1 10 25 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/1cecee01aa159fe0b73e807478553bdf.pdf a4235cec3bb8261d3de16a63cabaa0df PDF Text Text D e c e m b e r 2 8 t h - J a n u a r y 1 1 t h 2 0 1 8 | Vo l . 2 1 I s s u e 2 4 ( N o . 3 9 7 ) advo cating justice | building communit y Any opinions in this issue are of the authors and don't necessarily represent Streetvibes or The Homeless Coalition. Article on page 5 This Issue is sponsored by Cecilia and Tom Kloecker Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 12 �2 COALITION Nov 2 o v 19, 0 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Dec. 28- -NJan. 11,22018 397 From The Director: 2018 In Summary And 2019 Plans T he human and financial support you add to our Coalition allows us to remain a vocal, active organization focused on organizing, advocating, educating and coordinating for systemic changes to end homelessness in Greater Cincinnati. In Cincinnati and Hamilton County more people are experiencing homelessness now than ever before. This includes single adults, couples, families with children and youth. Through research, we know that on an average day in 2018 the easily identifiable need for shelter is nearly double the capacity and 88% of families with children who sought shelter were turned away because there was no room. Our member organizations are constantly working and successfully assisting individuals and families in reaching sustainable housing. People are getting housed and receiving needed supports. Street-outreach workers are getting people into shelter. Food, employment assistance, medical and mental health care, detox and spiritual care are being provided. However, if we used all of the currently available resources perfectly, it would not be enough. In Hamilton County, we are short 40,019 affordable homes. 55,601 households or about 150,000 people are trying to fit into 15,581 affordable homes. In the last 15 years more than $2 billion in public and private funds have been invested in housing and yet we are in the throes of a housing and homelessness crisis. As a city, county and community we have spent funds on luxury housing for people who have homes, instead of investing in desperately needed housing for people without homes and on the edge. Currently the City puts almost no local funds into affordable housing, but we give tens of millions of dollars in property tax abatements to large market rate developers and the city doesn’t even asked if they plan to displace people from their homes or if they will include any affordable housing. Developers who displace and provoke homelessness get tax abatements. Of the 50 largest metropolitan areas, we have the tenth highest number of evictions. A person who rents can offer their rent to the landlord, who can refuse to accept it and then get the JOSH SPRING Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition court to evict for not paying rent. In addition to the trauma of homelessness, the housing crisis gives bad landlords the opportunity to exploit need by not maintaining properties and providing housing in horrible condition. Over the year we have worked with families who sleep in the living room because the rats or cockroaches in the bedrooms bite, people who can’t use rooms of their homes because of leaks, people with unsafe drinking water because it moves through heating pipes, ceilings that have fallen on children, living without a toilet, tub or stove, living without electricity because of landlord retaliation and on and on. If all of this were not terrible enough, this summer, the City and County decided to invest in criminalizing people living outside. It is now an arrestable offense in Hamilton County to experience homelessness outside on both public and private land. Solving problems like these require a Homeless Coalition that is able to act with the focus always on people experiencing and on the edge of homelessness, and our many wonderful member organizations. We are organizing with Tenants in buildings with approximately 3,656 threatened homes, housing approximately 10,968 people. In the last year this work in partnership with Tenants and our Member Organizations resulted in 823 homes saved for approximately 2,469 people. We successfully convinced city council to continue the restoration of Human Services funding and to increase funding to the Winter Shelter. When a women experiencing homelessness was harassed and discriminated against by an employee of a local Dunkin Donuts, we were able to proactively partner with the owners of this franchise and several others in the area to provide education about homelessness and empathy to all of their management staff through our Speakers’ Bureau program. We have led people experiencing homelessness outside to federally sue both the City and County for infringing upon their basic constitutionally protected human rights. This effort has the potential to not only change how things work here, but to assist people in other cities, states and regions. After much advocacy, city council voted to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund and with our partners we started a significant effort to establish legislated protections for people who rent. In 2019 we plan to secure significant, permanent funding sources for the currently unfunded Affordable Housing Trust Fund. We will pursue the passage of protections from unjust evictions and the requirement that developers receiving tax abatements do not displace people and instead include affordable housing. We will continue to organize with hundreds of people living in threatened housing. We will fight for the end of the legalized criminalization of homelessness which only serves to deepen the trauma of homelessness. We will focus on joining with our Member Organizations and other partners to figure out what needs to be done on an immediate daily basis for people who currently can’t access shelter. If you are able, please invest in these systemic efforts to end and prevent homelessness. We need your investment. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Gabriela Godinez Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Sallie Mascus Layout: Gabriela Godinez Reception: Bonita Batton, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper ------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Brian Taylor, Micheal Earl Patton, Bill Woods, Willa Jones, Dr. Mark Mussman, Kim Green, Robert Park, Siqi Cheng, Leah Rutz, Yuliya Milkitin, Kristina McKinley, M.T. ------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Homeless Coalition, pngtree. com, Gabriela Godinez, iStockphoto, pexels.com, ---------------------------------------------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. 39 Nov 211, - N2018 o v 19, 2 0 18 Dec. 283-| Jan. | No. 397 COALITION 3 A Turbulent Year DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer A s we continue to fight for affordable housing, livable wages, and housing protections, there are powerful forces who oppose fairness, equality, and equity. Although 2018 has been a difficult year, it has been a time to remember that anything that comes easy is generally not very valuable. From our Education program, our Membership coordination, our Advocacy team, to Streetvibes, we have been working every day to ensure that our mission will be fulfilled: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 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, people experiencing homelessness and the community. Our Coalition works towards this goal by coordinating services, educating the public, and engaging in grassroots organizing and advocacy. Over the course of the year, the Education program has been focused on quality programming that leads to action. We started off the year in Community Council Meetings, and we are ending the year embedded in student projects from middle school to graduate studies. The year included the first corporate training, which resulted in managers becoming trained from four local stores. The year also saw new faces for the CUE trips, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and also from Baldwin Wallace College. We are already booking new schools for Spring Break, and we are continuing the tradition with other schools that come frequently. We did two educational events, Left in the Cold and Know Your Rights!, at the public library in concert with all of the Homeless Coalition staff. We did this to help the public understand the complexities of homelessness in Cincinnati. Throughout the year, we engaged with many communities through our speaking engagements, social justice walking tours, and Streetvibes shadow activities. We worked with many schools and churches to provide top-notch experiences which give participants a solid foundation, both experiential and the vocabulary, to confront harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about poverty and social services in Cincinnati. We worked closely with one local high school to provide opportunities through their Service Week to learn about the history and struggle in Over-the-Rhine. Following an intense week of speakers and tours, one of the chaperone, a school counselor, gave us this unsolicited feedback: “I just wanted to say thank you so much for working with our students this week. I think this week with the Homeless Coalition was a big eye-opener — I hope that it generates some fierce community advocates. I am so grateful to have community partners like you that make this project work. You have definitely planted a seed with many of our students by giving them the opportunity to see their world through a different lens.” Our advocacy team has been working non-stop to ensure that people are able to stay in their homes. We help organize tenant organizations to create a unified voice to fight back against displacement. Over the year, hundreds of homes have been saved, while the strength of the tenants organizations has increased in private and public housing through the work of our organizers and the tenacity of the residents. When housing was threatened by the FC Cincinnati stadium project, the advocacy team stepped up to help illuminate the issues that were looming. Although FC Cincinnati received CPS and Cincinnati City Council’s unwavering support, the voices of the residents of the West End were heard more loudly. Meeting after meeting, our team worked with residents to craft their message and make sure that it was heard. The solidarity that we were able to create has bolstered our efforts, and will lead to stronger organizing in the future. As the Third Street encampment was threatened, the advocacy team stood up to the business, city, county, and law enforcement officials who schemed to remove people from public sight. The efforts to remove people from the underpass and Third Street were not informed by data, but rather by the whims of powerful people in the city. The leaders made unfounded claims of health issues, yet provided no evidence to back up their claims. While they worked together to skirt existing laws protecting people experiencing homelessness, our entire organization threw ourselves into making sure that people were not mistreated. We collected stories, coordinated services, advocated for housing and shelter, secured a lawyer, wrote legal documents, filed claims, and more. During this time, countless hours were needed to observe the police and city officials, who employed tactics meant to confuse residents of the encampment. Waking them up at 6am, telling them to vacate, but giving them no options, the Cincinnati Police Officers themselves expressed that they were just doing their jobs, and that they understood that there is no room in the shelter. The conditions of the court order required them to follow the order, or they themselves would be arrested. This condition applied to all city employees, including City Council. While we are still embattled in the legal suit to ensure that people have their federally protected Constitutional rights, we continue to aid our member organizations in negotiations, fundraising, coordination of services, and other support. Through membership we are able to take donations to the right location, help them improve their services, herald their accomplishments, get volunteers, and improve their funding. We are able to act as the political voice to our 65+ member organizations, who may have their lips sealed due to funding realities. This year, we were able to secure an increase in the Human Services Fund, including direct city funding to the THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Winter Shelter. Advocacy around a Affordable Housing Trust Fund, including writing the motion and legislation to support the fund, was successful in getting a fund established this year. The goal of the fund is to create and sustain affordable housing in Cincinnati, yet it is not funded yet. This year also saw a monumental change with Streetvibes, which gives people an opportunity to become an entrepreneur, by distributing this paper. Our long-term Editor was replaced by a new Editor-in-chief, who has employed new design and content techniques. The process in finding the new Editorin-chief was long and arduous, but has already yielded many benefits. We strive to include new voices, voices that are typically underrepresented in media, and the last few editions of the paper have done just that. The new graphical nature of the paper is eye-catching, and has elicited many positive responses. I am excited to see Streetvibes grow. The Homeless Coalition, and our staff, have quietly received many awards this year. The reward for the work we do is often non-tangible — knowing that we helped educate thousands of people about homelessness, affordable housing, and displacement; knowing that we were able to ensure that people are able to stay in their homes; knowing that our member organizations have the support they need; knowing that people who are just trying to survive aren’t swept under the rug; knowing that the opportunity to earn money through entrepreneurship — these rewards can not be quantified, but each piece helps us to stay engaged in the struggle to eradicate homelessness. Please consider joining the Homeless Coalition, as an organization, or an individual, because you will make our coalition stronger. �4 COALITION N o v 228 - N- oJan. v 19, 2 02018 18 | N o . 393 Dec. 11, | No. 397 How To Respond To Panhandling Hello, I am not able to give money, but I hope you have a great day. I have to keep walking but thanks for saying hello. Seeking Compassion Hi, how are you? Sure, here is a little bit. Have a good day. * Make eye contact * Smile * Have compassion When you meet a fellow human who is asking for help, it may make you feel uncomfortable.This does not mean that person does not deserve the same rights as you. Cities are increasingly criminalizing people who are financially poor with laws, such as making it illegal to sit on sidewalks.This works to remove people from sight, but is not a humane or sustainable solution. To learn more about the lack of affordable housing and inadequacy of services that contributes to panhandling, contact the Homeless Coalition at (513) 421 2701. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 3928 3 |-N ov 2 11, - No v 19,| 2 0 18397 Dec. Jan. 2018 No. 5 COALITION The Tired, The Poor, and The Huddled Masses GABRIELA GODINEZ Editor-in-chief 7 year old Jakelin Caal Maquin was detained by border patrol on December 8th, 2018 along with “163 migrants, including 50 unaccompanied children” according to the Associated Press. There were apparently only 4 border patrol agents holding all these people in one bus on route to a station about 94 miles away. On this trip, Jakelin started to feel ill, vomiting, causing her father to notify the agents that she needed medical attention. According to NBC News, she would receive this medical attention 90 minutes later once they arrived at the station “but by then she had stopped breathing.” At this point in the news cycle we all know what happened. After being transported to El Paso, Texas she died. Still even almost a month later after her death we aren’t completely sure what happened. The general consensus seems to be that she died of septic shock, the third and final stage in infection resulting in sepsis. We still don’t have all the information and most likely never will because of a combination of medical privacy and lack of border patrol communication. Though many were surprised to hear such news, Washington Post reporters Scott Allen and Pamela McPherson, were not. They had sent a letter raising their concerns to the Senate Whistleblowing Caucus. The letter, sent to Chairman Charles E. Grassley and Vice Chairman Ron Wyden, read: “We have conducted ten investigations of family detention facilities, the Karnes and Dilley detention centers in Texas, the Berks detention center in Pennsylvania, and the one closed facility, Artesia in New Mexico, over the past four years. Those investigations, usually prompted by complaints, frequently revealed serious compliance issues resulting in harm to children, which we have documented in submitted reports to CRCL. Our close familiarity with past problems inform our belief that the current immigration policy poses the likely risk of noncompliance with existing family detention center standards that will directly result in harm to children.” In their article, Allen and McPherson include the original letter and describe their lack of surprise of this death. Jakelin Caal Maquin’s death was not a surprise to anyone keeping up with immigration conditions and policies in this country. To this administration, undocumented immigrants are seen as nothing more than disposable dangerous criminals, even the 7-year-olds. This level of dehumanization can be seen time and time again in. We saw it with the detention centers in Texas where underage children were forced to live outside in over 100-degree weather with nothing other than tents to cover them from the elements. Though it’s easy to blame Trump and his administration for the current climate of dehumanization, in reality this is rooted in America’s DNA. America was birthed from murder and colonization as a result of European migration. Europeans looking for a better life and fleeing religious persecution, might I add. Later in the 19th century America loathed the Irish refugee crisis, and wanted nothing to do with Italian immigrants. And don’t forget the 1911 Dillingham Commission Report that said, “certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race. In the popular mind, crimes of personal violence, robbery, blackmail and extortion are peculiar to the people of Italy.” Sound familiar? Coming back to the modern era, many want to romanticize the Obama Administration. We shouldn’t. It is important to realize and remember that deportation rates were higher under Obama than they are now, and death in detention centers was not unheard of. In 2015, José de Jesús Deniz Sahagun died under suspicious circumstances while being held in a detention center. NPR’s Latino USA reported on this story noting that he had been distraught in the days before his death, having run to the Arizona boarder patrol checkpoint “saying he feared for his life and needed help.” NPR reported that José de Jesús while was chocking, video showed the staff doing nothing to help him. While he asphyxiated, his family member called the detention center to talk to him; the staff told the family member that he was fine. His death was ruled a suicide after an orange sock was found logged in José’s throat. NPR said that ICE released a report saying that in José’s death “the detention center failed to meet several agency standards.” That’s not to say that this administration has done anything to better the “othering” mentality set in motion at the genesis of America. In May of 2018, Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez was shot to death by border patrol agents. In an article published by The Guardian, it is reported “Gómez died in circumstances that remain unclear, in an overgrown lot framed by ramshackle homes.” Originally the agents had said Claudia was a part of a group of “assailants” that attacked with “blunt objects” in an attempt to resist arrest. However, after a neighbor released a video of the incident, a new statement was drafter where according The Guardian Claudia was referenced as “a member of the group” instead of “an assailant”. They report the statement had “some details [that] were changed and there was no reference to ‘blunt objects.’” I could go on forever writing about all the times u nd o c u me nte d immigrants were seen as rabid dogs rather than people in need of help. Migrants are being pepper-sprayed and gunned down at the boarder. Children are being separated from their parents and permanently mentally scarred. There is no humanity at this militarized boarder. There is no compassion. There is no empathy. Yet, the hopeful still come with the American dream in their hearts and perseverance in their hands. We should be outraged by this administration and their dehumanization of migrants. We should be disgusted by these practices. While writing this article in an attempt to remind the public of these other unjust events, another child died. On Christmas Eve 2018, while in US c usto dy, 8-yearold Felipe AlonzoGomez died in THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED circumstances not yet known to the public, though we do know he was diagnosed with the common cold. We need to decide what kind of America we want to live in and unite to have it come to fruition. I implore you to donate to those at the boarder trying to work on this issue. I ask you to raise awareness and not let this lack of humanity go unnoticed. Though change seems like an enormous challenge, you can help by putting pressure on your political representatives to change immigration policies. Finally, I ask you to remember José, Claudia, Jakelin, and Felipe. I ask you to remember all of those who suffered and died in the pursuit of happiness. �GLOBAL 6 N o v 2 28 - N-oJan. v 19, 2 02018 18 | N . 393 Dec. 11, | oNo. 397 A Migrant Turned Saviour of Others Armand Laughy is a migrant from Cameroon. Her own experiences pushed her to campaign on migration issues, shifting from being a regugee herself to becoming an activist. Photo Credit: El Mahdi Hannane/IPS El Mahdi Hannane Inter Press Service S even years ago, when Cameroon began experiencing inter-regional conflict, Armand Loughy, a 55-year old Cameroonian psychiatrist, strapped her youngest child on her back and with her five other children embarked on the dangerous Journey from Cameroon towards Rabat, Morocco’s capital. They fled the deteriorating security situation in Cameroon, looking for a better life. Loughy, who is now also a migrant activist based in Morocco, listened attentively to the on-going discussions during the opening ceremony of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in Marrakech. Her own experiences pushed her to campaign on migration issues, shifting from being a refugee herself to becoming an activist—one of the most vocal personalities in the Moroccan civil so- ciety space. “We went through the desert and where the fear consumed us. Many of my fellow migrants got hurt by bandits and died—in the most horrible way with their bodies dumped in the desert,” Loughy recalls. After arriving in Morocco, she faced many difficulties in finding a job before finally securing work at a psychiatric clinic in Rabat. With a well-paying job, Loughy could easily have forgotten her traumatic journey and suffering and moved on. But she chose not to—her decision to start helping migrants came at the right time as Morocco was also establishing favourable policies on how to handle migrants. This policy shift, according to Loughy, enabled her to become “a candle that would light up the darkness of migrants.” In 2014, she founded the Association of Women Migrants in Morocco, working to attract other migrants. Gradually, her association gained respect in the civil society space. “In the beginning, the children of the poor neighbourhood where I was active threw stones at me,” Loughy says. “But after many months of continuous work, I became familiar and respected by locals and migrants.” Her organisation is active in the Sidi Musa district of Salé—about 330 kilometres north of Marrakech— where hundreds of migrants occupy small rooms, either working or begging on the streets, and then returning to the ghetto in the evening. The children of these migrants, some of whom were born in Morocco, until recently had nothing to do. Some accompanied mothers to beg, others played in the neighbourhood all day without any clear future—a painful reality that Loughy and her organisation acted upon. She presented a proposal to Salé’s Regional Directorate of Education and Training, and her ideas were welcomed. Classrooms were allocated within the public educational institutions for migrants’ children. These have now become independent departments with their own teaching staff, and now even teach local Moroccan students. “We are trying to use education THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED as a tool for integration,” Loughy says, adding the association is making a big drive to inform migrants about the importance of education to ensure as many children as possible are enrolled into school. Many migrants, especially those who do not have residence documents, remain sceptical of these types of initiatives, Loughy says. But the hope is that better educated children of migrants can inspire change at home and between communities. Loughy dreams of a united African continent and believes that the best way to achieve coexistence among the continent’s peoples is through education and knowledge. After listening to discussions at the GCM about the tools and partnerships needed to give that dream a chance, she will leave Marrakech to return to spreading education among the children of Morocco’s migrants “We have learnt that when students start living together, then parents can also learn how to coexist,” Loughy says. Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo �N o. 3928 3 |-NJan. ov 2 11, - N o2018 v 19,| 2 0 18397 Dec. No. GLOBAL 7 Former Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi: “We must not fear diversity” DANIELA PALUMBO Scarp de’tenis W hile visiting the boys and girls of the Manzoni Liceo Classico in Milan, Shirin Ebadi urged them to “Never be afraid to follow your dreams, even at the cost of sacrifices or one’s own life, because it is always worth the effort if they are dreams of rights and justice.” At 71 years of age, Ebadi – who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 – was the eleventh woman to be awarded the prize. She was also the first Iranian woman and the first Muslim woman to be recognized by the Swedish Academy. Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in defense of human rights and democracy. In September, the Iranian lawyer was invited to speak by the ACLI [Christian Associations of Italian Workers] in Milan, who were hosting a day of insight and study on the themes of democracy and active citizenship, promoted by the ACLI and Coordination Milanese under the title of “Peace in the City”. Ebadi has lived in London since 2009 and lives in voluntary exile in a secret location. However, she continues to fight for freedom and human rights in her home country. “Democracy has a cost,” Ebadi told us, “and the cost is high. One may pay for freedom with one’s life, but you must never cease to fight. In Italy, you owe your freedom and democracy to the sacrifice of your fathers and grandfathers. And we have to do the same. If people are not ready to pay for the price of democracy, they will never be free. In my country as well, we will have to pay that price.” Her words reflect a thought which Ebadi has always held to since before receiving the Nobel Prize: the Iranian lawyer sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights and has always declared that she does not want foreigners to impose human rights in Iran. Rather, it must be the Iranian people who must lead the fight for freedom, but they must do this peacefully through resistance and the democratic process. Shirin Ebadi was the first female judge in her country before the Islamic Revolution of Khomeini in 1979 eliminated the laws of equality which had been laboriously achieved via the reforms of the White Revolution [series of social and economic reforms carried out by the Shah before the Islamic Revolution] of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Close to 40 years since 16 January, 1979, the day on which Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi left Iran for exile, the country still does not recognize equality among men and women. Even if it has been to simply put an end to imposed economic sanctions which sent the country into a state of severe crisis, the current president Hassan Rouhani has sought to come to terms with the West by resolving the nuclear controversy and promising minor reforms. Ebadi, however, is in no doubt. “There is a statistic which has led me to understand how far we still are from justice on the international level,” she says. “Currently half of all the arms produced in the word are sold and used in the Middle East. Today, Iran is still an Islamic Republic where women are harshly discriminated [against]. More she thinks of the walls that Europe continues to build in order to repel those fleeing from war and famine. “I am grief stricken by the walls that rise between people,” she admits. “Migrants could be an opportunity for development in Europe. If you teach them your language and a trade, then these people can be of use to you as workers. The population of Europe is aging, and too much water over the plant, thinking that it will make it grow as fast as it would in a year: we know that it would die [of overwatering]. A democracy is the same: if it is not watched over by the citizens, it dies.” Short Biography Shirin Ebadi was born in 1947 in Hamadan and, in 1948, her family Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi poses during a news conference to launch a commission to draft before the "International Declaration on Information and Democracy" hold by Human rights group Reporters Without Borders in Paris, France, September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes than 60 per cent of the students in university are women, but the rate of unemployment among women is three times that among men. In Iran, many discriminatory laws against women have been passed after the revolution of 1979. We are fighting to change these laws. We succeeded, only in part, with the custody law for minors which was changed in 2004 in favor of the mother. However, today a man in Iran can have 4 wives at the same time. Without warning or reason, he can renounce his marriage, but, for women, divorce remains very difficult.” This coincides with the recent killing of the so-called child bride, Zeinab Sekaanvand, who was condemned to death for having killed her husband (in self-defence and as a result of the violence she had been subjected to), despite still being a minor. The appeals of Amnesty International were futile. According to the organization, which is dedicated to the protection of human rights, there have been at around 90 executions since 2005, of which at least 5 occurred in 2018. In jails around the country there are another 80 people awaiting execution who were minors at the time that they committed their crimes. We also asked Shirin Ebadi what you should take advantage of this opportunity. This way, you will avoid further betraying your own principles of justice and democracy upon which Europe is founded. Today, Europe is betraying those virtues.” Ebadi added, moreover, that she did not agree with the common perception that violence against woman is increasing. “Before, women did not have the courage to speak; now, they have become aware of their rights. The violence is the result of a patriarchal society and sometimes the law is wrong. I witnessed courts and judges affirm that violent practices are ingrained in tradition and, as such, must be accepted. It’s not right! When one accepts violence as a part of the tradition of the society in which one lives it perpetuates it.” An issue close to Ebadi’s heart, and one which gives her hope, is young people. “We must watch over children at school. We have to teach them the meaning of democracy,” she reasons. “We need to teach children that the duty of every citizen is not simply to go and vote, but that a citizen must also check the actions of the government. If you have a nice plant, you have to water it every day and check whether it is getting enough sunlight. You can’t pour THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED moved to Tehran. There, she studied jurisprudence in order to become a magistrate. From 1975 to 1979 she fulfilled the role of president for a section of the court of Tehran; however, after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Shirin was forced to abandon the magistracy. After many struggles she was recognized as a “legal expert” and the only possible way for her to continue in her work was to be an advisor to the court. She refused. In 1992, she obtained authorization to operate as a lawyer and opened her own practice. As a lawyer, she continues to deal with cases of dissidents in conflict with the Iranian legal system. She is often part of civil cases in the midst of trials against the Iranian secret service. In 1994, she founded the Society for Protecting the Child’s Rights, a nongovernmental organization whose aim is the defence of childhood and of which she is still the manager today. On October 10 2003, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Her book, Until We Are Free (Bompiani) was published in 2016. Translated from Italian by Daniel Carroll Courtesy of Scarp de’ tenis / INSP. ngo �FEATURE 8 N o v 228 - N v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Dec. - oJan. 11,2 02018 397 As smoke clears, capturing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Above) Palestinian demonstrators shout during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest demanding the right to return to their homeland, at the Israel-Gaza border east of Gaza City, April 6, 2018. REUTERS/ Mohammed Salem. (Below) Palestinian demonstrators run for cover from Israeli fire and tear gas during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa MOHAMMED SALEM Reuters T he Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often framed in black and white, an outlook captured by this image of Palestinian youths shrouded by clouds of smoke that block out everything except an isolated moment of protest and defiance. Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem's photograph of a handful of demonstrators in a field of dying flowers and charred grass recorded a new phenomenon in an old war – the weekly Palestinian protests that began in the spring of 2018 along the GazaIsraeli border. The protests pitted thousands of Palestinian demonstrators against heavily armed Israeli soldiers on the other side of the fortified border fence intent on stopping the protesters from crossing or approaching the frontier. What became known as the "Great March of Return" dominated the headlines for months, evolving into a compelling but deadly form of attritional public spectacle, all covered by photojournalists risking their lives to document it. Taking place in a handful of accessible locations at prearranged times, the protests became battlegrounds of image and spin for both sides. The Israeli military published video footage, pictures and social media posts in Hebrew, English and Arabic to support its message that its forces were engaged in "riot dispersal". Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, televised images of the Palestinian dead and wounded, and Palestinian protesters posted images from the front lines on social media. The primary stated purpose of the protests was to revive a demand by refugees for the right to return to lands that Palestinians were driven from or fled when Israel was founded in 1948. Israel has ruled out any such right, concerned that the country would lose its Jewish majority. But the immediate factor was Palestinian anger at U.S. President Donald Trump's decisions on 6 December last year to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to begin preparations to move its embassy to the city that is sacred to three of the great monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Trump's move delighted Israel's government, which regards Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people, but infuriated Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza. The deadliest day of the protests was 14 May, when the new embassy held its opening ceremony. It fell on a THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED symbolic date for both sides - the 70th anniversary of the creation of Israel. That is a joyous day for Israelis, but an event regarded by Palestinians as their "Nakba" or Catastrophe when they lost their homeland. The Jerusalem-Gaza juxtaposition made headlines at home and abroad, and produced a worldwide split-screen television moment as Trump's daughter Ivanka attended the embassy ceremony, even as Israeli troops killed around 60 Palestinian protesters just over 70 kilometres (43 miles) away. The border protests continued and morphed into other forms. Israelis were angered by another new phenomenon first seen in 2018 the Palestinian 'fire kites' and balloons loaded with petrol bombs by Gaza militants and sent flying over the border. Palestinians continued to call for an end to an Israeli-led blockade on Gaza. The conflict switched to the skies in November when a bungled Israeli commando mission inside Gaza erupted into a deadly gunfight and then the fiercest Palestinian rocket salvoes and Israeli air strikes since the 2014 war. The skies fell quiet again as the year drew to a close, giving way to ceasefires and mediation efforts, as all sides waited for the Trump administration to unveil its long-expected Middle East peace plan. Courtesy of Reuters / INSP.ngo �No. 39 ov 211, - N2018 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18 Dec. 283 -| NJan. 397 FEATURE 9 (Above) A Palestinian demonstrator hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest where Palestinians demand the right to return to their homeland, at the border fence between Israel and Gaza, east of Gaza City August 31, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (Below) Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Mosab al-Tamimi, 17, who was killed during a confrontation between Israeli troops and Palestinian stonethrowing protesters, during his funeral near the West Bank city of Ramallah January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 ADVERTISMENT THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED N o v 228 - N v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Dec. - oJan. 11,2 02018 397 �No. 39 ov 211, - N2018 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18 Dec. 283 -| NJan. 397 11 GLOBAL Where Does Democracy Stand: A Year End Status Report BILL WOODS Contributing Writer A s 2018 comes to a close, what is the status of political reform in the U.S., Ohio, and locally? The end of the year offers a good time to evaluate achievements and failures, and 2018 brought both ups and downs for activists and groups working to restore the health of democracy in this country. With so much of the news media focused on the horrors of the White House, there is a tendency to emphasize gloom when writing about politics. A closer examination, however, reveals some positive results that reformers can celebrate. In Ohio, Congressional redistricting reform won a big victory in May. As 2018 started, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and the other organizations that comprised the Fair Districts/Fair Elections Coalition were preparing their final signature gathering in order to qualify their Congressional Redistricting Constitutional Amendment proposal for the ballot. Suddenly, members of both Houses of the Ohio General Assembly began talking about putting their own proposed Amendment on the May ballot. The citizen Coalition let members of the House and Senate know that they were prepared to attack and to campaign vigorously against any proposal that failed to adequately eliminate gerrymandering. To the reformers' surprise, the Republican majority in both chambers worked with their Democratic colleagues to produce Amendment language that the Fair Districts Coalition could support. Although not perfect, the proposal included enough stipulations to insure that one party gerrymandering would end if the voters approved it. In the proposed new redistricting process, half the members of the two major parties in both Houses must approve the newly drawn Congressional districts. The process also requires public input, and besides public hearings, citizens are invited to submit district map plans to the drafting committee. Further, the proposal calls for compact districts that keep the splitting of counties and large cities to a minimum. With both major parties supporting this genuine reform proposal, reform groups viewed this as a win/win situation, and actively got behind what became know as Issue I in the brief campaign that ensued. Locally, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and Applied Information Resources held forums, wrote newsletters and letters to the editor, and sought organizational endorsements. Examples of religious community involvement can be seen in the informal support of the Faith Community Alliance, and the formal endorsement of Issue I by Christ Church Cathedral. On May 8th, Issue I won a lopsided victory at the polls. This major reform win in Ohio, plus some positive court rulings on redistricting in several other states constitute the most tangible successes for political reform in 2018. Voting rights is another issue that received a lot of attention both national and locally. With the midterm elections taking place, protecting voting rights and helping people know the stumbling blocks that could prevent them from voting ranked high on the agendas of traditional reform organizations. Furthermore, some non-traditional groups also got involved in attempting to reach populations that tend not to vote in non-presidential election years. Locally, an informal coalition emerged last fall with a focus on voting rights and reaching out to those groups that often have difficulties with the whole voting process. The Ohio Poor People's Campaign, the Faith Community Alliance, the NAACP, For Our Future Fund, Project AMOS, and Applied Information Resources were part of this grassroots effort. Voting certainly was up in the midterms, but too little statistical data is available to measure the impact on reaching those vulnerable voter populations. The last and most disturbing problem confronting reformers is the warping impact of "big money" on our elections. The 2018 midterms provided a dismal example of this impact by ending up as the most expensive non- presidential election in U.S. history. When election costs at all levels were added up, this election cost 5.2-billion dollars. Locally, this provided reformers with a lot of data that showed the desperate need for change. Applied Information Resources, Common, Cause, and the League of Women Voters organized a Halloween event entitled "The Horrors of Money In Politics" to call attention to all the "dark money" that was flowing into Ohio and Cincinnati. Cincinnati took a small but significant step in terms of dealing with money in politics this November. By a large margin, local voters passed a Cincinnati Charter Amendment that restored individual contribution limits to Council and Mayoral elections. Such small steps, however, need to be celebrated in order to take on the bigger battles that must still be waged. Everyone has the right to reproduce Katharina Wasmeier Strassenkreuzer S imone Hartmann is a 57-year old social worker who has been working at the German NGO Pro Familia since 2000. The organisation gives people – and those with disabilities in particular – advice about everything concerning sexuality and pregnancy. Referring to people with either physical or sensory impairments, Hartmann says that “anyone living independently and self-sufficiently will, by and large, make decisions by themselves and will usually have the children they want to have.” But it’s a different story for those with severe or mental disabilities. “They are excluded from the whole topic from the very beginning,” Hartmann explains. Many people with mental illnesses have a legal carer, who is quite often also a parent. This is where the first issue crops up: how can concerned parents support their child objectively and neutrally, instead of making decisions for their child? Hartmann admits that this is “a difficult task for parents”, who often act unlawfully despite having their child’s best interests at heart. It’s a sensitive issue located between power and dependency; a fine line between assistance and freedom. A related sensitive topic is that of forced sterilisation, which was practised until just a few decades ago before it was “superseded by discouragement”, according to psychologist Ursula PixaKettner in one of her studies on the topic. Bullied into using contraception The criteria in Germany for those with mental illnesses looking to have a child are far from optimal. “As far as I’m aware, there is no permanent residential facility in the whole of Bavaria for disabled people with their children,” Simone Hartmann says. She laments the fact that the higher assistance needs are simply unaffordable. That’s why the criteria to get into this type of housing is to have three-month-injections administered, as these act as a guarantee of contraception. Hartmann calls this “a scandal”. “Every institution has the legal obligation to allow a person to have a child, but they’re not carrying through with this obligation,” Hartmann explains. Those who are “relatively happy with the idea of living and having a partner and receiving no assistance” find it most difficult to receive help. In addition to that, they are seen by some as a failure. “Just because it might be difficult having a child is no reason not to have a child,” Hartmann says. While non-disabled people are rarely questioned about starting a family, people are usually more critical when it comes to those with disabilities, and tend to “see what they cannot do, rather than what they can,” Hartmann reasons. The result, says Hartmann, is “discouragement and contraception [being given] without [the individual] having been adequately informed”. While sterilisation is now a thing of the past, healthcare workers will still knowingly or unknowingly exceed their authority and uninformed doctors will still supposedly act above board. So how can the individuals affected defend themselves? “It takes support and courage,” says Hartmann, who is one of the experts who restore such individual’s faith, find support for them and offer comprehensive advice. “I look at the couple’s living situation and then provide them with information,” THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Simone Hartmann, Photo Credit: Anika Maaß she says. “The couple’s finances, applications, abilities, assistance needs and possible changes in the relationship are all factors that will affect a child’s welfare and they also indicate areas where problems may arise. Rather than discouraging or encouraging them, I just look at things realistically with my clients, without allowing myself to judge their ability to be parents. No-one can judge that.” Translated from German by Heather Davies Courtesy of Strassenkreuzer / INSP.ngo �12 The Squirrel Was there But It wasn't known Until The sound Of the Leaves Were Crunching And his long Thick Floppy tail Was spotted And then In a blink Of an eye He Was gone Proceeding with Perfect balance Running STREET VOICE Up the Branches Of the tree Taking a peek At me Every now And then With His Little bitty eyes But the squirrel Was on a Mission To accomplish Its goal To get the acorn At the top of the tree The little squirrel That looked Back at me He got the acorn From the top Of the tree And gracefully KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer N o v 28 2 - -NJan. o v 19, 0 18 || N o . 393 Dec. 11,22018 No. 397 No Title Still had connects Same areas went safe Labels cast in them Energy things isn’t what it seems to be. Equitable resources. Not too happy with this Not feelings sense of community Missed old time neighborhood store Keen to reach our destination Leaning on others for their help Respecting each other Listening is a job sometimes CLEO WOMBLES Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer Streetvibes Writing Circle If you would like to submit a story for publication in streetvibes, come join Katelyn Lusher and Chris Wilkey for a group writing session! 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. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �STREET VOICE No. 39 Nov 2 - N o v 19, 2 0 18 Dec. 283-|Jan. 11, 2018 | No. 397 The Haunted White House Mother Goose "It's just a witch hunt, " says Prez Trump, 13 Peaslee Neighborhood Center has a continued partnership with Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, conducing the Girls Writing Circle in the after school program. Both in his tweets and out on the stump. Our circle creates an open and safe space To us it's becoming more and more clear, for girls to express themselves, and be heard As all the scary witches begin to appear. and validated by their peers. Our hope is to give our girls an opportunity to discover and This White House should be living in fear display their creativity, opinions, and voices From major haunting in the coming year. through a process that is grounded in respect and an appreciation for each girl's unique BILL WOODS Contributing Writer gifts. The Joy You Gave Me Thank you For everything you did. You have gave me joy, In my heart. When I’m sad, You have been there. When I needed your help, You have been listening to me, When all the boys Got on my nerves. So you have taught me a lot of things Like--Joy Hope Courage Respect And you have taught me to be patient! MAYA HILL Junior Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �PUZZLES 14 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 188 Across 1. Aquatic bird 5. Leporid mammal 9. Project 13. Judicious 14. Fragrance 16. Musical instrument 17. Song for solo voice 18. Ermine 19. Depend 20. Lustrous jewel 22. Spike heel 24. Fish 26. Spline 27. Ranch 30. Abrasion 35. Spoil 36. Slops 39. Conceals 40. Succulent 42. Slumber 44. Secret look 45. Tusk 47. River embankment 49. Travel a route regularly 50. Bear the expenses of 52. Luxury crafts 54. Wealthy 57. Definite article 58. Roamed 62. Desert haven 66. Edible root 67. Fragrant flower 69. Bad-mannered 70. Report or maintain 71. Greek letter 72. Woody plant 73. Ray 74. Rise rapidly 75. Time period PUZZLE SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD #168 Down 1. Exchange 2. Finishing line on a racetrack 3. Continent 4. Closer 5. Possesses 6. Humanities 7. Origin 8. Electronic communication 9. Civil wrong 10. Assist in wrongdoing 11. Unaccompanied 12. Tonality 15. Book of maps 21. Residue from fermentation 23. Engrave 25. Rules enforced by authority 27. Unguent 28. Measure of alcoholic strength 29. Aromatic herb 31. Strech of turbulent water 32. Proficient 33. Removes the outer skin 34. Catch sight of 35. Female domestic 37. On the sheltered side 38. Impose and collect 41. Make a mistake 43. Kind of humate 46. Unit of length 48. Reverberation 51. Output 53. Cordial 55. Weeps 56. Greeting 58. Breaker 59. Length by width 60. Average 61. Information 63. Certain 64. Notion 65. Oracle 66. Restaurant bill 68. Caboose N o v 228 - N o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Dec. - Jan. 11,2 02018 397 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 390 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 389- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 ov 211, - N2018 o v 19, 2 0 18 Dec. 283 -| N Jan. | No. 397 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 RESOURCES 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 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 591-2246 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 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 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 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 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: 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 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 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 15 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 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 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th St. 45202 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 Cancer Justice Network 404-3882 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 (11-17 y/o) 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 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 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 961-0600 business. For more information contact Gabriela Godinez Feregrino, Center for Respite Care 621-1868 email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org 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 Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �16 N o v 228 - N v 19, 2 02018 18 | N o . 393 Dec. - oJan. 11, | No. 397 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 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 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 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � 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 2018 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 28, 2017-January 11, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: A Turbulent Year Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: The Tired, The Poor, and the Huddled Masses Pg 6: A Migrant Turned Saviour of Others Pg 7: Former Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi Pg 8: As Smoke clears, Capturing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Pg 9: As Smoke clears, Capturing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Continued Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Where Does Democracy Stand Everyone Has the Right to Reproduce Pg 12: Street Voice Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 28, 2017-January 11, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Brian Taylor Michael Earl Patton Bill Woods Willa Jones Dr. Mark Mussman Kim Green Robert Park Siqi Cheng Leah Rutz Yuliya Milkitin Kristina McKinley M.T. Homeless Coalition Pngtree.com Gabriela Godinez iStockphoto Pexels.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Brian Taylor Dr. Mark Mussman FC Gabriela Godinez Homeless Coalition Israel iStockphoto Josh Spring Kim Green Kristina McKinley Leah Rutz M.T. Michael Earl Patton Migrant Nobel Peace Prize Palestine Pexels.com Pngtree.com protest Robert Park Shirin Ebadi Siqi Cheng Willa Jones Yuliya Milkitin https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/31712c1c3389e454555c81cf6582185e.pdf 34f5c5f3fef850a6f29f43aa5b099858 PDF Text Text December 29th - January 11th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 1 (No. 372) advocating justice | building community Photo Essay: Homeless Memorial | 9 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE At Least 135 People Are Dead | 2 A Christmas Truce | 5 A Brand New Day | 3 "Regionalism" is a Buzzword Designed to Delay Transit Levy | 2 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 D LOCAL From The Director: At Least 135 People Dead ecember 21st was National Homeless Memorial Day. We gathered with about ninety people in Washington Park to honor those who died while without a home and because of homelessness in Cincinnati and Hamilton County in 2017. We honor those we know have passed and those whom we do not know about. This year we know of at least 133 people who died because of solvable systematic problems. The number of people dying because of homelessness in Cincinnati and Hamilton County is rising. In 2016 we knew of 72 people. This year that number has increased to at least 133 people. Homelessness is a systematic problem that shortens the lives of people. The average age of persons on our list was 51 years old. People shared memories, sadness, frustration and a commitment to fight homelessness. We lit candles and each person called out the name of someone who passed. Even with a larger turnout many people had to read multiple names. With enough affordable housing and full opportunity to meet basic needs these 135 important people and the people we don't know about would still be alive. These many people in our city and county have died because as a society, as a local government, and as a community we have not made the necessary D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 JOSH SPRING Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition systematic changes to prevent death from homelessness. Can there be a stronger call to do what it takes to end homelessness than people dying from it? 135 people. 135 hurting families, sets of friends and service providers. This was not some predestined ordained time for these folks. It was not " their time to go". The time they died was established by our society, the way we govern, the way we conduct business, and our community's priorities. This is not exaggeration. It’s the truth. We and these organizations and people with us are working to change this and prevent the loss of life from homelessness. As we enter 2018 our Coalition will continue its work to create a Local Affordable Housing Trust Fund to legislatively generate funds to build and maintain affordable housing. We will continue to work for development practices that promote affordable housing instead of eliminating it. We will fight for increases in Human Services spending, decriminalization of homelessness, fund the Winter Shelter, put an end to the "not in my backyard" attitude of many of our neighborhoods, and for the (Continued on page 6) W 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 Ken Martin Credit: WCPO Maintenance: Pete Roper "Regionalism" is a Buzzword Designed to Delay Transit Levy e know that Metro is in dire straits. If the bus system does not change its local funding source, 20-30% of service will have to be cut in 2019. Fares will have to increase to pay for less service. The system is already running at bare bones as it is. In 2009, on the heels of falling earnings tax revenues from the Great Recession, Metro cut service by 20% and raised fares by 75%. The administration was gutted and open positions were eliminated. Metro’s CEO and other administrators make considerably less than their counterparts in the transit agencies of our peer cities. Over 100 buses are past their lifespan, causing frequent breakdowns and delaying service system-wide. 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. BETTER BUS COALITION Contributing Writer When asked what should be done with Metro, many of our leaders give the same answer but worded differently: Regionalism! The idea is that bringing in more communities to Metro’s service area will allow for better service to places where it is needed and will connect outlying job centers to the rest of the region. This is certainly a great idea; however, dig a little deeper and the idea falls apart given Metro’s immediate needs. One idea put forth is to seek the formation of a regional, 3-state, 8-county transit organization to serve the Greater Cincinnati region starting in 2020. Each county would chip in funding relative to the amount of service provided and we would finally have transit in our entire metropolitan area. “People will be able to have a one-seat ride from Mason to CVG.” Sounds good, right? Wrong. I can’t even get from Clifton to CVG without transferring, and it takes over an hour. Hamilton County has enough pressing transit needs to address before providing new service in other counties. Less than three years is not enough time to form a regional commission crossing 3 state lines. No suburban county will vote to raise their taxes to fund a system that is currently on its knees as it would clearly be a bailout. Pittsburgh’s transit agency, the Port Authority, has embarked on a push for a regional transit system with the 10-counties making up (Continued on page 6) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ----------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Better Bus Coalition, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Mike Brown, Trenton Davis, Jason Haap, Saad Ghosn, Ras Tafari, Kim Green, Bill Woods ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Bill Woods, Ras Tafari, Cam Hardy, Casey Sault, Trenton Davis, Saad Ghosn, Dr. Mark Mussman --------------------------------------------------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 2 3 LOCAL A Brand New Day | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 DR. MARK MUSSMAN O ver the course of a year, we have many opportunities to engage students in the struggle for affordable housing, livable wages, and housing protections. These are the three pillars that hold up the fight to eradicate homelessness – without one, we will never move to an equitable and just society. We are always fortunate when a group of students comes from outside of Cincinnati to see what we are doing here, and take back what they learn to their own community. This helps raise the status of the city (here we are, fighting endlessly to Staff Writer These organizations include: First Lutheran Church, St. Francis/ St. John Catholic Worker House, Peaslee Neighborhood Center, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Interfaith Workers’ Center, St. Francis Seraph, Power Inspires Progress (Venice on Vine), Overthe-Rhine Community Housing, Streetvibes, and Lighthouse Youth Services. While this is just a small number of our member organizations, the topics that we cover range from food insecurity, housing loss, affordable housing, gentrification, their week-long visit to a city gave them new experiences. Some of the experiences were uncomfortable – like when kids called us a bunch of “… crackers… whiter than a house!” But there was really something special about this group – they were able to take that experience and go deep with it. They immediately began to talk about how the kids must have been hurt by white people, that they see the development in the community and know they are being pushed out, excluded. The students came from a space of empathy and critical to Ohio Avenue. The leadership of the group was phenomenal: they listened; they built everyone up; they helped community members; they addressed issues as they occurred (as appropriate); they worked the entire time to ensure that the other students understood the purpose of the trip. I am always impressed and relieved with the youth leaders that show so many great talents and skills – it gives me hope for the future. Before they leave, I ask them to fill out a quick survey about their experience. Two of the biggest injustices that the students recognized were gentrification and hostile design. They saw how privatization of public spaces was pushing people further from CUE students reflect on the city from Fairview Park Credit: Casey Sault end injustice) as well as, and gives students a different perspective that they may have never seen before. For the most recent Cincinnati Urban Experience (CUE) alternative break, 10 students from Keene State College, New Hampshire, spent the week before Christmas learning the ins and out of community organizing, social service, hospitality, and advocacy. I’ve written about this experience before, but I feel that there was something different about this group – whether it be their passion, their hopefulness, their willingness – they helped me learn a thing or two myself. And for that, I am grateful. Before their arrival, I spend time contacting our member organizations that help expand the students’ horizons while here. CUE students learn about the Homeless Coalition from Mona, Director of Development drug abuse, prison reform, solitary confinement, the death penalty, wage-theft, immigration rights, supportive housing, shelter, day programs, and entrepreneur opportunities. At times, I wish I was recording our activities because I feel that there is so much knowledge to be learned during the week – knowledge from which we can all benefit. I feel this group was different because they were fired up when they got here. Most of them knew very little about Cincinnati, but after I gave them the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement Walking Tour, they were intensely set on understanding the history and contemporary issues we face in Cincinnati. Most of them were from small towns and rural areas, so Credit: Casey Sault thinking – which made my job a lot easier – thank you! From the first day, they began to develop relationships with people in the community – whether it be local pastors, Homeless Coalition staff, Streetvibes Distributors, or people experiencing homelessness. The Keene State students were never timid – they continuously jumped right into any task that was needed. They never asked for thanks. They didn’t complain one time. We even walked up to Belleview Hill Park, and they encouraged each other as we ascended the stairs up connections in their communities. But they also recognized racism and racial profiling as an issue. They saw this through interactions they had with people in the community as well as seeing people of color moved out of Over-the-Rhine (over the years and during their visit). They began to understand the central role of redlining in our current housing crisis. After they understood the historical context, they began to take to heart their abilities to make a difference in (Continued on page 5) CUE students volunteered their time with local agencies CUE students learn about wage theft and ways to disrupt its effects Credit: Casey Sault Credit: Casey Sault THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 �No. 37 2 5 LOCAL The Christmas Truce | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 I MICHAEL EARL PATTON thought of the almost legendary 1914 Christmas Truce after reading Jim Luken’s recent Streetvibes article on the change from Armistice Day – celebrating the end of active combat in World War One on November 11, 1918 -- to Veterans’ Day. While there are many thousands of monuments to those who have fought in wars, there are virtually none to the peace and end of a war. (The World Peace Bell in Newport is one of several similar bells dedicated to peace in general, not the ending of any particular war. Further, it was funded by a private organization and not by a government with the power to wage war.) It is right to honor veterans, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that to have veterans there has to be war, or at least the threat of war. Wars are conducted by governments and continue until the governments directing the troops agree to stop. The one major exception of which I am aware was the 1914 Christmas Truce. This took place along most of the Western Front during the First World War. For literally hundreds of miles fighting stopped from a couple days to several. It was not arranged Contributing Writer home, many of which were published in the local newspapers on both sides. Some accounts were censored, but many slipped through and can still be seen in newspaper archives. The war started in August 1914 and by December the German offensive towards Paris had been repulsed. Both sides dug trenches for protection, which were close enough that one could shout to soldiers on the other side. Pope Benedict XV had called for a Christmas truce, an appeal that was turned down by officialdom on both sides. They thought that killing was far too serious of a business to even pause during the commemoration of Jesus’s birth, who most of the soldiers believed was the Son of God. Even before Christmas most of those in the trenches could see that the fighting was pointless and there were isolated incidents of “live and let live,” that is, not always trying to kill the other guy if he is exposed just because you can. Come Christmas Eve, though, and “live and let live” became open fraternization and even enjoying one another’s DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) Farm Ruins company. Sometimes it started with an informal exchange of songs and carols, other times with a joint effort to gather and bury the dead which had been lying in no-man’s-land for weeks. Sometimes there were joint services with prayers in English and German. Groups would exchange items, such as food stuffs and gifts from Christmas packages. Photos were taken of the opposing soldiers together, and there were letters written home about soccer games being played with the Germans on one side and the British or French on the other. And there was more of the such actions were not fitting for Germans and refused to participate. And the generals did their best to turn things around and get back to the killing. They ordered the troops to fire, which they generally did but often only after warning the other side first that they had no choice but to resume fighting. Many troops were rotated out and replaced with fresh troops who had not experienced the weeks of pointless fighting over small tracts of mud. In the movie Wonder Woman Mars, the god of war, is defeated, but that was Hollywood. In actuality those who wanted war got their way and fighting resumed. And resumed again in 1939 when that sulking corporal who had wanted to keep fighting had become the dictator of Germany and invaded Poland. History would have been very different if in 1914 the leaders had worked on negotiating an honorable peace instead of how to resume the war. A friend whose great-grandfather had been part of the American forces and had served in the trenches told me a story that has been in his family for a hundred years. This would have happened in 1917 or ‘18. His great-grandfather was patrolling the trenches when he came across a German soldier doing the same thing. Apparently the Allied and German trenches were connected. This is not surprising given how extensive the network of trenches were and that the front line would occasionally shift a little after an offensive and their own communities. I am proud of the work that we do in Cincinnati. Our social service providers and community members who are working to eradicate homelessness are facing an uphill battle, but the possibility of ending homelessness was echoed throughout the week and, Ammo Trains going to the fort or agreed to by any government but by the troops themselves, on both side of the front. A few months ago I read the book Silent Night: The World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub. I had heard about the truce but had thought it was small, local, and that there was almost no evidence for it except stories by a few soldiers. I was very wrong. It extended along most of the Western Front, from the North Sea to the Swiss border. Roughly a hundred thousand soldiers experienced the suspension of the fighting. And it was very well documented through letters same the next day. Not all partook, but most did. The future leader of Germany, Adolph Hitler, was there on the front but just a corporal at the time. He thought take over part of the trenches of the opposing side. These offensives were major in terms of lives lost but extremely minor in terms of territory gained. Anyways, the two soldiers could not see any point in trying to kill each other so they exchanged some chocolate and other items and each went back to their comrades. I told this story to an older friend THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED who had grown up in Germany and he told me that he had heard dozens, probably well over a hundred, of similar stories from former soldiers from both the First and Second World Wars. Live and let live. Here, at least, it was not the soldiers who wanted to kill each other (with some exceptions such as Corporal A. Hitler) but the politicians who had ordered them to do so. There were other, small and short informal truces during the war, but nothing with the breadth of the 1914 Christmas Truce. I will close this look back at the Christmas Truce with a stanza from the 1967 song Snoopy’s Christmas, which sadly I no longer hear at Christmas time. In this sequel to the hit song Snoopy versus the Red Baron by the Royal Guardsmen, Snoopy encounters the Red Baron again, on Christmas Eve. This time his wings ice up and he’s forced to land. Instead of being shot or captured, the Red Baron also lands and greets him, “Merry Christmas, mein friend!” The song continues: The Baron then offered a holiday toast, And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host, And then with a roar they were both on their way, Each knowing they’d meet on some other day. I know this may be a little late and that not all of you who read this believe as I do, but please accept this knowing that I intend only the best when I say, Merry Christmas, and all the best for you in 2018. I hope, it will be forever emblazoned upon their minds. --------------------------------------- �6 I LOCAL ICE rounds up 50 undocumented immigrants in Northern Kentucky CE agents are no longer handcuffed by Obama’s restrictive guidelines, and undocumented immigrants should be worried, says ICE official. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 22 people as part of a two-day enforcement action on Dec. 6 and 7 in Northern Kentucky, according to ICE. Of the 22 arrests, 12 were immigration fugitives, according to Florence-based attorney Alexandria Lubans-Otto, who is a liaison to ICE for the American Immigration Lawyers Association of Kentucky. Immigration fugitives either JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) preservation of existing affordable housing as well as implement the most strategic use of the limited funds currently available to fight homelessness. BETTER BUS COALITION (Continued from page 2) Metro Pittsburgh. Talks have been ongoing for years. Additionally, Pittsburgh already has a strongly funded transit system that carries nearly 5 times as many people per day than Cincinnati’s. Their regionalism talks are going well because they are not doing so in order to save the system from collapse. They are inviting their suburban peers to join their already strong network. Our current system in Cincinnati is, at best, embarrassing. Additionally, these 10-counties are all in the state of Pennsylvania, eliminating the need to take into account multiple state laws governing transit. We only have 1 year before Metro goes broke. Unless we can magically find an extra $20 million a year until the regional commission is created, this is a nonstarter. Regional commissions take time to create precisely because of the nature of politics: no one wants to give up or share power, yet a regional commission only works with significant cooperation and compromise from all involved. Many, many years will be needed before this commission is ready to go, if it is ever ready, not including the extra time it will take to pass transit levies in the 7 suburban counties. In the future this will be great to have; in the short and medium-term, putting a Hamilton County transit levy on hold to seek this regional solution will be destructive to Metro and its current riders. Unless the goal is to gut Metro, we must focus on Hamilton County before reaching out to the suburban counties. D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 MIKE BROWN Contributing Writer re-entered the country after being deported or failed to leave the country after being issued a final order of removal. They are not eligible for an immigration bond or an immigration hearing. The 12 immigration fugitives were transferred to Chicago on Dec. 11 where a judge was to sign off on their orders of deportation, according to Lubans-Otto. After processing in Chicago, they will be transferred to a staging area near the border, then deported, she said. Of the remaining 10 detainees, four were subject to detention without bond and six were eligible for release on bond, averaging $10,000 for each detainee. The bonds must be paid in full by money order or cashier’s check. There is an opportunity for detainees to request a custody or bond redetermination by an immigration judge. ICE agents also made about 30 arrests of “removable aliens” whom agents encountered in Northern Kentucky during the lead-up to the targeted enforcement action on Dec. 6 and 7, according to Lubans-Otto. Removable aliens include undocumented immigrants–foreign We will do all of this in partnership with our 60 Member-Organizations who will continue to provide shelter to as many people as seam-bursting space will allow, to provide healthy meals and hospitality, healthcare, showers, fill every limited recovery bed, defending legal rights, to operate and work to open affordable housing, assist people in finding employment and accessing income, to treat mental illness, to keep families together and so much more. But we know that all of our Member-Organizations ultimately envision a day when they are no longer needed because there In Ohio, does anyone seriously believe that the residents of Butler, Warren, and Clermont counties will vote to raise their taxes to support a dying bus system in Cincinnati? I grew up in Cincinnati and I can tell you, 100%, that such a levy will go down in flames. No matter what new service these counties receive from a regional transit agency, they will not support a plan that is subsidizing Cincinnati’s bus system. Period. And that’s just in Ohio! Campbell, Kenton, and Boone counties will also have to approve a levy, likely a sales tax, to contribute to the new agency. Their current arrangement of each county distributing millions from their general funds in the form of grants every year is not enough. The amount can vary year to year and there is no permanence which prevents long-term planning. Dearborn County, Indiana? That county currently has zero bus service. What makes you think they will support paying for a regional system when they have no existing interest in transit? The fact is that bringing up “Regionalism” in the debate over fixing Metro is nothing but a stalling tactic. Creating a regional agency will take many years, but we cannot wait. In pushing for regional transit immediately, we run the risk of delaying a Hamilton County transit levy while we try to hammer out a ‘perfect’ solution. Should Metro be forced to make large service cuts as we wait for our political leaders to ‘try’ to create a regional transit agency, those who rely on the bus will face disaster and we will further poison the perception of public transit in the public’s eyes. nationals who may or may not have committed a criminal offense, but are unlawfully present in the United States. Removable aliens also include “green card” holders and visa holders who are lawfully present in the country, but have committed a removable criminal offense. President Obama, starting in November 2014, enforced immigration laws based on priorities of risk to public safety. In Fiscal Year 2016, 13 percent of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants were an enforcement priority, 87 percent were not, according to the Migration Policy Institute. (Continued on page 12) is adequate affordable housing and opportunity available to all. This is our ultimate goal: a day when a person dying without a home is an impossible thought because homelessness is dead. Please join with us. Transit Levy could aid overcrowded buses Credit: Cam Hardy We do not know why some politicians want to delay the levy even further by talking about regionalism, despite delaying it every year since the start of this decade. There will be no more waiting. We need to act now, not later, not next year, not in a little bit, but now. I look forward to voting on countywide transit in November 2018, and I hope Hamilton County will get the choice to decide before it is too late. Email your elected officials and demand that SORTA act to place a bus levy on the ballot for 2018: THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED County Commissioner Todd Portune Todd.Portune@hamilton-co.org County Commissioner Denise Driehaus Denise.Driehaus@hamilton-co.org County Commissioner Chris Monzel Chris.Monzel@hamilton-co.org Mayor John Cranley mayor.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov Cincinnati City Council CityCouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov �No. 37 2 JUBILEE CAMPAIGN A Case for Empathy 7 | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 M y family is originally from Bedford, Michigan. My parents are high school sweethearts and grew up a few miles from each other, so all our extended family lives in the same small town. The people of Bedford drive pickup trucks. They hunt. My uncle Rich has a stuffed 5-point buck in his living room that he personally shot. They drive a little differently up there: there’s less people speeding. Less police on the roads. The town is designed in squares with exactly a mile in between each road. People tell me it’s impossible to get lost in Bedford- but I still manage to. The quickest route to Bedford involves driving directly through Toledo, getting off just outside the city, and then taking backroads to arrive at my grandparents on Dean Road. The roads outside Toledo lead past plant after plant. There is a steel factory. There’s a GM factory. Before the crash of 2008, we passed malls and typical little box houses. I remember one specific little strip mall on the way into Bedford across from a BP; it never really stuck out to me until after the crash, however. Now, the drive to Bedford makes my parents disheartened. Many of the houses are boarded up. The streets are poorly kempt- Michigan roads are typically cracked from all their cold weather- but now the infrastructure is frail and waning. The malls and shops are gone. That strip mall across from BP, it’s now a Platinum Show Girls. The BP across the street no longer offers gas- just liquor. I’ve never passed more gentlemen’s clubs than on the way into Bedford. Over the years we’ve driven to Michigan hundreds of times for holidays, birthdays, and to see family- unintentionally we became witness to the changes that have occurred in America these past ten years. My uncle used to work for Fordit’s where his father worked. We got a discount on our first American-made van from his plant. However, during the crisis the plant shut down and now he works at Chrysler. He was one of the lucky ones. He was able to adapt when machines came to the car industry and now works on the machines on the line. My aunt is a realtor. During the crisis, as well as recently, she TRENTON DAVIS Contributing Writer has nearly lost her home. Her livelihood depends on the market. During the crisis, housing prices in neighborhoods like the one I live in went up. In Bedford and many other neighborhoods in the US, they plummeted. Many of my relatives to the north struggle with alcoholism. It’s an unspoken issue in our family. We keep it from the children, and we make sure to watch them during the holidays. It’s a difficult reality. When the plants close up and the jobs move away, the stores and shops follow. The laundromat at the corner and the ice cream shop on Dean are boarded up until a liquor store moves in and sets up shop to fill the real estate void. The community as we knew it disappears with divestment. We saw it first with town populated by houses with pools and hot tubs out back. My parents both possess doctorates, so their jobs never seemed to be in question. My family’s education gave us privilege, and we didn’t have to deal with the divestment in our community that was occurring back home in Michigan. For us, the recession never really hit. Privilege made me oblivious to what was in front of my eyes. During the last election, because of my liberal nature, I marginalized the voice of Trump supporters. It caused rifts in my family. We would speak in hushed tones about which aunts and uncles were supporting that movement. My aunt threatened to divorce her husband if he voted for Trump. That movement was bigotry. That movement was foolish. There Youth in the villageare supported through intentional work Credit: Trenton Davis urban plight, and now we’re seeing it in forgotten rural communities. Per numerous studies on the Great Recession, while the lower half of the income ladder’s wealth was drastically falling, the wealthy were getting wealthier. I was ten at the time, and my family was purchasing a new, bigger house in a subdivision of our was job growth. We were coming out of the recession. America was fine. I possessed animosity towards my family from the north. This animosity reveals something vital. Empiricism is a beautiful version of reality. We can experiment and measure things objectively. It’s a way of thinking that has sprouted so much knowledge. We only examine our own lived experiences, and when presented with facts, we select only the facts that back our version of reality. This creates a divide. Instead of asking my uncle why he was drinking so much, I assumed it was because he was working a lot. Our current way of thinking lacks empathy for those that are experiencing something different than the general “trend”. Empiricism doesn’t have feelings, it is by nature, objective. We need more empathy in our society. We need to care about our neighbors and our families. This way of thinking helps the wealthy and privileged distance themselves from those that are feeling the effects of disasters. We often think of charity as giving money to an organization that does good, and thus, we have created an industry of do-gooders. We call these non-profit organizations. Corporations, when wages rise, can simply divest and take their money to find other sources of labor- whether that be through technology or through a global labor market. We can’t fault the wealthy or the corporations. They are doing what they believe is best. Through empiricism, they can easily justify that they are doing what is right for society. After all, both the wealthy and the corporations offer us jobs that feed our families. However, this gap that our way of thinking leaves behind is ravaging our communities and dividing our society. The Jubilee Campaign believes we need to build an empathetic empiricism. We need to teach methodologies that will help us understand the human costs of innovation and globalism. Our business and urban planning schools should focus on instilling community and equity building. We need resilience. Rise with Jubilee in creating a new economy and a new way of thinking. We need a compassionate, local economy that cares about the people living there. Join the conversation and bring it to people that it matters to, so that we can get investments in our community. If we build strong communities, we will be able to withstand anything together. Homeless: Technology Leveling the Playing Field W hen the Housing bubble burst some time back, I lost my home, wife, and children. Day to day living became my new lifestyle; being homeless was not a part of my plan at this stage in RAS TAFARI Contributing Writer life but as we all know, life happens, and all I had left was my car and my one piece of equipment: my laptop P.C. Out in the Field The going got tough, so I got going, going where? I had to have a game plan, so I could eat, sleep and earn a living, so poof! I turned my car into a mobile office/mobile home/entertainment center. How? I purchased, at a flea market, a THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED car inverter that converted my car battery into A.C. (alternating) current. It plugged right into my cigarette lighter; boom Power. My laptop had Wi-Fi capabilities, a DVD player and a disc burner. My car (Continued on page 12) �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS Moved by His Faith, Randy Bruins, an Environmentalist, Tries to Always Add Beauty and Justice to the World 8 "S D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 SAAD GHOSN ocial justice is now linked to my understanding of religion," says Randy Bruins. "Growing up I was very skeptical about God and religion, and I was all the time searching for truth. In college I discovered Jesus and the Bible through a friend's church, and later the connection to social justice through a pastor in my church. Since then it has been an ongoing spiritual and engaged fulfilling journey." Bruins' parents were not particularly religious; his father was even an atheist, but one who would quote Jesus Christ when teaching forgiveness to his son. To provide him with a religious education, they enrolled him, nevertheless, in Sunday school at the local Methodist church. Not convinced, Bruins walked away at the age of 13. "I did not think that God existed, and nothing was supernatural to me," he says. "It may have been linked to the sudden accidental death of my father when I was just 11, and to the deep feeling of loneliness I experienced afterwards," he adds. These were the 1960's, the prevailing talks of transcendence; the search for a just, truthful, genuine society; the existential questions raised by the Vietnam war... All still translated to some degree, for Bruins, in a religious question, one, however, that he did not know how to solve. In 1972, Bruins joined Miami University, Oxford, OH and, inspired by the movies of Jacques Cousteau he had been watching, decided to study environmental sciences. Miami University, a predominantly white college, triggered then his awareness Contributing Writer of racism, and reminded him of his own concerns about disparity, having grown up in a separate, wealthy, privileged white Chicago suburb. "I became very conscious of institutional racism," he says. "I realized it was systemic, continuous and not willingly recognized, and I decided to do something about it." Bruins made up a sandwich board sign, front and back, on which he simply wrote "White Racism Lives". He carried it on his shoulders around campus and meant it to be provocative. But doing it alone and with no group support, he quickly felt isolated, and gave it up. He was not good then at creating connections, at forming coalitions; he was just a loner still searching for his convictions and how to express them. A couple of years later, and thanks to a Christian former friend who invited him to join his Christian fellowship, Bruins discovered them through religion and through his new belonging to a church community. "I met people who were pious worshipers, who were living a true and genuine relation with God, one not imposed on them but just motivated by their faith," he states. "It opened my eyes; inspired me to discover and learn the Bible and the Gospels; helped me, after deep and serious searching, find truth; and got me convinced to follow Jesus. I was 24, and it was the beginning of a new phase in my life." Bruins joined then officially the non-denominational and independent Christian fellowship church that his friend had introduced him to, and thus became a welcome What Is the UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH The University Christian Church (UCC) is a nondenominational Protestant church which has for Core Beliefs Jesus and the authority of scripture. The essentials of its beliefs are in the identity and meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. It sees in everything else room for dialogue, with each other, our culture, the scripture. UCC's Mission is to share the love of Jesus with everyone and to encourage and equip its community members to share it in their home, their work, their life. UCC's Core Practices are: Ritual and Rythm of Life, where a commitment to a lifestyle of faithfulness (within the congregation, the community, home), teaches the faithfulness of God Submission to the Process, where spiritual, personal, relational growth are an ongoing process, God being the one shaping us a little at a time. Generosity, where by giving ourselves wholly, we're following Jesus' example and trusting God's abundance and generosity. Hospitality, where by opening ourselves and our lives to each other, we’re understanding the welcome that Christ extended to us. Patience and commitment in sharing love and developing relationships with each other. and active member of its family. After graduating with a Master's degree from Miami University, he moved to Cincinnati, took a job at the EPA, got married and started a family. He found locally a church, similar to his previous one in Oxford, and joined it. He is now, and for the past 15 years, a member of the University Christian church, also a nondenominational protestant city church which started as an outreach to the University of Cincinnati and Randy Bruin more recently also to the broader community in the same area. Ten years or so ago, Bruins added social justice activism to his own religious mission. "Our previous pastor, Troy Jackson, had begun a PhD in history, focusing on the publication of Martin Luther King's papers," he says. "Through his teachings, he introduced us to MLK, to his stands against injustice, and helped us understand and realize the Bible's general calling for social justice." Jackson also provided Bruins a venue for growing his social consciousness through the Amos Project, a federation of faith congregations in Greater Cincinnati, dedicated to promoting justice and improving the quality of life for all residents. The Project focuses on community issues that impact the poor and working families; it organizes and mobilizes with the most vulnerable, proposing and implementing solutions to their problems. Bruins has participated since in many of its actions: he has helped, for instance, previously incarcerated individuals integrate back society; campaigned actively for issue 44 in order to provide affordable quality preschool education to all kids, in particular those in poverty; worked to pass a levy benefiting senior citizens; protested to bring attention and justice to the case of Sam Dubose, an unarmed African American man, fatally shot by a University of Cincinnati white police officer, during a traffic stop. Bruins is also now part of the Cincinnati Community Coalition which consists mainly of interfaith get together dinners started right after the latest presidential election by Ismaeel Chartier, Imam of the Clifton Credit: Saad Ghosn Mosque, and David Meredith, pastor of the Clifton United Methodist church. Last year he hosted one such dinner at his church using as focus the work of an invited Moslem artist. For many years he has also been working with youth through City Gospel Mission. He reaches out to kids in the transient community of Winton Place, picks them up every Sunday and provides them with a teaching program to help them with their studies. Last summer he invited the youth of a Moslem organization to join the community garden where he lives, giving them plots to plant, and offering them educational programs linking gardening, the environment and spirituality. "Gardening has an inherent spiritual value," he says. "Looking at plants and getting in touch with nature connects one directly with what God has created." In his church, Bruins is actively involved in its interfaith engagement program, reaching out to other religious communities and coordinating the exchange between (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 2 PHOTO ESSAY Homeless Memorial December 21, 2017 Washington Park, Cincinnati, Ohio | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 O n this night, we recognize all those who we have lost due to issues of homelessness. The names of 135 people whose lives were taken by homelessness were read. The memorial takes place as the tree celebrating the life of Joann Burton, who was murdered while sleeping in the park on July 27, 2010. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 January 26 - February 17, 2018 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 �11 LOCAL Living in a world with news that some perceive as fake and others see as real No. 37 2 | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 JASON HAAP A couple weeks ago, I shared a media challenge I decided to accept - reading nothing but right-winged news sources for one month. After a couple weeks, I feel like I'm learning some interesting perspectives. For example, I had heard that Breitbart is a haven for white supremacist and Nazi thinking. In fact, when I have shared links to Breitbart on my Facebook page, I've been told that I have just linked to a white supremacist organization. But check out this recent headline: "Steve Bannon Touts Access to Capital, Economic Nationalism at Address to Black Small Business Leaders." That's a weird headline to advance if you are an organization filled with white supremacist Nazis. The article includes details like this: “The central part of economic nationalism depends upon you,” Bannon told the crowd of approximately 200 minority business owners. “It depends upon us empowering the black and Hispanic entrepreneurial community with one thing: access to capital.” Why would a bunch of racists want to encourage minority businesses to have access to capital? Another friend told me that Breitbart has recently taken to "cleaning up its image" so it could go more mainstream. He gave me a link that led to headlines like this: "Blackon-Black Crime: Blame It On The System and Ignore The Evidence." This seemed promising in terms of offering a "smoking gun" about the site's racism. But then I read excerpts like this: Refusal to come to grips with SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) them. He is also part of a justice team which meets monthly to read and discuss books about peace and justice and educate the rest of the congregation about the issues. Their focus recently was racism, also the "other" and immigration. Bruins' church is actually a part of the Sanctuary movement, providing solidarity and support to threatened immigrants. Bruins is also involved in the Rohs Street Cafe that his church started within the building of its Contributing Writer the racial aspects of crime, and instead to accuse the criminal justice system of being racist is to sentence a great many black victims to the consequences of violence. Why should racists be concerned with black victims of violence? Certainly, the position here might not be one I share, but does that make it racist? I'm not convinced. My social media right now is full of people outraged that Trump wants to steal restaurant servers' tips, giving them instead to the owners. Check out this excerpt from a Newsweek item titled "Trump wants you to tip restaurant owners, not servers" (December 7, 2017): This week, Trump’s Labor Department proposed rescinding an Obama-era rule that made the logical point that tips are the property of the servers and cannot be taken by the restaurant owner. The administration’s proposal would allow restaurant owners who pay their wait staff as little as $7.25 per hour to collect all the tips left by patrons and do whatever they want with them—regardless of what diners intended. Restaurant owners could even keep all the tips for themselves, without telling diners. Coming on the heels of the massive tax bills recently passed by the House and Senate, this “reverse Robin Hood” scheme—which will take money out of the pockets of lowwage workers and give it to business owners–is just one more example of “trickle-down” economic policy masquerading as pro-worker reform. Sounds pretty terrible, right? (I only found this piece from Newsweek when researching for this item. Otherwise, I wouldn't have read it. I really am trying only to consume right-winged news!) But I can't help but notice something in the first paragraph: Trump's decision would rescind an Obama-era rule. Why do I not remember how, for most of my life, restaurant owners were stealing tips from servers? And why does the article reference owners "who pay their wait staff as little as $7.25 per hour"? That's the federal minimum wage. I'm not saying I support the wage being that low, but certainly that is more per hour than many servers make. The whole reason we have a tipping system is because most don't even make the minimum wage. Anyway, how does this issue get discussed on the right? Here is an excerpt from a recent Fox News item titled "Trump's Labor Department aims to make tip-pooling legal again" (October 31, 2017): The pending rule change would only “rescind the current restrictions on tip pooling by employers that pay tipped employees the full minimum wage directly.” Meaning restaurants that pay servers the full $7.25 minimum wage, instead of the $2.13 tipped wage, can pool tips. ... The co-founder of ROC United, one of the groups fighting for a $15 wage, said, “It says it’s possible for employers to walk away with the tips and not give them to anybody.” The National Restaurant Association lobby told CBS that removing the restrictions on tip pooling alleviates the “disparity sanctuary in order to create a place for the community to meet, also to encourage fair trade coffee. The church in fact supports a coffee-growing community in Guatemala, and has helped it establish a cooperative to improve the production and the marketing of its coffee and facilitate its sale in the US. Bruins visited that community, participated in the harvest of its coffee and in educational programs targeted to its growth. Every year the church also sends their students to help in different ways, such as digging wells for water, implementing sanitation projects, etc. Working for Social Justice is now an integral part of Bruins' Christian faith. He adds his voice and his hand to fight injustice wherever he sees it, addressing its causes, attempting to right its wrong for a better world. He does it, empowered and enlightened by daily prayer and by Bible studies, alone or in group, always asking himself what he can do to put in practice the teachings of Christ. "We live in a fascinating world," says Bruins. "God created it and infused it with love. As an environmentalist I always try to share with others the beauty of nature, plants, animals... that connect us to God; but also as a humanitarian, the beauty of world cultures and places." “Breakdown Stereotypes” between the ‘front of the house’ and the ‘back of the house,’” since the back of the house employees are not tipped. It seems there might be more to the story than I thought - this rule would not take tips from people earning $2.13 an hour. Instead, it would be an opportunity to distribute them evenly between front- and backof-the-house employees. If both sets are already making the same wage, that does not seem entirely unfair. Also, did you notice that the Fox News item acknowledged the possibility of an owner keeping the tips? Does this make the Fox piece more balanced? Here is the bottom line: for those of us who read the news, our emotional realities are exploited and manipulated by media - and that fact is independent of how accurate our sources are. If you can find it in yourself not to blame news consumers if they read something you believe fake (regardless whether it is or not), then all of us are being played, in a drama the vast majority of us can or will do nothing about in any meaningful way. Instead, we will just feel stress and anger and suspicion, mixed with self-important indignation, and we will target it at one another. This probably drives more business to the news we already read, and the parties we already support. We foster these divisions between ourselves, and feel good about alienating those who disagree with us (or at least feel superior to them), but I still can't figure out the end game... --------------------------------------"We need to preserve that beauty and always add justice to it," he states. Now retired, this is what Bruins would like to continue doing with his wife when she soon retires, and possibly in different places of the world. --------------------------------------- “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �12 MIKE BROWN (Continued from page 6) For the Obama administration, the highest priority group included removable aliens who were convicted of felonies or aggravated felonies, gang members, and national security threats. In FY 2016, 94 percent of all deportations came from this highest priority group, according to the Migration Policy Institute. On Jan. 25, just days after his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order saying that “faithful execution” of immigration law “against all removable aliens” is the policy of the United States. “Under the current administration, everyone is a priority,” says Lubans-Otto. Unless specifically exempted, the executive order appears to target all 11 million undocumented immigrants for deportation, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The recipients of DACA–Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals– were exempted from the executive order under the implementing memo from the Department of Homeland Security. However, the administration subsequently terminated the DACA program in September. Without new legislation to authorize it, about 800,000 DACA recipients, who had entered the country as minors, will eventually RAS TAFARI (Continued from page 7) had air conditioning and heated seats that let lay flat at night like a Futon and a Bose sound system. First and goal to go. Logistics Armed with a Mississippihandmade-old-school quilt and skullcap for those knee-knocker nights, a plug-in fan if need be to catch the summer breeze, and his rod and his staff to comfort me (prayer and a pistol), I slept in the valley of the shadow. Morning brought on the day and the game began. I had some key places to park; my best spot was on Ridge Road where I used to live. A friend of mine who had a R.V. pulled my coat to the fact that the WalMart/Home Depot allows Campers, Truckers, and R. V’s to park on the lot all day. No hassles; hell, I would get some movies from street vendors get some popcorn and watch a flick or two to pass time and plan the next day. On the lot was a White Castle and across the street was a Mickey D 's. In the mornings, I would decide which bathrooms to use- Mickey D’s or the Castle (the best coffee in town)- to get the crumbs out my eyes, pop the trunk, grab my kit containing soap, lotion, wash towel, tooth paste, etc. and saunter in and handle my business. Had to get cool with the morning staff so they can be cool with what I was doing. After LOCAL D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 become subject to deportation like other removable aliens. About 12,000 DACA recipients who missed an Oct. 5 deadline, are already subject to deportation. That number is increasing by nearly 100 each day as other DACA permits expire. The stated focus of the administration’s executive order is criminal aliens, but the term “criminal” is broadly defined. It covers not just removable aliens convicted of a felony, but also those who have been convicted of a misdemeanor, charged with a criminal offense, or have committed a chargeable criminal offense, or, in the judgment of an immigration officer, pose a risk to public safety or national security. Also, the “criminal” activity may have occurred at any time in a person’s past. Based on ICE enforcement, there appears to be no statute of limitations. President Trump has “taken the handcuffs off of law enforcement officers who are charged with enforcing immigration laws,” said then-acting ICE director Thomas D. Homan in May. “If you are in this country illegally, you need to be worried,” said Homan. In the US, more than 8 million citizens live with at least one family member who is undocumented. Most of these U.S. citizens are children– almost six million–under the age of 18 who live with an undocumented parent or family member. Edgar is one of the four detainees being held without bond in the Boone County Jail, although his only offense is one citation for driving without a license, says his attorney LubansOtto. For her, Edgar is a typical detainee: young, hardworking, the family’s sole breadwinner, and the father of two children born in the United States, who are cared for by their stay-at-home mother. One child, who is just four years old, has “serious medical issues,” she says. Edgar’s case, including a request for release on bond, will be heard in immigration court in Chicago. But Lubans-Otto is unable to schedule a court date. She has been advised that the earliest date will be sometime in January. Fear of deportation can have significantly adverse effects on the long-term health and development of children. Detention or deportation of the breadwinner, usually the man of the house, can deprive families of the basic necessities of food, shelter, and utilities. Parents subject to deportation may face the difficult issue of whether to take their children with them or risk the possibility of losing custody to child protective services. The organization Supporting Latino Families in Northern Kentucky is organizing resources to address the needs of families affected by the ICE raids. Donations for basic needs can be made here and donations for legal assistance here. Meanwhile, immigration lawyers and activists are trying to better understand what happened in Northern Kentucky–who was arrested, why, and under what circumstances. Preliminary reports indicate that ICE did not notify local law enforcement agencies or seek their cooperation. There are also preliminary reports of pretextual traffic stops, searches without warrants or probable cause, using false pretense and force to gain entry to apartments, assault, a workplace raid, brief detention of a U.S. citizen, and the arrest of a long-term legal permanent resident. The agency responsible for the Northern Kentucky raids was the field office of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations based in Chicago, which covers a six-state region including Kentucky and Indiana, but not Ohio. ICE ERO agents from the Chicago office were supported by one or more ICE Fugitive Operations Teams, which are managed from a national office. [This article first appeared at https://c4ad.wordpress.com/ If you have information about the NKY ICE arrests, please contact the reporter: mbrown.c4ad@gmail.com] that I would go to my car and get my trusted P.C., order coffee and get the paper that would always be there. I liked Mickey D’s because they had free wi-fi, so I would check my emails and the internet to search for jobs and respond to inquiries. I had, at the time, some PC certifications and I had a business card I used to meet potential clients to consult on computer issues. This worked out great and hardly anyone knew I was homeless. I had a garment bag in the trunk so if I needed to suit up I couldlike batman. Room to Grow Using the technology at my disposal (mainly Microsoft Office), Word made letters, resumes, flyers, and folks never knew that I was sleeping in my car. Acrobat Pro turned me into the man on the flying trapeze of business where I communicated with contacts who could not in any way judge me based on the color of my skin or the wrinkles in my clothes. I just kept telling myself to cross my T’s and dot my I’s; spellcheck in word was my secretary and had my back. None was wiser. And email gave me an international address. I used my contacts from Outlook to query people on resources for the homeless. I went online and put in an application for Public Housing and got an Apartment. I connected with a friend of mine who was a professor at a community college and he said re-invent yourself, so now I have two Associate degrees in Networking and Information Technology Security. I hacked a lot of Wi-Fi when I was on the streets to get that info. I currently have a service contract with J-RAB Inc., a public housing advocacy agency for C.M.H.A. residents. J-RAB, Inc. has been able to help me grow my business through training, self-determination and empowerment; which I, in turn, give back to my community. Being homeless sucks and is stressful, but it gave me a new insight to living and surviving a very humbling situation. But it also brought the best out of me and motivated me to change my status. I started from the bottom now we are here! And I bought my whole team with me, I love this tune cause it’s the theme song of my life. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Ras Tafari --------------------------------------- �No. 37 2 | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 CRYING RAIN 13 STREET VOICE WAKE UP YE COWARDLY CONGRESSMEN (Sung to the tune of Looking out the window "God Rest YE Merry Gentlemen") The rain is falling hard, and fast Wake up ye cowardly Congressmen. There are intervals of thunder Your voters show dismay. Slashing ever so often And then it suddenly stops Until the next thunder slash appears They wanted Trump's impeachment To get started yesterday. To save us all from nasty tweets And government decay. Oh tidings of glumness and woe - It lets you know that God is, near Glumness and woe. So take heed Oh tidings of glumness and woe. Listen to his might BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Because thunder and rain, Will, be coming SANTA CLAUS Today while watching the news I heard that Santa Claus arrived in a helicopter KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer They also talked about tax cuts and how the politicians were eating out at Red Lobsters What happened to the days when the bells rang for Santa Claus, his reindeer and sled What happened to the belief in miracles and all the little children went to bed Waiting for that glorious morning to open all the presents that Santa left under the tree Asking questions about how he brought all the gifts down the smoke-filled chimney Waiting day and night, trying to be good all for Christmas so we'd be granted the ultimate blessing Looking back and understanding that as a child I was tricked, Santa in a helicopter that's a new lesson Without the holiday's Thanksgiving and Christmas Day what else is there to really look forward too Without giving thanks for so many blessings and being thankful for Jesus’ birth just to name a few So, for me Christmas has somehow lost the true spirit and has been misunderstood by all We must always remember God's blessings, don't forget to give thanks and bring back Rudolph the red nosed reindeer driving Santa Claus!!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 141 Across 1. Part of the neck 5. Database 9. Visual display of information 14. Zeal 15. Reverberate 16. Wimble 17. Birdcall 18. Glows red in a vacuum tube 19. Indigent 20. A physiological need to drink 22. Air current 24. Type of spiny tree or shrub 26. Variety of kale 31. Relative duration of a musical note 33. Large semiaquatic rodent 34. Baffling question or problem 37. Clock face 39. A flock of quail 40. Appropriate 41. Move sideways 42. Regret 43. Approach 45. Bard 46. Provide food or sustenance 48. Misprints 50. Repulse 52. Ornamental framework 54. Clone 57. Orderly 59. Two-channel 61. Mixed food consisting of greens 65. A flat float 67. Cereal grain husks 68. Form of quartz 69. Group of three 70. List of names 71. Cringe 72. Musical instrument 73. Ground forces Down 1. Bird shelter 2. Hawaiian greeting 3. Overwhelming fear and anxiety 4. Carve 5. Edible round flat seed 6. Frozen water 7. Display 8. Restorative 9. Taper 10. Chromaticity 11. Historic period 12. Mississippi tributary, ___ river 13. Attempt 21. Evidence of past injury 23. Baronial 25. Sound 27. Research workplace, in short 28. Obviate 29. Variety show 30. Machine for extracting moisture 32. Type of duck 34. Dialog box 35. Drama set to music 36. Commence 38. Modify 41. A blank area 44. Rodent 46. Fractional monetary unit 47. Form of math 49. Material for starting a fire 51. Mechanical device 53. Underground den of a fox 55. Mistake 56. Domain 58. Edible tuberous root 60. Merely 61. Pouch 62. In the past 63. Jurisprudence 64. Consumed 66. Evergreen tree PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 371 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 140 D e c 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 2 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 271 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 270- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 2 RESOURCES | D e c 2 9- J a n 11, 2 0 18 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 2 9 - J a n 11, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 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 2018 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 29, 2017-January 11, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director “Regionalism” is a Buzzword Designed to Delay Transit Levy Pg 3: A Brand New Day Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: The Christmas Truce Pg 6: ICE Rounds Up 50 Undocumented Immigrants in Northern Kentucky Pg 7: A Case for Empathy Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Homeless Memorial Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Living in a World with News that Some Perceive as Fake and Others See as Real Pg 12: Mike Brown Continued Ras Tafari 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 29, 2017-January 11, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Better Bus Coalition Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Mike Brown Trenton Davis Jason Haap Saad Ghosn Ras Tafari Kim Green Bill Woods Cam Hardy Casey Sault Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Better Bus Coalition Bill Woods Cam Hardy Casey Sault Christmas Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman Homeless Memorial ICE Immigrants Jason Haap Josh Spring Kentucky Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Mike Brown Ohio Photography Ras Tafari Religion Saad Ghosn Trenton Davis Washington Park https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/53c943460c1c97a4d2994765b9acfd66.pdf 29508671bd7f957a72562d3ef03ae84e PDF Text Text J a n ua r y 1 1 t h - J a n ua r y 2 5 t h 2 0 1 8 | Vo l . 2 1 I s s u e 2 4 ( N o . 3 9 7 ) advo cating justice | building communit y Any opinions in this issue are of the authors and don't necessarily represent Streetvibes or The Homeless Coalition. Article on page 8 I’M BIG, I’M BAD, I’M A BID! This Issue is sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 12 �2 COALITION N o v 11 2 - -NJan. o v 19, 0 18 || N o . 393 Jan. 25,22019 No. 398 From The Director: Working Not Waiting 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 EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Gabriela Godinez Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Josh Spring giving a speech. Credit:Amanda Meet JOSH SPRING I Executive Director n 2006 the musician John Mayer released a song which included the following lyrics: “…Now we see everything that’s going wrong With the world and those who lead it…” and “…To bring our neighbors home from war they would have never missed a Christmas No more ribbons on their door And when you trust your television What you get is what you got Cause when they own the information, oh They can bend it all they want” These lyrics are pretty good; identifying what’s wrong and who’s leading the wrong, ending war and not trusting mass media. But the rest of the lyrics of this song mirror a major problem among so many groups of people: “…With the world and those who lead it We just feel like we don’t have the means To rise above and beat it So we keep waiting (waiting) Waiting on the world to change…” and “It’s hard to beat the system When we’re standing at a distance So we keep waiting (waiting) Waiting on the world to change” and “Now if we had the power To bring our neighbors home from war… It’s not that we don’t care We just know that the fight ain’t fair So we keep waiting (waiting) Waiting on the world to change” What the hell! You know the problems, you know the problems need to be ended, but your waiting on things to change? He’s right that we may not yet have the “means to rise above and beat it” and that “It’s hard to beat the system when we’re standing at a distance” and that the “fight ain’t fair”. Duh, yes these are true statements. But these are not reasons to wait. In fact there are no reasons to wait on making change. If we don’t currently have the “means” then we have to make the means. So we have to strategize, execute, re-evaluate and organize people. The “means” are never going to magically appear or be given to us, we make them, really, as we hone ourselves, we are them. The best way to not be “standing at a distance” is to move forward, into the fray; strategically ignite the fray. And about the fight not being fair; yes the majority of resources are controlled by the few extremely wealthy people and companies and the very wealthy who envy them, but we have a whole lot more people than they do. I know some reading this may be thinking, “…oh don’t make it an ‘us and them’ thing.” It already is an “us and them” thing and allowing ourselves to be blinded by faux warm and fuzzies about everyone just needing to work together keeps poverty and oppression well fed. Instead we need to own the fact that we have many, many people and organizing our collective strength is how we recover the necessary resources to ensure just opportunity for healthy life. At the end of the song, Mayer sings: “One day our generation Is gonna rule the population So we keep waiting (waiting) Waiting on the world to change…” Perhaps he is saying he believes that once his generation “rule[s] the population” change will happen, so he and his friends are just “waiting” for that day. If we claim we are “waiting” on something to change the world or we are “waiting” on our having enough power to change the world, really we are just utilizing the word “wait” to act as if care, but the timing just isn’t right yet. This is faith without works. Having faith things will change, even having faith we will lead such a change, but doing nothing about it keeps the paths to destruction well-established. We should have faith justice will rule, but the faith is born in working to eliminate the paths to destruction and concurrently establish justice. We aren’t waiting. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Distributor Program Manager: Sallie Mascus Layout: Gabriela Godinez Reception: Bonita Batton, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper ------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Reginald Black, Yonna Walterson, Chris Arenault, Robert Park, Jonas Fullner, Paul Boden, Bill Woods, Key Beck, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones, David McCane ------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Homeless Coalition, pngtree. com, Gabriela Godinez, wraphome.org, Amanda Meek ---------------------------------------------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. 39 Nov 2 - N o v 19, 2 0 18 Jan. 113-|Jan. 25, 2019 | No. 398 3 U.S. NEWS Shutdown Easy ROBERT PARK I Contributing Writer t’s really very simple. The Democrats announce that two can play this disgusting game (shutting down our government that we pay for and that should be doing things we need, you know, like inspecting food supplies, protecting and fixing the environment, enforcing labor laws and protections, prosecuting discrimination, collecting taxes owed by the super-rich, making climate- change resilient infrastructure…). The Democrats (not known for backbone) would explain: we will not vote for any Budget that does not establish Medicare-for-All immediately. Period. And then they go home and wait. Catch-up with the locals, read some good books, attend rallies and picket lines. With a clear commitment for universal, publicly funded health care (like almost all modern countries already have), the details could then be negotiated: phase-in Medicare coverage by lowering the entry age each year by 5 years. If its 65 now, a year from now it’s 60; 5 years from now it’s 40. Includes dental and vision. Funds transition programs that liberate nurses working for insurance companies and gets them back into a health care system that works well for the people. Instead of Nancy Pelosi smiling and promising bipartisanism, she needs to cut off the corporate sugar daddies and learn how to street fight for us. Do the right things and small donations will follow, in the millions. Instead of projecting niceness, we need to hear from her and her colleagues sarcasm, ridicule and honesty. Tell the GOP to take his wall and shove it. It would help a lot if the Dems would explain the origins of the immigration crisis: the war on drugs and corporate super-exploitation in Central America by some of the Dems’ biggest contributors. These are not issues to smile about, they are life-anddeath propositions that the American people are already on top of or ready to be. One man’s journey through 19 years of homelessness REGINALD BLACK Street Sense D avid Gardner, 34, had been homeless since he was fifteen years old – the age at which he was taken away from his mother. He is a native Washingtonian and moved into his first place of his own this year. Gardner has had work on and off, and he has also bounced between jail and drug treatment programs. While he was homeless, he learned about gratitude. “I thanked someone for coming down and helping me out and uplifting my spirits,” Gardner says. “It is hard out here.” This is his lived experience, as shared during an interview at McDonald’s in downtown Washington D.C. Reginald Black: Over the years of being homeless, what kind of facilities did you encounter? Gardner: As a child, I was sent to shelter houses from the age of 15 until I was 19, when I was convicted of a crime I committed with some co-defendants of mine. I learned that I have to be independent if I want to be something out in the world. When I came home, I juggled with trying to get back into my family life. But I didn’t believe that my family had my best interest at heart, you know? I was dealing with a drug addicted sister and she was into prostitution, and it was just unsafe for me. Can you describe some of the shelters that you spent time in? I was told to stay out my neighborhood. That’s what lead me to come to the shelters and come downtown. That was in 2003. The shelters I have been to in Washington, D.C. are run by Catholic Charities for the Department of Human Services. You would think that a church would be a safe haven for people to go in to. But once you get there, you have to be there at a certain time. You could actually be hurt or harmed for standing in the line [waiting to get in], because people burst in front of you and try to take your spot. One thing that happened to me that I was afraid of was when my sheets were stolen off my bed. I can remember my first day there: I was excited to finally get my bed. I put my sheets on my bed and then they were stolen. I went up to the front desk and was like, “Oh my gosh, what’s going on here? Someone stole my stuff! I do not feel safe here no more.” One of the guys at the desk explained to me there was a lot of stealing going on and that there would be a lot of people that I’d meet who would not have my best interests at heart. I picked up some charges in the shelter because some guys decided to pick on me and we got into an altercation. I got arrested for assault, so I didn’t really have nowhere to go. But I also met a lot of good people and a lot of friends that I stick to and we are trying to progress and to become something in our lives. Before you were homeless, what kind of environment did you grow up in? Do you think it ultimately led to your homelessness? Well, prior to me being arrested, I was just a little kid – seven or eight years old. In my neighborhood, a lot of the boys used to hang around outside. My thing was hanging around outside. At some point, some people came around to try to help [my friends] out and explained that [my friends] were homeless. So that’s how I first found out about being homeless. I had a single mother and four siblings growing up. My father was dead when I was born. So, it’s been hard, you know? I don’t blame nothing on my family because they tried to do what they had to do, especially my mother raising four kids. I went to school and, like I said, I was arrested at 15 and sent out to Virginia. I went to grade school and always had good grades. I always studied and learned and listened to the teachers and did my homework. Once I came home from residential, I was able to get my GED. When I was a juvenile, I did two years in college and in between living in the shelters and going backand-forth – from what they call postto-post – I would pick up temp jobs and try to work and just try to better myself. Did the services at that time help you with employment? Well, at the programs I have been to, I feel as though I put forth a lot of effort to progress in my behavior. I believe they helped me strengthen my mindset so that I could get my life together. A lot of times it did help me just by giving me somewhere to stay at and not be locked up and arrested, and by giving me someone to talk to, you know? I made it my goal to see my case manager every two weeks when I was in the shelter, which was good. Little things like that really help a person out. It sounds like you have seen different services change over time. Have they gotten better? A lot of these services and a lot of the people that come with these services – I’ve learned they’re in there to just get THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED a paycheck. A lot of them will allow you to be hurt, harmed and put in bad hands. The people I was working with, they didn’t inspire me or assist me with what was going on at the time. But in a lot of the day programs that are opening now there are people that come out and serve and it’s really helpful. Where have you found direction or inspiration lately? Well, I signed up for a constituent scholarship and got accepted into to the National Alliance [to End Homelessness] conference [in July]. What I do is sign up for everything and let the people call me back. Focus is my thing. Everybody wants to sign up for the partying events or cookout events. I pick events where I have to go to places like the Wilson Building. Courtesy of Street Sense / INSP.ngo �4 ADVERTISMENT THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED NJan. o v 211 - N v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 - oJan. 25,2 02019 398 �N o. 39 ov 225, - N2019 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18 Jan. 113 -| N Jan. 398 5 GLOBAL Mothers of Drug War Victims Demand Justice in the Philippines YONNA WALTERSSON Inter Press Service A basketball bounces. The heat feels almost physical against the skin. Young men dribble the ball playfully on the hot afternoon of Christmas Day. A mother approaches them asking to borrow a few pesos to buy water. A son grins back at her. For a short time, it’s only a moment among others. A few hours later, it has become a memory carefully imprinted on the mind of a mother - the memory of the last time she saw her son smile. That evening, he is murdered – shot to death alongside a friend. Two of the thousands of people killed in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. “They ride in tandem,” says Lorena Villanueva. “One steers the motorbike, one shoots,” says Emy Pagaduan. It’s their sons’ killers that the two women are talking about as they sit in a park in the middle of Manila. Those who appeared on Christmas Day 2016 and who shot their sons to death. 21-year-old Ray Justin Villanueva and 16-year-old Ramil Pagaduan were killed early in the war on drugs that is still underway. By now, “riding tandem” has become the mental image of how the killings take place. Motorcyclists quickly drive into an area and shoot the person next in line to be killed. “We thought it was fireworks that we heard, which is not surprising given we were in the middle of Christmas celebrations when we often have fireworks,” says Lorena Villanueva. In Caloocan, Manila, where the two women live, a handful of people die every day in the war on drugs. The area is poor, which has been a common denominator of murder locations. The political opposition suggests that’s because the country’s poor people have a harder time pursuing legal action and the police can therefore kill with impunity. But trade union activists, human rights lawyers and politicians are also among those killed and imprisoned, and a climate of fear has established itself in the community. The war on drugs began immediately after Duterte was sworn in as president in June 2016. During the presidential campaign, he promised that 100,000 criminals would be killed. Official figures now state that about 5,000 have been killed in the war against drugs. Local human rights organisations insist it’s more than neighbour using drugs? Are you going Lorena Villanueva adds: “I pray Ramil Pagaduan and Ray Justin Villanueva. Credit: Yonna Waltersson, Arbetet-Global/IPS 29,000 people. The official stance is also that those who have died in the war on drugs have done so because they were violent during their attempted arrests. It was only in September this year that President Duterte acknowledged that extrajudicial executions take place in the country. In a speech from the presidential palace he said: “My only sin is extrajudicial killings.” After the death of her son, Lorena Villanueva has left her job. She says she has to devote herself to protecting the children who are still alive. It’s usually young people that are killed. Sitting on the stairs in the park, she pulls a photo of her son out of her handbag. “He was always so happy. After my husband’s death, he had taken on his father’s role. He always had so many plans for what he wanted to do and things to fix in the house,” she says. At the headquarters of the democratic socialist party Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, one of the party leaders, Machris Cabreros, tells us how the police operate: “The police knock on doors in poor neighbourhoods, asking three questions: Is anyone in your family using drugs? Do you have a relative or to cooperate?” That’s how the police compile a list of those to be killed so that they can meet their quotas, she says. An Amnesty International report on the war on drugs, released earlier this year, contained testimonies that a bounty is paid for each killing. Depending on who is shot, the killer is said to be able to get between 8,000 and 15,000 pesos. Akbayan’s Machris Cabreros says the system creates a culture of informers and establishes a fear in society. Emy Pagaduan agrees. “You do not know who’s the enemy.” Among those who have experienced the war on drugs, there is also a sense that it is the poor that are being killed. “Those involved in the drug trade are safe. It’s us poor who lose our lives,” says Lorena Villanueva. Lorena Villanueva and Emy Pagaduan are part of a larger group of women who have filed charges against the president in the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC). A preliminary investigation has begun. With the application to ICC, the group hopes to hold someone accountable for the lives lost. “We want justice,” says Emy Pagaduan. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED every night for someone to have the courage to come forward and tell the truth about who killed our sons.” The fact that President Duterte has acknowledged that extrajudicial killings take place in the country can lend weight to the ongoing investigation. But few – if any – people believe the investigation will result in a drop in murder rates. “There is no indication that it is about to slow down, even though he is aware that there is an investigation. Maybe if he is forced to go to The Hague for questioning. But the investigation will take time and Duterte has also threatened that the Philippines will leave the ICC,” says Kith Melgar, one of the Akbayan party leaders. Another Christmas is around the corner; a much-loved celebration for many Filipinos, who start celebrating as early as September and continues until Christmas. But Emy Pagaduan says her family no longer join in the festivities. “We will be at the cemetery on Christmas Day. There is no joy left in celebrating Christmas.” Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo �GLOBAL 6 NJan. o v 211 - N v 19, 2 02019 18 | N o . 393 - oJan. 25, | No. 398 Negotiating for Nature Concerned over the rate of biodiversity loss, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is calling for a new deal for nature and people. South Africaís white rhinoceros recovered from near-extinction thanks to intense conservation efforts. Credit: Kanya DíAlmeida/IPS THARANGA YAKUPITIYAGE Inter Press Service W ildlife is being wiped out in an unprecedented rate, and it’s our fault. But a new deal could provide a new pathway forward. Concerned over the rate of biodiversity loss, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is calling for a new deal for nature and people in order to accelerate and integrate action between three core areas: biodiversity, land degradation, and climate change. “The trends are shocking. We are facing a decline which is unprecedented and its accelerating,” said WWF’s Director General Marco Lambertini. “This is a global issue. Almost no country is completely exempt,” he added. And it’s not just the iconic species like pandas, elephants, and tigers, he noted. According the WWF’s recent Living Planet report, populations of vertebrate species have declined by 60 per cent around the world in just 40 years. Freshwater species alone faced a decline of over 80 per cent. Such population declines were especially prominent in South and Central America, where there is 89 per cent less wildlife than in 1970. Among the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss are directly linked to human activities, namely land conversion and overexploitation. Over 40 per cent of the world’s land has been converted or set aside for agriculture alone. The Amazon, which is home to over 10 per cent of the world’s species, has seen deforestation and habitat conversion to make way for agricultural activities such as cattle ranching and soy cultivation. Though there have been some efforts to halt and reverse such harmful activities, 20 per cent of the Amazon disappeared in just 50 years. In Indonesia, primates are facing a heightened risk of extinction as forests are destroyed to produce palm oil. “Food production is the single most important driver of wild habitat loss… very few people realise the connection between the food that they eat and the impact it is having on wildlife and wild habitats in the world,” Lambertini said. But it doesn’t stop there. According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), unsustainable land management, which encompasses many modern crop and livestock practices, is causing soil and land degradation thus contributing to both desertification and further biodiversity loss. “With our current trends in production, urbanisation, and environmental degradation, we are losing and wasting too much land,” said UNCCD’s Executive Secretary Monique Barbut in the group’s Global Land Outlook report. “We are losing our connection with the earth. We are losing too quickly the water, soil, and biodiversity that support all life,” she added. Lambertini echoed similar sentiments, stating: “There’s not going to be a prosperous, healthy, happy, just future for us in a degraded planet.” Finding common ground UNCCD is one of three conventions that were established during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Its sister conventions include the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Though significant as separate frameworks, Lambertini highlighted the need for more integration between the three conventions as the three issues are interconnected. “We are calling for a new deal for nature…that really recognises those interdependencies and that they need to be integrated—land degradation, climate change, and nature conservation,” he said. The Executive Secretaries of the three conventions also recognised the intersectionality of the three issues during the U.N. climate change conference in 2017, calling for the establishment of a project preparation facility. The facility would help promote a coordinated action towards the convention’s common issues and finance large-scale multi-disciplinary projects. However, little has been mentioned of it since. Similar to the Paris climate accord, the proposed “new deal for nature and people” would ramp up the international community’s efforts through ambitious goals and targets to halt biodiversity loss and protect and restore nature. Unlike the majority of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the end date of the biodiversityrelated targets under the SDGs is in 2020 and it is expected that many countries will not come close to reaching the targets given current trends. The new deal for nature would therefore be a post-2020 framework, helping governments to keep up, if not raise, their efforts. A recent U.N. Biodiversity Conference agreed to begin a preparatory process, marking a first step towards a new framework. However, WWF noted that ambition was weak. “The world needs to wake up to the risks of biodiversity loss. All stakeholders; business, government and people, need to act now if we are to have any hope of creating a sustainable future for all and a New Deal for Nature and People in 2020,” Lambertini said. “For this to happen, we need a cohesive vision and strong political will – something [Conference of the Parties 14] has unfortunately lacked,” he added. The value of nature THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED The Living Planet Index calculated that nature provides services worth $125 trillion annually while also providing us with fresh air, clean water, food, and medicine. Wildlife play an essential role, and can even help restore and conserve land. “We often forget that these creatures are fundamental to maintaining ecosystems like forests, oceans, wetlands, grasslands and make services that are fundamental to us,” said Lambertini. “There is a huge link between biodiversity and their ecosystems… and our fight against climate change,” he added. For instance, approximately 87 per cent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, and crops that are partially pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production. Primates also help disperse seeds and pollen, helping maintain tropical rainforests which are play a crucial role in global rainfall patterns and carbon emissions reduction. During the recent U.N. climate change conference in Poland, many looked to natural climate solutions including forests which help cut emissions by up to 30 per cent. WWF is urging all stakeholders to come together to deliver on a comprehensive framework to help protect the environment by the next U.N. biodiversity conference set to take place in China in 2020. “It’s time to stop taking nature for granted—we are depending on nature more than nature depends on us,” Lambertini said. “Don’t leave nature and environmental conservation and climate change as an afterthought, they have to be driving the thinking and the planning at the policy level as much as the economic level,” he concluded. Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo �N o. 39 3 |- N ov 2 25, - N 2019 o v 19,| 2 0 18398 Jan. 11 Jan. No. GLOBAL 7 Dozens of indigenous women forcibly sterilised in Canada CHRIS ARSENAULT Reuters D ozens of indigenous women were forcibly sterilised by Canadian health authorities, including as recently as in 2017, said the lawyer leading a classaction lawsuit against the government. Alisa Lombard was speaking on Thursday after appearing in Geneva at the UN Committee Against Torture during hearings into Canada's human rights record. More than 90 indigenous women in the western province of Saskatchewan contacted lawyers to join the lawsuit over forced sterilisation, said Lombard of Maurice Law, the indigenous-run firm spearheading the case. "This practice needs to stop," she said, adding that she knew of cases in 2009, 2011 and 2017. "If it happened then and nothing was done to prevent it, I don't see why it wouldn't be happening now," Lombard said. A government spokeswoman said officials were still gathering information on the issue, and could not say with certainty that the practice had stopped. The UN committee will publish its findings on December 7. "This class action is there to stop it (forced sterilisation), punish it and prosecute it," Lombard said of the suit, which was filed last year. Health experts and human rights campaigners said the forced sterilisations, which the United Nations considers a form of torture, are symptomatic of the discrimination and abuse that Canada's indigenous women face. The government does not deny coerced sterilisations took place. However, a spokeswoman for the minister of indigenous services said she could not comment on allegations in the lawsuit as the matter was before the courts. ‘Serious violation’ Earlier this week, minister of indigenous services Jane Philpott told lawmakers the "coerced sterilisation of some indigenous women by medical professionals is a serious violation of human rights". "We know that indigenous patients can face systemic barriers in accessing medical services, including discrimination and racism," Philpott said. It remained unclear how many indigenous women were forcibly sterilised in Saskatchewan or elsewhere in Canada, said Alex Neve, secretarygeneral of Amnesty International Canada, who also testified at the UN committee hearings. "It is impossible not to conclude that this arises from a context of deeply entrenched racism and colonialism. People take part in a smudging ceremony organized by the First Nations Indigenous Warriors and the American Indian Movement on the Cote First Nation, near the town of Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, August 6, 2017. Smudging is a common practice among some indigenous peoples in North America and is believed to cleanse a person or place of negative energy. REUTERS/Zachary Prong This is tied up with stereotypes of indigenous women as being incapable mothers," he said. Indigenous people comprise about 5 per cent of Canada's 36.5 million people, and are disproportionately affected by poverty. Nearly half live in western provinces such as Saskatchewan, according to government census data. During his testimony, Neve called on the government to appoint an independent investigator – ideally an indigenous woman, he said – to conduct a review to determine the scale of the problem and recommend solutions. "Under international law it is very clear forced sterilisation is torture," Neve said. Decades-long practice The lawsuit, which Lombard said could go to trial in 2019, names the Saskatchewan government, provincial hospitals, several doctors and national authorities. It is seeking C$7 million ($5.3 million) per plaintiff. Forced or coerced sterilisation which is defined as sterilising women without their proper, informed consent - began in Canada in the 1930s and continued until at least 2017, the suit states. The lawsuit cites a woman with the initials M.R.L.P. as the lead plaintiff. It said the Saskatchewan resident was sterilised without proper, informed consent immediately after her second child was delivered by emergency caesarean section in September 2008. Health professionals suggested she undergo a tubal ligation - a surgical procedure in which a woman's fallopian tubes are blocked, tied or cut - when she was "particularly vulnerable": in labour and about to undergo emergency surgery. "Her written consent was sought by health professionals moments before emergency surgery was affirmed, contemporaneously with the administration of opioids, and while she was incapacitated by the pain associated with active labour," the statement of claim said. When she later sought to have the procedure reversed, health professionals told her she would be unlikely to fall pregnant. Her relationship with her then-partner ended due to her sterility, the suit said. "Canada and the province were aware of these policies and practice and their disproportionate impacts on vulnerable Aboriginal women, historically and currently, and have done nothing to prevent them," the statement of claim said. Canada's universal healthcare is largely funded by the national government and provided by provincial authorities. The lawsuit said coerced sterilisations were an example of cruel and unusual punishment, which is illegal under the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The provincial health ministry said it had launched an independent review last year after indigenous women came forward saying they had been pressured into having tubal ligations after giving THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED birth. It changed its policies after that review, a ministry spokeswoman said. "It (the government) now requires that a woman must have had a documented discussion with her healthcare provider before coming into hospital," she said in emailed comments. "Otherwise, a tubal ligation would not be provided during the patient's post-partum experience ... Our priority is to engage, understand and better serve the health needs of all indigenous residents of Saskatchewan." The provincial ministry said it was implementing cultural training for all maternal services staff, and was working with indigenous leaders and elders to improve the consent process and healthcare in general. The spokeswoman could not comment on specific claims made in court documents as litigation is ongoing. Marcia Anderson, a professor of health sciences at Canada's University of Manitoba, said it was difficult to hold healthcare providers to account as the country did not gather data on healthquality performance by race. "There is very little (even no) ability to monitor the expression of racism in the healthcare system," Anderson said by email. "Racism is as present in healthcare as it is in our broader society, but it is acted out in different ways." Courtesy of Reuters / Thomson Reuters Foundation / INSP.ngo �FEATURE 8 N ov 2 o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Jan. 11- -NJan. 25,2 02019 398 I'm Big, I'm Bad, I'm a Bid! PAUL BODEN P Western Regional Advocacy Project atrolling and controlling our public spaces— sidewalks, streets and parks— Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are privatizing our downtowns and main thoroughfares. Our public spaces are becoming corridors and shopping centers that are welcoming consumers with open arms and excluding everyone else. Most particularly impacted by this emerging trend are the houseless communities, who are seeing these areas to rest and sleep, free from harassment and criminalization, shrink. BIDs have been growing significantly across the United States. In California, BIDs have grown exponentially since the passage of the Business Improvement District Law of 1994, which expanded their budget, autonomy and authority. One hundred eighty-nine BIDs have been identified in 69 California cities surveyed. What began as a way to supplement public services within geographically defined boundaries has turned into massive beasts with large budgets, controlling public space and being significantly funded with tax dollars with little to no oversight. Even though BIDs control large swaths of private and public land, many people do not know what a BID is. However, most people could probably point out the BID Ambassador and street cleaning teams, whose brightly colored uniforms are a common sight as they give tourists and shoppers directions, pick up garbage, and pressure wash sidewalks. A positive sight for many, but behind the scenes, BIDs have become powerful lobbies, crafting or supporting ballot initiatives and legislation to push anti-homeless loitering, sit-lie, sidewalk obstruction and other laws, ensuring the further criminalization of homeless people and compounding the day to day harassment of the houseless community. As shown below, the increase in BIDs directly correlates to an increase in local antihomeless laws. BIDs are formed when business THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED owners and/or property owners come together, petition for their establishment and get approval from the local government. Once the BID is established, the local government collects an assessment (tax) from all the property owners within the district, including the local government on publicly owned parcels. Funds from this tax are then turned over “to a nonprofit or to a quasi­-governmental agency run by the BID organization’s board of directors.” Some BIDs are run by business owners, who are primarily focused on bringing in more shoppers, while others are run by property owners, who are interested in attracting tenants who can pay higher rents for storefronts and/or housing. In effect, our local governments are turning taxpayer dollars over to private businesses, which use that money to create a more “safe and attractive” consumer environment. There are well over 1,000 of these special districts throughout the United States, whose main function is to drive poor and homeless people away from the neighborhood by hassling them, enforcing the sit-lie law and other discriminatory tactics, including contracting with the cops to step up enforcement of “quality of life” offenses, thus criminalizing homeless and poor people’s existence. �No. 39 Nov 225, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 Jan. 113 -| Jan. | No. 398 “It is my understanding that the people who ride around on bikes waking up the homeless are not supposed to put their hands on anyone… If I’m breaking the law a San Diego Police Officer is to do something about it- not some flunkie on a bike who has no badge, [and] won’t tell me his name,” stated a complaint filed by a homeless woman in San Diego, who was awakened by a BID security guard when he rode his bike into her. To be clear, we are not just talking about houseless people when we talk about BIDs criminalizing nonconsumers. BIDs do not want anyone in their districts from whom they cannot profit. This includes street vendors (Permit Betty), buskers and anyone who is hanging out in the neighborhood but not looking to purchase anything. Laws against sitting on the sidewalk and other such laws are always discriminately enforced, specifically with the goal of removing people, who are not wanted, from public spaces. From a study by UC Berkeley Law School Policy Advocacy Clinic FEATURE conducted for the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) to understand the effects Business Improvement Districts have on houseless communities in California, “BIDs violate California law when they spend property assessment revenue on policy advocacy… BIDs may violate additional state laws when they spend assessment revenue collected from public properties within their districts on policy advocacy…. BIDs and their agents may violate state, federal and international law through their policing practices, including the infringing on the legal rights of homeless people.” This study, “Homeless Exclusion Districts: How California Business Improvement Districts Use Policy Advocacy and Policing Practices to Exclude Homeless People from Public Space,” is the first of its kind containing groundbreaking research on how BIDs impact our local communities. “Their entire job is to push homeless people out by harassment, pressure washing the streets, and calling the cops on folks. They are also hiring formerly homeless people to harass other homeless people and removing them from their economic corridors,” remarked Benjamin Donlon of Right To Survive in Portland, Oregon, on Clean and Safe, a 213 block BID that touts itself as the “oldest, largest and most successful BID in the nation” created by several adjacent BIDs, Clean and Safe controls all of downtown and Old Town Portland. As General Dogon, an organizer from L.A. Skid Row can attest, “Cops will pull up and go right up to the BID guard and pull him to the side and have a conversation with them, and then walk over to the homeless person and tell them what they did wrong. The BID guards then began to think that they are the police and that they have the power. The community ambassador is really the community oppressor.” A classic example of BID control of public space is the Urban Camping Ban in Denver, Colorado. Terese Howard of Denver Homeless Out Loud said, “When the unauthorized camping ban was passed in Denver, The Downtown Business Partnership (a prominent BID in Denver) listed in their annual THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 report that they were successful in the lobbying of the unauthorized camping ban. Further, the Downtown Business Partnership supports enforcement of sit-lie laws, enforcement of unconstitutional panhandling bans, and further architecturally pushes homeless people out of their districts by removing benches, water fountains, bathrooms and trash cans.” “BIDs will go Block by Block to ensure that every sidewalk, street and park serve to benefit the businesses that are in the district. Public Space has become nothing more than the hallways of a shopping mall, and if you are in that hallway you better be there to shop, or someone will chase you out,” said Paul Boden of WRAP. With the release of the study, “Homeless Exclusion Districts: How California Business Improvement Districts Use Policy Advocacy and Policing Practices to Exclude Homeless People from Public Space,” we hope to bring greater awareness to how our shiny new shopping spaces are created, and what goes into their creation— mainly our tax dollars and our freedom. �10 GLOBAL N ov 2 o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Jan. 11- -NJan. 25,2 02019 398 The Sailors Haunted by Their Experiences in the Mediterranean Deacon Fiete Sturm leads the Seamenís Mission in Altona. The pastor takes care of sailors on land. Credit: Marina Kostian JONAS FÜLLNER Hinz&Kunzt F leeing across the Mediterranean has always been dangerous. The International Organisation for Migration has recorded over 13,500 deaths in the past three and half years alone. Aid organisations such as Sea Watch, Sea Eye and Lifeline have been deploying lifeboats to prevent this number from rising further, but now their vessels have been blockaded in Malta. While sea rescue operations are being obstructed, the dying continues. Italy won’t even allow entry to vessels carrying rescued refugees. It is not only lifeboats but also large cargo ships that have been taking in the shipwrecked. The international Law of the Sea obliges ships’ captains to help people in danger on the high seas if they are able to do so. To not do so would also deeply offend the sailors’ sense of honour. This is something that maritime deacon Fiete Sturm is certain of. The 36-year-old is the leader of the German Seamen’s Mission in Altona, Hamburg, which is located not far from the fish market. As a pastor, he talks to the sailors on a regular basis. Here, he speaks about his experiences and explains why sea rescue operations are essential: “A sailor once told me how he saw a child and mother drown right before his eyes. He was aboard a fairly large container ship. Life vests were floating in the water. Some people had clearly already died. Using their last ounce of strength, the mother and child drew near to a rescue ladder. But the ship was still moving a little and the sea was rough. Both were dragged under the water and weren’t seen again. “The sailor saw everything and had no way of helping. It shook him up very badly and it took months before he could go to sea again. To this day, he still doesn’t dare go out on the Mediterranean. “Other sailors try to repress what they've gone through. I can understand why. You need to be able to function at sea. It’s a tough job – 300 hours’ work per month – and sometimes you’re away for nine months at a time, far from home. Only when sailors stay at in port for a longer period, perhaps because they’re ill, for example, do they have the time to talk to a pastor such as myself. “Three years ago, a sailor confided in a colleague of mine that he no longer dares sail in the Mediterranean. He remembers sailing over children’s rucksacks drifting in the sea. Many people are still using this route to flee hunger and war. I know sailors who are unable to sleep at night in the summer months before a trip to the Mediterranean. “The fear that a rescue could fail is always there. Unlike rescue organisations’ boats, cargo ships are not equipped to enable people to easily come on board from the water. The side of the ship can sometimes be 30 metres above the surface of the water and there are no hatches to simply pull people through. Even in calm seas there can be a suction effect in the water. “When they use a rope ladder to climb down to the shipwrecked, the sailors put their own lives at risk. The mere thought that something like this could happen at any time off the Libyan coast is enough to make the sailors anxious. “Many of them would like to turn a blind eye, but they don’t. The law requires them to provide a rescue service to those in distress at sea. However, they don’t provide help just because the law says so: if you’re at sea, then you offer your help. It’s a guiding principle. It’s also got nothing to do with their morals. I’ve spoken with sailors who vote for right-wing parties and think that too many refugees are coming to Europe. But there’s no question that they would help refugees in distress, regardless of the fact that it’s dangerous and irrespective of their personal feelings towards these people. At that moment they’re not refugees, but castaways floating in the water. “Now that captains are facing charges for offering assistance – as happened with the boat Lifeline – it means that these fundamental practices are being destroyed. Saving lives at sea goes without saying. That principle can never be shaken. “Anyone who goes a step further and says that the expectation of receiving help in distress is contributing to migration is confusing cause and effect. The people who died came first. If that weren’t the case, then the rescuers and their lifeboats would never have gone out in the first place. Now people are saying that if there were no rescuers, then people wouldn’t dare make the dangerous flight across the sea. But there are plenty of studies that say this is not the case. People will continue to flee. And they will continue to do so across the sea, over and over again.” Translated from German by Hazel Davies Courtesy of Hinz&Kunzt / INSP. ngo Around 4000 people held a demonstration for sea rescue operations in Hamburg on 13 July. They threw flowers into the Elbe in memory of the refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean. Credit: Tina Fritsche THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 Nov 225, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 Jan. 113 -| Jan. | No. 398 11 LOCAL My Story DAVID MCCANE I Contributing Writer became homeless back in 20045. Been homeless for 13 years, 4 months, 3 weeks until last year when I got my place. I was on the streets in Mansfield too. I left here for about a year and three months but I realized I needed help. I got out of jail, came back here, got together with Alphonse who helped me get connected with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral (GCB) to work with caseworkers and get housing. He told me I had to give 110% and then the caseworkers would give 110%, so I did. I did volunteer work and I love it. My caseworkers got me on Social Security Income. They set up appointments with me, help me set goals, and they’re really there for me. They’ve been a lot better than other places. I finally found people who listen to me and help me with my problems. They make sure I stay out of trouble. GCB really works with me. They helped me get an apartment. When I had an apartment, I gave it up to my friends who had kids because they needed somewhere to live. I didn’t mind being on the streets. The caseworkers helped me stay on the right path. They helped me get into college and I’m almost there. Daulton King helped me out when I needed someone to talk to about apartment situations, or just what was on my mind. He gave me a lot of good advice and told me to keep my head up and stay strong. He’s the one who helped me get into Streetvibes in the first place. I’m going to Cincinnati State for culinary arts and I’m working on getting my license and a car. I’m starting this semester and just got my uniform. On the 7th, I’ll get a set of knives to complete the chef ’s uniform. I’d really like to do cooking and baking if possible. I have my own recipes and have my own signature dishes. A friend of mine let me stay with him until he got kicked out and I used to cook for him. I did a lot of experiments with steak and pork and that’s when I realized how much I liked it. I got praise from a pastor I knew up there. I’m trying to come up with new recipes with chicken right now. I like to use different ingredients that you don’t expect, like cinnamon and garlic Crisco together. I also like doing heritage cooking since I am part Irish, German, Scottish, and Cherokee. I like to mix them all together, like a main dish from Irish cooking and a side dish from Native American cooking. Cooking wasn’t my only option, but Cinci State doesn’t have a Masonair program for construction. I am somewhat qualified in masonry, but I need to finish scaffolding. I’d like to be a fully certified mason as well. I also do landscaping and I’m a masseuse. If it wasn’t for the people at the Homeless Coalition—including the people at Streetvibes—I would still be on the streets and I wouldn’t be going to college. I’ve had my place for a year and one month and I plan to keep it. The PATH team really worked with me and I got into XL, which pays half of my rent. The same landlord has a two-bedroom place in Price Hill, which would be good. I’ve been trying to tell other people that they should also try to get housing here but you have to give 110%. Getting Beyond Benign Neglect BILL WOODS Contributing Writer T he period connecting the end of the old year and the start of the new one often prompts thinking about past events and what will come next. This December, my thinking began earlier after hearing an update on homelessness in this region by Josh Spring at the annual dinner of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Spring, the Executive Director of the Coalition, didn't pull any punches as he depicted a worsening situation with more homeless families and individuals and an enormous need for affordable housing in this area. This unsugar coated presentation jolted me to reflect about how we have evolved to such a dismal situation both locally and nationally. When Applied Information Resources, working under the auspices of the newly formed Homeless Coalition, conducted the area's first homeless study in 1986, the immediate response of people of good will was that resources must be quickly found to end this crisis that was impacting the lives of so many men, women, and children. One year later when I attended an international conference on homelessness in Delhi, India, delegates from other countries expressed disbelief that a rich nation like the United States could have a homeless problem. Those who knew their history would cite the programs of "the New Deal" and the 1960s "War on Poverty." In looking back now at the1980s, I believe that we had already entered a time frame that I am now calling "the period of benign neglect." By 1986, Ronald Reagan was in his sixth year as President. He came into office with the slogan: "Government isn't the answer. Government is the problem." He vowed to cut costly and unnecessary federal programs, and to cut taxes in order to unleash America's entrepreneurial spirit. When AIR did its homeless study it cited that funding for various housing assistance programs shrank from $24.9 billion in 1981 to $7.8 billion in 1987. A complimentary ideology also emerged at that time that government assistance actually entrenched poverty and caused a culture of dependency. Along with that philosophy came the mistaken notion of wide spread welfare fraud and welfare queens driving to pick up their checks in Cadillacs. Thus, a powerful new political force grew up in the Reagan era to counter the long prevailing concept that bold government action could solve major problems and assist families and individuals to get back on their feet. I label the time from the 1980s to the present as a period of benign neglect, because the dismantling of the federal safety net has gone on steadily but slowly. The federal housing cuts and cuts in other federal assistance that began in the 1980s have continued with stops and starts along the way. During the almost four decades under review enough progressive and moderate members of Congress have prevented any cataclysmic assaults on the safety net, and for sixteen of the thirty eight years, a Democrat has served as President. The new conservatism, however, subtly infiltrated the thinking of some Democratic leaders including Bill Clinton. As President, Clinton signed into law in 1996 a more punitive and limited welfare law that replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children- a long accepted entitlement program. Meanwhile, states like Ohio witnessed the cutting or elimination of anti-poverty programs by their legislatures. Groups such as the Homeless Coalition and other advocates for the poor fought against this continual whittling away of funding for affordable housing and other safety net programs, but this ongoing battle THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED with its stalemates and losses became almost numbing. Nobody did a very good job of keeping tabs on how these steady losses were mounting up and having a greater impact at the local level. This article has focused on one major factor that has led to the homeless situation that Josh Spring described at the Coalition's annual dinner. A complete picture would include other factors such as the impact of "big money" on the political process at all levels, the change to a global economy, and a culture that now emphasizes individualism, corporate greed, and polarized groups rather than any emphasis on "we the people." These factors and others would need to be blended into a complete story about how we became mired in this period of benign neglect. Perhaps the election and Presidency of Donald Trump serve as a wake up call to jolt us into acknowledging the critical problems that have slowly grown to gargantuan size over time. With democracy and most of our institutions and government programs now in jeopardy, maybe we will also be able to recognize that a city and a nation that can accept growing poverty and economic inequality no longer deserves to be called "great." �12 STREETVOICE It's Misting & It's Raining It's misty and it's raining But I'm not one who does much complaining As the mist comes in, before the rain starts to fall I hold my head up and there are no stars Just the mist and the rain falls As a child, I would cry when the dark clouds, would roll by, And I didn't see a beautiful blue sky, But now I smile, No more tears, no more cries I realize how our trees grown so tall When our wonderful God, Lets his rain fall No matter how dark I realize God always does his work Sometimes it's cloudy And sometimes it's dark But God always does his part N o v 11 2 --N o v 19, 0 18 || No. N o . 398 393 Jan. Jan. 25,22019 You and I You and I must make a pact To be mindful of how we act Toward each other no matter what And not hold hatred down in our gut We must understand that everyone is unique And know that a change is what everyone seeks With time and patience, with help from up above We can conquer the hatred we feel and replace it with God's love For only with God's guidance and his so many blssings Will we understand living life together without ever guessing We'll finally know what it is to live on this planet together To love each other for who we are and not what we are for now and forever! WILLA DENISE JONES KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer Streetvibes Writing Circle If you would like to submit a story for publication in streetvibes, come join Katelyn Lusher and Chris Wilkey for a group writing session! 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. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �STREETVOICE No. 39 Nov 25, 2- N o v 19, 2 0 18 Jan. 113- |Jan. 2019 | No. 398 A Day in the Life of Sarah Huckabee Sanders Pity Sarah Huckabee Sanders. For Trump she always panders. To the press she has one song. "The President is never wrong!" Some say It's so reprehensible To defend acts so indefensible. Does she ever stop and pray? "Please no crazy tweets today!" BILL WOODS Contributing Writer 13 Creeping Thistle When I was picked by this pink flower, They told me it was a weed, I kept this flower, providing water as new roots grew, watered, even after the “thank you”s ended, even once I ran out of drink for myself, even when thorns appeared, even after those thorns prodded at my veins, They told me that this flower was feeding false hopes, They were worried that i was buried too deep in the dirt with this flower- weed, Once i tried to listen, there was nothing left to say, they had to go away, while I had to lay, next to the prickly pink flower, because it begged me to stay, I thought to plant it somewhere far, It convinced me to let it settle in my backyard, Stronger it grew with access to my sun, my grass, my soil, Its roots grew into my pipes and broke through to my living room, kept finding its way into my home, I called to get it removed, tweezers, pliers, shovels, bulldozers, They got it out of my house, no one could get the last green thorn out of my ear. GABRIELA GODINEZ Editor-in-chief THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 FUN N ov 2 o v 19, 0 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Jan. 11- -NJan. 25,22019 398 Pet Horoscopes by Dusty Changepurse About the Author: Dusty Changepurse is a visual and creative artist whom infuses spirituality, creativity and social justice into their work and everyday life. They have been providing pet horoscopes and tarot readings for a couple of years. They are an experienced empathy-based Tarot cart reader with many years of experience. The horoscopes presented should not be seen as medical/vetenarian advice. If you or your pet needs actually medical assistance, please see a medical professional. Libra (Page of Pentacles) - The inquisitive nature of the Libra pet will be in full force this month. I will say, be prepared for your pet to push the envelope of freedom -- meaning this is a time your pet will try to get free. Pay special attention to Aries (Queen of Swords) - Has your pooch been acting like pets who love a good jailbreak. A new toy may be the thing the top dog around the house lately? Well, that is because needed to distract them from running. If you have a bird, something shiny this month should do the trick. an sense of ease, imagination and dream-achieving is on the plat for them this month. An old dog may not learn new tricks, but they can refine the trick to make it a showstopper. Scorpio (Six of Swords) - This is time for closure, if you Also, this is the month for your puppy to find puppy love. just lost a pet. It is important to realize that our pets Love is in the air for Aries pets. continue to watch over us even after passing. This is a time for remembrance and understanding that pain comes in Taurus (Ace of Pentacles) - Yes, we get it. You are the cat’s ebbs and flows. Water-living pets should be prepared for meow. Your pet is on a roll this month with the blessings, some hardships, but know it is a needed process for them. Transitions abound for the Scorpio pet. so be prepared for them to leave you lots of gifts. A flailing bird is a gift right? Well, they have blessing on blessings coming their way so this is not the time to stop spoiling Sagittarius (Three of Swords) - Your Sag pet’s heart is in that feline. Your Taurean pet is super good luck right now, the right place, but their rambunctious attitude sure boils so consider betting of black (cats). your blood. This month will have some pain (especially in abdomen or hind legs). Your pet not only needs emotional support this month, but they may need actual physical support this month also. Your words are powerful tools that can be used for harm or helping. Right now, your pet needs some support: Mental, psychological and physical. Gemini (Three of Pentacles) - You ever have that one pet, that always needs something? Well, this won’t be the last they need a belly scratch or gentle boops on the nose. Your gemini pet may be acting out or not their usual self. This is their way of telling you that they are needing support right now. Don’t forget to share some extra love with your pet. Capricorn (Six of Pentacles) - Oh you Capricorn animal you! This month you are ballin’ and loving life. You my Cancer (The Hierophant) - That ferret of yours is plotting… friend, need some greens in your diet. Also, this is a month and plotting. Your Cancer pet is all about maintaining of fruition, so if your pet was hoping for that puppy-cation, order this month. Yes, that means they will try to rule well this is the month. Abundance will be your friend. This the house, so be prepared. Your pet is really receptive to is a month where bird-owners should start planting seeds spiritual energy right now, so I suggest giving them space and intentions. Red birds are especially good luck this month. and not forcing any meetings. Hey, your partner can meet your pet next week. Leo (Seven of Cups) - Ayye, your pet is on the glow up lately. The fur is so fresh and so clean clean. The other furries are jealous and your pet knows it. Be prepared for your pet to be the center of attention this month. Don’t hate, just take the credit. That luxurious coat didn’t brush itself. This is the time to live vicariously through your pet. Your Leo pet can handle more love, more food, more everything this month. The benefits will multiply for all involved. Virgo (The Devil) - So, everything is not sunshines and rainbows. For my Virgo pets, this is a time for grounding and keeping things simple. Simple foods. Simple joys. Simple tasks. This month will spell the end of certain important relationships with your pet. So if you are a dog park goer, prepare for a loss of a friendship or play buddy. Aquarius (King of Swords) - Structure, Structure and Structure. Get the hint. This month your pet will need some structure in their lives. This means you may need to double down on training, but know reinforcement is a good thing. If you have a rodent, then this may be a good time to keep your pets occupied with new things. May we suggest a new playmate (or a mirror). Either way give your pet something or someone to boss around. Pisces (Knight of Wands) - Full steam ahead. Your pet has the intuition to spare this month. That means you need to keep transparency with your pet and their pet buddies. Your pet will be full of energy… and attitude. So you can reprimand your Pisces if you like, but be prepared for pouting and plenty of attitude. They are sure on one this month. Sheesh. Proceed with caution. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 Nov 225, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 Jan. 113-| Jan. | No. 398 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 RESOURCES 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 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 591-2246 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 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 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 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 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: 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 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 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 15 Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 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 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th St. 45202 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 Cancer Justice Network 404-3882 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 (11-17 y/o) 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 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 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 961-0600 business. For more information contact Gabriela Godinez Feregrino, Center for Respite Care 621-1868 email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org 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 Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �16 N o v 211 - N o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 Jan. - Jan. 25,2 02019 398 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 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 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 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � 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 2018 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 11-January 25, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Shutdown Easy One Man’s Journey Through 19 Years of Homelessness Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Mothers of Drug War Victims Demand Justice in the Philippines Pg 6: Negotiating for Nature Pg 7: Dozens of Indigenous Women Forcibly Sterilized in Canada Pg 8: I’m Big, I’m Bad, I’m a Bid! Pg 9: I’m Big, I’m Bad, I’m a Bid! Continued Pg 10: The Sailors Haunted by Their Experiences in the Mediterranean Pg 11: My Story Getting Beyond Benign Neglect Pg 12: Street Voice Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Fun 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 11-January 25, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Reginald Black Yonna Walterson Chris Arenault Robert Park Jonas Fullner Paul Boden Bill Woods Key Beck Kim Green Willa Denise Jones David McCane Homeless Coalition Pngtree.com Gabriela Godinez Wraphome.org Amanda Meek Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Amanda Meek Bill Woods Canada Chris Arenault David McCane Drug War Gabriela Godinez Gentrification Homeless Coalition Indigenous Women Jonas Fullner Josh Spring Key Beck Kim Green Mediterranean Nature Paul Boden Philippines Pngtree.com Reginald Black Robert Park Sailors Willa Denise Jones Wraphome.org Yonna Walterson https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/437aa5003c0aa4b45328a6b078ff7f60.pdf e73feab779be2605d3eeea56b9b7ff92 PDF Text Text January 12th - January 25th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 2 (No. 373) advocating justice | building community New Year, New Services | 3 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE Cincinnati's Fascist Monument | 5 Economics of Compassion Initiative in Spring Grove Village | 7 Political Reform in 2018 | 2 Religious Peacemakers: Pastor Ennis Tait | 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: Very Important People Have Died K J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 JOSH SPRING en Martin was found dead at Government Square in the wee hours of December 26. Previous to this tragedy Ken lived without a home. Homelessness stole years from Ken’s life; he was only 55 years old. Since Ken Martin was found dead, there has been a significant amount of discussion in the local media about why Ken died, what could have prevented his death and what should be done in the future. Some have said there should be a day shelter/24-hour shelter space available. It has also been stated that there were 100 empty Winter Shelter beds a mile away from where Ken passed and that some people don’t feel comfortable going to a shelter because of mental illness, addiction and/or a lack of safety at the shelter. Further some have questioned if we need more adequate transportation Ken Martin Credit: WCPO.COM Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition and/or more outreach workers to get people to the Winter Shelter. Ken Martin was an important and valuable person. It is correct that we should be asking why did this happen and how can we prevent it. The fact is that it was not Ken’s “time” to pass away; time was stolen from him. It is right to figure out how we can improve our existing system to increase accessibility and increase connection. In our questioning, however we most go beyond what happened just before Ken died. It is not adequate to simply ask why was Ken not in shelter? Though, correctly outlets are not directly blaming Ken for his death; victim-blaming is a common practice; only applying focus to figuring out why he may have chosen to not be in a shelter bed focuses too narrowly on his own mindset and individual communications other people may have had with Ken. Perhaps there should be 24hour shelter space, but if there were would that mean Ken would still be living? We don’t know. If we had more outreach workers perhaps Ken would have had more regular contact with outreach workers and he would have felt more at ease about working with the system. If there were transportation vehicles driving about looking for people outside, maybe Ken would have been offered a ride to the Winter Shelter and would have taken it. We simply don’t know. And the fact that we don’t know certainly does not mean we should not make any of these changes, but these sort of changes will not lead to the high level of systematic change we need. It is right to consider what gaps there are in the system, but the problem with doing it this way is that we are discussing what could be changed systematically to change the circumstances that immediately precipitated the death of Ken Martin, one very important person. But Homelessness is not an individual problem. Thousands of people in our city and county experience homelessness. Millions in this country. In fact, in 2017 in (Continued on page 6) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org 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 ----------------------------------------------- POLITICAL REFORM IN 2018 2 Contributing Writer (Continued on page 6) Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Derek Peebles, Adam Sennott, Saad Ghosn, Bentley Davis, Jason Haap, Bobby Morris, Ronald English, Willa Denise Jones BILL WOODS 018 begins with the U.S. and Ohio still badly in need of reforms that will help restore the health of our democratic process. One proposed initiative and one failed initiative, however, provide some hope that positive change can come about. Reformers in Ohio start the year working to place an initiative on next November's ballot that would end Congressional gerrymandering in the state. Meanwhile, President Trump's highly questionable Commission focused on voter fraud was disbanded during the first week of 2018. Trump's Commission came into being eight months ago to address the CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Homeless Coalition, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Saad Ghosn, ATIS547/Flickr, Bill Woods, WCPO.com --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Bill Woods accepting the buddy gray Lifetime Achievement Award Credit: Homeless Coalition THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 37 3 3 LOCAL New Year, New Services | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 DR. MARK MUSSMAN O ver the past month, we have seen two new places of refuge open in Cincinnati: the Sheakley Center for Youth and St. Anthony Building. Each of the buildings had a great opening ceremony, with a starstudded line-up. It’s important to keep in mind what each of these building represents: a new opportunity for people who are suffering from homelessness, hunger, and poverty. At the St. Anthony Building, Staff Writer does it help with cleanliness, health, and safety, but it also helps people raise their self-esteem. Another program that helps with health and self-esteem is Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart, which provides individuals with a new “do” and a new outlook on life. So many people have told me that they have never felt better than after they get a shower at Mary Magdalen and a haircut at Franciscan Haircuts for thousands of meals every month. They are also looking to expand their morning hours so people who are leaving the shelter have a place to stay earlier in the morning. They will have bagged lunches for people whenever they come through the doors. This, in addition to Welcome Home and other organizations in the St. Anthony Center, including a nurse’s station, will give people more access to services, on a near-daily basis. Finally, they have some flex space to This is a national issue, but Safe and Supported is tackling the issue here. Lighthouse just built a new facility just down the street from their main building in Walnut Hills on McMillan. The new Sheakley Center for Youth moved from Highland to Iowa Street, into a giant warehousetype building. The building was used to make textiles a long time ago, and now it has the chance to weave a new future for Cincinnati’s youth. In the Sheakley Center there are some of the same services from Highland, but many new beds for long-term and short-term residents. In the old space on Highland, youth could go to wash their laundry, get Community Kitchen at Sheakley Center Common Area with TV Soon to be Installed Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman which is located on the corner of Liberty and Republic Streets in Over-the-Rhine, several different organizations have come together to create a type of “One-Stop” service the Heart. This new facility will allow people to get a new outlook on life, but also access life-saving services like the Center for Respite Care. The Center for Respite Care gives people who are experiencing homelessness a place to offer short-term housing beyond the Center for Respite Care. When it comes to youth who are experiencing homelessness, we have one of the most active and robust some food, use the resource room, get medical care, and find shelter. The new space will contain all of that, but also have more permanent housing, many more shelter beds, and more room to grow. Each room Towels and blankets at the Mary Magdalen House Mary Magdalen House Dryers Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman center. Mary Magdalen moved from Main Street, where it had been for decades. Mary Magdalen gives people the opportunity to take a shower, use the phone, use the bathroom, and even get new clothes. They will take the clothes you have on, give you a new set, and wash your clothes for you. The next time you come back for a shower, they will have your clothes clean and folded for you. Not only go after receiving medical care. Have you ever wondered how people who are experiencing homelessness get a chance to recuperate after they have surgery? The Center for Respite Care enables people to rest after medical care. St. Francis Seraph Ministries is also moving their soup kitchen from the elementary school cafeteria to the new St. Anthony Center. They serve organizations in the country tackling this issue – Lighthouse Youth and Family Services. Lighthouse has a unique program called “Safe and Supported” that helps LGBTQi individuals and their families deal with issues. Did you know that roughly 40% of youth who are experiencing homeless self-identify as LGBTQi? This is likely due to family rejection and discrimination. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED has a small kitchenette, but there is a shared kitchen as well, that has full size ovens and will allow them to have group dinners. It is an amazing center that will allow closer access to residents seeking services in the main building on McMillan. We are lucky to have so much private support in Cincinnati for these (Continued on page 9) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 �No. 37 3 I LOCAL Cincinnati’s Fascist Monument | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 MICHAEL EARL PATTON really should not have been so surprised when a friend told me about the fascist monument from 1931 in Eden Park. After all, though we like to forget about it, there was a time in the 1920’s and 30’s when fascism was considered by many to be a superior form of government. This was because Italy had recovered from economic depression and seemed to be on the ascendancy while conditions in the United States were getting worse. The depression – which we call the Great Depression – started with the Wall Street crash of 1929. The economy had yet to bottom out and newly constructed shantytowns known as “Hoovervilles” were widespread. Predictions of prosperity being “just around the corner” failed to come true. In 1931 Hitler had not yet come to power in Germany and Italy had not yet invaded Ethiopia. There was hope that Mussolini’s talk of restoring Rome to its ancient power and glory was mostly rhetoric and did not mean military conquest. So when Mussolini offered Cincinnati a monument with a symbol of his “New Rome,” the city leaders accepted it. Today, however, it requires some familiarity with Roman legend and Italian history to appreciate the symbolism and inscription. The monument is of a she-wolf giving suckle to the infant twins, Romulus and Remus. There are several legends about them but the important parts here are that their grandfather was a king who was overthrown. They were thrown into the Tiber River to drown but somehow reached shore. There a shewolf found them and gave them her milk to drink. Eventually they were found and raised by a shepherd. One of them, Romulus, founded the city of Rome. The statue in Eden Park is a copy of the one in the Capitoline Museum, in Rome. Until a few years ago, most people thought that the statue of the she-wolf in Rome was the very same one that stood in ancient Rome. Recently modern dating techniques showed that the wolf did not date to ancient times but probably to sometime around the year 1100. Although it is not the original statue, it might be a copy of that one. (The statues of the two twins were known to have been added later.) The important thing is that Mussolini thought this was the she-wolf statue Inscription: "From the Governor of Rome to the City of Cinncinnati, Year 10" Credit: Michael Earl Patton Contributing Writer used in ancient Rome. It became a symbol of his New Rome and its image was widely used. There were at least three bronze copies made and sent to the United States. One is in Rome, Georgia; another is in Rome, New York; and the third is in Eden Park. They were, of course, articles of propaganda for his fascist regime. It is clear that these two Romes formed an organization to protect the young republic and named it after that ancient general – the Society of Cincinnati. When General St. Clair took command of Fort Washington in 1789 he changed the name of the adjacent settlement from Losantiville to Cincinnati, in honor of that society. So its name also goes back to ancient Rome, but by an indirect route. The inscription on the base states in Italian that it is from the Governor Facists monument representing a Roman legend of a she-wolf and twin children Credit: Michael Earl Patton Romulus and Remus drinking from the teat of the she-wolf Credit: Michael Earl Patton might be open to a gift recalling the original Rome, but why Cincinnati? This is another story that goes back to ancient Rome and is of the retired general Cincinnatus. In 458 B.C. there was a crisis and he was appointed dictator. When told of the appointment he was plowing in his field. He took command of the army and within 15 days had defeated the enemy and went back to his plowing. This story has inspired people for centuries – that here was an individual who could have used his popularity and command of the army to retain power, but voluntarily relinquished it instead. At the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War the officers of Rome to the City of Cincinnati. The year 1931 is given followed by “Anno X.” This is Latin for Year Ten, but the year ten from what? What was the year One and why was it chosen? Counting backwards from 1931 we find that the year One corresponds to 1922. In that year Mussolini took power when his Blackshirts marched on Rome and he cowed the king into appointing him prime minister. So, the monument is dated to the year Ten of the Fascist Era. (Technically each Fascist Year started on 28 October and ended on the following 27 October, but this is not important to the present discussion.) With a change in election law and new elections, and after his Blackshirts THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 5 assassinated the leader of the Socialist Party, he became dictator. The “Governor of Rome” refers to the head of the municipal authority in Rome. This person was not elected but was appointed by the National Fascist Party. Since Mussolini was dictator of Italy and the governor of Rome was only carrying out Mussolini’s policies, it is fair to say that he was responsible for the gift. The Blackshirts was the common name for the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nationale, or the Voluntary Militia for National Security. They were the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party and were controlled by Mussolini. They used intimidation, violence, and even assassination against those whom he perceived to be his opponents. Fascism, as practiced by Mussolini, was totalitarian, nationalist, and racist. It promoted the idea that the white race was superior to others but did not go as far as Hitler did in promoting the importance of the racial purity of a nation. This would have been obviously ridiculous to anyone who had traveled much in Italy and was a source of tension between the two dictators. It was nationalist in that Mussolini sought to add territories to Italy that he claimed had an Italian culture. This included parts of Switzerland and the islands of Corsica and Malta, among other places. It was totalitarian in that he, as dictator, had ultimate control. It was part of the ideology that individuals could attain their full potential only within a fascist state. Its economic philosophy was based on this. It is sometimes called corporatism, where the different parts of the economy would work together with the state arbitrating disagreements. Mussolini favored enforced class cooperation instead of the Marxist ideology of class struggle. Not surprisingly, the government tended to favor larger companies over smaller ones. Only unions that were recognized by the state were allowed and both strikes and lockouts were forbidden. There were some social welfare aspects, too, with the state spending on programs such as general healthcare, unemployment benefits, and old age and disability insurance. Much of this was very appealing to many Americans in 1931. Hitler, in fact, was inspired by Mussolini and adopted many of his techniques. I do not want this monument removed since the wolf and twins symbolism never was as firmly identified with fascism as the swastika was in Germany. The image of the shewolf and twins is still used today as a symbol of Rome, much like the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. Nor do I think the inscription should be changed since it is a part of history. But I do think a plaque should be added explaining some of this to aid in the understanding of that history. Let us use Mussolini’s gift as an opportunity to teach and not let it be just some odd statue in the park. �6 JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) our county at least 137 people died while without a home. Some people died outside, some people died at the facilities of service providers, people died after getting housed because of the toll homelessness took on their body. At least 137 people died without a home in 2017. In 2016 at least 72 people died. That means that 90 percent more people died in 2017 without a home than in 2016. 137 very important people, gone. We have to be asking what can be changed systematically to prevent people from experiencing homelessness at all. In the case of Ken Martin, what could have been different systematically to ensure that Ken was not at that bus stop and never needed shelter, because he never lost his home. What could have been different such that none of these 137 important people would have ever been without a home and had years stolen from their lives by homelessness. What does everyone experiencing homelessness have in common? This includes everyone in each of our neighborhoods, our city, our county, our state, our country and the world. No home of their own. That is it. Other than inherent value, and basic needs, the only thing all people experiencing homelessness have in common is not having a home. In order to make change that will positively affect all people without homes whether they be in a shelter, under a bridge, on a friend’s couch, in a car, a family with child, a man, a woman, young, elderly, middle-aged, healthy, sick, suffering from addiction, gay, transgender, heterosexual, with mental illness, outside in the heat, cold or comfortable temperatures and everything in between, we need to focus systematically on what everyone without a home has in common. This means, as we have known for a long time, that we must BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) President's false conclusion that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton because of rampant voter fraud. From the start, the purpose, goals, and makeup of the Commission were challenged by legitimate reform groups such as Common Cause and the League of Women Voters. Not only did these groups point to all the available evidence that shows voter fraud not to be a problem in the fifty states, but they questioned the predilection of Commission members to promote initiatives that would make it more difficult for people to register and vote. Officially named the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, the majority of its members were selected because they shared Trump's views about wide spread voter fraud. LOCAL J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 focus on building and sustaining housing that is affordable to people at every economic level and accessible no matter what an individual is dealing with. Why are so many people dying from homelessness in our area? We are short 40,000 affordable homes. We are not locally funding affordable housing at any significant level. We allow developers to remove people from their homes through faux revitalization and as a city we give them tax abatements when they renovate what used to be someone else’s home. In the last two decades we have literally lost thousands of affordable homes to so called revitalization. Will only having enough affordable housing alone prevent all homelessness? No, it won’t, but having enough affordable housing that is accessible to all people would have gone the furthest to preventing the loss of these 137 important people. Here is the thing, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased in the mid-1980s by at least 500 percent because as a country we cut spending on affordable housing by billions of dollars. A majority of shelters in this country were either formed at that time to respond to this problem or moved from being very small operations to large operations. The folks that started these shelters and made these moves, never intended for shelters to be the answer to homelessness. The shelters were meant to be temporary until we had reversed housing policy and developed enough affordable housing accessible by all people. Basic services, such as those provided by our many Member Organizations are extremely necessary: shelter, food, clothing, addictions treatment, mental health treatment, health care, spiritual services, employment linking, street outreach, hospitality, legal services and more. And what is the most common goal of each of these direct service providers: that each person has her or his own housing and the opportunity and necessities to make it sustainable. Our Homeless Coalition exists because these direct service providers created us and keep us going. Consider this: if you own a home and you hire a company to replace your roof and they show up and rip off your current roof and then leave without replacing it was it helpful? Implementing the legal and systematic changes necessary to build, sustain and save affordable housing and ensuring proper channels and opportunities for all people to access the housing is what will prevent death from homelessness. The city and county must establish an affordable housing trust fund. We must make it illegal to rip people from their homes because the owner wants to “flip” the building. We must hold landlords accountable to provide quality housing and we must change the attitudes in our neighborhoods that fight affordable housing, which includes ending the criminalization of homelessness. There is no doubt that we must do the work to improve our existing services. We must do the work to ensure that people without homes know there is a warm, safe place to be. We must continue to ensure that there is such a place to be. We must ensure that people can get there and can efficiently access available resources. We must continue to build relationships and earn trust. We must do all of this and more. Our Member-Organizations work very hard, many of them literally never completely close their doors. Together we are working to improve quality, access and we will continue, and we welcome existing and new partnerships. This is why we actively support and gather with our many member organizations. This is why we fight for the restoration of Human Services funding and why we invest much time into considering programmatic outcomes and holding each other accountable. This is why we fight for adequate funding for the Winter Shelter. This is why we partnered with the city and others to develop a jobs first program. This is why we take part in “point in time” counts and why we collect mail at our office for 3000 names. This is why we are deeply connected and thankfully bound to our many Member Organizations and the vast, difficult and always trying to improve the work we all are doing. This list can go on and on and on. But we can work until we have the best shelters possible, the strongest outreach imaginable, treatment (when people need it) with perfect outcomes, beautiful transportation, best healthcare, etc. and we should work for all of this, but without making the big, systematic, legislative and societal changes necessary to build and save affordable housing accessible by all people, homelessness will continue to worsen, and people will continue to die from this solvable problem. In our county we have a shortage of more than 40,000 affordable homes. Another way of saying this is that about 58,000 households are trying to fit into about 15,000 affordable homes. No matter what we do and how well we do it (and we must continue to improve all aspects at all levels) if we don’t build enough affordable housing and save the housing we have homelessness will get worse and worse and more and more people will die from it. 58,000 or more households will never be able to fit into 15,000 or less affordable homes. It sought to get private information about citizens compiled on state voter rolls, and a number of states had refused to comply with this request. In fact, Common Cause and several other groups filed law suits to prevent such a "partisan" Commission from obtaining personal information that might be misused. The Commission neglected to take up an issue that does need attention. Because the President remains in denial about Russia's interference in the 2016 election, it spent no time reviewing steps to protect U.S. elections from the types of manipulations employed by Russia to influence the Presidential race. Now the Commission is disbanded, and reformers can applaud their role in bringing about its demise. They can't, however, let down their guard, as the Administration proposes turning over the work of the failed Commission to the Office of Home Land Security. Meanwhile in Ohio, the campaign to bring about Congressional redistricting reform goes forward. The process to collect voter signatures to qualify the proposed Ohio Constitutional Amendment for next November's ballot will now intensify. The 300,000-plus valid signatures must be filed by next summer. Beyond this huge task, reformers must be on guard that the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly does not pass its own watered-down version of redistricting reform in order to maintain the GOP's control of the process. Hearings have already been held by the Legislature, and Republicans possess large enough majorities in both Houses to pass their own amendment proposal and place it on the state ballot as early as the May Primary. In fact, Catherine Turcer of Common Cause/Ohio, a key leader of the Fair Elections/ Fair Districts Campaign, just sent a letter to supporters warning about the possibility of an Ohio House effort to sabotage the grassroots redistricting initiative. She urged people to write or call Representative Kirk Schuring, Chair of the Congressional Redistricting Reform Working Group, in support of "real" redistricting reform. The General Assembly should either pass a proposal that includes all the elements of the citizen initiative or else let the reform coalition get on with its work. It is critical, according to Turcer, that our members of the Legislature know that their voters are serious about ending Congressional gerrymandering in Ohio. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED --------------------------------------- �7 JUBILEE CAMPAIGN Economics of Compassion Initiative on the Ground in Spring Grove Village No. 37 3 | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 A s the local economy evolves, the Economics of Compassion Initiative is having conversations in communities around the idea of a local economy that is resilient where the marginalized are given the foundation, relationships and support to take control of their economic lives. The Economics of Compassion Initiative is partnered with Econogy, Catapult, and the Spring Grove Village Community Council with the support of Christ Church Cathedral to co-create and implement a community building initiative called, Neighborhood Grow. This program was designed with the belief that neighborhood business districts, independent business owners and residents who share a neighborly identity are the catalyst to creating vibrant communities. The challenge for every community is not so much to have a vision or a plan or program of what it wants to become, it is to discover and create the means for bringing that vision, or possibility, into being. Our DEREK PEEBLES Contributing Writer work is based on the methodology that community residents, neighborhood associations, youth, business owners and faith-based organizations, with the knowledge of their community assets, have the power to affect change in their neighborhoods. To state more precisely, our community building and development approach is focused on creating vibrant communities that are not predicted by its past. Our neighborhood gatherings and town halls are we learned that some still see Spring Grove Village as Winton Place, a wonderful place where they grew up. Some see Spring Grove as quiet and safe. Some see it as endangered by drug activity. Through asset-mapping and gifts based conversations we truly learned that Spring Grove Village is a true hidden gem in Cincinnati where residents have skills to contribute to their neighborhood’s development and are passionately seeking to become more neighborly. intentionally focused on moving conversations away from problemsolving to possibilities creating new community narratives that are not deficient-based. Neighborhood Grow enlists young professionals, experts, and community members to bring positive change to neighborhoods through development projects and place-based activities. These projects typically occur in neighborhoods that would otherwise be unable to access the resources necessary to transform their community. Earlier this year we began engaging the residents and community council in Spring Grove Village. Through engagement We believe that neighborhoods with increased civic participation, knowledge of assets, relationships among residents, signs of neighborliness, place based activities for youth, and local economic opportunities for residents in the informal or formal economy will prevent displacement and welcome the marginalized in from economic exile. In Spring Grove Village we kicked off our engagement earlier this year with the community council president, Gary Robbins, and Industrial Design Professor, Steve Doehler, from the University of Cincinnati (UC). The community was matched with about half a dozen Industrial Design students from UC’s DAAP program where they canvassed the neighborhood with community council members talking to residents asking questions that were based on concepts of social well-being. At the end of the research the students shared their findings with the community and organized a showcase linking what people said they cared about with assets and economic possibilities in the community. This showcase resulted in a town hall meeting in the Village facilitated by Economics of Compassion and Econogy where over 100 residents including businesses, pastors, the local Fire Department, Village Development Corporation, and Winton Youth Center attended to get clear about who they were and what the neighborhood values – their identity. Many asset-based community development efforts since the town hall meeting have been underway. This process will lead into next year, in the fall of 2018, when Spring Grove Village formerly starts a process with the City of Cincinnati to develop a neighborhood plan. Bridging the wealth gap: Former U.S. Labor Secretary calls for ‘progressive populism’ to tip the scales for the working class I n November 1994, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stood before the Democratic Leadership Council and warned that economic inequality was creating a “two-tiered society” and said he worried that a growing number of to get public policies that help them become even wealthier. It’s a vicious cycle that’s becoming increasingly more vicious, so that the rules of the game, the rules of the economy increasingly favor people at the top and hurt everybody else.” As an example, Reich said that Americans spend more for pharmaceuticals than people in any other advanced nation because pharmaceutical companies have used their political capital to make it impossible for people to buy drugs more cheaply from Canada, rigged the rules so it’s impossible to beat their patents for long periods of time, ADAM SENNOTT Contributing Writer Robert Reich speaks at Santa Rosa Unitarian Church in 2013 Credit: ATIS547/ Flickr THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED and barred the federal government from using its bargaining power through Medicare and Medicare to lower drug prices. He also pointed at the tax bill as it was making its way through Congress; a version of which was later signed into law. “That’s almost entirely they handy work of big corporations and Wall Street,” Reich said. “Average working Americans had no part to play at all.” He said Americans need to become more politically engaged and active. “There’s no substitute for American citizens becoming ever more actively involved in our politics,” Reich said. “If we don’t get more involved the vicious cycle I mentioned is just going to grow steadily worse.” Reich did say he was encouraged after seeing the support Bernie Sanders received during democratic (Continued on page 12) �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS For Pastor Ennis Tait, to Be a True Advocate for Peace and Justice Requires Compassion and the Belief that God Can Change Hearts 8 J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 "T he practice of my faith is very important to me," says Pastor Ennis F. Tait. "It has always helped me maintain my composure and keep alive my hope." Tait grew up and lived most of his life exposed to and confronted to racism. Learning the true history of his African American people and realizing how often his race had been intentionally subjected to destruction could have made him easily angry, vindictive and prejudiced. Instead he always made a point to remain responsibly positive and to look at things in a different light. "Compassion and being nonjudgmental are very important in order to embrace all peoples, religions, races..." he says. "We have to get rid of our implicit and explicit biases and not allow hatred, even when justified, to poison our hearts." To which he adds, "We are all invited to become part of the body of Christ, brothers and sisters united by his teaching." Tait grew up in the 70's in Moss Point, Southern Mississipi, in a religious family, his mother deeply rooted in her Christian faith and imparting onto him, early on, the beliefs that Jesus is our salvation and the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God in us. He has been a practicing Christian all his life, belonging to the African American non denominational Church of the Living God, that he attended in his neighborhood as a child, and which exposed him, through faith, to the work his pastors, community leaders, teachers, were doing in his local area confronted SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer In 1976 and as a little boy he participated in his 1st rally marching in favor of Chris Moore, a young black man accused with no proofs of having raped and murdered a white female schoolteacher in Pascagoula, MS. If convicted, Moore would receive the death penalty. A regular church goer, Tait also learned how to help people and respond to their need, meeting them where they were without prejudice or looking down at them. For college he decided to study banking and finance and went to Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, a historical black college located few blocks away from the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr Martin Luther King Jr. pastored. Montgomery was then the center of the civil rights movement and Tait met there many civil rights leaders and understood the history and the plight of African Americans. This empowered him, gave him a sense of confidence and legitimacy, exposed him to activism and thus shifted his mindset. "I got involved with the Board of Registration getting students to vote, marched protesting discrimination against our black college not receiving funding from the State while other white colleges were, helped celebrate African American history..." he states. All along, Tait remained, however, very faithful to his religion, going to church every Sunday, participating with his musical skills in religious What Is the CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD The Church of the Living God was founded in 1889, in Arkansas, by Rev. William Christian, a former pastor of a Baptist church; it was during the desperate days of slavery, when blacks were not allowed to participate in white ministries. Rev Christian, through divine revelation and close study of the scriptures, was lead to the truth that his church bear the name of God and be known as Church of the Living God. The Protestant, non-denominational, non sectarian church is Bible-based and works at promoting the teaching of Jesus Christ. It emphasizes believers' baptism by immersion, the use of water and unleavened bread in the Lord's Supper and the washing of feet when one unites with the church. The Church of the Living God is in more than 30 states in the US and has several hundred thousand members. It has both male and female pastors and leaders. It was established in Cincinnati for the 1st time in 1914. with racism and injustice. "There were marches, Klu Klux Klan rallies, cross burnings," says Tait. "I saw all of these at work but also the power of the church as a true advocate for peace in the black community, and I embraced it as part of my life." services of other denominations, helping start a church and learning how to plan it and organize it. Graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, and now married with a child, Tait left AL and relocated in St Louis, MO, a large metropolitan city still segregated by its isolated geographical pockets of African Americans, striking by their disparity and poverty. Despite his academic degree and knowledge Tait was very discriminated against in his Fortune 500 company, and spent there many years fighting for equality and acknowledgment. This prompted, however, his community involvement with United Way, the Urban League, various projects to Pastor Ennis Tait help those in need, learning at the same time about collaboration and capacity building. In the meantime, he had decided to become a minister, studied for it for 3 years, got ordained in 1998 and became a pastor in 2000, still working during the day and ministering at night and on weekends. "My 1st church in St Louis allowed me to develop and acquire the skills of leading a congregation, caring for it, using my influence to advocate for it, and thus become a voice for its people and for peace and justice wherever needed," he says. Fourteen years ago, in 2003, Tait got a call from the late Chief Bishop W.E. Crumes, then 89 years old and pastor of the Church of the Living God in Cincinnati, inviting him to join him as a co-pastor to attract more youth into the church. Tait accepted the offer but still took a finance job at A.G. Edwards Investment firm downtown Cincinnati, since then acquired by Wells Fargo. He was the only African American on the job, but connected there with many supportive and genuine individuals open to embrace his culture. He found Cincinnati, however, to be a racist city, still experiencing civil unrest as a result of the 2001 killing of unarmed African American Timothy Thomas by a white policeman. This was nevertheless a great time for Tait, the city trying to heal, the Collaborative Agreement being negotiated, various justice issues being widely discussed. After few years, he decided to resign from his job and became in 2008 full time pastor of the church, also appointed regional Overseer for the Churches of the Living God in Colombus and Cleveland, OH and Midland, PA. Credit: Saad Ghosn In 2016 and due to a real estate disagreement with the Organization of the Church of the Living God, the community decided to separate from it and for the church to become independent; it also changed its name recently to New Beginnings Church of the Living God, but still following the same biblically-based beliefs and teachings as before. Coached by Tait, the members of the church, in addition to their religious involvement and, without proselytizing, try to bring evangelical awareness to others, participating as volunteers in various community and church events. They contribute to the church's Child Development Center; to an educational enrichment program tutoring students with academic difficulty; to a self confidence and self awareness program for young girls and boys; to a 2nd Sunday evangelism and walk the street of the neighborhood event, distributing cloth and food; to a toy give-away program at Christmas; to a food offering service at Thanksgiving... (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 3 PHOTO ESSAY | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 DR. MUSSMAN (Continued from page 9) new facilities – representing millions on these two needed projects. The City’s goal to allocate 1.5% of the budget to Human Services hasn’t been realized for many years. The federal government is pulling funding for affordable housing through HUD. We are already in a housing crisis 9 throughout the country. In Hamilton County alone, we have 55,000 families trying to get into 15,000 homes, just among those who make less than $26,000 per year. While we struggle to create more affordable housing and raise the minimum wage to a livable wage, we rely on the generosity of people in the city to fill the gaps. --------------------------------------- Sarah Center, a place for women to learn crafts such as quilting, is also in St. Anthony Center Inside Cooking for the Classroom Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Keene State College Students with Dan from Lighthouse Private Room at Sheakley Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Cooking for the Family classroom at St. Anthony Center Celebrants getting food from the future soup kitchen at St. Anthony Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 January 26 - February 17, 2018 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 �OPINION Civil Rights Laws, Discrimination, and Cakes No. 37 3 | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 BENTLEY DAVIS I ’m distraught in seeing some reactions to the Masterpiece case before the Supreme Court. Just in case you haven’t followed the story, this is the case involving a baker who refused to even talk to a couple about their wedding cake because the couple getting married were two men. (For the record, the couple wanted a cake that would be like the cakes the baker made for straight couples  —  they weren’t asking for a special “gay cake”.) The baker claims it is against his religion to bake the cake — a cake that looks like any other wedding cake. The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act bars discrimination in public accommodations (businesses that are open to the public) on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry. So, the baker clearly broke state law. At question is whether one’s religious beliefs can override Civil Rights. This question has been asked and answered since the Piggie Park decision in 1968. The owner of Piggie Park Barbecue claimed that his religion opposed any integration of the races, so he could refuse to serve Black people. The courts ruled unanimously that: Undoubtedly defendant Bessinger has a constitutional right to espouse the religious beliefs of his own choosing, however, he does not have the absolute right to exercise and practice such beliefs in utter disregard of the clear constitutional Contributing Writer rights of other citizens. If a business can discriminate based upon the religious beliefs of the owners, then all anti-discrimination laws become meaningless for things like housing, public accommodations, and employment — because racists, misogynists, homophobes, antiSemites, etc. often use their religion as their excuse for their odious behavior. And one cannot just say “take your business elsewhere”. All it takes is a quick look back in history to know that there was a time, not that long ago, when people of color had an incredibly difficult time finding a clean hotel room or a restaurant in many states. Or when businesses would post that they only hire men. Indeed, many states still have no protection for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. To make this even more frustrating, the majority of my interlocutors who were supporting the baker’s discriminatory actions were musicians (all white men, btw). Certainly, these musicians are aware of the difficulties Black musicians faced in the US when trying to tour prior to the Civil Rights Act? Surely these musicians know the story of Red Rodney, who had to be booked as Albino Red, so he could share the stage with Charlie Parker? I am worried that the court has swung so far to the right that this case will in practice overturn decades of civil rights laws (hopefully, they will look to the precedent of Piggie Park and rule in favor of the State of Colorado). But I am even more worried that so many people who should know better think that Civil Rights laws are unconstitutional. These are people who claim to have gay friends. These are people who claim to think racism wrong. These are people who claim to want their daughters to have the same access to opportunities as their sons. And yet these same people who SAY they believe these things, support the argument of the Piggie Park owner — that one’s religion can give cover to breaking the law and denying equal access to others. And just to rebut a couple of the arguments I have heard defending the homophobic baker: No, the government cannot force a halal restaurant to serve bacon. It can require that the restaurant serve all people regardless of the customers’ religion. No, the baker wasn’t asked to make a cake that said anything about the gender(s) of the couple. The baker was asked just to make a cake like any other cake that is in the baker’s repertoire. The couple and a mother of one of the grooms were kicked out before even discussing what the couple wanted in their wedding cake. No, this isn’t the same as whether a business can refuse service to someone who isn’t wearing shoes. Businesses can have a dress code — as long as that dress code doesn’t require removal of religiously Dave Chappelle and new stand up specials provide food for thought C 11 JASON HAAP omedian Dave Chappelle released two new standup specials on Netflix on December 31, 2017. Since that time, he has been blasted by critics for his "insensitivity" to various issues heralded by social justice warriors. It seems these commentators get lost in the weeds, looking for any phrase that can be deemed "politically incorrect" and used as the basis of a scathing criticism. In the second of the two specials, entitled "The Birdman Revelations," Chappelle uses these hot-button Contributing Writer social issues to springboard into some of the most insightful social commentary I've seen in a long time. With regards to the sexual assault allegations that seem to find a new target weekly, Chappelle points out how people are scared, but that fear is no pathway to a lasting peace. Eventually, fear will abate. Instead, we must analyze the system that authorized this behavior in the first place. Scaring some agents within a system may work for a while, but if the system doesn't change, neither “Breakdown Stereotypes” will its outcomes. Citing the "truth and reconciliation" that took place at the end of apartheid in South Africa, he goes so far as to suggest that some of the perpetrators of these crimes may actually be "victims" of the system themselves, by virtue of participating in a manner authorized by said system. In my earlier days, I always thought of feminism as being a movement to target patriarchy as a "system" in the way described by Chappelle. Increasingly, though, it does not seem as if contemporary required garments. Businesses can also refuse service to someone who is rude. Or someone who doesn’t have the appropriate means to pay. The law prohibits businesses from discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry. No, one cannot just go elsewhere. In large metropolitan areas, sure, there may be a wealth of bakers to choose from. In rural areas, the choice often isn’t there. Moreover, the issue is far bigger than a single bakery. It is about treating a group of people as second-class citizens who need to check to see if a business is willing to serve them. Again, one only needs passing knowledge of US history to know that there was a time when these types of actions were rampant — and that is precisely why these laws were put into place to begin with. In closing, ever since the Civil Rights Act was passed, there were those who sought to overturn it. They wanted to be able to discriminate at will. But these laws have been tested by the courts and upheld repeatedly. I am disturbed that there is even the possibility of anti-discrimination laws being overturned. And while I know there are plenty of people out there who wish for them to be overturned, I am saddened to learn that this position is held be far more than I had supposed. I hope that those who support the baker in this case are just misinformed and don’t understand the gravity of the situation. But I fear that isn’t the case and the arguments of the bigots of the early 1960s are now given more credence than they were a half a century ago. [This article first appeared on medium.com] feminism has any such interest. Instead, it seems like we just want to switch some variables: keep the system in place, but allow women to occupy the space formerly occupied by men. I recognize this is a difficult claim to make, especially since I am a man who, so far, has only cited the ideas of another man. (Who wants to be accused of "mansplaining"?) This is precisely the problem. Much contemporary liberalism is so fixated on identity politics, the left is starting to behave hypocritically. For example, wouldn't it be the heart of sexism to dismiss a woman's ideas simply because she is female? A few years ago, there was an all-female reboot of the (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 Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �12 H earing the word Homeless can bring many different emotions in a person. Some become sad, others become frightened, and then there are those who get angry and want to do something about it. For me I get sad and angry. The sadness is because I can remember being amongst the homeless. I recall the long days and nights wondering how I can fix my situation. The Anger I feel is for those people around me who try to ignore the fact that Homelessness is a serious problem. Sure, they give at the appropriate times of year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, but being homeless is and can be a 365 day a year lifestyle. Many things contribute to homelessness. For me it was my Addiction. I wanted that more than anything that was ADAM SENNOT (Continued from page 7) primaries. “There’s a huge craving in this country for progressive populism, not for Donald Trump’s brand of authoritarian populism.” Reich said. “All the energy in the Democratic party is with progressive populism, much of the energy in the Republican party is with authoritarian populism, but if many working class Republicans understood what was actually happening and understood how they’re being ripped off, they would become progressive populists.” SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) Tait himself is very involved in the greater Cincinnati community participating in many of its peace and justice organizations and programs. He is part of violence reduction strategies through Serve and Ceasefire, and of Concerned Clergy of Avondale, a cluster of pastors working together to improve quality of life in JASON HAAP (Continued from page 11) Ghostbusters movie franchise. To be fair, there were tons of sexist men hyperventilating about this for all the wrong reasons. But think about how our culture's media is establishing a new trend. This year, for example, we are going to be able to see things like all-female reboots of titles such as Lord of the Flies, Ocean's Eight, and even that cult-classic TV show The Greatest American Hero. So far, it appears these reboots are simply gender-swapped revisions of the originals. In other words, there is nothing "feminine" about the work. I don't mean that word in a stereotypical sense, either. From a "systems" perspective, this is more of the same, only the variables have OPINION Homelessness J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer working at our jobs trying to do better. What the City can do I told him is to acknowledge the homeless plight, and not just push these people to one side and get them out of the way of progress. As if to try and hide our Skeletons in our Closets. The Homeless are people First and Foremost! We are not the scourge of earth. We are not the beggars, vandals, criminals, Addicts that people label us as. They use these labels to put themselves on a pedestal to feel better than others. God made all Man. He put me and some of you to be of Service to All Mankind. As a plea for 2018, I ask this: Put yourself in a Homeless person’s shoes for 1 day, 24hrs and do as they do. I promise you will see all the Homeless in a different light. Be Honest with who you are and then Reach out and help someone other than “Yourself”!!! positive, a Job, a Home, a Family. Hell, even to be alive somedays. It has been my experience with Homelessness that, it begins with “ME”. I had to want to change my lot in life and I had to swallow my pride first and seek help. It wasn’t until I humbled myself reached out to people who actually cared year round that I was able to change my life. I’m not saying that all Homeless people are like me. Each individual has his or her reasons for their dilemma. I spent many days with people who were incapable of caring for themselves due to Mental or Physical illness and being homeless was a way for them to escape from being looked down upon. You see that’s where the pride comes into play. (I think). We as humans are prideful people. We want or need to think that we can do anything by ourselves. Asking and seeking help is a hard pill to swallow and it took me waking up one morning so desperate and on the brink of suicide that I let go of my pride for that day. Then I got the help and support I needed. I’m writing this on the last day of 2017. 2017 was the year I became a responsible, productive person in society. I look back on this year as Rebirth of Bobby. I look at 2018 and beyond (God willing) as my road to bigger and better things. I’m writing this because a friend posed a question: Why doesn’t the City do anything about the Homeless problem? A man just died from being out in the cold Homeless? He and I both have experienced Homelessness and today we both are good citizens Reich said his biggest challenge has been getting throught the mountains of misinformation produced by Fox News and other conservative news outlets. “Millions of people are watching Fox News and falling for the venom and lies that Sean Hannity spouts every night, and others like him,” Reich said. “There are right wing personalities on the radio who continue to spout right wing propaganda that has no basis in reality.” Reich also said that while the mainstream media “have done a pretty good job of telling the truth” he also noted that “they’re easily distracted by the sensation of the day. “And Donald Trump offers a constant supply of sensationalism when he’s not lying,” Reich said. “So it’s easy to distract the public’s attention from what’s really going on. The combination of lies and distraction is a toxic mixture.” Now that tax reform is law, Reich said that he fears entitlement reform is next. “The tax cut will create a huge budget deficit, I mean much larger than they have today, and Republicans will use that increased deficit as an excuse to call for cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and programs for the poor, Reich said. “This is the bait and switch tactic that they have been rehearsing for a long time, and we need to be ready.” Reich said he now worries that if Americans don’t act, the consequences could be far more dire than they were two decades ago when they were in 1994. “I think that unless we join together and make out voices heard, it’s possible that we’re going to end up without a democracy,” Reich said. the neighborhood. He serves on the City Manager Advisory Committee, on the Every Child Succeed Board of Directors and on the Preschool Promise Board. He is also a member of the Community Police Partnering Center, the Avondale Community Development Corporation and the Poverty Collaborative. Tait also works with charter and public schools, and collectively with all faiths, as part of the Faith Community Alliance, to build capacity for causes and issues addressing the plight of the people. All of Tait's activities and actions are informed by his deep Christian faith based on the teachings of the Bible. He believes in Heaven on earth and that it needs to be cultivated for everyone and to invite all people to join in, come together and be saved by Christ, irrespective of who they are, their past or their belonging. "God gave us the church to take care of people," he says. "It offers a great opportunity for people from all backgrounds to be united, gain strength and move forward." Tait would love to open his church to non African Americans and embrace everyone. He would like to help all people go from one stage to another, become free in Christ, empowered by love and compassion. been switched. If patriarchy is to blame for any of the social inequalities against which our culture currently struggles, can the solution simply be to keep that system in place with the variables switched? Is feminism just an attempt to get women into the exact same seats of power as men? Like I wrote earlier, I thought feminism was supposed to be a critique of the system, and not just an attempt to take control of it in the same way as power-hungry men. Another man, Wendell Berry, once wrote a fantastic essay entitled "Feminism, the Body, and the Machine." He had previously published an essay which mentioned how his wife helps him to correct his manuscripts, and the resulting letters to the editor were so disrespectful to his wife, he had to respond. Here are some key excerpts: Why would any woman who would refuse, properly, to take the marital vow of obedience (on the ground, presumably, that subservience to a mere human being is beneath human dignity) then regard as “liberating” a job that puts her under the authority of a boss (man or woman) whose authority specifically requires and expects obedience? It is easy enough to see why women came to object to the role of Blondie, a mostly decorative custodian of a degraded, consumptive modern household, preoccupied with clothes, shopping, gossip, and outwitting her husband. But are we to assume that one may fittingly cease to be Blondie by becoming Dagwood? ... How, I am asking, can women improve themselves by submitting to the same specialization, degradation, trivialization, and tyrannization of work that men have submitted to? And that question is made legitimate by another: How have men improved themselves by submitting to it? The answer is that men have not, and women cannot, improve themselves by submitting to it. I agree. Feminism should be about (in the view of this man, anyway) creating more just and equitable systems. That's a cause I can get behind. If the goal is simply to overthrow the men so women can behave in the exact same way, then I'm not sure what any men are supposed to think about such a proposition. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED -------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- �No. 37 3 | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 A CHRISTMAS STORY 13 STREET VOICE Christmas is a great time of the year full of spirit, blessings and dreams of happiness and love for one another and the birth of Jesus Christ YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT No wonder The Donald can never be quiet. Have you read about Trump's dubious diet? He drinks twelve diet colas while being rude, where people hope this time of the year to give love to one another’s life and share their thoughts and have compassion for one another in their hearts. Their Christmas singing carols, And that's topped off by gobs of junk food. Someone should study what the man eats, And trace it to some of his crazier tweets. songs, having food and games and coming together as one to love and BILL WOODS Contributing Writer unite as one to make A NEW BEGINING good of all joyful happiness around the holidays. GOD IS GOOD, NOT SOME OF THE TIME BUT ALL THE TIME 24/7 RONALD ENGLISH Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer I BELIEVE THAT BE THE REASON WE LIVE ON EARTH AND GOD LIVES IN HEAVEN LOOKING BACK ON MY LIFE AND THE SO MANY CHANGES THAT I WENT THROUGH LEARNING FROM REPEATED MISTAKES GOOD AND BAD UNTIL I LEARNED WHAT TO DO REALIZING TODAY KNOWING WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT PLUS THE METHOD TO USE I SEE NOW THAT HAVING KNOWLEDGE DOESN'T DETERMINE THE ROUTE WE CHOOSE I KNOW NOW THAT EVERYDAY ABOVE GROUND IS A DAY TO TAKE HEED AND LEARN I KNOW NOW THAT MY CHOICES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER I LIVE WITH GOD OR I BURN TODAY, KNOWING, UNDERSTANDING WITH THE REALIZATION THAT YESTERDAY IS PASSED PRAYING AND HOPING MY WORDS WILL LINGER IN YOUR MEMORY MAKING A CHANGE TO LAST IF YOU HAVEN'T PAID ATTENTION TO YOUR LIFE MAY YOU LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT A NEW BEGINING IS WHAT'S UP FOR THE POLITICIANS AND THAT INCLUDES YOU AND ME WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 3 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 142 Across Down 1. Wash with a mop 1. Fuss 5. Go across or through 2. Had on 9. Stringed instrument 3. Highly excited 14. Garment of ancient Rome 4. Elongated fruit 15. Dilapidation 5. Profligate 16. Maxim 6. Seabird 17. Metallic element 7. Father 18. Gumbo 8. Escargot 19. Scorch 9. Teller 20. Admiration or esteem 10. Way out 22. Square root of 324 11. Formation of people 24. Naive or inexperienced 12. Theater balcony person 13. Portent 26. Garland 21. Uncommon 27. Chemical weapon 23. Jewel 30. Amalgamation 25. Vertical surface of 35. Armed conflict a cliff 36. Apiece 27. Fuscous 37. Awaken 28. Mistake 38. Halo 29. Bundle 40. Parasite 31. Take away without 43. Morsel the owner's consent 44. Mar 32. Cunning 46. Region 33. Organic compound 48. Guided 34. Tall woody grass 49. Recluse 35. Launder 51. Person who shoes horses 39. Objective 53. Nocturnal mammal 41. Steep rugged rock 55. Profit or cliff 56. Blossomed 42. Armorial bearing 61. Munificent 45. Freedom 65. Flat metal tumbler in a lock 47. Elaborate song for 66. Rip solo voice 68. Catch sight of 50. Mariner 69. Broker 52. Provide with power 70. Parch and authority 71. Shantytown 54. Laconic 72. Verbose 56. Defect 73. Jittery 57. Toy construction set 74. Small gull 58. Finished SODOKU PUZZLE NO 272 - MEDIUM 59. Direct a course or way 60. A notable achievement 62. Small island 63. Branch railway line 64. Song of praise 67. Worry persistently PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 372 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 141 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 271- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 3 RESOURCES | J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 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 J a n 12 - J a n 2 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 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. 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 2/2011 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 2018 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 12-January 25, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Political Reform In 2018 Pg 3: New Year New Services Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Cincinnati’s Fascist Monument Pg 6: Cincinnati’s Fascist Monument Continued Pg 7: Economics of Compassion Initiative on the Ground in Spring Grove Village Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Dr. Mussman Continued Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Civil Rights Laws, Discrimination and Cakes Pg 12: Homelessness Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Fun 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 12-January 25, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Derek Peebles Adam Sennott Saad Ghosn Bentley Davis Jason Haap Bobby Morris Ronald English Willa Denise Jones Homeless Coalition ATIS547/Flickr WCPO.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Adam Sennott ATIS547/Flickr Bentley Davis Bill Woods Bobby Morris Cincinnati civil rights Derek Peebles Discrimination Dr. Mark Mussman Fascism Homeless Coalition Jason Haap Josh Spring Michael Earl Patton Monuments reform Religion Ronald English Saad Ghosn WCPO.com Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/b6c1d39aed3170cab3a223cd7c048479.pdf 12d2992b4384361ef69866f7a98977b1 PDF Text Text January 26th - February 8th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 3 (No. 374) advocating justice | building community Photo Essay: 2018 Women's March | 9 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE MLK and Beyond | 6 Investing In Our Future | 3 Monthly Biling Shenanigans At Water Works | 5 Left out In the Cold | 12 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 I LOCAL From The Director: Let’s Not Be Complicit JOSH SPRING hate it when people in popular seats of power fain care by offering small, shortsighted, often ineffective or even sometimes detrimental plans painted to be solutions to big systematic problems. This is especially bad when the folks offering these paintedpig plans sit in positions where they could actually make real change at the root of problems. It is common for good people to not call out this hypocrisy and ruse and instead look the other way and either act like they believe real care has been offered or convince themselves that it is better to accept almost anything offered than to demand truth and real systematic change. Acting as if hypocrisy and lying are not occurring when they really are supporting that hypocrisy and O Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition lying. It also can harm both people and society that need the systematic changes, because it allows the same bad actions to continue because they now can receive a bit more pig-paint. We must call out this hypocrisy and this faux care as it occurs. We must not allow it to deceive and hold back real progress. Further, while we must continue to work hard to educate and empower and bring as many people as possible into the fighting for justice fold, we also must realize that we are not going to convince everybody to work for justice, nor do we need to. We have to mount enough justice-led people to complete the needed systematic changes. We must keep on pushing forward, not accepting the current systems, but instead changing them or replacing them. --------------------------------------- MIKE BROWN Contributing Writer agree with the Democrats’ decision. As things stand, the government is temporarily funded through Feb. 8. This continuing resolution extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through FY 2023, delays the medical device tax for two years, delays the “Cadillac” tax for two years, and suspends the health insurance tax for one year. It also ended a three-day government shutdown. There is a verbal commitment from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to bring a DACA bill to the Senate floor for a vote before Feb. 9. Previously McConnell had said he would not introduce legislation unless it had been first approved by President Trump. But Speaker Paul Ryan has made no promise to introduce DACA legislation in the House. And Democrats have made no promise to abstain from taking the government hostage again. There is no assurance of a fair outcome for Dreamers. At best, there is some assurance of a fair process. But this is no comfort for Dreamers, who feel abandoned and do not have the luxury of time while politicians squabble. What happened? After discussions between President Trump and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democrats were reportedly willing to make a $20 billion down 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 DACA: A crisis for the Dreamers and the country n Jan. 19, the Democrats voted to take the government hostage by refusing to approve a stopgap measure for continued funding. It was gratifying to think Democrats had real power at a time when Republicans hold all the cards. For a moment, it seemed possible that things could be different. •That Republicans might be forced to join with Democrats to create a permanent solution for immigrant youth after the Trump administration ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, on Sep. 5. •That the will of a majority of voters–both Democratic and Republican who back legal status for Dreamers–might be realized. •That a clean DACA solution might emerge without hawkish antiimmigrant measures being attached as the price for a deal. •That Dreamers might be free to pursue their dreams. But on Jan. 22, the Democrats voted to release the hostage, even though their demands had not been met. Did the Democrats surrender? Did they roll over, thereby missing an opportunity to implement important legislation, failing their base, and betraying Dreamers in the process? While many express their keen disappointment in the party, I find I J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 payment on a border wall, a symbol of immigration extremism, in exchange for an otherwise clean DACA bill. But conservative immigration hardliners–White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, and Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.)–overrode the proposal, claiming to better understand the president’s policy intentions. When Trump wanders from the path of “a race-based, religion-based immigration policy that prioritizes white Christians over people of color and Muslims, the hard-liners are quick to guide him back on course,” says Washington Post opinion writer Eugene Robinson in a column entitled, Trump is being used, and he doesn’t even know it. In the blame game, I agree with Catherine Rampell, opinion writer for the Washington Post. “It was always the #McConnellRyanShutdown.” “McConnell and Ryan, after all, not only lead the majority party. They also control the legislative agenda. They determine which bills come up for a vote and when. And they knew far in advance the drop-dead deadlines for keeping the government funded. They also knew the Democrats’ conditions for cooperating.” But, Rampell argues, McConnell and Ryan chose to do nothing. (Continued on page 6) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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, Mike Brown, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Justin Jeffre, Dr. Claver L Pashi, Saad Ghosn, Jason Haap, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Steve Wuesthoff, Justin Jeffre, Dr. Claver L Pashi, Saad Ghosn, Patrick Cadieux, Michael Earl Patton, Key Beck, Bill Woods --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 37 4 3 LOCAL Investing In Our Future | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 DR. MARK MUSSMAN T axes are investments. Every time you buy something and you pay sales tax, you are making an investment. In Hamilton County, our sales taxes go to fund Paul Brown Stadium, since we voted to approve that increase over 20 years ago. Keep that in mind when you are buying something in Hamilton County – that your money is going to help a stadium sit empty 350 days of the year. We also approved a sales tax increase a couple of years ago for Museum Center Staff Writer are generally taken right out of our paychecks. Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare – all funded directly through our paychecks. These are not entitlement programs, these are programs that we fund and ought to be around when we need them. We should be angry that they are raiding our savings to fund their massive tax cuts for the rich. We should be angry that we pay taxes and multinational corporations are getting away with not only paying nothing in taxes, but people the power to avoid highcost, for-profit, tax preparers. It also gives people resources in their own community, as many VITA sites are scattered throughout the region. Tax places, like Jackson-Hewitt, essentially use free tax prep resources – and these businesses are happy to give out these loans to lock them in to monthly payments. It’s a vicious cycle. Sometimes, then things seem too good to be true, they are certainly worth looking more deeply into. These for-profit tax preparers are too good to be true, when they promise that you’ll leave with your tax return. It’s a loan, not your return. In fact, if The Benefit Bank Self-Serve Page Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Taxes for a residential building in Over-the-Rhine Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman upgrades. Music Hall was left out of that deal, since it was possible to fund it through private donations. Our property taxes too are an investment into local services. The vast majority of property taxes go directly to the City of Cincinnati. Most of this money goes directly to the police department. The greatest costs we have as a city are tied up into police, and to some lesser extent, the fire department. Other miniscule investments made through property taxes include DDS (Developmental Disability Services), the library, the zoo, senior services, children services, indigent care, park district, and mental health levy. Could you imagine what we could do if we didn’t spend so much money on police and stadiums? We all pay property taxes – even if you rent your home, the taxes are included in your rent. We all pay sales taxes, as there’s no way to avoid those. And most of us pay income taxes as well. Local, State, and Federal taxes receiving all sorts of subsidies of our money. We should be angry that they are getting advantages when they take jobs overseas, and that they are getting richer by putting our hardearned money into offshore accounts as well. Wealth inequality is getting drastically worse, and if the 1980’s are any indication of what’s to come, things are going to get drastically worse for all of us. The oldest, continuously operating, anti-poverty program in the United States is tied into the tax program. It is called the VITA Program and it utilizes regular people, like you and me, to staff community locations that will do your taxes for free. VITA has a long history in Cincinnati, working under a partnership between Legal Aid and United Way. VITA sites are places where you can go and have someone, who has been trained in all things income taxes, complete your taxes for you. This is a program that gives “Breakdown Stereotypes” Supports offered through the Benefit Bank The Benefit Bank offers Veteran Services Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman like Benefit Bank, VITA, or Turbo Tax free, and charge you for them. Not only do they charge you, they don’t actually give you your refund, they give you a high interest loan for the value of your refund. When your refund doesn’t come in, you are saddled with this high interest loan to be repaid. This is how they make their money – providing high interest loans on what you think is your refund. Many low-income Cincinnatians, who think they are getting their taxes done, are actually taking out a loan that they will never be able to repay you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, they won’t release your return until February 27th, at the earliest. Since tax filing won’t actually begin until January 29th, anyone making promises right now, is certainly setting you up for a loan. One program that is not too good to be true, but is actually good, is the Benefit Bank. This is an online self-filing system that I’ve used for over a decade to do my taxes at TheBenefitBank.org. I have been using the Benefit Bank every (Continued on page 5) “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 �LOCAL Monthly Billing Shenanigans at Water Works No. 37 4 | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 W ith some fanfare the Greater Cincinnati Water Works is going from quarterly billing to monthly billing. Why monthly billing? This exact question is answered at the City of Cincinnati’s webpage (www.cincinnati-oh. gov/water/): “Our customers, as well as City Council and County Commissioners have requested monthly billing for some time. In keeping with what is best for our customers and stakeholders, a monthly billing project was kicked off in early 2017.” So now you know that monthly billing is not only better, it is best for you. Furthermore, you were asking for monthly billing all along. You are not alone if you don’t remember asking for monthly billing – I don’t remember asking for it, either. I do remember sneaky charges in the billing and while monthly billing may make each bill smaller, it does not make the yearly total any less. In fact, there are increases now and future increases will be easier to hide with monthly billing. First, there is an increase in the base water charge once adjusted for it not being monthly. I calculate the base rate to have been $18.88 for a 91-day quarter in 2017. (I had to calculate this because none of my bills were for an actual 91-day quarter.) The new monthly water base charge will be $6.50. Multiply that by 3 months in a quarter to get $19.50. So there is an increase in the base charge alone. Second, there is an increase in water rates of 3.75% according to the city’s website, to $2.69 per hundred cubic feet (ccf). I looked at my last 3 bills and using each one I calculated the old rate to be $2.58 per ccf. All 3 bills had the same rate. This means the increase is really 4.26%. That number is if I use $2.58 as the base, which is the proper way to do it. A somewhat shady way to calculate the increase is to use a higher base such as the number after the increase, but even if I use $2.69 the increase is 4.09%. I can’t explain the discrepancy but it is just one more example of why customers need to be vigilant. Third, there is the matter of changing the minimum from a quarterly minimum to a monthly one. This pertains to the sewage charge where you will be charged for at least 300 cubic feet of usage in a month even if you used much less (that is, in fact, often my case). The old DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) year for my own taxes, as well as others, and I highly recommend it if you make less than $65,000 / year. It takes me less than 30 minutes to do my taxes, and it’s simple to use. The great thing about it is that 5 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer quarterly minimum was 900 cubic feet so at first glance this might look like the change would have no effect. Wrong. Think of your checking account and the difference between having to keep a minimum balance and an average minimum balance for the period (normally a month). I have had both types in the past and I much prefer the account where I only need an average minimum balance. With that type I can have a very low balance, maybe even just a few dollars, but I won’t be charged system you would be charged for 900 cubic feet because that is the minimum quarterly charge. Under the new system you would be charged for 300 cubic feet the first month, 300 the second, and 400 the third for a total of 1000 cubic feet. The amount over the minimum is called the commodity charge and is $5.879 per ccf. This may not seem like much to many people, but why should it be there at all? Keep in mind that this charge affects many older people on fixed incomes – people without Is there a flush fund happening in the city? Credit: Steve Wuesthoff a fee if the average balance over the month is above the threshold. And that generally happens with the next deposit. Of course I would prefer to not to have to worry about keeping any balance as long as it doesn’t go below zero, but that is often not a choice. Something similar is going to happen here with the change to monthly billing. Suppose for example the usage during a 3 month period is a total of 850 cubic feet arising from 250 ccf the first month, 200 the second, and 400 the third. Under the quarterly children but still living in their houses. I myself, although I am not living on a fixed income, often use far less than the minimum. And it is an artificial charge. The county commissioners, who approve the sewage rates, could do a base charge plus a charge for usage. After all, this is how the gas, electric, and water utilities do it, but they chose this way. I had asked about this in the past and the response I got was that the commissioners did not think this affected many people. There was no substantiation provided. I pointed out you can do your FAFSA, apply for food stamps, and Medicaid, directly through Benefit Bank, using your tax information. Since I’ve been using it for the past 15 years, all my data is already in the system, and I can pull up any tax document that I may have used over the years. It is possibly the best tool out there for those of us with low incomes who may need assistance in some way. There are certain filers that may not be able to use Benefit Bank, but it will lead you through a quick process to figure that out. In general, if you have a couple W2’s, W9’s, and student loan interest, you THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED that it would be easy to do a computer search to see how many customers were charged for 900 cubic feet (the old quarterly minimum charge) and yet used less. I never heard back. In other words, they didn’t know and they don’t care. If those on fixed income are paying for more than what they are using, this means that the extra money is being used to help pay for those who can afford it. It is also a disincentive for people like me to conserve more water (I could, for example, get a more efficient toilet). And the monthly system only makes things worse. There are other expenses, too, such as more stamps and checks being used to mail in the bill payments for those who still do it that way. With some payment methods there may be a charge for each transaction, and now the number of times has gone up three-fold. And more time is spent balancing and checking the account. I do want to mention one positive and that is that if there is a water leak on the house side of the meter, it will show up quicker on a monthly bill than a quarterly one. It is relatively rare but it does happen. My suggestion is that if the water works is monitoring our usage anyways, they could send out a notice if there is a suspicious increase. It could be by mail, automated calling, or e-mail. A quick review here: the base water charge is going up, the commodity charge is going up (and more than what is claimed), more people will be trapped by the minimum sewage charges, and more time and expense will be involved in paying the 3-fold number of bills and reviewing charges. All this makes one wonder if the purpose is to hide the magnitude of future increases. A $15 dollar a month increase may not be as noticeable as a $45 dollar quarterly increase. No real difference, but I suspect that there is a threshold amount which causes us to pay more attention. Speaking of diminishing the psychological impact of increases, I wonder what’s next – maybe monthly property tax bills? --------------------------------------- should use the Benefit Bank, rather than pay someone to do your taxes. Keeping the money in your pocket is a tax investment into your self – the most important investment of them all. --------------------------------------- �6 LOCAL J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 Community Issues Forum kicks off JUSTIN JEFFRE T he 2018 Community Issues Forum kicked off at Christ Church Cathedral with Councilmember (and former Vice Mayor) David Mann. The focus was on giving an update on the issues confront Cincinnati’s City government. When asked about his position on the .3% of the earnings tax that goes towards Metro if there’s a transit sales tax levy Mann said, “I suspect that to make the transit sales tax levy attractive we’ll have to reduce the earnings tax. My personal position would be to give back .2% and keep .1% to help with some of the operating issues and challenges in the budget.” He noted that there’s opposition to the earnings tax in the business community. Adding, “If we want the city to be a quality city, a world class city, we have to talk about more revenues, as unpleasant as that is.” Mann said that one of the things they talked about on the campaign trail and need to bring about now was the need for better civic engagement. “We’ve had a lot of instances this last term where there would be projects MIKE BROWN (Continued from page 2) Worse than nothing, they were totally irrelevant. Worse than totally irrelevant, they were “actively destructive.” But Democrats did the right thing, I believe. First, continuing the shutdown held no assurance of a good legislative outcome. And the overall political costs and benefits were also unclear. Second, while the political leverage of a government shutdown remains, the urgency of a DACA fix by March 5 has passed. March 5 was the date when the Trump administration would no longer accept DACA applications. But a federal district court decision on Jan. 9 combined with subsequent decisions by the U.S. Department of Justice have given DACA a temporary O Streetvibes Editor of poor community engagement. “If we’re going to get passed paying lip service to community engagement we have to set up some procedures that they’re required to follow and be willing to say no if they don’t.” When it comes to the budget problems one of the culprits are the rising costs of health care for city employees and dwindling resources from federal and state governments. Mann also touched on the opioid epidemic saying how the book Dreamland describes how we became ground zero for the current crisis. The next forum takes place February 1st 12pm on the third floor of Christ Church Cathedral on 4th street. For more information go to airinc.org. David Mann discusses Cincinnati's City government Credit: Justin Jeffre that came through where not only were the community council’s opposed, but they said, you didn’t involve us. We need to have a voice along the way.” He said he reintroduced a motion for the development department to develop some procedures to make sure some engagement takes place. He gave the Children’s Hospital expansion and a development at Liberty and Race Street as examples reprieve into the summer and perhaps later depending on actions by the U.S. Supreme Court. Third, any DACA legislation that manages to get through the House and the Senate must ultimately be signed by the president, whose bargaining style makes people across the table feel like they’re “negotiating with jello,” according to Schumer. “It’s next to impossible. As soon as you take one step forward, the hard-right forces the president three steps back,” Schumer said. If the DACA legislation is the product of publicly forcing the president and his party into a corner, then what are the chances he will sign under such duress? The president is, in the words of novelist Philip Roth, “a massive fraud…devoid of everything but the hollow ideology of a megalomaniac.” There is no reason to think a megalomaniac could be coerced to sign. Fourth, government shutdowns have a history of hurting the hostage-taking party more than their opponents. Do current circumstances suggest a different outcome? I don’t think so. Fifth, it would be bad for American politics in the long-run if Democrats–the party that believes in government–adopted the strategies of obstructionists who want to shrink government and eventually drown it in a bathtub, in the infamous locution of anti-tax conservative Grover Norquist. “The central political problem in American life, for years now, has been that the Republican Party is a dysfunctional institution that has abandoned principles of decent governance in order to please an ever more extreme base,” argues Ezra Klein, the editor-at-large and founder The MLK March and Beyond n Monday 16th hundreds gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center then marched to Fountain Square before making its way to the Taft Theater for the annual MLK program commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy. It was the 40th MLK Coalition march. Black Lives Matter Cincinnati held its own event at the Main Library. Their program focused on how Dr. King’s legacy has largely been white washed. While most people have heard King’s JUSTIN JEFFRE Streetvibes Editor “I Have a Dream” but King lived and worked for years after that and he became more radical in his later years. Many people don’t know that King gave an anti-war speech called “Beyond Vietnam” one year before to the day of his assassination. He was denounced by newspapers and magazines across the nation for giving the speech. The Cincinnati Enquirer ran a headline March 30th of that year saying King had, “Crossed the line” and was no longer useful to the civil rights movement. In his final months he was organizing a Poor People’s movement to go to Washington D.C. in order to demand real gains for the poor. Speakers spoke about gentrification, police brutality, exploitation, white supremacy, immigration, internationalism and the need for mass mobilization. You can find more information and watch the video of the event on the Black Lives Matter Streetvibes Contributor, Kim Green walks in the Martin Luther King Day March. Credit: Daulton King THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED of Vox. “But it would be doubly bad if their outrageous behavior drives Democrats to use the same tactics in response.” “When highly committed parties strongly believe [in] things that they cannot achieve democratically, they don’t give up on their beliefs– they give up on democracy,” says David Frum, author, conservator editor at The Atlantic, and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. While Republicans as a party have not yet given up on democracy, he says, “for some people on the right, they’re discovering they care about the culture wars more than they care about a constitutional democracy.” [To contact Mike Brown email at mbrown.c4ad@gmail.com. To read more go to c4ad.wordpress.com] (Continued on page 12) Cincinnati Facebook page. �7 JUBILEE CAMPAIGN Building a Jubilee Economy: the J-RAB, INC. Business and Service Coordination Center No. 37 4 | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 DR. CLAVER L PASHI, PhD Contributing Writer [Introduction by Trenton Davis: Part of the Jubilee Dream involves imagining a new economy. In forgiving the debts of our neighbors, reclaiming of the land by its rightful owners, and identifying the underlying cooperative economy that holds our communities together, we open the possibilities to a new ‘good’ life that is more accessible and equitable to all. However, in the United States, this dream comes with a price tag and a lot of red tape.] Our system restricts economic freedom- it’s incredibly difficult to start a business as a low-income entrepreneur. Often, our neighbors have ideas and talents that are valuable, even if they are ‘small’. We mustn’t always consider scale and funding rounds. We mustn’t always place value in profitability; we should, instead shift our mindset to that which invests in reclaiming our land and a sense of place. In business, this practice of sustainability goes by many names- micro-business, social enterprise, place-based investment, asset-based community development. J-RAB, INC.’s Business and Service Coordination Center is actively working to assist in building residents’ capacities so they can take their economic development into their own hands. The Jurisdiction-wide Resident Advisory Board (J-RAB), a public housing, resident driven and owned organization, actively works in partnership with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), an asset management organization serving individuals who Dr. Claver L. Pashi have made a choice to live in public housing. There are approximately 11,000 public housing residents residing in 23 public housing developments situated in the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority. This partnership combines the vast resources of CMHA with talents and commitment of local stakeholders. At its 2nd Annual Resident Empowerment Conference held in June 2016, J-RAB, INC. showcased its Business and Service Coordination Center (BSCC), which had just opened its doors in May 2016. J-RAB, INC. has developed a local small BSCC to assist Resident Owned Businesses to improve their capacity and abilities to take advantage of missed HUD Section 3 employment and contracting opportunities. The BSCC facility is designed by the residents and for the residents. It is a social entrepreneurship business facility developed to nurture the needs of starting and developing Resident Owned Businesses (ROBs), and low to very low-income entrepreneurs, to be able to effectively compete for Section 3 sanctioned Housing Authority, City and County contract opportunities and projects. This model, through its staff, network of partners, and online resources, also facilitates capacity building training for public housing residents and low to very low-income individuals, to prepare them to be ready to access contracting, subcontracting, and training opportunities generated through HUD Section 3 regulations (primarily) and other The 2018 Women’s March O n January 20th around 10,000 people gathered just south of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center for the 2018 Women’s March. Hundreds of thousands gathered across the nation to mark the anniversary of last year’s historic Women’s March protesting President Trump’s inauguration. Last year’s march in Cincinnati had an estimated 14,000 people. This year an estimated 200,000 gathered in New York city alone. JUSTIN JEFFRE Streetvibes Editor — but everyone does have a voice.” The Cincinnati march was once again organized by United We Stand and they used the theme “Hear Our Vote”. Black Lives Matter Cincinnati asked that they change the theme to “Hear Our Voices” which got a lot of attention on social media. BLMC put out a statement saying, “Everyone in the United States does not have a vote — whether because of immigration status, age, prior criminal convictions, access to official identification, transportation issues THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED income generating opportunities (secondarily). The BSCC further offers its public housing resident members, and low to very low-income entrepreneurs, access to various services of general management skills, marketing, accounting, legal, banking, and much more at an affordable cost. The small businesses served through the BSCC have shown and exhibited a high level of motivation and potential for growth. We continue to see these small businesses aligned with mainly four industry categories where there are high levels of potential growth for them in the community. These categories include: •Construction Services •Janitorial & Landscaping •Professional Services such as accountants, architects, advertising services, graphic designers, data processing, etc. •Resident Management Development J-RAB strongly believes that the support provided by public housing residents, its network of professional providers, and CMHA, has helped to create a successful and sustainable environment for potentially investing in the skills, talents and gifts that are so much embedded in these public housing developments/ communities. J-RAB INC is in the business of promoting a strong partnership with the residents, with CMHA, and with the community and other partners within the city of Cincinnati. Such partnerships aim at allowing J-RAB to empower, advocate, inform, support and educate all residents who have made a choice to live in public housing. As one resident said: “Living in substandard public housing does not mean we have substandard education” (Ms. Luwana Oglesby, Stanley Rowe Towers B, and President of the Resident Council). This says it all. There are very talented individuals who have made a choice to live in public housing. --------------------------------------- (Continued on page 12) Women marched through the streets to show solidarity Credit: Justin Jeffre �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS Called by his Christian Evangelical Faith Reverend Troy Jackson Lives with Mercy & Compassion, and Fights Systemic Injustice 8 J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 "How can one read the 66 books of the Christian Bible and not have a sense of the Christian mission in the world, which is not only what happens to someone after death, but also on this earth," says Reverend Troy Jackson, to which he adds: "In his Lord's prayer, Jesus said: 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' pointing specifically to an earthly mandate for His followers." In fact, for Jackson, an Evangelical minister, God's call is not only for mercy and compassion for the afterlife but also, and as importantly, for justice and peace on this earth, achieved by recognizing and fighting the systemic causes that prevent their being. Growing up, Jackson at age six was sent to a white Evangelical church where he developed a discipline at reading regularly the Bible, a routine he has kept ever since. In his senior year of high school and part of a youth group event, he discovered the religiouslybased video series "You can make a difference" by Tony Campola, an Evangelical theologist. Struck by their strong social justice message, he was pleased to find that it resonated very well with his own biblical understanding. At age17 traveling to Haiti to do service work, part of a group his church connected him to, he was shocked by the massive poverty he SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer encountered there. "Enlightened by Tony Campola's now familiar analysis, I quickly realized that poverty in Haiti was systemic in nature," Jackson says. "Major baseball leagues had their baseballs fabricated there and paid workers only $1 an hour. It was increasingly obvious to me that global inequity was shaping the world." From that time on Jackson became very animated about the importance of justice for the poor, the outcast, the immigrant, the widow and orphan, for racial and all other kinds of justice, convinced they were part of God's scheme and finding references to them in his readings of the sacred scriptures. Attending Franklin College in Indiana, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in religion, philosophy, and Spanish. He served also for a while as the president of its intervarsity Christian fellowship and facilitated a "miss a meal, make a difference" plan whereas students willingly skipped a meal and gave their saved money to fight world hunger. Having wanted from a very young age to become a minister, "wanting to have some impact on eternity," as he says, Jackson then joined Princeton Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master's degree in Divinity. What Is EVANGELICALISM Evangelicalism or Evangelical Christianity, is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity, the origins of which are traced back to early 18th century, with various theological streams contributing to its foundation. According to the National Association of Evangelicals, a large network of American Evangelical churches, Evangelicals, in addition to a Trinitarian view of God, share the following beliefs: • Conversionism: the need for lives to be transformed through a “born-again” experience and a lifelong process of following Jesus • Activism: the expression and demonstration of the gospel in missionary and social reform efforts • Biblicism: the high regard for and obedience to the Bible as the ultimate authority • Crucicentrism: the stress on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as making possible the redemption of humanity Today, Evangelicals are found across many Protestant branches, as well as in various denominations not part of a specific branch. The movement gained great momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries in both the UK and the USA; and today, the Americas, Africa, and Asia are home to the majority of its members. Worldwide, Evangelicals are estimated at 550 million, their largest concentration being in the United States, where they form a quarter of the population, are politically important and based mostly in the Bible Belt. Evangelicalism, a major part of popular Protestantism, is among the most dynamic religious movements in the contemporary world, alongside Islam. While on the rise globally, the developing world is particularly influenced by its spread. During his study years he became increasingly exposed to the issue of racism and the injustices of the system. At the end of his 1st year in seminary, for instance, the Rodney King verdict came out absolving the police officers from his killing, and triggered, as a result, major racial riots in South L.A. Jackson, very affected by the situation, was at the same time very surprised to see the majority of white students at the Seminary not Reverend Troy Jackson reacting as if not concerned, sitting on the sideline, indifferent. Part of his field education then was also time spent in Plainfield and Camden, NJ, communities involved in racial unrest in the 60's, which still were experiencing racial tension and a growing immigrant population. "In my Evangelical church I had heard about challenges around the globe but almost never about American racism or poverty in America," he states. "White privilege refuses to acknowledge racism and behaves as if it did not exist. Elie  Wiesel,  the Holocaust survivor  and Nobel Peace Laureate, once said: 'The opposite of love is not hate but indifference' and we, white Evangelicals, are guilty of massive indifference when it comes to racism." After Seminary, Jackson moved to Cincinnati and joined the University Christian Church (UCC) where he was ordained minister and where he served as Senior Pastor for 19 years. During these years he was involved in an immigration effort to prevent the deportation of Bernard Pastor, the 18-year-old Dreamer, who, in 2010, was held in custody by the Springdale Police Department because he was unable to produce a driver's license after a fender-bender. Pastor had been in the US since the age of 3 but his parents had no asylum status. Jackson was also involved in passing a set of ordinances in City Council providing opportunities for returning prisoners to get service jobs in the city. He also worked as a faith outreach coordinator on the campaign to repeal Senate Bill 5, issue 2 on the 2011 ballot, which would have restricted Ohio's 400,000 Credit: Saad Ghosn public workers' ability to  strike  and collectively bargain for wages, health insurance and pensions. At the same time as his ministry at UCC, Jackson pursued his education and obtained a Master's then a doctorate degree in US history working specifically on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. This culminated in the 2008 publication of his book  Becoming King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Making of a National Leader,  which explores the critical role the grassroots Montgomery Movement played in the development of MLK. Spending time discovering, analyzing and reminiscing on MLK's writings and on his life, further determined Jackson to become himself more involved in grassroot activities, in community organizing and coordinating, in local work building power with regular everyday people, addressing economic and racial injustices wherever they were. He decided then to leave his church and 4 years ago joined the Amos Project as its Executive Director. (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 4 PHOTO ESSAY The 2018 Women’s March - Cincinnati, Ohio January 20, 2018 | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 PATRICK CADIEUX Contributing Photographer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 January 26 - February 17, 2018 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 �11 OPINION 34th Annual Pro-Life Procession No. 37 4 | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 MICHAEL EARL PATTON Besides the second Cincinnati Women’s March there was another annual march on the same day, much smaller, but one that has been taking place for 34 years. This was the 34th Annual Pro-Life Rosary Contributing Writer annual Pro-Life Processions has been based on the date that the court’s decision was published: January 22, 1973. Obviously the close proximity in dates was not planned. and walk to Fountain Square. The speeches at the beginning are short since the focus is on the praying (there are more speeches at the end, but most people don’t stay around for them). The prayers are those of the Pro-Life Procession ended at Fountain Square Pro-Life Procession chanted the rosary as they walked through downtown Credit: Michael Earl Patton Credit: Key Beck Procession, which takes place on a Saturday around this time because this is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion. I find it interesting the two marches had been organized in reaction to decisions with which the respective participants strongly disagreed. One was the U.S. Supreme Court decision mentioned above and the other was the inauguration of Donald Trump on last January 20. The timing for the There is one other thing to note about this period of the year -- this is when, on average, the coldest part of winter occurs. I have prayed with my rosary in this procession several times over the years, as I did this year. This year the weather was great (for the middle of winter). It has been near zero some years and I could feel the cold come up through the soles of my boots. Still, every year there have been several hundred people who show up in front of City Hall and pray rosary and for different intentions such as for civil authorities. It may surprise some to find out how openended and affirming the prayers are. Example: “Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and Secular Morality O may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.” Abortion itself is not mentioned in any of the prayers, although several signs carried in the procession did. More information on what the actual rosary prayers are can be found in many places so I won’t take the space here except to note that praying the rosary is primarily a Catholic practice. But there is one ne of my favorite YouTube shows is The Atheist Experience - broadcast live from Austin, Texas every Sunday evening. Sponsored by The Atheist Community of Austin, a local non-profit promoting the separation of religion and government as well as the exploration of positive atheist culture, the show follows a call-in format with a preference for theistic callers. The hosts - my favorite of which is a guy named Matt Dillahunty - take a pretty straightforward tact: tell us what you believe, and why you think your belief is warranted. One of the most popular topics theists like to explore with the hosts is whether there can be a basis for morality without the existence of a god. With how often this issue gets raised, it really strikes me that a large portion of the population seems unaware of how to reach objectively moral conclusions without being told what to do by a supernatural agent. Many will be familiar with some version of what's called Euthyphro's dilemma - named after a character in Plato's book by the same name. In that story, Euthyphro's discussion with Socrates is famously summarized in this question: Is it pious because the gods love it, or do the gods love it because it is pious? Variations on JASON HAAP Contributing Writer this theme abound, including one specifically geared at morality: are moral acts good because God says so, or does God say acts are moral because they are good? Many theists engage intellectual acrobatics to avoid Exodus 21 - the chapter where God tells Moses what to tell the Israelites about rules for slavery. Here are two summarized bullet points from God's rules: 1) Hebrew slaves shall serve for six years, and in the seventh they shall go free. But if, during the period of enslavement, the slave gets a wife and children, the wife and children shall remain the master's property. If the slave does not want to be separated from his family, he can have a hole put in his ear and then remain a slave. This is a great loophole for how to keep Hebrew male slaves for life! 2) If you strike your slave with a rod, killing him, the slave's death shall be avenged. But, if he survives for a couple days and then dies, the violent and murderous slave master is clear and free. I think slavery is immoral, and if your god says otherwise, then I think your god is immoral. That's because my sense of morality is not related to following instructions from an authority figure - supernatural or otherwise. On The Atheist Experience, Dillahunty frequently talks about "well-being" as a measuring stick for objective secular morality. There are some objective truths about human well-being we can derive logically, such as the fact that pleasure is generally preferable to pain, health is generally preferable to sickness, life is generally preferable to death, and so on. (Note the use of the word "generally." It could very well be that some masochist actually wants to experience pain, but that is a separate matter entirely...) If we can agree that the goal of human society is to promote human well-being, then certain key facts become objectively obvious. For example, most of us know we do not want to be owned as someone else's property. It diminishes our well-being. As such, we can call it "immoral." Some may try to argue that slavery increases the well-being of the slave-master class, but on what basis can we determine whether a person should or should not be owned as property? A system of human rights also promotes human well-being, and any system which purports to remove those rights from some and not others is inconsistent and therefore immoral. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED thing that bothers me and I do want to touch on it here. Sometimes I hear others try to pigeonhole us by saying that we believe such-and-such because the Catholic Church says so. I heard a reporter say this recently on NPR, for example. Well, there is much more to it than this. My faith and my beliefs inform each other. All our lives matter, including those of the unborn. You do not have to be Catholic to believe that. This thinking works in tons of circumstances. Living is generally preferable to death. Human wellbeing is not promoted through killing a bunch of people. As such, murder is immoral. Pleasure is generally preferable to pain. Human well-being is not promoted through bullying children and causing psychological torment. As such, bullying is immoral. It is the case that the JudeoChristian-Muslim God has issued proclamations which comport with this thinking, but His proclamations do not always comport (as with the slavery example above). I'm not sure human well-being is diminished if people use "the Lord's name in vain," despite what the so-called "Ten Commandments" state. More importantly, secular morality teaches people to be critical thinkers in the moral arena, and not blind followers of an authority figure. If anyone's god said we need to start murdering newborn babies, that god is a disgusting monster, and I hope no one would have the desire to follow such monstrous commands. Whatever your take on supernatural claims, secular humanism includes a moral system that promotes objective human well-being without all the extra baggage of supernatural deities with weird ideas - like piercing a hole in a slaves ear so he can continue to be owned as property and not be split from his family. �12 O LOCAL Left out in the cold: How we can eradicate homelessness n January 17th the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition a community forum in the Tower Room of the Downtown Public Library to discuss the crisis of homelessness in Cincinnati. We spoke about the causes of homelessness, dispelled some of the myths, and reflected on how to get involved and be a part of the solution. Around 65 people attended. Josh Spring, Executive Director, and Dr. Mark Mussman, Education Director, talked about public policy changes that happened in the JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 6) J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 JUSTIN JEFFRE Streetvibes Editor 1980s that created the modern face of homelessness, families. Under President Ronald Reagan there were cuts to funding for housing and along with increasing stagnation in the minimum wage a lack of affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage are the primary causes of homelessness despite the stereotypes some people think of. Since that time we’ve seen even more affordable housing because of housing policies that subsidize gentrification and displacement. In recent years the city, along with 3CDC have put these policies into overdrive. There currently is a shortage of 40,000 units of affordable housing in Hamilton County. The Homeless Coalition has been working with city council in recent years to restore funding for human services which traditionally has been at least 1.5% of the city’s budget. Over the last decade or more we saw more cuts every budget season to these funds until the last 3 years. The last council had moved funding in the right direction, but we must continue to be engaged to continue this positive momentum. We’ve also been working on the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The work is ongoing and we encourage you to contact your representatives to support these initiatives. If you’re interested in booking a speaker from our Speaker’s Bureau, please contact Dr. Mark Mussman at markmussman@cincihomeles.org. To learn more go to cincihomeless. org. Particpants were able to take part in small group breakout sessions to discuss issues with each other Credit: Justin Jeffre JUSTIN JEFFRE (Continued from page 7) BLMC held its own event later that day at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center which was well attended. Mona Jenkins, an organizer with BLMC said, “You want to vote, go SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) "Amos is a justice organization that is multifaith," states Jackson. "Our main focus is to build power with people affected by injustice in order to bring a change; and being multifaith enhances our work and makes it stronger." Under his leadership, Amos is growing, with new congregations involved, and is moving deeper into evangelical justice-based work. Some of the issues addressed since have been, for instance, the Cincinnati Preschool Promise that aimed at insuring paid pre-schooling for every 3- and 4-year-old child in the city. Pairing with CPS, the proposal was presented to the community as part of issue 44 on the November 2016 ballot and was widely passed. Amos has also been very involved at fighting mass incarceration, mostly of people of color and at undoing the detrimental effects of the war on drugs. It has also been concerned with wages and work conditions in the service sector vote. You want to march, march. But there are some things we’re not going to bend on. It was not about women today. Women were being used as a front for voting for the Democratic Party. That’s very hurtful.” At the rally before the march began speakers spoke about topics such as the privatization of public schools, immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, health care, housing and racial injustice. There was dancing, chanting and lots of signs. The march went up Race Street and made its way back towards the Banks via Vine Street. I walked ahead of the march to try to get some photos starting at 4th Street. I stayed in the same spot for nearly 15 minutes before I could begin to see the end of march approaching. and in the healthcare industry where positions are mostly filled by women of color, and where the average wage is $9/hour, resulting often in child poverty. Right now, its emphasis is on collecting signatures in favor of an Ohio wide 2018 ballot initiative or a constitutional amendment to retroactively make class 4 and 5 felonies for drug possession, misdemeanors. This change will result in a lower prison population, in the absence of felony mention on records, in increased opportunities for housing, jobs, public support, family reunion, and in saving the State, at the same time, $100 Million every budget cycle, dollars that could be invested in drug prevention, drug treatment, childhood recovery. Amos recently put together an agenda for the years to come titled "Forward Together" in which economic and racial justice are forefront. Working with Crossroads, Jackson has been involved for the past 2 years with a program called "Undivided" which offers participants a 6-week experience around racial reconciliation. Including lectures, small group discussions, interactive activities, the program looks at history, at the role of empathy versus sympathy, at systemic and structural issues, at personal culpabilities... and moves those engaged at living an "undivided" life. "My faith is very important to me at the personal level," says Jackson, "but it is not a personal piety faith alone. Evangelical beliefs have at their core that one influences the world, that one has a responsibility in the world... These beliefs are mine and are rooted in the scriptures." After leaving UCC Jackson joined for 4 years the diverse People church, and this year, in the wake of the Trump election, the predominantly African American New Prospect Baptist church, led by Reverend Damon Lynch III. "I wanted a faith experience more justice-oriented when it came to teaching and preaching," he says. "I also wanted to be part of a black congregation." Jackson likes to quote the revolutionary sermon of MLK, The one sided approach of the Good Samaritain, in which MLK expands upon the Samaritan’s good, calling attention to the need, in addition to mercy, for deeper actions to uproot from systems the evil responsible for the victims along the road. "We need to understand the reason for injustice which is baked in the system," he says. "If we limit ourselves to just charity without asking the why of the problem and trying to remedy it, we may be working in the vested interest of those in power, and indirectly perpetuating the problem." Jackson's relation to God and his commitment to a Christian community trigger his passion for justice and serve as his call. He is working now at bringing people of different faiths into the mix of justice, at addressing inequities wherever they are, at finding their root causes and at empowering people at solving them. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- �No. 37 4 | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 CRYING RAIN 13 STREET VOICE Looking out the window The rain is falling hard, and fast A NEW PRESIDENTIAL WORD Did you and your family feel terribly cheated Trying to figure out Trump's "expletive deleted?" There are intervals of thunder Slashing ever so often "Shithole" is the word that The Donald used. And then it suddenly stops Haitians and Africans now feel quite abused. Until the next thunder slash appears I raise an issue that makes me sad and tired. It lets you know that God is, near Presidential dignity has certainly expired. So take heed Listen to his might BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Because thunder and rain, Will, be coming ALL LIVES MATTER AFTER ALL I BEEN THROUGH BEING HOMELESS I LIVE TO BE A PART OF HISTORY KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer TO LIVE TO SEE A BLACK PRESIDENT AND A WHITE WOMEN NOMINATED WHAT'S THE MYSTERY IT SEEMS LIKE GOD HAS A PLAN FOR PEOPLE TO COME TOGETHER AND BE AT PEACE AND KNOW WE ALL LIVE AND WE ALL DIE SO WHY THE RACISM DOESN'T CEASE ALL OF A SUDDEN IT MATTERS WHAT COLOR, RELGION AND WHAT CREED YOU ARE THINGS MATTER TODAY WHETHER YOU WORK OR FIND A PLACE TO LIVE SO WHO'S SCARED I BELEIVE WE AS A HUMAN RACE TEACH OUR CHILDREN WHAT TO BELEIVE IN AND HOW I BELEIVE IF WE DON’T SHOW OUR CHILDREN LOVE WITH UNDERSTANDING WE DEAD NOW ALL LIVES MATTER KNOWING THAT ALL LIVES END, LIFE BEING SO SHORT WHAT IS THE FIGHT LET PEOPLE BE BLESSED IN WHO THEY ARE RICH OR POOR JUST GIVE RESPECT THAT'S RIGHT SO WHETHER YOU SUPPORT THE HOMELESS OR NOT JUST PRAY IT WON’T BE YOU SOMEDAY SITUATIONS MAKING CHANGES GOOD SOME BAD CHANGING ONE’S LIFE ALL LIFE MATTERS I SAY WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 143 Across Down 1. Talon 1. Refrain 5. A chance to do something 2. Very generous 9. Egg-shaped 3. Ornamental shrub 14. Fog 4. Fountainhead 15. A long walk 5. Surprise greatly 16. Jewelled headdress 6. Above 17. Ellipse 7. Gumbo 18. Fiend 19. Emlem of a clan or tribe 20. A small stream 21. Personal property 23. Employ 24. Supplement with great effort, ___ out 25. Typo 29. Cloak used to cover head and shoulders 31. Uncommon 33. Simian 34. Type of picture puzzle 36. A regular customer 39. Rain, snow, hail or sleet 42. Rough shelter 43. Person who makes a gift of property 44. Distant but within sight 45. Layer 47. Requirements 51. Native or of a certain region 54. Draw 56. On the sheltered side 57. Meat from a deer 59. Raise 60. Enthusiastic approval 63. Part of the jaw 64. Way out J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 4 8. Move unsteadily 9. Freshwater mammal 10. Stringed instrument 11. Cereal grass 12. Anger 13. Water barrier 22. Surgical instrument 24. Choose by a vote 26. Edible tuberous root 27. Au fait with 28. Males 30. Small bird 32. Stage whisper SODOKU PUZZLE NO 273 - MEDIUM 35. Vitamin of the B complex 37. Expiate 38. Become fatigued 39. Drudge 40. South African monetary unit 41. Usually herbivorous land turtle 42. Caustic solution 46. Frozen spear of water 48. Panacea 49. Sully 50. Small sofa 52. Dodge 65. Usher 53. Measuring instrument 66. Misplace 55. Located inward 67. Set of related records 58. Display 68. Command 59. Remaining 69. Pitcher 60. Self 70. Large woody plant 61. Mongrel 62. Movable cover PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 373 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 142 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 272- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 4 RESOURCES | J a n 2 6- F e b 8 , 2 0 18 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 Salvation Army 762-5660 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 411 Gest St. 45203 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 241-1064 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1125 Bank Street 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Prospect House 921-1613 Starting Over 961-2256 2121 Vine Street 45202 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 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Family Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network Housing: First Step Home 761-1480 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 Talbert House Tender Mercies 221-HELP 721-8666 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 27 W. 12th Street 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA VA Homeless Food/Clothing 421-0065 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 1522 Republic 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 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 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street 45202 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 471-1100 Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center UpSpring 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health 621-5300 961-1983 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio FreeStore/FoodBank 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Youth Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 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 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 721-0643 City Gospel Mission 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 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street 45202 15 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 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 for 26 issues 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 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 $100 981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Center Independent Living Options Peaslee Neighborhood Center $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 J a n 2 6 - F e b 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 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. 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 2/2011 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 2018 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 26-February 8, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director DACA Pg 3: Investing in Our Future Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Monthly Billing Shenanigans at Water Works Pg 6: Community Issues Forum Kicks Off The MLK March and Beyond Pg 7: Building a Jubilee Economy Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: 34th Annual Pro-Life Procession Secular Morality Pg 12: Left Out in the Cold 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 26-February 8, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Mike Brown Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Justin Jeffre Dr. Claver L Pashi Saad Ghosn Jason Haap Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Steve Wuesthoff Patrick Cadieux Key Beck Bill Woods Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cincinnati DACA Dr. Claver L Pashi Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Key Beck Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Mike Brown Ohio Patrick Cadieux Photography Pro-Life Procession Saad Ghosn Steve Wuesthoff Willa Denise Jones Women’s March https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/b72e4fc15a8afae438b714a79fccba45.pdf 38856df2ddda6b3404cc72cda427a71b PDF Text Text February 9th - February 22nd 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 4 (No. 375) advocating justice | building community The Allure of Gentrification | 3 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE An Update on Citizen Organizing in 2018 | 2 Life is a Beach: Homeless In the Ocean State | 8 UC Students lose their bus passes | 9 Where Are Our Troops? | 7 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: Jeff Berding Has Brought Us Another Winner (not really) • At least 29.9 percent of people in Cincinnati live below the federal poverty line. • At least 41% of Black people in Cincinnati live below the poverty line. • 44.6 percent of our children live below the poverty line. • 52 percent of children under age six are a part of families experiencing poverty. • 74 percent of Black children below six years old live below the poverty line. • Nationally, prices have risen by about 42 percent since 2000. In Hamilton County the median income has risen by about 19 percent in this same time span and the cost of housing has risen more than 50 percent. • Since 2000 the poverty rate in Hamilton County has grown 43 percent. • Out of the 50 largest metro areas in this country, Cincinnati ranked 10th highest for the number of evictions in 2017. • More than 110,000 Hamilton County households are trying to make it in homes they cannot afford. • In Hamilton County we have a shortage of 40,019 homes available to L JOSH SPRING Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition households with incomes between 0 and 30 percent of the annual median income. Another way of saying this is that 55,600 households are trying to fit into 15,581 affordable homes. • On average, the life expectancy of Black men in Cincinnati is 10 years less than that of white men. The average life expectancy of Black women is 6.6 years less than white women. • Because the lack of affordable housing is at such a crisis level, so many families with children are losing their housing and seeking shelter, that approximately 70% of those families are turned away due to lack of available resources put into affordable housing construction and sustainability. • Our single women’s shelter operates over capacity almost constantly and has to turn women away because the lack of affordable housing is so great. • Our 18 to 24 year-old youth shelter has operated at capacity for years and has to turn people away because the lack of affordable housing is so great. • Our single men’s shelters on average operate at or over capacity. • Last winter the Winter Shelter hosted approximately 300 more individuals over the season than it did just several years earlier when we successfully, for the first time got it to be an open every night of winter. • The number of individuals and families living outside and in other places not meant for human habitation are also higher than in the past. • About 70 percent of people in the local shelter system are Black. • This school-year probably 20% of (Continued on page 12) An Update on Citizen Organizing in 2018 ast year, events in Washington, D.C. sparked significant local grassroots organizing around social, political, and economic justice issues. These local efforts included a Women's March and an initiative to bring about Congressional redistricting reform in Ohio. At the Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral on February 1st, a panel reviewed how some of these activities are playing out in 2018. Kate Gallion of United We Stand, was a key organizer of the recent January Women's March in downtown Cincinnati. She called the local march here and the marches in Washington, D.C. and across the country "a profound moment in grassroots organizing." The almost spontaneous coming together of women shaken by Trump's election a year ago has taken hold and actually grown in size. For instance, approximately 12,000 people F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 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 JUSTIN JEFFRE ----------------------------------------------- Streetvibes Editor marched locally in 2017, and this number increased to 15,000 this January. In fact, this number of participants makes it the largest nonsports related march on record in Cincinnati. Gallion noted that Facebook was a key social media tool in organizing the marches. Not only is it a fast (Continued on page 6) CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, Trenton Davis, Luwana Pettus Oglesby, Michael Earl Patton, Jim Luken, Isaac Smith, Jason Haap, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Bill Woods, Isaac Smith, Jim Luken, Dr. Mark Mussman, Homeless Coalition --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Attendees at Womens' March rally in Cincinnati Credit: Homeless Coalition THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 37 5 LOCAL The Allure of Gentrification 3 | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 W DR. MARK MUSSMAN e get intoxicated when we think about changing the neighborhood. Quite literally, in Over-the-Rhine, we are putting a bar on every corner. But that’s not the intoxication I’m talking about. There is a lie, rooted deep within the false narrative of the American Dream, that claims that gentrification is good for a neighborhood. Even the New York Times encouraged its readers this month to visit Cincinnati, and specifically the “gentrifying district of Over-the-Rhine” as if gentrifying is a good thing, something to behold and embrace. But the reality is much more dangerous than that, and is something we should all be fighting against – here’s why. The biggest issue caused by gentrification is simply displacement. Whether people are displaced from their homes due to rising rents, eviction notices, or the overall loss of housing and small businesses, people are forced to move from their homes under the guise of “cleaning up the neighborhood.” Displacement is often done illegally, but because people in poverty can’t afford legal council, or don’t have the knowledge to fight for their rights, they are left with no way to fight back (unless they work with the Homeless Coalition and Legal Aid to create and sustain tenant organizations.) Displacement also occurs when your neighborhood changes and you are left without the things that made your neighborhood a community: schools, corner stores, social service agencies, public pools, public parks, laundromats, Staff Writer a post office. Why are you in this neighborhood anymore if you can not afford to go to the new shops, restaurants, or because your family and friends have already been forced out? Displacement doesn’t happen privatization of public goods and resources. Woefully underfunded public goods, like parks, schools, and public housing, become nuisances and “blight” which need an infusion of money to bring back to community standards. The larger picture of “cutting taxes” creates this shortfall goods. This week, ECOT, an Ohio online charter school, was found to have falsified its attendance records, reaping millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars that should have been going towards education. This is a perfect example of the privatization of public goods because we have now lost this money, and we won’t get it back – meanwhile, it will be spent on political campaigns of people who are calling for less taxes (again to underfund our public resources) CPD Assessment fittingly shows a park with all white children in it Credit: Cincinnati Police Department within a bubble – there are many steps that precipitate it, and many of them might be something that you think is harmless, and with which you agree. You might think it’s inevitable that the parks become privatized like Washington or Ziegler Park. This issue goes more deeply into Neoliberalism, which is essentially the of funding, and leaves us with “no choice” but to ask for a public-private partnership. This is what I call “built to fail” in which we know the outcome of underfunding, but we pretend like the people being hurt by it are not worthy of our full investment. We are seeing this happen at a rapid rate in both housing and public so that they can grab the next pot of public money – most likely housing. Our public housing is now being converted to private ownership through a process called RAD, which will sell off all of our publically owned real estate holdings to private companies who will want to make money for their shareholders off of the backs of low-income renters. This is being done in the name of “preserving” housing, but in reality, it is just another way for wealthy people to raid the public coffers. Other tactics that are used to gentrify a neighborhood include: surveillance, discomfort, criminalization, denial of experience, placing business over residents, forced programming, hostile design, and lack of historical insight. We are seeing each of these tactics occur in Over-the-Rhine right now. Other neighborhoods that are also forcing out residents include Walnut Hills, Corryville, Avondale, Mt. Auburn, Lower Price Hill, and CUF. Each neighborhood has its own community council and CDC (Community Development Corporation) that is making decision for the community, often without any genuine community input. Over the course of many years, this lack of community input results in the interests of those wanting to make more money trumping the voice of the residents who call their community “home.” A good way to look at this is Maps like this are used to create a false narrative Credit: Cincinnati Police Department THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 7) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 �No. 37 5 JUBILEE CAMPAIGN Compassionate Measurement | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 W TRENTON DAVIS e are not deficiencies. We are people. In President Harry Truman’s inaugural address, when he first announced the “Truman Doctrine”, he tacitly began the popularization of the phrase: the “developing world”. This characterization of the world as an “us” and a “them”- them being those people who need “developing”- cast an imperial shadow on the United States’ aid programs abroad. They need fixing. That is what we told them. This view of others has percolated into domestic policy via the conversations that we have about our own communities. The questions that we ask our neighbors, when we Contributing Writer are trying to raise them out of poverty, focus on what they don’t have. Many times, we label entire neighborhoods as “poor” simply because they don’t make a lot of money; we call this measurement median income. The current measurement system labels these people as broken, lesser, in need of fixing, simply because of something as superficial as money. Moreover, these measurements bring non-profits and welfare programs that offer just enough to keep your head above water. They induce cycles of fluctuant income- a social safety net that may not catch you- rather than promote and foster economic freedom. What is needed are strong neighborhoods that recognize and are connected to their assets. What is needed is a new narrative- a voice that speaks truth about who we really are. This new narrative must be told through a new economic index. We call it the Neighborhood Economic Vitality Index (NEVI for short). It is an assets-based index that asks residents of communities what they can and do offer to their neighbors. NEVI is currently active in several communities around Cincinnati, namely: Stanely Rowe Towers, Winton Terrace, Millvale, and Lower Price Hill. By allowing residents to express their skills, talents, gifts, others learn about the abundance that already exists in the There’s Compassion in Sharing LUWANA PETTUS OGLESBY “What it means to get gathered information back.” They Do Care!! T 5 ime and time again, we’re asked to give information about ourselves and our communities. Why? We never know the outcome of these questions. They come into our communities to ask us, what we think, how we feel, what changes needs to occur, how can we help and various other questions; but they never say or let us know what our input will show and what we can get from it. Well, there is beginning to be a shift in how others are thinking about us and what to do with the information they collect from us, about us and our communities. NEVI (Neighborhood Economic Vitality Index) has approached J-RAB, Inc. (Jurisdiction-wide Resident Advisory Board), an organization made up of the Presidents/Vice-Presidents of the Resident Council throughout CMHA (Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority). It began with three (3) developments, Stanley Rowe Tower-B, Millvale and Winton Terrace. This was a way to reach out to the residents and surrounding residents of CMHA in various neighborhoods to get their input about their neighborhood. As the president of Stanley Rowe Tower-B Resident Council, located at Contributing Writer 1621 Linn St., in the West End, and a Resident Connector for NEVI, I am pleased to say that a positive change is occurring. Through J-RAB, NEVI is doing what no others have ever done or thought to do. They are giving us the answers and what they mean, to the questions asked, so that we can see for ourselves the findings of these asked questions. You see, those that live outside of certain neighborhoods simply don’t see and/or choose not to see the various and numerous talents in our neighborhoods and communities. They don’t see the potential in us nor do they see the entrepreneurial possibilities that we have. To be shown the multiple talents of the residents within our communities enables us to utilize these vast and various talents; which in turn, places us in a better position to aid in the revitalization of our neighborhoods and/or communities. This allows the residents throughout the various neighborhoods and communities to show what they can do to uplift their community. This is all we have ever wanted; to be shown that WE do matter- as much as our responses do. The compassion of others in sharing what is gathered and/ or collected, processed and given back is the biggest and best way of showing that we are cared about. “Breakdown Stereotypes” Although this process is starting as a small and designated task, it is and can be/will be the start of wonderful things to come. There is nothing more uplifting, for those feeling overlooked, left out and/or ignored, than to be shown that others care about you. These caring individuals have their own obstacles to deal with, yet they continue to do what they do, which is care. It is not easy, nowadays and in our society, to go against the grain, but some do. They do not neighborhood. For example, in one of our NEVI sessions at Stanley Rowe Towers in the West End, a resident talked about his baking ability. He makes a mean Butterfinger cake- like way better than the ones you can get at Kroger. After his NEVI session, the other members of his group had a new acknowledgement of his skills. In business speak- he gained market exposure and created new demand for his cake-making business. Stories like the Stanley Rowe baker are what we hope to promote and commercialize. In today’s investment market, we are always concerned about scale. Well, sadly, scale doesn’t necessarily build strong communities. In fact, it leaves many feeling forgotten. NEVI is the first step in shifting this narrative. Profit needn’t always be the rightful bottom line, sometimes community needs to be. allow others to make them feel bad about the good that comes from them encouraging and uplifting others to be better. That’s all that any of us truly want, is to be the best we can possibly be. So, to receive information to show us the various, untapped talents within our communities is gratifying. It allows us to no longer be afraid to shine because they too see the sparkle in us. So, I leave you with “Come On Mindful People Allow Stars to Shine In Our Neighborhoods” COMPASSION. Thanks for caring, by sharing. --------------------------------------- “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL THE CAMPAIGN MOTHER GOOSE AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE FACTS - POLITICAL SPOOFS IN RHYME S F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 JUSTIN JEFFRE Streetvibes Editor treetvibes Contributor Bill Woods has a new book out. "The Campaign Mother Goose and Other Alternative Facts" features political spoofs in rhyme that appeared in this biweekly from June 2015 until last December. Beginning when candidates started to announce they were running for the Presidential nomination, these pieces follow the primaries, the 2016 Presidential election, and the first year of the Trump Administration. The author found a lot to poke fun So to avoid feeling blue, Let's tell him he's through, And inform The Donald You're Fired!” Even as Trump picked up momentum in 2016, these pieces reflect an incredulity that the former Reality TV star was getting so much attention. “Holy smoke and great merciful heaven, Trump gets headlines twenty-four seven.” “No matter what time I turn on the news, There is The Donald spewing his views. It just goes to show if you Ohio, is quite concerned about the health of the democratic process, and utilizes humor to show the excesses of "big money" in campaigns, voter suppression, and gerrymandering. In his introduction, the author stresses this theme. "Endless TV ads packed with lies and half truths, Super Pacs funded by billionaire Fat Cats, and polarized debates that rarely touch on the common good can cause one to lapse into despair. Since it isn't at during this time period. One fact becomes quite apparent to readers of these spoofs. He initially did not take seriously the candidacy of Donald Trump. When Trump announced he was running in the summer of 2015, Woods wrote this piece. “Obnoxious Don Trump Is now back on the stump. His tirades make us tired. rant to excess, You're bound to get a lot of free press.” Although Trump as a candidate and as President receives a lot of satirical scorn in this book, Hillary Clinton, the Democrats, and politics in general also garner a fair share of humorous derision. Woods, a former chair of Common Cause/ healthy to cry all the time, these spoofs in rhyme are dedicated to having a little fun at the expense of the comic villains that plague our public life." Besides using the Mother Goose rhyme model for many of his political parodies, Woods likes to transform famous poems into satirical pieces. impact on government and public policy. Responding to the theme of voting, Bill Woods, representing the informal coalition working on Congressional redistricting reform in Ohio, emphasized that the proposed Amendment to Ohio's Constitution will provide a very meaningful reform for women activists to support. In an update, he noted that two-thirds of the signatures needed to put the reform on the ballot have been collected. He warned, however, that Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate are attempting to place their own partisan plan on the May ballot in order to confuse voters and derail reform. He called on attendees to call or email their state legislators in opposition to this move. Finally, Michelle Dillingham, Executive Director of Community Shares, offered a brief overview of the "state of social justice" in Greater Cincinnati. She included both social and economic justice activities in her mix. She emphasized an organizing effort focused on revitalizing public schools through citizen involvement in decision making. One of the goals of this movement is to halt the privatization of public education. Dillingham touched on a variety of JUSTN JEFFRE (Continued from page 2) way to get information to a large number of people, but it also provides a vehicle for bringing together the diverse causes represented by the Women's Movement. She also talked about the decision to make voting a theme of the recent marches as way to provide a purpose for organizing and bringing all these people together. Voting doesn't solve all the issues shared by this diverse coalition, but it does offer a way for a significant portion of the electorate to have an THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED For instance, he reworked William Blake's "Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright" to chide the current Congress. “Tiger, tiger burning bright. Politics now is such a fright. Can you or else a grouchy lion Go put a scare in Speaker Ryan? We'd ask you then to quickly switch, And do the same to Senator Mitch.” “The times require some feline force, To put our Congress back on course.” The author continues to contribute his political spoofs to Streetvibes as well as his "Poll Cat Cartoon." Published by Blurb, an online-book publisher, readers who order the book through Streetvibes will insure that profits beyond the publishing costs will go to this biweekly newspaper. [Bill Woods was the 2017 Buddy Gray Award recipient. Email Streetvibes@cincihomeless.org to order] women's rights issues, but primarily left that part of the discussion for Kate Gallion. She talked about efforts to work for economic justice and the movement to promote a living wage. Finally, she reviewed the "Poor People's Movement" both nationally and locally. She explained the emergence of "Moral Monday's " and the organizing tactic of having hundreds of people rallying at various State Houses in favor of Medicaid expansion. "It is exciting," concluded Dillingham, "to see all this diverse citizen organizing taking place in Cincinnati and in other communities across the country." �No. 37 5 LOCAL Where Are Our Troops? | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 I have often wondered just where are troops are. I don’t mean those stationed here in the U.S., nor those in allied countries such as Japan and Germany. Of course there are troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, but where else? I recently found a government website that has a summary of troop locations by country around the world – well, at least the places that the Pentagon admits where we have troops. The place that is the most concerning to me is Syria. The website is not quite current but several weeks behind, and updated quarterly. Still, at the end of September there were 1,547 Army, Marine, Air Force, and Army personnel (in order of their numbers in Syria). There were also 173 from the Reserves and National Guard. That is a significant number especially since Syria never gave us permission to go there. As for whether Congress ever authorized this deployment, that depends on one’s interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, the 1973 War Powers Resolution, and the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force that were passed following the attacks of September 11, DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) through the lens of a current issue that was brought to my attention last week: Findlay Park. The Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) did an assessment on the park, which is located at 5 points – McMicken, Vine, and Findlay Streets in Over-theRhine. The larger context of the park is important, as Model Group (and a few other developers) have recently bought all the properties abutting the park, and are turning them into market-rate condos and apartments. The park itself has been underfunded and left to deteriorate. Other parks in the area have been remodeled (yet not privatized), but Findlay Park’s improvements over the past few years have only been to remove things from the park, rather than improve or add. With the release of the CPD assessment, it is clear that displacement is a big part of the push to gentrify the park. Paradoxically, CPD understands that removing “the criminal element” from one area will just push it to another. In the assessment, they write that, “These issues have plagued the area for years and have been exacerbated recently as crime has been displaced from other areas of Over-the-Rhine.” This demonstrates that they are being coerced into creating this assessment by someone with financial interests related to the park, rather than from a holistic view of a community. CPD then calls for most of the park to be removed – the seating, the grills, the basketball court, the picnic tables, the fencing – the people. The claim is that MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer 2001. I concluded that Congress did not authorize this deployment and it is in violation of the Constitution. However, even a brief summary would be far too long for this article and will have to wait for another time. I will just mention that although the number of troops stationed in Syria increased under President Trump, the question of authorization has been brewing for several years. There is something else about our troops being in Syria. You may know that Syria’s neighbor to the north, Turkey, started a military operation against the Kurds of northern Syria on January 19. Most of these Kurds are the ones the United States supports in the campaign against ISIL, but Turkey calls them terrorists and is concerned that their desire to have an independent state of their own will spill over into Turkey. Hundreds of civilians have been killed so far in the Syrian province of Afrin. Turkey’s President Erdogan has threatened to broaden the offensive in order to secure a buffer strip along more than half of the Syrian-Turkish border. Erdogan specifically mentioned the Syrian city of Manbij and promised to cleanse it of terrorists. According to different press accounts, Manbij is where most of our troops in Syria are stationed. Erdogan knows this. So our troops in Manbij, Syria, are there to support the Kurds in their fight against ISIL. We did not get permission from the Syrian government to deploy them, which is not surprising since Washington would prefer Syrian President Assad to leave. However the imminent threat to those troops is not from Syria but from our NATO ally, Turkey, where there were 2,174 troops including the Guard and Reserves. In a further twist, Turkey is using Leopard tanks made and sold to them by Germany, another NATO ally. Russia’s position as an ally of Syria might be vital for avoiding an armed conflict with our NATO ally Turkey. Does your head hurt yet? Mine does. Most troops are stationed in the United States. Not counting the Guard and Reserves, there were 1,119,873 in the United States and 215,249 “overseas,” which includes Canada (129), Mexico (61), and a few others in some Central American the picnic tables and grills are never used for their intended use: “They are rarely, if ever, used for their intended purpose and mainly serve as magnets for people looking to engage in illegal behavior.” We should be insulted that our community members are being deemed as unworthy to use a picnic table or grill. CPD claims that no one uses the park for legitimate reasons, and essentially calls everyone who uses the park “criminals.” Criminalizing people for utilizing public spaces, which might be their only respite in an otherwise increasingly loud and raucous neighborhood, is antithetical to the purpose of a park when your only alternative is paying to sit in a bar. Surveillance can mean cameras, or it can mean “block watch,” or beat patrols for the police, or increased lighting. Surveillance has great implications for the freedom of people who utilize the park and deeper meaning when we consider the “panopticon” and “total institutions” that permeate the loss of freedom and identity in an increasingly policed and imprisoned United States. When our parks, such as Washington and Ziegler Parks, are modeled after prisons, complete with 24/7 private security, dozens of cameras (panopticon), and forced identity, we have to wonder how much freedom is worth losing for so-called security, especially when crime is down throughout the neighborhood. CPD does not want the park to be comfortable, so they are advocating for the removal of seating and adding a dog park and a workout track. Redefining the use of the park, coupled with more hostile design, which are elements that stop people from doing normal things, such as sitting or laying down (benches with bars in the middle, or are too short to lay down on, bars, slants, flower pots, fences, or spikes to prevent people from sitting on walls, etc.), creates not a park, but a carefully curated area that can only be enjoyed by a select few – those who can often afford the trek to another park. We are seeing the prioritization of businesses over residents occur at a rapid rate in Over-the-Rhine. Community Council meetings are becoming increasingly hostile to the community member experience, and we are being told that we need to make our meetings more hospitable to businesses seeking entry into the neighborhood. This is coming with a lack of historical insight, both of the wholesale displacement of thousands of units of affordable housing and the longer historical narrative of redlining, racism, and disinvestment which led to the conditions we are dealing with today. A lack of historical understanding is dangerous, and goes back to the false narrative that the only solution is a market solution. To quote the executive director of the Homeless Coalition, Josh Spring, “There is no market solution to our housing crisis.” This is a stern warning that we cannot rely on market forces for solutions in housing, education, parks, etc. as the market is only creating a larger income and wealth disparity, a gap THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 7 countries. There were 44,562 in Japan, 34,435 in Germany, and 23,635 in South Korea. There are lesser numbers in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. For fighting what is normally called the War on Terror there were 13,329 in Afghanistan (again, not counting the Guard and Reserves) and 7,402 in Iraq. Around the Persian Gulf there are more troops with 8,598 in Bahrain, 9,241 in Kuwait, 4,666 in Qatar, and 3,455 in the United Arab Emirates. Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa and near the Arabian Peninsula, sticks out. There were 3,132 troops there and almost half as many Reserves and National Guard. My guess is that these troops are somehow involved in the conflicts of and near the Arabian Peninsula. I do have one piece of anecdotal information to share about Djibouti. A friend had a family member stationed there. Supposedly the food served is often better if the station assignment is in something of a hardship location in order to help with moral. His relative reported that the food served in Djibouti was very, very good. There are 100 troops in Lithuania, which borders Russia. In (Continued on page 11) in educational attainment, and a park for the rich and connected and “take-what-you-can-get” attitude for everyone else. Even CPD recognizes the efforts as displacing crime from one area to another – so we need to question where will the crime go next? Innwood Park? Belleview Park? Or should we redefine crime, end the drug war, and engage in racial equity and reparations? Gentrification is built on the false “meritocracy” narrative of the American Dream – if you work hard, you will be rewarded. We know that this narrative is false because study after study has shown that educational attainment is only linked to family income and spending on curricular materials. We know the meritocracy narrative is false because people born into poverty are not likely to get out of poverty, even if they attend college. We know that the meritocracy narrative is a lie because the rich can do little to no work, yet their wealth increases exponentially. People are getting richer because of gentrification – people are not getting rich from gentrification. No one has been lifted out of poverty because of the development in Over-the-Rhine, yet thousands of people with lowincomes have been displaced from the neighborhood, and at this rate, most middle-class people will be pushed out as well. It is only a matter of time. The CPD Assessment can be accessed online: https://tinyurl.com/ findlaypark --------------------------------------- �NATIONAL 8 F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 Life is a Beach: Homeless in the Ocean State JIM LUKEN G reetings from the Ocean State. After 15 years of tenement living in Overthe-Rhine and 8 years of writing for Streetvibes, I made the big move to Rhode Island in July so that I could live out my waning years near the sea. I live here in a 3rd floor, 3-room, “Section 8” apartment at the Peace Dale House, rural Rhode Island's equivalent of “public housing.” My rent here is $6 a month more than what I was paying for a remodeled, three-room Over-the-Rhine Community Housing apartment, but my heat is provided. I loved my downtown apartment in Cincy. I didn't think much about it at the time, but my desk there looked out onto nothing but a windowless brick wall. My desk here looks through patio doors onto nothing but trees. The 100-unit complex is perched at the end of a long driveway, with a wooded area surrounding it. A dramatic change, but I've managed to adapt, mainly because—in the warmer months—I find myself a 20-minute bicycle ride from the Ocean. Things could be a lot worse. One thing I have missed here, Contributing Writer He is deeply involved with the local Congregational Church, which—I had learned—is itself deeply involved in matters of homelessness. He filled me in about Welcome House, our homeless shelter, located right here in Peace Dale. The church does a sit-down meal once a week for us poor folks. I've attended a few times. Tablecloths. Silverware. Everything served. Even better, the church is an overflow shelter for the area's homeless people. In the winter it is full every night. I recently enrolled at the local Y in the “silver sneakers” program provided by my Medicare advantage plan. I work my aged bones and muscles there three times a week. Since I no longer have Internet, I sometimes use the Y's computer located in a small common room near the front desk. It faces an outside window. On Sunday last I was sitting there and I heard a woman behind me on her phone. I heard her say, “Welcome House.” Since I had been planning to do long-distance story about the shelter for this paper, I walked over to the woman. She had finished her area of my new home. She immediately began opening up about her situation. “I've just arranged so I can stay at the church tonight.” She pointed to the far wall of the room where there were four very neat backpacks and hampers. “I just need to find a way to get my stuff over there.” The church was only a half mile distant. I said that I could take her there. But she explained that the church didn't open its doors until 7:30, five hours off. She told me she was 50 (a young-ish and exuberant 50). I told her that I was 73 and had a daughter who was almost 50. I offered to get her where she needed to go until the church opened. After texting a friend on her Obama phone (“I don't have many 'minutes' to call, so we text”), we worked it out that I would deliver her and her belongings to this friend's house. “In exchange, would you be open to doing an interview? I know the readers of my hometown paper would be interested in hearing about your story.” She generously agreed. We met the next day at the library, then drove to a coffee shop where I got to hear a big chunk of her story. Similar to the story of every homeless person I had interviewed in Cincinnati, hers (Continued on page 12) Mary travelling in the snow with luggage Credit: Jim Luken Mary relaxing for the day Credit: Jim Luken however, is a connection with the poor. Poor people are everywhere, so I knew they must be around here, but— compared to downtown Cincinnati, they are fairly hard to identify in this semi-rural, bedroom community locale, 35 minutes from Providence. During my first six months here, only twice have I seen people “flying signs” on the street corners, panhandling. I had been intending to learn more about the homeless situation here, but I kept putting it off, enjoying my new laid-back lifestyle. You know: wind, sand and surf, almost every day. Finally, with winter keeping me more confined, I began nosy-ing around here in my adopted world. I ran into Brad, a fellow resident at the Peace Dale House. phone conversation. She seemed like a “professional person.” I thought she might be the director. She wasn't. My lucky break. “Excuse me, I heard you mention Welcome House,” I said. “Do you work there?” She looked me square in the eyes. “No,” and with only a moment's hesitation, “I live there sometimes.” I was genuinely startled. “Does that mean...” I sheepishly asked “... that you are homeless?” “Yes,” she said with a very comfortable smile, “right now I am.” I apologized for approaching her, explaining that I had written for a homeless newspaper and that I was planning on doing a story about the homeless situation in the South Coast Peachdale Congregational Church Credit: Jim Luken THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 5 LOCAL UC Students lose their bus passes; Bus rider left out of the conversation | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 9 ISAAC SMITH •University of Cincinnati cancels UC Metro Card, killing unlimited rides program for students, faculty, and staff •UC officials told the Enquirer and News Record the cut gave the school increased flexibility to fund the Bearcat Transportation System •Public records indicate that the program cut was to fill a budget hole caused by cost overruns in operating a shuttle to UC’s Blue Ash campus •Even with the elimination of the UC Metro Card, the Bearcat Transportation System will see funding cuts and service reductions •Bus riders were given no advance notice of the card’s elimination as negotiations with SORTA were conducted without public input s the start of the new school year approached at the University of Cincinnati, students interested in applying for their semester bus pass through the UC*Metro program were greeted with an unfriendly message: “Registration for Fall Semester 2017 is suspended pending the outcome of negotiations between UC and Metro; the future status of the program is unknown at this time.” To frequent UC-affiliated Metro riders, this was bad news. For five years, UC and Metro had partnered to provide students with two options to get around Greater Cincinnati without a car. The first was the UC Metro Card, which cost $53 per semester for students and $160 per semester for faculty and staff, and gave the holder unlimited rides within Zone 1. The other option was the EZ Ride Card, which was free, but lowered the fare anywhere Metro goes from $1.75 to $1.00, with $0.50 transfers. Thousands of students, faculty, and staff relied on these programs to get to and from class, jobs, internships, co-ops, and anywhere else they needed to go. In mid-August, all those riders were left wondering: what happened to my bus pass? On August 17, an incomplete answer arrived. The UC Metro Card was no more. Going forward, the only option available to students and employees would be the EZ Ride Card. For a student who rides the bus to and from class every weekday and who does not have to transfer, the elimination of the UC Metro Card nearly triples transportation costs for a semester. For a student who uses the bus for more than trips to and from class, or who needs to transfer, that cost increase only gets bigger. UC students, however, received almost no notice that this program was going to change. The Thursday before classes in Fall 2017 was the first time that bus riders were sent any notification at all that they would A Contributing Photographer lose their unlimited rides pass. The elimination of the UC Metro card is not entirely unexpected. In 2005, Metro and UC tested a program that would give students the ability to ride any Metro bus for free by showing their student ID card. The test was successful, and in 2007, the program launched. The cost to UC was $150,000; half of that cost came from the school, and the remaining half was paid by the student government. In 2009, it was expanded to provide free rides to students, faculty, and staff, at a cost to the university of around $250,000. That was the only expansion. When UC shifted from quarters to semesters in 2012, the free rides went away. Instead, students could pay $53 for a semester of unlimited rides, and employees could pay $160. The cost to the university remained $250,000, but also gave students who did not ride the bus as frequently the option of the EZ Ride Card. The 2012 agreement remained in effect until this year, when the UC Metro Card was eliminated. Since the 2009 expansion, renegotiation of the contract between UC and Metro has only led to less access for UC-affiliated bus riders. The recent program changes betray a university saying one thing in public and doing another thing in private. In 2016, UC issued new student ID cards, which contained a contactless chip embedded in the card. At the time the new ID cards were issued, students were informed that it was a transit tie-in: it would effectively replace the red and black bus passes currently given to students, depending upon the plan selected. Instead of needing a separate pass, students could do what they did during the pilot program yet again: ride the bus using only their student ID. The company that produced the ID cards even bragged about the transit tie-in on its website. The same year, the Board of Trustees voted to keep the College of Law on the main campus, instead of moving it to The Banks, as had been proposed. The school recently decided to relocate the law school to the building that currently houses the Lindner College of Business. Construction to change the building so it suits the law school is set to begin in 2019. But one reason given for keeping the law school uptown— away from the firms and courthouses where students get jobs, internships, and externships—was that students could easily use the UC Metro Card to ride Cincinnati Metro’s many bus lines downtown. Now 2018, the transit tie-in remains unused, and law students are feeling misled. They are not alone, either—the Southwest Ohio Transit Authority, or SORTA, which operates Metro buses, was not expecting the delay in notification. A public records request submitted to SORTA for emails regarding the UC*Metro program reveals a transit agency doing all it can to keep the program alive with a limited budget, and a university hiding the ball. “The origin of the delay is with UC,” SORTA Director of Marketing and Communications Dave Etienne wrote to another employee in an internal email provided in response to the records request, “but that is probably moot since it is the students and staff who will suffer.” In other emails, Etienne expressed concern that UC’s delays in responding to SORTA’s attempt to negotiate to keep the program intact were intended to make SORTA, and not UC, look bad. In May of 2017, however, SORTA was the source of the delay. UC Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Joe Harrell sent several emails to SORTA employees asking for an update on what price point SORTA would agree to for offering the program at a reduced cost. Initially, SORTA had offered a price of $80,000 per year to offer only the EZ Ride Card to only students. SORTA then proposed $151,000 for offering only the EZ Ride Card to students, faculty, and staff. Harrell initially asked for an update on May 16, saying “a lot of people are asking me about the status of this program.” On the May 22, SORTA responded, offering $80,000. It was not until June that SORTA offered the $151,000 that pays for the program as it exists today. A meeting held by a UC committee about the UC*Metro program on July 13, 2017, appears to be pivotal. A similar records request submitted to UC reveals that the cause of the program’s alteration may not have been an attempt to redirect $100,000 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED to beef up UC’s own shuttle service, as the school had suggested, but to cover a budget deficit from operating a shuttle to UC’s Blue Ash campus. “We are about $100,000 in the hole for the Blue Ash shuttle, and we spend about $75,000 more on other transportation costs than we receive in revenue for a total deficit of $175,000,” Harrell wrote in an email the morning of July 13, discussing the recommendations that came of the morning’s meeting. Rather than expanding campus shuttle service, the $99,000 saved from the elimination of the UC Metro Card would plug the hole left by operating the UC Blue Ash shuttle. To make up for the remaining $75,000, UC shuttle service would be reduced as well, eliminating late night shuttles, and replacing them with Night Ride service, which offers UC students a free ride on-demand to destinations within one mile of campus. The numbers, however, do not seem to add up. UC admitted it received “a large benefit from this program,” referring to offering the red UC Metro Card, which may be why a SORTA employee “didn’t seem disappointed when we told him we were thinking of not renewing the program.” Despite the apparent lack of disappointment, emails between SORTA employees and UC employees show SORTA continuing to offer both the EZ Ride Card and the UC Metro Card at the same price of $250,000. Nowhere in the records that were received does either SORTA or UC discuss raising the cost of the discount card to cover the budget gap. The email sent after the July 13 meeting was not sent to any students; UC was not able to provide a list of who was present at the meeting, or even what committee met, but it does not appear that any student input was solicited regarding the discontinuation of (Continued on page 11) �10 LOCAL F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 January 26 - February 17, 2018 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 5 | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 I n this age of call-out culture, where so many seem too eager to proclaim their moral superiority over those who disagree with them, the recent kerfuffle over Elder High School students making å comments during a basketball game against St. X has provided an opportunity to study a more compassionate way to respond to deplorable actions. Full disclosure: my son attends St. Xavier. Before this story made its way into the media, I received (along with, I presume, all St. X parents) an email with a statement from the principal. The compassionate humility and self-reflection evident in that email was refreshing precisely because I so infrequently see that kind of tact anymore. In the message, principal Terrence Tyrrell ends self-reflectively: Being men and women for others means calling out injustice and naming it for what it is. The actions of the Elder student section on Friday were racist and homophobic. While it is easy to point fingers MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 7 raw numbers this is not enough to do anything but appears to be a sign of support. There are 20 in Ukraine. The spreadsheet also lists 17,301 as “unknown,” so we do not know where they are stationed. That LOCAL Let us enter the struggle 11 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer of others, Tyrrell's example reminds us how the most impactful approach is to use these opportunities for personal reflection. To improve the world, we probably need to improve ourselves first. As Jesus speaking in Matthew reminds us: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. I fear we live in a world that, overall, celebrates public humiliation over reflection. We love calling-out the specks. [To contact Jason Haap email him at jasonhaap@gmail.com] at Elder today, we also need to look within our community at times where we have fallen short in this area. All of us need to reflect and discern on what happened at Elder, and what happens at St. X, to make sure we are not actively, or silently, participating in this behavior. As men for others, we must challenge and confront this behavior to continue to build our culture. Being a man or woman for others is not for the weak. It is for the courageous. Jesus's example calls us to a faith that does justice. In that light, it is important to understand that intolerant words spoken or written and intolerant actions are not welcome here. The promotion of truth undermines the ideology of injustice. Love for each other and love for all others fills us with the courage to enter the struggle. Good prevails only if we are willing to endure that struggle. Reread that first paragraph above. Tyrrell is not trying to point fingers at Elder students. Instead, he points out that we have a moral responsibility to name bad behavior which is different from the dynamics of contemporary call-out culture. Immediately after calling Elder's student's behavior "racist" and "homophobic," the very next sentence turns that critical eye inward. When I wrote my introductory paragraph to this item, I'm not sure where the word "kerfuffle" came from. It is not a word I use frequently. It just kind of popped out of my fingers without thought. I like that word, but I was afraid of using it. I believe wholeheartedly there are people who find the connotations of that word inappropriate for this item's subject. It's a funny-sounding word, and there is nothing funny about racism and homophobia. Several readers, I am quite sure, are hung-up on that word, creating arguments against my own inappropriateness. I left the word because, for readers with that reaction, I realized they are doing precisely what St. X's principal avoided. Rather than pontificating about the errors or poor judgement might be interesting if we knew the locations, or perhaps they would just be supplementing the numbers we know about. Some of the places which just have a few troops intrigue me. Why are they there? Why are there 8 Marines in Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a small group of French islands near Newfoundland? These rocky islands are all that is left from their empire in North America after losing everything else in the French and Indian War. Why are there two Marines in Macau, which is an island that is part of the People’s Republic of China? Macau, by the way, is the premier gambling center of the world. Anyways, if you want to look at the website yourself, go to: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/ dwp/dwp_reports.jsp . You need to scroll down a little to the section “Military and Civilian Personnel by Service/Agency by State/Country.” I bookmarked this site and will be checking it from time to time. than their EZ Ride Card-holding counterparts: students who had access to unlimited rides took an average of 83 rides in 2016, while students who had the EZ Ride Card and had to pay per trip took only 15 rides. Faculty and staff rides were similarly split between the UC Metro Card and the EZ Ride Card, with staff members who paid for the unlimited rides card taking 133 trips, and those using the free card taking only an average of 27. Contracts were finalized in early August of last year, at which point the origin of the delay was, according to internal SORTA emails, no longer with SORTA but with UC. By early August, both agencies had agreed to a contract providing only the EZ Ride Card to students, faculty, and staff for $151,000. All that needed to happen was both the SORTA board and the UC Board of Trustees needed to vote to approve it. Those votes did not come until the middle of the month, resulting in the delay in notifying students about the future of the program. What will happen going forward remains uncertain. Unlike in years past, the contract to which both parties agreed in August of this year is not for three years, but for one year, with a one- or two-year renewal option. Perhaps with some student input the UC Metro Card will return at a higher price, and with more advertising. At a Better Bus Coalition event held at Clifton Market earlier this semester, many of the UC students who approached the Better Bus Coalition table were not even aware that the UC*Metro program even existed. If the program’s recent trajectory is any indication, however, further cuts to both the UC*Metro program and UC’s shuttle service may be down the road. [Isaac Smith is a member of the Better Bus Coalition. To find out more go to betterbuscoalition.org] --------------------------------------- ISAAC SMITH (Continued from page 9) half of the UC*Metro program. Instead, UC and Metro assumed that with the unlimited rides pass eliminated, those who had elected to purchase that pass would instead elect to receive the free EZ Ride Card and pay $1.00 per ride. Raising the cost of the card, however, could have allowed the program to continue at reduced cost to UC. Although it would have meant nearly doubling the cost of the pass, a $95 per semester pass for students— assuming the number of students purchasing the pass remained the same, and did not continue to fall, as had happened in recent years— would have raised enough money for Metro to get the $99,000 it needed to continue offering the program while allowing UC to cover the deficit it was running on its shuttle program. But with a pass not well advertised and no student input seemingly solicited, that possibility did not play out. Instead, students are left with costs tripled, rather than doubled or kept the same, and have lost the convenience of having to swipe only one card to get on the bus. As a result of its ease and convenience, students with the UC Metro Card took far more rides THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED -------------------------------------------- �12 JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) children in Cincinnati Public Schools will have experienced homelessness. • After a decade of cuts and now a couple years of partial restorations, the City of Cincinnati funds the city’s Human Services Fund at just shy of 1 percent of the city’s general fund. • In the rememberable past the City of Cincinnati has put only about $4 million of our city-specific funds into affordable housing, while the cost of constructing a rental unit has risen by more than 50 percent since 2000. • In 2017 more than 137 people died while without homes and because of homelessness, up from 72 people in 2016, 58 people in 2015 and 46 people in 2014. Their average age in 2017 was 51. • Thousands of subsidized homes are within just a few years of their subsidy contracts possibly expiring. • Thousands of units of affordable housing have been lost due to gentrification in the last 20 years, further deepening poverty and homelessness and splitting apart communities. JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 6) was amazing. Mary She gave me her real name, but said she did not want me to use it. “So, pick a name,” I said. She thought about it. “This is interesting.” And after a while, “Okay, Mary.” Why not? Mary had been born and lived a comfortable young life in a Rhode Island town some twenty minutes distant. He father had been a prominent surgeon, as well as an alcoholic. She had five older siblings. The family had a beach house in nearby Narragansett and a ski home in the Massachusetts Berkshires. Her parents divorced when she was 16. Even then, although she had lots of school friends, she recalls being something of a loner, an independent spirit. “One day, late fall, I rode my bike down to the beach. I was pretty much alone there. I drew a great big heart in the sand. In the middle of it, I wrote the word 'LIFE.' That's the way I am. I still love life. I don't know what I would do without my positive spirit.” She did her college at the nearby University of Rhode Island, where she majored in Communications and French. “I was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Magna Cum Laude.” It had become quite clear that Mary was a very intelligent woman. She was also dynamic and personable, as she talked a blue streak about her life and the series of misadventures leading up to becoming homeless. I mentioned to her that, in the early '80s, homelessness famously manifested itself in people who were called at the time, “Bag Ladies,” women who moved about LOCAL F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 • Regularly companies purchase a property from a person, then through the county court system evict everyone (most of whom are Black people), rehab the building into expensive condos or apartments, sell or rent them to wealthier people (most of whom are white people) and the city gives the owner a tax abatement on the increase in the property value caused by the rehab. Then potentially, the neighbors across the street sees their property values go up as a result to levels where they can no longer afford their property taxes. • Since 2003 more than $1 billion consisting of local, state and federal taxes as well as private funds from wealthy companies whose lionshare of revenue is generated by the hard work of regular folks, have been spent primarily on housing by the city/very wealthy businesscreated organization 3CDC, and homelessness and the housing crisis are the worst they have ever been in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. To repeat more briefly, more than $1 billion has been spent in the last 14 years primarily on housing, and homelessness in our area is the worst it has ever been. You know what we need?...... A SOCCER STADIUM! THAT’S RIGHT, WE NEED A SOCCER STADIUM! (Please note that the previous two sentences are sarcastic. We do not need a damned soccer stadium. How greedy, arrogant and self/ethnocentered do you have to be to live in a city where homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing are at record levels and you decide to fight for a soccer stadium? You could choose to fight for the right of women, men, girls and boys to have sustainable housing, but you choose to fight for a stadium where people can watch other people kick a ball around a field? I can hear it now, someone like Jeff Berding (who already suckered people into two other stadiums) saying, “Well, I believe in both. A soccer stadium will improve our city and is worth fighting for and of course we must fight poverty. I’m always trying to improve our community”. If in the future you are in a room where a business person is telling the crowd she or he believes we need a stadium and she or he also cares about fighting homelessness and poverty, I hope you have a shovel with you because you’re going to need it to ensure the level of BS doesn’t get above the windpipes of those present. And don’t buy the argument that we need this stadium because of the jobs it will create. If the Lindners really cared, they could pay all of their employees a living wage and could build a whole bunch of affordable housing with the piles of money in their possession. In reality, the shovel you need for the BS must be the actions you put forth to fight yet another set of selfcentered, exploitive, greedy lies. You can’t actually fight for both this soccer stadium and fight poverty and homelessness. People have got to pick a side. Tactics may differ in the fight against the exploitation of people and a neighborhood, but there are really only two sides to this. Our speech and actions can be resolutely rooted in love of neighbors and justice or rooted in money and ethnocentrism, but not both.) with all their belongings in large bags. She laughed, considering her four bags. “Sometimes I joke with friends and call myself that...'a bag lady.'” I was still dealing, somewhat incredulously, with her poise and her ease in opening up her life to me. My big question, which I couldn't wait to ask, was: “So how did a person like you wind up homeless?” “On the road” to homelessness After college, she said, “I just wanted to get out of Rhode Island.” And she did, moving to, and working at, various jobs in eight different states, some nearby, but others farflung. Sacramento. Seattle. Chicago. Minneapolis. “Minnesota was just too cold for me.” In Baltimore she tried to join the Navy. After several months of boot camp, they realized she had a blood disorder, and she was unable to go on. In Seattle, at 25, she recalls being in love with a handsome young man. “It was Valentine's day, and I wanted to make a special card for him. I decided to learn how to say 'I love you' in different languages and write them out on a big card. I planned to do some research at the library, but I got called into work.” She didn't give up on her plan. “I started calling ethnic restaurants and asking them how to say 'I love you' in their language.” By now, half a life later, she continues this practice. Whenever she meets a foreigner, she asks for their way of saying, those three famous words. “At this point, I can say it, from memory, in 32 different languages. I sometimes use it as a way of bringing a little peace (and love) into the world.” Eventually Mary wound up back in her home state, taking a good job with the social security administration. She laughed at the irony. “I found myself doing interviews with people who were in the same situation as I find myself in now.” She earned enough money to buy her own house in the town of Warwick. She lived there for eight years. Her positive spirit would be tested again and again as things started to unravel in her life. She began drinking more and more. Bills were piling up. She got a DUI (called a “referral”). Finally, she wound up having to “short sell” her house. She moved into an apartment but, after four years, she was forced to leave because of issues related to her two beloved cats. [She insists that the cats were wrongly blamed]. For a while, she moved into a small house with her mother and an older brother. That didn't work out either. Suddenly, as with so many others, she found that she was out on the streets. Just over a year ago, she moved into Welcome House for a month and a half. That situation quickly became too “stressful” for her, and she moved out. A day in the life Here is the way a day in Mary's life generally goes. She couch surfs with a friend, or—as she would that night— beds down at the church (after 7:30). In the morning, a friend who stays at the church often drives her to the YMCA (she had been able to enroll there for a year for $35). She does a daily workout routine, gets sweated up, and—most important—has a hot shower. Then she hangs out on the computer in the Y's common room, reads, and enjoys a cup of coffee. [During her overnight at the church after our interview, Rhode Island got six inches of unexpected snow. The next morning this woman trudged almost a mile [toting all her belongings] to the Y, where I joined her and took the accompanying photos]. At 11:3O, she makes her way (with all those bags) to the Welcome House, where lunch is provided. After lunch, she often walks a short distance (also with bags) to the Peace Dale library. On decent-weather days, she hangs out in a pleasant little park across the main drag from the library. Late in the afternoon, her brother, who works nearby, might pick her up and take her to her mother's house, where she can do laundry and arrange her belongings for the following day's bout with being on the move. More important, she gets to visit and care for of her cats. Mary also has the afternoon option of remaining in town and moving her belongings to the Guild House, part of an agency that provides various services to locals. She can remain there until the church shelter (next-door) opens at 7:30. In some ways, Mary's life might seem much more genteel than the situation of homeless people in a big city like Cincinnati. But the lifestyle that homelessness forces on any individual is never remotely easy—all those belongings to haul everywhere Mary goes. The future “So, what are your plans in terms of resuming a more 'normal' life?” I ask. She says that she is hoping to get a permanent situation at the shelter in Westerly, a larger town, a half-hour south along the coast. “If I get in there, there are plenty of jobs available. I'll borrow a bike. “I try not to think too much about it. I do whatever I need to do. I'll take it step by step. If you try to analyze too much you lose track of where you are. I figure there's only up from where I am.” THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED -------------------------------------------- �No. 37 5 | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 ORANGE BARRELS 13 STREET VOICE Orange Barrels, Orange Barrels They’re everywhere Each day the construction workers are there Putting up the construction signs Placing Orange Barrels all around From block to block, from street to street Construction work is on the streets THE ADMINISTRATION'S IMMIGRATION POLICY "Don't give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." That is the gist of Trump's immigration policy. Now all those folks from "shithole countries" Will be informed that they must stay away, To make some room for whiter applicants From countries like Norway. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer GROWN ON THE MARKET FINDLAY MARKET HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE So just sit down and take a seat Orange Barrels are what you’re gonna see TO GET FRESH PRODUCTS A PLACE TO SHOP WHERE YOU'RE SAFE AND PEOPLE WATCH THEIR CONDUCT HOME GROWN VEGETABLES IS NOT ALL ONE CAN ENJOY AT THE MARKET IN A DAY KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THEY HAVE GOOD FOOD WHERE YOU CAN EAT, DRINK AND HAVE A SEAT BY THE WAY THE MARKET DECIDED TO ALLOW THE CINCY HOMELESS COALTION NEWSPAPERS TO BE SOLD GAVE ME A SECTION TO SELL STREETVIBES AND TO MEET MY BOSS WHO WAS OLD AND COLD LITTLE DID I KNOW THE BOSS USED TO SELL PAPER BAGS THERE WHEN HE WAS A BOY THEREFORE, HE KNEW MR. FLOWER MAN, MR. COFFEE MAN AND MR. TEA MAN, NOW I’M COY FEAR FOR MY PLACE AT THE MARKET I HAD TO GET TO KNOW MY BOSS I KNEW WITHOUT HIS UNDERSTANDING TO SELL STREETVIBES WOULD BE LOST I BEGAN TO SHARE WITH HIM THE PAPER ALLOWING HIM TO READ STORIES AND MY POETRY ONCE HE UNDERSTOOD HOMELESSNESS READING THE PAPER HE SHOWED LOYALTY HE SAID HI I'M MR. MARTY AND I SAID I'M MS. WILLA SELLING STREETVIBES TODAY THEN HE TOLD ME HOW LONG HE'S BEEN WORKING SECURITY FOR YEARS WITHOUT A DELAY I BELEIVE HE GREW ON THE MARKET AND HE IS MY INSPIRATION TO COME TO FINDLAY BY THE WAY I THANK YOU MR. MARTY FOR SO MANY YEARS OF DEDICATION AND BEING A FREIND OF MINE I WILL ALWAYS STAY ON MY SCHEDULE SELLING STREETVIBES AND I'LL ALWAYS BE JUST FINE WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 144 Across 1. Ness 5. Inundated 10. Written leave of absence 14. Hooter 15. Travesty 16. Notion 17. Desiccated 18. Test 19. Leave out 20. Bend forward 22. Part of the hand 23. Three squared 24. Squash plant 26. Erase 28. Cramp 31. Golf accessory 32. Roofing material 35. A sheltered and secluded place 37. Flare up 41. Playing card 42. Simple crane 44. Large expanse of water 45. Migratory aquatic birds 47. Narrate 48. Leguminous plant 49. Colony insect 51. Not fresh 53. Swallow 56. Roof of the mouth 60. Lacking warmth 61. Large military dining room 64. Stateroom 65. Not in favor of 66. Creek 68. Tincture 69. Slant 70. Dodge 71. Boundary of a surface 72. Ancient stringed instrument 73. Refund 74. Cervid Down 1. Abyss 2. Major artery 3. Earlier in time 4. Give support or approval to 5. Astern 6. Buckle 7. Song 8. Burn caused by hot liquid or steam 9. Protective headgear 10. Trailblazer 11. Let in 12. French river 13. Satisfy 21. Music genre 25. A gradual decline 27. Edible plant 29. Kind 30. Conventions of a group 32. Label 33. Frozen water 34. The sheltered side 36. Tartan skirt 38. Employ 39. Small vegetable 40. Bronze 42. A surface depression 43. Applaud 46. Small fatty fish 48. Tardy 50. Wood, cut and prepared 52. Used in varnishes and sealing wax 53. Currency 54. Part of a church 55. Boldness 57. Dwell 58. Undertone 59. Go in 60. A telephone connection 62. Cleansing agent 63. Soft drink 67. Tonality PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 374 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 143 F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 274 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 273- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 5 RESOURCES | F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 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 Salvation Army 762-5660 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 411 Gest St. 45203 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 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 621-7265 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1125 Bank Street 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Prospect House 921-1613 Starting Over 961-2256 2121 Vine Street 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 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 Housing: First Step Home 761-1480 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 Talbert House Tender Mercies 221-HELP 721-8666 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 27 W. 12th Street 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA VA Homeless Food/Clothing 421-0065 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 1522 Republic 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 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 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street 45202 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 471-1100 Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center UpSpring 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health 621-5300 961-1983 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 535-2719 751-8771 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 721-0643 City Gospel Mission 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen St. George Food Pantry 2554 Dennis St. 45219 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 1528 Race St. 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street 45202 15 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 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 for 26 issues 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 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 $100 981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 F e b 9 - F e b 2 2 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 5 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. 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 2/2011 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 2018 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 9-February 22, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director An Update on Citizen Organizing in 2018 Pg 3: The Allure of Gentrification Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Compassionate Measurement There’s Compassion in Sharing Pg 6: The Campaign Mother Goose and Other Alternative Facts Pg 7: Where Are Our Troops? Pg 8: Life is a Beach Pg 9: UC Students Lose Their Bus Passes Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Let Us Enter the Struggle Pg 12: Josh Spring Continued Jim Luken 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 February 9-February 22, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Dr. Mark Mussman Trenton Davis Luwana Pettus Oglesby Michael Earl Patton Jim Luken Isaac Smith Jason Haap Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Bill Woods Homeless Coalition Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Bus Dr. Mark Mussman Gentrification Homeless Coalition Isaac Smith Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Luwana Pettus Oglesby Michael Earl Patton Students Trenton Davis Troops University of Cincinnati Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/08fe1dd3c7f43adfaf14f1d57cb68ae2.pdf 33b400b9002a531343cd35af45cc36c4 PDF Text Text February 23rd - March 8th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 5 (No. 376) advocating justice | building community Uber Cannot Replace Public Transit - But It Can Enhance it | 9 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE new Executive Director of The Child Poverty Collaborative | 2 My Picket Line | 3 Retired Lutheran Minister Dorsey Stebbins| 9 School shootings and other social problems | 7 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL To FC Cincinnati Fans T he option of building a Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium in the West End is not a game. It is not just another match for FC Cincinnati to win. The West End is a neighborhood; a community of people. And meeting after meeting people who live in the West End have come out and passionately said no to a soccer stadium in the West End. People have said they don’t want the stadium because of the gentrification it will bring. Jeff Berding, President of FC Cincinnati, says the stadium would displace nobody. Even if a stadium would not directly take homes and displace people, the prospectors, developers and entrepreneurs who would come to cash in on it, would. Some have argued that gentrification will come anyway, so why not move forward with this stadium. That is such a terrible argument. First of all, gentrification is not inevitable. People can continue to organize and say no to displacement and exclusive “development”. Legislation can be created which would prevent displacement and gentrification. It simply is not inevitable. This F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 JOSH SPRING Executive Director argument is like saying house fires are inevitable so its okay to let people sell tickets for a camp-fire marshmallow roast in the middle of your living Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition room (if you have a home). When the wolf comes knocking at your door, don’t let it in. Here is the thing; the perspective, experiences and needs of people who live in the West End are more important than a soccer stadium. Do you, as FC Cincinnati fans, wish to be in a location where most of the people who live there, don’t want the team because people don’t want their neighborhood to be gentrified? Do you want to be a part of continuing the legacy of racist and economic displacement of Black People and People with low-incomes from the West End? That’s the history and that is why people don’t want this. And this history is still happening. 2,300 affordable homes have been lost in Over-the-Rhine due to gentrification. Thousands of people were forced from their homes in the West End just 15 years ago. If FC Cincinnati fans want an MLS stadium you need to begin telling Jeff Berding to stop trying to locate it in the West End. If the people who live there don’t want it, it should not happen. Further, I can’t imagine that this fight helps your prospect of FC Cincinnati being picked as a franchise by the MLS. Feel free to cheer your soccer players and team, but don’t cheer on your (Continued on page 6) Introducing the new Executive Director of The Child Poverty Collaborative T he new Executive Director of the Child Poverty Collaborative came to the Community Issues Forum on February 15th to give an update concerning this effort to effectively address Cincinnati's high family poverty rate. Although she cited some progress in assisting families in improving their situations, Dr. Karen Bankston emphasized that making a real dent in eliminating poverty in this city was a huge and complex undertaking. She called it "a heavy lift" that requires people to understand that many economic, social and political factors keep people poor. Bankston chided the popular concept that the solution is to convince poor people "to work harder." Many parents. She noted, are currently working two or three jobs but still not able to make a livable income for their families. She cited that 62- percent of Cincinnati's children in poverty have a workingparent, and that 72-percent of this area's jobs pay less than $50,000, the estimated amount needed to provide for a family comprised of one adult BILL WOODS Contributing Writer and two children. The Collaborative, Bankston noted, is currently bringing employers together to look for ways to deal with the very real income gap that exists in our job market. In her previous job at Children's Hospital, she convinced its CEO to do a study of employee salaries and their impacts. This review revealed that 4,000 people working for the Hospital received salaries that kept them below or just (Continued on page 5) 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, Jason Haap, Michael Earl Patton, Saad Ghosn, Mark Samaan, Steve Sunderland, Bobby Morris, Kim Green, Willa Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, Homeless Coalition, ECI.com, ABC7. com, ForceOptionsUSA.com, Saad Ghosn, Better Bus Coalition, Bill Woods --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Karen Bankston speaks at Community Issues Forum Credit: Justin Jeffre THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 37 6 3 LOCAL My Picket Line | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 DR. MARK MUSSMAN L ast year, my high school classmates planned a funfilled reunion weekend. I was excited to see old friends and catch up after all these years. Unfortunately, the planners, with no historical knowledge of the displacement that took place at the Metropole, decided to hold the event at the 21C Hotel. I immediately sent a message letting everyone know how 3CDC unethically and unjustly displaced the residents of the Metropole. I told them that I would not set foot in the 21C Hotel, and I urged others to do the same. It is my picket line. Growing up in Cincinnati, my first experience with a picket line was when Bigg’s employees were on strike. As a child, how could I know the complexity of collective bargaining? Staff Writer some of the protests against the new developments, like the Holiday Inn downtown or Richter Phillips Jewelers, which have been accused to be using unfair labor practices. In my mind, I tuck each of those places into a specific space that reminds me not to support that business. I also take the #NFLBoycott very seriously, and I hope that you did the same. I hope you will continue to boycott the NFL in the future, regardless of whether “your team” is doing well, as wage disparity, health/environmental issues, rampant sexism and racism plague the NFL. Wage theft is also an issue - which means that managers and business owners are withholding pay from their workers. There are many ways in which this occurs, from withholding at the very top, Champion Windows had nearly 700 employees who were finally paid almost $700,000 in overtime that they deserved. Many chain restaurants are on the list, but other smaller businesses, like The Senate in Over-the-Rhine, are also on the list. In Over-the-Rhine, I listen to stories of residents, including youth, who have received inhospitable service at restaurants, boutiques, or bars in the neighborhood. When someone complains that they were looked over for service, not given water or menus, people seated before them, ignored, poor service, etc., and they believe it has to do with their skin color, I file that business away in my brain as a place I should not support. Racism and poor labor practices are not the only reasons why I about it. Businesses that take up a huge amount of sidewalk space with barriers, like Rheinhaus, do that so they can serve alcohol on the sidewalk. Although it is legal, private sale of alcohol is not an acceptable use of public space. Other businesses are located in places that were key institutions in the neighborhood, like the corner store on 13th and Vine, where Homage is now, or the laundromat and school property where the Mercer is now. I refuse to be a part of the indirect gentrification in the neighborhood. Many other businesses are outside of the price range of myself and the original residents of the neighborhood. We obviously cannot afford to pay the starting dinner price of $38 at these restaurants on Vine Street. Finally, another trend, using racism/sexism/transphobia/ homophobia to sell your product will land you on my banned list. This includes the transphobic half taco, Hostile Design in Holtman's Donut Shop on Vine Street Close up of metal slats preventing people from sitting outside Holtman's Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman But, I was well aware of what’s fair and that people should deserve a livable wage and safe working conditions. That instance, of actually seeing people outside a business, holding signs and daring customers to cross the line, was instrumental for me in my understanding of labor issues. Recently, you may have seen wages, to pooling tips unfairly, forcing workers to pay back overtime pay, changing time sheets, etc. Wage theft is rarely punished criminally, but business may be forced to pay back wages. A recent list of wagetheft businesses was compiled using federal data that included 100 local businesses where the employees have recovered their wages. For example, would refuse to patron a business in my neighborhood. Businesses, like Holtman’s Donut Shop on Vine street, where hostile design elements grace their building are also off limits for me. The metal slats under their windows prevent people who are waiting on the bus from sitting down. Even if they just rent the space, they could still do something half hotdog menu item from The Senate named after Caitlyn Jenner, or the poorly thought out menu items at Revolution Chicken “honoring” Gandhi and Harriet Tubman. Even though they changed these menu items, it is very offensive to come into a black neighborhood, where (Continued on page 7) Sidewalk seating forces single-file, tight spaces Spikes on the Fence around Union Hall bordering Imagination Alley 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 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 �No. 37 6 JUBILEE CAMPAIGN An Alternative | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 A s anxieties about an economically unstable future grow globally, there is an alternative mindset much closer to home—literally just around the corner, in fact. Instead of relying on federal policy, our local communities are constructing an economy and a way of being that promises more stability and more local control. 2016’s surprise Brexit results in the UK and Trump’s election in the US are an indication that something fundamental is shifting in our economic and cultural landscape. There is waning faith that central governments—whether in Brussels or Washington and whether conservative or liberal—have the capacity to make a real difference in our lives. These votes highlight a profound distrust in some of the closely held beliefs that affect our economic and social well-being. No matter which way people leaned in the ballots, however, voters throughout the West agree that PETER BLOCK Contributing Writer more connected with their local communities. This community-concentrated mindset calls for a long-term shift in our economic thinking. Modern economic beliefs have been founded on assumptions of scarcity and a nearreligious belief in competition and growth. These beliefs have produced a set of betterment measurements: unemployment statistics, average income, purchasing power, and gross domestic product. Up until now, such metrics have become traditional yardsticks for the “good life.” This economic narrative implies that happiness and prosperity can be achieved by brilliant schooling, which leads to well-paying jobs, which leads to increased purchasing power, which leads to bigger houses and more assets. And yet the good life remains out of reach for too many: Families in the US are still impacted by the mortgage crisis, new jobs are in the lower-paying service sector, student structurally alternative economy that is occurring all around us. For example, cooperative housing involves jointly owned property with common spaces for cooking and eating, common areas for children to play, and privacy areas for times you want it. In the business sector, there are an estimated 30,000+ cooperative businesses in the US producing over 850,000 jobs; Ace Hardware and REI are two of the best known. There is also a rising nonmonetized economy. TimeBanks, which currently operate in 30 US cities, record each hour of generosity among neighbors, converting that time into additional volunteer hours to be spent at will. These communitybased models represent a profound shift towards an economics of mutuality. Instead of defining economics as the allocation of scarce resources, these models are based off the belief that in any given system, there is enough. There is also an expanding movement of community-building initiatives, in which neighborliness is assigned practical value. One of the most interesting is the Abundant Community Initiative, which was started in the Highlands neighborhood of Edmonton, Canada. something needs to be fixed. Instead of being outwardly focused on global forces or ceding all power to federal governments, many citizens around the world are turning their sights inward to what they can control: the cooperative economy and becoming BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) above the poverty line. There are so many factors, according to Bankston, that keep families from lifting themselves out of poverty. She named the lack of affordable housing and the cost and the lack of day-care as two of them. Another negative is the lack of public 5 Working with the city government, local minister and neighborhood activist Howard Lawrence found people to act as “block connectors” for the neighborhood. The block connectors ask residents what they are good at, what they are willing to teach others, and what they would like to help make better in the neighborhood. The results of this experiment included a less isolated citizenry, more trust in the institutions of the city, and increased feelings of safety. The effort is now being replicated in fifteen additional neighborhoods in Edmonton. Now is the moment to take the idea of a cooperative economy and community-building seriously. As David Brooks declared in a recent New York Times column titled “The Great Affluence Fallacy,” “Maybe we’re on the cusp of some great cracking. Instead of just paying lip service to community while living for autonomy, I get the sense a lot of people are actually about to make the break and immerse themselves in demanding local community movements.” This crack could signal the beginning of an effort to reclaim the common good and reinvest in a promise we can believe in. Instead of looking outward or upward for solutions to our economic anxiety, we should be looking inward toward local and cooperative actions, plus a dose of neighborly affection. debt is high, and the average family credit-card debt is over $15,000, not counting car or home loans. And there is a solution that doesn’t rely upon federal political policy or the whims of the global economy. The cooperative economy is a transit to connect city residents with the jobs that exist in the suburbs beyond the City limits. Finally, she is convinced that uncoordinated and sometimes conflicting public and private social service programs must be refashioned to more effectively help families. Bankston says that any effective effort to address poverty has to go beyond economics to deal with the "distrust, anger," and other psychological barriers that grow up in a culture of poverty. She is encouraging the development of more hands-on services that work with families on the whole range of obstacles that keep them from achieving success. She sees the role of the Collaborative as a catalyst to promote and to advocate for the kind of coordinated programs and services THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED and public policies that will truly deal with the complexities of urban family poverty. P.S.- The Forum on March 1st tackles one of the issues brought up by Karen Bankston. A panel will look at the inadequacies of Cincinnati's current bus service and discuss how they can be fixed. -------------------------------------- �6 LOCAL School shootings and other social problems O ur media landscape defines how we feel about touchstone cultural events (no matter the political leanings of our news sources) by virtue of what gets covered, and how. Once again, we find ourselves in the midst of a debate about guns, school shootings, and the limits of the second amendment. But what if the media landscape does not provide an accurate context? In other words, what are the cold hard facts about school shootings? I thought to dig into some number-based facts with regards to school shootings. 1) According to the US Department of Education, in the fall of 2017, there were 50.7 million students in public elementary and secondary schools, and an additional 5.2 million attending private schools. For the sake of round numbers, let's call that approximately 56 million students attending our country's elementary and secondary schools. 2) Jugal K. Patel, writing a recent item for the New York Times titled "After Sandy Hook, More Than 400 People Have Been Shot in Over 200 School Shootings," states that, since the Sandy Hook shooting, "...there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide. In those episodes, 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed." The Sandy Hook shooting happened in December, 2012. For the sake of simple math, let's call that five years ago. On average, then, 88 students per year get shot, and 28 per year get killed. Before looking at the math to determine the probability of a student being shot to death in school, let me be clear: I do not mean to suggest that it is acceptable for anyone to be shot needlessly, in school or otherwise. Instead, I'm just curious how the actual facts match the media landscape which seems to be influencing both what we talk about, and how we talk about it. To find the chances of being shot in a school-based event, I used the numbers from above: 88/56,000,000=0.00000157142, or roughly 0.00016%. Chance of being shot to death in a school-based event: 28/56,000,000=0.00000005, or roughly 0.00005%. I had to look up a JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) team trying to force its way into a neighborhood that doesn’t want it. Don’t cheer on your team to continue in a fight that simply makes it look worse and worse. Many of us are fine with FC Cincinnati looking worse and worse, but if you, as a fan don’t want that, tell Jeff Berding to stop trying to force the team on people that don’t F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer chart to even know what words to call that number. I'm still not sure. While it is never okay for a child to be shot, a 0.00005% probability is astronomically small - especially compared to how I think the media landscape is making all of us feel right now. The fact that so many angry arguments, some of which can end family relationships or lifelong friendships, are happening over something with such a tiny probability Time for more facts! The National Center for Education Statistics indicates that, in the 2013-14 school year, there were 98,271 public schools in our country. (I'm not including private schools in this computation because, presumably, armed guards for private schools would not be paid by public dollars, but I could be wrong.) According to a 2014 Census Bureau report, the average American In some states, there are no age restrictions for rifles like the AR 15 Rifle Credit: abc7.com Media Guide to AR 15 Rifle Credit:ForceOptionsUSA.com strikes me as worth further thought. The radical right says we need to arm all the teachers. I'm not going to even take that suggestions seriously. But many have called for armed guards in every school. I feel like lots of people find that potential solution more reasonable. income is about $52,000 per year. Let's assume one armed guard in every school costs the average salary plus insurance and benefits. I believe this would take the number above $60,000 in real costs, but let's use that number to be conservative. And let's also remember many schools are want it because their life experiences tell them this stadium would harm their community. --------------------------------------- Jeff Berding at West End Community Council Credit: Justin Jeffre THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED so large, they would need more than one armed guard. Nevertheless, to put an armed guard in every public school at the average salary would cost $5,896,260,000 - or nearly $5.9 billion per year. If these armed guards were able to prevent all shooting deaths (which is highly unlikely), that would mean each saved life (28 per year) would cost approximately $210,580,714. Is it worth $211 million to save one life? According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, "[b] etween 1999 and 2002, hypothermiarelated deaths, totaling 4,607 in number, occurred in all 50 states in the United States." In other words, about 1,152 people die each year from being homeless in the cold. Over 41x as many people die from exposure related to homelessness than are shot in schools. Writing for the New York Times in 2012, in an item titled "Homeless Rates in U.S. Held Level Amid Recession, Study Says, but Big Gains Are Elusive," reporter Annie Lowery cites a housing official who claimed the US could effectively end homelessness for $20 billion per year. I think it's interesting to juxtapose numbers like this. I know there are all kinds of reasons people will cite about why homeless people are not the same as school students. There are all kinds of negative character traits that many apply to homeless people* which they don't apply to schoolchildren - but, at the end of the day, a life is a life, and I guess I kind of wonder what would happen if our culture would debate other social problems as vigorously as schoolshootings, especially when a greater total of lives could be saved. *Advocates of "person first language" believe in using phrases like "people experiencing homelessness," but instead I subscribe to "identity first language," which posits that being homeless is nothing to be ashamed of, and as such there is no reason to contort the typical use of adjectives in the English language. To contact Jason Haap email him at jasonhaap@gmail.com. [Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition encourages people to use person first language.] �No. 37 6 7 LOCAL Authorizing Hostilities | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 MICHAEL EARL PATTON N o one I know questions the right to defend our country in the case of an actual attack, but what about in case of a threat? Who makes the decision to respond, what form the response shall be, or if there even should be a response? Let’s leave aside the issue of economic and trade sanctions and focus on military force. Specifically, I am interested in who has the power to deploy our forces to areas where hostilities are likely and also who can order military force to be used, such as a bombing campaign. Since 2014 we have been conducting airstrikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which had taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria. We also have about 1,500 troops in Syria to help the Syrian Kurds beat back the Islamic State. The problem is that Syria is not an ally of the United States – far from it. We have heavily criticized President Assad and have said that there is no place for him in a peaceful Syria. Needless to say, we never got permission to station troops there, let alone conduct military operations. Obviously the president, as commander-in-chief, was involved, but was Congress? Was authorization from Congress needed? Did Congress grant it? The Constitution divides the authority over the military between the president, who is the commanderin-chief, and Congress, which has the power to declare war and controls the funding. This split in authority was the product of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which deliberated greatly on the balance of power between the president and Congress. As described in Edward Larson’s book, The Return of George Washington: 1783 – 1789, many feared giving too much power to the president who could then use that power to become DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) most of the original businesses have already been forced out, to recreate and rebrand traditional soul food, and make it out of reach of the black residents through racism, price points, or hostile design. I decided that I wanted to give my classmates an opportunity to see why I envision a picket line at 21C Hotel through a walking tour through Overthe-Rhine. Several of my classmates, who were in town for the reunion, and I met at Washington Park for Contributing Writer a monarch. Others wanted to give the president more power to get away from the indecisions so characteristic of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, which formed the first constitution of the United States. Under the Articles there was no separate executive officer, no one person to carry out the laws passed by Congress. And one of the things that vexed Washington was that Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, could not rid the 30,000 acres he owned in today’s West Virginia of Indians. The Indians, naturally enough, said that land and most of today’s Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, belonged to them. A stronger military was important to Washington. And while everyone at the convention trusted Washington to be an excellent first president, the concern was who would be the second. Many like Benjamin Franklin wanted a weaker president. In the end we wound up with the current division with people on both sides hoping that the somewhat vague wording would work to their side’s advantage once the new government got underway. And 230 years later that question as to exactly how to divide that authority is still with us. It must be conceded, however, that the president as commander-in-chief is currently using his power much more effectively than Congress is using theirs. The 1973 War Powers Resolution was passed over the veto of President Nixon. Section 4(a) (1) requires the President to report to Congress when U.S. forces enter hostilities, or it appears hostilities are imminent. Once such a report is submitted, the use of these forces must be terminated within 60 to 90 days unless Congress authorizes such use or extends the time period. Such a report has been given only once, during the 1975 Mayaguez incident, but by the time the report was submitted the forces had been withdrawn. Presidents have reported to Congress on the use of force but generally do not refer to this section, as for example President Reagan did in 1983 during the invasion of Grenada. Both houses of Congress objected and said that the time limit applied, but not in one united resolution. In any event, the forces were withdrawn within 60 days. In 2001 Congress passed the “Authorization for Use of Military Force” (AUMF) following the September 11 attacks. This authorized the President to use “all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations, or persons.” This authorization for use of force against un-named organizations and persons is unprecedented in American history, but note that the authorization is still tied to those somehow connected to the events of 9/11. In 2002 Congress passed another Authorization for Use of Military Force, this time against Iraq. Note that the implication is that Iraq was not connected with 9/11. As for Syria, President Obama did notify Congress that he was using force but avoided mentioning Section 4(a)(1), instead saying that he was relying on his authority as Commander-in-Chief. He later cited the two AUMFs passed in 2001 and 2002 as giving him authority to deploy troops to Syria and to engage in actions against the Islamic State. President Trump so far has done the same. The problem is, neither of these AUMFs extend to Syria. No one is saying that Syria was involved in 9/11 and the Islamic State, against whom we are fighting in Syria, did not even exist in 2001. The Islamic State is not harboring people from Al-Qaida but is fighting them instead since they are insufficiently Islamic. Many members of Congress have had similar concerns about our actions there but so far have not taken any action. Recent history has been that Presidents act while Congress dithers. Given the recent record of Congress on the budget and immigration issues, it is probably too much to expect things to change soon. I do think this is very important, I just don’t see how things will change given most of the current office holders. (Candidate Hillary Clinton said that she wanted the United States to enforce a “nofly-zone” to prevent Russian and Syrian aircraft from flying over parts of Syria, also apparently without getting congressional approval. No improvement was likely in that direction.) Instead, I present for your consideration the recent votes regarding the proposed budget (H.R. 1892) with its large increase in military spending. The increase will be $80 billion in fiscal year 2018 and $85 billion the next year; the details of which will be described in a later bill. In Ohio Congressman Chabot (R) voted against it while Wenstrup (R) voted for it. Congressman Massie (R) from Northern Kentucky also voted against it. Both Ohio Senators Brown (D) and Portman (R) voted for it. Kentucky Senator McConnell (R) voted for it while Senator Paul (R) voted no and even filibustered against the bill for a few hours. No doubt this topic will be continued at a later date. the walking tour. If you’d like to learn more about hostile design, changes in the neighborhood, and the service agencies who serve the community, please email me or goto https:// cincihomeless.org/about/education/ to schedule an Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement Waling Tour. --------------------------------------- Metal barrier at Rhinehaus creates a difficult situation Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman “Breakdown Stereotypes” “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS Retired Lutheran Minister Dorsey Stebbins' Voice for Peace and Justice Are His Patient and Persistent Protest Signs One at a Time 8 W F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 hen Dorsey Stebbins, 12 years old, was not able to successfully help his father in his business as this latter expected, his father, fearing for him, bluntly told him that he "would not make it" in his life. This affected Stebbins very much and remained with him ever since. It, however, also created in him the determination to be persistent in whatever he did, to put in longer hours at tasks to make up for what he lacked, and that eventually he would succeed. "I am not eloquent at words," Stebbins says, "but I use signs to protest injustice wherever I see it, and I do it day after day, without being deterred, until someone notices." "My persistent protest signs are my voice, and I hope they make a difference, even if a little at a time," he adds. Stebbins was born in 1932 in a religious family, his mother a Lutheran and his father member of the Church of the Brethren. Baptized as an infant, he attended, growing up, the Lutheran church of Miamisburg, OH, the town where his family lived. He felt all along that he was a "child" of God. He was pious, and all those who knew him assumed he would become a minister one day. Heading to college and doubting his capabilities, he tried successively Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and finally the Lutheran Church Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, Minnesota. He worked hard, succeeded, was ordained a Lutheran minister and was offered two parishes in the same area. "I wanted to do my best to be a good minister wherever I was needed," he says. "I recognized that God loved me and everyone else, and I wanted to share this message with SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer my parishioners." Stebbins remained 6 years in Minnesota then moved to lead other ministries in Dayton, then Loveland and Mason; he served as a Lutheran pastor for 22 years total. In 1977, and due to a misunderstanding with his bishop, he had to leave his last parish, the Holy Trinity church in Mason, and remained without one for 3 years. This lapsed time, according to the Lutheran Church rules, terminated officially his ministry. He later got a job as a high school teacher of mathematics in Dayton, OH, and remained in this position until 1992, when he retired to take care of his then wife, diagnosed with Alzheimer. In the meantime Stebbins had met Maurice McCrackin (1905-1997), an American civil rights and peace activist, also a Presbyterian minister who was removed from his church St. Barnabas in Cincinnati's West End, for standing up for his beliefs against the Vietnam War and refusing to pay his federal taxes as a result. McCrackin had then started the small Community Church on Dayton Street, downtown Cincinnati, and Stebbins joined it. "Meeting McCrackin in 1985 triggered my real involvement in social justice as an activist," says Stebbins. "When in college, I was, however, fascinated by any gifted person advocating for social justice and, thus, did contribute a little bit myself." Stebbins first act was in the Fall of 1958 when he and another seminarian went to Little Rock, Arkansas, to interview then Governor Orval Faubus, a Democrat, who was standing against desegregation of the Little Rock School District; and What Is LUTHERANISM Lutheranism is a major branch of  Protestant  Christianity  which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546), a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. The divide between the Lutherans and the Catholics centers primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in the church, or the formal principle (Scriptures alone for Lutherans, Scriptures and Tradition, i.e. doctrinal and spiritual authority of the Christian Church, for Catholics); and the doctrine of justification (i.e. salvation), or the material principle (justification by "grace alone" through "faith alone" in Jesus for Lutherans; through faith and good works for Catholics). Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Catholic Church, including baptism and the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper.  Today Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism including approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Daisy Bates, the American civil rights activist, publisher and journalist, who, on the other hand, was actively supporting it. They also interviewed a local author who had written an article in The Progressive in favor of it; the president of the White Citizens’ Council, a white supremacist organization founded in opposition to racial integration of schools; and various students at a junior college. Dorsey Stebbins In 1960 and as a pastor, Stebbins attended a businessmen’s gathering and spoke out against accusations made by the House Committee on Unamerican Activities, the committee created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities of citizens and organizations suspected of having Communist ties. A local paper editor soon after and in response to his intervention, wrote in an editorial that colleges in America were now graduating communist sympathizers. After meeting McCrackin, Stebbins followed him and participated in his numerous pacific activities, namely fighting for racial equality, for prisoner's rights, for an end to militarism in the United States, for the sanctuary movement affecting then Hispanic immigrants from Central America, against tearing down hotels that lodged the city’s poor... After McCrackin's death in 1997, he followed leads by Buddy Gray, IJPC, Contact Center, and ACORN, participating in their various struggles for social justice. In recent years, Stebbins protested Econocide (as defined by Alice Skirtz) and the gentrification of the Cincinnati neighborhood of Overthe-Rhine, regularly standing on its street corners, holding signs against the city and corporate actions that displace, in the name of economic development, poor residents they consider neither needed nor wanted. With Streetvibes contributing writer Jim Luken, he protested 5 years ago the proposed takeover by Western & Southern of the Anna Louise Inn downtown Cincinnati and its conversion into a de luxe hotel. The Inn had been functioning for Credit: Saad Ghosn over 100 years as housing for single women providing them with low-cost housing and various health services. Stebbins picketed persistently for 6 weeks in front of the Inn, holding his protest signs in locations visible to the Western & Southern's employees and to passerbys, calling their attention to the unjust issue. His tenacity triggered an increasing number and size of local demonstrations that weighed strongly in the final sale settlement of $4 million by W&S, enabling Anna Louise Inn to continue its mission by building a new home at an alternate site. In 2012, Stebbins was also one of the 1st Cincinnatians to religiously participate in the Occupy movement, hoping for a cultural and political revolution. He picketed, marched, demonstrated and attended the many strategic and sharing gatherings of the movement. "I saw in the Occupy meetings something I had never seen before," he says. "There was respect for everyone's voice, and a lot of diversity; so many African Americans and so many whites involved together, (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 6 O LOCAL Uber Cannot Replace Public Transit – But It Can Enhance It | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 9 MARK SAMAAN ur bus system has major flaws including 101 buses that are older than 12 years old and break down more often, routes are set up in a 70’s style downtown hub-and-spokes model, and strained budgets have caused service reductions which have increased the time between buses on the same line. These issues together have produced a system which loses riders every year as service declines, which lowers the revenue collected by Contributing Photographer is full, fares paid cover most of the cost of the trip. This type of route needs regular-sized buses to handle the demand, especially during peak hours. As most Route 33 riders’ destination is downtown, the capacity is needed along the entire route so that buses aren’t overfull as they near Government Square. Next consider Metro Route 50 which runs from Addyston to Downtown via River Road and Sayler Buses are so crowded, people have to stand Credit: Better Bus Coalition Metro, which causes further service cuts and continues the cycle. Many have discussed whether private rideshare services like Uber and Lyft could move people around more efficiently and cheaper than traditional bus service. Why replace buses and increase service when rideshare is growing and offers an alternative to driving your own car? Although rideshare offers some serious benefits to the public transportation system, the bus is still the most efficient method of moving large amounts of people at the lowest cost. Consider Metro Route 33 which runs on 8th St, Warsaw Ave, and Glenway Ave through Price Hill and Westwood. This route moves 1.1 million passengers per year and accounts for 8% of the total Metro bus ridership. Over 4,000 riders per day use the 33. The average bus on this line carries 54 riders per trip on its route with most riders going downtown. During weekday peak hours, buses come every 12 minutes and are consistently full. The average cost to provide this service is $1.85 of subsidy per rider. When the bus Park. It carried approximately 300 riders per day over 14 weekday round trips with an average of 15 riders per trip. The subsidy per rider is almost $10, with ticket revenues covering only 12% of the operation costs. So, what if this route was converted to Uber rides only between Addyston and Downtown along the route, but also providing service to the nearest Transit Hub at Glenway Crossing or the Western Hills Plaza? Right now, these riders are mostly all going to downtown and back, but because the ridership is so low each rideshare vehicle would most likely only be able to carry 1 or 2 people at a time except during peak hours. As such the subsidy per rider would be just as high as running a bus, if not higher. This type of line could be considered for rideshare service during off-peak hours, but during peak the bus is still the most efficient way to move people. Beyond cost and transit efficiency, adding tens of thousands of rideshare vehicles per day to our roads would cause major traffic congestion, especially during peak hours in the city. Although transit ridership in Hamilton County is very low at 4% of commuters taking Metro, the system does function very well as an urban core congestion and parking demand reducer. Main and Walnut Streets downtown carry a combined 24,000 bus riders per day in vehicles that make up less than 10% of the total vehicular traffic but 60% of the people moved in vehicles on those roads. Even at 4 passengers per car, thousands of rideshare vehicles would be needed downtown alone during peak hours. In addition to their addition to existing traffic, these vehicles would need significant dedicated loading and unloading spaces on city streets. Driving downtown is already difficult enough with people parking and picking up/ dropping people off. Imagine it with thousands more cars not fully pulling over into the loading lane, cars double-parked while they wait for their passengers, and general delays from people not being at the pickup point at the right time right during rush hour. Moving 4 people per car would also increase the ride times for passengers compared to driving 1 person at a time. Dropping off 4 different people at different locations which are somewhat close to each other could take as long as the ride itself, or even longer if local traffic conditions are bad. The influx of thousands more vehicles onto city streets would make our roads a nightmare and slow traffic significantly, especially in dense areas with lots of pick-ups and dropoffs. Anyone who has witnessed the gridlock on Main Street in Overthe-Rhine between midnight and 3 am has already gotten a glimpse of a future of replacing buses with rideshare. Rideshare does have a role to play in increasing the reach of our bus system and moving people around in low-density areas. One major factor which determines whether or not a person will take transit is how far of a walk the nearest bus stop is from their location which is called the first mile/last mile problem. Rideshare services could act as local shuttles in neighborhoods to bring people to the nearest major bus stop or transit hub, significantly shortening travel times for people who live farther than walking distance from bus stops. For people heading to farther out job centers, an express bus may bring them to that general area as a group, with rideshare vehicles waiting at the stop when the bus arrives to take people to their final destinations. This could especially work in places like Blue Ash and Mason, where a lot of people work, pedestrian infrastructure in job centers are almost non-existent, and buildings are not within a reasonable walking distance of each other. This would provide a seamless trip in the shortest time. Rideshare will not be an effective solution to our local transit woes, but it can offer significant benefits to the riding public and those who live beyond walking distance of transit stops. --------------------------------------- Certain routes are crowded for much of the day THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Better Bus Coalition �10 LOCAL F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 March 2 -24, 2018 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 6 LOCAL WHY IS CANCER MORTALITY SO HIGH FOR MINORITIES IN CINCINNATI? | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 11 STEVE SUNDERLAND PART 4: THE ABSENCE OF A WELCOMING HOSPITALCOMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP "It is not surprising that rational decision makers in leadership positions would seek to avoid the complexity of community in favor of simpler models based on service delivery."--Gary Gunderson 1. Introduction: In prior articles questions were raised about the silence surrounding the high mortality rate from cancer for minorities. A question was raised about the absence of any healthcare outreach to those neighborhoods with the highest death rates, usually in those parts of our community that hospitals are located. A question was asked why physicians and nurses have so little experience with minorities and so little training for assisting low income and minority patients with their cancer. This article focuses on how a welcoming hospital and group of healthcare providers working in the community can change cancer mortality outcomes. Hospitals are not commonly thought about as places where friendly communication occurs. The invention of the Information Desk is the single greatest symbol of trying to assist a patient in finding the right physicians or departments. Yet, people leave with "information" but rarely understand how to negotiate the many hallways, especially when they may be suffering from an illness or a fear of an illness. What is needed is a different approach, an innovative way of thinking about the connection between the community and the hospital, especially in terms of cancer treatments. The person, before they are a patient, is filled with anxiety about approaching healthcare unless there is an attempt to make the visit to the hospital both understandable and safe. Going to the hospital can be a welcoming experience when there is a preparation that is trusted in the community. Too often people SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) and all committed to non-violence and to an equal and just world." Stebbins has also been participating in many of the Amos Project activities, for instance in the fight against massive incarceration, and now, for a couple of years, against Judge Tracie Hunter’s criminal sentence. "They convicted her in 2014 for unlawful interest in a public contract, maintaining that she used her position as a judge to hire her brother. But they had no proof of it," says Contributing Writer have heard of or had horrible hospital experiences: treatments for the wrong illness, disrespect for the race, gender, and privacy of the person, long waiting times without any explanation as to why, and costly and often surprising costs. Replacing a history of indifferent or discriminatory expectations about a hospital visit requires a fundamentally different set of attitudes and policies. 2. Cancer care can be a welcoming and trusting experience for minorities and all patients: The key to new approaches lay in starting in the community with a person who is part of a team of a compassionate staff. Having a trusted navigator to assist with transportation to and from the hospital relieves a person who is unsure of how to take the best route. Having a trusted advocate accompany the person raises the possibility that the information about cancer screening and treatment will be better understood and that, if there are questions, the person will feel somewhat more confident that these questions can be answered by the health care professional. Having a compassionate colleague join with the person interested but fearful about cancer can have positive results when the fears are dispelled. Cancer is a confusing, dangerous, and misunderstood illness. It is rarely known that early screenings can catch and stop cancer growth, in many cancers. The presence of a heartfelt ally that can assist in obtaining accurate cancer information that offers the person the strength to continue. In sum, a person with an ongoing relationship with a friendly and knowledgeable friend can reasonably navigate the complex process of starting and completing the steps to knowledge about cancer. 3. Cancer navigators have been recognized as a critical factor in reducing mortality for almost 30 years. Harold Freeman, MD, surgeon, former president of the American Cancer Society, pioneered in 1990 a new approach to cancer care: the patient navigator. Freeman faced the reality that most of the people he met as patients were going to die because they had come too late for screening and treatment. The cancer had grown too much. His skills as a surgeon could not be applied when a patient's cancer had reached the final stage. Freeman recognized that the key to helping people involved coming to cancer care at the earliest stage. When cancer had just started to evolve, the physicians could move to remove all or most of the cancers. Freeman recognized that patients that were afraid of the hospital, terrified about anything to do with cancer, and resigned to fate their chances for survival, were not going to come for either screenings or treatment. Freeman opted to change the reality facing his lowincome patients. He realized that people could not overcome their fears by themselves, especially when they had no one to consult. He also realized that getting to the hospital for a screening and following up on treatments also needed some guidance and navigation by a trusted friend if the patient was going to have a successful outcome. The invention of the "patient navigator" as a person to assist the patient outside and inside the hospital made for the radical change in cancer care. In five years, with the use of patient navigators, Freeman changed the survival rate from 30% to 70%. Thanks to his innovation, every cancer program could develop a navigation program that followed his guidelines. The navigators were not healthcare professionals, nor did they offer medical advice. The navigators were advocates, allies, friends, and critical members of the healthcare process. 4. The spread of navigator programs across the US was a slow but successful process. The concept was seen as ripe for federal research to examine the strengths and weaknesses. Following five years of Stebbins. "Just recently, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters broke the same law  by offering a paid internship to the son of his good friend Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine upon his request, and nothing has been done about it," he adds. Stebbins regularly picketed the streets of Cincinnati, holding his signs in favor of Justice Hunter. In the beginning, he got no public acknowledgement, but after 3 weeks or so, drivers passing by started honking their horns in support. "The issue is not out in the open and very few vocal leaders speak of it," he states. "I am one of the rare white individuals to protest Hunter's unjust sentencing; I see, however, my signs starting to make an effect. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and healthy in our society." Stebbins' main concerns have always been what is right and good for the community, the country, the world. He is for equality for all, and for opportunities for a good and decent life across the board. His commitments stem deeply from his Christian faith. Even though now retired as a Lutheran minister, he still attends the Ascension Lutheran Church, in Montgomery, OH, where he occasionally teaches Sunday school, also the Community Church, THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED national research, navigation was seen as a major factor in reducing cancer mortality and made a necessary part of every cancer program by the American College of Surgeons, a medical association that accredits cancer programs. Three years ago, in order to highlight his program, Dr. Freeman was invited to Cincinnati to share his research on patient navigation with hospital staff from most of Cincinnati's hospitals. His research, accompanied by an additional research presentation by Electra Paskett, PhD, Ohio State James Cancer Hospital, made clear that navigation had powerful positive outcomes in cancer education, cancer prevention, and cancer treatment. Since their presentation, a private non-profit organization, Cancer Justice Network, started the first navigation program. Using volunteers from the UC school of medicine, the Xavier school of nursing, and selected community organizers, a navigation program was begun in places where low income people, minorities, and the aged congregated. At dinners, health fairs, senior centers and school meetings, navigators visited with people and gently advised them about the benefits of cancer prevention. Slowly, the navigators began to hear the list of reasons that people were afraid to go for screenings and treatments. People didn't want to know what cancer does to the body, or understand what a screening involved, or whether they could get the results when they didn't have a primary care provider, or what to do with their children while they were getting screened, or where the best place to go for a screening was, or what the costs would be if cancer were found, or, in sum, who really cared if they lived or died from cancer. The navigators reached out to people, spoke one on one with them at locations outside the hospital, brought people to talk who had survived cancer, discussed that the navigators were going to be with (Continued on page 12) at Dayton St, founded by his mentor McCrackin, and which recognizes his ordination. "I see myself as an activist for justice and peace," says Stebbins. "When unjust issues come up, I jump. I respond to the immediate, and my signs become my voice." Quoting Micah 6:8: "The Lord God has told us what is right and what He demands: 'See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God',” he adds: "This core sums up my approach as a follower of Jesus Christ." --------------------------------------- �12 LOCAL F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 The Road to Redemption T 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 STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 11) people throughout their screening and, if necessary, through their treatment as well. Deeply felt fears about facing cancer, added to prior poor experiences with healthcare staff, and confusion about healthcare insurance, slowed the decision to go with the navigator. Many people that signed up for a screening refused to go when the time came for the screening and often refused the chance to go with a navigator. Many poor people explained that cancer was not at the top of their list of concerns; instead, they were more worried about food, shelter, employment, or their children's lives. The navigators began to understand why cancer mortality was so high in this population: the fears about cancer were in competition with other realities that took precedence in the survival of people. 5. The start of the Cancer Justice Network's navigation program was done with the support of many agencies in Cincinnati that work with the poor, homeless, aged, or people with disabilities. There was widespread recognition that the healthcare needs of this population were spotty and needed new interventions. The navigators were welcomed into agency dinners, health fairs, and meetings to discuss health related concerns. At the same time, the hospitals of Cincinnati did not start an in-hospital navigation program. Even though there was widespread recognition of the need, and an appreciation of Dr. Freeman's work, the hospitals avoided starting a program. The navigators in the Cancer Justice Network didn't have clear connections into hospital cancer programs for those people that needed a next step of treatment. Getting a colonoscopy proved difficult as well as many hospitals were reluctant to plan for such a procedure BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer suffer from the disease of Addiction. 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 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. I am not perfect each day but I see the if the patient was unpredictable in coming for the exam. It was clear that hospitals did not see navigation as a necessary element of their approach to cancer care. One hospital system did reach out and share research on how a navigation program in Birmingham, Ala., had made major steps in successfully working with a geriatric population. A local hospital team was planning on visiting the program and seeing how navigators within the hospital program were being used to improve treatment and hospital costs. 6. At the same time, another program that used navigators in and out of the hospital came to the attention of the Cancer Justice Network. This program is called The Congregational Health Network(CHN) and it is based at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, TN. Reading about this program made clear that navigators, if they were to be successful in overcoming longstanding fears, had to meet people outside the hospital and welcome them to think about their health and then connecting to the hospital if the services were needed. Visiting the Methodist Hospital program, the Cancer Justice Network learned the following: A. Methodist Hospital recognized that healthcare needed to include a partnership with churches in the community that could build trust in both the community and in the hospital. A major program was needed as Memphis had a very large poor and minority population that needed extensive healthcare. B. The chaplain of Methodist Hospital reached out to a small group of ministers to discuss the nature of a sound relationship between the hospital and the churches. Meeting for over a year, they realized that there was a spiritual connection between health of the congregants and the health providers. And they believed that the churches had "assets" that could improve healthcare. C. An agreement was signed, called a Covenant, that spelled out the nature of the relationship between church health committees and a navigator at the churches and navigators from the hospital. Churches would select "liaisons," people well known within the church community to be designated as navigators. These navigators would have direct connection with one of the team of hospital navigators. In this way, potential patients knew there were trusted people in the church who cared about health and that they were in a relationship with a hospital funded navigators. These two sets of navigators would work together, with the hospital navigators visiting the church at times, and the church navigators accompanying their congregants. D. The minister's discussion highlighted that both the church health committee and the hospital needed to demonstrate that people could engage with respect, fostering trust, insuring reliability, using only straight talk, providing a capacity to listen deeply for understanding the needs of the individual, and to make commitments to follow through. Over ten years, 500 churches joined the Congregational Health Network, reaching about 200,000 people. E. The CHN developed five Care Pathways for healthy relationships: These are: 1) to educate by offering short courses that church members can attend for free on diseases and disease prevention; 2) A monthly prevention goal, i.e., discussion about a "disease of the month;" 3) a commitment to intervention, to making sure patients went to the hospital for needed screenings and treatments; 4) a realization that there needed to be a high quality life outside the hospital, and resources to assist; and, 5) a commitment to use the resources of the church for aftercare for the patients in order to assure a THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 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. --------------------------------------- continuation of healthy behaviors. F. The early outcomes of the CHN's approach are impressive: "... early hospital research data show a 50% decrease in mortality rate, a 20% decrease in hospital readmissions, and a savings of over $4 million in billable costs to the hospital. On all patient diagnosed, the average CHN patient showed approximately 120 days longer between readmissions to the hospital, compared to control patients out of network." G. The CHN has a deep spiritual commitment to making this relationship work for the churches and the hospital. "It's the right thing to do," the Rev. Bobby Baker, chaplain and co-founder of the CHN, says when questioned about the mission of the hospitals and the churches. Clearly, the extra effort to organize ministers, health committees, select and train church navigators, and build relationships with hospital navigators and hospital procedures is a fundamental change for both the churches and the hospital. It is a change that is now welcomed by both partners in the CHN. 7. Cincinnati's hospitals and cancer programs have a lot to learn from the CHN. Facing the problems of mortality in our community will require a new focus and new policies if there is to be any significant change in the life expectancy of most of our citizens. Right now, there is only one navigation program and it is outside the hospitals, and touching about 6000 people a year with education programs and assistance to screenings. The CHN program offers a different methodology with an expectation of different results. We will work for the development of this exciting alternative to health care. --------------------------------------- �No. 37 6 STREET VOICE | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 SON A PARADE FOR HIMSELF Son talk to me Mommy needs to know What you feel Did you know plans are being made For Prez Trump's big military parade? And what you see His desire for a grim show of force Son talk to me Is not a traditional American course. Mommy loves you Democracy's not The Donald's thing. With all her heart Seems like we have been drifting apart It’s a feeling, I feel in my heart 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 And we would talk Let’s start over son Because you are my heart KIM GREEN 13 Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer He's a man who sees himself as King. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer HOME ALONE I feel so blessed that being homeless for me has ceased Ceased meaning yesterday looking at today I still pray for peace I just knew being home alone, finally afer living in the street with a slide 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 afer all is said and done I'm lonely, bored, behind the time 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 is some serious work and a lot of effort for me I've learned that I can not 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 F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 6 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 145 Across 1. Bring ashore 5. Region 9. Track 13. Woodwind instrument 14. Tether 16. Pronunciation mark 17. Transmitted 18. Out of fashion 19. Loose flowing garment 20. Set at a high angle 22. Spool 23. Elderly 24. Weep 26. Accepted something given 28. A state of adversity 33. Grooved tire surface 36. Colony insect 37. Impart knowledge 39. Sloping edge on a cutting tool 41. Smack 43. A lower limit 45. Brass instrument 46. Hirsute 48. Mistake 50. Relieve from 51. Inflict 53. Totality 55. Soot 57. The night before 58. Aromatic leaves used as seasoning 61. Skilful in physical movements 64. Planet 68. Golf club 69. Edible bulb 71. Painful 72. Metallic element 73. Meaning of a word or expression 74. Finished 75. Brink 76. Trial 77. Requirement Down 1. The result of costs exceeding revenue 2. Assist 3. Not any 4. Hate 5. Any high mountain 6. Raise 7. Facilitate 8. A useful or valuable quality 9. Small long-tailed bird 10. Highly excited 11. Hollow cylindrical shape 12. Pay close attention to 15. Serf (Middle Ages) 21. Dessert wine 25. Cattle reared for their meat 27. Globe 28. Punctuation mark 29. A relative by marriage 30. One of a flight of steps 31. Involves a vendor and buyer 32. Gain points in a game 34. A light shade of blue 35. An accounting entry 38. Tusk 40. Polite name for a woman 42. Mien 44. Memorization by repetition 47. Edible tuber 49. Tear violently 52. Acclaim or praise 54. Rationality 56. Religious doctrine 58. Magnitude 59. Desiccated 60. Percussion instrument 62. Amercement 63. Flip of a coin 65. Wander 66. Diagram often used in genealogy 67. Group of animals of the same kind 70. Fish trap PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 375 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 144 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 275 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 274- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 6 RESOURCES | F e b 2 3 - M a r 8 , 2 0 18 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 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 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 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? 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2018 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 23-March 8, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Introducing the New Executive Director of the Child Poverty Collaborative Pg 3: My Picket Line Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: An Alternative Pg 6: School Shootings and Other Social Problems Pg 7: Authorizing Hostilities Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Uber Cannot Replace Public Transit Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Why is Cancer Mortality so High for Minorities in Cincinnati? 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 February 23-March 8, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Michael Earl Patton Saad Ghosn Mark Samaan Steve Sunderland Bobby Morris Kim Green Willa Jones Justin Jeffre Homeless Coalition ECI.com ABC7.com ForceOptionsUSA.com Better Bus Coalition Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF ABC7.com Better Bus Coalition Bill Woods Bobby Morris Cancer Child Poverty Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman ECI.com FC ForceOptionsUSA.com Homeless Coalition Jason Haap Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Mark Samaan Michael Earl Patton Minorities Public Transit Religion Saad Ghosn School Shootings Steve Sunderland Uber Willa Jones 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 2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 9-March 22, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director The Need to Improve Public Transit Pg 3: FC Cincinnati Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Group Urges CPS to Move Back High School Start Times Pg 6: What the Kids Are Thinking Why a Soccer Stadium in the West End? Dangerous Occupations Pg 7: Why is Cancer Mortality for Minorities so High in Cincinnati? Mayor Cranley is Everything That Is Wrong with the FC Stadium Deal Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Ecuador Endangered Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: We’re Having the Wrong Conversation About Guns How Are We Teaching Our Kids? Pg 12: Dave Caudill Continued John Sneed Continued Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 9-March 22, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Dave Caudill Michael Earl Patton Robert Park Alan Smithee Steve Sunderland Michelle Dillingham Saad Ghosn John Sneed Trenton Davis Staci Hollander Kim Green Willa D. Jones Justin Jeffre Murraycooperphoto Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alan Smithee Bill Woods Cancer Cincinnati CPS Dave Caudill Dr. Mark Mussman Ecuador FC Gun Control John Sneed Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kim Green Mayor Cranley Michael Earl Patton Michelle Dillingham Minorites Murraycooperphoto Public Transit Racism Religion Robert Park Saad Ghosn Staci Hollander Steve Sunderland Teaching Trenton Davis Willa D. Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/e1de4f5d94a85606c994e613f396ef48.pdf ad5b819b285129e503cfee4a029ea6d1 PDF Text Text March 23rd - April 5th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 7 (No. 378) advocating justice | building community A Natural Path For Peace and Justice: Sister Alice Gerdeman | 8 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE Eyes On The City | 3 Parking and the Stadium | 7 Chess Players Pushed Out | 9 United Nations Report: US Has the Wealth to End Homelessness| 6 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL Coalition Against an FC Cincinnati Stadium in West End C incinnati’s history is that of repeated displacement of Black People and People with low incomes. This has been a constant effort by primarily white, wealthy people to possess, control and sell neighborhoods to other wealthy white people. Increasingly, individuals and companies are attempting to take the model of gentrification and displacement of people from Overthe-Rhine to more neighborhoods, including West End. We are collecting petition signatures, have flyered thousands of doors and made hundreds of phone calls. At every community meeting nearly every Resident in attendance and all organizations standing with them have vehemently told FC Cincinnati to stay out of West End. West End Resident, Earnestine Hill said, “Black Folks with low incomes have been lied to many times in West End and across this city. Big developers make their sales pitch, make their money, and we’re left with nothing but shattered dreams. I’m tired of the lies. I’m tired of their fast money. It is never a win-win. Their winning requires our losing. M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 JOSH SPRING Executive Director We are fighting to stop this”. Ethel Black, says, “I have lived in West End for 35 years. I have raised five kids and one grandson here. It’s the only neighborhood my grandson knows. These developments lead to displacement and we don’t want to be displaced. My grandson’s school is right here. He attends the squash academy in the neighborhood and he is earning scholarships in the neighborhood. We will not be moved.” We have not relented in telling every decision-making body to say no. The School Board has now demanded that FC Cincinnati pay their “fair share” of property taxes toward our children’s’ education, something FC Cincinnati has said they are not willing to do. “We were taught to NEVER let anyone make a decision for you, about you, without you. We will be here until the end of the WAR,” says West End Resident and Liberty St. Apartments Resident Association Vice President Contina Davis. We demand that FC Cincinnati cease its pursuit of West End and Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition publicly state that they have will stop trying to force themselves on West End Residents. Further, we demand that the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education officially end conversation with FC Cincinnati. This is not simply a political struggle, this is having real affect on the lives of West End Residents right now. This is keeping people awake at night, fearful of what the future could hold for they, their neighbors and their children. It is past time to end this conversation. “The West End Community does not (Continued on page 3) WHY CITIZENS NEED TO LEARN ABOUT ISSUE I ON THE MAY 8TH BALLOT BILL WOODS Why are reformers championing Issue I on the May 8th Primary Ballot? Camille Wimbish, Director of the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, addressed that question at the Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral on March 15th. She first explained the quick turn around of the Ohio General Assembly in early February that produced Issue I. Because Ohio possesses extremely gerrymandered Congressional Districts, a citizen-based initiative was organized in 2017 to place an Ohio Constitutional Amendment proposal before the voters. Wimbish described how the Fair Districts/Fair Elections Coalition drafted a proposal and put together a statewide campaign that began collecting signatures in late May last year. This all volunteer effort proved highly successful, and by the beginning of 2018, it was well on the way to obtaining enough voter signatures to qualify its proposal for the November Ballot. Aware of the momentum of this initiative and also aware of the growing interest nationally in redistricting Contributing Writer reform, members of the Ohio General Assembly decided to get involved. At first, reform leaders, according to Wimbish, were wary that Republican legislators would write a proposal merely to sabotage real reform. In fact, the Coalition told supporters to tell their representatives to either put the citizen initiative on the ballot or to oppose an alternative plan. Influenced by citizen support for redistricting reform, a group comprised of both Republican and Democratic members of the Legislature cobbled together over the first weekend of February a proposal that passed both Houses of the General Assembly by nearly unanimous votes. This proposed Congressional Redistricting process, now known as Issue I, confronts Ohio voters in May. Wimbish acknowledged that Issue I is not perfect, but it would essentially eliminate the one party gerrymandering of Congressional Districts in Ohio. Drawing Congressional District maps would still be in the hands of Ohio House members, but half of the Representatives from both the Republican and Democratic Parties must approve the final results. If adopted, the proposed Amendment invites the public to submit redistricting plans, and at least two public hearings must take place before the General Assembly approves the final maps. Issue I also includes language about drawing compact districts with minimal splits of counties and cities. Wimbish noted that the Coalition will continue to collect signatures for its citizen initiative just in case Issue I fails at the polls. Nevertheless, it's major energy now goes toward organizing grassroots support for the May 8th Ballot Issue. Pointing to her power point picture of Ohio's current Congressional Districts, she exclaimed it was time to get rid of our highly gerrymandered districts such as "the snake on the lake," a weird district that connects part of Toledo and Cleveland. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: 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, Peter Block, Jim Luken, Adam Sennott, Michael Earl Patton, Patricia Patton, Saad Ghosn, Thomas L. Lynn Jr., Stacia Hollander, Cleo Wombles, Lee McCoy, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Saad Ghosn, Adam Sennott, Office of UN Special Rapporteur report, Bill Woods --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 LOCAL Eyes On The City No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 H DR. MARK MUSSMAN ow often to you get the opportunity to see your city through someone else’s eyes? I have the privilege to do this several times a year through our Cincinnati Urban Experience (CUE) at the Homeless Coalition. Throughout the week, I guide university students through a series of educational and service activities to help them understand how they can get involved in their own community. So far this month, Southern New Hampshire University and University of Vermont have been reflecting on what we’ve revealed to them about our city. Here Staff Writer the prevalent racism in the Cincinnati Police Department, which was subject to a recent report by the City Manager, confirming what many of us have known for years — Cincinnati police officers suffer from extreme bias against the black community. While this could be shocking to some, what was more impactful for me was how almost every speaker also said that the city itself is racist, and that times haven’t changed too much for our black brothers and sisters. CUE participants, who are here for their Alternative Spring Break, are exposed to many aspects of of black communities. Our willful participation in redlining. Our refusal to address racism head-on. Our inability to foster a public service that is fair and serves all of the public. These are all markers in our racist city. — it’s about the collective power that SNCC, the NAACP, CORE, and other groups did to create systems change. Harriet Tubman did not exist in a vacuum. So, while leaders come and go, organizations and movements (like the abolitionist movement) need the aid of all people, using all of their talents, and working within specific roles. Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati, Wage Theft and Worker Right's History at the Interfaith Worker's Center Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Vermont students Shadow Streetvibes' Distributor Lee Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Streetvibes Editor Justin Jeffre Demonstrates the Challenges and Success of the Paper Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Solitary Confinement and Dealth Penalty Session at the IJPC Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman are some of the major themes. 1. Cincinnati is racist. From the top down, everyone is impacted by racism in Cincinnati. At City Hall, during the public input session before the Council meeting, person after person got up and talked about JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) want the devastation the proposed stadium will bring to our front doors. Please not only listen but hear us say Cincinnati’s racism heritage. From Bucktown to the West End and everything in between, the plight of the African-American in Cincinnati is a direct result of the commonly held racist beliefs in Cincinnati. Our neighborhood, school, and church segregation. Our extermination NO stadium in the residential heart of West End”, said Marsha Reese, President of Liberty St. Apartments Residents’ Association. The Coalition Against an FC Cincinnati Stadium in West End includes many West End Residents, 2. Collective action is more powerful than following a leader. This lesson is hard to mete out, especially when our history books are filled with individuals who “made a difference,” but fail to recognize movements of people who aided those individuals rise out of obscurity. The Civil Rights Movement was not about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, or Malcolm X — just as the current movement isn’t about Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., Iris Roley, or Brian Taylor the Black Agenda Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, and the Black United Front, are all strengthened by their members. Organization is how we win. Collective power, such as the determination of many who saved and created the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, is at the core of our future as a city. 3. Voice and Representation are considerably harder to broadcast Residents of Stanley Rowe Towers, Liberty Street Apartments, Park Town and City West, Community Church of Cincinnati, The Black Agenda, Jurisdiction-Wide Resident Advisory Board, the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, the Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition, Black Lives Matter Cincinnati, National Action Network Cincinnati Chapter, Cincinnati City Council Member Wendell Young, State Senator Cecil Thomas and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED (Continued on page 6) �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 �JUBILEE CAMPAIGN The “Development Renaissance”: Our Contribution to the Problem No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 T PETER BLOCK here were two compelling articles in the March 9-22 Edition of Streetvibes that got my attention. Both were about the FCC Stadium project in the West End. Alan Smithee made a strong argument that the proposal to build the stadium on the site of Taft High School football field was driven by the convenience of not having to do an environmental impact study on that land. The second article, by Michelle Dillingham, calls for a true investment in the neighborhood that is inclusive, resident focused, honors the culture and history of this neighborhood. She argues for Investment that does not take public land and assets and place them in private hands. Here is my question: Why, in the end, will the FCC stadium likely be built if not on this location, then with a similar process in another neighborhood with residents in a similar low power position? Why will another stadium be built when our history in using public money for sports has been so problematic? Why will this stadium be surrounded by chic, sports friendly restaurants owned by outsiders to the neighborhood? The common answer among those who oppose the stadium and this kind of development is that the problem resides in the power of the rich owners, ambitious developers, the mindset of the politicians, the self-interest of banks and commerce driven institutions. As often said,” The powers that be.” This answer is too easy and this T Contributing Writer is the point I want to make. Smithee and Dillingham are right in their sentiment and point of view, as are the many groups who oppose these kinds of development. The tragedy is that these positions and efforts of opposition are unlikely to be powerful. Right but not powerful. I want to suggest that we, as citizens and activists contribute to making the “powers that be” powerful. Underneath the grass roots neighborhood language and advocacy, the citizen leadership in most of our neighborhoods is fragmented and disconnected. Structurally disconnected and relationally disconnected. On the question of structure, each neighborhood has a Community Council. Most have a Community Development Council. We have Community Centers for youth recreation and adult learning. Most schools have parent associations and Local School Decision Making Committee (LSDMC). There are many churches in each neighborhood who feed, outreach, care for the vulnerable residents. There are Business Associations, Arts collectives, health clinics, social service agencies and affordable public housing units and cooperative businesses. All of these are important. They all care for the well-being of the neighborhood. They each believe they are in touch with the wishes of the community. But they are silos. They cooperate in ways, but they fail when it comes to presenting a coherent and powerful common voice fully prepared to participate as equal partners with the traditional economic development intentions. Plus, in most neighborhoods, far from a common voice, residents have stories of past injustice, injury, differences that make a voice for the commons even rarer and more difficult. And we are wedded to our stories. I speak from experience as well as observation. I am a trustee in Clifton Town Meeting, one of the neighborhood councils. We theoretically speak for the community. Really? First of all, out of 8600 residents in my neighborhood, I was elected by two hundred at most. Do I really represent the interests of my neighbors? Not exactly. Does any single agency, council or group I listed above speak legitimately for the whole? Not exactly. Are there traditional divides in my neighborhood? Yes. Is this different for any other neighborhood group? Some greater collective voice is needed. The point is that if we want to be powerful in future negotiations and partnerships with traditional development efforts, we have to change our own behavior. We have to be as committed to support one another in our neighborhood and across neighborhoods as we are too caring for our own organization or enterprise. This is especially true for the neighborhoods targeted for big development: Avondale, West End, Madisonville, Evanston, Camp Washington, Roselawn, Bond Hill, Elmwood Place and all of Homeless in a (Nursing) Home echnically, “homeless” describes a person who is without a home, usually for an extended period of time. I saw homelessness up-close-andpersonal while living and working in OTR for 16 years. Last July, I moved to rural Rhode Island and found a somewhat “invisible” homelessness there. Difficult to see, but nonetheless very real. I spent a month without a home in the summer of '95, sleeping in my car and on the kitchen floor at a friend's small apartment. Somewhat proudly, I include being homeless in my life's resume. Been there, done that. I'm sure many of you middle class readers of this newspaper have spent at least a day or two without a place to hang your hat. Or, in circumstances where things seemed totally out of your control. You were “at sea,” in a “quagmire,” out of your element, un-grounded in a somewhat dramatic way. Not technically homeless, but may well have JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer experienced an emotional situation wherein you weren't sure what was going to happen next, or you were unsure about your next step...what to do next. Being hospitalized might qualify as such a situation. Or being an old person forced by circumstance to live in a nursing home when he or she would much rather be back home in familiar surroundings. Many of us, too many perhaps, will wind up in this situation. Not actually homeless, but unable to control the ongoing circumstances of our lives. In an institution that has all, or most, of the control. Recently, I made an unscheduled trip home to Cincinnati to visit a very close friend who was near death, in a nursing home in Avondale. Ron was 79 years old at his death. He had lived a somewhat strange, but many-faceted life. A stint in the army. Marriage to a wonderful wife, two adopted kids, grand and greatgrandchildren. He had spent his work-life as a professional bathtub refinisher, spray-painting an epoxylike paint onto abused bathtubs in Chicago, Cincinnati, and in hotels around the world. Even in Qatar and the Arab emirates. He and his family pulled up stakes and left their home town of Chicago in 1983 in order to join a somewhat famous lay-Catholic religious community, centered in Winton Place (now Spring Grove Village). Community life involved a lot of sharing: time, labor, sometimes possessions, and/or money. People from all over the country and the world came to visit this community. Ron's home was often open to quite a few of these visitors. In addition, some single members of the community (themselves homeless) lived with the Perry’s for months, even years, in at least one case. My family would join three other families at the Perry house for dinner every Wednesday THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 5 our more vulnerable places. These neighborhoods require a different kind of resident friendly investment and development. And this requires a different way of creating a common voice. We can keep on demonizing the “powers that be” and leave it at that. But while it might be satisfying, it is low impact. Leaders and institutions making the traditional development investments flooding now popular “Renaissance Cincinnati” are not the devil. They run hospitals and universities and banks and sports teams. That is just what they do. They are responsible neighbors and citizens of our city. They just believe that the development they promote is the interest of the community. For some it is, just not particularly in the interest of the residents in our neighborhoods of concern. There is something we can do, but it will call for a change in us. We can decide to change our own action and radically come together within our neighborhood and across neighborhoods, all at once. I have written this article to see if there is any interest in an effort like this? Call it a Common Voice Project. Its purpose is to create more leverage in shaping the nature of development where we live. The money to invest differently is available. The good intention is all around us including those who do development. We are just too separated and unconnected. Let me know, whether you are part of the development community or a resident advocate if you want to help in the next five years to try something different. The effort will be slow, but without a change on our part, the future is predictable. Here is an email I have created: commonvoice2028@ gmail.com. There is no plan, just a call for interest. night, over an extended period of time (also years). Ron and his wife were so generous, almost to a fault. About twenty years ago, Ron's life began falling apart. He experienced the first of a series of strokes. He didn't gain control of his left side, so he would never again drive a car. Hugely painful for someone who was always on the move. Then there was diabetes. For a while he rode a threewheeled electric tricycle around the neighborhood. Friends drove him to and from weekday meetings of a “grumpy old men's group” at McDonald's. Eight years ago, his beloved wife died suddenly, not long after their 50th anniversary. Eileen had kept Ron going in these difficult times before her death. Things got worse and worse, Ron's paralysis increased. He took numerous falls and was hospitalized again and again. Then there was financial chaos, and the banks foreclosed on his home. He needed major physical attention, which—as is the case with so many elderly folks— his family simply could not provide. (Continued on page 6) �6 NATIONAL United Nations report: US has the wealth to end homelessness and chooses not to M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 ADAM SENNOTT In early December, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston landed in Los Angeles, the first stop in his tour of extreme poverty in the United States. It was a Sunday, a day before he was scheduled to begin, but Alston said he had decided to get a head start on his mission. One of the first things he learned was that homeless people in the area have access to few public toilets. “All of the streets smelled of urine,” Alston said. He soon DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) when your message isn’t in-line with a consumerist or capitalistic agenda. Breaking through the lies and myths perpetuated by 3CDC and Cincinnati Mayor, John Cranley, is difficult because the media and 3CDC share board members. 3CDC board members are hand-picked by the Mayor, so there is no representation of low-income, minority people on their board. Just as the SORTA (Metro bus system) board does not contain any bus riders (until recently), shouldn’t we also be pushing for lowincome representation on 3CDC’s board? This certainly would be in the best interest of our community, but Contributing Writer discovered that “the homelessness situation in California is pretty shocking.” Over the next two weeks, Alston also visited Alabama, Georgia, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, and Washington DC In his report, Alston said he witnessed homeless people who are “barely surviving on Skid Row in Los Angeles”; heard about thousands of people saddled with “unpayable debt” after receiving minor infraction notices; met people who lost their teeth because they did not have access to dental care; and saw sewage-filled yards in states that “don’t consider sanitation facilities to be their responsibility.” Alston also reported on the extraordinary efforts by municipal officials determined to help the poorest 20 percent of their communities; a church in San Francisco that offers services to the homeless seven days a week; and a community health initiative in because 3CDC’s goal is to amplify wealth, it would be inconsistent with their culture and values. Throughout the week, we are honored to have speakers, educational activities, and service opportunities with our member organizations. It’s always a pleasure for me to see our member organizations in action and doing what they know how to do best — serve, educate, and advocate. We are lucky to have such great people throughout the city who work at our member organizations and who are willing to share part of their week with us. I want to thank them, but I do hope that they understand the impact their knowledge, wisdom, and experience has on each and every participant. Thank you! We are currently accepting applications for groups this summer and next school year. Please visit our website cincihomeless.org and choose Education in the menu for Charleston, West Virginia, that offers medical services to 21,000 patients. When asked why he was exploring extreme poverty in the United States when conditions in other parts of the world are far worse, Alston said it is important to ensure the wealthiest country in the world is doing its part. “Every country has human rights obligations, and every country should be doing the best it can,” Alston said. “So, if we had a system where the only human rights investigations (Continued on page 11) more information. --------------------------------------- Attending City Council Meeting Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Mona Jenkins, Coalition Director of Development Inspires Participants Lively Dinner and Discussion, hosted by Venice on Vine and M. Shannon Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 5) (The same thing happened with my own parents.) He spent the last year of his life in a home for the elderly poor and indigent in Avondale. He shared a tiny room with another guy. Understandably, this meant that 95% of the residents were African Americans, most confined to walkers and wheel chairs. My own experience of living among poor African American neighbors was nothing short of amazing. Their sense of community, their ongoing willingness to help...me or anyone who needed help, literally inspired me. They knew how to be neighbors in a way that I had seldom (if ever) seen in my suburban white neighborhoods growing up. The same was true for Ron in that nursing home. Even though he was sometimes crotchety, the staff, mostly black folks, provided him wonderful affection, care, and a real sense of community as he prepared to “meet his maker”. So, at the end of his life, my friend Ron had found himself forced into a situation of poverty and approximate homelessness. But within those dire circumstances, he became part of a small, semi-vibrant community of others, who shared those circumstances. In a strange sense it provided the kind of loving togetherness—of community— that he had longed for when he left Chicago. So, to some extent, there were blessings to be found in these the most painful of circumstances. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED In the old Over-the-Rhine, and even amid all the gentrification, there was a sometimes wonderful sense of community, and of caring among the homeless population, and among the non-profit professionals and social workers who served and cared for them. We called that part of impoverished, but vibrant, OTR “Our Beloved Community.” On my recent visit with Ron on his deathbed, I felt a deep sense my long-time friend had found a similar “beloved community” all around him during his final days. �LOCAL Parking and the Soccer Stadium 7 No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 I MICHAEL EARL PATTON s the proposed soccer stadium in the West End really dead or, like Dracula, will it rise up again? I don’t know and different news sources have different takes on the question. Certainly not everyone in the West End thinks it is over. I saw a notice there recently about a rally opposing the stadium for March 17. The notice was headlined, “It’s Not Over Till It’s Over.” The neighborhood opposition is based largely on the concern that the stadium and its associated upscale development will force out the local residents, some of whom have lived there for generations. I certainly see where affordable housing would become even more scarce, regardless of any upscale development. I just look at the parking situation and I wonder, where will they put all the cars? I myself live in Oakley, not far Contributing Writer from one of the other proposed sites. I have listened to Jeff Berding give his pitch for the Oakley stadium site a couple times and also listened to my neighborhood’s concerns. The main concerns of the residents in Oakley seem to be the cars of the people who would be attending the games – both in terms of the traffic but also the parking. The Oakley site, at least in theory, has more potential for parking than the West End because this was an old industrial area that is now mostly torn down. Plus the local Sam’s Club closed recently, so there is that area. In contrast, look at the map of the West End area. The stadium site is just north of Taft High School – that is not going to be torn down. It is to the east of new houses at the site of the old Laurel Homes – probably not going to tear those down, either. Satellite Photo from Google, Map Annotations by Michael Earl Patton Credit: Michael Earl Patton To the north-east there is Findlay market and the ongoing renovation of Over-the-Rhine. This is probably off-limits. To the south-east there is Music Hall which is definitely off- limits. Only to the north is there a possibility of significant land that could be “repurposed” and used for parking once a lot of older buildings are torn down. How much parking and how much land? Let’s say the stadium will be 25,000 seats. I don’t know if a definitive number has been given but this is in the middle of numbers I have heard for Oakley. Jeff Berding said that his group is estimating an average of 3.3 people per car coming to the games. There was audible guffawing when he said that at a recent meeting in Oakley, but let’s use his estimate. That means 7575 cars. Where are you going to put them? Even if there are a couple parking garages built (highly optimistic) and each garage will hold 1,000 cars for the game-goers (another highly optimistic assumption), that still leaves 5575 cars. I have been to the West End many times and there is no way anywhere close to that number can be parked on the streets. Except for the new development, there is very little off-street parking. That means that the current residents already park in the streets. In the proposed Community Benefits Agreement for the West End, the Fussball Club Cincinnati proposes a permit parking area, with permits being given to the people of the West End. Uh, huh. This will not create new parking, but only formalize the right of the people who have parked in the streets for decades to continue parking there. And it does nothing for their friends and relatives who come to visit them and need to park themselves. Often these other people run errands for them, but to do this, they need to find parking themselves and will not have one of the permits. Just to have an idea how much space would be needed for surface parking, I took a Google satellite map and blocked out an area that would hold about 1,000 cars. I estimated each parking slot to be 9 x 18 feet and that half again as much would be needed for traffic lanes. I did not include anything for buffer strips and included public rights-of-way into the lot (these particular streets are not heavily traveled). I avoided major structures such as the firehouse at Linn and Liberty and the Boston Beer Company. As one sees, even a lot for just 1,000 cars takes up a large chunk of the West End. Just imagine a few more such chunks. As for the zoning code, the number of parking slots needed is much less than this but there is a twist. The parking spots have to be within a 600 foot radius of the stadium and they have to be used and maintained for the exclusive use of the stadium. Section 1425-19 says there has to be 1 (Continued on page 11) Urban Renewal or Elimination of the urban poor? PATRICIA PATTON T hey are the so-called ugly faces of America. They come in all shapes, all sizes, all colors and all ages. To find a place to stay for the night presents the greatest challenge to them. They are the nation’s most vulnerable and the most overlooked in our society. They are the faces of the homeless. In Cincinnati and other cities, the people experiencing homelessness gravitate towards certain areas of the city. In Cincinnati it’s Over-the-Rhine and the West End. Enter:Redevelopment/ Contributing Writer Gentrification, terms used to define the periodic practice of dislocating the so-called undesirable populations in the city to make way for urban development. I experienced this practice first hand as a young girl growing up in the 50s. My father owned a thriving successful Barbeque restaurant in the West End before he was notified that he would have to move his business in the name of urban renewal. In the 70s I remember as a single parent having to move again from the sub-sized apartment complex where I lived east of downtown Cincinnati. The owner wanted to use the land to build trendy condominiums. So, I was forced to comply moving from apartment to apartment all the while carrying additional stress with me. Fast forward to 2018 and according to an online article from Georgetown University “Greening up urban Communities and displacing the Poor. To work against the potential adverse effects of gentrification there are no quick solutions. The urban renewal programs that focus on tearing down or refurbishing dilapidated housing simply do not work. The article further states that THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED we must also create more jobs, with livable wages, increase healthcare and job training for residents. Adding this would serve to include everyone in the goal of transforming the area. Sounds like a huge task, but one that if exercised would enhance the lives of lower income families and diminish the otherwise bitter resentment and ongoing controversy we now face in this city regarding the FCC. --------------------------------------- �8 RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS A Natural Path for Peace & Justice: Sister Alice Gerdeman’s Faith Shows Her the Way M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 “A ction on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel…” wrote the Bishops, in 1971, in their synodal document “Justice in the World”. Their message prompted the Sisters of Divine Providence in Melbourne, Kentucky, to want to establish an office for peace and justice in their Community. They selected in 1973 Sister Alice Gerdeman to start it and be its coordinator and thus, indirectly, determined her path ever since. Born into a Roman Catholic family, Gerdeman was exposed very early on to the Catholic faith. Her parents were devout Christians, and prayer, high moral values, kindness and charity permeated their daily life. She was also introduced since childhood to issues of social justice, her father, a farmer, hiring every year at harvest season, migrant workers for help. “Texan and Mexican workers would spend a few months with us every year,” she says. “My father treated them well, equally and equitably, always concerned for their well-being.” After grade school, Gerdeman went to boarding school at the Sisters of Divine Providence, and at the end of high school, joined their order. It was a natural progression, one she did neither seek nor question. “I had a strong consciousness of the presence of God in my life; a kind, generous, and forgiving God, one who is everywhere, who could be felt even if not always understood,” she says. “I was also very drawn to the Eucharist, to the Catholic teachings, to the joy of faith, and to serving the poor.” After professing vows of a Catholic nun, Gerdeman taught for several years in schools staffed by her religious community and later was appointed principal of a Catholic parochial school. She was asked at the same time to become educated SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer about issues of peace and justice and to inform and involve the Sisters whenever possible. What started initially as a hobby grew progressively more serious as she studied, learned, read, attended workshops about the various issues. One year spent interning at Global Education Associates in New Jersey provided her with the administrative skills and the global vision needed to lead, upon her return, the Community’s peace and justice office. Part of her role was to involve the Sisters to read about the various social justice issues as they presented, ask questions, receive informational material, pray and take a stand. She also catered her work around their various ministries: for teachers, helping them introduce in their teaching curriculum relevant peace educational information; for nurses, opening their eyes on justice issues relating to health; for cooks, on issues pertaining to hunger and to unfair trade practices…Well informed, the sisters often resorted to action, demonstrating, picketing, participating in meetings and discussions... Their focus was initially anti-hunger, then anti-nuclear because of the proposed Zimmer power plant in Ohio, against the death penalty, for immigrant rights, anti-violence and anti-war. In 1992, and after 11 years of working at the Sisters Community office, when the Cincinnati Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) needed a director, Gerdeman applied and was hired. She succeeded Louise Akers, a sister of charity, who with 4 other orders, had founded the Center 5 years earlier. The focus of the work, initially primarily educational and involving mostly women, became progressively more activist and more diverse in its audience. The death penalty having been reinstated in Ohio, working with prisoners on death row and with their families was a priority; IJPC provided education, training and needed A Christian Text Sister Gerdeman Likes to Quote: “Rejoice in the Lord Always. Again, I say Rejoice! Be gentle with everyone for the Lord is near. Don’t worry but place your requests before God with prayers and supplications with thanksgiving and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything we love and honor, and everything you learned to be holy and worthy of praise. Keep doing all these things that you have learned and heard or seen. Then the God of Peace will be with you.” (Philippians, 4:4-9) support to advocate for loved ones and effect legislation. Immigrants’ rights were also a big concern, a natural extension of the Sanctuary movement of the 80’s which saw the flood of refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador. Promotion of women rights and their empowerment were also at the heart of the daily activities. Other issues were tackled as they became timely and prevalent; they included opposition to wars, food-based boycotts, anti-nuclear proliferation… Economic justice, Sr Alice Gerdeman. the needs of the poor and the establishing of an equitable society in the sharing of resources and in narrowing the wealth gap were always important considerations; they led for instance to IJPC’s strong involvement in “Occupy Cincinnati”, triggered by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. A branch of IJPC was also started in Northern Kentucky in order to address specific issues to the area, especially when targeting local politicians and legislation. Even though the Center was staffed by individuals each in charge of a given issue, Gerdeman remained the moving force behind its operation. She strongly believed in community building and in the power of prayer for effecting a change, strategies IJPC also used in complementing its actions. “I could not operate without my beliefs,” she says. “God gave me the talents and the ability to be effective in ways I often do not expect. My faith, moral and ethical backgrounds prevent my discouragement and give me strength.” In this doing, Gerdeman also benefits from the Sisters of Divine Providence, the community of sisters to which she belongs. “I am blessed to be supported by 100 sisters who share my views and accompany me daily with their prayers. Ours becomes a communal effort, essential for long term effectiveness. IJPC was also a community; we all worked together, cared for each other, nurtured each other.” For fourteen years Gerdeman also hosted a regular radio show on WVXU then part of Xavier University. Topics pertained to peace and justice, charity and community Credit: Saad Ghosn involvement and featured individuals form the local community who were instrumental in promoting a better world. When asked about the impact IJPC and her work have had, Gerdeman points out that, partly due to their efforts, people were more aware of justice issues, attitudes were changing, respectful dialogue and peaceful exchanges were promoted, some executions were being stopped… “We wanted to become smaller than larger,” she says, “to see conditions get better, legislation that has the needs of the poor and working people passed, peace achieved… and, therefore, our work less needed.” Three years ago, Gerdeman was voted by the members of her congregation as the Provincial leader for all the Sisters of Divine Providence in the United States. She accepted humbly the responsibility and as a result left IJPC. In her new position she tends to the administrative and relational issues that her role demands, making sure that all the needs of her sisters - physical, (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 �9 NATIONAL Bridging the wealth gap: Former U.S. Labor secretary calls for ‘progressive populism’ to tip the scales for the working class No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 I n November 1994 Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stood before the Democratic Leadership Council and warned that economic inequality was creating a “two-tiered society.” He was worried, he said, that a growing number of angry and disillusioned Americans could be “easily manipulated.” “Once unbottled, mass resentment can poison the very fabric of society, the moral integrity of a society, replacing ambition with envy, replacing tolerance with hate,” Reich said at the time. More than two decades later, Donald Trump rode that wave of white working-class rage into the White House by promising to “make America great again,” referring to undocumented Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” labeling the mainstream press as “fake news” and praising dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Sadly, I predicted it would come about,” Reich said in a recent phone interview with Street Sense Media. Reich now hopes to help poor and middle-class Americans become more politically engaged and tip the scales away from corporations and wealthy elites. In November, Netflix released Reich’s documentary “Saving Capitalism,” in which he explains how the wealth gap has continued to grow over the years and more economic power has flowed to a smaller number of wealthy elites. That money, Reich said, is then spent on campaigns, lobbying, lawyers and other ways that policy is influenced. “Over the past 35 years, most of the economic gains have gone to the top, not to the middle, and ADAM SENNOTT Contributing Writer certainly not to the poor,” Reich said. “They spend that money in order to get public policies that help them become even wealthier. It’s a vicious cycle that’s becoming increasingly more vicious, so that the rules of way through Congress. “That’s almost entirely the handiwork of big corporations and Wall Street,” Reich said. “Average working Americans had no part to play at all.” Robert Reich Credit: Adam Sennott the game, the rules of the economy, increasingly favor people at the top and hurt everybody else.” As an example, Reich said that Americans spend more for pharmaceuticals than people in any other advanced nation because pharmaceutical companies have used their political capital to make it impossible for people to buy drugs more cheaply from Canada; rigged the rules so it’s impossible to beat their patents for long periods of time; and barred the federal government from using its bargaining power through Medicare and Medicare to lower drug prices. He also pointed to the sinceadopted tax bill as it was making its In order to reverse that trend, he said, “there’s no substitute for American citizens becoming ever more actively involved in our politics.” One reason for encouragement for Reich? The support Bernie Sanders received during the Democratic primaries. “There’s a huge craving in this country for progressive populism, not for Donald Trump’s brand of authoritarian populism.” Reich said. “All the energy in the Democratic Party is with progressive populism; much of the energy in the Republican party is with authoritarian populism. But if many working-class Republicans understood what was actually happening and understood how they’re being ripped off, they would become progressive populists.” Reich said his biggest challenge has been overcoming misinformation produced by Fox News and other conservative news outlets. “Millions of people are watching Fox News and falling for the venom and lies that Sean Hannity spouts every night, and others like him,” Reich said. “There are rightwing personalities on the radio who continue to spout right-wing propaganda that has no basis in reality.” Reich also said that while the mainstream media “have done a pretty good job of telling the truth,” he also noted that “they’re easily distracted by the sensation of the day.” Most often, that means a presidential tweet or soundbyte. But such distractions particularly worry Reich after the passing of tax reform, which has left Medicaid and Medicare cuts up next on many Republicans’ agendas. “The tax cut will create a huge budget deficit — I mean much larger than they have today — and Republicans will use that increased deficit as an excuse to call for cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and programs for the poor,” Reich said. “This is the bait-and-switch tactic that they have been rehearsing for a long time, and we need to be ready.” How dire could a lack of preparedness be? According to Reich: very. “I think that unless we join together and make our voices heard,” he said, “it’s possible that we’re going to end up without a democracy.” Chess Players Pushed Out: Indifference to Organic Community at the Cincinnati Library E ven if you have only occasionally found your way to the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, in all likelihood you will have noticed the chess players in the overpass, pushing their pieces across their boards in that archetypal and ancient game. So far as I can tell, they have been there as long as the overpass, and their presence, though informal, plays a crucial role in the atmosphere of the space, indicating how the Library is so much more than just a building in which to store books. Yet Wednesday, 28 February, without consultation, the library administration removed those tables from the overpass, replaced them with THOMAS L. LYNN, JR. Contributing Writer empty display cases and shunted the chess players to dispersed corners. When challenged as to the reasons for this decision, the response was equivocal. On one hand, it was pled that it was to provide a place for forthcoming exhibits. On the other, that it was to clear out a possible “swing space” to facilitate the work on an imminent renovation of the floor tiles on the first floor. Some might speculate that other factors were in play. But even taking the stated motivations at face value, one is confronted both by another example of the astonishing seclusion of the library administration from the actual cultural life of the library, and, along with it, a vivid illustration of how oppressive cultural currents operate through invisibility. A caveat. It is crucial to distinguish the library administration, especially its upper strata,from the vast majority of the librarians and staff. Indeed, by even the accounting of the library administration’s own surveys, the librarians and staff are in the unenviable position of performing their noble and often difficult work under the Damocles’ sword of a capricious and authoritarian regime. It is from that regime that the decision to move the chess tables originated. Certainly, it was patent in my own encounters with personnel THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED that the individuals with whom I spoke were altogether sympathetic with the objections to the decision, and were regretful that they were in no position to be responsive to those objections in one way or the other. So to be clear, the target of my criticism here is the library administration, not the librarians and staff. Now, some may rejoin additionally that this is to make a mountain of a molehill. After all, aren’t we simply just talking about some moved furniture? The answer to that question is very much, no. The furniture is incidental. What we are more substantively discussing is a decision which (Continued on page 11) �10 LOCAL M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 May 18 - June 9, 2018 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 No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 7) space for every 5 seats (a seat is defined somewhat differently than conventional usage, but let’s ignore that for now). So a 25,000 seat ADAM SENNOTT (Continued from page 6) focused on North Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a handful of other basket cases, it wouldn’t be a credible system.” He also noted that while conditions might be worse in other countries, that doesn’t mean the United States doesn’t have its own impoverished populations, and it has a much harder time explaining why that poverty exists in the first place. “Unlike the really poor countries who can with some legitimacy say, ‘Well we don’t have the money, we can’t afford it,’ the United States is in a position to say, ‘Well we do have the money, but that’s not how we want to spend it,’” Alston said. “And that raises pretty direct and obvious questions in terms of really respecting people’s basic human rights.” In his report, Alston noted the 11 stadium means 5,000 spaces. And there is huge allowance if the stadium is within 600 feet of a streetcar stop – the Zoning Administrator can cut the requirement in half (section 1425-23)! In any event, all of these requirements are legal ones that can be over-ruled by city council. For that reason I am not putting that much weight to them. But if Fussball Club Cincinnati wants fans to come to the games, they will have to find a way for the fans to park their cars. I have no idea how they plan to do that if the stadium is built in the West End. At least, I cannot see any way that would be a benefit to the people now living in the West End. of Housing and Urban Development. Only 25 percent of the city’s homeless population was living in a shelter. In Skid Row alone, which comprises about 50 square blocks near downtown L.A., there were 4,633 homeless people, according to the city’s 2017 homeless census. Of that group, 2,669 were sheltered and 1,964 were living on the streets. The UN special rapporteur compared the conditions of Skid Row to those in a Syrian refugee camp. Officials in L.A. would describe how much they were doing and the grand plans they had for the years ahead, according to Alston. But when asked whether their efforts would provide reasonable housing for all of the homeless population, those same officials admitted it wouldn’t even come close. “Even though some money has been mobilized, and there are lots of policies and so on, the basic policy is the super-rich nor the government that represents them is motivated to consider radical changes to the country’s economic system. “It’s a shame.” Kelly Miller, an activist who has been homeless for about six years and lives in Washington DC, recently traveled to Atlanta to share her personal experiences with Alston at a human-rights conference. Because of scheduling issues, she and 19 others recounted their stories to him by “In a lot of countries that I go to, one gets a sense that there are a number of policies that, if implemented, would really make a difference — and that governments might be prepared to look at those policies,” Alston said. “But in the U.S., the problem is much deeper.” In the nation’s capital, Alston said he devoted much of his time to meeting with officials from the White House and Congress. He said that the Trump administration’s approach to --------------------------------------- Credit: Office of the UN Special Rapporteur report missing,” Alston said. “And that is to eliminate all but the most hardcore homelessness.” But it was not just conditions in Skid Row that Alston found alarming. In Alabama, he investigated cases of hookworm, an intestinal parasite that experts believed had been eradicated from the U.S. in the 1980s. Alston said he was shocked by the lack of urgency from public health officials. “This is not a problem that is yet affecting the elites, or the well-off,” Alston said, implying that neither phone. “Basically, I just told [Alston] that I’m a victim of sex-trafficking,” Miller said. “And I told a little bit about the struggles of when I was outside in Kentucky, homeless and fighting, I even had to take a shower in the rain because I didn’t have anywhere to access water.” Experiencing homelessness in a rural area is more difficult than being homeless in a big city, according to Miller. She contrasted her time in Kentucky with her time in the nation’s capital. “In the rural areas, number one, we don’t have a bus system, we don’t have churches that assist like they do here in DC,” Miller said. “We don’t have organizations that assist. You’re just out of luck. You’re actually living in the woods.” She said that while being an activist is harder when you are homeless, it is still possible to make an impact. Nonetheless, Alston was not optimistic by the end of his tour. fighting poverty is to move people from welfare to work. “It’s based on the assumption that most people who are on welfare could work if they wanted to, and it’s only laziness, or whatever, that prevents them from doing so,” Alston said. He said that along with members of the Trump administration, he encountered many state governments and politicians who believe deeply that people’s needing government assistance to survive is an aberrational situation and that many who receive benefits are simply scamming the system. “The reality is that poverty, as I said, I think, in the report, [is] a political decision,” Alston said. “A government can either decide to address it and eliminate it, or can decide that they don’t give a damn.” Courtesy of Street Sense / Real Change / INSP.ngo grotesque discourtesy exhibited by the decision to force them from the overpass likely implies a latent consciousness of them as marginal, and thus, if not disposable, at least easily “dealt with.” If the demography of the chess players was constituted predominantly by wealthy, white men, it seems highly unlikely that they would have been pushed out in so peremptory a manner. Not that this all is thought about in explicit terms. It is the insidious character of structural racism and classism that we often are hardly aware of our own complicity with it. What is fortunate about this situation is that it has easy remedy. The tables can simply be replaced to the overpass. For the exhibit which stands presently, it is something of an innocent bystander in this regrettable matter. However, the space of the overpass is a privileged one in the architecture of the downtown branch. Consequently, it should be arrayed to reflect the values of the library as a public and democratic space. As such, lived relationships and spontaneous community, like that exemplified by the chess players, merit far more weight than objects. This is especially the case in light of the further consideration that there are ample alternatives for the display of exhibits outside of the overpass, or even mutual accommodation within the overpass itself. Consequently, I can only exhort the library administration to correct its mistake, and restore the tables to the overpass, and accord the people who play there the respect they deserve. If you would choose to join me, call the library at (513) 369-6900. Ask for regional manager Holbrook Sample. Tell him we want the tables back. Credit: Office of the UN Special Rapporteur report pervasive contrast between private wealth and public squalor. “American exceptionalism was a constant theme in my conversations,” he wrote. “But instead of realizing its founders’ admirable commitments, today’s United States has proved itself to be exceptional in far more problematic ways that are shockingly at odds with its immense wealth and its founding commitment to human rights.”  There were 55,188 homeless individuals living in Los Angeles in 2017, according to the Department THOMAS L. LYNN, JR. (Continued from page 9) evinces an unfortunately instructive obliviousness to a community who has played a crucial role in lending the Downtown Branch its meaningfulness as more than a structure, its meaningfulness as a shelter and space of community. What does that obliviousness betoken? That this community is effectively invisible to the administration (and, for that matter the librarians and staff who are similarly excluded from the loop of decisions). I say effectively invisible because the THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED --------------------------------------- �12 STREET VOICE What My Eyes Have Seen M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 LEE MCCOY L et me begin, I was born in the year 1952. I am 65 years young. I have seen so many things in my life. Some of the things I am going to talk about you might not agree with. But that’s ok, you’re entitled to your own opinion., but listen to mine for a minute or two. I might burden your view or memory. These things I’m going to say may not come in order. Let me start with the assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and the attempted killing of Ronald Reagan. What should’ve been the impeachment of Nixon, who I will always call Tricky Dick. Man’s first step on the moon. OJ running for his life and we stopped a lot of things to watch him fleeing on the expressway, live coverage, hour and hours. Johnny’s Cochran’s famous words, “if it don’t fit, you must acquit.” The malfunction of the Spaceship Voyager. The senseless killing of so many unarmed black men by the people who are supposed to protect and serve and not one police officer Contributing Writer has been convicted as of yet. Not that I know of. If so I’m willing to bet 1,000 to 1 you can count them on one hand. The beating of Rodney King. The Unabomber, Charles Manson, Son of Sam, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, mass killings school after school. Debrah and Alton Coleman who went on a mass murder spree in the tristate area. Seeing a black man holding the highest office, not only once, but twice. The bombing in Atlanta during the Olympic Games. The planes that flew into the World Trade Center which we remember as 9/11. Some of our music icons that will live on forever in our hearts like Michael Jackson, Slick Rick, Tupac, Linda Jones, One of the twins of the Whispers, Jimmy Hendricks, Phillipe Wynn of the Spinners, the King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Presley, and so many more that left us before their time. The Washington D.C. sniper that used a kid to do most of the killing. The Exxon Oil spill that killed so much marine life and so much more. The Vietnam War. The first female President, Bill Cosby indicted for sex abuse by so many women and so many more that use women in so many degrading ways. The slaughter of so many people in Las Vegas the worst killing spree in America. By far too many lives lost. The march of civil rights. The march to Alabama. The Million Man March to Washington. The assassination of Robert Kennedy. Just recently a married couple imprisoned their kids, 13 kids chained up, barely fed. Thanks God one of the kids got away to call 911. What kind of a monster would do that to their own kids? I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to know them. Jim Jones who killed his own church members with mass suicide or murder. Even Bill Clinton got caught up in a sex scandal, and speaking of President, your President not mine. Let’s start from the beginning, he publicly talked about women, building a wall around Struggles in the Streets STACIA HOLLANDER S truggling out here in these streets is no joke. I have endured and seen a lot of hatred out here towards Contributing Writer different kinds of individuals. We have people and the police telling us to go somewhere else. Get it through your heads, we have nowhere to go. Instead of harassing us, help us. Instead of judging the people experiencing homelessness, walk in Jokes from Cleo and friends 1 . What did the green grass seed say to the football field? If you water me I’ll be rooting for you. 2. How do basketball players keep cool during a game? They stand by their fans. 3. What do you call two peas in a fight? Black eyed peas. 4. What do you call a sleeping bull? A bull dozer. 5. What kind of bird works for a construction company? A crane. 6. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) psychological, social...- are daily met. Passionate about peace and justice, however, she also facilitates her sisters' engagement in these matters. "We write cards to prisoners on death row; we take stands as a community in support of immigration and the sanctuary movement, against war and death penalty; we keep an eye on legislation and how to affect it; on how to eliminate poverty in the world... We put out petitions and go CLEO WOMBLES Contributing Writer 7. A man took his dog to the Vet. The Vet’s cat ran around the man’s dog three times. The Vet said to the man, “That will cost $3,000. The man asked why $3,000. The Vet said my cat gave your dog a cat scan. 8. What did one tonsil say to the other tonsil? Get dressed, the doctor is taking us out tonight. 9. How does a butcher introduce his wife? He says Meat Patty. 10. This mouse dies and goes to heaven. An angel gives him some skates. A cat dies and goes to heaven. When he sees the mouse on skates he says, “It looks like meals on wheels.” 11. There was Moses, Jesus, and an old man playing golf. Moses knocks the ball 100 feet, but it doesn’t go in the hole. Jesus says, “Pretty good job Moses, but not good enough.” Jesus knocks the ball 1,000 feet into the air and it goes right into the hole. The old man hits the ball and it goes into a tree. A squirrel spots the ball and runs towards it and grabs it thinking it’s a walnut. An eagle spots the squirrel, swoops it up and fly’s away. A lightning bolt hits the eagle. to marches...," Gerdeman says. "Our congregation has a deep commitment to peace and justice, and it is not just me." In addition, and thanks to her leadership role, Gerdeman belongs to the national "Leadership Conference of Women Religious" an association of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. She serves as the chairperson of its committee "Global Concerns" which has a special focus on peace and justice. "As a group we try to effect change by working through legislation," she says, "but also by trying to change attitudes. For instance, we encourage our sisters, and provide them the means to live a contemplative life, letting goodness seek into them and God be present in their spirit, so this will naturally come out when they deal with people, with war, with aggression..." When she thinks of her role, Gerdeman likes to quote the gospel of Luke, 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Mexico. I believe he had help from Russia. An ongoing investigation is still going on and no way in hell would I own a Trump Bear. He can’t even get along with his own party, and that talk about making America great again. Come on, wake up and smell the coffee, and you can bet it’s not good to the last drop. One thing is for sure, everybody can relate to this. You heard your grandmother or mother say, ‘nighty night, don’t let the bed bugs bite? Then all of the sudden they want to say we have an epidemic. Be real, they knew about them even back then. They are the only pest I know that has frequent flyer miles. In my life I have seen sports, Cincinnati Reds won 5 World Series. The one in ’69 I really don’t remember. But I’ll bet you, me and my Daddy I watched the Cincinnati Bengals go to two Super Bowls and lost both. I pray that I can at least see them win one. The Greatest was stripped of his title because of religious reasons, he didn’t want to fight in the Vietnam War, but the court said he was right and he fought again to regain his title. So many other fighters, but I have run out of paper. May God bless you in 2018. our shoes for a day. Trust and believe me you won’t like it at all. Stand up for us and help us. We deserve to be treated as humans and not trash. -------------------------------------- The eagle drops the squirrel. The squirrel drops the ball. The ball goes in the hole. Jesus says, “fantastic shot Dad.” 12. There was a three-legged chicken running down the road. A man was trying to catch it. The chicken ran into a barn. A farmer comes out and the man says to the farmer, “Did you see that chicken run into your barn. The farmer says, “Yes, my son’s a scientist. My son made the chicken with three legs, so we could each have a drum stick.” The man said, “Great how does it taste?” The farmer said, “We don’t know, we can’t catch it.” --------------------------------------- proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” She is not sure of where life will take her from here and at the end of her mandate as Provincial Superior of the Sisters of Divine Providence. She knows, however, that wherever it is, it would be a place she would suddenly realize she needs to go to and that it would be part of her natural path. --------------------------------------- �No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 NO ONE ASKED STREET VOICE NO CHAOS HERE! Prez Trump tweets that it's too idiotic No one asked. To infer White House staffing is chaotic. How are you today? You have to know Trump gets inspired No one asked, Because no one cared Maybe because everyone is too busy Someone went home today Feeling, sad and empty No one asked, No one cared Sometimes no one should have to ask. When was the last time you asked someone could you help them? It’s so sad when no one cares enough to ask! KIM GREEN 13 Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer By telling employees that they're fired! So West Wing advisors ought to see With Donald's views they best agree. For Trump's message will always be: "This Administration is all about me!" BILL WOODS Contributing Writer GROWING IN PEACE IF YOU HAVE BEEN READING MY POETRY OR YOU'VE READ MY BOOK YOU'LL RECALL A PEACEFUL PLACE THE SARAH CENTER LET'S TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AS THE CITY UPGRADES WITHOUT REGAURD FOR THE HOMELESS AND THE POOR THE SARAH CENTER IS STILL THAT PEACEFUL PLACE HELPING WOMEN WITH AN OPEN DOOR TEACHING THEM TO MAKE JEWERLY, KNIT, SEW, PAINT AND SELL THEIR PRODUCTS FOR A WAY OF LIFE TEACHING THEM TO BE ABLE TO WORK, TALK AND SHARE ALL OF THEIR TOILS AND STRIFE THESE WOMEN WITH THEIR HAND MADE CRAFTS AND THE AID FROM DIFFRENT ORGANIZATIONS THEY HAVE COME FROM MILES AROUND TO PUT TOGETHER ORIGINAL HAND MADE GOD'S CREATIONS THIS PLACE LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN O.T.R. ON VINE STREET HAS NEVER LOOKED BETTER THEIR SHOWCASE OF ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE HAND MADE JEWELRY, KNITTING, PAINTING AND THEY GOT IT DOWN TO THE LETTER PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY WORD AS A GRAIN OF SALT, GO SEE FOR YOURSELF I'M POSITIVE THERE ARE MANY WOMEN THAT YOU KNOW COULD USE THE SARAH CENTER’S HELP ALWAYS REMEMBER GOD SAID HELP THOSE TO HELP OTHERS IN ORDER FOR US ALL TO GROW CHECK OUT THE SARAH CENTER FOR YOUR HAND-CRAFTED NEEDS BELEIVE ME IT'S A GOOD DECISION I KNOW THANK ALMIGHTY GOD FOR THE SARAH CENTER AND ALL THE WOMEN THERE THANK GOD FOR ALL THEY'VE TAUGHT ME LOVE AND RESPECT, THEY TAUGHT ME TO CARE!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 8 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 147 Across 1. Remain 5. Ease off 10. Roster 14. Roofing material 15. Come up 16. Small island 17. Wading bird 18. Welcome 19. Midday 20. Recline 21. Entranceway 22. Attack from all sides 23. Lassitude 25. Currency unit 27. Ancient Chinese dynasty 28. Pottery material 29. Stray 32. Religious song 35. Small cut of meat 36. Supplication 37. Center of rotation 38. Garment 39. Stench 40. Fruit machine 41. Carbonated drink 42. Part of a church 43. Small barrel 44. Difficult 45. Singing pair 46. Circular 48. Patio 52. A skilled practice 54. Mineral 55. Prohibit 56. Harangue 57. Upsurge 59. Renown 60. Assistant 61. Musical instrument 62. Detail 63. Narrow secluded valley 64. Sharp end 65. Depend 3. Extraterrestrial Down 1. A static photograph 2. Shinbone to mollify 4. Affirmative 5. Liman 6. Mistake 7. Layer 8. Employ 9. Domestic animal companion 10. Woven fabric 11. Triangle with two equal sides 12. Plum 13. Portable shelter 21. Two-fold 22. Alcove 24. Demon or spirit 25. Plant life in a particular region 26. Ecstatic 28. Youngster 30. Highland fling 31. Garden tool 32. Cylindrical container SODOKU PUZZLE NO 277 - MEDIUM 33. Wheel shaft 34. Boundary between the US and Mexico 35. Combination of musical notes 36. Earlier 38. Read metrically 42. Halo 44. Small shelter 45. Respectable 47. Frequently 48. Behemoth 49. Diminish 50. Cud-chewing mammal 51. Foe 52. Steep rugged rock or cliff 53. Track 54. Magicians or sorcerors of ancient times 57. Concession given 58. Argument in favor 59. Evergreen tree PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 377 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 146 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 276- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 37 8 | M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 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 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 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 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 M a r . 2 3 - A p r i l 5 , 2 0 18 | N o . 37 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. 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 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 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 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � 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 2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 23-April 5, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: Coalition Against an FC Cincinnati Stadium in West End Why Citizens Need to Learn About Issue I On the May 8th Ballot Pg 3: Eyes on the City Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: The “Development Renaissance” Homeless in a (Nursing) Home Pg 6: United Nations Report Pg 7: Parking and the Soccer Stadium Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Bridge the Wealth Gap Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Michael Earl Patton Continued Adam Sennott Continued Thomas L. Lynn, Jr. Continued Pg 12: What My Eyes Have Seen Struggle in the Streets Jokes from Cleo and Friends Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 23-April 5, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Peter Block Jim Luken Adam Sennott Michael Earl Patton Patricia Patton Saad Ghosn Thomas L. Lynn Jr. Stacia Hollander Cleo Wombles Lee McCoy Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Office of UN Special Rapporteur Report Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Adam Sennott Bill Woods Cincinnati Cleo Wombles Dr. Mark Mussman FC GCHC Issue I Jim Luken Josh Spring Kim Green Lee McCoy Michael Earl Patton Office of UN Special Rapporteur Report Patricia Patton Peter Block Religion Saad Ghosn Stacia Hollander Thomas L. Lynn Jr. United Nations Wealth Gap Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/bcdee635a53362987a94bf07c4e515ac.pdf d55ace1450abd31986bce10cd9361f26 PDF Text Text April 6th - April 19th 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 8 (No. 379) advocating justice | building community Sorry, Not Today | 3 This Issue is sponsored by Bromwell's Harth Lounge INSIDE THIS ISSUE The 2018 Library Levy | 5 Commuity Addicts: Excerpts from a Conversation with Ann Livingston | 7 Religious Peacemakers: Adam Clark | 8 Affordable Housing In Louisville – Can It Work in OTR? | 11 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: Jeff Berding, But Wait There’s More… W e have been partnered with many people who live in the West End including Residents of Stanley Rowe, Liberty Street Apartments, Parktown, Richmond Village, City West and more as well as several additional groups which include the NAACP, Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition, West End Community Church, Black Agenda, Jurisdiction-Wide Resident Advisory Board and the local chapter of National Action Network. Together we have been fighting former city council person and former Bengals employee, Jeff Berding and the organization he is currently president of, Futbol Club Cincinnati (FC Cincinnati) as they have tried to force a $250 million stadium into the West End. We are fighting this because experience tells us that if a $250 million, 25,000 seat soccer stadium is built in the West End, significant gentrification and thus displacement will follow. Displacement, in addition to being wrong in and of itself, leads to homelessness. FC Cincinnati, which is financially backed by Carl Lindner III, has used the same arguments A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 JOSH SPRING Executive Director gentrifying developers always use: we are trying to bring progress and revitalization, we will offer jobs, we care about the community, we will attract more people to come downtown and more people to come to Cincinnati in general, we will work with the neighborhood, this is a civicminded effort, blah, blah, blah. Their supporters have been in turn stating the same kind of pleas that come from the “money=good” book Berding and Lindner stand on. Among those arguments is the old argument that people and groups who are against the stadium are afraid of change and prefer the status quo. In fact, this has also been the argument of Mayor John Cranley. FCC supporters have also referred to this stadium as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the West End and the City as a whole. Have you ever stayed up too late and watched one of those infomercials where they show you some gadget that looks really nice? They explain that there are a variety of tasks you need to be able to complete to have a good life and that this shiny new gadget will expertly Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition accomplish all these tasks with ease, but without it, you will remain troubled. If that were not enough, there’s more, you can get it for what they say is a generous price, if you act now! Sound familiar? If you have watched an infomercial it is familiar. This is also the same argument people like Jeff Berding, John Cranley and other developers use to try to sell us their products. Let’s break it down and look at how the claims of infomercial spokespeople are the (Continued on page 3) Reflections From The Front Lines of Public Education: Building Community At Gamble Montessori High School I n a period of government mandated testing and tragic shooting sprees at schools, how do teachers build communities of trust and a love of learning in their class rooms? At the March 29th Forum at Christ Church Cathedral, Jack M. Jose, Principal of Gamble Montessori High School, and Krista L. Taylor, Intervention Specialist at Gamble, addressed that question. Reflecting on their experiences at the High School, they conveyed the challenges, but they also told success stories of how education can be effective when a spirit of community and an atmosphere of trust exists for students. Jose and Taylor just published a book that focuses on their work at Gamble Montessori High School. "Angels and Superheroes" relates their efforts to provide students with "a compassionate education" in this era of teaching to the test. The Montessori philosophy and method offer a solid foundation for what Jose and Taylor are working to achieve in Gamble's classrooms, but the students that arrive there each year provide a multitude of 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 ----------------------------------------------- BILL WOODS Contributing Writer 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. challenges. For instance, a high percentage of students who enroll in the seventh grade come to Gamble with no (Continued on page 7) CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Dick Croy, Jason Haap, Trenton Davis, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Steve Sunderland, Stacia Hollander, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, C. Grabowski, Saad Ghosn, Bill Woods, Homeless Coalition --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �3 LOCAL Sorry, Not Today No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 W henever you pass someone on the street who is asking for help, what is your response? Do you stop to engage in a conversation? Do you have a quick one-line, like “Sorry, not today” or “God bless!” and keep walking? Do you reach into your pocket and find what change you might have? How we respond to panhandling is an important part of who we are. Our response is also a good indicator of the system of beliefs we hold. We recently did a speaking engagement with a group of adults at a local church. We love speaking at churches because it usually means the congregation is taking homelessness, and the eradication of it, seriously. Typically, we’ll meet after a service on Sunday, and give the speaker some time to tell their story, talk about solutions, and engage in questions. The questions can be very revealing. At this church, the questions were coming one after another, but one question really stood out: “How do you know who is worthy of your donation? I mean - if I see someone panhandling, how do you decide if you’d give them money?” This question is not very unique, but the DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer follow-up to our answer, was more telling than anything. The speaker, very succinctly, described the process of panhandling, the difficulties, the loss of self-respect, and the role of the passerby. If someone walking by makes eye-contact, and has a conversation, that is worth more than money at times. And the intent that you have, when you give someone a little change, is an intent of doing good… so let that intent be your purpose. Questioning how someone spends the money is actually very problematic. The woman’s response to the speaker was very interesting. She said she goes to Findlay Market with her husband pretty regularly. And almost every time, someone asks them for change. She assured us that she and her husband are willing to give, but they have a test. The husband takes the hand of the person who is asking for money and gives them a firm shake. If the hand is rough, she says, then the husband determines that the individual is willing to work and worthy of the donation, but if it’s soft, he won’t give them a dime. At that point, my heart sunk, and my mind started traveling in many directions: Why would someone do this? Is work a requirement for help? What if this is the first time someone had to ask for money? Whose job is it to judge someone’s worthiness? What is an appropriate response? I quickly gained my composure and asked the speaker, who had panhandled, to give their perspective without attacking the method. Of course, the speaker was able to handle the situation, but it is something that stood out in my head for the past couple of months. What kind of society do we live in that demands that not only people look needy enough to be granted help, but also that calluses on hands are a determinant of someone’s willingness to work? I have heard people say that if someone who is panhandling doesn’t look homeless, then they won’t give them any help. You do realize that most people who experience homelessness don’t “look” homeless? That society’s shame of homelessness creates a system where people work so hard to be not perceived as homeless? This is literally many people’s daily goal — to get through the day without being looked down upon for their circumstance. I guess it’s hard to say what the appropriate response is in this situation. Yes, the husband doesn’t ignore them, but he is still judging them. Being judged, whether you are without a home or not, is always a tough psychological situation to face. Once we break the dominant script around race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or home status, it’s very difficult to get that respect and understanding back. It’s important for us to use our knowledge of homelessness (and the other fights in which we are engaged) to be advocates for all, no matter how society judges them (or us, for that matter). If you’d like to gain more knowledge about Cincinnati’s AntiSolicitation Laws and Panhandling, please consider a Streetvibes Shadow Activity, featuring a Streetvibes Distributor and an opportunity to experience panhandling yourself. Contact me at MarkMussman@ CinciHomeless.org or visit our website http://cincihomeless.org and select Education. CUE Streetvibes Shadow with Lee McCoy, Streetvibes Distributor Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) same as FCC spokespeople: • Infomercial says: Your life needs to be better. Jeff Berding says: I care about you and for a long time West End Residents have dealt with poverty, lack of available employment and basic neighborhood necessities. • Infomercial says: We have a brand-new solution: Jeff Berding says: a shiny new stadium • Infomercial says: It will bring you options you don’t have now: jobs, tourists, increased property values, chidren’s soccer programming… • Infomercial says: We will give it to you at a generous price. Jeff Berding says: what we are offering to pay in property taxes to the School Board is more than enough, we even increased what we originally offered. • Infomercial says: We will work with you and guarantee our product. Jeff Berding says: we will agree to a community benefits agreement. • Infomercial says: If you act now you can get this once in a lifetime deal. Jeff Berding says: deadline to the School Board, deadline of time to decide site, deadline, deadline, deadline. Here is the thing, despite all the big talk, people with common sense tend to know they never needed the product the infomercial is offering to THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED begin with and while life may need improvements, the money-grubbing company behind the product isn’t going to bring those improvements but instead will just bring harm with future payments required on the product, etc. FC Cincinnati and Jeff Berding are trying to force the same thing and people of the West End know they never needed a damn soccer stadium! --------------------------------------- �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 �5 LOCAL The 2018 Library Levy No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 I t’s not your fault if you hadn’t heard about the additional tax levy for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County on the May ballot. If there are any campaign signs out there on this issue I haven’t seen them. News coverage has been almost nonexistent since the levy was placed on the ballot. Even when I searched on-line for additional information I found almost nothing. So I was very interested when EmpowerU (www. EmpowerUohio.org) announced that it was hosting a forum on the subject with speakers both for and against the levy. The levy would be added to the property tax bill. Currently there is a 1 mil levy that was renewed by the voters in 2013 for 10 years. The proposed levy would be for another mil, also lasting 10 years, and would overlap the present one. The present levy brings in about $17 million for the library and the proposed one would also, thereby doubling the amount that the library gets from the property taxes if it passes. A 1 mil levy translates to about $30 a year for each $100,000 of property value as assessed by the county auditor (I used my latest property tax bill to calculate this). This is, of course, if your property is not in a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district or does MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer not receive an abatement. It is also important to keep in mind that the majority of funding for the library comes from the State of Ohio, that is, it is paid for through state taxes, not local ones. Ohio is almost unique in this regard. Hawaii is the only other state that provides the majority of the funds for local libraries. The first levy for the local library was passed by the voters in 2009 in the wake of reductions in state funding for libraries across Ohio. Elaine Fay and Libby Scott, both library employees, based the case for an additional levy on the widespread usage of the current system and the need to renovate the facilities in Hamilton County – there is a current need for $54 million. Seven of the branch libraries are over a hundred years old and 2 of them have never been renovated. Eight other branches have never been renovated and 6 branches are not handicapped accessible. There are almost half a million cardholders, 41 locations throughout the county, and a circulation of 19.8 million items. This is the second highest circulation of any library system in the country – only the New York Public Library has a higher circulation. The circulation is Public Library - North Building Credit: Michael Earl Patton I up 60% since 2000. The percentage of local funding is the lowest of any system in Ohio. The response was given by Matt Wahlert, a member of the North College Hill Council and a high school teacher. He stressed that he liked the library and think that the system is with the decision to keep the North building, which had been slated for sale to a developer. He questioned why the library could not charge out-of-county residents for library cards, which had been the practice in the past. He also said that the library is being used less and less by Hamilton County residents. While in 2013, 90% of county households had someone with a library card, today only 65% do. Sculpture of books in front of Main Branch Library Credit: Michael Earl Patton important. His argument was mostly based on the fact that the voters are taking the library’s word if they really need the additional levy. Unlike other levies, the library’s request does not go through the Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee. This is per the Ohio Revised Code – the county commissioners must place it on the ballot if the library requests a new tax. The review committee would normally go over the books of the institution making the request and determine if they had been spending money appropriately and if they do need the money. With the library they did not do this. There has been no independent review of the books. Mr. Wahlert pointed to building programs and upper management salaries as possible examples where the money might not have been wisely spent. He pointed out that the library built 3 new branch library buildings since 2008, in Clifton, St. Bernard, and Reading. They replaced “storefront” type branches, but were they really needed? He wondered if the levy was connected In the end, the decision on how to vote is based on criteria that are the most important to you. If you like the current library, trust its management, and want to see it upgraded and basically continue, then vote “yes” on May 8. If you think that it is important that there be more accountability for how tax money is spent regardless of how good the library is currently, then vote “no.” EmpowerU is a non-profit organization that offers short seminars on a diverse range of topics. A typical class is about 90 minutes. Many are held at a small studio attached to the FrameUSA warehouse on Northland Boulevard in Springdale. The classes are free and are supported by donations. I have attended several; this is the third one that formed the basis for one of my articles in Streetvibes. See www. empoerUohio.org for a list of classes and seminars. --------------------------------------- AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN LOUISVILLE: CAN IT WORK IN OTR? s there a realistic way to provide additional affordable housing for residents being driven out of OTR by gentrification? My wife Joy and I became more aware of homelessness in Cincinnati after we were introduced by our friend Jim Luken to Josh Spring, DICK CROY Contributing Writer executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Homelessness Coalition. And I was surprised by the number of buildings Josh said are vacant in OTR: currently over 250, according to Cincinnati Dept. of Buildings and Inspections records. Couldn’t some of these be renovated to help alleviate the loss of affordable housing brought about by gentrification? Having been impressed by an article in the Enquirer about a THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED developer in Louisville doing just that, committed to “giving back” in return for a privileged upbringing, I asked to interview him and find out how he was doing it. Gregg Rochman, 51, and I met at the Silver Dollar, a busy (Continued on page 9) �6 I LOCAL Circular logic loops keep going, and going, and going have long been fascinated by the evolution of the Energizer bunny, which represents for me a psychological phenomenon I see happening in other areas of public discourse. The Energizer bunny first appeared on American televisions in the late 1980's. Back then, the bunny was a toy that kept running long after other toys due to the fact it was powered by an Energizer battery. The catchphrase was that the Energizer bunny "kept going, and going, and going..." I remember being in middle school and seeing the commercials. Sometimes, they'd do multiple spots in a row: the first would show the bunny outlasting other battery powered toys, and then it would seem like a new commercial started, only to be interrupted by the bunny, and the never-ending phrase that it "kept going, and going, and going..." Somewhere along the line, however, a flip happened. Probably A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer in the 90's, the bunny started being put inside the battery - as if the unstoppable bunny is what gave an Energizer battery its power. This always fascinated me as it was a complete inversion of the original point. The bunny went from being powered by a battery, to powering the battery! A few weeks ago, when getting my haircut at the barber college, one of the younger students was talking about the phrase "type shit." If you don't hang around younger people, "type shit" has become a popular exclamation. It is a way to express sarcasm, or perhaps something derogatory, such as "President Trump is America's greatest president ever. Type shit." Originally, "type shit" was part of longer phrases. So, someone might say a talented person was "on some next level type shit," or that someone with bad body odor was "on some dirty diaper smelling type shit." In each of these phrases, everything before the word "shit" modifies it: in the first, the shit is of the "next level type," and in the second, the shit is of the "dirty diaper smelling type." Somewhere along the line, however, "type shit" became the object of the modification - so now people talk about "type shit" without any other modification. It makes me wonder "What type of shit?" Just like how I wonder what powers the Energizer bunny toy now that it's powering the Energizer batteries. The history of the phrase "fake news" reminds me of these examples, too. Originally, it meant exactly what the words mean - news that is not factually accurate. Now it is used as an insult for any news outlet that has an editorial bias with which we disagree. It seems like every source has a profile of citizens calling it "fake." It makes me feel like everyone is on some Energizer bunny type shit, stuck in a circular logic-loop. The problem is that so many people are stuck in these logic loops, no matter their political persuasions. Right now, there are homeopathy using, anti-GMO liberals who can't believe conservatives deny the science of global warming. There are conservatives talking about states' rights while opposing marijuana legalization. I know this kind of hypocrisy is nothing new, but I guess the example of the Energizer bunny spins it differently for me. Over time, when we lack collective memory, changing trends may bend back onto themselves in illogical ways, but this illogical thinking only manifests in the context of memory. If we forget the Energizer bunny was originally powered by batteries, then it makes sense for batteries to be powered by the bunny. This is how people end up praising the science they like, and opposing the science they don't as a conspiracy by Big Pharma, or something. Absent a long-term timeline, we narrow in on issues of the day through the lens of our ideology. That's some type shit right there. And it just keeps going, and going, and going... You can contact Jason Haap at jasonhaap@gmail.com Seeking landlords who accept Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers for efficiency and 1 bedroom apartments. Interested in developing a long-term relationship with ongoing tenant referrals. Please contact Alexis Aghotte at 513.446.7554 or aaghotte@ shelterhousecincy.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �JUBILEE CAMPAIGN Community Addicts: Excerpts from a Conversation with Ann Livingston No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 A nn Livingston is a community organizer from Vancouver, Canada. As a leader of “VANDU”, a community made for and by drug addicts, she has helped to galvanize and organize these people that are often labeled “unorganizable”. Ann joined Peter Block and John McKnight recently for a chat about her organizing work, and about how our culture demonizes, punishes, and casts away users of illicit drugs; even though, as a culture, we are users as well. To Ann, addicts cannot be looked at as simply someone to be fixed. She looks at the world in terms of people. Some “…people use drugs or they don't. When you can come to that place, then it allows you to work with people who use drugs and people who don't.” Ms. Livingston continues by saying, “[Drug addiction], it's a chronic, relapsing condition. For anyone who's ever stopped smoking cigarettes, when you are at that party and you have a drink and then you decide to bum a smoke off someone and smoke again, you don't announce to all your friends that you're now back to smoking. You just sneak that cigarette and you get right back to that nonsmoking business. I think that goes on with everyone who deals with addictions. It shouldn't cause shame. The problem we're having now is with Fentanyl in these drugs, they have that one little sneak and now they're dead. They're found dead. We're in a very difficult [situation], and it seems irreversible.” A stark point. I wake up every day with an energy drink infused with tea and caffeine. If I skip my caffeine and start my day, I end up with headaches. I’m an addict and so are most Americans. Abstinence from the activities that stimulate our day is impossible, and probably, unhealthy. In fact, recently, caffeine has been found to stimulate and open veins to allow blood to flow more freely and increase one’s lifespan. BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) previous Montessori experience. Without this background, they need time and assistance in adjusting to this different but effective method of education. When they arrive with negative attitudes and little confidence in their abilities to learn, trust building and connecting them to a classroom community is essential. Furthermore, approximately 70-percent of Gamble's students qualify for federal lunch assistance, and the High School also provides 7 TRENTON DAVIS Contributing Writer I used to get my caffeine from high sugar drinks like Mountain Dew. In fact, my whole family were users of caffeine. Then, my father was diagnosed with diabetes. Our addictions, when overused and combined with dangerous levels of other chemicals (in our case sugar), could seriously put our health to build an abundant community for addicts too. Instead, we’ve built an empire of reactive, hollow services to treat them. “It's exactly what goes wrong with services if they can't remember what they're doing. It's so important to know that you're saving lives, not building an empire, that you're saving Livingston: It’s getting worse Credit: C. Grabowski at risk. After the diagnosis, for a long while, I was abstinent from caffeine: assured that would solve my problem. However, I would relapse often. Luckily, I found a healthier alternative in tea, and I continue to cope. It’s incredible how similar the lives of caffeine, exercise, nicotine, or even heroin addicts are. For exercise addicts, society builds gym memberships. For alcoholics we have bars or, if you’re young like myself, we simply have ‘college’. Starbucks has made billions constructing the idyllic community environment for caffeine addicts. For drug addicts, what community has society provided? Jail and the alley. Ann Livingston calls for society lives, not making a living, that you're saving lives,” Ann says. She describes the cycle as: "’Come in here, do your drugs, overdose, I stab you with some Naloxone, your life is saved, I call 911, the ambulance comes,’ or whatever. You know, the great heroism of the emergency. Then just basically, you go back to the alley. You have no welfare, no housing, no belonging.” Through VANDU, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Abusers, addicts can form a structure of belonging. The planning for VANDU started in her home and after a while they created a harm reduction strategy which included a safe and clean drug injection site. As the community grew, Ann people in the these young people with breakfast. This high rate of poverty among the student body presents another series of challenges in terms of making education an important and positive experience in the lives of students who often confront daily hardships. At the Forum, Taylor and Jose presented several stories of young people who turned their lives around after reaching a trust level with teachers and experiencing community in the classroom. Gamble's field trips such as canoeing on the Little Miami River, according to Taylor, further promote team building and developing a love for learning beyond the classroom. Many of their examples of innovative approaches to education can also be found in their book. Both Jose and Taylor expressed frustration with the current public focus on mandated, annual testing of Public School students. Not only do the current tests fail to adequately measure the progress of students over time, but they often stand as road blocks to creating classroom experiences that fosters a love for learning. Accepting the necessity of some testing, Taylor and Jose stress the need for other ways to THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED network started projects to make the area better. Ann “realized people in the network would go from being someone who had no social status at all to a volunteer who was making the community a better place, and that is a very well-respected person, certainly in Canada and in Vancouver... by being connected to a group that accepts you, you just become a citizen who's engaged in the how to care for your neighbors. VANDU members may not even reduce their drug consumption, but, to Ann, that’s not the point: “One of the things that drug users do all day long, every day, is talk about drugs. In VANDU, they don't talk about that. They talk about the next meeting… I would say, if they're consuming the same number of drugs, they're doing it in a much more efficient way, because they have so much other stuff they have to do.” And the number of deaths has been significantly reduced. It is saving lives. Perhaps, in Ohio and in our nation, we need to take a serious look at Ann’s thoughts because: “surely we're not here just to save their lives over and over again while they live in an alley”. As an Ohioan whose friends and family have and do struggle with addiction, surely the alley isn’t the place for people. These are our neighbors. Though some are eventually able to leave the habit, many will not be fixed. For this group, they need to be organized and supported, made to feel powerful. In a recent study, researchers found that when comparing communities, “Ones that have a high amount of community associations and activities are places where people live longer, addicts or not. Communities with the associational activities, people die sooner. In the one where people live longer, it isn't because they improved their health habits; it is because they have overcome their isolation. Perhaps Americans need to be a certain kind of addict: Community addicts. --------------------------------------gage educational success. As to the current debate on arming teachers with guns or using airport safety check procedures to enter schools, the speakers find these proposals to be the antithesis of good educational environments. As one of Gamble's students declared: "We don't want schools to become maximum-security prisons." Jose and Taylor's articulate and passionate presentation left many of the Forum attendees hopeful about public education. "In this troubling and confusing time," noted one person, "that talk was a breath of fresh air." �8 RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS For Adam Clark, Professor of Theology, Doing God's Work Is Righting Relationships, Healing Brokenness, and Showing Solidarity with the Poor & Oppressed A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 "O ne candle can light thousands of matches," says Adam Clark, "and we have to let the light grow." Clark, a doctor in divinity and an associate Professor in the Theology Department at Xavier University, uses his Christian faith, along with his teaching and writing, to touch his students' and other peoples' lives; contribute to the Kingdom of God on earth by promoting justice, solidarity with the marginalized, the oppressed and the poor; and keep the light expanding and growing. Clark's influence is mostly through his academic activities, the courses he teaches, the lectures he gives to varying audiences, the books and articles he writes. Born in Newark, NJ, he grew up in Syracuse, NY, in a religious family, and attended regularly, with his parents, a liberal multiracial Episcopalian church. His faith from the start was a quiet one, not the proselytizing type, but one more about character formation. And from a young age, he had already many unanswered questions about the meaning of religion and the significance of life. For college he attended Colgate University, a small liberal art college in Hamilton, NY, where, thanks to his mentors, mostly African American priests, he became increasingly interested and involved in religion. These latter exposed him to Liberation Theology of which he had not heard before, helped him learn historical SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer criticism, and connected his faith to the liberation of the oppressed, in particular that of black people. It was at a time when many social and political movements and events around the world and in the United States were dealing with the black "Struggle." And the antiapartheid movement in South Africa, the Hip Hop and Afrocentric movements in the United States, and the emergence of prominent black leaders such as Louis Farrakhan and Jessie Jackson on the US national scene, had a great influence on him. "In college, I did not need any more to put my mind at the door in order to believe with my heart," says Clark. "I learned how to synthesize and put a more rational approach to my religious faith. Being black and seeing so many wrong relationships due to race, Liberation Theology provided me with a framework to think, analyze and imagine what right relationships could be and how to get to them," he adds. Clark then started pursuing his spirituality rather then just an institutionalized faith, affirming it in his humanity, aiming at becoming more fully human, in tune with others, and this in the name of Jesus. He got also more involved in his school community, participating in various social justice activities. "I joined the gospel choir, connecting to others; and started a black male reading group, discovering seminal books we were not taught in class," he states. A Spiritual text Adam Clark likes to quote "Do you remember in the Book [Christian Bible] Jesus and his disciples were going through the hills and there appeared in the turn of the road a man who was possessed of devils as they thought. In the full moon when the great tidal waves of energy swept through his organism and he became as ten men . . . screaming through the hills like an animal in pain and then he met Jesus on the road. And Jesus asked him one question: “Who are you; what’s your name?” and for a moment his tilted mind righted itself and he said, “That’s it, I don’t know, there are legions of me. And they riot in my streets. If I only knew, then I would be whole.” So the burden of what I have to say to you is, “What is your name— who are you—and can you find a way to hear the sound of the genuine in yourself?” There are so many noises going on inside of you, so many echoes of all sorts, so many internalizing of the rumble and the traffic, the confusions, the disorders by which your environment is peopled that I wonder if you can get still enough—not quite enough—still enough to hear rumbling up from your unique and essential idiom the sound of the genuine in you. I don’t know if you can. But this is your assignment." Excerpts from "The Sound of the Genuine," Baccalaureate Address of Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman’s at Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, May 4, 1980. The chosen books related primarily to black issues and included, among others, Steven Biko's I Write What I Like, reflecting on the need for South African blacks, in order to be liberated, to unite and break their chains of servitude; The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, the AfroCaribbean revolutionary psychiatrist, addressing the dehumanizing effects of colonization; and Price of the ticket, James Baldwin's commentaries Adam Clark on race in America. Clark also served as Residential Advisor for an African Americanthemed dormitory, catering for individuals interested in African American history and culture. This required on his part weekly programming and the planning of presentations and discussions relating to black matters. Working at the same time for the college cultural center, he was busy all the time. Clark's religious experience during college was decisive in the orientation of his faith toward social justice. He saw it through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and through the eyes of people ostracized all over the world. It was also instrumental in his choice of pursuing theological studies at Colgate Divinity School, a small Baptist-orientated seminary, in Rochester, NY. The years Clark spent there were mostly focused on academics, working hard to learn and to earn good grades, both for his graduation with a master’s in divinity degree and for his further enrollment in a doctorate program at the ecumenical Union Theological Seminary (UTC) in NYC. At UTC Clark was taught and mentored by influential and renowned Professors such as James H. Cone, the father of black theology. Cone had formulated a theology of liberation from within the context of the Black experience of oppression, and had interpreted the basic essence of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor and oppressed, and the resurrection as the ultimate act of liberation. This resonated very much with Clark's ongoing understanding of Christianity and he wanted to Credit: Saad Ghosn learn more about the social justice militant movements going on at the time. He joined many Marxist groups, Malcolm X grassroot groups, Hip Hop and other underground movements going on in NYC, and participated in their membership and public activist meetings. Two issues were of particular interest then, the fight against white supremacy and the fight against aggressive capitalism; and how to resist them and come up with alternatives to them. Globalization, having already started, Clark perceived it as a globalization of capitalism and not of the good for everyone, also as suppressing solidarity movements across the globe, such as, for instance, between Palestinians and Blacks who, according to him, had a lot in common. Clark decided to use his divinity degree for the classroom instead of for ministry within the church. He accepted a teaching position in the Theology Department at Xavier University in Cincinnati where he delivers courses on Black Theology, Jesus and Power, Faith and Justice, (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 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 DICK CROY (Continued from page 5) upscale restaurant and bourbon bar in Louisville’s Clifton neighborhood – his first development, from a former fire station. Affordable housing isn’t the only area of expertise for this father of two teenage sons who grew up in New York, the son of a wealthy surgeon. He and his wife Maria Whitley, who runs a wellness studio offering early childhood music and movement as well as adult fitness, moved to Louisville 10 years ago to be part of a community that they and their sons could be part of. Vital Sites, originally the Louisville Preservation Fund, was established in 2014 as a nonprofit revolving fund focused on undervalued historic properties in Louisville. Its mission was to leverage resources from private developers, private landowners, and other nonprofits to formulate creative solutions for the reuse and preservation of historic structures.  Here’s how Gregg described his widening sphere of influence in Louisville: “All the real estate development I do is a bit of a mixed bag. I was hired for Vital Sites because of my experience doing adaptive reuse in antique buildings and restoring historic structures. Vital Sites’ first project was restoring five Victorian-era warehouse and merchandise buildings on ‘Whiskey Row’ in downtown Louisville which were threatened with imminent demolition.  “We know that reusing rather than demolishing older buildings is a powerful economic catalyst that can help knit our neighborhoods back together. So in another ongoing project, ‘East Broadway Row,’ five 1890 shotgun houses in a very busy neighborhood were essentially donated to Vital Sites by a company developing two large projects surrounding the shotguns. They needed someone to find a banking deal for the houses, work with the architects and the general contractor, get them completed and sold – to families rather than to absentee landlords. And our hope was to get some affordable housing funds so we could offer them to folks who are in that range of affordable housing needs. “Although we did not get funded in our ask, we do expect to have the ability to transfer historic tax credits to the purchasers of these houses. In essence, they will be more affordable than if we did not have that, but we will end up selling them at market rate because of where the neighborhood is. “The idea is to essentially make the funds that Vital Sites has revolve so we can do this again and continue to save some of these beautiful, old, historic structures from being demolished. This will serve as an example of how developers can work cooperatively with property owners and nonprofits. It will give us a basic NATIONAL operating procedure to replicate this model on similar undervalued and at-risk historic structures. Historic preservation allows the story of our community to continue into the future while paying homage to the past.” Despite the best of intentions and a promising business plan, affordable housing is hard to come by. I asked Gregg whether he sees gentrification as a problem in Louisville. “Yes. I wish I understood what the formula for resolving it is better than I do because people ask me this question all the time. They think I should be an expert in it and I don’t think anybody is. Gentrification is definitely a problem for some people while the idea that it’s bad vehicles that will come and say, ‘It can happen.’” I asked Gregg to walk me through how this non-Section 8 project will be structured. (Essentially Section 8 authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to private landlords on behalf of low-income households.) “A small portion of the total amount of the development project is being forgiven. A portion of the development cost is being funded at a very reasonable rate, and then the banks will fill in that gap with a more traditional type of loan. It’s really that simple. It’s those three layers that can make it happen. And we’re building for a community is offensive to other people. I think it’s very difficult to understand, and it has a lot to do with multiples: a smaller neighborhood has a larger fear of gentrification than a neighborhood with multiple acres and thousands of vacant and abandoned and under-utilized structures. “Right now there is a project we are working on in the heart of Portland, probably the largest neighborhood in Louisville, where we are building 24 brand new apartment units. And they will be in the affordable housing sort of range. We are super excited about it. We’ve been working on getting this off the ground for 3 1/2 years. Literally, like bang your head against the ground –that’s what it’s like. Some people in the neighborhood are very concerned that this is not going to be a very good idea. Other folks are very excited that it’s happening. And that dialogue is really important. “I welcome it even though it’s challenging for me to be in the middle of it. I don’t like to be in the middle of these meetings. I actually like to do things. The organization that I am bringing to the table with two partners is called Urban Acupuncture, and we’re in partnership with two other very experienced development firms. The three companies will be the developers who have finally figured out how to make this thing happen. We expect this to be a proof of confidence, if you will, for other developers and other financial as affordably as possible so the units will seem small for folks around here, but I’m originally from New York and they’re large from my experience in city dwelling there. “They’re a little over 1,000 sq. feet, a decent amount of space for two bedrooms. The two- bedrooms will have one bath; three-bedrooms will have two. They’re going to be beautiful, all brick. One concern that the neighborhood had was they wanted to match some of the existing architecture. There will be a lot of green space. Rents will be in the $750 - $820 range.” I asked him how as a developer he evaluates a potential project. “You kind of know a deal is going to be good for a couple of reasons. You can walk into the building and have a sense of its quality and perhaps a sense of what it can be used for. If it’s a single family shotgun house, for example, it’s obvious what the use is going to be. When we did our first one nine years ago – I think we bought it for $19,000 and put $95,000 into it – it’s probably only now that if we were selling, we would actually make a profit on it. “The next couple we did better. We did smarter, took less money to renovate them and get them ready for use by a family or business. I have a pretty good idea how to do it now because I’ve done it a bunch of times and I can walk into a building and see if it’s worth it. What can I not spend money on here and what do I have to spend money on here. Get a gut THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 feeling and calculate on the back of an envelope and then decide whether I want to pursue the project further. If we decide to move forward we have to look at the economics. Most of the time the deal will grow in value over time, not quick profit. You need to be patient.” When East Broadway Row really takes off and it’s not as glamorous as other things he and Vital Sites are doing, would he be willing to do this type of development again? “I expect to do this a lot. This is the first multi-housing project I’ve worked on so I have tons to learn and I’m learning from some of the best people around here how to do it. I’m fortunate, super fortunate to have that opportunity. And, yeah, I would like to be involved in all kinds of different real estate. I’d like to build an office tower some day. I would like to build a bunch of tiny houses on a communal farm in the middle of nowhere where people are completely self-sufficient. There’s nothing I’m not interested in doing and that’s part of my problem: I don’t know when to say no…easily. “I have the good fortune of having a bunch of people I can ask that enjoy working with me and I enjoy working with them, and they will take a look and tell me if I’m crazy or not. Frequently I might be a little bit crazy. If I’m really crazy and it’s an absolute no, they will tell me. But a little crazy is the opportunity. And I don’t mean that from just a financial standpoint but also from a community-growing standpoint, a relationship-building standpoint. Look where we’re sitting now. This was an empty and abandoned building, a historic building. And now this strip of the neighborhood has some of the greatest stuff going on in it because we took a risk, all of us, the whole group of us.” You would-be developers and community leaders might ask whether Gregg Rochman’s experience in Louisville has anything to teach us about how we might help balance the current gentrification of OTR with more affordable housing for current and former residents. Could this possibly improve the quality of life for those living, playing and working there? I’m sure Gregg would be pleased to share what he’s learned and is still learning. Recently featured in the USA Today video series I Am an American to introduce its audience to “an exceptional American who is making a difference to unite, rather than divide, our communities,” he had this to say: “Currently Americans are divided from each other. We cast a blind eye to senseless violence, we do not do everything in our power to house the homeless and feed the hungry, to support each other with the goal of betterment for all, even though it’s always within our reach. We should be ashamed. I am – but I’m trying to make a change, and we all can. We’re capable of anything.” �10 LOCAL A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 May 18 - June 9, 2018 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 The Deep State Part I Tails wagging dogs, big and small No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 A few months ago, one of the cartoons in the weekly New Yorker magazine was a drawing of two scruffy-looking guys sitting at a bar. One is angry as he says to the other: “What's the point of having a conspiracy theory if everyone's going to conspire against it?” I cut that cartoon out, and it sits here on my desk, annoying me every time I glance its way. Why? Because I am a true believer in many conspiracies, and I'm in no way ashamed to say so. Some six years ago, I wrote a series of essays for this paper about conspiracies related to a variety of topics, The JFK assassination, of course. Also, about Martin Luther King, the fluoridation of our water, and… The day that changed everything My favorite conspiracy, which I researched for years and wrote a full length play about (as well as a short film script and a radio play) had to do with the events of 11 September, 2001. Yes, dear readers, I remain convinced that what happened that day, “the day that changed everything,” were perpetrated by a cabal of operatives within what is now known as the Deep State of the United States. More on that later. But for now, regarding 9/11, it is manifestly clear that it was an inside job, that we did it. 9/11 happened because an elaborate, ultra-secret element of top-ranking traitors from every level of our national-security state planned and perpetrated it, then—even more elaborately—covered it up. This writer is anything but alone in my convictions about 9/11 “truth.” Thousands of architects, engineers, pilots, ex-CIA people, ex-military, scientists and academicians from all over the world have signed on publicly, officially, forcefully, insisting SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) Religion and Hip Hop. His aim is to educate students in both the service of faith and the promotion of justice, and to light up candles wherever he can. This is where he sees his main contributions. "Teaching and doing the work of scholarship takes a lot of time," he says, "and one cannot, at the same time, engage the world by leading movements or being out on the streets, immersed in grassroots..." Clark also tries to introduce spiritual practices in the lives of his students, not only training them into academics. He would like them to discover contemplative traditions, get in touch with what's happening inside 11 JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer that what happened that day was “an inside job.” Many did this at the risk of their jobs and reputations. Some paid with their lives. There is even a huge group which names itself “Patriots for 9/11 Truth.” Look it up. [Or, simply go to You Tube and search: [Retired General Stubblebine “Oh, my God.” A true patriot, Stubblebine's credentials are impeccable. His 15 minute video chat will convince almost anyone.] Here let me provide a short list of recent local conspiracies. 1) I believe that there was a conspiracy involved in the way the obvious murder of Sam Dubose by UC police officer Ray Tensing was handled. The same type of conspiracy takes place regarding virtually every murder committed by uniformed police officers across the United States. There is an almost conspiratorial rule: Even in the most obvious of cases, cops will not be convicted of a crime. I have a friend who is a high-ranking officer in the Canadian Mounties. He told me that Mounties who committed such obvious crimes, like the Dubose killing, would be out of a job in short order, and usually convicted and jailed. Canadian deaths at the hands of police are minimal compared to those in the US. 2) I believe that there was a conspiracy involved in the way Western-Southern, and its CEO, John Barrett, gained possession of the Anna Louise Inn, an historic refuge for poor women in Cincinnati for more than 100 years. That landgrabbing crime should never have happened. 3) I believe that there is an ongoing conspiracy as 3CDC continues to manipulate real estate in OTR, so that the poor are being systematically displaced from the neighborhood where their families have lived for generations. 4) There was also a conspiracy in the way an entire north wing of the downtown public library was being sold to 3CDC for a proverbial song...without community input. Fortunately, that conspiracy was unraveled in time, because angry citizens found out in time, although a primary whistle-blower lost her job. 5) Here is a Cincy miniconspiracy. But it affects hundreds and hundreds of our city's homeless and poor. When the downtown area was “renewed,” one facet of that renewal involved hundreds of new park benches. Nice. But each of the new park benches contains an “armrest” built in the very middle. This armrest all but prevents tired or homeless people from sleeping on the them, develop their whole person and become better human beings. This would help them function more effectively in the world, using not only the intellectual but also the practical dimension of their Christian faith. In the community, Clark has lent his support to social justice movements as they progress. He participated in Black Lives Matter seeing it as a faithful resistance to the unjust powers, and as a means to right the wrong relationships affecting the black community. He directed a 6-week contemplative group at the Hive in Northside (a place where community and contemplation meet), considering the role of the Inner Life in the struggle for freedom, through the writings of civil rights icon Howard Thurman. He also gave presentations at Abundant Community on slavery, poverty, consumerism and on the Jubilee idea and how it brings us to the intersection of the Bible and economics. Being Christian, for Clark, is not only to accept something that happened 2000 years ago on the cross, but more importantly to focus on the entire life and message of Jesus, and to try to establish the kingdom of God on earth, making the conditions on earth reflect those in heaven. "The good news Jesus gave the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed of this world, is that the kingdom of God is at hand, among us, and that we're all invited to participate in it," says Clark. When asked about his religious affiliation he says that he is a Christian Conspiracy theory 101 But in this piece, I want to discuss “conspiracy theory” more generally. I don't need to tell you that those two words are maligned by politicians and the news media on an all-too regular basis. “Oh, that's another wacky conspiracy theory.” Perhaps as you began reading this piece, you were thinking that the writer must be a nut. I congratulate you for continuing to read. By the end, I hope you see that I am relatively sane and fairly well-informed on the subject. The technical definition of a conspiracy theory is: “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.” That's from Mr. Webster. I like it, because it contains nothing negative about we believers. Nor does it suggest that all conspirators were/are doing something unlawful, or illegal, although that is usually the case. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED benches. Is there anyone out there who could be convinced that these “armrests” were simply installed by accident. No, the planners conspired to have the city buy benches like these. Their conspiracy could not be considered a crime, but it nonetheless seems almost criminal. The Deep State Now let's go back to those larger conspiracies that occur on the national and international playing fields. Frankly, the more we hear Donald Trump say there was “no collusion” (i.e., conspiracy) with the Russians, the more most of us are convinced there was. Trump has also made reference to a term that seems new to most of us: the deep state. Although the term has come to wider and wider use in recent years, the “deep state” has been around for a long time. There is evidence that Russian operatives, and probably the Russian government was involved in ruining Hillary's chances in the 2016 election, and bringing the Donald to power. If so, Russia's “deep state” was involved. It has lately been revealed that another element was involved in unlikely Trump's rise to power, a corporate version of the deep state. A company called Cambridge Analytical secured the personal data related to 50 million Americans and sold it the Trump Election committee. That, my friends, is a huge conspiracy, both evil and illegal. We Americans have such short memories. In the hubbub surrounding Russia's attempt to manipulate the recent election, we seem to have forgotten that the American “deep state” had been undermining elections in countries all over the world for decades, centuries even. (Continued on page 12) with no denominational loyalty. He right now attends the New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn where he responds strongly to the ministry of its pastor. Clark sees his future in continuing to develop his intellectual projects and to make a difference by his teachings and writings. He would like also to frame the debate about issues of religion and faith and disseminate his thinking and his message by all possible means. But what remains the most important to him is that he contributes to peace and justice on this earth, because, as he says, for him "Christianity is about healed brokenness and right relationships in God's kingdom." --------------------------------------- �12 STREET VOICE WHY IS CANCER MORTALITY SO HIGH FOR MINORITIES IN CINCINNATI PART 6: FACING CANCER ALONE IS SCARY AND UNNECESSARY I ntroduction: In this series of articles we have maintained that the mortality rate for minorities in Cincinnati is so high largely because minorities are invisible in terms of their health needs, hospitals and physicians are underprepared for treating large numbers of new patients who are poor, and there is a lack of kindness toward those in greatest need. In this article, we explore some of the realities facing low income citizens as they think about their health and especially about cancer treatment. 2. Navigating the Cancer Health System: Thinking that you may be receiving a diagnosis of cancer is often overwhelming. Few people imagine that they can cope with the words coming from a physician that indicate cancer is present. The anticipation of an emotional weight of a cancer diagnoses is very heavy, often drowning out the capacity to think forward to the necessary next steps. People who have a doctor may have the same emotionally paralyzing response as those without a regular relationship with a physician. Facing the reality of cancer can be a lonely and frightening experience, and bring the person a realization that critical decisions, perhaps life enhancing ones, may have to be made rapidly. Often, a person believes that there are more important priorities than their health such as employment challenges, family crisis, or personal safety issues. Our organization, the A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer Cancer Justice Network, knows that a Navigator can be critical at this stage to assist in the overcoming of the chief obstacles to finding out about cancer: fear of death, terror of unexpected expenses, and horror about expected pain as a result of the cancer. 3. What a Navigator Can Do to Promote Screening for Cancer: Our Navigators are placed at dinners and other meetings like health fairs. Navigators are introduced as a free resource to assist anyone with concerns that they may have cancer. We meet people where they are in their fears. Sitting down over dinner, we discuss a three-step process for finding and treating cancer: Step One: Being accompanied to a screening: The Navigator explains that early detection can result in stopping cancer as it begins to grow. Our Navigators will go with the person to a health center or a screening agency. We will assist in setting up an appointment, overcoming travel obstacles, and sit with the person and their family at the time of the exam. Step Two: The Navigator will assist with obtaining insurance, financial aid, or finding out if all experiences with health care are covered by Medicaid. The Navigator will check these details before the visit for the exam and clarify any financial responsibilities. Usually, most health services are completely covered by Medicaid. Step Three: The Navigator will accompany the person when the results of the test are to be shared. If cancer is present, the Navigator will assist the person, if needed, in understanding the kind of cancer and the alternatives for treatment. The Navigator will also assist the person if a second opinion from another physician is desired. Often, there are many ways of working with the cancer and it is helpful to hear from different physicians abut alternatives. 4. Navigators Insure a Kind Process: Our Navigators are aware of many of the obstacles that block a person from taking the steps to find out about cancer. Too often, people have had little education about preventing cancer or even some real description about how cancer works in the body. Many people do not know what to do or who to ask about taking the important medical steps. Even if some people are aware, they are afraid of moving forward due to their past experience with cancer in their families: a cancer diagnosis has meant a “death sentence.” Other people have been overwhelmed by the healthcare experience: going to the hospital has been humiliating and a largely negative event. Hospitals are big, access is confusing, and there is the sense that there isn’t anyone who can explain the ways to obtain correct care. Our Navigators are oriented to create a kind process, a way of working with a person to gain their trust and confidence so that the experience of going for an exam is a positive one. Together, the person and the Navigator go to the hospital or health center and go through the entry as a team. Navigators, by their presence, reduce some of the fear and increase the confidence of the person that they are in a caring experience. 5. Navigation can be the critical factor in reducing mortality: We have seen the smiles on the faces of people following an exam and finding out that they do not have cancer. Their fears have been removed and many people sense that they can face life knowing their health is free of cancer. Other smiling people we meet are those who have had their cancer caught and stopped. Being a cancer survivor is becoming somewhat common within the low-income population and often people approach us with their stories of gratitude. As Navigators, we work for more people who can be happy as they are assured that they do not have cancer or that they have been lucky to get successful cancer treatment. Yet, we still face a generalized fear of finding out about cancer from many of the people we meet at health fairs, dinners, or clinics. The Cancer Justice Network is looking to meet people who want to take the steps to a happy health result. Please call us at 513.404.3882. Teaching Kids About being Homeless J ust a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go and speak to kids about being homeless. The kids asked Ms. Mona and I questions about how the people experiencing homelessness are hated in our society. Most of these JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 11) Example: In 1953, the elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddagh was overthrown, permitting the return of the Shah of Iran to power. Those who, for years, insisted that the CIA and other international actors were involved in the coup d'etat were often labeled “conspiracy mongers.” Several years ago, in the face of mountains of evidence, the CIA finally admitted: “Yes, we done it.” And yes, it was all STACIA HOLLANDER Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Contributor questions had me in shock. I didn’t expect kids that young to show such great interest in the homeless. Our homeless rate is 16% and rising. The average age for a child to be homeless is 9 years old. My experience is that it is not easy. It takes a rough toll on me in many ways. I would love to be more involved with the Homeless Coalition. The staff are great. I hope to work there one day. about oil. Political and religious chaos has ensued in Iran. We continue to pay the price for our conspiratorial skullduggery to this day. Additionally, our “deep state” has had no qualms about assassinating left-leaning heads of state who refused to do the bidding of “greatest country in the history of the world.” Some of their names: Allende in Chile, Arbenz in Guatemala, Sandino in Nicaragua. There were many CIA attempts to do in Cuba's Castro. There were others. Probably many of them. Once the “deep state” got away with killing Kennedy, the evil underbelly of our system has felt no compunction about killing those who, like MLK and RFK, were fighting to create a more just system in these United States. I believe that the CIA killed the liberal senator from Minnesota, Paul Wellstone, by downing his plane. The same for the death of JFK's son, John-John, who’s plane went down of a clear night flying off Nantucket in good weather with his new wife. John junior had been making moves toward becoming a politician. He THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED might have used the Kennedy name, and his considerable charisma, to make his way to the top, to the presidency. Do I have proof of this? No. Nor will I involve myself in trying to prove his death was at the hands of the CIA, and the “deep state”. There are others who are working on this. You could look it up. But John Jr.'s suspicious death moves me toward my main argument. To be continued. [Editor’s note: Look for part II in the next issue. Thank you for reading Streetvibes.] STA HOLLA SINCE �No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 STREET VOICE 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 KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THANKS FOR MARCH MADNESS How do you define the word "gladness?" Does it make you think of March Madness? Basketball is an escape for you and me, From the daily news about Trump in D.C. So, for our annual multi-game immersion, Thanks NCAA for this healthy diversion. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer 13 MY FATHERS HOUSE In my father’s house there are many mansions Many mansions, with many rooms to rest and pray in In good times, in bad times, day, night, sleep or wake times All the time I spend in my father’s house cause his house is mines When I was homeless, a drunkard, a drug addict and all alone I found much comfort and peace just praising him in song When I was hungry, hair nappy, dirty and smelling, really bad I held onto my sanity, when my belief in prayer was all I had As in any house with rules, my father has commandments of ten Even though I would make mistakes, I’d always repent of my sins And ask for forgiveness with the understanding to make a change A change for the best so there would be no more fear or pain Taking what each day brings and pray and always believe Having faith to know that my father’s will is best for me While searching for God’s love, wisdom and understanding I came into the realization of just what my heart was demanding I began to go to church to learn more about my father’s house I found peace and my soul was saved I could finally announce I learned that there is a place in my father’s house for everyone The young, the old, the lost and the sick at heart and mind I learned the mistakes I’d made were all of one kind I understand today that we must learn from the mistakes we’ve made And know only by the grace of God can our souls be saved So, won’t you come visit in the house of my father Learn the bible and know that with my father there is no other Take your time and search your soul to truly find yourself An understand that in our father’s house is where we’ll be forever safe with plenty of help WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 148 Across Down 1. Banquet 1. A notable achievement 6. Man or boy 2. Every one considered 9. Theatrical equipment individually 13. Planet 3. Showily imitative 14. Frozen water 4. Tale 15. Throw with great effort 16. Performer 17. Type of fish 18. Avid 19. Gland near the base of the neck 21. Deluge 23. Edible tuber 24. Rural deity (Roman Mythology) 25. Buddy 28. Starchy tuberous root 30. Serving of drink drawn from a keg 35. Turns litmus paper red 37. Percussion instrument 39. Pertaining to hearing or the ear 40. Relatively many 41. Long past 43. Nobleman 44. Attempted 46. Bowling alley 47. A score of zero in tennis 48. Main course 50. Requirement 52. A great distance 53. Hit 55. Flop 57. Taxonomic group 61. Ancient Egyptian tomb 65. Overhang 66. Golfing term 68. Dodge 69. Broker 5. Pharynx 6. Prevaricated 7. Playing card 8. Greek letter 9. Juicy fruit 10. Fury 11. Kitchen appliance 12. Sauce 15. Rupture 20. Adult insect 22. Not at home 24. Candy 25. Adhesive material 26. Fruit of the oak 27. Boundary 29. A list of names SODOKU PUZZLE NO 278 - MEDIUM 31. Draw 32. Factual evidence 33. Immature form prior to metamorphosis 34. Senior 36. Cervid 38. Segment of DNA 42. Impoverished 45. Abstain 49. Female sheep 51. Compulsory force 54. Poplar tree 56. Crane 57. Scorch 58. Part of a book 59. Fifty-fifty 60. Fractional monetary unit 61. Front part of a vessel 70. Self or aircraft 71. Move sideways 62. Constructed 72. Let for money 63. Not in active use 73. At present 64. Abstruse 74. Sharply sloping 67. In the past PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 378 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 147 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 277- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 37 9 | A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 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 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 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 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 A p r i l 6 - A p r i l 19, 2 0 18 | N o . 37 9 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 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 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 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � 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 2018 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 6-April 19, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Reflections from the Front Line of Public Education Pg 3: Sorry, Not Today Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: The 2018 Library Levy Pg 6: Circular Logic Loops Keep Going, and Going, and Going Pg 7: Community Addicts Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Dick Croy Continued Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: The Deep State Part I Tails Wagging Dogs, Big and Small Pg 12: Why is Mortality so High for Minorites in Cincinnati Part 6 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 6-April 19, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Dick Croy Jason Haap Trenton Davis Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Steve Sunderland Stacia Hollander Kim Green Willa Denise Jones C. Grabowski Saad Ghosn Homeless Coalition Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods C. Grabowski Cancer Cincinnati Dick Croy Dr. Mark Mussman education GCHC Homeless Coalition Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Kim Green Library Louisville Michael Earl Patton Over-the-Rhine Religion Saad Ghosn Stacia Hollander Steve Sunderland Trenton Davis Willa Denise Jones