this report shows The street paper has warned that deaths in B.C. will only increase. the tragic consequences of continwith overdose deaths rising dramatiSean added: "The best way to pre(Continued on page 13) cally in 2015; evictions of residents vent homeless deaths is to end homeity has been placed on the property owner and the need to save affordable housing has been a top priority. This improved strategy resulted in the largest granted receivership in the city’s history and one of the largest in the country. The landlords, PF Holdings LLC, who declined to comment, had been neglecting The Alms and six other properties involved in this particular case (they own several others not named in this case) to the point where they were cited with more than 1800 health and safety violations over the past year, court records show. The owners and their partners had been receiving $500,000 a month in subsidies from the U.S. Department of Urban Housing and Development while the ceilings were falling in around the tenants. “Just because an individual lives on a low income,” says Justin Jeffre, editor of the Streetvibes, does not mean they “have to live in deplorable conditions that they certainly don't deserve ------------------------ 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. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 9 , 2 0 1 6 Can Trump be Dumped? Grown on the MArket FINDLAY MARKET HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE TO GET FRESH PRODUCTS A PLACE TO SHOP WHERE YOU'RE SAFE AND PEOPLE WATCH THEIR CONDUCT HOME GROWN VEGETABLES AREN’T ALL ONE CAN ENJOY ON THE MARKET IN A DAY THEY HAVE GOOD FOOD WHERE YOU CAN EAT, DRINK AND HAVE A SEAT BY THE WAY THE MARKET DECIDED TO ALLOW THE CINCY HOMELESS COALTION’S NEWSPAPERS TO BE SOLD GAVE ME A SECTION TO SELL STREETVIBES AND TO MEET MY BOSS WHO WAS OLD AND COLD LITTLE DID I KNOW THE BOSS USED TO SELL PAPER BAGS THERE WHEN HE WAS A BOY THEREFORE, HE KNEW MR. FLOWER MAN, MR. COFFEE MAN AND MR. TEA MAN, NOW I’M COY FEAR FOR MY PLACE ON THE MARKET, I HAD TO GET TO KNOW MY BOSS I KNEW WITHOUT HIS UNDERSTANDING, TO SELL STREETVIBES WOULD BE LOST I BEGAN TO SHARE WITH HIM THE PAPER ALLOWING HIM TO READ STORIES AND MY POETRY ONCE HE UNDERSTOOD HOMELESSNESS READING THE PAPER HE SHOWED LOYALTY HE SAID HI I'M MR. MARTY AND I SAID I'M MS. WILLA SELLING STREETVIBES TODAY THEN HE TOLD ME HOW LONG HE'S BEEN WORKING SECURITY, FOR YEARS WITHOUT A DELAY I BELEIVE HE GREW ON THE MARKET AND HE IS MY INSPIRATION TO COME TO FINDLAY BY THE WAY I THANK YOU MR. MARTY FOR SO MANY YEARS OF DEDICATION AND BEING A FRIEND OF MINE I WILL ALWAYS STAY ON MY SCHEDULE SELLING STREETVIBES AND I'LL ALWAYS BE JUST FINE Republican Fat Cats want to dump Trump, But Kasich and Cruz are in a huge slump. It appears their one last act of prevention Is to engineer a brokered Convention. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer My Hands My hands are reaching out My hands are open wide My hands are stretched out My hands are praying for thy Father My hands are strong My hands are together My hands are praying for my hands To reach your hands Dear Lord KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer LAURA SMITH (Continued from page 11) ued inaction." His opinion is shared by many. An online petition launched by the street paper directly calling on Premier Christy Clark and her government to address the issue has already received close to 700 signatures. Tragically, when Anita died she was just one week away from getting into an apartment. Her family agreed that more needs to be done to support people experiencing homelessness. "She wanted to turn homeless people from invisible to visible and help them get housing," said Anita's mother, Loretta Sundstrom. "Anita herself just needed a job and a place to stay. If she had gotten a place to stay she could have done anything with her life." Anita's sister, Karen, added that homelessness is a growing issue that cannot be ignored. "We have to stop shying away from the fact that we are putting people on the street," she said. "We need to provide shelter, food and clothes for people. They are somebody's family. They're our family." ------------------------ Anita's mother Loretta Sundstrom and Megaphone’s executive director Sean Condon speak at a press conference. Photo: Megaphone THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 98 Across 1. Crustacean 5. Military signal 9. Protective garment 14. Polynesian dance 15. Strong and healthy 16. Combination of warp and weft 17. Examination by word of mouth 18. Food from husks of cereal grains 19. Roof overhang 20. Effect of actions determining destiny in the next incarnation 22. Untie 24. Payment for use of property 25. Type of tree 26. Part of the neck 28. Entirely 30. The greatest in number 31. Consumed 32. Any high mountain 35. Reduce in size 38. Dull pain 39. Digit 40. Cajole 41. Prevarication 42. Behave affectedly 43. Pertinent 44. Malevolent 46. Cause to move forward with force 48. Indicating maiden name 49. Rodent 50. Expressed in words 51. Limb 52. Singing voice 53. Lout 56. Fountainhead 59. Whittle 61. Shinbone 63. Keep away from 65. Ship's company 67. Remainder 68. Tennis stroke 69. Type of star 70. Small island 71. Clean with a bill 72. Pitcher 73. Outstanding tournament player Down 1. Struggle for breath 2. Characteristic of country life 3. Warning signal 4. Ungent 5. Restaurant bill 6. Precipitous 7. Level of existence 8. Mail out 9. Wonderment 10. Bead 11. Rant 12. Kitchen appliance 13. Bird structure 21. At another time 23. Solemn promise 27. Request 29. On the sheltered side 30. Coalesce 31. Playing card 32. At the peak 33. Misplace 34. Rind 35. Wide sweeping search 36. Be optimistic 37. Charge per unit 38. Afflict 41. Illuminated 42. Seed case 44. Make a mistake 45. Musical accompaniment 46. Hit lightly 47. Public violence 50. Part of a garment 51. Animated 52. Pointer 53. Corpulent 54. Part of a church 55. Destined 56. Stinging insect 57. At any time 58. Traditional knowledge 60. Sking disorder 62. Part of the eye 64. Lair 66. Armed conflict SODOKU PUZZLE NO 228 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 328 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 97 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 227 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 329 | M ay 6 - M ay 1 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 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 981-5800 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 Salvation Army 762-5660 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 Shelter: Men 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Housing: 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 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Health Network $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 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 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 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 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & 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 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 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 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S May 6 - May 19, 2016 | No. 329 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 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 6-May 19, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director An Update on the Alms Hills Apartment Pg 3: Civil Disobedience Pioneer on $20 Bill Pg 4: Are We Really Serious About Addressing Poverty? Pg 5: On Notice Pg 6: Cincinnati Stand Down Pg 7: An Update on Political Reform in Ohio “Which Side Are You On” Pg 8: Decriminalization of Drugs A Success in Portugal How Seattle Helps Drug Users Instead of Punishing Them Pg 9: Photo Essay Homeless on the Banks of Rome’s Tiber River Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: American Political Satirist Returns to Deliver the Naked Truth Pg 12: Street Voice Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 6-May 19, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring William Finn Michael Earl Patton Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Willa Denise Jones Kim Green Homeless Coalition Stephen Wuesthoff Alice Schneider Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alice Schneider Bill Woods Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Drugs Homeless Coalition Josh Spring Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Ohio Over-the-Rhine Photography Portugal poverty reform Rome Seattle Stephen Wuesthoff street papers Students Syria Vancouver Willa Denise Jones William Finn