1 10 23 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/c2f905086777c5856032837832852040.pdf d1dbec4d4c3e4e182140175691278f43 PDF Text Text April 21st - M ay 4th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 35 (No. 354) advocating justice | Building community Art Saves Lives| 3 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Community Issues Forum Features Two Mayoral Candidates | 2 Bankrupting the Enemy: The U.S. Financial Siege of Japan | 8 The Archdiocese ’s Controversial Contract | 5 Tax Rally for Economic Justice | 9 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Good Doesn’t Balance Bad JOSH SPRING D Executive Director oes doing good acts make it okay for you to do bad acts? Of course not. But regularly people and organizations turn the other way when so called “good” companies do bad things. We hear, “yeah, they are doing that, but look at all the good they have done.” Does doing good buy you something? Aren’t we supposed to do good because it is good, not because other people will notice, and certainly not to try to get a pass on doing bad things? I am thinking of companies that both build affordable housing and also displace other people from affordable housing; companies that donate funds to non-profits, but also don’t pay their employees a living wage; politicians who listen and speak, but don’t act positively for systematic change. Why do people go out of their way to thank for profit companies when they do in a given situation what is minimally right. A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 Are we really thanking them for not choosing to do what was wrong? It seems that some people feel obligated to be sort of submissively thankful, and quiet, or we feel like if we call them out on the bad they do, that maybe they will stop doing the good and just do more bad. Or maybe we just like to act naively or accept too little. Whatever the causes are, we must stop this trend. We need to hold even so called “good” companies accountable. We must stop submitting for the very minimum of right actions as icing on top of bad. Either we are lying when we do this or we are choosing ignorance. When it comes to poverty and housing, ignorance is certainly not bliss for us. COMMUNITY ISSUES FORUM FEATURES TWO MAYORAL CANDIDATES BILL WOODS T he Community Issues Forum on April 13th provided a venue for the candidates running for Mayor of Cincinnati. The two nonincumbent candidates, Yvette Simpson and Rob Richardson, came and presented their views, while Mayor John Cranley did not attend. The mayoral primary takes place on May 2nd. Both Richardson and Simpson utilized the informal, non-debate format to discuss their backgrounds, approaches, and agendas for the City. Rob Richardson, the current Chairman of the University of Cincinnati's Board of Trustees, led off by emphasizing his systemic approach to addressing major issues such as the city's high poverty rate. Noting that the City is "at a turning point," he outlined several steps that he would take to change "the trajectory of poverty." More creative educational programs for teens are needed such as the U.C. Scholarship Program that he helped establish for this age group during the summer months. As Mayor, Richardson said he would make it a priority to ensure that the Internet was available to young people in every neighborhood. Two other priorities stressed by Richardson are improving public transit and establishing a City policy of inclusionary zoning. He chided that Cincinnati's bus system was stuck in the 1950s and was completely inadequate for connecting people to jobs located throughout the region. He believes that the Metro Moves Plan that was rejected by the voters more than a decade ago should be reintroduced. 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 Contributing Writer EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org With the right leadership, he thinks the public would support a regional transit system. Not only does Cincinnati need more affordable housing, noted Richardson, but it needs a policy to prevent the kind of income segregation that characterizes current neighborhood developments. Inclusionary zoning, a policy that has worked well in places like Montgomery County, Maryland, would require every housing development project to include a percentage of affordable housing units. Councilmember Yvette Simpson also emphasized addressing poverty. Starting with the words "Cincinnati needs a visionary leader," she described how her difficult childhood causes her to identify with all the children currently living in poverty. Without a mentor who helped her at a strategic point in her development, she said that she could have ended up as another "statistic" without hope. We must create "villages" full of mentors for these children. Specifically, Simpson stressed improving conditions in struggling neighborhoods. Investment in neighborhood development partnerships is critical; especially local "home grown" businesses that will hire neighborhood residents and care about preserving the character of these areas. Her vision for affordable (Continued on page 12) Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Leslie Moorhead Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Jim Luken, Dr. Mark Mussman, Robert Park, Karen Elliot, Michael Earl Patton, Former Judge Mark Painter, Steve Sunderland, Sr. Nicole Varnerin, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/ Artwork: Alice Schneider, Saad Goshn, Dylan Speeg, Twiiter, Michael Earl Patton, Michael Stucker, Karen Elliot Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Mayoral candidates Yvette Simpson and Rob Richardson address the audience. Credit: Alice Schneider THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 35 4 LOCAL | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 Art Saves Lives JIM LUKEN “T Contributing Writer he supreme art of war is to subdue the world without fighting.” from The Art of War, written 5 centuries BC by military strategist Tsung Tzu. This book is still used in the curricula of some of our “war colleges.” A question follows: If not by fighting, how do we subdue the world? Were you to ask retired Lebanese physician Saad Ghosn, he would enemies. Or at least it can help us to encounter them ...name them...and demystify them...through art. Traditionally art, especially political art, has always functioned as a kind of soothing corrective, a way of understanding the world, and hopefully bettering it, of helping us see that we are not alone. From prehistory, we have the famous cave paintings at Lascaux, where primitive artists encountered their fears, and huge black and white canvas depicts a complex, chilling image of the horrors of war. It seems beyond ironic that this masterpiece underwent a bazaar desecration at the United Nations in 2003. At the entrance to the Security Council, a full sized reproduction was shrouded by a huge blue veil. Why? Because it may have embarrassed Secretary of State Colin Powell as he pleaded for member states to condone the blasphemy that would soon become the 2nd Iraq War. In the aftermath of September 11th (2001), Saad Ghosn—an artist himself—decided to initiate a major exhibition (SOS Art), so that local artists could express their SOS Art Show at the Art Academy Credit: Saad Goshn almost certainly respond: “With art.” Although a full time pathologist until a few years ago, Saad has devoted much of his life to art. And not to just any art, but art that saves lives. Or souls. Or are they the same? This article in Streetvibes bravely depicted them. In the Lysistrata, an ancient Greek play by Aristophanes (411 BC), the main character tries to convince Greek women to refuse to give themselves to their husbands sexually until the men agree to end feelings about that war. He knew the frustration of many of his local artist friends. “We felt, as artists, very isolated,” he says. “You couldn't show your work. So I thought, let's break this isolation. Why don't we create a venue to connect us and to create a The 2016 SOS Art Show Credit: Saad Goshn celebrates the 15th anniversary of the “SOS Art Show,” which Ghosn founded and still coordinates. For him, “SOS” means “Save Our Souls.” Ghosn believes that art, and the liberation that creating and experiencing art brings, can save us from both internal and external the Peloponnesian war. We know that Shakespeare understood the power of art, when he has Hamlet say, “The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.” No doubt, the world's most famous antiwar painting is Guernica, Picasso’s 12' X 25' (1937) oil. This dialogue between us?'” The first SOS exhibition (summer of 2003) was shown at the Mockbee warehouse on Central Parkway. Its emphasis was on the war in Iraq. But in 2004, Ghosn decided the event should have a larger focus. He encouraged local artists to submit works dealing with a whole range THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 3 of issues related to peace, justice and human dignity. “It became very global, any aspect that the artist wanted to express. Over the years, the exhibition grew. After four years, it moved to Art Academy on Jackson Street. There was no “jury” to select the artists who were to be included. No entry fee. Basically, if you submitted an application, your work would be shown. Some years ago, Ghosn began calling on teachers in high schools and elementary schools to encourage their students to submit. Saad Chosen explains: “Lately I'm pushing a program here and in Lebanon (his native country) to introduce peace and justice and art to the young. We acquire our values by the age of ten. After that we are set. So art will be linked to the creation of values, like honesty and compassion. Once you acquire your values they stay with you for the rest of your life.” The SOS ART show occupies two entire floors of the Art Academy. This year, it will be open for ten days and evenings, June 2-11, and free to the public as always. Saad Ghosn believes art should be more accessible. “Money doesn't need to change hands for everything.” he says. Ghosn encourages Streetvibes readers to submit a project. Interested? Go to soscincinnati.wordpress.com, then click on the green link: SOS ART 2017 APPLICATION FORM. Who is Saad Ghosn As someone who has known him for years, I still find myself blown away by Saad's level of commitment to this fifteen-year-old passion [SOS] and to the other projects that have grown out of it. He is quite humble about all it, requesting that this article be all about the art show and not about him, a request somewhat impossible to grant. Ghosn conceived that first SOS exhibition, then brought it together. Now, with the help of a few friends, he continues to do the 100 or so installations every year. He takes it down himself, always giving his own time and resources. In addition, each year he produces an 8 ½” X 11” full color “yearbook,” with photos from each exhibit and a short text describing the exhibit. All 100 artists receive a free copy. [I prize my own copy, displaying a record of the installation I did about the theft of the Anna Louise Inn in 2014.] Dr. Ghosn is 66 years old. His name, he says with a smile, can be translated as “Happy Branch.” He went to medical school in his native Lebanon, then lived in Paris for two years before immigrating to Boston, where he lived for ten years before making Cincinnati his permanent home in 1985. He has a master’s degree in public health. For many years he was head of the Pathology Department for the Veteran's Administration hospital. Ghosn says that he did not develop an interest in art when he was young. After he left Lebanon, he began doing (Continued on page 10) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 �No. 35 4 OPINION The Worst Is Yet To Come | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 W alking around Overthe-Rhine this week, I felt as though we, as a country, are such hypocrites, liars, and crooks. On Vine Street, people casually streaming out of the donut and ice cream shops, celebrating spring break. People from the suburbs sauntering down the street with bags of donuts and ice cream cones in hands, trying to lick them before they melt, or at least save the donuts until they get home. Meanwhile, we dropped a historically large bomb on Afghanistan. We launched dozens of missiles into Syria, and continued dropping bombs across the globe. I know there is mass suffering here at home – people being displaced from their long-time homes so that developers can move the rich, or even their families, into the neighborhood. Instead of starting with the 500 abandoned buildings in Over-the-Rhine, they set their sights on the easily flippable DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer buildings and pushed everyone out of the neighborhood. Coupled with the direct gentrification, we are seeing mass indirect gentrification – with the schools, the laundromats, the post office, the hardware store, friends, and family all pushed out of the neighborhood… all of this contributes to homelessness. And so does war. We are sitting back in our easy chairs having debates of whether we should take asylum-seekers and refugees because they may be dangerous – when we are the largest producers of war in the world. We produce the most ammunitions, machines or war, the ships, and of course, the missiles. We’ll sell to both sides of a conflict. Our wealth in this country is so connected with war that we put the majority of our budgets into war – including locally. We spend more on the police than anything else – yet homicides increase and the streets remain dangerous. Why is this? Are we in complete denial? Possibly. We need to start changing our perspective and learn how to stand behind our stated values – freedom, happiness, prosperity. Currently, we are quick to blame victims of the system and act like they have some change. When I hear talk about homelessness (which is necessary), I see how off-base people tend to be regarding solutions. When students decide that a barrier to being housed is transportation, because you know, “they can’t get to their job” it makes me realize that there is a serious barrier to understanding systematic causes and the symptoms of homelessness. We don’t have a livable wage, so you can work day and night and still not be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment. You can save up all your money, and still not be able to pay your bills and feed your family. Yet, we’ll be quick to villianize someone who uses alcohol to numb their pain, yet think it’s totally ok for someone to go home after work and crack The science marchers are coming ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer T he science people are marching. The Trump people are frowning and ridiculing. The Trump person will be tweeting encouragement, making use of lots of good material, especially the white lab coats. Science is about evidence, critical observation and interpretation. It is a discipline that all cultures have developed in the course of studying the seasons (stars), training animals, growing crops, using fire, making things. Over centuries and millennia, this was the basis for the knowledge that today underpins all technology, agriculture and modern health. Science has always been political. It is promoted and defined by someone’s goals, interests, vision and agenda. It can be used for bad purposes. War has been a strong engine for scientific discovery. Private profit not always in the public interest has been another. False theories were invented to justify racism and even slavery, the subjugation of other tribes, of women, and the destruction of the natural world. In setting public policy in modern societies, conflicting views on scientific evidence are often expressed; they may be honest differences but they can’t all be right. We have civilized ways for accommodating disagreements on science but it’s important to understand the political agendas often behind these disagreements. In America today many citizens perceive that science hasn’t been working for them. There is considerable truth to this. Expensive, highly profitable drugs for treatment of disease receive most research funds, instead of research for prevention. Food technology produces everincreasing mountains of junk food in plastic, fueling epidemics of diabetes and cancer. Innovation, technology “start-ups” and automation with high-tech sensors and algorithms are deployed to reduce costs, i.e., eliminate jobs. The era of continuous war is now highly technologydependent, all the products of basic science, absorbing huge quantities of our national wealth while our basic infrastructure crumbles. Probably most important, theories on climate change are seen by many of our citizens as promising to destroy jobs and livelihoods, without creating a national program to replace them (energy conservation, sustainable agriculture, water management, etc.). It’s a bonanza for corrupt politicians: blame “fake” science rather than going after the fossil fuel industry or fixing expensive looming problems. For many citizens, blaming science makes more sense in the fog of public media than the complex politics behind corporate economics. Public health is a vital requirement for any society. It takes many forms of government activity. In Erlanger KY recently, a food processing factory was shut down by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after an outbreak of E. coli disease from its product produced 24 (known) potentially fatal cases around the The Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Controversial Contract KAREN ELLIOT I 5 n 2013, Mike Moroski was let go from his administrative position at Purcell Marian High School because he published a personal blog post supporting gay Contributing Writer marriage. In that January 27th blog post (which is still online, though the website MikeMoroski.com has now been formatted for his Cincinnati School Board campaign), Moroski wrote the following: I unabashedly believe that gay people SHOULD be allowed to marry. Ethically, morally and legally I believe this. I spend a lot of my life trying to THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED open a beer every night – in fact you are rewarded when you go to Happy Hours and other work-related activities. It’s a double standard. Without a conscious, we drop bombs on brown and black communities across the globe. Afghanistan is still one of the most impoverished countries in the world. The bombs we drop are probably valued more than the entire country’s GNP. I don’t know the numbers (and many aren’t recorded because of the drug trade), but I can almost guarantee it. What do you think is the connection between the poppy fields in Afghanistan and the heroin crisis? How do those drugs get here? I didn’t think it would be right to let this time of war go by without writing something about it. I can’t speak for everyone, but I hope that we know that with every bomb we drop, we create more enemies. One day, perhaps in the near future, we will be asked to be responsible for what we’ve done. Until then, we’ll exploit war for ratings. When we believe more is better, rather than fair is better, we enforce racist power structures, and give them value. We much change our entire perspective to bring about peace. country. At one point the owners of this plant denied FDA inspectors entry, a dramatic example of bad attitude toward science. The work place is another arena for public health. Past science figured out how bad asbestos was and how to get rid of it. Last year rules to protect workers from silica dust were finally updated by the government agency OSHA based on extensive scientific investigations. Many construction workers are exposed to silica when cutting stone, mineral-containing materials or pavement, threatening their future health and in some cases their lives. Now the federal government is trying to reverse these rules claiming “bad” science and “over-regulation.” Many severe challenges are coming, not just flooding or desertification or the collapse of agriculture. We need to figure out what’s up, who shares our core interests (almost everyone) and talk to them. We must make sure science is used in the public interest to deal with our future. The science marchers need to tell the truth about science, not just show-off their wares, their smarts and their toys. ------------------------ live as a Christian example of love for others, and my formation at Catholic grade school, high school, 3 Catholic Universities and employment at 2 Catholic high schools has informed my conscience to believe that gay marriage is NOT something of which to be afraid. According to a Fox19 story at the time, "the Archdiocese of Cincinnati gave him an ultimatum - resign, or keep his job at Purcell Marian (Continued on page 11) �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 �LOCAL What's really going on in Syria? No. 35 4 7 | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 JIM LUKEN "O nce you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." --Sherlock Holmes Until very recently, I have been a regular “contributing” writer of articles for this amazing little paper. I wrote pieces on all manner of events and topics. I wrote most of my articles knowing that—although this was a street newspaper—my audience consisted primarily of middle class, even rich, suburbanites, who cared about the downtown poor. I tried to write in a semi-sophisticated style that would appeal to that readership This time, I am going to attempt the opposite. My goal is to simplify my writing style so that a sixth grader could understand it. In a sense, I will condescend to you wonderful suburbanites who buy Streetvibes from our wonderful distributors. Why? Because the topic is both critical, and very complicated. My article will deal with what could be a considered a kind of CONSPIRACY THEORY. Years ago, I wrote a series of articles (6) about a variety of topics, each one involving a conspiracy: an alternative reality to the one we are force fed by the politicians and the corporate media. I wrote about the JFK (and the MLK) assassination. I wrote about our water being arbitrarily contaminated with fluoride. In the final installments, I argued that what happened on 9/11/2001 had been an “inside job,” perpetrated by our own government in order make “We The People” support an unending series of wars in the Middle East and beyond. The events of 9/11 have led directly to the Afghan war, the Iraq war, the Libyan war, and now to the to the hellish mess that is happening in Syria, including our latest (illegal) missile attacks on that country. My belief is that behind these recent event lies a conspiracy, maybe several of them. I understand that my attempt to simplify the war in Syria will do the situation something of an injustice, but—hopefully—it will give the reader a different framework as he or she watches the situation in Syria continue to unfold. Background In the effort to keep it simple, let’s do this with bullet points: • After 9/11, the Bush administration came up with what has been named “The Bush Doctrine” of foreign policy. This “doctrine” stated that the US now claimed the right to intervene in any situation, anywhere, when we perceived that our national interests were at stake. • So... we invaded Afghanistan, then Iraq (although almost all of Contributing Writers hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and Egypt). • The illegal Iraq war, still going on, laid waste to a country that had been the most socially progressive (and middle class) of all Mid East countries, a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. • We also bombed Libya into chaos. We continue to bomb here, there and everywhere (using drones). Now we have bombed Syria with 59 missiles (each costing us $1.4 million). • Our foreign policy has often centered around character assassination: The Ayatollah (Iran), Gaddafi (Libya), Hussein (Iraq), and now Assad in Syria. Bad dudes all, but the US has a long, disgusting history of supporting many other really bad dudes. • The “blowback” from these (illegal under US law) wars of aggression spawned Al Queda in Iraq, and dozens (hundreds) of Madrasas (schools) where angry young Muslims were trained as terrorists, “hating us death in 2000. The Assad’s and many followers practice Alawi, a moderate form of Shia Islam. Most Syrians are Sunni Muslims. In 2010, youthful civil unrest erupted following the “Arab Springs” in Egypt and Tunisia. This had to do with discontent over Bashar's failure to deliver on promised reforms. It was not religiously inspired. • In mid-2011, government forces apparently fired on some of these protesters. The anti-Assad movement grew. A makeshift opposition army (the FSA) came together, loosely joined by local armed militias hoping to overthrow the Assad regime. At this point, religion still did not play a major role in the dispute. But he US and other internationals were quick to demand regime change. We wanted Assad out, mostly because of his ties to Russia and Iran. These ties still bind. • As time passed, the secular opposition groups were joined by many outside groups (mostly Iraqi and mostly Islamists) many of them what's unlikely can quickly become probable. Bottom line: no one in the new administration has any idea how to resolve this horrible mess. • Background: Russia has been a close ally of Syria for many years. In 2013 (as now), Assad was accused of using chemical weapons in a suburb of the capitol, Damascus. Obama considered responding with a military strike. Trump (a friend of Putin?) warned him repeatedly (using Tweets) against such an intervention. • Indeed, Obama decided not to act. Republicans went batsh*t crazy. By now we know with some certainty that those chemicals had not been deployed by Assad. So Obama, and Trump, were right. • As late as March 30 of this year, Trump and his surrogates made it clear that we’re no longer committed to getting rid of Assad (regime change), instead they felt we should focus on fighting and killing off ISIS. • Syrian opposition figures vehemently decried the Trump administration's change of position regarding regime change. • Then: Lightning strikes again. Just four days later, on April 4, images come out of Syria indicating that chemicals had once again been released, this time in the town of Khan President Donald Trump's tweet before he was POTUS Credit: Twitter for our freedoms,” according to “W” Bush. These chickens, sometimes wearing suicide vests, continue to come home to roost. • 17 years later, we have ISIS and Isil and too many Muslim enemies to count. The number is growing. • Hundreds of these groups and organizations are fighting against, or with, the Assad regime in Syria. The War in Syria Once again, let's use bullet points to emphasize the main aspects of a very complicated political, cultural, and religious situation. • Syria is about the size of Washington state with 22 million people, minus the estimated ¼ of a million dead, minus the three million refugees abroad, and including the 6 million civilians displaced (internally) by this the deadliest war of the new century. • The Assad family has been in power since 1970, with Bashar, the son, taking over after his father's intent on turning Syria into a caliphate [a unified, fundamentalist Islamic State.] Several of these are very well known: Isil or ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and the Al Nusra Front (an Al Qaeda sect). • By now there are dozens of mostly religious factions, and subgroups fighting against the Assad government. But they are also fighting viciously among themselves. In its hopes of getting rid of Assad, The US has foolishly supplied weapons to ISIS and other “enemy” groups of terrorists in Syria. • Perhaps the most pertinent reality is that there are no good guys. Or, those who had been good guys are compromised to the point where even some US conservatives believe that it would be better for Assad to remain in charge. WWTD (What Would Trump Do)? Now the game gets (more) interesting...because it involves US. This recent intervention could lead to a war with Trump's favorite country: Russia. Unlikely, but with Trump, THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Sheikoun, an Al Queda stronghold. • Trump, watching television, sees images of gassed children and his heart (so he tells us) bleeds for them. He immediately accuses the Assad government of “having crossed a red line.” • Without waiting for his national security team to investigate the legitimacy of the claims (coming from Al Qaeda affiliates), Trump impetuously orders the strike. • But not before he lets his pals in Russia know that he is going to shoot missiles at one of Syria's military airfields where the Russians have a bunch of fighter jets and personnel. By warning them, is he colluding with the enemy? Really! You can't make this stuff up. • By the time the 59 missiles rain down, most Syrian planes and personnel have been cleared out, along with the Russians, of course. Aerial photographs show the runways are fully intact. Syria is (Continued on page 12) �8 T LOCAL Bankrupting the Enemy: The U.S. Financial Siege of Japan before Pearl Harbor he official story of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 against our fleet at Pearl Harbor is clear. The United States was a neutral power and was staying out of the conflicts in Europe and Asia. We had no reason to suspect that we would be attacked, which was a complete surprise because the Japanese fleet had approached Hawaii while under complete radio silence. The United States had refused to sell Japan scrap metal and aviation gasoline, but those were materials used primarily for their war machine which was invading China. Japan had struck the first blow without any provocation by the United States. That is what I was taught. Only recently did I find out that the background was not that one-sided. Japan did strike the first military blow, but the United States was waging a full scale economic war against Japan in the months before Pearl Harbor. I recently read the book Bankrupting the Enemy: The U.S. Financial Siege of Japan before Pearl Harbor by Edward S. Miller. It describes how the Roosevelt administration was applying economic pressure – first mild, and then increasingly tightened -- on Japan in reaction to its invasion of China in the 1930’s. Finally, on Friday, 25 July 1941, Roosevelt announced that he was freezing all Japanese assets in the United States and regulating all trade between the United States and Japan to prevent harm to our national interests. In effect, this virtually halted all trade with Japan. The example of oil is illustrative. Oil shipments to Japan were halted on the rationale that the oil was needed in the United States. But it wasn’t. Oil shipped to Japan came from California, which had a surplus. One may have wanted to ship it to the East Coast or overseas to Britain, but there weren’t enough tankers to do so. No pipeline went more than 70 miles from the Pacific coast and there were not enough railroad tank cars, which would have been hugely expensive in any event. But there was no shortage on the East Coast so there was no need to divert the oil that had been exported to Japan. Shortages did develop in northern California because the tankers used to haul the oil there were requisitioned to haul oil for Britain and the Soviet Union. Japan had enough tankers, but was not allowed to fill them with American oil. As a consequence, California oil producers had to reduce production because they had no place to put it. Everything was embargoed, both going to and coming from Japan. The United States refused to buy silk from Japan, which was their major cash-earning export. (Before nylon, which was just coming into its own A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer Book Credit: Michael Earl Patton in 1941, fashion-conscious women wore silk stockings.) The export of fertilizers was stopped with the express objective of reducing the amount of food available to feed the Japanese population. The theory was that a hungry population would force the military-dominated government South America was, at the time, not strong enough economically to make up for the United States. The choice then was either to retreat or to advance and expand, seizing areas that could supply the materials they wanted. After making several requests to loosen the embargo and Anti-Yen symbol Credit: Michael Earl Patton to stop its invasion of China and withdraw its troops. It didn’t work. In fact, freezing the accounts and blocking exports and imports seems to have strengthened the position of the Japanese military who wanted to pursue a more aggressive stance. There were no other trading partners who could fill the role that the United States had. Europe, including Russia, was engaged in World War II and had no goods that could be spared. even proposing to use barter instead of financial transactions, but being refused or put off, Japan chose to attack. Roosevelt’s authority to seize Japanese funds and embargo goods came from the Trading with the Enemy Act, passed in 1917 during World War I. It gave the president broad powers to regulate trade and financial transactions during a declared war. When Roosevelt THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED came to office in 1933 in the middle of the Great Depression, he asked Congress to amend the Act so that he would have the authority to also regulate financial transactions during a national emergency. The intent was to bring order to the economic chaos, including regulating banks and banning the private ownership of gold. Roosevelt declared a national emergency and began using his new powers. To use this power against Japan, Roosevelt declared an unlimited national emergency, which he described to the public in one of his “fireside chats” on May 27, 1941. To me it is amazing that the president had so much power that he, on his own, could cripple the economy of a nation without any input from Congress and with whom we were not at war. In a note the author explains that this portion of the Trading with the Enemy Act, which allowed the president to impose economic sanctions without approval from Congress, was finally changed in 1976 following the Watergate scandal. The note explains further that much of that power lives on in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), passed in 1977. President Carter had pleaded for its survival so that the president could act quickly and sweepingly in case of an emergency. These powers under the IEEPA had been used over 50 times through 2005. The book was copyrighted in 2007 – the current total is doubtlessly more. Although not part of the book, this finally explained to me why the news always report economic sanctions (for example, against Iran) can be imposed or lifted by the president. The book Bankrupting the Enemy does not consider the question of whether President Roosevelt knew or intended to provoke the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I think there is strong evidence that way, but that is not the point of this book or of my article. I think it does, however, prompt the question as to why, once total economic war had been started against Japan, that we were not better prepared militarily. Couldn’t anyone see the possibility that economic conflict, including the freezing of virtually all financial assets, might led to a military conflict? Congress has given the president extremely strong powers to hurt other countries economically, power that was reduced only somewhat in the 1970’s. I do not think this is wise. One person with such power can create chaos far easier than it can be undone. And no, this comment was not aimed at any one person in particular. Just consider those who have been president over the past 40 years and ask yourself if you agree that every one of them should have or (Continued on page 10) �NATIONAL Last Week this Week No. 35 4 | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 MARK PAINTER “T Contributing Writer here's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.” -Will Rogers Life in the Small City Last month, I spent a week in Marietta, Ohio, a charming small city 200 miles upriver. It’s the home of Marietta College and has a historic downtown. The trip was not for pleasure, as I was the arbitrator on a case there. At breakfast one morning, I perused the local paper. You sure can’t get away with anything in a small town. All the police reports are printed in the paper. Just a few samples. Cool heads prevail in Coolville Zachary K. Gerken, of Coolville, reported March 31 a theft from Franklin Fire, 158 Warner St. He said he had left a transmission on the ground by a scrap barrel. A regular customer stopped by and picked the scrap metal up and also picked up his transmission. The customer then took the transmission to the scrap yard. The complainant called the customer who then checked with the scrap yard but the transmission had already been disposed of. An officer contacted the customer and both parties agreed to work it out between themselves. Paging Inspector Javert Jenny L. Robinson, of 836 Fourth St., Marietta, reported a burglary April 4. Upon arrival an officer found that the door was kicked in and a loaf of bread was missing. This case is still under investigation. Wearing the hat backwards should be a crime An officer was dispatched April 5 to the area in front of the armory for a report of a white male with a ball cap on backwards asking people if they wanted to buy a watch. It was also reported that he had luggage sitting on the park bench. Upon arrival, no one was around. Officers searched the area and were unable to locate anyone matching that description. The luggage was taken. A warrant for what? As an officer was on patrol Sunday on Marion Street approaching Third Street two people were witnessed walking by the Morgan Chiropractic building. The male subject was identified as Dakota Hines and as he was walking away he dropped a billy club on the ground. Hines was ordered to stop and leave the weapon on the ground. He immediately picked up the weapon and fled on foot. A warrant has been requested. Was it even hers? Misty D. Griffin, of 308 Harmar St., reported Sunday that sometime overnight an unknown suspect threw Tax Rally for Economic Justice O JUSTIN JEFFRE Editor & Staff Writer n a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon on April 15th hundreds of Cincinnatians gathered on Fountain Square in solidarity with about 120 other rallies across the country to - among other things - call for President Donald Trump to release his tax records and for economic justice. The lively crowd was filled with signs and enthusiastic people. The enthusiasm was so strong that the rally actually began before it was scheduled to. There was a long list of passionate speakers talking about a wide range of topics. One thing they all shared was a relation to the causes of economic injustice. Josh Spring, the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition spoke about the housing crisis. According to a recent housing study Hamilton County is short about 40,000 units of affordable housing. He talked about how the city alone had invested about a billion dollars in market rate housing which has displaced people and caused homelessness to grow. He called for a housing trust fund and new public polices at the city and county level to address the growing need for affordable housing. Michelle Dillingham, the CEO of Community Shares, spoke about how we have increasingly been seeing an increase in women and children in poverty. She said that our community has enough resources to address these issues, but we need the political will at City Hall and the County level. Dillingham is a council candidate. (The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does not endorse political candidates.) There was a surprise speaker as well. The Donald himself, actually it was longtime Streetvibes contributor Jim Luken, donning a suit and a Donald Trump mask. This incredible Trump impersonator told the crowd what a bunch of losers they were, how small and pathetic their little rally was, and how they shouldn’t resist his administration and the Republican party’s agenda. Following Trump’s performance came Rob Linneman, a civil rights attorney, as well as Judge Fanon Rucker. They both discussed the 9 eggs at an SUV there. No one noticed before? On Wednesday, a motorist alerted the sheriff’s office to a home at 1220 McGrath Road, Macksburg, that had burned to the ground within the past day. This case remains under investigation. Another fire Deputies along with the Little Hocking Volunteer Fire Department responded to 6000-B State Route 555 on Monday to a fire in a yard. This fire was detected upon a homeowner returning home. It appears this may have been caused by someone throwing out a cigarette. This case remains under investigation. Epidemic of fires On Thursday, a deputy along with the Fearing Volunteer Fire Department responded to 290 Hartline Road, Marietta, in reference to Leander Farnsworth, of 12834 State Route 339, Vincent, having a vehicle at that location on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished with the vehicle passenger compartment being a total loss. Please don’t argue over the remote, because you’ll spill the beer On Saturday, deputies were dispatched to 12170 State Route, Lowell, in reference to a domestic violence incident. Sylvia J. Severt, 40, said she and her husband Shane were intoxicated and got into an argument. Shane said during the argument his wife attempted to take the remote control from Shane at which time she knocked the beer from his hand. Sylvia Severt was placed under arrest for domestic violence and transported to the Washington County Jail. At the jail, Sylvia tested .256 percent BAC on the portable breathalyzer test. A three-course meal stolen On 1 Apr 17 Sgt. Mankins met with Felicia Dawn Wallace at the Washington County Jail. The Lowell Duke and Duchess Shop, Lowell, reported a theft from the business in which Deputies along with the Lowell Police Department were able to identify the individual in the video as Felicia Wallace. Wallace admitted to stealing 3 Hostess Danish cakes. It was further determined that Wallace had also stolen a bottle of Mountain Dew, a bottle of Dr. Pepper and a candy bar, as well as a pair of shoes from the Lowell Dollar General. Charges of theft were filed on Wallace, age 26, 100 Water Street, Lowell, through Marietta Municipal Court. Possibly disorderly? Tune in next week A deputy responded to Newport Township on Wednesday in reference to subjects conducting themselves possibly in a disorderly fashion. This case remains under investigation. That, friends, is life in the small city. I’m sure we have the same, it’s just not published daily. Cincinnati native Mark Painter served as a judge for 30 years (Municipal Court 1982–1995, Court of Appeals 1995–2009, United Nations Appellate Tribunal 2009–2012), and as an adjunct law professor at UC for 20 years. He is the author of six books. injustices in our criminal justice system from mass incarceration, private prisons, unfair sentencing and enforcement, and the impact it has had on the poor, particularly the black community. They talked about how these policies drain massive amounts of our community and nation’s resources and perpetuate poverty and inequality. Rucker reminded the crowd with a chant throughout his speech that ‘We the People’ have the power to change these things and that’s the way it has always been. Alonzo Leggett and Diedrich Jones from the Cliftones performed several songs with a guest drummer. Native American activist Jeri Neri then took to the stage and spoke about environmental justice. Neri is a water protector. He spoke about the No Dapl stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline and ongoing efforts to stop our water ways from being polluted as well as the need to respect native American treaties and rights. Brain Garry, a city council candidate and activist, spoke about how all the different issues were intertwined and urged the crowd to renew their commitment to fight for justice. Garry’s speech was interrupted by loud commercials from 3CDC’s jumbo-tron, an unfriendly reminder of the corporate control of Fountain Square as well as other public spaces and resources increasingly. Garry carried on despite the rude and unnecessary interruption. Attendees seem to be energized by the rally. The event was organized by Billie Mays, Kate Gallion and others with the United We Stand movement. To find out more go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ unitedwestandcincy/ [Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does not endorse political candidates.] THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL has heard and backed off a sad and destructive bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. But Trump is not finished: choking the ACA to death can happen through arbitrary and undiscussed rule changes. Simultaneous with the attack on the poor, are efforts to widen access to healthcare for everyone. Physician groups, Hospital Groups, and Citizen Groups are joining together to both resist major changes and to rethink just how the healthcare system can be improved for those at highest risk. It is hoped that this effort will continue despite the new rules and the old attitude that healthcare cannot be a right for everyone. In Cincinnati, the Cancer Justice Network, an organization of 25 agencies that serve the poor in the city and Hamilton County, have come together to step up the healthcare services to the poor. Using a new health role, "navigators," the Cancer Justice Network is going to churches, community centers, and schools where poor people and their families attend. Our goal is singular: we want everyone who is concerned that they may have cancer to get a screening and a timely treatment. Thanks to far-looking grants from Easter Seals and the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center, Molina Insurance, Christ Church Cathedral, Congregation of St. Joseph, Academy of Medicine, and the Woodward Trust, we are creating a transportation process that "navigates" any low income citizen, aged person, or person with disabilities, to and from cancer prevention healthcare. Normally, the high risk population we are working with has too many transportation obstacles to get to either a screening and or regular treatments. Not being knowledgeable about insurance provisions for transportation or Medicaid stipulations, the person with cancer may give up and choose to use their limited funds for housing, or food, or some recreation for their children. Removing transportation hurdles, accompanying the person to and from their health provider, starts a process that could lead to overcoming cancer in our community. The process can break down at any time if there is an emergency in the person's life or if they are unsure what to do when they have an urgent medical need. Often people do not have a doctor, do not know how to access the Emergency Room, and sadly have had experiences of being humiliated by healthcare professionals. Our navigators are offering a different kind of relationship: we will go with the person and make sure that the healthcare is outstanding and we will help people negotiate the maze of cancer care and of the local transportation systems. When we have shared this opportunity with people at church meetings or in community centers, we are often met with disbelief: "Why would you do this for me? What do you get out of helping me?" Suspicions connected to prior experiences tend to dominate even when we have face to face meetings with kind and down to earth physicians. Yet, every time we find courageous people who are willing to risk a first step with our navigators, although many people have a change of mind. The power of the anti-poor culture can win out and persuade people that what we are sharing may be a scam. "Who helps the poor?," they seem to say with their behavior of missing appointments. We know that our process of helping will be a slow one but we are basing our work on the pioneering efforts of Harold Freeman, MD. Freeman, facing high death rates from his patients who came too late for treatment, created a program of community navigators that could bring people to him much sooner in their cancer. In five years, Freeman's program reversed the death statistics: most people survived their cancer. We are following this program in Cincinnati because minorities have the highest death rate from cancer in Ohio. The Cancer Justice Network is the only program that navigates high risk populations to and from healthcare while empowering people to take more control over their healthcare. Largely made up of volunteers, we attend church dinners, meetings at community centers, and programs where the poor come for help. Our navigators are saying that there are more choices for life than death if we seize the chance to get an exam and treatment. We know we have a difficult job to convince people who have been excluded from healthcare, stigmatized by the media, and now facing certain cuts in their essential healthcare. We are determined to make progress by taking time with people, listening to their fears, and, with navigators, going the extra mile to compassionate healthcare. This is what we mean by justice for everyone. Please go to our website for more information: cancerjusticenetwork.org “We cannot judge people,” he says, “because we do not know what bed a person grew up in. The values George Bush got were different from the values I got.” Other Projects According to Ghosn, more than 1500 individuals (or collaboratives) have exhibited at the SOS Show. In addition, 500-600 local poets have participated in another of his undertakings. This would be a yearly book of social justice oriented poems, entitled For a Better World. Poets submit their work, and Ghosn engages local artists to create black and white illustrations for some of them. Expected this December is yet another collection of writing and drawings, these by death row inmates from around the country (there are some 4,000 of them). Ghosn plans on exhibiting this work and taking it on a tour of states (like Ohio) where executions still occur. Engaging young people remains primary for Saad Ghosn. He is working to introduce his “values” oriented art project in elementary schools throughout the city (and in Lebanon). The art teacher would name a particular value, like compassion, and the children would be encouraged to find and create different depictions of that value. Ghosn helped produce an SOS exhibition in Lebanon in 2016, which was very positively received. There will be a second one in 2018. Most recently, SOS Art has become something of a different animal. Ghosn has taken the project through the painstaking process (5013C) involved in making it a legal non-profit entity. This new designation requires a board of directors and a significant amount of outside funding. Ghosn wants to make sure that there will be an SOS presence when he can no longer spearhead it. He regrets that he has so little skill in raising money or writing grants. He is looking for help. Another of Saad Ghosn's woodcuts is called “The Fate of the Meek.” It depicts a dense flock of sheep faces surrounded by spear points. In a way, this is where we find ourselves as social justice artists and advocates. “So you don't succeed the way society wants,” he reflects. “At least you didn't become a wolf.” “I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything,” he concludes. “You create art for yourself, but when it goes out it affects others.” than 1% are of that opinion. I do blame the mainstream media for not doing any real reporting about this power or how it came about. This book first came out about 10 years ago. It is published by the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, Maryland; not self-published by some vanity press. The book is well-researched and written. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of the run-up to World War II. personal blog." Moroski refused, and lost his job. Flash-forward to the next school year, and the Archdiocese made national news again with its new and controversial contract. According to a May 10, 2014 item in the New York Times: Teachers in Catholic schools have long been forced to accept a vague morals clause telling them that they shouldn’t contradict Catholic doctrine. But teachers in Catholic JUSTICE DENIED, SOCIETY THREATENED "W STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer here justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."--Frederick Douglass The attack on the poor's healthcare continues with new cuts in Medicaid insurance ordered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Poor people, just now awakening to the realization that healthcare can improve their lives and the lives of their families, will be deterred from getting critical insurance. Bombing healthcare provisions has the same effect as bombing people and buildings: people will unnecessarily die, suffer, and be frightened about their future. Citizens at many town hall meetings, largely middle class people, are outraged at their Congressional representative's attempt to explain why less benefits, fewer choices of physicians and hospitals, and the abolition of prevention results in "better care." The American poor are being joined by the American Middle Class in protesting changes in healthcare that are ridiculous for any person who wants to feel secure about their health. Protests have been the order of the day, whether at local, state or national rallies. The Congress JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 3) simple drawings. By now he is an accomplished (although untrained) artist, something of a “primitivist.” He is always among those who display their work at the SOS exhibition. His three dimensional “constructions” often evince the kind of complexity and patience that make one want to view them from all angles. Asked to describe himself in a few words, he responded, “I don't play games. I suppose I could say that I am authentic, simple, compassionate. The most important thing for me is to be in touch with myself.” Saad Ghosn illustrates another aspect of his personality by showing me one of his woodcut prints entitled, “Bed of Comfort/Bed of Nails.” It depicts those two beds, side by side. MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 8) have had that power. I doubt if more KAREN ELLIOT (Continued from page 5) until June by signing a document recanting statements made on his A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 10) �No. 35 4 WORLD | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 Border Stories: Thread of Hope “W SR. NICOLE VARNERIN Contributing Writer e are seeing people work together in ways they never have before.” The sentence rang out through the auditorium and hope got caught in my throat. After a month and a half of living on the border I have been confronted with the tangible fear of deportation and stories of separated families. It is easy to blame it all on our new administration since my arrival in Texas roughly coincided with the inauguration. But this man, a community organizer around immigrant rights, voiced his hope toward the end of a two-day Human Trafficking Conference where we heard account after account of violence, injustice, and humanitarian crisis. He cited case after case of new initiatives, communities working together to protect others, and people empowered to stand up for their rights. As I thought back over the conference, I saw those stories too. Did we hear about the US’s terrible involvement in the Salvadoran and Guatemalan wars and governmental injustices? Yes. Did we hear about human rights infractions of these people who flee the situation the US created? Yes. Did we hear about the terrible conditions of farmworkers? KAREN ELLIOT (Continued from page 10) schools in the Cincinnati archdiocese are being given a longer, more explicit litany of words and deeds that could get them fired. The new contract expressly forbids a “homosexual lifestyle” and any “public support” of one. But it says nothing about public support of the death penalty, something else that the church opposes. Though many teachers refused to sign this contract, one local teacher - again from Purcell Marian High School - made news when he was fired for refusing to sign, after a stunning 45 years at the school. Also from the New York Times: The new contract is six pages and offends him in its suggestion that he must, for example, not express support for gay people in his life. Before it was distributed, [Richard] Hague, 66, planned to teach for another five years. Now he doesn’t, and explained in a letter to the archdiocese: “I simply cannot believe that Jesus would require me to condemn my friends.” Against this backdrop, it would seem rather clear that employees of Purcell Marian High School (and any Archdiocesan school) cannot express "public support" of a "homosexual lifestyle." But that's just what Purcell 11 Certainly. But in each talk was a thread of hope. The two stories that stuck with me most were told by Jennifer Harbury and Lucas Benitez. Jennifer Harbury is a middle aged widow who works tirelessly as an immigration and human rights lawyer. Her husband was tortured and killed by the Guatemalan Government. He was a rebel against militaristic government the US helped put in power after a democratically elected leader was overthrown in a coup. This corrupt Guatemalan government was financially and politically backed by the US. Their “death squads” who reigned with terror across the country were trained at “The School of the Americas” by US soldiers. Suddenly, Jennifer’s husband disappeared. She was told he died, but could not be sure. In reality he was being tortured by the Guatemalan Government at the orders of the FBI. Eventually he was killed, dismembered, and his remains scattered so Jennifer could not have a proper burial for him. For many years, Jennifer fought in court to have the files pertaining to her husband’s case declassified. She succeeded and the FBI was implicated in the involvement of her husband’s death. She still fights though. She fights for the rights of asylees from Guatemala. She fights for all files to Marian did in a recent newsletter sent to alumni. In the picture accompanying this article, you can see an excerpt from their recent newsletter - with names and faces redacted for privacy. Two women, one of whom graduated from the school, got married, and the newsletter's author congratulated them. That sounds like "public support" of a "homosexual lifestyle." Here's how Dan Andriacco, Communications Director for the Archdiocese, responded when this was brought to his attention: Thanks for calling this to our attention. The provisions of the teacher-minister contract and the principal-minister contract that you refer to are still in place. With regard to the newsletter article you cite, Purcell-Marian [sic] officials have acknowledged that they made an oversight in the rush to meet a publication deadline. They support the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. It's one thing to claim that Purcell Marian officials "support the moral teachings of the Catholic Church," but what about making public acknowledgements of the mistake just like the Archdiocese asked Mike Moroski to do after his support of gay marriage? "I don’t think anything along those lines has been decided," be declassified so the FBI and the US can climb out of the shadows pertaining to their involvement in the humanitarian disasters of Central America. Strength seeps from her pores and passion for truth and justice is tangible. Lucas Benitez works on tomato responsibility.” The fair food program uses a set of rules written by the workers themselves and compels the growers to abide by them by getting large companies to only buy from participating growers. Companies who abide by the program also agree to pay one cent more per pound farms in Florida and is the co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Their fair food program works to fight for workers’ rights comprehensively. He was tired of big companies putting off talking to the Coalition about social responsibility. They would say “we already have a social responsibility clause. We don’t need to change anything.” But he was still seeing women being sexually assaulted in the fields, workers being held against their will, and unsafe working conditions without water breaks. The companies were trying to tell the workers what they needed, but Lucas says, “social responsibility without the farmworker is not social of tomatoes which goes directly to the farm workers as a bonus. The program only works if the companies buy in and over a dozen of the largest tomato buyers signed the agreement. Lucas had passion and truly believed that real power comes from the bottom up. Lucas and Jennifer, plus the many others I have met fighting for justice here on the border ignite a fire in me to fight alongside them. I think back to those fighting for justice in Cincinnati and know that it is just as important. Keep up the good fight. Stay strong, remember the stories of success, but stay in touch with the hurt. Wedding Announcement Credit: Karen Elliot explained Andriacco. "The principal is out of the country right now." So, will the school be required to print a correction and/or a retraction? THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED "That’s not been decided and there’s no deadline for doing so," concluded Andriacco. "I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful..." �12 LOCAL A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 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 JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 7) flying bombers from those runways in less than a day. • Conservative (and most liberal) media hail the new President's decisive action. He has shown spine! Assad is once again vilified as the obvious perpetrator. • Even in the liberal media, few dare to suggest that factions of the opposition could very well be responsible for those chemicals. • Trumps political PACs immediately begin fundraising, using the death of children as theircalling card. Disgusting? You be the judge. • Trump continues to disallow Syrian children from coming to the US as refugees. How to Read the Tea Leaves. Let's switch to numbers. And, let's get back to issues of conspiracy. We “conspiracy theorists” often refer to the notion of “false flags,” an old maritime tradition. You fly the enemy's flag (on your ship) and then commit heinous acts. The enemy gets blamed. Nazis falsely blamed the fire in the Reichstag (1933) BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) housing also centers on providing on the communists (giving Hitler a green light in his push toward WWII). In 1964, the US blamed North Vietnamese warships for a confrontation in the Gulf of Tonkin (pushing us headlong into the Vietnam War). History has proven there were no enemy ships. Were the chemicals at Kahn Sheikoun a false flag? With this question in mind, here are some of what Donald Rumsfeld famously called the “known knowns” 1. By the time of the missile attacks, Trumps poll numbers had reached abysmal lows. 2. The push to examine his ties with Russia and the manipulation of the 2016 election were gaining more headlines. In spite of his efforts, Obamacare remained the law of the land. His presidency was in shambles. Worst of all, the Donald was being laughed at. 3. On the morning of April 4, an Assad warplane apparently bombed a building in the town of Khan Sheikoun. 4. Opposition voices claimed the bomb contained sarin gas. 5. But, various factions in the ISIS/Al Quaeda opposition are known to have been creating (and employing) crude chemical weapons, Chlorine and others) for years in Syria. 6. Images of the victims indicate that the gas was in fact chlorine phosphorous and not the more deadly sarin. Obvious questions Here is your chance to judge an issue of geo—political intrigue. You be the judge. Follow the money. Who really benefits? 1. Days after the Trump State Department had declared that he could remain in power, why would Assad do something so stupid as attacking civilians with gas? 2. Why did our President choose to shoot first, before investigating the validity of Al Qaeda claims? 3. If Assad did it, why did he do it? 4. If Al Qaeda created a false flag, why did they do it? 5. Who had more to gain? To lose? 6. Why would Trump seemingly go against the Russians in Syria? Or did he? Why did he warn them? 7. Finally, who are always big winners in wars? I'll answer this one: the banks which fund both sides, and the weapons manufacturers, which supply both sides. And what country do most of the banks and the weapons makers hail from? You definitely know the answer to that one. Acknowledgement: Although I did not footnote the facts in this article, much of the material related to the chemicals and missile attack were gleaned from a long article by Scott Ritter. He's the former Iraq weapons inspector who gained fame by insisting, over and over, that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. I encourage readers to check out Ritter's long essay. Google: “Scott Ritter Wag the Dog”. Disclaimer: As a freelance journalist for the worldwide Franciscans I found myself in hot war zones on three continents. Thus, I hate war more than anything. I'm sure that hatred colored what I put in this article. more funding and support for neighborhood housing development corporations. Simpson also noted that the City must provide basic services more efficiently in order to deal with its perennial budget issues. As someone who has lived in both cities, the Cincinnati in poverty and the more affluent Cincinnati, she feels uniquely poised to lead us in the direction of creating one, unified City. By implementing "the power of we," she concluded, we can bring this City together. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 4 13 STREET VOICE | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 OBSESSED WITH BEING FIRST HOME AT LAST Trump has just got to be first, THOSE ARE WORDS USED BY SO MANY Even when these rankings AT THE END OF A DAY Make The Donald the worst. THOSE ARE GOOD WORDS UNTIL YOU FIND THAT IN It should come as no surprise, That he may be the President Who tells the most lies. YOUR HOME YOU CAN'T STAY AFTER BEING HOMELESS FOR FIVE YEARS AND FIGHTING FOR THE ANNA LOUIS INN FINDING AN APARTMENT STARTING MY LIFE OVER I THOUGHT MY FIGHT WAS OVER THEN BILL WOODS I BEGAN TO SEE OLD BULDINGS BEING Contributing Writer RECONSTRUCTED GRANTING JOBS FOR SO MANY LIVING BY GOODNESS Each day God gives us life How merciful our creator He gives us a wonderful start To live life with breath In our lungs and a beating heart Living by goodness and by grace Thank you God for another day Living by goodness makes one feel good And thankful for Gods good grace TO SEE NEW RESTURANTS ALL OVER TOWN I FIGURED IT WAS A GOOD THING TO EAT PLENTY I BEGAN TO SEE PEOPLE BEING MOVED OUT OF THEIR HOMES WHERE THEY'D LIVED FOR YEARS DOESN'T MATER WHETHER YOU BLIND, CRIPPLED OR CRAZY YOU HAVE NO SAY SO MY DEAR THEN I SAW HOW EXSPENSIVE RESTURANTS WERE, I WENT TO WENDYS AND THEY WERE GONE I SAW BEER BREWIES ON EVERY CORNER, PARKING LOTS FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS I GOT SCARED THEN THEY DEMOLISHION OF THE STORE NEXT KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer DOOR TO ME GAVE ME THE SENSE TO GET PREPARED AFTER STANDING UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF SO MANY I'M READY TO STAND UP FOR MY RIGHTS I JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY HOME HAD BEEN SOLD YEARS AGO NOW I AM READY TO FIGHT STILL NOT UNDERSTANDING THE POLITICS, CITY OR GOVERNMENT POLICYS AND RULES I JUST SEE THE POOR BEING MOVED OUT OF THE RICHES WAY AND I FEEL IT'S CRUEL THE POINT IS NOT THAT THE BUYERS OF YOUR HOME IS PAYING FOR YOUR MOVE AN PACKING THAT WAS EASY BUT WONDER WHEN THEY'LL BE BACK TO MOVE YOU AGAIN PACKING SO I’M TRYING TO FIND A HOME WHERE I WILL BE SAFE WITH NO FEARS OF A CHANGING WORLD WITH NO CONTROL OVER THESE CHANGES OTHER THAN TO PROTEST AND SHOUT OUT LOUD I PUT IT ALL IN THE HANDS OF GOD AND KNOW AND BELEIVE HE HAS A PLAN FOR THIS CLOUD NOW I CAN'T BELEIVE HOME AT LAST FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG MY HOME WILL BE MINE TO BE HOME ALONE WE ALL NEED TO PUT ALL FAITH AN TRUST IN GOD LET HIM READ BETWEEN THE LINES WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 123 Across 3. Very angry 1. Den 4. Entourage 5. A strong line 5. Regress 9. Established line of travel 6. Be indebted to 14. Fiend 7. Look searchingly 15. Pitcher 8. Mistake 16. Tripod 9. Withdraw 17. Dried vegetable matter used as fuel 18. Swerve 19. A squeaking sound 20. Lure 22. Wander 24. Incumbency 26. Beam 31. Far beyond the norm 33. A small sphere 34. Extraterrestrial object 37. Singing voice 39. Stead 40. Primate 41. On the move 42. Conclusion 43. Annoy 45. Approach 46. Wash lightly without soap 48. Parka 50. Repeat broadcast 52. Well-founded 54. Ran very quickly 57. Faction 59. Swiss house 61. Take in water 65. Facial expression 67. Morsel 68. Large body of water 69. Chills and fever 70. Notion 71. Animal 10. Paddle 11. Employ 12. Beverage 13. Moose 21. Interest followed with exaggerated zeal 23. Cloudy diffused matter, suspended in the air 25. Wipe out 27. lnauspicious 28. Foreigner 29. 13 to 19 year olds 30. Musical composition 32. Part of a church 34. Unit of weight for SODOKU PUZZLE NO 252 - MEDIUM precious stones 35. Speak up 36. Fruit of the gourd family 38. Fatigued 41. Leg bone 44. Epoch 46. Hurry 47. Live in 49. Not present 51. Fraudulent scheme 53. Acclaim 55. Leave or strike out 56. Dissuade 58. Garment worn in ancient Rome 60. Squad 72. Small open pie 61. Small float made of 73. Limited period of time cork 62. Frozen water Down 63. Pasture 1. A slow pace of running 64. Fuel 2. Broker 66. Belonging to us PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 122 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 252- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 4 RESOURCES | A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 1125 Bank Street 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 2121 Vine Street 45202 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Starting Over 961-2256 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) Housing: 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 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 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Food/Clothing Health 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Our Daily Bread 621-6364 $100 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 Medical Van 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Shelter: Family 15 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 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 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 A p r i l 2 1 - M a y 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 4 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 GINA MARTIN CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GLENDA CANTRELL JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012 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 JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 W. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 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 21-May 4, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Community Issues Forum Features Two Mayoral Candidates Pg 3: Art Saves Lives Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The Worst is Yet to Come The Science Marchers are Coming Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: What’s Really Going on in Syria? Pg 8: Bankrupting the Enemy Pg 9: Last Week This week Pg 10: Justice Denied, Society Threatened Pg 11: Border Stories 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 April 21-May 4, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Jim Luken Dr. Mark Mussman Robert Park Karen Elliot Michael Earl Patton Former Judge Mark Painter Steve Sunderland Sr. Nicole Varnerin Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Alice Schneider Saad Goshn Dylan Speeg Twiiter Michael Stucker Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alice Schneider Art Bill Woods Border Stories Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Dylan Speeg Former Judge Mark Painter Japan Jim Luken Josh Spring Karen Elliot Kim Green Mayoral Candidates Michael Earl Patton Michael Stucker Pearl Harbor Robert Park Saad Goshn Sr. Nicole Varnerin Steve Sunderland Syria Taxes Twiiter Voting Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/2ee06804be9492b3114a4b5a92535a11.pdf 8444b1f848a62888898ba71963a19396 PDF Text Text April 7th - April 20th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 34 (No. 353) advocating justice | Building community National Day of Action to End The Housing Crisis| 7 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Issues Council and Mayoral Interconnectedness| 3 Candidates Need to Address - Part II | 2 Weather Trends|5 Border Stories: Courageous Women | 10 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: It’s Not Complicated JOSH SPRING H Executive Director ave you ever known somebody who makes a task more complicated than it needs to be or has a solution to a problem available, but does not implement it? Of course, you have, we all have. This could be caused by stubbornness, addiction, misappropriation of priorities, etc. The person in this situation is to their problem what our society and government are to the problem of systemic homelessness. Homelessness is a solvable problem. Enough affordable housing can be constructed. Employers can pay living wages. Healthcare can be accessible. But instead of doing what is necessary to meet these needs, we spend time blaming individuals experiencing the problem, we limit funding to housing and healthcare or cut it. We don’t force companies to pay living wages. We spend private and public dollars on upscale development at the expense of affordable housing. We displace people. We cut taxes for wealthy people. We then have to create criteria to decide who is the “most deserving” to receive what little assistance there is. Then we study it all to see if we are stretching the dollars as far as possible. Then we say it’s complicated problem and we are not sure what the solution is. We have taken something that is simple and made it complicated. Why? This country is addicted to wealth and the idea of wealth. We are addicted to fancy buildings and slick stores. We are addicted to puff stories and façade improvements. We are addicted to greed and we enable A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 it. We are also stubborn about not changing systems that are inherently classist and racist. We push rugged individualism and point to the rich people who “came from nothing” and made it with the “American Dream” (a.k.a. the American Myth which is just a lie) as a means of showing how “rugged individualism” works. The part of the story that is left out is the fact that none of those folks are “rugged individuals” because they are only wealthy because they take resources from other people. Other people suffer so they can be wealthy. So, next time you hear someone say solving homelessness is complicated, please realize that what is complicated is organizing people to create enough pressure to change legislation or create legislation and change societal perspective on the issue. It is complicated because we have a foundational problem of greed. The problem itself is not complicated and is very solvable. Creating more affordable housing and raising the minimum wage are major solutions that can be implemented if we have the political will end homelessness. ISSUES COUNCIL AND MAYORAL CANDIDATES NEED TO ADDRESS - PART II P art II of "the issues City Council and Mayoral candidates need to address" took place on March 30th. Once again, a panel of community leaders focused on often overlooked problems that deeply divide the haves and have-nots of this area. Panelists included Patricia Garry, Chair of Affordable Housing Advocates, Pastor Ennis Tait, President of the Faith Community Alliance, Mike Maloney, Convener of the Urban Appalachian Community Alliance of Cincinnati, Justin Jeffre, Editor of Streetvibes, and Mark Samaan, Chair of the Better Bus Coalition. A long time neighborhood leader and the past Director of the CDC Association of Cincinnati, Patricia Garry emphasized the lack of affordable housing in the City and County. Citing a new LISC-study that reveals a current need for 40,000 units of affordable housing units in Hamilton County, Garry noted that only 20-percent of residents qualifying for housing assistance will receive it. These statistics, she concluded, are major reasons for poverty and homelessness, and local government leaders and the powers that be need to recognize this reality. Initially, the Child Poverty Collaborative did not talk about the housing need in its report on addressing the causes of why BILL WOODS Contributing Writer so many families with children find themselves in poverty. Garry declared that leaders of Affordable Housing Advocates then convinced the Collaborative that housing must be included if it was really serious about reducing family poverty. Garry advocated that Cincinnati put in place tools such as a housing trust fund and requirements that a percentage of affordable housing units be included in any proposed major housing projects. Pastor Ennis Tait stressed three local issues that he believes require major attention. Reducing child poverty, developing preschool educational opportunities, and reducing gun violence top his list. For these reasons, he is involved in "Preschool Promise, " the initiative (Continued on page 10) 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: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Gretchen Marie Semancik, Justin Jeffre, Bonnie Neumeier, Sr. Nicole Varnerin, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/ Artwork: Alice Schneider, Dr. Mark Mussman, Gaelyn Sullivan, Gretchen Marie Semancik, ARISE, Michael Earl Patton, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Pastor Ennis Tait, Patricia Garry, Mike Maloney Credit: Alice Schneider THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 35 3 3 LOCAL | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 Interconnectedness T DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer he state of Ohio offers very few protections to tenants. Far too often we hear stories of people who are being pushed out of their homes and businesses on the whim of the property owner. Other states protect residents from unjust evictions and rent increases, but Ohio always sides with the landlord. We do this both in the courts and through their extension – law enforcement. One tenant organizing. On a recent Alternative Break with the University of Vermont, students arrived with the passion to learn about gentrification – what does the term mean? What does gentrification look like? Am I at risk of being gentrified out of my community? They also wanted to learn more about the history of Cincinnati and how we help people who are experiencing homelessness. Gaelyn and Samantha participate in the Streetvibes Shadow Activity. Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Mt. Auburn, Avondale, Oakley, and Northside). Throughout the week we met with experts, including those at the IJPC (Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center) to learn about how the justice system fails to meet the needs of our entire community. Through their Virtual Reality solitary confinement simulation, we experienced first hand (even for just a few minutes) the psychological effects of isolation, both short term and long term. The experience made We also met with the Interfaith Workers Center where we learned about Wage Theft and the impact it has on communities. We saw how local employers convinced their workers to pay back their overtime and we saw the video of them caught on tape doing this illegal, yet all-toocommon event. Since we know that a lack of livable wages contributes to homelessness, it wasn’t difficult to see the connection here with gentrification and the ability for someone to work hard, yet still not Community leader Brian Garry shares his passions with the group Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman way to help fight injustice in housing is through resident organizations who create a unified voice to counter the script of the landlord. The Homeless Coalition has a strong history in Each of these aspirations are connected and visible in our neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine, but extend to every neighborhood in Cincinnati (most visibly in Corryville, Solitary Confinement Virtual Reality at IJPC Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Community member Jae Washington shared her perspective on gentrification and community life. Credit: Gaelyn Sullivan “Breakdown Stereotypes” me feel a sense of loss of time and of my self. They showed us European models of prisons that actually focus on rehabilitation and reintegration into community. It made clear how our prison system is based upon torture and withdraw, rather than compassion and inclusion. This connects to our housing policies which allow landlords to bar people with criminal histories from housing. receive their fair share. It is also shocking to know that Ohio has over 800 laws prohibiting people with felonies work options. Throughout the week we learned about affordable housing – the real solution to the housing and homelessness crisis we are facing. During the People’s Movement Social Justice Walking Tour, we saw the (Continued on page 5) “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 �No. 35 3 5 LOCAL | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 Weather Trends MICHAEL EARL PATTON I Contributing Writer n my last article, “Natural Gas Shortage Coming,” I pointed out that the production of natural gas in the United States has been adequate to meet our immediate need, but also that the past three winters have been much warmer than normal. Production of natural gas is trending down, the number of rigs drilling for natural gas is way down, and it has been replacing coal for the generation of electricity. A couple hot summers and a very cold winter would crimp supplies and cause prices to rise sharply – to the point where some or many could not afford to properly heat their homes. I showed a bar chart of the recent winters, which I am also including in this article, giving the change from the 20th century average winter temperature. Data are from the DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) wheels of gentrification turning throughout the neighborhood. From the privatization of the parks and the gated off alleys, to the building portfolios being turned over to large developers who are getting ready to mass evict. They learned about the housing statistics in the neighborhood, and the true meaning of affordable housing. They heard from people who have experienced homelessness, and some from people who are currently living on the streets. This was likely their most memorable experience – meeting people in our community who have something valuable to share, even though they have been cast out by society. Sometimes, I find it difficult to get students to “care” about what they are learning about. But the groups from Vermont always seem to have a very strong knowledge and breath of compassion when they arrive. Throughout the week they encouraged each other and myself. They helped pack lunches, serve meals, and coordinate the Know National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.noaa.gov) and were obtained from their “Climate at a Glance” section. Actually, data going back to the 1970’s. I still hear stories from those who experienced that winter – it was truly one for the record books. Also, it seems that there is a trend with the winters getting warmer, starting about 1960. Although that is the trend, it is impossible to say in advance from looking at the graph whether the next winter will be warmer or colder than average. An obvious question is whether these same trends are evident in the data for the meteorological summer, the months from June through August. From the graph, the same sort of erratic pattern as with the winter data is evident. Note the high average temperatures of the 1930’s, the era of the infamous “Dust Bowl.” The temperatures shown in the graph are averaged over the “Lower 48,” or contiguous states so one cannot say from this just how much out “GOOD WHITE PEOPLE - short film” on YouTube to see how just one building being cleared out for out-oftowners to use for short term visits has impacted one man, his business, and our community. And as always, you can always schedule a tour with the Homeless Coalition through our website to learn more. (Continued on page 11) late 19th century are available at the same site. In the last article I was focusing mostly on recent trends so I did not show the full range. But this is interesting in its own right, so I am giving it now. The first thing that struck me was how much the average winter temperature can change from year to year. The range is from about 27 degrees to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. A couple more trends are evident with a little examination. The first half of the twentieth century had more winters that were much colder than normal than the second half, but the coldest winter was in the late Your City (formerly the Standdown) event at Christ Church Cathedral. Throughout the week, they worked with children and young adults in the neighborhood, heard from various community leaders, experienced culturally relevant art exhibits and even sat in a very contentious City Council Meeting. Each step of the way, the Vermont students were there to support each other and they were actively supporting us in any way they could. This is what our Cincinnati Urban Experience is all about – interconnectedness. Ohio tenant’s protections are a disgrace to the goals of our community. How can we expect to have a strong and vibrant community when so many are at risk of displacement? During the Council meeting, I noticed the beautiful stained glass windows above Council Chambers. Emblazoned on one of the windows is the City’s motto Juncta Juvant, which in Latin means “Strength in Unity.” Gentrification is the exact opposite of unity and strength, it’s chaos and suppression at it’s very base. Consider checking CUE Participants with Jen and Bonnie at Peaslee after learning more about the history of neighborhood. Credit: Gaelyn Sullivan THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 3 LOCAL | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 The Play Library Gretchen Marie Semancik Contributing Writers I magine a job that encourages imagination and playing all day long. Offering over 1000 games and toys, The Play Library gives families the opportunity to check-out and return toys instead of buying them. The mastermind behind The Play Library is Julia Fischer. Fischer says her inspiration behind a business based around “play” is that her greatest memories are of playing board games with her parents. “I just want parents to remember it’s the quality of time, not the quantity” spent together, she says. A graduate in visual communications from Washington University, in St Louis, Fischer began working at large toy companies as a designer. She realized that many companies were building toys out with inexpensive materials to reduce the cost of their products. Fischer felt toys are built with planned obsolescence, and thought she that was contributing to a “colorful landfill”. On March 15, The Play Library opened its own doors for the first time on Elm Street, in Over-the-Rhine. Fisher says she chose to open her store in OTR because of the diversity among the community. She says she “loves the fact that different people from different backgrounds come in here” and hopes that The Play Library will be able to make an impact on everyone in the community. The Play Library functions like a traditional library of borrowing and returning, but instead of books, the library lends toys. This gives families access to toys they may not be able to afford, or gives parents the chance to “test drive” toys before committing to buying them. The library offers a variety of items, like game night games, gamery games, art supplies, all kinds of toys for all ages, and seasonal outdoor equipment. According to Fischer, 90% of the games were donated from people all around Cincinnati, and from some from the big toy companies from which she had been a designer. Fischer bought toys and games, as well, so the library keeps up-to-date in the newest items available. During business hours, all the toys in the library are free to access. If parents wish to take toys home, they can rent them out for a fee. For special events, The Play Library will rent out special items like Big Jenga. In the past, Fischer and her Play Library have been part of events like the Kindness March that occurred downtown, on February 28, and is often found hosting events in Washington Park. On April 20, The Play Library in offering a “Beer and Board Game” National Day of Action to End the Housing Crisis Justin Jeffre O n a cold April 1st around 200 people assembled in front of City Hall for the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition’s rally to create an affordable housing trust fund to address our growing housing crisis. The rally was part of a national day of action where more than 100 other communities across the country, including in Washington D.C. on the national mall were also having demonstrations. Mary Burke Rivers from Overthe-Rhine Community Housing spoke about the growing need for affordable housing. A recent housing study shows that we have a shortage of at least 40,000 affordable housing units. In short, 55,600 households at zero to thirty percent of the area median income are trying to fit into 15,581 homes affordable to them. As a result, homelessness is on the rise. A lack of affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage are the primary causes of homelessness. Ashlee Williams spoke about her personal experience dealing with the need for affordable housing. She described how dehumanizing not having housing can be, that everybody is a human being and should be treated as such. She said if it weren’t for OTRCH she didn’t know what she would’ve done in order to be housed. Despite the fact that shelters never close and never stop working, they are bursting at the seams. Family shelters are forced to turn away about 75% of families with children seeking shelter. The women’s shelter is almost Editor & Staff Writer always full and having to turn people away. The young adult shelter is almost always full and having to turn people away. The men’s shelters are seeing record numbers. In spite of all of this, the numbers of people forced to live outside, including families with children are also increasing. According to the Homeless Coalition’s Executive Director, Josh Spring, “The only answer to this tragic, systematic problem is the construction and renovation of new affordable housing. There is no other way.” He continued, “Federal funds to do this work have already been cut and are currently on the chopping block. We must create a Local Affordable Housing Trust Fund or funds, administered by the Affordable Housing Rally Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 7 night for patrons 21 and up, and, on May 4, a “Star Wars” themed day for children and adults. Fischer hopes to host weekly events for toy lovers of all ages. To keep the play library free and accessible to everyone, Fischer registered as a nonprofit to receive grant funding and donations. In 2015, Fischer applied and received a Globe Grant from People’s Liberty, and was allotted space for 2 months in 2016 to first open her library in People’s Liberty’s store front. Fischer is actively recruiting volunteers to help run her Play Library. So far, she has trained 5 people, but could use many more eager hands to help. There are toy libraries all over the country supported under the USA Toy Library Association, but The Play Library is the first toy library of its kind in Cincinnati. Toy libraries are an example of a sharing economy and have a variety of benefits for children and their parents. These include: financial benefits, environmental benefits, social benefits and educational benefits. City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Such a fund would generate local revenue for the construction and operation of desperately needed affordable housing.” Adding, “If we do not do this, the situation will only become more desperate for many families and the city and county as a whole.” Longtime Streetvibes distributor, Lee McCoy, spoke about his personal experience with how City Hall and police criminalize poverty and people experiencing homelessness. Lee has been arrested while exercising his 1st amendment right to sell his (Continued on page 8) �8 LOCAL Photo Gallery: National Day of Action for Housing April 1, 2017 | Cincinnati, Ohio A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 Executive Director Josh Spring kicks off the rally The rally is calling for a permanent Affordable Housing Trust Fund Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Bonita Campbell informs the crowd about youth homelessness Lee McCoy shares his experiences with police and homelessness Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Bonnie Neumeier gives historical perspective of affordable housing crisis MUSE Singers support the crowd through song Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 7) newspapers. He also spoke about how he made a mistake 30 years ago that has prevented him from gaining employment and housing because of a felony for selling drugs in his distant past. Brian Taylor from Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati spoke about how the US has the money to pay for enough affordable housing, but chooses not to. He described how race and class play a factor in the lack of will to properly address this systemic problem. Leslie Moorhead, from the Cincinnati Health Network (and former director of development for the Homeless Coalition) spoke about how people experiencing Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik homelessness are more likely to have negative health outcomes. In 2015 the Homeless Coalition counted 58 people locally that had passed away as they experienced homelessness that we know of (the actual number is probably larger) - and in 2016 that number grew to 72. The number has been growing every year in the 6 years I’ve attended the Homeless Memorial held in Washington Park THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED every December. Other speakers included Sherri Allen from Interfaith Hospitality Network, Bonita Campbell from Lighthouse Youth Services, Allen Dicken from AMOS, Cleve Williams from Interfaith Workers Center, Chris Williams from Shelterhouse, and Phil Schneider from Volunteers of America. �WORLD Britain’s dark history of criminalising homeless people in public spaces No. 35 3 | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 9 BY VICTORIA COOPER AND DANIEL MCCULLOCH, THE OPEN UNIVERSITY S ince the onset of austerity in 2010, the estimated number of people sleeping rough in England has more than doubled, from 1,768 in 2010, to 4,134 in 2016. As the number of homeless people increases, while support services and hostels are diminishing, rough sleepers are becoming ever more visible in British cities. But rather than finding ways to accommodate the homeless, the UK government has sought to criminalise them. From archaic vagrancy laws, to the more recent Public Spaces Protection Orders Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo During this time, land privatisation was being rolled out on a mass scale, and hundreds of thousands of people who lacked the means to purchase property were displaced from their homes and prohibited from accessing the land they once lived on. Vagrancy laws criminalised access to land in cases where there was no contractual relationship, which gave police the power to arrest people who were not legally bound to property or land. These individuals were characterised as “incorrigible rogues” and “mobile anomalies” by the law, and punished on begging, which sanctioned homeless communities en masse. When the coalition government came to power in 2010, these civil orders were amended to give local authorities even greater powers over what people do in public spaces. In particular, Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), brought in under the 2014 Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, allowed local authorities to enforce on-the-spot fines for certain activities. Predictably, local authorities are applying these new powers to target homeless people by sanctioning of resistance against these antihomeless measures. Both campaigns by organisations such as Liberty, and individuals like the family who placed cushions over anti-homeless spikes in Manchester, are challenging the punitive measures adopted by local authorities. In some areas this has led to the successful withdrawal of PSPO proposals. In austerity Britain, these movements are gathering momentum and stirring up indignation about the uneven distribution of wealth, property and land. Some resistance movements are even occupying Homelessness crimimalised by Britain Credit: özge çağla aktaş/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND (PSPOs), governments have been passing new laws and reviving old ones which result in the punishment of people with no fixed abode. People without access to land or property are denied the freedom to roam, sit, eat, wash or sleep in public spaces. Or, where local authorities do lawfully permit street homeless people to access and use public spaces (for homeless camps, homeless shelters or day centres), these sites are routinely monitored by criminal justice agencies, bringing the homeless under direct surveillance and control. Modern day vagrants The criminalisation of the homeless can be traced back to 1824 and beyond, when vagrancy laws were implemented to control the spread of “urban poverty” at the height of the industrial revolution. with flogging, incarceration and even transportation to penal colonies such as Australia. Fast forward almost two centuries, and these antiquated laws – and imperious attitudes – are still very much with us. In the period from 2006 to 2014, the number of court cases for “vagrancy-related offences” in England increased by 70% – from 1,510 prosecutions to 2,365. The most noteworthy cases involved three men who were very nearly prosecuted for taking food waste from a supermarket refuse bin, and an operation in Sussex involving undercover police, which led to the arrest of 60 rough sleepers for accepting money from the public. Hostile streets This is the work of successive governments. Civil orders introduced under Tony Blair to target “streetcrime” effectively led to a clampdown what they do in public spaces: street drinking, begging, camping in parks, defecating and urinating and in some cases even sleeping. Not only do PSPOs criminalise the homeless, they also make these tactics appear as a local response to a perceived problem and avoids the exposure and opposition which national measures usually invoke. Yet PSPOs are not a local response: their use is widespread across England, and it’s increasing, with one in 10 local authorities now using PSPOs to criminalise homeless people. To make matters worse, private owners of commercial land are boarding-up shop doorways, erecting spikes and using possession laws to forcibly remove the homeless from commercial spaces. The fight for the right to exist Yet there have been moments THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED empty properties to make space for homeless people and homeless communities themselves are documenting their own daily struggle as they fight for the right to exist in public spaces. Homelessness itself is not yet a crime, but anti-homeless laws and strategies are restricting homeless people’s freedom, and turning everyday activities into punishable offences. Yet survival defines the daily lives of homeless people, and in the face of oppression they will find new ways to expose the violence and prejudice they encounter in the every day. Victoria Cooper, Lecturer in Social Policy and Criminology, The Open University and Daniel McCulloch, Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy, The Open University �10 NATIONAL Border Stories: Courageous Women I SR. NICOLE VARNERIN Contributing Writer ’ve noticed something a little different about the culture here in the Rio Grande Valley. I see a lot of women. Women are teaching, women are learning, women are immigrating, women are advocating, and women are making change. Most of the people at mass and working with the church are women. Women get things done in the valley. But then I ask, where are the men? The machismo culture present in the Rio Grande Valley accounts for the absence of men. Men and women are very much separate in the machismo culture, except of course when the man is satisfying his sexual desires. In the machismo culture, men have the right to satisfy their sexual desires in any way they choose and women are viewed only as objects to be controlled (1). To satisfy these desires and display their conquests to other machismos, men frequent bars and brothels with the mutual understanding that they will cover for each other. The job of the wife is to raise the children, keep the house, and provide moral respectability (2). But the job of the “outside wife” is to provide pleasure, excitement, and companionship (2). As a result, the men are rarely at home outside of work, but rather are out socializing at bars. While machismo does not describe all men in the valley, the culture is widespread enough that it is a part of life. Because women are left alone so often, they are expected to take care of everything. Women cook and clean, women work, women help their children with homework. To be a woman in machismo culture, you have to be strong and courageous. Oppression has not crushed women, oppression has made them subtly stronger so they can help create stronger future generations of women. Being left on their own creates an independence in the women of the valley. And it is a force to be reckoned with! These women have plenty to fear: abusive husbands, deportation, and border patrol. But these women have the courage to stand up to their husbands BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) approved by voters last November, the Child Poverty Collaborative, and Cease Fire, a program that works with shooting victims. City Hall, according to Tait, needs to get more involved in these three initiatives and to provide additional financial support. Finally, he averred that Council and Mayoral candidates must recognize the role that racism plays in Cincinnati. In order for effective initiatives to occur, who just arrived home from the bar and protect their children. Women have the courage to face our racist government and demand change. Women have the courage to do what has never been done before. They may put their own lives on the line, but it is worth helping others and creating a more just world. I want to introduce you to three of these inspiring women. All names have been changed for privacy. Maria: Maria is a woman in her midthirties. She is your average woman and often pulls back her dark curls into a pony tail. Maria has seven children, ranging in age from 1 year to about 14. Maria’s husband is verbally abusive and spends most of the day with other men who have drug and gang affiliations. Maria spends the day in a tiny pop-up trailer cooking, cleaning, and finding work where she can. She lives for her children and will do anything to protect them. She brings them all to mass on Sunday, without their father. She recently expressed her fear of her husband and what he might do to her and her children. When we brought her some information on domestic violence abuse she bravely stated, if it gets any worse I am telling my husband that I will leave him and I will call this number. I can’t imagine what strength it will take for her to leave and start new, but her children are too precious. Ramona: Ramona is a community leader. Her goal is to empower other women to make change. She lives by the motto, “We do not do for the people what the people can do for themselves.” The organization Ramona works for, ARISE, is led by all women. She believes that if we invest in women, teach them to read and speak English, use herbal medicines and other valuable information, then we will create a chain reaction. The women will teach their children what they have learned, and the community becomes a better place. Ramona is making these courageous women into leaders. But she is not doing it alone, what wisdom! he concluded, "the big elephant in the room (racism) must be dealt with." "The Appalachian community is still here!" These were the opening words of Mike Maloney, the first Executive Director of the Urban Appalachian Council. "Few people want to recognize us," he emphasized, but the failure to recognize urban Appalachians creates unnecessary divisions and resentments in our City. He cited the Child Poverty Collaborative as an initiative that initially ignored the existence of Cincinnati's Appalachians, a situation A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 Lisa and Carmen: Lisa and Carmen are 18 and 16 years old respectively. They work with Ramona at ARISE. They are a part of the organization’s youth advocacy program. These women, immigrants who live in a poor colonia, are lobbying the government for change to the environmental racism they are experiencing. The water treatment plant for a city north of their community has been filling their streets with a foul sewage smell for over 50 years. The smell can create health problems and often gives headaches to the residents living and doing what is in their heart. Their lives may be full of fear. They may fear their husband. They may fear leaving the house because of the increased presence of border patrol. They may fear being deported and separated from their family and lifeline. They may fear the conditions in which they are forced to live. But they continue to live. What other choice do they have? We, as citizens of the interior of our country, and as humans, may fear “the other”. But we need to continue to live. We need to not let our fear control us. We need to be courageous Sr. Nicole with Ramona from ARISE after participating in their border witness Credit: ARISE because of its strength. It is only in the past two years that anyone has been able to make a difference. This effort is entirely led by the youth and they have succeeded in the city promising to build an up-to-date water treatment plant which will solve the smell. Lisa and Carmen speak eloquently and passionately about the issue saying that they learned the invaluable skill of leadership through their involvement. To read more about their effort you can check out #southtowerpower and #stopthesmell on social media or read this article: https://texashousers. net/tag/south-tower-power/ Each of these courageous women inspire me. They make me want to be courageous too. But the most inspiring part? They don’t realize they are being brave. They just keep like Maria, Rosa, Lisa, and Carmen. What other choice do we have? Being constantly fearful is no way to live. Causing constant fear is no way to live. Sources: 1. Parker, Richard. “Behavior of Latin American Men: implications for HIV/AIDS interventions” International Journal of STD & AIDS. (1996); 7 (Suppl.2): 62-65. 2. Hirsch, Jennifer; Meneses, Sergio; Thompson, Brenda; Negroni, Mirka; Pelcastre, Blanca; Rio, Carlos.  “The Inevitability of Infidelity: Sexual Reputation, Social Geographies, and Marital HIV Risk in Rural Mexico.”  Framing Health Matters. American Journal of Public Health. (2007). Vol 97 (6). 986-996. that has now been rectified. Maloney questioned the usual establishment approach of creating "big solutions" to community problems. These huge initiatives, he said, usually fail to get to the neighborhood level. Consequently, neighborhoods such as English Woods and Lower Price Hill are ignored, and the people on the street fail to get assistance. Besides, Appalachians, Maloney stressed that Cincinnati's leadership is tending to ignore our new immigrants. Hispanics could be called our new Appalachians, and their diverse problems as newcomers must be taken seriously. Justin Jeffre and Mark Samaan concluded the panel presentations with a call to revive the area's declining public transit system. The SORTA-managed system, Jeffre noted, is basically a city bus system. For this reason, it does not have the capacity to transport people to jobs located in the suburbs. Thus, many under employed or unemployed THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 12) �No. 35 3 11 LOCAL SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 those homeless today. SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT Bonnie Neumeier I have a grave concern about how housing development is done in our City. Without policies that are both equitable and ethical, without concrete plans and incentives for racially and economically diverse and inclusive neighborhoods, we in essence are creating a concentration of the privileged and displacing persons with low incomes from our MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 7) hotter the western states were, but it is interesting that this is clearly an anomalous period. There were 11 years in a row with above average temperatures. Also, just like with the winter temperatures, there is a warming trend evident over the past few decades. The increased use of air conditioners over this period is partly due to their becoming less expensive, but it may also have something to do with the increase in summer temperatures. Of course I also looked at the annual average temperatures over this period, which is also shown. Again, the average temperature Contributing Writers urban core neighborhoods. SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT I have witnessed the decline of affordable housing both in the central business district and Over-the-Rhine and the West End and many other neighborhoods in this city. All of us benefit if we live in neighborhoods that value the strengths and assets that our people possess, even if we have only pennies in our pockets. In 1973 we opened a storefront on Vine Street to house persons experiencing homelessness, 25 – 30 mats for men. That number has grown huge over these 44 years, families with children are the face of I’ve seen the loss of single room occupancy units of housing disappear (the Milner, the Metropole, the Dennison). Gone. People can’t rent by the week in this city, that option no longer exists. When working day labor jobs or low wage jobs sometimes a worker can only afford a week’s rent. We also now have landlords opting out of subsidy when they catch the gentrification fever. (Continued on page 12) square miles, is going to break off in the next few months or year. Already there is a crack in it that is about 80 miles long. The chart showing the global data is in line with expectations from the previous data. There is indeed a warming trend evident, especially over the past few decades. The amount of warming is less than what we saw just for the contiguous United States, but that was for an area that is mostly land, while the global chart gives the average for both land and water. As one would expect, the vast amount of ocean has moderated the increase. The NOAA “Climate at a Glance” section allows one to select among Thermometer Credit: Michael Earl Patton varies from year to year, but now there is a strong trend towards warming, starting about 1970. The effect of the two very cold winters in the late 1970’s is still seen, but this time they do not dominate the chart. The “Dust Bowl” era is barely noticeable. This is not surprising as seasonal anomalies are now being averaged in with overall trends. The data show that there is a warming trend over the contiguous United States, but what about the planet as a whole? Before I show the data from NOAA, I want to point out that the first tourist cruise ship went through the Northwest Passage last year – a cruise ship(!), not an icebreaker. In the Antarctic, the Larsen A ice shelf broke up in 1995. It had formed about 4,000 years ago. From 1998 to 2002 most of the bigger Larsen B ice shelf disintegrated. It was at least 10,000 years old. Now, in 2017, it looks like about a tenth of Larsen C, meaning about 1,900 global temperatures for land, water, or both. I am including only the one for both since that is the one that is most truly global. The one just for land shows a larger increase; the one just for water, a smaller increase. Note also that the overall trend towards warming is not as jagged as the graph for the contiguous United States. And this was my first purpose in presenting these data. While there is a strong trend towards warming, when one looks at just one area of the planet there can be large variations from season to season and from year to year. So again, just because recent winters have been relatively warm (and gas supplies adequate), that is no guarantee for the future. In addition, hotter summers and the change from burning coal to burning gas for electrical generation will ensure even more usage during the summer, possibly crimping supplies for that winter. It would almost be irresponsible for me not to mention that the claim “global warming is a hoax” is not credible. There are too much data which are consistent with our own experiences and with events such as the break-up of Antarctic ice shelves THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED that had been thousands of years old, for such a claim to be taken seriously. For such a claim to be taken seriously, it needs to be presented with at least as much data as has been presented here. Instead, such claims are generally followed by some news item that it was abnormally cold or snowed in some part of the world on such a date or even a whole season. But anomalies are to be expected in localized places and restricted times. That is what the data show. That was what I started out to show. Some advice to skeptics: all that I have shown here was the existence of global warming, especially over the past few decades. I have not said anything about the cause. I have not shown that the cause is exclusively man-made, or even predominately man-made (although I do think that is the most likely explanation). Manmade causes are generally thought to be emissions of carbon dioxide and methane. Two of the possible natural causes are solar variations in the sun’s output and perturbations in the Earth’s orbit. Perhaps I will cover these some other time. In the meantime, my advice to skeptics is to not doubt the fact of global warming. There may be some room for debate as to the cause(s), especially how much contribution the different factors make. And there is more room for debate as to what our response should be. But there is no reason to doubt global warming itself. �12 LOCAL A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 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 BILL WOODS (Continued from page 10) Cincinnati residents have no way to connect with available factory jobs. Besides the affordable housing crisis, this gap in the public transit system ranks as a factor that keeps people in poverty. BONNIE NEUMEIER (Continued from page 11) SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT Our Public Servants sitting in the seats of power need to legislate our protection. As renters we are vulnerable to market forces. We need to require developers to do a percentage of affordable housing. This issue of affordable housing has been studied enough. We’ve got the data. We’ve had the data. AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS DWINDLING. We need action. SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT Our City needs to support equitable development, development without displacement. According to Samaan, "Our bus system does a poor job of connecting people to jobs and fails to efficiently move people to where they need to go. It is only convenient for those who have no other option, and because of that fewer and fewer people are using metro for travel and it connects to fewer places. Service cuts have made much of the region inaccessible without a 3 to 4-hour bus commute." Although a truly regional public transit system should be created, Jeffre declared that at the very least a levy is needed to attend to years of neglect. Citizens must convince City candidates that good public transit is essential, and that the great need of many people for effective transit should not be confused with the luxury of the streetcar. The Community Forum on April 13th features the Cincinnati Mayoral candidates. There are tools and resources that can help make things right. We need to push and support a Local Housing Trust Fund, create inclusionary zoning, and have an effective antidisplacement ordinance. Developers must be willing to enter in to Community Benefit Agreements. We have to get much more creative and use alternative models like Community Land Trusts. When plans are made in our communities without the peoples input and voice in decision making…. our needs and wants get overlooked. As renters, we call our neighborhoods our home. It’s not fair, it’s not just, that when the waves of gentrification overpower our neighborhoods, it’s the poor, the working poor whose lives get yanked around like their checker pieces. I long to see the day when I get a colorful postcard in my mail box that announces there are affordable housing units a plenty in our neighborhoods. they have lived simple lives on simple budgets. Down to earth, ordinary, common. Her giddy laugh lifted my spirits that morning. We need to do more for the commoners. Our people get that feeling they are not wanted when we see development that does not consider our needs and wants and prices us out of our neighborhoods we call HOME. SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT When I got this card in the mail from Coldwell Banker announcing a unit on Vine Street for $349,900 I remembered my neighbor, Gertrude. She lived at this address above what used to be Al Rohs Hardware store. Gertrude was 93 years old. One day she grabbed my hand while crossing Vine Street on her way to catch the bus. She says: Bonnie, I don’t think these new people want to live around us. They have good apartments, they look nice. But I don’t think they want to live around me. I’m thinking in my heart: Who wouldn’t want to live around Gertrude? It’s folks like her I want to live around. She’s open and honest. The stories people carry in their bones; THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED SOMETHING’S WRONG HERE, WE NEED TO RIGHT IT GET UP GET DOWN THERE’S A HOUSING CRISIS IN OUR TOWN (Bonnie Neumeier is a longtime community activist in Over-the-Rhine. This is a transcript of her speech at the April 1st rally for an affordable housing trust fund.) �No. 35 3 | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 13 STREET VOICE A DIVERSIONARY TWEET CAN YOU Looking to create some diversionary drama, Can You shut ‘em down? Does the world believe Trump Tweeted he was bugged by Obama. that this is the world’s solution? His accusation received a big media splash, Can you shut ‘em down? But then the F.B.I Chief declared it was trash. Now the real question is as sure as shootin', What are the ties between Trump and Putin? Contributing Writer Can you shut ‘em down? The free clinics, people homeless, Can you shut ‘em down? Crying Rain Looking out the window The rain is falling hard, and fast There are intervals of thunder Slashing ever so often And then it suddenly stops Until the next thunder slash appears It lets you know that God is, near So take heed Listen to his might Because thunder and rain, Will, be coming Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer now that’s pollution no more Drop Inn Center BILL WOODS KIM GREEN Keeping factory’s open with no work, Washington Park, the sanitation workers, I can’t help but litter Can you shut ‘em down? Over-the-Rhine was white, then it was black, I thought we were all together Can you shut ‘em down? I’m confused so tell Congress I really thought they knew better Can you believe in your heart that the decisions of our country are either Republican or Democratic? Can you believe that out of all the people in the world two simple parties be worthy of so much static? Can you close your eyes to the reality of the fear that has such a tight grip on our nation today? Can you keep living shut down and shut up? I’m baffled but not a loss for words I can honestly say For me, learning to live without doubt or fear in my life and keeping God so close to my heart I have no doubt that without God’s blessings this world is doomed to fall completely apart With much faith and without any regard for the Republicans or Democrats controlling my being Without any doubt what so ever today I know that almighty God is the only real thing So can you shut ‘em down? Now slow down and take the time to think, what do you really understand? You need to come back into the days of Adam and Eve and remember when only God ruled the land! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 122 Across 1. A collection of facts 5. Long narrative poem 9. Celestial body 13. Graphic symbol 14. Medium of communication 16. Currency of France 17. Mixture of smoke and fog 18. Particular environment or walk of life 19. Adjoin 20. Serf 22. Sail a zigzag course 23. Renown 24. Sanguine 26. Polynesian dance 28. Cuban dance 33. Relating to principles of right or wrong 36. Veneration 37. Uniform projections on a gear 39. Frozen 41. Cultivate by growing 43. Solid chemical element 45. Frost 46. Giant 48. Ashen 50. Container 51. Hurled 53. Rapidity 55. At the peak 57. Golf peg 58. Thin strip of wood or metal 61. Small stream 64. Cattle farm 68. Apiece 69. A news story reported first 71. Unaccompanied 72. Reverberation 73. Body 74. Ellipse 75. Intense or sharp 76. Trial 77. Part of the neck food Down 1. Particular item of prepared 67. One playing period in golf 2. The highest point of something 3. Implement 4. Domestic breed of goat 5. Epoch 6. Component 7. Notion 8. Something that is easy to do 9. Mariner 10. Brass instrument 11. Starch resembling sago 12. Memorization by repetition 15. Loose fiber obtained from unravelling old ropes 21. Portable shelter 25. Consider 27. Captain's journal 28. Handle of a tool or weapon 29. Look forward to 30. Mooring 31. Bobbin SODOKU PUZZLE NO 252 - MEDIUM 32. Garret 34. Legal excuse 35. Boundary 38. Possess 40. Abnegate 42. Long distance race 44. Rhythmicity 47. Mesh 49. Cervid 52. Least favorable outcome 54. Rationality 56. Looped edging 58. Look for 59. Decorative woven fabric 60. Dull pain 62. Traditional knowledge 63. Result of expenditure in excess of income 65. Type of star 66. Applaud 70. Cooking vessel PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 121 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 251- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 3 RESOURCES | A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Medical Van 352-6364 352-6363 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 1125 Bank Street 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 2121 Vine Street 45202 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Starting Over 961-2256 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network 15 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) Housing: 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 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 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Food/Clothing Health 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Our Daily Bread 621-6364 $100 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 558-8888 351-3500 977-4489 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 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 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 A p r i l 7 - A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 17 | N o . 35 3 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 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 GINA MARTIN CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GLENDA CANTRELL JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012 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 JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 LOTTIE MANNER MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 VICTOR MUMPHRY TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 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 2017 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 7-April 20, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Issues Council and Mayoral Candidates Need to Address Pg 3: Interconnectedness Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Weather Trends Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: The Play Library National Day of Action to End the Housing Crisis Pg 8: Photo Gallery Pg 9: Britain’s Dark History of Criminalizing homeless People in Public Spaces Pg 10: Border Stories Pg 11: Something’s Wrong Here, We Need to Right It Pg 12: Bill Woods Continued Bonnie Neumeier 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 7-April 20, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Gretchen Marie Semancik Justin Jeffre Bonnie Neumeier Sr. Nicole Varnerin Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Alice Schneider Gaelyn Sullivan ARISE Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alice Schneider ARISE Bill Woods Bonnie Neumeier Border Stories Britain city council Dr. Mark Mussman Gaelyn Sullivan GCHC Gretchen Marie Semancik Housing Crisis Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Mayoral Michael Earl Patton Photography Sr. Nicole Varnerin Voting Weather Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/54dae20c383f8ff8267b35ecbc384a5a.pdf 43eba449843ac0a5b22c512d8356ca20 PDF Text Text A u g 11 t h - A u g 2 4 t h 2 0 1 7 | V o l . 2 0 I s s u e 4 3 ( N o . 3 6 2 ) a d v o c at i n g j u s t i c e | B u i l d i n g c o m m u n i t y Photo by Dr. Mark Mussman A Donation Stations’ Solution Conflation week in, and there’s still no information to be found on their website. From that, we can only make the assumption that they were woefully unprepared for the project as they tried to rush it out as quickly as possible. But, as we all know, haste makes waste, and now people are confused as to the where this money is going to end up.... (Continued on page 3) This issue sponsored by (Former) Judge Mark P. Painter Inside this issue: Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Local: An Update on Redistricting Reform | 2 $2.00 donation Religious Peacemakers: A Minister to the Poor | 9 Local : The Good, Bad, and Strange of Recent Sanctions | 5 Photo Essay: Art by Dionna Flowers | 9 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org �2 LOCAL From The Director: Take Action H A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 JOSH SPRING ow many times do people stand or sit around talking about what is wrong in our community and what we should or should not do about it? Talk is important, but really only if it leads to strategy and action. It is hard to honestly say one believes in something that one does not put action in to. At the Homeless Coalition we try Executive Director to spend most of our time putting our convictions into action and empowering other people to join us. If there are situations you see around you that make you angry, don’t say to yourself, “Well, what can I do”. You can do something. And you can do even more if you gather people to join you. In fact, we would love it if you joined with us. If you have access to the internet you can go to our website, www. cincihomeless.org and sign up to receive updates from us. You can also attend our monthly meetings on the third Thursday of every month at 1:30. Also, feel free to call us at 4217803 or stop by 117 E. 12th Street. --------------------------------------- An Update On Redistricting Reform A BILL WOODS real grassroots initiative is underway in Ohio. A campaign to establish a new process for drawing Congressional district lines every ten years has attracted the support of citizen activists throughout the state. Veteran reformers are amazed by the number of volunteers involved and the number of signatures already collected to get the reform proposal on the ballot. After working behind the scenes for more than a year, the reform groups that comprise the Fair Districts Equal Fair Elections Coalition decided this spring to go public with their proposal. They had already produced a plan for Congressional redistricting reform, and after determining the Ohio General Assembly would not put it on the ballot, they drafted a citizen initiative to amend the State's Constitution. Faced with revising the summary of the proposal this May for Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Coalition was ready to begin collecting signatures by June. Between June and early July, the initiative campaign really took Contributing Writer off. Utilizing only unpaid citizen volunteers, over 100,000 valid signatures were collected. This total amounts to approximately one-third of the 305,591 signatures needed to qualify the proposed amendment for the ballot (ten percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election). It also includes signature gathering in all eighty-eight Ohio counties, and the involvement of over 2,400 volunteers. "This is incredible," declared Carie Davis of the Ohio League of Women Voters. "Historically, Ohio initiatives have gathered from 5 to 20 percent of their signatures using volunteers, having to rely on paid circulatory to collect the rest." Since the goal is to place the proposal on the November 2018 ballot, the Coalition has more than ten months to collect the rest of the signatures from the pool of registered Ohio voters. What has stimulated this impressive volunteer participation by citizens throughout Ohio? When asked this question, Catherine Turcer of Common Cause/Ohio pointed to two factors. "The extreme gerrymandering carried out by the Republicans in 2011," noted Turcer, "made average people much more aware of this unfair process. When given the chance to fix the boundaries for state legislators, 71 percent of the voters favored the reform amendment in 2015." Turcer's second reason focused on the current political climate. "Many citizen activists are quite unsettled by what is now going on in Washington, D.C. They are looking for something positive to do," she said, "and working to bring about a process that will provide Ohioans with fair Congressional districts fills that bill." Collecting signatures and educating the public about the need for redistricting reform will continue in the coming months. In Cincinnati, to pick up or drop off a petition, call the League of Women Voters (513281-8683) or Applied Information Resources (513-381-4994). To get an overview of how the campaign is going, go to fairdistricts.org. 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: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Larry Johnson, Anne Evans Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Steve Sunderland, Saad Ghosn, Justin Jeffre, Margaret Singer, Maria Orrosco, Fredi Martinez Morales, Nick Shellenberger, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/ Artwork: Michael Earl Patton, Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive, Dr. Mark Mussman, Woman's City Club, A. J. Newberry Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Community Issues Forum featuring Catherine Turcer Credit: Alice Schneider THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 36 2 LOCAL Donation Stations’ Solution Conflation | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 3 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer (Continued from cover) It wouldn’t be so bad except that we are seeing a double standard unfold right in front of our eyes, again. If we were to hold them truly accountable for their work, we would be shocked at how far their intent falls from the reality. Whether it be the loss of public space, the loss of affordable housing, the loss of SRO’s (single room occupancy buildings), the loss of black-owned small businesses, the loss of our identity, 3CDC and its cohorts have demonstrated time and again that they only have one priority, and that’s themselves and the wealthy. I could be talking about a number of their initiatives, but the one I’m fuming about this week (well, one of them, because the sale of the library’s North Building is certainly enough to make my blood boil) is the parking meters. WAIT! Before you think I’m complaining about parking, you know, participating in Cincinnati’s most active sport, I’m actually talking about the “Donation Station” meters that 3CDC, Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated, and the City of Cincinnati have placed in various places in the city. These meters stick out from the meters you typically see – they are larger and painted yellow. They don’t take credit cards or dollar bills, but they will take your coins. The meters are accompanied by a sign: Donation Station. Funds deposited here go directly to agencies that help our neighbors in need. By using this donation station, you will… • Provide food, shelter, and outreach services to our neighbors in need. • Fund service providers that help those experiencing unfortunate circumstances like homelessness, addiction, and poverty. • Be certain that your money is being used for something positive. The sign is emboldened with the City’s, 3CDC, and DCI’s logos as well – using the branding styles of the City and original streetcar design. Finally, a website is given to learn more. You might be wondering what is wrong with this setup, and you may think that this is a good thing. What I know, is that this is an intentional step to: • Help people feel good about their decisions to ignore people who panhandle. • Continue to vilify people who panhandle, by claiming they will use the money for something other than what you would consider “positive.” • Jumpstart the next round of attempts to further stigmatize and criminalize panhandling. • Dehumanize the issues related to poverty and homelessness by mechanizing the point of contact. There is absolutely no information on the 3CDC website regarding the program. We don’t know which organizations will benefit from the parking meters – I mean, Donation Stations. We are seeing a real-life double standard evolve directly in front of our eyes. Each year, almost like clockwork, leaders from the corporate side (Strategies to End Homelessness, Downtown Cincinnati Inc., etc.) write op-eds in the Enquirer or get on the news to say that giving to people who are panhandling is actually bad for the people who are receiving the money. They argue that the money is used a million dollars a year and know that on my watch people are losing their homes, that I had a hand in confirming stereotypes and creating a permanent untouchable class. Just for full disclosure, the Homeless Coalition’s entire operating budget is far less than half of the salary of one A Donation Station Meter on 3CDC's 12th and Vine Surface Lot Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman for drugs, and not for food or shelter. They argue that it would be better to give it to an organization, but specifically to the organization they represent. They demonize people who are struggling in a very difficult time while clearly saying that we don’t know where the money will go, just know that it’s for bad purposes. 3CDC’s website gives us no information as to where this money will go. It doesn’t show us that it will go to direct services or to programs. We don’t know if it will go to pay for these organizations’ half-million dollar per year salaries or if it will actually reduce homelessness. I personally, could not take home half employee at these other organizations – yet none of them are fighting for an affordable housing trust fund, or no fault eviction policies, or laws that protect people from abuse, or even for a restoration of the human services fund. They convene meetings and talk to stakeholders, yet they never directly address the issue – a lack of affordable housing. In all the work that 3CDC has done, they have not independently created a single unit of affordable housing. The meters do exactly what is intended – to distract you from the solution while stigmatizing the behaviors of those who seek your help. Sign Attached to Donation Station with Empty Website Link 3CDC's Donation Station Website Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 �LOCAL The Good, Bad, and Strange of Recent Sanctions No. 36 2 | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 5 MICHAEL EARL PATTON T he sanctions bill recently passed by Congress represents a toughening of sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea, or so we are told. The vote in favor was overwhelming – only 5 voted against it in both houses. President Trump – suspected of bias towards Russia if not outright collusion in the recent election -- called it “significantly flawed” but signed it anyways. Having done some research into the use of sanctions by the United States for a recent Streetvibes article (“Bankrupting the Enemy”), I was curious and looked into this bill to see what exactly it does. What I found surprised and puzzles me since the bill is not what the reporting led me to believe. I will explain, but first a little historical background is needed. For a hundred years, the authority to impose sanctions has rested with the president. During World War I in 1917 Congress passed the Trading with the Enemy Act, which gave the president broad powers to regulate trade and financial transactions during a declared war. When Franklin Roosevelt came to office in 1933 in the middle of the Great Depression, he asked Congress to amend the Act so that he would have the authority to also regulate financial transactions during a national emergency. The intent was to bring order to the economic chaos, including regulating banks and banning the private ownership of gold. Congress amended the Act, Roosevelt promptly declared a national emergency, and began to use his new powers. Before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United Contributing Writer his “fireside chats” on May 27, 1941. Because of this declaration and the 1933 amendment to the Trading with the Enemy Act, Roosevelt now had the authority to embargo virtually all trade and financial transactions with Japan, which he did. The stated intent was to hurt the Japanese economy so much that they would stop their invasion of China and withdraw their forces. Because of the war in Europe which consumed all available resources there, the United States had been by far Japan’s biggest trading partner. The embargo even extended to fertilizer, needed by Japan to grow enough food for their population. Whatever the real intent of the sanctions, Roosevelt’s action strengthened those in the Japanese government and military who rejected diplomacy and who wanted to broaden the conflict. On December 7 the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, which was then governed by the United States. This portion of the Trading with the Enemy Act, which allowed the president to impose economic sanctions without approval from Congress, was finally changed in 1976 following the Watergate scandal. Much of that power lives on in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), passed in 1977. President Carter had pleaded for its survival so that the president could act quickly and sweepingly in case of an emergency. These powers under the IEEPA have been used over 50 times. Existing sanctions, such as those against Iran, Russia, and North Korea, had been declared by the president. Workers installing solar panels. The solar panel market is blooming and Cincinnati looks to take a lead. Credit: Michael Earl Patton States was officially neutral in the conflicts involving Europe, Russia, China, and Japan. On his own, without any direction from Congress, Roosevelt declared an unlimited national emergency. He described this to the public in one of Contrary to press reports, the sanctions bill recently signed by President Trump still keeps that basic pattern with respect to Russia and, for the most part, Iran. The bill, called the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act,” is 70 pages and covers sanctions against those two countries, North Korea, and against terrorism in general. Half of the bill (35 pp) deals with Russia. Although press reports give the impression that it increases sanctions on Russia, any increase depends on the approval of President Trump’s administration. Here is one such example, taken from section 231, titled “Imposition of Sanctions with Respect to Persons Engaging in Transactions with the Intelligence or Defense Sectors of the Russian Federation:” “(a) On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of this Act, the President shall impose five or more of the sanctions described ... with respect to a person the President determines knowingly … engages ….. (b) The President may waive the initial application of sanctions … only if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees – (1) a written determination that the waver – (A) is in the vital national security interests of the United States; or …” This is very strange. The man who is being investigated for possible collusion with the Russians is in charge of determining whether others are helping the Russians! And further, he can prevent any applicable sanctions from being imposed! It is almost as if the bill were written with a different President in mind. The bill makes several accusations against Russia, such as that it is United States policy “to never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Government of the Russian Federation” (section 257) and that “[i]t is the sense of Congress that – the Government of the Russian Federation bears responsibility for the continuing violence in Eastern Ukraine, including the death on April 24, 2017 of Joseph Stone, a citizen of the United States working as a monitor for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe” (a landmine destroyed his vehicle). Is this the purpose of the bill – to reinforce the perception that Russia is our implacable adversary? The bill makes clear that the United States is concerned about European dependence on Russian natural gas and that the United States should export its energy to aid its allies. To which I reply, export what energy? True, facilities are being built to liquefy natural gas to export, the only problem being that there is not enough natural gas to do so. Currently the production and consumption of natural gas in the United States is roughly in balance. But as I wrote about in my article “Natural Gas Shortage Coming,” production is slowly going down and the number of drilling rigs in operation is not enough to maintain current production levels, let alone reverse it. As for oil, the United States THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED is a net importer of oil. There is some oil exported, but it is much less than the amount imported. The trends I wrote about in the March 24 – April 6, 2017 issue of Streetvibes continue today. The threat of sanctions here has worried our European allies, especially Germany. Their economic minister has even warned us that Europe might impose its own sanctions on the United States if we try to interfere with the construction of a new gas pipeline from Russia. The section dealing with Iran is much shorter – only about 10 pages. Sanctions are expanded against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, but the bill gives the president an “out” when it comes to other sanctions. The section dealing with North Korea is about 15 pages and concentrates on tying sanctions to United Nations resolutions. Interestingly, these have already been passed by the U.N. Security Council since the bill was signed. Russia and China went along with them, which implies that the preparation work had been completed by the time the bill was passed by Congress. There are a couple good things about the bill. One is that it makes clear that nothing shall be construed to authorize any sanctions relating to the use by NASA of Russian products or services, which is good because we depend on them to get our astronauts up into space (section 237). Another is that food, medicine, medical devices, or humanitarian assistance to Iran are exempt from sanctions (section 111). The worst thing about the bill is that there was no national debate about the bill, or even good information about what is in it. Only 5 voted no. Locally, only Senator Paul and Representative Massie, both from Kentucky, voted against it. No one apparently asked the European governments what they thought of the bill, especially when it came to the natural gas pipeline they want. This is ironic because section 109 mentions the importance of coordinating sanctions between the European Union and the United States. How many of us even heard about possible European retaliations? Sanctions, even the threat of sanctions, increase tension between countries. Keep alert to what may happen next. [Footnote: I find it noteworthy that the only two senators who voted against the recent sanctions bill were Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rand Paul of Kentucky. I don't think there are any two other senators who are farther apart on the ideological spectrum than these two. One is very liberal/socialist, the other is very conservative/libertarian. But they both have a reputation for following their own convictions on major issues. Congratulations to them both for not following the herd.] �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 �LOCAL A letter to our County Commissioners No. 36 2 | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 D STEVE SUNDERLAND ear Commissioners: Congratulations on the steps you have taken to implement the Indigent Care Levy's monies in Hamilton County. We applaud the creation of an able commission to review the Levy's history, and to review proposals for improving healthcare for the indigent in Hamilton County in the coming years. As a participant in the process, we have enjoyed talking with members of the Commission about the Cancer Justice Network's programs and our plans to reduce mortality from cancer in the indigent population. And, we believe that their recommendations to the Commissioners reflect their study of the past uses of funds and the opportunities for future funding. Our organization was not included in the final list of recommendations despite the fact that we have served only thousands of indigent people. Based on the report of the Commission, it appears that there will be little funding available for new programs. The lion's share of the funding will go to those organizations that received funding the last time. It is important to note that all of our organization's work is with the indigent as we try and reduce cancer mortality. We write to suggest that the questions raised by the Commission sidestep some important Contributing Writer considerations facing the indigent in Hamilton County. Prior funding decisions were made based on a world that didn't include the Affordable Care Act's impact on Ohio Medicaid. Hospitals, presumably, did need the monies to help pay for the costs of unpaid bills for treating the indigent. With the ACA in full operation in Ohio, the Commission's report indicates that neither hospital needs the monies for these concerns. In fact, again according to the report, the levy monies represent a tiny portion of very successful budget operations. Because of this infusion of monies, and the likelihood of continuation of ACA, the funding of the hospitals for the unpaid services is unnecessary. Moreover, it was not clear from the consultant's report how much of the Levy actually touched the indigent's needs. The changed situation facing the indigent's bills mean that these monies can be directed to programs that will directly improve the lives of individuals and families. Such a new focus can make a major difference in life expectancy, disease management, and disease prevention. For example, the Cancer Justice Network (25 health and human service organizations) has seen over 4,000 low income adults in the past 6 months in cancer prevention dinners at Christ Church, Churches Active in Northside and other agencies working with the poor. We are making a difference in our outreach to indigent people and to navigating them to timely cancer screening and treatment; indeed, we are the only educational outreach on healthcare in Hamilton County. We believe we could represent a fine use of Levy monies, indeed, a life and death use of monies for the indigent. We suggest that the Commissioners apply new questions to agencies seeking the funds to assist the indigent. These questions open up the discussion for transparency about the connection between funding decisions and positive outcomes for healthcare for the indigent. At present, there are assumptions that funding will help but there is an absence of clarity about the direct correspondence between agency goals and outcomes. The questions we would urge you use are the following: 1. What programs to be funded have explicit goals for helping the indigent with improving life expectancy from the diseases of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes? 2. What outcomes in terms of these diseases are expected from any healthcare agency in each of the three years? 3. Who is accountable for Climate Change and Cincinnati’s Efforts to Combat the Issue I 7 NICK SHELLENBERGER n June, President Trump decisively withdrew from the Paris Agreement. This agreement, within the United Nations Framework, outlines a comprehensive plan that addresses climate change worldwide. The plan is supposed to take effect in the year 2020. The United States joins Nicaragua and Syria as the only nations to oppose this historic deal. Many leaders throughout the U.S. oppose the President’s decision; including Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. “I strongly opposed (the withdrawal),” said Cranley in a June 28 press conference. “We had a press conference at City Hall immediately about joining the mayors’ alliance to keep the Paris Contributing Writer Agreement going. We will stand up for a clean city and environment, regardless of what President Trump does.” The announcement by President Trump put into action the Compact of Mayors; a global coalition of city leaders promising to tackle the climate crisis. The coalition was launched in 2014 by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Their goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions substantially and prepare for future issues of climate change. In 2008, Cincinnati City Council passed the Climate Protection Action Plan that is now known as the Green Cincinnati Plan. Its goal is to reduce “Breakdown Stereotypes” the city’s gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. The plan listed roughly 80 recommendations of ways the city could address the issue. One of the main focuses of the plan was reducing gas emissions and the dependency on non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels while supporting job creation and the local economy. Additions in 2013 added to the framework of the original plan; incorporating new chapters on outdoor recreation and water. The plan had a goal of reducing emissions by 40% within 20 years. That seemed like a reasonable goal at the time but new numbers show that city leaders might have underestimated our great city. According to recent reports city reaching these goals within the healthcare systems? 4. How does Levy monies work with the hospital community benefit programs?  5. What kind of accountability for the process of implementation exists within the Commissioner's office? The answers to these questions will reassure the voting public that the Levy will continue to be vital for health needs of indigent people in Hamilton County.  The public is confused about healthcare funding in general, the different ways the hospitals receive funds, and the ways these funds wind up helping the poor. Very little is transparent about doctor's fees, hospital and drug costs, and whether insurance will truly assist people in need. Providing clarity about the Levy's funding goals and your method of accountability will offer citizens a clear picture about why the renewal of the Levy is so critical for all of Hamilton County's poor. We will call your offices for an appointment to elaborate on these ideas.  We want you to know that we in the Cancer Justice Network believe that Hamilton County can be a national leader in healthcare for the poor and we will work with you for the passage of this critical levy. In peace, Steve Steve Sunderland, PhD, Director Peace Village Cancer Project/Cancer Justice Network government reports, greenhouse emissions have shown a 36% reduction since 2008. As global climate statistics increase, Cincinnati is making strides to become the greenest city in the Midwest. Last year the City of Cincinnati teamed up with the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA), to launch Solarize Cincinnati; a program to bring affordable solar energy solutions to our city. “Solar has the potential to transform our communities by creating family sustaining jobs, reducing homeowner expenses, and conserving the environment,” said Flequer Vera, CEO of Sustainergy. Renewable energy is the future but investment into that field needs to happen in order for it to become a reality. The GCEA does just that. They partner with local governments and foundations to reduce the barriers of investment in renewable energy. “It’s good for the environment (Continued on page 12) “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �8 RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS A Minister to the Poor: Father Thomas Bokenkotter Is an Academician Turned Activist “G A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 SAAD GHOSN rowing up I couldn’t help being religious,” says Reverend Thomas Bokenkotter. “My parents were deeply religious and greatly influenced me, as did the general climate of our household. For me a big part of religion is how we respectfully relate to each other, accept each other… and this I was taught from a very young age”. Bokenkotter was raised Catholic, one of 7 children. As a child he served as an altar boy, showing up to mass early every morning, learning liturgical Latin, in constant contact with priests. “I grew up with religion; it was part of my genes…,” he says. When he graduated from his Catholic High School, he decided to become a priest and entered the seminary. “It was an easy decision for what seemed a natural path. I had no questioning about my vocation and enjoyed the studious, spiritual and pious atmosphere of my new setting.” Bokenkotter’s religious education took him to Rome and to the prestigious University of Louvain in Belgium where he earned a doctorate degree in history; it deepened his understanding of Catholicism and of other religions. Back to the States, he taught for many years at the seminary, then at Xavier University, and spent most of his time writing religion-based books among them the bestselling “A Concise History of the Catholic Church”. At the beginning Bokenkotter’s orientation and activities were purely academic. His writings owed him the label of “liberal”, a term of reprobation by some, due to his critical views of the conservative Church. His studies and research, however, quickly proved to him that, even if conservative in many ways, the Catholic Church, thanks to the teachings of Christ and the gospels, remained at the forefront of social Contributing Writer justice. He found that throughout centuries and various revolutions, many Catholics played an important role in the struggle for democracy and social justice and thus indirectly shaped the Church’s social doctrine. In his book “Church and Revolution”, he traced the steps of fifteen of them from the last two centuries. He started with Lammenais, the French priest who during the French Revolution, countered the position of the Church, siding with the people against the monarchy, and included portraits and stories of other determining figures, such as Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero; Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement; Emmanuel Mounier, leader of the Personalism movement; Konrad Adenauer, the German Christian Democrat statesman. When the 60s arrived and with them the Vietnam war and the widespread civil turmoil in the country, Bokenkotter left his academic ivory tower. One of his students, Father John Bank, introduced him to the United Farm Workers movement, and to the injustice the migrant workers in California were facing. Bokenkotter studied their condition and convinced of their cause started picketing at Kroger stores across the city, urging buyers not to purchase California grapes. This passive resistance action soon succeeded in forcing negotiations for better working conditions of the farmers and ultimately led him to participate, through the mid 70s, in various anti war and anti racial demonstrations, including, among others, protests against the shooting at Kent State University, and against Nixon’s visit to Wright Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio. “I spent the late 60s and 70s working as an activist for various peace and justice causes,” says Bokenkotter. “But when the war ended, the climate in the country What is Roman Catholicism Roman Catholicism is a Christian religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and his disciples. Its members and churches, spread all over the world, comprise the Roman Catholic Church, led by the Pope considered the “infallible” successor of the apostle Peter; it is the largest Christian church with over a billion adherents, half of all Christians worldwide. Catholics believe in the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the inspiration of the Bible. Their worship is centered on the sacrament of the Eucharist, whereas the blessed bread and wine are transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ. Important teachings of Catholicism are love, forgiveness, charity, peace and justice, as instructed by Jesus in the gospels: “I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34); “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:6-9) changed and it became difficult to get young people to demonstrate. I thought I needed to serve in a different way.” Visiting a Dorothy Day House in NYC and experiencing the soup kitchen it was offering the homeless and the poor, Bokenkotter returned to Cincinnati where he assessed a big need for such a service: “I found out that in Over-The-Rhine (OTR), downtown Cincinnati, 80% of the people lived in poverty, often malnourished; this was 1976.” The Over-The-Rhine Kitchen, the oldest Soup Kitchen in Cincinnati, was then established with the help of few volunteers and just $700 in the bank. Located in the heart of OTR, it serves currently over 77,000 free hot Father Thomas Bokenkotter meals per year and has received, not too long ago, a several million dollars bequest from a supporter woman. In 1980, appointed pastor of the Assumption church on Gilbert avenue in Walnut Hills, Bokenkotter converted the then empty old catholic school across the street into a transitional living facility for homeless women and children in crisis; it also had a food pantry and a soup kitchen in its basement for the residents of the facility and individuals and families of the neighborhood. Renamed The Tom Geiger Guest House in1984 after a student of Bokenkotter who was instrumental in the operation of the first kitchen and who died suddenly at age 33, it now includes 42 apartments. The Walnut Hills Kitchen serves in excess of 65 000 free hot meals a year and the pantry provides grocery and food for more than 5000 individuals and families. Throughout the years, Bokenkotter has also been involved, with his racially diverse parish, in numerous community activities. “I am on the side of anyone who wants to make things better,” he says, “and that’s what I encourage in my parishioners.” He always wanted to create a support Center for black youth to gather, exchange, learn, find needed help; unfortunately he has not been able to realize his dream project due to a debilitating health and an advanced age. All along Bokenkotter maintained as well his writing and other academic endeavors. For several years and until 2 years ago, he held regular monthly educational meetings with a small group of faithful individuals discussing theology, church history and contemporary issues. One of their topic was the crisis of authority facing the church due to a fast changing world. “The church has to adjust to the 21st century,” he says. “It has to Credit: Saad Ghosn listen to its members, be less rigid and more accepting when it comes to issues of sexuality, role of women, other religions… Opposing opinions from revisionist theologians should be given due consideration and not just silenced and censored.” Bokenkotter must have been thinking of the condemnation of his own book “Dynamic Catholicism” by the previous Pope because it listed divergent viewpoints on some controversial matters. He is, however, ecstatic at the progressive position and open attitude of the current Pope Francis on many of these contemporary issues. Bokenkotter's life has always been permeated by the gospels’ teachings and examples of the saints; they dictated all along his actions for Social justice and peace and led him to dedicate his ministry to the needs of the poor. Now ninety two years old he is no longer in charge of a parish, also less socially active. He remains, however, strongly committed to a better, equal and just world. --------------------------------------- Religious Peacemakers is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs for peace and justice. Saad.Ghosn@uc.edu is the founder of SOS (Save Our Souls) Art, an organization that promotes arts as vehicles for peace and justice and for a change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 36 2 | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 PHOTO ESSAY Art By Dionna Flowers THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 September 8 - 30, 2017 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. 36 2 | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 11 �12 LOCAL What does it mean that Cincinnati is a Sanctuary City? A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 JUSTIN JEFFRE W hat does it mean that Cincinnati is a sanctuary city? Wikipedia defines a sanctuary city as one “that limits its cooperation with the national government effort to enforce immigration law. Supporters of sanctuary cities argue that enforcement of federal law is not the duty of localities.” Defenders of this type of resistance are motivated by stories like the ones Editor & Staff Writer you’ll read in this special Streetvibes series of children and adults fleeing horrifying circumstances in their native lands. These true stories have been provided by Margaret Singer of the Su Casa Hispanic Center. Founded in 1997, Su Casa is a program of Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio which serves Hispanic/Latino immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families. “During 2014 and 2015 I was working with Su Casa Hispanic Center and specifically with unaccompanied minors from Mexico and Central America. Most of these children had not seen their mother or father for about 10 years or more. Imagine being a mother, and one day, late in the afternoon, you receive a call from an immigration official on the border. He says, ‘Do you know a child by this name? Is this your child? When is Margaret's Picks his/her birthday?’, etc. “A few hours later the child calls. On hearing the voice of a child she hasn’t seen for so many years a mother’s heart drops and she cries and tries to talk. She tries to say, ‘Yes, I’ll pay for the ticket so you can come home to Cincinnati! I…I’ll have the money for the plane ticket in a month.’ By now both the child and mother are crying and they cannot believe what is happening. ‘Que solo Dios es tan grande!’ proclaims MaMa. “Why do unaccompanied minors leave their grandparents or other relatives to make this very dangerous trip through Guatemala or the country they are from to reunite with their parents?” following my niece. They once offered her a ride, which she refused. She took the bus, and then was stalked and was forced to call the police to escort her from a supermarket. The police questioned her about the men, and she described them as tattooed members of the Salvatrucha. Where we lived, the Salvatrucha dominated. That was June 8th. She was taken to our house by the police. We left on June 11th at 4 a.m. to get our passports from San Salvador. We never returned to the house. We learned that it was surrounded by the police. The Mara had been shooting at the house, and the neighbors had called 911. We decided to leave El Salvador. There had been a number of attacks against the police, not just where we lived but all over the country. It is common knowledge in El Salvador that most of the policemen are corrupt and that the honest ones and their families are targeted. Many, if not most, of the honest policemen are leaving if they haven’t already left. Maria Orrosco My daughter and I left El Salvador to immigrate to the United States because we were being threatened in Soyapango by the Salvatrucha (gang). They threatened me because my husband was a policeman and they didn’t want police in the community. They said they would keep pressuring us until we left and that if we did not leave, they would kill us. My daughter, niece, and I were in danger. I had a little store where I sold food supplies and items people used at home. Before we decided to move, a boy would threaten me by telling me his boss wanted to talk with me on his phone. I would ignore him, but he began to regularly arrive and the threats became louder and louder. He would say I needed to talk with his boss and I needed to pay him what he wanted or they would do something that we would not like. My husband worked four days and would have four days off. Sometimes when he was working, men would get on our roof and shout insults, threatening to kill my daughter, niece, and I. Different men would watch us on our roof too. One time when my husband was home (he wasn’t supposed to leave until 3 o’clock), three men tried to get into the house, using some keys. We deadbolted the door so, luckily, they couldn’t come in. As my husband left for work, my dog ran out of the house and chased them off into the garden. We called the police, and the suspicious men left our yard, but when the police left the property, the men returned fifteen minutes later. I put the deadbolt back on the door and hid in the back room until it was light. This all happened in April 2011. The next day, some Salvatrucha took up residence in the houses next to and behind us. One could smell the marijuana day and night, and they were loud and insulted us. They kept digging in their backyard. I was not sure if it was to bury a body or to build a tunnel into my house. This was when my husband and I decided to leave. We transferred to Usulutan, and my husband continued working in the delegation of Soyapango located in Ilopango. I opened a store in the new town. Once again, a boy about eight years old came into my new shop with a telephone. He told me his boss wanted to speak with me. I told him no, I had no boss, and I refused to talk to him. He left and came back about half an hour later and told me in vulgar language that his boss had said I would suffer the consequences. He said I would pay with what I valued most. I understood him to mean my daughter. And he said that they knew my husband was a “jura” (policeman). This is when they started Fredi Martinez Morales I am Fredi and I am 15 years old. I was born in Cruz de las Barrancas, a village of the city Tacana, Department of San Marcos, Guatemala. When I was almost 13 years old I traveled to Tapachula, Mexico, so I could work and earn some money. I worked there as an assistant to a cook in a restaurant for two years. Then I went back to Guatemala, stayed there for a month, then decided I wanted to leave Guatemala and immigrate to the United States despite the fact that my parents did not want me to go. I arrived earlier this year. I have two younger sisters, 7 years old and 10 years old. I had been able to study through the 6th grade, but not any further because my family is very poor. Also school was only in the mornings because of the potential dangers as the day progressed. I needed to help my parents. When I was born we had a house and there were three rooms and it had been built on a slope. Approximately one year ago it rained really hard and one of the rooms was carried away by the heavy rains and another room was full of mud and debris. We were able to more or less restore the two rooms after the heavy rains but the third room was gone. We cultivate potatoes and corn at our home in San Marcos. Unfortunately, here in Guatemala it is cheaper for our people to buy potatoes and corn from the United States than to buy it from our own farmers. Because of things like this we will never get ahead. Another reason I decided to immigrate even though my parents did not want me to, was because of the violence that exists in Guatemala. In San Marcos several neighbors have had their houses broken into. The closest neighbors to our family were gone one evening and when they returned a window was broken out and thieves had entered their house. Also one evening I was with my father in our truck and we saw another vehicle shine its lights on a couple of men who were attacking a friend of mine as he walked down the road by himself, going home. The two thieves quickly left and my friend was OK. He realized that he should not walk alone late in the evening. No one does any more, but of course some of us take chances. In Tapachula when I lived there I would be approached by young men involved in drugs. They wanted me to work with them. I never wanted to do that. Finally I decided to catch a bus through Mexico to Agua Prieta on the border of the United States and Mexico. Because I am taller than many Guatemalans I told Mexican officials I was from Mexico and they never questioned anything. They did not ask me for papers nor did they ask me any questions about Mexico. I was scared the whole time when the bus stopped in Agua Prieta but I got to stay on the bus and it went on into the United States. There the bus was stopped by US officials and I was taken to a place where there were children. It was not a very nice place. It was like the structure was made out of nets, and rooms were divided by nets. In two weeks I was able to contact my brother-in-law in Cincinnati. He did the paper work and in two more weeks I was in Cincinnati. I am happy to be here with my sister and brother-in-law. Pulling out of the Paris Agreement was clearly a bad idea but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Local governments and communities across the country are now taking matters into their own hands. The climate crisis is one of the major threats we face today and must be dealt with immediately. If our President doesn’t see it that way, at least it is comforting to know many of our other leaders do. NICK SHELLENBERGER (Continued from page 7) and it’s good for our pocketbook…this is a win-win.” said Mayor Cranley. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED --------------------------------------- �No. 36 2 13 STREET VOICE | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 BILLS THE VERY BRIEF WEST WING Here comes another one, Just like the other one, Bills Work hard today Pay a bill tomorrow It’s tiresome, and you still have to borrow Can’t save anything for tomorrow Bills, everyone has them Some, live on the streets, to do without them The rich, the poor CAREER OF THE MOOCH The expletive deleted, the expletive deleted! The Mooch loves to use the expletive deleted. He called Reince Priebus an "expletive deleted." He said Steve Bannon likes to "expletive deleted." Will Trump's foes and critics now feel cheated, If they aren't Tweeted with an expletive deleted? Everyone, needs a little bit more Rent, phone, electric bills, and miscellaneous, BILL WOODS Contributing Writer It’s all so strenuous Bill collectors call and say, Are you gonna make a payment today? Don’t you wish your bills would go away? Then we could all have a happier day. KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer 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 CINCINNATI 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 INTRODUCE 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 AT FINDLAY MARKET WHERE MY LIFE FOUND A NEW DIRECTION THE DAY THE COALTION 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 VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 131 Down Across 1. Sleigh 1. Angle 2. Green acidic fruit 6. Plaza 3. At another time 10. Military signal 14. Large commercial ship 4. Gauze 5. Stride 15. Chills and fever 6. Chart 16. Adjoin 7. Matured 17. Give expression to 8. Relating to the moon 18. Writing implements 9. Unit of instruction 19. Tree trunk 10. Restaurant bill 20. Relating to the teeth 11. Approximately 22. A quick run 12. Throb 24. Employ 13. Direct the course 25. Parts of the Roman 21. Let for money calendar 23. Something intended 27. Adult male chicken to deceive 29. Complete duration of 26. Fragrance something 28. Secret agent 32. Perform 29. Decelerate 34. A short sleep 30. Rain heavily 35. Yearn 31. Not in favor of 36. Appear 33. Singing voice 38. Woody plant tissue 37. Wall painting 42. Baseball term 39. Decorative fabric 43. Boredom 40. Flair 45. Beer 41. Repair 46. Correspond 44. Block of metal 49. Ripped 50. Make a wide sweeping 47. Metallic element 48. Give out search of 50. Relating to stars 51. Mischievous fairy 52. Ship's officer 53. Tatter 55. Computer failure 54. Look after 56. Quantitative relation 55. Part of the skull 57. Circular coral island 59. Misplace surrounding a lagoon 61. Rodent 58. Large imposing 62. Snare house 64. Rudder lever 60. One of the senses 68. At the peak 70. A small secluded room 63. Insect stage between larva and adult 72. Gauntlet 65. Strong positive 73. Part of a window emotion 74. Catch sight of 66. Level or straight 75. Sheltered port 67. Rive 76. Associated with a 69. Travel a route divine regularly power 71. Swindle 77. Harvest 78. Tendency PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 130 A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 261 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 260- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 36 2 RESOURCES | A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 1125 Bank Street 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 2121 Vine Street 45202 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Starting Over 961-2256 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) Housing: 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 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 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Food/Clothing Health 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Our Daily Bread 621-6364 $100 for 26 issues Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 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 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 Medical Van 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Shelter: Family 15 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 A u g 11 - A u g 2 4 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 2 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource August 11-August 24, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Donation Stations’ Solution Conflation Pg 2: From the Director An Update on Redistricting Reform Pg 3: Donation Stations’ Solution Conflation Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The Good, Bad, and Strange of Recent Sanctions Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: A Letter to Our County Commissioners Climate Change and Cincinnati’s Efforts to Combat the Issue Pg 8: A Minister to the Poor Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 12: What Does it Mean that Cincinnati is a Sanctuary City? 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 August 11-August 24, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Steve Sunderland Saad Ghosn Justin Jeffre Margaret Singer Maria Orrosco Fredi Martinez Morales Nick Shellenberger Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive Woman's City Club A. J. Newberry Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF A. J. Newberry Bill Woods Climate Change Donation Stations Dr. Mark Mussman Fredi Martinez Morales Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Margaret Singer Maria Orrosco Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive Michael Earl Patton Nick Shellenberger reform Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones Woman's City Club https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/8a8d168223fed127400010d82c7acfbd.pdf a55472e7956094a944bec8b00c836c38 PDF Text Text December 1st - December 14th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 51 (No. 370) advocating justice | building community As Options Dwindle For Children: Coalition Members Create Opportunity | 5 This Issue is sponsored by (Former) Judge Mark Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Remembering Bobbie Sterne | 2 Earthquake Risk Keeps Heat on Vulnerable Nuclear Reactors | 11 Religious Peacemakers: Jennifer Morris | 8 Five Easy Places To Ride the Bus in Cincinnati | 9 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: Free-Market Means Profit At Any Cost JOSH SPRING P eople are being forced from their homes and affordable housing is being lost at an increasing rate in Cincinnati. We are being sought after by people being told they have to leave their homes due to the conversion of their homes to expensive housing at such a rate that it can be hard to even keep up with the list. We are learning of threats to households’ affordable housing and the quantity of affordable housing overall at a rapid pace. Already we are involved in organizing with: Tenants at seven properties with 750 homes owned by the out of town slumlord Puretz family, Tenants at the 100 apartment Parkway Tower, six households in townhomes in Walnut Hills, the Jurisdiction Resident Advisory Board (JRAB) in organizing with Tenants at properties totaling more than 600 homes and growing. These numbers will likely increase by hundreds over the next several months. The market is doing what the market does; making profit at any cost. Generally, the market and its developers don’t care if that profit comes at the cost of forcing people from their homes, increasing the already increasing numbers of people without homes, breaking up communities, making it more difficult for children to learn because of the regular uncertainty of housing, decreasing the health and life-span of B Executive Director people because of homelessness, etc. Companies can and are buying buildings and telling people they must leave because they are converting it to condos. Companies are increasing rents to the point that current Tenants cannot afford them. Companies are removing neighborhood-serving businesses and placing touristy, expensive restaurants, bars and breweries in their stead. Companies are renovating homes into expensive housing, thus increasing the market value of the property and getting an abatement on that value increase from the city for ten to fifteen years, while their neighbors’ property taxes increase to the point that they can no longer afford their homes. Our county has the tenth largest number of evictions annually in the entire country. And of course, the number of people in shelter, seeking shelter and living outside is increasing. There are plenty of people who say they think capitalism is the best economic system and the free-market is a part of freedom. Capitalism and the free-market work to keep us in bondage to a profit. In the freemarket people are not people, people are a means to a profit; whether that be the people purchasing the product, the people making the product receiving a low wage or the people displaced in order to make the product and thus the profit. People say that competition in the free-market benefits the “consumer”. Take note of words like “consumer” instead of people. Competition in general can be good, except in the capitalist free-market the competition is about making the company profit not about better service to people. We are taught that if two companies make and sell the same product and one of the companies sells an inferior version of that product, “consumers” will choose to purchase the superior product and the company cutting corners will improve the quality of its product or go out of business. Even in this flawed explanation, providing quality for people is not the motivation, getting people to pay the company and as a result render a profit is the motive. But the primary reality is even worse. Do you really (Continued on page 5) REMEMBERING BOBBIE STERNE obbie Sterne died the day before Thanksgiving. The first woman to be elected Mayor by Cincinnati's voters, her long Council career was distinguished by her leadership in support of progressive and reform policies. She must now be included in that small group of Charterite good government icons like Murrray Seasongood, Charles P. Taft, and Theodore M. Berry. I first met Bobbie Sterne in the summer of 1963. Fresh out of college, I had through a bit of luck landed a job with the Charter Committee writing press releases for several of its minor candidates. She was doing volunteer work in the Charter office, and I remember enjoying a number of conversations with her. Already very knowledgable about city issues, she was focused on electing Dorothy Dolbey and Theodore Berry to join BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Bobbie Sterne Credit: Google Images Charles Taft, the only Charterite then on Council. Eight years later, she won a Council seat, and except for a few years off, she served on this body until 1998. Sterne soon became a D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Larry Johnson, Anne Evans Maintenance: Pete Roper ----------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE recognized leader on Council, and in 1976, her Charter and Democratic Council colleagues elected her Mayor. At that time, the Mayor chaired City Council, and the members selected their chairperson. I caught up with Bobbie Sterne's career when I returned to Cincinnati in 1977 after teaching at Wilmington College. Once again, the Charter Committee put me to work developing issues and cultivating press coverage for Councilman Tom Brush, Charlie Taft's replacement who was seeking to win the seat on his own. Bobbie Sterne's City Hall office was next door to Brush's, and the Councilwoman and her staff served as invaluable mentors to our operation. Sterne was already known for initiating policies to establish health care clinics and services for low income residents, (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jason Haap, Steve Sunderland, Saad Ghosn, Harvey Wasserman, Andy Shenk, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, The Jubilee Campaign, Saad Ghosn, Metro.com, Harvey Wasserman --------------------------------------------------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. 37 0 A LOCAL As Options Dwindle for Children: Coalition Members Create Opportunity | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 3 DR. MARK MUSSMAN few years back, I was told that the Emmanuel Community Center closed because “there weren’t enough kids in the neighborhood anymore” to sustain the programming. Almost 20 years ago, I volunteered there and helped to infuse what I was learning through the Peace Education program at the University of Cincinnati into the activities. I was also assisting in an afterschool program at Vine Street Elementary where we focused on art that addressed community and individual trauma. It was both refreshing and difficult to work with Antronette Black FLOTR Program Director Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman children – refreshing to take in their energy and difficult, soul crushing to see their pain. Today, there are only a handful of programs that focus on children in Over-the-Rhine. Peaslee’s Agents of Change, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing’s Children’s Creative Corner, Our Daily Bread’s afterschool program, Imani Center’s programs, and Future Leaders of Over-theRhine are all programs hosted by Homeless Coalition Member Organizations. We are lucky to have such programs in our community, but often the work they do is overlooked and minimized because of sexism, racism, and constraints related to poverty. Recently, I was fortunate to sit down and have a conversation with Antronette Black, the program director of Future Leaders of Overthe-Rhine to learn more about their program. Future Leaders of Over-theRhine is currently hosted at First Lutheran Church, on Washington Park. As First Lutheran goes through a huge renovation project, the days are numbered for Future Leaders Staff Writer at their current location. The need for accessibility of the old church will cause the small building where Future Leaders has been for the past few years to be retrofitted for accessibility options, like an elevator and ramp. Future Leaders is seeking a new home, please contact Antronette ASAP if you have any leads. The Homeless Coalition began working with Future Leaders a couple years back after one of the participants witnessed someone destroying an encampment under a bridge in Walnut Hills. The Future Leader spoke about the incident and desired to learn more about homelessness, so we got involved by doing much of our programming (Speaker, Tour, Streetvibes Shadow) and then some. We spent a wintery Saturday in a Lock-In where we focused on activities to put things in perspective – whether it be economics, social services, or simply empathy. The students became the teachers at some point, and began to share their stories and their knowledge. You should never underestimate the power of young people to make a difference. It was good to sit down with Antronette and learn more about her and the programming they are currently planning for the end of this year and next. Antronette has an affable smile and sense of confidence that is needed when working with youth. From what I’ve observed through her time with Future Leaders, she is a strong advocate for the youth participants and she sincerely desires the best for them. In 2016, Antronette graduated from Xavier University with a BA in Sociology and a double minor in Psychology and Political Science. She’s worked with children at the U.S. Bank Boys and Girls Club in Avondale, served as a Site Teacher to an after-school program in Mt. Healthy, and, in addition to her work in Over-theRhine, she is also currently a Site Director for an after-school program in Sycamore for 5th and 6th graders Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (Future Leaders meets Tues, Thurs, and some Saturdays). Her passion for our youth is contagious as she talks about how they have helped her see Cincinnati as her home (she is originally from Cleveland. We are lucky to have her in Cincinnati.) What makes Future Leaders somewhat different from other programs, is that it encourages students to learn more about financial literacy by providing them with a stipend to attend the programming. Some of their stipend is put in savings and will be available to them as book money when they graduate the program and start an educational program after high school. Antronette believes in bringing people to the group from diverse backgrounds, including professional backgrounds, because “our students come from many diverse backgrounds and living Financial literacy is not the only area that Future Leaders focuses on. Antronette explains that she looks “to build our young leaders through our rich curriculum which includes: leadership in Ryan Messer, FLOTR founder and CPS School Board elect, stands with Future Leaders Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman situations – to be such a young age, these young leaders have experienced a lot in their life.” She believes this is what fuels them to want to take advantage of the program. “It provides an outlet of positivity, a safe haven, and a place where they can just be themselves. That’s the beauty in Future Leaders we are a program who believes in molding the leaders of tomorrow, but we meet them where they’re at, and allow them to express themselves and feel comfortable doing so.” their personal and professional development, financial insight, college/career readiness, health and wellness, and community engagement, including environmental and community health.” Just over the past few months, they have been engaged in community cleanups, recycling programs, health programs, entrepreneurship, college readiness, and community activism. They have had many speakers and taken field (Continued on page 9) FLOTR attends mural dedication THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 �No. 37 0 LOCAL Transformation | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 5 s a pastor, I spend time learning ancient Greek. Which, can be fun. Greek and Hebrew words…as with lots of ancient languages, have multiple meanings. The Greek word for transformation is “metanoia”, it’s a great word which means a shift in thinking, a paradigm shift, a change of an inward reality. You find it throughout scripture in the Christian Bible. It seems as if the writers are trying to point us towards an evolutionary shift in our being. A movement towards growth, empathy, maturity. It’s also a word that is translated in many different languages and is something that is shared with most religions and philosophies. We live in a world that often says it wants transformation, but it settles for “transaction”. In other words, I’ll do this if you do that. I must give something to receive something in return. It reduces us to thinking that we can somehow achieve something if we can just accumulate more or get to the proverbial “top”. We become consumers or commodities ourselves and run the risk of losing our humanity. Yet, there is a movement towards a different way of being. We still must live in a transactional world, and not all transactions are bad, but what if we could move towards a conference exploring how change happens within our movements and institutions. The analogy that one of the facilitators used was of the need for “adaptive change leadership”. Often, we feel like when we have challenges put before us in the church, or in any organization or institution, that we can fix our issues that need fixing by own personal lives. If we just “work harder” or “smarter” (terms I’ve personally used!), we can “right the ship”. However, that’s not what our organizations, or we, need today. Working harder and smarter does not always produce movement or change. We do not simply have a broken foot, we must ask if we have transformational way of thinking? In order to establish a new way of thinking, we must be willing to take risks, ask hard questions of ourselves and others, and then work together towards deeper relationships and authentic community that can lead us towards healing and growth. A few years ago, I attended a simply making technical changes. For instance, if we break our leg, we can put it in a cast, take care of it, stay off it, and rehab it. If we do steps A through B, then our foot will probably come back stronger than before. That’s also the mentality in organizations when faced with a changing culture or challenging issues, as well as our lost our foot completely. We need to adapt and have “adaptive change leadership” and learn what it means to “re-function” in a new way of being. When I think of adaptive leadership that is transformational, I think of Robert and Erin Lockridge in Norwood. They were featured on PBS a while back for their work in a neighborhood in Norwood. They saw the need for healthy food and access to it. So, they started a restaurant that’s only open on Fridays, they make gourmet pizzas and pies from ingredients that they grow within the neighborhood. They show amazing hospitality and foster a genuine community atmosphere. All are welcome. They also don’t have a set price on any of their amazing food. It’s pay what you can or think it’s worth. They are sustaining themselves while also working towards transformational relationships and have adapted within their community in a new way. The transaction for good food, hospitality, and community? It’s what you can bring to the table. As you do that, you may find yourself in an atmosphere that can lead to deeper awareness of others and possible transformation within you and others. I like being around them. I also like being around organizations like the Parish Collective, Oasis, Economics of Compassion, and so many others that are doing and being the work of building relationships that are transformational, and highlighting others that are doing the same and connecting them. Places where trust is given and tested. People that believe in one another and work towards the betterment of communities. When we look around us, we know that the neighborhoods, the city, country, and world are in the midst of some major changes. Oftentimes those changes can be divisive and destructive. But, we can work towards transformation. It is our task to have our eyes and ears opened to a deeper reality at work within us and within others, and allow the shift to happen within us as we do the work that leads to freedom. If we are willing to take risks, to ask questions, to get involved in things and with people and organizations that are good, we can begin the task of working together towards a better way of being and experiencing the abundance that life can offer. Rev. Rich Jones, Economics of Compassion Board Member, Oasis Cincinnati, The Parish Collective, “Free Range” Pastor, PCUSA products we purchase. This also applies to housing. Think about it. A company comes into a neighborhood or onto a street that over the years people who didn’t live there said wasn’t desirable. The company purchases a property that needs some improvement, but generally functions because people have lived there or it is close to what is currently considered a “desirable” area. The company purchases said property for a relatively low cost and then hangs notices that everyone living there must leave. This can be scary for the folks living there, so some folks leave soon after the notice, costing the company only the price of the paper. Some Residents stay longer and the new owner files eviction and a couple more Residents leave before the hearing to avoid an eviction on their record. This again costs the owner virtually nothing. A few Residents stay through the eviction hearing and the owner pays an attorney a relatively small amount to push the eviction through the landlordfriendly court system. The company then either does minor repairs and puts in new modern looking finishes and appliances or guts everything and puts up cheap but nice-looking walls and finishes and then charges a rent that is three to five times higher than the previous rents or charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for the units as condos. People move in to what they see as a pretty building with modern finishes and nice appliances. They are told this used to be an unsafe and undesirable location, but we are bringing new life to this area and you are a part of something special by moving here. You are revitalizing. See that is a product that cost the company relatively little, provided a quick turnover with relatively cheap improvements, a fake marketing story and a quick sale at a significant profit. It was cheap and highly profitable to the company and extremely costly to the displaced household. That is freemarket. This, however, is not the end of the story. We will work with People to, yes, fight back, but to make systematic changes such that profit at the cost of Peoples’ housing is no longer allowed. A JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2 believe that most companies are trying to provide people with quality services because it is the right thing to do? Certainly not. Do you believe that in order to get a profit companies are working to provide people with increasing quality? Primarily companies are trying to cut their own costs through paying poverty wages whether directly or through other companies they contract, purchasing parts cheaply and providing an end product that people think is good, but really doesn’t have the quality it pretends to have. It is about the façade to get profit. This applies to small and large REV. RICH JONES Contributing Writer Rev. Rich Jones THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL Homeless Coalition Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony Wednesday, December 13th Doors Open: 5:30 pm Newport Syndicate 18 East 5th Street Newport, KY Tickets available at: Cincihomeless.org D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 Each year, the Homeless Coalition celebrates the accomplishments of its members, the community, and the supporters at ourAnnual Dinner and Award Ceremony. This has long been an opportunity for organizations to come together and to share in the success of another year working alongside those experiencing homelessness. Come celebrate with hundreds of individuals working towards this common goal. Help us recognize individuals who will be receiving awards for their hard work that evening, raise money for operating funds to help sustain our mission, and dance and celebrate another year of hard work! Join us on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 for a night of dinner, awards, dancing, and a silent auction. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 0 LOCAL Challenging our own views? 7 | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 JASON HAAP I think we all know our output is related to our input. If we feed ourselves nothing but ice cream and Twinkies (did you know there is Twinkie flavored ice cream?!), we should not be surprised to find ourselves overweight with cavities. If we eat nothing but beans and cabbage, we'll create a seemingly endless supply of methane. Imagine three people - one reads Shakespeare all day, one reads contemporary scientific non-fiction, and one watches nothing but trashy reality television on basic cable. The latter is likely to have a more limited vocabulary and a penchant for starting arguments over nothing. I think all of these examples are obvious and palatable. About 10 years ago, when I met my friend Andrew Warner, he was a college student running for Cincinnati City Council, endorsed by the Green Party. After graduating college with a journalism degree, he was a high school English teacher, a street magician traveling across country, Contributing Writer an employee at an Apple store, at a cell phone store, and currently he owns his own dog training business in Indianapolis. More than anyone I know, Andrew reinvents himself every few years. About a year or so ago, I learned he had become a Catholic and a Republican. For the last year, we've talked about politics and current events extensively with one another. We found in each other, I think, a kindred spirit interested in political dialogue that had more to it than me calling him a Nazi. A couple weeks ago, though, Andrew grew weary of our culture's contemporary political climate. So, he took some "radical" moves: he traded in his smart phone for a flip phone, to prevent himself from overusing social media, and he decided to stop consuming news from any conservative media outlets. He did, however, continue to go to church. We spoke about his experience recently. He shared how he can feel his attitude towards certain topics shifting as a result of his changed media diet. For example, the previous Andrew might go to church, and hear, for less than an hour weekly, about how Christ-like it is to care for people like refugees. But when he got home and re-entered his conservative echo-chamber, tons of time listening to conservative arguments made it easier to "square the circle" of these competing ideologies. Without consuming media, however, he finds himself influenced only by his church. Now he thinks it incredibly important to care for the downtrodden, and he wonders why he was ever against refugees in the first place. That's when we had an idea: what if we purposefully dove into a media environment the opposite of what we believe for one month's time? How would it impact our view of the world? What if he spent all day on the Huffington Post and Daily Kos, avoiding the echo chamber of social media, and what if I spent a month doing the same only swapping Breitbart and Fox News for HuffPo and the Kos? This is where it gets tricky. We probably believe ourselves to be above this kind of influence. After all, our beliefs are sincerely held (otherwise we could not hold them). But at the top of this article, most of us probably had no problem equating Twinkies to obesity and bad teeth, or an over-reliance on low-quality television with a weakened intellect. Why shouldn't this be true for ourselves, too? As I type this, I am about to try the experiment - and I welcome others to join me! For one month, let's only read things like Breitbart and Fox News. Let's listen to Gavin McInnes. If we're feeling really adventurous, we could check out InfoWars! Will changing our media diet impact our mental health? How will that work? Will I become more empathetic? Will my views on any issues change? How will it impact me? I'm going to find out. If I'm able to pull this off, I'll update readers next month. In the meanwhile, I wonder if any will consider joining me in this experiment! Why is Cancer Mortality So High In Cincinnati? Part Two: The Hospitals are Bystanders 1. Introduction: In Part One of this series I outlined the current dire situation facing minorities with the potential for cancer. In sum, Cincinnati is the cancer capital of Ohio for minority mortality (1). I suggested that preventing these deaths could happen if there were hospital outreach programs that educated communities about the warning signs of cancer and if there were a widespread program of helpers, "Navigators," that could visit churches, community centers, and schools to both educate and to offer to accompany people to exams for cancer. Such a program has been demonstrated to be the largest cause of a reduction in mortality for cancer victims (2). Cincinnati has no hospital based program; the only program is the independent Cancer Justice Network (3). 2. What could the Cincinnati hospitals do to reduce cancer mortality among minorities, the aged, and people with disabilities? The key program that could reduce "useless deaths," deaths that could have been prevented (4), is an educational outreach program in the neighborhoods of Cincinnati that have the highest death rates. Both the Cincinnati Health Department and the Hamilton County Health Departments have published life expectancy averages for every section of the city and county (5). Their findings agree: certain city neighborhoods, usually those closest STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer to a hospital, have the lowest life expectancy BY 20 YEARS for the residents (6). Christ Hospital in Mt. Auburn, University Hospital and Children's Hospital in Avondale, and Good Sam in Clifton Heights have some of the lowest averages of life expectancy (7). These trends are not new but reveal a pattern of standing by while the neighborhood population continues to suffer and needlessly die. These hospitals refuse to acknowledge that their backs are turned against the neighborhoods their hospitals occupy. Hospitals that have cancer programs are aware of the work of Harold Freeman, MD, former president of the American Cancer Society and chief of surgery of Harlem Hospital in New York City. In 1985, Freeman started a patient navigator program explicitly aimed at reducing cancer deaths for minorities. He was so successful in bringing people to early screening and timely treatments that his program became a part of the national accrediting of every cancer program or hospital (8). Now, according to the American College of Surgeons, since 2016, every hospital that has a cancer program has to have a patient navigation program if it is to achieve full accreditation. This decision was made because research on many navigation programs has revealed similar findings to what Freeman found: early screenings lead to early treatments and this results in catching cancer earlier and being lots more successful in stopping cancer's spreading (9). The latest research on navigation continues to underscore the benefits of navigation for both patients and hospital programs: patients can more rapidly move to successful treatments and hospitals can realize massive financial rewards from more effective treatments (10). Moreover, innovative partnerships with African American churches and hospitals have had powerful results in Memphis and other cities. The use of navigators to connect congregations and hospitals results in a kind of cooperation that dramatically reduces mortality and increases patient and hospital relationships (11). 3. What could University Hospital's Barrett Center and Children's Hospital do to make a difference? Both University Hospital and Children's Hospital are recipients of $15 million dollars in the recently citizen approved Indigent Care Levy. Two key questions need to be asked: 1. How has the monies in the past made a difference to caring for low income people? 2. How will the new monies be used to assist low income people? Answers to these questions are hard to come by. The Hamilton County Commissioners asked a consulting firm, Health Management Associates, to review these questions and to make recommendations. The lengthy report combed records of THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED both hospitals and was hard pressed to find concrete answers. The most surprising finding that was true of both hospitals was that neither hospital needed the Indigent Care Levy! Both hospitals, thanks to extensive fund raising, and the Affordable Care Act, have been banking millions of dollars while being unclear just how the monies were spent to reduce the suffering of low income people (12). Childrens Hospital, the report stated, has a reserve of 2 billion dollars and University Hospital has also greatly profited, although not at the same record level as Children's Hospital (13). Moreover, each hospital is required to provide a " community benefit" as part of its receiving federal funds. The report had difficulty in finding just how this money was allocated (14). The facts are that "(b)etween 2013 to 2015, Ohio experienced a 40% decrease in the number of uninsured residents. Over the same period Hamilton County's uninsured population was 47% lower... University of Cincinnati Medical Center experienced a 52% decrease in uncompensated care cost from 2013 to 2016, which is greater than the decrease in uninsured persons in the region. Children's Hospital Medical Center experienced a 40% decrease.... (15). Where did the money saved by these decreases in payment by the Levy go? There is no list of hospital based programs that (Continued on page 11) �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS A Passionate Advocate of Women & Children's Rights, Jennifer Morris' Episcopalian Faith Informs her Life & her Actions 8 J D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 ennifer Morris' father always told her: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that you cannot do something because you're a girl." She grew up in a genderneutral family where both parents were equal and interchangeably tackled the needed domestic chores; she developed thus, and since childhood, a strong and committed sense for women and children's rights. When in 4th grade, she researched her elementary school library for books featuring women and was surprised to find only very few. Nevertheless, she read again and again the ones she discovered about Louisa May Alcott, the well-known American novelist and poet, author of Little Women and Little Men, also a feminist and an abolitionist; and about Amelia Earhart, the American aviation pioneer and author, the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Morris savored their success and took pride in their achievement. Born and raised in Springfield, OH in a typical midwestern family, growing up, she and her family attended the local Baptist church. "It was more for the community it created and the social activities it offered than for its specific denominational teachings," she says. Later on, engaged to an Episcopal man, she researched the Episcopalian church and, attracted to its openness, its nonjudgmental prefaces, and its inclusiveness, converted to it. She has been since one of its committed and active members. "I currently attend the Episcopalian Ascencion and Holy Trinity church in Wyoming, OH and SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer am very involved in it," states Morris. "I serve on its Christian formation and ministry outreach commissions, work with its youth organization, and has functioned, until recently, as one of its Eucharistic ministers." Morris' awakening to community service and to social justice started at home. Her father, now 83, volunteered all his life in the community, serving on the Boy Scout board and the Senior Citizen forum; he still tutors children in the nearby elementary school. Her mother, an oncology nurse, smuggled, during the devastating AIDS epidemics, same sex partners of hospitalized patients to see their beloved ones, access to whom, otherwise, would have been denied. She was also politically active, always working the polls, getting very involved in the recent presidential election. Morris herself, following her parents' steps, always volunteered. In middle school, she donated her time to help younger kids; and in college, she was part of Amnesty International and participated in many of its human rights campaigns. She attended Miami University graduating with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, and a Master and PhD degrees in History. Her specialty is modern Europe, modern India and Japan but most importantly gender and comparative women's history, and human rights and citizenship issues. At the Mount Saint Joseph University, a faith-based institution What is the Episcopal Church The word “Episcopal” refers to governance by bishops, who are to continue the work of the first apostles in the Church, guarding the faith, unity and discipline of the Church. The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion with 70 million members in 164 countries.   Episcopalians believe in the Holy Scriptures as the revealed word of God; in the Nicene Creed as the basic statement of belief about God; in the two sacraments given by Christ to the Church, namely the Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. The Episcopal Church follows the “via media” or middle way in its theology and discussions, because it believes that, whether or not we agree on a particular topic, we all are beloved by God and can have thoughtful and respectful discussions; and that everyone is welcome. Historically, bishops oversee the Church in particular geographic areas, known as dioceses. In the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury occupies a special position by virtue of history and tradition. The Episcopal Church celebrates diversity of people and worship styles, striving to live by the example of Jesus Christ, welcoming the stranger and the outcast, helping neighbors and offering love and forgiveness.  founded by the Catholic Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, where she is currently Professor of History, Morris teaches, among others, a semester-long senior seminar on women and children global human rights. She divides the course into 2 parts, addressing in the 1st one issues women and children face in general, such as education, health care, sexual safety, right to work, right to earn a wage... asking her Jennifer Morris students to research one specific topic that moves them and to write a detailed paper about it. And in the 2nd part she gets the students to put into action what they've learned and participate in a service project of their choice. Over the years her students have contributed to many projects including, collecting hygiene products (toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo...) for Bethany House, a shelter that serves Cincinnati homeless and disadvantaged women and children; raising money to build a water well in Southern Sudan; researching the most meaningful candidate for a $3000 grant and awarding it to Wordplay Cincy, a non profit organization which mission is to help Cincinnati's youth fulfill their potential, by making connections through reading, writing and storytelling; raising money to allow a recreation center that had lost its federal funding for its summer program to continue providing the service to its neighborhood; setting up a blog for a nonprofit organization short on resourrces and time, thus providing it with a media presence and exposure. "Through my course I intend to open my students' eyes, educate them on important issues and provide them with opportunities," says Morris. "They learn and grow, and getting involved in something local triggers their interest to continue volunteering in their community," she adds. When asked what triggers her interest and passion for women and children's rights, Morris is quick to answer that it is not just because she is a woman. "Telling the story of women's Credit: Saad Ghosn lives is important by itself," she says. "There are injustices and inequalities that need to be addressed, and the specific narrative has, therefore, to be shared." Morris is currently writing a book about Priscilla Parker, a devout woman from New Richmond, OH who, with her Presbyterian minister husband James, started in 1839, in Clermont County, The Parker Academy. It was the 1st co-ed and racially integrated school for children in Ohio - and possibly in the nation and emerged from the Parkers' belief that education for all (regardless of gender, class, religion or race) was a calling from God. The Parkers were also vocal in combatting slavery and unequality and their views antagonized many of their compatriots', putting their lives often at risk. The Parker Academy operated until 1889, and its site is now being excavated, part of an ongoing archaeological project, initiated by Northern Kentucky University, with the hope to make it a historical place. "We need to keep alive the voices of these women who served as examples and enriched our (Continued on page 11) Religious Peacemakers is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs for peace and justice. Saad.Ghosn@uc.edu is the founder of SOS (Save Our Souls) Art, an organization that promotes arts as vehicles for peace and justice and for a change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 0 S 9 LOCAL Five Easy Places to Ride the Bus in Cincinnati | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 I get it. The bus doesn't always get the job done. But if you live close to downtown and don't use the bus at least occasionally, you may want to take a serious look at your transportation choices. You can go places on the bus in Cincy. Here are a few of my favorites. 1. Peebles' Corner in Walnut Hills Love Fireside and Video Archive, but don't wanna drive or pay for an Uber? The 4, 11, and 31 provide direct access to the corner once known as Cincinnati's second downtown. These days, bus drivers aren't getting paid in cigars to yell out Peebles' Corner, but $1.75 ice cream cones at Green Man Twist are a pretty sweet reward. 2. Ludlow Avenue in Clifton Like I said, my wife and I love riding the bus to Ludlow. The 17, 19, and 51 provide easy connections to downtown, Northside, and plenty of neighborhoods in between. Ludlow Avenue is packed with ANDY SHENK ince moving to Cincinnati, I've picked up on a couple of things: 1) People love to go out. 2) Lots of people complain about parking. I am totally on board with #1, but living without a car, I've never had to worry about #2. I can't imagine hunting for a spot in OTR or Clifton or paying to park in a garage. Riding the bus (or biking) everywhere, I totally forget what a headache cars can be when you're trying to have fun. One of my favorite Cincy dates is taking the 17 or 19 to see a movie at the Esquire after work. Nikki and I love catching up during the ride from downtown or Mt Auburn and when we arrive, it's literally 20 feet from the bus to the theater. DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 5) trips to various locations throughout the city. Antronette strives to give the participants the best experience possible. Each winter, Future Leader of Over-the-Rhine puts on a Holiday Home Tour in the neighborhood. This is their big fundraiser, so please consider joining them on December Contributing Writer Passengers board a Metro Bus (Continued on page 12) Credit: Metro.com 1st and 2nd. Tickets are available through their website or on Facebook (Future Leaders Over-the-Rhine). As we began to wrap our talk, she got excited about the future of Future Leaders: “The future is looking bright for our Future Leaders as our year winds down. We are all very excited for what is to come in the New Year. One of our goals next year is to find a new space for the youth to call their own by April 2018. Lastly, we are always looking to increase our numbers – we can never have too many youth! We meet every Tuesday and Thursday currently at 1212 Race Street, next to First Lutheran Church, from 4-7pm. All you have to do is walk through the door, try us out, and if you like it come back. We pride ourselves as a family here so no youth will ever be turned away!” --------------------------------------- FLOTR and Agents of Change at Peaslee work cooperatively Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Future Leaders with former program director T. Renae Banks on a field trip Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Participants learning about blood pressure screening Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Ms. Antronette with Youth Advocate Deanna Wilson and Future Leaders THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman �10 LOCAL D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 December 21 - 31, 2017 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. 37 0 LOCAL Earthquake Risk Keeps Heat on Vulnerable Nuclear Reactors 11 | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 HARVEY WASSERMAN A proposal by a California administrative law judge has given safe energy advocates new hope that two Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors will be shut before an earthquake on the San Andreas fault turns them to rubble, potentially threatening millions of people. The huge reactors—California’s last—sit on a bluff above the Pacific, west of San Luis Obispo, among a dozen earthquake faults. They operate just 45 miles from the San Andreas. That’s half the distance from the fault that destroyed four reactors in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. Diablo’s wind-blown emissions could irradiate the Los Angeles megalopolis in less than six hours if an earthquake destroyed the plant. The death toll could be in the millions, the property damage in the trillions of dollars. The owner of the plant, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), would not be legally liable. Last year, a deal to shut down Diablo’s two reactors in 2024 and 2025 was struck by the state, PG&E, surrounding communities and some environmental groups. Diablo’s federal licenses expire in those years, and PG&E agreed not to seek renewals. The power, it said, could be replaced with wind turbines and solar panels. But the $1.7 billion in rate hikes stipulated in the deal still must be SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) history," says Morris. "Billy Jean King, for instance, the famous tennis champion and avid advocate for gender equality, triggered in the 70s a wide discussion about women's rights. I still remember it growing up, also the excitement around The Battle of the Sexes tennis match that she won against Bobby Riggs." In addition to her students, Morris serves as a role model to young girls. For the past two decades she has been a girl scout leader, encouraging assertiveness and independence in STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 7) target chronic and deadly diseases. Nor any mention of how the hospitals redirected the funds. Indeed, the Contributing Writer approved by California’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC). A proposed decision by administrative law Judge Peter Allen would limit them to less than $200 million. The PUC must now factor Allen’s decision into how much it allows PG&E to charge. If it honors Allen’s opinion, the company must then decide whether it will continue to operate the reactors, which increasingly look like money losers. The company’s standing is not exactly sterling. Massive fires that swept through Northern California in October killed at least 43 people, turning some 5,700 structures and whole forests, rural communities and parts of Santa Rosa into smoldering ash (the Trump administration has just omitted from its latest budget any federal aid to the region). The San Jose Mercury News has speculated that PG&E may have been responsible for the conflagration by failing to maintain power lines that were blown over in a windstorm. Local fire departments were already complaining that trees and underbrush were being sparked by poles and wires PG&E had failed to (Continued on page 12) Arial View of Diablo Canyon Credit: Harvey Wasserman her team members. She would like, however, to become more engaged. Encouraged by her friends, she recently applied for a position on the Hamilton County Commission for Women and Girls. If selected, it would give her more influence and the possibility to work with a large diverse group of individuals to make a meaningful and impacting difference for the common good. All of Morris' actions are deep down informed by her faith. "I try to live by example, doing every day the best I can do," she says. "The Episcopalian church stresses personal responsibility and social justice, and that's also how i have been raised at home, always taught to be responsible for myself and for my actions." But Morris' faith does not distanciate her from others. As a good historian she has studied most religions and has found them to be similar with many commonalities. "The Episcopalian church encourages our questioning and wants us to understand what other people of faith believe," she says. "And at the end, all religions preach the same: Love one another and treat others the way you want to be treated." A pressing interest of Morris now is to figure out how to build a community; how to make people connect, hold a reasonable conversation and listen to each other; how to eliminate the fear that is often caused by difference. It joins the philosophy of her Episcopalian faith which is to be open and accept diversity. "We are all part of God's kingdom," she says, "all of us, the good and the bad. This can be scary to some; but it can also be liberating, thanks to the strength and bravery one gets from an inclusive community." Report suggests "...the County may bear best served by considering a further reduction in the hospital percentage of Levy revenue (16). The absence of programs by either hospital to address the crisis situation of cancer mortality, as well as the hoarding of monies that could be better spent on the cancer priority, brands the hospitals as bystanders in the plague of unnecessary cancer deaths. The pattern of ignoring the crisis, failing to reach out to communities in need, and to declare a major priority for healthcare further weakens this City's population, especially those in greatest need of every aspect of healthcare. The status quo can and must change. “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 Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �12 LOCAL BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2 and she, Brush, and David Mann led the progressive wing of Council. By 1979, a new process for selecting the Mayor was in place. The top vote getter of the Council candidates became the Mayor. Under this system, Sterne became the first woman to become Mayor by a popular vote. population of Cincinnati comprised a sizable but usually overlooked minority, she asked for a report from the Administration to provide ways to better identify the needs and perspectives of this community. AIR was hired by the City Manager to draft this report. Sterne should be recognized for another important City policy. Aware that a number of effective, non-profit groups had emerged to assist poor D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 policy that 1.5 percent of the City's general budget would be allocated to help finance human services. supported this successful effort. Then when an initiative to bring back proportional representation took Bobbie Sterne with Jerry Springer Credit: Google Images and homeless Cincinnatians, She believed it was important for City Government to financially assist these essential services. She played a leadership role in getting Council to pass an ordinance establishing the In effect from 1981 to 1994, this percentage was then cut drastically, and an ongoing grassroots campaign has continued to lobby for a return to the 1.5 percentage. Even after her retirement from Council in 1998, Sterne remained active in city affairs. When I helped organize the Fair Elections Coalition to advocate for a campaign reform City Charter Amendment in 2000 and 2001, she enthusiastically the form of a Charter Amendment proposal in 2008, she served as the campaign's honorary treasurer. Vice Mayor David Mann served on Council with Bobbie Sterne for nine terms. He perhaps summed up her public career best. "The City has lost one of its great public servants." No less than 7 bus routes (17, 19, 24, 31, 51, 78 and Metro*Plus) provide direct access to campus. If you are a student at UC and don't rely on the bus to get back and forth from downtown and OTR, you are doing something wrong. If you want to explore a little, the 31 goes to Walnut Hills and East Walnut Hills, the 17 and 19 link to Northside, and the Metro*Plus has speedy service to Kenwood Mall during the week. 4. Downtown Cincinnati I love Lyft and Uber in a pinch, but seriously people, there are other options during a big surge. Whether you're at 21c or Goodfellas, chances are a bus is whipping by for $1.75 as you step into that $20 cab. Many buses run as late as 1 am. It takes about 10 seconds to look up an address on Google Maps and ask for transit directions. Who knows, you might save enough money to go out tomorrow night, too. 5. CVG You kinda need to live near downtown or in Covington for this to make sense, but if that's the case, TANK's Airporter bus is awesome. I typically use it on my way TO the airport. The bus stops on 4th St between Vine and Walnut with direct, non-stop service to CVG. You can't beat the price at $2. The return trip is a little slower with several stops in Covington, so I sometimes use Lyft on my way back into town. If you've got extra time, though, $4 roundtrip is pretty incredible. arrests. Linda Seeley of San Luis Obispo’s Mothers for Peace says the company faces impossible hurdles in dealing with its thousands of tons of radioactive waste. In addition, she notes, “Many very expensive components in the two reactors must be replaced far before the proposed 2024-5 shutdown dates. Our concern is that PG&E may try to sneak through without paying to maintain the reactors even at basic safety levels.” Michael Peck, a former Nuclear Regulatory Commission in-house inspector at Diablo, has warned that the reactors cannot survive a major earthquake and should close immediately. He has since been transferred to Chattanooga, Tenn. “Diablo may no longer be profitable,” Seeley has said on my “California Solartopia” show on radio station KPFK. “The cost of wind and solar has dropped so fast it may not pay PG&E to run those plants anymore, even without doing the basic maintenance.” Because much of Diablo’s aging workforce is retiring or looking elsewhere for job security, PG&E wants subsidies to retain skilled staff to run the place. Judge Allen specifically rejected much of the rate hike designed to meet that crisis. California’s State Lands Commission is being sued by the World Business Academy, a Santa Barbara think tank, over key leases granted in the 1970s. The commission granted PG&E a waiver on conducting legally required environmental impact statements (gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom was among those who voted in favor). Should the business academy win its suit, or should the PUC honor Allen’s decision, and PG&E alter its timetable, those leases might be revisited. Without them, Diablo would almost certainly be forced to shut. Challenges have also been raised over approval by the California Coastal Commission of Diablo’s cooling system. Seeley and other activists have asked the public to pressure the PUC, state agencies and politicians like Newsom to shut Diablo sooner rather than later. “Until they can specify the exact date and time the San Andreas and those other faults will go off,” Seeley said in a recent phone interview, “nobody should feel safe.” Bobbie Sterne Credit: Google Images A few years later, Applied Information Resources, the nonprofit corporation I launched in 1980, found itself working on a project initiated by Bobbie Sterne. Concerned that the Appalachian ANDY SHENK (Continued from page 9 historic establishments and one of Cincinnati's prettiest streetscapes. I can't quite put my finger on it, but when I hop off the 19 at the corner of Ludlow and Telford, I can feel the city's heartbeat pulsating from the sidewalk. 3. University of Cincinnati The area surrounding the UC campus is loaded with bus service to downtown and almost every neighborhood conceivable. HARVEY WASSERMAN (Continued from page 11) maintain, though maintenance is required by law. PG&E now faces a firestorm of lawsuits that could soar well into the billions. Criminal prosecution is also possible. In 2010, a fire killed eight people and torched an upscale San Bruno neighborhood. The cause was badly maintained gas lines—for which PG&E had been cited repeatedly. Fines exceeded $1.4 billion, but criminal prosecution remains unresolved. Other costly lapses have plagued PG&E through the years. Some involve Diablo itself, which opened in the mid-1980s amid America’s biggest “No Nukes” civil disobedience campaign, involving thousands of THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- �No. 37 0 13 STREET VOICE | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 XMAS Xmas is here It’s that time of year There’s lots of family And sharing Lots of love, lots of caring TRUMP'S ONE EXCEPTION Nasty tweets here, Nasty tweets there. Trump's nasty tweets Are sent everywhere. He attacks everybody Including the highfalutin, But never his new buddy The wily Vladimir Putin. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE UNDERSTANDING It’s the start of the New Year Understanding today about life and its meaning have come a very long way with me. Xmas is every day I had to come into the understanding that there was nothing outside myself that could make my life Especially when you have hope better! I had to understand that I have a choice. To know that I was no longer incarcerated by my own With cheer paving the way being and no longer restricted by my own soul! I could either come into the realization that to live is For a Happy New Year KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer right now because death is inediable!! We as adults can never forget that growing up as children everything was external. As children we were nothing more than human sponges!! Therefore, whatever the adults in our childhood fed us, we trustily ate. I believe that’s what they fed us became our internal instincts. Through my growing, school, jail, being homeless, I eventually came to the understanding of the meaning of choice. I had to understand that there is none other like me, only I could make the changes necessary to allow my uniqueness to shine. For I am unique! One of a kind! Understanding my uniqueness, understanding I have choices in this world only justified my decision to live and not die! These realizations seem to wake up my self esteem and many positive aspects for me. I Suddenly remembered that I did go to church, I remembered some of the best teachings of the bible whether it was about Moses or Mohammand. My understanding of life today is G.O.D. meaning Good Orderly Direction!! I understand today that to live now is my only necessity, for why kill myself or commit suicide when death for all is a sure thing. It’s gonna happen! To live is a job and I take it on with great pride. Keep in mind that you are the most important one and to know your size, your height, your weight, hair color and so forth is what makes you. So, my meaning is my understanding that: I Am Unique I Am Blessed I Am Living Until Death Do Me Part WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 138 Across 1. Development stage before metamorphosis 6. Steep rugged rock or cliff 10. Travel through water 14. Egg-shaped 15. Dwelling 16. Instinctive motive 17. New 18. One of a pair used to control a horse 19. Used in brewing and distilling 20. Female animal 21. Frozen 23. Carried out an action 25. Digit 26. Humiliate 28. Writer 30. Faction 33. Very intense 34. Hawaiian garland 35. Wan 36. Used as an astringent 38. Lukewarm 42. Employ 43. Lawful 45. Fuss 46. Send or direct for treatment 49. Waistband 50. Sleigh 51. State of decay 53. Definite article 54. In addition 55. Litter of pigs 58. Ahead of time 60. Anger 61. Indefinite but relatively small number 63. Indicating maiden name 64. Space between two things 67. Wear away by rubbing 69. Salacious 71. Curtain 73. Story 74. To obscure or conceal 75. A simulated semblance 76. Song of praise 77. A slight competitive advantage 78. Go in Down 1. Solitary 2. Declare solomnly 3. Wander 4. Compete 5. Extemporize 6. Pupa of a moth or butterfly in a cocoon 7. Fish eggs 8. In the middle of 9. Affable 10. Total 11. Ire 12. Ice hut 13. Measuring instrument 22. Camarilla 24. Song for two 26. Consumed 27. Develop by training and teaching 29. Bind 30. Incite or stimulate 31. Facilitate 32. Musical notation 37. Fumble 39. Sudden numbing dread 40. Parts of the Roman calendar 41. Extinct bird 44. At that place 47. Make a mistake 48. Protective covering 50. Express in words 52. Square root of a gross 55. Fractional equivalent of 20% 56. An impressive display 57. Domain 59. Shelf 62. Unwanted garden plant 64. A horse's manner of moving 65. Part of a church 66. Look searchingly 68. Japanese currency 70. Hairpiece 72. Operate PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 138 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 268 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 268- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 0 RESOURCES | D e c 1- D e c 14 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 15 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 St. George Food Pantry 751-8771 2554 Dennis St. 45219 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 Salvation Army 762-5660 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 1125 Bank Street 45214 411 Gest St. 45203 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 2121 Vine Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Family Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 Housing: 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 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 Advocacy Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 for 26 issues 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 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@ cincihomeless.org $100 859-491-8303 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 D e c 1 - D e c 14 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 0 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BETTIE BAILEY SINCE 10/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN ADAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHARLES WILLIAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHRISTOPHER KAIHATSU SINCE 7/2017 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DARREL ROZIER SINCE 7/2017 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GERALD FRANKLIN SINCE 7/2017 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 HENRY BRELAND SINCE 7/2017 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JENNY BURTON SINCE 7/2017 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KIM NGUYEN SINCE 7/2017 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 STEPHANIE EAKES SINCE 7/2017 SYLVESTER WALKER SINCE 7/2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED � 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 2017 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 1-December 14, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Remembering Bobbie Sterne Pg 3: An Option Dwindle for Children Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Transformation Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: Challenging Our Own views? Why is Cancer Mortality so High in Cincinnati? Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Five Easy Places to Ride the Bus in Cincinnati Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Earthquake Risk Keeps Heat on Vulnerable Nuclear Reactors Pg 12: Bill Woods 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 December 1-December 14, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Steve Sunderland Saad Ghosn Harvey Wasserman Andy Shenk Kim Green Willa Denise Jones The Jubilee Campaign Metro.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Andy Shenk Bill Woods Bus Cancer Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Earthquake Harvey Wasserman Jason Haap Josh Spring Kim Green Metro.com Nuclear Power Religion Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland The Jubilee Campaign Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/5dd922dd1b5871a14fed733ccb929171.pdf c109a4eb0599a2a1070a12f628cedf41 PDF Text Text December 15th - December 28th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 52 (No. 371) advocating justice | building community Looking Back At 2017 | 3 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE Homeless In SF: A Walk in the Park | 2 Photo Essay: Annual Dinner | 9 Street Life Our Reality | 12 Forum Focuses on Local Responses to Trump's Immigration Policies | 5 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: The Worst Time of Year T his is the worst time of year. I know plenty of folks consider this the best time of year. A time of reflection, perhaps giving, family, celebration, etc. But for our folks without homes it is cold, potentially snowy and more difficult to get things done because of so much distraction caused by the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, we are thankful for the folks who donate and attend our annual dinner. We are also thankful for the root message of these upcoming holidays (which often gets overlooked). But the cold and holiday closures make this time of year especially difficult. There currently are not enough funds made available to open the Winter Shelter in time for the dropping temperatures. We are working and advocating for the City of Cincinnati to put in an additional $60,000 which would get the Winter Shelter open and operational by the fifteenth of this month. Getting public dollars to adequately fund something as simple as a Winter Shelter should not be difficult, but getting all the pieces to fit together to make this happen is difficult. Please stay tuned as we may need to solicit your vocal support. On December 21st, the longest night of the year we will gather in Washington Park to honor those who have died in our area over the past year due to homelessness. Last year there were 72 people we knew about. Certainly, the number was JOSH SPRING Executive Director actually higher, but these are the folks we knew about. Over the upcoming days we will be collecting names from our Member Organizations. If you know of someone, please let us know. You can also join us at 5:30pm in Washington Park on December 21st as we take part in National Homeless Memorial Day. As we end this year and head into 2018 we continue the fight we have been in since our inception; the fight to end and prevent homelessness. We will remain focused on several particular efforts that are a part of our larger strategy: the creation and funding of a local affordable housing trust fund to generate local revenue to build and sustain affordable housing, the organizing of Tenants in representing thousands of units of affordable housing which is threatened with closure or loss due to gentrification, displacement, slumlords, etc., our work to end the D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 criminalization of homelessness in local laws, our community outreach meant to educate people about the causes of homelessness and empower people to stand with us as we work for systematic solutions and our support and unity of our many Member Organizations working daily with people currently experiencing homelessness. If you are not already working with us, please do. Please call us, email us or stop in so that we can discuss how you can get involved in this struggle to end the systematic problem of homelessness which harms individuals and families and shortens lifespans. You are valuable, and your partnership would be valuable as well.believe that most companies are trying to provide people with quality services because it is the right thing to do? Certainly not. Do you believe that in order to get a profit companies are working to provide people with increasing quality? Primarily companies are trying to cut their own costs through paying poverty wages whether directly or through other companies they contract, purchasing parts cheaply and providing an end product that people think is good, but really doesn’t have the quality it pretends to have. It is about the façade to get profit. This applies to small and large products we purchase. This also 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: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Larry Johnson, Anne Evans (Continued on page 5) Maintenance: Pete Roper Homeless in SF: A Walk in the Park G olden Gate Park knifes its rectangular finger for more than three miles from the Pacific Ocean into the center of beautiful San Francisco. You know: that city where Tony Bennett left his heart a long time ago. He's certainly not the only one to have done so. The park is half a mile wide, and is home to spectacular museums, ball parks, Japanese and Chinese gardens and shrines. A herd of Buffalo roam through one fenced-off area. The lakes and landscaping there are spectacular. It JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer might remind one a bit of Spring Grove Cemetery... without the dead people, and brimming with life. It is also “home' to many Bay Area people experiencing homelessness. San Francisco is mostly a city of soft edges. The red swooping bridge, steep hills, “little cable cars,” ferries scudding constantly around the Bay. The notorious Alcatraz island prison, now a major tourist attraction. By and large the city is clean and calm, famously welcoming to LGBTs for many decades. The weather never goes below freezing. The police force seems laid-back and “obscure” for the most part. The primary homeless district downtown is named “The Tenderloin.” How sweet is that? In short San Francisco has a huge appeal. And, although the skyrocketing rent structure makes it very unwelcoming to the poor (the African American community has become tiny and dispersed). Nonetheless, because of its weather, its history, and its awesome beauty, San Fran continues to attract a sizable homeless community. By all appearances, people ----------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: experiencing homelessness there look and live quite differently from their fellow homeless brothers and sisters in cities like Cincinnati. Very few of its homeless population generally were born in that uppity city. Like the Haight-Ashbury hippies of the '60s, many of them come there—as I was told— because, “it’s a great place to be homeless.” You see, San Francisco's homeless are by and large, young and white. Downtown, some own sleeping rights in favorite doorways, or storefronts, once the stores (Continued on page 5) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Spring, Jim Luken, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Saad Ghosn, Steve Sunderland, Ricardo Taylor, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, Saad Ghosn, Laura Domet, 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. 37 1 3 LOCAL Looking Back at 2017 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 DR. MARK MUSSMAN E ach year, the Homeless Coalition works tirelessly to eradicate homelessness. We do this through various means, each department working separately, but also in concert with each other. When I say department, I really just mean our one employee in that department and then our member organizations and volunteers who assist us in our goals. We are fortunate to have so much support in the community, and we could not do it without the whole region’s efforts. For our advocacy department, Josh Spring, our Executive Director, and Daulton King, a Public Ally, countless hours were spent organizing tenants, working with community leaders at City Hall, and crafting documents to be used in legal cases, city motions, and other venues. Our advocacy has resulted in hundreds of families being able to stay in their homes this year. They have also continued the work to de- Staff Writer has crafted membership packets with great items and information. For me, in education, I work with schools,communitygroups,churches, and others to help educate the public about hunger, homelessness, poverty, displacement, and gentrification – among other topics. I do this by providing enriching educational programming to students and adults throughout the city, region, and country. In the course of a year, we bring our educational programming to about 5000 people. It is no small feat, when you consider how many days there are in the year! Our Speaker’s Bureau is certainly our flagship program. This program was started after people who were experiencing homelessness were being physically assaulted and brutalized by young people in our community. The Homeless Coalition realized that it wasn’t good enough to reach adults, but we need to shift the thinking of young people in the Education Director Dr. Mark and Development Director Mona Jenkins at the Burning the Mortgage Event Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman criminalize homelessness through the survey they have been collecting for well over a year. A huge change will come to Cincinnati because of the work Josh has been doing with the Affordable Housing Advocates on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In March 2018, we should start to see some significant legislative progress on the Trust Fund, which will fund the creation and maintenance of affordable housing in Cincinnati. Our Development Director Mona Jenkins, has been recruiting new members, helping keep members in the loop about what’s happening in the city, and finding new and creative ways to help us to become selfsufficient. Mona has increased our membership by more than 10% this year, and we started doing the Mona and Mark Show on Facebook to keep people updated on issues we see in the community. We also started a weekly email update about our member organizations, and Mona process of eradicating homelessness. This shift in thinking doesn’t just represent the humanization of people experiencing homelessness, but also the understanding that solution lies in affordable housing and livable wages. We do speaking engagements year-round and whenever we are needed. The cost for the program is shared with the speaker, and is a great way to support people experiencing homelessness or those whose housing is threatened. Another one of our educational offerings is a Social Justice Walking Tour of Over-the-Rhine where we educate participants on the history and contemporary issues in the neighborhood. I focus on the Overthe-Rhine People’s Movement, which are the people and organizations that have been fighting for dignity in the neighborhood for the past 50 years. Each neighborhood block contains countless stories of individuals and organizations working together to bring a better life to the people living here, a story about the city neglecting those who need the most help, and years ago. Shelter Seekers put you in the shoes of someone working in a shelter, deciding who can stay the night, given limited room. Our Streetvibes Shadow activity also gives participants an opportunity to learn about Cincinnati’s anti-solicitation laws from a Streetvibes Distributor, then go into the streets and try to Distributor Lee with Xavier University CUE participants Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman neighbors banding together to find a solution. It’s a unique experience, and I highly recommend it to everyone who might want to understand what is exactly happening in Over-theRhine. Our CUE (Cincinnati Urban Experience) trips are ways in which local and national universities bring service-learning experiences to their students. We partner with local churches, organizations, and schools to create an exceptional program among Alternative Breaks in the country. Our program helps participants learn the ins and outs of community involvement, social justice, non-profits, and gentrification. CUE trips last 5-10 days, and are very intense. I am often drained, but this year we had great groups of students from all over the country, and we are looking forward to expanding the program beyond Spring and Fall Breaks with Keene College’s (New Hampshire) visit this month. Our education department also offers different activities like Shelter Seekers, which we developed here at the Homeless Coalition many get people to donate for the paper. This is an immersive experience that gives participants the feeling of panhandling, and with that, all the reactions from people walking by. Some students have left that experience in tears because of the horrible ways they were treated. It is an eye-opening experience for sure. Finally, our entrepreneurial program, Streetvibes, brings you this paper you are reading every two weeks. This is no easy task as several people work hard to get this paper to you. Justin Jeffre, Streetvibes Editor, picks which stories get published and encourages people to write and do photography on specific topics. Key Beck stays calm as the print deadline approaches to make sure the layout is exceptional. The writers are instrumental in crafting articles and poems from perspectives different than what you’d find in other newspapers. Finally, the Distributors, managed by Daulton King, do the leg work of making this paper available to you. When we look back at 2017, we will certainly have mixed feelings. (Continued on page 6) Josh being interviewed for a national documentary THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 �LOCAL FORUM FOCUSES ON THE LOCAL RESPONSES TO TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 W hat are the local responses to the immigration polices put in place by the Trump Administration in 2017. At the December 1st Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral, a panel of speakers reviewed community efforts to date, and engaged attendees in a discussion of what is working and what still needs to be done. The panel included Brennan Grayson, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Allison ReynoldsBerry, Executive Director of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Samantha Searls of IJPC, and Magda Orlander of the CIWC. Brennan Grayson led off the forum by providing an overview of recent local responses on behalf of the area's immigrant population. Much of the work prior to this year involved advocacy for an updated JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2 applies to housing. Think about it. A company comes into a neighborhood or onto a street that over the years people who didn’t live there said wasn’t desirable. The company purchases a property that needs some improvement, but generally functions because people have lived there or it is close to what is currently considered a “desirable” area. The company purchases said property for a relatively low cost and then hangs BILL WOODS Contributing Writer and fair immigration reform law. Meanwhile, organizations such as the Workers Center focused on assisting immigrant workers who were cheated in terms of their wages. Progress was also made when the Catholic Arch Diocese and MARCC were able to establish an ID that immigrants could use, and the Cincinnati Police would accept. When the more drastic deportation measures of the current Administration were announced, noted Brennan, local immigrants and their advocate organizations determined that further steps were needed to oppose the tearing apart of families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and work places. IJPC and the Workers Center took a leadership role in calling people and groups together to plan new responses. Allison Reynolds-Berry described the process that ended up creating the Immigrant Dignity Coalition of Cincinnati. She emphasized the openness of the process, which included lots of discussion and the participation of many diverse groups and individuals. Out of these meetings emerged the Dignity Coalition with a current membership of twenty-seven organizations. Committed to fundamental human rights and dignity, The Immigrant Dignity Coalition of Cincinnati "stands united in opposition to unjust deportation and to anti-immigrant harassment of all kinds." It works with neighborhoods, schools, businesses, unions, religious institutions, and civic groups to educate the public and to forge a community that opposes "fear, racism and confusion emanating from our nation's capital." Better communication between groups has notices that everyone living there must leave. This can be scary for the folks living there, so some folks leave soon after the notice, costing the company only the price of the paper. Some Residents stay longer and the new owner files eviction and a couple more Residents leave before the hearing to avoid an eviction on their record. This again costs the owner virtually nothing. A few Residents stay through the eviction hearing and the owner pays an attorney a relatively small amount to push the eviction through the landlordfriendly court system. The company then either does minor repairs and puts in new modern looking finishes and appliances or guts everything and puts up cheap but nice-looking walls and finishes and then charges a rent that is three to five times higher than the previous rents or charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for the units as condos. People move in to what they see as a pretty building with modern finishes and nice appliances. They are told this used to be an unsafe and undesirable location, but we are bringing new life to this area and you are a part of something special by moving here. You are revitalizing. JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 2) have gone dark. Six years ago, on a visit I interviewed a number of these downtowners for a Streetvibes article. This time, because I was very busy taking care of a very sick friend, I observed the homeless scene mostly from a distance, walking or on a bike I had rehabilitated to use. Sometimes it felt as if I were outside the glass walls of a large aquarium of homeless sea creatures. After sixteen years living in OTR, life on the San Francisco streets seemed foreign, and in some ways exotic. I know other realities, of course, but nonetheless I could sense the appeal of the lifestyle, the way the lives of train-hopping hobos appealed to working people in the '30s and '40s. The house that my friend shares with an owner/roommate is a mile and a half from the ocean and a half block from the park. I spent most of whatever free time I could manage in either of these two locales. One afternoon, I climbed to the top of one of the 50' high sand dunes that line the five miles of beaches along the western edge of the city, all 5 San Francisco Bike Map Credit: part of the city's park system (thus open to everyone). When I got to the top, I found several mattresses nestled together providing tonight's residents an awesome view to the nighttime. These were pretty amazing sleeping arrangements at edge of the crashing waves of the Pacific. A large percentage of the city's homeless use Golden Gate Park as their sleeping quarters. As you move about the park you can often spy sleeping gear secreted away inside plastic bags in the heavy, abundant THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED been emphasized, because of the need to react quickly when news of a local deportation occurs. Samantha Searls and Magda Orlander then discussed some of the day to day work of the Coalition. They emphasized the need for quick response and effective action. After describing one failure to stop a local deportation, they followed with the success story of blocking the deportation of a young person who still had DACHA-status. They described frustration with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department and the County Justice Center. Both seem to quickly communicate with ICE officials whenever an immigrant is in their hands. At the moment, the Coalition is actively promoting the continuation of DACHA-status and the passage of the Dream Act. See that is a product that cost the company relatively little, provided a quick turnover with relatively cheap improvements, a fake marketing story and a quick sale at a significant profit. It was cheap and highly profitable to the company and extremely costly to the displaced household. That is freemarket. This, however, is not the end of the story. We will work with People to, yes, fight back, but to make systematic changes such that profit at the cost of Peoples’ housing is no longer allowed. undergrowth. In the evenings you can see the homeless as they gather. Most spend their days moving about the seven-square mile playground of a city, the “City by the Bay.” Again, I'm not saying their lives are cushy, but winter in San Francisco is mostly damp and foggy. No one ever dies of exposure or loses toes and fingers to frostbite. There are homeless in the downtown business district of course, but they are not as visible as we are used to. Not many “fly” their signs. They panhandle more casually. “Sir, can you help me get some food?” Many find “fancy” food to eat, simply by digging half-eaten leftovers that tourists have pitched into trash cans. One guy, who survives by recycling, told me, “Shit, Man, it's usually better food than I could afford.” In the tightly-packed neighborhoods, you find various “strips” of businesses crowded with customers on the afternoons and evenings. There, homeless folks, mostly “kids,” gather in decent weather and try to talk you out of a buck or two. Often you simply see (Continued on page 12) �6 LOCAL "#METOO", "#USTOO": What's at Stake Is Liberating ALL, Women, Men & Society, by Eliminating the Pervasive Male-Dominated Culture D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 S SAAD GHOSN exual Harassment is the key word these days, and justly so. Our society allows men in position of power to prey on vulnerable women, children and occasionally other men, taking advantage of their "in control" prerogative to impose their unwanted sexual advances and actions on dependent, confused, and somewhat lost individuals. With most abusers, this usually starts with a paternalistic approach which, with time, implies being helpful, concerned and caring. It progressively captivates the mind of an otherwise emotionally or financially dependent individual, and thus facilitates the way for the abuser's intent. The victim may unwillingly fall in the trap or resist, but in either Contributing Writer case will embark on a road of pain, disillusionment, confusion, including guilt and shame. It is refreshing to see that this problem is now being seriously addressed and discussed in many states of our society, most recently entertainment, politics and sports. And that our media, the courageous women through the #metoo campaign, and the courageous men who came forward, keep raising awareness about it, strongly propelling the many voices of the victims. Sexual harassment should stop PERIOD and should not be tolerated. Our social and legal systems should DR. MARK MUSSMAN leave no room for it, and should provide strict rules, regulations, and control checks to eradicate it and penalize the offender. Imposing, however, only rules, regulations and penalty to address it, will not eliminate its real cause which is the prevalent ideology of our male-dominated society and world, where men continue to be the elite, in leadership and control positions, dictating the tone. In our society, males, from the moment they are born, are raised and impregnated with the idea of their dominant and supremacist role. In order to liberate for good, the abused, one needs most importantly to liberate the abuser, Politically, it has been pretty bleak, both nationally and locally, and I believe a lot of people are feeling frustrated about the direction we are headed. But, on the positive side, we have had a giant impact on the community through our advocacy, development, and education, and entrepreneurial programs. The Homeless Coalition is both a resource and change-maker in the community and we appreciate all the support we (Continued from page 5) and take away the conditions that allowed him to become such. One thus needs to eliminate the ideology for the prevailing dominating/ subservient gender relationship; and create from a very young age the premises for a relationship of equality where, everyone, irrespective of gender, age, background, socioeconomic status, contributes equally and as importantly, in harmony and respect, to the world. To achieve this in our current society one needs first to liberate the mentality of men from these early acquired notions, and distantiate them from the privileges and controls that they were born into, and that they feel entitled to their (Continued on page 7) receive through donations, program requests, and partnerships. We hope that we have made all our constituents – people experiencing homelessness, people whose housing is threatened, our member organizations and their clients – very proud of the work we do. We are certainly proud of the work and results they attain. --------------------------------------- Ms. Iolanda, front desk staff, moved on to a new job this year Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Josh speaking at the National Day of Action for Affordable Housing Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Education Director, Dr. Mark and Distributor Willa Jones with the West End AmeriCorps Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Speaker and Distributor Cleo with Roger Bacon Students Josh, Aquashia, and Allie at a Member Appreciate Event Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 LOCAL A NEW BEGINNING? | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 J ust think it was 1 year ago that I started writing and getting my articles published. I have had a great time doing my writings. I thought I would write about the past year, but I don’t want to make this a recap of my up and down 2017. This is about my 2018. A New Beginning? What’s going to be “New” is my attitude mostly. I for so long have used my emotions to drive my behaviors and actions. So this year I will stop for that one SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 5) entire lives. One, therefore, needs to change these conditions at the root, i.e. the ideology that gave birth to them. But how to? How to get rid of this predominant male-dominated design of our world? We would need to address and remedy all aspects of our society where such a notion is deeply entrenched, and they are many. It will surely not be easy, but it is something essential to consider, recognize and start confronting in order to achieve the equal and harmonious world we should aspire to. In our society, and for the majority of families, this will start with the concept of patriarchal matrimony. Due to it, and from the beginning, the man is the one considered in charge, the leader, the head and protector of the household, providing for the family and responsible for its conduct; the woman playing a 2nd role, a helper to her husband whom she follows, taking care of the children and of the domestic chores. This model which originated early in history when men, thanks to their physical attributes and strength, were playing the dominant providing and protective role, is now being reconsidered in many modern societies. It is, however, still the predominant one across the world, and still effectively applies to the majority of the western societies, including ours. Of course, its persistence is facilitated and compounded by the actual on-theground reality, where women have less access to higher and control positions across the majority of jobs; have less access to higher education; suffer significant wage disparity when compared to men for equal positions; have less to say when it comes to many legal matters; and thus are kept inferior and in secondary roles. Unconsciously (or consciously), and due to the exacerbated de facto valorization of men and the indirect devalorization of women, many families and parents would rejoice more at the birth of a boy, and in some societies female embryos would be preferentially aborted, and sadly some newborn girls even killed. Boys BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer moment and analyze my attitude before I act. It’s called “maturity” in some circles, or rational thinking in the Academic world. I just want to make this upcoming year better than the last. A New Beginning? Having been employed for a while now, a new beginning is me working at the start of the year. For so many years I was unemployable due to my actions of would be raised differently from their sisters, given more independence and more freedom from a young age, encouraged more to pursue higher education, allowed more liberty in their social, sexual and extra conjugal life. In addition to matrimony, and surely of no less importance, is the role religions play in maintaining this inequality. In fact, most religions in particular the two largest ones in the world and in the United States, Christianity and Islam - are still in their deep selves’ male-dominated and contribute to, if not promote, such an ideology. In his text on marriage, Ephesians 6:21-33, St Paul states specifically: “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands” (2224). Yes, St Paul continues by asking husbands to love and respect their wives and be one with them, but still implies all along that the man is the controlling head. This notion of Christian patriarchy affirms, in addition and for many, that God Himself is masculine, not feminine; and that He intended distinct gender roles for men and women as part of His created order. Also in Christianity, when one analyzes the text and the ideological insinuation behind the ubiquitous prayer of "Hail Mary" recited by more than one billion individuals, one finds that the part humans added to the prayer**, i.e. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death," assigns to Mary a secondary role, an interceding and not a direct saving one, contrary to the direct and specific power given to the Father in the seminal prayer "Our Father": "Thy will be done... Give us this day... Forgive us... Lead us not... Deliver us..." And in Catholicism, only men are permitted to hold ruling office in the church. Women are not allowed to become priests. Bishops, cardinals and popes, who dictate the path of the church, are all men. And nuns, despite devoting their entire lives to Christ, still have to rely on a man for most of their spiritual needs. In "Islam" also, women do not the past. I have a lot of gratitude for my job. Yet I feel there is more I can do for myself and the people around me. Being of service is the thing I pray for every day before I leave my home to go to work. “God help me be of Service Today”. That’s all I say, and then I go to work. This simple prayer has made me more of a man, a responsible hardworking, caring man. A New Beginning? Letting go of the past and moving on in my life is a have access to Imam-hood. They are kept separated from and behind men during religious practices. They have less a say and less freedom than men, and weigh less legally. They function mainly inside the home, as domestic providers. They are not allowed, contrary to men, polygamy. And in many Muslim countries, women have their rights significantly limited. This being said, the observations above may not be intrinsic to the essence of the religions themselves. They are, nevertheless representative of them and of the subtle (and often not so subtle) male-dominated ideology these religions implant in their followers, as presented, taught and determined by their man-controlled infrastructure and hierarchy. Matrimony and Religion in their current construct and understanding are only but two important areas which allow the status of men as an elite, dominating and controlling one to be perpetuated in our society. They need to be clearly addressed and their ideology made more egalitarian and not control-dominated. Education also, falling prey to the cultural stereotypes that affect the sexes, plays an important role in maintaining this gender disparity. Teachers, themselves victim of the gender bias they have already acquired, treat girls and boys differently. And there are some fields of studies and work, such as science, math, engineering, business, technology... that women, from an early age, are indirectly discouraged to follow and in which they are underrepresented. And this not to mention the significant leadership and wage gap that women are exposed to. This male-dominated culture, coupled with consumerism, also objectifies the female body, often limiting women to sex objects for the pleasure of men. This is reinforced at all levels of society and by all cultural means, such as entertainment, fashion, advertisement, beauty pageants, etc. rendering the woman, in addition to being a victim, an accomplice in the gender biased culture, thus perpetuating the discriminatory stereotype. It is clear that sexual harassment will continue to prevail unless we cut the roots to the patriarchal system THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 7 new beginning. What I am reluctant to mention is that I am talking about my social life or lack thereof. I have to move on from trying to find that special someone. I have spent far too much time and energy trying to find that girl. By doing this I lost what it was I was seeking, ME! I tried to put all my energy into making myself that “Guy” who every girl wants and not being me. So a New Beginning is being me. I have to make that a priority above all else. A New Beginning? Maybe the word “NEW” is not correct. Should it be “A Positive Beginning”? New (Continued on page 11) in which power is primarily held by adult men. In such a system men hold the privileges and play the major roles in the social, legal, political, religious and economic leadership of the culture. This position allows them easily to both, institutionally and personally, subordinate, exploit and abuse women. Both men and women need to be helped and liberated from these limiting stereotypical societal dictations of which they are both victims and that make them abusers and abused. Our society needs to be ideologically equal, one in which everyone grows with the basic values of equal rights, equal opportunities, equal contributions. It needs to be egalitarian and respectful, and its basic approaches to family, work, education, health, politics, religion, not based on control and dominance but rather on sharing and inclusive participation. Eliminating male dominance will get rid of the male controlling and subordinating attitude that accompanies it. It will achieve a lot but, alone, will not suffice. Control and subservience can reestablish themselves in different ways in society, such as, for instance, in personal relationships, work environment, physical and financial dependence, etc. In such situations, there will often be someone powerful and in control who might take advantage of his/her position to subjugate and exploit the vulnerable other. This could again lead to sexual harassment, but also to all other kinds of abuse. For all harassments and abuses to disappear from our society, we need, therefore, to work hard at not only eliminating the prevalent male-dominated ideology, but also, and as importantly, at establishing everywhere a culture promoting equal relationships, away from dominant power and control. **The prayer Hail Mary incorporates two passages from Luke's Gospel: "Hail, the Lord is with thee," and "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb," and one from John 1:14: "full of grace." The newer part listed in the text above was added by the church in the 16th century, around the time of the Council of Trent. --------------------------------------- �8 RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS For Karthik Raghavan, Love Is the Way for Self-Realization, and Serving Others with Love Is Serving God B D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 orn in a Hindu family in the city of Chennai, South India, Karthik Raghavan grew up religious and from a very young age, participated in Hindu rituals, celebrating religious festivals and going regularly, at least once a week, to the temple, to chant, pray and meditate. "I was also vegetarian," he says. "It was the way to be and almost second nature. I never questioned it and just followed by example." Raghavan was also from the beginning, and throughout his life, guided by the moral duties of the Sanatana Dharma (or Eternal Duty), also called Hinduism, a code of ethics incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect, and which, when closely followed, would allow one to reach enlightenment and liberation (moksha). In school and through a moral sciences class, Raghavan was taught virtues and was exposed to other religions, learning their creeds and their prayers. For college, he left his birth city and went North, to attend an engineering school near New Delhi. There he befriended many Sikh students, accompanied them often to their temple, and found commonality with their faith. Even though aware of social injustices all along, he had not been actively engaged until then. This was, however, bound to change. "While in college, our Indian prime minister was assassinated by her Sikh body guards, and full-scale SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer riots ensued targeting the Sikhs," he says. "I had to protect my friends and hide them from the mob; this could have been me." Raghavan also ran for the student government; and protested cheating on campus by a hunger strike and by working at changing the college rules. In 1987, at the age of 21, he enrolled at the University of Missouri, in Rolla, to pursue a Master's degree, then a PhD degree, in chemical engineering. This was his 1st exposure to the US, where he has been living since, save for a 4 years hiatus, back to India, to take over his father's firm. His 6 years in Rolla were mostly devoted to studying, but also punctuated by social services to the community, mainly during the holidays, gathering clothes and food for the homeless and the underserved; also providing help and guidance to newcomer students on campus. Late 1990's Raghavan moved to the Cincinnati/Dayton area for professional reasons and got married around the same time. His wife and her parents were followers in India of Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian guru and philanthropist who passed for being the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, himself an Indian spiritual master of the early 20th century, regarded by his devotees as the true guru, a saint and an incarnation of God. Introduced to the spiritual teachings of Sathya Sai Baba, Raghavan was What is the HINDUISM Hinduism is one of the oldest known organized religions; its sacred writings date as far back as 1400 to 1500 B.C. It is also one of the most diverse and complex, having millions of gods. Hindus have a wide variety of core beliefs and exist in many different sects. Although the third largest religion in the world, with over 1 billion followers, Hinduism exists primarily in India and Nepal. The main texts of Hinduism include the Vedas which contain hymns, incantations, philosophies, rituals, poems, and stories from which Hindus base their beliefs. Even though Hinduism is considered polytheistic, it has one “god” that is supreme—Brahman, believed to inhabit every portion of reality and existence throughout the entire universe. Brahman is both impersonal and unknowable and exists in three separate forms: Brahma—Creator; Vishnu— Preserver; and Shiva—Destroyer. There are many schools of Hinduism and "Hindus" are very diverse. To be Hindu one has to recognize the Vedas as sacred. The Vedas are “theo-mythology” books deeply rooted in India's history and culture and a Hindu has to embrace to some extent the Indian culture. Because Brahman is everything, Hinduism asserts that everyone is divine. The spiritual goal of a Hindu is to become one with Brahman, referred to as "moksha". Until moksha is achieved, a Hindu believes that he/she will be repeatedly reincarnated. quickly taken by their wisdom, their focus on love and on self-realization, and saw them as complementing his Hindu faith; he quickly became one of his fervent followers. "Sathya Sai Baba wants each of us to recognize the divinity inherent in us," says Raghavan, "to emphasize and experience the One in all we do or speak, and this principally through Love. He said: 'Love All; Serve All. There is only one caste, the caste of Karthik Raghavan humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart.'" In fact, in his teachings, Sathya Sai Baba always stressed the unimportance of a differing religion, sect, status or color, the main goal being to help each individual be the best he could be, in harmony with God. "Following Sathya Sai Baba actually helps me be a better Hindu," says Raghavan. "He gives me rules of conduct to live well my life; he guides me; he gives me the tool." In Mason, north of Cincinnati, where he and his family currently live, Raghavan joined the Sathya Sai Baba Center (SSBC) of CincinnatiDayton located there and recently became its president. All like Sathya Sai Baba who through his life stressed devotion through prayers; education through his teachings, writings and the many schools he founded; and service through the many free hospitals he started and the programs of free water distribution he established; the SSBC has also created 3 wings along the same lines. Raghavan in his position of president oversees them and helps coordinating them, and also as a member participates actively in each of them. At SSBC Devotion is achieved every Sunday by unison group singing and chanting in many languages and of prayers of many religions (bhajans), also by individual prayer and meditation. Education which focuses on values is achieved by different means. Classes are offered every Sunday of the school year to kids of different grades. They emphasize Credit: Saad Ghosn the universal human values of Truth (Sathya); Righteousness (Dharma); Peace (Shanthi); Love (Prema) and Nonviolence (Ahimsa), essential for leading moral lives. They are taught by parents who would have undergone themselves specific training for that matter. Study Circles also occur every Sunday during which spiritual writings and topics are discussed by a group of adults who will also examine their effective application to their daily life. "We are now discussing the topic of mindfulness," says Raghavan, "also finding ways on how to practice it in our lives. We will evaluate ourselves and our efforts afterwards." Speakers and lecturers are also frequently invited to come to SSBC to instruct and enlighten the community on various topics pertaining to spirituality and religion. The Services to the community that Raghavan facilitates and in which he and his family participate are numerous. They include: providing food, cooking and serving dinner and lunch several times a month at 3 shelters in both Cincinnati and Dayton (the David & Rebecca Barron (Continued on page 12) Religious Peacemakers is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs for peace and justice. Saad.Ghosn@uc.edu is the founder of SOS (Save Our Souls) Art, an organization that promotes arts as vehicles for peace and justice and for a change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 PHOTO ESSAY Homeless Coalition Annual Dinner December 13, 2017 The Syndacate, Newport, Kentucky | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 9 Mona Jenkins, Director of Development welcomes guests to annual dinner. Bill Woods shows off his Distributor of the year Jacket. Bill Woods speaks about the legacy of buddy gray after accepting buddy gray Lifetime Achievement Award. Daulton King presents James Brown with Distributor of the Year Award Kimetta Carter, and Alms Apartments Residents Association, shares their community story and presents Legal Aid Society with Julie Martin Service Provider of the Year Award THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 December 21 - 31, 2017 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 �LOCAL Why is Cancer Mortality So High in Cincinnati? Part Three: Physicians are Ill Prepared No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 1. Introduction: The first two parts of these essays made two major points: First, cancer mortality is most serious in the neighborhoods that have minorities and, secondly, that hospitals have stood by doing nothing to change this epidemic even though funds are pouring into hospitals from federal, state, local and private sources. In this essay we explore the role of physicians in treating cancer patients that are poor, minorities, and un- or underinsured. It is my assumption that cancer mortality and life expectancy are linked to physician incompetence to work with patients in compassionate ways. I am not suggesting that all physicians fit into this category; rather, that a critical mass of physicians contribute to maintaining the high death rates and lower life expectancies. 2. Facing the Minority Patient: Physicians have little experience with poor people who are either healthy or sick. Sadly, this lack of experience is too often translated into the loss of life. Here is the reality of the chasm: "Three times as many African Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 1993 as in 1963. This rate is nearly twice that of white Americans and is sorely underestimated: The real black diabetes rate is probably double that of whites. As with most chronic diseases, African Americans suffer more complication, including limb loss, blindness, kind eyes disease, and terminal heart disease. Cancer, the nation's second greatest killer, is diagnosed later in blacks and carries off proportionately more African Americans than whites. African Americans suffer the nation's highest rate of cancer and cancer deaths."(Washington, p. 3.) These statistics also exist in Cincinnati, the minority cancer capital of Ohio. (CDC) Where is the response of the Cincinnati medical profession to these dramatic losses in the minority community? Where is the hospital outreach to neighborhoods where the deaths are greatest? The deafness of the medical community to the individual and family's plight means that the whole quality of BOBBY MORRIS (Continued from page 7) makes me think what I plan to do this upcoming year is something new. NO! It’s a continuation of the past year but with more positive results (hopefully) and positive growth. I don’t know, I just know that it will be better and having that positive feeling going into the New Year is worth the effort it’s going to take to do what it is I want to do. A Positive Beginning? So as I end 11 STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer life of minorities is under constant threat from untreated or medical attention that is too late. What this means is that there is a growing number of unnecessary deaths: "In one generation, between 1940 and 1999, more than four million African Americans died prematurely relative to whites."(Roberts, p. 81.) Those who have survived are suffering from the reality that the health care community has chosen to avoid this public health crisis. 3. The Underlying Cause of Physician Incompetence: Bias, intended or unintended, toward African Americans. Many reasons may contribute to the health gap for physicians when it comes to minorities. The most generous interpretation is provided by a distinguished, former chair of orthopedics at Harvard Medical School: He notes: "Orthopedics, cardiology, oncology, gynecology, psychiatry...almost every specialty has its own grim history of disparate care. Unequal treatment is, in its way, the last frontier of racist prejudice, all the more fascinating because so much of it is a result of biases that function below the level of consciousness, that affect even doctors who have no intention of being anything other than compassionate, egalitarian caregivers." (White, p. 3.) Yet, coming face to face with minorities needing health care means facing the realities of the obstacles to productive, clear, and compassionate discussion. In our work in the Cancer Justice Network, we have been watching how a physician can reverse the expectations of clients when discussing chronic disease. Most of the low-income people we meet with on a regular basis have rarely had a long conversation with a physician. Our physician sits at a dinner table in a church, or community center, and listens and listens to the questions about health and the fears about health that a person carries with them. Our physician is a frequent visitor to these churches, to their dinners, and to health fairs. The low income or homeless person, over time, develops a trust, a feeling that the doctor is taking their fears, histories, and signals of disease seriously. Usually a navigator accompanies the physician and, if necessary, the navigator will accompany the person, at a later date to a health center or to a hospital. In one evening, of about two hours, the doctor and the navigator can meet and discuss with a dozen or more people with the result that many questions are answered, people can relax and know that they can be listened to, and that, if needed, more medical attention can be almost immediately reached. In another setting, first year medical students have a chance to interact with this same population at a weekly clinic. Prior to meeting people, the student expresses their anxiety about what will happen when they interact and try to take a person's blood pressure or blood/ sugar reading. The expectations of conflict, of fearing the questions, and reality that people will expect respectful and compassionate care, all build up in our discussions. Yet, the interactions are usually very pleasant as people who have come to the clinic seem to be looking forward to having a period of real time with a health care staff member. In the review that follows a morning of interactions, it is not surprising to hear how dramatically the student's attitudes have changed. Instead of "those people" we are now hearing about "Joe," or "Mary" and what their reaction was to having their blood pressure taken. The conversation reveals that the unconscious fears and biases about poor people can be examined and replaced by a caring and realistic perspective. 4. Changing Segregated Medical, Nursing, and Pharmacy Schools and Their Course of Study: Little will be expected to change if there is no change in the education of the healthcare provider. The lack of diversity in these schools reinforces the unconscious bias that only a few are capable of being health care providers. As one historian of medicine has put it: "...illness is highly segregated in this society, as are those who treat it." (Rothman, this 1st article for the New Year, I will say thank you to everyone who has been there for me. Especially those that believe in me. I needed all of the support you guys have given me to do what I do. Thank you so much and to those who read this and find themselves relating to it or not, thank you. This world we live in is for us all and it takes all of us to make it a better place. A New Beginning? YES! It is New and Positive. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED p. 5.) There is now a greater distance between healthcare providers and patients, especially those with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The knowledge of the sector of the community in greatest need of both health care and supplemental services is a kind of combined knowledge that is unknown to the students. Human relations, better and compassionate communication, awareness of medical practices that serve as obstacles (the procedures to gain access to a physician, a hospital, a screening, financial aid), skill in assisting with other life threatening problems (drugs, housing, jobs, transportation), and an recognition growing out of a study of racism in the health systems (admissions, ties to slavery, black medical schools), all would contribute to a different theory and practice of health care. Who can teach these areas of knowledge? What kind of continuing education is necessary? How will healthcare individuals and institutions be held accountable for changing their behaviors? Not facing these questions only postpones true justice in health care. A hurricane has descended on a very large population. Much has been long lost; yet, some people have been survivors, salvaging what they can of their families and communities. Health care and so much more is needed to rebuild the foundations of communities. A new partnership based on reconstruction of the soul of health care is needed just as the communities need a redevelopment of their neighborhoods. The wreckage is clear. What remains is whether or not healthcare will step up. To be continued. References: D. Roberts (2011). Fatal interventions: How science, policy,and big business recreate race in the 21st century. The New Press. D. Rothman (1991). Stranger at the bedside. Basicbooks. H. Washington (2008). Medical apartheid. Anchor. A. White (2011). Seeing patients: Unconscious bias in healthcare. Harvard Press. ------------------------------------------- �12 LOCAL Street Life Our Reality ‘L D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 RICARDO TAYLOR ife can often reflect, like images in a mirror, but never reflect like scenes of a mirage.’ For those of us who are invested in the life of the streets there are never moments of mirage; (times when we thought/believed) those instances where we saw or imagined relief from our self-imposed plight in life. It is always the same; that reflective appearance, like our reflect ion in a mirror. Our reality, existing, momentarily in hopes and dreams of a presupposition of what life is supposed to be only having to return to the reality of our true existence! JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 5) them sitting on the sidewalks. A half dozen years ago, the city passed a law against people sitting on the SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) Center for Men, formerly Drop Inn Center; the Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women; the St Vincent de Paul Gateway Shelter for Women & Families); participating in medical camps and health centers in the area, providing medical manpower, and helping in any task needed; singing, playing music and reading stories to Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer How easy is it to see that relief from the immediate sufferings which we often find ourselves with promises of tomorrow? “Well I know that Friday is payday, so I can spend what I have and then take care of my bills on Friday!” Only to find that when Friday comes my bills have doubled! So, often we find that our intent is not so much a reflective ion of our ability or our being, but better stated a mirage of our desires. Our experiences tell us that the reality we perceive is unreal, yet we continue to commit ourselves to acts which we know are non-beneficial towards our welfare or well-being. A mirage! Our image suffers the reflective ion of ourselves, and we hardly see ourselves in reflective ion and instead see ourselves in an arena of who we’d want or try to be! The self becomes lost in a sort of fantasy, losing the way we view the world, and of course our true selfimage. We often start to lose hope, that most fundamental grasp of sanity! We become that mirage of self, and we know from experience, that when hope dies; we prey instead of pray and our lives spin out of control! That oh, so, miserable feeling of self-image becomes the mirage sidewalks. Difficult to enforce, as well as be-smudging the image of SF as diverse and welcoming. Obviously, if the law still exists, no one heeds or enforces it. Please forgive this rather glamorous glimpse of homelessness in San Francisco. If you want a seamier depiction, look up my previous article. I'm recalling the feeling that the amazing Otis Redding captured in his #1 song, “The Doc of the Bay” (1967). Could Otis himself have been homeless at the time he wrote this iconic tune? Whatever. Clearly, the character, sitting there on the doc by the Bay was simply “chillin'” in one of the world's most beautiful cities. You could do worse. the elderly residents of Mason Health Center. Raghavan and members of the Center also lend their hand to Christmas in April, a program similar to the one Habitat for Humanity organizes. They help fixing houses, painting, cleaning, doing yard and landscape work. To strengthen interfaith exchange, collaboration, and to promote unity in diversity, SSBC also celebrates the holidays of the various religions (Christmas, Ramadan, Hannukah,...) by special gatherings and events. Raghavan would like to have a Walk for Values started in Cincinnati. He would see it as a culmination of many other widespread activities throughout the year, focused on moral values, peace and justice. Spirituality is an important part of Raghavan's daily routine. He always aspires to be mindful of his thoughts, words and deeds so that they are in sync with each other. His goal is to self-realize himself and serve his community. For him religion implies that: eternal duty to himself, to his family and to society. "By serving others, I am serving God," he says. "Love is responsible for everything. It is the only way to self-realize oneself and the God who is in each of us." “Breakdown Stereotypes” Ricardo Taylor of our longings in such that we find ourselves in the mirage of whom we’d like to be; allowing our reality to become the stage of that thin line between reality and the wishes we have for our well-being. ‘That no man’s world where only hopes and dreams exist; Our Reality. --------------------------------------- “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. We would like to send a huge thank you to all of the supporters that made the annual dinner possible. But, we would especially like to thank Christ Church Cathedral for their gold level sponsorhip and St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church for their bronze level sponsorship. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 LIVING BY GOODNESS 13 STREET VOICE Each day God gives us life THE REAL FACTS PILE UP There seems to be some confusion When Trump declares no collusion. How merciful our creator He gives us a wonderful start To live life with breath First Manaforte and now it's Flynn Were exposed to have a Russian-in. Mueller's dogged fact collection Leads us to a Kremlin connection. In our lungs and a beating heart BILL WOODS Living by goodness and by grace Contributing Writer HOOLIEO Thank you God for another day I ain’t Hoolieo I heard somebody say Living by goodness makes one feel good I ain’t out here conning and tricking people And thankful for Gods good grace for a raise in pay I’m trying to give others respect as I want for myself KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer I’m trying to keep my lively hood open to the hand I’ve been dealt I aint Hoolieo I heaard another person say I ain’t making up fairy tales trying to get sympathy for money today I’m trying to be honest to people I meet along the street I’m trying to receive God’s blessing with each heart beat I ain’t Hoolieo I finally shouted very clear out loud I rebuke thee Hoolie and vanish thee from my mind up to the clouds So if things are not going your way and you feel a Hoolieo attack coming on A urge to con, trick or lie to people for pay, just kick Hoolieo to the curb and curse the day he was born!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 140 Across Down 1. Complementary ticket 1. Moue 5. Unit of weight for precious 2. Motor vehicle stones 3. Ignore 10. Health resort 4. Abrasion 13. Snow leopard 5. Religious song 15. Mindful 6. Veneration 16. Distant but within sight 7. Operated 17. Reversal of direction 8. Suitable for cultivation 18. Relating to the kidneys 9. Cogent 19. Horse-drawn vehicle 10. Sweet, sticky liquid 20. Nicotiana tabacum 11. Sang-froid 22. Top worn by women 12. A strong emotion 24. A tame parrot 14. Extra or repeated 25. Item of footwear performance 26. Particular environment 21. A fastener or walk of life 23. Eye 29. Portable shelter 25. Take without the 30. Beer owner's consent 31. Bird of prey 26. Heroic tale 34. Band that holds a saddle 27. Useful or valuable quality in place 28. Assist 38. Seabird 32. Juicy fruit 40. Delicacy 33. Allow 42. Remedy 35. Corrode 43. Savory jelly 36. Large woody plant 45. Book of maps 37. Perceive via the 47. Division of an ocean auditory sense 48. Part of a boot or shoe 39. Internal organ 50. Annoy persistently 41. Large, mainly nocturnal 52. Clique ungulate 55. Plant tissue 44. Leaves used in 56. A kind of heavy jacket soups and stews 57. Skilled worker 46. Small sofa 61. Uncooked 49. Gilbert and Sullivan 62. Wheeled vehicle opera, The ___ 65. Call forth 51. Tremble 66. Compete 52. Engrave 67. Worship 53. Live broadcast sign 68. Suggestive of the 54. Tall structure supernatural 55. A list of jurors 69. Wander off course 58. Painful 70. Warble 59. Similar 71. Rive 60. Requirement D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 270 - MEDIUM 63. Deity 64. Metal-bearing mineral PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 369 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 139 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 269- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 RESOURCES | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 15 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 St. George Food Pantry 751-8771 2554 Dennis St. 45219 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 Salvation Army 762-5660 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 1125 Bank Street 45214 411 Gest St. 45203 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 2121 Vine Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Family Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 Housing: 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 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 Advocacy Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 for 26 issues 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 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@ cincihomeless.org $100 859-491-8303 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 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. ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BETTIE BAILEY SINCE 10/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN ADAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHARLES WILLIAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHRISTOPHER KAIHATSU SINCE 7/2017 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DARREL ROZIER SINCE 7/2017 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GERALD FRANKLIN SINCE 7/2017 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 HENRY BRELAND SINCE 7/2017 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JENNY BURTON SINCE 7/2017 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KIM NGUYEN SINCE 7/2017 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 STEPHANIE EAKES SINCE 7/2017 SYLVESTER WALKER SINCE 7/2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED � 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 2017 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 15-December 28, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Homeless in SF Pg 3: Looking Back at 2017 Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Forum Focuses on the Local Responses to Trump’s Immigration Policies Pg 6: “#MeToo”,”#UsToo” Pg 7: A New Beginning? Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Why is Cancer Mortality so High in Cincinnati? Pg 12: Street Life Our Reality 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 15-December 28, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Jim Luken Dr. Mark Mussman Bill Woods Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland Ricardo Taylor Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Laura Domet Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cancer Cincinnati Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman GCHC immigration Jim Luken Josh Spring Kim Green Laura Domet Me Too Photography Religion Ricardo Taylor Saad Ghosn San Francisco Steve Sunderland Street Life Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/0c26ef02a38962d0946f5679d36c9471.pdf b0953594a6f4ee585808133958f0609f PDF Text Text February 10th - February 23rd 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 30 (No. 349) advocating justice | Building community Art Exhibit Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter Movement | 8 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Making Sense of Our Two Selves | 5 Who we are, what we do |2 Duke Defends Pipeline | 3 Language Matters: Talk Like An Advocate | 5 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 ! streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: We Need an Affordable Housing Trust Fund JOSH SPRING Executive Director O n February 3, the city’s Planning Commission voted to recommend that the city sell significant portions of two public alleys in Overthe-Rhine to the private company Source 3 for a project that has been repeatedly opposed by neighborhood groups, most notably the Community Council. In fact, after the Planning Commission recently voted to approve the construction of the exclusive wealthy housing and commercial development in spite of months and months of community push-back, the Community Council legally appealed the decision. So in short, the Overthe-Rhine Community Council along with other neighborhood groups has opposed this proposed development at hearing after hear, went as far as to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision and while in appeal, the Planning Commission still voted to recommend the sale of the public right-of-way to a private, exclusive developer. This proposed development at the corner of Liberty and Elm streets would include more than 100 units of class-exclusive, wealthy housing. The developer has refused to include any homes affordable to people with low-incomes or even to partner with another developer to do so. Plan Cincinnati, the city’s relatively recently approved comprehensive plan calls for inclusive neighborhoods and the development of low-income affordable housing. The comprehensive plan for Overthe-Rhine also calls for inclusive development and certain percentages of low-income affordable housing. Further, a recent study of housing in the neighborhood completed by Xavier’s Community Building Institute shows that in the last decade or so Over-the-Rhine has lost approximately 2,300 units of housing affordable to people at thirty percent or below the area median income. In addition to all of this, every adult or family shelter in Cincinnati is full or over capacity and the numbers of people outside are higher. There is Who We Are, What We Do JUSTIN JEFFRE Staff Writer F irst of all, I'd like to thank you for reading and supporting Streetvibes. Streetvibes is an important part of how the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition spreads the word about issues related to social justice, our hard working member agencies, what's happening in our community, why it matters and what you can do to help bring more justice about in our community. Most importantly, we try to let you know how you can help us meet our ultimate mission, the eradication of homelessness. For those of you that don’t know, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a unified social action agency, fully committed to its ultimate goal: the eradication of homelessness with respect for the dignity and diversity of its membership, the homeless and the community. The Coalition works towards this goal by coordinating services, educating the public, and engaging in grassroots organizing and advocacy. The Homeless Coalition does a lot of great work with a very small staff and small budget. One of the things I've learned after being a part of this organization for nearly five years, is that we don't do a great job of talking about all of our work, our victories, our failures and our ongoing struggles. So I'm going to tell you about some of the many things we've been working on, why they matter and what you can do to help. F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 such a deficit in affordable housing availability that the family shelter system must turn families with children away every day. So despite the fact that the city’s own plan, and in fact, the Planning Commission’s own plan calls for low-income affordable housing development and inclusivity, studies show the housing is needed and daily life experience for many show the housing is needed, the Planning Commission sees it fit to err on the side of the developer and wealthy people who already have adequate (likely more than adequate) housing. This is not surprising, but it remains infuriating. People on this Commission say they support affordable housing, but that it is not their jurisdiction. If it is not their jurisdiction, why did their staff write and they approve a city comprehensive plan that calls for it? The fact is, it is their jurisdiction. That said, if we are really serious about developing low-income affordable housing in this city and if we are really serious about ending homelessness, we must generate local revenue to do so. We need to develop a local affordable housing trust fund that is funded through compulsory means and enforced by the city. Developers in this city will not decide to build affordable housing on their own. We coordinate services by holding regular meetings with our member organizations (65 member organizations total) to make sure we are all aware of what each other is doing and so we can support each other’s work. Our Director of Education works with high schools, colleges and other organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area and beyond to educate the public about the causes of poverty and homelessness and the (Continued on page 11) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by 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: Dr. 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, Justin Jeffre, Michael Earl Patton, Key Beck, Dr. Mark Mussman, Steve Sunderland, Gretchen Marie Semancik, Bobby Morris, Lee McCoy, Kim Green, Bill Woods, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Daulton King, Duke Energy, Michael Earl Patton, Wikipedia, YouTube, Gretchen Marie Semancik, Bill Woods, Mark Mussman Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Mail Room at the Homeless Coaliton Credit: Daulton King THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 LOCAL Duke Defends Pipeline No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer I ! n my last article I wrote about the January public meeting by N.O.P.E., Neighbors Opposed to Pipeline Extension. On January 26 I went to the informational meeting by Duke Energy at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blue Ash explaining the need for the pipeline. The meeting was indeed informative, although it was clear that C314, which comes in from the north, will feed into the proposed Central Corridor Project pipeline. Pipeline C314 has a maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of 720 pounds per square inch (psi). The proposed pipeline will have a MAOP of 500 psi, so the pressure will be less. It will be tested to 1.5 times the MAOP, or 750 psi. This San Bruno, California in 2010. Mr. Hebbeler acknowledged that it is not impossible for there to be an explosion – one cannot exclude every possibility of this happening -- but it would be extremely unlikely. The pipe is very robust, will be inspected on a regular basis (more about this later), and for there to be an explosion the concentration of natural gas has to be between 5 and 15%. If it is too little (below the lower explosive limit) or too much (above the upper explosive limit), it is impossible for the gas to explode just based on the chemistry. If the gas leaked to the atmosphere, it would dissipate. It would have to collect in some kind of enclosed space and the concentration be in the proper range before it could explode. Otherwise, if ignited, it would just burn. Going back to the San Bruno pipeline, Mr. Hebbeler emphasized that the wrong kind of pipe had been used, one that had long axial welds, and had not even been pressure tested. If it had been properly tested, it would have failed before it had been placed in service. As for periodic testing, Duke Energy will do a leak survey using detection equipment over the entire length of pipe annually. Representatives will walk the length of the pipe four times a year making certain that the pipe has not been disturbed. “Third party” damage, such as someone using a backhoe without regard to the presence of pipelines, is the leading cause of damage. If this kind of work has to be done in the area, Duke Energy will come out and mark the pipeline route on the ground and even send someone to observe the digging, if necessary. Because the route will have to be walked, property owners will have to have gates in any fencing that would otherwise prevent access. Further, every few years the pipeline will be inspected from the inside using automatic devices called “pigs” to check for corrosion. Altogether these inspections go beyond what is required by regulations. To some in the audience this exposes a weakness since there is no legally binding guarantee that the robust inspections would continue for all the decades that the pipeline might be in use. Nearly 65% of the preferred route is on industrial or commercial property, or in a public right-of-way. Less than 4% of the pipeline would be on residential land. There was a lot of skepticism in the audience that the two routes identified were really the best overall from the point of view of safety or economics. Indeed, two people pointed out to me that the latest revision goes around Kenwood Country Club, which they attributed to the power of influence. One person pointed out at the meeting that to minimize the number of homes close to the pipeline the pipeline should go through Indian Hills instead of Blue Ash. I thought that Mr. Hebbeler Duke Energy Route Map Credit: Duke Energy the opponents of the pipeline remain very much concerned. Duke Energy provided a booklet for attendees, Your Questions Answered, that actually answered many questions. There were also two presentations by Gary Hebbeler, the Duke Energy Vice-President for operations. At the second presentation he took multiple questions from the audience and even stayed afterwards. I give below many of the main points made by Mr. Hebbeler and also the main concerns by the opponents. The first natural gas piped to Cincinnati came from West Virginia. What this meant was that the existing gas network was built over the decades from the south to the north. Even today 55% of the system is fed from the south. The existing pipeline means that the pipeline could not be pressurized to more than 500 psi once in operation because that would mean that the pipeline would have be shut down and first tested to 1.5 times that higher pressure. Although technically possible, Mr. Hebbeler said that this would mean so much additional work, and public notification as is being done now besides, that increasing the pressure is not realistic. Because this pipeline will be classified as a distribution line, the actual strength of the pipe will be designed to be at least 5 times the MAOP in order to provide a sizeable margin of safety. If the pipeline were to develop a problem, this would almost certainly be in the form of a leak, not an explosion like the one in Pipeline Marker Credit: Michael Earl Patton THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 7) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 �5 LOCAL Making Sense of Our Two Selves No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 KEY BECK Contributing Writer "I t is a peculiar sensation, this doubleconsciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, —an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” These are the words of W.E.B. Du Bois from his book, The Souls of Black Folk. It talks about the concept of “double-consciousness.” For those who may not know, when originally written it referred to early AfricanAmericans trying to reconcile their identity as black Americans (citizens of their country) versus their identity as an “African” American (people on borrowed land waiting to go back home). It was a concept to illustrate the confusion many black people at the time felt calling America home. They didn’t feel like citizens of America nor Africa, so an internal identity struggle began to brew. Du Bois’ words eloquently describe the psycho-social struggle of feeling both free and oppressed in a country that uses systematic violence and oppression to enforce its rules. African-Americans, really all marginalized identities, continually struggle to feel like true Americans in this unjust society. The current flurry of Executive Orders further illustrates this point. How can we feel like citizens when our identities are under attack? Women, immigrants, and queer people are being targeted by laws, restrictions, and bans. My W. E. B. Du Bois Credit: Wikipedia hair is very long and my complexion allows me to be confused for different ethnicities. If I am targeted because I look “suspicious” in the airport, how can I believe that civil and human liberties actually exist for me? I have been mistaken for a wanted criminal multiple times due to us both being black. Is that the common experience for white citizens? The concept of doubleconsciousness isn’t just about race. It can be applied to many marginalized identities. I often write about the issues faced by queer POC, especially trans* and non-binary folx. Due to those groups being the most marginalized they are often plagued with a nagging double-consciousness. Will they be considering authentic? Will their decisions be medicalized? Will people be open-minded enough to accept them how they present? As marginalized people, we must criticize our bodies and mindsets to ensure we fit what is acceptable. The alternative can mean social and economic discomfort, or even worse violence or death. Due to double consciousness, some non-binary and trans people can spend hours in front of the mirror figuring out the best way to present to the world. This routine may seem frivolous to some, but this could mean getting home safely or not. This could mean getting that job to pay rent or not. This could mean getting placed in a shelter or not. Marginalized people must second guess how they present to the world for fear that their identity will be misunderstood. This means that black men for example will go to great lengths to prove they are not the “angry, black man” or “one of those terrorist guys.” The process of double-consciousness could lead to internal oppression and selfhate. We shouldn’t want to change things about ourselves in order to be deemed less offensive. It is a tedious process full of stress and anxiety. Double-consciousness shouldn’t be viewed as the sole issue here. The bigger issue is the fact that we uphold racist and supremacist regimes who support systematic oppression. They present fallacies through the rhetoric and the media in such vast quantities that people begin to accept them as facts. We need to quit applying stereotypes on people and cultures that we don’t understand. We need to open our minds and use empathy rather than hate. Sadly, due to systematic racism, people of color will continue to be demonized through news reports, film, music, and other forms of media. But we should agree to quit supporting those outlets. WE need to talk with our money and our mouths. We should never stop when we learn of a barrier, but instead work to break it down. Language Matters: Talk Like an Advocate DR. MARK MUSSMAN “W Staff Writer hat you say about somebody else – anybody else – reveals you. What I think of you is being dictated by my own necessity, my own psychology, my own fears and desires. I am not going to describe to you when I talk about you, I’m describing me.” James Baldwin, 1963 When I was in college, I had a classmate that we called “Crazy” Katie. Looking back at it now, I see how clueless we were, and still are, about understanding how bullying and name-calling can have a chilling effect on our community. Now, I cringe whenever I hear someone describe something as “crazy,” thinking not only of the impact it has on those who may be quietly suffering from mental illness, but also for the individual who using such an heavy word in such a flippant way. Language matters. We are constantly barraged by words that are patently offensive on TV and on the streets. I’m not talking about the obviously pejorative words, but words that seeped into our collective vernacular that we don’t even think are offensive: lame, crazy, and even little. Each word may seem harmless, but in sum they have the ability to maim and diminish someone’s ego – and you may be doing it James Baldwin Credit: YouTube unconsciously. I used to try to hold my friends to higher standards. When I hear someone use these words, I tried to gently push them towards using THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED more clearly defined and appropriate words. A statement that I would make looks something like this: (Continued on page 11) �6 LOCAL F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL CANCER NAVIGATION AT STAGE 4 7 No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 STEVE SUNDERLAND 1. Introduction: For the past two years I have been working with a team of volunteers to close a gap in cancer care. The gap exists for patients that feel uneducated about the meaning of cancer, how cancer can grow without any known reason, how cancer can go from stage one, small and just beginning, to stage 4, the highest and most dangerous evolution of cells, how to get advice about taking steps to be examined and treated, how to face the reality of cancer with an ally that will help with obstacles, be they financial, be they medical confusion, and be they figuring out the insurance maze, and, especially having some confidence in the logistics of getting to and from cancer exams and cancer treatments. This gap is large and made even bigger by the general absence of medical direction for patients as to the right path. There is no clear road map for patients to either become educated about cancer or to find a doctor or to find an easy way to be transported to and from treatments. Trying to fill this gap has been the pioneering work of Harold Freeman, MD, former president of the American Cancer Society and a surgeon. Freeman reviewed the death rates of his patients and realized that too many came too late to be treated; their cancer had progressed to stage 4 and his skills were not able to be used to stop the uncontrolled growth of the cancer. He refused to accept this reality. His approach was to identify community workers who could visit in the community and convince people to come early in their potential development of cancer. Over five years, with his team of people he called, "patient navigators," he was able to reverse the death rate from 70% dying to 70% living. Early exams for cancer led to catching the cancer in time for treatment. Freeman's program gained national recognition and is now a part of the accreditation of every cancer hospital. Freeman's research and publication of his achievement, now over 30 years, is still seeking compliance. Sadly, "(m) ore than a quarter of Americans and Europeans who die before the age of seventy-five would not have died if they'd received appropriate medical MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 3) answered the questions honestly and was speaking sincerely when he said that the pipeline was safe, but it was apparent that the audience remained highly skeptical. There are probably several reasons for this which I will touch on only briefly. One I had mentioned above, which is the suspicion that the preferred route was chosen in large part due to the relative lack of political influence Contributing Writer care for their conditions, most of which were chronic." (A. Gawande (1/23/17). "Tell me where it hurts?" The New Yorker.) I started my program when two members of my family contracted cancer. During the search for treatment, I came across the work of Freeman and wondered why no physician or hospital had connected us to a navigator. I checked with the leaders of cancer programs and heard that, while they had heard of navigation, their hospital did not offer it...yet. I also wondered about the confusing choices we had in my family and I inquired about the decisions that are facing newcomers to health care insurance who probably didn't know the realities of cancer. Again, I learned that that no programs existed with the hospitals to educate the general population, or the low income population in specific, about the importance of early screening. I called Dr. Freeman and invited him to Cincinnati to meet with hospital staffs and discuss his method of reducing cancer death. Dr. Freeman came and delivered a powerful talk about the success of his program. Accompanying him was a researcher from Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital, Electra Paskett, PhD, that affirmed Dr. Freeman's research with a review of navigation programs from around the nation. Navigation worked, navigation was a requirement for accreditation of cancer programs, but navigation was nowhere to be found in Cincinnati. A group of Cincinnati citizens sought to change this situation. 2. Cincinnati's pioneering navigation program: Today, there are 50 navigators as part of an organization called, The Cancer Justice Network. These navigators have been through a training program that followed many of the ideas developed by Dr. Freeman. We have volunteers from the students of the UC medical school, faculty and students from the UC school of social work, UC's health communication department' students, Xavier's students in the school of nursing, and a group of community organizers. Also volunteering is our medical director, Nemat Moussavian, MD, five physicians as primary care providers, and partnerships for screening with Crossroad Health Center, the Cincinnati Health Department's health centers, Cris Collinsworth ProScan, Jewish Hospital's Woman's Center, and 20 human service agencies, including the FreeStore Food Bank, Christ Church Cathedral, Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, Churches Active in Northside, St. Vincent de Paul, Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities, and others. There is a board of directors headed by Robert Harris, DD, and a website: cancerjusticenetwork.org/ We visit these churches and human service organizations and introduce cancer education and the need for early screening. Over 600 people have been involved in our programs since October, 2016. 3. What does a navigator do with the patient? The navigator, a free volunteer, helps the patient with their mobility to early screening and timely treatments. Figuring out how to get to and from screenings and treatments has been a major obstacle for Cincinnatians and now there will be assistance in transportation. Equally important, is the gaining of some critical education about cancer and the way cancer can grow and, in some cases, kill people. Navigators have information from the American Cancer Society as well as access to our medical director. At meetings, in churches and human service agencies, questions can be asked about family history, or any topic that relates to the health of the patient. The navigator will connect the patient to physicians at the health centers for more in depth discussions. The navigator will accompany the patient, if wanted, through each step of the educational and treatment process. In sum, the navigator is the patient's ally as they navigate what is too often a confusing and fearful process. In this way, following Freeman's approach, we hope to change the death rate in Cincinnati and spread the word that cancer, caught early, may be a curable disease. 4. The pain of Stage 4: My brother's colon cancer has existed during the same time as the development of the Cancer Justice Network. He is a powerful teacher of the by the residents who would live near that route. Bolstering this suspicion are the checks being mailed on the Williams vs. Duke Energy court settlement, allegedly because Duke had given preferential rates to its large customers so they would not contest a rate increase. And the refunds were much later than expected. Another is the mistake that Duke made at the first presentation when they refused to answer questions from the audience – a mistake for which Mr. Hebbeler apologized at the second session. Based on my own experiences, poor customer service may be another factor. Finally, Duke Energy is not local in the way that the old Cincinnati Gas & Electric was. Remember the Christmas train display downtown? Before C.G. & E. was bought by Duke the display (and cookies) were free. People stood in line to see it, and I did, too. Now one has to pay admission to the Museum Center in order to see it, and it wasn’t even shown this year because of renovations to the museum. Good- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED realities of facing cancer, logistically, financially, and psychologically. He is a convincing advocate for navigation even though no hospital he works with has a navigator program. Thankfully, he had sufficient funds to hire an independent physician to review all of his records and the suggestions for treatment. He has been Stage 4 for the past two years and has learned that he is his best "navigator." He has taught me that the patient's full participation in their own treatment, review of records, consultation with resources, and friendship are critical factors in surviving this difficult stage. His physicians have missed too many elements in his case to give him the feeling that they truly understand his condition. Or, that they are convinced about what are his next steps. Facing the unknown about his disease and treatment, he has demonstrated a good sense of humor, a healthy dose of skepticism, and a dogged review of research. These are key factors in his survival. Yet, the unknown can also deliver a terrible punch to the emotions as numbers indicating the spread or cancer continue to rise and confusion exists about appropriate steps. In our daily conversations about next steps, we are reminded that navigating can be an emotional roller-coaster. We are never prepared for the next twist or turn, whether good or bad. But, and this is the key, partnership between us reduces fears, builds courage, lightens the load of depression, and reminds us that our love cannot be broken by the disease. Being a navigator means venturing out into the unknown and without the certainty of a happy ending or even the reduction of pain. Facing, together, many of these horrors, makes my emotions a bit stronger and, I know, strengthens him as the road continues without a road map. Navigation is critical for the survival of people's emotions and the logistics of managing a very difficult disease. The lessons from my personal experience mirror the realities of Cincinnati. The gap of isolation, confusion, false suggestions, and medical avoidance must be changed and filled out in a different way by navigators. We continue down this path, helped by many friends, and agencies, and toward the development of a realistic expectation for all cancer patients: you will have a friend, an ally, a comanager, and a critical person we call a "navigator." ------------------------ will gestures are important in building a trusting relationship. Then there is still the question of eminent domain to seize the right-ofway for the pipeline. Compensation does not mitigate the fact that the right-of-way would restrict the use of your land. The effect is worse if you have a relatively small lot. This may mean that you will not be able to build the addition to your house or the garage that you want. (Continued on page 10) �e 8 NATIONAL Art Exhibit Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter Movement F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 GRETCHEN MARIE SEMANCIK O n February 3, an exhibit at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany, IN, opened called “#BlackArtMatters”. The exhibit was born out of the Black Lives Matter movement, and features the talents and values of local and national African American artists. The curator of the center and organizer of the exhibit is Daniel Pfalzgraf. Pfalzgraf became the curator of the Carnegie Center for Art and History two years ago, and this is the first exhibit he has put together there. Contributing Writer Pfalzgraf says he was inspired to put an exhibit like the “#BlackArtMatters” exhibit together because, from previous work he has done as a curator, he noticed there was an underrepresentation of African American artists in the area. The artists featured are Ray Dalton, Stephen Flemister, Robyn Gibson, Natasha Giles, Christina Long, Fahamu Pecou, LaNia Roberts, Dread Scott, Scheherazade Tillet, and Shawn Michael Warren. Pfalzgraf says he “feels more inspired by connecting with the artists through working with them on the exhibit” about sharing their lives, stories, and values. Many of the artists are nationally known and come from all around the country. Artist Dread Scott, who works in ranges of media like performance, photography, installation, screenprinting and video, who is known for his 1989 installation called “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?” Pfalzgraf, also, wished to include regional artists Robyn Gibson, Natasha Giles, and LaNia Roberts. Gibson, a 2014 graduate from the University of Louisville, was one of the first artists asked to be a part of the exhibit. For fear of the exhibit being looked at as an exhibit specifically for Black History Month, Pfalzgraf says he didn’t want to open the show in February, but due to the availability of the space in the Carnegie, it was Images from the #BlackArtMatters Exhibit Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED the earliest he could open the show or else he would have had to wait until December. Since the exhibits opening on Friday night, February 3, Pfalzgraf says the show has received an “overwhelmingly positive reaction”. Sculptor Ed Hamilton, residing in Louisville, KY, and most famous for “The Spirit of Freedom” memorial in Washington D.C., and Nicole Yates, president of the New Albany branch of the NAACP, checked out the exhibit. The permanent exhibits that are at the Carnegie are the “George W. Morrison Gallery”, “Remembered: The Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols”, and “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad”. The “#BlackArtMatters” exhibit is open until April 8, 2017. �WORLD Europe of the future: the people behind Germany’s experimental village 9 No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 BENJAMIN LAUFER T he plot for a new Europe is just 100km from Hamburg. You can get there by train from the city in less than two hours. On arrival, you only have to walk a short distance from Hitzacker Station to reach the large meadow where the 21st century experimental plot is located. “Europe will be as attractive as we make it,” says Sonja Deuter as we walk around the 55,000m2 plot. Her co-operative has purchased the land on which to an entire village and vision of a new Europe will be built on. Planned is housing for refugees, families and the elderly who will live together and have equal rights. “There won’t be any fences,” adds Sonja enthusiastically. “The main principle is community.” A community already exists, even before the first sod has been cut. Twelve of its members are sitting in the evening sun in front of the train station. The Construction Team discusses the prototype for the residential buildings planned to be built on the green meadow. Which type of windows will be used? Can the apartments on the first floor be obstacle free… and affordable? Courtesy of Hinz&Kunzt / INSP.ngo further 100 have expressed interest. Democratically, every member can have a say on the creation of the village. Decisions are first taken Clay builder Stefan Neumann demonstrates what the experimental village will look like. Credit: Lena Maja Wˆhler in a working party, and then in the larger plenary. It’s a real challenge says Frank. “This planning is more time-consuming than it is for a block Mara and Sabrina don't have much money, but can still afford to move into the village. Credit: Lena Maja Wˆhler “It’s a matter of trying to calculate every clip, nail and gutter with this house,” explains Hamburg architect Frank Gutzeit to the group. It’s an important process as all the houses will be built using this model. A total of 100 housing units are planned for 300 people. There are currently 80 members in the co-operative and a cost should be 4.90 euro per square metre (service charges not included e.g. heating and hot water). Government offices will cover the new village in Hitzacker must contribute 13,500 euros. Land, electricity cables, roads – it all costs money. “I can’t afford to join the project without support,” says 34-year old Maria Stöckemann. Since successfully completing cancer treatment, this single mother has been living on unemployment benefits and desperately wants to move from her anonymous block of flats. “There are a lot of people here of rented apartments,” he says. “But it’s worth the effort. We discover new construction methods and the users are more involved.” The main challenge is the fact many of intended villagers have very little money. Yet no one has stated that an apartment will be unaffordable. The maximum rental the costs for asylum seekers and unemployed members. An essential element is that construction materials must to be sustainable and sourced who want to make that possible for us,” she says. “They are incredibly strong.” Enough money has been contributed into a solidarity fund to Omid Kuhestani had to leave Afghanistan when the Taliban threatened his family. He's building himself a new home in Hitzacker. Credit: Lena Maja Wˆhler from the local region. Sonja says, “We have to make a significant contribution ourselves to make it possible for others to live here. There is another financial hurdle in addition to the construction costs; everyone who wants to move into THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED make it possible for people like Maria to live here. Around 88,000 euros has been collected in total. Omid Kuhestani will also benefit from the fund. The 23-yearold Afghan arrived in nearby (Continued on page 11) �10 Lots of Protests These Days T WORLD F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 JUSTIN JEFFRE Staff Writer here have been a lot of protests nationally, around the world and locally ever since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. On January 21, there was the Women’s March on Washington – and across the nation. Police estimated at least 10,000 marched here in Cincinnati. On January 30, hundreds gathered to protest President Trump’s Muslim ban and support City Hall’s call to make MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 7) Businesses may not be able to expand as planned. A close-up of the route shows that the pipeline would take dozens of unexpected twists and Citizens gather to protest President Trump's Muslim ban and to support City Hall's call to make Cincinnati a Sanctuary City. Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Signs at Washington Park Cincinnati a Sanctuary City. President Trump is now saying there maybe consequences for that decision. He’s threatening to pull federal funding. On February 3, there was a protest at City Hall over the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. On Wednesday February 8, there was a protest at Fountain Square because the Army Corp of Engineers has granted the easement to begin drilling in North Dakota on Treaty land. Following the rally there was a march to the Federal Building where the Army Corp of Engineers has an office. turns in a way that is perhaps best described as “gnarly.” It is certainly not even close to a straight route. Again, why? Were there engineering factors involved or was this again the result of influence? There is no way to tell from the material that Duke provided. I do want to discuss the situation of overall natural gas supplies, but that will be in another article. For now, here are the main websites for both sides on the pipeline: Duke Energy’s website on the pipeline is: https://www.duke-energy.com/ home/natural-gas/central-corridorpipeline-ext The website for the main opposition group is: www.NOPEcincy.org Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 BENJAMIN LAUFER 11 LOCAL (Continued from page 9) Dannenberg in 2010 after fleeing from the Taliban. He has since trained as a bricklayer in Hamburg and can’t wait to get to work in Hitzacker. “You can just get involved and make your own suggestions,” he says. Omid admits he’d like to live in the village with his parents and siblings one day. “We’re going to build the village and I’ll get my high-school diploma and go to university,” he says confidently. He’d like to become an architect, like his father, and has already completed an internship with Frank Gutzeit. Later, Omid sits in the large plenary session with Sonja, Frank, Maria and 30 other members of the cooperative. This group has already hatched a lot of very impressive plans since the idea of a multicultural, intergenerational village emerged last year. The timeline is ambitious: DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 5) Friend: “We couldn’t even get in to the club tonight – the bouncer was being so lame!” Me: “Wow, that’s no good – but that’s not the word I would use to describe the bouncer.” Friend: “What do you mean?” Me: “Ok, let me explain. You used the word ‘lame’ but you probably mean something like ‘strict’ or ‘selective’ or even ‘difficult”, but using ‘lame’ can be seen as an insult to someone with disabilities.” Friend (feeling offended): “Well, I didn’t mean it that way!” In an attempt to save face, the friend looks up “lame” in the dictionary and tries to make some statement about how there is one definition that doesn’t have to do with disabilities. After awhile, it became obvious that policing people’s language isn’t going to be productive, mainly because of mass media’s effect on us. If you turn on almost any TV show, you will hear, crazy, insane, lame, etc. JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 2) solutions to eradicating them. (Please contact Dr. Mark Mussman at 513421-7803 x 14 or markmussman@ cincihomeless.org if you know of any schools or organizations that might be interested in our programs.) The Homeless Coalition does grassroots community organizing. To give you a few examples in recent years, we helped organize many protests against Western & Southern when they were trying to push the Anna Louise Inn out of the downtown business district. While W&S prevailed, we believed the added pressure from the public forced them to give Cincinnati Union Bethel a better deal for the construction of a The construction team discusses how to keep costs down on the sustainable plans for the village. Credit: Lena Maja Wˆhler construction started at the end of 2016, with the first house due to be ready to live in by July 2017. The rest should be completed by the end of 2018. Is there any doubt that this vision of Europe will really come to fruition in Hitzacker? “None whatsoever,” says Sonja. Translated from German to English by Johanna McCalmont / Translators Without Borders over and over. You can’t even watch the news without hearing these words used to describe inane and mundane things. This isn’t to say that we should abandon our language conventions altogether, but it offers us an opportunity to be more clear in our language. One of my co-workers has one of the most impressive vocabularies – in that they are able to list off synonyms of any word you throw at them. By pointing out the misuse of the term of “insane” this coworker was able to rattle off about 10 synonyms in about 20 seconds: “incomprehensible” “astounding” “unbelievable” “loose” “inconceivable” etc. So, it’s clear that we have the vocabulary, so why do we still use these offensive words? We are tremendously lazy when it comes to our language use. Most Americans use less that 300 distinct words in their vocabularies. This limits us and ultimately, limits our future generations. If we can not model for them proper and ambitious language usage, our collective vocabulary will diminish. But more importantly, if we are unable to detangle these words from our accepted linguist repertoire, we lead them in a direction that alienates and inadvertently hurts people. I have no idea what Katie is doing these days. We lost contact after graduation, but I can guarantee that she was well aware of the language we used in describing her. Whether this had an impact on her, I may never know, but I know that when I turn on the TV or hear people using these words, it has a huge impact on me. I try to be forgiving, but it says more about the individual using the word than the person/thing/event to which it refers. Our community in college purportedly was close-knit, but how close were we when we participated in such egregious behavior? Today, schools participate in NoName-Calling Week and other events to point out how damaging this form of bullying can be to the school’s fabric. When I hear name-calling I think about James Baldwin’s quote and what does it say about someone who uses “crazy” or “insane” or even “lame,” etc. incessantly. What does it say about a society that not only allows these words to float around the ether, but also rewards people for using them? Just one last note about the word “little” which is used to devalue the importance of certain things and events. On February 1st, the Republican President took a few moments to say something about Black History Month. The content of the speech is offensive and degrading on so many levels, but the first thing that hit me the most when I read the speech, was how the word “little” was used to describe the Black History Month breakfast ceremony. Whether intentional or not, the word “little” clearly defined the value of Black History to the current administration. “Well, this is Black History Month, so this is our little breakfast, our little get-together.” One word can reveal all. James Baldwin (1963) concluded: “The only way to get through life is to know the worst things about it. I know that a person is worth more than anything else – anything else. I’ve learned this because I had to learn it. But you still think, I gather, that the “negro” is necessary – well it is unnecessary to me, so it must be necessary to you. I give you your problem back.” new Anna Louise Inn building. More recently we helped organize tenants that are dealing with an out of town slum lord. With the assistance of Legal Aid and the City of Cincinnati the buildings have now been put into receivership and an independent management company is working to address many of the problems. There’s still much work to do in that area. Due to our advocacy work we’ve been able to get increases to the health and human services budget which helps provide much needed funding for our many membership organizations that do direct services. This is after many years of cuts to those services We worked with city council to add people experiencing homelessness to our city’s hate crimes legislation in order to create stiffer penalties for people who attack those they perceive as being homeless because and vulnerable. That made Cincinnati the third city in the nation to have this type of legislation. One thing most people probably don’t know about us is that we are essentially a small post office. Thousands of people that don’t have an address in our area use our address and get their mail here. We also let people use our phone to make calls. For many trying to get a job, find housing, or some other type of service, this is very important. Recently we’ve worked with the city to create an employment pipeline for those experiencing homelessness and seeking employment. Of course there’s also our Streetvibes program where our distributors buy this paper for 75 cents and sell it for a $2 donation, empowering them to earn much needed income. These are just some of the things that we do. On page 4 you can read about some of the other things we’ve been up to recently. The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition doesn’t take any government funding. We rely upon the generosity of private donors like you. If you would like to help us with our mission to eradicate homelessness, please consider making a donation at cincihomeless. org or sending a check to the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition at 117 E. 12th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Thank you for your support! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �12 Happiness BOBBY MORRIS I Contributing Writer was once asked what makes me Happy? I gave the appropriate answers, Family, a good job, and my health. At the time, I would have said that was an honest answer, but it wasn’t. Happiness to me has been an illusion. I thought being with a certain person made me happy, working with close friends made me happy, STREET VOICE having money in my pocket made me happy. NO!! I haven’t been truly happy in years. I don’t know what makes me happy. I know what doesn’t, and that is something I work very hard on every day to stay away from. I have been looking at my past for those truly happy occasions. The one that sticks out the most. Is being their when my twin nieces were born. I became an uncle that day and 2 months later I was off to serve my country. I was the first in my family to see those two girls and I could have F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 cried, (I didn’t, MEN DON’ T CRY). Today those girls are raising their own families and I am proud of them. Talked to a friend today about happiness, he told me where he gets his happiness. It’s within his heart. His Faith brings him happiness and that is all that matters. I have searched my own heart for that happiness and it’s their I know it. I believe over time I will be able to feel it more prominently as I grow in my Faith. Speaking of Faith. I always had some sort of Faith but I never actually relied on it like I do now. I have Faith that my life will get better, I have Faith that no matter what I will always get my needs met. I have Faith that I was put here on this earth for a Purpose. What that Purpose is I am waiting for that to be revealed to me. It may have already been revealed, but I am not ready to see or understand it. You see by that, I HAVE FAITH! So back to the “What makes me Happy Question”? Today it’s knowing that I don’t have to walk this earth alone or for that matter ever feel lonely. I am Happy knowing that. And that my friends, “IS FAITH”!! Here’s to 2016 LEE MCCOY W Contributing Writer ow, 2016. What a year you had been and I’m glad you’re now history. Some of our greatest artists have been laid to rest. Thank God their songs and accomplishments will live on forever. Here’s a list of the best of my ability and if I omitted anyone (I’m sure I will) please forgive me. You ever hear a song and it just stays in your head? Or you sing it all day. Or maybe you were with somebody and every time you hear that song memories are just embedded in your head and heart. Thank God the music lives on forever. In 2016 we saw police kill so many people all over this nation. It was caught on camera and yet no police officers have been convicted of these crimes even when a jury can watch it happen. Real talk now people, even Stevie Wonder can see they are guilty, yet they walk. The home team really took it on the chin. The Reds came in last place, but they got rid of their better players. I guess they got what they wanted, your money, huh. The Bengals really disappointed us in so many games they had a chance to win, but they found a way to lose. But if you are like me, you will still say ‘Who Dey’. We will see what 2017 brings. “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 Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �13 STREET VOICE No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 ON ALTERNATIVE FACTS Orange Barrels Orange Barrels, Orange Barrels They’re everywhere Kellyanne Conway got caught in a lie, But Trump's advisor slyly made this reply. Each day the construction workers are there She said the press should show more tact, Putting up the construction signs By calling her falsehood an alternative fact. Placing Orange Barrels all around BILL WOODS Contributing Writer From block to block, from street to street HOME ALONE I feel so blessed that being homeless for me has ceased Construction work is on the streets Ceased meaning yesterday looking at today, I still pray for peace So just sit down and take a seat I just knew being home alone, finally after living on the street with a slide Orange Barrels are what you’re gonna see KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer That I could finally rest with my memories and let my spirit glide I've learned that being home alone doesn't always make one happy Especially, to wake up to the reality that the world you live in actually is crappy I hear a security guard involved in the death of a young man I hear for double murder you get twenty-five years in this land! I find myself after all is said and done, I'm lonely, bored, behind the times or missing people I need to be able to talk, enjoy, laugh, respecting history with loud chimes on the steeples I've learned in order to a make a change it takes some serious work and a lot of effort for me I've learned that I cannot change people, I must take the challenge to change myself you see I 've learned to keep my spirit clean for only God knows the truth there is NO DOUBT I'm learning to be honest with myself and living my life is what it's all about For everyone needs to be aware, rather it be now or later that the CONSCIENCE KILLS Whether you be good or bad to live in denial just listen your conscience will get you… YOU JUST BE STILL! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 118 Across 1. Acute 6. Remain 10. Fake 14. Quibble 15. Undulation 16. Counterbalance used to obtain net weight 17. Olfactory sensation 18. Being 20. Novel 21. Roman god of love 23. Correct 24. Throw forcefully 25. Male offspring 26. Misprints 29. Singing voice 31. Beer 34. Rodent 35. Weirdo 36. Hawaiian garland 37. Look with amorous intentions 38. Slumber 39. Preside over 40. Golf accessory 41. Walk stealthily 42. Hew 43. Make a mistake 44. Insect between larva and adult 45. Rag 46. For each 47. Open river valley 48. Jewelled headdress 51. Fervid 53. Joke 56. Musical instrument 58. Danger 60. Maize 61. Not in favor of 62. Transparency mounted in a frame 63. Leg joint 64. Ray 65. Frequently Down 1. Make a wide, sweeping search of 2. Leporid mammal 3. Affirm solemnly 4. Flange 5. Appease 6. Cleared with a brush 7. Cab 8. Esurient 9. Affirmative 10. Beer mug 11. Suspend 12. Curved masonry construction 13. Encounter 19. Cavalry unit 22. Country, initially 24. Portable container 25. Pace 26. Represent 27. Pirate flag, Jolly ___ 28. Measuring stick 29. Sports venue 30. Edible plant, related to the onion 31. Warning 32. Depart 33. Kind of duck 35. Small metal fastener 38. Disparaging remark 39. Tardy 41. Lance 42. Sea nymph (Mythology) 45. Bitumen 46. Having a tendency 47. Coarse durable cotton fabric 48. Stable gear 49. Graphic symbol 50. Land measure 51. Amercement 52. 9th letter of the Greek alphabet 53. Fortitude and determination 54. Auxiliary 55. Narrow secluded valley 57. Light touch or stroke 59. Fairy F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 9 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 248 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 117 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 247- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 349 | F e b 10 - F e b 2 3, 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street 45202 1125 Bank Street 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street 45202 411 Gest St. 45203 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 First Step Home 961-4663 Shelter: Youth 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network 15 Northern Kentucky 241-2965 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing Hamilton/Middletown Joseph House (Veterans) 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 1223 Main St. 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 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Housing: Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 471-1100 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 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 10-February 23, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Who We Are, What We DO Pg 3: Duke Defends Pipeline Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Making Sense of Our Two Selves Language Matters Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: Cancer Navigation at Stage 4 Pg 8: Art Exhibit Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter Movement Pg 9: Europe of the Future Pg 10: Lots of Protests These Days Pg 11: Benjamin Laufer Continued Pg 12: Here’s to 2016 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 10-February 23, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Michael Earl Patton Key Beck Dr. Mark Mussman Steve Sunderland Gretchen Marie Semancik Bobby Morris Lee McCoy Kim Green Bill Woods Willa Denise Jones Daulton King Duke Energy Wikipedia YouTube Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Black Lives Matter Bobby Morris Daulton King Dr. Mark Mussman Duke Energy Germany Gretchen Marie Semancik Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Key Beck Kim Green Lee McCoy Michael Earl Patton Protests Steve Sunderland Wikipedia Willa Denise Jones YouTube https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/9f284bcd26c1f8f2229dc407d0726714.pdf b62363123c703e7cf67a98ba0f796ef8 PDF Text Text February 24th - March 9th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 31 (No. 350) advocating justice | Building community Shame in the City: Have We Confused Progress with status Quo?| 3 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Forum Focused on Local Responses To What's Going On in Washington, D.C. | 2 Not Just My History, Our History| 5 Children's Kindness March| 8 Border Stories | 5 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Only Vote for Candidates Who Will Fight for the End of Homelessness in Cincinnati JOSH SPRING H Executive Director omelessness is growing in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Our Member Organizations are seeing growing numbers of single men and women as well as families with children. The need is so high among families with children that at least seventy percent of families seeking shelter assistance, receive no assistance. The Shelterhouse, between the women, men and winter shelter have been seeing over 400 people on recent nights. Families with children have come to the winter shelter with nowhere else to go. Last year the number of people who died because of homelessness was at an all-time high. All of this should be extremely alarming. But more than alarming, all of this must lead to action. As we enter election season in Cincinnati, both for city council and for the mayor, we must make homelessness and affordable housing key issues. Any candidate that does not eagerly show plans for fighting homelessness through housing is not worth considering. Any candidate who can know that single adult shelters are over capacity, youth shelter does not have enough room and that at most only thirty percent of families with children without a home receive assistance - and not address homelessness and housing as a major issue and crisis is not worthy of support. If a candidate says they plan to fight poverty but does not commit to fighting for affordable housing, they are either lying or don’t consider people without homeless human enough to be worth fighting alongside. If a candidate says they plan to lessen child poverty but does not commit to a strategic plan to build affordable housing, it is simply a publicity stunt. If a candidate says they plan to improve the city’s economy, but don’t commit to fighting for an end to homelessness, then they don’t believe people without homes are a part of the city’s economy. Please go to forums, write letters to the editor, speak at City Hall and ask candidates what they plan to do F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 to work for an end to homelessness in Cincinnati. Attend, participate, plan and organize rallies, demonstrations, protests demanding that this city fights to end homelessness. Talk with your friend, neighbors, family, co-workers and tell them to do the same. In short, don’t vote for or support any candidate that does not, through action and commitment show that they believe no girl, man, boy, woman or any other way a person may identify themselves should ever have to be without something as simple as a home. Don’t vote for anyone who does not show through action and commitment that they will work to end the days of children sleeping in shelters, cars, outside or on stranger’s couches. Don’t vote for anyone that tells you fixing problems like homelessness is about changing the attitudes, perspectives, commitment or choices of people experiencing homelessness. Don’t vote for anyone that acts out a belief that progress can include the displacement of people from their homes. Please, only support and vote for candidates whom you can honestly say believe homelessness is a systematic problem, with the systematic solution of affordable housing and that they are willing to fight for the end of homelessness no matter who stops liking, financing or supporting them because the lives of people demand such a fight and more. FORUM FOCUSED ON LOCAL RESPONSES TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN WASHINGTON, D.C. W hat are the local responses to Executive Orders and policy shifts now taking place in Washington, D.C.? At the February 16th Forum at Christ Church Cathedral, a panel described some of these local activities and events. Ismaeel Chartier, Imam of the Clifton Mosque, Brennan Grayson, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, and Michelle Dillingham, Executive Director of Community Shares, comprised the panel. Imam Chartier led off the discussion with a personal message about how Trump's Executive Order and his other positions about Muslims and immigrants have impacted his life and the Muslim community in Cincinnati. He confided that his diverse Muslim community currently lives in fear, and that he has received seventy-five death threats since he publicly announced that the Clifton Mosque would serve as a sanctuary for people fearing deportation. He noted that his seven-year-old son has asked him questions like: "Why does BILL WOODS Contributing Writer the President hate me." The local response of Chartier and the Muslim community is to reach out to as many allies as possible. He pointed to the press conference at the Clifton Mosque where an interfaith group of congregations, including Christ Church Cathedral, announced their solidarity as "sanctuary spaces." In this time of fear and tension, the (Continued on page 11) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by 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: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Key Beck, Mark P. Painter, Sr. Nicole Varnerin, Gretchen Marie Semancik, Robert Park, Ricardo Taylor, Bobby Morris, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Alice Schneider, Dr. Mark Mussman, Biography.com, Gretchen Marie Semancik, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Imam Chartier leads discussion on Executive Orders and bans. Credit: Alice Schneider THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �LOCAL Shame in the City: Have we confused progress with status quo? 3 No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Between the years of 1934 and 1962, the United States federal government (FHA) issued more than 120 billion dollars in home ownership loans. These loans went to build the suburbs that we have today, and created much of the wealth that Americans enjoy today. If you grew up in a house, you most likely have these loans to thank for that. The loans enabled Americans to build wealth generationally and exponentially. People of color, regardless of economic status, were denied participation in the program through "redlining", which ultimately created a very uneven playing field. In redlining, lines were drawn (on maps) around nonwhite communities and federal Staff Writer poverty, we must also focus on concentrated wealth. The wealthy suburbs were created with restrictive covenants (forbidding the sale of property to non-whites), redlining, and de facto segregation. And none of this ended in the 1960’s – it continues today with banks that partcipate in discriminatory and illegal activity. It also continues in other places like the courthouse, retail outlets, credit cards, mortgages, health care, student loans, environmental racism (DAPL). Today, our federal expenditures are more directed to the support the housing secure, not the housing insecure. When Cincinnati's West End (Kenyon-Barr) neighborhood was When Cincinnati decided that we wanted a way to get to the new shiny (read white) suburbs more quickly so we decided to build a highway through the West End. Not the federal government, but us. We decided to tear down a whole neighborhood, almost exclusively African-American, without a real plan to deal with the displacement. Many were displaced to Avondale and other neighborhoods - most certainly to Over-the-Rhine. Recently, I hear people arguing that the gentrification taking place in Over-the-Rhine right now is just “progress.” It’s clear to me that they are confusing “progress” with “status quo.” Is it progress when powerful people throw people of color (and businesses are closed and storefronts are left vacant for years? Or is this just another way that power shows itself? As Over-the-Rhine shifts further into a bar and parking garage neighborhood, we must ask ourselves if the progress we are seeing is beneficial for our entire community, or is it just beneficial for someone else? As my neighbor put it yesterday – “Every time they build a parking lot, all it says is that we don’t care about the quality of life, about the health, about the environment, in our community.” She showed me how white flight hurts us all, and it seems to me, that sprawl is probably the biggest cumulative environmental catastrophe of the 20th Century. Since density is the future of city life, progress may be in the process of removing our grocery store from the neighborhood. This is where I get my cereal, milk, bread, produce, and snacks. This is where families in the neighborhood shop – mainly because the next closest grocery store is miles away, in Kentucky, and only Rear View of Incoming Condos on Vine with Kroger in background Construction Site on Vine and 15th across from Kroger Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman loans did not penetrate into those communities. Even as I write this, it seems like it was unintentional that people of color were left out of the loans, but redlining should be seen as completely intentional, because it was – less than 2% of the homeownership loans were given to people of color. When we talk about concentrated razed to the ground in the late 1950’s, residents were told to leave their homes. Here was a whole neighborhood, built from the ground up, by African-Americans – many of them had bought themselves and their families out of slavery – full of life, wealth - a truly mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhood. people in poverty) out into the street – or is this just the status quo? Is it progress when public goods (such as sidewalks, streets, parks, alleys, buildings, etc.) become privatized, or do we have enough of a grasp on neoliberalism to know that it is just the status quo of the late 20th Century? Is it progress when small accessible by highway. The demographics in Over-theRhine are changing dramatically, with new housing coming in for wealthy residents coupled with the wide-scale loss of low-income housing. The new residents, with (Continued on page 5) Side View of Incoming Condos on Vine with Kroger in background Sandwiched between two vacant buildings, the activity in front of Kroger Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 �5 LOCAL Not Just My History, Our History No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 KEY BECK Contributing Writer It pains me to think that we have let another year go by without truly acknowledging the significance of Black History. Although every February is designated Black History Month, I personally feel we move further away from recognizing its purpose. If you didn’t know, this month was created to highlight the impact the black Diaspora had on the world from inventions to cultural events. Black History Month started out as “Negro History Week,” and it was imagined by Carter G. Woodson and other African-Americans, such as minister Jesse E. Moorland. It wasn’t fully realized until 1976, when February was officially designated as Black History Month. When first introduced in 1976 by Carter G. Woodson and a number of prominent African Americans, the celebration was known as “Negro History Week.” This was a concerted effort of many to share the historical, social and cultural contributions of the marginalized Black Diaspora. It is important to note that since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. It is important to realize that just like many, if not all, of us get to benefit from the many contributions, we should all celebrate these efforts as well. Often, non-people of color feel this is a “black holiday,” but this is not the case. We cannot afford to ignore the efforts of the marginalized. We should value their findings, support their goals, and share with others what we learn. That means making sure your children understand about black history (the good and bad), sharing accurate information with DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) their cars and parking garages, jump on the highway, cross the river, and shop at the Newport Kroger. This isn’t an option for many of us - nor should it be seen as a desirable one. Across Vine Street from our grocery store, Kroger, is where Smitty’s Men’s Fashions was before the fire. Now, there are a few buildings vacant and a few lots empty. Currently, there’s a fence around the sidewalk as another project gears up to fill the void with condos, shops, etc. Rumors started circulating late last year, after a Neighborhood Safety Meeting, where it is rumored to have been suggested by someone invested in the new development, that closing Kroger will deter undesirable street activity, such as drug dealing. To even suggest closing Kroger, our only grocery story, only to change what some people who don't live here (yet) will "see out their windows" when they move in, is a sobering example of the gentrification of Over-theRhine. That this would be seen as a others, and holding our officials responsible for continuing to highlight the lives of black people. In essence, I am saying there is not one way to celebrate Black History Month. There are many ways to show Black Lives Matter and provide recognition of one’s history and struggle is one of them. You could visit a local cultural museum, create an African-American Inventors collage or even read poetry from the Harlem Renaissance. Many schools and organizations plan programming and activities to celebrate the black history and the contributions made by black people. This celebration isn’t just a US thang either. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history. In fact, the United Kingdom first celebrated Black History Month 1987 thanks to the organized leadership of Ghanaian analyst Akyaaba Addai-Sebo. In Canada, Black History Month was officially recognized in December of 1995, following a motion introduced by the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament, the viable option for someone shows the disconnect between developers and community members. Displacement doesn’t require emotional labor. Displacement doesn’t require solutions. Displacement doesn’t require building bridges. Displacement is the status quo – it is not progress. So, before someone states that they are glad for the progress in Over-theRhine, remind them that progress is on the backs of more than 2300 low-income families who have been displaced out of the neighborhood in the last 15 years. This is on the backs of small business owners and nonprofits that have been pushed out. This is at the expense of the schools who lose money on new development tax abatements. That it is with the loss of public spaces. This progress may just be the powerful wringing what they can out of the powerless until they have had their fill. This is not progress in the true sense, but simply a continuance of the status quo – sustaining white supremacy. Honourable [sic] Jean Augustine, MP of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. In closing, there are many reasons why Black History Month should be important to all of us. Regardless of the fact that we wouldn’t have traffic lights (Garrett Morgan), modern elevators (Alexander Miles), ironing boards (Sarah Boothe), light bulb filament (Lewis Latimer), or many other inventions. It is important to show the role that black people have played to ensure this country is prosperous. We need to use this time to uplift the forgotten (or ignored) histories of people who help build this country. We need to highlight their role in shaping this democratic nation. With no James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King would we even have this current United States of America? Probably, but I am sure it would be a lot less hospitable for many people of color. This is the opportunity to engage the community in the history of the people. As I stated earlier, many inventions today are directly influenced by the black inventors of the past (Eli Whitney – Cotton Gin, Sarah Goode – Folding Cabinet Bed, Granville T. Woods – Multiplex Telegraph and Charles Richard Drew – Blood Cells Separation). These are just a few of the contributions by African-Americans, so it pays to recognize the past to move forward. Carter G. Woodson Credit: Biography.com Want to see what's happening for yourself? Book a Social Justice Walking Tour with the Homeless Coalition - cincihomeless.org [Editor’s Note: On February 15, 2017, a member of the Kroger Media Relations/Corporate Communications Office confirmed that Kroger has no plans to close the store at this time. Over-theRhine Safety Sector meeting notes or minutes are not currently available.] ------------------------ View of Construction Site on Vine and 15th at former Smitty's Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �OPINION Former Judge Painter: It’s Time to impeach Trump No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 [This editorial first appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer on February 14. Former Judge Mark P. Painter is a lifelong Cincinnatian. He served as a judge for 30 years.] A s Charles P. Pierce said in Esquire last week, “I swear, it's like we elected the Clampetts, if the Clampetts were grifters.” A president of the United States, on the official POTUS Twitter feed, assails a department store for dropping his daughter’s merchandise. On the same day, the Pentagon is looking to rent space in the Trump Tower. Trump’s son travels to Uganda to make a Trump business deal. And, of course, foreign diplomats will stay at the Trump Hotel. The cash comes marching in. The phony legalisms Trump has said he used to “separate” himself from his businesses – though he still owns them and his sons are running them – will be cited to make this all acceptable. Horsefeathers. No ethical expert could say with a straight face that this is not a classic conflict of interest. Take the news with you. MARK P. PAINTER Contributing Writer Download the Cincinnati.com app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. In any time except our postfactual era, no office holder, much less the president, could get away with any one of the dozens of dazzlingly illegal things Trump has already done. They would forfeit office immediately. The leader of the band of Mad Hatters occupying the White House has already insulted allied world leaders, issued illegal and badly written orders, impugned a “so-called” judge appointed by his own party, and appointed the least-qualified cabinet ever. The first secretary of state was Thomas Jefferson. Trump appointed a big-oil executive with close ties to Russia. The first treasury secretary was Alexander Hamilton. Trump appointed a former Goldman Sachs exec who got rich foreclosing on homeowners. The national security advisor lasted 24 days. And all that’s just at the time I write this. Who knows what happens next. Each new day is a new nightmare. We are still trying to digest one breathtaking assault on America when another is signed, issued, or Tweeted. All this amid constant lies. Constant. Lies. I am a lifelong Republican. I voted for every Republican presidential candidate from 1968 to 2004. But I have watched what once was a sane, center-right party go off the rails, first to the extreme right, then to wherever Trump is, which is in another universe. It’s tough, but we must end this dangerous presidency. Trump must be impeached and removed with all haste. But only Congress can initiate the process. Our congressman, Steve Chabot, has been busy defending Trump from the media, which is simply reporting Trump’s machinations. It’s time for him to man-up and start drafting the articles of impeachment. As I remember, he did it for Clinton for far less than Trump has already done. After the election, many hoped that Trump would “grow up” into the job – that he couldn’t possibly be as bad as some thought. Well, it’s gone the other way. The bully has become a more entitled bully. Anyone disagreeing is attacked. Policy is announced in illiterate tweets. 7 Basic American values – free speech, the rule of law, separation of powers, even common decency – are unknown in this White House. We now have a president who has no concept of separation of powers, or why we have three branches of government. If he knew anything about the Constitution, he would know the framers envisioned just the situation we have now – a would-be dictator. They provided checks and balances – such as an independent judiciary to protect us from presidential tyranny. Enabling a bully is always a mistake. As soon as the Tweet on Nordstrom’s came out, I said that the Republicans would defend the indefensible, and their talking point would be “a father supporting his daughter.” It wasn’t an hour later that Rep Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told CNN it “didn’t bother him.” But even Chaffetz had to choke when Kellyanne Conway urged people to buy Ivanka Trump’s shoes. All the above bothers me and should appall all Americans. We must admit we have elected a president who has immediately proved himself to be a grifter, a pathological liar, a mean-spirited bully and dangerous to American values. This not-ready-forprime-time show is too dangerous to continue. America is at stake. If you need help drafting those articles of impeachment, Steve, I am available. Border Stories SR. NICOLE VARNERIN H Contributing Writer ello, my name is Sr. Nicole Varnerin and I am a Sister of Notre Dame in Covington, KY. I’m still in training, so that means I get to have some pretty neat experiences. This past year I spent every Thursday afternoon at the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. I did whatever needed to be done, and made some friends along the way. But now it is time for my next experience. I feel called to be among and with people on the margins, which is why I volunteered with the Coalition this year. But in today’s world and today’s political climate, I feel like the physical border of our country is one of the biggest margins. So for the next 3 months, I will be living on the border, learning Spanish, and ministering with immigrants. Stay tuned for each new issue of Streetvibes where I will share my stories, lessons, and reflections with you. I’m sure I will learn a lot in the next 3 months, and I hope you will too! ------------------------ Coping with Stress In the Trump Era H ow do we cope with the stress caused by the actions and rhetoric of Donald Trump and his Administration? As many of you can attest, this is not a hypothetical question. Every day I seem to meet another person who is feeling stressed about what is happening in Washington, D.C.. They point to periods of stress during waking hours, and to difficulties sleeping at night. Now I must confess from the start that I don't possess any medical or other professional credentials to BILL WOODS Contributing Writer support the following suggestions, but they are based on personal experience or tips from friends and colleagues in the trenches. One suggestion that hasn't worked for me is to avoid all news, social media and personal conversations that deal with the world of Trump. For one thing, such avoidance is nearly impossible because of the current saturation of The Donald's brand. Every newspaper you pick up has at least one front page story with either a headline with the word Trump or a picture of him. Television is even worse! Secondly, for those of us involved with issues that are or will be effected by the actions of the Trump Administration or Congress, we simply must stay informed. The best we can do is not to overdose on the news. Too much time spent hearing everything there is to know about the Muslim travel ban or the plan to deregulate Wall Street will probably be bad for our health. People do need a few ways to totally escape from what's happening in D.C. on a daily basis. Scheduling THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED regular times for exercise can be very helpful. Whether it takes the form of jogging, long walks, or workouts in the gym, this activity can be good for the soul as well as the body. Others report that yoga and meditation can work wonders. Having a method of clearing the mind of everything including everything related to Trump can be cleansing for the spirit. For those of us who can't always get away from the happenings of the Trump era, humor is a necessity. Being able to laugh at the ranting and raving, the Tweets, and other outrageous behavior provides us with a healthy outlet for anger and (Continued on page 12) �8 LOCAL Children’s Kindness March P F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 GRETCHEN MARIE SEMANCIK Contributing Writer arents, children, and supporters gathered downtown on Fountain Square on Saturday, February 18, for the Children’s Kindness March. The demonstration began at 9 A.M. Organizers Sally Tookman O’Callaghan and Bill Hammons set up tables and brought supplies for any parents and children to make posters before that march began. The Play Library, an organization that acts as a “library” for loaning people of all ages toys and games, provided giant Jenga sets, hula hoops, free cookies, and other activities for children to partake in before the march began. Co-organizer Sally Tookman O’Callaghan said Hammons had reached out to her with this “idea of bringing people together in support of kindness”. “I have seen a lot of bullying and negativity happening recently. We felt like we needed to counteract that with something that was showing people that we could still be kind and nice to each other. We had the idea of bringing people together in a show of kindness. We used Mr. Rogers as an inspiration because I can’t think of anyone who is a better luminary for kindness than Mr. Rogers”, she said. A lot of people came and quickly crowded the corner of Vine Street and E. 5th St. of Fountain Square where the organizers were set up. Mayor John Cranley made an appearance with his family and gave a few words of his support for the spread of kindness. Miss Joanie brought her guitar and led group singing with the songs “This Land is Your Land”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “Three Little Birds” by Bod Marley, and “If I Had a Hammer” by Peter, Paul and Mary. The march fell in conjunction with National Random Acts of Kindness Week. National Acts of Kindness Week, in the United States is from February 12 – 18, it’s a week that was inspired by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is an internationally recognized, New Zealand based non-profit organization founded on the beliefs and goals of spreading acts of kindness within schools and throughout communities. By 10 A.M., supporters began their march, starting at Fountain Square and making their way to Smale Park. On the banks, supporters gathered around the “Sing the Queen City” sign and held up their posters for a final declaration of kindness. The march had no political objective, but rather just aimed to be a day of spreading kindness, compassion, and love. ------------------------ Organizers Sally Tookman O’Callaghan and Bill Hammons with Mayor John Cranley. Children's Kindness March sign with Mr. Rogers. Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Children's Kindness March participants on Fountain Square. Children's Kindness March participants walk through downtown. Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik Credit: Gretchen Marie Semancik “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 Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �WORLD Four famines mean 20 million may starve in the next six months 9 No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 TOM MILES M ore than 20 million people – greater than the population of Romania or Florida – risk dying from starvation within six months in four separate famines, U.N. World Food Programme chief economist Arif Husain says. Wars in Yemen, northeastern Nigeria and South Sudan have devastated households and driven up prices, while a drought in east Africa has ruined the agricultural economy. “In my not quite 15 years with the World Food Programme, this is the first time that we are literally talking about famine in four different parts of the world at the same time,” he told Reuters in an interview. “It’s almost overwhelming to comprehend that in the 21st century people are still experiencing famines of such magnitude. We’re talking about 20 million people, and all this within the next six months, or now. Yemen is now, Nigeria is now, South Sudan is now,” he said. “Somalia, when I look at the indicators in terms of extremely high food prices, falling livestock prices and agricultural wages, it’s going to come pretty fast.” The global humanitarian system is already struggling with a historic surge in migration, huge operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and serious situations in Ukraine, Burundi, Libya and Zimbabwe. “Then you have places like DRC Courtesy of Reuters / INSP.ngo Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, sits next to her relative at the al-Thawra hospital where she receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen October 25, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad northeast Nigeria we’re feeding more than 1 million people and just a few months ago we didn’t even have an office there,” Husain said. There is a glimmer of hope that Somalia’s drought will not be as severe as feared, but in the capital Mogadishu food prices have already risen by a quarter since January and forecasts for the rainy season from March to May are not optimistic. Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, who is affected by severe acute malnutrition, sits on a bed at the al-Thawra hospital in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen October 24, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad (Democratic Republic of Congo), CAR (Central African Republic), Burundi, Mali, Niger, where people are chronically food insecure but ... there’s just not enough resources to go around.” Humanitarian aid is at record high levels but demand is growing even faster, creating a huge gap. “In markets. But people have not been paid, especially the urban population, which is about a third of the total population,” Husain said. “Once they’ve lost their economic assets, it’s almost impossible for them to recover, and that just perpetuates long-term poverty.” Yemen is officially still classed as TOO LATE In 2011, Somalia suffered a famine that killed 260,000 people. The famine was declared in July, but most people had already died by May. “When we declare famine, it means many lives have already been lost,” Husain said. “If we wait to find that out for sure, people are already dead.” Moreover, the 2011 famine followed a good agricultural season. This year’s drought follows two bad seasons that have already sapped people’s resources. In Yemen and South Sudan, economic collapse means people simply cannot afford the food that is available. Prices in South Sudan have risen two to four times in a year, an “emergency”, but famine could be declared within about three months, Husain said. In Nigeria’s Borno state, where millions of people have fled Boko Haram militants, there is simply no commerce, no markets and no movement, leaving people dependent on emergency aid. “They survive outside in camps, Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, is carried by her cousin at the al-Thawra hospital where she receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen October 25, 2016. Credit:REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad and traders from Uganda and Kenya consider the local currency valueless. Yemenis, whose family wealth may be stored in gold or silver or weapons, are being forced to sell off those assets. “I was in Yemen just a couple of weeks ago. There is food in the THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 50 degree Centigrade temperatures, living in huts with metal sheets on top, with one water point, with communal kitchens, with one meal per day,” Husain said. “And there’s no end in sight.” (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Tom Heneghan) �10 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 �OPINION The Great Disruption No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 N banks take a hit on their share of a devaluing house? Obama made war on terror permanent instead of asking why are terrorists out to get us. But there was an upside to this: people figured out that the system is rigged (actually years ago… and many stopped voting) but this time they finally did something about it: some of them voted and threw the bums out! Unfortunately, they got it wrong; without the collective wisdom of a party that they owned, that was involved in their daily lives, that spoke for them, to them, and from them, a lot of people made a really bad choice. Making matters worse, the Democratic Party made sure they didn’t have a good alternative choice (that would be Bernie, of course, who was speaking directly to the concerns of Trump voters). If the Democratic Party hadn’t sabotaged Bernie Sanders’ campaign, we’d have a different President and we’d be fighting different battles right now, the right battles: climate change, universal healthcare, student debt, infrastructure/not war. In 1980 there were 18.9 million manufacturing jobs; now there are 12.2 million. In 1980 it took 25 jobs to generate $1 million in manufacturing output; today it takes 5 jobs, and U.S. manufacturing output has increased (see Bernie’s book). Productivity has increased enormously thanks to automation and the profit-driven innovation in information technology (IT). What about trade and immigration? After NAFTA 100,000s of Mexicans lost their farms; they couldn’t compete with subsidized environmentally unsustainable U.S. corporate corn production. When pork imports into Mexico increased 5-fold, 120,000 Mexican lost their jobs. This is a pattern, not an accident: global Capital (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, private banks) likes to force peasants off the land into low wage urban jobs or cheap farm labor in “advanced” economies. After NAFTA and the China trade deal, millions of manufacturing jobs evaporated from America (that was the whole idea). What fair global trade would do (not Trump’s “fair trade”) is improve the situation for workers in both the advanced and developing economies, enforcing strong labor standards defending workers’ rights and tough environmental regulations. How could that work? Well, right now the World Trade Organization, created by and for Capital, gets rid of national regulations that impede profits (that create “unfair” disadvantages). They (the global enforcers) vigorously enforce intellectual property rights of global corporations (software, patents, telecom, music, movies). Assessing worker’s rights in other countries through trade agreements would not be a huge challenge except for the problem that many of these rights are absent for U.S. workers (e.g., organizing unions without employer repression, guaranteeing democratic procedures in unions). They could enlist community and labor organizations around the world to report on bad conditions. They could put the CIA on labor violations instead of targeting Hellfire missiles on pathetic misguided troublemakers. This would greatly reduce the incentives for corporations to export jobs. Some companies are already bringing jobs back because foreign labor isn’t so cheap any more. So there are two major forces driving modern Capital: 1) efficiencies from automation and IT (disruptions), and 2) weak regulation in the global market for cheap labor and environmental destruction. But there’s another problem: we’re spending money on the wrong things. $600 billion a year goes to defense to clean up after decades of wrong foreign policies. Trump wants to spend more. They want to spend one trillion dollars (that’s a million millions) over 10 yr to upgrade our nuclear weapons! How sick is that? it’s like the run-up to WW I when competing elites fought over issues that had no relevance to working peoples, with catastrophic and predicted consequences… including WW II. We’re spending billions on IT gadgetry (cellphone apps to turn on our oven, start our car, drive our car, scan our neighborhood, stream our entertainment, stream our life), on drones (a whole new front for wacked-out terrorists - if FedEx can deliver a package, then, they can too), on massively wasteful private medical insurance, on colonizing the moon, on sending billionaire tourists to Mars. We should be spending money on our urban environments, growing good food locally, energy efficiency. This means changing the price structure: huge taxes on things we don’t need and huge subsidies for GETTING TO the things we do need. Taking our future out of the hands of the IT dot.coms, big ag, big pharma and the hedge funds. Big money. This is a huge challenge for the environmental movement which must address the fundamental needs and interests of the working class, otherwise, it’s all over. We can forget the environment. (Here’s another great book: This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein, 2015.) Environmentalists have to become the conservation contingent in a larger Movement. Example: after Trump revived the XL and DAPL pipelines, there were environmentalists in the media giving reasons why there shouldn’t be jobs for pipelines instead of reasons why there should be jobs for lots of other things (mass transit, storm water management, schools, sustainable energy, etc.). For example, in Cincinnati, the Metropolitan Sewer District project to get sewage out of our public places, including basements, needs to be part of a larger vision for the immigrant workers that his organization serves also feel under attack. However, they are bolstered by and appreciate the support of the rallies and demonstrations that have already taken place in front of City Hall and in Washington Park. So many people coming together, he said, surely had an impact on the Mayor and Council declaring Cincinnati a "sanctuary city." Imagine, he speculated, if everyone had remained quiet and passive after announcements such as Trump's Executive Order banning Muslims from seven countries. In this often confusing, disturbing and unpredictable time in our public life, he concluded, it is important that citizens are willing to come together and speak out for the public values and ideals that have protected this country and made it a beacon of hope. Panelist Michelle Dillingham celebrated the fact that 10,000 people had gathered in Washington Park as part of the national women's marches taking place in Washington, D.C. and in cities across the country on January 21st. Coming as it did a day after Trump's Inauguration, it showed the huge opposition organized to protect the rights of women and every other group and progressive policy that seemed to be endangered by the incoming Administration. Dillingham noted that she saw many of her friends and colleagues who were part of the large crowd gathered in Over-the-Rhine. Dillingham, who directs a coalition of diverse non-profit organizations, said that in recent years personnel of human service agencies were trained to be nonpolitical and to focus on delivering their expertise. Before the growth of the hundreds of social services that now exist and are often financed by federal, state, and local dollars, social workers were in the political trenches fighting for the protection of children and health care for the poor. What now is going on in Washington, D.C., suggested Dillingham, requires social workers to return to their early roots. Dillingham is working to make Community Shares, because of its membership of diverse social services, a coalition that will help effectively organize the demonstrations and other public activities necessary to protect "the safety net" and people's rights in general. So much is going on locally, she advocated that Community Shares and other groups create calendars' of events on their web-sites to let activists plan ahead. She concluded by citing an article in The Nation that advised that the local and state levels are now the best places to organize against the reactionary policies that are being concocted in the nation's capital. ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer ot very many years after the Great Recession came the Great Disruption – the election of Donald Trump – with the potential to wreak dramatic, unpredictable changes in America. Most of the titans of the digital universe, the guys that pride themselves on disruption, ha, ha, didn’t see it coming (they were rooting and booting for Hillary). These are the guys that love to destroy jobs (automation), traditions (local retail stores) and lives. But why did Trump win? Was it because of Russian meddling? No. Because the FBI screw-up? No. Was it the result of the Electoral College running interference? No. All these happened but no, he won because the Democratic Party long ago abandoned any pretence of fighting for the Working Class against Capital. A recent amazing book entitled Capital in the Twenty-first Century (by the French economist Thomas Piketty, 2014) laid out the progression of policies and practices on the part of private wealth and their public servants that resulted in the massive and growing concentration of wealth among the global billionaire class. Hillary Clinton and Clinton Inc. were leading the charge for modern Capital in America, but the people saw through it and it failed. It didn’t help that Obama gave the banks a pass after enormous losses to homeowners, small businesses, and pensions (he said “We’re not gonna look back, we’re going to get the system working again”). According to Bernie Sanders (in his book, Our Revolution, 2016): after the meltdown there were 15 million foreclosures and 4.3 million homeowners are still underwater, a huge wrenching assault on the American people. Why don’t the BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) Imam also depicted the coming together of Muslims and Jews. He has established a strong bond with Hebrew Union College, an institution that also experienced an example of the newly unleashed prejudice when a swastika was drawn on one of its buildings shortly after the November election. These coalitions of churches, synagogues, mosques and other progressive groups offer hope that people of good will will stand up to and eventually prevail over the prejudicial and fear producing policies and actions coming from the current Administration. We must foster the public response, emphasized the Imam, that if you are under attack then I am under attack. Brennan Grayson of CIWI applauded the words of Imam Chartier. He declared that the 11 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 12) �12 T STREET VOICE Living like you get down: You’ve heard it! Um; as well as I! he solutions and, or, the remedy for all of our discomforts, or, ills if you will! Yet from a sense of reality, we don’t all have the same issues. However, and I am sure of this! My issues are as confronting, confounding, and pressing as yours! The solutions/remedies for some relief or, alleviation from such are within! Now, if you have a sense of confusion about what I’ve said, then read on. You can then contemplate all your complaints. I have learned and realized, as much as most that many of my life’s discomforts are from myself! It’s like the old misnomer; “you hurt my feelings.” Well, the truth, be as it is, no one, nor any instance can hurt I Am Enough BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer I saw these words on a computer screen and it got me to thinking. Am I Enough? This statement was made based upon having feelings of being unworthy, shameful, and fearful. I live with these feelings daily. I’m not saying I am unique in having these feelings but for me being in Recovery, these feelings at sometimes are debilitating. They put me in a tailspin that I find very hard to pull myself out of. Not feeling that “I AM ENOUGH”, ROBERT PARK (Continued from page 11) future (parks, green spaces, public recreation, public connectivity) built with training programs for local residents leading to living wages and union labor. We have to create that vision; public officials aren’t going to do it for us. Building the Movement that we need means supporting the $15 minimum wage for all employment public and private, promoting local organic farming (attracting people back to the land with modern, relevant technology and innovation) and building the things we need. It means creating funding pathways that claw back obscene wealth using BILL WOODS (Continued from page 8) frustration, and it also levels the playing field and makes Trump and his colleagues beatable. Luckily, we have a lot of humorists out there who are dedicating themselves to making a laughing stock of The Donald and his Administration. Check out Alec Baldwin's impersonation of Trump on Saturday Night Live. Stephen Colbert regularly F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 we the people who live the life of the street are burdened with the ideas and beliefs of others to the degree that we subject ourselves to those ideas and beliefs, as if, this is my plight! That written in stone fallacy that this is how it is and I must accept it as such! Indeed, so preposterous, to accept some of the ills of life without question or reserve of the possibility of change! For many of the street people this seems to be the crux of their existence. Not striving for change or relief in their lives, but, being complacent with the way things are, because, this is how things are!? The argument is; do I have to accept that reality, or can I make a change? An individual has to take charge of their circumstance, seeking those relief points, rather they be in self attitude, or involvement with organizations/programs which offer solutions for those ills and discomforts. Now, I understand and believe that what I have suggested is simple, perhaps for some and difficult or impossible for others, however, I honestly believe that if any of us who suffer from such, want and need relief from our pains have too start with self. Facing and confronting those issues which bring us so much disconnection in our lives begins with self and a look at how we perceive the relationship between self and our worlds. Of course I don’t claim to have all the answers for the misery of some, nor for that matter a remedy for some of my own, yet, I am convinced that to get down as you live one must learn to live as they get down! makes for many bad decisions in my life. I am speaking past and present. I suffer from low-self-esteem most days and it’s only thru my writings that I find self-worth. I must write daily to keep myself focused on who I am and what I choose to accomplish each day. Today for example, a simple “speak up brah” caused me to become fearful. I was afraid I had hurt someone’s feelings because of my rude comment. It wasn’t meant to be harmful, but in that moment in time it was taken that way. For an hour, I trembled inside wondering how can I fix this. My fear in this incident was that I lost a potential friend. I may have ruined the opportunity to build a friendship. Being who I am, friendships are hard to make. You see due to my past, some people already have preconceived thoughts about me, and my mind tells me that by looking at me they know how I was. Being judged and being judgmental causes me to allow my thoughts to go to the most negative part of my mind. The place where all the “Boogey Men” live. I was no saint, oh so many years ago, but my past doesn’t define who I am today. My mind has these thoughts and I tend to believe what my mind tells me. I know these are thoughts and they are not always based in fact but I sometimes hold on to them until it becomes too heavy a load to carry. Focusing on my good attributes has brought me here, right now in a place of serenity. When I ask myself “AM I ENOUGH?” I can look in the mirror or into your eyes and with a sense of Pride and Accomplishment say: YES, I AM ENOUGH!!! What a powerful and warming statement. It allows me to rejoice in the fact that being enough is a positive affirmation that I can continue to use as I go thru my day. Continuing to speak of myself in such a positive way gives me pride and respect for myself that for years I looked in others to give me. People; and their opinions of me do not define me today. Only I can define who I am and how I can be a better person. “I AM ENOUGH!! tools like progressive local income taxes and financial transaction taxes. We need a movement to take back our wealth. There are going to be huge problems with climate change and denial: we will need the right responses, fast. There will be bigger floods, worse droughts, and regional fires (remember that fire last year in Canada near the tar sands area? Climate change and dead trees will create huge risks. There are going to be economic upsets and disasters (really big disruptions). We’ll need demands that help the victims and target the corporate actors. Sarcasm and ridicule of Trump might be entertaining (and therapeutic) for some of us but it just helps Him; we’ve already lost the battle of words. The Republican Party with its distracting wedge issues (abortion, gay marriage) has poisoned the well of intellectual discourse. Public argument is over in part because the Democratic Party never rose to the challenge. We’ve always had fake news from the media, usually more subtle than the bold lies that have become acceptable in Trumpland and on “social” media. How come the Democratic Party never fielded a candidate who wasn’t afraid to make bold outlandish claims (that happened to be true)? We had to wait for Donald Trump for proof of concept? And now some of the organizing against Trump in the streets is being lead by Democratic Party flunkies who still don’t get it, the same ones who delivered America to Trump. The Movement must be clear on this history, candidates and party officials have to be held accountable on it. When things go badly for people in power they divide, conquer and victimize. We have to be ready for race war: when things don’t go His way, He’ll start dividing and conquering with more than just contemptible words. We’ll need immediate acts of solidarity – rapid response SWAT teams for justice. Today we face huge threats but also a great opportunity to wrest a rigged system away from the kleptocapitalists. When we start to do this many pro-Trump supporters will join us. lampoons Trump and his policies for late night viewers, and Gail Collins' New York Times columns are gems at dissecting the absurd machinations taking place in the nation's capital. One of my current favorites is "The Borowitz Report," a fake on-line press release written by Andy Borowitz for The New Yorker Magazine. His headlines are usually laugh-out-loud funny. A recent one read: "World Leaders Receive Crank Calls From Someone Claiming To Be President Of The United States." Even more effective than humor as an antidote to stress is involvement in a citizen initiative focused on opposing some of the scary policies now being launched by this Administration and Congress. Women led the way with the huge marches that took place in Washington and cities across the country. Demonstrations opposing the Muslim travel ban have been the next big events. Citizen efforts are forming around a host of issues such as saving the environment and campaign reform. As single individuals, we can do very little, but together with others we can overcome our fear and stress and make a difference. Such participation shows us we are not alone, and it will show Trump and his team that they cannot run roughshod over so many organized citizens. RICARDO TAYLOR Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer your feelings. Your feelings are yours alone; harvested and controlled by you alone. Too often, at least in my opinion, THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �13 STREET VOICE No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL NON-PROTECTION AGENCY Son Son talk to me The United States Senate just blew it Mommy needs to know By confirming EPA Chief Scott Pruitt. What you feel And what you see Son talk to me Preserving clean air's not his cause, And Scott's opposed most EPA laws. Mommy loves you So I don't mean to sound like a scold, With all her heart Seems like we have been drifting apart It’s a feeling, I feel in my heart But curbing climate change is on hold. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer I will never let anything keep us apart In the heart is where we need to start Like the good old days When learning and hoping were part of our start BETTER Better, is everyday above ground Better, is appreciation from everywhere all around... And we would talk Let’s start over son Because you are my heart KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Better, is to upgrade things that are out dated Better, is acknowledging the changes with the recognition that the cost may be out rated Better, is to make downscaled areas be upscaled and look good Better, is to not to neglect the people, RICH or POOR! I thought this you understood... Better, is being able to enjoy life in the park, the library, church or just on the square Better, is when I can enjoy upscaled living in this life without my pockets going bare... Better, is to be able to enjoy and have peace of mind no matter what I hear or what the sound Better, is growing from homelessness into housing and gaining respect from all around.... Better, is for me today even though I have to pay taxes for things I may never understand Better, is knowing God is watching us all good and bad all over this land.... WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 119 Across 1. Theme 6. A small drink 9. Financial obligation 13. Worship 14. Playing card 15. Jockey 16. Tooth 17. Pasture 18. Bird of prey 19. Defend 21. Full 23. Organ of hearing 24. Parasitic insect 25. Vehicle 28. Child's plastic construction set 30. Mollusk with a conical shell 35. Highly excited 37. Swill 39. Established line of travel 40. Fabric interwoven with threads of metal 41. Vegetarian food 43. Rotated 44. A choice or delicious dish 46. Prima donna 47. Team 48. Make attractive or lovable 50. Transmitted 52. Allowed 53. Near 55. Taxi 57. Eight-sided polygon 61. Produced from nonmetallic minerals and fired at high temperatures 65. Inexperienced 66. Fuss 68. Garbage 69. Below 70. Distilled from fermented molasses 71. Spry 72. Oracle 73. Tennis stroke 74. Regenerate Down 1. Pack together 2. Aroma 3. Field sport 4. Very Angry 5. Breakfast food 6. Sodium chloride 7. Frozen water 8. Jewel 9. Clock face 10. A slight competitive advantage 11. Accessory 12. Large woody plant 15. Mend 20. Cruciferous plant 22. Fish 24. Anserine 25. Part of a brass wind instrument 26. Once more 27. Wanderer 29. Happy 31. Nonvascular plant 32. Student 33. Musical composition 34. Religious doctrine 36. DNA segment 38. Cover with stone or concrete 42. Terpsichore 45. Peril 49. South American city, in short 51. Salt used in baking powder 54. Twist into a state of deformity 56. Flatbottom boat 57. Burden 58. Walking stick 59. Periodic rise and fall of sea level 60. Avow 61. Crest 62. Briny 63. Small island 64. Masticate 67. Singing pair SODOKU PUZZLE NO 249 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 349 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 118 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 248- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 350 | F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 Central Access Point 15 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 352-6364 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 Salvation Army 762-5660 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 1125 Bank Street 45214 411 Gest St. 45203 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 2121 Vine Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Parkway Center 661-4620 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 1528 Race St. 45202 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Northern Kentucky 241-2965 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 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Food/Clothing Health 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 $100 Hamilton/Middletown Joseph House (Veterans) 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 1223 Main St. 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 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Housing: Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 471-1100 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 for 26 issues 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 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org $150 859-491-8303 for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 F e b 2 4 - M a r 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 0 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 GINA MARTIN GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2000 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JONATHAN SLATER SINCE 5/2014 JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009 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 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 W. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 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 Newspapers 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 24-March 9, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Forum Focused on Local Responses to What’s Going on in Washington D.C. Pg 3: Shame in the City Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Not Just My History, Our History Pg 6: How to respond to Panhandling Pg 7: Former Judge Painter Border Stories Coping with Stress in the Trump Era Pg 8: Children’s Kindness March Pg 9: Four Famines Mean 20 Million May Starve in the Next Six Months Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: The Great Disruption Pg 12: Living Like You Get Down 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 24-March 9, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Key Beck Mark P. Painter Sr. Nicole Varnerin Gretchen Marie Semancik Robert Park Ricardo Taylor Bobby Morris Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Alice Schneider Biography.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alice Schneider Bill Woods Biography.com Bobby Morris Children’s Kindness March D.C. Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman Famines Gretchen Marie Semancik Josh Spring Key Beck Kim Green Mark P. Painter mental illness Ricardo Taylor Robert Park Sr. Nicole Varnerin Washington Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/3cb471119f729abdeb5fed2859a359eb.pdf effa0a6e442a33884020c330de99243d PDF Text Text January 13th - January 26th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 28 (No. 347) advocating justice | Building community Sharing free food with the homeless: what harm can it do? | 9 This issue sponsored by Rosie, Oscar, Phil and Jack INSIDE THIS ISSUE Community Issues Forum Kicks Off 2017 with Vice Mayor David Mann | 2 Education and Income | 3 Black Lives Matter Cincinnati: multiracial liberation movement | 7 Denver homeless protest against ‘clean up’ of downtown streets | 8 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Wearying Winter JOSH SPRING Executive Director I am looking forward to the return of consistently warm weather. I know it may seem sort of uncreative to write about the current weather, but the winter really is the worst (I know this may not be a fact and that some of you disagree). The cold causes physical pain and leads to an increase in sickness; sniffles, flu, sinus infections, etc. The winter is especially hard on people without homes and especially on people without shelter. The winter also adds financial burden. It costs more and more to heat living and working spaces. Cold weather can wreak havoc on building structures, roads, sidewalks and automobiles. The winter also constricts a person. Wearing heavy coats means we move slower with less mobility - and those coats also cost money. I know stating these problems is not going to end winter (though we can end homelessness and therefore the effects of winter on people experiencing homelessness). And I know that truly ending winter (global warming) would be a terrible thing. But I am confident that you and nearly everyone you know agrees with at least significant portions of these feelings - even if you like the look of snow. Winter is also the enemy of community organizing. Winter adds difficulty to the prospect of people J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 getting out and acting together. I am sure you have noticed, but between the freezing temperatures and the holidays it seems that nearly everything happens slower in the winter. Timelines are extended, meetings are canceled or rescheduled, you have to set out earlier to get somewhere on time, so forth and so on. While I can recognize that fresh fallen snow looks pretty, I only enjoy it in pictures and snow-globes. All this personal dislike of cold weather aside, greater numbers of people with homes tend to be concerned about people without homes during this time of year because of the holidays and the cold. This concern is important. Homelessness, however, is a yearround systematic problem and we must respond to it year-round and work constantly to systematically end it, such that this systematic problem does not leave people prey to the harshness of winter or any other time. ------------------------ THE COMMUNITY ISSUES FORUM KICKS OFF 2017 WITH VICE MAYOR DAVID MANN REVIEWING CRITICAL ISSUES CITY AHEAD 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: BILL WOODS T he Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral kicks off 2017 with a presentation by Vice Mayor David Mann. At this Thursday lunch session on January 19th, the Vice Mayor will discuss critical issues that will confront City Government in the coming year. He will also comment about the current political climate in Washington and Columbus and how it might impact cities like Cincinnati. Mann, a former Congressman, Mayor, and multi term Council member, came out of political retirement to run for Council in 2013. Not only has he provided valuable experience to this body, but he has championed affordable housing and other grassroots projects that often were neglected in the City's fixation on upscale development. The Vice Mayor has decided to seek reelection in the fall. Forums at the Cathedral feature a wide range of community and public issues with an emphasis on social, economic, and political justice. In December, Two Forums focused on the tragedies of gun violence in Cincinnati, and the 2016 actions and goals of Black Lives Matter/ Cincinnati. Forums are free and open to the public, and they take place at the lunch hour every other Thursday Dr. Mark Mussman Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Michael Earl Patton, Steve McClanahan, Dr. Mark Mussman, Mike Brown, Jason Haap, Steve Sunderland, Bobby Morris, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Michael Flood, Michael Earl Patton, Mike Brown, Google Images, Bill Woods Vice Mayor David Mann Photo: Michael Flood from January to June. Time is always set aside for questions and comments from attendees, and lunches can be purchased on a first come, first serve basis. For further information call 3814994. ------------------------ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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 Education and Income No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 MICHAEL EARL PATTON O Contributing Writer ne of the things that continually annoyed me in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election was the characterization of Trump supporters as “uneducated.” Besides its being dismissive of millions of people, it is unclear what the charge actually means. And it is probably wrong, too. I want to explore this a without getting a 4-year degree if you are considered “educated” or “uneducated.” And then comes the matter of why one should be so dismissive of those without college degrees. College degrees are necessary for many jobs, true, but those jobs are not the only ones that should command respect. In fact, the hosts of the PBS program McMicken Hall at UC Credit: Michael Earl Patton little, using exit polling data and once again using data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls. gov). First, what do these critics mean by “uneducated”? From the context, and the sheer numbers of supposedly uneducated people involved, it clearly does not mean people with NO education – people who never attended school at all. In checking I found out that what is meant is people with no college education, though it is not clear if you attended college This Old House have been talking recently about the difficulty in finding good trades people such as finish carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and masons. Their experience aligns with mine, and I also would add that most of my “educated” friends – those with a college degree – wouldn’t recognize a good job from a bad one. Their educated opinion is almost worthless in this regard. I would also add such trades as mechanics and machinists, along with traditional occupations such as farmers, barbers, cooks, police, soldiers, and ranchers (the list is meant to be suggestive, not comprehensive) are occupations that require skill and training. Some of these workers may have a college degree, but even if they don’t I am not going to dismiss their opinions out of hand. I see no reason why someone with, say, a journalism, sociology, or even an engineering degree should automatically be credible while others, who may have been succeeding at their jobs or even running their own businesses for decades, should be dismissed. Full disclosure – I have an engineering Labor Statistics data for a relationship between income and education. Sure enough, there is a strong correlation. People with higher incomes tend to have more college education. Further, people in all income quintiles (groupings of 20% of income, such as those in the bottom 20% of income, the next 20%, and so on) are going to college more often. Alas, the data I examined did not state how many of these received a degree, but these probably also have increased. Here is a graph I made from the data for the years of the past 4 presidential elections. I had to use 2015 data degree. I always strive to put together a credible analysis which I hope is evaluated on its own merits. Exit polling conducted by the New York Times showed that those who never attended college were almost as likely to vote for Clinton as for Trump (45% versus 51%). Only those with post-graduate education were much more likely to vote for Clinton (58% versus 37%). Or maybe not. Exit polling in this past election was not a reliable guide to the actual results because Trump’s victory was a surprise to all those who relied on these data. In other words, significant numbers of those polled may not have been telling the truth about their choice. Who were they? Who held back from saying they actually voted for Trump? Were they Bernie Sanders supporters still upset at Clinton? Were they immigrants who came here legally and who don’t like border jumping? College-educated women? People who don’t like the New York Times? I don’t know if anyone has researched this question, but I would be most interested in knowing more. I also looked at the Bureau of instead of 2016 because 2016 data have not yet been released. There is one final point I want to make about the so-called “uneducated” Trump supporters. Yes, it is true that Hillary Clinton received over 2.8 million more popular votes than Donald Trump. But that was still only 48% of the votes cast. Trump received about 46% of the popular vote. The other 6% went to third party or independent candidates. If we group all the conservative-leaning candidates together – Trump, the Libertarian and Constitution candidates, and McMullin who ran as an independent – they received almost 51% of the vote. Since that is just over half, it may not seem especially noteworthy, but that is a higher percentage than conservatives have won in the past several elections. I am NOT saying that as more people go to college, voters are more likely to vote for conservative candidates. I don’t think there is enough of a correlation, at least so far. But I am saying that we should not be so quick to dismiss people with whom we may disagree as uneducated. evidence concerning global warming and the role of human activity; if you are not aware of the science, there are several credible sources you can read (for example, http://climate. nasa.gov/evidence/). Suffice it to say that it is widely agreed that a critical element of the solution to climate change is globally moving away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, hence the Paris Climate Agreement. We Must Act Against Climate Change STEPHEN MCCLANAHAN Contributing Writer W ith Mr. Trump’s election, climate change denial and skepticism has again entered the mainstream. This is an astonishing position given the plethora and rigor of scientific investigations that have studied the influence of greenhouse gases in 3 driving abrupt climate change. It is also alarming since climate change will literally alter the world for the worse, most notably for our children and future generations. It is not my intention to delineate the scientific THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 7) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 �5 LOCAL Fact or Fiction: Tools for Active Reading No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 T DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer here seems to be a crisis in news reporting these days, both on the small screen and in social media. Socalled “fake news” has been on blast for about a year, but even more now, as revelations that people are manufacturing news to get clicks online are exposed. I was trying to figure out if there was a way to expose fake news without using Google, or Wikipedia, or Snopes, etc. to verify. I quickly realized that there have been plenty of fake news stories circulated on social media (one or two, I’m sure I’m guilty of sharing) – stories that I should have been able to spot as fake almost immediately. Examining the source for satire (The Onion or even the column in the New Yorker) or sensationalism (USuncut or WorldStarHipHop) is a good place to start. But beyond that, how do we know if a story is real? I heard recently that some people are having an issue identifying fake news because we are so dependent on googling things, or we don’t have the necessary depth to decipher fact from fiction. It may be due to our reliance on instantaneous gratification, and waiting around, or wading through multiple primary source documents, is time consuming and often daunting. Whatever the case, there is a real need to understand the connection between the ability to critically think with an expanded world view and the impact on advocacy work. I began to think through the steps I use when deciding if something is real that I read online. I tried to go beyond the typical questions, like “Is it too good to be true?” to something more concrete. The results fell into the basic categories of Fallacies – Psychological, Logical and Mechanical. When you write a sensationalist piece, appealing to people’s emotions and trying to sway them, you are essentially simultaneously using both a persuasive technique and falling into a psychological fallacy. While passion is an important part of communication, it is important to keep personal attacks and humor to a minimum. I was reading an article today that name-called someone and I immediately wanted to stop reading the article. I felt that by using an ad hominem attack, I was ready to quickly disregard everything else the writer had to say. What does that negativity do but disable you from seeing things objectively? I hope to not fall into that trap. An introductory speech class will teach you all about persuasive techniques to connect with your audience. These techniques come in extra handy during debates when you are trying to win over an audience for votes. But these same techniques, while fiery and passion-laden, fall flat in honest reporting. What works for a human-interest story does not work for reporting about current events, so if the story you are reading seems to hit too close to home, or if it seems that the writer wants you to think something specific, it’s poor reporting. The S.M.A.R.T. section is taken from SMART Goals, which I felt took a nuanced approach to those concepts. If the article you are reading writes about things that can’t be measured but argues them as fact, there is something fishy going on there. If the “Breakdown Stereotypes” author makes simple generalizations like “all liberals” or it just seems strange that this article is coming out now, then it is probably just there to get you to click on it. I included these because they can quickly rule out real news. Finally, if you’ve looked at the headline and you don’t see the persuasive techniques or the SMART violations, then you need to move to logical fallacies before you can say it is real news. Logical fallacies are probably the most widely used methods of persuasion that get left unchecked. If you don’t understand them, then you will have trouble rationalizing the issues with the statements that are being made. It is completely possible to convince people of things using logical fallacies. Being able to point them out, even by just reading the headline of an article, is a skill that takes time, but will eventually save you plenty of time and a headache. As corporate media becomes more and more conglomerated, it is more imperative than ever to develop these skills. It may not be enough to stop fake news operations, or even poor reporting in mainstream media, but it will empower you to take on falsehoods one fallacy at a time. Understanding fact from fiction strengthens your advocacy work and increases your ability to create change in our community. “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 �6 LOCAL J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL Black Lives Matter Cincinnati: A multiracial movement for liberation 7 No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 S ince it was founded in December 2014, Black Lives Matter Cincinnati has become the leading voice for black liberation in the city, working to mobilize people to demand an end to police brutality, institutional racism, and other injustices. “It’s a fight for black liberation, but it’s not a black fight,” said Brian Taylor, one of the original BLMC founders and a member of its steering committee. “Just like the fight for women’s liberation is not just a women’s fight.” BLMC is unapologetically multiracial, despite the frequent MIKE BROWN Contributing Writer are less sure are welcome to come and learn and find out.” BLMC looks to create change from the community level up. Leaders on the ground mobilize people in the streets, about 12,000 in 2016, according to Taylor. “Our real power is in numbers,” he said. “Racism is the original sin of U.S. culture,” said Meg Bruck, 67, a white resident of College Hill and the great granddaughter of a Civil War era abolitionist. “It deprives white people of our humanity, and it is our class congregation decided to become an “open and affirming” church to the LGBTQ community and, after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson later in 2014, a faith ally of BLMC. “They’re doing some really important work in this city,” said Rev. Ian Strickland, the white pastor of Over-the-Rhine Community Church on Race Street, referring to BLMC. “They do a lot to name problems that people don’t want to talk about, but also offer solutions,” citing the idea of restorative justice in schools. In addition to actions in the street, they’re educational, said Strickland. For Sam Katz, 22, a student in the jazz studies department at the College Conservatory of Music, BLMC helps fill the void left by many student organizations, such as the Irate 8, whose visible activism on campus withered when its founders graduated from the University of Cincinnati. Katz, who is white, is a member of BLMC. BLMC stands not only for black liberation, but also human liberation. For Taylor, the two are related because the same system, rooted in free-market capitalism, oppresses most people. It pits people against (Continued on page 8) Black Lives Matter Cincinnati Rally in Washington Park Credit: Mike Brown Brian Taylor, Black Lives Matter Cincinnnati Credit: Mike Brown misconception that it is anti-white. It is also feminist, queer, nondenominational, pro-immigrant, pro-labor, and pro-union. “We mean it when we say anybody who agrees with our principles and is willing to organize their time and effort to fight to achieve them is welcome,” Taylor said. “Those who STEPHEN MCCLANAHAN (Continued from page 3) The United States has a major role to play since we are one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas. We must recognize and account for the true environmental and health costs of carbon fuels which we currently do not pay for. The most effective first step towards a solution is to enact revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend (CF&D) legislation. This policy places a steadily rising fee on fossil fuels based on the amount of CO2 produced. Fees are collected at responsibility to dismantle it.” Bruck takes that responsibility seriously as a member of Black Lives Matter Cincinnati. “We stand in solidarity alongside of the Black Lives Matter Cincinnati movement,” said Rev. Alan Dicken, the white pastor Carthage Christian Church. In 2014, the white, working the point at which carbon fuels enter the market and are placed in a trust fund. 100% of the fees collected, less administrative costs, are returned directly to households on an equal shares monthly basis (each adult receives one share, children receive ½ share with a limit of 2 children per family). Border adjustments discourage business relocation. Individuals and businesses are free to make independent choices about their energy usage. This policy will incentivize the free market, which will respond to provide alternative energy sources that avoid or minimize the use of carbon fuels. CF&D has been studied in detail. Black Lives Matter Cincinnati Rally near Cincinnati Police Department District 1 Station Credit: Mike Brown Most importantly, it is a real step towards substantially lowering CO2 emissions. Because it is revenue neutral and free market based, it does not grow the size of government or require additional regulations. Contrary to the existing mindset that protecting our environment can only come at the expense of our economy, CF&D provides a substantial economic stimulus, creating an estimated 2.8 million jobs in 20 years. Due to the dividend, just under twothirds of US households break even or receive more each month than they pay in higher prices; the other one-third pay more because of the amount of fossil fuels they consume. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED It is a progressive policy in that it protects lower income households since they tend to use less fossil fuel. Moving away from fossil fuels literally saves lives; an estimated 13,000 lives are saved annually after 10 years, with a cumulative 227,000 American lives saved over 20 years. And by addressing climate change, we are addressing one of the major national security threats identified by the Department of Defense. We have a very real problem in climate change and an innovative solution; we only lack the political will. Please call your member of Congress to demand action on climate. �e 8 NATIONAL Denver homeless protest against ‘clean up’ of downtown streets P olice and clean-up crews armed with brooms and trash bags were met by angry and frustrated homeless residents just north of downtown Denver in November. Uniformed officers were detailed to ‘clean’ the area’s sidewalks of bicycles, wheelchairs and shopping carts filled with personal items. A tense day with sporadic protests by the homeless and their supporters broke out with campers fearing they would lose their homes and property in the sweep. During the peaceful protests, GILES CLASEN Courtesy of Denver Voice / INSP.ngo the homeless co-operated with the police, loading their belongings into shopping carts which were temporarily moved into storage. Most of the people affected were expected to be able to return to the sidewalk camp after the area covering three streets had been completed. Officer David Hunter of the Denver Police Homeless Outreach Team, said, “Everyone wants a peaceful resolution. We want to clean up and be gone.” John Gerhard Jr says, "ìt isn't easy being homeless when youíre handicapped." Credit: Giles Clasen MIKE BROWN (Continued from page 7) one another, blinding them to the larger systems and institutions that push them down. This is why he refuses to accept the idea of some activists that all white people are the oppressors who should work separately to dismantle racism. “It’s easy to think that white people are evil, but it lets off the hook the system of greed behind the racism and oppression,” said Taylor. Yet, to people of color, he said, the hands of oppression are white and male, belonging to people who are vested in a system that gives them disproportionately more power and economic benefits. There is a core group of about J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 25 to 60 people depending on circumstances, said Taylor, who estimates that active members number several hundred. About half are white. The five-person steering team is comprised of four black people and one white person. BLMC is a volunteer organization. According to Taylor, no one is paid for the work they do, and often the leaders pay for organizational expenses with their own money. BLMC adopted the name, Black Lives Matter, Taylor said, because the name was inspiring. But he is quick to point out that BLMC is independent of the national movement, with no affiliation and no access to its funding. “The politics of the Black Lives Matter national organization is only a small slice of the black Black Lives Matter Cincinnati Rally for Sam Dubose Credit: Mike Brown Denver Voice spoke to four residents caught up in the sweep. They were among the residents who were vocal about exercising their right to protest and why the sweep highlights the wider issue of finding shelter and affordable housing in the area. John Gerhard Jr. “I’ve been here since August. I stayed in a shelter the first two weeks, but I was eaten up by bed bugs. It’s also difficult to get from downtown to some of the shelters. You can wait for an hour or longer for a bus to come by with an opening for a handicapped person. “Being in a chair makes it harder. It isn’t like I don’t try, but there is no place to go. I broke my back in a car accident. It isn’t easy being homeless when you’re handicapped. “I know it isn’t easy for the city; it isn’t easy for anyone. I think there are some better solutions. There are abandoned lots waiting to be purchased. No construction yet. We should utilize the lots. We should make temporary campgrounds until they start construction. “We work hard to make these sidewalks work. We wake up every morning and sweep the sidewalks (Continued on page 12) "I am a transsexual. I don't think that makes it harder out here for me. It's hard for everyone," explains Littiah Fabre. Credit: Giles Clasen liberation movement, even though the media projects it otherwise.” For Dicken, BLMC, is appropriately named. “God time and time again reinforces the idea that all lives matter. But we have not done that. We have not earned the right to say that yet. So, until we can say that black lives matter and until we live lives that show that, we cannot claim what our God claims.” “Many white people ignore or hide from racism, or they think it doesn’t exist,” said Troy Jackson, director of the Amos Project, a faithbased organization that regularly partners with about 40 of the city’s (Continued on page 11) Elizabeth Hopkins, Countdown to Conviction Coalition Credit: Mike Brown THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �NATIONAL Sharing free food with the homeless: what harm can it do? No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 O ver 70 cities in the United States have passed laws banning or restricting the sharing of free food with the poor outside. A new theory being used to justify limits to the sharing of meals outside is being adopted by city officials. The City of Phoenix, Arizona, is the latest municipal government to claim that outdoor food programs prevent homeless people from getting help they can otherwise only get by eating at indoor facilities. In September, National Public Radio reported, “‘Don’t feed people living on the streets.’ That’s the message the city of Phoenix is spreading. Staff said it’s necessary to protect vulnerable people, neighbourhoods and businesses.” Riann Balch, deputy director of Phoenix’s Human Services Department, replied to the message by saying, “It’s usually a hard conversation to have at first because feeding is really something that’s ingrained in communities as a good way to help.” When faith and communitybased groups deliver meals to homeless people or organise feeding times, they often hear words of gratitude, but Balch says they also need to hear another consideration. “They [the groups] are prolonging homelessness by giving the person what they need to stay out on the streets.” Ten days later, US Federal District Judge William Zloch ruled that Fort Lauderdale’s City Ordinance No. C-14-42 restricting the sharing of meals outside to the homeless was legal. City officials hired Marbut Consulting to help them provide a justification for its law against feeding the hungry outside. The ordinance effectively bans the sharing of meals anywhere outside since there is almost no place in the city that is not 500 feet from a residence or other prohibited location. Judge Zloch was born in Fort Lauderdale and lives in the area and must know that his ruling also makes it nearly impossible for anyone to “legally” feed the homeless. Back in November, 2014, Robert G. Marbut Jr., justified the city’s law to Rachel Martin on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. He said: “If you give cash out on the street, generally about 93 percent of it goes to alcohol, drugs and prostitution. And if you give food on the street, you end up in a very convoluted way, but still an important way, preventing people from going into 24/7 programming. “We’ve done a lot of research. And just really getting to the big picture, there’s this move on the right to criminalise. And there’s a move on the left to do nothing—just feed people in parks. And you don’t get 9 homeless people in need of treatment are finding help at indoor meal Courtesy of Spare Change News / INSP.ngo programs. During my over-36 years of providing meals on the streets, I recovery from homelessness by being program, they would have access to a find most people that eat with Food on a jail cell floor. rehabilitation program. Not Bombs also obtain meals at “Equally you don’t get recovery Clearly not everyone that is indoor soup kitchens. from being on a park bench or out on homeless needs drug or alcohol If experts like Robert Marbut a beach or under a bridge. Where you treatment. For example, a National are correct, people who eat at these get recovery is when you go into 24/7 Center for Family Homelessness indoor programs should be receiving programs that holistically address the report found that an estimated drug or alcohol treatment, but this is not the case. It is also my experience that getting into a drug or alcohol treatment program is difficult if not impossible even for those living outside who are desperate to end their addiction. There are a few exceptions. I had one friend named “Little Bit” who was desperate to end her abuse of crack cocaine. She ate with us nearly every Monday at the entrance to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. I took her to a local rehab program. They agreed to take her for free. She had to arrive in the afternoon on a Monday six weeks from the day we booked her treatment. I encouraged Little Bit to eat at People eat a Thanksgiving meal outdoors served in the Skid Row district of Los Angeles. Food Not Bombs every week so I 70 cities across the USA have banned the sharing of free food with poor and homeless could make sure she remembered to people. Credit: REUTERS/David McNew go. I wrote down her appointment in my date book and reminded her condition of homelessness.” 2.5 million children experience of her appointment every time I saw Marbut’s research included homelessness annually, continuing a her. spending several days ‘pretending to steady rise between 2006-2010. Finally the day arrived and she be homeless.’ He told Rachel Martin: Studies show no evidence that came to eat with Food Not Bombs, “I’ve probably lived homeless maybe most of these children need drug or and I was able to take her to the 120 days when you add them all up.” alcohol treatment. Sure, some of their appointment. Little Bit returned to Food Not Bombs months after she entered the program dressed in a nice suit. She was thankful and gave me a hug of gratitude. She’d found her route to sobriety by having frequented a program that provided food outdoors. Little Bit’s success was 20 years ago, but conditions are not so different today. Last year my girlfriend Abbi Samuels and I tried to help a family protect their child from confiscation by Child Protective Services. They came to eat at Food Not Bombs and enjoyed their free meals outside on the steps of the Santa Cruz Post Office. We learned that the father used heroin and wanted to stop. The drug treatment centres charged thousands of dollars and had waiting lists. The only free centre required participation in their Christian Services. His child was taken to foster care before he found help. A Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial from March 20, 2013 read: “No issue has so divided the greater Santa Cruz Keith McHenry picture as he was arrested for sharing free food in San Francisco in community as providing day-use 1988. The San Francisco Police made nearly 1,000 arrests of people volunteering to services at the Homeless Services share vegan meals with Food Not Bombs from 1988 to 1997. Center. The public’s perception that Credit: Courtesy of Food Not Bombs transients continue to be a visible— often unwanted —presence in the city, A main aspect of the theory of parents could benefit, but that is still county and downtown Santa Cruz “street feeding actually increases and not the principle solution to finding a in particular… And a longstanding, promotes homelessness” suggests safe home for most of these children. persistent outcry that Santa Cruz is people live outside because they And drug or alcohol addiction is not a magnet for transients from other are alcoholics or drug addicts and the only cause of homelessness. that if they ate at an indoor food There is also little evidence that (Continued on page 10) MALCOLM JACK THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL The Lucky Cat Museum T J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer ucked away inside Essex Studios, the hypnotic sway of hundreds of cat paws beckon. This is home to The Lucky Cat Museum, one of only a couple worldwide dedicated to maneki-neko, those figurines that appear, to those of us in the West, as "waving cats." Perhaps you've seen these figurines next to cash registers at certain Japanese restaurants. They are not really waving, as the motion, MALCOLM JACK (Continued from page 3) places mainly because of the support and services available here. Critics say Santa Cruz cannot be expected to solve a national problem—and that day services contribute to an ongoing public safety problem.” Many of the city’s “transients” have lived in Santa Cruz for years with a large number having been born in the city. Most day-use services, including meals, ended in June 2015. I believe the real reason cities in Japanese culture, is instead beckoning - urging the viewer to come closer. And if you want a closer look, The Lucky Cat Museum is just what you need. Curated by Micha Robertson, collecting maneki-neko became a personal passion that ultimately started taking too much space in her home. "About four years ago, a friend of mine decided to get a studio here," explained Robertson. "We needed to want homeless services to move indoors is to hide the problem so they will face less pressure to fund solutions. National and state officials also support local efforts to drive the homeless crisis out of sight so they too will not be forced to divert tax dollars away from programs that please their campaign contributors. Food Not Bombs shares its meals outside so people who would otherwise ignore our social, economic and political ideas might happen upon our message. We want to encourage public support for a clear the collection out of the house for the room, and so I asked if I change in society where no one is forced to eat at a soup kitchen or live on the streets. We want the public to ask if we really should we be spending half our federal income tax dollars on the military while making cuts in education and social services? Encouraging a public discussion on these issues by sharing vegan meals on the streets and providing literature at visible locations does not mean Food Not Bombs can’t also help people get treatment for addictions or find employment. Since we encourage those who THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 11) come for our food to participate as equals in the running of our local chapters, it is more likely those we eat with will gain a sense of self-esteem. This is the type of respect people need to change their lives. Banning “street feeding” is not going to help end homelessness. Changing society by providing education, housing and hope can. Keith McHenry is the co-founder Food Not Bombs. ------------------------ �LOCAL OVERCOMING THE THREAT TO HEALTH CARE No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 T he threat to Obamacare stands in front of us like a ticking bomb. Unprepared for medical and drug expenses, millions of people are shuddering at the thought of returning to a time when the lack of good insurance could tip a family into financial disaster and psychological catastrophe. Not having financial reserves necessary for short or long term hospital stays, critical drugs, or repeated doctor visits, the person without health insurance panics: not visiting the doctor when there are warning signs, not going to the hospital until the pain is too great, and choosing a life of fear as the major alternative. Sadly, this condition, which may affect 30 million people this year, is too often the current conditions facing poor people in our community and country. Health care for the poor has been too little, too late, and too insulting. The poor are blamed for their illnesses, rebuked for costing the tax payer money when MIKE BROWN (Continued from page 8 congregations around issues of race and economic justice. “Other white people, who acknowledge racism, become paralyzed by the issue, too fearful to talk because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing,” said Jackson. “And then there are the white people, the ‘saviors,’ who think they have all the answers, but really need to listen instead.” “This is not the time for faith communities to be silent,” said Dicken. “Especially in white communities, many people feel this isn’t our struggle, this isn’t our issue. But when we choose to stay quiet, then we’ve made a choice. Our silence speaks volumes.” Luke Smith, 19, joined BLMC in November. Smith, who identifies as a straight white male, said, “It is JASON HAAP (Continued from page 10) could set up a museum in the studio. The first space was about a third of the size of this one. The collection just keeps getting bigger, and we just decided it should be a proper museum." "I just want to share it with everybody," Robertson continued. "It's no good if it's all at my house where nobody can see it." There is definitely a lot to see. While, at first glance, the space can come across as repetitive (after all, how many ways are there to make a waving cat?), upon closer inspection one really starts to appreciate the craftsmanship and the individual artistic expression of each piece. Robertson gets most of her lucky cats from online purchases and auctions in Japan. She has a lucky cat slot machine. She has animatronic lucky cats. She has inflatable lucky cats. She has original lucky cat artwork - STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer 11 in Washington or Columbus. Your health is our priority." We are building support for our program of education and action. It shows us that, given a real chance, people can actively and responsibly join in better health care for all. Our volunteers have heard stories from people who are homeless, impoverished, and sick and also heard stories of people caring about their families, overcoming bad treatment from doctors and hospitals, to make a better life for their families. Learning about the resilience of people, seeing education lead to health-based action, and knowing that lives are being held in a compassionate embrace, has made us redouble our efforts. We know that the road to cancer care for the poor and minorities, in particular, is long. But we intend to navigate the surest and most caring way. For more information, please go to our website:cancerjustice.com. they attend the emergency room, and implicitly told that health care on any regular basis is not for them. The poor do not really know that the US is the only major industrial power in the world that treats its people so shabbily. The middle class is waking up to the fact that the loss of their health insurance may plunge them into poverty and risky behavior. There are forces in our society, our community, and our nation that are working for health care of high quality for all, including the keeping of reasonably priced doctor, hospital, and drug insurance. My organization, the Cancer Justice Network is one of them. We have teamed up with over 20 social service agencies, two universities, medical students, nursing and social work students, and community organizers to offer free and high quality education about the steps to stop cancer in the lives of the poor. Over the past 3 months we have presented to over 500 people at dinners for the poor at Christ Church Cathedral, Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, and Churches Active in Northside. We have brought Navigators, trained volunteers, ready to take people to screenings at Crossroad Health Centers or the Cincinnati Health Departments clinics. Poor people have found their voice in terms of wanting to talk about their health concerns, rising questions and concerns to our Navigators about the steps to following through on exams, treatments, and surviving cancer. Thanks to many supporters, we will be expanding our efforts in the new year by visiting churches, schools, community centers, and agencies like the FreeStore Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul. We are sending a clear message: "We are continuing to offer our services for high quality cancer care no matter what happens important that I use my privilege, because I do have privilege whether I like it or not, for good, instead of just using it for myself.” BLMC formed a city-wide coalition, Countdown to Conviction, in October before the trial of University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, accused of murder in the fatal shooting of Sam Dubose, a black motorist. “I just can’t think of a more raw expression of the demeaning of black lives, the demeaning of human life, than one person executing another person in the course of stopping them for not having a license plate,” said Bruck. “To me, this is a pretty clearcut case of police overstepping their bounds, police brutality, and systemic racism in this country,” said Katz. The inability to convict Tensing represents a fundamental flaw in the system, he said. “For 400 years, the judicial system has repeatedly failed to hear the cries of African Americans,” said the 12-member board of the AMOS Project in the statement declaring its membership in the Countdown to Conviction coalition. “Rather than saying we should put our faith in a system that has time and time again shown its bias, we’re going to call for what we believe justice to be [that is, a conviction], and ask the courts to align with that, rather than for us to align with the courts,” said Dicken, whose church has joined the coalition. Strickland’s church has also joined the coalition. “Being part of the coalition is us saying, there is a problem in our country where unarmed black men are getting shot and killed by the institution that is meant to protect and serve them. And there needs to be some form of accountability, consequence, and ultimately a formal declaration saying this is wrong.” “Marches, actions, and rallies make a difference,” said Taylor. “People change when they are on the streets with other people in unison demanding something.” Bureaucracies, in Taylor’s view, also respond when masses of people demand change in institutions like the criminal justice system, and refuse to accept anything less than justice and equality. [This article originally appeared on the Cincinnatians For The American dream blog at: https:// c4ad.wordpress.com/ You can email Mike Brown at mbrown.c4ad@ gmail.com some from local artists, and some from overseas. She has big ones and tiny ones, traditional ones and modernized ones. She even has a tiny figure of a traditional market stand, on the shelves of which is a lucky cat among other wares, including a tiny bobble-head figure where the head actually bobbles. She has a gift shop, where you can get things for just a couple bucks, all the way up to $30 and more. She has a vending machine where, for only 50 cents, you can turn the crank and get a golden egg, filled with small lucky cat swag. If you can think of something involving lucky cats, she has it on display. And if it's not on display, it's surely featured in one of the many books she has collected featuring pictures of even more lucky cats! The Lucky Cat Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 3-6pm. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Find it at 2511 Essex Pl, Cincinnati, OH 45206. You might need to ring the bell to get inside, but it's totally worth the trip to experience this one-of-a-kind collection. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ �12 L STREET VOICE NEW YEARS EVE AT Joseph House ooking for something to write about. I searched the Internet for ideas and ran across Writing about Nothing. Sounds oxymoronic, when you write something it has meaning to someone so how can it be about nothing? Nothing to me may mean the world to someone else. Oh well, that’s a debate for scholars not a recovering Alcoholic like myself. This is about New Year’s Eve at Joseph House. I am going to start with how my morning began and how it has gone since then. I awoke at 5am to do laundry, you see around here doing laundry can be a race between who gets up the earliest. I chose to arise early and get it over and done with. After about 2 hours of washing and drying my clothes it was time for breakfast. For me eating 3 meals a day is key in my recovery. Not eating can tend to lead me to self-destructive behaviors and into a relapse. So, I ate some ham and eggs (cooked it myself mind you), and it was good, at least it was edible. Shaving and showering came next, that became the first disaster of my day. I cut myself 3 times, twice on my face and once on my bald head. I wanted to blame the razor but it was GILES CLASEN (Continued from page 8) clean. Not everyone does that, but enough of us do it to make it work. We care about it being clean. We care about Mother Earth.” Joshua Griffin “I yell at the cops. I scream at them because I am passionate. I am fighting. There is no one out there fighting for us. You see a crane over there building a building. You see new businesses opening. You see the city growing. The mayor, he is trying to build something to bring up more businesses. But they’re not building affordable housing for people like us. We aren’t part of the city’s plan. “We try to work. We go to work for Ready Man or for a tip agency or day labor and we make nickels and dimes, pieces of crumbs. We can’t get out of here. We can’t get our own BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer me rushing to get finished and move on to the next task of my morning. The phrase “Mindfulness” popped into my head during this fiasco but I disregarded it and put some spit and Vaseline on it and called it a job done. Moving on, next was getting to my Saturday morning meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. I called my sponsor he agreed to come pick me up along with another recovering Alcoholic and we were off. The meeting brought on challenges I was not ready for. I was seated next to a newcomer. I must say it was a female newcomer and being the good AA person I am I introduced myself and welcomed her to the meeting. Did I mention that she was cute? Besides that, she smelled amazing! I was lost in my imagination most of the meeting due to the aroma of perfume, but could hear two key events in the man’s story that I could relate to on a personal basis. His wanting to “kill” his father for the abuse he had been doing to his mother and the rest of his siblings. I too had that exact same feeling and thoughts and that day in my past came rushing back into J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 my mind and I began to become a little emotional. Shaking that off, the second event was his time he spent at Prospect House another treatment facility that I too have spent time at and his difficulty in seeing where he was at fault in some instances were again like mine. I asked myself, “did God bring me here this morning to hear my story and give me a look at how I too can overcome my past? This question I will save for my journal entry tonight. Oh, it’s only 7:35 in the evening that I am writing this so bedtime isn’t until another 2 ½ hours from now. Nothing happened between me and the cute newcomer so let’s get on with my afternoon. I came back to Joseph House, ate my lunch of potato wedges and juice and tried to take a nap. I did succeed in getting maybe a solid hour of rest during my nap but nothing like I was expecting. Upon waking I read my Horoscope (Aries) and it said “Wanting is an Affirmation that you lack something”. Cryptic as it sounds, I used up about 1 hour of my day doing what was suggested to me by my counselor. To stop and think about how I am feeling and try to see if there is something that I am ignoring and I should address it. I did this and what came to me was that 1. I am hungry 2. I am tired 3. I need to get out of this room. So, I did number 3, I left the room and went to watch some football. Everything is well with me now, life is good, so I thought. I forgot I am hungry. It’s about dinner time now 4:15pm (we old veterans eat early around here) so I went to Alabama’s fish restaurant and got me a Cod dinner. Excellent meal. Then the tiredness creeps up on me and another nap I take. This one was for only about 20 minutes due to a recent surgery I had and sometimes it’s a pain in the ass (pun intended) so I took care of that and went back to the football game. Not a big TV guy so I left that and started wondering what I should write about. That brings us to about 1 hour ago, when I ran across the “Writing about Nothing” article online. It was the catalyst for this short history of my New Year’s Eve at Joseph House. No lowering of the ball at Times Square for me, No Rockin’ Eve, no champagne toast at midnight (I am an Alcoholic) just journaling, prayers, and in my bed by 10pm. So, that is how I spent New Year’s Eve at Joseph House. The End. ------------------------ place. “It feels like we are losing our home today. “We have been out here and we will be out here. We feel like they are taking our space, our home and not treating us like human beings.” Shannon Wolf “I’ve been living here since February. I went through the sweeps in the spring. My wife and I stayed away for three weeks before we moved back to these sidewalks. “I stay safe by living out here with my street family. Our street family means safety, protection, and support. When they make us move we lose our family a bit and it is harder out here.” Littiah Fabre “We sleep out here and live out here. This is the end of the road. We aren’t here because we want to be, John Gerhard Jr pictured with his protest placard during the day of the sweep. Credit: Giles Clasen "When they make us move we lose our family a bit and it is harder out here," Shannon Wolf says about the protection he feels around his ìstreet family. Credit: Giles Clasen we are here because we have to be. It feels like (the police) come here to make war. Not me. I’m a person of peace. “I am a transsexual. I don’t think that makes it harder out here for me. It’s hard for everyone. I stay in the women’s facilities; I’m a woman. I’m sorry I don’t look good. You can’t look good homeless. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED All you’re doing when you move us from downtown is we move to the suburbs. We move to the parks. We move to the alleys. Then when it’s all clear we move back. If you can get four or five, or ten of us off the street, that’s a start. We can change this!” ------------------------ �13 STREET VOICE No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 Living By Goodness A BAD MOMENT IN MANHATTAN Each day God gives us life I saw up ahead was the Trump Tower. How merciful our creator My face gave forth an automatic glower He gives us a wonderful start I'm on vacation and I shook my fist. To live life with breath I won't have it spoiled by a narcissist. In our lungs and a beating heart I want to enjoy the last days of Barack, Living by goodness and by grace Before facing that inaugural shock, Thank you God for another day BILL WOODS Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Living by goodness makes one feel good And thankful for Gods good grace A NEW BEGINING GOD IS GOOD, NOT SOME OF THE TIME BUT ALL THE TIME 24/7 I BELIEVE THAT BE THE REASON WE LIVE ON EARTH AND GOD LIVES IN HEAVEN KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer 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 WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer 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 BEGINNING 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 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 116 Across 1. Regular hexahedron 5. Part of the Roman calendar 9. Globe 12. Inclined to anger or bad feelings 13. Part of a church 14. Kind of tide 16. Debate 17. Ship's company 18. Instance 19. Musical notation 20. Female deer 21. Right-hand page 22. Strong and sure 24. Health resort 26. Party for women only 27. Any high mountain 30. Fish eggs 31. Long plaintive cry 33. Gait of a horse 35. Partially opened flower 36. At the peak 40. Vast body of water 41. Point 42. Legendary creature 43. Cogwheel 44. Discharge a debt 45. Boarder 46. Traditional Highland dress in Scotland 48. Small vegetable 49. Colony insect 50. Historic period 53. Cereal grass seed 54. Aura 56. Untrue 58. Insane 59. Any of the main branches of a tree 63. Berserk 64. Mane 66. Shinbone 67. Mature 68. In addition 69. Occurrence 70. Novel 71. Military dining room 72. Following J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 Down 1. Ringlet 2. Exhort 3. Deception used in poker 4. Oculus 5. Revenue 6. Challenge 7. The night before 8. Darn 9. One time only 10. Range 11. Cover with liquid before cooking 12. Pouch 15. Drudge 20. Vertical fall 21. Uncooked 23. Metallic element 24. Close 25. Seed case 27. Highly excited 28. Decorative woven fabric 29. Supplication 32. Bring ashore SODOKU PUZZLE NO 246 - MEDIUM 34. Songbird 35. Young male person 37. Worn in ancient Rome 38. Portent 39. Saucy 41. Meeting arranged in advance 42. Target 44. One of the strands twisted together to make rope 45. Travel in front of 47. Anger 48. Lighthouse 50. A great distance 51. Street urchin 52. Run away to marry 55. Mediterranean fruit 57. Skid 58. A failure to hit 60. Wild goat 61. As if new 62. Nocturnal mammal 64. Amateur radio operator 65. Beer 66. Decimal base PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 115 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 245- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 347 | J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 381-SAFE 557-2873 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 Salvation Army 762-5660 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Shelterhouse 721-0643 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 Parkway Center 784-1853 961-2256 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline CCAT 351-0422 381-6672 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 First Lutheran Church 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry Mercy Franciscan at St. John 562-8841 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing 271-5501 Starting Over Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn VA VA Homeless Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 221-HELP 721-8666 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 241-1064 Prospect House 921-1613 Talbert House Tender Mercies 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 FreeStore/FoodBank Charlie’s 3/4 House 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 421-0065 241-2600 241-2563 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House 771-4800 751-0600 579-8547 721-4811 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Northern Kentucky 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Center for Respite Care 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 $100 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center for 26 issues 351-3500 977-4489 Other Resources Hamilton/Middletown Health 621-5300 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 977-6800 859-572-6226 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 535-2719 591-2246 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing Crossroad Health Center St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 961-0600 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 St. Vincent de Paul 661-4620 Cincinnati Health Network 621-6364 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-1983 Our Daily Bread 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 Shelter: Both Housing: 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 15 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary 859-491-3335 859-572-6202 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 J a n 13 - J a n 2 6, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 7 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 2017 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 13-January 26, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director The Community Issues Forum Kicks Off 2017 with Vice Mayor David Mann Reviewing Critical Issues City Ahead Pg 3: Education and Income Pg 4: Fake News? Pg 5: Fact or Fiction? Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: Black Lives Matter Cincinnati Pg 8: Denver Homeless Protest Against ‘Clean Up’ of Downtown Streets Pg 9: Sharing Free Food with the Homeless Pg 10: The Lucky Cat Museum Pg 11: Overcoming the Threat to Health Care Pg 12: New Year’s Eve at Joseph House 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 13-January 26, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Michael Earl Patton Steve McClanahan Dr. Mark Mussman Mike Brown Jason Haap Steve Sunderland Bobby Morris Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Michael Flood Mike Brown Google Images Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Black Lives Matter Bobby Morris Cat Museum Denver Dr. Mark Mussman Google Images health care Jason Haap Joseph House Josh Spring Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Michael Flood Mike Brown police brutality Steve McClanahan Steve Sunderland University of Cincinnati Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/f39678658de09379acd42b026ffcf063.pdf 64789980ac3c3577408439a7a01ccf67 PDF Text Text January 27th - February 9th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 29 (No. 348) advocating justice | Building community Civil Disobedience | 9 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Our Daily Bread Reopens | 2 A Tale of Two Protests | 3 Community Leaders call to protect the Affordable Care Act | 4 Why we should support public education | 9 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Council Candidates and Homelessness JOSH SPRING Executive Director T his year in Cincinnati we will elect a mayor and all nine members of city council. People have started announcing their candidacies. Those elected will be elected to a four-year term. Candidates will start attending community council meetings, holding press conferences, and attending social functions. There will be forums and editorial write-ins to the Enquirer. The folks who will be elected will make important decisions that will affect people. Past councils have also actively decided to not make decisions and not take action that would bring positive systematic change. O This election year, let’s make homelessness and the need for affordable housing a paramount election issue. Ask what they will do to get the city to invest in affordable housing. Ask how they will hold market-rate developers accountable. Ask how they will leverage untouched revenue sources to invest in affordable housing. Ask how will they shift city priorities to significantly increase affordable housing. Explain that our shelters are all over-capacity- families with children, young adults, single women, single men. Explain that daily single women and families with children are turned away from shelter because J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 there simply is no more room because there is so little affordable housing to prevent homelessness. Explain that the answer to homelessness is to have affordable housing available for those who are without a home and making affordable housing available to people who are currently paying rents and mortgages they cannot afford. For many, many people in our city separate periods of homelessness have become what probably feels like a fact of life. So many parents spend their hours trying to figure out how to keep their children from needing shelter. Folks are sleeping outside, in abandoned buildings, in cars, parks and under bridges. More people than we know are bouncing from couch to couch, to car, to park, to couch, often in unsafe situations. Last year at least 72 people in our area died because of homelessness. Any candidate worth your vote will be able to tell you with passion how they plan to attack this issue head on. ------------------------ Our Daily Bread Reopens n Monday morning January 9, there was a deadly shooting at Our Daily Bread in Over-theRhine. According to authorities it was a domestic dispute. 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 and men according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. According to police, Robert Jacobs entered the building and shot two people. Deante Mattocks was pronounced dead at the scene. Jacobs had been in a relationship with his female victim that was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Dion Peoples was arrested the following day for providing the weapon. Our Daily Bread reopened Monday morning January 16, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr day. At 11:00 a.m. they held a press conference where Georgine Getty, their Executive Director spoke. “The Our Daily Bread family is proud to reopen our services today and welcome back our guests,” said Getty. “Words cannot express how difficult this past week has been and how much we have missed doing what we do: providing food and safety for everyone who needs us. We look forward to resuming our mission of serving up stability and hope and continuing to follow the vision and spirit of our founder, Cookie,” she said. Ruth “Cookie” Vogelpohl was the founder of the organization in JUSTIN JEFFRE Staff Writer 1985. Cookie, who was known to so many who have experienced homelessness and/or work in this field, passed away on December 17, 2016. “While the act of violence that took place in our agency one week ago was shocking, it was also isolated. For 32 years, we have been a gathering place for many types of people from many (Continued on page 11) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by 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: Dr. 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, Justin Jeffre, Key Beck, Bill Woods, Michael Earl Patton, C.J. Peirce, Kate Gallion, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jorge Garay, Jason Haap, Bobby Morris, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Our Daily Bread, David Little, Key Beck, Dr. Mark Mussman, Chas Wiederhold, Michelle Dillingham, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Cookie Cooking Credit: Our Daily Bread THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 NATIONAL A Tale of Two Protests No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 KEY BECK T Contributing Writer he weekend of January 21 and 22 will go down in history. It will go down in history as a day that democracy was in action. A day where citizens came together in a rally cry for justice, equity, and basic human rights. This past weekend was a monumental grassroots effort in solidarity, democracy and civic justice. On January 21 during the 2017 Inauguration, protesters raised their voices of concern, fear, and disillusionment. They held signs, marched in the streets and battled -both figuratively and literally -- police officers. The Women’s March on Washington, held on January 22, has been deemed the biggest single day protest in US history, boasting over 1.6 million participants nationwide. The energy was high, the demands were simple, and the impact was felt. As I entered the National Mall on both days, you could hear chants of solidarity, “Whose Streets, Our Streets”, yearnings for equity, “My Rights, My Body” and words of condemnation “We Need a Leader, Not a Mean Tweeter.” It was very clear by the sheer number of people holding anti-Trump signs that we weren’t here to celebrate, but to protest. People from across the nation came together for a two-fold purpose: (1) protest the election of Donald Trump (in essence protesting the oppressive laws and systematic -and legalized -- injustices happening in our current political system and (2) support the basic rights of women/womyn’s and demand for inclusive support from our current administration by marching through the streets of Washington D.C. While the Women’s March on Washington was an officially sanctioned event, the protest happening during the inauguration was not supported by any law, political or city officials. And there were vast differences in the impact and reception of the two protests. The barrage of white feminism was coddled and condoned, as evidenced by the officer's attention and care to hurt women and their requests. A vivid juxtaposition to officers shooting tear gas, sound grenades and hard pellets at peaceful protesters over lines of riot police locked shield to shield. In one situation we were treated like the privileged, while the other was treated like the untouchables. It wouldn’t be fair to make such a comparison without more detail to set the stage. The Inauguration Protest took place between the streets H, K, 12, and 13. The number of protesters, numbering somewhere in the thousands, were dwarfed by the enormous police presence and the massive amount of press groups. The main force behind these protest were young people of color but there were other groups, the anarchist groups not with protesters who were seen destroying bank windows, limos and circular boxes. People were angry. People were hurting. People were peaceful. But, the police didn’t care. On multiple occasions, police fired tear gas and sound grenades at peaceful protesters with hands raised in the air. A young, white women confronted the line of officers imploring that, “this is how you treat non-violent protesters. Where is the justice? Where is the humanity?” as they continually pushed her and other folx back while yelling for us to move. At one point, police officers blocked the sidewalks and curbs, encircling us in the street while simultaneously telling us to get on the sidewalk. They didn’t respect our wishes not to be touched or pushed. They didn’t hesitate to roll motorcycles within an inch of our bodies, at times almost crushing our toes with tires. The Women’s March on Washington was a lot bigger and a lot more hands off. With over 600,000 people in D.C. we filled the National Mall and spilt into the streets covering Police Disrupt Peaceful Protests with Riot Formation. Photo: Key Beck Women's March on Washington Photo: Key Beck blocks and blocks. The participants looked dramatically different being majority white women. Many were young, but it was obvious this was a movement of Generation Y and X. Police could be seen waving at protesters, cordially responding to requests and helping people who fell or had injury. (I should say that police actually were pushing people down and hurting them, without giving medical attention the previous day). While this march focused on mostly on women’s rights, the intersectionality could be felt. There (Continued on page 7) Police in Riot Gear Separating Crowd Women's March on Washington Photo: Key Beck Photo: Key Beck THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Community Leaders call on Sen. Portman to protect the Affordable Care Act O n Thursday morning January 12, community members gathered at the Interact for Health Conference Facility in Oakley to address the positives of the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare, which is currently under attack by the new administration and members of the new Congress. Religious leadership outlined what they say is the moral component of denying care, and medical experts addressed the impact of the ACA on the heroin epidemic. They summarized why they believe Senator Rob Portman should stand up for Ohio residents who would be dramatically impacted unless the ACA is preserved. “My tradition teaches, and I'm sure others do too, that healthcare is one of the most important services a community must provide,” said Rabbi Margaret Meyer. Meyer is the President of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati and a member of the Jewish Community Relations Committee and the Jewish Federation. She continued, “it would be irresponsible, and I believe immoral, for our elected representatives to repeal the Affordable Care Act and deprive fellow Americans of the affordable and accountable healthcare they deserve." Then she quoted Governor Kasich who said, "What happens to those 700,000 people. What happens to drug treatment? What happens to mental health counseling? What happens to those people with high cholesterol and heart disease? What JUSTIN JEFFRE Staff Writer Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr. Photo: David Little happens to them?" Meyer’s response, "Well, Governor we know the answers. And they're not good." "Coming from the perspective of what God would like, he likens our bodies to his temple. We are his temple and our bodies are important to him. The welfare, the well-being of our bodies is important to him. So this for me, and my constituents, it’s a God thing. This was against his will,” said Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr. Senior Pastor, New Jerusalem Baptist Church. Lynch serves as a Director of UC Health and a Board Member of University Hospital. Rev. Lynch REFLECTIONS ON THE INAUGURATION BILL WOODS T he event many of us were dreading took place on Friday January 20th. Donald Trump was sworn in as the forty-fifth President of the United States. Critical issues such as health care, climate change, immigration, and Civil Rights now hang in the balance, and a large percentage of Americans fear the worst. In reading Trump's inaugural address, however, one paragraph rings true to me. He declared: "The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs, and while they celebrated in the nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families across our land." This economic inequity Contributing Writer and the corporate and political establishment's failure to address it caused a large number of Democrats to vote for Bernie Sanders, and it garnered Trump enough white working class votes to win the GOP nomination and the November election. In a June Streetvibes article, I pointed out the antiestablishment mood that seemed to be behind the results of both parties' primaries. Only Sanders and Trump as candidates were framing their messages to connect to this growing public attitude. The factors behind the 2016 election results have been developing over time. Recent studies provide evidence of both a growing lack of confidence in our political and governmental systems, and the actual dysfunction of our public systems. Reviewing the governments of 153 countries with representative democracies, the Electoral Integrity Project, conducted by Harvard University and the University of Sydney, ranked the U.S. as 52nd in terms of electoral integrity. Part of the research team for this project, Pippa Norris, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, noted: "There is a persistent lack of confidence in U. S. political institutions which allows populists to make hay, and the institutions need an overhaul, because some, like elections, are badly broken." Meanwhile, a Gallup Poll conducted early in 2016 revealed that only 30-percent of those polled expressed confidence in the honesty of our elections. As the perceived outsider who promised to shake up the system, Trump was the beneficiary of this THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 was a public supporter of Senator Portman in 2016. On a call with Portman’s office he said, "We've been buddies across the years. We've helped him do a lot of stuff. So we've done a lot." Are you disappointed in Sen Portman? "I am." "If they had good intentions to modify or to tweak it, they wouldn't be moving to repeal with no replacement in sight." said Lynch. Adding, "If it is repealed, something has to be done the very next day to make sure there is no cut in terms of what communities need. So I think we need to push in that regard." According to Dr. Nancy Elder, "Drug abuse is a chronic relapsing health problem, and it often leads to other health programs. But treatment is effective." Elder is a Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati. "There are currently no options in Ohio for medication-assisted treatment unless you have cash or insurance, and I include Medicaid as insurance. Now what kind of cash? The medications alone cost over $500 a month. And you start throwing in the other treatment costs, and Hamilton County Mental Health Board estimates that it could cost as much as $22,000 the first year to treat opioid addiction. On average maybe three to five thousand dollars. Nobody can pay that. Certainly my patients, those who have already entered unemployment and poverty do not. We need to have Medicaid for our most vulnerable people in our society," she said. When asked what people can do to save the ACA Rabbi Meyer said, "We have a lot of gatherings coming up this weekend. We need to get the word out. And contact Portman. I don't know if it'll do any good, but he's got to hear from us." disenchantment with representative democracy. However, there is little that the new President has proposed that would make life better for economically squeezed Americans, and his selection of billionaires and Wall Street financiers for high positions doesn't look like a foundation for taking on the corporate and financial elite. In fact, the tax reform plan that he proposed during the campaign would once again cut taxes for the wealthy. Many labor leaders do support his promise to renegotiate trade deals, and his infrastructure renewal proposal would create new jobs. As a critic of current politics, Trump lacks any proposals to actually reform the system. Although he initially attacked his GOP opponents who were receiving huge Super PAC contributions, his list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court vacancy do not appear to be jurists who would wish to repeal The Citizens United ruling. Since he built a false premise about rigged (Continued on page 11) �LOCAL Residents Continue to Oppose Pipeline No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer T he route map for Duke Energy’s proposed pipeline extension has now been revised twice. The first proposal showed three possible routes. The second proposal, contained in the first of the formal application to the Ohio Power Siting Board, reduced this to just two possible routes and had adjusted these routes. The pipeline diameter was reduced to 20 inches and the pressure to a still high 400 psi. For comparison, the current pipeline supplying natural gas to the area, “Line A,” is a similar residential and others commercial or industrial. The opposition remains strong. A public meeting called by opponents at the Evendale Recreation Center on January 12 was full with about 200 people in the room. The parking lot was FULL and I only found a space after circling when someone else pulled out. The opposition seems to be based on several concerns, two of which are safety and the diminished use of the properties which the pipeline crosses. It is not supposed to happen, but there have been accidental Duke Energy Route Map Revision 1 Credit: Duke Energy diameter and operates at just 150 psi. Duke just revised the application on January 20, again making several adjustments to the possible routes. This is the route map that is shown below. The adjustments were made because of community opposition to the pipeline, which would cut across hundreds of properties, some explosions of natural gas pipelines. The best known is probably the San Bruno pipeline explosion in 2010 which killed 8 people and destroyed 38 homes in the San Francisco Bay area. Eyewitnesses reported that the flames reached 1,000 feet high. There have been several gas pipeline explosions since then, but none in areas that were as densely populated. A representative from Duke Energy was not at this meeting (at least not openly) but has said in the past that the line will be built to a high standard and that there will be regular safety checks. Others have still expressed concern that the required diligence may slacken off over the years. Duke Energy’s application for the pipeline gives the number of residences within 100 feet of the pipeline and the number within 1,000 feet. Whichever route is chosen, there will be over 100 residences within 100 feet of the pipeline and over 2,000 within 1,000 feet. Another major concern was that of easements. N.O.P.E., Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Extension, expects that the typical easement for the pipeline will be 40 feet wide – 20 feet on each side of the pipeline. Trees, shrubs, and any structures would be removed. The property owner would be restricted as to what they could do in the future in this area. Maintaining a lawn, gardening, and parking would be allowed; construction would not. Further, Duke Energy would have the right to re-enter your property in the future to do maintenance on the pipeline. This will certainly reduce the value of your property, and it would probably be best to discuss the value lost with a real estate agent. Duke Energy will offer compensation, but this amount might be less than what you think was lost. Further, as was pointed out, the payments from Duke Energy will end but the easement will go on forever. (I have personal experience with that sort of thing. There is an easement across the back of my yard for a sewer line that is 95 years old, still valid, and which prevents me from a constructing a new garage there. It did not show up in a title search when I bought my house because of its age, but it is still valid nonetheless. The Metropolitan Sewer District told me about it a few years ago when I discovered a couple workers in my backyard.) One of the speakers mentioned the importance of closely reviewing any easement agreement. For example, it might not mention that the top soil removed has to be put back on top so that things can grow again. If this isn’t specified the top Good Food Purchasing: Here is what’s going on locally T he Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, (CIWC) along with Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati, C.J. PIERCE Contributing Writer (WCC) committee Thriving Cincinnati gathered for a forum on Good Food Purchasing on January 9th. The goals: 1) Is to bring locally grown, farm to table, healthy food option and learning into our schools. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 5 soil might be put back in the bottom of the ditch, and getting anything decent to grow again on top will be very difficult. Former U.C. Law Professor James O’Reilly spoke about whether you are obligated to allow surveyors from Duke Energy to enter your property. The brief answer is no, you can simply say, “I refuse permission for surveyors to enter my property.” Duke Energy would then have to get a court order to continue, and you would have a right to contest this. As he said, “Those who remain silent are consenting.” Admittedly, if no one is home the surveyors might still trespass and do their work without getting your permission. After the meeting Professor O’Reilly passed out a sheet with further general information about the easement process. With the appropriate cautions that this is not individual legal advice, if Duke Energy sues to seize your easement you should call your personal attorney or the Lawyer Referral Service at 381-8359. If you delay, Duke’s lawyer will ask the judge for a default judgment against you. A couple other items mentioned was that the proposed pipeline extension is part of a larger “Master Plan” from Duke Energy, but what that master plan is has not been disclosed. What is the need for all of this of this extra gas? They admit that that they are not planning for a large increase in the population. Then there is the question of whether there will even be enough natural gas available to fill all the pipelines that are being planned around the country. After all, the amount of natural gas produced is actually declining of late. What may be the last of the mandated public informational meetings will probably have occurred (January 26) by the time you read this, but you can still make comments directly to the Ohio Power Siting Board: www.opsb.ohio.gov. Look for the heading “Power Siting Cases,” then click on “Pending Cases” followed by “Duke Central Corridor Extension Gas Pipeline, Hamilton County.” There is a place for public comments. Duke Energy’s website on the pipeline is: https://www.duke-energy.com/ home/natural-gas/central-corridorpipeline-ext The website for the main opposition group is: www.NOPEcincy.org 2) Within this initiative is also assuring that the farm workers are receiving real, livable and sustainable wages. In addition the company must provide and require health and safety gear and clothing that protects the worker within the working environment. 3) To provide the healthiest food options the Good Food Purchasing is (Continued on page 12) �6 LOCAL J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �NATIONAL One Woman’s view from the Women’s March on Washington 7 No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 B lowback. Following the 2016 Presidential election, having witnessed the winner’s strategy of divide by hate, conquer by fear, a loose affiliation of activist women leaders called a national day KATE GALLION Contributing Writer of resistance for January 21. What started as a women’s protest against the bigotry and hate-baited rhetoric of the Trump campaign- quickly Women's March on Washington marchers on Metro Credit: Jim Luken Women's March on Washington Marchers Credit: Jim Luken KEY BECK (Continued from page 3) was signs and chants for equity for those with an immigrant status, protectors of land and water rights and marginalized black and trans lives. It was awesome to feel and be part of a movement this size, but it was easy to feel the issues of the truly oppressed being overlooked by the demands of the privileged. Perhaps this is a projection of my feelings as a non-binary, queer person of color or perhaps this was a reality only felt by those who are most oppressed. Regardless, these feelings were shared as one could see by looking as certain signs in the march. Both marches gave me a feeling of solidarity and inclusion. Both inspired me to do great work. But, only one had me fearing arrest or my safety. And, in my personal opinion, only centered the most marginalized of the oppressed (people of color, transgender and queer individuals and undocumented citizens). Police were not shy about their distaste for protesters exercising their rights to peacefully assemble at or around the inauguration. Nor were they shy about their calm disposition and willingness to support the marches morphed into a public re-dedication to America’s core democratic values (often espoused, rarely achieved): Equality, Fairness, Human Rights, Social Justice for all. Intersectionality and collaborative social media skills aligned for the staging of the largest global day of citizen activism in history. The Women’s March on Washington was the epicenter drawing more than 500,000 allies, with 300 cities around the world staging sister marches and 3 million global participants. A massive coordinated protest. When the call for a women’s resistance to Trump emerged just hours after the election, it was fueled by anger at the sexist, racist, bigoted language and divisive tactics employed by Trump, (who lost the popular vote by three million, but won the archaic Electoral College (an instrument with a racist past undermining the will of the people’s vote.) Anger was righteous. Fear was endemic. Women began to participate in Facebook groups speaking of diminished rights, marginalization, inequity and victimization by the pervasive violent rape culture. What happened next is remarkable. Anger converted to action, and out of the momentum emerged an inclusive agenda of human rights and social justice reform. Pilgrimage the drive from Cincinnati to D.C. Every rest stop and gas station was teeming with women in pink “pussy hats”- variations of a knit cap with kitten ears. From gas pumps, to buses on the turnpike. from Union Station to The Mall - a massive wall of pink hats. We walked past the Canadian Embassy toward the National Gallery, until we were stopped still by the crush. The march to the White House began at 1:00 pm, but our feet couldn't move for a full hourat which point we flowed off route, opening more streams, eventually rejoining the body of protestors. But this action was already beyond protest. It had morphed into an entity of political will, a movement not of partisan politics, but of transcendent human power. Curiously missing were police, guns, security and obvious surveillance. No helicopters, no drone cameras. Consequently, we are missing the customary aerial angles of the entire march. Lacking that evidence it becomes much easier to diminish and dismiss. Trump’s tweets of the day embraced the false narrative of a small turnout. Administration spokesperson Kellyanne Conway preferred the term “alternate truth” to describe Trump’s myopia. However the mute testimony of thousands of signs and (Continued on page 11 Women's March on Washington Marchers Credit: Jim Luken the following day. It was very apparent that the objective of officers was to disrupt and diffuse the protest at the inauguration, while the goal was to support and provide safety at the Women’s March on Washington. It’s for this reason that we need more inclusion in our movements. We need more coalition building between groups. I would have loved to have one million plus citizens at both marches. Some argue that white feminism has been fought on the backs of women of color. In the same vein, some argue that movements like Black Lives Matters is exclusionary of those who occupy a white body. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Regardless of the truth or fallacy, we need more feet on the ground. We need people willing to step up and step out. There is no reason why both marches and protest shouldn’t be protected and supported by officers. There is also no reason for us to have to choose one movement/action over another. As Hillary Clinton stated, “We are Stronger Together” and I think it is about time we show it. No longer should we have multiple movements. We need to demand our rights together because together we can achieve great things. ------------------------ �e 8 NATIONAL Civil Disobedience W DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer ith tears in her eyes, shaking and stuck in the intersection, a woman pleads with protesters to let her through. “I need to pick up my kids from school – they can’t get home without me!” Between sobs, she asks anyone who will listen, “Please! Why can’t you let me go?!” Her voice changes from sadness to terror – will she be stuck here much longer? Why won’t those police officers help her? Why are the streets blocked in the first place? At noon, on January 20th 2017, at the time American Presidents are kept a hard wall against the police. For several tense hours, a four block radius around 12th and K were shut down, creating a traffic nightmare in the area. News reports claim that 230 people were arrested and property damage exceeded $100,000. Several businesses of note, such as banks and coffee chains, were targeted because of their role in oppression here in the United States and across the globe. Their windows broken with crowbars and hammers, these corporations had new windows in place just hours after the initial confrontation. J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 station in DC was the lack of crowds. Even though the police had cordoned off an area around the parade route, known as the “Red Zone,” the streets and sidewalks seemed barren, except for people with signs disavowing the new President’s legitimacy. Slogans lambasting the character of the new leader mostly peppered the areas around the police checkpoints and around Trump International Hotel. Chants started early, some from the standards, but also some chants with nuances regarding the newly elected President. I arrived to Pennsylvania Avenue just moments before noon, and heard portions of the Inauguration Ceremony on the loudspeaker. People in the streets jeered and derided the words heard over the speaker. were also prominently displayed throughout the city. After the Inaugural Ceremony, I began to hear that “riots” were happening at K and 12th Streets, so I headed that direction. By the time I got there, the intersection was occupied by police officers, but they were still shooting loud sonic grenades into the crowd to push it back further – eventually to a block near a park that later hosted an antinuclear weapons mini-music festival. To symbolize the death of traditional media and the control of the capitalist class, people threw newspaper boxes into the street and set them on fire. The burning newspaper vending boxes set the tone for the eventual occupation of the intersections surrounding the block. Just a few A police cruiser shows damage to its window The Limo that was vandalized, later burned Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman typically sworn in, the streets of our nation’s Capitol, Washington D.C., erupted in chaos. 12th and K Street became the flashpoint between hundreds of people – of many different backgrounds – and police, armed with riot gear and special munitions. The riot police took the intersection with divide and conquer tactics by launching sonic and pellet grenades in the center and pushing people out of the intersection in four different directions. People ran from the intersection, but many It seems to me that people are not comfortable acknowledging the role of inconvenience or property damage in civil disobedience. We are encouraged to distance ourselves from the spectacle because it may not seem to advance our peaceful cause. This act of destruction may seem like a purposeless or childish response to injustice, but it is an important tactic in the vast array of ways to address grievances. The first thing I noticed when I emerged from the Metro Center train Crowds began to surround the police checkpoints, shutting them down and preventing people from entering or even getting around the checkpoint. The mood of the crowd was very apprehensive as Trump supporters in the signature red baseball caps with “Make America Great Again” scrawled across them shared space with people with “Make Racists Afraid Again” hats and signs showing the President in compromising positions with Russian Leader Putin. Shepard Fairy’s iconic poster designs feet from the burning newspaper, a limousine was destroyed – first broken then burned. A road flare was the kindling used to start the fire. What could be more symbolic of the current administration than a burning limousine? If Donald Trump is able to function as President of the United States, he must recognize the resistance towards him, rather than attempt to discredit anything that doesn’t flatter him. Civil (Continued on page 11) Media document the burning of the newspaper boxes One of many intersections that were taken over by protestors Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �9 LOCAL Vandalism and Racist symbols at Withrow University High School No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 R JUSTIN JEFFRE Staff Writer acial slurs, swastikas and the name “Trump” were spray painted at multiple locations at Withrow University High School in Hyde Park. According to police the incident occurred on January 21, between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Video footage of the perpetrator has been released and shared widely on social media, but the person was wearing a hat and had their face covered. Police believe it was a white male that acted alone. The incident is part of a string of similar acts here locally. A swastika was painted on a sign at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, an interracial couple’s home was vandalized with swastikas and other racist images and similar images were painted on the Loveland bike trail in recent months. The overwhelming majority of the Withrow’s student population are minorities. The school’s football team recently made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem before football games in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s protests against police brutality and oppression of people of color. These local acts are part of a larger trend though. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center there’s been a large uptick in hate crimes across the nation since the election of President Donald Trump. These types of incidents happened during his campaign but have become more frequent following his election. The Anti-Defamation League released a report in October about the rise of anti-Semitic harassment and the NYPD reports that hate crimes are up 31% compared to last year. Gov. Andrew Cuomo told CNN, "The ugly political discourse of the election did not end on Election Day. In many ways it has gotten worse, [turning] into a social crisis that now challenges our identity as a state and as a nation and our people." The graffiti at Withrow was removed on Sunday. On Monday January 23, around 200 community members gathered early in the morning to greet and show students support as they arrived at school. Restaurateur Jeff Ruby has offered a reward and authorities encourage anyone with any Why we should support public education I JORGE GARAY Contributing Writer am the father of five wonderful kids, two of which are in Cincinnati Public Schools. I am crazy about my kids; I kiss them every day and will even say I am addicted to them. I support the public schools because school is like a second home to our kids, where they spend a lot of their time outside of their first home, and public education is the most democratic. Public education, to me, means everybody is welcome regardless of race, sexual orientation, culture, status, etc. Public means all the members of a community. This year has enforced my belief, more than ever, that our public schools need more support. One example I will give is an event that happened shortly after the election. My kids, along with others that attend their school, are Latino. One day, my 11-year-old daughter was sitting with a friend at lunch when two older kids of different ethnicity approached them. They turned to my child and said, “You’re from America, right?” Then they focused on her friend, who was born in Mexico, and started harassing him, calling him names and telling him to go back to Mexico, all the while stabbing their pencils into the small boy’s orange that sat on the table in front of him. This election has caused many people to forget what public and community mean; we must not allow that to happen. Why do I support public Parents and Supporters Gather at Withrow Bridge to Welcome Students Credit: Chas Wiederhold information about the incident to call CrimeStoppers at 513-352-3040. The city of Cincinnati is currently reviewing its hate crime response. Cincinnati has one of the toughest hate crime laws in the country which now includes attacks against people experiencing homelessness. education? Because education is not just about turning our kids into lawyers or doctors, but it is about teaching individuals how to be better human beings. Public education is an opportunity and a chance for every child to bring themselves up. I support it because it is a basic human right – as much as food or water. Our kids deserve to be in schools that have the resources and the support from the administration to get rid of the bullying and discrimination. Our kids also deserve to learn what diversity truly means, to accept and respect other human beings, rather than to focus or obsess over comparing themselves to the person they stand next to. Public School Rally Credit: Michelle Dillingham THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED [Jorge Garay is a parent of two students at S.C.P.A.] ------------------------. �10 R ecently, I've struggled to determine where certain boundaries should reside. When is something "weird" versus "normal"? "Healthy" versus "mentally ill"? I'm not sure I know anymore, and that fact troubles me. First, let me state that I don't really care what people do with their lives or lifestyles, so long as it does not cause harm. If you are a transgender person, I don't care if you want to have gender reassignment surgery. However, if I proclaim that transgender people are "weird," I will undoubtedly get slammed as intolerant, insensitive, and a bigot. I don't want to call transgender people "weird." That's not my point in writing this. There is a Canadian named Stefonknee Wolscht who was born as a man, had a wife and children, and then decided to live as a 6-year old girl. It's that last part that gets me. Set aside the gender identity issue for a moment, and focus on the notion that an adult can decide she's really OPINION Call me weird if you want JASON HAAP Contributing Writer a 6-year-old girl. Wolscht reportedly lives with "adoptive parents" who let her live as if she's their daughter. Stefonknee is 6'2" and 47 years old. Let me be clear: I don't care if this is what Stefonknee and her new parents want to do. I won't try to stop them. But I think it's weird, and I don't think I should be labeled as some sort of intolerant sounding word ending in "-ist" because I think so. There is a 21-year-old Norwegian woman who feels like she is a cat trapped inside a human's body. Her name is Nano, she wears clip-on ears, she walks on all fours, and she meows. Once again, I'm not going to try and stop her. It's not really my business if that's what she wants to do with her life. But I think it's weird. And I believe it's okay to think that. Is it possible that Nano isn't really a cat trapped inside a human's body, and instead that she suffers from a mental illness? Before answering that question, what if I told you about a person who has multiple people living in his body? Would that be a mental illness? Yes. It's called "schizophrenia." For some reason, if multiple people are trapped in or if they otherwise manifest in a single body, it's considered a medical condition. Why not use the same terminology for Nano, the cat woman? What about the 6'2" tall, 47-year-old six-year-old? I struggle with the boundaries here. I don't want to say that transgender people are "mentally ill." But where do we draw the line? If you think you are a toddler trapped in a grown up's body? A feline in a human's? Why might those be okay, but not multiple personalities? There are other things I find weird, like face tattoos, or holes in earlobes the size of fists. And, again, I don't care if people do that. It's just THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 strange to me. I think it's weird when omnivorous people refuse to eat delicious food because it's "vegan." I think it's weird that people genuinely seem to enjoy drinking shitty beer. Or how about the fact that people think meat from a pig's butt cheek is tasty, but freak out when I talk about facial cheek meat? I do not pretend to be a pillar of normalcy myself. I do plenty of weird things, and people tell me so all the time. I don't think this makes them intolerant, or bigoted. So that's another line I can't quite understand: why calling some traits "weird" is okay, while calling others "weird" makes someone prejudiced. In a couple months, I will turn 42. The more I ponder life, the universe, and everything, the more I feel like a stereotypical old white guy, getting crotchety about the crazy things people are doing "these days." ------------------------. �11 LOCAL No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 Trump Supporters in the foreground attempt to ignore protestors at security check Protest in DC near Hard Rock Cafe and Security Checkpoint Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 8) disobedience is necessary when the government does not function in a JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 7) walks of life. While we have certainly had squabbles within our doors, as all families do, we have never before had this level of violence, nor do we expect to again,” said Getty. Adding, “Nonetheless, we have instituted some new security measures to help preserve the safety of all within our doors. We thank our guests and volunteers for their patience with the new system and mourn with them the need for this in our home.” New security measures include two contracted security personnel who will “wand” each visitor to check for weapons and store each visitor’s belongings in a secured area until they are ready to leave the way that serves all. When individual rights are being threatened it is most important to use civil disobedience to help get the message out, help create cohesive groups, and bring the change through pressure. If we don’t recognize that injustice hurts us all, there will be no change. Sadly, “no change” affects people who are marginalized most, and this is something that we must recognize before we can move towards justice. building. Getty expressed condolences to the family and friends of Deante Mattocks. “No one should ever have to go through the suffering that you are going through. He was a young man, an artist, a brother, a son, a father. He will live on in his children. You are all in our prayers and we will never forget Deante. Our prayers are also with the young woman who was harmed. We wish you a full recovery and a full life, filled with peace,” she said. “First, I would like to thank the staff and volunteers of Our Daily Bread. We are more than co-workers, we are family. We have leaned on one another this week, cried together, and even laughed together once or twice. Every single member of this team came back the next day. Together, we have rebuilt Our Daily Bread and it will continue to be a beacon of love to all who need us. Thank you also to the friends and family of staff and volunteers. You were there when we needed you. If we are strong, it is only because we have so many rocks to hold us up. If we continue to love, it is only because we receive the love we need,” said Getty. Getty went on to thank Model Group, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the soup kitchen community, the Cincinnati Police Department, the police trauma team that provided their staff with counseling. And, “Finally, one last thank you to everyone who has already or will step forward in the weeks to come. Our Daily Bread is a space of hope, of comfort, of shared meals, and ultimately, of love. Thank you for walking with us through the worst part of our journey and reminding us of all of the good left to do,” she said. Our Daily Bread is Cincinnati’s largest soup kitchen, serving between 400-500 meals per day, Monday – Friday. In addition, Our Daily Bread also provides social work services and Kid’s Club, and after school program. In continuous operation since 1985, Our Daily Bread remains a beacon of Stability and Hope in Over the Rhine. It’s located at 1730 Race St., on the corner of Race and Elder across from Findlay Market. I’ve awakened from a surreal winter’s dream. Trees are bare, temperature neighboring near San Francisco of memory. Fog insinuates in, out. We are familiars yet gravitational forces have separated us. Now reunited we finish sentences before they are... Hearts and heads aligned. Some terrible thing has happened, we are implicated in a disaster and we have to “fix it”. We trickle, then pour onto the trains compacted into raspberry gelee with a cohesion of purpose unspoken, then shouted. Alone, we are burdened with shame and dread. Together we form a system. The well within has opened and we know- WE can do this. WE have this. KATE GALLION (Continued from page 7) posters left on the steps of Trump’s hotel, lining the Mall, stacked at the Metro stations, bear witness to our presence and commitment to stand up and fight back. Why we march… Partisanship has failed us. Corruption and lack of credibility plagued the contest. One half of the citizenry declined to participate. We march for essential women’s rights to reproductive healthcare, the defense of Planned Parenthood, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, religious tolerance and critical reform of the racist oppressors of police and judicial violence. We have transcended partisan politics to achieve solidarity with women’s rights and human rights as the goal. This is the start of a resistance groundswell, but what comes after? What does the “work” look like, and is it sustainable? (On his first full day in office, President Trump re-instated a Reagan era ban on the use of U.S. foreign aid funds for abortions or BILL WOODS (Continued from page 4) elections and illegal voting during the campaign, the forces that support tougher restrictions for registering to Protest in near Hard Rock Cafe and Security Checkpoint Credit: Jim Luken abortion counseling). Guessing he didn’t get the pink pussy hatted message. Perhaps he’s crafting “alternate facts”. Gloves off, imperative. ----We Are Water resistance vote and voting will probably be more active than ever before. Thus, as we start the first full week of the Trump Administration, reformers and civic activists better be ready to take up the cause of renewing democracy themselves. The huge women's marches in cities across the country bode well for enlisting recruits for grassroots campaigns to take on causes such as Congressional redistricting reform and protecting THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED is Knee to hip, shoulder to shoulder to shoulder. This machine destroys hate and fear. We are smiling now. We’ve eaten dirt. We are water. voting rights. The organizing tool in the coming months and years must be collaboration. Only by coming together with our diverse progressive causes do we have a chance for success. �12 T STREET VOICE The Road to Redemption o start I must say this is about me and my experiences here at Joseph House. These are all my opinions and thoughts. I came here in September of 2016. Having been living with my mom for the past 25 years after getting honorably discharged from the US Army. I came here to save my life. I am an Alcoholic. Writing that simple 9 letter word has more meaning to me than any other word in the human language. I must admit that to myself daily or I will forget why I am here. I was here 3 years ago, but wasn’t ready to stop my destructive lifestyle and more importantly be honest with myself and others. Joseph House is a place for Veterans like myself who suffer from the disease of Addiction. C.J. PIERCE (Continued from page 5) requiring the humane treatment of livestock. 4) With a drive toward sustainability and cutting down on the waste. Thus keeping functional foods and products out of the landfill. Foods often get thrown away that are still good. EX: an apple being discard because of a bruise, yet the apple is still eatable. BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer Let me describe who I was at my mom’s house. I was that creepy Uncle who stayed upstairs at his mom’s house who only came out to get something to eat or to do that weekly chore of putting the garbage on the curb begrudgingly. I was so isolated from life that I forgot how to feel. I was disconnected from my family and from reality. I was in a state of depression many like me can identify with. After years of this I finally had enough and made the call to Joseph House for help. Since that day in September my life has transformed. Redemption had begun without me knowing it at the time I start my day with chores, being For a brief video on GFPP: http:/vimeo.com/realfoodmedia/ gfpp?ref=em-v-share The unspoken message in this meeting was there’s variety of groups and individuals working toward good food options for our schools, our communities and neighborhoods, each with a desire to do their part for every person fairly, justly and equitably. Some of those attending were Vivian Rodger’s a C.P.S. parent “Breakdown Stereotypes” responsible is something I lack. At my age this is something I should have learned at 14, but at that age I was drinking and drugging. Joseph House uses simple activities to get me to get in the habit of doing what’s right. It’s a struggle somedays and I think even non-Alcoholics can relate to struggling with things at times. Being a Veteran is a common thread for us. Taking orders and doing things with an attention to detail has been lost over the years but not forgotten. Joseph House reminds me of that constantly. Working in groups and going to meetings allows me to get to know who I am. Here the recovery is individual based. Each one of us have our own difficulties and with the help of staff (my Counselor) I have grown. and activist for healthy foods in our schools; Michaela Oldham, Director of Greater Cincinnati Food Policy Council; Megan Gakabrill, Slow Food; Michael Taylor a Naturalpath; Penny Shore, Wyoming Farmers Market; Harriet Matthey, Soul Cycle and several members of CIWC and WCC. All deserve to have healthy options that are easily accessible and the quality of our foods determine our health. To give oneself and our J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 I am not perfect each day but I see the small changes in my life. These small changes will eventually lead to a better me and with that a productive member of society. That is one of the goals of my recovery to redeem that in which I have lost and have destroyed in other people. To conclude this brief stint into the life I have here in Joseph House. I would say that I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world right now. I can see the redeeming qualities in myself and the others around me and with that in mind we all can make the people in our lives proud to know us once again. REDEMEPTION IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE HELP AND AID OF PEOPLE LIKE THOSE AT JOSEPH HOUSE TO CARRY YOU THROUGH THE ROUGH PATCHES UNTIL YOU CAN SEE THE GREEN PASTURES UP AHEAD. children the best, to become the best each of us can be, starts with the nutrition of our foods. This requires ALL of us to do “our part” to resist convenience, to support our local venders that purchase from other local venders, especially those that are also investing in sustainable practices. [C.J. Pierce is a member of the Woman’s City Club Thriving Cincinnati Committee.] “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �13 STREET VOICE No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 Crying Rain AN INAUGURAL CRITIQUE Looking out the window Little Jack Horner The rain is falling hard, and fast Sat in a corner There are intervals of thunder Watching the Inauguration. Slashing ever so often He said with a sigh: And then it suddenly stops "I prefer leftover pie Until the next thunder slash appears To Trump's bleak oration." It lets you know that God is, near BILL WOODS Contributing Writer So take heed LIFE GOES ON Listen to his might THESE YEAR BEING GONE REST ASSURE HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF RIGHT HERE Because thunder and rain, THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE WITH THE MEMORIES WE Will, be coming HOLD SO DEAR KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE THOUGHT OF DAYS GONE BY I CAN SEE A PICTURE OF HISTORY IN MY MIND THE MEMORY OF TODAY AS WE REMEMBER OUR HISTORY WITH OUR HEARTS COMBINED THE MIND IS FOREVER LIVING AND BY GODS GRACE WE WILL FOREVER GO ON THE MIND WITH A MEMORY, FUNNY YOU DON'T RERMEMBER THE DAY YOU WAS BORN! THE DAY YOUR MEMORY COMES INTO PLAY YOU BELIEVE IN HEARING STRANGERS THE DAY YOU WERE GROWN, YOUR PARENTS COULD NOT TELL YOU BOUT THE DANGERS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT LIFE GOES ON IS FOR YOU TO SEE AND BELEIVE GOD IS GOOD 24 7!! I BELEIVE WE ALL WILL LIVE FOREVER CAN YOU BELIEVE ME!!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 117 Across 1. Institute legal proceedings against 4. Junk e-mail 8. Hoodlum 12. Hex 13. Type of cabbage 14. Wading bird 16. Not in favor of 17. Golf club 18. Bird of prey 19. Spiritual being 21. Refuse to acknowledge 23. Physically skilful 24. Sheep 25. Woodwind instrument 27. Beam 29. Scheme 30. Worthless or oversimplified ideas 31. Cutting tool 34. Brash 37. Ancient German alphabet character 38. Pool stick 39. Corrode 40. Crone 41. Naked 42. Mountain 43. Large predatory feline 45. Parka 47. Month 48. Consumed 49. Humble request for help 50. Hotshot 51. Drink made by steeping, boiling and fermenting 52. Cooking utensil 55. Space for movement 58. To a greater extent 60. Topic 62. Relating to hearing 64. Writing table 66. A particular environment 67. Superficial abrasion 68. Part of a calendar 69. Fabric used to dress wounds 70. Sleigh 71. Smoke and fog 72. Of long duration Down 1. Tendon 2. Undo 3. Way out 4. Snow runner 5. Minister of religion 6. Solitary 7. Bill of fare 8. Definite article 9. Intoxicating 10. Exhort 11. Outdoor game 12. Semiprecious gemstone 15. Mesh 20. Part of an egg 22. Food from the husks of cereal grains 26. Larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf 28. Primate 29. Domestic companion 30. Breed of dog 31. Evidence of past injury 32. Nimbus 33. Seven days 34. Pack to capacity 35. Polynesian rain dance 36. Catch sight of 37. Operated 40. Gardening tool 41. Constrictor 43. Used in varnishes and sealing wax 44. Detail 45. Beer 46. Triton 49. Very fast tempo 50. Astound 51. Freshwater fish 52. Danger 53. Ameliorate 54. Orderly 55. Tatter 56. Belonging to us 57. Examination by word of mouth 59. Betting ratio 61. Circle of light around the sun or moon 63. Was ahead of the others 65. Small cask or barrel J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 247 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 116 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 246- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 348 | J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street 45202 1125 Bank Street 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street 45202 411 Gest St. 45203 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 First Step Home 961-4663 Shelter: Youth 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network 15 Northern Kentucky 241-2965 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing Hamilton/Middletown Joseph House (Veterans) 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 1223 Main St. 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 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Housing: Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 471-1100 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 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 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 961-0600 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 352-6364 You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513-421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio $100 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 J a n 2 7 - F e b 9, 2 0 17 | N o . 34 8 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 2017 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 27-February 9, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Our Daily Reopens Pg 3: A Tale of Two Protests Pg 4: Community Leaders Call of Sen. Portman to Protect the Affordable Care Act Reflections on the Inauguration Pg 5: Residents Continued to Oppose Pipeline Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: One Woman’s View from the Women’s March on Washington Pg 8: Civil Disobedience Pg 9: Vandalism and Racist Symbols at Withrow University High School Why We Should Support Public Education Pg 10: Call Me Weird If You Want Pg 11: Dr. Mark Mussman Continued Justin Jeffre Continued Kate Gallion Continued Pg 12: The Road to redemption 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 27-February 9, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Key Beck Bill Woods Michael Earl Patton C.J. Peirce Kate Gallion Dr. Mark Mussman Jorge Garay Jason Haap Bobby Morris Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Our Daily Bread David Little Chas Wiederhold Michelle Dillingham Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Affordable Car Act Bill Woods Bobby Morris C.J. Peirce Chas Wiederhold city council civil rights David Little Dr. Mark Mussman education Inauguration Jason Haap Jorge Garay Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kate Gallion Key Beck Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Michelle Dillingham Our Daily Bread Pipeline Protests Racism Voting Washington Willa Denise Jones Withrow University Womens Rights https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/df2bab7a6d8fb3638201789ecbf80627.pdf d6b6d0ce952783a21441338c471bef4c PDF Text Text July 14th - July 27th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 41 (No. 360) a d v o c at i n g j u s t i c e | B u i l d i n g c o m m u n i t y The Right to be Upset | 8 Protesters line Vine Street calling for justice and a retrial of Ray Tensing. PHOTO BY A.J. NEWBERRY M The Right to be Upset ost of the ways we socialize and engage in politics have radically changed since the rise of social media. Some of it good, some of it bad, but on all ends, public engagement has remained trapped in the same trap of echo chambers that plagued the presidential election. The need for conversation is constant. Voicing support or dissent for news articles with friends or online is one way to start a conversation, denigrating protestors with character jabs as they walk by is not. Mainstream media does it too, favoring discussions of the president's lack of political correctness (which a large portion of the country has shown is exactly why they elected him and should be respected as their decision), leaving citizens ever the more uninformed about issues and people affected. No, protests are typically not a great time to start a conversation with those involved. People protest because they haven't been heard, weren't taken seriously, or are being oppressed. Protests should be observed as peacefully as they are carried out. Consider viewing them as a shout for help, asking the public join arms and demand justice for group's cause. People protest because they are upset, and watchers who try to denigrate or even calm them down should understand that their interaction is futile and cumbersome: If more coversations were had, there wouldn’t have to be a protest in the first place. Few people in Cincinnati are defending Ray Tensing's actions, and most upper-middle class people will acknowledge that American life is wrought with institutional racism and/or classism. Acting upon this knowledge, however, remains stalled. The great questions for our generation are how will we eradicate poverty? Reduce prison populations? Drug-related deaths? And end violent interactions where ignorance may at all be to... (Continued on page 8) This issue sponsored by (Former) Judge Mark P. Painter Inside this issue: Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 $2.00 donation Local: Love and Resistance: Moving Tom Dutton's Work Forward | 3 Local: Dear Tom, | 3 Local : Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Homes | 5 Local: WCC: Striving for a Better Future| |7 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org �2 LOCAL How Many HSAC Members Does It Take To Screw Up A Human Services Funding Recommendation? T he Human Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) is a group of local individuals who volunteer to collectively look over grant applications for city Human Services funds. They then study the details and proposed outcomes of these proposals and decide which programs to recommend to City Council for funding and at what dollar amount, within the limitations of funds made available by City Council. For the last several years the United Way has done a good job of staffing this process and then administering and following the dollars. The United Way works to facilitate a process that fits within the Human Services priorities as decided by City Council. For the last couple years the three primary priorities have been: removing barriers to gainful employment, reducing homelessness and violence prevention. Deciding what programs to recommend for funding and what J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 JOSH SPRING Executive Director organizations to not recommend is difficult because the need in all priorities listed and priorities not listed far exceed the dollars made available by City Council, especially considering that Human Services has been operating at a deficit for about fourteen years and even at its best before the deficit was only 1.5% of the city’s General Fund. Members of HSAC are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed through majority vote by City Council. In case you haven’t heard, we are in the midst of an opioid/heroin epidemic. In fact, we really have been in the midst of an addiction crisis for a very long time: heroin, alcohol, crack, cocaine, pills, etc. I’m sure you have heard this and more than likely you have seen it in some fashion or experienced it personally or had someone you know experience it. We know about the regular overdoses. We know about the regular deaths. We know about the heroin laced with elephant tranquilizers. We know about people who have been in the horror of addiction for a long time and we know about the growing numbers of people being captured by the disease of addiction. For over thirty years the City of Cincinnati has provided funding to the Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment (CCAT). CCAT provides detox and recovery services to people suffering from addiction. They provide in-patient and out-patient services. They provide services to the families of people dealing with addiction. They provide ongoing recovery services and a recovery community. They save lives, for sure. Last year through Human Services, the City granted $180,000 to CCAT. Even these dollars were not enough to take on the full problem. So, in the midst of everything we know to be true, would you believe that HSAC (Continued on page 11) THOMAS A. DUTTON: A Working Paper O ne of the privileges of working with Tom Dutton for the last decade was being on his editorial board. Editorial Board… that already sounds too formal for Tom’s liking, but those who knew and worked with Tom will know just what I mean. And they might nod and agree that it was great sport to write and edit with Tom. It was sport that demanded mental and linguistic agility, yet it was fun. It was exciting. And it was a team sport. The match began quietly—a paper was handed to you with the red Center for Community Engagement sunflower/fist/baseball glove logo and a title like: Econocide Overthe-Rhine; From the Continuum of Care to Strategies to Care Less: From Anna Louise to the Drop in Center; Do You Have a Sign?; District 9 Overthe-Rhine; Indian Reservations, Trojan Horses and Economic Mix (https://blogs.miamioh.edu/cceotr/papers/). Looking back at the titles of these varied pieces, this subtitle was common: A Working Paper. The implication of Tom’s subtitle is that the work is never complete. As such, there is always opportunity JOHN BLAKE Contributing Writer for collaboration and community building. When I first got one of these working papers from Tom, not long after our Residency Program began in 2006, it felt to me like the serve by a man who was more than adept with a ping-pong paddle. Be ready… here it comes…. But the racquet sport analogy quickly falls short. This editorial board was more of an ultimate Frisbee team. (“Ultimate” was another sport Tom loved and excelled at). There were many players with different skills, and everything was happening in real time. If you want to be part of the action, you’d better be (Continued on page 11) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by 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: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. 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, John Blake, Mary Clare Rietz, Rachel Radina, Michael Earl Patton, Robert Park, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Nick Shellenberger, A. J. Newberry, Bobby Morris, Steve Sunderland, Willa Denise Jones, Bill Woods, Kim Green Photography/ Artwork: Michael Earl Patton, Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive, Dr. Mark Mussman, Woman's City Club, A. J. Newberry Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Thomas Dutton kickin it with Ms. June Credit: Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 36 0 3 LOCAL | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 Dear Tom, MARY CLARE RIETZ N Contributing Writer ight before last, you visited me in that dream. For the other folks here, I’ll tell it: I was on one side of a kitchen; across, I could see the sink, countertops and window. There were students there too. A largerthan-life crystal plate suspended vertically in mid-air, with your name, Tom Dutton, etched in handwriting in the glass. Before I had time to do anything more than see it, that beautiful translucent thing dropped to the floor and shattered into many shards. I felt panicked, and deeply saddened that I’d not been more present, had not experienced it more mindfully when it was still whole. I surveyed all the broken pieces at our feet. Then, I was on the other side of where the plate had been hanging, now with a different perspective on the room. There was a wooden tray, hand-built, also suspended mid-air, and the students and I were making a piece of art, a collage of sorts, with the broken shards of your plate as a base, and fat, pink, 4-sided ceramic pieces. I was both leading, and working collaboratively, with the students. You wooshed through, striding with your long legs from one side of the kitchen to the other, then out. Even though you entered and exited quickly, on your way through you said, “I’m not leaving until…” Until what? The next morning I remembered it was “until you get it,” or “until it’s done.” My story of you is ordinary, in that it’s the story of so many of Thomas Dutton leads Highlander School Credit: Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive Thomas Dutton leads Highlander School Credit: Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive us: You generously mentored me through a process of conception, vision, and struggle to enact. When the idea came to me for a mapsbased art intervention to challenge the dominant renaissance narrative in gentrifying Over-the-Rhine, Bonnie Neumeier was the first person I talked to. You were the second. We hadn’t met before then, though I knew you and your work through mutual friends, sister and fellow activists. But from that first conversation on, your commitment to supporting me and my work was generous and unwavering. You let me and neighborhood collaborators use the MUCCE space as our meeting place, monthly for almost a year. You and John sent students to a design charrette to help me come up with how to make that crazy mobile kiosk I wanted to build to take around the neighborhood, to prompt people to think about how Over-the-Rhine is mapped, and how that relates to power and privilege. You and John said yes to students who wanted to LOVE AND RESISTANCE: Moving Tom Dutton’s Work Forward I f you’ve never been to the Miami University Center for Community Engagement, located in the storefront at buddy’s place at 13th and Vine Street, I encourage you to stop by this fall. It’s a powerful space of resistance located in the heart of what some refer to as the Gateway Quarter, a portion of Over-the-Rhine that has been gentrified and essentially become what MUCCE founder and director Thomas A. Dutton referred to as “an urban playground for the White elite.” While many programs, organizations and people have been pushed out of the Gateway Quarter, buddy’s place remains and is home to a program that was created a little over ten years ago to help students develop a critical consciousness about urban communities. The Miami University Over-theRhine Residency Program was created in 2006 through a collaboration of members of the Over-the-Rhine RACHEL RADINA Contributing Writer community and Tom Dutton. The Residency Program was designed to move beyond community service and advocacy and instead aims to teach students how to walk alongside community members in the struggle for justice. Residency students take a class called, The American City Since 1940, which has been co-taught by Tom and Bonnie Neumeier a long time community member, educator, and activist.  The class meetings are held at the MUCCE in buddy’s place on Thursday evenings. This building holds a special significance to the community and the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement, symbolizing struggle, solidarity and hope.  buddy’s place is named after long time community activist buddy gray [buddy gray preferred his name in lower case letters], who was tragically killed in 1996.   buddy was one of the founding members of many of the social service organizations that still exist in Over-the-Rhine and the surrounding area.  Located above the Center for Community Engagement are 20 units of affordable supportive help me build the mobile kiosk, to building it there at the Center and using the Center’s tools. You offered to serve on my thesis committee if I anticipated trouble garnering support. You directed funding to publish and distribute multiples of a booklet I’d made documenting the project; the last interaction we had was me giving you your copy, and, incredibly, you thanking me. All this, and I was not even a Miami student(!) but in the graduate fine arts program at UC DAAP. Most significant of all these gifts: You reminded me again, and again, what I had stated as my vision, the radical and disruptive original goal of the work. Though the project did challenge the perceptions of many who participated, it never did hit that target full on. I’m not leaving until you get it. I’m not leaving until it’s done. Last night, several hundred people hit the streets in Over-the-Rhine to call for a retrial for the murder of (Continued on page 12) housing specifically for folks who have recently experienced homelessness.  The building was built brick-by-brick through the work of volunteers and members of the Over-the Rhine People’s Movement who cared deeply about the community long before the new wave of development took place. The (Continued on page 12) Tom Dutton, with Janis Dutton, participates at Highlander event at Peaslee Credit: Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Property Tax Reappraisals and TIFs J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 MICHAEL EARL PATTON P roperty owners in Hamilton County recently got notices of updated appraised values as determined by the Hamilton County Auditor’s office (www.hamiltoncountyauditor.org). The appraised value of my house in Oakley went up – a lot – but probably in line with recent market sales in my immediate area. I’m not real happy about the 24% increase because I have no plans to sell now and the immediate effect will be higher property taxes. I have written before about property tax abatements and the abuse of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) schemes which tend to raise our taxes even more. With the recent reappraisals and new information published by the auditor’s office, it is a good time to revisit the subject. Cincinnati and other municipalities are allowed to grant property tax abatements and use tax increment financing according to the Ohio Revised Code. The default period for which these abatements can run is 10 years, but under certain conditions such as the approval of the school board, they can run for up to 30 years. A property tax abatement is a forgiveness of property tax, in whole or in part. Tax increment financing is a means of still collecting that portion that is forgiven as a tax and using it instead for a project in the immediate area or even for the same property which had a part of its taxes abated. That portion is now called a PILOT, for Payments In Lieu Of Taxes. The difference is that the money is not used for things like police, fire, parks, and schools; instead the money goes back directly to the immediate area or project which paid it. Cincinnati often uses this money to assist certain (favored) businesses by helping to pay for parking garages or lots. An example is the parking lot by MadTree Brewing in Oakley, almost half of which was paid for through an area TIF fund. While in theory those parking spaces are for the general public, in practice MadTree is the Contributing Writer Anti-Pipeline posters and literature being shared Credit:hamiltoncountyauditor.org only large business in the immediate area. Other bars and restaurants in Oakley are several blocks away. While they probably could use more parking spaces close by, they were not so favored. And what is surely rubbing it in for them, part of the PILOT money used for the MadTree parking lot comes from those other businesses. The county auditor, Dusty Rhodes, recently looked at the amount Mr. Rhodes makes the point that the amount of tax exempt property is increasing faster than the total property valuation, from 9.5% in 1991 to 23.8% in 2016. Of these tax exemptions, the amount granted by local governments has also increased, from 5.2% in 2005 to 9.4% in 2016 (he does not give the percentage for 1991, but it was probably close to zero). TIFs are included in this portion. Mr. Rhodes also notes – Graphic representation of a monetary squeeze on the wallet Credit: Michael Earl Patton of tax abated property in Hamilton County. The accompanying graph is taken from a March 9, 2017 note that is linked on the auditor’s home page. and this was a surprise to me – that the total property valuations actually went down slightly from 2005 to 2016, from $70.9 billion in 2005 to Otto Warmbier and foreign policy ROBERT PARK I f we want to understand how the Otto Warmbier family tragedy could happen, we need to examine some history. Bad foreign policy has consequences that can go on for generations. This was not about what a young man did or didn’t do; it’s not about an irresponsible tour company, and it’s not about a rogue state with an unfamiliar pathological political culture. It’s about a global disconnect that started 75 yrs ago or more and Contributing Writer continues, getting worse. Over thousands of years the Korean peninsula was invaded repeatedly by mostly Chinese imperial armies of various dynasties but in the 20th Century, it was the Tsarist Russian and Japanese occupiers that needed repelling. Korea along with parts of China, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries became the near colonial territories of the Japanese empire that eventually partnered with Nazi Germany creating the Asian theatre of World War Two. That’s where another policy of capitalist greed started us down the path we’re now on. The United States had the Monroe Doctrine that said Central and South America were ours, other empires need not consider participating there. When the Japanese said they had their own Monroe Doctrine for Asia, the U.S. objected and intervened… Hence Pearl Harbor and the East Asia venue of WW II. We could perhaps THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED just $69.4 billion in 2016. This helps explain why property taxes have been increasing. Since the total property valuations went down slightly at the same time the amount of tax-exempt property increased, that means that the property tax base shrank. Unless the total amount to be collected goes down, that means that the amount of tax collected per dollar of valuation has to go up to compensate. Mr. Rhodes calls this trend “disturbing,” and it is clear that as it continues, more and more taxes will be coming from a continually shrinking tax base. I am not as sanguine as he, I call the trend “alarming.” Any new property taxes are on top of the increases that are already set in place. Last year, in the September 23 – October 6 issue of Streetvibes, I wrote another article on TIFs. Called “Sneaky TIFs,” it explained that because the base valuation of TIF property was frozen, more and more of the tax burden would be borne by non-abated properties as inflation caused property values to increase. That point is still valid. Even if the total valuation of the county doesn’t increase this time (although over 30 years it is a safe bet that it will during that period), if the total valuation of Cincinnati properties increases, my taxes would go up. So I am facing tax increases due to two trends: 1) more and more property is being abated leaving the tax base smaller and 2) the sneaky increase caused by inflation and a shifting of the burden unto non-abated properties. Maybe if abatements were granted according to a fixed formula that would apply to anyone and everyone who qualified, and we residents and taxpayers all knew and agreed about it, this could be justified, but such is not the case. Or maybe if they were granted for those who struggle to make ends meet, who have to decide how to allocate their income among the basic necessities (not luxuries), they could be justified, but that is also not the case. I am one of the very few who write about these abatements. I plan to cover more of how abatements are not transparent in my next article. I am motivated because my wallet – and maybe yours, too -- is getting squeezed. explore what other policies might have defended the Japanese colonies against Imperial Japan without the obvious ulterior motive, but our track record in the Philippines wasn’t good (stole that country from Spain). So in WW II, very active and effective resistance movements developed throughout Europe and Asia that were critical elements in defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. In Korea political forces including adherents to socialist and “communist” ideas from Europe organized a peoples war of liberation and successfully freed their country from rape by Japan (figuratively and (Continued on page 12) �No. 36 0 LOCAL Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Homes? | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 5 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer W hat do you think about the ArtWorks murals throughout the city? Have you ever participated in an event that involved one or more murals? Have you ever connected with one in a meaningful way, or do you just see them as frivolous art? Sometimes, as with most art, there is more than meets the eye. This summer’s new projects are no different. A while back, a pro-education, anti-gun mural went up at Christ Church Cathedral’s downtown location. Prominently displayed on 4th Street was a mural with men holding giant pencils. The pencils were placed were guns once were in the photo, as you can see in the image from episcopaldigitalnetwork. com. To some, the image was controversial, and the artists ICY and SOT were asked to do another mural They have family in Baltic states and scattered around the world, but they knew that coming to America would change the way they are able to do their artwork. I had the pleasure of taking them on a social justice walking tour of Over-the-Rhine to help inform their new work. During our walk, I asked them a lot of questions about their work, their transition to American life, and their life before coming here. They were forced into political prisons, treated without humanity, which ultimately informs the work that they do. They marveled at our architecture, and how much things had changed since they were here just 3 years ago. They said Over-the-Rhine looked unfamiliar to them. Their first design attempt at the new mural fell flat. The Homeless Coalition was asked to bring a speaker to the incoming ArtWorks Mural with Added Hands Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Where's Waldo Hands in Mural Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Where's Waldo Hands in Mural Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman this summer here in Cincinnati. Iranian-born, New York Citybased artists, ICY and SOT are two brothers who have endured the wrath of their home government, and are now considered refugees in America. Apprentices (high school students who work through the summer to paint the new murals). ArtWorks was happy to let me know that they are doing a new mural to combat the stereotypes of people experiencing Mural Work on the Recovery Hotel Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman homelessness. The other goals of the mural were very lofty, but great goals: raise awareness about homelessness and get people to engage in the fight for affordable housing. We stood by these goals, but not the design. The initial design was simply a shirtless African-American man with windows painted into his body. One of my colleagues remarked that it was more a semblance to slavery than housing issues. Others thought that if we want people to see and act on homelessness, then putting windows on a person’s body instructs people to “look through” rather than “see” them. Through a series of random events, ArtWorks heard about our concerns and invited us to meet with the artists when they came in town – which led to my tour. During our hour walk, we showed them the mural projects that missed the mark. One of them is on Vine Street, which shows landmarks in the neighborhood. When residents asked to have humans in the mural, ArtWorks placed some disembodied arms in the mural to try to assuage the community. We talked to the artists about how this is not a solution, but a missed opportunity to hear and react THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED accordingly to community voices. Today, the mural work continues on the side of the Recovery Hotel, on the 1200 block of Vine Street. The mural will be opposite the Cincinnati Strong Man mural, and will contain several, clothed persons with ambiguous racial backgrounds. We know that African Americans are over-represented in homelessness because of the continued legacy of American racism, including redlining and other, more contemporary, barriers. It will also include a couple small surprises that tie it to the neighborhood, as well as, signs to raise awareness about homelessness. Strategies to End Homelessness is the sponsor of the mural, which is on an Over-the-Rhine Community Housing building. Along with ArtWorks, these two organizations had final approval of the design. Strategies wrote that the new mural will include people who have experienced homelessness here in Cincinnati. As we are 40,000 units short on Affordable Housing, I can only hope this helps us in our goal to create a local Affordable Housing Trust Fund. �6 LOCAL Dear Indigent Care Levy Committee: J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 STEVE SUNDERLAND M Contributing Writer y name is Steve Sunderland, PhD. I am director of the Cancer Justice Network, one of the new programs requesting funds from the Indigent Care Levy. I have just retired from the University of Cincinnati as a former dean, professor of social work, and a professor of education. For the past two years I have been leading an organization that seeks to change the health outcomes of indigent people. I would like to take a few minutes to describe why I believe that Indigent Care Levy needs to take a direction toward reducing mortality for indigent people in Hamilton County. The best way to do this is to reduce the amount going to the hospitals by $5 million dollars and direct these monies to programs that can improve the care and lives of indigent people. Imagine you are an indigent adult in Cincinnati. You suspect that something is wrong with your health since you have recently seen blood in your stool. You arrive at a free dinner and hear about a cancer prevention program at a local church. You do not know exactly what cancer is, or how it develops. You do not have a physician. You do not know if you are eligible for Medicaid or the ACA. At the dinner you hear from a physician that cancer kills more indigent people in Hamilton County than any other place in Ohio. You are confused about what you should do since you have no money for insurance and usually do not go for medical care. You meet at the dinner a navigator, a person who volunteers to take you to a health center to find out if you have cancer and, if necessary, to treatment. There is no cost. Do you take their invitation to find out? Or, do you eat your dinner, leave for home, and continue to worry about your health. The above story faces thousands of people each day in Hamilton County who are indigent. Not knowing about cancer in specific, or healthcare in general, these individuals will wait until some physical event forces them to the emergency room. Too often they are told that they came "too late" for treatment, the cancer “Breakdown Stereotypes” has progressed to a stage that is untreatable. Cincinnati's indigent are dying at record state numbers, often in silence and out of the public's eyes. (1) What is the Indigent Care Levy doing to change this situation? The recent consultant's report documents that indigent care is going on at both UC hospital and Children's Hospital. Both hospitals show great success in their funding, improving their assets, and in their unrestricted funds. Both hospitals seem to have no difficulty in obtaining their low Community standards. Neither hospital depends on the Indigent Care Levy for anything but a very small part of their budgets. And, UC Hospital and Children's Hospital have public processes for access for indigent people. What the report skips over is what either hospital is doing to reduce mortality from chronic diseases. The report, and the hospitals, do not tell us how many people are unnecessarily dying because they have not learned about how the hospitals could help them with their cancer, their diabetes, their heart disease, or any serious illness. The report does not note that life expectancy around UC Hospital and Children's Hospital is 20 years less than other places in Cincinnati. (2) With the start of the ACA, the report concludes, the two hospitals have greatly improved their financial condition but we, the citizens, do not know where this money was spent in any detail. And, the report does not detail the ways in which the Community's health needs have been addressed in specific programs of education, prevention, or health service delivery. I suggest that it is time for the Indigent Care Levy to alter its payments to UC and Children's Hospitals until the hospitals indicate precisely where they are working to lower mortality rates for the indigent in Hamilton County. Hospitals need to be held to a community standard that directly interacts either with patients in serious conditions and/ or with partnership agencies that have targeted the reduction of their serious chronic diseases. The tax paying public that supports the Levy would be happy to know the details about how the hospitals are making a life changing difference in the county in general and in neighborhoods in (Continued on page 11) “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 36 0 LOCAL STATE PRE-EMPTION LAWS THREATEN CITY GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO GOVERN | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 7 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer C incinnati City Government and other cities across Ohio just escaped the passage of legislation that would have stripped them of their authority to regulate lead paint and lead in general. Although the proposal passed in the Ohio House, Republican Senators amended the language of the Budget a Bill to eliminate this local ban. Nevertheless, this type of state legislation to take away the home rule powers of cities is now a trend in Ohio and many other states. In the June 2nd Streetvibes piece, "Get The Lead Out," the article stressed the health hazards, especially for children, posed by legislation that would prohibit local regulations dealing with lead paint. The State's assault on local government powers was only briefly mentioned. Recent research on the actions of state governments reveal a pattern of curbing city home rule authority over a number of issues. This pattern marks a reversal of good government practices that began in the Progressive Era during the first decade of the 20th Century. Although cities were initially entities of the state, home rule charters evolved during this period that gave city governments the authority to enact legislation to deal with local issues such as public safety and health. Based on the evidence that cities confronted an array of unique and difficult problems, the concept of home rule concluded that local officials on the scene were best suited to solve them. Now states take action to limit this local control. Known as pre-emption laws, they began to be enacted in recent years as Republicans gained control of a majority of state legislatures across the country. They also coincide with the polarization of politics and the rightward shift of the GOP. Cities remain a stronghold for Democrats, and local governments often regulate business or the use of guns - both off limit issues for Republican ideologues. Although the local lead regulation ban did not pass, Ohio already has a number of pre-emption laws on the books. Along with twenty-three other states, Ohio made raising the minimum wage off limits for local ordinances. Further evidence of the influence of business lobbying on Republican legislators are the prohibitions of any local regulations concerning fracking that exist in Ohio and six other states. This trend of limiting and weakening local government authority is both ironic and alarming. WCC: Striving for a Better Future NICK SHELLENBERGER I n April, the Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati had their annual speaker forum. Maria Hinojosa, an award winning broadcast journalist reflected on her experiences with the immigration system in this country. Many of the women in attendance also shared their stories, similar to hers. It was a joyous occasion and one that shows the true power of the Woman’s City Club. The Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati or WCC is an organization that educates, empowers and engages the citizens of Greater Cincinnati to participate together in promoting the common good. The WCC is one of the longest serving organizations for women in the country, recently celebrating its centennial. The WCC is very active in community outreach. Last month, WCC had an open forum at Fountain Square to discuss equality issues that women face. In attendance were organizations that often work closely with the Woman’s City Club, such as the Woman’s Crisis Center and the Urban League. The Woman’s City Club tackles an array of issues that directly effect women ranging from education and housing to health and workplace matters. Another topic that is on the mind of its members and many people around the world are environmental issues. Recently Susan Noonan, Vice President of Programs, spoke publically about the growing concern of climate change. Contributing Writer Susan Noonan. A leader in gender equality. Credit: Woman's City Club “Environmental issues are also women’s issues” she said. President Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement last month, which was a worldwide coalition fighting to stop climate change. It was a ground breaking achievement for global politics but President Trump didn’t see it that way. The Woman’s City Club anticipated this decision by the President and hosted a forum focusing on climate change. Environmental leaders Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Nachy Kanfer of the Sierra Club, Dr. Parr of UC, and Jacqui Patterson of the NAACP touched on THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED It is ironic because it occurs at the same time that both the federal and state governments are cutting funds and eliminating programs that cities have come to depend on. If city governments decide to widen their scope to make up for these losses, they may be threatened with further preemption laws. The alarming result will be the inability to address critical problems and to govern effectively. Citizens need to be aware of and ready to challenge these pre-emption laws. Since state government is the least known level of government to the public, this civic responsibility will take some reorientation and work. Nevertheless, in these troubled times in U.S. public life, informed civic activism is more critical than ever before. ---------------------------------------- a number of themes that can help environmental progress in the area. “At the most basic level, natural disasters and resource shortages as a result of climate change hit poor communities first. Women make up an estimated 70 percent of those living below the poverty line globally,” Noonan said. “Climate change is a concern to women, children and families, and we need women in various leadership roles to drive climate conversations and action.” The passion of the Woman’s City Club is evident but they are also tireless in their effort. Cincinnati is one of the few midwestern cities with a CEDAW ordinance. The CEDAW is a human rights treaty that brings attention to a range of issues concerning women’s human rights. This is a big step in eliminating gender discrimination and it’s due to the relentless work of the WCC. “The first ordinance, the City of Cincinnati is sharing the cost of a gender study of city government including workforce, policies, contracts, boards and commissions and budgets to achieve greater equality.” Noonan said. “The second ordinance is a task force to review and make recommendations of priorities to eradicate discrimination based on gender on an annual basis.” The WCC is making strides in gender equality for the residents of Cincinnati. They are raising important issues, bridging gaps between communities, and passing groundbreaking legislation. If one could have a fraction of the passion that these women do, one could conquer any obstacle. ---------------------------------------- �8 A.J. NEWBERRY (Continued from cover) blame. Liberals crushed by the election PHOTO ESSAY The Right to be Upset Photo Credits: A.J. Newberry J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 results ought to start listening to the conservative and leftist working class who are in the streets and upset. Conservatives must reject inflammatory policymakers that make the rich richer and offer solutions that are simply band-aids. Everyone needs to listen to people THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED who have been driven to protest. If we don’t, it’ll end with both sides in the street, while our leaders hide in the bunker. �No. 36 0 | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 PHOTO ESSAY THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 September 8 - 30, 2017 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. 36 0 | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) decided to cut every penny of the $180,000 from CCAT? Well, believe it. They did. Their cited reason was that the programing at CCAT does not adequately meet the priority of “removing obstacles to gainful employment”. Is your head now shaking and/or are your eyes rolling? So today, 07-12-2017 we end up in City Council chambers. As you may recall, we successfully advocated for an additional $350,000 to be restored to Human Services. Today the decision needed to be made as to what the priorities of these dollars would fund. And we entered a space we have been in many times in the JOHN BLAKE (Continued from page 2) ready to run and get muddy with the likes of Jonathan Diskin, or Bonnie Neumeier, or Lian Hurst-Mann, or James Fraser, perhaps Dr. Tammy Schwartz, Mary Burke Rivers, Chris Wilkey, or Alice Skirtz, or his longtime editor-in-chief Janis Dutton. It might be a roster of collaborators from Miami University and Overthe-Rhine and the world beyond. Be ready. The disc/document might come from any direction, and Tom was always in the action, running alongside, encouraging you to be in the conversation. In ultimate Frisbee speak, Tom was often the one to “lay out”, but just as happy to assist. Typically, the working paper did not miraculously spring from the Head of Dutton—that brilliant, inquisitive head topped with that amazing hair. The fount of Tom’s work was observation, discussion, and conversation with others. It developed quietly and over some time. This approach was rooted in Tom’s work as a collaborator with the community and the academy. Grounded in Paulo Freire’s dialogical method, communication was key STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 6) particular. For example, why doesn't either hospital have an outreach program that educates people at churches, health fairs, community meetings, and other groups about the importance of early testing, regular physician visits, and new ways of paying for healthcare? In the area of reducing cancer mortality, for the indigent, why doesn't the hospitals partner with community cancer resources and strengthen the prevention education? Funding the many programs of the Indigent Care Levy, the report makes clear, cannot be done under the present dollars if the same guidelines are followed. What is needed, especially at this time of anxiety about federal programs, is an Indigent Care Levy that moves to a network or partnership model aimed at reducing mortality and increasing 11 LOCAL past, a space that until now this Council, coupled with our advocacy efforts, have been able to avoid: pitting us all against each other for desperately needed funds. This was not the intention of City Council, but its where we were. Should the dollars go to violence prevention or should they go to removing barriers to gainful employment or should they go to reducing homelessness or should they go to responding to the heroin and addiction epidemic, or a mixture thereof? While this was the question debated this morning, none of the actual programs or organizations were against each other. We all know that these issues are all connected and have the same general root causes. In the end today, Council decided to split the dollars in half: half to violence prevention, a quarter to the Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Programs (UMADAOP) and a quarter to CCAT. This means that CCAT is still missing approximately $100,000 and undoubtedly UMADAOP needs far more funding. Truth be told, the city can find a way to do all of it. This should not be an either/or conversation. Adequate funds need to be made available to each priority and more. The money could be found to fund each priority. Corporate welfare is certainly funded at much greater amounts with much less outcome evaluation and much less need to fight for the funds. Instead of making this editorial page longer in order to address various pieces of legislation and processes that need to be instituted by the city, I will pose one more question: The Mayor appoints the members of the Human Services Advisory Committee and City Council approves them. If in the midst of such addiction and death, HSAC decided to cut addiction services, do we have the right people on HSAC? Democracy is about finding a path to make decisions, but one of those decisions should not include who lives and who dies. Because no matter what struggle a person is facing, that person’s life matters above all. to understanding and for the cocreation of knowledge. For Tom, to write was not to bestow. To write was to engage. Students often provoked the papers. “This feels like a discussion paper,” Tom would announce sometime about mid-semester, after volleying issues and ideas with students in his Thursday afternoon American Cities course at the Center for Community Engagement. Over the course of the Residency Program, the outline would grow and the analogies would come, often drawn from concurrent popular culture, film, or a correlation to a larger, more universal edict made plain in the political terrain of urban Cincinnati. At other times, the work came from outrage over a policy- local or national- or a clear recognition of some inequity that needed to be frankly called out. Tom did not mind calling it out. He put a spotlight upon systemic injustices that are often overlooked and used his privilege to fight the good fight alongside community members, colleagues and students. Sometimes it was some overt policy or practice, but Tom was best at noticing some prejudice that was veiled behind a policy, civic action, or redevelopment proposal, and guiding us to recognize what might be missed at first glance because we couldn’t quite discern it through the hype. These papers were work. And they did work. They were meant to rally and get people to engage, to look at the world in a different light. That was the game plan. For Tom it was sport, but for the purpose of uncovering oppression and working towards justice. It was effort, but not without the joy and exhilaration of gathering around a point with collaborators, making the concept clear, articulating a latent truth that would make the world, if not Overthe-Rhine, a more just and inclusive place. The best editing sessions for me were across a table from Tom with the working paper between us. Tom was there with multiple pairs of hardware-store-bargainrack reading glasses (red pair on the bridge of his nose, purple pair nested in his hair). The working paper, with arrows, bubbles, and Tom’s cursive in the margins-- “this needs to change to make it more forward thinking”; “systemic patterns of development that exclude….” Tom was best on paper, and preferred not to track changes on the computer screen. It was more visceral to print out, edit with a cool pen (Tom loved pens), and then input the changes. As if the point would come with more clarity in that real moment at the table as we honed a phrase or shifted the order of paragraphs or haggled over the perfect adjective. As you might imagine, it is difficult and odd to complete this piece and not have Tom Dutton here to edit. However, recalling the process of working papers with Tom, I’m reminded of the importance of writing as a key element of discourse, discourse being the key element of citizenship. Putting it on paper is a commitment, and it requires bravery to put forth a position that might be unpopular in the face of a neighborhood “renaissance”. Tom did just that, and he did it with humility, wisdom, wit, integrity, and athleticism. prevention through outreach by the partner agencies. Changing the Levy's funding of both hospitals, reducing their allotments by 5 million dollars, sends a signal to the hospitals that these funds have to be accounted for in the struggle to reduce mortality. It also signals to agencies that want to work on prevention and treatment that their work has assumed new importance. Finally, it communicates to the tax paying public that these funds, precious because they can be life saving, are needed now more than at any other time. The mechanism for designating funding to the hospitals and the programs should include the following criteria: A. All funding to any program, including the hospital, will need to be directed toward reducing mortality from serious chronic diseases affecting the indigent. Proposals will show how programs are going to implement toward this goal. (See the Cincinnati Health Departments' "Top 10 Causes of Death in Cincinnati, 2001-2007." In Why do we die?: City of Cincinnati Mortality Data Project Summary. N. Maseru and C. Jones. March 2011.) B. All programs funded by the Levy must not be double funded by other hospital or agency funds. Medicaid already funds hospitals for working with the indigent in many cases. (3) Levy funds should go to efforts that are needing funds. C. A Community Evaluation of Health Outcomes Board will be established to review progress on a twice a year basis. Budgets for programs will be modified based on reviews. D. Hamilton County Commissioners should publish a public report on how Levy dollars are used and how effective they are in reducing the health crisis facing the indigent. 1. Cancer Mortality Rates for Women and Men. 2008-12 Trend Data. State Cancer Profiles. National Cancer Institute. Center for Disease Control. There are about 20 more deaths for black men and 20 more death for black women than the U.S. Per 100,000. References: THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED [John Blake is the Coordinator of Community Projects at Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.] 2. Hamilton County Public Health. "Does Place Matter?: Health Equity in Hamilton County, August 2015. Page 22. 3. E. Rosenthal. " An American Sickness: How healthcare became a business and how you can take it back. Penguin Press. 2017. Pages 4950. ---------------------------------------- �12 LOCAL MOVEMENT TO IMPROVEMENT J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 BOBBY MORRIS T his is something I thought I wouldn’t be writing about for at least 3-4 months from now. But things have changed. I don’t know if it’s God’s plan or the people who run the place I am staying at. It’s funny, I came here with a plan to get my recovery, get gainfully employed, build a nest egg and move into an apartment. I gave myself a year to accomplish these things. I have succeeded in all those areas, except the nest egg. It’s not quite where I would like it to be for me to move on but, Life happens. MARY CLARE RIETZ (Continued from page 3) Sam DuBose. We marched from Findlay Park at Vine and McMicken, through the neighborhood, paused at Rothenberg School, and ended in the so-called “Gateway Quarter,” heart of the gentrification, right there on Vine between 13th and 12th. Dozens and dozens of police were present, first pushing people back from the RACHEL RADINA (Continued from page 3) history of struggle and resistance continues in this sacred community space. There are many people who are deeply involved in the work that is happening at buddy’s place and we invite you to become a part of this work as well. It is through a deep sense of love that we come into this work.  A love for people, a love for community, a love for one another as comrades in the struggle for justice.  Recently, the program has experienced the loss of Tom Dutton, our beloved, dedicated director. He passed away at home on June 13 after an 8-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Although he will no longer be with us physically, he will always be with us in spirit and the love he poured into this program that helped ROBERT PARK (Continued from page 4) literally, with the “comfort women” seized for the Japanese occupying army). Some of the future ruling class of Korea sat out the war in the U.S. as exiles, like Syngman Rhee, waiting for the U.S. to clean things up for their return. The resistance movement had a different vision for post-war Korea and so civil war commenced. Yes there were communists, yes they asked for help, and got it, grudgingly. Mao had just dispatched U.S. favorite strongman Chiang Kai Shek (and Japan) from mainland China and had plenty of problems without getting into another war. Contributing Writer I have to say I’m sad in a way but also fearful and Joyous at the same time. All these emotions are hitting me at the same time. It’s sad to be leaving a place that gave me the time and environment to get some Recovery. It’s fearful because I’m starting a “New Adventure” (thanks Babe), and Joyous because It’s letting me know that the future is bright for me. Haven’t decided or even found a place, but I am eager to do just that. 9 months ago I was on the verge of suicide. And today I’m living life and happy (most of the time) living it. street to the sidewalk, then seemed to give up, drop back, yielded the space. We shut that street down with our people power, calling for justice. It was frightening and exciting, deadserious and empowering. You would have loved it. As the protest ended and the crowd dispersed, I looked over and realized: There it had been the whole time, there YOU were – the Center, holding ground, a witness of protest, present with the people. Once I became willing to do somethings and change somethings doors began to open. Along with doors, my heart opened to what I could be. Having this dream and this hope allows me to attack each day with vigor and laugh at myself and my faults. You see before I used to see my faults as negative attributes of myself. Now I see them as something I need and can change. Change is the Key word for me today. I have changed me, my outlook, my surroundings, my friends. All in the name of Peace within myself. I’m not leaving until you get it. I’m not leaving until it’s done. Since you died, and we gathered at buddy’s place to celebrate your extraordinary life and work, I’ve been thinking: We each have something of you now, to carry forward, express, act out. We did before you died, too. You gave each of us so much as teacher, mentor, colleague, friend; husband, father. But now I see that as your fire died down, there were embers left, hot and strong, and they’re in each of How can this be? This can be because I have put my Life in the Hands of my God. See I no longer run things my way. Don’t get me wrong I do make mistakes but my God has a way of correcting them so that I can see them and learn something. It’s not easy every day, but just for me to be willing to do this is a step in the right direction. Movement to Improvement is the title (thanks Angelo), but it should and can be titled Moving Forward or Growing Up! Either way it’s a positive thing no matter what words I use. Life is a constant thing that comes with the passing of time. In God’s Time, not Mine has become my mantra. As I end this piece I can only think of the how much I have in store for me in the coming weeks. us. We carry those now. We fan them, breathe them to life with our lives, our work, our vision for things you cared about and taught us. I’m not leaving until you get it. I’m not leaving until it’s done. [Mary Clare Rietz is an artist and community organizer.] ---------------------------------------- shape and bring it to life is a history that will live on forever. Another who prefers the lower case, bell hooks puts it this way: “I am because the story is.” Without Tom the students from Miami University would never have come to understand the powerful counternarrative that the People’s Movement embodies in the contested space of Over-the-Rhine.  Tom’s work, through love and dedication to critical consciousness raising and standing in solidarity with community people and organizations, has led us here, ten years into a program that has changed the hearts and minds of many. What an honor to have known and walked alongside such a caring, committed human being.  Our hearts are heavy, but at the same time full-we will move this work forward to honor our friend and to keep this important and necessary work at the forefront of our struggle for justice. Some people model love in such a way that we are forever changed by them. It isn't always obvious, it's subtle, ever present, humble, gracious, uplifting, confirming...so many things that it's hard to put into words. How powerful to impact so many just by merely modeling love. I wish we could all be a little more like that. Tom had this special gift. Tom personally taught me how to be an activist and an academic at the same time without losing my soul. No easy task, but he did it with grace, courage, conviction, love and humbleness. He also helped build my confidence in regards to my ability to do this work and he always believed in me, never doubting my ability for a second. I am part of a legacy of critically conscious and engaged scholar-activists that Tom taught, inspired and stood in solidarity with in the fight for justice.  I will always hold his spirit, love and dedication to this work close to my heart.  “The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” --Paulo Freire.  Tom, thank you for inspiring so many of us to become better versions of ourselves and for welcoming us into this important and necessary work. Love & solidarity comrade, we will move the work forward. For USSR it took repeated pleas from Kim Il Sung but eventually they provided what turned out to be superior air cover with their brand new MIG-15 jets. Both China and USSR entered the war after the U.S. installed Syngman Rhee along with the military support needed to make him their strongman in Korea. Left to themselves, the Koreans would have resolved the situation – and Rhee would have lost. An earlier 1950s version of Vietnam after defeat of the French (1954) would have resulted. Maybe both Korea and Vietnam could have become countries like Yugoslavia, another country where the resistance forces of WW II (under revolutionary Josip Broz Tito) took power and somehow avoided being puppets of any empire. Instead, the 1950s capitalist war mongers dominating the U.S. ruling elite opted for more war. Internal U.S. military assessments during the Korean War (Koreans call it “the American War”) lamented that they had destroyed every conceivable target north of the current demilitarized zone. All infrastructure was eliminated in the air war. U.S. battleships, naval dinosaurs, pulverized villages 20 miles from the sea with 2000 lb artillery shells. Over 2 million Koreans died from war, famine and weather because the U.S. ruling class wanted their guy in power there. Just like Vietnam. Much later under a progressive government, the “South” Koreans who had been bullied into sending troops for the next U.S. war, in Vietnam, issued a formal apology to Vietnam, understanding firsthand what the consequences must have been. The current political culture of North Korean is a direct consequence of the U.S. assault on Korea. Horrible experiences enable unsavory political results. We have Trump, they have Kim Jong-un (both have bad hair). Which one will cause more disaster? Koreans say they could have sorted it out themselves (Thanks for ruining our country). THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED [Rachel Radina, Ph.D. is a visiting professor of teacher education at Miami University, and program coordinator for the Urban Cohort.] ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- �No. 36 0 | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 Living By Goodness 13 STREET VOICE LIFE GOES ON, BUT Even with Trump, Each day God gives us life How merciful our creator He gives us a wonderful start Life has to go on. We buy the groceries, And we mow the lawn. But as we do dishes, To live life with breath In our lungs and a beating heart Or put food on the table, We can't escape feeling The country's unstable. Living by goodness and by grace Thank you God for another day BILL WOODS Contributing Writer WHO DO YOU LOVE Living by goodness makes one feel good TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER THE WAY ONE HAS And thankful for Gods good grace LIVED THEIR LIFE TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER THEIR OWN HAPPY DAYS KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer AND DAYS WITH STRIFE TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER SO MUCH AFTER SO MANY YEARS TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER MORE HAPPY TIMES THAN YOU REMEMBER TEARS TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER SOME FACES NOT TO MENTION SOME PLACES TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER THEN UNDERSTAND WITHOUT SUPPORT I HAVE NO BASES TO KNOW I HAVE NO POWER OVER THE WORLD BUT I HAVE POWER OVER ME TO KNOW HOMELESSNESS, TO BEG, TO PLEAD FOR HELP AND NOBODY SEES TO KNOW WHEN ITS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE FOR YOURSELF AND LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND KNOW THAT ONLY YOU CAN MAKE YOU SHINE WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 129 Across 1. Heroic tale 1. Painful muscle 2. Having little money or contraction few possessions 6. A flat float 3. Starch resembling 10. Young girl sago 14. Main artery 4. Unusual 15. Fiend 5. Cause to go crazy 16. Dull persistent pain 6. Steal 17. Large hard-shelled 7. Highly excited fruit 8. Mendicant 18. Seethe 9. Bank employee 19. Unit of language 10. Jurisprudence 20. A large fleet 11. Fruit of the oak 22. Festivity 12. Physical gesture 24. Floor covering 13. Marsh plant 25. Reported information 21. Mentally perceptive 27. Retaliation 23. Declare or affirm 29. Cease to flow solemnly 33. Propel with oars 26. Take without 34. Cover with stone or permission concrete 28. Sheep 35. Seeweed 29. Health resorts 37. Scrawny 30. Consideration 41. Hotshot 31. Allege 42. Overhang 32. Fairies SODOKU PUZZLE NO 259 - MEDIUM 44. Device for shaping 36. Tranquility metal 38. Redact 45. Spread by scattering 39. Prima donna 48. Unauthorized 40. Period of time disclosure of 43. Subsist on a information meager allowance 49. Examination in the 46. Make a mistake form of 47. Person under the an interview protection of another 50. Rodent 49. Invective 52. Curved oriental saber 51. Slow and apathetic 54. Small bird 53. Unwholesome 58. Radiate atmosphere 59. Vat 54. Austere 60. Vertical fall 55. Food processed in a 62. Minister of religion blender 66. Desiccated 56. Dwell 68. Object used on stage 57. Comparative of bad 70. Strainer 61. One of the two ends 71. Make new of a magnet 72. Small island 63. Having lost all 73. Conventions moisture 74. Acute 64. Finished 75. Relatively thick from 65. Bird structure top to bottom 67. Spanish gentleman or 76. Warning signal nobleman Down 69. Liveliness and energy PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 128 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 258- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 36 0 RESOURCES | J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 557-2873 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 241-1064 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 721-0643 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 411 Gest St. 45203 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1125 Bank Street 45214 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Interfaith Hospitality Network Housing: 471-1100 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 621-5300 961-1983 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 351-0422 381-6672 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 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 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 977-6800 859-572-6226 First Lutheran Church 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry AA Hotline CCAT 1522 Republic Street 45202 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing 961-4663 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn VA VA Homeless 961-2256 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 221-HELP 721-8666 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 Starting Over 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Talbert House Tender Mercies 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 921-1613 First Step Home 761-1480 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Prospect House Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Caracole (HIV/AIDS) CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street 45202 784-1853 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Charlie’s 3/4 House 2121 Vine Street 45202 Shelter: Youth 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health 421-0065 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile for 26 issues Center Independent Living Options Peaslee Neighborhood Center 241-2600 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Goodwill Industries Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House 381-0111 771-4800 579-8547 721-4811 1223 Main St. 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 County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor 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 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 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 $100 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio FreeStore/FoodBank 762-5660 Shelter: Men Medical Van 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street 45202 15 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 J u l y 14 - J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 17 | N o . 36 0 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource July 14-July 27, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page The Right to Be Upset Pg 2: How Many HSAC Members Does It Take to Screw Up A Human Services Funding Recommendation? Thomas A. Dutton Pg 3: Dear Tom Love and Resistance Pg 4: Property Tax Reappraisals and TIFs Otto Warmbier and Foreign Policy Pg 5: Is A Picture Worth a Thousand Homes? Pg 6: Dear Indigent Care Levy Committee Pg 7: State Pre-Emption Laws Threaten City Government’s Ability to Govern WCC Pg 8: The Right to be Upset Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Josh Spring Continued John Blake Continued Steve Sunderland Continued Pg 12: Movement to Improvement 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 July 14-July 27, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rachel Radina John Blake Josh Spring Mary Clare Rietz Michael Earl Patton Robert Park Dr. Mark Mussman Bill Woods Nick Shellenberger A. J. Newberry Bobby Morris Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones Bill Woods Kim Green Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive Woman's City Club Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF A. J. Newberry Bill Woods Black Lives Matter Bobby Morris Dr. Mark Mussman HSAC John Blake Josh Spring Kim Green Mary Clare Rietz Miami University Center for Community Engagement Archive Michael Earl Patton Nick Shellenberger Otto Warmbier Photography police brutality Property Tax Protests Rachel Radina Robert Park Steve Sunderland WCC Willa Denise Jones Woman's City Club