1 10 291 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/d5e7518c9f8174c8245a22ce8fa8e64b.pdf c28c8bd2e957c3e2d1cd5224d39ab4b6 PDF Text Text Remembering buddy gray by Bonnie Neumeier buddy gray made a commitment very young to dedicate his life energies to the cause of freedom, justice and peace for all humanity. He never wavered on that commitment. To buddy, every person had a face, a name. He was a man with great passion and soul. A man who was motivated by his inclusive love and just anger so that we all could live free with basic human rights. buddy used all that he was in the service of his vision. He give endless hours of dedication/determination because he believed we must be about building a healthier neighborhood and world community for all of us. buddy's life as a revolutionary, a public servant, a poet, a carpenter, a friend, an organizer, an advocate, a prophet, a brother, a keen strategist, a preserver of life, a justice-seeker, a consistent challenger, a planter of trees and flowers, a lover of people, and an enthusiast for the simple joys of life challenged many to take an active part in something so much greaterto be a part of the historic movement for ~ Cincinnati Homeless Grapevine is Now STREETVIBES be planted well, planted deep, for our hope lies in the coming together of all of us creating a new world with compassion for all earth's creatures. Some of the ways in which he carried out his commitment: by hi Clillod 11 11 If you are reading this article you know that there's something a little different. The paper you are now reading is called "Streetvibes." We were formerly known as the Cincinnati Homeless Grapevine. We thought the name change necessary for our Cincinnati street newspaper to have its own identity since this is the first issue we are laying out and. printing locally. We are eternally grateful to Brian Davis and the staff of the Homeless Grapevine in Cleveland for their tireless support and extremely valuable technical assistance in the birth of "Streetvibes." The name "Streetvibes" was an idea that was introduced by the vendors who write for and sell the paper. We thank everyone involved in producing the paper. W e promise to continue to work with the North East Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) in our joint efforts to end homelessness and regularly share stories in our papers. This past December and January saw the wind chill index dip below 0 degrees nine night~ . . As a result, shelters saw their already crowded conditions become worse, and potentially life threatening. When shelters are full, the City of Cincinnati Winter Shelter Emergency policy goes into effect, A Winter Shelter emergency is called by · the-Director of the Health Department, currently Dr. Malcolm Adcock. In order to be called, two criteria have to be met: the wind chill index must be at 0 degrees or below and the shelters have to be full. When the criteria are met, the Mayor of the City of Cincinnati, by executive authority, opens up the Over-theRhine Recreation Center from I0 pm to 8 am as a temporary shelter. Shelters who are overcrowded can transport people to the Center or people can just walk in from the T 'I ' See Remembering buddy gray on page3 Cold Weather Packs Shelters. 11 11 FREEDOM. He knew that this serious task was not without its difficulty and pain, but he helped many feel the joy in being part of the freedom train. buddy's strong, life-giving spirit was felt and impacted many people and places, but his soul lived specially deep in the people and soil of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. He walked side by side with us, his neighbors, with little or no resources using all we had in us to claim the right to stay in this land for IT IS OUR HOME that deserves and needs to be respected by the power forces grabbing our land for their profit interests. He had a deep care and compassion for people who are homeless and with little or no incomes. He believed in peoples ability to overcome addictions and hopelessness. He was an advocate of the people to whom he gave hope by what he said and what he did, he never brushed people off. buddy worked hard at developing and sharing leadership for he believed in the power of the people. What he thought was just and right, he took action with others to carry tt out. He knew seeds had to surrounding community. The Winter Shelter Emergency was triggered nine times: December 18, 19 and January 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18 and 25. Each night, the OTR Recreation Center hosted between 25 and 42 people. Shelter workers feel that the need for overflow shelters during the winter is becoming more extreme. Denise Crew, senior worker at the Drop Inn Center Shelter, said, "One night our numbers went up to 320 when our capacity is only 250. People are packed in like sardines." As-a result of the need, City Officials and shelter leaders are meeting to come up with ways to expand the program. Possible aspects of an increased plan include: assistance to the Recreation Department to provide a decent sleeping environment, improved communications and an automatic temperature trigger and partnerships with existing shelters to share overflow. 1. i' r - The Drop Inn Center faced severe overcrowding during the January cold snaps. Photo by Susan Knight / �. ------------------------------::-------=-~----,-------- STREETVIBES -_--- -- -r . The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the _paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Photographers James Heath Susan Knight Berta Lambert Writers Penny Caudle Pat Clifford Denise Crew David Dietz Mary Ann Gleason Jude' Haley James Heath Leslie Horner Tom Mulroy Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Shadd on Melissa Tuckey Kate Uhlir Spencer Wells Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Refer all stories or inquiries to: Streetvibes clo Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless I506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes cam be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the above address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Page2 I Chose Honest by Gregory Payton My name is Gregory and I'm homeless. When I became Homeless I wasn't ashamed, I was confused. I knew I needed a job and a place to live. I really didn't know what to work on first. I needed something to eat so that's all I could think about. I wanted help but not pity. I wanted guidance and direction, not laughter and insults. I wanted constructive criticism not destructive criticism. So I searched. I learned early in life that there's only two kinds of people that share with you. So I had to take a chance. I asked a guy if he knew where I could get something to eat. He replied," at the store." I said , "oh" and walked away. I knew then I had to decide. Honest or dishonest. That was easy (honest). So I walked a little and thought a little. And tried again. I asked again rather quickly because of the _ need to eat. This time I asked a woman. She paused and asked me, "are you homeless." I paused and, being somewhat embarrassed, said yes. She asked "are you from Cincinnati." I paused again wondering where this conversation was leading and said," yes, but haven:t been here in a while." She said it showed. I asked how while looking at my appearance. She said, "don't be ashamed to say you're homeless." I said I was gathering information, being thankful she wanted to share. "First do you know-where the Drop Inn Center is located." said, " no, what is it." She said it's a center that help homeless people downtown. "You might be able to eat and sleep." I perked up asking where downtown. She said, "do you have any money." I said I don't. She looked in her purse and handed me a dollar bill and a pack of crackers, and said catch a bus downtown, ask the driver where the center is exactly located and eat one cracker every seven blocks I passed on the way. I thanked her and the main man upstairs (GOD), happy that I met someone that was ~illing to share, instead of laugh. On the bus doing what I told made that pack crackers feel like a meal. When I got to the center and knocked on the door a lady opened it and asked " what do you want sir". said "if possible something to eat". She said "step into that line" before. I left she said thank God. I quickly did while moving closer to food. Before I got to the stack of trays a man asked me my name and age. Wondering why after I gave it to him. I didn't think about it long because I was given a drink and then a plate of food. I thanked the ladies while moving toward some dessert. When I got to the end I gave thanks and said I will enjoy this. When I sat down I started eating fast for some reason maybe thinking that they might come back and get what they just gave me. Then it hit me, stop and thank God for I'm already eating. I did that fast too. Once I finish eating, I decided I should say some grace just in case he didn't hear me the first time. After that they told me to go to the front and sit down. A few minutes later, a man came up front and welcomed us and gave a speech on the policy of the center, then turned on the television, I asked the man next to me was he homeless and he replied, "everyone in here is buddy." I looked around and then asked him where are all the people going to go when this place closes. He said is this your first time, I said yes, he the_n told me they gave shelter when you're homeless also. I looked up and thanked God again. While I was standing in line receiving a number for a place to sleep, I asked the guy behind me, do they give jobs here. He laughed and said they do everything here. I turned around after I got back to the bench. I said at least I made another day. And I thank God. It was a few minutes before I went into the other room when I decided to ask around about jobs. I talked again with a man, and he told me to sell the Grapevine newspaper. I asked him about it some more and he said when you're homeless, they help you get a vendors license and you help the homeless by spreading the word of homelessness. And then I asked him how I get paid and he said that's the part. I told him, that's what I want to do. He gave me some information and who to talk to about it. He then said he had to leave. I said, while not trying to get in his business, that it's night and late, why do you have to sleep on the street. He stopped came back and said when you sell enough papers, you'll make enough to get an apartment and a down payment of deposit. Then he turned and left. I looked down to make sure I still had my information. Then I looked up and Thanked the main man (GOD). Honest Greg. Future vendor of the Homeless Grapevine. Urban -Land Institute Update by Leslie Horner The Cincinnati neighborhood of Overthe-Rhine, like almost anywhere else in the world, has had groups struggling with differing ideas of development, different ideas of what is best for people for years. Those groups are each active and vocal .with their opinions, sometimes making it seem as if there is never any consensus. However, Over-die-Rhine also has a strong history of groups who have consistently worked together, even in the hardest of times. In the I970's, organizations like the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, Race Street Tenants Organization C9operative (ReSTOC), and the Drop Inn Center Shelterhouse began to fonn, in order to vocalize concerns, to protect the rights of lowincome residents, and to provide shelter for the homeless residents of the neighborhood. The founding of these organizations, and others which soon followed, was evidence of the strength of the residents and their ability to work together. The Over-the-Rhine Community Council says that they will negotiate with the OTR Coalition members only when these four points have been agreed upon: I) Protect the 5,520 "No Net Loss" policy for low~income housing in Overthe-Rhine, discussed in the comprehensive plan of the I980's 2) End the City Economic Development Department's effort to eliminate Peaslee Neighborhood with a parking lot for Main Street bars 3) Stop the effort (simply end the discussion) to move the Drop Inn Center UL/ Continued on page 7 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page J How Did It Happen? by buddy gray i don't know it happened ... many events, witnesses, years .. but more important-it has ... rampant in this place of advanced technology, toxic waste ravages this once beautiful country i don't desire to be happy unless happiness is a unive rsal right i don't plan to be non-disruptive of the "order" around us i don't care to be at peace when teenage rs of the third world must learn to sho ot ant i-airc raft guns at American invadi ng planes i do n't yet choose to be a carpenter, if nuclear bombs production still st eals the housing construction budget i don't want to be acceptable as long as rape, racism/sexism multinational profit, Cl.A. destabilization of governments, joblessness, homelessness are acceptable i don't intend to be calm, pleasant and likable if the stink of injustice must be raised i don't expect to be patient until there is "Housing Now"for everyone i don't know how to be quiet when our voices may be the only counter to the rich's media controls, limits, inversions of the truth. i don't think about being respectful hunger exist in the land of plenty poverty exist in this nation of wealth uneducation and ill health ru n . ·~ hese ·Bones will Rise Aga in by Melissa Tuckey (inspired by traditional 'them bones will rise again') Over the Rhine is under attack by the rich who neglected her and now want her back and everywhere i look i see the signs of war led by bankers and bulldozers and greed to consume more buddy gray was a friend of mine he was under attack for feeding the hungry and teaching them to fight back for loving the children of Over the Rhine for standing in the way while others just stood by You can kill buddy gray but not Over the Rhine the spirit that lives here cont inues to rise these bones will rise again these bones wi ll rise again these ho mes will rise again these ho mes will rise again the sun will shine again in Over the Rhine again you can kill buddy gray but not Over the Rhine the spirit that lives here has been around a long time · these bones will these bones will until we all have until we all have rise again rise again homes again homes again. \ I \ As long as churches and synagogues and temples do reverent, rituals for rights and speak in pious platitudes of peace and take no angry action that stops American Business as usual to end homelessness, imperialism As long as business lunches still happen in the glass condos looking out over the homeless and hungry on the cold streets I0 stories below As long as the City Fathers can work 8 hours a week for $35,000 and do little to learn of the peoples problems over whom they rule i fully intend to dream of happiness-and peace when i sleep--food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, equality, green space and peace for all - And meanwhile awake to live as unacceptably, non-calmly, unpleasantly, dislikably, impatiently, loudly, disrespectfully, and disruptively, and as contagiously collectively as i am able, as long as is necessary ·- · Remembering buddy from page 1 * refused to participate in the Vietnam War and actively organized against it. * consistently did individual service work: tutoring children, organizing recreation trips for children t o area parks; individual advocacy against Welfare Bureaucracy and absentee landlords; assisted with many moving jobs when folks suffered evictions; offered help in fixing space heaters, apartment repairs; advocated for people getting Public Assistance; advocated in court for treatment rather than prison. * Supported the founding of the Drop Inn Center Shelterhouse for the Homeless and led the effort to stop its close down. Organized the ShelterHouse Volunteer Group to own and operate the shelter as a peoples program. * Active in tenant organizing work; advocate for individual tenants' rights; organized tenant strikes; active in creating Tenant/ Landlord legislation both in the State of Ohio and th e City of Cincinnati. * One of three original t enants that fou nded ReSTOC (Race Street Tenant Organization Cooperative), formed as a nonprofit, racially-integrated, low-income housing cooperative in o rder to fix up old buildings long neglected by absentee landlords so that housing for low income people could be preserved and maintained. * Helped found the Over-the-Rhine Housing Network, coalition of non-profit low income housing development corporations in Over-the-Rhine, united to save housing under community control. * Helped develop and pass the Housing Retention Ordinance in Over-the-Rhine, model legislation that requires public hearings Please send donations lo: buddy gray memorial fund Drop Inn Center Sheller 217 W. 12/h SI. Cincinnati~ OH 45210 before an apartment building can be demolished. *Worked as one of 13 members to develop the Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan which fought to establish a minimum base of 5,520 low income housing units in Over-the-Rhine. * Trustee since 1978 of the Over-theRhine Community Council; chair of its Housing Task Force. * Board member of the National Coalition for the Homeless; one of the original founders at the founding convention in Chicago, 1983. * Board member of the Coalition for Housing and Homelessness in Ohio; one of the founders in Columbus, OH, March 1984. * One of the founders of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition fo r the Homeless, May 1984. Active in political action for the rights of homeless people. On January 20, 1997, buddy received the Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award in Cincinnati. buddy had many accomplishments to his credit, just as Martin Luther King did. But neither man is remembered most for the things he accomplished, but rather the vision, hope and DREAM they shared with others. Both dreamed of a world where all women and men could live and respect each other as equals. Our greatest tribute to buddy gray and Martin Luther King is to continue the vision they worked so hard to carry out. �STREETVIBES . The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine From. /This Corner of the Reflecting Pool · by Mary Ann Gleason~ Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless Page4 A Cleveland Tribute to buddy by Kale Uhlir On the morning of November 15th, a taking us to that place of honor.;. where we very special friend, mentor, founding and truly belong. As Trinity Cathedral's evening bell tolled current Board member of NCH, and a truly Blessed is Buddy who worked tirelessly November 20, its upper room, full of prayerful selfless, persistent advocate for those homeless for justice, without counting the cost or homeless supporters, recalled their friend, and poor among us, died of a gun shot wound. surrendering to the consequences, for stanley buddy gray, 46, who was shot and killed His name was Buddy Gray; he was 46 years old. now he shall know peace. in Cincinnati's Drop Inn Center, an Over-theBlessed is he who cried out for a rightful The gun never should have been made, let Rhine shelter he founded 23 years ago. All place in the sun for everyone, for the aloneI allowed on the streets. The anger that Cleveland shelters turned off all lights for a pulled the trigger should never have been warmth of God's love shall be his. minute of silent prayer that evening - their incited against a man who simply wanted to Blessed is he whose tongue,spoke the 1 · small memorial for a giant idol. distrib ute the collective resources more equitapassion of his spul, without retreat, for · Gray, known as, "buddy gray," spelled his bly am\,ng all of us. the seeds of his message will flower our name with lower case letters and was considFb r greater than 25 years, Buddy Uved, earth with the scent of t_ruth. ered the strongest and most articulate voice for and the~ died, among the poor that he served Blessed is he who planted a tre.e whose the homeless in the United States. The Plain · faithfullt1 with tireless commitment and pershade he will never lie in, but which Dealer quoted Lemuel Israel, 42, a Cincinnati sonal de~otiori. There are few people in history brings relieffro.m ·the heat of oppression Grapevine vendor, "My first thought was that · who have~nt~grated an~ t~en ac~ed on, with to the thousands who do.· . , ifs over now. We don't have a chance.'' Blessed is he who comforted the :lost.and constancy; ,their humanitarian behefs as Buddy At Trinity, Cleveland shelter leader, Sister ·did; few willing to make the personal·sacrifices brought them home, for ~e was the · . Donna Hawk, C.S.J., asked, "Is this.the end of his life represented; few with the integrity.of carrier of hope and the ·bearer of dreams an era?" She lowered her head and wiped her . purpose that guided and motivated ·him .always. long sought. . ., . . eyes and recalled gray's ardent, relentless and His absence from us leaves ·a deep and :pen.Saddened are we 'wllo wa!ked .by his side, intimidating advocacy. "He was passionate, with connected to one another by the Jong etrating abyss, ·which no ·1onger able to be filled · a deep love for the .homeless; a strong sense of by a single man, must now be filled by us as a stretch of his ariTis oflove. · .· · · the rights of the poor. Who can speak for the · collective, if we are to do· honor to his 1ife and Mournful are we who knew _lived, . poor. like buddy spoke? [He] didn't make memory. l"he following is my -reflection on his simply, so that others might.live-:. .friends of politicians." . . life and his words: more fully, more safely, more q1refuily: .• Sister Mary Frances Harrington, C.S.j., · Weeping are w~ made whole by him •. who He said we had·to remain discontent, Executive Director of Cleveland's Family · · vigilant. He said we couldn't be seduced by . he accompanied from the dep~hs of. · Transitional Housing Inc. recalled, "Somehow · · mercy, if justiee would never come. He said he isolation and despair into :the light of · buddy always got,homeless people 'to the didn't care to be .a t peace as long as racism, day. . . ... . . Coalition [Coalition for theHomeless ·and· '· sexism, homelessness; excess r ealth, multina- . Touched are we by him,..irrevbcably.~. .Ho.using in Ohio] _meetings·every month. H~'.d ·; tional profits are all acceptable displacements of thank you, d~r friend . . . . '· : come through.~he dQ()r ·with his,hair 'in ·ii "long_ ., . . · true communiey.. He 5aid. he didn't know how ', ·t· .•· ·· ' , pony _tail and a 'couple of 'homeless peop1e on · · •· to be quiet whe~ . 6°ur voices maybe ~e 0nly The· Dropl~n Ceilteran~l:R,est~care :. .. . ··. . . .each arm. · ·. . ·· . . . . ·. . counter.to thos_e :who deny thetruth and pain ... . < ··programs founded and admil'liste!-"ed .J;>Y ·Buddy , .... · friends .:provided additionalinsight into · ~of poverty, exclusion, disregard. From deep ·. .· that ;provi'de emergency and transitjonal h~us- ·. · .g rats .sentiments. '/lf'you have two·pair of inside! his soul, this mari believed in the equa~ity . ing, treatment.and recovery programs, and ' . ·shoes, that's too ·many·when there are :homeand ulideniable 'w orth of each'.of us, in the . many hundreds of units of ;pemianent, ·afford- . . less:;• "He was always giving 200% to the · urgency of justice as the redemptive force for · able housing to faniiltes and individuals who poor." both those without and those with enough · have become homeless in the downtown area "He never let you down." He believed in resources. He called us al.I brothers and sisters of Cincinnati called Over The Rhine. There are justice and diversity," stated fellow COHHIO because the human family was his own. He led housing complexes in this still compromised Board member, Sharon Parries, Associate us to a place of honor - where all human beings neighborhoo·d that they have bought inexpenDirector of.Transitional Housing. are treated equally. He called each of us to sively because they are in very poor condition. Sister Donna continued her prayer, "let never be content with less than our own They have rehabilitated hundreds of units as nothing in buddy's life be lost. He was passionhighest virtue, to be the best of ourselves ... for they got the money to do so, making very ate. Buddy wasn't afraid of anything. He always significant contributions to the stability and others, until together we share collective called a spade a spade. Was his death a waste? resources in a manner that insures stability and quality of the neighborhood. The community of Or a wake-up call?" quality of life for all members of the human dedicated people of which Buddy was a part is community. He could settle for nothing less, trying to start an Endowment Fund in his name simply because he sought out, integrated, the to continue the incredibly meaningful work that unmasked truth of human life and the holy he, with them, did. privilege of the human soul. He knew we could pass through this life, taking more than we give, running the race to nowhere, being enticed by the sirens of excess, and yet more, of control and domination, or even of simply being content with what we have without noticing what others don't have, but need ... a home, love, honor, hope. He knew, as too few of us push ourselves to know, how unjust it is that some get so much more than they need, while others are left to seek out food in dumpsters, to live in At his doorways - often ill or confused or deeply sad, memorial, and most often not because of anything they did buddy gray's or didn't do. He knew that the relentless bike was pu rsuit of private wealt h, the blinded misuse of decorated with power, the dominance of the individual over the symbolic items common good had ravaged the sou l of America, and escorted throug h the had stripped it of the very community it was streets of Overmeant to create. It is time now to listen to his the-Rhine. call; to hear and heed his word, to seek out his Photo by truth that we may be as faith fu l to what is good Brewster and right as he was Thank you, Buddy, for ,, .~ Rhoads. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Granevine r P.-age5 Chain of Moments by Jude' Haley She's a woman without a face. At least she thinks she has no face and that alone makes it true. "I want me back!", she yelled out before . leaving to go to work. Her eyes spoke even ... louder. She'd crumbled inside and her soul· · ached at the loss of herself., .It .was as if .she · .. :.:;; were viewing he.rself at her own funeral ::: .:':: .::_~ ''!-:Worked hard for.twenty-five years to· · ... ·· build a home, raise a:family1 ~ad to ;bave:some,,,,, •<. one .tO.gtow .old "w~t~ . I'm clini€ally-depressed, on meqicatiQD fQf ;t he fir.st .time. io.:. my.:life;,and .h .. don't knowwhen :or how this- napp,ened. _rm::.:: the Sj!,ffie'. a~s :garbage . ~et . out: 6n..the,,curb..-· No -- · ·~ one pa)'?·atte1Jticm 't~ gitrpage..~: LleeLdead ."":,, ,, :-: inside.': . . .: .1 ·1 ·,.,~_, ~ ,.,. -. ~ ..... ,*;....1 ..... ~~. . ..-. . . , --- n· ........... ~, , I told~h~r.~be\t j( gets .b,¢tt~)f:. Howr~~;h"'.~;::. momer;it . gf1\Q~ :hoJ<l~ tO> qnc:itber;. . H9-.w::hop.e-, turn-sj ntc;>-str¢ngtb qver.and.over until ·she'5- n ,.,, · it · She ~,·dn!t 1 b- 1 1·e• 1 e' .J 1.~-- .~L b .. ·healed.:of . - . • - - i '' · ~ · """ ~ L'-' , JI;;,!, !', l)le.., i 4.•:1.e n•$ ·e Ii •J Tbe:se~women ,sr;T-he,$e·,wo:r·~~.hov,.er. in.,,tbe:air :fr~~ .·;";2 beca_4$~tf!T1e..Q'J.~i~_s} c;>/ h~~ past{le'.f,t,;t;e_r,,~impn-:i She stepped off the pormw.itlk~d;throiJgb ; 11 t_h e ch~~!f-lin~·.g.at~1 ilfl~ f Yelted-,t~i ·At ,lea~t !it\S ,a nice day! '-';1;(',l;f~ ~ · gr&~,t,,d..,.a.yJ'1 --1 y.~jledi tia~i t;;y,:,-::1 Maybi:tsh~rl~d . d~ !lk>'l f.<liny~ d~si u L pre.t!!OP~ £·ff to like th~IJl ....~oS! ~ d s~~ d~~pente_,;fQ ~elp.;~rb ud find sort.1.eti..iBgtgeoA . !j "·-• ,.,~··• • ..~~;J.... -) , ., • · ~ ~ ....- ..,,". . . ~. Wl' ... _.1, 1v : 11vL., ,... 1 rH.h:thso....,, b' ;)f $tQ,OJ;l.l8fi\tq_~~ h!li • a5.c"fib.ei:~:ed• ~~ ..-.}-J won~ei:ing (wh~e<.She~d Jost, berself. d!tw.ait.edJtGP:· pinpoioteit~c.tak,e.:. h:Em ·hacl< :la:efcb.~e~hat :.mo~nt"oo rl:);:;~ S:be : sw~m Jrt:sadnesstthalJ pulle~ .it ,her) body J:pan--·\ -:~:; icked =.at 1my·hil~ ~attempts t,o .pulhhen·autb But ;;. I tried. Becau.s.e Jn: ber::J sa\'fmyseJf.~..:.I saw'." ·.:·:I: everyone who has come into my life and dared" "l to love me: -Ever,yone,fve dai;:ed1to_.lon.::--;·· "Look::WheteTmdiY.ing!.::l'-bere:'S :ncr'place··for::!:' .. me to go.· .How-can there be-no -pla<!e •for ,me?"• ..:; She felt misplate..dtbmmuning with •. 1., ~ ; : womel) who were· beaten er-.:raped and ·stripped of their dignity. They were vktims of abuse and she didn't Identify herself as.a .v.ictim, but she was. She was embarrassed. She had-no energy ·-~ to fight for her self. - : . . . . . ~·· : When I went back to see her she was gone. She wouldn't be back. I wondered if she really liked dark, rainy days or if it was all she was able to take notice of. I wondered how she would make it through another day; another moment without me ·- or someone like me who would care enough "I'm dead. They just haven't buried me yet." Her state of mind was a classic representation of many women living in abusive environments. In every age, ethnic, and economic group there are women confusing love with something that hurts, and they are chained to that-pain in various degrees. Some are held hostage, locked up like caged animals. They don't establish friendships. They don't engage in conversations. They aren't allowed money, clothes, transportation. Some are bound by religion and other practices that are justified with intent to control and camouflage cycles of abuse. Some are ' shattered into tiny pieces by words that explode within them. Some are jailed for defending themselves. Some use drugs as .a defense. Some die! · spirit like· qu~s-and'.'p.uffs iat· ~fl~ 1 ..... :;,. - :",. ,;._ - ~..... : :tzambied?:, of.their•greatness;."J;iTtley don't know thatJ_q~e cloesn't show, itselfin a slap or a ki~k ... ·Gigarette : burns, :clio.~~· holdS"., broken bone.s :-.. denial of food, medicitie;4ind cloth!og~~r:~ -n9t.:_a~ts, of .lov.eL ,. . , . 1· ~ ; ,~, P o(i,-"'flC:t:Wbat-.about ·the czhjl.dren? . A.t·verry' young ag~s .-th~y.,,call .her:: /:bitc;h ,~~J n stead oft mom. !¥.'l,~n they~d,e.n:t..get. :t tieir_w.a.y.tth:ey will hit, kick, scratch, spit and scream at her!r Gl°hese little p~~:.wat.ch; l~ten~t.o.,and-imitate~abU'se. Then the. y grow up '· ·· '· ·,J.,._ · •·' ...~....,; · u:· ....... To the women trying to stay a step ahead of the one Gbsesied-with·hurting her;ifi'eprff chilq_'s ibell~v.ior: is. not;her major cbn~ehi.011..,~cnq ·.>Sb:e{~ ;had the· barrel qf a·gµn push'ech<!J.; i£th her templ.e because she didn't Want -tC>Shal/e; !' . -;P) · sex. ·She';s ·dodged·iron skillets ·becaasetshe.1 'r · ;~ ~­ made meatloaf.il'lstead of chicken.• ·Whd 'is slie? itShe's~or,wittrno. hope otg~tting . oot" - She's ·.• · weaithyiwith a-·sta'ttts to keep: She's in the f'I .... i( middle·class. trying to hold :on·to. "diings":and a- ·". certain. lifestyle'tbat:she's:wor.ked hard-to build. · -· , She's the -unsuspecting·- Ol,lt for the ,., , , evening charmed by a handsome,man she just· '" met one moment - and hiding bruise-s .for the ·.. _ first time in -her life the next She's you she's ' · , me. Who's hurting -them? ... .. A .husband, a boyfriend; a lesbian~ lover. Her father, her brother, an acquaintance, a· . stranger and so-called ex-associates. Some of these women choose to live the abuse their whole lives. Some repeatedly leave - to return to their abusers. For some, running and hiding is the way they stay alive. As discouraging as it is, there are some who become able to change their minds about _ themselves and their place in the world. They notice a moment of truth, latch on, and begin the journey of realizing the truth ·about themselves, and love, with the help of someone who cares enough to lead them by way of chaining the moments. Remembering these women means remembering the needless pain experienced for entire lifetimes, or half lifetimes, or even a day. Remembering the pain means remembering brutal deaths experienced by our grandm~thers, mothers, sisters and daughters. And coming together ih remembrance of these women means knowing that we as · women must continue to grow in truth about ourselves and our place in the world. · Dar~ to care! • "a.I .I ; 'j. J i • /• • •. .....<(.· :.;.;/'" ,_;.:; ,.:--.. •;ii.. I -V ,-:t "1 .1-";_~; l ··d'.··" ,'. viomen· ~-sft&Y,e,·r., ~., b so.. . d. ;,r.:;;1., .. r 6 \0) . : t.~·rE:-. r i.'':/ ·i ~ - .... .> ·; .... ~ i I,,,,;"'; ......1h :-9'·i · '.; :"·'.·· ....,.,., ... ;.·.: qs!;ib z-s··./4:~1 ,.:i. •. f'l..:- ~1 ,.;,4'·f•.... .• "":- • '.. ~ -i.l:~ G -. (fltLr 'tf')~ lT•r")~ :)r" ,' .. ,-; .•.· ;i:; .. ·dJI .: ' .. 1 · ~:;';~ t;~;o~ . i; :'.:.c ;;a~:1 -~;- f-,')!'C.:'.-'ci ~~;,, J •• :.,,,. v: 11' ~-: •.·~;; . . :. :,,· ,, c:(1arH'bil f~ a·})ri!>k~ri <i6$n :~ n~lf.p r, -~ '" 1::S<'k•• ~ 1 :Mycb8dy;Pa1P&atter~ci; 'a:riai r.ao~ l fe~rnS','." .2i':.~c··l1· ;.:.,q i:'nh ~1•·~:. well. 1·~~. gd~·~·l eif o'WWWhfi~d-:r~rY.6lt1l~t ~m heal in 'tltrt~~ ..·ub'.l;: 9C! J n!:11w:u 9 L'!S\l sr-: :i11th::;:; ~<l 1rtifi"tisho~rn~t -1~v::;:-t'.r,ic..,.,.,, s "H '"u ~ 1~. ·• ' ·~~rn ... ·~ . . •... ,, ~m~ ions tney re a:1 . . \; .... locked i li~ld[' ~b snot c.r. ~.;tsq JS: !jrJ f) ] ;;;·:.w .l ;ib:o ,·1·~~}~st, h1t~~1~.:~este'en{~~;: ~~t m~pr,ide~ 0 e p.. J~tReJf~~fi';~,,iiit ~~... .r~2r2~ - -·. r:/,l.o . ,-'!.•,.~wjJx . ti""",.., . ,, h I ~-·~·--~- 1 1 .J Sg ~hitilJ'it' ~JtmJ~\3{. ri-:-'~e"'a\6~ ~\.~j'it{P ....!"Y ~jct> or.--~ '1 1~ ~ , ~·r {'- r" myseJt W: . . . u, 0 ;f,..rL 1,'k~ea !J~~~ alo~e'. ;.-;'1 ,1·~:3·-,; f" 5 ..;, ...... -°'!•"'. •"' .... _,,. it~)~~i.1 ".-u V <"'o ·.:io'i . , . , · ~,( · c::- h!-~i' ~a6~ 1 l'l'i'~~, d~ t~~'~' ' 0 · : 1 l°'"'~ '1S:i' '.-1 !.J'. }i· ,_,.,.- ' ,it_.• l'\ ':-~ °' '1 :. . ,·~ ..,. .,~: ~-? '.'-1>' ,:: - ~ .. ,; ~"! .-,,; p'm~' sta'.ri: afi~~e~r t6i~cii:~lcif1' r~~~ Hef strong. "!.~~·· ,..J.i! . .1 .... :-!·,· ~ , -- .: bt' · · · " .. , · · · · .. " "' · 1 • ...... ; ·.~ ..~-, ..... --~ .•...• - ;~ ' -. "· • ':. 1 •. ' ~ .• ", !;:!~ar[t)x ~~~r: ~'1 1 )/e~qn pa_in:, :·~ ,: , ,:•.· . '. ·1 ... • .. "· . He~l1 mt~.'~~,~~t~ all C?f:~~is Jtrain,.;, . , _ 1 .~ave}o m~riY qu~stions I don't .know were to '-start. " I •-,' • >' • '• The answers ar~ hid.den deep .~ithip my, ~~ . So carry me God help me get on my feet Show me the way. Oon't l~t ~e give in to defeat. Amen Need Help for Domestic Violence? 557-2873 Bethany House 762-5660 Salvation Army 431-8717 Welcome House 751-6900 Catherine Boothe (pregnant teens) 961-2604 Alice Paul House (abused women) Second Mile Ministry 684-9354 (women, couples, kids) Lighthouse 961-4080 (youth's shelter) ..... _..;; -~· . - A;- .e·. .a·.1 _1. e·.·r·:e · ft wc;>m~n miS:.siQn,,;1 'm,.gl~. ,she~had;a fq,~ ~f, ~u~jf)ed ,b · "' .r.,·1~ and cut, deep;-.and :then deeper until they feel-compJet_ely:-aloee': Vivid m~!J\Qri~: harden .them.. Sod0t they··learn :to survive _by lylng,:..(:he.ating, :stealing;;dri9king, dr;uggingi and, lashing out.~ -t'~bat -could be worse than thisr'' '• ,- ·. rbi ...-5he .wa,s . riJJ,r;n.b, put~sdmel;\Qw.able. ttb < tre4lf;b :1 ; 1-v.. sh"'·;c~v,,;~ . I.. fo p i he · ·:· L t, '1-j"'"".., ,., " . " . - .kind .. .•..of n·· 'IY .. .,,, , ..,.."" · ""' "" ""' ~ ;) • .., '(VaS.,r1e and remind her of her brilliance. werthless,~helpless, asb~~~k .:iT be:~e~{eeliAgs. wou:ldn't~ b1.1~A ha~ ,tp-5_ay;: W~a~~t.:::;::n b:1;; .<:Ji,) her are ... . �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 6 STREETVIBES Editorial Page Just·Say No to Child Care Cuts by Lynn Williams On December 17th, the Welfare Rights Coalition led a demonstration against cuts in child care subsidies when Governor Voinovich came to Cincinnati. We protested to let the Governor know he should "do the right thing" and restore the $5 million needed in child care funds for working parents up to 185% of the poverty line. In Hamilton County, women who have left welfare to go to work have already saved the state government $20 million by leaving the welfare rolls. Now the Governor refuses to fund child care to keep these women from going back on welfare. Money is NOT the issue! There is $1 BILLION in the State Rainy Day Fund to be used for emergencies. This is a matter of policy! Governor Voinovich does not perceive poor working women as having any political clout. He even bragged at his Cincinnati meeting that he has had 13 requests for emergency aid, and has never yet relinquished any $$$(our tax dollars!!!) from the Rainy Day Fund. We can only wonder if those 13 requests came from poor people for poor people's survival assistance. So far, Voinovich has shown very little concern ~or poor people's survival in his administration. We notoriously remember him for cutting off IOOO's of single people from General' Assistance, their only means of survival, and Medicaid. Now he has made public statements that he considers child care subsidies will become the "new" welfare!! This is an insult to the hardworking, underpaid low-income women struggling to survive and pay his $100,000 plus salary from taxes. Not to mention the $1 OOO's of dollars spent to fancify the State Capital and hand-out "welfare" for new stadiums! Thanks to the people who braved the cold to rally in unity for the Governor to restore the $5 miilion. Our work is far from over - we need to keep the pressure on Voinovich and other public officials. We will not be silenced on this issue or any other issue that will cut out the poor from getting a "piece of the pie", not the leftover crumbs. We urge you to continue calling and writing Governor Voinovich for an accounting of where our $20 million went, and why $5 million is not coming out of that pot of money. Mandating that women work without providing for adequate child care is not welfare reform; it's a welfare massacre. As we chanted at the protest: "One, two, three, four Stoi:f the war on the poor! Four, three, two, one We won't quit until we've won!" Call Governor Voinovich at 614-466-3555. You can call free from the Contact Center. Write him at: 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43266-060 I. Text Changed With Author's Permission Ebonics is Not the Answer by Donald Whitehead While advocates like myself are called "bleeding heart liberals" every time we talk about spending funds to solve problems in this country. I don't mind. I've been called worse. I feel I must lend my "bleeding heart" to another issue. This issue is one of the most controversial to reach the African-American community in some time. The issue is Ebonics. I applaud the members of the Oakland school board for their efforts to find an answer to halt the increase of a startling illiteracy rate. I definitely recognize the language barriers that exist between races in this country. However, I believe that the teaching of ebonies may be more harmful than helpful. Ebonics may set a dangerous precedent for African-American students. Although language barriers do exist, African-American students have as much ability to learn English as any other student. Having come from an innercity neighborhood, I am as comfortable talking to people in my neighborhood as I am talking.to corporate heads or elected officials. I believe that children must be taught that they can achieve regardless of where they come from. We as a people must not be distracted from the real issue. The real issue we must focus on is the inequality of resources available for inner-city schools as opposed to those resources available at suburban schools. We need to somehow make a few less bombs, subsidize fewer super corporations and put a little more money into educating our children. Even if E_bonics was the answer to the language barrier, we would still have overcrowded classrooms, underpaid teachers, and crumbling puildings in most cities. Ebonics won't keep community schools from closing or gang recruiters away. What will do those things, however, are legislators made to be more accountable for insuring that education is a priority in the United States. Americorps Houses the Homeless in Cincinnati by David Dietz I spent the year of 1996 replacing floors, fixing pipes, finishing banisters, and becoming better acquainted with d!J~pst.ers. All these jobs and many less glamorous ones were part of my year as an Americorps "Houses the Homeless" member. The Ohio program is administered by the Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio, and funded by the Governors Community Service Commission. My jop of housing Rehab work"took place at an organization at which I had previously volunteered called ReSTOC (Race Street Tenant Organization Cooperative). In 1993 I became semi-regular Saturday ReSTOCer. In 1995, I became in intern and moved down to Over-the-Rhine. One of the great aspects of the "Americorps Houses the Homeless" program is that the site receiving an Americorps position interviews and selects their member. Setting up the program in this way allows the sight to choose someone who has previous involvement with the organization and the community. If I had been from another city or state, at the end of one year, I would just be getting acquainted with my job and my community. Since I was already living and working in Over-the-Rhine, my year was much more effective and personal. In the past year, I learned how strong theses old buildings are and how they were put together that way inside and out. I learned about the history of the neighborhood from senior construction staff members and tenants who have been in the community since they were children (Some tenants have lived in the same apartment for 30 +years). I also learned more about the everyday people struggling with homelessness and/or addictions. I learned the truth that people deserve the chance to begin See Americorps page 7 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Dear Homeless ... our city stronger. Because there's one less homeless person. So I sal!Jte you with the highest level of respect Because we are meeting our goals by Myron Thank You, Myron Dear Myron, Dear Myron, I bought your paper from a vendor last week. I enjoyed it and now have a few questions. Your vendor said he happened to be homeless at the time and that the .funds he received from me would help support his way of living. Explain this please: If he was homeless, how did he get a vendors license without a home address. I'm homeless and I would like to know how I can clean up myself and my clothes some. I would like to be able to walk around without getting unpleasant looks. I'm tired' of getting that from people who don't even know me. I figured this might be what's keeping people from talking to me. What do you think? . Anonymous Signed, Confused Dear Brother in life, Dear Confused, Let me say this first, thank -you for buying that paper from our vendor. He was telling the truth, our goal is to help, the vendor, the reader, the city. When we give a vendor a license, doors open up. He sells the paper to the reader. From that he gets a portion, and earns a living honestly. You the reader get the paper and the valuable information inside. With this you get an opportunity to learn more about the homeless problem in our area. From there' you may make a choice of helping in more ways; meaning through contributions of clothes old or new, time (volunteering your time) or giving or passing information to a friend or someone homeless that just doesn't know. We thru partnership, become stronger, which makes Continued from Americorps page 6 their lives again. A lot of folks aren't familiar with Americorps. At our orientation, we were told that one way of explaining the program to others is to say, "It's like the Peace Corps, but it's a national service corps, not an international one." I feel that statement is a good way to generally describe the program, but it's far from complete. I believe Americorps is the humbler of the two programs. Like Jimmy Stewart, in "It's a Wonderful Life" most Americorps members stay in their communities working on problems they have known their entire life; while their sisters and brothers in the peace corps co.n~ front new challenges and different cultures. Americorps members aren't globe trotters but they've usually got good roots. Americorps could signify a big change in the way our country goes about solving their own problems. I hope it does·. When President Clinton signed the program into law, he touted it as a community driven way of revitalizing our crumbling social and material infrastructure and healing our environment. Unfortunately, since taking office, our President has been under siege and has backtracked or spun 180 degrees on every issue that is close to his heart. For most of 1996, it was unclear whether the program would be funded in the future period. So far, Americorps has survived the budget process. I believe this is due to the program's strengths. The program gives people a start and gets them back on their feet. Americorps members get a small living stipend and an educational award. After a year of service, members j:rave a few thousand dollars I feel warm when I read your story, because I feel you coming back together. Before I answer your question I want to say thank you for sharing and trusting me. Together we could do this step by step. Please continue to write I will be with you all the way. Now if you have the Streetvibes paper turn to the section called Need to Help Want to Help. You will see a listing for the Mary Magdalen House 721-481 I . Now brother call that number and ask to be entered into the computer, this will enable you to use the telephone, receive toiletries, take a shower and will even fix you up with a fresh change of clothes. And the best thing is the clothes you left will be clean for you when you go back. Thank you, Myron to apply toward outstanding student loans or higher educational or vocational training. For many people who have a difficult time saving money for school, the voucher is a great relief. The education award can't be spent for anything besides education so it will be there at the end of the year. Many Colleges and Universities are matching education awards this means after two years of service one could have two to four years of tuition paid. For people who are struggling (or being forced) to get off the welfare rolls or people who have had an experience of homelessness this award can greatly broaden ones opportunities. Americorps slogan is "Getting things done for America". Cheesy or not, it describes the program fairly well. Much of the conservative leadership in our country has a hard time admitting things aren't getting done. important problems aren't being successfully addressed. Drugs and violence are choking our youth. Our cities are crumbling. Addicts and the homeless are misunderstood and shoved to the side. Our environment is being deplorably degraded. When I heard of a national service program that would offer Americannhe opportunity to give of their talent, sweat and hard work in an attempt to solve these problems, I got excited. The politicians who attempted to cut Americorps were trying to deny that America has profound needs that are linked to basic problems. I believe the program is here today because it offers common sense community based solutions, to national problems. The need for this program is undeniable. Was I "Getting things done ... " in 1996? I took part in the completion of a 20 unit project that provides long-term transitional housing for recovering addicts and alcoholics. led stu~ent volunteer crews every Saturday and ; Page 7 UL/ Continued from page 7 and Tender Mercies in order to make way for gentrification projects . 4) Recognize the Over-theRhine Community Council as the legitimate representative of OTR residents and to halt the expensive attempts by ULI to set up a puppet government Only when the threat of gentrification has been quelled and when low-income and homelessness issues are given the attention they deserve by City officials and by members of the business community will it be possible to establish a real medium for consensus-making. The sooner this happens, the sooner there will be real growth in the neighborhood-a balance of rewarding economic growth and attentj,on to the needs of a low-income community. Dear Homeless ... accepts letters. Please send your questions to: Myron c/o Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 We will attempt to answer all letters in a timely manner. helped fill 30 plus dumpsters. A lot Qf !=rud comes out of buildings left vacant by neglectful landlords. I helped with I00 plus tenant repairs cm tenants apartments from replacing broken floor tiles to fixing busted pipes. I helped rehab more than 20 apartments and hauled countless modern stoves and refrigerators up and down narrow turn of the century stairways. I got some things done, but I feel our work as a nation has just begun. I and the 36 other 1996 Americorps Houses members worked full time to help Ohio's homeless to get back on their feet. In many cases, we offered people the chance to live or start their lives anew. What Americorps has meant for me is I have been supported, trained and encouraged while doing the work I love. If you have any questions about the Americorps program or think the program might be right for you call the National office at 1-800-942-2677 or if you are interested in working for the homeless in Ohio call COHHIO at (614) 280-1984. Words of Wisdom by Denise Crew Welcome. While visiting this houseold, please follow our rules -Greet tenderly -Touch gently -Speak softly -Listen lovingly -Share honestly · -Live freely -Love unconditionally We are a gentle, peace filled people, We thank you. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Ho.me/ess Grapevjne_ , PageB The Homeless Are People Too W(\RD ON THE · That's Just a Littl·e Rude ,STREET by Penny Caudle by Donald Whitehead They seem so dreary the problems of today They're taking all the poor people rights , away They've ended welfare,. they've cut SSI, low -income housing programs are in disarray There-are no treatment centers, shelters · ' -are 'shuttin down WE can't even' sleep on park benches even , ,. ' . . , )• ' ·'there ihey push us around · In Atlanta It's really gettirig_a~rk, you might.~ " ' just go. tcr pri_s6n t~~-~le~pi~g'iri the p~r~ , As poor people struggle fro111 town to .. . , . . Leah Danielle (Daughter) Heaven must surely wonder where you have gone By my son's side to keep hini strong · Your·woman sense helps keep him strong Loving wife, mother you reign suprem~ . .town -· . "'...;c: ~ • .. , Short. nights ~f r~~t ~P.~~ ~9 yo,u . 5!~eamf . Th~x.'~~~ -n~~,~t.a~iµ,ms. P.P'ening, ~.r)·d;~:·,, ... ,. i~ In ~y ~re~rt;lS, (di.-;ea!)'l f~r, you ~~!it, :. , , scb,oQ!s. ~no. ~hJ.,lrc.h~s pl9~i.ng. dpwf! · ·· ,"'ff' :..t ~11 .th,e ~re;lf!"!S you ·~~~~m Come true · c':T .If~ ~1 l~rg~..: respc>rJsibility, ..caliing for. your.'· . While they use a poor man tax dollars tG <;·-r~· ' ?'t'"'!: -,,,..-!&! / ·r .;. ~ bailout~~b.~S .._i • .; i; ~· f'C. 1 ; ..,,Lr fa.mi~X ,t ,,,, : .· · - · b i... , f ' '"' ·' . ·:' ,, n·-.., •,;;i·, Doing-all 'to keep .things"rightl.:·i!,) J .~ · I"-: H".. There- not-"buildi'rig hlm-hol!Jse.s there·onlf~' ·:, _:~· ~~~:tJ.:"~ i-"·buirding:.1 j3.il~ ::r'*~'~· -~~ 1 -~ ~ ··j;,_\v ~· 1:, From eady morn·to ~ate, at · nighb-' ), .- Lii~c· ' i , ,l , 1.: fl " 1·; ·< w ~ .. -' r·,l- ' 'J""'l l • Whire'tne" helj:l'payfcirbattl~ship~ '('.' ~~' ca:n-. rt:a y: ~no ··' ·.~---· , ,. " . N o one· 0 1 1 .. bf'wa'.r"-" i;v '' How' de~p' yotfr 1ove can;'r6C:St i ntf gra'w·,;..,.• t.l.,., ...... w t fiav'€ an"it:i-eat' ·_;_, · ,,,~ · c · •• ,, :, - ·· .. .. The~~'t!o1a M8ii~f1:b''heip"illeffi's'e1ve~ isn't ,, ·,: ' ·, • ' ·~ .- I t • 1 • '-L-t "" • , • ., f -·· - ·"·'i(•hJt, ~ ~ "/ ;~ fiJ ••• {_f' ~ ~ ~~ _:'>., • ~., t ·~·r f1 ·~[""{ ('~~\' :)t°1 $. '- ' :-~ ~(it b:·;'t i .,~nJl~..l?le .~nymore,, ., ~· .. q·'"~v ,. · w~H~;,w~· ~~s~~g PO<?r; ~~!P ~ar, 4.r;pi~J~_,,.fa ,rn T ' ,,._, , •· ::#tl£:.:.J<.1' . n_ O'row a11v. food.. ..' , ,.- -. -• ,.,;., · .;, -o • • t to,1CJ ~ ... / .;.., '~ •. .,_ Thr9yg~.. ¥-~4r ..sN11!.ng §.m i.L~J:~,.e~.1s ·"iifb ,:~ri - Th~}(fr~ \he A..l\~~s .who a~e .starvir.ig a,~dJioiv · rt1 ... .........Cl •. st a· l'1ttle rude'''· . . ..· --.' "' <:5ff10fl 1rf.tCl;.. ·,.·f4 .. ·. ' ... . ·~·- .,,,·~ ,..,_ . .,., ,.. ~·<'i.. The daughter my son cb,,~~e-J.Qfi m0e,::i11s:H0~ ~}. r~t\J1 5;~i~~' ~W~ 1~f;..n~i~fk1'3Sd ,9qr.:n ·wn k· ~t, ··-~i ,~\.... ; ""v~·•.ri?- ....,; r;- r·rr~('\N ~~ .,..... ,.. .,· f-t;t:7 ~- wrOrjg~ ~.: ~ ; ,.~ ·~ -N ~ •• ~ ~ ~> :- ·".:rbelieve what we ne·ed to' do is help them. We think we do~ b..ut..the~ti:uth, ~~ ,~hat we just .~... m~ke it worse. W:e'7is1aB dojng\hai"'by b¢1ieving " in them. If you keep telling a person that they are stupid after so long they staFt\l;ieli~f~[ng•. t'1.~t · We _have ,d9wn_ed ,o~ thes~ pe°"_p_le_ fo~ so l?ng they ha\lt{no-f.Htlf irnh-enj selves: · 1f you have no f.ti'th~then::rou"wilr ~o~'.be _able to .'gi:!J,any-' thin a8ne~ S6''tli~ fi'rs't 'tliing ,;;e·<:1o"is'pelp·· g ,~...,, ·~.) ~Y" r·:• them to:-get ' th~ir · f.ci·ith'!>;tck., _help 'them ~a· ··. · ~ ,: belie~~ again~" 'o f' Co~rse t'n'i t will riot g~t ih~m -' . a b~tte"rl l\fe' righiawa~; l:>tJi~it 'will g~(the.;,"I; :·' ":-' j h " r>""""I ·'f"'-' • f.0:-c. - - -'• . - . - , '.. started.::;~--~::::rc:-1 ~;::.c;, ''·_':: 4q \ •H 'Jf" ")' ,,. , • '·:: ·;• ' ) . ~u1 '. . .J '·" A lot of thepedpib 'that 'are1'J'ior1i'~less' haYe.:..i .. .,.... ' .. a ·' : ... _-, that ihe'fneE!ia1 'cJofiol-~io'1lJi~~ttiehf.1 ·Y {fii'nk'':":ri ;:: pr~ -:.•c't:- t-.- ... r J "'~~ 1~ J"'"l 1": '-')di'){' n~·(;r..,;~1~ U the governrneHc~hcSUld gr(e sqme rponey to .1 have these1 p'eoP,fe .s~il'~'t9~ pili1e t'b'-lh'~lpJii"'t;f1):' 0 ~' I am no!-iali<ilfg!1nHfl:it}~r1;; ~Lt ~a::fi6spital?;' t-'1:1.t:~ ~' '"3.t.Q I' t 'f'~ ';; ci1 ~ ·:uJl .'N "''1~'HW 1Hh ,•;ch . ·111, ~·~.-~ " 1~1ust t> tne peop eon t e. str~ets av~ . ""' , 1 had soffi'el<rn!:i~t mi:k'lh'iirmt'~R~nll l:l\J'il~~n un: They could have l~st a jop pr had a jo~ thai f.d'!~ would ncft ~ly tH~lffi8~f R~~ci¢~ft6¥-:rt~ bills. \tiies~·peopf&H~~~PS"c:ri'J9f i~~6_1 r1~1f ')m 9 .,1x"" a.· ,o ~ j11 1·~w-rl, ~irJ~ r,f.,t~(! OJ U~.? U't~t ~ ~)n.6~9 ""!1[) )~ training: • - - , ·"' <,, i. --~--; - ~;-· t "'- t ..... ~ ... ;.!-~ ~t ... ~,..fAr.-•"t- ., • roblerfu' ~ittfdtin ki'ri'g"6t ',Cl rugt' :T'h'en'th_e · • ~ ~eed fittll!~ n1b"re'.'lierp':':VVi\~f'r?iffi'·i~riifg".fs 1 An d t at s 1or rea ."clnivi; ;·, ;·i 0 - 1 ~r'""' Because wit~ yQ,u W.' P ,all ca~,. fe_~J .... ~ ·-1 ~f'} -- ~') ~I i.f J~, i!.:..;2 1.6..~ i~ ' ~.-:.< :·; CJ v j~· ~-s.~ . ' .... l. ,. : \ • .. obrcan ~ r·· -, ,&~o~~~wea-pon; • . If there is a homeless person on the street you are walking on what do you do? If you are walking. past a homeless person and they drop a bag, that they are having trouble picking up, what do you? If you said you would cross the street or walk ·away from the homeless pe.rson, just, because_ they,.. are .hom, eless you. .,. , are so.. ·' ..,. "'*"' ... ., ." . - ,.. . I;,_;!.• 11. in-:ef '1~~( . e -fn~~a 't,i~<Ypt~th1{t·: lla\te' 'ti~d: tij~ tRLid ir.m ho<:»cr~lri7J''~m1fJt ~ilA 1d~11&g_'\Y,tlfihal ' ~ 'w8u1d:: h'e ~d,a·;~4ici!1Y&~ttt>F?;i!ricf nf~~-b~-- )~ This · c1asses·tfo1t wiltfietp' illt!il; Ciea(wif1f~l1efr'pafr1,' :·· , their th"bllgfiis," and"(~~lin'M ~)·n {})~,.,,_,,. ,;,:-, :--,,,, "1 by Tom Mulioy· · • . . • - ~ •• \j ,._. s.,,( r ~ .,,,_r_ .. ':~ l!::n; ·,·,:; • "Jt"i .t•('' .·;. ''.J ,_ ,:_,{ ~ ·,J;..' I c~n;t c~uni the num.b~r· oftimes fve -· y1 heard _low income, peopJ~)~~in~i~n~~i s;~y ;t hat there's no way to ~in in ,cou,g ~gai.ns.t pe9ple .. With money. lt'~hey W,a nt you Ol;Jt you ~ett~~ "Start packing. Don't even think about winning in Tenant Landlord Court. Now I grew up in Washington D.C. In D.C. nobody even knows who the big money people are. Big money isn't what makes things happen. The people who have schwang are the ones who know how to work the system. Most of these people don't have a hell of a lot of money... some of them are downright poor. What makes them powerful is that they know how to work the system. They know ~ow to get out the troops .. .lean on city council...push stuff through the courts until their cases get to a high enough court that the judges make decision based on law and fairness, not on who 'they play golf with. Buddy Gray was a D.C. style activist. He was aggressive ... abrasive ... his enemies hated his guts. But he got the job done. His people ...the poor...the homeless ... had a champion who never let them down. But Buddy is gone now. People like Buddy are awfully scarce in Cincinnati. The people he helped are going to have to learn to start helping themselves. With rich developers trying to throw all the low-income renters 0ut of places like Over the Rhine it's time to get active or get packing. For what it's worth here are some suggestions. The first thing to remember is not to be afraid or pessimistic if your faced ~i~h a la~d~ 1 .' ~ • " • ~; ); . ,t.:, ~fC·~ ,j'°{'t.\~"1 - ~"I•/ .. '·" ·c, )-"'-·.' ~ -:1,,; I I ~ ,, ..-:{ lord whe,would ,ljke t~' p~t.yotJ'~on the bricks. A ) lot of land.lords-.co1.mt on ·the fact ,tha·t ·low- ' · "'· iv incor.ne renters will be ignorant' of their, rights ·, 1' .,. and afraid to go to court. This allows a·iot· o.f. ~· .. •;: unfair -actions -against low income renters. .. ,, .... ..,.,..., A perfect example of people being frightened out oftheir homes occurred during ''Big money isn't what makes things happen. The people who have schwang are the ones who know how lo work the system." the emptying of the El Rancho Rankin. The word was spread among the tenants, probably originating with the employees, that people who weren't out of their apartments by midnight would be handcuffed and taken to jail. Their belongings would be set on the curb. I know enough about the law to realize that the rumor was ridiculous. No eviction papers had been served on me. The only court action was directed against the management of · the facility. If I were arrested and jailed and my belongings put on the street I would have had a really colossal false arrest and illegal eviction lawsuit. I hoped that I would be dragged to jail. · But, just to be sure, I asked one of the Hamilton County Deputies who was stationed in the El Rancho parking lot. He explained that the _deputies were only there to mai_!'tain o~der. : · "ffi~::ma:in<1:h'irig tAii~e· ri~~i:l ·~~'db~iJii~v~:-"~ faith. we-:a11 i. need ' t:o.,do'olinllar~'tcf fi'el~ ,,)"'.") -~ these·p«fo~le• .( ..,,;4;11. . the~'n~~d i~l ~ 'lihl~~iai~h· ii'!.~=-~~ . µJ· · .... ...., ..... _ ..... ,_ :.., ~ -,.~ -~ ~ them selves; and' 1teople·that wi11-be there for them. "They neecl' ia(riendly"pla~e to turn 'just likethe 'r est'ofus>'·, ,._,,, ·~-.. '- c: · c They were 'af~id that the· t~n~~ts ·.~ight be so angry that they might lynch the staff or burn the place. _As it occurred'! was one of the only tenants to,ask the_ClepiJties wily they were there. Maybe a lot of the tenants were afraid that they would be cuffed on the spot or have their ID- run turning up some old capias for traffic violations or parking tickets. I was careful to be polite with the Deputies when I spoke with them. I wasn't jumping up and down and screaming accusations. The Deputies, in turn, showed no desire to run my ID for warrants ... they didn't even ask my name. They were helpful. They don't make a lot of money. They were sympathetic with bunch of low income people being forced out of their homes. I'm not saying that all law enforcement people are your good buddies. God knows there are plenty of racist, sexist, violence prone pigs. But the vast majority of cops and deputies in a nonviolent situation involving something like a tenant landlord dispute will respond to a polite question with a polite and truthful El Rancho Continued on page 10 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Homeless Set for Trial Against City of Cleveland by Max Johnson On October 4, 1994, members of the homeless community with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless filed a law.suit against the City of Cleveland to seek protection from the cou11s for a policy by the City of Cleveland of dumping homeless people. on the outskirts ofthe city. Four homeless individuals were wtlling to risk possible police retaliation and put their names on this lawsuit to reverse this unconstitutional policy of picking up and dumping homeless people. This dumping was not confined to these four individuals, but they were the four that were W;illi.ng tO stand up for their rights to freely r;nove in the downtown . area·. After: two years of depositions arid an e~tremely~ difficulJ: _di$.cov.ecy. process, tbe City of Cleveland .refused to settle this .lawsuit, and a tri~l -~ate ha~ been set for ' February I8, 1997. ·· . ·. T he ,homeless ~Jld _tbe ACLU contend that , to combat a perceived panhandling prob1em in the Downtown area and the flats they set .a police van aside to pick up. homeless people against their will, and transport them to distant locations (usually off the bus route). Brian Davis, Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless said, "This was not confined to a few rouge police officers, but a broad policy to deliver the message that panhandling is unacceptable in Cleveland. This was an attempt to use extra legal measures to slam the door on panhandling because of its impact on downtown businesses." One of the plaintiffs has said that not every homeless person was dumped during this time period. He claims that the city set up "sacred ground" in which panhandlers and homeless people were not welcome. These off limit sites include Gateway stadiums, the Tower City Center side of Public Square, and the Flats entertainment district. The City said in its memo to police announcing th is policy that it was an attempt to deliver the "less fortu nate" to needed services. This despite the fact that the van was "delivering" homeless people to services at 4:30 p.m. when very few homeless services are open. Some of t he police officers did not li ke t he policy, but were told t hat City Hall demanded that t hey "remove" homeless people fro m these high t raffic areas, according to one of the plaintiffs. A deposition of former Third District Commander Martin Flask was recently completed. The ACLU is planning to subpoena Cleveland Mayor Michael White. They are asking for a jury trial, and will seek damages for the four named plaintiffs as well as a commitment from the city that dumping will never be policy again in Cleveland. Page 9 Domestic Violence Solutions in Cleveland by Melissa W. very jealous. If a guy looked at me he would get mad and start calling me derogatory names. It Domestic violence has proven to be a major was mostly verbal abuse at the beginning." cause of homelessness both in Cleveland and "Then it got worse. I learned to cope with nationally. Every year, literally thousands of the different abuses as each one was dealt, and at battered women fleeing violence to protect t_be same time I was becoming isolated from my themselves and their children are forced to live in friends and family. While the battering was shelters or on the streets. happening I felt too embarrassed to tell my Statistics show that in America 1500 women parents and friends about it. His parents wita year are killed by an abusive male partner. nessed the violence but chose to ignore it." Equally disturbing is the fact that domestic In desperation Dawn looked in the televiolence is the greatest cause of serious injury to phone directory and found a hodine number for domestic violence victims, which put her in touch American women, and that roughly 21,000 domestic crimes against women are reported with Templum House. every week. There are more than one million . "I was terrified of going to a shelter. I assaults, murders and rapes in a year. It is estithought it would be like living in a gym with lots of mated that, including unreported crimes, there cots everywhere and with all sorts of strange are an estimated 1.8 to 4 million incidents of people in them, but it's not like that at all," Dawn domestic violence a year. Sources vary.on the remembered.· ''The staff at the shelter.was really · estimates. · kind and the residents were very nice.·· I think my There are many complex issues surrounding children, who [were] aged three and four years at ·domestic violence, such as: Why do women stay the time, thought it was like a vacation . .They in a violent relationshipl Why do men batter? .would ask when we were going home." Why does the court system seem to 1et abusers "I couldn't stay with any of my friends or:off lighdy? And should domestic violence become re@tives, or even tell them where I ~ going a crimin~I act against the State, like Child molest~ · because there was a chance my husband would ing? ' find me. He calls my mom to try and·find out When a woman is faced with a life threatenwhere l'rnliving." ing abuser, she may only have the option of living DaWll wanted to press charges at the time in a shelter or on the streets in order to escape of her escape, but later, after fearing for her and the violence. As a safety precaution, they often her children's safety, she thought it would be have to leave behind their siblings, friends, homes ·better to ,b~ .left alone. , and jobs in order to start fresh in a new part of She said, ''The woman is always in a difficult tovin. -Moving out oh.violent household and ·.· position. tfshe presses charges $he runs the risk staying with a friend or.relative doesn't always ofbeing atticked by her abu~e,r.. If sorne0ne else, .... 'tead :to successful n~w ~rt. · The batte~r usually . ;such ·as thiState, were allow~ to bring charges .· . · krlows Where to ,find his victim and WiA ~Uy do · "· agaii)st:tier'abuser, even if she refuses, then again . ' whatever it takes-to convinc:e her to come~back ·the abuser ~I blame her. II'.' ·the eyes'. ofthe~ ·. to him. .When she does, he continues to abuse . ·batterer it~~, always his partner's'fauit.". .. her ~ physically, verbally, sexually or em.otion~lly. Oawrf stayed at the shelter for two months · Michelle Clay, Domestic Violenc;:e coordinaand then sh~ spent a year in Family Transitional tor for the East Side Emergency Shelter in housing. Dtiring this time she has gained help Cleveland, explained how difficult it is to help from one qf,Templum's many counseling provictims who have jobs: ~'If a woman wants to grams. Tert'Plum House saw the need to provide make a clean break from an abusive partner, then a good sup.port network for women after they unfortunately, she may have to give up her job made the initial escape from an abusive partner. because her abuser will follow her from her work The additional support has been instrumental in to her new home so that he can harass her again." helping women live independently from a vi01ent There are seven shelters in Cleveland which partner. 'We realized more had to be done t~ just cater to homeless women and their children. Two of these shelters have comprehensive providing beds in the shelter, because once the support programs to help victims of domestic women and children left the shelter they wer,e violence. returning to their homes and their violent partTemplum House is one such shelter and its ners because they had nowhere else to go," said Executive Director, Diana Cyganovich, said that Cyganovich. "We aim to keep women and children together. We encourage women, during her ten years with the agency she has seen a rise in the number of victims seeking refuge at through our support network, to help them the shelter. "When I started here we were not become independent. A staff member will go full for weeks at time, but now we don't have with the victim's children to make sure they are empty beds for more than a day or two. When enrolled in their new school." ' they are empty it's because a family has just left," It has been some time since Dawn escaped she said. her violent husband. She has, with the help from Every year, T emplum receives over 17,000 T em plum, successfully started a new life for :'"· crisis calls from women in the local area. The herself and her children in a new home, w.hiCh she shelter's legal help program serves over 1,500 is renting to own. Furthermore, she has ret urned women, and helps around 500 women to take to college and is proving to be an excellent their batterers to court. student. Dawn, who is 24-year-old mother of two, Unlike many cases, Dawn's had a positive had been physically battered and verbally abused ending. But it seems that if a victim wants to lead by her husband for six years. In 1994, she finally a non-violent life she has to give up everything ,to found the strength to say enough is enough when stand a chance of gaining it. her husband turned his abusive attention to their And if a woman stands up and fights her , two young c~ildren. case, not only does she run the risk of log~-;r Dawn·~~elationship with her husband life, but sl:Jt1las to struggle with a court · ... ' started off o~: s~emingly normal terms. "If I'd that is ·i~ ~king up to the issue and known what signs to look for, then I could have society'-$ att'ltude towards violence within prevented the relationship. At first he was just home. · ./ '1 ./ ,: �STREETVIBES I "I- f I The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine , Page 10 Memorial March Pays Tribute to Gray by Spencer Wells There were probably more people in the room at the Drop Inn Center than would comfo rtably fit un de r no rmal ci rcumstances, but today people wanted to be close and share their memo ries and their grief. Friends of buddy's passed along narrow paths between knots of folks talking quiet ly, shaking hand s, hugging, crying, comforting. One woman came up to me and said, "You gave me shock. From the back, I thought you was buddy. The last time I saw him [he] was laying there, not moving." Staff of the Drop Inn Center were slipping into new T-shirts bearing buddy's likeness and the message: WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED. The march stepped off promptly at Noon from 12th and Elm with the words "Buddy would have loved this" and a thousand people set forth to walk the streets lined with hand painted posters, escorted by police who stopped traffic and followed respectfully by the media. The pace of the march varied, speeding up when the street was wide and slowing to a crawl when folks bunched up on narrow side streets, lined with buildings that ReStoc and other community organizations had strived to save. O ve r one thousand people marched through the streets of Over-theRhine in tribute t o buddy gray. Photo by Brewster Rhoads. The crowd of black, white, poor and middle-class folks walked largely in silence, often with heads bowed, joyless ... but determined. "Jobs" said one sign on a building. "JUSTICE" cried out another sign. "Housing NOW" proclaimed a second floor banner. We passed a community garden and a number of small and large churches as we wound our way to Washington Park, where buddy's friends gathered to remember his life and their struggles. At a gazebo in the park, speaker after speaker called upon the crowd to take up the fight that buddy had put down so suddenly and so involuntarily. The choir sang "We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest." Buddy's El Rancho Continued from page 8 answer. If a law officer is being really disrespectful don't get agitated. Make a mental note of his car number or name or badge number. (If a cop is being hostile it's best not to demand his name and badge number. This will most likely make things worse.) Politely excuse yourself for bothering him and then report him. If all you do is get mad and walk off bitching about the "system" nothing is going to change. The next thing you need to do is ask questions. Some landlords who want you out will try to bluff you with bogus eviction actions. Other landlords might let your building get so run down that it's uninhabitable and try to get you out that way. Some might just tell you that you have to be out of the building tomorrow or they'll put you out. None of these tactics are legal. So, if something looks fishy, call legal aid, or t he U.C. Law school Tenant Project, or the Coalition for the Homeless. Call right away. Time is really impo rtant. Be persistent. Burn up the phone. If legal aid is overloaded, as it often is, they will at least tell you who else you can call. Another crucial point is to be sure t o go to court. Even if you don 't think you have a defense. Give it a shot. You 'll at least be allowed to explain your side of the situation on t he record. Some people are scared to death to go in front of an eviction judge. The best example I can think of comes, once again, from the El Rancho. One of the tenants told me that in a pervious case of his the judge sentenced him to two months but suspended the sentence since he had moved out and paid his back rent. I never could figure out where that guy had been but it wasn't Hamilton county Landlord-Tenant court. In the first place the landlord-tenant court is a civil court run by a referee ... not technically even a full fledged judge. T & L court doesn't "You can bet that once they throw out your neighbors they will be coming for you." send people to jail. The worst they can do if you appear is evict you which is what they would do if you didn't appear. If you went berserk in Tenant-Landlord court you probably be found guilty of contempt and jailed. But if you went berserk on the sidewalk in front of th e court house you'd probably get t hrown in jail. Some people worry t hat they might be arrested for some traffic or parking tickets if they appear in Tenant-Landlord court. All I can say is I've never seen anybody collared there ... and I've been th ere pretty often. Civil courts like T & L don 't have the time o r money or mandate to pull the police records of all the peo ple who come t hrough. I doubt I'd appear if I was wanted for bank robbe ry but otherwise you 're prett y safe. A lot of people in t his town t hink that if you don't have money you don't stand any chance in court. So why go? Hamilton County T & L court is pretty pro-landlord. But if you have a valid case you will more than likely be scheduled for a trial in aggrieved brother compared buddy's life to the life of Jesus. In a moving speech, the director of the Drop Inn Center which buddy founded in 1974, told the crowd a story about a media personality who told her cameraman, "Oh, that's nobody" referring to a Drop Inn Center employee. The director went onto say that no one makes sure that the hungry are fed, that the light bills are paid and that the homeless are brought in from the cold. "We are all no one." Buddy's life was seized and destroyed by a neighbor and former client of the Drop Inn Center who came into buddy's office and shot him-ostensibly to stop the voices in his head that told him to kill buddy front ah-ioealjudge. If the referee bends~ law to rule in favor or the Janc:ttorct;afleast your side is on the record and you can appeal. The important thing is that you should attend their hearings. Especially now when big money developers are trying to evict masses of low income renters out of areas like Over-theRhine. A referee might hand down a bogus ruling or two to help out the big money boys. But the same referee will think twice about handing down ten or twenty bad rulings in a short span of time. He will look bad. He will get reversed on appeal. He might get a bad rating when he runs for judge. And believe it or not some referees want to do the right thing. I've seen referees ask questions to clarify the tenant's case so that they can rule for the tenant. In the end, even if you get a bad deal...get screwed real good in court ... wind up evicted, at least you've added to the numbers. Big numbers of bad cases are a lot more likely to co me to t he attention of a higher court or the state legislature. You neve r know. Five years down t he line that big batch of rotten cases might get reexam ined. You might be compensated for what happened. There are some really good civil liberties lawyers who make it t heir business to end legal abuses and get compensation for the victims. It's a long shot but the lottery is a long shot and people play that eve ry day. Finally, get active in your community... especially if t he developers are making a move. There's strength in numbers so join your community council. If you find the developers are trying to evict a building full of your neighbors, get active. Picket, write letters, raise a fuss, get some media attention. You can �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine · Page 11 Is It A Crime to Be Homeless: Part Two by Leslie Horner C inci nnat i Police O fficer questions ho m e less people in Washington Park. On the home front, the United States is in the midst of a crisis. Just before elections last year, President Clinton signed a bill which states-among other blows to the nation's poor and homeless population-that no new government subsidies for housing will be issued this year, and there is no reason to believe that will change in the future. This comes at a time when we are already faced with a scarcity of affordable housing. In Cincinnati, there are 1,800 men and women without homes, 635 emergency shelter beds to accommodate them, and 323 transitional housing units. Other cities around the country are challenged by similar or even greater gaps in affordable housing. Oakland, California has between 4,000 to 8,300 without homes, with an astounding 290 emergency shelter beds(+ 60 in the winter) and 430 transitional housing units to address the problem of homelessness. Since there is this gap between the number of affordable homes available and the number of people in need of homes, it is common sense that those who fall through the cracks and do not find assistance will have no other choice but to make their home on a sidewalk, or in a park, or in an alley, or anywhere else they can feel relatively secure. It also seems obvious that we as citizens and public policy-makers need to work towards creating long-term practical solutions to the number of homeless people we encounter on our streets. Instead, there has been a national trend towards making homelessness a crime, with the adoption of anti-homeless policies and selectively enforcing_existing criminal laws and ordinances. In. December of 1996, The National Law Center of Homelessness and Poverty published a study called Mean Sweeps-A Report on Anti-Homeless Laws, Litigation, and ·Alternatives in 50 United Sta~es Cities. The study looks at civil rights violations against homeless individuals, and case studies in fifty major cities, including four major cities in Ohio: Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. After interviewing homelessness and housing advo~ cates in each of the 50 target cities, the study verified that there is a national trend of creating new anti-homeless ordinances against actions such as sleeping in public places, loitering, and panhandling. For example, Cincinnati has passed ordinances making it illegal to "obstruct" sidewalks and other public ways (i.e. sitting in doorways, resting against a building). Begging in certain areas of the city and "aggressive" . panhandling [to be defined by whom?] have also become criminalized. Yet actions which are trying to prevent the need for begging, such as selling items on public transportation-formerly a major sale area for Streetwise, another homeless newspaper_:have also been prohibited in cities like Chicago. The specific areas in which these ordinances are most strongly enforced are areas of high people-traffic, and especially business areas. Mean Sweeps, in examining ordinances and civil rights violations in Alabama, stated that "the business community . ... believes that the sight of homeless people adversely affects commerce, and is a motivating force behind the recent 1 ordinances." This sentiment seems to be expressed by city officials and wealthy businessowners nationwide, as the general effect of each anti-homeless ordinance is to drive homeless individuals out of sight of the general public. Out of sight, out of Mind?! The actions that are targeted in this national law-making trend are actions that result from very basic human needs. Without a home, and when shelters are filled , where else can a person sleep, but in public places? Battling physical illness, mental confusion, or fatigue, what can a person do but loiter? Experiencing the day-to-day reality of federal, state, and local cutbacks in funding for social service programs, what can a person do but ask another person for spare_change? Let's pretend, just for fun, that these ordinances-and the selective enforcement of laws such as public intoxication-are not blatant infringements on every American's (homeless or with a home) constitutional right. Then, what is the point? What are they accomplishing? They certainly are not cost-effective, considering the costs of police time and resources. The average cost, in 1993, of "housing" someone in jail (not including processing costs) was slightly higher than the cost of providing transitional housing (including food , transportation, and counseling services). [Information from U.S. Dept. of Justice and U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development] The court costs of civil rights challenges to the ordinances alone will reach phenomenal levels. - I . Secondly, the ordinances only provide shortterm answers for the problem of homelessness, and actually create barriers to self-sufficiency. I Ottaway Washington Death Still Under Investigation I by Donald Whitehead :; /' Though death is a reality for all that are born in the world, sometimes it seems that by some act of kindness, it c;ould have just possibly been prevented. The nightmare of day to day existence for homeless individuals in this country are even scarier in the winter. The winter brings new demons to deal with and new dangers to avoid. Sometimes those demons catch up and the dangers are unavoidable. On an evening in December, Mr. Ottaway Washington was discovered unconscious and bleeding in an alley by a security guard at Tender Mercies a transitional housing facility for hom·eless individuals suffering from mental illness. The security guard flagged down a police car and informed an officer of Mr. Wash ington's situation. The officer preceded on his way promising to check out the situation. Several hours later the security guard, making his rounds again, was shocked to find Mr. -Washington lying in the exact same place in the exact same position, there was one difference however. This time Mr. Washington was dead. Mr. Washington's death seems to have been to say the least preventable. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless has asked I the Cincinnati City Council and the Safety Director for a full scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Washington's I death and the conduct of the offic~r that received the report on his conditfon. Our office received a response from Mayor Roxanne Qualls promising t tlat our request for a full scale investigatio~ would be honored. At press time calls to the Safety Director's office were answered with informat ion stating that the investigation was being handled by the Internal Investigations Unit. ·/ I �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 12 Catch the Streetvibes Cable Show and Radio Hour Vendor Profile: Berta-lambert by James Heath "-._ Berta Lambert is our STREETVIBES vendor of the month for February. Berta has strong ties to the Over-The-Rhine community where he is a current resident and so-cial _ activist. In addition to being a top STREETVIBES vendor, Berta remains active in many social causes that bring attention to the plight of the poor and the disenfranchised in his community. Some of Berta's notable past accomplishments include walking in the Great Peace March across America, the Poor Peoples March to Columbus, ana carrying the Olympic . Torch this past year. Selling STREETVIBES gives him the freedom to be vital as a community activist and make a living at the same time ... Thanks to Those Who .Helped We would like to thank all those who helped make th is-first issue of Streetvibes a . success. Jerry Galvin and Amy Dwyer of Galvin Kemper Advertising helped with the new design for the paper an d gave helpful hints on layout. Bob Bullock of RJ Bullock Consulting helped us with the computer end of the layout and helped us out of a tough spot when our computer broke down. Dan Weitzel of Press Community News is our contact at the printers and has given us good advice on printing the paper. Tom Choquette and Kristi Schulenberg of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Campaign for Human Development gave us a generous grant to subsidize the paper in its early stages. Most importantly, the paper is a result of the dedicated vendors on the Street Newspaper Committee_and the Homeless Coalition Staff who have provided the energy and ideas to make this dream a reality. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is proud to announce "Street Vibes," a talk show dealing with issues related to homelessness has began airing in the Greater Cincinnati area. The show is hosted by Donald Whitehead and features people who experience homelessness first hand, either through their work, or through actually being homeless. The show is filmed live every second Monday of the month. The staff at Cincinnati Community Video have given rave reviews on the shows' first three episodes. The Coalition also has started a live radio program that can be heard on WAIF radio on the second Saturday of each month at noon. This show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford, and Donald Whitehead. Both of these projects along with "Street Vibes the newspaper are the Coalition's continued effort to bring issues causing and effec~ing homelessness to the public's awareness. If you would like to help with show ideas, be a guest, or write a story please contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 4 21-7803. The following is a list of viewing dates for the cable show in February. Channel 7 Live February I0: 7:00 p.m. _ Channel I0 Taped February 3: 6:30 p.m. February 6: 9:00 a.m February 9: 4:00 p.m. February 16: 4:00 p.m. February 27: · 9:00 a.m. Streetvibes Radio, WAIF 88.3 fm February 8: 12 noon ' Homeless Memorial a Chilling Reminder by Leslie Horner Homeless Memorial Day is a time set aside for people who are with or without homes to recognize the fact that many Americans suffer living on our streets. In an age which seems to be increasingly dictated by comfort, we Americans usually find no shortage of things to complain about-not finding a parking space close to the mall; having to wait fifteen minutes in the check-out lane at the grocery;' etc. On December 19, a night with temperatures close to zero, about thirty people gathered in Washington Park, trying to squeeze into the circle to feel the warmth of the shanty-style fire, squinting half in pain at the wind and half in pain at the glaring light of a television camera. · Not one person spoke of his/ her discomfort. Dr. Robert Donovan, from the Homeless Health Van, read a list of nineteen names of people who either died on the streets or died as advocates for Cincinnati's poor. He spoke slowly, pausing for peoples remembrances-silent or spoken. These men and women died without homes , or died struggling to ensure the basic right of homes for all. Richard Bachelor James Murphy Owen Byrnes Ernie Mynatt Susan Byrnes Grace Raines ---- ester Clark RaySh~e~pra arrcr-~~-=-~~~~- Ricky Cobble James Smith William Cooper TC Stewart Frank Espy William Tapp buddy gray Ottoway Washington Kenneth Joiner EE Williams Ricardo Lopez Some of the names were easily recognized by all; others were known to just a few. All names were greeted with humility, because each one of these people never had the luxury of worrying of the things that trouble the rest of us. Still Needed We are still in need of several items to make our operation run 'more smoothly: Stories and Letters, on IBM disk if possible Volunteer Typists and Copy Editors, people with access to IBM computers Copier Mini Van to Transport Vendors Funds to Buy Aprons and Badges for the Vendors, aprons cost $6 each and badges cost $1 each Advocates gather before a warming fire for Homeless Memorial Day 1996. Photo by Berta Lambert. � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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 Paper Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 1997 Vol 1, issue 1 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 1997 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Issue covering: commemorating buddy gray, homeless shelter issues, homeless narratives Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Penny Caudle Pat Clifford Denise Crew David Dietz Mary Ann Gleason Jude' Haley Leslie Horner Tom Mulroy Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Shaddon Melissa Tuckey Kate Uhlir Spencer Wells Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newspaper Type The nature or genre of the resource PDF Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Bonnie Neumeier buddy gray David Dietz Denise Crew domestic violence Donald Whitehead Gregory Payton homeless Jude' Haley Kate Uhlir Leslie Horner Lynn Williams Mary Ann Gleason Melissa Tuckey Pat Clifford Penny Caudle Shaddon shelter Spencer Wells Tom Mulroy https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/ded14b2511067409e18de0636c0686b0.pdf 2b9157bbec1ef009c0fb68d9f07857c8 PDF Text Text Special Disaster Teams Serve Flooded Communities by Caroline Lucas~ The Flood of 1997 caused many to loose their homes and possessions . This is a shot looking east on Rt. 52 from the Suspension Bridge at the crest of the flood. Photo by James Heath. Salvation Army On behalf of the Special Disaster Tearns from Southwest Ohio and Northeast Kentucky, Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Divisions of the Salvation Army, a "Heartfelt Thank You" goes out to the many communities-(in Ohio and Kentucky)-who responded to their displaced neighbors with compassion and generosity in this time of great need. Without support .from the companies who donated food, supplies and tra~sporta­ tion, or the hundreds of volunteers who helped to unload trucks, sort and distribute, The Salvation Army would not have been able to provide more than 24,000 meals to victims and relief workers. Service was provided to thousands of affected families and relief worke rs in eight counties in our area. The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Warehouse in Northside remains in operation ,and continues to meet the needs of the affected communities during the flood recovery phase of the disaster operation. During the height of the flood, Mobile Canteen Units and Emergency Disaster Relief Personnel provided immediate assistance such as hot meals, cleaning supplies and water to hard hit areas. "The Salvation Army is here to help the victims and rescuers in any way we can. We want people to know that there is a shoulder to lean on that cares about them and their families. Our job now is to help clean up and assist in getting peoples' lives back to a normal existence," stated Tim Sheehan, Disaster Servic~s Director for SW Ohio and NE Kentucky. City Hall Goes on a Demolition Spree in OTR by_Lynn Williams and Donald Whitehead In the United States there are 11.2 million low-income renters and 6.5 million low-income housing units, that equals 4.5 million renters without places to rent. With the defending of many housing programs and reductions of others, we face a growing housing shortage. For the first time in 20 years there are no new Section ? certificates, metropolitan housing authorities all across the country are reducing and demolishing units. At a time when we must preserve housing at all cost, some neighborhoods are forced to watch as buildings go down at a feverish pace., Over-the-Rhine is just one of those neighborhoods where demolitions have become ·an everyday event. The telltale signs were obvious on that Wednesday afternoon when we walked past 215 Woodward Street. Yellow ropes around the area and no parking signs for the next two days. The next day on a spring-like, sunny day, the sounds of the wrecking ball demolishing an OTR building, 215 Woodward Street, affirmed the fact. Yet another building of our neighborhood was being torn down, most likely to be made into a parking lot. Our OTR Community Council President, Nannie Hinkston, had received an appeal notice only the day before. No notice was given to tenants in the buildings next door. Although the demolition hearing was lost in favor of tearing the building down, OTR Community Council legally had 15 days to appeal the decision. When staff called the Housing Inspections department, their response was that it was an "emergency" demoli- Demolition in progress at 21 5 Woodward Street in ·Over-the-Rhine. Photo by James Heath. tion and that the decision was made overnight. When the building went down, the neighboring tenants had to deal with possibly · toxic dust, potential lead exposure for their children and inadequate precautions against children in the demolition zone. It is these types of hazards which proper notice is supposed to prevent. This is not the first time this has happened recently. There have been five "emergency" demolitions, without any process or hearings, in the past two months in OTR. The OTR Community Council or neighbors received no notice. We are outraged that the City is not abiding by its own laws on hearings and honoring the appeal process. In addition, this area is called a Housing Retention District, which means that there are special hearings and fees attached to demolitions in the area. Oddly enough, the only way that this district does not apply is for an "emergency" demolition. The recent demolitions show a complete lack of respect for the residents of OTR, and also our OTR Community Council. Landlords w~o speculate and let their buildings deteriorate to the point of tearing down who make a bigger profit from parking lots are being given the green light. We are urging anyone concerned about what is going on to call us. at 381-2956 or 381-4242. This is an article reprinted from the Over-the-Rhine Community Council Newsletter �STREETVIBES Tl1e Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the-Homeress Is a group of shelters, -agencies and individuals committed -to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or 'have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrina, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Leslie Horner Berta Lambert Writers Cathy A. Dew Bird Tim Burroughs F.J.C. Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Wanda Eicher Jennifer Kaz Sheree Kelly Estee Lacky Derek Landers Zollie Long Caroline Lucas Myron Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Jennifer Summers Jean Taddie The Traveler Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Volunteer Editor Kimberly T enai Refer all stories or inquiries to: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch Pagel Eviction -court Looks Down· on Poor by Tim Burroughs The legal process contributes significantly to the process of displacement. Although the court may not buy low income apartment buildings, raise the cost of rent, or force people to move, it is designed to favor those who have resources and power. Observations of court procedures revealed an environment unlikely to result in a fair outcome. The Municipal Hearings Court, where eviction cases are held, creates an intimidating environment for the defendant. I recently sat through a morning of eviction proceedings. For those who haven't . had a chance to do this recently, here is how it went: The process involved a court magistrate who acted as the judge. She was sitting at the traditional seat, elevated significantly above the floor level, with two other court room ~ork­ ers on each side of her. Again, the two were above the floor level, although lower than the women "in charge." In front of the judge's platform were two podiums with microphones. This is where the landlord and possibly a lawyer stood (at the right hand of the judge) and then to the left of them the resident stood. Already subject to eviction under the law, the charged resident had to face a position of inferiority. The environment communicated a sterile, callous, legal manner with which cases were going to be dealt. Feelings of human compassion were not revealed. Unequal representation characterized the procedures of the Municipal Hearings Court. Both the landlord and the residents were expected to show up at the court date. If the resident did not show up cases were dismissed and the eviction process continued. Many of the landlords, especially the large land holders, had with them a lawyer. An attorney was there representing CMHA. Three residents out of the 15 to 20 showed up to defend themselves against CMHA and none of them had a lawyer. In another case a lady showed up to defend herself, but the landlord did not. She was asked to come back another day. The lady waited an hour to be heard and then she was turned away until the next week. If she had not shown, the eviction process would ' have continued. When the landlord missed, she had to arrange to come back later. Court procedures were done systematically. Although there are several cases each morning, the systematic nature of the process disregards the individual and the specific circumstances of their situation. The landlords are called up first and all their tenants are dealt with before the next landlord is called up. From my perspective, it looked as if each landlord had done this many times before. It was very hard to hear, even though I was in the front row. There is a specific set of questions and answers that are gone through for each eviction case. I could not catch them all...several people went through the process in a short time. The systematic style of dealing with peoples' homes leaves little room for an understanding of the consequence the decision will have. The court is not interested in knowing how long you have lived in the neighborhood, how many children you have, or how you lost your job. Rather, if you are behind in rent, the judge says, "The landlord has the right to ask you t;o leave." If a resident is behind in rent, unless the landlord has compassion, one should not look to the court. All in all, there seems to be no need for a !judge in eviction court, a computer could evaluate the data and determine if, by law, the resident may have a home. Low income individuals experience a severe disadvantage because of their socio-economic status. There is no accounting for financial or health conditions. Until changes are made, we have a system where evictees in Cincinnati have little incentive to show up for their own hearing. Somerville Cornrn.News/CPF 1llE uS SOCIAL. .;'1'Sffi,\ t<; J.f FAULT, AND WE "1USJ ALL JvRY IS SD.;E~ED 91Ai<E "™E BLAME. Veterans May be Eligible for a Variety of Programs Some statistics state that one third of the single homeless population are military veterans. It is important to reach out to these veterans with a variety of services. Homeless veterans may be eligible for a residential chemical dependency program and/ or a mental health care program. The VA in Cincinnati offers alcohol or drug abuse treatment, benefits counseling, supportive counseling, case management services, medical and mental health care and vocational' referrals and assessments. "We at the VA do care about the homeless," said Iola Green of the VA. If you are interested in any of these programs, contact Iola Green, MSSW every Thursday from 8 am to 3:30 pm or call the Drop Inn Center at 721-0643 or VAMC Homeless Program at 475-6329. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 3 Where Does It Go From Here?: Homelessness from the People's Perspective by Donald Whitehead There are many theories about where we are headed in this country. According to most forecasters, the future of homeless and lowincome people is considerably bl.eak. In its efforts to balance the budget, the United States government has decided that it will no longer be responsible for the poor, the disabled, the children or the elderly. Recent legislation, which cuts spending, has targeted those with the least resources. Welfare Reform is also called "Welfare Deform" or the "Homeless Creation Bill" by many advocates, and it is feared to have a devastating effect on people without homes in this country. Cuts in Hud appropriations, the downsizing of public housing, losses of project-based Section 8 housing and a widening gap in affordable housing will have a negative effect on those with homes. Although the opinions of advocates, who fight everyday to end this attack on the poor and disenfranchised, are much needed and extremely valuable, it is impossible to feel the true sense of hopelessness unless you h~ar from the homeless themselves. The following is an attempt to let you hear from those directly involved. When I first began this article, I had some preconceived notions about what people's responses would be. I feel that I am truly in touch with people without homes, being formerly without a home myself. In addition, as an outreach worker, I am in constant contact with people without homes. The people I talked to came from many different age groups, races and ethnic backgrounds. In order to keep from scaring people away, I decided to keep this a very simple interview. In fact, I asked only two questions: "Were do you feel you'll be in three years?" and "Where do you feel homelessness will be in three years?" While most people felt that their personal lives would improve (this was especially true for the females I interviewed), most people thought that homeless conditions would worsen. Some people had well-laid-out three-year plans. For example, one woman in her mid-twenties said, "I will have enough money to move back to Louisville in three months. In six months, I will meet a man that doesn't think I'm a punching bag, and three years from now, we'll be married." I then waited for her to say "and we'll live happily ever after," but the fairy-tale ending never came. Instead, she went on to discuss in detail the new welfare cuts, cuts to SSI and cuts in public housing. She also explained her fear about working mothers losing child care subsidizes. "If people don't have baby-sitters, they can't possibly work. That wrong. It seems like they are trying to put people on welfare, not take them off," she said with a tone that had turned suddenly angry. Some people thought welfare reform was good. "If they can't get them checks no more, they gonna have to get busy," said a long-time shelter resident, obviously annoyed by my intrusion as he read a magazine in the public library. My next answer came from a young woman finishing her lunch at the DropInn-Center. "I just hope that people will wake up and stop living off the system," the woman said, seeming puzzled when I asked about her situation. "Oh, me, I'm just gonna be here for a couple of days. I'm not like these other people''. The most common sentiment I encountered was fear. In more than fifty interviews, I heard the fear of death expressed far too many times. The fear I heard was the fear you feel in the pit of your stomach before the big game, a fear so heavy that it's paralyzing in its intensity. "People gonna start doing whatever to survive, man. You might start getting yo groceries snatched at ,~be grocery store" remarked a gentlemen from the Drop-InnCenter treatment program. This is a very frightening statement from someone who should be one of the most optimistic among people without homes. I even heard fear from the fearless. "I ain't never seen it this bad. All kinds of women and kids at soup kitchens. Pretty soon there ain't gonna be enough soup kitchens and then people be dying in the street," said a selfproclaimed hobo, long thought to be the most fearless among people without homes. I found this interview intriguing. I had never met a self-proclaimed hobo before. Actually there were three of them, all telling me that in three years they would all still be "ridin' the rails" as they hurried away. For many, one reason for fear was the untimely and tragic death of buddy gray. "With buddy gone, we don't have nobody talkin' for us," replied a Hispanic male in Washington Park. There was also talk about homeless hate crimes. "They been arresting homeless folk in other cities. It will be happening here pretty soon. Just wait and see," said a panhandler in front of a downtown Walgreens store. Other people spoke of Armageddon, a race war , revolutions and the second coming of Jesus. The common thread, however, in all the interviews was fear- fear of the unknown. When I asked how homeless people feel about the future, their answer was loud and clear: fear, unprecedented fear. Let us hope that the people without homes are as wrong as the so-called experts. And let us hope that things don't turn out the way the real experts think. Our job as advocates is to take the homeless's fear and transform it into anger. The fear can be paralyzing, but if the fear becomes anger, it can be positively used to organize and mobilize people into a force to be heard. In many instances in the United States, it was only after people's fear became anger and that anger spurred organized, non-violent mobilization that there was change. Poor people's voices are sometimes whispers and therefore easily ignored. It is only when the whispers join together and become a roar that change can and will happen. Children Must Cope with Homelessness ·and Flood by Jennifer Kaz In the midst of Cincinnati's latest natural disaster, local and national media efficiently covered the devastating physical damage of the flood and the horrors of financial ruin. However, once again the invisible victims of homelessness-the children-remained unseen. Their young worlds, which depend on structure and the stability of adults, were drowned in the chaos. With many of their homes condemned and their schools closed, the children grew increasingly frightened and confused. This traumatic experience was exemplified in the makeshift Resource Center that was once the New Richmond Boys and Girls Club, where brothers and sisters clung to each other while parents sought assistance in rebuilding their lives. Recognizing the need to help children, Project Connect, a program focusing on education for homeless children and youth, became involved. By distributing essential school supplies, providing information on educational rights and assessing obstacles, Project Connect brought children's issues into focus. In addition, the Project Connect team offered a supportive and stress-free environment for children while parents dealt with the numerous governmental agencies present at the center. Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinators were impressed with Project Connect's services for homeless children and indicated they had never before worked with an organization addressing children's educational issues. As disheartening as that comment may be, it has forced many to think about the invisible victims, the children. Through greater community awareness and involvement, the homeless children and youth will hopefully be seen and heard by all. . If you would like to help, contact Project Connect #3"7_r:..no �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 4 Welfare Workforce by Jean Taddie One of the primary goals of the new federal welfare reform law is to get people off of the welfare roles and into jobs. At the same time that cash, food stamp, and child day-care benefits are being reduced, recipients of welfare are being required to work as a condition of their benefits. According to a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, "Under TANF, the required work hours generally will rise from an average of 20 hours weekly in 1997 to 25 hours in 1999 and ultimately 'increase to 30 in 2000." If no jobs are available for welfare recipients, they will be put to work by the government doing community service work. Since the new federal reform is dependent on jobs, it is very necessary that there be good jobs available. People on welfare often lack the skills that are in high demand. Without these skills, it is more difficult to find a job with benefits that pays enough to raise a family. Learning more marketable skills could help people, unfortunately, federal welfare reform does not protect the education of our nation's low-income workforce. Federal welfare reform repeals the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training OOBS) program. The JOBS program helped welfare recipients to get education and training so they could qualify for a better job. The federal law does not provide for a replacement program. In addition, Federal law provides no exception to the 30-hour work rules for people who are trying to get an education. This means that in addition to classes, studying, and raising their kids, parents will have to work at least 30 hours every week. Welfare reform largely ignores any federal responsibility to educate the welfare recipients who are being sent into the workforce. The federal government may also be ignoring the future of its workforce. Workforce 2000, a landmark employment study commissioned by the Department of Labor, received a lot of attention after it was released in 1987. The study uncovered demographic shifts in the population of workers: women and minorities are entering the workforce at higher rates, the average age of workers is getting older. The study also recognized that jobs requiring higher skills are growing faster than unskilled jobs. Shortly after the study was released, William E. Brock, the Secretary of Labor 198587, expressed his concern for the future. "The workers of the future will have to be better educated and better trained than our current labor force, or we will be unable to maintain a leadership position in the high technology industries and services that offer the greatest promise for America's continued prosperity." There was much discussion and debate in the years after Workforce 2000 was published. But ten years later, as we stand on the brink of the 21st century, little has been done to ensure that the poorest of our nation's workers will receive the education they need. Federal welfare reform penalizes people who are trying to get an education for a better life by imposing rigid work requirements and by eliminating the federal program that provided job training and education. As we approach the new millennium, it Estee Lackey testifies before the Ohio House of Representatives Budget Committee. Photo by Katy Heins. Stereotypes Become Obvious at State Welfare Hearing by Estee Lackey Recently I traveled to our state capitol as a volunteer for the Welfare Rights Coalition. Upon arrival, my group was pushed into a packed room, which was full of Department of Human Service people, the budget committee itself, and others who had issues to bring to the hearing. Because all the seats in the audience were taken, we were ushered into empty committee seats. This seemed beneficial for those of us who had brought children but didn't have adequate child care. We sat patiently as the Department of Human Service spoke for three hours, two speakers per hour. The budget committee was very rude. Upon announcement of free lunch, almost all of the members left. The chair of the committee, Joan Lawrence, stated that she didn't blame them for going. This left only Lawrence and her vice-chair representative, Carey, present. They then shuffled all of us from Cincinnati, one person from Columbus and two people from Cleveland into a line for the few minutes of speaking time that they allowed us. We had our say, and then they requested that we wait so they could ask us some questions. It turns out that they really didn't have any questic;;ns at all for us as a group. They stated that they understood our goal for guaranteed child care and that they agreed with us. The vice chairman then said that he had a question for me, the young lady. I was ready t<» answer any statistical question, but I did not have the opportunity. The vice chairman only asked me why I am 19 and have two children. I stated that the background information I had given before was as far as I was going. I also told him that I was a representative for the low-income working poor of Hamilton County and that I was there to focus only on my concern for guaranteed ·child care subsidies. The vice chairman's question startled the others in the room, and even Joan Lawrence stated that she thought his question was rude and invalid. Later when I was leaving, many others approached me to tell me they thought that I handled the question extremely well. Some of the people even stated that they probably would have been rude to him for asking such a stupid and private question. I will say that overall I felt really good stating my views on an issue that is important in my life. I also feel good that there are people such as the Welfare Rights Coalition to push me to be concerned about issues that effect me and my community. ~ a The card below is also being passed out at food stamp offices and Human Services in Hamilton County!! Cash Assistance ... is more important than ever to have a trained and educated workforce. Federal welfare reform should give more emphasis to the needs of the poorest for education and meaningful job training. Welfare reform should work with existing high school, college, and vocational education programs. Instead, these programs are threatened. According to Brock, "Society must concentrate more employment and training resources, private as well as public, on young ...welfare families because they can benefit most from such help." In the end, the greatest promise for America's continued prosperity is a workforce that is well trained, students who are well educated, and children who are well cared for. t ... is m re·mparary! In Ohio, you can get TANF for only 36 months. 60·month period Usrmo,.,b _ _ __ Firsrmor.lh Cross out a month below each time you get a wi:lfore clicck. 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 H 13 12 11 10 98 7654321 ~is running out..• ~ to find ajob! f f f �------···- STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 5 Vendor: Create a Holiday for Homeless Helpers . - by Gregory Payton To Whom It May Concern : I would like to dedicate one day out of the year to the homeless and to those citizens who commit themselves to. people they don't even know by choosing to use their hearts for someone other than themselves. They volunteer. They come together in churches and ,agencies. They~re part of communities. They see with the heart and touch with their feelings of compassion. They are very emotional around Thanksgiving and Christmas. They will go out of the way to help put coins or even dollars in the ·cups of the people who have not. When you're doing a iob and it takes three hands, they offer two of theirs. They don't accept money or gratuity. They try to disappear before you have a chance to say or show your thanks. These people are special; they rise to any occasion. The love in their hearts flows to those whom they touch. Their kindness cannot be measured. Their grace can STREETVIBES Back In Time OTR ·Groups Keep Pushing Intersection Action A reprint of an article from VOICES, March - April 1975 Ten months ·ago, an Over-the-Rhine (0T-R) community effort was begun to change the intersection at Findlay, McMicken and Vine. The purpose was to make it safer for pedestrians and t~ffic. Right now, still, it is a death trap, but 0-T-R people and their groups are still pushing hard for maior changes. The community effort was begun in April 1974, with a VOICES newspaper report on the deadly problem. Then, last summer and fall Ouly - Sept. 74), 0-T-R people formed a Safe Streets Committee to push City Hall and their Traffic Dept. for action. First we from the Committee were told by the Dept. Head: "nothing could be done." So we began gathering community support behind our effort and we drew up our own plan for making Vine St. safe. (Our plan includes 5 new crosswalk lights on Vine St. and a complete change at that deadly intersection with an all pedestrian green light there.). be seen from afar._They never use the word why. The deed is to please. So I say to the readers of this column and to the people of Cincinnati, we need to be the first to express our thanks, to show the state and the country. We have citizens in the , Queen City that have yet to see or learn of the changes. -But we have citizens that obligate themselves to the change of helping others, contributing, and giving and sharing from the heart. Regardless of what it may be, they do a part. My task is to ask, for those who oppose, a cheer, a clap, an applaud, that they might not think it necessary . We need a day to give THANKS to these people, who have heart, and to God, who has shared and given these people to us in Cincinnati, with his love. They constantly remind us of unselfishness, thoughtfulness, a' certain strength and a , passionate desire to do God's work. A salute to you, who fit these shoes, and to the many more who would iust try. I thank you from my heart. That helped to get the Traffic Dept. head men moving. Their next position (Nov. - Dec 74) was: "something was going to be done." But we didn't sit back to rest when we heard that. We kept spreading the worked thru our community, getting more support. (The 0-TR plan is now backed by the following people( organizations: Findlay-Madonna Counci I, Joyful-Together Block Club, Wesley Chapel Center, Senior Citizens Center, Contact Center, 0-T-R Task Force, 0-T-R Community Council, and VOICES newspaper). , Our united forces turned In to the city a final plan Oan. 15th) for street safety changes that affect more than iust Vine St. Now, City Hall is supposed to hold a meeting soon to vote on our plan. We want to have many of us from 0-T-R at that meeting. It will soon be one year since the VOICES arti<71e first brought the deadly Vine St. problems to City Hall's attention. In the last year, there have been one death, one permanently-disabling iniury, and two other less serious injuries on this section o.f Vine St. Our community's hard work has put forth a safety plan. We want immediate action by City Hall to approve our plan and start the changes on our streets ..... before there are any more victims. Handwrjtten illustration from the original story. Housing Trust Fund Supporters Must Speak Out Permanent Funding Plan is in Trouble The Governors proposed permanent funding for the Housing Trust Fund through a 50% increase in the recordation fee. This was expected to generate $16.9 million in the first year and $22.5 million ' in year two. The proposal also included $3 million in general revenue funds and $5.5 million a year in interest earnings from the Human Services Rainy Day Fund. The Governor's proposal for the Housing T ru.st Fund is expected to generate a two year total of $56.4 million, a significant increase over the $26 million in the · current budget. While the Governor's proposal is supported by over 700 local government officials, businesses and organizations as well as many in the legislature, many others do not like the recordation fee mechanism, they do not like the state investing in affordable housing at all, or they think the program is growing too fast. We need to combat these arguments. Legisla. tors are not hearing enough from supporters. • Its critical to call or FAX legislators NOW!!! • Push them to adopt the Governors proposal. • Have board members, housing industry and other community leaders speak to legislators in support of the Housing Trust Fund as well. · • Contact should be made with both your State Senators and Ohio House Of Representatives. • If there is not an outpouring of support for the Governors Housing Trust Fund proposal it won't pass • For more information on the Housing Trust Fund contact COHHIO at (61.4) 2801984 �. 'STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 6 STREETVIBES Editorial Page Homelessness is a Disaster Too 0 0 . 0 , - 80 0 by Donald Whitehead It's amazing how it takes disaster for people to understand what compassion is all . about. Many experts say America is experiencing compassion fatigue. During these last few days, I have seen .that, as usual, the socalled experts are wrong. In greater Cincinnati and· Northern Kentucky, I have witnessed true heroism and unconditional love displayed over and over by thousand of citizens in this · community. People who have been forced into homelessness through no fault of their own have been attended to with food, clothing and love. America does care! The Flood of 1997 brought the true spirit of .care and thoughtfulness out of the woodwork. The flood was so unexpected that several people lost their lives. My heart goes out to all of those who have experienced lost during this time ~of unanticipated disaster. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families that suffer. I personally am truly enthused by the fact that the experts are wrong and Americans do care. At the same . time, I find myself disturbed. When I see heroic acts by strangers, when I see co-workers donating time, money and resources, I feel proud to be an American. But I also feel confused. I feel confused because I don't understand why I don't see this same kind of mass mobilization to benefit the homeless: When I ask this question, many people say that it is not the same, that people in the flood have no control over their circumstances.- That's where they are wrong. It is exactly the same! Most homeless people have no control over their circumstances. The biggest reason for homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. I'm sure if ·those living in shelters made government funding decisions, they would choose to build low-income housing instead of subsMizing millionaire developers. Other people argue that a flood is a tragedy. They also ask how can you relate a tragic flood to homelessness. I say that living in abandoned buildings, under bridges and being burned in storage shelters is as tragic as it gets. Our mind set must change. We must stop blaming people who are often forced into unbelievably horrible living conditions. The mainstream media would have us believe that the homeless are bad people because it makes it much easier to ignore them. The word homeless itself brings up images that are not pleasant. I choose to call them people without homes because many people without homes are very pleasant indeed. The largest growing sector of the population of people without homes is women and children. Children make up 27% of the .people without homes. Just like the 1997 flood victims, these kids didn't see it coming either. -Youth Councils Needed for Pcisitive Change by Zollie Long Thinking back I must have taken one look and had decided that I did not want any part of it. But as I look at how life have been for others. Then I take another look at mine. Then I see that its not as bad as others, that are not near as old as I am. Something that I found is still difficult for me to face, is that we as adults don't have the time to hear what young adults have to say to us today. So I come to you to ask that we show them the true way, when I say the true way, I mean how it works, and that's this life we live, and that's living life on life's terms. There are I00,000 young adults that are homeless in t he United States, because t hey feel that no one cares or that wants to listen to them, and what they have to say. So I say to you, just for today we as adults must give them something to look forward to, that to allow them to become a part of the community. And what takes place within it. and that's to allow them to form their own community council, so that they can have any input into what goes on in their community today. make them feel needed, lets them know that they are a very big part of our community as it is today. By letting them get involved they can learn one of the most important parts of life, and living life on life terms, and that's knowing about economics and how strongly it affects their lives each and everyday. - We must help them to see how underlying conditions, have lagged behind. That with a community council of their own as young adults those lagging conditions can be changed. So I come to, the young adults ·of each and every community, to say to you what's going on with your future and how you can control it~ Get involved in your own lives And be a part of this world. join the young adult community council and have a say so to what ·happens here as you see it happen to you. There will be more on this in the next issue!! In My Humble Opinion Satire You might of heard, as a gesture of kindness, Hamilton County is extending one month of food stamps to victims of the flood. This might seem generous to some, but I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Next thing you know, you will have.all sorts of people moving into flood plains. Not working. Just waiting there for the next opportunity to cash in on those food stamps. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if all homeless people aren't planning some way to flood their neighborhoods just to get in ori the action. I think we need tough flood reform. What we need is some way to divert some of this flood attention to something really worthwhile. Believe me, I am sympathetic to those who lost everything to the flood. However, t here are more pressing priorities here, In the co nstantly shifting world of stadium site locations there has been one common sense development as a result of the flood. Rumo'r has it that tfle Bengals want to move their new stadium closer to th.e river and build the thing out of water soluable bricks. That way every few years they would have to build a whole new stadium. The City could chalk it up to an act of nature so that we wouldn't have to go through another special election again and again. However, the repeated flooding would have to be guaranteed in writing. And no one will be allowed to put a tax on the tickets they would sell to people watching the stadium dissolve in the flood. In reality, the flood is probably the biggest tourist attraction downtown has had in some . time. All those people taking pictures. Some are considering permanently flooding sections of Downtown and creating a domed flood museum with real live mud and destruction. Phil Heilmich was opposed, however, because the water would short out his surveillance camera network. Personally, I think the flood was easiest on the homeless. You are not worried about a waterlogged home or lots of belongings. And one the water is gone, you can move back under the bridge ·with little cleanup work.They should really count their blessings, you know. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Letters Myr o n c /o St ree't vibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 We · will attempt to answer all letters in a timely manner. Dear Homeless. • • Sharing the ·Vision by Myron Dear Myron, What do you think the homeless, mentally ill or not, need from the medical profession? A. Gelke This is a very good question. First I wou ld like certain professionals to come together fo r the homeless cause. We need a docto r, a dentist, social worker, psychiatrist, and nurse under one roof , 24 hours a day. They shou ld provide medical services and act as a referral system. They shou ld direct the flow of people that are becoming homeless everyday. Tnis would be a volunteer service that every professional could sign up to do as volunteers. Thank you for a very important question . Myron Dear Homeless •.. accept s letters. Please s e nd yo ur q u e s tio n s to : by Wanda Eicher The vision of our community became clear to me in the fall of 1972: All low-income and homeless folks have the right to decent, clean, affordable housing. This vision has not changed: The different agencies within the city must subscribe to t he basic needs of the poor. All . the interagency turmoil must become focused on two basic beliefs. These beliefs are "All are created equal" and "All sho uld be treated with respect and be given dignity." We must cooperate with each other to maximize the help given to our brothers and sisters. Those t,hroughout the tri-state who profess to believe in a God must ask what the Lord would do. Remember to ask this question when making decisions that affect the lowincome and homeless folks of our community. As we face the new millennium, those who are interested only in money and property must begin to understand that the decisions they make regarding the poor will have eternal consequences. I have spent 25 years in the belief that what I do and the decisions I make affect my brothers and sisters in many ways. I choose to share and live the vision! Page 7 . Keep Up the Good Work, -Streetvi bes! To Whom This May Concern: First of all, I would like to tell you what a wonderful newspaper you put out to educate the people of Greater Cincinnati regarding this alarming issue, homelessness. I feel that this is a problem that we need to identify ourselves with and at the same time, do something about. We need to stop for a moment and ask ourselves how and why something like this has happened. These peopie out there are someone's brother, sister, uncle, aunt, mother and father. S~ why are they homeless? Whatever happened to my brother's keeper? Family should always keep family. These people are my family! We have all been put here by one being, an~ we as human beings should look out for one another. No matter what the color of our skin or the clothes we wear, we all come from the same recipe. I purchased my first issue of your magazine at a grocery store in Clifton on March 15, and I took it home and read it. .1 did not put it down until I read it all. I purchased this issue from a young man named Gregory Payton. As I walked away, he asked that I read it and if I had any feedback, I should write or talk to him the next time we saw each other. I read an arti~le that especially caught my attention and really hit home. It was entitled "Another Way of Life.-" I had tears in my eyes by the time I finished the article. You see, I once was homeless. And the funny thing is, I can't even remember how it all happened! I just remember having nothing and wondering how I would survive through it all. I prayed a lot and did a whole lot of soul searching. I just want to let you and anyone who is reading this know that there are people out there who care and will help. But first we must help ourselves. I think a step has been taken by publishing such a wonderful newspaper. I will support this cause by any means necessary and strongly encourage the communities involved, as well. We need to stand together as brothers and sisters and get more involved with this issue. It will not go away, it will only get worse. Stay strong, - Cathy A. Subscribe to Streetvi bes Saturday, April 26, _1997 • 2:00 to 5:00 PM -- Kelly Auditorium, Xavier University • Presentation of the 1997 Mccrackin Awards / for outstanding local efforts for peace and justice • Video Selections by Tim Kraus on Rev. Maurice Mccrackin by Barba ra Wolf on buddy gray •Music by Rev. Todd O'Neal and Singers • Food provided by EarthSave and friends For transportation from Over-the-Rhine to Xavier, call Rev. Hinckley at 721-7339. Sponsored by PeaceWorks Subscriptions to Streetvibes cam be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. If you have any questions , call th~ office at 421-7803. J L �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE STREET Why Am I So Without a Home Tired? by Sheree Kelly by F.J.C. Come walk with me, along the way And learn to live from day to day It is so weary to be alone Cold and hungry without a home I know you look with jaundice eye Not caring whether I live or die I know you ~ish I would be somewhere You wouldn't have to s~e or care Turn your head so you will not ~ee The dreaded homeless such as me Walk down any given street A homeless person there you'll meet . Do not avert your seeing eye For someday you may be that guy Music· Review: Bill Mi-lier by Dew Bird For those of you who didn't catch Bill Miller when he came to Northern Kentucky University this past Valentine's Day I can tell you it was a beautiful event. Bill M.iller told stories from the heart and played acoustic guitar and wooden flutes with tremendous ability and soul. I'm sorry if you missed him. Personally my spirit was renewed and the fire of some forgotten dreams was rekindled. I hope more people get a chance to hear Bill Miller's music so I've taken the time to review his new CD "Raven in the Snow". · Bill Miller speaks strongly to the issues homelessness, addiction, and violence. Issues that many people are struggling with and many others are trying to ignore. The music on "Raven in the Snow" ranges from soulful folk/ rock to native American instrumentals and country blues. The lyrics of all the songs push a lot of hot buttons. "Listen to me" is a song where a father asks his son what it will take before those who have been comfortable all their lives will listen to those struggling to find shelter. If I took away your shelter, put you on the street If I took away your table and chairs Threw away your meat Stole away your. wife and child See how lonesome you would be is that what it would take for you to listen to me The whole co·puts the storms of life into the perspective of the strength of hope and the courage and a willingness to hold on until the dawn. For those who are struggling with active addictions or have already begun traveling down the recqv~ry road Bill Miller's powerful personal struggle with alcoholism shines as inspiration throughout his music. "Raven in the Snow" is definitely a challenging CD. My friend who went to the Why am I so tired And I don't seem to sleep? Why do people think I'm strong? In all honesty I'm weak Listen to me when I talk Look deep into my eyes If you listen closely You can hear.my cries I'm crying for a reason So many reasons to choose Would you cry with me If it's me you'll lose show with me respected Bill Miller as a musician but felt he was full of anger. I would agree that anger is one aspect of the music. But the anger is one of the things that Bill Miller's music sets out honestly on the table. I remember seeing a rap group consisting of a piano player Fate and Dx2000 on the microphone. When Dx2000 started rapping about his younger brother facing guns everyday as he walked home from school the hundred or so people in Chicago's Bop Shop froze. The power of a single strong voice over a repeating melancholy hip hop piano riff hit everyone in the heart. After the song, Dx2000 apologized for the anger in the lyrics and said that rap was his way of getting things off his chest so they wouldn't explode on the street. I believe Bill Miller is doing the same thing putting the anger out on the table allows the hope of a peaceful future to return. When Singing about native rights on the song "Eagle Must Fly Free" the lyrics sum up the feeling of hope in the midst of, or after the storm. The verse about Crazy Horse speaks of the dream of peace in the hearts of those who fight on the front lines for justice. Ride on Crazy Horse Take me to the Hills .Beyond the battle. Where the guns are still Where it's so quiet you can hear the children run Far away from the sound of a gun Page B Beware, Vampires I by Gregory Pay/on It's any day of the week, especially on weekends, and the sun is just about down. As I write, the sun disappears. Now that it is gone, dusk is here. Rocks start to move, doors start to open, people start to creep for there's a new breed. On the street, everywhere motions stirs in the dark. People gather, persons alone needing victims to take home. Instead of laughter, there are screams of pain. Vampires lurk at dark corners and on back stree~s, introducing pain to the innocent and weak, not by sucking blood but by robbery, fraud, rape, stealing, and smoking crack: They wait like vultures to fly down and take something that doesn't belong to them. And the victims, the naive, innocent and weak, suffer with scars .that go deep. For a moment, you want to answer evil with evil, but you come back to the light. Vampires are sucking the blood out of our neighborhoods, communities and cities. We have to rid the vampires. When it rains, we breathe fresh air, streets get washed and those alleys and dark corners become vacant be- . cause vampires cannot take the pure light, pure rain, the heart of those who oppose their actions. For justice is the spike an_d society is the hammer. So beware, vampires! by Derek landers She had never learned to swim Her father couldn't swim either however she was the one who would drown Why would he take her there? to a place where she was not safe he was not safe for She had never learned to swim Her father couldn't swim either He wasn't able to save her, to aid her . He could only watch her while she drowned for She had never learned to swim She gagged coughed spat spewed even vomitted the first few ounces of liquid that invaded her She fought the foreign substance with all of her mightin the beginning But it rushed in again she became numb - she became weak she slowly slid under She had never learned to swim Her father couldn't swim either He couldn't teach her No matter what they say it's genetic How deep was it, too deep for her Not as deep as an ocean, a lake, a river, a stream, a creek, a pool, a bathtub, a sink, or a bucket No it wasn't that deep, but it got deep Merely the depth of a shot glass too deep for her She had never learned to swim. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Reform or Refuse? by Jean Taddie The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act that President Clinton signed into law on August 22, 1996, dramatically changed nearly all aspects of welfare. In their efforts to save money and put poor people to work, the federal government has made sweeping changes to programs that provide cash aid, food stamps, child care, and other social services. The new Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) block grant replaces the old AFDC system that required states to maintain a basic level of human services. Federal reform pushes the responsibility for welfare to the states. "It's an unfunded mandate to the states," explained Brian Davis, Director of NEOCH. "States are going to have to pay for a lot more." In order to apply for federal block grant money, each state will have to create its own welfare policy and submit it to the federal government for approval before July, 1997. Last September, Ohio was one of the first three states to submit a plan. The Ohio Department of Human Services submitted Sub H B 167, aWelfare reform-law-tha-t-was--approved in 1995. Under the newly "reformed" welfare system, states no longer have a responsibility to operate a program of cash assistance for needy families for any period of time. States can choose to eliminate benefits to legal aliens and other non-citizens. States are no longer required to provide access to education, training, job placement assistance, work programs, or child day care assistance, according to the Center for Law and Social policy. In addition, states are prohibited from using federal TANF money to pay benefits to a family when any member of that family has received benefits for more than 60 months from the date the law went into affect. According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), welfare reform should save the federal government about $3 billion in fiscal year 1997. Of these savings, 44% will be from restrictions on benefits to non-citizens. Another 43% will be saved through cuts to Food Stamps. Page 9 Voinovich Denies Clevelanders Food Despite Job Shortage by Brian Davis On March 12, 1997, sixty homeless and low income individuals boarded two buses to Columbus. They gathered at the Statehouse to protest the Governor's decision to not implement the waiver of Food Stamps. (The State of Ohio received permission to exclude areas with a labor surplus like Cleveland and Stark County from the cut off of Food stamps in March.) ln Cuya-hoga County 12,800 people are going to lose their food stamps this month if they are not volunteering or working. The group presented the Governor's staff with job applications for those that came down on the bus. Each application represented 2,000 people who were going to be cut off, and who cannot find a job. At this time, the governor has not found a job for any of the people that went down on the bus, and nor has he approved the waiver. One question asked, "Where do you see yourself in five years." Thirty applications were delivered to the Governor, and I0% of them said that in five years they see themselves dead if they do not find a job or shelter. Brian: What are you gonna do when your FOOD STAMPS get cut? Marcelina: I'll be out here like the rest of them. I gotta sur-Vive. My mind tartedthinking, I wasn't raised to take things but if I'm really hungry I might take food! Brian: What do you think of the current FOOD STAMPS program? George: Awful, Real bad. Jobs are really scarce. How can you just cut people off? Brian: What do you think of the current FOOD STAM PS program? Sheila: As the program stands now it's not gonna work! Brian: What are you gonna do when your FOOD STAMPS are cut off? Sheila: Now, I'll just starve. But I take medication. What am I gonna do?? Brian: What will you do when your FOOD STAMPS get cut off? Fred: I'll have to eat at churches and meal sites like I've been doing andstarve the other times. Brian: What do you think of the current FOOD STAMPS program? Carl: People need the FOOD STAMPS to survive. What will they do with out it? Just walk around and look for food I suppose ... Brian: What do you think of the current FOOD STAM PS program? Coco: I need it. Brian: Do you volunteer? Coco: Yes. 20+ hours at Bishop Cosgrove. I've done everything the system wants me to and I'm still getting cut off. Brian: What are you gonna do? Coco: I don't know. Scrimp and scrounge, try something.. ! don't want to go from good to bad I've come to far. Brian: How do you feel about the cutbacks? Gentleman: I go off the I st of next month. I don't know, I just don't know. I work a temp job now I can't find anything steady. Brian: Do you receive FOOD STAMPS? Sheila: Yes. $96.00 monthly. "How do we know that you qitalify for food stamps ifyou won 't even fill out the form? " �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine Street Papers Expose National Crackdown on Homeless Agency Profile: ReSTOC Views Housing as Development San Francisco Street Sheet In 1978, the Santa Cruz City Council passed legislation that banned sleeping outside or covering up with blankets after 11 p.m. For seven and one half months activists, homeless people and others staged 24 hour a day protests in Santa Cruz City Hall. The protest ended in Octol>er rw6· witfa seven people arrested and slated to go to trial in March. The City Hall Sleepers protester were arrested for chaining themselves to furniture and disrupting Council meetings. There were 370 citations issued in 1996 for sleeping outside. In San Francisco, there are reports that the Matrix program is still in existence. The Matrix program was implemented to "solve the pan handling and homeless problems," which actually criminalized sleeping and camping in parks. The program was terminated when a new mayor was elected. Street*Watch, part of the SF Cca:ition for the Homeless Legal Defense Project, has monitored continued enforcement of the Matrix program. Raymond Dillard reported being ticketed while sleeping at a local park. Food Not Bombs members who have served food to homeless people in violation of Matrix legislation have also still been harrassed and arrested by police. Chicago Streetwise The street newspaper of Chicago has a new editor, Lisa Ely. Former Editor John Ellis IV a long time staff member of StreetVWse and founding member of the National Association of Street Newspapers, has moved on to continue his writing career. More than 200 homeless youth from the Chicago area gathered in Springfield Illinois to advocate for more shelters for youth. They gathered to support a proposed a $20 million legislation to help reduce the homeless youth population throughout Illinois. Boston Spare Change The group Homes not Jails staged a second in a series of "occupations" of vacant housing property in an effort to leverage Boston officials to offer many of abandoned strutures for use by poor. Police entered the building, and threatened the demonstrators with 20 years of prison. Seven members of the group were arrested. The group wants the city to develop rooming houses to confront the growing housing crises. Seattle Real Change: The Real Change newspaper, which recently changed to a magazine style format, is reporting that the Washington state legislature is attempting to overturn all local ordinances regarding rental property that are stronger than the State Landlord Tenant laws. Strong laws that have developed over years regarding "Just Cause Evictions," and "Minimum Security Ordinances" will be abolished if the legislation passes. Majken Keira of the Washington Low Income Housing Congress, said the bill is a "back door way to get rid of Just Cause." Page 10 by Jennifer Summers The Recovery Hotel at I 225 Vine Street is an example ReSTOC points to as positive development. ReSTOC, the Race Street Tenant Organization Cooperative, has fought to preserve affordable housing in Over-the-Rhine for 20 years. We have operated with the conviction that all people have a basic right to safe, decent, affordable housing. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, this consistent and persistent spirit carries on. Thousands of volunteers from all walks of life have put their energy, hearts and sweat into many ReSTOC apartments. Each day we are pushing forward despite many obstacles. As outside speculators and developers displace low-income residents and create their own master plans, ReSTOC has defended the rights of lowincome people in Over-the-Rhine. We will continue to do so. The following is a 1996 year in review of ReSTOC's accomplishments. Look and see if you would like to be a part of our 1997 effort and beyond. We would love to have you! In 1996, over 3,000 volunteers from 81 groups and nine countries worked on crews to rehabilitate apartments, clean lots and tend gardens and greenspaces. In one year, ReSTOC: • Helped plant and care for over 20 new trees in Over-the-Rhine. • Rehabilitated our Republic Street community playground with a new fence, play equipment and wood chips. • Brought I0 vacant units of housing online into fully rehabbed apartments. • Maintained 120 units of on-line housing and worked with tenants to build community through celebrations and picnics. • Worked to make our streets safe by installing outside lighting on our buildings and encouraging other property owners to do the same. • Opened Recovery Hotel and began accepting tenants and providing services. • Adopted eight apartments through our "Adopt an Apartment" program. • Installed new windows and three new furnaces in our buildings to upgrade units for our tenants. • Won three competitive grants in order to improve three buildings and a children's garden - - - - - - -• Housed 30new tenants. • Secured funding from a variety of sources to rehabilitate 20 more tm!ts of housing for homeless individuals despite an attempt to stop desperately needed lowincome housing development. Who is Homeless? from the National Coalition for the Homeless Medicine, 1988) Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past f 5-Za years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Persons living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless, and demographic groups who are more likely to experience poverty are also more likely to experience homelessness. Recent demographic statistics are summarized below. Most studies show that single homeless adults are more likely to be male than female. In 1996, the U.S. Conference of Mayors' survey found that single men comprised 45% of the homeless population and single women 14% (Waxman and Hinderliter, 1996) Age In 1996, the U.S. Conference of Mayors' survey of homelessness in 29 cities found that children under the age of 18 accounted for 27% of the urban homeless population (Waxman and Hinderliter, 1996). A 1987. Urban Institute study found the 51 % of the homeless population were between the ages of 31 and 50 (Burt, 1989); other studies found percentages of homeless persons aged 55 to 60 ranging from 2.5% to 19.4~ (Institute of Gender Families The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade; families with children are currently the fastest growing group of the homeless population. Families with children constitute approximately 40% of people who become homeless (Shinn and Weitzman, 1996). In its 1996 survey, the Conference of Mayors found that families comprised 38% of the homeless population. These proportions are likely to be higher in rural areas; research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas (Vissing, 1996). �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 11 Women on Track Empowers Low Income People to Sew Lives Back Together by David Dietz At lot of folks are talking about our newly shredded safety net. Most believe there's a flood of trouble ahead for our nations' low income citizens. In -resp~nse to this escalation of the war on the poor, people of good will and committed organizations are stepping up to meet the challenges. One of those organizations is Women on Track located in the West End Center at 727 Ezzard Charles Drive. The West End Center is a busy place with many training and fellowship opportunities for people looking to enhance their life and job - skills. Power Inspires Progress (PIP) is one of the non-profits located at the West End Center. PIP is an umbrella organization that includes Women On Track (WOT) as one their programs. It seeks to empower inner city people to find satisfaction in their lives and Women on Track participant Cassandra Barham works on her latest project. Photo by Berta Lambert. Women on Track gives them valuable skills work. and employment experience to help them find Many people have been touched by the a satisfying career in sewing. Cassandra work of Women On Track. Teresa Schleich Barham, a proud mother of seven children and has put a lot of extra time and effort into the fourteen grandchildren and also an employee program to make sure that people are treated _ of WOT, describes her feelings about the · with respect and compassion. Since February program, "Women On Track is empowering 1994, Teresa has volunteered her time to to recreate a lost art." women teach a free weekly sewing class which curWomen on Track offers a full line of rently runs from 6:00 to 8:00 on Thursday specializes in making custom alterations and nights. The classes usually have about three to vests. WOT is currently busily completing six women attending. Some folks go every and keeping up with contract work alterations week-moving from cloth bags and gingermaking bed spreads and pillow eases for the bread men to dresses and hats. A handful of Down Quilt Shop in New York City. , WOT men have attended class as well and they have will start taking orders for new work in May. If not been turned away. After a person has you are interested in attending class, making a attended at least three consecutive classes and donation of sewing equipment, or buying . finished ~hree successful sewing projects they quality sewn goods, please call Teresa Schleich are eligible to be employed part time. By at 381-5882 or 333-0288. When asked about setting up the program in this way, folks are what made her work meaningful, Teresa said, able to build up their skill and confidence "To see my dream for Women On Track during class and ease into ·employment. For progress to the point that it is today brings employees who are currently on welfare, great joy to my heart." ----- Coalition Hosts Basketball Fundraiser The Homeless Coalition is having a basket ball fundraiser on April I I, 1997, at 7 pm at Finneytown High School Gymnasium. The Homeless Coalition and Friends team will play two games against WLWT Television team and the WIZF Radio team. Proceec;ls will be split between the Homeless Coalition and the Recovery Program at the Drop Inn Center Shelter. Rumor has it that Eric Johnson, star guard of the University of Louisville Cardinals, will be on hand. Former college stars Johnny Taylor, Mark Dorris, Herman Brunis and others will be in attendance. The cost is only $3 to see both exciting games. For more information, contact Donald Whitehead at 421-7803. The Traveler Visits Freeman House Dear Readers My name is the Traveler; during my adventures of the tri-stat e area, I would like to share some of the things I have encountered. I would like to report to the readers of this paper the findings that may be positive and encouraging to all. I was told about a place called Freeman House. I was told the place was serving the community. So I told myself let's go see what there're serving. When I finally reached my destination, I was surprised. It wasn't a long line in fact none at all. I rung the bell and was let in by a person with a cheerful smile. The place had a wonderful smell. Someone-was cooking spaghetti. I asked could I meet someone to see what the place was offering. I was showed a seat and asked if I wanted something to eat or drink. I then met a man m\med Rasheed Ali. We sat and talked about what was there. First I learned the Freeman House is an Afro-centric Therapeutic Community offering 24 hr services, seven days a week. I asked do you just serve African-Americans. The answer - was no. I foun d out they serve any race or creed. I thought to myself this is a community. A place that lets people live his or her way of life (religion). I asked what do these people have in common. Everyone is suffering from alcohol drugs or substance abuse. They all have signed agreements to want to better themselves through the various treatments offered so that they could return to targeted neighborhoods and work with public housing, resident councils and community organizations to form partnerships, to address providing recovery services to drug and mental abuse offenders living in those ~reas. I wondered while I was gathering this information, who's idea was this. This man's man name is Doctor Reverend William Land. He is pastor at Freeman United Church of Christ. He's the recipient of the Martin Luther King Spirit Award given by the Baptist Ministers Of Cincinnati, Ohio and The Jewish Hospital; �STREETVIBES The Tri State•s Homeless Grapevine Vendor Profile: · Gregory Payton Streetvibes TV_ and Radio· Schedule by Donald Whitehead Gregory Payton is April's vendor profile. Mr. Payton is a -very likable and energetic person. Mr. Payton has an absolute passion for Streetvibes. When asked about Streetvibes, Mr. Payton quickly states, "I like to sell the paper, I like to write for the paper, and with the paper I can help other people and not just think of myself." He says that h~ gets a lot of positive feedback on the street about the paper. Mr. Payton believes that the paper will help him in his goal to be a writer. Mr. Payton is now a volunteer at the Freeman House in Avondale were he works as a security person, helping to keep order in a therapeutic community. Mr. Payton is working hard to become a leader in the homeless comm1._mity.. His long term goal is to work in a supportive role for the disadvantaged in todiy,.s world, "I want to work where I get paid for what I know and not for what I ca" do physically." Mr. Payton has been an asset to Streetvibes and we are happy he has joined our team. Welfare Reform Summit Saturdayl April 121 .1997 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 215 E. 14th Street Topics include: What are TANF benefits? Is there child care for working parents? · Medical benefits? What is left for single adults after the food stamp cuts? What happenedto education and job training? This event is sponsored by the Contact Center's Welfar~ Rights Coalition, 1641 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210. If you would like to attend or want more information call 513-381-4242. Page 12 _Check us out We're on TV! Slreelvibes TV March Streetvibes Vendor Gregroy Payton .Streetvibes Radio Hour This show deals with Women's Issues and Homelessness in honor of International Women's Month. It will include guests from women's recovery programs, domestic violence shelters and advocates for child care funding. Channel 10 Thursday, April 3, 9 am _ Monday, April 7, 6:30 pm Sunday, April 13, 4 pm On WAIF 88.3 Im Streelvibes TV April The Coalition also has a live radio program which can be heard on WAIF radio on the second Saturday of each month at noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehead. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Here are the . next show dates. WAIF 88.3 fm Saturday, April 12, noon to I pm Saturday, May I0, noon to I pm hllp://cinci. com/gcch Streetvi bes Onl'ine This month show deals with homeless healthcare issues. It Y!'ill include guest from the mobile healthcare van, homeless dental care providers, and other guest from the healthcare for the homeless programs. Channel 7 Monday, April 14, 7 pm live Channel 10 Sunday, · April 20, 4 pm Thursday, April 24, 9 am Thursday, May I, 9 am Monday, May 5, 6:30 m~ Sunday, May I I, 4 pm · Still Needed This month we will be adding a searchable interface for our Streetvibes articles. Websurfers will be able to Index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. 1 Copier Van to Transport Vendors TV and VCR to Show Streetvibes Episodes to Groups Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories Need Help or ~ant to Help? If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. ff you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. SHELTERS: Women and Children_ 241-2757 Alice Paul House (a~use) 557-2873 Bethany House 762-5660 Salvation Army" 431-8717 Welcome House SHELTER: Men . City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St. Joseph H?use Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America SHELTER: Both Caracole (Al OS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (singles) Friars· Club Haven House (Hamilton) Lighthouse Youth Center St. John's Temporary Housing 24 l'-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761-1480 821-5100 721-06.U 381-5432 863-8866 961-4080 651-6446 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental Ill) Tom Geiger House TREATMENT: O.D.A.A.T First Step Home 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 Women 241-7343 921-7324 ~ Men TREATMENT: Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over- 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: N.A. Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary Both 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati . Appalachian Identity Center Churches Active in Northside Cincinnati Health Network Community Action Agency Contact Center Freestore/Foodbank Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. Hamilton Co. TB Control Health Resource Center House of Refuge Mission Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. Mary Magdalen House Oral Health Council Our Daily Bread Peaslee Neighborhood Center Travelers Aid United Way VA Homeless Program Women's Crisis Center 421-2437 621-5991 591-2246 961-0600 569-1840 381-4242 241-1064 621-7149 632-7186 357-4602 221-3679 241-9400 271-550 I 721-4811 621-0248 621-6364 621-5514 721-7660 721-7900 559-6656 491-3335 � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 1997 Vol 1, issue 3 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) 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 1997 Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Description An account of the resource Issue covering disaster relief, building demolitions OTR, evictions, children facing homelessness, welfare & welfare reform Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cathy A. Dew Bird Tim Burroughs F.J.C. Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Wanda Eicher Jennifer Kaz Sheree Kelly Estee Lacky Derek Landers Zollie Long Caroline Lucas Myron Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Jennifer Summers Jean Taddie The Traveler Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis Caroline Lucas Cathy A. children David Dietz demolition Denise Crew Derek Landers Dew Bird Donald Whitehead Estee Lacky eviction F.J.C. Gregory Payton homeless Jean Taddie Jennifer Kaz Jennifer Summers Lynn Williams Myron OTR Over the Rhine reform ReSTOC Sheree Kelly The Traveler Tim Burroughs Wanda Eicher welfare Zollie Long https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/6ad9b017575298a04fcc8734f72f9d79.pdf f64001e8f7c407018f1e38a4bea8f875 PDF Text Text Child Care Subsidies Crucial to Working Poor, by Lynn Williams "If I didn't get my child care subsidy, I would have to quit my job and go back on welfare," says Vanessa Jones, working mother of a three year old child. "I would not be able to afford the high cost of child care." "Oh, no she wouldn't! She would not have a good cause to get welfare if she quit her job," retorted Joan Lawrence, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. Ms. Lawrence further stated that child care subsidies should not be an entitlement because they would make parents "dependent" on the government! Of course, the Welfare Rights Coalition disagrees with the Spe~ker of the House. We believe: I. Child care subsidies are crucial for helping working parents transition off of welfare. They are key to helping parents stabilize their work and home lives and permanently stay off of welfare. Governor Voinovich in his 1997 Proposed Budget wants to only' guarantee transitional child care until a parent reaches an income level of 135% of the poverty line. This equates to an income of $13,986 for a working mother and child. Under Voinovich's plan, parents leaving welfare to work would no longer have a one year guarantee of transitional child care. 2. Currently in the governor's budget proposal, there is no guarantee for child care for parents who are not on welfare or transitioning off of assistance. There is no plan for an entitlement to child care for the working poor. Many people who are not on welfare are still living far below_the poverty level! Currently in Hamilton County, 140,000 people are living below the poverty line. The Welfare Rights Coalition advocates that guaranteed child care subsidy should be in place for all low-income working parents up to 200% of the poverty line. 3. The Welfare Rights Coalition ~sks why isn't the government requiring that employers pay a livable wage so workers can afford unsubsidized child care? Our government puts white kid gloves on when it comes to regulating businesses on fair labor practices. Employers should be required to pay livable wages; if not, government needs to subsidize child care. Some legislators are trying to get around the subsidy issue by saying we'll return to the "good old days" when neighbors watched after each· other's children. "What if your neighbor a Continued on Page 1O _ilSbo_ ___..::,: \ Dr. Robert Donovan provides health care for the homeless. Photo by James Heath. Health Care Urgent Need for Homeless by Dr. Robert Donovan It may sound ridiculous to say, "Being homeless is bad for your health." Now; because of the Health Care for the Homeless Programs, we can not only intuitively say it, be we also have evidence for it. These programs were begun as several pilot projects by two philanthropic foundations in the mid 1980s. They were so successful that the federal government finally caught on and began funding more programs so that now, there are over I00 throughout the country. Some are mobile, like we have here in Cincinnati, and some are run in clinics. Over their years of existen.ce, the programs have compiled statistics and done special studies, demonstrating some of the particularly unique medical needs of the homeless population. Two major concerns create significant obstacles in takfng care of other medical illnesses for homeless people: • One-third have severe mental health_ problems. This comprises 40% of homeless women, double tbe rate of homeless men. These problems often include major depression, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders. • One third have a drug and/or alcohol problem. 47% of the men are alcoholics; 16% of the women. For these people to have adequate medial care (or, for that matter, to get beyond homelessness), these two problems must also be addressed. Part of the money is directed towards meeting these needs. In these Health Care for the Homeless programs, two-thirds of the visits (of those who were seen more than once) are for relatively minor ailments, similar to the rate seen in any family doctor's office: colds, bronchitis, trauma, and skin disorder-S. Twenty-eight percent of those seen have one or more chronic physical conditions. This rose to 37% in those seen more than once (an indicator of chronic homelessness). It rose even further to 60% in those over the age of 50. These figures are much higher than in the "domiciled" (people who live in homes) p~pulation. Some of the conditions we see-that are increased in people that are homeless include: • high blood pressure: 2x (4x if alcohol is a problem) • chronic gastrointestinal conditions: 23x even excluding alcohol • peripheral vascular disease (varicose veins, phlebitis, arterial hardening, etc.) 4-Sx ( this is not essentially alcohol related) • chronic lung diseases (like emphysema): 6x • infectious diseases: 5-6x as many visits • TB: 50-1 OOx (fortunately, this is not as severe in Cincinnati as in other larger cities like New York) • sexually transmitted diseases: 2x • pregnancy: I0% (vs. 7% domiciled) • HIV disease is also elevated. Other conditions of living on the streets or in shelters complicate much of medical care. Diet is critical in several illnesses {diabetes, for instance), but few homeless people have any possibility of obtaining a special diet. Rest is important for recuperation, but most have little opportunity for a safe place to rest during the day. So, like the chicken or the egg problem, which comes first poor health or homelessness? Probably both interact on one another. However, it is clear that medical ~re is impor.tant not only in preventing homelessness, but also in helping those who are homeless. ·.r A homeless person accesses the Cincinnati Homeless Health Van. The van v,i sits a different shelter each day staffed with a doctor and nurse practitioners who provide basic care to the homeless. Photo by James Heath. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless G~apevine Underground Railroad Museum Rolls into Cincinnati STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine by Donald Wf!ilehead The underground railroad symbolizes the struggle for freedom by our AfricanAmerican ancestors. I take great pride in knowing that Cincinnati played a big role in the road to freedom known as the underground railroad. I also take pride in the efforts to make the museum a part of Cincinnati's future. The National Underground Railroad Museum will be an approximately $80 million project. The 125,000 square foot project will be located on an undetennined riverfront site. Funding for the project is slated to come from private and public sources. A 41-member advisory board includes many prominent names such as Nikki Giovanni, Rev. ,Fred Shuttlesworth, Myrlie Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. . The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed ·to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and jncrease circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead,· Outreach Coordinator Photographers James Heath Berta Lambert Writers Tim Burroughs F. J.C. Pat Clifford Brian Davis Dr. Robert Donovan Bridget Hanna Amy Harpeneau Mike Henson Leslie Horner Max Johnson Berta Lambert Zollie Long Myron Gregory Payton Coy Ramsey Bart Roth Alexander Taylor Sandy Valadon Donald Whitehead Page 2 ~ Evers-Williams, Earl graves, Bryant Gumbel, Quincy Jones and several other local and national figures The Freedom Center will be a tremendous tribute to Cincinnati's contribution to the efforts to end slavery. What will be equally important is proposed training that will address current struggles for oppressed people throughout the world. The Museum and training center are much needed in Cincinnati. While we can be proud of our past contributions, we must be appalled by the dismal present which includes a ranking as the 15th most segregated city in the United States. The Center will hopefully remind us of our roots. . Harriet Beecher Stowe House, located in Walnut Hills, is part of Cincinnati's connection with antislavery efforts and the underground railroad. Photo by Berta Lambert. Part Two I Chose Honest by Gregory Payton Volunteer Editors Patrick Ayers Becky Ranallo Kimberly T enai Refer all stories or inquiries, to: Streetvibes do .Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch .i!bfl!JOd Ofi "CH SYOI · My name is Gregory and I'm homeless, but I feel that won't last for long. I was given a chance to sell Cincinnati's ,Homeless Newspaper called "Streetvibes." I talked to Donald Whitehead, and he took me out for training, teaching me the rules and guidelines. I felt good about having a job. When I got the opportunity to talk to other vendors, my spirit was lifted. They welcomed me to the team. They shared with me some of the ways to approach future customers. I'm excited about what I am doing, and the job that I have to spread the word of homelessness. I read my paper and study it well, so that I can answer the questions my customers ask. . After I did my homework, I felt I was ready. I had decided on a location, and whether I would walk or stand. That was easy, because I wanted to try different spots to see what was the best for me. I started thinking, or should I say, dreaming. Talking with my customers, I learn a lot froni them, and they look forward to each issue. Some are new and some are discovering the problem of homelessness through friends, family and, yes, some of my customers used to be homeless themselves. A lot of my customers encourage me ·to keep doing what I'm doing. To stand for the people that have nothing; to speak for the people that are afraid to speak; to listen for the people that are not there, because homeless people are everywhere. That thought told me where I wanted to sell my papers. I picked Government Square: there the buses and the people on them, go all the way to Fields Ertel, TriCounty, Beechmont, Delhi Township, Milford, Loveland, Forest Park, Bridgetown, and other places that are far away. I know by how many readers are saying homeless people don't live in these places but care, and want the opportunity to share. Some are from St. Bernard, Norwood, and Elmwood. There are too many cities within. a city to just name a few. We all make a team. What teaml , The team that made Cincinnati, the area here, the best city to live in in the United States of America. Readers, I'm getting chills and thrills writing from my heart. The only thing I ask is that you remember your part, yes readers, you have a heart. Please let us remember: The Blessings we need Are the ones we receive �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine Page J Gentrification Continues in Over-the-Rhine Residents Express Anger and Fear Over Changes by Tim Burroughs Changes are occurring in the Findlay Market Area of Over-the-Rhine. The demolition of buildings, the creation of parking lots and the relocation of playgrounds have altered the dynamics of the community. Old city neighbo rhoo d revitalizatio n invo lves mo re people than just the operators of bulldozers or contractors for buildings. Although new bricks and fresh blacktop are what outsiders may perceive as revitalization, original residents in su.ch areas have a different perception. Steve, a resident of the Findlay Market Area, notices "buildings being torn down for parking lots. One of them was originally a co rner store and blood plasma center before being torn down for a parking lot." His comments imply an attitude of confusion and disapproval of what he saw. The relationship between landlord and tenant often leads to eventual displacement. Environments are often created for residents who cannot afford them for financial and health reasons. As long as the process is legal, original residents have limited options. Court procedures handle eviction cases with a systematic process that gives evictees little incentive to show up for their own hearing. The relationship residents had with their landlord revealed an obvious difference in resources and power, which was often to the disadvantage of the resident. Building maintenance is a popular area for residents to perceive their landlord's assertion of power and lack of concern. Dan, a resident of the Findlay Market Area, felt like the landlord was unfair because of the way the landlord dealt with repairs. Dan said, "the repairs are ridiculous prices. Most of the time I don't even know where the repairs have been made. And many repairs are overpriced." Dan recognized the lack of control he had. He was living in Section 8 housing and the rent varied according to his income. However, the landlord could assert power over the residents and affect his desire to live there through maintenance costs. In a similar way, residents experience pressure to move out through maintenance practices when landlords fail to make needed repairs. When I asked Stan, another Findlay Market Area resident, how the landlord dealt with utilities and repairs, he replied, "he doesn't. Look at the ceiling, when the people upstairs flush their toilet, raw sewage seeps through our ceiling and down the wall. Chunks of plaster fell on my wife's head when she got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There are no fire-escapes. The windows are covered with cast iron grates that are molded on. The landlord won't even let the Board of Health in." One need not ask. It was obvious that maintenance in Stan's apartment was nonexistent. Roaches covered the deteriorating walls, making it difficult to sit patiently and listen to Stan's situation. It was not only undesirable or perhaps uncomfortable, but the landlord contributed to an environment that was also clearly unsafe. Displacement may be seen as more than just the physical removal of residents. The creation of an unfavorable, overpriced or unsafe environment can be identified as the beginning of displacement. Elevated rental costs provide the landlord with a more obvious and much faster The recent moving of the Findlay Ballfield for a new parking lot is raising re s ident's concerns about displacement. Photo by Berta Lambert. form of displacement. A popular method involves remodeling and repairing and then, immediately following, an increase in rent. When I asked Larry, a Findlay Market Area resident, what was going on in the neighborhood, he said after he thought for a moment, "Displacement! Yeah, that's the right word. Just like in Mt. Auburn, buildings are remodeled, then the rents skyrocket!" It seems unfair that the residents have no control over their homes. Those residents representing lower socio-economic status are subject to the will of owners and developers. Having been evicted several times from buildings all over the downtown area, David, who now lives in the Findlay Market Area, said, "Owners come in and fix the buildings up, everyone is given 30 days to move, and then the rent is doubled." Elevated costs demand resources from low income residents that they cannot afford. There remains no option except to move. Besides housing changes, there also has been a crack down on crime in the Findlay Market Area recently. Steve and his friend, Larry, agreed that "recently they have been harassed more by police." Neither understood why they were being questioned for no apparent reason. Recent incidents like the arrest and near riot on McMicken Street on February 21, 1997, and the police officer who ran over a pedestrian on February 23, 1997, both occurred near the Findlay Market Area. Gentrification is a complex concept. It is not characterized by a specific place or a specific group of people. It may be evident when its effects are obvious. By the time gentrification can be seen, however, much of the process has already occurred. Unfortunately, opinions about neighborhood revitalization often develop from the product, which often appears to be an improvement. One needs to identify urban change early in the process through the perspective of original . residents. Low income populations, especially the aged, are greatly affected by neighborhood transitions. According to a study done by Andrew Thomas Singelakis in Manhattan, the aged are found to be over-represented as compared to the rest of the population in distressed areas. Most seniors do not know where they would move to if displaced. Particularly for those seniors residing in SROs, the possibility of displacement is very real. Once displaced, few, if any, housing options exist. In comparison, Singelakis's research concluded that in-migrants to gentrifying neighborhoods are typically more homogenous than those displaced. Gentrification expresses dependence on the presence of large numbers of childless households. Renovators with children often move to the suburbs because of the belief that cities are the least desirable places to raise children. Renovators are typically young middle-class professionals. Segregation often follows gentrification efforts. What were once thriving racial or ethnic subcultures are often disrupted by the arrival of renovators. Another Way of Life by Gregory Payton When I had a home, I realize I had friends. Since I became Homeless I realize I have real friends. These friends have so much to share. They don't laugh at me, we laugh together, we share sorrow together. We talk and motivate each other. We don't steal from each other, we have nothing to steal. We don't judge each other because we take the same steps in life. We experience the same pain. The pain of hunger, and wanting to belong. The pain of not knowing the events of the next day. The pain of not having. and even the pain of wanting to have. You watch T.V every night, I see a T.V on the street. Ready to go to the dump. My clothes, never new, always old. My water, never hot, always cold. When we walk in the store, we never get a hand, authorities just want to search and scan (stolen property) when we stand on a near by comer. Cars come to the light, we hear a click of the door, and get a stare of fright. If by chance you see me at night, please don't think I'm a drug dealer, or I'm committing crime, I just have a whole lot of time. When you go to church on Sunday, she in her Jewelry, he in his suit, my clean jeans and ruff and dry shirt, get the stares that really hurt. When you get things, I wish for things; when we read, we dream, Oh what a dream, I respect you, can you respect me; you are a person, am I one to you, your God says love, mine does too. In his eyes I'm just like you. Why can't we all be the same or, are back to that word called. What comes around goes around, But God's love has no bounds. .. . tf �. STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Editorial Page Page 4 I~ yo1>. O\boli5L-. , •• pO\Ye\\\-5 will L-.0\ve to wov\:. \A-\l\\l\A-\L\\A-\ 10\\~ev L-.01>.v5. We Love Development! Th""t- ""'e""\\5 \A-\OYe 1>.\\51>.peY'JiseJ. You may think that homeless and low income people oppose development. It seems that they are always complaining and in general, just can't be satisfied. Wei~ nothing could be further from the truth. Every new downtown plan and riverlront development opportunity just has us abuzz with excitement and anticipation. How can we get on boardl we quickly wonder. After al~ we need to keep moving around every few years anyway to keep us on our toes. What could be a better excuse than a worthy cause like an aquarium or a domed museum or a new boating canal. We are good citizens and ready and willing to sacrifice for the common good. When we are asked to give up our ~est emergency shelter for a Classical Music Hall of Fame, we say, "Why just take the shelter? Why don't you take some housing while you're at it!" When the people who came up with the Quest plan show the entire Newport Public Housing complex submerged for a new yacht dub, we look forward to all the opportunities to fish for food and live outdoors like God intended. Location for a new baseball stadium? Heck, why just settle for putting it on the edge of Over-the-Rhine. Let's just demolish a few square blocks. We'd be happy to move and get jobs as ticket scalpers and parking attendants. Or if we're lucky, we can embark on a career of selling those little bags of peanuts. You see, it's all a matter of having an open mind and a positive attitude. Do we feel any resentment at the costs associated with these worthy endeavors? No. We were surprised to see that each stadium would only cost a billion dollars. Heck, why pinch pennies? Can't we afford a itde morel It's not like we have a budget crisis or anything. It's not like we really NEED school lunches and schools don't really NEED to be heated. This is America. If tax money were meant to be held on to, they would have put handles on it. I know it is unrealistic and downright selfish of me to expect to get any of those funds for myself for housing or food or some other frivolous waste. It makes me feel lucky when I watch TV and see those sad faces of all those poor football owners begging passionately for people to buy seat licenses. And here I am complaining when I get at least two bowls of soup and a mat guaranteed each day...at least until they develop it away. ___________________ .___ \:.id-5 ~et+\\\~ i\\ ho1>.ble. CvitMe t5 IM05\l""'f OY\-0\\\tl55L\e! OL\Y The Unique Challenges of the Homeless Mentally Ill by Amy Harpenau As many as one-third of the nation's homeless adults suffer from a variety of severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. In many ways, the homeless mentally ill are similar to their non-mentally ill homeless counterparts. Homeless mentally ill individuals tend to be young, non- white males and are long-tenn residents of the community where they are found and which consist of higher-functioning individuals. Economic factors and family conflict are the primary reason for their homelessness. They tend to have problems with alcohol and drugs in high numbers. It is increasingly realized that the population of homeless mentally ill individuals is not comprised only of the stereotypical individuals who are seen as isolated or psychotic street dwellers. Deinstitutionalization, the large-scale release of patients from state mental hospitals that began in the 1950s, is often sighted as the explanation for the mentally ill homeless. In a study conducted in Ohio, 29.9 percent of persons interviewed had spent time in an institution while only 5 percent were judged to be currendy in need of hospitalization. Deinstitutionalization has contributed to homelessness to some degree, but since the majority of homeless persons have never been in a psychiatric institution, most explanations overemphasize the cause. The broader cause has more to do with economic changes that have left an increasing number of poor people, including the mentally ill who are most vulnerable, to compete for a shrinking number of lowincome housing units. A loss of single-roomoccupancy (SRO) hotels to urban renewal affects both the poor and the mentally ill. The shortage of community residences leaves the mentally ill trapped; a lack of affordable housing with adequate supportive services compounds this shortage for the mentally ill. In addition, the Reagan administration tried to eliminate the federal subsidy of low-cost housing although not with complete success. Coupled with the issue of homelessness is the mentally ill's susceptibility to stigma, neglect and victimization; their dependence on others; their symptoms, and their lack of resources. In general, American society has _, never adequately cared for the mentally ill inside or outside of institutions. They have largely been referred to as the "underclass" or "diseased," rather than marginalized or disenfranchised. In fact, most homeless mentally ill persons identified their economic and social problems rather than symptoms of mental illness as the principle reason for their homelessness. The quality of care should be the true objective as well as the basic necessities of adequate food, shelter and clothing. A remedy will not fare well unless an effort is made to stabilize the homeless mentally ill and reduce stress in their lives. Low cost, decent housing represents a critical component of mental health services. Sadly, the lack of safe affordable housing is one of the biggest obstacles. Services need to be provided that are consistent with the skills, values and beliefs of homeless mentally ill persons, and the inherent dignity of the persons must also be respected. Coalition Hosts Basketball Fund raiser The Homeless Coalition is having a basket ball fundraiser on April I I, 1997, at 7 pm at Finneytown High School Gymnasium. The Homeless Coalition and Friends team will play two games against WLWT Television team and the WIZF Radio team. Proceeds will be split between the Homeless Coalition and the Recovery Program at the Drop Inn Center Shelter. For more information, contact Donald Whitehead at 421-7803. �-- STREETVIBES - -·---~---.-----~ The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Dear Homeless. • • by Myron Dear Confused (from Last Issue), In the last issue, your question to me, was about vendors licenses. It was brought to my attention that the infonnation I gave was not complete. We have vendors badges that can be used to sell the paper, and those are issued from our office. Dear Myron, Outside all day and night, I can't get rid of this cold, it makes me weak and tired from coughing. I would go to University Hospital, but I'm sure they need a home address to bill me, or treat me. Any ideas? Dear_Anonymous, Be careful with the weather changing so much. This cold you speak about could be a flu, which is a virus. This is dangerous. Please read carefully. There is a medical van that helps t he homeless population. It stops at a different location each day. On Mondays and Thursdays at !:30 p.m., it stops at the Drop-in. Center at 217 w 12th St.. If you go there you can get medical attention and the rest of the scheduled sites. . P.S: Please hurry. Myron Love is the Answer Dear Homeless ... accepts letters. Please send your questions to: Myron c/o Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 We will attempt to answer all letters in a timely manner. Don•t Criticize, .Sympathize by F.J.C. I am among those who at this particular . time in life homeless I am up in years and through no fault of my own lost many of my wordly possessions Through this circumstance it has been my privalage to meet a quantity of men in life circumstances To my surprise I have found that. many through various circumstances have lost most of what they cherish People homeless are not bums, tramps or otherwise I have seen many pray before each meal They are not vicious resentful or otherwise against society There are those of course through human weakness have fallen through t he crack Ninety percent all of whom I have met personally, want only a chance to become selfsufficent Therfore do not criticize but sympathize and help the lost Remember th is can happen to . you Dear Edilorl I was downtown awaiting a bus and had a very hopeful and stimulating conversation with one of your vendors, which led me to purchase one of your publications. I would like to wis)l you all of God's blessings and continued support for your well reported and infonnative paper. I remember saying to the vendor that the problems we face shall be upon us until the return of Jesus Christ. At which time he shall establish his government in this world. Those who haven't or won't acknowledge him shall have another dominion to inhabit. Does this mean we should stop .trying to help ourselves and others? No, it simply means that the condition of hearts we posses with motives of pride and selfishness shall not be overcome without divine intervention. · And I praise him and say come Jesus for we need you. We hear so much these days from the government and media that this nation or, shall I say family, can't support itself. There's no budget for it. We can't afford to nourish, protect and encourage. I truly believe it is a sad state of affairs when our elected officials try to convince us that this, our divine and sanctified family by God and his grace, isn't in a position to care after its preservation. I remember reading somewhere about Alexander the Great's last request. This man held the wealth of the nations and temples of the known world of his time. He said, "Place me upon a cot with a white sheet as a cover with only my empty hands showing. Then carry me threw these lands I have conquered." This is a message to us all that we carry out of this world that which we brought in. What we do take with us, though; is ·what we have learned. And I believe the greatest gift is love. Only through the shared gifts of wisdom, hope and knowledge do any of us ever achieve our potential. We truly rob ourselves of the things most important in life. Look around America and see your broken communities, your hospitals, your prisons. See that loss of potential. Look at that hungry child, that suffering senior and realize there is a condition which can be overcome with effort ·and hope. I pray to God that people come to believe each .one of these faces was made in the divine image of God, who has in his mercy offered salvation, who is able to care for all of our needs, and shall never turn from blessing us if we only recognize· his will. For if we believe money is g9ing to restore broken lives, we have truly lost sight of our own worth. Sincerely 1 Coy Ramsey Page 5 A Personal Perspective by Bridget Hanna I have been living in Over-the-Rhine for only a little over a month. I am a student at Xavier University. ·For this semester I am living here, taking classes, and doing 20 hours of community service in the community. This is . the first time that Xavier had offered this program, and I have gotten some strange reactions from people. When I explain what I am doing, people ask me how dangerous it is, and warn me to be careful. Some wonder if I am crazy and ask me why I would want to be here. After h~ring thi ~ over and over, I began to question myself as well. · What I have experienced every day has reassured me. I have found the exact opposite of the fears others put in my heart. I have met courageous and amazing people that are carrying on an inspiring movement. In my life, I have never witnessed such strength and faith of people working together for justice. There is a true community in Over-the-Rhine that is not found in the suburbs that I have known. There is a history here, passed on by word of mouth that is richer than any history text book I have ever read. In Over-the-Rhine, faces have names and relationships are fonned. In the past month I have been accepted and welcomed by many. People have shared their stories and have taught me such things as courage, love, hope, and wisdom. I want to thank the people in .Over-the-Rhine for continuing the struggle for justjce and fo r welcoming me into you r community. You have changed my. life. Project Connect is Moving. As Cincinnati Public School's Program to Educate H~meless Children and Youth we have outgrown our office space and are now expanding to a larger office. Project Connect's new location fs on the third floor of Washburn Elementary School at 1425 Linn Street room 24. If you would like to learn more about our program or if you would like Project Connect to present to your class on the issues of homelessness, please contact us at 357-5720. Subscribe to Streetvi bes Subscriptions to Streetvibes cam be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a ch.eek to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. l i I Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. If you have any questions, call the office at 421-7803. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 6 The Contract with America - t Washington, DC: Farragut North Station continue to move swiftly, they had to do a great deal of dodging. In spite of the turn in the weather, street vendors were already out Two men trotted quickly up the steps with their tables and racks full of jewelry, Tfrom the subway and into the cold winter shirts, scents, and souvenir miniature monu. ments. "Neckties, three for ten dollars," one light. A vicious, cutting wind swept across the open mouth of the subway tunnel; called. Others stood blowing into their hands overnight, the weather had turned. Each for warmth. At one stand a vendor demonman pulled the collar of his overcoat tighter strated spinning toys-the accent was Jamaican or Haitian. A knot of tourists, already to his throat. With a free hand, each gripped his briefcase to keep the wind from shopping and admiring, had ga~hered and bottlenecked the flow of traffic so that the two tearing it away. The two man eased quickly men had to elbow and· sidestep through the into the stream of people on the sidewalk, crowd before they could get back to full looking neither to the side nor to the rear, but straight, dead-ahead. They knew where speed. They walked in silence for half a minute they were going. more before the younger man saw, just ahead, "So, like I say," the one continued. a young man with a dyed-blonde mohawk, The gust of wind had silenced him for a squarely in the path of his co_mpanion. The moment, it was such a sudden, numbing blonde mohawk was shambling down the blast. As they breasted the current of the sidewalk traffic, he resumed. "It hasn't been . sidewalk, blind as a rowboat, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes cast to the ground. easy going these past few months." With the press of people to the right and left, "Well I don't see how it could have there was no way his companion could avoid been," said the other. "It has to be tough him. He watched his friend squint his eyes sledding." By habit, this man glanced to the left, grimly, slow himself, and pause for the mohawk to snap out of it. The punk must into the park across the street. As usual, have seen the flash of the man's shoe, for he homeless men lay like bundles across a half dozen benches, and he pondered briefly suddenly raised his head and stopped. They danced for a moment, first right, then left, to how they could survive such a night. But get around each other. When that did not they did survive. One of them, a shaggy and work, they were locked in a stalemate. The massive thing - sat bolt upright on his older man's eyes narrowed under his dark hat. bench and stared - hard - back at them He stared at a spot to the left of the punk's ear from under thick black brows. which had been pierced a half dozen times and He shook his head and turned back to was loaded with metal. The butterfly lances of his companion. "You've had almost conhis hair stood gleaming in the sun. After his stant pressure." he resumed. double dodge, the older man settled in. He Neither man looked at the other. The wind had abated after the first gust; it now drew himself up taller and squared his shoulran steady and bitter. They kept their faces ders as if coming to attention. He would not drawn down into their scarves: Each of the be the one to budge. But the blonde mohawk did not seem to men had jammed his felt hat down close over his eyes. notice. A break emerged in the press of The two men were nearly the same people on the sidewalk; he excused himself size; they were dressed in nearly identical with a mutter, and passed to t he right, brus hsuits and overcoats and highly polished, ing the man with his shoulder. The man cordovan, wi ng-tip shoes. They wore scowled back briefly at the punk in his black neatly identical fedora hats and insulated leather jacket and bagging trousers. leather gloves with wool plaid scarves at The younger man looked back ·as well and their necks. The creases in their trousers recognized, beyond the sagging shoulders and were pressed sharp as blades. But the first yellow flag of the punk, several paces back man was older; you could see that in his among the crowds jostling to work, the shaggy, face, which sagged just slightly at the corblack-browed homeless man he had seen on the park bench. He was amazed. To be this ners of his eyes and across his brow. He was just a few pounds heavier; just a bare close behind, the man must have grabbed his inch taller. As he walked, his step _was more duffel bag as soon as he saw them and flung labored and determined. But he walked himself through the sidewalk crowds at a run. steady and square, moving swiftly through The younger man turned back to his walking; the crowds. The younger man noticed that he .had to stay sharp to keep up with his and admired him for it. The two had companion. But it was odd, he thought, to see the , walked this length for nearly three years now. They worked in office buildings next park bench man again. Perhaps it was not him. door to each other. They had met on the Back on the bench, he has seemed massive and train and saw each other nearly every day. monumental. . But in that quick glimpse of him "A lot of people couldn't handle the standing in the street, the man . had seemed stress you're under," the younger man terrifyingly gaunt, like a concentration camp continued. He had worried about him for victim. The eyes were black, though, and weeks. , sheltered under shaggy black brows. They barreled at them, heavy and dark as deer slugs. The first man appeared uncomfortable A live one, he thought. with these words, as if he were embar.. rassed to be caught complaining. He · "The koo~s are out early," he said. remained silent. It was twenty minutes to The first ~n shrugged, and sai~ nothing nine and the sidewalks were crowded; to · for a long .time. They quickly passed dozens The shaggy man _ half-stepped to block him. "Do you forget your own brother?" more people obviously headed for work, and the man with the tin cup thrust out for change. "What gets me," the older man said finally, "Is that I tried to do it right, and I did. I did it as right as I knew how. But right ·isn't right enough for these people." "And they a,ctually went through your trash?" The older man sighed and shook his head. "They actually paid some guy money to root around in the dumpster outside my building to see if they could find something on me." "And they got : . .?" "A couple of letters. That's all." "Is that even legal?" "That's what we'll find out soon." "You'd think they'd have something better to do with their time." "You'd think they'd dean up their own act instead of looking for something to throw at me." "They're desperate." ''They'll get theirs." . They came to a corner and were faced with a DON'T WALK light. They waited, closely packed with others - secretaries, tourists, domestics, business people like themselves. Neither said a W<_?rd, packed in - so closely with all of these people. A similar crowd was stacked on the opposite curb. A dozen ~rs whipped through the intersection and a Metro bus slowed in front of them, blocking their view. The bus passed, t he light changed, and the th rong on the opposite corner charged forward like the front line in a Civil War battle. A young woman stepped at the head of the charge. She wore the uniform of a secretary on her way to work: gym shoes, nylons, and a skirt. She was bundled fiercely against the cold, but they could see that she had dark, precisely penciled eyes. A gust of wind took up the hem of her skirt and granted them a vision of a fine-muscled thigh. Neither man spoke, but both watched as she brushed back her skirt and pushed on. The younger man continued to glance back and follow the sway of her shoulders until she passed into the press of people headed in both directions. He jogged two steps to catch up, then glanced back once more. She had disappeared. Instead, he saw again, the man from the park with his hair hanging loosely and long like an old-time picture of John the Baptist. His eyes were dark and intent and leveled straight at his friend's back. Is he following us or what? A half-minute later, he glanced again, and the man was gone. He was relieved. His friend did not need to have some freak tracking him. Still, who was to say it was even the same man? The bundle rising from the bench had 'looked..hJlb ov �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 7 I iction by Michael Henso-n fleshed, broad-shouldered, and oddly monumental. The man he had just seen was hollow-cheeked, long in the face, and bony as a rail, too frail looking to have kept up all the way from the station gate - and hauling such a pack! It must have been everything he owned! It seemed impossible. But still, there were those dark, shotgun eyes and those rumpled, butternut clothes. His friend had not noticed and did not seem bothered, for he kept up the same pace, trudging heavily but steadily and, · at times swiftly, moving in and out among the other walkers, the litter cans, mailb9xes or whatever constituted an obstacle. They continued down Connecticut Avenue toward the large office buildings at the flank of the mall, passing still more vendors, tourist groups, and people headed off to work. The younger man took a chance and looked back into the crowd: still no sign of the black-browed man. He sighed with relief. You never knew what these people might do. He stepped forward alongside the first man with just a little more spring. "So, you have a court date today?" he asked. "Not a court date, just a hearing." "Another one?" The first man shrugged, as if to say that he had been through it before. He could handle it. At F Street, without a word, they turned, . by custom, into Swing's Coffee Shop where each, by custom, brought a coffee-to-go and a scone. Pressed shoulder to shoulder with the other customers, thei had to wait for only a moment; the men in white shirts were quick at their work. They crossed to the window counter to add cream and sugar. The younger man glanced over his shoulder at the clock. It was thirteen minutes to nine. They had a little time. In spite of the crowd of customers, Swing's was an island of old-time sanity, with its white shirt service and its glow of polished wood and brass. He paused to watch t he cream swirl into the coffee, the merging dark and light. Such a simple thing, and a relief after the push and struggle of the street. He felt suddenly dreamy · an d tired. Two more days to the weekend. Twenty mo re years to reti rement. Dozens of people passing in fro nt of t he window, each in the same rush to the same situation. He was tired of the steady dai ly march, from the suburbs, to t he t rai n, and into the heart of the city. He had good work, and he made good money, but still, look what was happeni ng to t his poor guy: twenty-seven years on the job, one little trumped up charge, and now - on the edge of losing it all. To wo rk so hard, and to see it all . .. The older man broke his spell. He had snapped a plastic lid onto his coffee, hoisted his briefcase, and was already striding toward the door. · The younger man reached for a lid ancl did the same. But just as he . grabbed his briefcase handle, he saw the gray coat, the heavy bundle, and the shaggy black hair of the man from the park. The shaggy man passed in front of the window, shopped short, pivoted and reached out his hand as if he, too, were headed in the door of Swing's. The younger man wanted to catch his friend's elbow to hold him back. He knew that his friend and the shaggy man from the park were about to collide. But it was too late .. The two men bumped at the front door. He watched from the window as the shaggy brows on one rose and the heavy brow on the other tensed. There were words, but as yet, he could not hear them. The black-browed man stood square in the first man's path and threw his hands wide. The first man shook his head No and tried to dodge him. The yoiikger man pushed out the door of-Swing's and into the street behind his companion, catching up to hear him say, "Sorry pal, my hands are full." The shaggy man threw his hands still wider. "You don't remember me?" The voice was pitched as high and thin as the man himself. It was a voice impossible to read; it poised between pleading and parody. Up close, the man looked even scrawnier. The bones of his face _seemed to laugh .beneath his skin, and his skin itself was clouded with faint · blue bruises. The cold had drawn his lips back so that he seemed to grin. An odor came up from him of sweat and vinegar. "Do you forget me?" The first man's face had gone red as meat. "Excuse me," he said, trying another dodge. The man obviously repulsed him; his eyes flinched at the corners. He tightened his lips and tried once more to dodge past. The shaggy man half-stepped to block him. "Do you forget your own brother?" "Buddy," his friend drew himself up. "I . don't know you from Adam." He squared his shoulders and made ready to go forward. "What can I do to tell you . .. ?" "Get the hell out of here." He set his left shoulder forward and raised his briefcase as if it were a shield. "What can I do . . .?" The first man used his shoulder and briefcase to wedge his blocker out of the way. "Get a job," he shouted and marched forward several paces, leaving the man from the park behind. The younger man glanced just once more at the man, then jogged a few paces to catch up with his friend. "He's got a lot of nerve .. ." he said as he came alongside him. The first man looked stern and troubled. He glanced at his watch and rocked his shoulders as if trying to shake something off. " . .. calling.himself ... " It was hard to keep us at this new pace. The moments spent confronting the shaggy man seemed to have eaten up the clock. He fell behi nd agai n and jogged to catch · up, before he could fin ish his sentence. " .. . your brother ... " The fi rst man looked over at t he younger. Without slacking his pace, he seemed to have grown taller and his shoulders more erect. A strange wrinkle of contempt crossed his face. I don 't understand, the younger man thought. He felt hurt. But he continued his struggle to step at the ·first "'!an's new pace. He was sure that they had left the man behind, but he did not dare look back for fear of losing ground. He did glance into the window of a restaurant and saw the time. It was three minutes to nine; they ¥{.ere running late. His companion set his pace even faster. His stride became powerful and unrelenting, so that people on the sidewalk divided before him to make a path. A half block more, and without a word or a glance, he turned into his building, pushing at the big glass door. Just as his companion disappeared, the younger man heard the reedy voice of the man from the park call, ·Don't you remember! He stopped, forgetting all about the time, and turned. There, just ten paces away, stood the shaggy man with his face the color of · bread, his bundle of his back, anns spread wide, gaunt and grinning in the cold. I Book Review Each One Teach One UP and Out of Poverty: Memoirs of a Street Activist by Ron Casanova (AS Told to Stephen Blackburn) A powerful and compelling autobiography, Each One Teach One chronicles Ron Casanova's struggle out of poverty, homelessness and drug addiction to find . dignity and purpose in his life. Through his own dramatic awakening, this Black, Puerto Rican activist ultimately finds his answer in helping other people. Bor!l into a dysfunctional family and placed in an orphanage on Staten Island at an early age, Casanova's life is a dramatic ~ le of struggle for survival against overwhelming odds. His tale illuminates some of the major events of our time including the "police riot" at Tompkins Square, the "Housing Now" march of the homeless on Washington, and community takeovers of housing in Kansas City, New York, and Philadelphia. In collaboration with Stephen Blackburn, Casanova describes how his middle age reconstruction enabled him to overcome the devastating effects of the orphanages, prisons; and rehabilitation centers of his early youth. Underlying Each One Teach One, with it's vivid cast of characters and intimate descriptions of Harlem and the undersides of various cities, is the profou nd sense that no matter what you experience, you can use your past to help others. Ultimately, Casanova's story is a message of hope for the future and fo r the possibility of self-sufficiency and selfempowennent for each individual. Today, in spite of being HIV-positive, Ron Casanova remains dedicated to alleviating the ills of society. He is Vice President of the National Union of the . Homeless, Editor of the Union of the Homeless National News and former Director of the Kansas City Union of the Homeless. He has worked as a house manager for Dignity Housing, an organizer of special events for The Employment Project in Philadelphia, an AIDS counselor, and as a drug counselor for juvenile offenders. Each One Teach is distributed in the U.S by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution . · by Alexander Taylor �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE STREET ANOTHER WAY OF SLAVERY by Gregory'Paylon Slavery to me , You have no rights the master owns them. You have no choices the master took them. You have no car the master took it and said "walk" You have no family , the master separated you from them. You have no friends , He took them from you too, You have no say and yes this is everyday. You want to escape but you know when he catch you he'll beat you You want to go places but he won't let you. You eat only when he lets you eat. If the master says steal you will, if he says rape I won't tell you will. You jump when he says jump: · You fight for sport when he wants you too. You're looking for Abe Lincoln to abolish slavery. But He's Dead. I know who will, that being God. But you have to go to him. He will help you escape. He will crush the master, for he is greater than all. He will show the way. Now that you are ready. Who is the Master I say who is he. The master is Crack and his pipe. Page B The Divine Tragedy by Bari Roth here i am ... again . a room without light; a room without a view. another night, treacherous. it tortures me tO move. my skin, so tight. it SCREAMS. i'm helpless again . my body; it's cut and broken. it's shattered and sore. torturing, but i'm almost... there. YOU NAIL ME TO THE FLOORBOARDS AND WRITH MY GUTS FROM BODY! . Lets abolish slavery , Let's find GOD GET OUT GET OUT. GET THAT VOICE OUT O F MY HEAD ! i never wanted any of this. if only, tonight, i could slide. slide into the deep black sea. then an angel would come. with burning eyes like stars. and a gleaming sword, engulfed in sulfur smitten flames, and bury me deep. I/Don't eat everything on your plate ... remember all the hungry children waiting at the dumpster." but, this is only a shadowed hope. WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME SO? Untitled by Sandy Valadon I looked for shelter And found none I slept on the street comer I was cold. I searched for food And found scraps, Bread that was dirty and old. I was filthy and sick In need of care, But none was there for me. I was made derelict Exc~pt for roaming the streets T~ere was no place for me. I chattered to myself as I roamed around With no direction in mind. Through the vicious streets of the city, Half out of my mind They tossed me out of the bus stop, Where I meant to spend the day. And the children and old ladies laughed at me And told me to get out o~ the way. There was a .time I had a good name. But I can't remember when. I had children, a home, and a good job But it's too painful to think of them. I WANT TO SMASH YOU. I WANT TO SMASH YOU UP INTO PIECES I WANT TO SMASH YOU UP AND SCREAMING. I WANT TO SMASH YOU HELPLESS DOWN ON THE FLOOR SMASH YOU UNTIL YOU"RE NOT HERE ANYMORE the nightmare begins push it away. don't cry or give into the pain, or watch yourself burn life is but a stage. and we are but mere actors waiting to be dismissed. I'll probably die this broken creature, Nobody knowing who I am or used to be. DEATH IS A REALITY AND SO AM I! They say this could have happened to anyone, Dear God, why did it happen to me? i'm afraid to live but, i can't die. (Reprinted from Street Sheet, San Francisco's Homeless Newspaper, September 1996, Special Poetry Edition) inferno? paradisio? PURGATORIO! �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Hom eless Grape vine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Cleveland's Mayor Settles Dumping Case with Homeless by Max Johnson A settlement in the lawsuit O ements vs. City of C leveland, which was schedu'led to go to trial on Feb ruary 18 in United States District Court is complete. In the growing criminilization of poverty, this is a rar e victory. Brian Davis, Director ·o f th e Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Ho meless, hailed this settlement as pennanend y stoppi ng a policy of forcibly picking up homeless ipeop'le against their will. He said, "I think this lawsuit and the settle ment will for ce po lice and city officials from examining t heir interaction with the ho meless of Cleveland." Participants in the so-caUed dumping or kidnapping case a lleged that t he City of Cleveland police department office.r s were ordered to "pick-up" and "deliver" t hem -to remote locatio ns. Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit because -they were being picked up a,gainst their will by the police and dumped. •t was the contention of the ;plaintiffs t hat this was an attempt to clean up certain high traffic areas, and to sweep poverty out .o f the sight of visitors to the Downtown business district. With the prospect of the Mayor ,of Cleveland having to testify about his involvement in creating the policy, and a ·cr edible law student who was going to testify that she witnessed the dumping, the C ity's attorneys decided to settle t he lawsuit. The City of Cleveland ·o riginally demanded that the specifics of the setdement be kept confidential., but because of pressure from the media the specifics were released. The settlement does not punish the city for engaging in such an assault on the rights of the homeless of Cleveland,, but it does prevent such a policy from ever being implemented again. The .s ettlement includes: * $9,000 for the Coalition to pass completely on to the three plaintiffs for education, job training or housing. * A public statement from the city stating that activity involving ~o'latii,g homeless people's right to move around downtown will never be po.licy in Cleveland. * A directive to the police ·s tating that they cannot pick up homeless people against their will and deliver them to semces. * The City will pay the costs associated with this lawsuit t hat the ACLU has incurred. The Coalition had asked as part of the settlement that the City make some .a ct of contrition to all those homeless people that were dumped, but who were not named in the suit. This was rejected by the Gty The Coalition for the Homeless will remain vigilant in the monitoring of the civil rights of the homeless members of our city. Page 9 Federal Court Overturns Cleveland's Licensing Law by Brian Ba.v is On Monday February l . t!he United Stares f ederal Appeals Goun: 1e 1used a bwercourt's decision npni~ 1he icensinz of street newspapers. The suit w.as ibroQght the Gq of Oevebnd on behalf of 1he N onheast Ohio Coal1ion for 1he H omeless (puh1isher of the H omeless ~ aml the N ation of Islam (pubisher of ·t!he linal Calj bf t!he American O.J liberties Union to ~a po1icy iinvdMng the adc~ of t!he Yendo:rs of the two papers. The G 1;Y initiiated a poicy to !license Y:endors of sttTeet newspapers ID mum the .same way as hot dog venm:rs are ic:ensed. The !license a>:sts $50 for a staaGn31J' license o r $~00 if die vendor wants to be mdbile. This wou1d 'e ffective'ly ~te the tp;g>er out of existance a:coo11c:!ling \to Hario'.ld Do~ Managing !Editor of ttbe Gr.apewn·e. T he d ecision r eversed a D isttiiot Count d ecision, which found a n eed m p ro1iett t!he distribatio.n o f a p oii1lica1 discussion o n illhe streets ,d f OJeveb:nd. Tlhe District Count decision was b as-ed on the freedom of sp:eeoh a:nd the press. mn the ~pea1's Court decision, the three judges did lllGt m enliian dle economic impact 1tbe fee wm p1ace on die home1less a:nd ~ow · m·o ome ven-do:r:s of die G:r.apenne. The Gty !bad -argued thait ·n mu:oh dle same way that o:rganizatiions pay mr p:arade licenses this was :a e,g'i1iimate fo:rm of g-0vemment intrusion. The Gty c;'laimed that t!his was not .a restriotion 'on selling the paper. !but an att~pt -for ·t he G11J t.o ~mare or ;at least !have lknoWl~e of t!bose pe<if>1e Who are selliqg it-ems on die streets m iidentiff dl-ose that .a:r.e defrauding people. •nst cistribution of reigious material by the jahovah W nnesses.. If the court does not grant the ~ the ACLU wil be forced to appeal 1D the S..,.a11e Court. GTaJllMne 11'JiUD&ing ecitor, Dopemm c:rontmds 1hat this is just a continuing fonn of haAssment by the Ci1J of Clewebnd of homeless people. ""This is a dear -violation of our ·free speedi. and another effort to get rid of this Yght on the ci1;Y known as homeless ~'le." T/J.e Fllllrlll Annual Training/ Ellucalional Conferen&e al the Noil/Jeasl Ohio Coalition tor the. Homeless Homelessness in the New World Order Friday, March 2 1, 1997 University Gub of Cleveland 3818 Euclid Ave. a>-sponsored by: OleYebndTCuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Committee $45 NEOCH members $54 non-members CaJI 2 16-241 - 1104 to register. The AOLU has asked for a rebeariqg by a11 the ju4ges iin the Sidh Orc0uit atgDing ·c!hat this deciisio-n vio:lares IMu:rdo:o'k v. Pcen~nia a Supreme Co urt decision ~ng t!he National Facts Show Housing in Crisis • While 15 million !households iqudff -mr federal housing assistance !by Yiritue of their low incomes and family status,, ~~ o.r di~, only 4.3 million w ere ifieCle!Mng assistance :as of ·• lhe White House proposes to mt die !Mdcinney Homeless Assistance j u'ly 1'9 96. Att programs in • lFiv,e million low-iinmme lhouseho.1ds pay more dlan haff their iinmme on rern;; '40% .o f these h o useholds are emp'lo,rect 14S are ~·Joyed fu'l l-1iime • Gu men~. MS of die lbousdmWs li~"'g jn pub1ic housing have iin~omes o f lDS or less of Ann-uil Median lnco.me $41.700 . nationally) or $ 11,500; ms of lhouseho1ds h ave iincam es of HSS or less of Annuat Median Income or $7,5'00. • Hl!JD's I·9 97 lbu~et for low.+inmmie ho using :assistance totals $ 1'9_4 billion. This m eans that only ICJS of t!he housing bu¥ !benefits low-inoome Americans. By o:i>nnst, in 1995,, mo~e iintierest dedtmiiiom alone for househoWs with :mnual ·nmmes of $ 200.000 or more :a:mounlled 1D $ 12.6 lbillion. • Only 36'% of disahled 3dult Rnla'S live in affonbble housing; the rest IP31' .., 1D 75'% of their federal ~ income tor~ HUD~s 1"8 budget lby27S.. • In 1995. inadequate fedenl appropria1ions reuhed -n only 225% of AFDC recipients tre<leM~ housi~ subsicies. Consequentily. dte number of AFDC bmilies who became homeless tripled from 1993-1 995. • Seotion 8 programs enable households t.o rent from !p rivate indMduals. They pay 30% of their adjusted income for rent and utilities, and t!he federal government pays the remainder m the landlord In 1995, for the first time - 20 years,, no new funds were appropriated for new Seotion 8 certificates despite the fact that dlousands of f.uniies across the country :are on :a Section 8 waiting list. Source: National Coaition For The Homeless -~- �, STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 10 Downtown Interests Evident in Newly Formed ULI Coalition by Leslie Horner Over-the-Rhine has long been a neighborhood struggling with groups differing in their ideas for development, but in the last few years the voice of the low-income AfricanAmericans and Appalachians who make up the majorit)' of the neighborhood seems to be increasingly over-powered by the voice of wealthy developers and downtown businesspeople who see value in the historic buildings. [Residents are 95% low-income and 60% are African-Americans.] One example of this struggle for control of the neighborhood is the gentrification of Main Street; once a residential st reet, the signs of low-income residents being gradually displaced by owners who raised rents as the area became more popular sites for bars and art galleries are obvious and well-documented. Another example of the residents' voice being overshadowed by outside interests is a process which began mid-1995, when Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. (DCI) hired a group of Washington, D.C. panelists called the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to give an outside analysis of what is needed in Over-the-Rhine. The panel was invited in November 1995, with no notice to major neighborhood groups such as the Over-the-Rhine Community Council (ORCC), whose purpose is to serve as the clearinghouse for all plans, issues, and concerns relating to Over-the-Rhine. The 5-day study was intended to be comprehensive, but the majority of interviewees of the panel were not representative of the economic and racial make-up of the neighborhood; 6% of the interviewees were low-income, 83% were white. The study was also slanted in that the briefing book given to the Ult panelists was put together by the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, who represents business interests in the community. In 400 pages, the briefing book contained 50 pages of pro-gentrification news articles, 15 pages of anti-low-income news articles, and only 5 pages in support of low-income issues. The obvious missing piece of the puzzle was any discussion of the continued positive work of social service agencies in the neighborhood, and a representation of the African-American and Appalachian culture which largely comprises Over-the-Rhine. Many residents, including members of Over-the-Rhine Community Council, were angered by the study, stating that is was racist and classist in nature. However, businesspeople and City officials have given much credit to the accuracy of the Ult study and are enthusiastic about the outcome of the study. One recommendation by the panel-the formation of a group called the Over-theRhine Coalition-has already been followed through on, with the announcement of the 15member board of trustees on February 13. The Over-the-Rhine Coalition has been a major point of controversy among residents for several reasons. First, the function of the new ~roup, as stated in the Ult recommendation book, is to "become a clearinghouse for all plans, issues, and concerns that relate to OTR." This is the precise function of the ORCC, so members of the Executive Committee and the Council feel that the OTR Coalition is simply an effort to out-muscle or erase the voice of the Council, which has been an institution in the neighborhood fo r twenty years. The new group was to serve as a unified voice for the neighborhood and "to promote collaboration without creating conflict," but the threat to the validity of an organization which is recognized by City Council as the long-standing representative voice of the community has caused divisiveness among groups and residents. Secondly, members of the ORCC and the broader community assert that the OTR Coalitio n is not a true coalition because of the tensio n surrounding the whole process and the very composition of O TR Coalition's newly-elected board of t rustees does not fit into the definition of a coalition. The OTR Coalition is essentially a membership organization, with its board made up of 5 residents, 5 institutions, and 5 businesses. The five resident members will be representing only themselves, the five business members represent corporations rather than small neighborhood businesses, and the five institution members include only one social service representative. The model for a true coalition would be group representation. The Downtowner newspaper reported that about 70 of an approximated 175 members of the OTR Coalition voted in the February board election. There are close to 9,000 residents in Over-the-Rhine. The low-income residents of Over-theRhine are not well-represented in the OTR Coalition board and the sponsorship and financial backing of the ULI process to date has been from downtown corporations and the City of Cincinnati's Department of Economic Development. For these reasons, the ORCC believes that if there is no intervention in the process, the only voice that will be heard from this new group will be the voice of wealthy developers and businesspeople. If this happens, the process of gentrification is sure to continue. The ORCC Executive Committee has been conducting small group meeti ngs with the keys players of the ULI process, trying to slow down the implementation of the report, which clearly has no consensus support. In these meetings, the planners behind the ULI process have said that in order for Over-theRhine to be an "economically-viable neighborhood" there must be a ratio of 80% upper and middle income residents, to 20% low-income residents. In a position paper recently published in Everbody's News, members of the ORCC and its Executive Committee responded: "Common sense tells you that this would mean massive displacement for our neighbors while the [the OTR Coalition ms] giving lip service to 'economic mix.' We will no and cannot negotiate our neighbors away." The Community Council is not adverse to atrue coalition being formed, through a fair process, and wants economic growth in the neighborhood, but the fear of displacement is very real. In the small groups meetings, the ORCC has also been urging the involved groups to take a new look at an eight-year comprehensive study which was conducted in the late I980's but has had no committee through which to implement it. In hearing all the voices of dissent during the Ult process, and looking at the history of the daily struggles of low-income people in Over-the-Rhine, it is clear that the Ult process and the OTR Coalition will not benefit the community. Only when the threat of gentrification has been quelled and when lowincome and homelessness issues are given the attention they deserve by City officials and by members of the business community will it be possible to establish a real medium for consensus-making. The sooner this happens, the sooner there will be real growth for all sides in Over-the-Rhine--reaching a balance of rewarding economic growth and attention to the needs of a low-income community. Child Care Subsidies Continued from Page One is a crack addict?!" responds Vanessa Jones. "Neighbor care" only shows how out of touch with reality many of our legislators are, including Governor Yoinovich. Joan Lawrence is advocating for "minimum" child care standard; this means child care and home care standards will be minimized so that child care is barely regulated. We envision children unattended and unsupervised while their parents are working. Our WRC mothers have definite concerns about this. Kay Boyd, a mother and grandmother expresses her concerns. "I think they need to stop and think about what they're doing, particularly when it comes to child care. They're requiring these young people to work. You're asking people to work, but you're not thinking .about the child care...the safety of the children in those child care centers. And without adequate child care, these parents are going to be charged with neglect if these children get hurt because they placed them there. And you don't always know when you place a child somewhere that they're going to get adequate care. Children get left unchanged all day, unfed, not given any attention, and that even happens in the home with a home care worker." The Welfare Rights Coalition is urging people to join us March 5 at 6 pm at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center to hear working parents' concerns and speak about your own experiences. We have invited local and state legislators to attend and hear our concerns. If you would like to speak at this event, please give Katy or Lynn a call at 381-4242. Now is the time to speak up for our children and ourselves! �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevjne Page 11 The Purple ·Turtle Hate in Corporate Overthe-Rhine by Berta Lambert No Way Buddy Gray 4i 1-4065 Marge Hammelrath and Jim Tarbell have for nearly .20 years, represented the underthe-rock persona of the anti-poor and antibuddy gray attitudes of the art-bar corporation speculators of Main street. For several years the old guard conserva. tives have been supplanted by the overt guerrilla activities of Chris Frutkin, Jennifer Sizer, and Peter Calloway. For nearly two years these folks, along with their greedideology friends have disrupted the meetings of the 30 year old Over-the-Rhine Community Council (ORCC). It has been necessary in recent months to: move the meeting place, appoint a sergeant-at-arms, tighten the still very open meeting process, video tape the meetings, and, on several occasions, request additional police presence at meetings. , Chris Frutkin is the nephew of the wealthy Fred Burger. He is a 30-something owner of several properties in the neighborhood. As a yuppie entrepreneur, he is a board member of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce and its clean-up subsidiary, Impact .. Jennifer Sizer's mother is a recent president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber. She is the public relations person for the infamous Damon Lynch Ill's so-called ULI coalition. She is also the P.R. person for both the OTR Chamber and Jim Verdin's Pendelton Art Center (Verdin is responsible for the 13th St.. phallic Corporate Bell Tower vis-a-vis his Verdin Bell Co.). None of the rascals named above are OTR residents. Peter Calloway, however, is a resident. His personality seems driven by this current fashion of right-wing entrepreneurial spirit beliefs. At ORCC's October meetillg, he was video taped thanking buddy gray's friends, taking down the hate No Way Buddy gray stickers, and announcing the existence of a No Way Buddy Gray organization. The reader will find it useful to know that the sticker with a telephone number, which remains posted throughout the city, is a third generation effort. It was proceeded by a nine month distribution: I st a gray and black silverdollar sized Stop Buddy Gray sticker, and then a fluorescent green or sometimes reddish hand sized circular stick-on. If you called the number on the most recent sticker, which was disconnected by I0 a.m. the day buddy was shot, you were invited to push I or 3 for separate hate messages. The reczordings consisted largely of lies, misinformation and inferences of impropriety concerning papers in the possession of City Hall. Frutkin, Sizer, and Calloway bear the moral responsibility for the hate campaign and the climate of fear for buddy gray's personal safety. Post script: within 24 hrs of buddy death, stickers appearid in OTR which read, "Where there is a Wilbur there is a way." Chris Frutkin and Jennifer Sizer, leaders of No Way Buddy Gray, at the Over-theRh in e Community Council meeting on February 24, 1997. Photo by Berta Lambert. Push for Housing Trust Fund Reaches Columbus by Donald Whitehead The State Coalition on Housing and Homelessness presented a very successful conference on Homelessness and Housing issues February 4th and 5th. The conference, entitled Building Support For More State Funding, was a very informative and educa..: tional conference. Presenters included representatives from HUD and ODOD, along with representatives from the state house. Topics covered included Welfare Reform: How the State and Local Communities are Responding; Organizing Around the State Budget Process; Expiring Assisted Housing Contracts: What to do Next; the 1997 Super NOFA; Homeless Assistance . Grants; Ensuring the Civil Rights of Homeless People; Property Management; New Insights Assisting Homeless People; and Supportive Housing for Special Populations. One of the most interesting parts of the conference was the lobby sessions with state legislators. There was a huge turnout from the Cincinnati area. Representatives from the Cincinnati area were able to speak with ~very legislator that has Cincinnati in their jurisdiction. Most of the legistators were contacted personally. There were a couple that were unable to ·meet because of schedule conflicts. They did, however, provide their aides' presence. The focus of the conference was to lobby for a permanent funding source for the housing trust fund. Despite some opposition, the h~using trust fund as a line item in the state budget seemed to be well received according to legislators who were contacted. The Ohio Housing Trust Fund: A Record of Achievement - * 1,323 afffordable apartments constructed; * I, 192 rental units rehabilitated; * 2,326 homes .repaired or rehabilitated; * 2,286 households received short-term rental assistance; * 903 first-time homebuyers received downpayment assistance; and * 10,710 individuals and families received housing-related sertices such as housing counseling and employment training. In all, more than 18,000 Ohio families . have unlocked their dreams of having a home through the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. • Housing Advocates from Cincinnati meet with State Legislators to urge funding for the Ohio · Housing Trust Fund. Photo by Berta Lambert. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes TV and Ra ·o Schedu e Vendor Profile: Dallas Cas·h When you meet Dallas Cash, his humor and intelligence strike you, even jump o ut at you. You are immediately impressed by his gentle demeano r and his treme ndous insight. If ever someone deserves an anti-stereotype symbol on their chest it 's Dallas Cash. The S on his chest would ·normally be for Superman, but, more fittingly for him, Stereotype Breaker Man. Mr. Cash breaks through most of the stereotypes and labels attached to people who struggle in today's society. When I asked Dallas to tell ·me about his experience as a vendor, and informed him that he was the vendor to be profiled this month, he insisted that we not glorify him. Instead, he said, we should give thanks to the people who really deserve honor--those that buy the paper. "Make sure you let my customers know how much I appreciate them," said Dallas. His selfless determined attitude makes this and easy and pleasurable writing assignment. Thank you Dallas. Dallas went on to thank others who have helped him along the way. "I really need to thank again personally all the people who stopped right in middle of whatever they were doing.and wherever they were going to listen and get a paper this month. Someone once said 'As we go thru life there truly are only two things that we collect that really matter they are our sins and blessings, because of course the rest you can't take with you,' The blessing that all of you gave myself and the cause for the homeless did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I would also like to thank Dr. Bennanaye A. Brooks social psychiologist for her time, effort, and energy, for me personally · and all the people who's Uves 's he touched while wor,king with the Over-the-Rhine Community Council here in Cincinnati. you will be missed. Check us out, We 're on TV Streetvibes Vendor Dallas Cash SHELTERS: Women and Children Alice Paul. House (abuse) 241-2757 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome Hquse 431-8717 SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission · Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) . St. Francis- St. Joseph House Mt. Airy Center Vol unteers of America SH ELTER: Both Carac;ole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) Light house Youth Center St . John's Temporary Housing 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761 - 1480 82 1-5100 721-0643 381-543 2 863-8866 961-4080 651-6446 This show deals with the Drop Inn Center and how it is coping after the loss of homeless advocate, buddy gray. The guests include staffworkers Tom Lee and Glen Ward as well as Pat Clifford, Coordinator of the Homel~ss Coalition. On WAIF 88.3 Im The Coalition also has a live radio program which can be heard on WAIF radio on the second Saturday .of each month at noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehead. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Here are the next show dates. WAIF 88.3 fm Saturday, March 8, noon to I pm Saturday, April 12, noon to I pm http://cinci.com/gcch Channel 10 Monday, March 3, 6:30 pm Thursday, March 6, 9 am Sunday, March 9, 4 pm ,Slreetvibes TV March This show deals with Women's Issues and Homelessness in honor of International Women's Month. ·It will include guests from women's recovery programs, domestic violence shelters and advocates for cnild care funding. Channel 7 Monday, March I0, 7 pm LIVE Streetvibes Online This month we will be adding a searchable interface for our Streetvibes articles. Websurfers will be able to index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. Channel 10 Sunday, March 16, 4 pm Thursday, March 27, 9 am Thursday, April 3, 9 am Monday, April 7, 6:30 pm Sunday, April 13, 4 pm ?• HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental Ill) Tom Geiger House 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 . 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 TREATMENT: Women O .D.A.A.T First Step Home 241-7343 921-7324 TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751 -3260 TREATMENT: N.A. Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline . CC.AT. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary The Great er Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless produces a monthly cable access show called Streetvibes which d.eals with iss ues related to housing and homelessness. The show is hosted by Donald Wh itehead. It is filmed live every seco nd Monday of the month. Below are the topics to be discussed and the show times. Streetvibes TV February Streetvi bes Radio Hour Need elp or Want t He If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. If you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. Page 12 Both 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491 -4435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES 421-2437 AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati 621-5991 Appalachian Identity Center 591-2246 Churches Active in Northside 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network 569-1840 Community Action Agency 381-4242 Contact Center 241-1064 Freestore/Foodbank 621-7149 Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. . 632-7186 Hamilton Co. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center 221-3679 House of Refuge Mission 241-9400 Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-550 I 721-4811 Mary Magdalen House 621-0248 Oral Health Council 621-6364 Our Daily Bread 621-5514 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 721-7660 Travelers Aid 721 -7900 United Way 559-6656 VA Homeless Program 491-3335 Women 's Crisis Center � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 1997 Vol 1, issue 2 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness 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 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: child care for working poor, homeless health care, Underground Railroad Museum, homeless narrative, Findlay Market, mental illness, Cleveland homelessness, OTR Coalition No Way Buddy Gray organization Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tim Burroughs F.J.C. Pat Clifford Brian Davis Dr. Robert Donovan Bridget Hanna Amy Harpeneau Mike Henson Leslie Horner Max Johnson Berta Lambert Zollie Long Myron Gregory Payton Coy Ramsey Bart Roth Alexander Taylor Sandy Valadon Donald Whitehead Alexander Taylor Amy Harpeneau Bart Roth Berta Lambert Bridget Hanna buddy gray Coy Ramsey Donald Whitehead Dr. Robert Donovan Gregory Payton health care Leslie Horner Max Johnson mental illness Mike Henson Myron Sandy Valadon Tim Burroughs Zollie Long https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/e0faa5da8d9975767dcd80b890c47f28.pdf 6984ed9805c353f476740130e34a84cd PDF Text Text Report: Homeless Man Left to Die in Back Alley Mai-n Street Social Service Agency Weighs In on Broadway Commons 11 by Pal Clifford The Cincinnati Police Internal lnvestiga- tion Section released a report on April 21 regarding the death of Mr. Ottaway Washington. Mr. Washington was a homeless man who died Jn an alley next to Tender Mercies, on the night of November 30, 1996. The _ report sustained charges against Officer Stephen fromhold for not summoning appropriate services for Mr. Washington. The following is a summary of the events of that night from the interviews conducted in the internal investigation. On · November 30, 1996, at approximately I0:30 pm, Victor Taylor was making his rounds as a security worker for Tender Mercies, an agency which provides housing for those with mental illness. He encountered a homeless man who was unresponsive and blocking a fire exit. Officer fromhold was working the streets of District One that night. He was "flagged down" by Mr. Taylor as he traveled east on Twelfth Street. Mr. Taylor. was concerned about the person who was lying in a doorway off of a nearby alley. . Officer Fromhold and Mr. Taylor re- sponded to the doorway where Mr. Washington was lying; He was not wearing any shoes. The officer believed, from the condition of Mr. Washington's socks, that he had been walking . without shoes for a period of time. His personal papers were lying next to him. The officer noticed a "small nick" on his forehead. "My first indication was that there was an odor of alcohol about his person and that he was intoxicated." He would not respond to any of Officer Fromhold's verbal requests. He used his flashlight to tap the bottoms of Mr. Washington's feet. He "didn't come around." The officer put his hand by Mr. Washington's mouth and felt for any breath. He was breathing. The officer returned _to his vehicle to retri~ve a pair of latex gloves. Officer Fromhold returned to Mr. Washington, took hold of the lapels of his coat and sat him up against the wall under a small overhang which would keep his upper torso from the rain. The officer began to shake Mr. Washington in an attempt to rouse him. "He opened his eyes momentarily and looked at me and moaned something to the effect of 'get' and raised his hand." Mr. Washington did not say anything else but "his eyes remained open a brief period of time and he iust stared at me. "I interpreted that as he didn't want any help so I rested him against the wall. He looked at me for three to five seconds then started nodding back out." Mr. Washington closed his eyes and went to sleep~ The officer 11 A view of the alley where security guard Victor Taylor found Ottaway Washington the night of November 30, 1996. believed that Mr. Washington knew that he was a police officer and that he didn't want any · · help. Mr. Taylor, the security guard, claims that the officer then said that the "truck" would be by later and "get" Mr. Washington. Officer Fromhold denies any reference to a "truck". The officer left the scene believing he had · resolved the situation. Later, Officer Fromhold heard the radio dispatch from another officer requesting a supervisor for a DOA. He went to the scene and assisted in placing Mr. Washington's body in the scout car. He went to the Drop Inn Center to determine if they were familiar with Mr. Washington and, if so, to locate the next of kin. The worker at the desk told the officer that Mr. Washington should have been in bed #19. There was no one there. The investigation goes on to say-that the temperature that night was 53 degrees and that there was a light rain with overcast skies. The Death Record from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office lists the cause of death as acute bronchitis and peribronchitis. The laboratory report indicates that Mr. Washington's blood alcohol content was .38. In a letter to the Homeless Coalition, Safety Director Kent Ryan assured us that the Cincinnati Police Division strives to provide the highest level of consistent service and holds its officers accountable for their actions." Lt. Demosi of Internal Investigation reportedthat Officer Fromhold received an Administrative Insight which will go into his personnel file. The report concludes, "It has always been the Police Division's policy to 'err on the side of mercy.' Officer Fromhold realized that he did not possess the skills necessary for a medical evaluation. He had the duty to summon appropriate services." In the wake of this tragedy and the investigation, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is convening a meeting with representatives of the Police Division, Fire Division, Hospital Emergency Room Staff and · homeless agencies to ensure that an incident of this kind never happens again. The following article is reprinted from a letter from Franciscan at St. John Executive Director, Marilyn Middendorf to County Commissioner Bob Beddinghaus dated April 22, 1997. There has been much debate concerning the location of a new baseball stadium. Arguments have been made for both sides, Broadway Commons and The Riverfront, but one very crucial element has been overlooked with the Broadway Commons site; the people who call Over-the-Rhine their home. As social service agencies in the Overthe-Rhine community, we serve the people who would be effected and have already witnessed the effect of '"development'. ' has had on this area. Development is beneficial in any · area, but not at the expense ~of individuals. Over-the-Rhine needs human development, not building development. The rights of the individuals in this area must be addressed and not simply dismissed, as has been the case in this entire debate. Not once has this issue been addressed and it is the most important. Mayor Roxanne Qualls stated in the Cincinnati Enquirer on April 16, "A Broadway ballpark will increase immediately investor confidence in Over-the-Rhine and the central business district's north~ast quadrant...lt will revitalize Over-the-Rhine.'' This may be true but at what expense? Where is the concern for the individuals in this area? The problem of displacement has not been discussed, at least publicly, and is of great concern to us and the residents of Over-theRhine. A new ballpark will mean development Continued on page 2 $1 Coupon Venice Pizza 221-7020Venice Pizza at 280 I W. McMicken is an mployment, program that offers part time onhe-job training where individuals have an pportunity to further develop their skills and ave an experience in food service. The grou s non-profit. Present this coypon and receive $I off. ny large pizza. One coupon per visit. Minium free delivery $8. Call for area and times. ot good with any other coupon. �STREETVIB~~ The Tri State 's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Pagel Three Year Lifetime Welfare Limits Protested by Lynn Williams Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelt~rs, agencies and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrino, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Berta Lambert Writers F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Jude' Haley Amy Harpeneau Amanda R. Jordan Mary Ann Lederer Zollie Long . Myron the Observer Gregory Payton Andy Peters Smile Melissa Thomas The Traveler Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Vera Zlatkin Volunteer Editor Marvin Abrinica Barb t-lobe Kimberly Tenai Refer all stories or inquiries to: Streetvibes do Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421~7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch - Three yea_r time limits for life is now what the Ohio Department of Human Services recommends for bhio's welfare "reform plan." In t.he next couple of weeks, the ODHS official plan will be reviewed by the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Human Services, and then introduced as a bill. It is urgent that we work to stop this harmful legislation in its tracks! A three year time limit for life would cause great hardship for Ohio's poorest families. It totally ignores the factual evidence that people cycle on and off welfare assistance due to a crisis, such as a job loss, and the average uninterrupted stay on assistance is only two years or less. It totally ignores the facts that many welfare recipients are in temporary, part-time positions or jobs that require low skills. -These workers are easily displaced when they stay long enough to ask for pay raises and benefits. I It totally ignores the facts that within two years, 125,000 adults will be competing for entry level job positions. These 125,000 people do not even include the 26,000 single Ohioans without children looking for work in order to get food stamps. It totally ignores the fact that Ohio has at least 33 official ar:-eas of unemployment of I0% or higher. It totally ignores the fact that the real unemployment number is much higher than what Ohio's unemployment figures show. It does not count the ·many people who are not officially registered as unemployed._ It does, however, count part-time workers as being employed, even though they are living far below the poverty line and cannot survive on their earnings. For these reasons, we urge you to write and call members of the House of Representa. Continued on page 7 Broadway Commons Continued Continued from page I in ·the area (restaurants, bars, shops and parking). Apartments will be destroyed which means residents will be forced from their homes. Where are these struggling people to go? Are there plans for them as well? In 1992, Main Street, between 12th and Liberty streets, .underwent l)'lajor renovation. Many restaurants, bars and store were added to this residential area. More than 200 units of -low-income housing were lost to displacement and conversion of units to retaH or larger units. Our concern is pointed out with this example; If 200 units are lost on one street, how extensive wilt the loss of low income housing be with the development of a ballpark? Over-the-Rhine does not need any more "hustle and bustle" as the Broadway support- ers' brochure states. The neighborhood is full of activity, and when you add in the traffic from the Main Street entertainment district, enough is enough. The dignity of the residents in this area is already diminished when they are harassed by visitors in the neighborhood, who frequent businesses in Over-the-Rhine. The number of visitors increases during the . summer which is precisely when the 81 home games are played. A ballpark will bring more negative activity to this area. We urge you to consider all sides in this debate and imagine your feelings if you were forced from your home, all for the sake of a ballpark. We will be happy to discuss this issue with you and welcome your comments. The many residents of Over-the-Rhine need your support. Streetvibes Vendor Code of Conduct · Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. I. Streetvibves will be distributed for a $I voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for .donations more than $1. I also understand . that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each ,dollar collected. Future issues of Streetvibes will be purchased from the Homeless Coalition for 20 cents. 2. I agree that I will never distribute Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 3. I agree that I will not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect. I will not use abusive language or force someone to give a donation. I will not give a "hard sell" or make someone feel threatened. 5. I agree that I will not supply copies of Streetvibes to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. I agree not to deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a not-for-profit charity or that I am collecting for the "homeless" in general. I will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the individual vendor. 7. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self supporting paper created by people who are homeless or formerly homeless. To help in this effort, I will try to spread th·e word and write stories if possible. 9. I understand that the failure to comply with a.ny of the above statements will result in me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine · · Page J · .' Domestic Violence Experts Expect The Fraud of Welfare Reform Rise in Abuse with Welfare or Guillotined in Reform by Jude' Haley 1997 by Brian Davis Yes, most every progressive journal in the country is currently pushing the message that welfare reform was a fraud perpetrated on the people of the United States. We feel obligated to reach beyond the rhetoric, and talk about the impact on the homeless population that we interact everyday. How did we gel lo Ibis situation: Much of the current legislation is based on myt hs and misconceptions that exist about welfare and th e cycle of dependence. Very little hard research has been do ne on the welfare system, and the impact of changes. It is a shame that welfare is not co nsidered a natio nal secu rity issue so that we co uld tap into that funding stream. The media has done its best to root out co rr uption, and trumpet stories about abuse and fraud. Wit h a lack of research and a constant stream of negative welfare stories, the impression was that people mostly men were getting rich off welfare. The fact is that in no stat e did welfare benefits lift a person out of a poverty level of income, and in many states welfare was confined to women with children. The able bodied single adults-we re-fo rced into the wo rkforce or community service. We began going down the wrong path when we left the idea that women should have the option to stay home and take care of t heir own children for the good of t he neighborhood and a better future And we have arrived at a point in which there is no federal guarantee to a minimum standard in w hich a child cannot fall below. There is a federal standa rd fo r air quality, radio indecency, civil rights, law enforcement, and even care of livesto ck. But there is no longer a federal standard for a safety net for the poo r. Stale Control of the System Throughout history states have a mixed reco rd on the care of individuals. Some have excelled, but many have not. In O hio, we . fough t an obviously flawed ed ucatio nal funding system to t he O hio Sup reme Court. How can we be expected to take care of poor children, wh en we can't even give t hem eq ual access to quality edu catio n? States can use the Federal Block Grant to give incentives to employers to hire people off the roles, build rehabi litation facilities (read forced labor camps) or put it all in one area li ke healthcare or childcare. In thinking of some of t he characters that have served in the state. legislature, one has to conclude t hat State representatives are not qualified to make th ese decisions. Whal are we really talking about. W e are looking at the estab lishment of a permanent underclass that will no longer be ab le to tu rn to the state fo r assi stance. W e are looking at the abject poverty on a scale that we see in the Third World. We are looking at a raid on the resources that were in formerly part of the welfare system by many states for higher priorities such as recreation, priso ns, C onti n ued o n p age 9 While there has not been a very extensive research done on the link between domestic .violence and women on welfare, some statistics exist that demand attention. In one study, the McMormick Institute examined whether welfare reform would have a harmful result on domestic violence victims in Massachusetts. They found that of the 734 women sampled who were receiving Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children , 20% experienced such abuse within the last 12 months. In addition, 65% had been victims of abuse by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. The number grew to 70% when th e definition was expanded to include verbal o r emotional abuse, iso latio n fro m friends an d family and contro l of possessions. It was also reported t hat of the 91 wo men welfare recipients that were participating in t he Chi cago Commons ETC job training program in 1994-5, 56% of the women were curren~ victims of domestic abuse. An additional 32% were past victims of domestic violence. Many people fear that because of increasing budget cuts and more ambitious placement goals, many states will be reluctant to adopt measures to he lp victims of domestic abuse make the transition to work successfully. There are many policy issues that leave people concerned about victims of domestic violence. Under the new reforms, assistance is not guaranteed to a family that qualifies. This could force battered women back to a violent relationship if she cannot support herself and her children. Time limits also leave people concerned. Time limits do not recognize that leaving a violent situation may take a long time, maybe longer than the time limit allows. The Personal Responsibility and work Reconciliation Act of 1996 also prohibits states from using federal funds to assist teen mothers under the age of 18, who a re not living with a parent o r ot her adult relative or in an approved adult-supervised setting. Battered women's advocates are concerned that this will force some teen mot hers back into violent homes an d relatio nshi ps. N umbers to call for domestic violence: Cincinnati NOW: 852-9948 St. Elizabeth's Women 's Wellness Center: 344-3939 Women's Center-Northern Kentucky University: 5 72-6496 Women's Crisis Center: 491 -3335 Women Helping Women, Inc: 381-56.10 Women's Med+ Center: 751-6000 A Homeless Father by Gregory Payton A homeless fath e r is not only homeless physically, but mentally, and in the heart. T he battle is not only to live, but to live fo r someone. To hold and withstand the pressu re in the heart. To grip manhood as if it was life. For to lose the grip is to feel less than a man not o.n.ly_to himself, but to society. For when this happens, he fe els and says to himself he has failed to meet hi s creators law. That being to be a father, a fath er must suppo rt, guide, lead, direct, and mo st of all to love unconditionally. He also must be ab le to teach. His presence alone fills the need of prot ection and security. His obligation to his family is great. A father never wants to say "N o" to the ones he loves. And he wants to be t he one wit h all the answers. He wants to be the one to make the plan, not so much as to be the bread winner, but to have a greater part in the respon sibilities of his children's needs, regardless of what they might be. You have a homeless fath er that is with his fam ily, and you have a homeless father that is not w ith his fam ily. The fath er that is with his family feels th e pressure an d loo ks at the pressure, pressure is the reaso n (engine) to move forward everyday. To move th rough, live over obstacles, and through darkness. He yearns fo r t his because t his is what makes hi m stronger, wi ser, an d above all, gives him longer life.· He is homeless, but not alone. He is not alone, when it comes to the pain and suffering that is shared with in the family. He wants and welcomes the challenge because he wants to be an example. He wants to lead and teach, show endu rance, and lead his wife and children. He wants to give them confidence in thei r way of living. He wants to pass the experience down fro m his gen eration to his children's. For we know a woman is a crown to her husband an d children are a father' s glory. A homeless father without his fa mily is a man in pain, a car without an engine, a body missing a part. When you learn everyday and experi ence t hings, you have no o ne to share them with . You have no one you feel needs you . What is yc ur pu rpose? Who can you hold? W ho wi!I love you fo r just being there? W ho will you share your love and concerns with, and not be rejected? Who will give you that pair of house shoes, o r fu nny tie on Father's day, one of you r most loneliest days of the year? You pray fo r a home and for someone to be there when yo u get the re. Yo u wi sh to be a part of someone else's life, and mean something of value to them. You search in yo ur heart an d dis cover a big void. Something that could never be repai red unti l yo u have a family and a home. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 4 Do We Deserve a Living Wage in Cincinnati? Temporary Agencies like this one on Vine Street abound in Cincinnati especially in areas where homeless shelters are located. by Donald Whitehead As a result of government cutbacks in social spending, community service agencies as well as labor unions have recognized the need for an established livable wage in Cincinnati. The Living Wage Coalition was formed for this purpose. The coalition proposes to standardize the wages paid by companies which provide privatized city services. These companies would be required to pay employees approximately $8.00 an hour, a rate based on Cincinnati's cost of living. Cincinnati's living wage proposal concerns only this small sector of government-financed spending. In turn, it will only effect a small portion of the work force. The coalition hopes, however, that their proposal will be expanded to help more and more workers. The Living Wage Coalition will primarily educate the public by sponsoring public forums. It will also continue to collect data determining the exact cost of living in Cincinnati. National support for a livable wage is strong. In a survey conduct ed by a New Yo rk-based research fi rm, 75% of those ~ s u rveyed favo~ed req uiring business~~ that receive publk contracts o"r special ta?< breaks t~ pay emplo.yees"~ · livable ~age. -ln fact, 42% . of peopl~ were stro~gly in favor of_th~s re. quirement. Living wage campaigns have already begun in more than 30 other cities across the country. These cities include Baltimore, Maryland; St. Paul, Minnesota; Los -Angeles, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These campaigns want to "make work pay" by ensuring that jobs created through public funds do not leave workers and their families living in continued poverty. A livable wage will also eliminate lowball bidders for contracts and make it easier for businesses with higher productivity and good workplace morale to compete. With a minimum wage of $5.15, nearly 40% of all households who earn that wage are below the poverty line. These statistics make it clear that the new welfare reform system of "moving people off welfare into work" will not accomplish its goal unless guidelines such as a livable wage are established. ACTION UPDATE: Homeless Voter Rights Bill Introduced into Congress Temporary Agencies and Labor Pools Prey on the Unskilled by Donald Whitehead Congress and the Clinton administration have fooled the American public into believing that welfare reform will balance the budget. We must now ensure that the people being forced into the workplace through reform are able to survive. Many of the people will be unable to access the training needed to acquire employment that pays enough for rent, food and other necessities. As a result, these unskilled citizens will be forced to work fo r temporary agencies and labor pools. . Temporary labor has become a booming · · industry. . _Manpo~er Inc. is now the natio n's· number ~n-~ · ~mployer. We r:nust call for temporary agencies to pay a livable wage-a wage that allows: ~- p~rson to afford to eat, pay rent and purchase other necessities. We must also push our legislators to make t he minimum wage a livable wage. To guarantee that our country remains the richest and most powerful in the world, we must begin to care for the entire nation and not just the well-to-do. The gap between the earnings of CEOs and workers is the highest it has ever been in the U.S. The reason that tempor:ary agencies and labor pools have grown at such an astounding rate is the unwillingness of many major employers to pay a livable wage or provide medical and dental benefits to permanent workers. Temporary workers require no such financial investment. Many forecasters believe that with the new labor force created by welfare reform, even more companies will discontinue benefits and fair wages. A study done by the Homeless Grape- vine in Cleveland found that many of the labor pools in Cleveland and Cincinnati have questionable practices. Labor pool employees were charged for transportation, meals and equipment, and they did not earn minimum wage. Because it is illegal to pay less than minimum wage, these pools are operating illegally. My guess is that we don't feel outrage because we make the same moral conclusions about these workers as we do about the poor in general: They .deserve it. · Will we still be able to ignore these practices· when the workers are women and children or even dur 'dwrf· r~latives? ,f In a period when most Americans, especially low-income Americans, are feeling isolated, disillusioned and powerless, there are legislators that understand their feelings. One of those legislators is Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. Rep. Lewis has introduced H.R. 74, the Homeless Voter Rights Bill. This bill would ensure that citizens faced with homelessness would still have the right to vote in this country. With more and more people experiencing homelessness, it is extremely important that their voices be heard and their frustrations answered. The time has come for people in this- country to become part of the system. The first step will be to make sure that this legislation becomes law. We are urging advocates, providers, volunteers and the homeless themselves to call, write or fax your representatives in Washington and ask them to support H.R.74. Streetvi·bes Radio Hour On WAIF 88.3 Im The Homeless Coalition has a live radio program which can be. heard on WAIF radio on the second Saturday of each month at noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehead. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Here are the next show dates. WAIF 88.3 fm Saturday, May I0, noon to I pm Saturday, June 14, noon to I pm United States Representatives Washington address: U.S. House Of Representatives, Washington, DC 205 15, Phone(202)224-3121 United States Senators Washington address: Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 205 I0 Phone(202)224-3121 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 5 I Legal Aid Fights Changes ' to CMHA Lease Policies Compiled by Barb Hobe Legal Aid has sent a letter to C MHA, informi ng this agency of its objections to proposed policy and procedu re revisio ns. Listed below are some the most objectionable items CMHA is attempting to institute: * Proposed: Elimination of preferences in admissions which might favor those in less desparate situations than others. * Proposed: Refusal to process preapplication for a person who either voluntarily moved from public housing or withdrew an admissions application within the last 12 months. * Proposed: People who are listed as a household member on a current CMHA dwelling lease would not be eligible for admission into public housing. This would include a person who has been divorced or separated AND children who have grown up in public housing. * Prosposed: All members of the household would need CMHA approval before being added to the lease, except for additions by birth, adoption, or court-appointed custody. (CMHA does not have the right to define family.) * Proposed: The elimination of the lottery or anything like it. Transfers will be permitted only if the unit is too large or small for the family, for medical needs, or in case of emergencies. * Proposed: Tenents would be offered t hree different "locations," which are not defined. * Proposed: Dogs may not exceed 25 pounds. This may discriminate against disabled persons in need of seeing eye dogs. In addition; a $150.00 deposit for guide-assist dogs, regardless of ability to pay, has been proposed. * Propossed: A change in rent due date from the 7th- to the 5th. This conflicts with t he present receipt of Social Security checks on the 3rd of. each mont h, especially if the 3rd is a Friday. * Proposed: Any delay in income m_ust be reported in writing to CMHA 3 days before the rent is due, even though a tenent may not learn o_f an income delay until the date of the anticipated check has passed. * Proposed: Increase rent to a much higher ceiling for tenants who make misrepresentations or delay the recertification process. This includes tenants who do not report decreases in income in a "timely" manner. * Proposed: Families must report changes in writing. * Proposed: Tenants must pay court costs in order to stay - even if CMHA was at fault in bringing the action. * Proposed: The definition of "income" includes . child support payments made by residents. * Proposed: Residents must return trash containers within 5 hours of being emptied. * Proposed: Tenants wo uld pay t hei r own utility bills. * Proposed: Tenants would be responsible for common areas. A comment period on these new regulations has been extended to May · 12, 1997. The measures will be debated at the CMHA Board Meeting on May 27, 1997. This CMHA building in Lau r el Homes in the West End is going to be demolished as part of a renovation projects. Smaller · units will be upgr~ded to townhouses, but the total number of · units will be reduced . New Food Stamp Policy Mandates Slave Labor; Newt Pigs Out by Katy Heins and Lynn Williams According to federal legislation, Single adults without children between the ages of 18 and 50 can only recieve food stamps for 3 months out of 36 months unless they are I) employed 20 hours per week, 2) placed in a work program requiring them to work 20 hours per week o r 3) by working the number of hours determined by dividing their food stamp benefit by the federal minimum wage. This means food stamp recipients should only be working 20-21 hours per month. However, we are hearing reports that Hamilton County, including a report by a JOBS worker, that food stamps only recipients 'w ho are between 18 and 50 and are "able bodied" are being required to work in community experience sites for 20 hrs per week! This is the eqivalent of working for news article on the amount of taxpayer money that our U.S. House Representatives spend on junk food and drink. Newt Gingrich was reported to spend $908.00 on Cokes every three months! He also spends taxpayer money of $580.00 for coffee and $4, 151.00 for snacks. We are amazed that Newt can slash food stamps for the poor, almost all of whom are the working poor, and at the same time drink and eat up to $22,034.00 each year in . pop and other junk food! We are amazed Iha/ Newt can slash food stamps for the poor, almost all of whom are the working poor, and al the same lime drink and eat up to$22, 034. 00 each year in pop and other junk food! · When I looked in the mo rning newspaper, 0, my, what did I see An article about Newt Gingrich And what he's doing for you and me. I had to read it again How it seemed like it was laughing at me. Struggling to make ends meet Cause the House of Representatives are so thirsty. When they turn up their noses about we (you know those on AFDC) Having to depend on TANF to feed our families. approxiamately $1.40 an hour!! Food stamp only recipients recieve only $120 tota l for the month in stamps! The Welfare Rights Coalition believes that no one should have to work for $1.40 an hour to receive food stamps! This is returning to the days of slavery! . We want to hearform you, if you are being harassed like this. If this is happening to you o r someone yo u know, please call us immediately. Call 381 -4242 and speak to Katy, Lynn or Stacey. More o utrage! $28 BILLION is being cut from the Food Stamp Program between 1997 and 2002. The cuts affect everyone on food stamps, including the elderly and children living in poverty. This is part of the 1996 federal welfare law that President Clinton notoric;;usly signed. Recently "The Cincinnati Post" did a _ In response to this news, one of our WRC members felt moved to write a poem: Poem by Smile As for me, a parent struggling to stay off .welfare But not even knowling if I will have childcare Whe re are o ur val ues. I hope someone wlll see t hat we need money for families And not to give to the Coca Cola Company. I'm not trying to say that they shouldn't drink pop · But have a heart Fund our childcare or pay for us on welfare. �STREETVIB~~S The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES ·Editorial Page . Page 6 Stadium Issue: Why .Carry On? by Andy Peters The beat goes on. The debate over the stadium issue is still argued and discussed everywhere.' There seems to be no end in sight. From the outside looking in, it seems only valid that a team would want a new stadium. There are many reasons teams these days want a new stadium. ' Money though is the bottom line. · Now getting a n~w stadium because it is old, or maybe because it would boost the economy to make a new one, I could see as a valid argument. But here in Cincinnati you take that stadium debate and it turns into a circus. As Riverfront/Cinergy field is subject to economic laws, does the stadium have rafters falling down and walls crumbling? The issue is very confusing because you have this group of people and intercity fighting ·to have a ne:W site for the stadium, and then the owner saying that they will stay on the river. It seems as if the people in the movement for a new site just want the money. Greed has taken over and it is forcing a push for a new site. · Broadway Commons, the proposed site, has a lot of support from businesses, restaurants, bars, and shops, but that is it. It is a business proposition and doesn't look at the people who are down in the area. Parking space, tremendous .cqsts, an~ property taken from owners in Cincinnati is all necessary. to . make such a proposal come true. Lately it seems as if the interest behind Broadway . Commons has been quibbling about minor things that may make the stadium move a. by the Observer better option. A recent issue in a newspaper took place after Jergens required employees to had an article comparing crime in the area of Dear Editor, take written tests, like school kids, so that ~hey Broadway Commons with crimes in or around would be known as skilled workers. the Riverfront. John Dowlin, County There are many ways to become home· Jergens makes soap. I think the responCommisioner, was featured in the article. He less. One way is to lose your job through no sible parties should clean up their act with the dispelling what he thinks are false myths was fault of your own. That happened to 22 . soap and get off the employees' backs. The · about Broadway Commons having a crime employees of the Andrew Jergens Com~any. fired people may be able to find other jobs to problem. He talked about a study that was They were all fired with no advance notice. fit their needs or collect unemployment, but done which said there were 270 more total They were escorted off the grounds like they unemployment benefits don~t last very long. If crimes on Baseball on the Main site than were guilty of committing a crime. they can't find new jobs and unemployment Broadway Commons. This article showed that One young lady, who had car-pooled to does run out, then they, too, will experience there are people out there making the stadium work, was not allowed to use the company homelessness. At the least, they will have a debate issue clouded. by having studies done phone to call for a ride home~ She had to wait new lifestyle that is a lot less than what they that don't have any relevance. The article said outside the gate for a long time in order to are used to. God only knows what will happen Broadway Commons was "relatively safe".: catch a ride home. to them with no thanks to Jergens. there is the news about Tom Neyer, Then Another young man was called in from To give you an idea about Jergens: The . County Commisioner, being the deciding sick leave and fired, too. · workers that were hired to replace those that in where the site should be. In an factor The company calls it downsizing. It is were fired were 25 temps. The following day, article, he was questioned to see if he was a more like wage adjustment! 14 of them quit, saying Jergens worked them supporter of the Broadway Commons effort. The Monday after the 22 employees too hard. By the time this story hits the He supposedly gave some money to the effort, · were fired, the company hired temporary stands, the rest of them will probably be gone, . but played it off as "insignificant." employees to fill the positions. Of course, this too. Today, which is the 16th of April, Jergens The whole stadium debate is batched . · costs the company less money. fired another employee for attendance. This up people taking sides, and extra debates over The majority of Jergens employees are ·, young lady, however, was a good worker who where the stadium should be, and even if it is under a lot of stress because of the changes was always there. She was trying to get to safe or not. There are so many arguments, taking place. A few months ago, one young work in a taxi because her car broke down, issues, and opinions that it doesn't ·seem clear lady was having medical problems. She was but the taxi never showed up. This is pretty anymore. The question is: Should there even told that if she lost another day at work, she much how it has been going: Out with the old be another stadium? We have seen the would be fired. Knowing her situation would and in with the new for less pay and no problem with taxes and money. Is it really cause her to lose another day, she handed in benefits! worth the trouble to tear down a perfectly her resignation. While she was getting into her I could go on forever, but I'll close for good stadium for anotherl Is it really that car, one of the managers approached her and noV(.. I'm sure Jergens has more up their necessary? Both sides should look at the cf.>nvinced her ·not to resign. When she went sleeve for the next issue. banter of what is better, and come together to back into the building, the board had a meeting make some things happen. Why carry on? concerning her case. The ·board decided to fire her. The manager who kept her from resigning was part of the board that fired her. • A pretty rotten deal! I think; · All of this firing Andrew .Jergens is Uni.air to; Elnplo.y·ees �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Letters Dear Homeless. • • by Myron Dear Homeless~ .. accepts letters. Please send your questions to: Myron c/o Streetvibes 1506 ·Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 We will attempt to answer all letters in a timely manner. Now to answer the medication part of your question. You should contact the Healthcare for the Homeless Program. The number is listed on the back of our paper, also. Solution Solution Dear Homeless, Dear Homeless, I don't have a place of my own. I stay with my brother. I have been out of work for I0 months because I had a heart attack. Now that I'm back to work, I need to have my medication, but it costs $260 a month. I work 40 hours a week, but I also pay child support. · I would like to have housing and medication. S. Lazenby Dear S. Lazenby, Thank you for sharing this problem, First of all, there are still agencies whose rents are based on income. The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authorities Section 8 Program, The Over-the-Rhine Housing Net- work and ReSTOC can help. you. We list more agencies in ·tne·bacl<: "of our paper,· StreetYibes: My l.D. and personal papers were stolen, and I need to know how to get new ones. I also lost my Social Security card and birth certificate. Without these, where do I start? Signed, How am I? Dear How am I?, Go to the Drop Inn Center, ask for a referral and state your homeless status. You then take your referral to the Salvation Army. You will be given a caseworker who will determine your eligibility. Then they will direct you and help with funding . What is Link Line? It is an information and referral service. You can contact them at 946~ LINK. That's also 946-5465. Let's Build Communities from -the Inside Out by Zollie Long More youth: please As I stated in our last issue concerning the youth council, there would be more. This is it. · The turnout at our last meeti·ng was not as high as I would have liked it to be, but there was very good progress made that will help in our next meeting. One thing that really interested me was how- many people really care about the young adults of their community. I had so much support from the different groups in this area, but it still remains: we need more youth · involvement in this area. So I come to you once again in asking your support in this most important matter. Young adults! Become a part of yourselves! Help stop the homelessness in our community by making yourself heard. Stop letting other people dictate your life, and start standing for yourself. Say no to drugs and yes to ReSTOC and the Homeless Coalition. Let's show.that we as young people can help support the good work that being done by these and other groups in our community. By giving of ourselves we can help our community as a whole. So let us show these people, who . are willing to help, that our voice can be heard ·in our commu!'lity, .that we can come together. Become a big part of our own lives! Show them that we as young people do care what the American government feels about the condition of people as a whole, that we care Page 7 Time Limits ·Protested: Co·ntin·ued Continued from page 2 tives Sub-Committee on Human Services to urge them to say no to three year time limits. When Fe.deral TANF money runs out, let the state government have. a conscience and. p'rovide state dollars from the over$ I BILLION STATE RAINY DAY FUND. When mothers and little children are lying homeless in the streets, will that be a truly good enough reason to share the wealth, ·Governor Voinovich? Although we believe there should be no time limit at all, Ohio's poorest citizens should have at least the full five years of TAN F permitted by the federal government. Before cutting people off, Ohio should have a guaranteed public jobs program in place that will ensure a livable wage. We are all connected by the fabric of our community and society. Ripping some of this fabric out to use up like rags and throw out will destroy the whole fabric. We have a Community Responsibility to our poorest citizen~ who lack the essentials of life. Spending state dollars to house and feed the poor in new prisons is not the humane answer. Legislation for three year time limits for life is also inhumane. Call (You can call free .froJ!l the C<?,ntact -Center at 1641 Vine St.reet) and ·write the following Ohio Representatives on the Su.bCommittee for Human . Ser\-ices: . . . Rep. Rep. Rep. Rep. Rep. Rep. Joan Lawrence 614-644-671 I John R. Carey 614-466-1366 Gary Cates 614-466-8550 Robert E. Netzley 614-466-81 14 Barbara ·Boyd 614-644-5079 Charleta Tavares 614-466-80 I0 The address for all Representatives is: how politics play a part of our lives. So to those who read this, please get as m~ny young people as you knpw involved in - this most important matter. We need everyone's support for we wiJI soon become the old . . And how would you want today's youth to takeover where we left off, not knowing what to do or say, not knowing your life is in their hands as well as their lives. Let's build our communities from the i·nside out, not inside in. Thank You. http://cinci.com/gcch Streetvibes Online Hopefully, this month we will really be adding a searchable interlace for our Streetvibes articl~s. Websurfers .will be. able to index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. Ohio House of Representatives · 77 S. High St. Columbus, Ohio 43266-0603 ·Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a ~heck to -the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks payable to the Cincinnati Coalition for the Home.less--Sireetvibes. If you have any questions, call the office at 421-7803 . Gr~ter �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE STREET Help Him by Ron Carter Reality by Gregory Payton ~ I Babies having babies Crack babies looking for parents Children only getting to eat at school Elementary children smoking cigarettes Rape in the home Children left alone Cost of food out of sight ·Fathers in flight Cars being a home Mothers always gone Education far away The TV is in the way Music in the front Poetry in the rear Earphones over the ear Loss of hearing and too much beer Respect, courtesy, manners are all gone Having two jobs makes the day too long CD's: compact disc or crack dealers Motherless, fatherless, jobless, hourless Alcohol, weed, beer, cocaine God of my understanding why so much pain Angels on Earth by Amanda R. Jordan My name is Amanda. My son and I were once ·homeless. I stayed in an abusive relationship for a long time so that I would not be homeless. I felt I had nowhere else to go. One day -I got tired of being battered and I chose to leave before I killed him or he killed me. Making that choice was the best thing I _have done in ffil life. I had to be away from my son until I got into the YWCA Transitional Living Program, which is a program for batte red, homeless women and children. The transitional living program was truly a home fo r my son and me. The Family Support Specialists worked with ,p me from thei r hearts and made me realize t hat I can survive on my own. Now, thanks to them, I have my own apartment. I will never have to stay in an abusive relationship again to have a ho me. The women who work in the YWCA Transitional Living Program are angels here on earth. Thanks for being there. Angels by Amanda R._Jordan Angels are with us everyday Not letting us go astray Guarding us night and day Accepting us for who we are Loving us from near and far So it's really true they are watching over you Help the man who is in trouble Help him and never complain Help him and he will remember you When he is back on his feet again So help the man who is trouble Help him and you can bet That if you are ever in trouble Your help he won't forget. Millionaires? by F.J.C. Oh Lord, hear my plea Please will You listen to me If You really care We should all be millionaires God said, "Just to be fair I will give you each a share." So it is that this came true Now I don't know what to do There is no one to plant the ~eed -No one is there to cut the weeds No more can I get a suit of clothes Gone are they who would make those The salvage man he won't work He's no dummy, he's no jerk The grocery shelves are all so bare So when I look there's nothing there _ Now the cities slow decay Everything in disarray So I think of what to do . You can't hear me, I can't work Oh God, and now I pray, Take me back to yesterday. Page B An Unc1e·s· Love Lives On by Denise Crew Looking back in time I have to smile As you looked out for my man child There were reasons he came and you would both steal away Some of the reasons are now said aloud some of them have made me proud but one thing is true the trust my son once held in you some secrets I will never know that you two shared so long ago. · I only see and understand some things were best kept man to man Splashes of Color by Denise Crew I still don't understand w~y you splashed little patches of color on the walls puke green, yuck yellow, barf brown and why you wanted the opinion on which ~ color was right _ because it was the people's way Yuck! yellow at the top barf brown at the bottom what a wonderful kitchen with walls that were child finger proof because they were running in the kitchen door and would land smack dab against the stove before coming to a full stop �- STREETVIBES The Tri State 's Homeless Grapevine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE HUD Changes Spell Trouble fo r Cleveland Housing Authority At a public hearing on March 18, 1997 at Cleveland City Hall convened by Councilman Frank Jackson, both CMHA and the local HUD office gave an overview of the impact of the Federal housing decisions on Cuyahoga Cou nty. The following information is an overview of what was said. There will most likely be a relocation of populatio ns from one area to another, an d a movement of the extremely poor out of the public housing sector. Claire Freeman of CMHA said they have 11,000 units and 2,400 undergoing modernizati~n . . Six percent are available f~r l,eas~-i,nclu,ding 450 single bedroom units that they' are loqking for peopJe to fill. They, h~ve IO,~oq, pe()i>!~ on, t~e. ~ait!pg list. CMHA p'ay.s· ~70,000 for the renovation of each of the units under modernization. One for one replacement of units that are taken dow n is no longer the law of the land. Locally, they will replace I for I all two bedroom units, and I for every 3 that they destroy of the single or no bedroom units. They now have a minimum rent of $25, but they also put in a ceiling rent so that people do '. not have to move when they got back o n t heir feet in a full time job. Before people were paying 30 percent of their inco me no matter how large t hat was. There is no longer a federal preference for homeless people, but CMHA has adopted the federal preferences as the local preferences. They have embraced the "One St ri ke and You're Out" policy for strict enforcement of the lease agreement. They had $13 million dollar reduction in fu nding for t his year, and t here is expected to be similar decreases in t he future to meet a Balanced Budget by 2002. To meet budget constraints over the next five years, CMHA must move 60% of t he population up to a level in which t hey contribute around $200 a month for rent. This would mean about $7,000 units wo uld need to be filled by the "working poor," and not the extremely poor. This would mean when people move out they will have to replace them with working poor. They will strictly enforce "One Strike and You're Out, which will also change the tenant population. The local HUD office said that there are 2.6 million Project based Section 8 ·building co ntracts nationally that will expire in t he next two years. There are 5,000 locally. They will try and give t hese people either CM HA ho using or a Section 8 certificate. In the next 5 years, there is $19 Billion dollars due for housing contracts nationally. TherE? is not $19 Billion set aside for housing contracts, and so the Federal g():vernment is operating on a "pay as you go" P~!.los9phy u.n~~ I J~~ .~o~~y runs out. - • ' , .:. ~ ~ ·, - · ' ' · _,, ·· · ,, ·. An~~ trencT"for"HUD i~, t~ _fi~-~lly listen . " to advocates around the country who have · said that many of the Section 8 project based Page 9 . apartments are substandard. To rectify this problem, they are moving in and taking control of the properties. HUD officials either t ear the unit down and give vo uchers to all the t enants or turn t he property over to CMHA. This scenario gives new meaning to the adage about being careful what you wish for. There are 9,000 Tenant Sectio n 8 certificates in the current invento ry with 1,600 available. The trend toward using Section 8 certificates will shift the current population to t he surrounding neighbo rhood or other areas. Two years ago there were 40,000 people o n the waiting list fo r the I 000 certificates available. There is a drive to reserve the certificates for the working poor, and not for the extremely poor. This could take another 5,000 certificates out of the circulatio n of the extremely poor. With the need to balance the federal budget, the future of expanding Sectio n 8 certificates is unreliable. The probability of new certificates being available is not likely. Also, many of the certificates will be reserved for use by those on the TANF welfare rolls. The value of the certificates may be decreased to the landlord or to the tenant may be asked to increase their contribution in the drive to balance the budget. No one can predict what t he future of affordable housing will be in Cleveland. There are . probably an additional 15,000 extremely poor people that will need subsidized housing or a stable job in the next five years These are the families or individuals who will be displaced by the working poor who were not previously eligible for these housing programs in the past. There is no plan for this popu lation. The question comes down to will we build more shelters or jails? Is our future in funding . .,ho4sing or ~om~lessness~ Compiled by NEDCH and the Cleveland Tenants Organization. Fraud of Welfare Refo rm Continued Continued from page 3 and "community development." We are entering a period in which we drive down labor costs, and break many of the service unions. We are entering a period in which we see more families attempting to enter the homeless service sector. The big winners will be corrections, homeless services, and temporary labor because of welfare reform. Driving down labor costs Labor unions should be on the front lines in battling welfare reform. If unemployment rates need to stay at the level that they are currently at for Alan Greenspan to be at ease and not raise interest rates, and the states are going to be moving a substantial number of workers from welfare to work, how can these both work together? It is simple: drive down labor costs. If a company can hire a welfare recipient for $5 an hour as well as get a tax credit, does the $10 an hour worker stand a chance? There are provisions to protect current workers, but there are provisions for companies not to exploit workers, pollute, and rip off the government, but these are routinely ignored. Ronald Reagan was able to injure the unions, but Clinton/Gore may be able to finally "En d-Unions-as-We-Know-lt." "Give me your tired, your poor, (They can harvest our food, and be viewed as the scourge of our existence and the reason for all of our problems.) Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, (So that we can beat this out of them and then pacify them with an endless stream or sitcoms and sporting events.) The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, (Who will live off our refuse in soup lines and will not have access to benefits or assistance.) Sen d these, t he homeless, tempest-tossed, to me; (O n second thought, keep them.) I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (to those who are worthy or don't complain too much and who bring wealth to our country- Emma Lazarus and George Voinovich Haven't I heard all this before, and nothing happened? Didn't activists say that if we-cut General Assistance the sky would fall. There are many things to remember about these debates. First, the most insidious aspect of these proposals are that they . creep up on us. If on August 22 there were 5,000 people living on the streets and the next day we woke up and there were I0,000 people, we would view this as an emergency and all of our energy would be exerted to reverse the situation. The homeless population increases over years, and we develop a comfort level of immunity to this suffering (until it happens to me.). It gets easier to ignore the situation if it slowly increases. There has also been an explosion in a population of those undocumented people who are staying with family or friends. There is no attempt to measure the number of people living in basements or attics or stuffed into small apartments. The charity of one individual that allows another to stay in their place is not counted and not recognized by the decision makers. Rest assured that these individuals are homeless, and they go to sleep with the smell of the steam grate lingering all about them. We have a vendor who is again homeless because he has too many people staying in his place. He went through the system, and finally received his disability for a work related injury and was able to get a subsidized small apartment. His former wife and daughter became homeless and moved in with him. This was too many people fo r a one bedroom apartment, so he did what any caring father would do. He moved back to the familiar life on the streets so his family could stay in his place until they were able to find another place. The cold reality is that if someone does not step up to show what the worst case will be if welfare reform continues, people are left with the conservative assertions of politicians that voted for the legislation. Reform was passed to forward a political agenda, and it flew in the face of facts and trends. At least the rhetoric being forwarded by activists is based on real experiences and trends within the community. It is a crime to build stadiums and prisons when we cannot even provide a minimum standard for our children. We are terribly misguided if the three large cities in Ohio are each spending public money on 'stadiums that are playgrounds for the rich and we cannot provide for our poor citizens. A government that cannot care for the least fortunate, those without a voice and without power, does not deserve to exist, and will fall. "Society is under an obligation to provide .for the support of all its members either by procuring work for them or by assuring the means of existence to those who are not in condition to work." Maximileien Marie Isidore De Robespie~re Guillotined in 1794 France. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/es~ Graper,ine I Page 10 Transitional Housing Provides a Way Out of Homelessness Tt by Melissa Thomas or Homelessness is a social issue that has been tugging at our nation's coat tail since the early 1980's. When they first appeared, the homeless seemed to be merely " ... refugees of a kind, on their way from somewhere to somewhere else, residing temporarily in the tunnels and doorways between here and there" (Gibbs). They did not really seem to be our own, but rather aliens of some sort, who in time would go back to the places from where they came. However, more than a decade has passed, and the numbers of these "aliens" are increasing, instead of decreasing. Statistics by a public research group in Cincinnati, know as Applied Information Resources, reported, " .. .in 1995 that Greater Cincinnati had 18,000 to 21 ,000 people who were homeless" (Eckberg). Planning Concepts of Toledo states that anywhere between 13,000 and 34,000 are homeless around Cincinnati each year. The Drop-I nn Shelter in Over-the-Rhine reported a 9% increase from November 1994 to November 1995. On a national level there has been a 73% swell in shelter requests according to a study of 29 cities conducted by the US Conference of Mayo rs at t he close of 1995. A report ii. Insight magazine informs that "a number of highly reputable stu dies now set · an upper range' of about 600,000 ho me l"ess nationwide ..." (Lockhead) . ~ · Because of the increasing pqpu lation of the home less, ma ny people have become unsympathetic and are calli ng o n lo cal officials to rid the st reets of the vagrants inst ead of calling fo r a solution. Peter P. Smith, president of Partnership for the Ho me less, gives the stateme nt that" ...politicians have deci ded to start blaming the victim rather than dealing with t he problem" (Lockhead). Li nda Regensbu rger of the Denver Rescue Mission states that "homelessness as a cause d u jour is decli ni ng" (Stone). T he fru strated lack of co mpassion toward homelessness will not solve the problem. It will c 1tinu e to grow, . and fam ilies, especially childre1, will_continue suffering. Furthermore, "using 'lo licemen rat her t han social workers to deal w'th t he homeless means attacking the symptoms of t he problem, while defe rri ng a search fo r t he cure" (Kraljic). T he solution to homelessn ess will come f o m addressing the causes to thi s social issu e. Yet, the dilemma of homelessness does no t have a so le cause. Society had blamed cutbacks to federal assistance fo r low-income ho using during the Reagan Administration (Gibbs) . However, as a decade has passed, a closer lo o k has revealed several other factors , in cl uding mental illness, chemical dependency, po rt , cri me and violence, teen pregnancy, illit'"'• -y, a nd lack of educatio n, even th e de of compassio n du ri ng the "me-fi rst" 80 .. ansitional housing shelters, providing a •.. • c~ -;o cial servkes under one roof, wo uld wo--, +n ret urn th'e homelees perso n to s.oc1 Instead of just providi ng a cot for t he night, th ese muldservice ce nters would prov,de a person with the services he or sh e needs to wo rk on his or her individual causes for being ho meless. For example, parenting classes wo uld be available to single mothers o r fathers, drug users could receive treatment, mentally ill persons could get counseling and/ or medical treatment. By providing programs · such as detoxification, job training, financial counseling, parenting classes, child care, mental and physical health care, basic life sills, and . social services under one roof, the homeless who are unwilling or unable to travel around town can readily obtain the services they need. Each city must first coordinate its efforts with city policy makers and charities. After studying its own population of homeless, it could then devise a plan to recruit the services most needed there. Next, involve the private sector. "In 1986-87 some 460 nonprofit community groups created 23, 120 units of low-income housing, .compared with nearly 20,000 for HUD (Housing and Urban Development)" (Gibbs). Offer mobilized resources that will travel to the homeless. Finally, build more housing. · It is not the entire solution, but the problem won't be solved without it. Failure to implement this solution will result in a growth of the problem and will only cause the homeless to move from doorway to doorway. Many people object that the homeless are . just lazy and don't want to work, but the fact is that "90% of homeless people have an employment history and 30% have worked in the past month. Often jobs are minimum wage, pa rtt ime, o r tempo rary. (Bethany). O t he r people argue that the homeless are ho meless because they choose to be, but the reality is that " more than half of homeless people cite economic reasons for their homelessness, w hile only 6% say they just li ke to move around" (Bet hany). T he o bjectio n to the lack of governme nt funding is refutable. If America has t he fund s to send service men and women to foreig n natio ns to aid their dying citizens, perhaps w e have the funds to save our own. "Several cities already offer t ransitio nal shelter programs .... These programs go beyond the traditional sh elte r ideas of merely w arehousing the homeless" (Nichelaso n) . San Francisco, Califo rnia; Po rtland, Oregon; C incinnati, Ohio are al ready adopt ing this new structure of shelter. The homeless need more t han just a pacifier fo r their problem-they need a solut ion. The t ransitional sh elter program being e mployed by these cities sets the example and beckons t he rest of the country to follow in the footsteps that lead to the solution. Works Cited Bethany House Se rvices: A Place with the Future in Mind . Cincinnati: Martiny and Co. Clifford, Pat. Telephone interview. 7 Dec. 1997. Eckberg, John . "Homelessness Persist: Age ncies Say Problems Hard to Solve, and Growing". C incin nati Enq ui rer 7 Feb. 1996: BO I. Gibbs, N ancy. "Answers at Last". Time 17 Dec. 1990: 44+. Kraljic, Matthew A ed. The Homeless Problem . New York: H. W . W ilson Co., 1992. Lockhead, Carol. "The New Drift in Ho meless Policy". Insigh t 6 Aug. 1990: 20-24. Nichelason; Marge ry G. Homeless or H ope les s ~ Mi nn eapolis: Lerne r Publication s Co . 1994. Russel, Colette H. "A Day in the Homeless Life". Utne Reader Sept./Oct. 1990: 50-55. Stone, And rea. "A cooling Toward Homeless". USA Today 14 Nov. 1990: 3A. w c a e 1~ by8 Agency Profile: Caracole Serves Homeless Victims of AIDS by Amy Harpeneau Since 1988, Carocole has been providing safe, secure and affordable housing to persons living with AIDS withi n G reater Cin cin nati . Carocole began with a four bed facility in Clifton and today provides shelter to over 280 individuals infected or affected by AIDS. C araco le's present challenge is to continue to grow and expand as the face and demograph ics of persons infected with HIV do the same. At the beginning of the AI DS epi·d e mi c, the majority of people wi th AI DS we re sing le adu lts who were exp ected to live less th an a year. Caracole respo nded by establishing a perma nen t residence "for men and women , which provided the necessities of food a nd she lter. Now that has changed. With new drug t herapy prolonging t he life of AIDS victims, Caracole house can be seen as a transitional shelter where patients are able to recover mentally and physically and then return to independent living. Th is, however, is only one aspect of Carocole. The Shelter Plus Care and Hamilton County Sectio n 8 programs have increased the number of families that Carocole helps. Carocole is presently meeting the challenge of providing permanent, affordable hou sing to families being infected and affected by t he HIV virus. Two computer applicatio ns, O MAHR and SOPHIA, which provide a database of affo rdable ho using an d available supportive services, have been introduced to t he community and provided 1300 referrals last year. As Carocole enters its second decade, the challenge of meeting the needs of cli ents w hile providing qualit y services with diminishing resources w ill be a great feat to accomplish . Affordable housi ng is a crucial part of any person 's life, a nd in t he lives of perso ns infected with AIDS, Carocole has been co nsist e nt and committed to its vision. the cc that~ on the obliga· talk al tion ti How on m) welfar little h welfar is a sh nation into t~ its bes storie~ res ear welfa n most ly l benefi1 incom1 confi nE bodied workfc going c idea th stay he fo r t he futu re w hich · minimL below. q ualit y, forcem t he re i: safety 1 Slal1. T record excelle fought system we be · wh e n v quality Block ( hi re pe facilitie: in one i thinkin~ served conclu c q ualifie1 Whal '¥'. perman able to a re loo we see a raid c part of higher I C ontin �STREETVIBES ... , The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Basketball Fundraiser a Success Page 11 The Traveler Visits the Clifton/Ludlow Gaslight District. • by The Traveler Homeless Coalition WLWT 103 79 The staff of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless would like to thank all those who helped in our most recent fimdrarer, "Hooping For The Homeless. " The game was a well-played, sometimes excellent, basketball game. We would like to thank Finnyetown High School for all its help in staging the game. Steve Elliot and his crew did a wonderful job. Our thanks also go out to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, WLWT, all the players and especially all of you that supported the game. The proceeds will benifit the Homeless Coalition , The Drop-Inn-Center live-in treatment program and the Ruth Lyons Children's Fund. Thank You, G.C.C.H staff I traveled to an area rich with history--an original communiq of old Cincinnati. Gone are the communities that serve the entire needs of the people that live within her -bounds. Now one must get in the car and drive miles to malls to be pleased, while looking to fill their needs. This community I speak of is the area of Clifton and Ludlow. The area is rich with little privately owned businesses. You can take the one· you choose to spend quality time with, and enjoy the stroll on Ludlow. You can get all the news, publications, and magazines at the news shops. Even her favorite flowers on the corner. There are nice and quiet places to eat, take the children out for a treat. Go to the last of the neighborhood movie theaters. She can ·even g~t a dress while you walk the rest. Take a walk and experience the firehouse with the children. A nice Bakery, store with special ice creams. It's a store large enough to feel your every needs. A drug store, a bank, a pizza spot, novelty jewelry, and even a college shop. .Big Brother, or should I say, Big Business (Big developers) has not destroyed the little man. To the west is Cincinnati State, _to the East is University of Cincinnati, to the Sout,h Good Sam hospital, to the North, residents that live and make up this valued group. Vendor~ Profile: Sonny Williams Continued from Back Page Continued from eage 12 bombs. In 1990, Sonny ioined Mac, Ernest, where he met Rev. Maurice McCracken (Mac) Gordo,n, and others in an anti-nuclear peace Ernest and Marion Bromley, and he lived for a camp in Butler, Missouri where they protested time with the Brokaw family. He attended the proliferation of minutemen missiles in U.C. part time, formed a VVAW group there, Western states. In 1992, Sonny was arrested and completed his Associate of Arts Degree. in Columbus, Ohio for opposing cuts in He also became a strong advocate of General Assistance. He, Buddy, Berta, and prisoners' rights and prison reform and others _sat in Governor Voinovich's office. became a vocal opponent of the death penalty._ Sonny supported actions for homeless He has had many pen pals in prison. people at the Milner Hotel and at the Recovery In 1979, Viet Nam Veterans Against the Hotel. He supported an action at Race and War (VVAW) split into VVAW and VVAW Al, McMicken to prevent dem'olition of safe Al meaning Anti Imperialist. Sonny switched housing. Around 1993, he was arrested at the to VVAW Al which focuses on US war policy site of the future Aronoff Center for opposing and on opposing US continued imperialism the demolition of low income housing. He around the world. He protested Reagan's chained himself to a bull dozer and spent 3 invasion of Granada; protested US threats hou·rs in jail until Gordon bailed him out. against Iran; protested US involvement in Judge Bettman dropped the charges. Nicaragua; and protested US bombing of Iraq. In 1994, he worked with the Dorothy In 1988, Sonny was arrested for trying to Day Diner. He is currently active with the save housing for homeless people. He was Coalition for the Homeless and the Welfare arrested with Buddy, Rev. Maurice Rights Coalition. From 1991 to the present, McCracken, Bonnie, and Vivian Kinebrew at he has been a member of the Board of Justice the action on Spring Street. :In 1989, on Labor Watch. He is on the Board of the Contact Day, he was arrested at Fe_rnald with Gordon · Center; He is head of Cincinnati Nuke Watch Maham, Berta Lambert, Ernest Bromley, and now called the Hamilton County Anti N,uclear Mac, for protesting the production of nuclear - . • Unwanted · Authority by Gregory Payton Authority, the Power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make the final decision. Can we understand this word? After all, this word is missing in today's society. In our city, we give police authority in a given way to uph·old the law. In our house, God wanted man to know, accept and submit unto his authority. Some did, and most of us haven't for various excuses. In turn, man didn't learn how to share, lead, guide, or direct to show his wife how and who he submits to. So man was bad example unto the Father and his wife. And she found it hard to be obedient to him, let alone let him give the commands or even make the final decisions. So she was without the word, and they became void. So we ask, who can teach the children?' Who has the power to lead, guide, direct, encourage and teach our children how to pray or even what to p,ray for? To pray is to have love. Who will teach the children to love, for love is what we all need? This is what we need to share with one another and for each other. a a Disarmament. On May 13, 1995 Sonny married Lynn Dinnen and has a wonderful little "activist" named Sara, age 2. Sonny has a tremendous knowledge of current events, both locally and nationally. He studies continuously. He reads it, studies it, lives it, and acts upon it. He has a keen sense of conscience and fairness and justice; he is a constant advocate for anyone who is oppressed . He has dealt constructively with the atrocities of Viet Nam, _with condition~ which are beyond what most of us ever conceive of in a lifetime. He is somewhat vegetarian. He is an animal rights advocate. Even when he had very little money he housed stray cats to keep them from starving. At one time, 18 cats were living in his apartment and being fed. Sonny is kind, compassionate, committed to peace and justice. He understand the relationships between many causes· and acts upon h_is convictions--. He is a writer and superb poet. I am proud that my friend, Edward (Sonny) Williams won the 1997 -Maurice McCrackin Award this April. That is why he is featured as our Vendor Profile. �STREETVIBES 1 The fri Stote s Homeless Grapevine Streetvi be·s TV and Radio Schedule Vendor Profile: Sonny Williams by Mary Ann Lederer . This month's vendor profile is Sonny Williams. Edward (Sonny) Williams' parents met in the Silver Dollar Cafe at 14th and Vine in Cincinnati's Over the Rhine community. Sonny's grandmother lived in the Over the Rhine, and Sonny, who was born in. 1946, spent most of his life there. Thus it is understandable and appropriate that he has been politically active for almost 30 years as an advocate for the unrepresented and unempowered people in a neighborhood torn by poverty and gentrification. When Sonny was 17, his father died leaving his mother with the task of supporting 8 children. In response to economic pres- _ sures Sonny enlisted in the military where he obtained his GED and regularly sent money home to his mother. Sonny experienced the horrors of guerrilla warfare including exposure to chemi. cal weapons such as Agent Orange. He developed rashes, fits of crying, nightmares, and all the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The horror of his war experience is revealed in the following poem written in 1970 ~ Book of Change How to say you've changed to two dead girls (!fter ravishing them in the jungle; because they were V.C. tossing them on the trail with holes in their middle to bleed in the mud by the village where their ancestors lived for centuries both face up turning nightly with screams of . pain pleas for mercy · in your dreams? Upon his return he immediately began looking for anti war activities. He became a Page 12 Check us out, We're on TV! Streetvibes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video. Slreetvibes TV April Streetvibes Vendor Sonny Williams political adivist and has been protesting war ever since._ He moved to Chicago where he became involved in the anti-war movement. He became a supporter of a Puerto Rican . group, the Young Lords, who opposed the Viet Nam War. He worked with a group of students called National MOBE (Mobilization for Survival). , He organized people to demonstrate in Washington D.C., Cleveland, and other cities. He worked with SOS (Students for Democratic Society). H.e met people involved in the Chicago Chapter of Viet Nam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). The he returned to Cin.cinnati and with another veteran named Peter formed the Cincinnati Chapter of VVAW. During this period Sonny met Buddy Gray. Both Sonny and Buddy were involved at the Contact Center publishing "Voices, " a newspape~ wor~ed at by Buddy Gray and Bonnie Neumeier. One of Sonny's early protests in Cincinnati was his support of Buddy Gray at Buddy's War Resistor Trial. Both Sonny and Buddy were working to stop the Viet Nam War as well as working to help people in the Ove·r the Rhine· with problems of poverty and oppression. Between 1972 and 1975, Sonny_ became involved in the Cincinnati Peace Coalition, Continued on page I I This month show deals with homeless healthcare issues. It will include guest from the mobi~e healthcare van, homeless dental care providers, and other guest from the healthcare for the homeless programs._ Channel I0 (6A Basic in City of Cincinnati Only) Thursday, May I, 9 am Monday, May 5, 6:30 pm Sunday, May 11, 4 pm Slreetvibes TV May TMs month show will feature reactions to the current wave of demolitions ordered by the Cincinnati Building Department Director against both flood victims and residents of Over-the-Rhine. Also we will have homeless youth telling 'their own story. Channel 7 (5B Basic in most of Hamilton County) Monday, 'May 12, 7 pm live Channel ID Sunday, May 18, 4 pm Thursday, May 22, 9 am Still Needed Copier Van to Transport Vendors TV and VCR to Show Streetvibes Episodes to Groups Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories Need ·Help or Want to Help? If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. Hyou have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803 . SHELTERS: Women and Children 241-2757 Alice Paul House (abuse) Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 431-8717 Welcome House SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St.Joseph House Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (singles) Friars Club Havel"! House (Hamilton) Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761~ 1480 821-51-00 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226 961-4Q80 St. John's Temporary· Housing 651-6446 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental Ill) ·Tom Geiger House 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 TREATMENT: O .D.A.A.T First Step Home 241-7343 921-7324 Women TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both N.A Hopeline A.A Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House · Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 OTHER · SER,VICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati Appalachian Identity Center Churches Active in Northside Cincinnati Health Network Community Acti~n Agency Contact Center Emanuel Community Center Freestore/Foodbank Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. Hamilton Co. TB Control Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Mission Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. Mary Magdalen House Oral Health Council Our Daily Bread Peaslee Neighborhood Center Travelers Aid United Way VA Homeless Program Women's Crisis Center 421-2437 621-5991 591-2246 ' 961-0600 569-1840 381-4242 241-2563 241-1064 621-7149 632-7186 357-4602 352-2902 221-3679 241-9400 . 271-5501 721-4811 621-0248 621-6364 621-5514 721-7660 721-7900 559-6656 491-3335 � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 1997 Vol. 1, issue 4 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource Englsih Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: homeless death, OTR social service agencies, welfare reform (Ohio & U.S.) domestic violence homeless parents food stamp policy transitional housing Caracole (AIDS social service agency) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Jude' Haley Amy Harpeneau Amanda R. Jordan Mary Ann Lederer Zollie Long Myron the Observer Gregory Payton Andy Peters Smile Melissa Thomas The Traveler Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Vera Zlatkin Amanda R. Jordan Amy Harpeneau Andy Peters Brian Davis children David Dietz Denise Crew domestic violence Donald Whitehead F.J.C. Gregory Payton homeless Jude' Haley living wage Lynn Williams Mary Ann Lederer Melissa Thomas Myron Pat Clifford reform Ron Carter Smile the Observer The Traveler Vera Zlatkin welfare Zollie Long https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/9af64439b32b3d3ad4ea7fb5dc99e457.pdf 93fd91013d63dcaeb6bc56a859fc5224 PDF Text Text Aclion Urged to Prevent Welfare Cuis by lynn Williams As we go to press, H.B. 408 will be leaving t he House Finance Committee to go to ' the full Ohio House of Repre~entatives. lt has · already wormed .its way thro ug h t he Ho use Human Service Subcommittee of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. As it raises its ugly ·head, this mean~spirited bill has so far survived intact. We need to put out an all out effort to stop and change sorne of the key components of it. Key components of this bill include: * 3 year lifetime limits to receive cash benefits , ., * lnsufficient child care subsidies: T ransitional child care will be guaranteed for one· year only up to 135% of t he poverty line. T here is no guarantee for non-welfare lowincome working parents. Many of these families are at or below poverty line and can not afford a mínimum of $400 p~r month far child care! This is NOT the time for state legislators to scale back child care when 125,000 recipients will be joining the wo~ force within two years.. What is going to happen to the children ?! !! * H.B. 408 eliminates one state annual inspect ion of child care centers. That will leave only one inspection to make su re are children are receiving adequate care & supervisio n! * H.B. 408 eliminates the earmark of 20% of Title II money being used for non-TANF · child care subsidies * Allows only IO hours of the 30 hours/ week work requirement to be used for ' education ' * Permits DA (Disability Assistance) to be provided people in substance abuse treatment programs, but ~ot if they are on a waiting list to get into a treatment program. Anyone who has tried to help a friend get into a program, or has trie•: themselves, knows how long the wait can be for a no-income person to get help. * H.B. 408 only includes Medicaid for children up to 150% of the poverty line. No mention is made of hea_lth care for low-income workirÍg parents aftér one year transitional Medicaid. And no mention is made period of insuring singl~ adults with out children. lf you are concerned, upset, and we hope, outraged about these plans to cut off surviv.al for poor Ohioans, we urge you to contact House legislators now!!! Call Speaker of the House Jo Ann Davidson at 614466-4847 to urge that the three year time limit for life be stopped. Call President of the Senate Richard Finan at 614-466-9737. You . Continued on page 3 The Parking Lot at 1215 Vine_ Street where Reginald W instead was re moved from under a car. Note _the fo rensic paint marking the area. Photo by Ja~es Hea,th. Woman Runs Over Homeless Man, Drags Him for Six Blocks Under H by Pal Cliflord lt was I am on May 25. Very early Sunday morning. The Taste of Cincinnati was winding dow n · on Central Parkway between downtown and Over-t he-Rhine. A woman drives in to park her car in the lighted lot at 1215 Vine Street. lt was then that the gruesome discovery was made. There was a human hand sticking o ut from under her car. Thirty six year o l~ Reginald Wi nstead, a homeless man, was wondering ~he streets near Race ahd Green Streets in Over-theRhine. One witness claims that he crawled out into the street and laid down. Others claim that he was walking across the street. Everyone agrees that he was then hit by a Ford Escort driven by twenty year old Amanda Wheeler of Corryville. He was run over and dragged six tenths of a mile: from Race and Green, down Rá~ce Street to Twelfth, across to Vine Street and then up Vine Street to the parking lot. Ms. Wheeler was on her way to the Warehouse, an .Over-the-Rhine hot spot at 1313 Vine Street with a friend. She knew she had hit something in the road, but she was too afraid for her safety to stop until she reached the lot. Witnesses report that the horror and shock were evident from their faces. Police claim that alcohol was not a factor. After finding Mr. Winstead, lot attendants quickly called 91 1 and summoned the police. lt took six people to lift the car on its . side by hand. Mr. Winstead was barely alive and badly burned. He was rushed to University Hospital. Originally in Critica! Condition, Mr. Winstead was upgraded ·t o Serióus and Stable on May 28 in t he University Hospital Burn Unit. He underwent skin graft surgery on May 29. The attending nurse stated that it usuálly takes severa! weeks iñ the hospital an d several mo nths after t hat to recover from injuries of this kind. She did say that it was likely that he will survive, barring any complications. Sgt. Steven Eggers fro m the Cincinnati Police Division's traffic unit is leading the investigation. He states that it will take approximately two weeks to inspect the car and compile the case. His unit will_then present its findings to the City Prosecutor, who will decide what charges to file, if any. Mr. Winstead does have a wife and family. "He was a really quiet, nice and articulate guy. He would do anything you asked him to," said Deni.s e Crew, staffworker at the Drop lnn Center where Mr. Winstead was ,staying. Streetvibes will,definitely follow tbis story and bring you updates each month: 1 $1 Coupon Venice Pizza 221-7020 Venice Pizza at 2801 W . McMicken is an mployment program that offers part time onhe-job training where individuals have an pportunity to further develop their skills and ave an experience in food service. The grou s non-profit. Present this coupon and receive $1 off ny large pizza. O ne coupon per visit. Minium free delivery·$8. ·call fór area and times. ot good with any other coupon. Expires 6/30/97. •v �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri Stote 's Homeless Grapevine Page 2 CMHA Holds Board Meeting on Policy Changes by Pal Clifford Streetvibes, the T ri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. lt is compiled by the Greater ,Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. AII vendors _sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan oúr issues and increase circulation. lf you are interested in helping or have a comment, please _call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrino, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Berta Lambert On Friday, May 23, the Board of the · Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority held a special session to discuss a host of proposed policy changes. Last month we reported on the proposals (Legal Aid Fights Changes to CMHA Lease Policies, Barb Hobe, . Streetvibes, May 1997). Sorne proposals include changes in who pays utilities, giving CMHA more power to evict tenants for violations and measures designed to aid the working poor. Several people from area shelters spoke to oppose the proposed elimination of preferences for the homeless. The homeless preference policy exists to give families who are currently living in _shelters or on the streets a hand up by moving them to the top of the waiting list. Many shelters use CMHA as their primary housing resource and the use of "shelter letters" tells CMHA staff that this family is in a housing crisis. The new policy would elimin~te these shelter letters and treat homeless families as just another case to be processed without concern to their status. On Thursday, May 8, . representatives of Bethany House Shelter, Chabad House Stielter, Franciscan at St. John Temporary Housing, the Facts About Homeless Familias~--~~-~ Writers Marvin Abrinica F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Harold Dopman Susan Eisenberg Sally Karl Sheree Kelly Estee Lackey-Harris Myron Bonnie Neumeier . Tess .Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Vera Zlatkin Volunteer Editors Marvin Abrinica . James Heath Barb Hobe Tom Mulroy Reter ali slories or inquiries lo: Streetvibes e/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street 1 Cincinnati, OH 4521 O (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless _ and the Salvation Army met with Don Troendel, Susan Bailey Newell and Mike Harris from CM HA They met to assess .the need for a Homeless, Admission Policy in the event of the renioval of homeless preferences. Currently, research is being-done to find the time it takes to respond to homeless families and possible bottlenecks in the system. Homeless advocates asked the board not to remove ·the homeless preferences from the current policies until an agreed upon Homeless Admission Policy is put in place. 1n addition, advocates asked the board to consider putting a policy in place for victims of domestic violence. Many of the proposed changes would have an adverse impact on those needing CMHA housing to leave abusive situations. lt is clear to all that the budget tightening in Washington is pushing many of these changes. Many advocates and residents feel that in the rush to tighten policies and cut costs, we should not forget to have sorne flexibility to those in crisis circumstances like homelessness or domestic violence. Published by lhe Nalional Coa/ilion tor lhe Homeless, March 1997 · Homelessness is a devastating experience for families. lt disrupts virtually every aspect of family life, damaging the physical and emotional health of family members, interfering with children's education and development, and frequently resulting in the separation of family members. The dimensions, causes, and consequences of family homelessness are discussed below. An overview of policy issues and a list of resources for further study are also provided . The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is families with children. Families with children constitute approximately 40% of people who become homeless, while on any given night, an estimated 20% of the homeless population are families (Shinn and Weitzman, 1996). A survey of 29 U.S. cities found that in 1996, children accounted for 27% of the homeless population (Waxman and Hinderliter, 1996). These proportions are likely to be higher in rural areas; research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas (Vissing, 1996). ~Streetvibes Vendor Code of . Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following distributors. code to be able to sell the paper. 6. 1agree not tQ deceive the public by 1. Streetvibves will be distributed for a saying that I am collecting for a not-for-profit $1 voluntary donation. 1agree not to ask for charity or that I am collecting for the "homedonations -more than $1. 1 also understand less" in general. 1 will be honest in stating that that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will dollar collected. Future issues of Streetvibes go to the individual vendor. will be purchased from the Homeless Coalition · 7. 1agree that I will not contest territo- for 20 cents. ries with other distributors. 2. 1 agree that I will never 'distribute 8. 1 understand that Streetvibes strives ·streetvibes while under the influence of drugs to be a self supporting paper created by or alcohol. people who are homeless or formerly home3. 1agree that I will not ask for donations less. To help in this effort, 1 will try to spread after 12 midnight. the word and write stories if possible. 4. 1 agree to treat others with respect. 1 · 9. 1 understand that the failure to comply will not use abusive language or 'force someone wi.th any o( the above statements will result in to give a donation. 1 will not give a "hard sell" me no longer being able to distribute or make someone feel threatened. Streetvibes. 5. 1 agree that I will not supply copies of Streetvibes· to persons who are not registered �~ S[REEl"VHU:,s, The Tri State 's Homeless Gcapevine Page J . ' Welfare Action Continued 'lE~ \'~ t:e,o \.)\ ,~ ~ooD ~,A~~s ~\O \ O \N'E. LrARE' C onti nued from page 1 9.Er=-o~N\. can call free from t he Contact Center, 164 1 Vine St. For a more complete list of legislators to call, contact us at 38 14 242 . NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!!! lf you are reading this and thinking it doesn't affect you, ¡ust remember: many of us who are fortunate to have ¡obs are only one or two paychecks away from needing welfare. lf you are currently on the system, what better motivation than to call and write NOW! ,'N\ \ '. l.~\ U.. E\) . ~'oo0, Cv\$ E)(c.\~ ~~D C\4\ Le>RE N. 'N~,,... '-<01..)'~E. Mt> úJ, ~~<$oL\J\EL'1' G,C>t:>\( T\.\E. ~~ ,e,~ l.AC\< ~ \Ñ& ~~/:::..S,\'-I ~Et-1\T '<oU... ?' Oe>oo~, '1oV 'Re. ~ s~~P ONE! ofr M::,EQVb.,E c\l.,1.-0 0..~1 ~\? ClftS ltJ ~\)\~\\\Ot..J , Hamilton County Backs Down on Welfare Reform Slows Food Stamp Transitional Housing Progress Restrictions ~~A/'>\'5. . Hamilton County Department of Human Services has issued a statement t hat single adults who, are childless between the ages of 18 and 50 must work FIVE hours each week in order to be eligible for food stamps. Sorne recipients are still being told they must work more than this t o get food stamps. lf this is happening to you, if you are being told that you must work more than five hours/week, call us at the Contact Center at 381-4242 . A Call to Action from Chicago The People's March lo Proles/ Public Housing Policies June 19, 1991 The Coalition to Protect Public Housing is sponsoring a mass protest to proposed public housing changes and policies which will effect the poorest of the poor. We shall not be taken for granted and we shall not be moved! March and demonstration starts at 11 am at various public housing sites. The rally begins at 12:30 pm in Grant Parle. There will be transportation available from Cincinnati. Call 421-7803 for more information. by Sal/y Karl T ransitional housing provides a bridge between homelessness (living in a shelter) and permanent housing. Cincinnati has a number of good programs. Each program typically addresses a particular segment of the population. One such agency is T om Geiger Guest House. TGGH , working in partnership with the YWCA and Bethany House Services offers I, 2, and 3 bedroom completely furnished apartments to women and their children. The program fee is 30% of the resident's ad¡usted gross income. The apartments are clean, safe and secure. The building is centrally located to schools and hospitals on the main bus line. Mo re importantly, women and children living there receive a variety of supportive services such as parenting skills, self-esteem, money management, _and on-going advocate and group support. The Comprehensive Care for the Homeless medical team visits the sit e every other Thursday providing medical care for women and children. In addition, the Ci nci nnati Public Schools offers Pro¡ect Connect three afternoons a week. A visiting tutor works with the children and their homework to keep t hem up with school wo rk in what might be a tough time in thei r yo ung live s. The th rust of this transitional facility has been to enable women to finish GED's, work on a college degree and/or obtain job t raining in order to become self-supportive and mainstream into society and permanent housing. Recent changes in the welfare system have dramatically reduced the women's ability to make the commitment to try to further their education and ¡ob skills. Because of the need to work 20 - 30 hours each week, the issues of child care and paying for child care, transportation (lack of) to and from daycare, school and ¡ob sites, it is almost impossible for a women with several children to even consider going to school. An example of a typical niom: she leaves the building each week-day shortly after 6:00 a.m. toting the infant to a daycare; then to the school for the school age child. She then goes to her school for the day. Late-afternoon is the t rip in reverse. AII this by public transportation , arriving home close to 6:00 p. m. to fix din ner, do homework and attempt a family life. Now enter Welfare Reform. Mom w ill most likely give up on school for hersetf. Her 20 - 30 hours a week job will cancel out time for school after all the bus trips with children, daycare and her child's schooling. Forget about an education and a good job, dreams of a home of their own someday. Welfare Reform changes make it so difficult! Agencies such as TGGH that have bee impacting homelessness in a positive manner are now havi ng to look at their programs t o see what changes need to be made in order to contin ue to serve their clients in a constructive way. To continue to be more than just a place to live. W elfare Refo rm! Could it be that these latest so called refo rms are just another way to keep the poor, poor and the undereducated stuck in neutral? Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521 O Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. lf you have any questions, call the office at 421 ;.7803. �Find these words in the puzzle: Word Search p M A T s N o p w R o I T I N L E E y A L H A V o I e B I A L w A e E R I A e e o o o o F I p H E T H T E A G s T N V N s N E R I E s o R s L o E J u E N I N N A E u A V J s E o o o B o M I H o H s H Cincinnati Homeless Housing Foodstamp Vendor Water Law Sad Coalition Ohio June Year Feet Shoes VCR AIDS Health Van. Money Facts About Ohio: Minimum Wage and Housing 196% of the current federal minimum wage of $4.75--almost two times--is necessary to afford a two bedroom apartment in Ohio. Even after the minimum wage is increased next summer, more than one and a half times the increased minimum wage will be necessary to afford a 2-bedroom apartment. Workers need to earn $9.32 an hour to afford to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in Ohio. Statistics from the National Low lncome Housing Coalition, Out of Reach, 1996. You Are Not Forgotton, Veteran ACTION UPDATE: Cincinnati Living Wage Campaign by Gregory Paytonl Vietnam Era Veteran The month of June is special, because veterans administration marks its tenth anniversary in giving and providing services to its own homeless veterans. Whether you served in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Persian Gulf or from November 1941 through June 1997, they're here for you, man or woman. You need to see how they can help you in your needs. You can go over to the Veteran Hospital on 3200 Vine St. or the Drop-lnn Center on Thursday at 217 W. 12th St. and talk to lola Green, homeless veteran coordinator. Come learn how to prevent the cycle of homelessness through treatment, support and financia! assistance. Whatever the reason: shortage of low income housing, extended periods of unemployment, post-military psychiatric disorder, community Whal is a living wage? Communities around the country are working to pass laws that would set fair wage and benefit standards. A living wage is not the minimum wage; you cannot feed your family by working full time and earning the current minimum wage of $9,880 per year. A living wage is the minimum amount of money a full time worker must earn to feed, clothe and house his or her family. adjustment problems, war and non-war related traumatic experiences or maybe low selfesteem. The health care for homeless veterans can help you, if you give them a chance. Remember, when we called, you carne. When we asked, you signed. When we taught, you trained. When we said there, you went. When we said fight, you did. You answered the call that taught us all To step up and step forward, To treat freedom as a gift from God. You served you God, your country With honor, dignity, and grace. Let them help you with the problems you face. íl t ) Upcoming events in Cincinnali · F Neighborhood leaders and representatives from the living wage campaign are planning summer workshops throughout Greater Cincinnati. The purpose of the workshops is to foster discussion about a living wage and ways citizens can get involved. A resolution to support "managed competition" is currently before the Cincinnati City Council. This resolution would set a living wage pay for ali contracts with the City of Cincinnati. In September, the citywide public forum will provide a large outlet for debate and discussion concerning the need for a living wage in Cincinnati. One focus will be· taking the living wage campaign beyond the governmental level to encourage prívate companies to offer living wage pay voluntarily. · Community leaders are planning to distribute information and surveys at summer · and fall festivals, speak at neighborhood asso- · ciation meetings, and find ways to· involve théir neighbors in promoting a living wage for ::_. · -·.. Cincinnati all throughout this summer and· fall.'" To help spread the word aboun.h~ -, :_i¡,,. Cincinnati Living Wage Camp~Jgn,; calt.C?-~~ .~/; . ,, Christenson at 721r:~~~~¡9[1~~~1y1r~íls~l13F, .., -1 ,:·,fr/~ 421-1846. . # •i. :. B t a i: t s . VA Homeless Worker lola Green serves the homeless veterans with counseling and placement. ' E E E íl 1997 Bengals Scrimmage Fundraiser July 26, Georgetown, KY . Mark Y(?.Ur calendars now for the meal will, be cater;d,for ali participants. annua_l Bengals _Scrimmage Fundjaiser for the Also, Coach Bruc~ Co.slet will be on hand to Homéles~-~oa.litión this July. ,'st _ ,_ .. -_ give .~ri ove~i~~~of ~he _ St.ri~mag~ ~nd .. This ye~r's evel'.lt is ,new a~d imprQv_ed. : _ answ~r qu_estions!- AI_I_th,is for only $,50._ Busses will b~ provided ,to _~ra.11~por,t peopie . -~ _ Call the HomeleS,$, -~oaÍ!tion át 42Jto the net~i11g~~~. Trai_ni:~_g _C:_~,ij1p ~"cilj9'}tt-," :--,/803for _more information' ·~~ to make your reservat1ons now. Georgetown, KY--ncf"parking hassles. A íl s r e J 1 e r �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Home/ess Grapevine Page 5 The Ending of My Denial by Donald Whílehead Years ago I started unknowingly on a path of a career in social justice. 1 have believed for most of that time that if I could get the word out, people would come around, and things would change. 1 have dedicated the last two years of my life to getting the word out and change perceptions and stereotypes. Recently I traveled to Washington D.C our nations cap.ital, -the place were most of , · those people who need to know work. Nor-mally in my travels as a homeless advocate, there has been very little time to see the cities 1 traveled to. My only impressions of the cities have been what I saw flying in or flying out. This trip was a little different, imagine my enthusiasm and anticipation when I realized 1 would get to tour our nations capital. 1 had· been to Washington before, as a six grader, my by Dávid Díelz view of life was a little different at that time. 1 remember seeing the Washington monument, the White House and the Smithsonian. This On June 14th the Buckeye Forest tour was about monuments or museum Council (BFC), a statewide forest advocacy regardless of how grand they were. 1 was not group, will be opening its Cincinnati satellite •office. The dream of a Southwest Ohio disappointed by these national treasures. My disappointment was what 1_saw between the regional office has become a reality. 1 have had the honor of being associated with the Buckmonuments and museums. 1 saw many people wandering the streets with only a grocery cart eye Forest Council since the fall of 1994. l'm to hold their .currently a member of the coordinating meager belongcouncil and have been one of the many ings. 1 saw park volunteers who has worked to rehabilitate a vacaQt storefront on Elm St. after park that was home to its As a volunteer of the BFC, l've had the many inhabitopportunity to stand up and speak out for ants. 1 saw Ohio's native forests. Our major challenge as • CCNV the an organi.zation is to raise awareness about the inherent worth of wildlands in Ohio. Most world largest · homeless Ohioans agree that our forests are beautiful shelter with and forest products are an integral part of 1300 residents. Ohio's economy, but many don't understand our native forests are integral to our very 1 went from the initial joy and anticipation to disappointment and from their my next survival. The oxygen in our air and clean emotion was anger. My anger was that this water in our streams and watertables are the much suffering existed in the capital of the produce of Ohio's wild remnant forests. lf we . richest country in the world the place where it don't increase our respect and understanding all happens, 1was also angry at myself for of our diversé forests, we'II be the next species on the -endangered list. being so naive. AII this time I have been wasting my energy, believing that the lack of BFC's Athens headquarters have been leading frugal and highly successful citizen knowledge was the biggest factor in the systematic failure to help this countries less campaigns to protect our public lands from fortunate. How could they not know, every abusive logging and mining pro¡ects. Our time they drjve to work these conditions stare statewide focus this year is to empower co~lfield citizens to learn and take advantage of them right in the face. Confronted with the reality that knowltheir rights when they face the issues ·o f edge of the condi+lons which the poor face Qn property damage and mining related illness. a daily basis are readily available we are faced Our Over-the-Rhine office will be specifically with a dilemma. This problem is easily adfocusing on creating model programs for dressed if knowledge isn't the problem the sustainable development. problem must be concern. While lip service is ~Environmentalists are often accused of always given about our legislators' concern for stealing people's ,jobs. The Buckeye Forest the poor, the actions suggest otherwise. We Council is looking to refute that myth by must not continue to concern our selves with providing practiéal dignified alternatives to the how they should act, we must demand that current short term extractive goals of the they act. We can no longer ask them to care, logging and wood pulp industries. Our first we must force them to care, we must exercise economic development project is called our right to vote. There are more poor Martha's Woodshop. Martha's Woodshop is an innovative people than rich people in ·this country, we must make our voic~s heard. My next two project using 100% recycled and salvaged solid _ years or however many more it takes will be wood. As a first phase of this project we will dedicated not to letting them know but making offer ·free woodworking classes to youth age 16-25 in the Over the Rhine and West end them care or making them unemployed like so area. Our long term goal is to provide job many others in this country!!! opportunities in craft making, craft sales and Members of the Buckeye ForestCou ncil rehabilitate their new office on Elm Street. Photo by James Heath. Buckeye Forest Council Opens Cincinnati Office housing rehabilitation work. Most of the wood we use will come from discarded shipping pallets that currently litter the neighborhood. Our first products will be ¡ewelry, boxes and picture frames. The wood in pallets is often high quality hardwood including-oak, cherry, ash, walnut and mahogany. The prototypes we are making look wonderful! Be on the look out for Buckeye Forest Council streetvendors in the coming year. Our office includes gallery space on the walls. The first show is a series of Photographs comparing El Salvador and Cincinnati by OTR based photographer James Heath. .lf you would like to attend our opening or would like more information about our programs please call 665-4900. To a Single Mother by Susan Eísenberg When the just-changed diaper must be changed again, when a plate of spaghetti is dropped deliberately onto the kitchen floor noodle by noodle, when the phone ringing at bedtime snaps the spell of stories and songs, tension topping a hundred three1think of you two sharing a one-room flat. Mother and Child: the Madonna Myth. No partner to cut the burdens by half. No family to step in at overload. No door to quietly close crying infant safely in her crib for a moment's solitude, a cup of tea. Who honors your marathon of · daily life? - �. STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 6 Ref lections on a Sunday: Is Our Nesling Place Secure? by Bonnie Nepmeier, long Time. Residen/ o/ Over-lbe-Rhine As I open my screen door to sit out on my porch swing three floors up, a mourning . dove flies from her nesting place on my window sill. 1 like it that the dove finds comfort here. The one lonely tree across 14th Street is finally showing her buds; 1 was beginning to worry the recent frost bit her lif!! away. This tree has grown to mean a lot to me, for she helps me reflect on life and changes. Are we as long time residents finding comfort here in our nesting place of 0ver-the-Rhine? Because I have lived here a long time, 1 have come to believe and appreciate there is somet hi ng deeper t hat moves through o ur land and people, something I would call characte r and soul. T his sou l deserves respect and can easily be missed by t hose whose eyes only focus on the surface of things, o r see o ur land as valuable, now that the developers have a profitable planned agenda serving their interests. lt takes time and compassion to understand the soul of a people and place. lt can't be understood through a "ULI Study" or a Corporate Charact_e r lnc. survey or through thé creation of an 0TR Coalition that see~s to undermine our Community Council. lt takes a listening heart and the ability to walk in another's shoes. The concerns of residents who are poor and low income would not fall on ~~af ears or be told their lived experience is invalid or not true IF WE REALLY MATTERED IN THE SCHEME 0F THINGS PLANNED F0RTHE LAND WE CALL HOME. We see our buildings and people differently. lt's not a place of "blight" that needs removed and deaned out. When I look · upon the faces of our people and the facades of their homes, 1 do not see blight. 1 see 0verthe-Rhine's soul crying out for justice; she's been abused, bruised and wounded by structures keeping in place the violence of poverty, racism and classism. And the answer now is not to blame her for what you see on the surface (neglected buildings, stressed lives in poverty) . and give her a majar overh~ul where nothing is familiar, where the character and soul are destroyed and replaced by persons and establishments who have no idea o r desire to learn w hat lives in her vei ns ...that history of strugg;le an d resistance to make a~d keep t his our home, improve on ou r quality or life through community-based efforts, and bring to fruition our dreams. Any new development must be challenged and take into account the interity ~nd soul of 0ver-the-R_hine. 0ur people need not be expended. · income units of housing...we feel a deep' loss and sadness in the air. 0UR NESTING PLACE D0ES N0T FEEL SECURE. What's going on in Over-the-Rhine has a lot to do with power. Who's got that raw power, and who· doesn'tf Who's agenda is getting supported; who's agenda is notr Who · is benefitting and who is being injured? Who is able to access resources and wbo is not? 1 have to maintain my hopefulness but wonder how much or vision and dream, through no fault of ou r own, wi II suffer t he blows of sheer greed and invasion by those who do not understand or want to take t he time to see our faces, to uch our hearts and understand our soul. STREETVIBES Editorial Page When I walk down Main Street, how she's newly made up; care was not taken to reflect the culture and people who call this home. 0ur hopes and dreams are not reflected in her new dress. We would not feel like stra,igers if we were woven in its develop. ment. Every day now, as the bulldozer tears down another "endangered building" for a parking lot, or big machinery sits in our streets to make our business districts look trendy, or plans go forward to do more anéJ more market rate housing without City Council legislating a policy to preserve and protect our 5520 low This weekend Jammin' on Main was celebrated. This event does not reflect who we are nor what we want. lt feeds the fire of "come see how we, the new entrepreneurs, are getting rid of the bligh~." 1 wonder how many people, like me, are sitting on our porches or stoops, just doing our regular routine on Sunday... worshiping our God, doing our laundry, shopping for mild and bread, grateful for the sun shining, and at this 11 :00 AM hour on Sunday, with drug deals not so prevalent preying on our street, we can feel somewhat at peace and can hear the chimes in the· wind and honor our Mothers today, who gave us life and love... and never even had the urge to "visit" Jammin' on Main, for we desire to dance to the music of our own souls. .Is Palien.ce Still a Virtue? by Tess They say patience is a virtue. Patience, a noun, is defined as follows: 1. The bearing of provocation, annoyance, mjsfortune, pain, etc., without complaint, loss of temper, or irritation. 2. An ability or willingness to suppress annoyance wlien co~fronted with delay: to have patience with a child who is a slow learner. 3. Quiet perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience. .Virtue is a good or admirable ·quality, moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. Virtue is conformity in life and conduct to moral and ethical principies. Virtue is also a n,oun. A noun is any member of a class of words distinguished chiefly by having plural or possessive endings, by functioning as subject or object in sentence construction, and by designating persons, places, things, states, or qualities. 1 began thinking about patience when President Clinton was walking with crutches after his knee surgery. 1 wondered if the physical slow-down of his bo dy wo uld affect his view of the world; if he would be human- . ized by th e trauma to his knee, the pai n and inconvenience of having four legs rather than two; or would he contin~e a status-quo life styl.e? "lt" can happen to anyone, even the President of the United States. "lt", a sudden ) change in life style, whether sickness, homelessness, hunger, pain, griet; liappiness, joy or drug/alcohol addiction. Was he patierit with his illñess? Is he patient with the welfare of the people ot' our country? Is he able to see the affects of Food Stamp cutbacks on men, women and children? Does he still pay $250.00 for a hair cut? Can he imagine being homeless and hungry? Would he eat beansfor dinner every night of the week? 0r sleep in a shelter? His "upbeat" answer may sound someth1ng like.... 1 would pick myself up and make a positive effort to take charge of my life, to · make the "right" choices, to work again, to buy a home again, to feed my family again, to save money again for Chelsea's education and Hjllary's pearls .... ain't nothing gonna keep a good man down! We are ali the same. We could substitute the life on anyo ne of us in t he above scenario and take the "test of patie nce" and see how well we'd fare. Even in my heart-of- hearts I cannot imagine being so helplessly hopeless and lonely as a person in a shelter. When will our legislators realize their · patience is not-existent? That their virtue has vanished and that they are living their lives in a cocoon or an another plane from the realities we face everyday? When will we each take our gifts from God and share them as they were meant to be shared? We should be outraged by the State of our Union! No one, not one of us should be alone and helpless or hopeless .... we are our brother's keeper. We are impatient, we think it is easy to pick ourselves up and get our lives in order to make the "right" choices. This ,was ingrained in . the upper-middle-class majority teachings of the baby boomers. The work ethic we learned from our fathers, to provide for the family and the "wife" a good home, food and clothing, to work and succeed at whatever we do. Today we teach our children nothing. We should be ashamed. 1 challenge myself and all of you to take the test of patience, to examine yo ur virtues; to take the hand of a brother a nd open your heart to his needs. �i' / . STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 7 - WHITEHOUSE CoFFEE 5 " WEWONT BE 5EEING SOON.f.. ·• tM SO ~LA'D TO GET YcuR vre:WS 0N HOME~NESS ,,.. AND NOW r'D LIKE Yoo TO . MEIT Wf' H.U.D. 5ECUfARY,, .. Letter to the Editor of -the New York· Times by Eslee l ackey-Harris Dear Homeless. • • by Myron Dear Homeless, My name is Don, and I want to know what makes a person sleep on a park bench. Don Dear Don, There are bot h perso nal and societal reasons for sleeping on a park bench. The personal reasons: eviction, mental illness, loss of a job, la~off, substance abuse, domestic violence. Sorne societal reasons: no affordable housing, deinstitutionalization, lack of decent jobs, lack of drug treatment, racis, and sexism. Thank you. Please write again. Dear l:-lomeless ... accepts letters. Please send your questions to: Myron e/o Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street · Cincinnati, OH 4S21 O We will attempt to answer all letters in a timely manner. Dear Homeless, My question: where can I get something to eat? Thanks. Willie Dear Willie, Go to the Drop lnn Center at 217 W 12th Street and eat lunch or dinner. · Seven days a week. While you're there, ask for a meal site sheet. · Don·t Relieve the Hype About Young .Adults by Sheree Kelly My name is Sheree Kelly. l'm in AmeriCorps, the Welfare Rights Coalition and CYC Mentoring Program, This is about how society treats and sees young adults. You see me coming--pants and shirt too big, hanging off me; rather t han weari ng a shi rt o r a pant s suit. 1 don't have on heels, 1 simply wear gyní shoes; book bag on my shoulder rather than carrying a brief case. As you glance at me more fierce you see I have 2 beepers rather than one. YoU stare and ask yourself, what are they for? Do I ever smile at youl No! 1 stand glaring at you with my intimidating frown. stop dead in my tracks a~d think. Then it comes to me what you first thought is that l'm either a drug dealer, hoodlum, ghetto, 1 got babies at home or l'm just plain ignorant. lnstead of lisiening to my ideas orto me speak, you already judge me. MUch to your surprise l'm a lot different than what you expect. When I talk, if you listen, you'II know that l'm very aware of things in my society and l'm not the igno,rant young lady you thought I would be. Sorne people think l'm a role model, a good writer, a good friend, and that l'm special in my own way. You always look at me like I should hold my head down but do I? No I don't, 1 walk in hold my head damn high. Being the strong black women that r am, 1 simply ignore your glares. Once you give me a chance to speak you realize your assumptions we're wrong. AII l'm saying is you have to_give people a chance rather than judging them. 1 guess it doesn't matter because l'm go_ing to succeed regardless of your ignorance. This letter is concerning your article " ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY from WELFARE TO WORK", May 26 1997. 1 was appalled at the amount of time that was spent on advertising Mr. Preston Whites attribut es as if he were placing an ad in the personals section of the newspaper. The topic of the · article was described as a prize to women who are on welfare because he has a steady job. This mother, Ms. Sharri Pharr was · described as if she were wrong to have been upset by him offering her a job sorting other people underwear, and had nothing better to do than ruin Mr. White's day. · How would he like to be in her place. Since he thinks that McDonald's is such a good entry level job' and a good way to learn the habits of work there. Id bet that if he were in this women shoes he couldn't handle half of what she has gone through with the welfare system. 1 find that the welfare system today has set itself up for failure from the beginning. The government seems so occupied in trying to "balance the budget niess arou nd with the deficit and other such topics. They find someone who can't fight them and they take advantage of them . These are your working poor, disabled, imm.igrants arid all the programs set aside for them and strip them down. They are afraid to go to battle with those such as the military and corporate big heads who seemed to have deve!oped they' re own typ~ of welfare that keeps them on top, and going futher up the corporate· ladder. · Cutting people off is not successful welfare reform, it's not the way to cut down on caseloads, •its a way to show how much this country lies. The statement" give us your poor.... " and the rest of it is not important anymore, they don't even care about the poor they have created and are creating. 1 myself work two jobs and that can't suffice myself nor the rest of my family. 1 feel ashamed that this women, (Ms: Pharr) has to go through the run around with this guy who is supposed to be giving her a hand up, but is instead looking for a one night stand, and a person to make feel inferior bec~use he has a job and she's on welfare. Life always has hurdles for peqple to get over , but that's neither here or there as far as Mr. White is concerned. ___,_ �'--..... STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine WORD ON THE STREET What is Homelessness? by Ron Carter H - is for housing so desparately needed. O - is for overwhelming obstacles to cross. M - is for many days and ñights on the street. E - is for every meal that I missed. L- is is losing all that I had. E - is for everlasting thoughts of hope. S - is for all the suffering I went through. S - is for the soup kitchens that gave me food. N - is for not ever losing faith. E - is for everyone that tried to help-. S - is for that someone who showed me the way. S - is also for suddenly seeing the light. Now I know that everything will be alright. Untitled Poem by Denise Crew On this day there was mu_ch to be verbal about. lt seemed there was far too much tension these days. 1 had failed to make a point, he could see. At least agree upon. 1 left home without him. There was so much work to do, 1 had to go. There must have been something in what 1 said earlier, that in the quiet of our little apartment on Race Street. Must have spoken to him in a quiet and meaningful way. He met me at the Shelter, milled around and looking, listening. He cam_e to me and said, "Mom, today 1 want to go inside. 1found a buddy in the crowd." And off the two did go. To make sure he understood all he should know as he walked this new path he would go As the boards carne off I watched him carefully, filled with pride for all to see. We all waited nervously (f~r CPD) to come you see. He became impatient, demanding to know when and if he would go Sitting around doing nothing wasn't any fun. hot bored tired and hungry, like everyone We swept up and he took his little spot Since the day was a failure, for him. He decided not to occupy building number two and missed a chance to take his stand Spr.ing Street. Day of national action reflections of a mother The day my son took a mán's stand~-· Who To .Blame? by F.J.C. When your welfare check is late You're left waiting at the gate Blame the President You're broke and out of dough Flat have nowhere to go Blame the President Here you are without a job People call you " lazy slob" Blame it on the President You've grown old and ugly too Bewildered what to do Blame it on the President lf you can run out of gas Credit !!! you' re afraid to ask Blame it on the President \ The world in turmoil it is true Don't let them put the blame on you Blame the President Take me out upon my yacht That you have nothing I care not Blame it the ón the President 1sleep upon a soft soft bed 1don't care if you are dead Blame it on the President Yes he is the one to blame He should hide head in shame He is the President Dedication and lnspiration for Those. That Lost Page B The Eviction by Vera Zlalkin She sits alone on t he stoop clutching her little girl, watching dewy eyed as men carry her belongings to the curb piece by piece, box by box. And she wonders how this could be happening. She thought she had more time. She had heard that after someone got an eviction notice, they had a month to move. "Mommy's so sorry, Angel," she whispers softly into the child's curls. "Mommy really didn't know." The men had come half an hour early. "Why aren't you packed?" one of the men demanded. "Do we have to do everything?" "I, 1 didn't know you were coming," she stammered. "Nobody called." "Can't you readl" he snapped. "The date is on the eviction notice!" He took a piece of paper from his pocket with her name, address, the date and an official looking stamp. Then he turned and nodded to his men. They had brought a number of boxes in with them, and at his signal, they began to pull things from her cupboards and dump them into the boxes. She was too numb to protest or argue or plead or even to cry. Her mind was in a fog as She stands and secures her duHel bag onlo her shoulder, picks up her daughler and her shopping bag, and logelher /bey venlure out onlo /he slreels. And /bus /he "Wellare Molhern joins lhe ranks o/ /he deslilule and /he homeless. she walked to the bedroom and began to pack -clothes in a large duffel bag. Then she went to the kitchen to fill a shopping bag with food while the baby girl looked on. by Ron Carter And so here she sits watching as the man 1went to work one sunny day passes by with a box. She asks, "Can't we just But my boss took the ·sun away stay one more night?" Now my life has really changed He shakes his head, "No, lady, not one and a lot a things has to be rearranged more minute." He walks to his car and returns with a padlock. "But we have no place to go," she pleads. You see I lost my job that awful day He shrugs. "You should have paid your Through no fault of my own, 1can honestly rent lady," he says coldly.~"l'm ¡ust doing my say ¡ob." He tums back, walks to his car and drives Now I know hard times are ahead away. and I cry a lot when I go to bed "I don't understand," she whispers to the air. "1 just don't understand. Why did they cut Because of what may happen now my eyes my check? 1 called work and explained why 1 stay red - - ----F;couldn't come-in-,And what's ahead I really dread She had called and told them that her r d hate to be without a home baby-sitter was sick and she couldn't leave her because then the streets l'd have to roam little ·one alone. She thought they had understood, but she didn't have _a doctor's excuse, by law they could make no exceptions. So and Pleading and begging for a bite to eat they sent her a warning letter one day, and the Just to stay alive while l'm on the street next day cut her check. Well l know l'm not one to lay down and She stands and secures her duffel bag die onto her shoulder, picks up her daughter and and my friends I want to tell you why her shopping_bag, and together they venture out onto the streets. And thus the "Welfare 1'11 pray to the Lord to see me through Mother" joiris the ranks of the destitute and So please-help my Lord; l'm depending on · the homeless. 11 you - -- - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - �CLEVELAND HOMELESS , GRAPEVINE Homeless Still: Second View of the Streets by Harold Dopman " Homeless Still: Second View of the Streets" is the secon.d annual juried multimedia a rt exhibit presented by The Northeast O hio Colilition of t he Homeless a nd Americorps~ISTA . The exhibit features the works of both professional and student artists from the area a nd homeless pe rsons. Two hu ndred a rt works by over 100 artists were juried by Tom Hinson, curator of contemporary Art and Photography at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Janus Small, farmer executive director o f New Organization far Visual Arts (NOVA); and Susan Channing, director of SPACES, Cleveland's non-profit a lternative gallery. A pproximately 75 were chosen for exhibition in the seven art ga lleries involved in the project. In addition 75 art pieces by ho mele ss people , w hich were p ro d uced at t hree art w o rkshops presented by N EOCH, w ere shown. Damon Taylor, Americorps~ISTA volunteer assigned to NEOCH, started organizing the project September 1996. "The show was organized as a means to bring about social change under the guise of an educational art exhibition," explained Taylor. "This brought together professional, student and homeless artists together to visually speak t o the ills of extreme poverty." Staci Santa, NEOCH's other Americo rps~I STA volunteer explained the purpose of the art workshops. "We wanted to give the homeless_an opportunity to express themselves. There's no room in a shelter far a person to create art and the co st of materials is prohibitive. Also, the exhibit gave the homeless and ·farmally homeless a chance to show their view of the streets." As this edition of the Homeless Grapevine goes to press openings have already been held at and exhibits are still .on view at The Lightkeepers Gallery in Lakewood, a photographic exhibit space; the art gallery at The Beck Center in Lakewood; The Black Box, on • • East 74th St. (also the site of the art workshops); The Mandel School .of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University; and the Florence O'Donnell Wasmer Gallery at Ursuline College, which highlights Pat Fallons · sabbatical work. An exhibit opens a\ The Cleveland Play House, Friday, June 6, with a reception from 6pm to 8pm and at Cuyahoga c.C Ómmunity _ College-Metro Campus,,friday Jun_e 13 with ª• · -. . ~- recepti~n from _6 Pm to ,?P'!1~ l?<hi~J~ r~main on view at_th~ various..galterie~ ,untilJ~e enct of June 0 t~e .el)d of J1:1,~.\-~ C~!t (211- · 1104) far fu,-t_~,,r det¿ü~~·ro ·~¡,,:·i ~.;dt ,".. •! ., Food far the exhibit openings, cons,;~_#pg d of Black Bean soup and bread was provided by members of Food Not Bombs, a Cleveland r. N~9.SH 1 had come prepared with two blankets and many laye rs of clothes, but I took the t hird blanket anyway. At 3 a.m., 1woke up to find that I was sleeping in a puddle. Being new to the life, 1 had foolishl y chosen space under a tree to lay my blanket. The rain gathere~ around the tree, and turned my bed into a tub. The blanket on which I was sleeping was soaked, as was the blanket on top. Luckily, 1· had that third blanket which had remained fairly dry. 1 put aside the two wet blankets and wrapped myself in the one dry blanket, and got up to survey the situation. Only eight or nine people were still out in the open inside their sleeping bags. There were 21 still in their tents with sorne of the tents quickly taking on water. The rest were under the Shoreway bridge or across the street in doorways, with sorne returning to the shanties or other temporary locations that for the most part are out of sight. 1 wandered around thinking and talking to a volunteer who could not sle~p. Life changes when there is no place fo go. At 3 a.m. in Cleveland on the weekend there is no place for a homeless person to go to get out of the cold. The shelters have long since closed their doors, and every place else has a big unwritten neon sign that says "Homeless People Not W elcome!" 1quietly used a port-o-john at a nearby construction site, and returned to the park. 1 knew that I only had a couple of hours left, but what about my brothers by Brian Davis and sisters in arms. lt is dangerous to say, but many have accepted the life on the streets and do not see Weather is the day to day enemy of the a future. Once my neighbors on the streets loose homeless. Every single day ou r brothers and sisters that anger and hope it is a quick slide into a life with on the street engage in a battle against the elements personality disorders and mental illness marked by that harkens back to a time before cell phones and paranoia and delusions. · electricity when man's hold on life was less tenuous. 1 did learn that the blanket of choice for a From intense heat to extreme cold and even t he windy downpour of a summer's day are traumatic homeless individual is an acrylic blanket. Cotton events t hat direct a homeless individual's itinerary. and wool both absorb water and get very heavy. 1 The Northeast Chio Coalition fo r the Homecovered myself in that acrylic blanket that the more less along with Food Not Bombs staged a Memorial experienced homeless man had left me. 1 lay down on one of the benches and closed my eyes. When a Day weekend sleep out to call attention to the . growing homeless population, and the misplaced homeless person is on the streets or in an extremely crowded shelter, their nighdy ritual really cannot be priorities in Cleveland. lt rained, and rained, and continued to rain. called sleep. Sleep is a relaxing and rejuvenating As we gathered at Jesse Owens Park in experience which prepares us for the next day. downtown Cleveland, strategically located across Closing my eyes on the st reets is a gamble that the from the Justice Center and within ear shot of a body demands, but the mind advises against. Will 1 be awakened forcibly by the police? Will l be $247 million dollar project to bring another enterrobbed? Is it even worth resting on a hard piece of tainment complex to the city, the skies became overcast. There were occasional scattered raindrops concrete in the rain and cold? during our memorial service for those who have died I stayed on the concrete for another hour or on the streets or died as a result of poverty. Basiso until the volunteer who I walked around with at 3 cally, however, it was the culmination of a beautiful a. m. carne over to conducta sunrise service of day as we ate. hot dogs, spaghetti, bread, and Food reading the Bible. Religion is a big part of a homeNot Bombs famous Tofu Stir Fry donated by a less person's life. A few find their way out through wonderful group of volunteers. religion, while most are told that they can fi nd a way We discussed sorne of the misplaced priorit ies out through religion. Many services are operated by of the city, and ideas for spending $247 million religious denominations, and so preaching, praying, dollars to improve the lives of its citizens. Ideas and crosses are a part of the life. 1will tell you that ranged from converting old schools to shelters, at 6 a.m. in rain soaked clothing with a difficult day building affordable housing, and opening a day drop ahead, it was impossible to focus on the words of inn center. Pops, a self described leader in the Jesus Christ. community, wanted us not to forget about educa1put the wet blanket with the others from the tion. We all knew that it was going to rain, and we night, and went looking for food. A few of the hoped that it would tiold off until the morning. donuts that Daniel, a local humanitarian, had As we all settled down with a little music, sorne dropped off the night before were not wet. But 1 poetry, and talk about previous accomplishments, needed coffee. 1wandered up to Terminal Tower, and an uncertain future, fifty eight people chose to and asked a couple of the guys up there for informabrave the night, forgo ~e area shelters and sleep out tion. They laughed and said, "Go back to sleep. under the stars. The Coalition with the assistance of Nothing opens until 8 a.m. 1went into T ower City two Cleveland Heights sewing groups were able to with my pious volunteer friend looking for a bathprovide 40 sleeping bags, anda couple of voluntéers room anda warm place to rest. The bathrooms are brought tents for the demonstrators. locked and the security guards moved me along Just before we were about to distribute the when I tried to rest. They said, "No loitering in sleeping bags, one of the guys I was talking to turned here." 1told them that I would be happy to buy and ran off. He returned later, and said, "Sorry I something and sit, but nothing was open. lt seemed had to leave, but I lost my wallet. 1wanted to that orders are to keep those that look like walking retrace my steps to see if I could find it. Now I am poverty indicators to keep moving, bécause every homeless and Ido not exist." 1 had to add to his time we sat down we lowered property values. 1am · troubling day by telling him that all the sleeping bags convinced that if l .were clean cut and wearing a suit were already given out. We did haye space in a tent . _that I could set up a campsite ,in there. for him. At ~-ª~ ~·• a f;:O~p_le oJ r~sqiu~nts opened, anp At just after i:nidnight, it b~gan to rain. lt I gota cup·of coffe·e. · This would all be a lot easier if -;•, rained for the nexúwélve hoúrs .. lt steadily got , -• ·'.-1 knew there was sorne place to go later in the day .,.colder with a crisp spring wind coming off of the or sorne place fo sit dówri oút'·of the cold. dn the (ºi' lake. Wheni~stattedto ráihacoupleofthepeople ; ~: '.w eekend,there•:is:absol'utely.noplace,for--a ·homelet~.;~'.::,sleeping in ~e.par:!<1de~idedto seek the.;"fomfort'i 9h Í~<person to go to get out of the ~~e~e_nts. ;Th¡n.~.· . ,~, a doorway or overpass to get out of the rain. One""'":I''\ about this. Th~J ~~92 fch~•9,P~ pf{e<?ple 1whp live º'1b guy gave me his blanket, and said, "You're going to · · · · · · need this if you are staying out here." 1thought that Continued on page 1 1 organization that feeds t he homeless, and poetry was read to percussion accompaniment by Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate Daniel T hompson. Keynote speakers at various openings included Sherrie Swearington, from Westhaven; Leslie Presnell, Lakewood Christian Service Center; Harold Dopman, Homeless Grapevine managing editor; Joe Cimperman, West Side Catholic; and Brother Gary Morton from the Antioch Baptist Church. Spontaneous performance art wiil presented at various galleries by Art Acts. "People are tired of infarmation being shoved down their throats-being bombarded by brochures and leaflets" Brian Davis, Director of NEOCH added. "The Homeless Still Art Exhibit gives us an opportunity to reach an audience that we do not normally have access to." A Day in the Life of the Homeless / 0 -- -, �;,.:: 7;' ..i,;'t/r:.~'"'Ac-.i' .. , -~~r ~.. - __. .:t' •• __ ,~~.~..:¡, .. ~ ,¡~ • - .., si,í~\ii:·t\lí:B~ES;' The ,Iti State S Ho!fY1e/ess Grapevine • ,.. "• 1 l ~ ¡; ....... ~ ~ < STREETVIBES Back In Time The following is excerpts from a documentary printed in the paper Voices, August 1974 Over-theRhine, Cincinnati, Ohio. lt describes a drug at the time called "DERAIL" or Denatured Alcohol. At the time 12 people had died as a result of DERAIL, and this documentary was issued to expose the drug and its harmful effects. The documentary was pieced together by buddy gray. DERAIL: Liquid Death This is a special Documentary about DERAIL - a kind of deadly alcohol - and about the serious problem DERAIL is in our Over-the-Rhine community. In recent years the medica! profession in the United Sta.tes has taken a strong stand that ALCOH OUSM IS A DISEASE ... DERAIL-alcoholism is one severe type of that disease. DERAIL affects only certain people at the bottom of the economic system. lts affects are deadly. The DERAIL problem has been around a long time, yet many people, even in OTR do not know about the DERAIL problem. Six people from the 1500 Block area of Race St. have died in the last 5 months as a direct result of drinking DERAIL. There is a clear similarity between all 6 victims - middle aged, Black, heavy, long-time alcoholics, low-income or no-income. And in this same area at least 12 people have fallen dead of the same cause in the last 3 years. You might be wondering, "Just what is DERAIU" DERAIL is the street name for Denatured Alcohol - a kind of alcohol not supposed to be for drinking. lt is found in DASOL, QUIXOL or SOLOX varnish removers and in paint thinner. The name "DERAIL" comes from the fact that when you drink it you get "DERAILED" - meaning knocked off your track. Sorne people also call it "STICK-GIN" because many peo ple drinking DERAIL are "carrying a stick" (which means living on the streets or in abandoned buildings). And sorne folks in the know call it "GRAVE-WATER" because drinking DERAIL is a short-cut to your grave. BACKGROUND The road ·most alcoholics take to get hooked on DERAIL is always just about the same. The physical needs attract a down-and-out alcoholic to DERAIL. But addiction to DERAIL is just the beginning of t his road downhill. Addiction to the DHouse social life grows stronger and stronger. The final addiction is to the DERAIL Pusher's money the hooked alcoho lic is always owing the pushers more money than they have left after paying rent. The addicted may end up renting an apartment from the pushers and borrowing money or credit from the pusher for food, smokes and drinks. . For the DERAIL alcoholic, existence becomes a ·regular cycle: fro m the D-House trap- to the recuperation at t he hospital - to emptiness on the streets - punishment at the Workhouse (jail) - to the D-House trap again. Long-time drinking of alcohol can kill you. Heavy, steady drinking DERAIL WILL kili you. Skull and crossbones are on the metal cans of Dasol, Quixol, Solox and paint thinner. Warnings on the can say don't breath the fumes, don't take into your mouth, don't swallow. Still people drink it. WHY? Why then do people drink DERAIU How could a person stand drinking DERAIU How does someone get started? Why are almost all DERAIL alcoholics Black? To answer these questions, we printed the parts of interviews with many DERAIL ~ alcoholics or ex-DERAIL alcoholics. (For protection, we were asked not to print names. We used initials instead). J.Q. (Your) money gets short- can't afford whiskey or wine. For a 5 cent or IO cent drink of DERAIL you get high; 50 cents will make you drunk. V.X. 1 had been drinkin' heavy for a few years, whiskey or wine. Poverty was gettin' me. You haven't got enough money for whiskey or wine; but you gotta get somethin ... you get down and go to DERAIL. (Many) Black alcoholics are hooked on DERAIL. ... wanting a drink and you haven't got enough money and we Black people couldn't go in most bars (like the poor white alcoholic) to bum drinks. A friend took me to Vine St. bars; they sold to him but not me. Blacks weren't allowed in. J.Q. Vine St. (where most of the bars are) was always a white area. Black people were subject to gettin beat on if you went on Vine. You don't go in most bars if you're Black. There are still many bars like that. Sorne bars you could just "buy and go." V.X. (About IO years ago) somebody on the ' street offered me a drink of DERAIL. 1 didn't know what it was - but right then anything to drink was O.K. He said it was "Bootleg whiskey" - 1found out different later. J.Q. 1 used to sit out front of this building with a friend after work and drink. 1always saw all these people coming out of the entrance way "stoned". My friend said they sell DERAIL back there. 1 said, "What's that?" He told me "a cheap drunk, a nickel or dime high." So I went in to check it out. V.X. 1 never did like the taste. 1 drank it as fast as I could. 1 drank it 'cause whatever I was in, 1 mean in my mind, 1 wanted to get out of. lt relieved me from worrying about poverty at the time. 1was sleeping in the alleys. No job. You get so you just don't care anymore. You go to the DERAIL House more and more. J.Q. 1 couldn't hardly drink it at first couldn't stand thé taste, but the feeling I got from it - that first drink started me drinking it. One drink works 24 hours if you're not used to it. Now it takes me more (drinks). V.X. You can't miss the smell of DERAIL. Many people don't know what the smell is. lt's gotta unique smell, a different smell than any other smell out here. You can't stand the smell, can't stand being around it. When YOU got the smell you want to get away from it - but you can't get rid of it. lt's all through your body - it comes out on your skin, in your urine too - gets in your clothes. You can't kill the smell like you can with wine. And it stays around a long time. There have been a lot of DERAIL Houses around- from regular apartment buildings to abandoned buildings; there was even one DERAIL House in an old Railroad hut down in the switchyards. 1 know a whole lot of people who died from drinking DERAIL - dead and gone too. THEY (the DERAIL Houses) will hook you. MEO/CAL EFFECTS Studies done about alcoholism in this country have been done mostly about middle and upper- , income drinkers. Very little has been done on alcoholism in poor communities. To our knowledge, there are NO studies done of DERAIL alcohol ics. Sorne research was done for this documentary. A sample of DERAIL (as it was sold to a man at the DERAIL House) was analyzed anda report was made by the Hamilton County Coroners Offices. DERAIL is: 95% Ethyl alcohol 3-5% Methyl alcohol sorne white gasoline One pint of D ERAi L = one o unce of Methyl alcohol; l /4 oz. Methyl alcohol is enough to make a man sick; 2-8 oz.. can cause death! ETHYL ALCOHOL - is ordinary or "drinking alcohol" METHYL ALCOHOL - is a solvent or also a fuel, not for drinking. Added to ETHYL it makes DENATU RED ALCOHOL. DENATURED ALCOHOL is used commercially as a solvent. UNFIT for use as a drink or medicine. Dr. Richard Bozian - of the Hamilton County Alcoholic Detox Center states that a regular alcoholic clears up in 12 to 24 hours. The patient ..:-:,: Page /O -. who is "out" on DERAIL takes days to co me around. ETHYL Alcohol is used up or eliminated fro m the body within 24 hours. · But it takes up to 7 days for the body to rid itself of METHYL alcohol. So, small amounts of DERAIL drunk over a long period of time, build up to a very dangerous level of METHYL Alcohol in the human system. Drinking DERAIL will knock you off your track all right! But it does much more than that - much, much, more .... it kills you. Depending on how heavy you drink DERAIL, death happens slowly to rapidly. Before DERAIL gets you all the way to the grave, it can cause other things: BLINDNESS- 2 oz of Methyl alcohol can cause complete blindness; no other form of alcohol does this. KIDNEYSHUTDOWN- headache, restlessness, muscle twitching, mental disturbance (because of the polson in the system and edema of the brain), skin becomes a dirty yellowish color and is dry and itcny, to colTapse, coma and death. ~ PNEUMONIA- results when the person vomits and aspirates (breathes into the lungs) the gasoline and other parts of what was vomited. DETERIORATION OF THE BRAIN-confusion; loss of memory for things that are happening now, yesterday, 1O years ago; talks constantly and makes up stories or becomes agitated and argues so they won't have to answer questions. Disoriented doesn't know the hour, the day, month, or where they are. The person can no longe r think properly can't concentrate, can't understand words (ideas) or see what's happening, sees double and can't bring things into proper focus; is unable to learn. Epilepsy (falling-out sickness). NEUROPATHY- pain and swelling in the feet, ankles, hands. Staggering, progresses to loss of feeling and ability to move or control muscles in the feet ad hands. SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE- because of the above identified behavior. Odor is oppressive and sickening.· Usually lack ability and supplies for personal hygiene. DERA/l ANO THE LAW The police, a Hamilton County prosecutor, an municipal judge involved in alcoholic work, and the Sta.te Liquor Control were contacted. Sorne of them had heard of DERAIL selling. But none of those officials had ever had direct experience with this DERAIL problem. From the info gotten, there are severa! possible legal hassles for DERAIL pushers: First, two city ordinances called "selling liquor without a license" and "selling poison." Sorne person or agent must "go inside" and buy a "hit" of DERAIL. Then the pusher could be arrested. This is a difficult problem because DERAIL pushers would be suspicious of anyone who didn't look like a downand-out regular customer. But even if the pusher did get arrest ed and convicted, the maximum penalty under either ordinance is a $50 fine. Second, state "bootlegging" law which has two parts - "Selling illegal liquor" and "keeping a place where illegal liquor is sold." A similar arrest as described above must take place. The penalties are $100-$1000 fin e and/or IO days to 6 months in jail for "selling" and $1 00-$500 ·fine for "keeping a place." lf convicted of both, a pusher could get a maximum of 6 months and $1500 fine. The 2nd conviction, t he "place" can be padlocked as a "nuisance." Third, state "homicide" law (murder). lt is difficult to obtain enough medical documentation for this charge. The .DERAI L pushers have operated without any legal pressure for years. sorne people feel that cops are "on t he take" - meaning they get payoffs from the DERAIL pushers to leave the DERAIL operations alone. This documentary didn't gather enough evidence to say Yes or No. CONCLUSIONS ANO COMMENTS DERAIL means seeing your close friends hooked on DERAIL, hooked by a pusher and unable to break away __:, dying a slow, painful, horrible death at an early age. lt means seeing her/his memory fading, mind Continued on page 1 1 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine DERAIL Continued Continued from page I O clicking off, eyesight getting poorer, hearing going bad, feet continually swelling up, periods of heavy drinking followed by periods of heavy vomiting and diarrhea, and the DERAIL smell that can't be avoided - a strangling, rotting, death-like, hard-todescribe smell on her/his body, in the clothes, in the urine, in the mattress ... that won't go away. lt means knowing that there's little medica! knowledge about DE~IL and no programs to deal with the problem. lt means knowing that certain stores willingly sell cans of DERAIL (DASQL, SOLOX, QUIXOL, and paint thinner) to known pushers and known alcoholics. lt means knowing that DERAIL pushers are poor people who are ripping off other poor people to make a little better living for themselves. , ·1t means fighting the strong DERAIL pusher so he doesn't rip off your weakened friend's whole check before the friend's rent is pa•d and maybe the food stamps are bought. lt means recognizing the DERAIL alcoholics a group of mostly Black alcoholics at the bottom of the economic system - are denied the basic survival and social needs, except in DERAIL Houses. · lt means recognizing what under the social system we live, this whole DERAIL problem is just another cruel example of class and racial exploitation that we must fight. Page // A Day in the Lile Continued Continued from page 9 our streets every night in Cleveland do not have any options of a place to spend the day on the weekend. There is no place to get their life in order, or make telephone calls, or store their clothing, or get away from the weather. lt is no wonder that chemical addiction is such a huge problem. There is a certain amount of warmth inside a bottle or in the haze of an illegal drug. ·And once our friends pi unge into the bottle is there any hope for a brighter day if they choose to crawl out? ' We arrived back at the park, and now a few people are stirring. Those living by the schedule of the overflow shélters are accustomed to a 5:30 a.m. wake up call. A few of the guys figured out how to use a coffee maker in the rain to brew hot coffee without shorting it out. The only problem is that the sugar is all wet, and therefore is one solid block. We congregate under the awning of a nearby building, and wait. We wait for the rain to stop. We wait for a local church to open for their noon meal. We wait for a second chance. We wait for a miracle. There are no deadlines and no discussions about the world around us. We talk about only about things that impact our lives and the injustice of it all. To outsiders, we will talk about sports orpolitics just to be polite. But standing in the rain waiting, we only talk about important things. We never get too close to anyone on the streets. Both physically and emotionally, the rule is to keep a certain amount of distance. lt seems that the thinking is that I am facing enough personal tragedy without having to deal with an relationship crises. We quietly look out on the world and wait. No matter how many times a homeless person tells me that the city needs a drop in center or tells me that there is no place to go .to the bathroom in this city, it takes on sense of reality and urgency when I experience it myself. The sleep deprivation that all of our fellow citizens experience when living on the streets is debilitating. 1knew that it was my responsibility to begin to clean ·up, but all I could think about was sitting down in a warm spot and · actually sleeping. To be able to push yourself to accomplish anything after spending the night on the stréet is an amazing feat. 1 did get a glimpse into the reason behind that distant stare in sorne homeless people's eyes. 1think thát I had that distant look of physically standing in a rainy park while mentally sleeping in a nice warm bed with a space heater. There are many reasons for a person to be homeless including poor decisions to domestic · violence to a fundamental lack of education. Each person has sorne degree of responsibility for the direction that there life has taken, but in a land of such wealth and opulence is it necessary to have our fellow citizens sleeping on the streets? We are entering another millennium, and just as we take that step into a new era we will see an explosion in the homeless population caused poor de_cision made on the federal level. Both welfare "reform" changes and the reduction in subsidized housing will be decimate our urban centers in the year 2000. The time to put poverty back on the top of Óur lists of priórities is now. The choice is housing or homelessness, and believe me the bill for preventing homelessness is a fraction of the bill we will all receive for providing services to a person who is already on the streets. SuperNOFA Brings Together Cincinnati Groups to Plan Homeless Strategy by Marvin Abrinica Once a year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants sorne federal funding to homeless and housing providers. Cincinnati is eligible for $4 million dollars this year. That $4 million though, must be carefully requested under a series of proposals for funding consideration under the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). This will sometimes be referred to as SuperNOFA, because there are three _large programs under it. This year, the grant requests from home- -less and housing providers are due to Washington, D.C. by July 8, 1997. -The J?Ufl?0Se of the NOFA is to fund ,_ projects that will FILL IN THE GAPS in a locally developed Continuum of Care system which is a system that assists homéless persons move from homelessness to self-sufficiency and permanent housing. The City of Cincinnati has hired Michelle Budzek, an administrator from last year's NOFA, and assistant Evan Gay to adminístrate the process and head a series of meetings which involve the process of getting the proposals ready for the July 8 deadline. On April 22, at the Peaslee Community Center the funding process was introduced to homeless and housing providers. At the first meeting, Budzek and Gay challenged participants to discover thé "GAPS" that were in the Continuum of Care system. The second meeting at 2 Centennial Plaza was set to, determine the- importance and highest priorities in Social Services. The community homeless and housing providers agreed that substance abuse treatment, child care, and job training had the highest priorities in the system. Each organization was encouraged to make a proposal with these aspects in mind for the presentations. This past May 21 was the day for homeless and housing pr~viders to make their claim to the SuperNOFA funds. Each provider sent a representative to the meeting. Those present were Excel Development, Tender Mercies, Lighthouse, Geiger House, Bethany House, Goodwill, House of Refuge, Drop-lnn Center, Sara House and IRP, AVOC, First Step, Health ~esource Center,. Glad House, ReSTOC, Arrington House, Cathouse, and Special Health Co~nections. The meeting was divided into two parts, first for the renewals of funding from those who received it iast year, and secondly for new projects. The presentations· were not just a time for homeless and housing providers to give their mission statements, but for each provider to present a particular project that needed funding in respect to the Continuum of Care. Each participant was given a score sheet in which they would score-each section of the presentation. Certain criteria was necessary for fulfillment of NOFA requirements. lf one criteria was missed then the score could severely be penalized. More importantly, if one aspect was technically wrong it could be disqualified. Needless to say, the importance of the presentátions was highly regard, and meant to be taken seriously. Sorne of the strong presentations were from veterans in service providers. Goodwill, for example, seemed to make a lasting impression for a new project involving job training for the homeless. Sorne organizations referred baék to them for their future relations in that area. Though Goodwill was not know to be a heavy hitter in the homelessness community, their experience in related areas made up for any lack in other areas. One strong presentation carne from Tender Mercies' Eric Fouche, the MIS/Projects Director there. He eloquently projected his organizations needs in transitional housing. When asked what he thought about ·the 'Continuum of Care and SuperNOFA process, he said, "lt's better that our peers score us, because they know what's going on around here, rather than Washington (D.C.), where they know nothing about it. 1 think in that regard, it's very fair." Fouche made it clear that Tender Mercies was a place that wants to help their clients meet their own set goals rather than setting goals for their clients. This way, each client knows what is realistic and unrealistic at that particular point in their life. Support Your Local Vendar Tell A Friend About Streetvibe$ ,..- ___ _ ¡;,,; '~ �Streetvibes TV Schedule Vendor Support Prof ile: Frank Carrino Check us out~ We're on TV! Streetvibes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video. · by Dona/d Whitehead This month's profile is one of two that will introduce you to our vendor support staff. . Our first profile is about Frank Carrino. Frank is a native Cincinnatian who attended East Mile High School. Frank attended The University of Cincinnati, where he was as he puts it "a bad music student." Frank is a veteran of the U.S Army. He is also a former lightweight boxer,who wenton to train boxers at the YMCA and the Police Boxing League. Frank carne to an interview at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and the staff immediately knew we had t he right guy. Frank has a hilario us sense of humo r--as anyone who has ever called o ur office already knows. When he isn't working at the office, Frank does many odd jobs such as bricklaying, carpentry and other labor · intensive jobs. What n,akes that such an accomplishment. is that Frank Carrino just t urned 77!! Mr. Carrino does about twice as much as most men half his age. Frank has defi nitely been an asset to our office. He is every employer's dream: always o n time, able to take suggest!o ns and able to give them. Frank also knows a little about homelessness since he himself was homeless due to illness and a fire which damaged his apartment building. That experience instilled in him a willingness to help others who might find themselves in this unfortunate situation. Frank is a wonderful person whose care and concern for others make him a perfect additio n to Streetvibes. We sincerely hope that he will continue to wo rk and grow with us. Slreelvibes TV May Vendar Support Worker Frank Carrino Streetvibes Radio Hour This month show featured reactions to the current wave. of demolitions in Over-theRhine. Guests were John Hauck, Mary Ann Olding and Jennifer Summers. Channel 10 Monday, June 2, 9:30 pm Thursday, June 5, 9 am Sunday, June 8, 4 pm On WAIF 88.3 fm Slreelvibes TV June The Homeless Coalition has a live radio program which can be heard on WAIF radio on 'the second Saturday of each month at noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehead. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Here are the next show dates. We will feature a second installment of our Faces of Homelessness which focuses on people who have experienced homelessness and have survived. WAIF 88.3 fm Saturday, June 14, noon to I pm Saturday, July 12. noon to I pm Channel 7 (5B Basic in most of Hamilton County) Monday, June 9, 7 pm live Channel 10 Sunday, June 15, 4 pm Thursday, June 26, 9 am http://cinci.com/gcch Streetvibes Online We have just added a searchable interface for our Streetvibes articles. Websurfers will be able to index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. Still Needed Cop ier Lamp TV and VCR to Show Streetvibes Episodes to Groups Volunteer Copy Ed itors and Stories Need Help or Want to Help? St. John's Temporary Housing lf for sorne reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Trea~ent, Housing or Services. lf you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeléss Coalition at 421-7803. . __ SHELTERS: Women and Children Alice Paul House (abuse) 241-2757 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome House 431-87 17 SHELTER: Mén City Gospel Missio n Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St. Joseph House Mt. Ai ry Cente r Volunteers of America T REATMENT: O.D.A.A.T First Step ~orne 24_1-5525 241-0490 241 -2965 38 1-4941 661-4620 381-1954 SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) 761-1480 • _;habad House 821 -5100 Drop Inri Center (singles) 721-0643 Friars Club 381-5432 _ _HaveJ1 ~o.u~~ (H~rnil~on} _ ___8 63-:8866 lnterfait h Hospitality-Network 244-7226 Lighthouse Youth Center 961-4080 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental 111) T om Geiger House ---. 651 -6446 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 Women 241 -7343 921-7324 T REATME NT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting O ver 784-185 3 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: N.A. Hopeline A.A. Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House T ransitions, 1ne. VA Domici~~ry 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 Both OTHER SERVICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati Appalachian ldentity Center . Chu r:ches Active in Northside Cincinnati Health Network Community Action Agency · Contact Center Emanuel Community Center Freestore/Foodbank · Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. Hamilton Co. TB Control Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Missio n . Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. Mary Magdalen House Oral Health Council Our Daily Bread Peaslee Neighborhood Center Travelers Aid United Way VA Homeless Program Women's Crisis Center 42 1-2437 621-5991 591-2246 961-0600 569- 1840 381-4242 241-2563 241-1064 621 -7149 632- 7 186 357-4602 352-2902 221-3 679 24 1-9400 27 1-5501 721-4811 621-0248 621-6364 621-5514 721-7660 721-7900 559-6656 491-3335 � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource June 1997 Vol. 1, issue 5 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: welfare reform homeless families food stamps housing policies homeless narrative Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Marvin Abrincia F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis David Dietz Harold Dopman Susan Eisenberg Sally Karl Sheree Kelly Estee Lackey-Harris Myron Bonnie Neumeier Tess Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Vera Zlatkin Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis David Dietz Denise Crew Donald Whitehead Estee Lackey-Harris F.J.C. Harold Dopman homeless housing housing policy Lynn Williams Marvin Abrincia Myron Pat Clifford policy reform Ron Carter Sally Karl Sheree Kelly Susan Eisenberg Tess Vera Zlatkin welfare https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/18b23788289514fa2decec4eacac149d.pdf e533a1c60c6c5ce66f1d029d491861ca PDF Text Text Land Grabbers Threaten Newport Reside nis This Public Housing Community would be sold for Riverfront _ Development if Newport Leaders have their way. Photo by James Heath . by Gregory Paylon Newport City Officials are saying that 202 safe, sanitary and decent public housi,ng units on the riverfront must be demolished. The residents have to be moved from Booker T. Washington, McDermett, and Peter G. Noal Housing Projects. . Newport Housing Authority paid Cornerstone Housing to come up with a plan. This plan was paid for with money from the Housing Project Fund normally used for "The Mayor has lold Mr. Slade Iba/ he 'doesn 'I wanl any public housing in Newpor/ 111 repairs. Cornerstone has tried a series of falsehoods to attempt to justify the "necessity" of demolishing this public housing neighborhood in the way of gre~d and development. Cornerstone said, "The city must destroy its public housing because federal funding to maintain and operate it will soon be eliminated." Cornerstone said Newport must demolish the housing because conditions are so bad that the units are "unusable for housing purposes" · and cannot be made habitable. Cornerstone said, "The housing must be destroyed, and the land taken, not to make anyone any money, nor to allow economic development, but for the resident's own good." . A spokesperson in the community that opposes this plan is Kenneth Slade. Mr. Slade is banding together 'with other residents in trying to fight the city. But t he ball is rolÍing and the power of eminent domain is coming. Through the power of eminént domain, the government can remove land from private use to augment the -supply of public land or to modify land use through urban renewal programs. The units at Newport are well maintained and managed. The project has been rec6gnized three years in a row as outstanding by the Department of Housing and Urban Develop. ment. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money' have gone towards improvements and modernization in 1990s. Continued on page 3 No Charges to be Filed Against Driver in. Homeless Accident by Donald Whilehead In the June issue of Streetvibes we reported on a terrible accident. The accident involved Reginald .Winstead, a homeless man that was run over and dragged six blocks by a young driver. The driver, a Clif1.vn resident on her way to an Over-the-Rhine nightclub, was unaware that she had run over a human being, she allegedly thought she ·had run over trash. The young lady, according to statements given to officers at the scene couldn't stop because she was afraid of the neighbor- · hood she was driving through. We are happy to inform you that at this time Mr. Winstead is now recovering ata relative's home, having been released from the hospital. Mr. Winstead has little recollection of the events preceding this terrible accident. His last memory of the night was eating dinner .at the Drop lnn Center between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the night Ín question according to the City Prosecutor's office. Unfortunately, Charles Rubenstein from the City Prosecutor's office, claims that there are no grounds for criminal charges against the driver of the automobile. As unbelievable as it may sound, however, Mr. Rubenstein said there were grounds to bring charges against Mr. Winstead! lt seems that the fact that he was wearing black and was in the street justifies being hit and dragged six blocks. The Homeless Coalition is shocked at this nqnchalant attitude and lack of investigation and is seeking a City Council inquiry. We are anxious to see the final police report, which -is due out in the very near future. There remains many _unanswered questions · about this incident and vve will continue to pursue them. Community Councils Face Soviet-Style Takeover .- by Tom Mulroy For twenty,five years or so the interests of the residents of the 51 Neighborhoods comprising Cincinnati have be represented by their local community councils. But sornetimes the interests of residents get in the way of the interes~ of rich outside developers. lf a Community council opposes "progress" the developers want, it's railroaded out of the way as quickly as possible...for god's sake, there's money to be made. Such a conflict arose between the Overthe-Rhine Community Council and big development money. The big developers decided to replace the Community Council with a puppet group called the Over-the-Rhine Coalition. The city council was anxious to clear the way for the developers ... so anxious that they voted $150,000 to the Over-theRhine Coalition before that group had adopted bylaws, incorporated as a n~>n-profit ,corporation, or even fulfilled the minimum legal requirements for contracting with the city. · This money was provided for unspecified organizational and planning activities Councilman Dwight Tillery very aptly stated befare the vote "We want this train to get out of the station as quickly as possible." So the Over-the-Rhine Community Council the residents of Over-the-Rhine - have been officially relegated to the status of a dissident obstructionist faction unwilling to work under the "umbrella" of the Over-the-Rhine Coalition. The reason that the Community Council has consistently -opposed the Coalition is that the Coalition is dedicated to the implementation of the Urban Lancl Institute Plan for Overthe-Rhine. The study calls for Over-the-Rhine to become a "mixed income" neighborhood in Continued on page l / .~ �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine Pagel STREETVIBES Community Takeover: Continued The Tri State's Continued from page 1 Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. lt is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and~then sell it for a dallar donation to get back on their feet. AII vendors signa code of . conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, · agencies and individuals committed t<Y ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Cornmittee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. lf you are interested in helping or hav~ a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator , Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrino, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Writers Kathryn M. Boyd F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Harold Dopman Chris Engle Becky Kashersky Sheree Kelly Ari Halpern Mike Henson · Bob Hungerf~rd Derek Landers Tim Mcnish Tom Mulroy Gregory Payton Tess Russell Wait Carolyn Whitehead Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams which 20% of the populatíon has añ income below the H.U.D. low-income threshold for Cincinnati of about $24,000. The current average income in the neighborhood is about $7,000. So the plan would cause the displacement of virtually the entire current population of the area with no provision for relocation. The Community Council has been faulted by City Council for not approaching the Coalition and becoming a part of the process. However the Cincinnati Ordinance concerning Community Councils (Ord.2201989) clearly states " ... it is the intent of Cou11cil that only neighborhood councils or organi- · zations meeting the requirements ...above, shall be deemed by Council as representative of a , neighborhood in connection with neighborhood issues such as zoning issues, formulating or commenting on proposed development . plans, funding requests, or objections to liquor permits." .Clearly the Coalition should have ap- proached the community -council with their plans. Not that the council could have legally done much more than disapprove of the ULI plan and convey their own recommendations to City Council. lnstead the Over-the-Rhine . Coalition began collecting money from developers, paying consulting fees and hiring out-oftown planners six rnonths ~efore they carne to the attention of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council. Eventually the Cominunity Council was informed that the Coalition's '!leetings were public and there was nothing to keep ~ommunity _Counci! members from attending. So if the railroading of the Community Council proceeds as planned, the residents of Over-the-Rhine will soon be represented by a board of Directors consisting of five nonresident developers, five nori-resident representatives of institutions such as the Cincinnati Symphony, aríd five residents needing no affiliation to any local group. This replaces the system specified in Ord.220-1989 in ~hich a community -council was required to consist almost entirely of residents. The current legitimate Over-the-Rhine . . Community Council meets monthly (the Jast 0 Monday of each month at Nast Trinity Church on Race Street). The ULI Coalition intends to hold a public meeting once a year presumably to re-elect the fifteen board members. AII decisions in the interim will . be made by the board ... a system most closely resembling that venerable democratic institution - the Soviet Presidium organized by -Nikita Kruschev to help him bring progress to the Soviet Union during the l 950's. The ULI Coalition pr~vides such a superior model for an organization representing community concerns that the City Council is currently rumored to be drafting ordinances that would eliminate obstacles to progress líke the community councils as defined in Ord.220-1989, replacing them with Sovietstyle "coalitions." I guess the idea that the residents óf a neighborhood should have a forum from which to express their opinions is obsolete.. .like the buggy whip or the Bill-ofRights. Over-the-Rhine Community Council President Nannie Hinkston rallies for Community Council rights. Photo by James Heath. Streetvibes Vendar .Code of Conduct Volunteer Editors · Marvin .Abrinica James Heath Barb Hobe Chanda Marshall Tom Mulroy Kimberly T enai · · Reler slories or ipquiries lo: Streetvibes e/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521 O (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch _ .(.:UUV 1 ;j::IJí ! (, Each vendar has to sign the following code -to be able to sell the paper. 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donatiQn. 1 agree not to ask for donations more than $1. 1 also understand that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each dallar-collected. Future issues of Streetvibes will be purchased from the Homeless Coalitio~ for 20 cents. · 2. 1 agree that I will never distribute Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alcoh.ol. 3. 1 agree that I will not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. 1 agree to treat others with respect. 1 will not use abusive language or force someone to give a donation. 1 will not give a "hard sell" or make someone feel threatened. 5. 1 agree that I will not supply copies of Streetvibes to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. 1 agree not to deceive the public by saying that· I am collecting for a not-for-profit · charity or that I am collecting for the "homeless" .in general. 1 will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the individual vendar. _ · 7. 1 agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. 1 understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self supporting paper created by people who are homeless or formerly homeless. To help in this effort, 1 will try to spread the word and write stories if possible. 9. 1 understand that the failure to comply with any of the above statements will result iQ me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES The Tri State•s Home/ess Grapevine ...~~. Page 3 , wo,man Charged · Urban for Sleeping in Plunge Car Teach es by Oonald Whilehead Homeless Rea Iities· Rose Mae Williams, a 33-year-old mother of three, was recently charged with child endangerment. Ms. Williams was charged after authorities learned that she-and her three children had been living in an automoóile. Police were informed by a passerby, who had seen the family in Burnet Woods on severa! occasions. Ms. Williams was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled to appear July 3 to answer these charges. Ms. Williams, aécording to her family, seemed to be hindered from finding other shelter by her reliance on an entity she referred to as the "Supreme," whom she believed would help her find a . home. Her whereabouts at this point are unknown. Efforts to fin.d her and offer support or guide her to counseling or other services have been fruitless. Her family believes she may still be living in the very same car that was allegedly home to her and her children for the past two months. Ít is unfortunate that people like Ms. Williams find themselves in this very troubling sit"ation. To her credit, Ms. Williams was not only able to continue to-send her kids to school, but to send them to school clean. The children have been placed in the care of their grandmother, Della Williams, who has pledged to do all she can to help nurture them until their mother is able. Sadly, with welfare reform, public housing changes, lost Section 8, joblessness and many other assaults against the poor, there is a suspicion that this is not the last time this kind of thing will happen. In this case, ~here seems to be underlying issues. However, women and children are already the largest growing sector of the homeless population. In the 1993 Homeless Study conducted by AIR, lnc., 30% of Cincinnati's homeless population was children, · which is higher than the national average of 27%, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Sorne advocates for the poor say that instead of charging.victims in the war against the poor, we should be charging the politicians who make it necessary for people to have to live in cars . . Newport Cont. Participants of the Cincinnati Urban Plunge with Michael Stoops of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Photo by James Heath. by Ari Ha/pero and Tim Mcnish Defined ~Y the National Coalition for the Before stepping into his J~gLiar, he tossed usa Homeless (NCH}, an urban plunge is "when warm, freshly baked ·1oaf of French bread and economically privileged people dress down, wished us a good day. Others, homeless and · empty their wallets and spend time on the non-homeless, told us where we could go for streets as 'poor' people." For over twenty food, shelter, anda job. Sorne even gave years, NCH has assisted people in taking to suggestions on where_to go to "kick the drug the streets for one to seven days. We did a hab_it." plunge in Cincinnati to gain insight into the There was a strong sense of community world of homelessness from the perspective within the homeless population: Many indiof ~omeless people. We posed as homeless viduals at the shelter knew each other and men and were seen as homeless, but we did appeared to be friends. Many asked -about our not truly experience homelessness. We hada personal situation and invited us into their comfortable home, friends, and family to social circles. On our last day, we walked return to in forty-eight hours: around with a homeless friend we had met in Our experience was powerful, educathe park. We were invited into and played a tional, and enlightening. From talking with game of basketball at the Salvation Army. former plungers, homeless, and formerly Upon leaving, we felt like we were deserting homeless people and reading about the plunge, · our new friend . .We were on our way back to we expected ill-treatment from the nonColumbus while he remained in Cincinnati withoµt a home. homeless population. Fo~er plungers expressed feeling invisible. As we walked the An enlightening experience occurred streets, panhandled, and loitered in public ·when we met a man who lived alone in the places, it was obvious that passersbys noticed W!Joded area outside of <:;indnnati. In the us, but seemed uncomfortable because we pouring rain at his camp in the woods, he were different. explained his views on homelessness and We did not sense the negative vibes we possible remedies. He said he would not share were expecting. In fact, we were beneficiarles his views with others besides us. He said he of several acts of kindness. Less than two · felt voiceless. lt gave us insight into the feelings hours into our plunge, a middle aged African of hopelessness of one homeless man, feelings American women, holding a pizza, began to get that we would not experience in two days. on a city bus. She saw us sitting on a bench, The two days we spent as homeless men cold and wet from the rain. She stepped off in Cincinnati were intense and educational. the bus and gave us her pizza, two ·dollars, and The urban plunge allowed us to see and directions to a shelter. experience the world of homelessness from a The next morning, after spending a different and more i'ntimate angle. We would sleepless night in the shelter with two hunencourage .others interested in experienciiig dred fifty other homeless men, we asked a well this intimate view of homelessness to contact dressed, middle aged white man for sorne Michael Stoops at NCH at 202/775-1322. bread he had just purchased at the bakery. 1 Chose Honest: Part Three Continued from page 1 by Gregory Paylon The Mayor, a champion of development, and the other members of the Newport Housing Authority Board have voted to demolish: The Mayor has told Mr. Slade that he "doesn't want any public housing in ·Newport." Mr. Slade also let him know many of the tenants are elderly, disabled, poorly educated, without stable work history, and have poor credit. lf Newport's proposal goes as planned, it will enrich the city and private development at the expense of everyone else, you the taxpayer and the above residents. Your prime real estate north of 4th str~et, near the site for the proposed aquarium, will be the site of many evictions. So once again, big business, big developers and your leaders roll on over small people for the sake of the profits from conventioneers and tourists. My name is Gregory. lt has been a while since part I and part 11. In part II told you 1 was given the ·opportunity to sell Streetvibes newspapers. Since then my life has changed for the better. 1 have made new _friends; 1 should also say more. 1 have learned more about people helping others in giving and sharing. When I wake up everyday now, 1 give thanks to The Main Man (God}, to readers, a~d to my customers. My customers are, and have been, important to me. You have given your heart and have been a part in helping me be a better person and worker in our society. 1 feel I am a part of this society. 1 try to write and share about what I have learned. Since I have been selling and you have buying, 1 want to share the joy that you have made possible. 1 felt joy when I went to the Salvation Army _and bought sorne shirts and a suit. When I wore that suit to church it felt new. 1 didn't look out of place when people passed or ·1ooked my way. They didn't even know I was homeless. When the offering plate passed, 1 remembered you, the customer, and I shared a little more. 1 sell my paper and I answer the questions and talk about homelessness to my customers. And thanks to you, 1 look a little kinder to the eye. 1 now know the most important part of the body, the center, that holds the source of emotions, feelings, spirit, and ·1ove. lt is the H EAR T, the most important, not only to the body, but to our nation and to this wonderful city. 1 THANK YOU from the bottom of my HEART for helping, teaching, giving, encouraging, and sharing your heart ~ith this vendor of your paper, STREETVI BES. �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevíne Page 4 The End of Nature Ficlion by Michael Henson The old woman must have noticed that You don't know what they are gonna do to his hair was wet. She smiled at him as he went yo u." past her to the magazine rack, and with a He had found an article he wanted. He · sudden loudness that broke the library hush, sat down with the b~oks he needed and she said, "These storms come up real fast in . started to read. He had figured to keep the city." . nodding as she spoke. Then he could finish She was sitting at a table with a book the article and start o n the wo rk of his paper. open in her hands, a slim book, possibly a book The woman looked up suddenly from her of poems. The title in large letters on the front book and glared past him. "Don't you worry cover was The End of Nature. me," she said. He turned around to see where "lt's not raining hard,llhe said in a whisshe was looking. The gray-bearded librarian per. He was partial to odd old ladies who was on his way over. She was looking him talked loud in librarles. He had hoped that by dead in the e_ye. talking quietly he could tone her down. "Nobody's worrying you," the librarian lt did not work. She went on, "lt said. "But .y ou're worrying other people." wouldn't do to go out in the rain and get "1'11 go to a resta·u rant and talk," she said. soaked." People at the tables· around were Her voice was all the louder then, but she turning to look. One of the librarians, a man made no move. "You can't talk to strangers. with a graying beard that flew out at the sides, . • You'II end up in jail. 1'11 go to a restaurant and watched with a sidelong, critica! eye. drink a cup of coffee, and nobody'II talk there, "You'd get sick," she said. She was you bet." looking at her book closely, but widely. lt was She threw the open book toward the notas if she were reading it, but as if she were librarian. The pages flashed at him like the studying it,like a painting or sorne sort of chart wings of an angry bird. lt fell to the floor just fÓr she kept on talking just as loud. "Then you' d have to go to the doctor and give him She lhrew /he open book loward /he your money. You'd lose everything. He can't do nothing to you when you are healthy. _No." librarían. The pages 1/ashed al him She shot a sharp blue eye at him. "No, like the wings ot an angry bird. you wouldn't just let anybody start to talk to you. You· could end up in the Workhouse. as a security guard carne up behind her. He You don't want to end up in the Workhouse, · touched her ·on the shoulder and said, "Come do you?" on, ma'am. Let's be qúiet and go." He shook his head~ "No, 1 sure don't," he She shouldereq the bag and went off whispered in a soft, library voice. "I sure muttering with the guard at her elbow. Her don't." He was standing at the magazine rack complaints flew beMnd her on the street. and ·thumbing through the latest National For a time, the library was silent with the _ Geographic. white noise of the air conditioning. He tried to "No, of course not. These people come settle down with his books. Then, into the up to you and just talk your ear off. There's white silence, other sounds fell like lea.ves in a nothing you can do but try to get away from basket: the crackle of plastic covers, the shuffle them. They'II talk you to death, these strangof pages, the wooden noise of books being ers." She was talking into her book again. stacked onto shelves, the flack of newspapers, "You let any stranger talk to you, yóu'II go th·e hushed clap of feet on the linoleum, the · crázy. · They'II throw you in the Workhouse. geo111etric whisper of two students working math,· the costly chink of money being counted at the desl<, the bearings of the book cart, the hum of the fan in the copier, and like a small explosion, the voice of the librarian paging, "Stokowski. Stokowski." lt made him crazy, and he could do no work. STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Try These Summerti me Activities for K:ids by Carolyn Whilehead . Below are more inexpensive activities that you and your children may enjoy during the sumrner. • Visit Spring Grove Cemetery, on_e of the oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in the Uriited States. lt has many historical , features. During your visit, talk to your child about life and death. • Pi_ck a foreign country and then visit your local library. Check out books and videos about that country. Prepare a meal that would be p-o pular in that country. • Vis·it one of the local parks that you have never visited before. Most can be reached by the Metro. • Sho p at Findlay Market. • Visita senior center and read to one of the seniors. • Visit the local fire station and police d épartment. • Visit Bicentennial Commons. lt ,is free during the summer. There are many activities that you and your family can participate in. • lnvest in a zoo membership. They have year-round activíties that are worth the investnient. • Bak~ cookies together and share them with someone in your neighborhood. • Make sure that you spend sorne special time with each of your children everyday. • Relax and enjoy being a parent! Only $5 each! Find these words in the puzzle: July Word Search STREETVIBES lh e Tn Stat e 's Homeless Grapevme 100% While Colton Shirls XL or XXL Your choice ot purple or sky-blue logos T-shirts are available at our office at 1506 Elm Street. Please stop by and see us. s s s D E L R E H N A L E V E V I T L I V I N I G T e o w N A o E L R G M e T E T R N R A R E E .T. w o N M E A K F y E I D p I A A A M p T E A E E p -v R R A T L L u o o e e A L G E E R H E T I N u M M Land Community Well Treatment Living Wage May Lava Fatherless ltem Motherless Greet Peace Eviction Ten Cleveland Out Medica! Known College Green Read Here Sorne Paper words may be Unity included in Men other words. Eat Ace Age 1 �STREETVIBES D The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine . Page 5 An Uncensored Account of .Living on the Streets of Cincinnati by Bob Hungerford · where. 1 was there twice when trunk loads of and ~anction it for its inappropriate, unprofesThis article was written for Street Vibes. · sional béhavior. food were delivered and then went out the However, it is far different from p~eviously back door; 1 never saw any of this good stuff Prior to leaving the VA hospital, 1 talked published articles, which were so sugar coated being served. 1 was given a fresh ice cream with a social worker at the VA, who to'ld me and so far from reality that they could have sundae, one of the goodies, for helping unload that I had to stay at a homeless facility for a been written by the lord of illusions. the trunks. 1gave it to a little girl standing week. During that·period, the VA could offer 1 was a. 50-year-old homeless vet from outside the Drop lnn Center, waiting -to get in me no cash or other survival assistance. This · Elmira, NY, when I entered the Post T raumatic With her mother. is supposedly the VA's test for true homeless~ Stress Disorder. (PTSD) 6-week program at Like other BS in other Street Vibes ness. lf you sleep in your car in their parking the Cincinnati VA Medica! Center; 1 was a articles, you can't ¡ust show up at .the Drop lot, then you are not considered homeless. Vietnam vet who didn 't have anything to do lnn Center and get"in and get somethi'ng to eat So on a cold day in May, 1 w_as released with the Veteran's Administration for 30 years, or a plac·e to sleep. They ·have scheduled hours from the VA hospital, hoping to get into the . so I am not familiar with the ins and outs of for their_services. The inforrnation posted on Hamilton County Mou.n t Airy homeless things. 1 was in 'Nam in 65-66 and crashed in · -the walls of the Drop lnn Center leaves a lot to The shelter. However, they had no openings. '69 while still on active duty in the Navy. lt be desired. The staff apparently l<nows what intake worker there tried to get me into sorne took about IO days for my wrists to heal, and- 1 the ever-changing rules are and therefore of the better homeless shelters, but they were spent 15 m·inutes with a Spanish doctor. The also full. So there I was in Cincinnati with ·only · assume that ali the homeless also know the Navy sent me back to work, and for the ·next rules. 1 tried to find out if I had any mail, but a couple of dollars and my worldly posses3 1 years, the PTSD worked me to mental and there is only ,a certain time (unknown to me) sions in the back of my 12-ye~r-old Suburu, physical exhaustion while it destroyed every~hen they will tell you if they have mail for wfilch was almost out gas. 1 had not a clue as thing around me. My best description of you. 1 saw absolutely no indication of any to what ·I needed to know to survive. myself at that time is that I felt like a used-up, counseling whatsoever. At this point, 1 was secure i~ the knowlsqueezed-up tube of toothpaste. Not much 1 had to quit taking my VA anti-depressant edge that with skilled representation and in was le~ of me. medications because I had to be alert ali night · eight years, 1 might see the disability benefits 1 have a lot of technical expertise and to be prepared for wherever the attack might · that would allow me to fulfill my aspirations of senior level management experience, but 1 come. Though my nerves were frazzled, 1 had hc!ving a room and a computer of my own. 1. can't seem to locate my own ass to help to stay there to meet VA criteria. 1 slept in my might have a place where I can be by myself myself. Somehow, I ·am every bit as much a car or in the park during the day if it wasn't too and spend my waiting hours on the computer lost soul as those addicted to drugs or alcohol cold. 1 walked endlessly. In five days my weight or _ l ooking out the window, just observing and although my drug of choice is food. 1 eat all dropped from 279 to 251 . My feet were a not participating. One of the many aspects of that I can get my hands on to fill this huge blistered mess from walking in a drug and my PTSD is that I end up arguing with virtually emptiness in me. _ crime infested area of the city. 1 have never everyone around me. So I do best ¡ust alone The VA staff is courteous and knowledge~ been involved with illegal drugs, and so I am in a room. able within their realm of responsibility. But The homeless centers are,·grouped on outrageously ignoran~ of much of this activity. my advice to other vets who need help is to am sad to see that so mud, of the population is the fringes of downtown Cincinnati. With no talk to those here who have dealt with the VA hooked forever, hustling or working and money and never having evén been there, for years. That's the only way to get a true spending their last begged, borrowed or stolen where and how do you p_ark for freer In this understanding of just what's really happening. cent for booze or drugs. neighborhood, you need luck to still -have a car A good deal of the services that you receive On Monday morning, 1 meta fellow out in in the morning. depends on your knowledge of available front of his home, during one of my endless 1 went to the Drop lnn Center because services and how to apply for them. There are walks, who began to show me the ropes of theVA social worker said that I could get a many sources of useful information, and my being homeless in downtown Cincinnati. bed there. That was also where I was to meet story is just mea:nt to be a starting point. My point in this discussion is that you her the following Thursday. At least I could The fact that I had PTSD and was homeshol{ld not depend on the VA staff s word or park out front for free wh~re I could see my less is extremely devastating to me. 1 can help their good intentions, but check things out for car. others, but I have a great deal of trouble asking yourself. lt is impossible to stay up ali night at is the skid row of Ciñcinnati. This place for help for myself. 1 was assured that I could the Drop lnn Center, be scruffy and stinking lt is a true mark of shame for an otherwise get into the homeless program at the Veteran's and apply for a job; How do-you begin to great city. Dinner and supper are watery Domiciliary in Fort Thomas, KY. However, prepare a resume there or buy paper and soup, macaroni salad, stale bread or doughduring my fifth week of t~e PTSD program, 1 envelopes to mail out ·applications or leave a a drink. 1 have always been skeptical nuts and had an interview at the DOM. 1 was totally number? The system is geared for call-back about eating someplace that was openly filthy. _ focused on the PTSD program, and the social people with homes. With no base, no address The facility openly discriminates against men worker totally cut me apart at the interview. 1 and no phone, it's hard to get started. 1 went by giving women much better facilities. was totally unprepared for the questions asked · back to the VA, and with the help of the Women get a bed with clean sheets while of me, and I lost iny temper at the meeting. director, 1 !'ciS able to get a conditional accepmen get bare mats laid out right next to each lt was to my later understanding -that 1 tance to the DOM at Fort Thomas for a few other around a gymnasium floor. There are failed because I did not have a written plan weeks later. ; no sheets, pillows or blankets. You sleep in prepared (1 was unaware of this requirement In the meantime, 1 reapplied to Mt. Airy your clothes while people urinate or puke on until the meeting), that I had too much educafor the third time and was fortunate enough to you. tion and functioned at too high a management be accepted. lt is a day and night improvement There is constant screaming and yelling level to be given more training. Most impor-over the Drop lnn Center or other church both inside and outside of th~ shelter. In a tant, 1 was not drug or alcohol dependent. My centers on Elm Street. The Mt. Airy staff is week, 1 hadn't been able to go into the office addiction to food is not recognized as an , courteous and professional. Counseling and there once. addiction by the DOM committee even though further help is also available. Sorne of the What services the center provides, if 1 far surpass the VA standards for being obese. facilities are antiquated , but the guys make do any, is unknown. Different Drop lnn Center 1 also failed because I had filed a VA disability and are glad for what they have. people on different days bark out different claim, which is grounds for ·exclusion from 1 had a scheduled conference with Steve orders to the pitiful mass, huddled there in their homeless program. , Knight, who doubles as the social worker and confusion. Many homeless prefer to sleep in The Fort Thomas, KY, DOM admittance director of the Mt. Airy. facility. lt is obvious the park, in alleys or abandoned buildings committee is ethkally and morally disavowing that Steve is a caring, intelligent person, who is rather than subject themselves to the condithe posted professional standards of the VA. right for the job that he is so skillfully performtions at the Drop lnn Center. Needless to say, 1 was devastated by the Ft. ing with extremely limited resources. Steve The street rumors run wild abóut the Thomas VA facility's heartless treatment of me. considered what was in my best interest, and corruption in the Drop lnn Center's opera1 have officially requested that the true profestion. Allocated funds supposedly go elsesionals <?f the VA in_vestigate this commi1t~~ Contin q~d on page I O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _...,! "'.- ~. ~,-,, .,,. �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Home/ess Grapevine Page 6 City Council Actions Show the Demise of Democracy by Tess We the people of the United States, in order to form a more periect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, and provide for the common good of ali ... Jhe constitution of the United States was framed in 1787 and was carried into effect March 4, 1789. 1 am grateful to Deedee for reminding me of "democracy" and our need to consciously bring it back into ur vocabulary a~d our daily . lives. Democracy is a noun and is defined as follows: · 1. Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them or . by their elected agents under a free electoral system 2. A state having such a form of . government 3. A state in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them rather than by elected representatives 4. Political or social equality; democratic spirit 5. The common people with respeé:t to their political power . A noun is any member of a class of words distinguished_chiefly by having plural or possessive endings, by functioning as subject or object in sentence construction, and by designating persons, places, things, states, or qualities. · June eighteenth was a beautiful day in Cincinnati. lt was four o'clock on Plum Street and the meeting was an hour late; it was over in fifteen minutes. 1 walked away feeling empty, appalled, disheartened and sad for the "common people" of Over-the Rhine. · The city of Cincinnati's City Council Finance Community (CCCFC) had just agreed unanim·ously to grant the ULI/OTR Coalition one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Curiously, when the vote was taken, no one spoke, nor did t· see a nod of the head, raised eyebrow, . hand waiver or another life-like motion from any of "our" revered Council Members. IT WAS A DONE DEAL. Andwe think that organized crime has "clout" in this nation!!! Blatant apathy of the CCCFC right in front of my eyes! OH! How naive I am, have been, and hopefully shall never be again. We the people, we, for the common good of ali. Six months from now, in December, will we have forgotten the feelings of this day? Will we forget that the ULI/OTR Coalition is to report back to the CCCFC on the status of their notfor-profit pursuits, by-laws, search for an executive director, and where the one hundred fifty thousand dollars went? Do we, today, remember the privatization of University Hospital? How many children are hungry? Where the boy's mom is who's working the graveyard shift- he's assigned to his aunt's care- will she feed him? Can she afford to 'feed a growing pre-tee'!. boy? And the mother who's children get on her nerves, she berates and hits them and so do 1! Our nation is in a mess. Like the rabbit, the drum and the battery, it keeps going and going and going and going ... ________ r coupori :...:.,_ 1 ~ f'-'t • , "IVV Welfare Reform Reality Check by Kalhryn M. Boyd This is not the Thirties, Forties or Fifties. This is the Nineties. · One third of the population is on sorne kind of drug or another. lf your neighbor-was a drug dealer, would you want to leave your child or children in their _care? Many people are illiterate. lf you were one of these people, would you want to be forced off public assistance in two years, if you were unable to get your G.E.D. in two years? With the present unemployment rate being what it is, where does this leave the people on assistance? Where are ali the jobs? Three year time limits will hurt a lot of people with . children. Walk a mile in our shoes before you . vote on House Bill 408. Given the fact that strollers must be folded before you get on the bus, how does a woman get to work and back safely? Women are not made to lift heavy objects, nor are they octopi. So how do you carry a stroller, two or three children, diaper bag, and extra clothes and food for you and the children? Many lowincome people have to depend on the bus to get where they are gotng. They have no other transportation they can depend on. This is what reality looks like in the life of low-income people. Let me take you for a walk down the road of reality. First day: You go to welfare to apply for assistance. They tell you to come back tomorrow, aftér you've sat there for hours waiting. You go back home wondering where you can borrow the money to get there again the next day. Not only do you need money for yourself to get there. Now you need bus fare and food money for you three or four children while you are waiting to be seen. This is the last of the month and everyone you know is out of money for now. So you have no way to get back the next day... which means yóu have to wait until the next month to go back. Meantime, your food supply is nearly gone. - The nearest food pantry is not in walking distance. Next day; next person: You're in a wheelchair and you have chronic asthma and severe cerebral palsy. Due to your health problems, you are in and out óf the hospital. While you're in the hospital, your worker tefuses to interview you while you're there. After you get out of the hospital and you call · to reschedule your recertification date, your worker wants you to come the next day, asking if your family can bring you. When you do make. it to the office with the walking dog, the worker freaks out on you. The next time you .get ,rescheduled for recertification, you're ""' .,yc, 1 ·1 re in. truct1on!: to· .. · !. 1acv' · back in the hospital and can't keep the ap, pointment. So your worker cuts you off. ·Closes your case on you. · Another day; another person: Due to an argument, you separate form your spouse. The spouse takes ali but $150 from the joint account in the bank. Dueto the fact that you don't have enough money to cover all your expenses, you end up living with your spouse's family, until you can afford you own place. Meanwhile, you're pregnant with your second . child ,and you have to get on assistance real soon, so you will have an income. to live on and later, when you have the baby. However, when you complete the welfare packet that they give you and return it, the caseworker loses the packet and tries to blame you for it. . STREETVIBES Editorial Page This means that your grant increase to buy supplies for the baby is delayed and, at tl1e same time, your land_lord is threatening to evict you. This is after you are forced to move away from your mother-in-law's to keep her from · bei ng evicted. Another day; another person: Dueto having a relative staying with you and y~ur being on SSI and food stamps, the relative is added to your case number for food stamps and health care. When the relative moves out, your caseworker has you and the relative come in for recertification on the 8th of the month. She tells you that your case number is going to be changed, because of a major mixup on your éase. You're asked to bring a bank statement, showing that an old checking account has been closed. The relative is asked to bring in a bank statement, showing that the joint account with her spouse is closed also. You take the statement in the next day, and the worker tells you they already found the statements. Since the caseworker has to change the ctlse over, this means that you have to get a new I.D. made. You go to get your food stamps and find out that you are cut-off! (This happened to a real person, who is ,an insulin dependent diabetic.) Continued on page 7 �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Homeless Grapevine Continued from page 6 Each of these stories is what happened to real people. Welfare reform does not take into account how complicated life is for real mothers, trying to work, get child care, find adequate transportation to get to child car.e to work to child care to grc;;cery store, and trying ·to earn a G.E.D. at the same time. Trying to keep up with all the complications of the welfare department, all the notices they send. Being cut-off by the welfare department through mistakes and harassment by caseworkers. Welfare reform must provide a . safety net for mothers with children. Please vote "No" to three· year time limits! This is only a short walk down the path of reality. There are millions and millions more miles to go. Please take a walk in our shoes . . Don't make it harder on us. An Open Letter to a Public Official • Anonymous Dear Public Official: Y<?u told me to call you yesterday. We agreed on 4:30 p.m. as the time. 1 was willing to call whenever it suited you because 1 wanted an answer to my inquiry and I didn't · know how long it would take you to find that answer. You weren't "in" at 4:30, so l'm writing this to explain something to you. - People have all different kinds of accidental properties, which is one way of putting it. Sorne people háve yachts and prívate airplanes. Now imagine this. Someone, ·who has private air transportation, has a meeting in Dallas, Texas, tomorrow morning. You need something from him and he says to you, "You can stop by in Dallas tomorrow morning." You really need that thing and don't have a prívate airplane. You then take severa! hundred dollars out o·f the bank and pay for any flight that gets you to by Brian Oavis Dallas the next day. After you get there, you Debate is still taking place on two bilis find out the guy left early for a meeting in (House Bill 408 and 215) in the Ohio House Miami. The secretary doesn't know anything regarding changes in the welfare system. A about the matter, but she can call in a few number of themes have emerged, which will hours. You can also come back in a day or probably become law in the near future. two, and she might have sorne information for There will probably be a 5 year lifetime you _then. limit on the receipt of benefits. With 3 years None of this is doing you any good, is it? on then two years off and a final two years of In fact, it's costing you what you can't afford. eligibility. l'm almost sleeping' on the street. 1 don't There will be a severe shortage in the have a telephone. 1 don't even have a house to number of slot_s available_for child care, espeput a telephone in. Like you, 1 don't have a cially for low-wage or S? called working poor private plane. 1 have to go through all kinds of families. rare activities to accommodate you. This isn't The local county commissioners will have because you're smarter than me or prettier direct responsibility for .oversight of the than me (even though you may be both), but · program. There will be local goals that the because what you take for granted- a mocommissioners will be expected to meet. lf mentarily accidental thing, a telephone paid for the goals are not met the county could be · with public money-is something I don't have. sanctioned wit~ repeated offenses. There are · There's a free telephone at a lovely place, rewards for counties that reduce the number which is a ten-block round-trip hike. lt's of people using the welfare system of cash pouring down rain .outside. There's a threewhich can be-used fo( any purpose. minute limit on calls, which really doesn't give families who do not engage in work me time to sit on hold while you finish chatting related activities (30 hours a week) will be with your girlfriend or boyfriend. There's sanctioned, which would involve reductions in _ always a line of people waiting to use that the food stamp program. 1O hours of this telephone, and it is not open at 4:30. 1 do use requirement can involve education activities. the telephone if I can. There is debate around sanctioning a family by Now prívate businesses frequently removing them from welfare for 6 months if employ dummies who think that because they they continue to not engage in work activities. have a telephone, a car or·a set of false teeth, lt is expected that Medicaid eligibility will everybody should have them. These dummies expand to include all children of families can't understand that there's no bus service to earn,ing less than 150% of poverty. that wonderful job that they know about in the next county, so I can't work there. Now please get it straight. There is no house. That's what homeless means. There's no housing. There's no telephone, no car, no · closet for business clothing, no refrigerator for lunch, no front porch for newspaper delivery, Venice Pizza 221-7020 no bed to sleep in when it's convenient for Venice Pizza at 2801 W. McMicken is an the labor pool operations. mployment program that offers part time onThere is a high school diploma. There is he-job training where individuals have an an America citizenship and maybe a VFW pportunity to further develop their skills and membership. There are 52 job applications ave an experience in food service. The group filled out somewhere. There is a good credit s non-profit. rating and a clean police r~cord. Present this co'upon and receive $1 off That isn't necessarily true of everyone, ny large pizza. One coupon per visit. Minibut it isn't sound policy to assume it isn't true um free delivery $8. Call for area and times. . of everyone.,, 1 would appreciate it if I heard no ot good with any other 'coupon. •-·- · more instructions to '"e-ali back!' . o¡¡ page .., Expires 7/31/97. Changes in Welfare Program .Pass Legislature Page 7 STREETVIBES Letters Should I Be Homeless? by Ron Carter Should I be homeless? 1 have come in contact with plenty of people who were and are homeless. Not because they can't find a job but because they refuse to work for a low paying job. · So they would rather walk the streets bragging about what they once had; even begging, borrowing, and stealing to get by. This lets us know that every one that is - homeless really shouldn't be homeless. Sorne don't realize that taking that low paying job could be their way back to financia! independence.. Only a chosen few of us have the , opportunity to start at the top; which is not always a good thing because everyone can't handle success. You read every day or hear on the news about sorne celebrity that has done something crazy that may cause them to lose everything. They can't take the pressures that come with success so they, too, become · homeless and living on the street. · A few years ago, 1 was employed at a chemical dependency center. From time to time we had sports figures and ali types of people with very good paying jobs whom had became chemically dependent _come and visit. lt happened because they had everything and they were just bored. Personally, 1 would love to be bored with having everything I wanted. Every homeless person has a reason for b~eing homeless- sorne good, sorne not so good. What ever the reason is, you can overcome it if you really want to. Sorne people think they are doing the person, or the pers_ons, that is trying to• help them a favor by having a problem. While I was employed at the treatment center I heard sorne of our clients tell me and sorne the other staff members that if it wasn't for thetn having a problem, we wouldn't have a job. When I heard this I just politely told them, no, 1 wouldn't have that job there, but 1 would have a job somewhere. Because there is a job for everyone that wants to work. lf you want to work there is a job for you. lf you want help there is help for you also. Minimum wage or every little bit helps towards a better lifestyle. AII you need to do is stay away from · anything and anybody that may bring you down. lf you haven't tried real hard tó get your life back together, give ita shot. 'I think you will feel a lot better about yourself. lt's up to you. $1 Coupon Support Your Local Vendar Tell A Friend About Streetvibes �/ STREETVIBES The Tri S~ote•s Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE by Sheree Kelly Through my eyes I see plenty of violence and also pain sunshine, clouds, and lots of rain People never trying to listen or trying to understand me l'm h~man too, can't you see Why do you mistreat me? So you can hear my cries · l'm special also through my eyes. He Was Homeless by Ron Carler He lived on the str~et and had nothing to eat. He slept on the ground ali over town. The clothes that.he wore were ali ragged and tore. · The friends he once had now gone and that made him sad. So he began to mend his ways and this took several days. · · Now he is doing all right and .no sleepiñg on the streets at night. He can walk the streets with his head held high. Speaking to everyone as he passes them by. He now feels great and you can too. · Just let my little poem inspire you. A Sn·ake by F.J.C. A SNAKE IS A SNAKE YOU CAN KILL WITH A RAKE THERE IS THE HUMAN KIND HE IS SL Y AND HARD TO FIND A CARD UP HIS SLEEVE TRUSTED CANT BE HIS HIDE HE CANT HIDE, GETS BY WITH A LIE HE IS NEVER DIRECT LIKEAN INSECT HIM WE DON'T NEED BECAUSE OF HIS GREED A SNAKE IN THIS FORM WE VIEW WITH ALARM HE IS HARD TO DESCRIBE HE HIDES IN Dl~GUISE Page B Over-The-Rhine STREET Poetry Through My Eyes -. .Anonymous Rel~tively · by Derek landers -... Relatively Speaking . he was husband to my mother's · mother and the son of another Reich polished.boots and martial mannerisnis were his yet he knew no order Relatively Speaking he was my father's father and the son of a péople dispossessed from their homes and heritage held hostage by the geography of North America and the ties of the delta bayous he knew pain Relatively Speaking she was wife to my father' s father and the daughter of a kid napped .Áfrican women and a Frenchmen's contempt for that women's humanity Jim .Crow she'd come to know she knew not who she was Relatively Speaking 1am their mongrel progeny 1 span the waters of their existence uniting four continents and no one Relatively Speaking 1am alone . ' our eyes look the Same by Oenise Crew As I meet and greet with others 1see our eyes look more the same black, white, brown and yellow no matter what your claim so tired and full of life as we leam to deal with pain and strife we go on our way struggling to know what to say 1see our eyes look the same they glimmer when we hug and meet in photos and countless memories 1see our eyes look more the same . a,nd we greet and embrace by name our eyes lóeilc"·rrtor e'tfle s atTieº \',!!E ·:t.;r; 915 a step outside of the walls which crumble in who could commit their lives to this who could leave it after being a witness a city bureaucrat demands you produce more hoping you'II pay less attenti_o n to the needs · of people hoping you'II stop talking about justice a historian professes to know your community although he has only driven through although he has no clue of your life, your struggles :a music man has a dream to build a place for the rich while you live in a shelter to teach you a trade, assuming you are no good a consultant group will plan your future , you can't be involved in the planning you are not the subject ·o f the future a city will build 2 new sports stadiums a shelter will expand for the homeless a jail will expand for poor convicts an activist is killed he was never treated fairly injustice erupts like a volcano who will who will who will -who will who will who will who will who will own take a stand take the challenge give their life be the scapegoat be the target be hated give endless care be the prophet of a future not their Bad Bills Composed by JEDI Women in U/ah in response lo /he passage ot HR2 Sung lo /he tune ot "Dad Boys" (Theme trom Cops) Bad Bilis, Bad Bilis, What you gonna do? What you gonna do when they e-vict you? B'ad Laws, Bad Laws, What you gonna do? What you gonna do with time limits t~o? Bad Bills, Bad Bilis, What you gonna do? What you gonna do when they discriminate against you? Bad Laws, Bad Laws, What you gonna d_o? What are ali the immigrants gonna do? Bad Bills, Bad Bills, What you gonna do? Welfare to work, but there's no home for you? Big Bill, Big Bill, What you gonna do? Don't let this bad bill pass on through! ·,:-iu., .,mh ¿Jint, .. ;.,,~e 1 gn ,.-.. ::;,n n v n ...•>IJc!'.••:;J-:: iitb to sz•,n sd1 :ru.-_,fiol.Jc;.~J '"Hí, .1.6~'{ �STREETVIBES 1 [he Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Needle Exchange Returns · by HaroJd,Oopman May Day 1997: lt's a C/eye/and kind of May Day with hard falling rain sometimes mixed with sleet and gusting winds intense enough to turn a person into a kite. The corner of East 105 and Morrison· moves - delib~rately this morning . Ken Vail, founding Director of Xchange Point, Cleveland's much maligned "roving harm reduction" "needle exchange program happily ignores the • weather, opens the trunk of his car and removes a special black box used for disposing · bio-hazardous materials. The box will soon contain used "points" or dirty needles and syringes that could have been used by an HIVThe Northeast Ohio Coalition for the infected drug user. Homeless lost its appeal to the U.S. Federal "Always make sure the bag sits up like Appeals Court in_February to sell the paper on this," Vail instructs Chris, a college educated the streets of Cleveland free from the City's recovering Heroin addict who has been clean requirement for each vendor of the Homeless for 137 days. A formally homeless white man GrapeYine to buy a $50-$100 vendor's license. in his late 30's Chris adds credibility to the NEOCH with the assistance of the American program from the drug injectors point of Civil Liberties Union asked that all 13 judges in view. the Sixth Circuit reconsider the decision of Ken Vail had just proven that you CAN three ·conservative justices. This appeal was beat City Hall. lf you have a good program, an denied. indomitable spirit and are willing to work day The next step is an appJiqition before the and night for months, you can overcome United States Supreme Court on July 9, 1997. official lack of vision and ignorance. The ACLU and NEOCH intend to appeal to The City of Cleveland, reversing its the U.S. Supreme Court. position, was in the procf.:?ss of issuing a joint At this time the injunction against ticketpress release with Xchange Point, announcing ing vendors of the GrapeYine that the U.S. an agreement on terms ~or the resumption of District Court issued is still in force. Until a needle exchange. Armed with a copy of the final decision is made in the courts, the Grapefirst draft of the agreement he quickly servine vendors will continue to seJI the paper. viced his first client, copying the cliénts ID ~number from his Xchange Point ID onto a daily log sheet and adding "2 points in-2 points out". "Now, Ken. As long as I got this card on me, the police can't ~o nothing. Right?," asked the client. "They shouldn't as long as you're clean," The Citizen's League Research lnstitute of assured Vail. "lf they do, we'II stand behind Cleve!and, under the direction of Michael you. But, if you've got dope on you .... " Eugene has released a study of the region (Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lo✓rain, Medina·, Portage, and Summit counties) against H other regions including Detroit, Columbus, and Cincinnati. The survey compares Gre~ter Cleveland to other regions in 9 areas including education, labor, environment, health, government . ' infrastructure, the marketplace, ameniA consortium of housing advocates and ties, and community. , non-profit development companies released a · This is a competative analysis of the study about housing on the West Side of region against other areas to determine why Cleveland in late March. The study found that your competitors are ahead and then to learn 12.5% of the total surveyed units were vacant, how. to improve this region by studying their and only 1.1 % of the total rental market was circumstances and approaches. The study actually vacant and available on the ~pen ratés the Cleveland area against other regions market for rent. 15.4% of the landlords in competition with Cleveland. . reported that the units were vacant because The area of community ranks indicators they were unwilling to risk hassle or damage. such as poverty, infant mortality, crime, and They found that 27% of the units surdiversity. Keep in mind that the region inveyed had 3 bedrooms or more, while 17% of eludes two of the richest counties in Ohio the vacant units had 3 bedrooms or more. with Medina and Geauga represented. The 90% of the units actually available for rent study shows that Grea~er Cleveland ranks were one and two bedroom units. The group better than mo$t in the community section. found that 41 % of those looking for housing The study found the region strong in charireported that finding both decent and affordtable giving; low_crime, and ·housing ownership able housing was the most difficult challange. and costs. The region is below the median on Finally, a person has to earn 150% of the poverty rates, income inequality, hate crimes, federal minimum wage to afford a two bedand costs for home renters. The study found room unit on the Wes·t Side at $350 per that the region is in the bottom one-fourth of month. the regions surveyed in perce~tage of the The group recommends: population on food stamps and public assisEffective new short-term initiativ~s need tance, disposable income, and religious capital. to be identified and implemented to increase The Homeless GrapeYine will feature the number of family-sized low-income rental statistics from the rating the region study units that are actually on .t~e market throughthroughout the rest of this year. Grapevine Remains .in Legal Limbo Study Ranks CleVeland Area Page 9 "I know," the man finished the sentence, "l'm on my own." The mayor's press release states: "Currently in the Greater Cleveland area, there are 1,015 individuals diagnosed with AIDS and an estimated five to eight tho~sand living with HIV. Since the start of the epidemic, 2,274 individuals have been diagnosed with AIDS in Greater Cleveland." In response, the City of Cleveland issued an emergency order two years ago to allow a needle exchange program to operate a "stationary program" at the Free Clinic. A station-. ary program allows users to exchange u.sed needles for clean ones at a specific site. Vail, who was Director of the ·program, wanted to expand it to include a "roving" program, which would travel to various locations through out the city's neighborhoods; but, he ran into conflict with the Free Clinic and was asked to resign. He refused and was fired. "The problem is that when a heroin addict needs dope and doesn't have a clean needle he'II use a dirty one. Whether or not he can contract AIDS really isnit an issue," said Chris, explaining the need for additional programs. "In other cities," Vail added, "up to ten different needle exchange programs co-.exist." Vail, formed a non-profit agency, Xchange Point and stared a "harm reduction" program. "Practicing harm reduction is more than just exchanging needles to prevent the spread of AIDS," explained Dr. Joy Marshall, medical advisor of Xchange Point and former director of the Free Clink. "We talk to people about safe sex and other health problems. We tell them about drug treatment programs that are available." When Xchange Point complied with City regulations, the City revised the rules. Police surveillance and threats of prosecution folContinued on page I O Study Sheds Light on Near West Side . Hous_ing Realities out the West Side. Major attention needs to be given to further empirical investigation of the issues raised by the results of the study. Policy and planning issues need to be identified and addressed as a result of these finding by governmental, community-wide, and neighborhood based organizations. Short term recommendations included: .. Developing a campaign with both the public and private sectors to increase the availability of low-income tax credits to urban areas. ·Conducting in-depth surveys of owners of vacant units to determine what would assist them in putting units on the rental market. Cultivating new partners, i.e., management firms, hotel and motel industries, architects, etc. to bring new ideas to the table. Deve,loping different, cost efficient housing and ownership models for West Side low income people, i.e. manufactured housing, condos, co-ops, row houses, housing parks. Developing programs which improve the capabilities of landlords and tenants. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Needle Subscribe to Streetvibes Exchange Continuad Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper · will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Continued from page 9 lowed and Vail was forced to cease exchanging needles. Vail took his case to the media-to anyone who would listen. He faxed press releases and made phone calls. Articles soon appeared in The Free Times, The Home/ess GrapeYine and other publications. Originally, The Plain Dealerwas against needle ex~hange. But, they eventually reversed their position and ran·a feature article a~out Vail, and Xchange Point along with a coverphoto of Vail in The Sunday Magazine. "No one event changed my mind about the program.'' said Phillip Morris, Plain Dea1er editorial writer, "lt was a gradual realization that needle exchange_programs, including Xchange Point's program; were good and would help to slow the spread of HIV." At the end of the hour, Vail took inventory of the day's activities. Three people had exchanged four needles, one had requested a needle cleaning kit and one perso_n carne by for free condoms. "lt's a start", said Vail, wiping rain from his still happy face. "Nobody knew we were coming today. By the time we come back, the word will be out on the street and a lot more clients will be here." Coming to Cleveland during th~ summer of 1998 will be The Harm Reduction Coalition's 2nd National Harm Reduction Co·nference. Over 1500 participants from all · over the world will convene here to discuss the latest advancements in harm reduction philosophy. Page 10 Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH · 4521 O The Drop lnn Center serve~ over 250 homeless people each day. Photo by James Heath. Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. lf you have any questions, call the office at 421-7803. Homeless -on the _Street Continued Continued from page 5 he asked me if I would write an article of my opinions on the homeless of Cincinnati and the Mt. Airy Shelter. The Mt. Airy shelter needs only a little to do a lot, and there just aren't the coúnty funds available. Their laundry facilities are at capacity. They need donations of magazines, used novels, and high school textbooks. A few used color TV's and VCR's would allow the shelter to take advantage_of Ci~cinnati library's huge tape selection and local industries training films. The men here have a lot of idle time that could be put to better use; they could use exercise equipment that may be collecting dust elsewhere. The men could use a decent voice mail system that would allow residents to be individually contacted by area employers, so they could get back to work Internet- ~apable computers would be a tremendous tool to help the residents gain comput~r skills · and apply for jobs. Charitable donations not only help the Cincinnati community in general, but they also _allow individuals to feel better about themselves while writing the donations off on their income taxes. There are lots of win-win combinations available. Cincinnati is really into refui:-bishing its houses and buildings into awesome creations for all to behold. Why not consider a similar approach to its homeless problems? To me, Cincinnati has demonstrated that it is a people region, caring about each other. When is the last time that you invited a homeless person over for a Saturday shrimp on the barbie? You might get sorne truly interesting conversation. Everything I Ever Needed to Know, 1 Learned From Being Homeless by Russe/1 Wail Everything I evE;_r needed to know, 1 learned from being homeless. Life's funny that way for me. . Faced with homelessness a few months ago, 1 felt sure l'd finally come to the end. 1 felt that, having -stared into the abyss too long, the abyss had finally reached up and grabbed me. 1 never thought I could ·come back from losing everything, let alone learn much. That's what I get for thinking. •- Simple lessons, which 1'11 probably muck up with a bunch of three dollar words. The first lesson concerned truth. The dominant emotion 1·experienced at first was shame. 1 felt like I owed the world an apology for what I' d become. Shame takes an incident or drcumstance and wraps it around me as my identity. lnstead of feeling foolish for spilling ·a glass of milk, 1 identify myself as a fool anda milk spiller. That's what homelessness and indigency first did to me. Thus, my first lesson: · There is no shame in being homeless. This is something that happened to me, not who I am. l'm nota bad or worthless person for not having a home or a job. My mental illness, my addiction, my lack of job skills - none of these was my fault. Shame and blame act on the human mind like poisons act on the body. -They paralyze and destroy. They keep me from seeing the truth. The simple truth I carne to see was that worrying about fault and blame kept me from taking responsibility. T reating and medicating my ·mental illness and my addiction are my responsibility. Learning a job skill, getting an education - my responsibility. 1 am responsible for making my life better. 1 am responsible for asking for help. Sometimes, society seems really out of whack. Our values only revolve around money and profit. People don't care enough obout each other. But true as these things . may be, 1 cannot afford to waste time blaming others for my problems. That attitude only fosters a victim's ;,,entality. Victimization is a trap I don't want to get caught in. So it's vitally important that I accept responsibility. But I must be careful not to accept the unacceptable. lf political and social forces conspire to tramp on me and my community, 1 am responsible for raising my voice in opposition. lf people within my neighborhood jeopardize the community, l am responsible for standing against them too. 1 have a vote and I must use it. 1 have an obligati<;>n to demand protection and security . of my elected leaders. To accept the unacceptable and allow it to flourish is to condone evil. Condoning evil leads me back into being dehumanized. 1 ama human being and I want always to keep that in mind. 1 am not an animal. Nor do 1 have any business living like one. Animals sleep outside an<:I forage through garbage to eat Animals struggle to stay alive any way they can. Animals live hand-to-mouth. _Unfortunately, so do humans. Jus_t because people sleep in parks and eat from dumpsters and live from shelter to soup kitchen doesn't mean it's supposed to be that way. We were created to do more than just get by. The shelter cannot become my home. The shelter ought to be a way station as I progress toward a better life. The day I call the shelter my home marks the day I finally give up. · Victims give up. Victims get ove·rwhelmed by the negativity around them and give in to it. · Being negative is too easy. lt demands nothing. lt also pays nothing back, with interest. Treating people with kindness, respect, compassion, dignity and love takes more strength and strivers. Striving for excellence, for positivism and perseverance means struggling, hard work and keeping the faith. That struggle will always be rewarded. The r~ward may not be in cash and material wealth. lt may come as contentment Continued on page 1 1 �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Home/ess Grapevine STREETVIBES Obituaries Alan Lynch 9/23/51 - 6/13/91 Alan Lynch died a vié>lent death at the hand of a "friend". He was stabbed to death in an argument that started _overa can of Vienna sausages. Alan was a Native American that spent most of his life outdoors sleeping under the stars. What we remember most about Alan was his great smile and friendly attitude. He would give you the shirt off his · back, b~t had a tendency to be a little wild when he was drinking. .Alan was survived by a son, Paul, who is also homeless. Alan, you are loved and you will be missed. --by Becky Kashersky · Everything 1 Know -About Life Con-tinued ,, Page // @ Henry .Robinson 1/3/41 - 6/14/91 . One could have called Henry a winomany did. Just another alcoholic tanked up on cheap wi.ne, sitting on the wall around Washington Park, greeting passersby with a jovial word _and a smile-or hurling extraordinary abuse. One day, he fell off that wall, ánd never got up; his death bed being the sidewalk he knew so well. Others might see him as an example of the injustice of a society where one is driven to drink by poverty and hopelessness, then left without affordable housing or alcohol treatnient. lndeed, even a well respected social service agency once took over an SRO he li ved in, and evicted him because Henry didn't meet the "service criteria." The greatest injustice, 1 believe, was that he worked, -including the day he died. Yet the fact that he "gota job" didn't end his homelessness . Still others might call him a fool who spent his ali his hard earned money, ~ven an inheritance, ·on Wild lrish Rose, ''choosing" his 1 ~~-~~~ life; who turned down an array of social . workers and_missionaries with " 1 don't need help," "I gota job," "I gota place." These · words were used as shields defending pride, \ yet all these labels , and more, that we place on Henry, were woefully inadequate. For only God truly knows Henry; just as he knows us better than we know ourselves. We are ali winos and fools, victims and perpetrators of injustice, who both bless and curse the passersby that God brings us daily-just like Henry. Only when we ~n forget labels and begin to view all people of any social station with the same unconditional lave God has for Henry, will homelessness come to an end. Henry knows this now, for now Henry has a home. --by Christopher Engle Apart ments Available Franciscan Aparlmenls: Safe, affordable and decent housing is available in the Over-the-Rhine area through the efforts of Franciscan Home Development Continued from page I O (FHD). These éfficiency, 1,2, and 3 bedroom with myself and satisfaction with what l've apartments are located throughout the Over- done. Still, I' d rather be content and feel good the-Rhine and Pendelton areas. Currently, FHD owns 26 buildings with 17 i apartl'Tlents about myself than have an apartment full of stuff and an empty soul. Hard work and a " for residents who cannot afford market-rate loving attit!Jde will be their own reward, just as housing. Many of the apartments have been selfishness and cynicism become their own pu-n ishment. · rehabilitated with spiral staircases and a variey · of sizes. A Resident Advisory Council of FHD For me, any work is better than begging. J.-:~:.!;!;!J;,::.¡:~..z:;:.___ _ ___,;:;;_-==~=-'....,.~-....1 residents has been vocal in the community and Panhandling ought not be_a crime, but it remains turrent on community issues affecting · should be offensive to me at a personal levél. lf 1.beg for money when I could work for it, 1 everyone in this area. descend again into the unacceptable. Begging is We particularly have sorne very nice efficiency and one bedroom apartments. Main settling for whatever I get. Day labor may suck, but my dignity is •Worth the hassle. Street, Vine Street, Wes,t McMicken and West When dignity ceases to have meaning, 1 have Clifton Avenue loéations are avaiable at On WAIF 88.3 lm again lost sight of what it means to be human. $185.00 per mohth plus utilities. These Sadly, many have gane too far into the apartments are equipped. The Homeless Coalition has a live radio inhuman. Many of my friends will not be able program which can ~e heard on WAIF radio to save themselves. Sorne don't even seem to on the second Saturday of each month at want to be saved. Sorne truths are hard, and noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, this . is one of the hardest: Not everyone will Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehead. The show make it, 1 believe it is important to make the mixes talk focusing on the stories in t~is paper _ effort to help others up with me. But I can't and eclectic musical selections. Here are the sav~ everyone. 1 will have to stand by, helpless next show dates. at times and watch people fall apart ór get crushed by the weights -of their problems. WAIF 88.3 fm This is always horrible, but when it -becomes Saturday, July 12. noon to I pm inevitable, the best I can do is get out of the Saturday, August 9, noon to I pm Women on Track . way. 121 Ezzard Charles Orive My be.s t is ali I have to give sorne day~. hllp:1/cinci. coin/gcch Wesl Eód Cenler My best will not seem good enough. lt will be. Wo'm~n on Track is now holding But it won't feel like it. Sorne days the best 1 sign-up far 6 week sewing classes on can do is kéep ·my mouth shut. 1 can only Wednesday Evenings, 6-8 pm. Do you reach for progress. The day I get it períect will enjoy working with your hands? Are you probably be a few days after they plant me. interested .in employment? We have a Sorne days I will break every guideline I just pleasant environment and friendly people. wrote down. Som~ days I will miss every No previous experience needed. Ali are opportunity to better myself orbe helpful. welcome. Sorne days I will be a stark, raving hypocrite. We have just added a searchable inter0 Streetvi bes · Radio Ho·ur L.earn ·10 Sew! Potential Future Employment! Streetvibes Online Sorne days l'11 d.rop the ball or run it into the other team's goal by mistake. Sorne days are better than others. i I sg.ttq no -b9vndoo:) face for our Streetvibes articles. Websuríers can index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. Cal/ Teresa iJI 381-5882 or 333-0288 �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine Page 12 Vendar Support Profile: Ron C rter Streetvibes TV Schedule Ron Carter is the subject of Streetvibes' July profile. Ron is part of our vendor support program. Ron carne to Streetvibes through the AARP program, he carne to us with a wealth · of knowledge. His former occupations have included barber, Production Worker for Coca Cola and Export Control Worker for the U.S. Department of Commerce. His education includes Cincinnati Barber College, Cincinnati Metropolitan College and MTA School of Electronics. Ron also served in the Marines as a Military Policeman (MP) anda small Vfeapons instructor. Mr. Carter also worked asan associate at C.C.A.T.. Ron's hobbies include repairing electronic equipment and singing karaoke. Ron has been a wonderful addition tó Streetvibes. He always goes the extra mile for vendors and anyone else who visits our office. Ron never comes to the -Check us out, _ We're on TV! Streetvibes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video. Slreelvibes TV June Vendor Supp~~f Worker Ron office empty handed, there is always something someone can use in his hand. "I like my job because of the people I work with and the fact that I can help people," says Ron with his infectious smile. Tlíe feeling is mutual--we like working with him, too. Each ticket includes: July 26th Scrimmage Georgetown, KV Homeless Fundraiser Bus Trlp This year's Scrimmage on July 26, 1997, promises to be exciting. This is the first scrimmage to be held at the new training camp in Géorgetown, KY. We have a package which will let you enjoy the event in style. · 1. Bus T rip from Sycamore Plaza to the Bengals' New Training Camp in Georgetown, KY · · . 2. Box Lunch provided by the Kroger Company 3. Meeting with Coach Bruce Coslet includin a pre-game analysis and question and answers 4. Preferred Seating in the New Training Stadium 5. Return Trip to Sycamore Plaza Why drive an hour and search for the new field, fight for parking, pay for an overpriced meal, sit in the back and then drive an hour back home? We will arrange the trip so you can just sit back and have fun! Tickets for the entire day cost $50 each. Proceeds go to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Ho'meless. lf you wish to pay by check, send a check payable to the "Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 4521 O. Tickets will be mailed to your home. - Cal/ Our Holline Number al 659-6184 to Pay by Credil Card! A second installment of our Faces of Homelessness which focuses on people who have experience9 homelessness and have survived. Guests were Glen Collins, Darlene Guess, Gregory Payton and Don Sawyer. Music was provided by the Streetvibes Ba.nd. Channel 10 Thursday, July 3, 9 am Monday, July 7, 6:30 pm Sunday, July 13, 4 pm Slreelvibes TV Ju/y This show will focus on Youth and Homelessness and will include both providers ,;1nd homeless youth themselves. Channel 7 (58 Basic in most of ~amilton County) Monday, July 14, 7 pm live Channel 10 Sunday, July 20, 4 pm Thursday, July 24, 9 am Still Needed Air Conditioner Donated Frequent Flyer Miles So Vendors Can Attend Street Newspaper Conference in Seattle This September, Call for lnfo Copier Utility Shelves Lamp for Vendor's Lounge Pic:ture or Poster Frames TV and VCR tQ Show Streetvibes Episodes to Groups Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories ' Need Help or Want to Help? lf for sorne .reason you find yourself homeless, contacta Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, T reatment, Housing or Services. lf you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. SHELTERS: Women and Children Alice Paul House (abuse) 241-27S7 557-2873 , Bethany House Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome House 431-8717 SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St. Joseph House Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop lnn C~nter (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) lnterfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center St. John's Temporary Housing HOUSING CMHA Excel Deyelopment Mi ami Pu rebase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental 111) Tom Geiger House TREATMENT: 241-5S25 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761-1480 . 821-5100 721-0643 · 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226 721-4S80 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 Women O.D.A.A.T First Step Home 241-7343 921-7324 TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over TREATMENT: N.A. Hopeline A.A. Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions,-lnc. 961-4080 .651-6446 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 Both 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 VA Domiciliar-y 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES . AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati Appalachian ldentity Center Churches Active in Northside Cincinnati Health Network · Community Action Agency Contact Center Emanuel Community Center Freestore/Foodbank Hamilton Ce.Mental Health Bd. Hamilton Co. TB Control Health Resou'rce Center Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Mission Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. Mary Magdalen House Oral Health Council Our Daily Br~ad Peaslee Neighborhood Center T ravelers Aid United Way VA Homeless Program Women's Crisis Center 421-2437 621-5991 S91-2246 961-0600 S69-1840 381-4242 241-2563 241-1064 621-7149 632-7186 3S7-4602 352-2902 221 -3 679 241-9400 271-5501 721-4811 621-0248 621-6364 621-5514 721-7660 721-7900 S59-6656 491-3335 '-c:n tmuee¡ ~u pa,-.e .1. � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource July 1997 Vol. 1, issue 6 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: urban development public housing community councils homeless narrative welfare reform needle exchange Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kathryn M. Boyd F.J.C. Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Harold Dopman Chris Engle Becky Kashersky Sheree Kelly Ari Halpern Mike Henson Bob Hungerford Derek Landers Tim McNish Tom Mulroy Gregory Payton Tess Russell Wait Carolyn Whitehead Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams addiction Ari Halpern Becky Kashersky Bob Hungerford Brian Davis Carolyn Whitehead Chris Engle community council Denise Crew Derek Landers Donald Whitehead F.J.C. Gregory Payton Harold Dopman housing Kathryn M. Boyd Lynn Williams Mike Henson OTR Over-the-Rhine Pat Clifford policy reform Ron Carter Russell Wait Sheree Kelly Tess Tim McNish Tom Mulroy welfare https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/594d02303e6a5e295ca7e28a7d5543bc.pdf 8baa674f23e040556d6d1d79c7496310 PDF Text Text .. ·······-·.-.·.·,·... .-. .Ji·;,,~r;~g;::: September /997 Buy Frnm Badged Vendor ONL Y The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine AII Shelters Filled ·1n Cincinnati by Oonald Whilehead As new l~gislation begins to take effect, shelters are operating at ·capacity. As Streetvibes headed to the printer, we found that a serious situation has developed in Greater Cincinnati. For the last severa! weeks shelters in Greater Cincinnati have been filled. ..., have had to turn about 30 people away a day," said Fannie Joh nson, Assistant Director of Chabad House. lt is important to point out that there are still beds available for single men, the shortage is in beds for farr:iilies, and single women. The scary part about the shortage is thai women and children are the largest growing sector of the homeless population. While many legislators applaud the reduction of welfare roles, they tend to ignore the increase in shelter visits. Another closely related factor in the overcrowded shelter situation is the changes occurrihg in public housing. The new income targeting p·ractices, the one strike and your out policy, project based section 8 -loss . s a d increased evictions have all been identified by new shelter visitors .as reasons for their homelessness. The situation has become so severe that Hamilton C9unty Children's Services has begun. putting homeless children up in hotels. While many advocates háve predicted these disturbing events, none envisioned them 1 have had to turn about thirty people away a-day 11 11 o.;;.curring so soon. What has many advocates disturbed is the conditions that are forthcoming. How will this situation be handled in the upcoming winter months when conditions become even more unbearable? Shelter Worker Bobby Lyles works in vain to find shelter for a homeless family. Photo by James Heath. M,Jor Welfare Decisions Shifted to County Level Ohio's Lenders Not by Lynn Williams Doing ·Enough To Loan To Minority And Low~lncome Home .Seekers The Ohio Community Reinvestment Project (OCRP) released a report August & entitleá" Analysis of Home Mórtgage Disclosure, Act Data (HMDA) forthe twenty largest lenders in Ohio, 1993-1995." The OCRP developed a ranking of the largest 20 Ohio lenders based on their percent of loans they made to black and low to moderate income houséholds (families earning up to about $37,300, and the race and income make-up of the neighborhood. The HIGHEST ranked lenders are: Bank One Mortgage, Green Tree Financia!, Ford Consumer Finance, Society Natiónal Bank (now Key Bank) and Long Beach Mortgage. The LOWEST ranked . lenders are: Charter One, National City Mortgage, Citfed and Norwest. While sorne lenders perform better than others thé report reveals a pattern of lending statewide in which minority home purchasers are not served in proportion to the population by .ANY of the 20 largest !enders in Ohio. The types of loans included are for home purchase , hon:,e improvement, and home refinancing, however OCRP weighted home purchase loans heavier. The ranking did not account for the terms or conditions of the loans which vary considerably. Continued on page 2 The State welfare bill is passing on sorne of the policy making decisions .about welfare down to the county leve! of government. Our county commissioners and local welfare -department, along with- input from the human services planning committee, will be making welfare policy that directly affects recipients' lives. Our ray ·o f hope is that recipients (r~ferred to as consumers of social services) and advocates can serve on this human services planning committee, as stated in H.B. 408 which is now the law. The Welfare Rights Coalition in Cincinnati is working to get on this committee as a voice for recipients! Some of the policy dedsions to· be made a.t the county level are the following: .. Design of the •:Prevention, Retention, and Conti ngency Program." This program would provide emergency assistance for families with children to help with a specific problem, , such as car repairs. lt would steer families away from participating in Ohio ·works First (Ohio's TANF assistance). ·· Policy on who will be the 20% hardship cases exempted from the three year time limit _ .. Policy on what will be "good cause" reasons for receiving TANF assfstance for the rernaining two years (after being off two years) ·· Decision on which agencies, called "any -entity, public or private" that the county will contract with to provide services .. Decision on if Hamilton County will mandate direct deposit for cash ,assistance checks, and how this policy will be spelled out with financia! institutions re_ceiving the TANF and DA checks. ..· .. Decision on dropping the requirements of inspections and criminal records checks governing chUd care if the providér is a relative or friend of the child's parerÍt A signed statement by the parent and child care provider saying minimum health & safety standards are met wo~ld be permissible to_ eliminate inspections. Policy for '1ust Cause" for quitting a job and being able to receive TANF assistance child care if the provider is a friend or relative of the child's parent. A signed statement by the provider and the parent verifying mínimum health & safety standards are being met would 'be ~ufficient. .. A transportation plan for recipients to get to work in the suburbs and rural areas would be decided on the county leve!. This is only a list of sorne of the decisions to be made on the county level. These policy decisions will affect vast number of people in Hamilton County! lt goes beyond "welfare" recipients (families ,receiving cash assistance from TANF). Policy that is being decided will affect food stamps only people, DA reci~ients, r · health care, foster/adoption programs, child support _cases, and the working poor who need child care, health care, or emergency assistance. Most families are oniy one or two paychecks away from needing public assistance. Job loss or a major illness could happen to anyone. The line is relatively thin between being on welfare or being employed. The policy may affect you, too, or someone you know, so we urge you to get involved! The '(Velfare Rights ,Coalition has been discussing this policy at our meetings, and we will be focusing on this issue in the upcoming months. We urge anyone interest.e d to start. coming to our meetings held at 10:30 AM at the Contact Center every other T uesday. a �STREETVIBES STREETVIBES The Tri Stote 's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and abqut the homeless. lt is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back _o n their feet. AII vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuáis committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. lf you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrino, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Berta Lambert The T raveler Writers Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Wanda Eicher lola Green Chanda Marshall Patrick Mosolf Angela Meadows Tom Mulroy Myron Bonnie Neumeier _ Gregory Payton Malaka Sanders S. Brad Saylers Gilda Storm Jean -T addie The T raveler Sandy Valadon Donald -Whitehead Lynn Williams Volunteer Editors Chanda Marsnall Craig Paulette Malaka Sanders Kimberly_ T enai Refer slories or inquiries lo: Streetvibes e/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street · Cincinnati, OH 4"521 O_ (513) 421-7803 fax (51'3) 421 ~7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch · 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine Page 2 · Barlk Bias Continued Continued from page 1 Despite the growing economy with low unemployment and record profits for the big banks, lending to minorities and lower-income working people is lagging behind which leaves those potential home buyers out of réach of their share of the American Dream," _said Gene King, Managi_ng Attorney for.Ohio State Legal Services. What is eve:, worse is that eight of the 20 largest lenders are failing to report race of 10% or more of those who apply for loans which they are required t"o report under federal law. The Hunington National Bank failed to report the Race of those who were denied loans over 70% of the time and the Money Store failed over 90% of the time. Every lender serves a higher proportion of low and moderate income buyers than it does properties in low-income areas. This indicates that there is a continuing pattern of deinvestment in certain communities and neighborhoods. Low and moderate home buyers were more likely to be denied loans in 1995 than they were in 1993 by most of the largesi lenders in the state. _ ,_ " Clearly this report illustrates that Ohio lenders can and should do more to help low and moderate Ohio to purchase homes. Home ownership is single greatest means of ñcquiring a piece of the pie in America. AII Ohioans should have access to their fair share," said Bill Faith, Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio "By controlling home mortgage loans, banks control who has access to better schools and safer communities," said Chip Bromely, Executive Director of Metropolitan Stradegy Group in Cleveland.; "The Biggest lenders are not fuUy extending credit ·to many African-American and lower income Ohioans." This report is one of the first of its kind in the country· OCRP is a statewide coalition made up of mo~e than 90 non-profit fair housing groups, housing development and homeless service organizations, civil rights, community development corporations, legal aid programs, community based groups and governmental agencies. -OCRP's mission is to promote the investment in Ohio's low-income communitiés of color. To address the findings 'of this report, which clearly indiéate inadequacies in providing for the credit needs of low-income and minority households, OCRP has developed 20 very specific recommendations for lenders advocates and government agencies. Data for the report is based on HMDA, · which lenders report annually to their federal financia! regulatory agencies. Copies of this report are available by contactin_g COHHIO at (614) 280-1984 . Reprinted lrom COHH/0 newsletter _ HOT HOT HOT ·A Bit o/ Humor by·Ron Carter . That is the theme song in the Bahamas because it is so dam hot there. 100 degrees in the shade, if you can find sorne. 1 was there three years ago, and I mean it was HOT, baby. lt wa~ so hot that the Devil himself was begging -for ice water. lt w~s so hot that people were washing their clothes at the Laundromat and taking them outside for a free dry. lt was so hot that the Cool Centers were ali closed, so you know it had to be hot. lt was so hot that the weatherman refused io give a report. Now, is that hot enough for you? lt was so hot that your refrigerator went on strike. . lt was so hot tha~ the food shops ~~re cooking on the sidewalk. lt was so hot that ice cubes were going for a dollar a piece. lt was so hot that the ice skating rink turned into a swjmming pool. Well, 1 think 1 will close for now because this little story is going to be too hot for the press. Streetvibes Velldor Code of Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following · code to be able· to sell the paper. Streetvibes. to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. 1 agree not to deceive the public by 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 saying that I am~collecting for a not-for-profit · . charity or ·that I am collecting for the "home- · voluntary donation. 1 agree not to ask for donations more than $1. 1 also understand · · ··ress" in general. 1 will -be honest in stating that that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each all the profits from the sale ·of Streetvibes will dollar collected. Future issues of Streetvibes. go to the individual vendor. 7. 1 agree that f will not contest territo. will be purchased from th~ Homeless. Coalition for 20 cents. ríes with other distributors. 2. 1 agree that I will never dis_tribute 8. 1 understand that -Streetvibes strives Streetvibes while under the _influerice of drugs to be a self supportjng paper created by or alcoho~_ -.p-eople who are h.omeless ot formerly home3. 1 agree that I will not ask for donations - less. To nelp in this effort, l ·will try·to spread·. after 12 midnight. _· .: .the word and wriie :stoñes ·¡-{ possible. · · · 4. 1 agree:to_treat oth~rs_with r~-spect. 1 _ 9. lUnderstand· that the failure to· comply· "- . will not use abusiye language or force someone ·-~, with any of ~the above_·statéments ·will resi.llt in . _ _. to give a donatlon. 1 wiU not give a "har-d sell" - .... me no longer being able to distribute · or make someone fe~I threatened. Streetvibes. - .5. 1 agree that I will ·not supply copies of �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Home/ess. Grapevine Over-the-Rhine Developers Give Tenants NotiCe on Walnut Street by Bonnie Neumeier There's a project called THE MIDDLE EARTH CONSORTl'UM which_ recently was selected for funding through the City's Housing Round 111. The Over-the-Rhine Community Council was approached by Mr. Jay Voss from Middle Earth Properties about this project and requested our support. We could not support this project because it involved · displacing low-income teriants. lt was pórtrayed as a test case for mixing displaced and one other tenant who was evicted a short time ago. lt's a hardship on ali · of them and the news quite shocking. lt is not · easy to find an affordable unit. Those who are elderly, facing many heªlth problems are finding a much harder time. Finding a place that will accept their animal friends is tough. No one was talked to about being able to come back once renovation was complete. AII of them were encouraged to meet with Mark Brunner, The Over-the-Rhine Foundation, ··eeing Asked to Leave Your H'ome Is Never Good News .. . 11 low income rental units into market rate rental buildings. This project, involving various for profit corporations and limited partnerships, is' rehabbing 8 buildings within' one block area around 14th and Walnut Streets. The buildings will contain 53 residential units and 4 store fronts. Six of the 8 buildings will have only market rate units ( 1 bedroom/$400 a month; 2 bed,room/$500 a month; 3 bedroom/ $600 a month). The remaining two buildings will have only one low income a piece, rents set at $150 below the market rate units. So out of 53 units of housing, ONLY 2 will be somewhat affordable to persons of low income. How fair of a mix is this? We are losing more low income units than we are maintaining. (We have never been on the "gaining" side since the 1985 ÓTR, Comprehensive Plan called to protect and preserve the 5520 low income units that were occupied at that time.) The number of low income tenants currently being displaced by this project is greater than the token amount of low income . units being planned for this so called mixed development. At the very least, if this project was trying to show good faith effort in advocating a successful economic mix,, the number of occupied low income units needed to be preserved, and those ·tenants temporarily displaced due to renovation be offered and made to feel welcomed back home to a newly renovated apartment with affordable rents. One of the buildings in this project is 141 O Walnut Street. Urban Sites Management (Bill Baum and Jim Moll) took ownership in january 1997. Tenants remember being told not to worry, they would not have to move. But a letter carne to their doors in mid July stating the following: . "... we continue to discover major problems with the building that were not originally anticipated: At this time we feel that its in your best interest to vacate the property so that improvements to the building can proceed in a safe manner. BEING L ASKED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME IS NEVER GOOD NEWS,. THAT IS WHY WE WANT · YOU TO HAVE UP TO 60 DAYS TO VACATE.". In this building there are six tenants being who works with the Anti-Displacement program, offering Section 8 units, as if that eases .all the disruptions that the tenants are faced with. Anxiety is high .... the 60 days is too short a time. Because this project is using federal dollars from the City the tenants are eligible Page J for Relocation Benefits. Relocation benefits were never discussed. Certain procedures have. to be followed so that the rights of the tenants are protected. Scott Stiles from the Relocation office of the City was surprised their office had not been alerted of this situation by the Department of Neighborhood Services, nor by the developers themselves so that displacement issues can be reviewed and monitored and tenants' rights protected. . The Appalachian folk who h~ve called Walnut Street their home deserve better than this. lt's not fair to take our land, our buildings, and force our people to move. In the words of one tenant "I might not have cash, but l'm not trash". Real péople experience · real pain when they are displaced from their homes. At this point it is hard to trace the particulars of how each of these buildings became more vacant than occupied. But 1 know they did not become vacant by accident. lt's not only this project, .but alot of real estate activity has been taking place in this area, displacing the mostly Appalachian community huddled dose around the Appalachian ldentity Center. 1 can't walk down Walnut Street.and not notice the change. When I stand there long enough to grasp the situation, an_d look deep into the eyes of those who still are holding on, gathered in their everyday supportive circles, 1 listen ... and what I hear are their heartbeats mourning the many "used of been" stories and a quiet anger that knows something is going dowh wrong here, because what is going down is not for them.. More on this story next issue. · These buildings at .141 O Walnut Street are slated for improvements. They have been occupied for decades by Appalachian families. Photo_by Berta Lambert. Veterans Homeless Program Celebrates Anniversary by /ola Green The Cincinnati VAMC Health Care for the Homeless Veterans Program (HCHV) is celebrating its 10th. Anniversary this year. To help celebrate, we had a picnic at the Fort Thomas Domicilliary. lt was well .attended vvith Qver 150 current and former HCHV participants, their families, staff, and community organizations. Ou-r program has served over 700 veterans in the -past IO years. Our program depends on community based organizations to provide treatment and to help link veterans with the c~m~unity. We are actively involved in community outreach . programs to reach veterans and to provide information to the public as to the services we offer. We are-available for consultation in helping ·other organizations develop outreach strategies and facilitating community and homeless relationships. The Cincinnati VAMC Homeless Program is staffed by lota Green, MSSW, Program Director; Susan Ball, Nurse Practitioner and Allan Williams, Social Science -Program Specialist. For additional information please contact us at (513) 861-3100 ext. 6329 or fax us at (5 13) 475-6521. We look forward to hearing from you! �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 4 1 September Word •Games Word Search s T p u o I R I B L R G A U ,. N K D L L L E R R E T ,_ E A R H -O T A E B e w o R s M L A E I o E H s e .R T T i B Scramble by Gregory Paylon ., w I T N E u s s A T s\ E T N I M I I V E I R L p T G o y A A E p N T I R E R I B V o e E M 'I Find these words in the ·pu:zz.le: "' Streetwise Spirit Grapevine · Citylimits Voice Beat RealChange lmportant Biglssue Resist Herald Network Lost · Comb Roll Group Rule But Read l. 2. 3. 4. 5. ' 6. ONYEM LEERHST CREISOGRE · HTINGOLC POHETEELE TILECREC 7. TWEAR ) 8. 9. 10. 11. TEHA OROTBHMA HCKENIT DIORA VIOTENSEIL F 12. G by Ron Carler People Living Doubled Up Are Homeless Too by Chanda Marshall · a good hour before I can fall asleep. The next morning I am awakened by an 1 sneak in through .the front door, trying - arg.u ment in the kitchen. 1 try to ignore it and not to wake my family. lt's One AM and they go back to sl~ep_, but my sister, whose bedall have to get up early for work. 1 try to step room ,is next to mine, insists on turning her carefully through the living room so I don't radio ·up as loud as it go while she gets step on my two sleeping cousins. But, inevitaready for work. 1 pull my pillow tight' around bly, 1 do and they are awakened, as is my aunt my ears to block out a~ _much noise as poswho was resting peacefully on the couch. sible and slowly fall back asleep. 1 quickly ·apologize for the disturbance The next time I wake up, 1 am alone. 1 . and scurry to the back ·of the house to my ~op out of bed and go tQ the kitchen for sorne own private bedroom where I change clothes_ cereal. Of;course, there is a milk jug l?ut no, and lie down in my nice, warm bed. 1 close my . milk. So instead, 1 plop ll)yself, pajama-clad, eyes and say my prayers. 1 ask for Gocl to onto the couch in front of the television. This watch over all of my family and keep them safe. is the only time of th~ week-Saturday Then I start to think about how my cousins mornings-when I can watch whatever 1 are sleeping on ~he floor. 1 start to feel guilty want. _Usually, my cousins outvote my show for having my own room with a bed. Then· 1 fo,:- sorne stupid sp9rts game. 1 sit and enjoy try to remind myself that it is my mother's the peace and quiet for-a while. house, the place where / grew up and had my "Hey," Mark mumbles as he walks memories. Never-the-less, 1 toss and turn for through the door. "Hi," 1 say. , He plods back to th~ bathro.om to clean up from work, ·1:hen joins me on the couch where I am forced to hand over the remate just bec:ause l'm younger. 1 róll my ~yes and get up to go take a shower. By the time l'm finished dressing, my entire family is home. My mom, sister, aunt, two cousins, and, of couse, me, will STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Only $5 each! STREETVIBES 1he In State's Homeless Grapevine * * * as much_as s~e can. They are both struggling to raise kids, to make ends meet, and to just , plain stay alive. We live pay check to pay check and my mom often wonders if she'II be able to pay the Qills. She has express concern to me that we may not be able to keep the house. My selfishness surfaces and all that I can think about is that this is the only house l've ever known ' and 1'11 be damned if l'm going tQ leave because sorne stupid bill-collector says I have to. - * * * But, in the end, between the incomes of my mother and her sister, they were able to keep us afloat. Doubling up and joining our families allowed us to keep our house, always have food on the table, and even clothes on our backs. - AII the times of feeling crowded, and even smothered, between the semi-gloss waÍls of our little ranch house have, paid off. 1 never spent a sleepless night on the sti;-eets or had to beg for money. 1 was never alone and always felt love. We fought not because we hated each other, but because of the pain that we shared. Tripping over my cousins at night wasn't really so bad once I made it to my bed, and I would bet that our brown cárpeted floors were a welcomed friend when faced with the option of a park bench. * _lt's hard to get a moment to myself now that 1,11y aunt and her boys have moved in. 1 struggle to remember thát patience is a virtue and that sharing means making sacrifices while ·biting my tongue. Money has really been tight since my parents split up. My aunt helps my mom out Streetvi bes Radio Hour . On WAIF 88.3 lm 100% White Cotton Shirts XL or XXL Your choice o/ purple or sky-blue logos T-shirts are available at our office at 1506 Elm Street. Please stop by and ·see us. Support Your Local Vendar Tell A Friend About Streetvibes The Homeless Coalition has a live radio program which can be heard on WAIF radio on the second Saturday of each mQnth at noon. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford and Donald Whitehéad. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Here are the next show dates. WAIF 88.3 fm Saturday, September 13, 1997, noon to pm �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Homeless .Grapevine Page 5 Legal lssues and the Poor Justice Brennan Defended Dignity and ·Free Speech by Brian Oavis As the GrapeYine licensing case seeks a reversa! from the United States Supreme Court, a close friend of the First Amendment died. Former Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan died in late July. The United States has seen a number of great men, but Brennan . was able to touch every single American as a . champion of dignity and individual rights. Few people in our history can claim to have had such an impact on so many people. He made decisions that I may not have agreed with, but I have the utmost respect for Brennan's career and for the consensus that he built on the court for civil liberties and the sanctity of the individual. From equal protection under the law, censorship, privacy, civil_ rights for minorities, school desegregation, welfare benefits, affirmative action, creationism, flag burning, the death penalty to voting rights, immigrant's access to education, and access to the courts, Brennan consistently defended the rights of the citizen to unwarranted govern.:. m~nt oversight while at the same time strengthening the courts and breathing new life into the Bill of Rights. He obviously had a dramatic impact· on the GrapeYin;, and our ability to publish. In probably his most famous opinion New York Times Y. Sul/iYan, he set into law the principie that a newspaper or news agency that published a false statement about a public figure had to be shown to have done so with "actual malice" in order to prove libel. This was a heavy standard that a piJblic official must meet. the vendors for a reversa! . . lt would seem that lt would protect the GrapeYine from printing the city would relish that kind of simple cona story about, for example, abuse of governtrol, but what they really want is homeless ment power by the mayor of a city that people out. The state has no interest in turned out to be false. lf we went to press regulating the street -newspaper, but restricting honestly believing the story; and not intending · to purposely damage the mayor's repu.tation, it is attractive to city offic_ials. · No matter how politically unpopular his we would be safe from a libel suit. decisions, Brennan remained grounded in the Brennan said, "We consider this case belief that there must be exceptional circumagainst the background of a profound national commitment to the principie that debate on . stances to deny a freedom or liberty contained public issues should be uninhibited, robust, in the Bill of Rights. lt seems that with the and wide-op~n, élnd that it may well include _ assistance of Chief Justice Earl Warren, he was able to turn around the trend in the Court to veheme~t, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public reduce judicial involvement-in society. While officials." the Court has recently retreated from .sorne of The ·Grapevine case invol.ves the right of Justice Brennan's individual rights writings, but the City of Cleveland to force our vendors to - without a fundamental Constitutional change Brennan's signature on the law will remain for obtain a city vending license in exchange for the privilege of b~ing able to distri_b ute the the duration of the Republic. The United States newspaper on tlie streets. The newspaper is a better place because we were fortunate to offers political discourse, and discussion _a bout have an activist like Brennan on the Court at an the problem of poverty. A license would important time in our history. prevent the paper from being distributed on Please 'take a second to survey the freethe streets, and thus prevent homeléss people dom that we enjoy in this .country, and rememfrom gaining access to the media. ber that Justice Brennan has had sorne hand in The case in all truth has nothing to do protecting that right. There is little doubt from with licenses, but has everything to do with the writings of Justice Brennan that he would have looked favorably on the Grapevine sweeping the problem of homelessn~ss from licensing case. We can only hope that the the downtown. Imagine the regulatory nightmare that the city would face if a vendor progressive and enlightened views of Justice Brennan will permeate the Supreme Court _ with a city license were reported to be aggressively soliciting the paper. At this time, when the Justices de':=ide the merits of the ·when we get a creditable complaint we simply Grapevine case. _ suspend the vendor, and they can appeal to The Death Penalty Discriminates Against the Poor by Malaka Sanders ."Let the one without sin cast the first stone." -Jesus Christ Christ's eloquent condemnation of the • death penalty over 2000 years ago is one that is very revelant to ·o ur discussions of state sanctioned murder today: ha~e we deluded ourselves- as a state- that we are absolutely innocent of the crimes com~itted by its individuals? lt seems that only in believing that could we, in good conscience, as Lloyd Steffen said in his book, Self Deception and the Common Life, " ... assume t~e power to make premeditated killing a useful means to political and social ends". That is, only if we can· absolve ourselves of all responsibility for the criminal mind can we justify the manslaughter · of such persons. The_trends as concern the demographics of the population on death row, versus, that of larger society, could-provide insight as to whether there is a societal bias as to who cominits these crimes and why, so I ask that you please consider the following...... · Imagine that you live in a world w.here you have very little and, for receiving the little help. that's offered (which, by its very construction seems to have been designed to inhibit real self-sufficiency) you are made to feel both greedy and lazy. You attend a school where the teachers primary focus has to be on ·discipline, but for not succeeding here _you are labeled a "low achiever" . . Finally, as you live in a seemingly ba~ished part of town where only other people in similar situations as yours, who may have also grown desperate, are thrown together (why don't we call this, oh I don't know, the "inner city" perhaps?) who finally just seek to feel empowered, quickly, even at the expense of others. · Quite und~rstandebly, as since you have found very little in yo·ur own life, who coul'd, realistically, expect you to value others? Also in this particular society, the powers that· b~ have decided to turn over many of the prisons to corporations to be ran as forprofit institutions, where your almost inevitable demise is anticipated greatly by those who will make. money from it. Of course we ali know that everyone possess a self-will, which is why ma11y born into this life don't go on to be criminals; but if _we're even in-part shaped by our environment, doesn't it make sense tha:t these cir- . . cumstances would effectively create a prison populatioñ? Is it then surprising that a disproportionate number of criminals are poor? (all death row inmates in 1996 were either low or no-income according to the February 26, 96' issue of The Nation) So if we decide to accept that poverty in this country means this, or other bleak scenarios (such as the one faced by local, poor Harold McQueen executed in Kentucky on -July I, 1997 for the murder of a convenience stóre clerk in 1980), then which of us are prepared to cast that first stone? Certainly not .our government. Just the facts..... .. • Man_y polis h.ave found that the death penalty enjoys a 70% approval rating among Americans. (as quoted by The Herald in July 97) Since 1976, 215 convicts have been executed; 84% of their vi_ctims were white. • Under 50% of all murder víctíms are white.{U.S. News and World Report July 25 Justices Thurgood Marshall, William Brennan and Harry Blackmun ali saw the death penalty as inherently arbitrary, discriminatory, · and unconstitutional; South Africa took this opinion [that poverty, race, and chance play a role in capital cases] into cosideration when it, in 1995, became the 42nd country since '76 · to outlaw capital punishment- which it did by reviewing America's experience with it.~ Nation.feb. 26 '96} • McQueen's story is particularly disturbing, because in his 17 years behind bars, he was reformed through religion. Mr. Stevens, a volunteer Catholic chaplain at Eddysville prison attests to his transformation, "He's made a big change in his life ... as he got older he got deeper into his faith."[The Engirer June 29 '97]. • -Hmmm ....kinda reminds me of this guy named Saul... ..... - �-----~----------·- ---------STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s Home/ess. Grapevine Page 6 STREETVIBES Editorial Page Drop lnn Center: Hell on Earth? Response lo arlicle by Bob Hungerlord Being newly homeless is a traumatic experience for anyone. 1am glad to see that one person found his way through t~e system. 1 agree that being homeless is not for those who are not aware of the reality of it. The Drop lnn has been in existence/ for over 20 years. lts main objective is to provide shelter for anyone who needs it. The number of men on the street require that they provide as much spa!=e as possible. lf the men all got a real bed, ~he center could not serve as many. The women at ·the center have the same problems plus more. Sorne have children who are also homeless. The Drop lnll tries to help all. The problems range from PTSD to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol addiction, to severe mental illness and the physically challenged. S~ying at the Drop lnn does supply a needed step into the system. 1 am sorry that Mr. Hungerford had such a negative experience with the reality ?f being homeless, but he is only one in the thousands that become homeless each year and the problem is getting worse. As it stands now, a lot of folks will lose any source of income and have to come to the shelter. But when the Drop lnn loses any funding it will close and people will die on the streets. The food Mr. Hungerford saw not only provides for the Drop lnn, but is spread out · . for use by all the inner-city soup kitchens and churches that serve the homeless. A truck of food can be made to last for months of food for the truly chronic homeless. Being homeless is a learning experi- . ence. Harsh as it may be, many people "and soon to be more" live with this evéry day. Forrest Buckley for City CouncU · by Tom Mulroy During the past two years the current city council has proven itself more hostile to the concerns of the poor and the homeless than any in recent memory. With new elections coming up in November it is more important than ever that people look at the positions of city council candidates on issues impacting the poor and the communities. For this ~ssue I interviewed challenger, Forrest Buckley. Forrest Buckley servedfor 12 years as . president of the Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union.Working out of the fireh_o use at Vine and McMicken he became very familiar with the problems of the poor and of those living in low income housing in Over-the-Rhine. He believes that, due to a lack of aggressive leadership the CIJrrent, city council is losing the ability to govern the city. More and more important decisions are being made by the County Commissioners. The stadium issues, the placement of a youth corrections facility in Bond Hill against the wishes of the residents are examples of the County forcing its · wishes on the· city. On the issues of poverty and jobs, he feels that there needs to be more emphasis on job training and decent jobs. People will hever Wanda Eicher Over-The-Rhine Resident Without the Drop lnn Center Dear Mr. Whitehead., 1 read the article written by Mr. Bob Hungerford [ An Uncensored Account of Living Ori the Streets Of Cincinnati] and !' have to admit that I was somewhat amazed that Streetvibes would print such a piece in the first place. He whines about · his so-called homeless experience without any sense of gratitude for efforts of the Drop lnn Center. The Drop lnn Center provides a place to stay and a meal for the down and out of Cincinnati _e of charge and without questions. lt is a shelter for the homeless men and women, which Mr. Hungerford freely took advantage of. lt is a HOMELESS SHEL TER, a place of last resort. The people who work there are truly caring and are doing the best they-can with what they have. S~cietynas chosen to ignore the people who use the services of the Drop lnn Center. The Drop lnn Center does not have the money to provide the kind of princely service that Mr. Hungerford tbinks he rightly deserves. He sho.uld be ashamed of himself. 1 will admit that the Dro2 lnn Center is not a great place to live. But without the Drop lnn Center, 1 would be dead right now. 1 am truly sorry about Mr. Hungerfords mental illnesses, especially the one that affects his sense of gratitude. Sincerely, Anonymous be able to own their own homes working for five dollars an hour for labor pools. People need to be able to get to where the jobs are. The city pays for Metro. The city Council needs to make sure that there are bus routes that take people to where the jobs are. He would like to see the unions get more involved in jobs training. On the Over the Rhine Community Council - Buckley strongly opposed the· funding of the U.L.1. Coalition and have been engaged in discussions along with Bill Joiner and other to consider ways of fighting this funding. He feels that when the City bypasses one community council in 'favor of. a group 1 sponsored by development interests it threatens all the Community Councils. Buckley's former co-workers at the Union tell me that he has always been a fighter for basic human rights. Even his opponents say he is a straight shooter. The average peóple need somebody to fight for them on Council. Forrest Buckley might be just wha~ we néed. · Dear Homeless by Myron Dear Ho.meless, 1am trying to stop drinking, my wife says 1 drink too much! 1lost rny job because of my drinking. She says l'm an Alcoholic. 1 don't Know what to do. Anonymous Dear Anonymous, You must first decide if you are an alcoholic far yourself. The evidence you just presented might suggest that·you do have a problem (losing your job). Then pick up any Streetvibes and look in the Need Help Wañt Help Section under treatment you'II find numbers for 12 s_ t ep group hotlines and treatment facilities. Find . - those numbers and use one immediately. �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Homeless Grapevine Page 7 First Step Home ·offers Hope for Recovery by Oona/d Whilebead and Pal Clilford First Step Home's primary goal is to help \ chemically dependent women and their families .break the cyde of addiction and abuse so they can become self-sufficient, productive members of our community. Toward this end, they offer the only long-term residential alcohol/drug treatment program in Hamiltón County for homeless and /or low-income / women and their children aged 12 and under. Services offered at Step Home include, but are not limited ,to assessment, individual, group, and family counseling, case manag~ment, a protected and safe liying environment in a home like setting, counseling for physical and' sexual abuse, court advocacy (where appropriate), therapeutic children's programming and child care, parenting education, budgeting- and financia! planning, health education, vocational and educational opportunities and assistance, and transitional housing with continuing care. First Step Home, which is certified by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and . Drug Addiction Services, opened it doors to dient,s in January, 1993 and has provided services to nearly 700 women, children, and family members to date. Their main facility in Lower Price Hill provides housing and treatment for four families and eight single women. Priority admission is given to pregnant women and IV drug users; for other clients there is unfortunately about a six month waiting list for admission. The average stay for First Step Home clients is six months, which is longer First Step Home's main funding sources include ·the Ohio Department Of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, The Hamilton . County Alcohol and Addiction Services Board, The OhiÓ Department of Development, Medicaid, the City · of Cincinnati, and corporate and prívate contributions. Their newest program offers 16 units of transitional housing coupled with con~inued counseling and case management. During their one-to three-year residency at their two transitional houstng facilities, families maintain sobriety, establish a credit history, maintain financia! stability and · independence, gain a sense of commuliity and sober leisure activities, · and establish earning The staff of the First Step Home in Lower Price Hill power needed to move work with women and families in recovery. Photo by off of government James Heath. subsidies. First Step Home's than any other residential treatment center in treatment and housing programs strive to Hamilton County. Recent studies confirm that intervene and create an envfroriment where a longer stay in treatment results in better positive change can occur. They offer those outcomes (i.e. continued sobriety) than shortsuffering from addiction and abuse the opporterm (30-to-90-day) treatment (Hoffman and tunity to heal and re~ch their full potential. Miller, Treatment Today, fall, 1995). . The Traveler Visits Bengals ·1raining Camp ., - This month I had ~he pleasure of going to a fundraiser ,held by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. The event vtas their annual Cincinnati Bengal Scrimmage Fundraiser in Georgetown Kentucky. 1 would like to let you know it was exciting. lt was my first year going and the Bengals first year in Georgetown. We took a bus from Kenwood Mall at 10:00 a.m. The ride was about one hour long. 1 looked around and saw a lot of quality time being spent, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and entire families enjoying time together. When we arrived the first thing we did was talk to Bruce Coslet the Bengals' head coach. He talked for awhile, answering our question about the offense , the defense, and schedule for the upcoming season. When were then -served lunch, provided by the Kroger company. Bruce left . for the field and we left for the stands. 1 was impressed that we had our own special section in the stands. We sat to enjoy the upcoming action. trip possible, The Gre~ter Cincinnati Coalition 1 ventured over to the media table_were 1 For The Homeless, The Kroger Company, met George Blake from the Enc(uirer who George Blake, and the Cincinnati Bengal. , By helped me get a press pass. Here I was a the way the Bengals lóok real good this year, in Streetvibes reporter right next to guys from fact they lqok like a playoff team!!! the Post, the Enquirer, and even national PS You better get your tickets early this media folks, man Streetvibes has come a long year. way. While on the field I wondered what kind of story to write. lts important that Streetvibes reporter be a little different from other repQrters and _ ,--------------------"'!"'9'""---, writers, because our objectives are so different. . Down on the field 1 spent time with Mike Brown the Bengals owner I was impressed with his openness and willingness to field my questions. 1 also offered my expert opinion on severa! issues such as years coa~hing change, the· offense, the defense, and the stadium issue. He thanked me for all my impute and wished me luck in all my travels. A , The Traveler was on the sidelines át the Bengals special thanks to all the Training Camp in Georgetown, KY. Photo ~y the people that made this Traveler. �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Homeless Grapevine by Denise Crew 1 remember a party with pizza in the days before (lactes~ intolerance) friends gathered in a sparsely furnished house showing slides on the wall . good singing and guitar playing fruit salad which was pure nectar one by one we slept and woke then left a slumber so peaceful, and fine thóse were the precious times Loving Family Care by Denise Crew You may not be my blood yet you surround me with love my secrets well guard ed and kept My humanness kept clase swallowed in s·mall steady doses Untitled 1 by &banda Marshall a telephone book thaú what he had, tucked beneath his head as a pillow where he lay on the step of an abandoned building close to the street curled up in a ball blanketed by the summer heat keepsakes ,for my sake by Denise Crew My little box of keepsakes, is too much to touch Each ítem from those who have come through my life A ribbon from a precious gift . a card purchased with food stamp change photographs of days gone past a prose written from the heart a glove that held the ashes a hard crumpled tissue fi lled with dried tears My little box of keepsakes is too much to touch .# Page B The Meek WORD ON THE STREET Poetry A Happy Birthday Memory . by Angela Meadows l'm alone in the swallow of the land , Living under bridges in the sand. l'm the homeless. l'm the helpless. 1 have nothing to offer you, Lord. Sinking by Anonymous Adrift in a sea-of hopel~ssness With no firm land in sight A woman and_her child absorbed in fear May not make it through the night Earlier the captain, and crew sped · swiftly by What they yelled out as they passed made the family cry We can't help you, leave us alone - Just fend for yourself and make it on your own They threw her a net from inside of the boat Only i~ had a hole in it and wouldn't float The net had always been arOL~nd far those that fell Now its gone forever as far as they can tell They now must use their own skills to _make it to solid ground But they've never been trained because there was no training to be found No, they must move quickly; there's a fast approaching storm lts an uncaring, unfeeling, misguided tempest called WELFARE REFORM 1 lay awake and cry for days gane by. · How could I have sunk so low? 1 do not understand. 1 can not see a plan. · Jesus please pray for me ... Let My glory stand tall upon the weak this night. Let My righteousness fall upon her like the fresh · morning dew. Let My comforter wrap around her frail, cold body and warm her soul. Let her hands become tools to do l"'.fy work. . Let her feet become vehicles to carry Me into places where My light has never shone. Let her mouth choose to honor Me. And let her spirit abey My every command. Harken her ears to see My will. Let the meek of this world not just be today's survivors, but let them be an image of My greatness in the morrow. Chorus: Glory stand tall around me. · Righteousness fall. Holy Spirit comfó rt me. Obey His commands: Repeat Chorus. Meatballs !JY·Chanda Marshall anxious, black hands dipped into the spiced meat and rolled it into perfect spheres beneath their tiny, faded palm~ �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE , Local Control Leads. ·to Funding · Scr'amble in Cleve1a-nd Page !O The Best Location For A Bar? Why are all the Downt~wn temporary services within a .few sho".'t -steps of a place that sells alcohol? - other two groups. Theoretically, HUD is suppose to follow the community's rankings in deciding which programs are funded. So if "And now we are engaged in a great there were $1 O mi Ilion available from Wash- · uncivil war testing whether that agency or any . ington locally and there were 12 projects each agelicy so conceived and so dedicated can long · requesting $1 million, then the projects ranked endure." 1-1 O that met all the HUD guidelines would get funded. This year HUD also asked the county or by Gilda Slorm _ wilh research by city to include renewal programs in the Brian Dl!VÍS process. · So programs that were funded three years ago and up for renewal now muSt The Department of Housing and Urban . compete against new ,programs. lt was deDevelopment has altered the way in which cided to fund the renewals first to assure that McKinney funds are distributeéí for homeless there is som·e consistency in the programs, programs. The Stuart B. McKinney grants are and then rank the new projects or expansion the bulk of the funds available to homeless projects next. . ·. . services fr<:>m the Federal government HUD · At this time there is no official oversight has returned control of the funds to the local . · of the services locally, which made t~e process _ community, and has put the responsibility for contentious. There. is no agency that checks the oversight, management, and prioritization · to make sure the programs are fulfilling their in the hands of local officials. mission or serving their customers, or even In Cleveland, federal funds earmarked for doing what they are saying what they are Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, -and Lakewood doing. No government body is checking to see are under the direction of the Cuyahoga that the $1 O mi Ilion in federal money, and the County/Cleveland Office of Homeless Sermillions that come from other sources is being' vices. Ruth O'Leary, Manager of OHS, atused to reduce homelessness. In fact, the tempts to coordinate services and oversee amount of money that is going to homeless local funding of homeless services. The office services has steadily increased locally, and the has been successful in . netting the area millions homeless population has shown similar inof dollars from the ~ederal government creases. including $1 O million last year ·f or homeless ·. Ruth O'Leary claimed the programs are services. This in contrast to the national trend audited by HUD. · She said, "There is oversight, in which tiomeless service's funding has but the people who are doing the oversight do . declined. · not communicate with the community." The With the assistance of the Óffice of audit that HUD does is basically a self declaraHomeless Services, the region has done weU tion that the agency met the original goals of compared to other areas of Ohio in getting the program and they had sorne impact on the funds from the McKinney program over the community: past three years. One social worker who travels to providThe structure for deciding which ers all around town said, "I don't think all the projects receive funds includes first an identifishelters are on the same playi11g field. lt is hit . cation of 't he gaps in services from local or miss as far as referrals go. There' is no research, input from homeless people as well communication, which causes major problems as providers. The gaps are then ranked as a for the customer. There is a lack of underhigh priority, medium priority, and a low standing of the customer or their needs. 1 priority by homeless people and providers. think there needs to be better ov_ersight. Then a request for proposals is sent out locally íhere needs to b~ sorne consistency." · asking service providers for propo~als to fill Mirako, a Grapevine vendor who is the high priorities. _ . currently homeless, said that the shelters are This year there were 19 new or exnot at all responsive to the needs of the panded programs seeking funds in .the area of customers. , He said that he was banned for a permanent housing and transitional housing (2 week for sleeping duriñg the day at the new year time _limit) for homeless people, as well as weekend drop in center operated by Project support services such as case management. Heat. He said there was no grievance proceThe projects are r?,1nked in order of impordure, and he had no idea of how to appeal this tance by the local service providers as w~II as decision. · the homeless. The lack of effective oversight is a major Finally, a group of business, foundation, concern of homeless people. In fact, better and coordination groups attempt to pull oversight and monitoring was ranked ás one of together a final ~rder of importance for the the highest p-riorities for homeless people in projects using the recommendations from the r 1 thé C~eating Positive Solutions meetings. They saw abuse of the customers, abuse of donations, and a Íack of respect for the clients that providers are suppos~ to be serving as a · widespread problem. The homeless asked that action: be taken immediately to assure that oversight is stepped up and that people using the services are involved in the process. A West Side shelter director said that the community certainly does not need any more oversight. She said that she is overw~elmed with reports and paperwork that she has to do connected with all the money that she receives. Those working in the field kn'o w what agency is doing a good job and is legitimate . according to this shelter director who wished to remain anonymous. The problem is that those giving out the money do not know which agency is fulfilling its mission, and attempting to return people to society. The Grapevine has done exposes on two different organizations that were collecting $500,000 to $1 milfion each year, and were providing very little benefit -to the community. One of the organizations claimed that they operated a shelter that the G~pevine reporter never saw and could not find anyone who had seen it. They were receiving money from sorne well resp~ct~d foundations locally, and hada massive telemarketing campaign in the community. They were not receiving direct government subsidy. · . - · Because of the lack_of direct oversight there is no way to look at the amount of money thai is being spent on homelessness, and no way to track the impact. O'leary concedes that reporting has always been · quantitative and / not performance based. She agreed that "we need to look at different outcome measures." There are many factors that drive up the homeless population including the unskiUed job market, poverty, access to health care and mental and chemical addiction treatment programs, and the health of the schools. lt is unclear whether the large expenditures on homelessness h~s any impact on the size of the displaced populations in Cleveland. One thing that is known is that many people are employed in social service organizations because there are homeless people on the streets, and many people depend on tbeir agency getting federal, state and local funds. lt is estimated that there are over 75 agencies not including governmental bodies that provide direct ·service to homeless people employing anywlÍere from 2 people in the small 1 1 agencies to nearly one hundred people in the large agencies. With a fiscally conservative federal and state government, funds to assist homeless people have decreased over the last two years �-~-- STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 10 The Best Localion For A Bar? CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Why are aU the Downt~wn temporary services within a few sho".'t -steps of a place that sells alcohol? · Local Control Leads. ·10 Funding · S'cramble in Clevela'nd "And now we are engaged in a great uncivil war testing whether that agency or any agency so conceived and so dedicated can long endure." · / other two groups. Theoretically, HUD is suppose to follow the community's rankings in deciding which programs are funded. So if there were $1 O mi Ilion available from Washington locally and there .were 12 projects each requesting $1 million, then the projects ranked 1-1 O that met all the HUD guidelines would get funded. _ This year HUD also asked the county or city to include renewal programs in the process. So programs that were fund_ed three years ago and up for renewal now must - compete against new -programs. lt was decided to· fund the renewals first to assure that there is sorne consistency in the programs, and then rank the new projects or expansion projecti next. . ·. · · At this time there is no official oversight of the services locally, which made the process contentious. There. is no agency that checks to make sure the programs are fulfilling their mission or serving their customers, or even doing what they are saying what they are doing. No government body is checking to see that the $1 O mi Ilion in federal money, and the millions that come from other sources is being · used to reduce homelessness. In fact, the amount of money that is going to homeless services has steadily increased locally, and the homeless popufation has shown s~milar increases. Ruth O'Leary claimed the programs are audited by HUD. She said, "There is oversight, but the people who are doing the oversight do not communicate with the community." The audit that HUD does is basically a self declaration that the agency met the original goals of the program and they had sorne impact on the community: Oné social worker who travels to providers all around town said, "I don't think all the shelters are on the same playi11g field. lt is hit or miss as far as referrals go. There is no communication, which . causes major problems for the customer. There is a lack of understanding of the customer or their needs. 1 think there needs to be better oversight. There needs to b~ sorne consistency." Mirako, a Grapevine vendor who is · currently homeless, said that the shelters are not at all responsive to the needs of the customers. , He said that he was banned for ~ week for sleeping duriñg the day at the new weekend drop in center operated by Project Heat. He said there was no grievance procedure, and he had no idea of how to appeal this decision. The lack of effective oversight is a major · concern of, homeless pe9ple. In fact, better oversight and monitoring was ranked as one of the highest priorities for homeless people in 0 by Gilda Storm wilh research by Brian Davis The Department of Housing and Urban Development has altered the way in which McKinney funds are distributed for homeless programs. The Stuart B. McKinney grants are the bulk of the funds available to homeless services fr9m the Federal government: HUD has returned CO'ntrol of the funds to the local . community, and has put the responsibility for the oversight, management, and prioriti.zation in the .hands of local officials. In Cleveland, federal funds earmarked for Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, -and Lakewood are under the direction of the Cuyahoga County/Cleveland Office of Homeless Services. Ruth O'Leary, Manager of OHS, attempts to coordinate services and oversee local funding of homeless services. The office has been successful in . netting the area millions of dollars from the Federal government including $1 O mi Ilion- last year for homeless services. This in contrast to the national trend in which homeless service's funding has declined. With the assistance of the Office of Homeless Services, the region has done well compared to other areas of Ohio in getting funds from the McKinney program over the past three years. The structure for deciding which projects receive funds includes first an identifi. cation of 't he gaps in services from local ~esearch, input from homeless people as well as pro~iclers. The gaps are .then ranked as a high priority, medium priority, and a low · priority by homeless people and providers. Then a request for proposals is sent out locally asking service providers for propo~als to fill the-high priorities. . . This year there were 19 new or expanded programs seeking funds in the area of permanent housing and transitional housing (2 year time limit) for homeless people, as well as support services such as case management. The projects are ra,nked in order of importance by the local service providers as well as the homeless. Finally, a group of business, foundation, and coordination groups attempt to pull together a final order of ·importance for the projects using the r~commendations from the 1 r the Creating Positive Solutions meetings. They saw abuse of the customers, abuse of ,donations, and a Íack of respect for the clients that p_roviders are; suppos~ to be serving a~ a . widespread problem. The homeless asked that action, be taken immediately to assure that oversight is stepped up and that people using the services are involved in the . process. A Wesf Side shelter director said that the community certainly does not need any more oversight. She said that she is overw~elmed with reports and paperwork that she has to do connected with all the money that she receives. Those working in the field know what agency is doing a good job and is legitimate . according to this shelter director who wished to remain anonymous. The problem is that those giving out the · money do not know which agency is fulfilling its mission, and attempting to return people to society. The GrapeYine has done exposes on two different .organi.zations that were collecting $500,000 to $1 million each year, and were providing very little benefit to the community. One of the organi.zations daimed that they operated a shelter that the Grapevine ·reporter never saw and could not find anyone who had seen it. They were receiving money from sorne well resp~cted foundations locally, and hada massive telemarketing campaign in the community. They were not receiving direct goverhment subsidy. · . · · Because of the lack of direct oversight there is no way to look at the amount of money that is being spent on homelessness, and no way to track the impact. O'Leary concedes that reporting has ·always been -quantitative and 1 not performance based. She agreed that "we need to look at different outcome measures." There are many factors that drive up the homeless population including the unskiUed job market, poverty, access to health care and mental and chemical addiction treatment programs, and the health of the schools. lt is unclear whether the large expenditures on homelessness has any impact on the size of the displaced populations in Cleveland. One thing that is known is that many people are employed in social service organi.zations because there are homeless people on the streets, and many people depend on their agency getting federal, state and local funds. lt is estimated that there are over 75 agencies not including governmental bodies that provide direct ·service to homeless people employing anywhere from 2 people in the small agencies to nearly one hundred people in the large agencies. With a fiscally conservative federal and state government, funds to assist homeless people have decr~sed over the last two years 1 �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri State s ~ome/ess Grapevine Page 11 To Work For Free ·1s No-1the Answer to Welfare on a national level and are expected to conti nue to decrease. This has led to often contentious competition for the funds. One local provider in reflecting on maintaining a viable organization said, "On the one hand we , all want to work together to salve this prob1,em, but on the other hand every dallar another agency gets is a dallar that we are not getting. ,lt is tough keeping things gc,ing." One outcome of this competition is that \ many agencies are doing work in areas-that have the best firiancial support or those ,,by Jean Taddie undertakin_gs that can show quantitative Labor organizations are concerned that Ohio's welfare system h~s been replaced outconíes. An example is that organizations wor:king people are at risk of losing good paying with a workfare system. Workfare means that . serving the mentally ill hof!1eless have access to jobs to WQrkfare volunteers who ·receive welfar~ clients who cannot find employment -funds from the mental health state and local below minimum wages. Since tlíe cash and will be required to volunteer their time· in network as well as the health care and homebenefits are paid by Human Services these . -return for their ben~fits. Supporters of less funding trees. An organization that is mandatory volunteers are little orno cost to workfare believe it will improve people's selfbuilding a job club for homeless men has only a the "employer." The AFL-CIO Executive sufficiency. Opponents argue that citizens may few options for funding and so this type of Council voted in February to "support and be _forced to work for less than the federal service does not exist ·in the community. encourage aggressive organizing campaigns minimum wa_ge and workfare does not offer a _lt is painfully obvious that men also do among these new workers." They state thát long-term solution to employment barriers. not get the same kind of attention as women workfare volunteers should be treated as Governor _G eorge Voinovkh's plan to when funding decisions are made. B.ecause-of workers under the law. _ "shift Ohio's welfare. system from entitlement the underlying feeling in society that women Opp_onents of workfare arg~e that-the to employment" adds thousands of low-skilled -are fragile and caretakers of children, homeless program does not' provide long-te'rm solutions workers into Ohio's labor force. Ohio Departwomen receive a great deal of sympathy from to families in poverty. Human Service officials ment of Human Services Director Arnold R. · the public. Men are viewed as defective if they develop ·contracts with organizations that need Tompkins stated in a recent press release, "lf _are homeless. They are suppose to be hunters volunteer workers. Caseworkers have the ' we are to meet the objective of the new and providers, and those who cannot lift _power to tell clients where they can and welfare system, more :than 100,000 current themselves up by their bootstraps do not cannot work. Often clients are placed into ·clients will need to join the labor force in the deserve society's sympathy, nioney or assislow-skilled, dead-end positions. In addition, near future." · tance. A good example is the welfar~ system, workfare's time requirements make it difficult The Ohio Works First welfare plan which is structured around women and for people to get an education or find a better requires parents 'Yith children _over age one to children, with no aid is available 't o men. job. engage in a qualified work activity for at least This year that competition bubbled over Julie is a single parent of one daughter and _30 hol!fs ·per weekin order to receive TANF ~· i_n a.heated .meetingjn, discussing the projec.ts · a physical therapy student at ·C1,1yahoga Comthat are seeking funds. lt seemed that now munity College. Knowing that she would soon agencies are becoming overtly critica! of other Although these stop-gap _b~ required to volunteer for her benefits, Julie providers and the expense involved with looked for volunteer work that was related to measures may t_ook good certain services. her career choice. So she contacted and set .politically, _-they do not address .One -provider, Cleveland· Health Care for up interviews with eight hospitals and chose to Jhe real poverty and - volunteer the Homeless (profiled in lssue 21 ), was at three of the hospitals. One week criticized for the services that they offer and · _unemployment ·problems. after starting her hospital-school-mom schedsought funding for 4 or 5 projects -this year ule, her caseworker told her that her hospital benefits. According to Voinovich, ·the plan is totaling over $4.5 million. CHCH wis comwork does not qualify as an approved work designed to "help ' welfare recipients become pletely cut -out of the fu.nding because of activity. She was then assigned to olunteer at · self-sufficient and take personal responsibility various problems with the administration of a community ·center instead. for their families." As TANF recipients the program. Executive Director John When ten more TANF volunteers throughout Ohio are having their benefits reMcKinne}' was on vacation and not available showed up at the community cente~ July Isi, evaluated, many parents are being told that for comment. the s_taff did not expect them since they had must find work, and if an offer is made they The lnterchurch Council had requested not been informed that there were volunteers must accept the job. People wh·o cannot , $2.5 mi Ilion for an innovative project to coming. The volunteers-·were told to sign in locate work for pay are required to volunteer provide transitional housing for women as weli" and then go home. "We didn't have anything · ata location deemed ~cceptable by their .as an attempt _to provide scattered site permafor them_to do, and we can't have them sitting caseworker. nent housing for the women with treatment around here all day," one staff member said. Opponents to workfare argue that modeled after Miracle Village (see insert). Currently, Julie is appealing her caseworker's volunteers will _not receive the protection Through the process the project received low decision and is fighting to keep her volunteer employees are ·entitled to under federal law. ratings by the homeless and by local provider~, hours at hospital~ where she can be helpful At 120 hours per month, volunteers who , and so the project was not chosen as one that and learn, instead of community center that receive $279 in TANF benefits for their family _was submitted to HUD. doesn't need her. · will effectively earn .less than $2.40 per hour Sharon Rickart of lnterchurch Council According to various welfare rights , for their volunteer time. Volun:teers make who prepared th~ grant felt that the changes oranganizers, the poverty problem cannot be much less than the $4.75 minimum wage that that H UD made were too sudden, but she solved by creating pools of free labor. Alemployees receive. These low _pay positions couched her criticism by first stating that her - though ·these stop-gap measures may look cannot support a family and they threaten comments were not negative toward the · good politically, they do not address .the real workers in good paying jobs. · Office of Homeless Services or any people poverty and unemployment problems. WelRon, a married father of three, lives in an involved in the process. "There needs to be a fare clients will only be ablé to obtain employOhio community with a depressed economy criteria for evaluation of the proposals. · We · ment that supports a family when the skills and and was unable to find a good job. His caseneed to figure out how to evaluate the capacabilities they can supply match the needs and worker sent him to do maintenance work ~t a ity. We were notable to present (oral presenclemands of employers in our i~creasingly local truck depot in return for his benefits. tations), which real!y hurt orgariizations like technical society. lnstead of offering workers Other «;mployees resented Ron since their ours." She hoped that there was en .going at below market wages, the skills and education company didn't have to pay him. They felt discussion improve the process for next yeat. of this labor force should be improved. Casetheir wages and jobs were in jeopardy _so they Ruth O'leary said, "I think the process workers should emphasize GED and postsent Ron home saying they didn't need him has develop~d sorne strong proposals. We secondary education so their clients can fill and they would sign in for him. Eventually, have met the HUD guidelines in a thoughtful good-paying private sector jobs. human services discovered that Ron was not and inclusive manner. 1 felt it was a good working and cut his family's benefits· for two process, and we are in a defensible position. _ months. 0 1 �-=¡ STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page 12 Balancing the Budget On Whose Shoulders? $1 O billion extra was given to the Pentagon .. In the 1997 Federal Budget, Congress and the Clinton Administration gave the Pentagon over $1 O billion mo're than it requested. At the · same time, deep cuts were made in crucial domestic programs. We cannot let this happen again in the FY98 budget.- lt is up to our communities to make sure this imbalance of priorities ends . . . The money required to fund Projects for Ass1sta~ce in Transition From Homelessne~s (PATH), Educat1on for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY). Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH), Federal Emer- · gency Management Agency (FEMA) and the HUD Ho_meless Assistance Programs federal programs, wh1ch meet the minimal needs of homeless persons, accounts for only one-seventh ( 14%) of the unrequested money given to the Pentagon in FY97. The total combined cost to meet those needs is $2.5 _billion. One B-2 Bomber costs $2.2 billion (Military Spending Working Group, httR:11 www.fas.org/mswg.) The grassroots community must senda strong message to Congress and th~ Clinton Administration: lf we cannot afford to house and feed the people of this nation, we cannot afford another B-2 Bomber. · Since· 1995, the c~ts in PATH, EHCY, HCH, FEMA, HUD Homeless Assistance Prograi:ns, Adult Education for the Homeless and Section 8 have created a "savings" of only .186~ of the national budget. The results of these cuts are the push of ~illi~ns of people further into poverty. The budget 1s ~eing balanced on the backs of poor people. The United States Military is not carrying a proportional weight in balancing the federal b_udget. In the upcoming months, Congress and _the Clinton Adminis.tration will be working on the Budget for FY98. An urgent message must be ;ent immediately. Congress must make major cuts in the military waste spending ór "pork". issues in order to maintain social programs which are crucial to our nations security. AI_ I members .of Congress can be reached at the Capital Hill Switch Board 202-2243 121 . For a list of committee members who vote on military specific proposals, please contact Rachelle _ Adams at the National Coalition for the Homeless at 202-775-1322-.or e-mail HN0055@handset.org. lmportance of Redefining National Security The ~old War is over. The United States is no long~r faced with the Cold War related military threats, yet Congress continues to appropriate to the military at a Cold War level of military expense. The United States spends $8,000 per . , second on the military (National (;atholic Reporter, Nov. 1, 1996. p.2), and $1,728,000,000 is spent everyday, year-round. Threats to our nation's security are no longer a farge scale attack from beyond our borders, but an underfunded educational system, lack of affordable housing and healthcare, and an economy that does not employ people with livable wages. Social ~rograms are the basis_of real security. Representat1ve Ron-Oellums (D-CA) has proposed a commitment to redesigning our strategy for national -security. This new strategy would include maintaining a vital economy with educated people; economic conversion, investments· in health, housing, and education. This type of strategy is essential to this nation in ordér to ensure survival. Our strongest resources are the people of the United States: educated, housed, and healthy. Homelessness/ Housing . . ~In FY94-95, the ratio of defense spending to spend~ng on housing and social service programs · targeting homeless populations was f 9◄: 1 (Homes _ not Barracks). *In FY97, there were $297 million cut from Homeless Assistance. In that same year, an unrequested $321 milli_on were added to the J $1.9 billion approved for the F-22 fighter jet, \\lhich CBO says . _should be delayed or cancelled. Housing: $1. 9 billion cut from HUD housing programs. Nati~nal Recónnaissance Óffice (the spy s~telhte ~gency which hid $4 billion from Congress) ( Balanc1ng the Budget, Washington Style", Campaign for New Priorities, 1996). . *In· FY97, $1.9 billion were cut from HUD housing program~. In that same year, $1.9 billion were approved for the F-22 fighter jet. A dubious project which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says should be delayed o·r canceled ("Balancing the Budget, Washington Style", Campaign for New Priorities, 1996). *In FY97, $7.6 billion in subsidies went to the selling of arms worldwide. This money could . support construction of 100,000 units of low income housing per year and provide Head Start early childhood education services to 130,000 children annually and still leave $2.5 billion per year for deficit reduction (Welfare for Weapons Dealers, Bill Hartung, 199,6). *Since 1995, the cuts in PATH, ~HCY, HCH, FEMA, HUD HA, Adult Ed. for the Homeless and Section 8 ·have-created a "savings" of only .186 percent of the national budget (lt Doesn't Make Sense, 1996). · *With the $1 1.2 billion Congress gave to the Pentagon in FY97, they could have ,:ninimally funded all federal programs that address housing and homelessness and still had $8.6 billion left to · ' address the estimated 2.4 million currently on the waiting lists for public housing (lt Doesn't Make Sense, 1996). *Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Defense has provided blankets to home!ess shelters free-ofcharge under the McKinney Homeless assistance Act. A total of 4 million blankets, worth $30 million, have been distributed to more than 500 shelters nationwide since 1987. *The amount of money "saved" by Congress when they cut all of the HUD Homeless Assistance programs in FY95 ($29 million) is less than the unrequested money they added to the Pentagon's budget for army trucks in FY96 ($372 million) . (Center for the Defense lnformation, 1996). >l<"fhe money required to fund PATH, EHCY, HCH, FEMA, and the HUD Homeless Assistance programs accounts for less than one-seventh of the unrequested money given to the pentagon for FY97 (lt Doesn't Make Sense, 1996). *The $2:7 billion for a B-2 Bomber would nearly cover the $2.5 billion needed to fund all of the federal programs that address homelessness (lt Doesn't Make Sense, 1996). On April 2, 1997, 13 of the planned 21 B-2 Bombers were delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri (Washington Post, 4/2/97). Nutrition *In FY97 there was a $2.6 billion cut from stamps and child nutrition programs. In the same year there was ~ $2.7 billion added for ~nrequested military research programs ("Balancmg the Budget Washington Style," Campaign for New Priorities, 1996). _ *At least 8,000 U.S. military personnel currently receive food stamps. Sorne independ~n_t sources estímate twice that number. Many are ehg1ble but do not apply. Enlisted pay is too low to adequately support a family ("DeFazio Missile Defense Amendment Fact Sheet," Council for a Livable World, 1997). *In FY95, Congress cut $30 million from the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Grants. The next year they added $30 million in unrequested funding to the Pentagon for mines (Center for Defense lnformation, 1996). Educational/!ob Training "The General Accounting Office estimates that it will cost more than $100 billion to fix the nation's crumbling public school buildings. The President's budget devotes $5 billion to this problem ("What Crusade?", Campaign for New Priorities, 1997). *In FY95 Congress cut $5.8 million from the program that provides homeless students the resources they need for an education (EHCY). The next year they added more -than twice that amount in unrequested funds to the Pentagon for M-16·rifles (Centerfor Defense lnformation ' 1996). * lf Congress decided to provide only the minimum number of funds necessary to meet the educational needs of homeless children and youth, it would cost less than one-twentieth of the ·cost of the 2 extra LMSR Sealift Ships Congress decided to give the Pentagon in FY97 (lt Doesn't Make Sense 1 1996)~ . . *60% of all new jobs created between 1992 and 2005 will require a full college education (National Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995). Meanwhile, federal student aid and Pell Grants continue to be cut. *The FY97 budget cut $104 million from the Direct Student Loan Program and $300 million from teacher training. In the same year, Congress added $44_9 mjllion to the Pentagon · budget for unrequested military helicopters (Campaign for New Priorities, 1997). *For every $1 the federal government spends on job training, it spends $66 on the Pentagon (National Priorities Project, 1997). *47% of adult Americans cannot adequately read or do arithmetic. The U.S. spends one-fifth of wlÍat other countries spend on federal job training (National Priorities Project ' 1997). · *I n FY96, the U.S. spent less than $25 billion on job training. In the same year, the U.S .. spent over $250 billion on the Pentagon (Nat1onal Priorities Project, 1997). *The FY97 Budget' added $10.4 billion to the Pentagon and cut $360 million f~om federal job training programs (Campaign for New Prioriti~s 1997). , �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Home/ess Grapevine - Page IJ 1997 ST·REETVIBES ' Reader•s Survey In order to gain a better understanding of you, the reader, and yóur expectancies of this paper, we ask that you please take ·a few minutes to complete this survey. Feel free to comment on any question. Your time and · 1. How old áre you? _ a. under 18 c. 26-35 b. 18-25 d. 36-49 e. over 49 2. What is your current work status? a. part-tim~ work e. under employed b. full time work f. self-employed c. retired g. student d. unemployed 3. What is your city of residence? a. Over-the-Rhine b. Clifton 14. How often do you see people using the paper's name to collect money or panhandle? ·, c. never a. often b. sonietimes 15. How much of the paper do you rea_d? a. all d. most b. sorne e. very little c. ¡ust look at the pictures 16. What articles do you enjoy reading? c. West Side d. Suburb of Cincinnati 4. What is your sex? a. female b. mate ~ 13..Have you ever had a bad experien·ce with a vendar? Please explain. a. yes b. no 24. Using the same scale as above, how would you rate the quality of photography in the paper? . a. edito.rials/commentaries d. poetry b. letters . e. profiles c. news 17. What areas would, you like to see · StreelYibes cover? 25. On a scale of I to I O, how would you rate the readability of Streetyjbes? · ( 1=difficult to read I0=easy to read) l..1 5. What other local publications do you re~? - _.J. a. Cincinnati Enquirerl Post c. The Downtowner b. City Bead EYerybody's News e. Other o; 18. On a scale of I to I how would you rate the trustworthiness of StreelYibes articles and why? ( 1=no trust 27. Do you have any additional comments about the content or layout? c. sometimes 7. Do you read the_StreelYibes that you buy or p~ck up? a. yes b. no 8. Do you buy more than one of the same issue just to support the concept of t he paper? a. yes b. no would you rate the layout of the paper? I 0=highest trust) 6. How often do you buy a Streetyjbes? a. never b. always 26. Using the same scale as above, how - 19. Considering the content of this paper, please indicate your feelings about this statement: "Your paper panders to the liberal ideology in our society, and gives no other point of view." 28. What is you impressioo of StreelYibes as a business for low income or homeless people? 29. Do you think this newspaper serves its mission as a voice for low income and homeless people? 9. Do you have a hard time finding a _StreelYibes? a. yes b. no 20. How could we improve the content of this paper? 1O. Where do you usually buy StreetYibes? a. Downtown · d. Avondale b. Clifton _ e. other c. Norwood 30. What is your overall impression of StreetYibes? 1 11. How much do you normally pay for a StreetYibes? a. under $:50 b. $.50-$.99 c. $1.00 · about any issuel a. yes b. no d. over $ 1.00 e. subscription f. free 12. Would you- hire a vendor of the paper if you hada job availablel a. yes ' b. no 21. Has Streetyjbes changed your opinion , 22. Do you discuss or think about the. articles or issues presented in this newspaper? a. yes b. no 23. On a scale of I to IO, how would you rate the quality of content of the articles in - Streetvibesl ( 1=poorest quality I0=highest quality) Thank ,you for your time. .Please tear off this page of the paper, fold as directed on back of this page, place a stamp on it and drop off or mail your completed survey to: 1f97 Streetvibes Survey The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 4521 O �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine lnner 'City Voices by Palrick Moso/1 In this article I will attempt to identify sorne of the most importarit issues in the inner city. This will be done so that the reader can . think critically about the situation and reaé:h working conclusions of his/her own. In writing, 1 will not be arguing for one point of view, but will attempt to describe impartially the major viewpoints involved. Because of the depth needed to explore these issues, the article will be divided into two parts. The first part, in this issue, will consider the first six issues. The second part, in next month's issue, will consider the last five issues. Here are the topics in th~ order they will appear. 1) . 2) 3) 4) 5) · 6) Class and Poverty Gentrification/Development Race .and Ethn.icity Media Coverage . Government's Role Drugs and Drug P.olicy 7) Social Services 8) Housing Supply and Homelessness 9) Policing 10) _Crime 11) History Without further discussion, please proceed, and think carefully about these critica! issues. Class alid Poverty - Class, at its most basic level, is represented by the amount of income which an individual or family has at their disposal. At the same time, it also refers to one's place in the social structure. For example, · upper class residents of lndian Hill may play a large role in the workings of the city's dévelopment, whereas a lower class resident of Over-The-Rhine may have only her vote and the option to demonstrat~ against unfair changes. On a third level, there may be sorne correlation between class and cultural and behavioral cliaracteristics. Sorne cultural and behavioral variations which might be affected by class are familia! structure and relations, common pastimes, diet, form of \ transportation, educátion, and language. "There are many different levels of poverty," says Donald Whitehead, Outreach Director of th·e Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. At the same time, all of the levels share-one thing: they are near the lowest part of the class spectrum. To Leslie Hoerner, an employee of Race Street T enants' Organization Cooperative (ReSTOC), "Poverty means . not being able to meet your basic needs." A vast number of people in Over-The-Rhine spend -more than 50% of their income on housing, a key sign of poverty. The condition of poverty has many consequences in the quality of life. of the poor, including increased Page /4 My Summer of lnterviews and Analysis in Cincinnali •s lnner City stress, more_trouble for children, exposure to crime, and decreased political power. · Both poverty and class are significant factors in Over-The-Rhine and the inner city in general. Gentrification/Development - A series of events is occurring now in Over-The-Rhine which can be called gentrific~tion or development. In the simplest terms, new or rehabilitated homes are being constructed and reuted at márket-rate prices (higher than the poor can afford). New, more expensive businesses than cúrrently exist are opening, taking up mo·re space in Over-The-Rhine. Whether one calls it development or gentrification depends on the results one sees from this process. Sorne see that low-income people are dispersed and left with no place to go. They see higher-class establ~shments moving in, benefiting the wider community through employment or other benefits, not to previous Over-TheRhine residents. A second group looks at Over-The-Rhine and sees abject poverty, crim_e, and "filth." To them, development is positive because it means cleaning up a previously dirty area. lncreased profits and higher spending are good to busin~ssmen and the city in the form of higher tax revenues. Leslie Horner definitely thinks t hat Continued on page 15 Fold Here Firsl 1 1 l Fold Here Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1S06 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45 21 O Place Postage Here 1997 Reader's Survey Greater Cincinnali Coa/ilion lor /he Homeless 1506 Etm Slreel Cincinnati, OH 45210 Slaple al B0/10111 . �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote 's Homeless Grapevine The largest newspapers an~ telévision stations ·a re serious businesses. As such, it would not be surprising if they wei-e to represent and sympathize with the · business owners in Cincinnati. Further, smaller forms of mediá, like City Beat, are supported ·1argely by adver- · tisements from businesses. 1n these cases one would not be surprised ifthe media supported the viewpoint of ·businesses. Residents of Over-the-Rhine enjoyed the gospel Smaller, independent , sounds of Gail Holley and family at the forms of media, sud, as community festival August 2. Photo by · James Heath. ' · Streetvibes and Public Access lV, are more likely Continued from páge 14 to present the Over-The-Rhine Community Council's vi.ewpoint. what is occurring is gentrffication, not developBoth Ms. Hoerner dnd Mr. Whitehead ment. She is not .opposed tó developmént . agreed that there are some problems with which increases the quality of life_of its resimedia coverage of events in Over-The-Rhin-e. dents. "!t's gentrification because lower· "As a business, the media has to sensationalize . income people are being pushed out. . lt's or distort stories because they wouldn't sell dífficult to document, but people in the naturally,11 said Mr. Whitehead. According to neighborhood see it." Donald Whitehead Ms. Hoe,:-ner, the media sometimes focuses on agrees. "The problem is that when the 'quality feelgood articles, to the exclusion of serious of life ' is improved, the residents are elimiissues. "Someone called Channel 12 when nated." , there was a Welfare Rights meeting. lnstead of The issue of gentrification/dev~lop-covering the meetin'g, they coyered sorne ment is perhaps the focal point of conflict in volunteers from Xavier:" Over-Tbe-Rhine today. lt is the backdrop f~r Media coverage may ne~d to improve if ct~truggles, such as the Urban Land Cincinnatians are to understand what is really lnstitute's recommendations for the commu- happening in Over-The-Rhine. nity, or questions about the amount of lowincome housing. ~ Race and Ethnicity - ~~ Race is a large factor'"'in Over-The-Rhine, because it houses Cincinnati's greatest concentration of African- Americans (70%). At the same time, many whites also live in the Over-The-Rhine community as well (29%). Part of the white residents' group is the ethnic enclave of Appalachian migrants. There are a few AsianAmericans, and more Hispanics mo~e into Over-The-Rhine each day. "Over-The-Rhine is one of the most diverse communities in Cincinnati," says Mr. Whitehead. Race and ethnicity affect many of the other issues exploréd in this article. People· coming from predominantly white suburbs to the bars on Main Street may have little experience with African-Americans. The presenée of .blacks and fear of cultural differences may contribute to the white suburbanite's identification of Ov.e r-The-Rhine as a "ghetto." Racism may cause misunderstanding of the needs of residents in the inner city, clearing .the way for development/gentrification. Differences in the race and ethnicity of police officers and ·residents of Over-The-Rhine níay compound antagonism whicb already exists. In addition, racisin may lead to higher arrest rate,s for crime in the inner city. , Afina,1 consideration in the area of race and ethnicity is the possibility of a multicultural community in Over-The-Rhine. Over-TheRhine appears to have a head. start on many other communities in diversity. · lf the comm,u-nity ·views this to be a positive end, perhaps , sorne action could be taken . . Media Coverage - One of the most significant aspects of the struggle in Over-TheRhine is the way that the media reports about events bere. Is the media biased? And if so, in whose favor? ~ --- ' Governnient's Role - The primary ·question in this area is, what should the government, a,s a representative of wider society, do about places like Over-The-Rhine? Should the government take a laissez-fai~e approach, or should it be deeply involved in affecting the Over-The-Rhine community? The government's role has been closely scrutinized recently, as welfare has been changed to slowly eliminate public assistance for the poor. Many applaud this ás long overdue, while others strongly criticize it, saying it will exacerbate social problems. This entire debate exists in the context of the question, ''.What is the government's responsibility to its less fortunate dtizens?" . The role of our city government has also become significant in the gentrification/ d~velopment 'situation. Should the city government .support · gentrification/development or .maintaiñ Over-The-Rhine as a low-income neighborhood? How might the city intervene to mitigate the negative effects of · gentrification? Currently, the city appears to -support development, through its grant of $189,000 to the bver-The-Rhine Coalition (an organization formed to represent outside business interests). } Donald Whitehead believes there is a serious problem at the federal and city levels of government. "AII policies are shaped by special interests; you're only heard .if yóu buy it." For this reason, he feels the government's role n~ecis to b~ changed to: ~e more. respón". sive .t o less powerful groups. One possible way to accomplish this is through Canipaign ':. . · · Finan ce Reform.' Residents should carefully consider :the , role ·ot ~he government so that justice is ·· served in American society: . ~r.ugs and Drug Policy - lt is largely Page 15 believed that the inner city is a place where there is a high concentration of illicit drug usé. This is probably an exaggeration - suburban drug use is quite common, but may be ·much more covert. However, there is no dóubt that the use and sale of drugs in Over-The-Rhine exacerbates the existing problems of .poverty, crime, and violence. Substance abuse is a drain on in come; incapacitating one for work and · possibly leading to hé>melessness. "Drug use may be one cause of the breakdown of families,. when someone gets killed, goes into treatment, or when thei~ kids are taken away," says Ms. Hoerner. There is also an additional strain on the community as outsiders come into the neighborhood to purchase drugs. There are three identifiable positions on drug policy. One group feels that drug use should ·be diminished by increasing policing, number of arrests and by establishing harsher penalties for drug-related offenses. They feel that deterrence and the_removal of offenders from ,society through imprisonment is the best solution to this social problem. The second group favors lighter legal consequences for drug use, and more concentration on treatment and therapy. In their .opinion, the best way to eliminate the problem of substance abuse is to help consumers of drugs break their addiction. Mr. Whitehead says he favors a mixture of both of these· options. "l'd like to. seé tougher penalties for the sellers of drugs, but more treatment for users. We'II see a decrease in demand for drugs if we get users off the street." A third group favors the legalization of drugs. They feel that the war on drugs fills prisons for a crime that has no victim but the user. They feel that the illegality of drugs may even hurt inner-city neighborhoods like OverThe-Rhine. The illegality of drugs means that many of its residents are imprisoned, breaking up families and the community. , . Whatever stance one takes, it i·s important to carefully consider what actions might be taken toward the drug problem in inner-city' .communities. The best way to learn about these issues is by getting involved in an inner-city community. With experience and critica! thinking, citizens can improve the quality of life in communities like Over-The-Rhine. Please stay active and read next month's second half to this article: "lmportant lssues i~ the lnner City." Sorne of the crowd at the'-Over.:.theRhine Festival. Photo by James Heath. �STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Homeless Grapevine Page /6 Vendor .Update: 1 Ch ose Honest IV Streetvi bes TV by Gregory Paylon Schedul-e course you the custorner, 1 am very excited to share with you thát I have reached an irnportant goal in rny life. That being I now have my very own apartrnent. . 1 had to have a way, and STREElVIBIES was it. 1 had to have s·o rne surpport and you, the cu_storner was it. 1 had to have strength hope and guidence and 1 · recieved this from the Main Man (GOD)/ Never losing faith, and listening to sorne of yQu, my goal becarne a reality. With STREElVIBES, My Custorners and the Main Man (GOD) 1 WAS able to BELIEVE, ACHIEVE , SUCCEED. 1 have been tryil!g to bring you, the reader, our customers up to date with what is happening in my lite. In our last issue I tryed to share with you the joy I felt from sorne acheievrnents you made possible.. This rnonth with hard work and determination, and of Subscribe to Streetvi bes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below ~ddress and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. bllp:1/cinci. com/gcch Str.eetvibes. -Online Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH · 4521 O Please rnake checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Horneless--Streetvibes. lf you have any que·stions, call the office at 421-7803. We have just added a searchable interface for our Str~etvibes articles. Websurfers can index our stories by date or subject. Please visit our site. Check us out, We're on TV! Streetvibes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Cornmunity Video. , Slreetvibes TV August Please tune into· our televised City Council Candidates Forurn on Hornelessness. Ten .candi_d ates who are running attended and field'ed questions by homeless people and advocates on live lV. Channel 10 M·onday, September 1, 6:30 pm Thursday, September 4, 9 am Sunday, September 14, 4 pm Slreelvibes TV Seplember This show will fqcus on Mental Health issues and hornelessness. Channel 7 (58 Basic in most of Harnilton County) Monday, September 15, 7 pm live éhannel 10 Sunday, September 21, 4 pm Thursday, September 25, 9 am Still Needed Your Do llar Goes · Volunteers for two or three hours to help paint parts of the office. Any time! Utility Shelves! ! Picture or Poster Frames TV and VCR to Show Streetvibes Episodes to Groups Blank VHS Cassettes Vol~mteer Copy Editors and Stories Need Help or Want .to Help? lighthouse Youth Center . St. John's Temporary Housinj? lf for sorne reason you find yourself horneless, · contact a Coalition Mernber Agency for Shelter, Treatrnent, Housing or Services. lf you have any questions, feel free to call the Horneless Coalition, at 421-7803. HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental 111) T om Geiger House SHELTERS: Women and Children 241-2757 Alice Paul House (abuse) 557-2873 Bethany House 762-5660 Salvation Army 431-8717 Welcome House SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Franéis- St. Joseph House Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 SHELTER: Both Cara cole (Al OS) Chabad House Drop lnn Center (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) lnterfaith Hospitality Network 761-1480 821-5100 721-0643 381-5432 ·863-8866 244-7226 TREATMENT: O.D.A.A.T FirstStep Home - - ~ o· - 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 Wome·n 241-7343 921-7324 TREATMENT: Men Ch_arlie's 3/4 Heuse · Prospect House Starting Over TREATMENT: N.A. Hopeline A.A Hetline· C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, lnc. 961-4080 651-6446 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 Both ¡ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ ,¡,,.,_,,_ _ ___ 820-2947 861-9966 · 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 · VA Domiciliary 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES . 421-2437 AIDS Velunteers of Cincinnati 621-5991 Appalachian ldentity Center 591-2246 Churches Active in Northside 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network 569-1840 Community Action Agency 381-42••-:.2 Contact Center 241-2563 Emanuel Community Center 24 i -l 064 Freestore/Foodbank 771-4800 Goodwill Industries 62!-7149 Hamilton Ce.Mental Health Bd. 632-7186 Hamilton Ce. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center 352-2902 · Homeless Mobile Health Van 221-3679 House of Refuge Mission 241 .. 9400 Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-5501 721-4811 Mary Magdalen House 621-0248 Oral Health Council 621-6364 Our Daily Bread 621-5514 Peaslee Neighborhood Cent~:711-7660 . Travelers Aid . 7'21-7900 UnitedWay 559-6656 VA Homeless ,Program 491-3335 Women's Crisis Center- � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 1997 Vol. 1, issue 8 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: homeless shelters welfare reform home lending bias community council housing policy homeless veterans death penalty free speech Drop Inn Center addiction federal budget Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Wanda Eicher Iola Green Chanda Marshall Patrick Mosolf Angela Meadows Tom Mulroy Myron Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Malaka Sanders S. Brad Saylers Gilda Storm Jean Taddie The Traveler Sandy Valadon Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Angela Meadows Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis Chanda Marshall Denise Crew Donald Whitehead Gilda Storm Gregory Payton homeless housing Iola Green Jean Taddie Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Myron Pat Clifford Patrick Mosolf policy reform Ron Carter S. Brad Saylers Sandy Valadon shelter The Traveler Tom Mulroy veterans Wanda Eicher welfare https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/9714170de44f064b19447ac9818468a6.pdf 92fb8beb123547a1aa1ddb4de594ef03 PDF Text Text 1 1 When Home is a Scary Place by Malaka Sanders "Coming together in remembrance of these w~men means knowing that we as women must continue to grow in truth about ourselves and our place in the world." Jude' Haley, Streetvibes (Feb. 97') These womén that we should all come · together for, espécially this month, are the victims of domestic viotelí'ce in their own homes (...-and their childrens' homes: The Greater Cincinnati Coalition on Domestic Violence cites that over 3 million children witness acts of domestic violence each year). Yes, this month, because October is, "Oomestic Violence Awareness Month", and locally the YWCA, Women Helping Wo~en lnc., the Greater Cincinnati Coalition ón Domestic Violence, and the Women's Crisis Center have put together two empowering events: October 7, 11 :30-1 Fountain_ Square "Day on the Square", information will be available about the services offered to battered women locally. October 21, 7:00 Hamilton County Courthouse (Main St. side) "She Screams Without Sound", Rembering women murdered as a result of domestic violence. Please come out and show your support. Also, remember the YWCAITalbert House Family Violence Hotline number: 221HELP. In addition to these free events, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition on Domestic Violence is sponsoring a conference on Halloween, October 3 1, from 9 am to 4 pm at Forest Fair Mali. The event is titled, "When Home is a Scary Place." Topics to be covered by the conference include Children's Services Protocol, a Safety Plan for Children and School lnterveñtion. · F~r more information on this event, call Carla Mentlow at Bethany House Services at 557-2875. Another project of the Coalition is the Domestic Violence Safety Plan brochures which give tips to victims on how to safely leave a bad relationsh ip. Harsll New Welfare 'Rules Go Why Are the Shelters into .Effect, Planners Told to Crowded? Value F3mllies . - Commenlary by Donald Whilehead Community Organizing Updale _by lynn Williall!s Events are rapidly moving along at the County level with welfare policy. Cassandra Barham and myself have been a,ttending the Human Services Planning Committee meetings to . hear the dis<:ussion as our County sets its welfare policy. Although the Welfare Rights Coalition was . not "officially" included on the Committee, a welfare recipient was included after the Welfare Rights Co~lition voiced much outrage that re~ipients were left out of the planning process. This is a victory for all recipients! Another success was our Pub.lic Hearing on September 25th at the Sharonville Convention Center. The Welfare Rights Coalition alohg with . the Coalition for the Homeless and other groups representing labor unions, child care providers, and others, has formed the Hamilton County Values Families Campaign. At our hearing, we presented our positions on what we want included in our county's welfare policy. At least seven Contents Page Page Page Page Page Page Page 3: 4: 6: a:· 10: 12: 14: News Agency Protiles Edilorials Personal Experiences Word on lhe Slreet Nalionwide Games members of the Human Services Planníng Committee, . including Don Thomas, the Director of the Hamilton County Department of Human Services, were present to hear our concerns about welfare policy. Our speakers at this Hearing were impressive! They spoke from the heart and from lived experience. - They not only spoke on our policy positions but about the need for welfare caseworkers to treat recipients humanely and compassionately. The WRC is proud of our members and .allies who courageously and boldly spoke out to r.epresentatives of the Welfare Department. We are a committed group and we have a wealth of ·talent & ability among our members! An "official" Public Hearing will be held on October 8th at 10:00 AM at a yet to be named location. We plan to have another strong showing at this hearing! The Hamilton County Values Families Campáign urges that County welfare policy include the following for Child Care, Work Requirements and the Prevention, Retention, Contingncy Program or PRC: Child Care Ideas Allow the wprking poor to r 7ceive child care subsidies. Set the entry level at 150% of the poverty level. 150% of poverty leve1=$9.6 l /hr. wage for a family of 3. lncrease funds for infant and toddler care. Establish a waíting list for the working poor child care subsidy to show the need for child care _subsidies. Protect our children by maintaining the criminal Continued on page 2 The headline in last month's issue of Streetvibes read "AII Shelters Full tn Cincinnati." Many times since then, people have asked me why this has happenecl. The answer to this question is very complex, just as the cause of homelessness is very complex. The most obvious reason fof the increase in shelter population is the lack of affordable housing. Accordmg to the National Low lncome Housing Coalition, there is a ◄. 7 million gap_in the number of low-income renters ( 11.2 million) and available lowincome housing ·units in America. ' Thís gap is growing due to changes in public housing. Evictions have increased at an alarming rate. Many evictions in Cincinn~ti have been for suspecte drüg activity, not just the usual .non-payment of rent. Other public housing units are in jeopardy as housing authorities apply for federal funds to demolish them with no replacement . . HUD (The Department Of Housfng Ancl_ Urban Development) is also in crisis with its project· based Secti9n 8 program. Section 8 provides housing that is subsidize~ by the government but owned by private landlords. The subsidy allows the landlords to rent to low-incorñe residents at 30% of their income. These contracts can last up to 20 years. Every year, many of t~ese contracts expire while HUD's budget is being cut .. With less funding 1 and more expiring co'ntracts, HUD cannot keep up. lt is estimated that one-th ird of all HUD contracts _will not be renewed, thus increasing the shortage of affordable housing. In order to further limit the ñumber of . renewed contracts, HUD has investigated Section 8 Conlinued on page 2 • �1 · STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Streetvibes, the-Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, far and about the homeless. lt is compiled by 'rhe Greater.Cincinnati Coalition far the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper far 20 cents and then selt it for a dollar donation to get back . on their feet. AII vendors signa cede of co·nduct befare being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Ccialition for the·Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati thro.ugh coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues an~ increase . circulation. lf you are interested in helping <;>r have a comment, please call 421-7803 . Va.lue .Familias Continuad records check, home inspecticins and add a personal reference ~heck far home care providers. - Allow parents to protect their children by being able to end a child care agreement and not be sánctioned (Example: lf provider uses too harsh of discipline method on children). protected by Labor Protection Laws, including th_e mínimum wage requirement, discrimination laws, and health & safety laws. No displacement of workers by workfare participants: · Workfare training slots m1.Jst lead to a REAL job, WORK REOUIREMENTS Emergency Assistance Continued from page 1 Early Childhood Development studies have shown that infants need special attention from their · parents during the first year of life. Parents with children under one should be exempt from the work requ irement. During the first 6 months after giving birth, no work activities should be required. Education and training classes should be the priority for Any savings Hamilton Co1.Jnty accrues in the TANF Program must be used far the peor and working poor population in a positive way. The savings money_should go into child care funds, transportation far OWF participants, and affordable housing. lt should not go far court programs, jails, administrative costs or other county programs .Further / Wr iters Angelo Anderson Margaret Tell~z Bearringer Alice Blackman John "Byrd Dog" Byrd Ron Carter Pat Clifford DeniseCrew Emanuel Minister Michael Harris James Heath Lemuel Israel · Robert Norse Carla Osgood Gregory Payton MarkSalter Malaka Sanders TomSeel The Shadow MJchael Stoops Tess Donald Whitehead lynn Williams Volunteer Editors Becky Rinaldo Malaka Sanders Ki'mberly T enai Rete, stories or inquiries to: Streetvibes e/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521 O (5 rJ) 421-7803 fax(513}421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net · http://cinci.com/gcch US Constitution·:- First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercis.e tf:ierof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaé:eably to assemble, and to petition the Govemment for a redress of grievances. Participant must be fully infarmed of all programs s/he is eligible to receive, not be pressured to accept one over the other. Allow participants to make -the final choice. Accept the State Model. and allow OWF participants to receive Emergency Assistance. Do not allow this program to become a bandaid solution instead of funding child care and medica! care in a wholistic way. , County Savings trom Relorm Staff · Pat Clifford, Coordinator Don~ld Whitehead , Outreach Coordi-. nator Frank Corrinó, Vender Support Ron Carter, Vendar Support Photographers James Heath -Pat Clifford Page: 2 Hamilton County Planning Committee Member Eileen Cooper Reed ponde~s over propos-ed welfare policies. the rest of the first year. , ' County policy should not be overly punitive. Give people a reasonable and realistic, choice by allowing all possible exemptions .and good cau_se reasons allowable under the Ohio Department of Human Services state policy. This inclúdes good cause reasons far getting back on OWF (Ohio Works First) after being off two years, good cause reasons for quitting a job, xemptions from work requirements, and allow the first year of post-secondary education to be counted as the full work requirement. Single adults between ages 18 - 59 without children be allowed to do volunteer work to get food stamps (as allowed by both Federal and ODHS policies),. Protect all the working families of Hamilton <;:ounty ensuring that workfare partiipants are Caseworkers must be trained to treat participants in a humane, respectful manner. People who apply for government assistance do so as a last resort because they are desperate. They do not need insult to injury when they apply far help. They also do not need to be treated as criminals. For more information call the Hamilton County Welfare Policy Taskforce at 381-4242 or 421-7803. Endorsement torm tor tasktorce campaign on page 14. Things that make you go hmmm... Hamilton County held its Stop Welfare Fraud Month, during _which it exposes cases of welfare fraud to the press, in September--the month before tough new restrictions will go into ·effect in October. Shelter Crowding CiJntinued trom page 1 ·' housing to. determine if the subsidized properties are up to cede. Properties not meeting codes will be foreclosed. We have seen several units in Cincinnati deemed unfit or substandard. This is no surprise. We have expressed this belief for many yearswith our complaints always falling on deaf ears. \ Another warning that has fallen on deaf ears is the danger of welfare refarm. Sanctions on recipients have aJready started. Many new shelter visitors have listed loss of benefits as the primary cause of their loss of stable housing. Wor:k requirements, which do not provide training, daycare and transportation, are short-sighted and impossible to meet. The loss of benefits will also cause an increase in domestic violence. Domestic violence i_s one of the leading causes of homelessness among families. Welfare reform, regardless of what people may tell you, has contributed to homelessness in Cincinnati. W.t,ile local, state and federal officials cheer the reduction in welfare, they continue to ignore its obvious relationship to shelter overcrowding and increased homélessness. While the above reasons have a huge impact on our shelter population, there are many more. Deinstitutionalization, a huge cause for the existing homeless population, may begin again. Deinstltutjonalization is the release of mentally ill patients from merita! institutions into the general population . Deinstitutionalization is admirable in theory; people should not be warehoused because of . their disease. · Although the theory is worthy, it has not worked previously and its success is doubtful in the 'future. Many of those who leave institutions need assistance before they are able to survive on their own, yet there is a deplorable lack of facilities with adequate care and supervision available to the newly released. Because of their illness, the mentally ill are among the most victimized members of homeless population. While advocates for the mentally ill in Cincinnati have created sorne ver; wonderful facilities, their facilities are like other homeless facilities: operating at capacity. Substance abuse is also a major contributor to homelessness. According to national statistics, 40% .· of shelter residents are addicts. People suffering from substance abuse face the same barriers suffered by those with mental illness. · There are simply not enough facilities to treat their disease. The average cost for substance abuse treatment in Cincinnati is $ I0,000. While there are a few facilities available for low-income a'nd no-income residents, there are not nearly enough to even scratch the surface of the . Shelter Crowding Continued on page l i1 n r p n s e s, t' ti e ' fi o ti ti '( �----~---------------------------~~-~--~- ----~~-~-~--~'-•""-~-------~-------!!!'-!"'!---=------""~ STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Home/ess Grapevine · Page 3 School ·Board Election Bri'ngs lssues to Surface by Pal Clillord Several candidates for Cincinnati School Board are using their campaigns to shed light on the workings of the -Cincinnati Public Schools. Tim O'Connor and Barry Cholak are part of a group called Citizens for an Accountable School Board (CASB). O'Connor is a former director of the 'Nilmington College branch at Warren Correctional lnstitution and Cholak is a former liasen between the School Board and the City of Cincinnati. They claim that many decisions made by the 'current board are done "behind closed doors" and are being steered by the Cincinnati Business Committee (CBC), an organization comprised of many large Cincinnati corporations. The cornerstone of their campaign is calling attention to a process called the "Facilities Master Plan." This plan was started to develop a strategy to deal with the many school buildings which needed repair and renovation. As part of this plan, the School Board contracted with architects Steed, Hammond and Paul to look at 12 buildings as possible targets for replacement. CASB candidates charge that political and development factors were the deciding factor-in · getting a school on that list, not kids or communities. O'Connor realizes that there are m_any competing interests at play in the Facilities Master Plan. "A business-as-usual, closed process caters to special interests and development iriterests, not necessarily what will be best fer the kids and communities." He prefers an open process with public dialogue at every step. Cin,cinnati School Board President Lynn Marmer disagrees with the characterization of the process as closed. There will be two forums in óctober to discuss the planning process, one on October 18th at IO am at the Mayerson Cent~r and one on October 20 at 7 pm at Western Hills High School. She said that decisions will be made with three facto.rs in mind: that they .are responsive to cq.mmunity values, that they are educationally sound and that there are funds available to implement the plan. She also said that public hearings would be ongoing until a final decision is reached, possibly by the end of the year. O'Conn~r is sceptical about the School Board's willingness to have open dialogue. He believes the hearings will open, but "very structured," giving the public limited facts to work with. As an· example, he cited the fact that his group needed to file an Free<;iom of lnformation Act request to the School Board just to get a list of the twelve · schools under consideration and facts such as when .the study was commissioned. School Board · Candidate Tim O'Connor relocate SCPA to the Washington Park Area to make an arts campus. Social services agencies including the- Drop lnn Center, located across from Washington Park, expressed concern that the move míght result in displacement. Candidate Barry Cholak believes that there is a "clear connection , between the School Board, the CBC and the Kunzel group." One suggestion which has come from the -Kunzel group is that SCPA may have to become semi-private if voters balk at paying the full cost of relocation. President Marmer stated that "the Kunzel group is outside of the School District and that it has bee-n made clear to Mr. Kunzel that SCPA will remain a Public School." However, as the plan móves foward, there is growing concern amoung community, pareñt and social service groups as to the implications of the Facilities Master Plan. "The_se concerns give us no choice but to continue on, even after the election," said O'Connor. 1 SCPA and Washington Park in the Balance? One of the major issues contained in the Facilities Master Plan is the replacement of the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) , relocation. A 1993 development study suggested that it might be cheaper to replace the building than to renovate it. SCPA also lies in the middle of the Pendleton/Main Street area which is under development pressures by the local business communíty. Conductor Erich Kunzel from the Cincinnati Orchestra unveiled a dream over a year ago to Other Candidates B_oard Cincinnati School Board President Lynn Marmer, center, believes the planning process is open~ . Shelter Crowding Continued from page 2 problem. Many homeless addicts find it almost impossible to access treatment. Substance abuse combi_ned with homelessness can be a devastating mix. An additional cause for homelessness is a lack of job security. Companies often close their doors without any advanced notice at all. One example is Steinbergs, whose confused work force showed up for work only to find that the company was about to close its doors forever. In an attempt to cut costs, companies also hire temporary workers in order to avoid paying for medica!, dental and vacations benefits. As a result, many Americans have been forced into minimum wage jobs witho.ut benefits, where they must work 80 to 100 hours a week just to pay for housing. ' The complexities of homelessness could fill the pages of a novel, but since there are only 16 pages in Streetvibes, 1 will only list other factors. Racism, sexism and gentrification all have considerable impact on our c:ity shelter population. 1encourage readers to investigate for themselves. Your investigation, however biased it maybegin, will bring you to the same conclusions that ·I have drawn. Homelessness is too corñplex to -be solved· quickly, simply or through the efforts of a few. AII sections of the population must work together to eliminate it; lf you have not had the opportunity to get involved, now is your chánc~ .. Help us in our struggle. People have escaped homelessness and have gone on to be successful members of society. For many like myself, escape has been a miracle, but there a~e a lot of miracles in tattered clothes and old sleeping bags. tor School This November, three incumbents are up or reelection including Harriet Russell, Lynn Marmer and Catherine lngram. Dennis · Sullivan, current board member, is not seeking another term. In addition to 0'Connor and Cholak, Herb Smith, an adjunct professor of Sociology at !JC and NKU, and Rousseau O'Neil, education Chairman of the Baptist Ministers Conference, are running with a CASB and Cincinnati Federation of T eachers endorsement. 0ther candidates include Sally Warner, an active parent and mother of CPS students, and Neil Aquino, former aide to Councilman· Tyrone Yates. The election will take place November 2nd. ,· Reprieve Won ·by Newport Tenants ·: by Tom Seel As previously reported in Júly's issue of Streetvibes, Newport, Kentucky city officials ·had planned to bulldoze a~d not replace public housin.g on its riverfront to ma~e 'way for an NBA arena or sorne other up-scale development. · The Housing Aut~ority residents who ·would have been at risk of inadequate affordable housing alternatives rose up in protest. The Northern Kentucky Coalition for the Homeless along with others condemned the ' plan. The outcry of protest finally forced the powers that be to acknowledgé that people have a need for ·affordable housing. The Housing Authority Board and its director, Mark Brown, ~ave now pledged that the present housing will be retained indefinitely. Development of the site'will only be allowed if . someone offers enough money to build one-for-one replacement public housing elsewhere in the city _ first. ·-' ' The residents will now work to negotiate the details of the-new plan, whi!=h would build at least 156 s_ingle family homes on individual lots ~catte~ed in Newport. When' combined with 46 new unitsJor senior citizens in a ñigh ~ise: ¡11 202 existing ~nfts would be replaced. . • ' ; ~ But nothíng 'will happe~ until a developer p1,1ts up the money. �_ STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page 4 STR.EETV·IBES SerVices Center for lndependent ·Living Options by Carla Osgood The Center for lndep~ndent Living Options é:elebrates its twentieth year assisting individuals with disabilities lead more productive and independent _ lifestyles . Founded by individuals with disabilities and chartered in 1977 as a non-profit agenq, the Center is staffed by a majority of professionals with dis·abilities who are capable of empathizing and empowering persons facing life challenges. The Center's most recent program, Homeless Disabilities Services (HDS), helps individuals and families secure permanent housing and needed s~pportive services to ensure long-term stability and independence. Though the Center works with all individuals, HDS was designed specifically to assist homeless persons with physical, sensory, or cognitive disability due to the lack of community programs serving these individuals. HDS provides emergency transportation to ~helters when necessary as well as ' case management, personal care attendant services, peer counseling and independent skills training. Funded under the HoÚsing and Urban Development Department's Supportive Hoüsing program, HDS has surpassed annual grant projections in less than six _ Catholic ·Worker Hfres · New Manager· The St. Francis-St. Joseph Catholic Worker on Walnut Street has named a new house manager last month, David Dietz. Dietz is also the coordinator for the Cincinnati Chapter ~f the Buckeye Forest Council. The St. Francis-St. Joseph House is a men 's shelter which can house between IS and 20 people each night. STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Only $5 each! STREETVIBES 1h, Ir )icJie ~ Homeless Grapevme Center for lndependent, Li-ving Options Staff: Back, From Left to Right:Barb Koerner, Muhjah Hasan, Gloria Feder, Henry Riddl-e , Terre · Garner, Jon Sapunar, Carla Osgood. Front, From Left to Right: Dixie Harmon, John _Krai~e~~ _Suzanne H O k¡ n 5 • _ Systems Advocacy, American D1sab1ht1es Act mo!rhs, exemplifying che rise in Cincinnati's homeConsultatio.n, Family Life Education, lndependent lessness dueto welfare cuts, inadequate affordable Living Skills Training, Accessible Housing Referral , housing and displacement. Peer Support Groups and PersQnal Care Ass_istance Services. Participants of Homeless Disability Services are · able to access other supportive programs through AII programs within the Center are focused the Center for lndependent Living Options. The upon -che be lief that all individuals have the right to entire staff at the Center is comm itted to assisting inclusion withi~ che community as well as pursuing individuals with disabilities reach their life goals and their own life objectives. With over 600 consumers live both independently and inclusively within the served annually, the Center for lndependent Living community. With a mission of breaking down Options helps empower individuals to overcome architectural and attitudinal barriers while building obstacles, realize dreams and contribute to rich bridges of understanding, the. Center helps e.reate diversity of the community. options and choices for successful living through Homeless in a Wheelchair by A/ice 8/ackman 'My name is Alice Blackman and I was recently ho~eless, staying .at the Chabad House shelter with my two sons, ages nine and eleven, along with my· three-year-old granddaughter. Beirig homeless and staying in che shelter was very hard . 1 was very depressed and stressed out fro·m endlessly trying to . find hoüsing far myself and the three children . ' One day, the--Assistant Girector of the Chabad House called Carla Osgood from -the Center for lndependent Living Options; and things began to happen far me. 1 have a disability and am in a wheelchair due to surgery on my femur. Carla _ began giving me hóusing lists and also helped me get my Section 8 certificate. lt was pretty hard far me to - Alice Blackman and Family get around in che wheekhair with the kids, so Carla arranged far me to use WAVE (WheelchaiÍ- Accessible Van Express) to make it easier for the kids and me to look at the apartments that she was finding for me, as well as the apartments that 1,s aw in the daily newspaper. . lt seemed as if I was running into brick walls,· trying to find the type of apartment I needed with my disability, \.mtil one day Carla called to see how che apartment hunting was going. 1 told her not good , On WAIF 88.3 and she told me that she knew of a three·- bedroom The Homeless Coalition has a live radio apartmentthat she wanted me to see. 1 cal led and program which can be heard on W Alf radio on the we arranged to see the apartment with Carla, myself second Saturday of each month at noon . The show and che three kids. The klds and i loved the is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Cliffo rd and Donald apartment. Within a week, the apartment was mine-keys and all! 1 am so happy now, and so are Whitehead. The show mixes talk focus ing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. the kids. Car la and che Center for lndependent Living Here are the next show dates. Options_have really been my guardian angels . 1 WAIF 88.3 fm appreciate the program and Carla. 1 thank her with Saturday, October 11, 1997, noon to I pm all of my heart for helping me and my family get _on our feet . Thank xou so much, Carla, and God bless! Stré,etvi bes Radio Hour lm 100% While Collon Shirts XL or XXL Your choice olpurple or sky-bllle lagos _ 1506 T-shirts are ava ilaple at our o_~ice at Elm Street. Pl ease stop by and see us. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page _5 What·s Cookin Virg! 1 An lnterview _with Virgil Balden of- the Over-the-Rhine Soup Kitchen by lemuel Israel The following interview is done about t he Over-the-Rhine Soup Kitchen by Streetvibes reporter Lemuel Is rael. SV stands for Streetvibes reporter Lemuel Israel. WB stands for W illiam Virgil Balden. SY: We all know-you as Virgil. never known your full name before. 1 was 1 have wondering if you v.oiiit mind tell ing me far the record. \/18 No,I don't mind . lt's William Virgil Bolden.SV: Now,· if you take the game as far as Bill C linton is concerned. He is asking citizens to take a more active role in community service. What de;, you call it when people give of themselves? Charity type work. Th is has been going on for a while. Maybe you would like to give us sorne history on this place as far as who siarted it? How far back does it go? Did it begin with you ? No. lt goes a lot farther back than WB: me. l've been with the organization far the last fourteen years, and Kojak's b~en with them - God bléss his soul he passed away two years. ago - he was with them twenty-t\YO years. lt started twentyfive years ago. Fathe r Tom started the kitchen itself. SV: Father Tom. Who is Father Tom ? WB:. Father To m, he's ove r the kitchen. He's ou r adviso r. He makes sure all the stock is paid for from donations. From people like Procter and Gamble, Sears and Kahn's Meat Company. Various people give us contributions such as vegetables, meat: canned goods, and' so on in arder to help us ou t. But we could really use sorne more contributions in arder to help keep this kitchen runnin '. The stock alone costs $2,500 a: month . _ That's just stock like can goods and aluminum foil and stuff like that just to he lp things go. Then we have to get pots to cook in . And we really need · sorne more help. lf there is any possibility fo r anyone that reads th is article, if they can, 1 would like for them to donate to o ur kitchen . lt's called, OverThe-Rh ine Kitchen. Were at 37_ Back Street, our phone number is 241-5121 . Anyone who wants to get in touch with me, just call that number and ask for Virgil and I can explain, to the best of my abi lity, anything that you ásk ab-out. Thank yo u very much, 1-hope that - SV: sorne reade rs will take Bill C:linton 's advice to heart, and we will see the whole natio n participate in more -community service. They call th is th e age of Aquarius ) hat's coming in . They say Aquarius stands fór the serve r of the world server. So I hope that this influ ence you've been able to have here over the _ homeless, the poor and the elderly who -don 't have any other means of survival, will cause other people to see -your good example and jump in to give a helping hand. W illi a m"Virgil" Solden wo rd vigil and connect it with the name we call yo u, Virgil, it will exp lain that you are a man that is on his job. WB: Thánk you ve r.y much . 1 try to do the best I can with what I have. 1 háve be en here fourteen years and l've come to know a lot of people down here. lt's really great 'cause I get t he chance to do so mething far the public. lt's not only the public, 1 also get the chance to do something for mysel{ Since I do n 't get a chance to go to church o n Sunday because we're o pen on Sunday, this is a way of serving God by helping other people. SV: Well. we know the commandments rest on the fact that we should leve our ne ighbors as ourselves, as well as lave God. 1 know from my own experience in eating here frequently, that you ·put a lot of love into thé food and the work you do here. _1 very seldom hear a complaint from the people you serve. That in its self should say something positive. WB: 1think we serve the best food out of all of the five soup kitchens downt,own. We have five sister kitchens down here. We're the only soup kitchen in the downtown/Over-the Rhine area that doesn't serve soup. SV; You mean to tell me in•all the years you've been here you haven't served soup. No soup at all! Ali full course WB: meals!! SV: Well, 1 have to say, when I think about it, 1 can't remember ever eating a bowl of soup and l've been coming here since July of '96. l'm still coming here. 1 still depe~d on the Kitchen, and if it weren't here, 1 don 't know what I would do. WB: l'm glad we are able to serve the public. Saturdays and Sundays are our worst days, and we feed anywhere from 500 to 600 people . lt's a lot of work because we have a lot of special people here. There are exactly ten of us here and they are all special to me. An d I hope they ar~ special to the pu blic, because they take time o ut of their )ives five days a week. W e're closed on Mondays and Fridays. but on Tuesday, Wed nesday, Thursday! Saturday · and Su nday, these special people take time ou t of their lives to wo rk ·with me and they don 't get any pay at all . SV: lt seems to me yo u're ahead of the The Over-the-Rhine Soup Kifchen serves meals from noon t9 1 pm from Tuesday-Thursday, S~turday and Sunday. They are 't he only soup kitchen that never serves soup, just full cour$e meals. , Photo by James Heath. Conference and Stand Down Planned· The Greater Cincihnati Coalition for the Homeless and the Cincinnati VA Medica! Center are putting together a Stand Down for the Hbmeless on Friday, October 17, in and around Washington Park. The goal is to provide comprehensive services to the homeles's of Cincinnati. The majority of the services be located at the Drop lnn Center including medica! care, eye care, hair cuts, social services, clothing and blankets. "There will be more than enough clothes and ' · blankets to go around," said Nancy Lester, who works at t he VA Domicillary in Fort Thomas and one of t he o rganizers of this year' event. Sorne materials were donated fro m unused military su rplus. The term "stand down" is' a military te rm used to describe the time wh en so ldiers in combat would come off the fro nt lines and recuperate, The Homeless Stanct Down will give the homeless ti me to take care Óf their needs in much the same w ay. Organizers hope to create a "one-stop shop" for services. Even Judge Kim Burke will be holding cou rt on-site at thé Drop ln n Center to help the homeless take care of legal issues. People with wiU minor offenses will be given community ~ervice to~be done right there at the Stand Down. Many volunteers inclUding students, Veterans Service Organizations and the National Guard will be on hand to assist with providing services and guiding _ people to the right services tó meet their needs. People involved with the Stand Down often point to the lárge community participation in this event as · evidence of its success. - The last Stand Down was held in 1995 and seFVed over 500 people. In the past, services weré located in tents set up in a field to resemble a military stand down. However, memories of the rain and mud which plagued the last event caused organizers to plan a b'asically indoor eve nt. Homelessness Co nfere nce the Same Day In conjunction with the Stand Down , the Home less Coalition and the VA are also presenting the fifth annual Greater Cincinnati Homelessness Co nference that same day at Emanuel Community Center near W ash ington Park. The Natio nal Coalition for the Ho meless board of directors is meeting in Cinci nnati that weekend and many of the bpard me-~ bérs are coming a day , early- to participate in panel discussions on everything �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine · Page 6 STREETVIBES Editoria/s and Letters Homelessness Doe·sn·t Matter . Unti I lt Happens to You by Mark Saller P,erhaps you have never experienced home- · lessness, let aloné can understand it or empathize with a person or family who has. become homeless. Perhaps even by now, you are fed up with hearing abouuhe h<:>_m eless and their plights. Reading . articlE:s and listening to mecjia stories on "Homeless. n,ess," P.r{ haps you and your co-workers talk abo.ut ho.w lazy ,homeless people are, or even criticize w~lf~re~f~ r helping id cr:-ea{e ~he problem. Maybe yoLJ .si,:npJy !?flieve ~haf th,e homeles.s are nothi~g but a worthl_ef s_bun_ch of addicts and alcohoJics. You may ,~~y, so_rry to hear that, 1feel for them, t>~t l've got. ~':\9..~~h pro~lefl:l_S of r:ny _o wn." And you may be, right, because in o r;der to keep that "cu.shy" job, money in the bank, bills paid and s9 on, you wor·k hard and put up with personalities, that you, it'yoú :\ ;,i,gj, ,. _d • Why ·is th~re so much violehce in the world . Why has this country turned into the Wild West, where everyone had guns and shot and killed their enemies? 1 think we have became a little confused abo~t . the times and where we are: This is not the old . Wild Wesi, and all of the violence and corruption shouldn't be happening. For those of youwho feel like you want revenge on someone, there is a place where you can go to take these frustrations out. lt's called the United States Army. lf you think you are. a real tough guy, then there's the Marine Corps. There you may get the opportunity 'to go to war and legally kill someone, namely the ·realenemy and not our own people. lt is wrong and senseless · to kill our own. - We r;,eed each other to make a better world. , lf your record is still clean, don't mess it up by doing something crazy. Stop the violence. . 1 cou-ld go on and on, but I think I will stop for now because I think you have the messagé. Repeating the famous words of Rodney King, "Can't we -all just get alon,g." Let's give ita try, OK? ' make a difference . As well, you may know, there are all kinds of ways to create a solutio~. /. But what is· good about having knowledge, if you do n't use it? Remember nothing matters until it happen·s. to you. · · ··1· lrom the Natiolial Coa/ilion tor the Homeless by Ron Carter " Mark Salter Action Neédéd to Save Funds for Education' 9f Homeless Youth Stop the Violente oo~f could, would rather not be aro und . You know best what you endure to kee p t hat · job, that pays the bill, etc. But for what? · So t hat maybe you won.'t find yourself writing articles abo ut being ho meless, o r what is good and bad abo ut th e ho meless people in o ur city ? So OK, you 've heard all of th e rhetoric about ho meless ness . Perhaps you have been homeless and yet neve r set foo t in a she lte r. That sti ll was home lessness; but ho ld it ! Wasn 't there a "buzz" wo rd o r te rm for that? 1 believe it was "displaced." We're nóf ho meless, we 're .displaced individual s and . fami lies who h ave lost ou r right, o ur chance, our means_of maintaining and sustaining the place we called home, whether by neglect or simply not enough money or loud e~ough voices. Let's not forget those of us who were "visited by mother nature." You know what it's not always about money, although it probably is . lt's about uniting as a group and becoming "one voice." As you know we may not always win. When we actas "one," when we vote, wewin . Homelessness., is a very intricate and involved issue. lt can involve the loss of low-income housing, neighborhoods that-are weakened by drug selling and individuals who make .less than $20,000 year. This does not mention people with mental and emótional disorders and disabilities, temporary or long term. • ._. · Very few enterprising busimess:es are located in poorer areas. This is the issue of gentrificatio n. . That's ,more or less relocating IÓw-income residents further away fróm their,"home city" to make room for businesses who prefer to haveremployees closer to their jobs. (S.o when they are laid off they won 't , .'D . have far to go.) But did you know that Octt l 7, 1997 w ill be a 1 ' homelessness. conference/convention at,W ashington Park? Yoü know yoÍJ can help. You know you can The Senate passed a floÓr amendment offered by Senator Gorton (R-WA) to the Labor-HHSEducation FY98 Appropriations bill, S. 1·061 . The plock grant consolidates most K-1 Z education programs, including the McKinney education of Homeless Children and Youth program, into a gigantic block grant. This new block grant _would go directly to local e,ducation agencies with no reqüírements or restrictions\on how funds are to be spent. The. EHCY program would be eliminated under such a bl,ock grant. · A similar amendment offered by Representative Peter Hoekstra to the House version of the bill, H.R. 2264, was withdrawn .today. The House then voted to pass the bill. , A conferehce committee must now meet to reconcile the differences between the two bills. li is critica! that advocates work to make sure that the final bill_does not contain the Gorton amendment and that it does contaiñ the odginal amount of · funding proposed by the Senate ($28.8 million) for the EHCY program . The National Coalition for the Homeless is recommending that you write or call your . Congresspeople immediately to ask that they urge the Commíttee Chairmen, Rep. John Porter (R-IL) and Senator Arlen Speéte·r (R-Pa), to remove the . Gorton Am_endment from the final FY98 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill, ANO support the · $28.8 mlllion"originally appropriated for the program by the Senate. .. . AII members_ of Ce>_ngress· may be reaé:hed by calling the U:S- Capitel Switch board at 202-22431 H . Pleas~ send yoür opinions, commentary, letters, compliments and criticisms to: S'treetv1bes \ 1 506 Elm Street ~~.Ciru:innati,. . .Ol:::I.-4521.~ - - - - - - - _ _ __ Street Newspapers Combat Hateful Mentality by Angelo Anderson · Santa; Barbara, California: 43 year old Li,nda · _Archer was raped and· bludgeoned to death August 16 in the bushes near Highway I Ol. Both of her Achilles tendons were severed and a Sleeping Ban ticket was-found near her body. A homeless · acquaintance said that she was driven from her safe sleeping spots by recent police bursts under the ban. With not enough emergency and transitional shelter beds, a large proportion of the homeless population has no alternative but to sleep on public property, in parks, vacant lots, buildings and under !reeways . . Since theré is nowhere for people to g~. sleeping and camping citations only help criminalize being homeless. The "not in my back yard" mentality of intolerance makes poverty a crime. Something is wrong when I can sit at a sidewalk cafe in impunity, but can't sit next door on the sidewalk. Legislating our mortality on the poor will not make them go away or eradicate them. These ordinances aré as futile as trying to legislaté sex, skin éolor or national origin. lt's a brilliant phenomenological strategy. Out of sight, out of mind; out of mind, out of existence. The poor and liomeless are not human litter to · be swept away by force of law. To be poor and homeless is devastating. Discriminatory laws that Continued on page 13 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page 7 Is Kunzel's Plan a Nightmare on Elm Street? by Berta Lamber/, . /he Purple Turlle Erich Kunzel's "Nightmare on Elm Street" is a typical land grab 9y the ·rich in a poor neighborhood. No care or concern for the residents of Over-the-Rhine (OTR) is demonstrated outside a dubious claim that no one will be displaced. No thought ha:s been_given in this elitist plan to the economic, social and recreational impact, on the poor. The Pops Orchestra conductor has proposed an L shaped "arts campus" ,for OTR's Washington Park. Two basic proposals have been floated: an expansive Linear Model and a Condensed Model. The Linear Model would include the parking lot ·south of the park including six buildings, four of which the Drop lnn Center (DIC) owns and is in the process of rehabbing for low income renters. Also included are all buildings around the DIC exclusive of the YMCA building. The next three blocks going north between Elm Street and Central Parkway which includes Music Hall would be gobbled up. _Sorne planned overspill in the WCET/WGUC complex is suggested in both models. The Condensed Model concentrates facilities around the l·,500 seaHhree story theater in the parking lot south _of the park. Both of these schemes place a band shell.amphitheater in Washington Park, the largest recreational are.a in OTR. The idea here is to create the dominant institution in OTR by locating the Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum south of Washington Park and in turn surround it and connect it with Music hall by sorne co.nfiguration of buildings to be known as the new SchooT for Creative and Performing Arts , (SCPA), having that institution abandon their 191 O Renaissance Revival structure on Sycamore Street, their home since 1973. The "Nightmare" hopes to be born through a majority rubber stamp vote by the newly named Washington Park Center for Arts and Education (formerly the Greater Cincinnati Arts and Education Center). Not insignificantly, the only two African Americans present at its September 8 meeting were two from the OTR resident delegatíon. This in a group making horror plans for a neíghborhood · largely Black. But the architectural firm Steed Hammond Paul donates its services, disgraced former State Senator Stanley Aronoff identifies possible fund1ng sources and Erich Kunzel uses the leverage of his 28 years residency and high profile job to do public relations, all to no avail s_ince seed money 'is not forthcoming for this controversia! and devastating plan. Sorne of the consequences of tbis Elm Street Nightmare are: · * Land speculators will cause a rise in real estate costs * Rents will go up causing displacement · * Food and services prices will go up * Washington Park wíll be lost to OTR residents * The DIC and Tender Mercies will be isolated from the user public Let SCPA stay in its presént building with its newly refurbished auditorium. lt will cost Cincinnati Public Schools less than the $220 mi Ilion proposed , for the_ new site io keep the older site in tip top shape. Cincinnati's citizens are rightfully proud to have,the possiqility of locating the Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum in their city. Let's find a Berta .Lambert 1 good pla~e outside OTR where its impact will be positive and .not negative. Erich Kunzel should probably sleep more to keep the N ightmares away and devote more of his . time fo great classical music. By the way, Erich, in case you have not notice~. the vast majority of SCPA students are not music majors. And why, Erich, would a ambitioris orchestra member agree through union contracts to teach or tutor young stúdents when other qualified people are available? -They won't and -shouldn't! Why Is God Playing With Me? ./ A View o/ Prayer by Tess -Oo we choose to be homeless? Do we choose to be an account executive for Cinergy? Do we choose to pray? · Yes? Well then, how powerful we each are with another gift from God, our own power, our own light, our own self-being. Choices have never come easy for me. 1think and worry too much about each choice/decision 1 make, except for when I open my mouth and begin shooting from the hip! " 1 am not political, you know." That is what I said thé last time •~thoughtless" words shot from my mouth! How powerful our minds are! Just think: if we all got -t ogether and chose not to be thoughtless or homeless, what would hapl?en? Is this how prayer works? Prayer is a noun and is defined as follows: 1. A devout petition to, or any form of spiritual comrhunion with God oran object of worship 2. The act ar practice of praying 3. A spirituál communion with God or object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession 4. A formula or sequence of words used° ir:' ar appointed for praying: the Lord's Prayer 5. A religious observance, either public or _ private, consÍsting wholly or mainly of prayer 6. That which is prayed for 7. A petition; entreaty 8. The section of a bill in equity, or of a petition, which sets forth the complaint the actioh , desired To pray is to beg; to crave, to plead for change in sorne circumstance in our lives. Many of the great saints have said to "pray unceasingly" and your prayers will be answered. 1 don't .know about Yº':l· but sorne of my prayers are not answered the way 1 think they should be answered! So, what is wrong with my prayer? Is it my self-doubt that undermines the right answer? · Or is God playing with me? Teasing me? Testing me? Blessing me? 1 am convinced that if we are devout in our prayer, we not only become closer to God but also begin to see things differently. The homeless wor:nan responds, "I am blessed." The friend who has been passed over subtly reminds you of the faith that lies in prayer and the difference we make with a smile or a simple touch of a stranger's hand. Last night. 1stopped by the Drop-lnn-Center. 1 needed to ·be there for sorne unknown reason, and 1 , made an excuse to a friend about why I was there. As I sat ánd watched the people, 1 thought of buddy gray and what it must have been like far him at "the (1) e :) .o ._ ·¡: .!!? o a. ffl (1) e .S :? ._.......s::. (1) ~ o ffl (j) Q) > Q) U) -~ ··••·•........ __ ·:::; : ..• ~... drop." A man was reading a Bible, a woman was taking notes from a book and I was worrying about how awful it would bé to be homeless. Tears welled in my eyes and I really wanted to cry. 1 have such a strong hatred for sickness and suffering, but I quickly held back the tears. 1'm ust be strong. Did buddy gray choose to leave us? lf so, why? My vision last night was of him cruising around "the drop," simply checking out the situation and giving a nod of support or greeting to each gue~t. He's there, watching over the place like a fath~r watching over his children. Will you chose to see him the next or first time you visit "the drop?" �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine The ·C·ircle ot Care 1 Chose Honest Part Five by Mark Salter by Gregory Payton Dear Friends and Customers: Where would we be without each other? My name is _G regory and l'm ' so happy. During The man and -women who decided "I will becomé a the previous issues, l've tried to share the events that dentist." Can you imagine the jokes\ their friends have happened in my life. · From being with no job, . made and how even they wére called geeks nerds no home, no spirit or hope, just walking around with and so on? no where to go, or any thing to do to something But they are one of the very few people we . better. After being touched -by an Angel my life depend on when we can no longer endure thé pain began to change, · of a·t?oth ache. The same goes for the do~tors, In my first story, l listened to an angel and 1 lawyers, and engineers and major profes~ions. was tolclto go to the Drop-lnn- Center. There I had Yeah we ali need each other. And what shelter and was able to gain back a lot of strength by about school teachers? l'd have-to think twice ea~ing and.being able to.rest. aboyt taking that responsibility on. But there are In pa,:t II of my story, 1met another Angel who people who :teach, Because it is ajoba responsibilenlightened me by bringing Streetvibes Newspaper ity and a challenge. One thing we need is the to my attention. 1 also believe that I have been . cashiers, clerks, secretaries, laborers, movérs. And blessed at this point in my life. whatever jqb that is imaginable, its ali an intricate In part 111, 1 leaned how- to start living again, part of our continued survival, sorne long term fitting into society, learning goodwill an·d thinking effects, sorne intermediate, the rest day to day, and keeping others in mind. _ second to minute stirvival. No doubt we need each In part IV, another Angel gave me direction other, the aforementioned jobs and professions are and another gc,al was in sight. 1 stepped out on faith responsibilities that were chosen because they all and I now Uve in my own apartment ca~e. Because a person wouldn't do a job, if h__e or In part V, 1 need to tell you the Angel shared she real/y didn 'e care. with -me an~Idea: me being abl·e to follow my heart ~ 1 mean the imature "I don 't give a #$%& if and to do what was so freely done for me. 1 needed you paid 500 dollars an hour feeling." Face it there a way to give back and the Angel d·~ected me again. are sorne jobs a person won't do. Do you think 1 needed a job and again 1·was blessed. · 1 now work President Clinton would come down here and work at the Drop-lnn-Center, the very same place where 1 in the Drop-,lnn-Center for a month? Sleep .on the got my new start in life. 1 can say with all my heart 1 mats. We need each other still. want to be there. 1 also just happen to get my And its the continui_ng ¡involvement of paycheck there. When I think about my job; 1 feel individuals, throughout existenc¡e that enables us to like 1'm in school, learning how to ,be patient arid provide for the needs., wants and sometimes desires humble, gaining sorne humility in mx life, experiencof ourselves, families and others. Is this not a circle ing unconditional love, being able -to care and share of caring? Red Cross, United Way, the Drop lnn with someone I just met, trying to inspire and _ encourage, and letting another hu~·an being know Center, the Coalition for The Homeless and the that help is in reach and they're not~alone. This job countless other people who provide services to us is truly a major influence in my life. 1 have learned all, with little and sometimes no pay. - today that God works through people. Helping Yeah amazing! as I think back through my others means God is working through you, you're an life. My school teachers. foster parents, group Angel. The definition of Angel is a messenger from home counselors, and there were quite a few. AII God, a guiding spirit of influence. Please remember those people along with the lady 'that took me that if you allow him God will work through you and under her wing. Where would I be now if it wasn't the Life you touch may be your own: for her or any one of the many people who have been in my life, those who are still in my life today: http: cincy. com/gcch l'm not as inuch of a recipient, 'as an obse.rver and participant. That's mainly because I am in recovery. T oday, 1 am grateful for these and all those people who accept part of the responsibility of being there, for the homeless, the disabled and the _abandoned. 1 observe Human Service Workers · deal with hundr~ds of personalities daily many on a We have just a_dded a searchable interface for one to one basis with varying situations .and · our Streetvibes articles. Websurfers can index our circumstances. stories by date or subject. Volunteers :needed fer They do it because you ~an't or won't. -Think updating stories. about those· moments in life when someóne perf.9rmed a random act of kindness. What about the time you hada flat? or moved to a new town or city, or when you just didn't know something. Yeah!! rand_om acts of kindness I like that. Still its not enough. We still neéd you, the one who wishes he had time to yolí.mteer. You the one who knows that you should. The Romeless Coalition could use Volun!eers l'm sure. l'm willing to guaranteé volunteering will not hurt. However, in earnést, the first few times · you will have mixed feelings .. -After those first few times, l'm almost certain you will come to look .forward fo it. And the others that do it truly it's a wonder. Thank God . As I bring this to ·a close, Just let me say; thank you ·; Substance Abuse , Support Groups. Human Services Workers and Voh.mteer~. the D.I.C:, Coalition for The Homeless, Free Store·. <;hurches, Salvation Army. and all the others, and I am certain theré are many others with your kind of h'e art, minds and tenacity for injustice and suffering. Thank you for helping us and keeping the '1Circle of Care " going... Streetvi.bes Online Page B STREETVIBES Personal Experiences E f< ti \ by Margare/ Tellez Bearringer So mány timés while living in the city I saw the homeless. Most times I passed them by with hardly a notice to them. Just the same as most people, 1 thought of them as people with drug or alcohol próblems. or were those that had been discarded by the mental health syst~m. Also when I had been frustrated by living in a small town without the conveniences the city can provide, 1 would say that I would rather live on the ~treets of Denver. When my plans for a place to stay had fallen through, there I was on the streets of Denver. Upon my arrival in Denver, 1 managed to get to stay one night with a.-friend. When morning carne also carne the phone calls. Soon I had found a day shelter that said they would find me place to stay. Little did I know of what was to come. For 1, too, was counted among the homeless. ." The night shelter found me with a roof over my head , a bed at night and food in my stomach. The rules were easy to follow, basica_lly those of society with sorne variation. The chores giVen were not hard but necessary to run the shelter. The day shelter was where we got our lunch and they gave us activities to keep us occupied. The women there were from various backgrounds but the one thing that bound us together was our homelesssness. We all had suffered from sorne sort of bad luck in the past. What I saw in these women was that they were people first, th·en whatever afflicted them was incidental, whether it be physical, emotional, mental or just hard times. Ufe as someone who is homeless is hard. 1was lucky I found places to go. There are those who don't. "It;s a step up. Now I get to hate Corporate America · instead of the Welfare Department." e u n Homeless in Denver 1 1 a S• ti 1 ; u s a p ir t g V 17 I◄ V s p a r e e s ·C e �q '1 ,,,,- \l ,l '·\ STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Homeless Grapevine Page 9 \ \' i: 1Was About to be Put to Death by John "Byrd Dog~~ Byrd On Sunday, March 13, 1994, at 12:35 p.m., _ exactly 35 hoúrs and 26 minutes before my sc:heduled state-sanctioned murder, the "Death Row Jscort Squad" arrived at my cell. "lt's time Byrd Dog," one said. · "Strip," said another. A number of men stood in front of my cell, nervously watching as I shed my clothing, perhaps for the last strip search of my life. After going through the usual routine of "lift 'l..1m and spread 'um," 1 got dressed, backed up to the cell door and was handcuffed. While this was going on, an eerie ,silence had settled over the entire cell block. There was none of the usual boisterous yelling, laughter, loud radio ar TV playing. There was nothing but complete silence. · As I backed out of my cell and started on the long walk, the block erupted into a cacophonous uproar. "Stay Strong!" "Good Luck," t_he voices yelled out. As I bid thenifarewell, J vowed, ''1'11 represent us ali well, and no matter what happens, stay ·strong," meaning that I would not grovel añd whine as sorne involved in this process would like to see. As ·1walked down the long main corridor and passed each cell block, there were loud voices raised in solidarity and encouragement. The shouts from che cell block caused my escores and the numerous guards that lined the corridor to become alarmed with the fear and terror of the last riot fresh in their memories. lo an effort to make me speed up my leisurely pace as I met each and every eye along the way, they started walking faster. 1 maintained my stride, and soon they slowed down, resigned to the pace l had set. Upon arriving at the J-1 supermax, 1was once again stripped and searched and my regular deathrow clothing was exchanged for death-house clothing. ''Odd," 1 thought to myself. "What difference does one's clothes have on the fact of one's impending deatht' The atmosphere of the death house was smothering, suffocating as if there was no oxygen. Everyon'e moved as if in slow motion. Their every move seemed a thoroughly rehearsed, learned, robot-like professionalism. Now for the first time in -over: 30-years, they, the elite death squad, had been called upan to commit murder in the name of the state of Chio. In sorne of their eyes I saw fear, concern and revulsion. In other's, 1 saw sadistic glee. Looking at each one of them with a steady unblinking eye, 1 sized them up individually. Soon after entering the death cell proper, my attorney arrived to inform me as to the current status of my situation. We discussed this at great length, and I felt confident that everything possíble was in fact being done to halt the insidious_plot to murder me that had been set in motion by Chio. After enjoying the time I spent with my lawyer, 1 immediately contacted my woman and then other family members on the phone, which had been provided. 1 attempted as best I could to assuage their worries and fears. With each one, 1 tried to explain the situation, based on my knowledge and information provided to me by my lawyers._This was very difficult, given tbe fact that they were all aware of the appeal process. They all knew this latest attempt by the. state of Chio to murder me wa-s simply a political move and not based on law. 1 had to agree, but nonetheless, 1still wanted to calm their fears, give them strength and assure · them all that everything was under control and th~t my lawyers were on top of every move the state was trying to make. For the most part, 1 remained in constant contact with woman and my family by phone, and I was-permitted to have a couple of short visits with my lovely woman. 1also engaged in spirited 'conversation with SQme of the people that had come down from the Chio Public Defenders Office and was truly touched by them. At times, there were periods-that seemed to stand still. Then suddenly, everything wo4ld speed up. 1 was offered food, but I refused to eat, fearing it my may have been doctored with drugs to make me less resistant and responsive. This refusal was not based on sorne unreasonable paranoia but tlirough years of incarcer:ation. 1 know first hand just how devious prison officials can be, and I wasn 't about to take chances! The whirlwind of activity continued around me, andas night approac.hed, there was no thought of sleep in my mind. Throughout the night, 1 was on the phone talking to people I haven't heard from in years. Everyone expressed their support, lave, concern and pledged their assistance. ' Monday morning, March 14, was indeed a blue Monday for us all. We learned of the apparent unprecedentecl and mean-spirited tactics being employed by the judge assigned to my case, the "Honorable" Carl Rubín. lt seems that even though he had my writ of habeas corpus and_motion for a _ stay of execution before him sin~e March 7, he decided to wait until the "eleventh hour" before making any ruling, knowing full well that the situation was critica! and that time was of the essence. Being on death row~ in and ot its_e/1, is a torm ot de~th. The environment sucks the lite out. An example of the insidious plot he'd hatcfted · in his muddled mind began when he instructed two of my attorneys to meet in his chambers at noon. At the conclusion of the meeting, he informed my attorneys that he would deny my motion foi- a stay of execution and that he would issue a ruling at approximately 3 p.m., nine hours before my scheduled execution! He made this ruling with full knowledge that it was legal ly wrong, but in keeping with his own personal feelings about the length of time my appeal was taking. He had stated on one occasion, "There comes a time when ali of this rnust come toan end." Now he had appointed himself the supreme litigator and usurped the power of the United States Supreme Court, as well as that of his own district court. Had it not been for the tireless efforts of my attorneys, who fought gallantly, he may have very well succeeded. Through their efforts, an emergency panel of the Sixth Circuit Court Convened and issued a stay of execution around 6:30 p.m. Not to be out done, Chio Governor George V. Voinovich personally contacted his friend, Attorney General Lee Fisher, and went directly to the U.S Supreme Court and asked them to dissolve the stay of execution so that my murder could take place as scheduled. This move was purely political. Both men have political aspirations, and with elections coming this year, they knew how profitable jumping on the "kili- them-quick" bandwagon would be. , After the U.S Supreme Court in its entirety had been convened, they declined to lift the stay of execution at approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday. Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief, including, 1 might add, the corrections officer that had been there during- the en tire ordeal. Around 12:20 a.m. on Tuesday, 1 was again escorted by guards. This time, however, 1 was going back to death row. Again the corridors were filled with loud cheers and good w!shes, but it was when 1 arrived back on the "row" that I received the most thunderous ovations. Everyone had been following the events closely as they unfolded over the TV and radio, so the men were all aware ·that I was coming back. ln<the aftermath .o f Júdge Carl Rubin's machi-e nations with my case, he was removed from further involvement. This validates my suspicions that he · was so overly prejudiced toward me, my case and death row prisoners and that he was losing his judicial temperament. To him, the bench from -· which he is supposed t~ make decisions based on law had instead become a soap box upan which he . had climbed to orate his personal convictions! For those that are chomping at the bit for my death and complain about the length of time it's taking for my appeal, it doesn't matter whether l'm innocent or not. AII they want is to have their blood lust sated. Nothing else matters, damn justice. "Give us the body!" they cry. Many people have written and asked me what · it is like being on death row, being sent to the death house and coming within 30 minutes of being murdered by the state. They ask why I refused to eat my last meal and why I chose the electric chair instead of lethal injection. 1 will try and answer these questions based ·o n my o~n experience, as l'm sure it differs from others who have been as fortunate as myself and who have walked into the very jaws, of the beast and walked out again. Sadly, this has not been the case- for many throughout this country. Being on death row, in and of itself, is a form of death. The environment sucks the life out. The passing of single day at times can be but the blink of an eye or as long as a heart breaking life. Then theré's the drudgery, the soul wrenching monotony of staring at the same steel, concrete and people, ad _ nauseam. Being taken to the death house is, in a way, a · relief. Finally one is afforded the, opportunity to confront one's killers who co:wardly hide behind the mask of shamelessness, to look into their eyes, to smell their raw fear and to feel one's own strength being pitted against the ultimate sanction - death. As for the só-called "last meal" and my refusal to eat it and other meals, as I said earlier, years of ~onditioned paranoia, coupled with the exigencies of events going on around me, made eating the farthest thing from my mind. 1 chose the electric chair because I refuse to give any credence to the state's attempt to contrive a rationale for its murders by offering lethal injection as a more humane form of murder. lf they were going to kill me, 1 was intentupon making itas ghastly as possible for ali that bore witness to it. - What went through my mind during those 36 · hours.were thoughts of my woman, of people that 1 , care about and love an_d what my death would do to them. 1was hopirig for the best and expecting the worse. 1devoted those 36 hours to the ones I love and care about. 1 had to keep my wits about myself because I saw it was on me to give the ones I love and care about strength. 1 had to maintain courage in the face of adversity, so that the burden on them . would not become overbearing. Their lave and support had sustained me all that time. Now it was my turn to show and give them strength. There is a plague in this country that is being controlled and manipulated by politicians, judges, prosecutors, police, professionals, victims and · victims' rights groups. Until society faces what is realiy going on in- this country and starts wanting real answers for what's going on in our streets, a number of innocent pe_ople are going to be put to death or placed in prison for the rest of their lives. Locking them up and k1lling them is not the " answer. Who do you think is going to be on death row, in prisons and in jailsr Open your eyes before it's too late. The future of th.is society is at stake · until you people take off your blindfolds and look at the real problems and not sweep them under a rug with a quick fix thát has never worked: Crime is nothing new. The way it is dealt with is a reflection on the society we live in. The reflectión I see is a holocaust against the poor and less fortunate. To all of the brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers who are on death row and in jails and prisons througholit this country and who are struggling to get through the day to put food on the ' table, stay strong and don't give up. Stop tuming on each other and stand togeth_e r against the opp.ressors and raise your voice. ~ ., �_ STR·EETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine - WORD ON .THE STREET Arts and Poetry Mildred by Oenise Crew choose to think my grandmother's spirit lives in Mildred Gentle, poised and feminine almost stately is•she, _a model for the motherless child in me surely well read ris she as I listen to every word And each one spoken is a gift for my soul without ever trying it comes to her so easily and feeds the motherless child in me a gift that is personal and unknown That her spirit is truly showing that '!lotherless child still yet growing , Page 10 Group Goals by Emanuel '' Our Side Of The Street" We are here to sw~ep off our sidE: of the street, realizing nothing worthwhile can be accomplished until we do so. Never trying to tell others what they should do. Theirfaults are not discussed. We must stkk to our own. 1 \ W,ishful, Thinking by Ron Carie, The Night was dark and the' sky was blue The,streets were clear and kind of spooky, too Everyone was low Profile Just trying to be cool and calm for ~ while -W e all wanted to see ,how it would be Having a peaceful City and being trouble .free The Police were enjoying this sight While walking their beats and eating donuts a,11 night No· Noise., No_Fights, No Problems at all The police were having themselves a ball _Well, this_is justa dream you see But itcould be a reality ,_ So .let's wake up ·and see what we can do To make tlÍis Special Dream come true "The Gift Of Bonding" Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better dQ thy will. (;Living lt" The spiritual life is nota theory. we have to live it. "The Upward Path" ·Here are the steps we took: twelve steps. . The steps advise me about the footholds · that are safe and about chasms to avoid. by Denise Crew Because I believe in what we do there is no gray area lt is written in _my heart clearly in black and, • white lt blooms in the yellow peace roses of Berta lt hangs ~n the colorful canvas of Mary Ann _ lt's the lmpeach Voinovich T that Sonny wears lt sings in the angry voice of women in Bonnie lt floats in the air as homeless advocates -speak truth these colors are vibrant and electric but never arethey gray no movement could be more éolorful than . in Over-the-Rhine · _Emanuel Opportunity Knocked Movie Review: Hoodlum by Frank Carrino Many opportunities are missed because of sorne insigni'ficant little twist A mistake of time and of place . A missed shave ora mistep y.ou've lost the race When opportuníty does knock You musn't hesitate, You do not stop Just, hope you have the sense to know Who to meet and where to &? · There is the little bity if Of when to bow and not be stiff Great opportunities are few . Oh Lord, if I had only Knew - We -Exist! by Margare/ Tellez Bearringer no color of gray .· l._ ,' We stand át the lines of soup kitchens waiting for handouts that they give. We are the hom_eless. We live not only on the streets but with Jamily and friends that will take us in. Going from place to place still not having a p)ace to call home. In some1places they-say we do riot exist, we are a non-entity. We may be given bus tickets to leave town as not to disrupt their false sense of the ,perfect little town . 'fle come from many báckgrounds but we share in the misfortune of not havihg a place to ·call home. What has brought us to the place called~ · "homelessness"? We may have lost our job. We may be the working poor. The reasons are_ as many as there are of-us; W~ are the homeless: We do exist! by lhe ShadiJw_ _ - The Shadow predicts the film "Hoodlum," will become a dassic. This is the only movie that l ,.:an truly say is unforgettable. _ , The movíe is about a black gangster, Bumpy _.,,...-,Johnson, who stancls up to the· mob. lt takes place in Harlem, New York, in 1934 during the Great Depression. 1viewed thé movie in Harlem while attending a book fair held at the Adam Clayton , Powell Building in Harlem . ·, While I was in New York, 1 met writers from all over the world. The Muslims escorted me thr:oughout the city arid stlowed me great hospitality. 1 was introduced to an 80-year-old black man who was a close friend of Bumpy Johnson. He showed me sorne old pictures of the original_ga.ngster and said if I wanted-fo stay healthy, 1 woul,dn't reveal his name. He said he still had connections with the mob and that Andy García, who played the role of Lucky Luciano, wa~ wearing the real ring worn by Lucky Luciano. This is the reason that he flashes it all of the time: He also told me Madame Stephani-e St. Clair, the Queen of Harlem, portrayed by Cicely Tyson, actually existed and was a mentor to the legendary Bumpy Johnson. The movie ·lights up the .world and causes audiences to cheer, applaud and weep with emotion. Laurence· Fishburn portrays Bumpy Johnson, a · chilling, brilliant gangster, who gets involved with Francine, played by Vanessa L Williams.; AII of the · actors bring history, fury and ecstasy to the silver screen. BilJ Du.ke's directing was spectacular. After viewing the movie, 1aske9 the old man how he liked it. He told me that he enjoyed it except that the_character of Francine did not exist and that Bumpy Johnson never took women with him while doing business. He also wished that the movie had shown more of Bumpy giving money back · to the community. That's wh.at made him such a · popular gangster; he always gave back to the community. He also said maybe that's why, for the first time in Cicely Tyson's acting career, she decided to take a role in a gangster 'movie. lf the National Amusements Theater would not object, 1 would stand out in front of the theater and pass out this movie review to promete this historie fflm · �1 \ STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless ~rapevine Pag.e 11 Strong Hearts Exhibit .Confronts .Native American Stereotypes 11 11 by Pal C/iflord A powerful ~ense of identity and empowerment through art is eviden't in Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices, This exhibition of photos and writings is on view at the Cincinnat'i Art Museum. The collection, organized by the Aperture Foundation, includes approximately 100 color and black and white photographs taken by 33 renowneci contemporary Native American photographers. The collection offers a first person verbal and visual account of the lives of Native Americans. The images confront stereotypes, both romantic and derogatory, which affect Native Americans-. The issue of ~rue identity is the theme of many of the photographers. The intent is to draw the viewer in and make them think of their own identities and stereotypes. "As you explore the prints and read the words in this exhibition, we hope you will explore your own issues of identity," writes Charlotte Heth, Assistant Director of Public Programs, National Museum of the American lndian. Amos Keye, lroquois Confederacy, /983, is one of a group of photographs which depict Native Americans in ceremonial dress. The intent of the photographer is to use clase ups and black and white images to show the individuals who are oft~n "masked oy the brilliant color" of ceremonial attire: Jeffery M. Thomas taught himself photography while living and working near Ottawa. He explains, "As portrait sitters and performers at Wild West shows and World Expositions, the 're~I lndians' he photographed were no longer human_beings, but ic'ons, symbols of a vanished race of sávages." His photos are an attempt to confront thes~ lingering scereo• ' '¡·-··"" types. Another photographer is "Richard Ray - Whitman, a Euchee/Creek lndian. He is also a video artist and culturál activist. Hí_s photos called t~e "Street Chief' series deals with homelessness among Amos Keye, lroquois Confederacy, by Jeffrey M. Thomas , a . . ' ' ) . Native Amerl~ans. At one time, Whitman found himself homeless after returning to his native land. With this experience, he felt that he_could help relate the homeless experience of others. His work expresses the contradiction of being "homeless" in. your "ancestral home." Several photos entitled "Shooting Back" provide an example of _ empowerment through art. The photos are the product of a Minneapolis group which seeks to empower Native American children _ at risk by teaching them photography. The agency is called Shooting Back from the Reservation. In arder to oppress someone physically, financially or socially, it is necessary to see them as something other than human. By creating_,either idealistic or derogatory stereotypes, one can strip a people of their huma_nity: ' This exhibition is an;~ :: attempt to break down the false images and repÍ'ace them with reality. .: The cost of the exhibition is included in the , regular admission tor_the Art Museum and runs. through November l. 6~ 1997. Streetvibes Band Moving_; Out of the WQodshed for Gospel Benef i.t by lemuel ÍSfl!BI "STREETVIBES! STREETVIBES!! STREETVIBES!!! Thit's all I ev:er seem to here you talk about!", my fr~end exclaimed. "Get alife will ya. Sheeesh!". In fact, that's exactly 'Nhat's going on with Streetvibes. First there was STREETVIBES, die newspaper (formerly the HOMELESS GRAPEVINE); then there was STREETVIBES, the TV shovv; next carne STREETVIBES, the radio show; and now there's STREETVIBES, the band. What's next? · STREETVIBES, the theater company?° STREETVIBES, the sound recording studiosl STREETVIBES, the movie producers? STREETVIBES, the satellite broadcasting corporation? Sdunds like STREETVIBES madness to me! But I just can't help myself with all this STREETVIBES stuff. Let me just back upa _little bit befo re I get ' ahead of myself. Let's go back to the part, STREETVIBES, the band. The idea was formulated back in August of '96 when I was awarded a trip to Chicago to the Ist annual Nacional Street Newspaper Association Convention. This was the weekend that changed my direction for good. 1 haven't been the same since then. 1 saw so much effort beihg put into finding true solutions to empowering the homeless while at the same time informing the community at large on the_real problems of homelessness. After selling street newspapers, as well as training other vendors to sell the paper, 1 realized · not everyone whÓ is homeless has the same abilities in dealing with sales type work. Because of my experience as a professional musician I was constantly yearning to play music (l'm a keyboardiS't/ singer/songwriter) and knew I could get out of this homeless rut if only I could get in a decent band that was working regularly (at least two or three times a week). In speaking my heart's desire to "The D_o n" (Donald' Whitehead}, he suggested that there are a lot of musicians staying in the homeless shelters or living with friends_or other family members who have similar desires. So, he offered to help me and whoever I could get to play, if we preved ourselves to be serious. And like always, "The Don" was true to his word. Talkabout a man of integrity; talk about a man of virtues; talk _a bout a man who is selfless in his giving; talk abc¡,ut a man who just keeps on going and going and goihg ... , uh, excuse me, folks. 1 ju's t can't say enough about "The Don". Now, Where was H Oh! Yeah. STREETVIBES, the band. lnspired by Donald Whitehead with his STREETVIBE'in self. Go 'hea_d! Go 'head! Go 'head! O00-000-wee! 1 can't st~nd it! Lookout everybody! STREETVI BES, the band is moving out of the woodshed and o_n to the stage once more with a whole new sound. lt's big, it's phat, and way more than all dat! lt's the new and iinproved model, ready to puta pep in your step and all those other great lines they use to promete great a;tists like STREETVIBES, the band. We'II be doing the next, latest and greatest, second annual "Help_ing the Homeless Through Song" gospel music performance, featuring sorne of Cincinnati's finest talent. Sponsored by The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, this great gospel affair will be held on Saturday, October 18th, 1997 at 7:00pm-9:00pm. The place is the Salvatfon Army Chapel located at 1 14 E. Central Parkway. Tickets are only a measly five dollars to hear thereturn of recording artist Joel Davis and Choir, Gail Holly and Family, Burnetta Price, the very talented David MizeU, Angie Pepper, Miss Black Cincinnati 1997, and much, much, more, including the up and coming band of the year, that's right, STREETVIBES, the band. lt's defi~itely going to be a "hallelujah!", shoutin', good time. Bring the whole family. Until then, will you please excuse me? 1gotta get outa here so I can go practice. OK? Bye! P.S _lf you would like the Streetvibes Band to play at your function please call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. Subscribe to Streetvi bes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Streetvibes 1506 Elm__Street Cincinnati, 'OH 4521 O Please make checks payable to the 'Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the H~meless-~ Streetvibes. lf you have any questions, call the office at 421-7803. ,:. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page 12 STREETVIBES Nationwide !' Minister Convicted in .Buena Vista f or Sheltering by Angelo Anderson lf Dante had experienced the inferno of homelessness in America today, he would have been ashamed of the nu rsery school environment about which he wrote. l've personally experienced the long lines, slept on steam grates, in bus shelte rs, door ways, seen the mistreatment an-d general attitude of the public towards this particu lar population of society today. CLEVELAND HOMELESS .- GRAPEVINE . Editor John ''Indio" Was~ington of New '(ork's Street News educates the attendees of the founding meeting of the North A.,.;erican Street Newspap~r Association (NASNA) : The Association met in Seattle in September. Photo by James Heath. · Homeless lnterred, Protests ·Planned in Eureka, CA by Robert Norse ·'"- J My name is Angelo and I was in Seattle during the second conference of the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA). There we heard how much hell homeless p~ople are catching on the _ streets of America toda y. Here are sorne of the stories. WELCOME TO HELL. . Reverend Wiley Drake of che First Southern Baptist Church has becóme an .unlikely champion of the homeless people in the heart of conservative Orange County's Buena Park. , In a two week trial that went to the jury on July -25, Buena Park prosecutors charged Rev. Drake with one count of letting homel~ss people camp on church property, one count of allowing homeless people to sleep in their vehicles, and three counts of violating zoning codes by letting homéless people sleep in a patio building. AII this dispute because two women testifred that Buena Park police sent them to Drake's church and later they w_ere found sleeping in their car on the street. On July 28, the jury carne in with a verdict: guilty on four counts for Drake, guilty on four counts for his Baptist Chu~ch, innocent on the charge of allowing vehicles on the property. Despite the guilty verdicts, Drake reports four jurors carne up to him afterwards three of them in tears saying: "We had no choice; we had to follow the Law. lt was the har;dest thing we've done in our lives". "lt, is asad day when a judge and jury can , sentence a church," commented Drake. "lt is asad day when our nation has said its a crime to help people." The unrepentant minister now faces a maximum 30 months in jail and $6,000 in fines: the First Southern Baptist Church also faces the same penalty. · As the number-of people becoming homeless continues to rise, we also see a parallel rise in those with the Not In My Back Yard mentality and more legislation from cities and municipalities reflecting that charíge. As more cities across Ame rica go after - the to urist da llar they fin d it easier to justify changes making it illegal to Sit or Place Your Bags on the Sidewalk. lt is also deemed illegal to Camp in Urban Areas (sleeping in ones car etc.) . Most of these new laws will have a broad an d wide sweeping effect on the ho meless. trom Homeless News Service · A march, rally and demonstration, which In Eureka, Calif., the homeless are being support the homeléss, are scheduled in Eureka, -. subjected to armed guards, wrist bracelets, locked Calif., for Sept. 26. Participants wfll protest the gates, eviction and the death of their pets. threatened eviction of over 300 homeless men, ~ Redwood Legal Assistance attorney, Jan womén and children from fed al prope-rty. -· Turnér, is seeking a restraining order on behalf of LocataütlÍorities are planning to forcibly .the clients ata homeless encampment at the South remove all the homeless and their personal property SpitJetty; "The county has placed a locked gate at the _ from the unused federal land if they do not va~ate the area by Oct. 2. The area is located on the South top of Table Bluff with 24-hour armed guards, is Spit peninsula of Humboldt Harbar near the Couhty restricting public access to the Spit and threatening of Humboldt. · to forcibly relocate my clients or arrest them and Most of the homeless adults on the penins_ula confi scate their pets and possessions if they do not are disabled. Many are war veterans unable to find move within 30 days," Attorney Turner wrote to housing or shelter elséwhere in the northernmost Court Coúnty Judge John Buffington. California county. Turner says that the homeless co_mmunity of Under the federal Stewart-McKinney Act, the several hundred was given an ·eviction d~te of Oct. 1 _ homeless have the legal right to live on unused as an "emergency measure.'~ federal property. In the past few decadés. t~e Seven cases of Shigella dysentery are the homeless have been living on the federal property pretext for the eviction, although the doctor without incident. The federal government has never providing health care on the Spit has decl~red there before asked the homeless to leave. is no health emergency and the county's eviction is The County of Humboldt has no legal authorunwarranted. ity to evict the homeless from the federal property, Health officer Dr. Ann Lindsay has ordered but local officials are nevertheless moving forward. -those at the Spit to be issued picture identification or They hope the feºeFal government does not interfere wrist bracelets. Any other people, including the in the unlawful and unwarranted eviction. media, are excluded from the area. Hundreds of homeless men, women and A significant portion of the money authorized children, as well as their suppofters, will begin the to find housing for those in the encampment is march from the exclusive Carson Mansion in Eureka instead now slated fer the 24-hour guards and to on Friday at 11 a.m. They· will continue to the local euthanize or adopt the pets owned by the homeless rescue mission, a soup kitchen, and then to the community. county courthouse, where speakers will address a Local activists suggest the city and county want rally at noQn. th.e property on which the South Spit Jetty residents Aélditional events are also scheduled. are living and are evicting them to secure it quickly. At noon on Sept. 25, a protest rally will be held near Dr. Ann Lindsay's medical office in Arcata on H Street. Dr. Ljndsay ordered the unwarranted eviction of the South Spit homeless. She did so únder pressure from Stan Dixo n, th.e county supe rvisor·who sought state authority to remove the · South Spit homeless via Sen. Mike Thompson's failed Senate Bill 39. Con cerned no n-ho meless- citizens have also -"'.' . . :·';;~J:ttit -~ asked Governor Wilson an d President Clinton to intervene on behalf of the homeless in the escalating conflict. A showdown is expe.cted at the barrier to ~ · the South Spit community. Support Your;; LOt&"a l Ve ndtffi~i;; Tell A Frie.nd· Abotlt' �- ~ ;/ \ STREETVIBES The Tri Stote's Home/ess Grapevin~ Seattle Conference .Unites Street Newspapers by James Healh SEATTLE- Seattle's homeless street newspaper, Real Change, hosted this year's second annual NASNA conference fr~m September 1 1th - 14th , on the cam pus of the University of Washington. Street newspapers from over 30 cities from around the country including representatives fro m Canada and Great Britain attended the c~nfe rence. Represe ntatives inc:luded formerly ho me le ss writers and vendo rs and socia l activists._Representatiyes attended numer::ous worksho ps Ofl how to use the street newspaper asan effective comm un icat ions too l on issues -surroundiñg líomelessness and so cial justice, while at the same time, provide a means for homeless and low in<:ome person's to continue to achieve financia! stability. During the daily plenary sessions the grou p continued th e work from last year's conference, held . in C hicago, lllinois: finalizing the structure ~f ·NAS NA, electing the r;-epresentatives and bo ard members w ho will oversee the o peratio n of N ASNA. and developing goals for NAS NA in t he future. Mike Harris, of Seattle's ho.meless newspaper, Real Change, was elected president of the newly formed NASNA. lssues concerning advertis ing, membership dues and new paper start-ups were discussed and debated by every~ne involved in the confererice. Sixties actívist and underground newspaper repo rter, Walter C rowley, gave the keyn9te address at this year's confe rence . A lot of good work was performed by all who attended t he co nfere nce. Eve ryone leaving the co nfe réncé left with -a fe eling of solidarity anda sense of accomplishment. , NASNA will be a force in dealing constructively with the problems of homeless persons providing str~et newspapers with the strength of a national orga:nization fo cused o n so cia! issues and justice for all poo r p erson_s. Anti-Homeless Altitudes On the Rise in America:s Cities by Michael Stoops Jn a recent s urvey of t he 50 largest cities in the United States, the N ational Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty found : 54% have sorne kind o f anti-sleeping laws (27 cities) · 77% anti-panhandling laws 3 1% have enacted panhandling laws over the last fo ur yea rs 38% have cracked down on homeless people 54% have done police sweeps T erry Messman of Street Spirit writes: A flood of anti-poor legislation in California cities over the past three months (April through June 1997) has nearly swept _a way the idea that homel ess people have constitutionally protected rights to freedo m o f speech and e q ual protection unde r t he law. The hard rain o f repressio n has thu ndere d down in Palo Alto, San Jo se, Santa Mo naco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Mou ntain, T hou sand, and San Francisco- a bew ilderi ng torrent of anti -sitt ing, anti-sleeping, anticam ping, and anti- panhandli ng l~ws t hat has nearly : · legislated t he rights o f poo r people out of existence ." From ·Canada to Geo rgia, from San Frand sco to Boston governme nts attack Food Not Bombs an d church activists for feedi~g hungry people. The San Francisco police have made over 1,000 arrests for feed ing the hungry; havé seized tons of fresh'food and cooking equipment . The city of Richmond, Virginia is waging a "war" on the homeless by passing laws to drive the homeless from the city. ·One such law makes it a violation for ;Í church to serve food to more than 30 peopl~ daily. Several other restrictions are being _enacted that impact the ability for seryice providers to find building space within the city. Advocates are planning to take the city to court. San Francisco-A homeless person writes: "I am sitting in the park 'on my blanket in the sun. 1 have just dozed off. AII of my stuff is in a shopping cart parked nearby on the pavement. 1 feel a nudge on my foot and look up to see the back end of a citatioh pad, bl_a ck leather boo~. and a blue uniform. 1 hear the Honda purring in background. The cop tells me to get up, and can't wait'for me to get my stuff together. 1 get a ticket f~r camping and am told to leave the park." "Bum bashing" has been reported by homeless peóple in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Palo Alto, Ca- lt is now a crime on sit or líe on the streets. Even in progres~ive Seattle, you can't sit on Page ¡3 Anti Begging Law Struck Down inMas·sachusetts _ by Mínisler Michael Harris The highest court in Massachusetts struck dowh the state la_w prohibiting begging in public places on May 4, 1997. In a unanimoús decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court held that the law is an impermissible burden on the_poor's First Amendment right _to freedom of spe ech. With the pro bo no he lp of the Jen ner and Boic k law firm, t he National Law Center o rí Homelessness and Poverty submitted _a frie nd of the co.urt brief in_, suppo rt of plaintiff Cráig Benefit. Benefit, a 36 year old homeless man, had been arreste d three times under the law. He was represented by the AA")erican Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. The court held that 1) peaceful begging involves communitative act ivity protecte d by the First Amendment . 2) the criminal sanctio-n imposed was an imprope r viewpoint-base d restr iction on speech in a publi~_fo rum ba's ed on the content of the message conveyed'. and 3) t ne stat ute was not constitútiof"!ally viable w hen subjecte d t o st rict scrutiny. The decisio n-also emphas ized t hat t he law not only supp resses the right to fre e speech, but also · "an even broader right-the right to engage fellow human beings with t he hope _of receiving aid and compassion.''. The rul ing has national significance at a t ime wh en state and local governments a.cross the count ry áre cracking down on homeless and poor peo ple by making co nduce associated with poverty, such as begging an d sle eping in public places, · criminal offe nses. · ·-- the sidewalk. A similar anti-sitting ban in Sa n Jose prompted this reaction from homeless activist Becky · Jo hnson: "The r e is nothing new, about the attempts of the wealthy t o r emove,the poor from t hei r mi dst. Yet to equate sitting with criminal activity is such a stretch, on ly a ·homeless-o-phobic could dream ,u p this prescrip_tion. lt wo uld take an ethically-chal~ontinued from page 6 l_e nged politician to produce such an insidious form reduce your freedoms erode more of your dignity. of torture." · - They deepen your sense of hopelessness. We must She continued, "Like a rapidly spreading educate ourselves and wake up to the plight of the disease, their so cial cleansing process has been homeless across the country. For once we start to growing and multiplying across cities in California threaten, attack and take away basic rights and and elsewhere--criminalizing t he young, the poor, freedoms, we all stand t o loose. and the homeless for innqcent, nece ssary ·a cts. Since Educat io n is vital t o o ur fre edom. · Education when has ·the act o f sitting been a c rime?" shows us our chains, which , fn our ignorance, we Santa Cruz-you can t,e fined up to $500 for tho ught of as jew elry, p ri de, honor and o t he r violati ng the sleeping, encampment and blanket superstit ious gho sts enslaving the world. sectio ns o f the Camping Ban Law . The average fi ne T here are vast diffe rences in the right to a safe . has been $ 162. night's sleep and e ducátio n, but an ordinance that _ Atlanta- lt is estimated th at t he re are 12,000 _ denies t hat right, discriminates because I bear the to 22,000 homeless people in Atlanta on any given hand icap of po verty. night, and fewer than 3,000-eme rgency and We need an authentic puplic media that is t ransit ional she lter spaces. The homeless citizens rooted in the reality of urban lif~ in America today. who do not find room in a s helter have no choice We hope to help fill that vacuum w ith the formation but to conduct Jife sustaining activity such as sleep, of the North American Street Newspaper Associain public spaces. In spii:e of this, the City Co~ncil .tion (NASNA). We probably w_on't solve all or even passed an ordinance making citizens criminal~ if they most of the probléms, but we· might help. _, sleep, líe down, reside or store personal property·in 1 know it's not enough to give the homeless public. Since November _of 1996 there have been and poor a voice if we do not gain the ear and the over 200 arrests for violating the urban camping understanding of those who are not homeless and ordinance. lt is also now against the law to walk poo~. Our most important task is to bridge the gap, through a parking lot unless you own a car there. so that -those who can help understand how and Homeless advocates have filed suit. why. "Atlanta's·urban camping ordinance makes is aThis will be the hardest thing we have to do, crime to be homeless," said Gerald Weber, ACLU's because we will have good cause to curse the Légal Director. "The City once known ~s being too indifference and cruelty of the relatively affluent, busy to hate is now housing_its homeless citizens in those who have l)Ot crossed America's interna! jail." -. border separating the passively powerless from the In Dallas-you can't ~oze in the park. actively victimized, separating mere frustration from Missoula, MT- you ~an't _"linger in á public utter despair. lf we abandon hope for the majority, place." _ the homeless become the hopeless fo r no single class 1n Hollywood, Ca. a disabled homeless man or sex or race or culture or othe~ category of - deans and polishés the stars on that famed celebrity humanity can break the chains now being forged in sidewalk. The police in Los Angeles-ha.ve warned the devil's workshop of unrestrained co rporate him that the city's new anti-panhandling law that power and its obedient media oligopolies. outlaws "abusive soliciting," applies to him as well . We'II do our job with skiU, with honesty, and They told him that he can't have a cup out to accept above all with love, because our ultimate weapon is donations. truth, our ultimate message is human dignity, and Pete White of the Los Angeles _Coalition to our ultimate victory is simple empathy. After all, who owns the media? Continued on page 14 Street Papers ' 1 t - �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Obituaries Margaret Towe Margaret Towe, a loñgtime Over-the-Rhine residerit and advocate, lost .h er battle with cancer on September 27 at the age of 58. She was a meníber -of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, the Over-theRhine Steel Drum Band and a co-founder and supporter of the Peaslee Neighborhood Center and board member of Crossroads Clinic. "Margaret was always about pastoring the • common folk in the community. She has always been a guiding light to us. Her heart was in the right place, connecting compassion with justice," said Bonnie Neumeier, a long-time friend. She had played with the Steel Drum Band for 9 years and was one of the founders of the adult section of the band. She was a chaplain for the Lutheran Federation of Cincinnati at University Hospital. Along with this, she helped to found the Perinatal Loss Support Prográm for parents who lose their babies during pregnancy. She will surely be missed-by all. Bill Engelo Bill Engelo, a ReSTOC' employee who _h elped to.rehabilitate apartments for the homeless, died on September 29. He will be remembered for all .t he well crafted wood fences and other improvements in the Washington Park area of Over-the-Rhine. He was very committed to !,is job, .he worked long hours and 'p roduced quality workmanship. RaymOnd Jackson The West End community and the city of Cincinnati lost a great man and a great ·community activist on Sept. 13, 1997. Raymond Jackson was a father, a grandfather, a product of the C inc1nnati Public School System, a U.S. Army Veteran, a distinguished retired employee of the Cincinnati Highway Maintenance Department and a v_olunteer who was involved in many organizations. Raymond Jacksorf was an activist fer equal rights and social change fer the residents in the West End where he had been a resident for over 40 years. Raymond Jackson was a poet, a mentor and a role model who ass isted ove r 200 End residents in obtaining employmént w ith the city. Recently Raymond Jaékson was voted vice-president of the West End Community Council. He-was also the immediate past pre_sident of the W.E.C.C. He was a founder of Genesis Development Corporation, a board member of the Community Action Commission, a member of the Over-the-Rhine Redevelopment Corporation and a 1997 New Voices recipient of the William Monroe Trotter Social Activist Award. Mr. Jackson perished at his home on Saturday, Sept. 13 , 1997. He leaves behind children, grandchildren, three siblings (Eugene Jackson, Willa Hayer and Evangelist Betty Clark), h!s loving companion, Véra Johnson, and a list of lifelong friends and associates. Services for Mr. Jackson wére held on Saturday, Sept. 20, 1997, at IO a.m. at the Union Baptist Church located at 405 West Seventh Street. Funeral ár,rangements were ·handled by Jaminson & Jaminson Funeral Home . Streetvibes Vendar Code óf Conduct Each vender has to sign the following cede to be abl~ to sell the paper_ l _ Streetvibes will be distributed fer a $1 _voluntary donation . 1 agree not to ask fer donations more than $1. 1 also understand that I wiU be able _ to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future issues of Streetvibes will be purchased from the Homeless Coalit ion for 20 cents _ 2. 1 ag ree that I will never d istribute Streetvibes wh ile underthe influence of drúgs or alcohol. · 3. 1 agree that I will not ask fer donations afte r 1·2 midnight. 4. 1 agree to treat others with respect. 1will not use abusive language or fo rce someone to give a donation _ 1 will not give a "hard sell" or maké someone feel threatened. -5. 1 agree that I will not supply copies of · Streetvibes to persons who are riot registered distributors_ 6. 1 agree not to deceive the public by saying that I am collecting fer a riot-fer."'. profit charity 9r that 1 am collecting fer the "homeles,s" in general. 1 will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the indiyidual· vender. 7. 1agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors . 8. 1 understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self supporting paper created by people who are homeless or fermerly homeless. To help in this effort, 1will try to spread the word and write stories if possible. 9. 1 understand that the .failure to comply with any of the. above statements will result in me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. _. Page /4 Conference ~o ntinue d fro m page 5 from welfare reform to med ical ~ervices. The presenters w il l come from many cit ies in cl uding San Francisco, Philadelph ia, W ashington DC and Pue rto Rico. The group will be welcomed by Mary Ann Gleason, Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. According to Ms. Gleason , many of the board members really pushed to have their ne~t meeting in Cincinnati to pay tribute to buddy gray, a founding member of the National Coalition for the Homeless who was killed last Nóvember. "Many of the board members had a real _respect for buddy and want to see all the things he worked fer and talked about," said Gleason. Both the Stand Down participants and the conference goers will converge for a large lunch at 12:30 pm in Music Hall Ballroom. They will be entertained by the Streetvibes band . Then, there will be a keynote panel which will discuss bringing together service providers and those who have become homeless to work together against poverty. To participate in this event as a volunteer ora conference participant, call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 421-7803. Anti-Homeless Continued from page 13 End Hunger & Homelessness comments, "As advocates for members of our communíty that are peor, hungry ahd IÍomeless, we must stand accountable fer their well-being. We are fighting a war _that will seemingly never end--the war to end the criminalization of homelessness. Political campaigns from. the federal level right down to the cities c.nd counties are being run on_th~ acks of ~ur least franchised . We are beginning to witness a pattern-o anti-homeless ordinances sweeping the nation. lt is as if states, cou nt ies and cit ies are running a race to see who can further dehumanize or exterminate the homeless. 1 am ashamed to say that my home, Los ~ Ange les is now lead ing the nat ión in this ,effort." ~ Santa Bar bara- ha _made · ·1+ega1ror anyone, except in case of medical eme rgency or "permitted:' activities, to sit down o n the sidewal k eve n if they are not bloc king pedestrian traffic , panhandling or playing mu sic. Commenting o n this anti-sitting law, Jack Zelitz writing in St reet Spirit , "When viewed through the lens of legislative history, th e re has been a series of laws, each specifica lly targeted at homeless peo ple, which attempt s to vi lify, scapegoat, and socially legitimize the pe rsecution and abuse of an entire group of people. 1 will stop short of using t he wo rd fascist, but where else in history have we seen this happen?" Sacramento_:,Sharing loaves and fishes is a high-risk calling as you can be sued for serving the peor on Sundays. The City of Sacramento sued Loaves and Fishes fer alleged zoning and city code violations fer expanding their feeding the homeless program to include Sundays. Organlutlons Endonlng the Hamilton Coúnty Values Families Campalgn u of Hamilton County Values Families · Campaign Endorsemenl Form Name_ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ Organization ______ _ _ _ __ Address --------------Z ip Code. _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Phone_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _;,;._ _ Fax._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _Yes, my organizatJon en.dorses Hamilto C,o unty Values Families campaign _Please put our name on the letterhead _Please do not put our name on the letterhead _Yes, 1 indi~idually -endorse the Hamilton County Values FamiJies campaign . _Please put my name on the letterhead _Please d_o not put my name on the letterhead _Yes, we/1 will volunteer to work on this campaign Please return this form to the Contact Center, 164 L Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 4521 O or fax it to 51 3·381-4022. . f.or more informatiori c~II us at 513-381-4242 1011/97: . AFL•CIO Central laborCouncil A. Philip Randolph lnstitute Bethlehem Leuning Centr:r Bethany House Services Bre.ul for the World Cincinm,ti Clrist Clild Day Nursery Comrnmity Organimg Cent«, Columbus Contact CenterDrop lnil Center FirstStep Home Friends and Neighborhs of Over•the-Rhine Greater- Cincinnati ~ition for the Homeless · HeMth R.esource Center lntenommunity Justice & Peace Center Justice Watch Madisonville Education & Assistanr;c Center 9 to 5/Wortcing Women Offke of Social Adion ancl World Pear;e/Arr;hdiocese of Cinciooati 0---the-Rhine Conn1unity Council Ove,.the-Rhine Housing Networl< Over-the-Rhine Soup Kltchen Peaslee Neighborhood Ccnter ReSTOC Saint Francis Ministries (Church, School & Soup Kitr;hen) Slsten of Clarity of Clndnnatl Leadershlp Coundl T omGelg« Gucst House WalnutHlls Soup Kltchen Welfatt Rights Coalltion WomenConneálon �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 15 October Word Games Word Search L s T T y R I F A N H A E e: M R N R I F I o -L T N E E R É I o o e A H D E A T E T T M D N o T D e o I w T L I A I N H E N H A L E T F u D E B N D p H I p o I - V G B o e A L F V p G L M T E R y N u Scrambl·e by Gregory Payton A I Find these words in the puzzle: 1 STREETVIBES Announcements Please send your announcements lo Streelvibes Announcements, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnali, OH 45210 or fax lhem lo 513-421-7813 by /he 20th o/ each month. October 7, 1 f: 30-1 Fountain Square "Day on the Square", information will be available about the services offered to battered women locally. October 8, 1997, Public Hearing on W~lfare Reform Plan, Date and Time TBA, sponsored by the Hamilton County Welfare Planning Committee, call 381- Standdown Dental Benefits Children Podiatry Aid Big Fi ne Fun Hey Clothing Vocational Optometry Materials Welcome Free AHandUp Red Fit by Ron Carter Try to unscramble these names of Cincinnati neighborhoods. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.9. 10. 11. 12. IGLRELENHS DWTENES WLRSEOAN NTONEAVS KLDALNCO DYKRPHEA LEMDSINLIAVO · DRANGIE DN ELEAEV DTHSRONIE RHENGOTAT MTIARF NO .4242 for time and place. for more information. · October 17, 1997, Fifth Annual Greater October 31, 1997, "When Home is a Scary Cincinnati Homelessness Conference, Place" 9 am to 4 pm, Forest Fair Mall,9am to 5 pm, Wa~hington Park Area, Conference on domestic violence, call features Speakers from the National 557-2875 for info. Coalitio n from the Homeless, call 4217803 fo r info. October 18, 1997, Hearing on Cincinnati Public Schools Facilities Mast er Plan, 1O am, Mayerson Center October 20, 1997, Head ng on Cincinnati Public Schools Facilities Máster Plan, 7 pm, Western Hills-High School Oc;:tober 21 , 7:00 Hami_lton County Court•Beginning in our November issue, Stre~tvibes house (Main St. side) "She Scream_s will featute advertising; lt is a chance for businesses Without Sound", Rembering women .,, to help a good cause while promoting thems~lves to 4,000 concerned people each month. The rates are murdered as a result of domestic vioshown below. lence. October 27-28, 1997, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio ConferBusiness Card Size ence, Colurnbus, OH, Call 614-280-1984 Advertise in / Streetvibes! 2" X J 1/2" $1 O per month STREETVIBES C/assified Ads Streetvibes is now acceptihg Classified Ads ·for items such as Help Wanted, ltems for Sale. Apartments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $ 1 per line, approximately four words per line. Classified ads are due by the 20th of the month. Sample Ad One two three four tive six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen tifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty People below the poverty level will be allowed five free lines for six months to advertise their skills or products to our readers. Otherwise, payment must be received before the ad will run. No refunds wjll be made. Also, if there is an error, notify us after the first printing. You will be given an extra month of ad time. Mail the ad copy to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street , Cincinnfti, OH 4521 O or fax it to 421-7813 Helping the Homeless Through Song O.ctober 18 "Helping The Homeless Through Song" is a gospel music benefit for the Greater Cincinnati ·Coalition for the Homeless, This year's benefit concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 18, 1997. The concert will take place in the Salvation Two Business Card Size 4" X J l /2" $20 per month Army Chapel at 114 E. Central Parkway. Admissi_o n ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ , . is $5 at the door. lf you have missed previous concerts, you A check or money order must accompany the missed a treat. In 1995, the concert was a tremenad copy. We reserve the right to deny any ad, dous success with sorne wonderful performances. especially those which promote alcohol or tobacco products. In the case of your ad being denied, you last yeár's most outstanding performers súch as Joel Davis, Burnetta Price. Angie Pepper and David Mizel will receive a full refund. return for this year's concert. Added this year are For larger ads. call the number below. the New Life lnspirational Baptist Church, the "Tribe Ads are due by the 20th of each month. Gospel Choir" from the School for Creative and lf you need assistance in preparing your ad or have any other questions, call the Homeless CoaliPerforming Arts and our own Streetvibes Band. · This year promises to be a truly wonderful tion at 421-7803. evening of music and fellowship. We hope that you Mail ads with payment to: Streetvibes will join us. 1S06 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 �- [ i STREETVIBES The Tri State's Home/ess Grapevine Page /6 Vendar Prafile: Maurice Bennett ·by Oonald Whilehead The first thing you notice about Maurice Bennett is her smile. lt seems to always be t~ere. Like many others in -her situation, a smile is something you might not expect. Maurice now has an apartment after a long period of homelessness. Her homelessness was due to many different factors, she suf.; fered through domestic violence, divorce and the disadvantages of living doubled-up. Maurice may not be the vendor that sells the paper the fastest or the most, but she is one of the most consistent vendors · Streetvibes has. _ Maurice was the first female vendar of Streetvibes. -She is no longer homeless. . "Now that I have an apartment, 1 use Streetvibes to help with ali the extras like soap, deodorant, toothpaste and., even food when I get low," says Maurice with ·a big grin. ·· Maurice has a goal in sight, she wants to become an office manager and she studying for it. Since Maurice has been around, she has _, also had the opportunity to advocate for other homeless individuals. She had the opportunity Streetvibes is produced at the facilities of Cincinn_ati Community Video. Streetvibes TV Seplember This show focused on Mental Health lssues and the Homeless and featured Chris Engel from Tender -_Mercies, Jim Frasca from Excel Develópment and Dr.Connie Ragiel from Health Resource Center. Channel 10 Saturday, October 4, 4 pm Friday, October I O, 11 . am Friday, October 17, 1·1 am Stteetvibes TV October This show will focus o·n Public Housing issues in the Great~r Cincinnati- area. Maurice Benn~tt to attend the housing rally in Kennebunkport Maine in 1991. Maurice is notas active as she once was due to a disability, but she uses Streetvibes as an advocacy tool today. We have a few more female vendoí-s · now but ~e will always be grateful to Maurice Bennett because she paved the way!!! ,_____ :, • i Channel 10 Saturday, October 26, 4 pm Monday, October 27, 1O' pm Streetvibes Wi s.h--t ist' i . Channel 7 (5B Basic in most of Hamilton County) Monday, October 20, 7 pm live .Vendor: 80 cents Dallar Go s One of our vendor computers bit the dust. ·We need to get another 286 or 386 IBM _ ~ompatible Computer for word process- • _/. mg. . . ~ TV and .V B.--t-e-Show--St--reervi· es Episodes to Groups_ . Blank VHS Cassettes Our copier is about to give out so we will start isking now for a replacement Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories Advertisers to help support the paper· Volunteers for two or three hours to help paint parts of the office. Any time! Call 421-7803 if you can help! ·- eed Help or Want to Help? lf for sorne reason you find yourself honieless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. lf you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. SHELTERS: Women_ and Children 241-2757 Alice Paul House (abuse) 557-2873 Bethany House 762-5660 Salvatiop Army 431-8717 - Welcome House SHELTER ~ Men City Gospel ~ission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St~Joseph House Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America 241-5525 241-¡0490 241-2965 381-4941 66 1-4620 38 1-1954 SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad HouseDrop lnn Center (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) lnterfaith Hospitality_Network 761-1 480 821-5100· 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226· Lighthouse Youth Center · St. John's Temporary Housing HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miámi Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Merci.e s (Mental 111) T om Geiger House TREATMENT: O.D.A.A.T First Step Home 961-4080 651-6446 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 721-8666 961-4555 Women 241-7343 921-7324 / Men TREATMENT: Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over TREATMENT: N.A HopeHne A.A Hotline c.c.A.T. T albert House T ransitions, lnc. VA DomiciÍiary 784-1853 ' 921-1613 751-3260 Both 820-2947. 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 49 l .;.4435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES 421-2437 AIDS Volunteersof Cincinnati 621 ~5991 Appalachian ldentity Center Center for lndependent Living Options 241-2600 591-2246 Churches Active in Northside - 961-0600 Cincinnati _Health Network 569-1840 Community Action Agency 381-4242 Contact Center 241-2563 Emanuel Community Center 241-1064 Freestore/Foodbank 771-4800 Goodwill Industries 621-7149 Hamilton Ca.Mental Health Bd. 631-7186 Hamilton Co. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center 352-2902 Homeless Mobile Health Van 221-3679 House of Refuge Mission 241-9400 Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-5501 721-4811 Mary Magdalen House 621-0248 Oral Health Council 621-6364 Our Daily Bread 621-5514 Peaslee_Neighborhood Center 721-7660 T ravelers· Aid 721-7900 United Way 559-6656 VA Homeless Program 491-3335 Women's Crisis Center � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 October 1997 Vol. 1, issue 9 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness 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 October 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: welfare reform domestic violence homeless shelters school board election independent living disability Over-the-Rhine soup kitchen homeless youth displacement homeless protest street papers anti-homeless sentiment Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Angelo Anderson Margaret Tellez Bearringer Alice Blackman John "Byrd Dog" Byrd Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Emanuel Minister Michael Harris James (Jimmy) Heath Lemuel Israel Robert Norse Carla Osgood Gregory Payton Mark Salter Malaka Sanders Tom Seel The Shadow Michael Stoops Tess Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Alice Blackman Angelo Anderson Carla Osgood Denise Crew displacement domestic violence Donald Whitehead Emanuel Minister Gregory Payton homeless James (Jimmy) Heath John "Byrd Dog" Byrd Lemuel Israel Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Margaret Tellez Bearringer Mark Salter Michael Harris Michael Stoops Pat Clifford policy reform Robert Norse Ron Carter shelter Tess The Shadow Tom Seel welfare https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/2685a10643661f9e858db4537e675509.pdf 8a6579b000a1d6d670e995dd8e471662 PDF Text Text Homeless Stan.d ·oown Draws Record Crowd by Pal CliHord Both the homeless and service providers in Cincinnad were pleased with the response to the Homeless Stand Down on October 17. Over 1,000 people attended the event to receive materials and services. This number doubles the amount of people served at the last Stand Down, which.took place in 1995. The number assured advocates and volunteers that people received help and that the word for the event got out on the street. However, the number also has some In the community worried that the · sharp increase Is part of a continuing trend. This summer, women and children's shelters operated at and above capacity, turning many people away. Some blamed new welfare and public housing changes for that Increase. Since the vast majority of people attending the Stand Down were slnsefes, people wonder whether the trend is spreading beyond women and children. The Stand Down Is a community based event that helps . . rmc!en bf.!2 the'DJ'lw. ~d Down is the military terminology for a brief perlo dme In chlch an active soldier leaves an active combat area In order to rest and regain strength. Robert Van Keuren and Dr. Jon Nachison, two Vietnam Veterans from San Diego, launched the first Stand Down event there 1988. ·Grapevine Vendors Cited in Cleveland for Selling Without a· Permit Cleveland Police have started dckedng vendors of the Homeless Grapevine, a homeless street newspaper. Each vendor cited has to pay a $65 fine for selling without a permit. For more on this breaking story, see page 12: "Grapevine Vendors Cited for Not Having a Permit." Contents Page 3: News: Questions Still Remain about County Welfare Plan Page 7: Inner City Voices Part Two Page 8: Disabled Have the SS/ Blues Page 10: Sheller Worker and Poet Denise Crew Page 12: Supreme Court Deals Blow lo Street Newspapers Page 14:. Announcements and Classified Ads Volunteers from the VA Domicllary distribute clothes ~nd materials to the homeless at the Homeless Stand Down October 17. All ·Incumbents Reelected to Cincinnati City Council Heimlich, Tarbell Fall Short of Expectations CTnclnnad voters returned all the incumbents to Cincinnati City Council leading many to expect business as usual for the next two years. Roxanne Qualls elected ma)'Or for a third term, leaclng the next highest vote getter, Dwight Tiiiery, by over S,000 votes. Cincinnati elects Its council In an at large election where everyone runs at-large, voters get nine votes and the top nine are elected. The top vote getter automadcally becomes the mayor. The election was supposed to be a contest between Qualls and Republican Phil Heimlich for the mayor's spot. Heimlich, who ran second In the last election, Is known for cracking down on pornogra­ phy and for leading a program against panhandlers. Helmlich, however, fell to sixth place this term. Another surprise was Jim Tarbell, bar owner and proponent of market rate housing In Over-the­ Rhine. He was hearalded as a potendal mayor by some sources. However, he failed to muster enough votes. He failed to make the top nine by 300 votes on election night. The past two years have seen a coalition of five, Including both Heimlich and Tillery, making the decisions at City Council. During the campaign, Heimlich tried to capitalize on Tillery's na,me ~ gain votes In the minority community. Many wonder whether these tactics will destabilize the gang of five and lead to a reshlfting of power. The new (old) council will start December Ist. Sharp Village Dedicated to Affordable Housing in Over-the-Rhine by Rob Freklng On October 30, 1997, the Owr-the-Rhlne Housing Network celebrated the dedicadon of Sharp Village. Sharp Village Is a 36 unit development In the 100 block of East Clifton Avenue. Some units are available this fall. All 36 apartments will be complete and ready to rent in the summer of 1998. Sharp Village received support from the City of Cincinnati, the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Ohio Equity Devel­ opment and Fifth Third Bank. The Over-the-Rhine Housing Network is a non-profit group composed of four separate non-profit organizations. These organizations include Franciscan Home Deve lop­ me nt, ReSTOC, Sign of the C ross Housing and Tender Mercies. The Housing Network has been working and networking for decent housing since 1981 . Sharp Village Grand Opening Photo by James Heath. / �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 2 STREETVIBES The Resu.lts of Our 1997 The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Reader's Survey by Donald Whitehead Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, Is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ less. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to.get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to ending home­ lessness in Cincinnati through c~rdinating services, educating the publi~ and g.-aSsroots organizing. The StreetVibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald W hitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrine, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor: Support Carolyn Meszaros, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Berta Lambert Pat Clifford Writers Cassandra Barham Mary Burke Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Tammy deGruchy Marcel Freeland Rob Freking Darian Henderson Lemuel Israel Carolyn Meszaros Sabra Mitchell PatMoslof Mike Nelson Bonnie Neumeier Mike Neumeier Robert Norse Gregory Payton Mark Salter Malaka Sanders The Shadow David Lee Smith Jennifer Summers Jean Taddie Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Sonny Williams Volunteer Editors Becky Rinaldo Malaka Sanders Kimberly T enai Reier stories or inquiries to: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless I506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@prlrnax.net http://cincl.com/gcch In the August /September Issue of Streevibes, we held our very first readers' survey. We were pleased to receive responses from many of our readers. We would like to thank all of you who took the time to complete the survey. In ~Is edition, you will see the responses along with many of the suggestions you gave us to make Streetvibes a better publication. The staff of Streetvibes was genuinely surprised at some of the results of our survey. People aged 49 and over was our largest age bracket, followed by people between 25 and JS. The next bracket was ages 36-49. While we had a few 18-25 year-olds respond, no one under 18 responded at all. The majority of our readers were also female. .Our readers had various employment situa­ tions. Twenty percent of our readers are students. The majority of those who responded were from Suburban Cincinnati. Nearly 60 percent of you also read the Enquirer and the Post. Fifty percent of readers always buy the paper, 45% of readers are oYer 49. 65% of readers are female. and 80 percent actually read it. Most of you buy only one copy, but 30 percent buy more than one. Most people find it easy to find Streetvibes, and you usually find It Downtown or in Clifton. While some people subscribe to Streetvibes, most people buy it for $1 . Nobody ever pays more than a dollar. A whooping 90 percent would hire a vendor if he or she were qualified for the job. We are very happy to report that only one of the people surveyed had a bad experience with a Streetvibes vendor. This did not surprise us; our vendors are very good people. The Editorial staff Is pleased that you enjoy editorials and commentaries most, with news, poetry, and profile;S close behind. Letters also received some readers' support. Unfortunately one person didn't like any of the paper. You asked us to start covering Lower Price Hill, prisoners, political candidates, gentrification and buddy gray's murder. Others said, "Leave it the way it is." Ninety percent of you have complete trust in Streetvibes; only one person didn't trust Streetvibes. One person thought that Streetvibes was not liberal enough, but most thought that it presented more than one point of view. We received several suggestions that have already been incorporated in this month's issue. These suggestions included mini resumes, classified ads, a table of contents, information from all sides of the economic spectrum and more humor. We will pay more attention to proofreading and e diting. However, we appreciate very much those that thought no changes were necessary. O ur goal in the future is to make the paper bigger and add more pages. The overwhelming majority, 90 percent, rated Streetvibes content a seven or above on a scale of one to ten. Streetvibes also received high marks for photography and layout. Readers made some good suggestions on layout and again mentioned proof reading. You also thought that Streetvibes most definitely serves its mission as a voice for low income people. Overall, you felt the paper was lngenlouS" and informative. We would once again like to thank everyone for completing <;>ur first Streetvibes survey. U) (I) ·r-i :> 0 ::E! Million Woman March Took Me Home, Gave Me Hope by Cassandra Barham Welcome to the CitY of Brotherly Love! Welcome to Philly! It's Time! Philadelphia Daily News Paper on October 25, 1997, said: Welcome! Women sald good bye to their families and some took them with them to the march. Mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters. They came from all states, far and near, to be one of the million plus. . Spirits were high: Love, frien~hips were made. Talk was of what we can and will do for our families, communities, and selves. We hope the event's a .catalyst for change. African-Amertcan women say there's a s.ptrit that binds them toaether. · When one cries out, they must all answer. The speakers gave powerful speeches. The speakers were Winnie Mandela, who has endured so much in her own lifetime, Dorothy Height, Jada Pinket, Sista Souljah: All Powerful Women. The day long event was full; the rain didn't stop the spirit! I felt good to be home In the place I was born. I'm thankful for my many sisters, sisters for life, and to come back to Cincinnad and keep up my own fight! . Welfare refqrm Is an on-going fight! I'm glad to be.one of the ones leading the way for a change and the right of the worldng poor_to make a change for the better and the future! �STREETVIBES T/JP T11 Stole\ Hon1e/ess Grapevine Page J Questions Still Remain about County Welfare Plan STREETVIBES News ' by Lynn Williams Hamilton County's Human Services Planning Committee and County Commissioners delivered the County's Welfare Plan to the Ohio Department of Human Services on October 15th. Hamilton County is one of the first seven counties whose Partnership Agreements will start January Ist, 1998. The new state welfare law, signed July 2, 1997, by Governor Voinovich, moves many welfare policy decisions to the counties. Each county will be required to form a Human Services Planning Committee to formulate local welfare policy. All 88 counties are required to sign a Partnership Agree­ ment with the Ohio Department of Human Services. In order to have input on this planning process, a broad-based group of advocates and agencies formed the Hamilton County Values Families Campaign. The Campaign attempted to make decision makers listen to the voices of welfare recipients. At the Public Hearing October 8th at the County Commissioners Office, the majority of those who testified were representatives of the Hamilton County Values Familie-s Campaign. Campaign Has lmapcl Now that the plan has been submitted to the state, the Values Families Campaign is pointing to many issues as proof that they have had an impact. The Personal Responsibility Agreement that Ohio Works First (OWF) recipients are required to sign was amended to include the responsiblllties of the Hamilton County Department of Human Services (HCDHS). The Agreement will list the services the HCDHS will provide the recipient. In addition, all of the good cause exemptions for people leaving employment that the Campaign requested were included in the Plan. The Human Services Planning Committee went even further and included more reasons for good cause. The time period to tum in good cause documentation was extended from three days to seven days. Unfortu­ nately, the 2'4 hr. call-in requirement was not eliminated. They did add that under some circum­ stances 24 hours may be Impossible but a partici­ pant must report in as soon as possible to avoid sanction. It will be important for recipients to have a witness when they make their calls. Although the good cause policy was not originally Included In the Plan, it now will be Included. Also, parents will be able to end unsatisfactory child care agreements (Ex. If provider uses too harsh discipline methods on children) without being sanctioned. However, HCDHS is defining what is "too harsh" of discipline methods instead of allowing individua.I parents to decide. Activists Found Not Guilty by Sonny Williams On the morning of October 23, Nathaniel Livingston and Minister Abdul Mohamad Ali were found not guilty in Judge John West's courtroom at the Hamilton County Courthouse. They were arrested on April I, 1997, in downtown along with William Kirkland, for disrupting the Opening Day Red's Parade and getting·too close to Governor Voinovich. For more information on the "Justice for Lorenzo Colrihs Movement,-.. call 241-8014 or contact the October 22nd C6afiti'on, Post Office Box 141308, Cincinnati, Ohio 45250. Education Included in Plan The Human Services Planning Committee agreed that welfare recipients should be made to do 20 hours of work and 10 hours of"developmental activity" as opposed to mandating all 30 hours of work. "Clients must have the choice," stated Eileen Cooper Reed, of the Cincinnati Children's Defense Fund, during a Committee meeting. Educational activities can be used for the developmental hours. However, the ability to use education as a work activity may not actually be implemented. "Welfare officials' "push" is for 30 hours of work if casework­ ers decide this on an individual basis," said Katy Heins from the Welfare Rights Coalition. Don I Cul Food Stamps 1 County Commissioners and the Human Services Planning Committee agreed that sanctions should not include cutting recipients off food stamps. Further, State Lawmaker Joan Lawrence claimed that food stamp cuts are not what designers of H.B. 408 had in mind any way. She claims that their intention was for food stamps not to increase after an Ohio Works First sanction. The Ohio Department of Human Services (OOHS) imposed the food stamp elimination in order to simplify the Ohio Works First regulations and to eliminate beaucradc paperwork. Our County Commissioners and Human Services Planning Committee will send letters to the OOHS objecting to this food stamp policy. Analvsis How Does Wall Street Effect People on the Streets? by Malak~ Sanders Fund Child Care The County Commissioners have agreed that welfare Incentive money and savings should go towards funding child care. Child care will be the priority for funding even though some members of the Human Services Planning Committee wanted the savings to go for a County Rainy Day Fund. Also, the County Commissioners agreed that child care for the working poor is Important and will seek a solution for funding It. Even though the bulk of the Plan Is finished and Is now being negotiated at the state level with OOHS, major areas have yet ~ be decided at the county level. Main areas to be decided are child care issues and finalizing an emergency assistance plan. The Human Services Planning Committee will continue meeting monthly to monitor the Welfare Plan's implementation. The Values Families Cam­ paign pl~ns to continue its own advocacy efforts and to monitor the effects of welfare "reform" in agencies and neighborhoods. Advocates cite several areas of future concern. For example, they believe that parents with children under I year should be exempt from the work requirement. Currently the Plan sets the work entry time at 12 weeks after giving birth. The Campaign advocates a 6 month exemption from any kind of work activity if the recipient chooses. The next 6 months could then be filled with work, alternative work or developmental activity with the recipient making the choice. Both Federal and State policy allow the one year exemption. Advocates also wonder who will make the decision of what activity is appropriate. It does not state In the Welfare Plan who makes this choice. The Values Families Campaign assumes that if it Is not spelled out clearly, the caseworker wilr make this decision for the' recipient. lel The Children Etlt . public officials to revise the food stamp sanctions. They believe It is Important to contact State OOHS officials and State legislators on this issue. "Children should not be dE!Drived of food because of a parent's work sanction or caseworker errors from beaucratic red tape!" said Katy Heins of the Contact Center. She continued, "In 1997, nearly half of our region's black children are already living in extreme poverty! 30 % of all children In our region live in poverty. These stats are straight from the Hamilton County Welfare Plan. Our entire Society should be shamed by this high level of poverty among our children. At least let the children eat!" Child care and other Issues will be discussed at the next Human Services Planning Committee on November 14th at HCDHS. p . . News of the recent stock market trouble was all over the media. On November 28, USA Today's front page screamed about how, "Confused and Scared" investors were, while the New York Times thought that their, "Horror and Pain" was a suitable headline, ran alongside a picture of a dejected broker. And since such stories a.lso dominated most of the other printed media, such as the Washington Post, the Wa.11 Street louma.1, and, locally, The Enquirer and The Post, it's obvious that this Is very distressing news-but for whom? Well, let me throw some figures at you. - Business Week (which Isn't exactly known for it's radical politics) called CEO pay in 96', "out of control". The average CEO made 200 times the pay of the average factory worker- that's up from 80' when it was "42 times. -The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that families in the bottom 60% lost 16% of their after-tax income from 77'-94'; the top 20% gained 25% while the top I% shot up 72%. -"Born on Third Base'', a study by the group United for a Fair Economy , shows that most of the Forbes 400, Forbes Magazine's ranking of the richest Americans, inherited already substantial and profitable companies or received key start-up capital. How did the distribution of wealth become so unequal? Well, according to a broker reassuring Enquirer readers, "I think stock market returns will average out higher than I 0%[which used to be the norm...] in the future because companies have positioned themselves for higher-than-average earnings through downsizings and increased produc­ tion."( 11-28-97). So, is this distressing news? Yes. Katha Politt, I think, explained why very well in The Nation (I 1-10-97), "The domination of the media by large multinational corporations [is] a bad thing. Conglomeralisation....skew[s] political debate Advocates urge that the pressure be kept on Continued on page 15 �STREETVIBES The T11 Stote\ Homeless Grapevine One Tooth at a Time Hygenist Clifford Jones Hel.ps the Homeless with More Than Just a Cleaning I Page 4 f STREETVIBES Services ne: Ca an Interview by Lemuel lsr2el SV: Brother Jones, what do you actually do with the ·coalition for the Homeless and dentistry work? CJ: I'm .i board member. What I do is help decide on what direction and policies we set. Also I'm a gene ral body member. We go in and listen to the current issues and vote on different proposals that we need to take. As far as the dentistry is concerned, I'm the dental coordinator of the homeless dental program. What I do, basically, Is go out and coordinate the dental services for thP. homeless. The services we provide are things like.. cleaning, exams, fillings, extractions, root canals, x-rays, consultations and referrals, oral health lectures and for a minimal fee, we provide partials, dentures and crowns. SV: That's quite a bit. Do you provide your services free or at a low cost? CJ: The majority of our services are performed free of charge. The only servtces we provide for a very minimal fee are dentures, partials and crowns. We are very fortunate to have a funding agency known as the Cincinnati Health Network, which secures federal money and grants to aid In the giving of these services. Also, the Cincinnati Health Department provides the dentist assistants and record keeping, plus space and equipment to help offset the costs for the services. SV: It's quite a big operation as far as all of the organizations and personnel involved? CJ: Yes, it is. Also, of course, we receive money from the United Way. Everyone is playing a part in showing that this program can go on. SV: It's good to know we have a conscious community that's working to help these individuals, who we label as poverty stricken and homeless. What got you interested in this type of work? CJ: Well, a friend called my fiance and told me about the position. She felt that I would be able to come in and provide the service and be able to relate with the clientele. SV: I know that you relate very well. I 've been one of those people who sat in your chair. In fact, I've got to come back this week! What kind of situations do you come up against with the homeless? I don't want to use the word "problems" to describe the homeless. Home­ less people are not a problem; they are people with problems that need solving. Let me phrase the question this way. what types of situations do you face in dealing with the problems of the homeless and their need for good, quality dental services? CJ: The homeless are most definitely in need of the services we provide. As far as problems that are confrontational, I on't think of too many other than the fact that If you're In pa.in and can't get an appointment when you need It or want It, then that creates a problem for someone. Unfortunately, we are a very small operation and we can only do so much with what we have. I see transportation being a problem. SV: Do you mean transportation problems as far as them getting to you? CJ: That's a problem. Being able to do all that needs to be done is a problem, as well, because in some Instances, money Is necessary to replace missing teeth. SV: You mentioned scheduling as one of the problems you come up against, as far as trying to get everybody in. What happens when someone misses an appointment? CJ: When someone misses an appointment, I will reschedule another appointment. If they miss two appointments, It's going to be·very difficult to get in. We have a list of individuals waiting to get in for services. If we continue to give individuals appointments who are chronic breakers of appoint­ ments, then it's hard to get services out to other of r Jeo re! arE COi no1 in I pri Ste as! In · pri on mE Clifford Jones, with Greater C incinnat i Oral Health Council, performs services during the Homeless Stand D.own in October. Photo by James Heath. individuals. We have a policy that after your third missed appointment, you can come in for emer­ gency services, or you can come in and sit and wait to see If someone breaks an appointment and then be seen. SV: At least you still are giving them a chance. CJ: Yes. If they call 24 hours in advance, saying they can't make it, fine. Even if they call the day of, giving us notice they can't make it, then it is more than likely they will get another appointment. But if they don't call at all, I take offense to that. SV: I guess, homeless or not, going to see the dentist is one of the most dreadful occurrences in just about everybody's life. What kind of things do you do to help people be relaxed and feel comfort­ able by the time they sit In your dental chair? CJ: The first thing I do Is go out and give an oral health lecture. I try to give some basic lnforma­ ·tion on what could be going on inside the mouth If "I've seen individuals that com e in who couldn't smile, .w_llose self-esteem was at a Yery critical low point. After receiving t!Jese services, they're doing extremely well out there in the community" they're not taking the proper steps, so that if there is something going on, tnen they can do something about It. And then, just to come In and be treated humanely, regardless of what the situation may be with them. That helps tremendously. And then just sitting down and creating a rapport. Talking back and forth. Getting them in and just doing the service with quality, I think, helps a great deal. In fact, that's the aftermath. It's just being able to get them in and talk and find a common bond. SV: What are some of the common problems you see the most of concerning the actual work needed In the teeth. CJ: Well, the major problems are gum disease, the build up of bacteria and tooth decay. Tooth decay is pretty rampant. Missing teeth are, too. A lot of missing teeth means there are problems of imprope r digestion of food, which can lead to other things. Mainly, It's the gum disease that's running rampant and the missing teeth, which you know, are hard to come by. We don't have monies needed to pay for the replaceme nt. SY: The president of the United States asks that we all go Into a dialog concerning the issue of racism. We here at Streetvibes would like to take up the banner and be out there in the forefront. We understand that racism is one of the major causes of homelessness. Within your clientele, do you find more blacks as a result of their low economic status? Or does it seem to be pretty equal according to the black/white ratio of the population of the Greater Cincinnati Area? CJ: The majority of my clients are black. 1 would go as far as to say, maybe, on a percentage level, 60 percent are black, and 40 percent are non­ black. SV: That's almost the reverse of the popula­ tion here in the Greater Cincinnati Area! Although I'm not absolutely sure. What can we do to help pull the people In to utilize the services? Sometimes it's hard to go out and get them and bring them in. They don't always come In on their own. Yet, they're in need. CJ: Well, It's just a lack of awareness, I believe. Sometimes there might be fear involved in a lot of different ways. SV: Do you see any type of strategy that could be employed to get the awareness out, as.well as provide some sort of transportation to bring them in? CJ: There is. I feel honored in working on it and what I do is go around to different shelters and transitional living areas and provide an oral health lecture. I use that as public relations for our program to disseminate Information about oral health and also, hopefully, to modify their behavior. With the lectures, our broken appointment ratio has decreased. I look at the lectures as being one of the strategies we're using to help increase awareness. There's also word of mouth. Word of mouth is heavy. When you provide quality service, when individuals feel good about that service, they're going to go out and tell their friends. So word of mouth h~ been a goo'd tool for our program. SV: So you are seeing results? CJ:Yes. SY: That's encouraging to me, and I hope that this Is encouraging to our 1'eaders. W e are getting results. A lot of people feel that a lot of these programs are useless. They feel that when you give out to people, they become weak and don't know to go and do things for themselves. What do you think about that attitude? CJ: That's totally bogus! I've seen individuals that come in who couldn't smile, whose self-esteem were at a very critical low point. After receiving these services, they're doing extremely well out there in the community. In fact, I saw a brother the Continued on page 13 ave Au ch• wit the arE ga! Eu no th; hin He Eur dn l'rr ch: clc Kii no Ra 26 po th; be Th me fall els I fc nu th: wl ve tiff be: wi . he Sh ""' els T~ we Tl .. pr ab ne pe �I STREETVIBES The Tti Stote's Homeless Grapevine Page 5 Friends Plan Tribute on Anniversary of buddy gray•s Death by Slreelvibes Slaff November 15th marks the anniversary of buddy gray's untimely and tragic death. In honor of buddy's memory, the Over-the-Rhine Community plans a day dedicated to the memory of all of buddy's outstanding contributions. While buddy is no longer with us, the spirit of his work continues. The challenges to continue his mission of providing safe, sanitary housing, food, clothing and health care have been great. Through the collective efforts of many others who share that mission, the work continues. Several activities have been planned to honor buddy memory. At I0:00 am at 1300 Vine Street a press conference will be held. At that time, the building will be named "buddy's place." It is a building that buddy saved from demolition, fire, and pressure from those that were not in favor of building more low-income housing. This building symbolizes the struggle to provide low-income housing for those that suffer in poverty. Through the ongoing efforts of people within the community, this long awaited project is slated to begin construc­ tion in the very near future. "buddy's place" will be the sight of 20 Single Room Occupancy Units (SRO's) for homeless individuals. Following the press conference, there will be a tour of the new women's expansion at the Drop-Inn­ Center. The expansion is perhaps the crown jewel of buddy's many accomplishments, it symbolizes the results of 25 years of struggling to provide for those less fortunate. The Drop-Inn-Center has been transformed from a one room center on Vine Street into a facility able to shelter over 250 people on any given night. The Over-the-Rhine Community invites you to share the fruits of labor of many dedicated people and buddy gray. It is the hope of the Community that you come to honor buddy's memory and celebrate the ongoing work in the community dedicated to addressing the most vital needs of our country--basic human rights. Over-the-Rhine Residents Win National Honor by Dona/ii Whitehead In honor o( the many contributions that buddy gray made in the fight to end both national and local homelessness, the National Coalition for the Home­ less has created the buddy gray memorial award for activism. This award will be given each year In remembrance of buddy's tireless efforts to end homelessness. On Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, the board of directors of the National Coalition for the Homeless met In Cincinnati to honor the memory of buddy gray. The meeting was also the first time the buddy gray Memorial Award was given. Very appropriately, the recipient of the award was not an Individual. The first buddy gray memo­ rial award was given to the many people who continue to do the wonderful work that buddy ·started Representatives of the Drop Inn Center, ReSTOC, the Over-The-Rhine Community Council, the Over-the-Rhine Housing Network, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition For The Homeless, the Recovery Hotel and many others were there to receive the awards. The ceremony also offered time to reflect on some of the wonderful memories that we have of this brave soldier ln the fight to end homelessness. As you read this story, please remember how buddy challenged us all to be the best we could be and to be of service to other human beings. Al­ though buddy's physical presence is not here, his spirit lives on in the work that is being done to fulfill his dream of ending homelessness. Poem Des.cent ·of the Holy Spirit by Mike Neumeier (This poem was written in memory of buddy gray, scribed the day following his memorial march and gathering in the park, in and around . the gazebo; these events, as they pierced my heart and basked before mine eyes ...) Over a thousand of people escorted buddy's crisp blue sky day bike through OTR at the memorial last year. walk in sunlight line up left on streets he walked line up right feel silence from one end to the other from drums beginning silent march all grey-feathered to regimental cantering of hooves beneath all except mounted police the one on top riders calm and ordered its color brilliant white visibly respectful like light sensing great loss i tear apparent on their faces his grouping t to people streetside lined up so standing silent in courtesy makes a pointing upward some with wet eyes to the heavens some smile to my friend at my side i whisper others wail she too is struck when this is pointed out to one flashes sign of peace with the hands her some talk i see her eyes light up though not overtly so she tears while most stand like statues as had I wearing blank somber faces we are not alone amazed at this large following no we are not alone passing before them i feel power presence when a single streetside heckler defames him stand in awe no one seeks retribution those pigeons stone silence of marchers muffle the they know he is gone too noise then she stumbles off the people begin to take turns gone as quickly as she had from the gazebo arrived on the scene to talk i smile to sing to women crying to cry to men crying to reminisce to hands clasped to mourn as long procession winds through streets to er:npower the buildings look more beautiful than i had and resoundingly ever seen them to give rise to hope the day's light gives rise to color like a painting all that is said and done pleasing to gaze upon is as near to perfection it is interesting how the buildings look that my mind can fathom different it seems it all comes to pass when walking down street's middle just as it was supposed to be gentle appearances a neighborhood alive i remark to my friend as we leave at walk's end "i am glad you came with me today the people gather i feel much better now at the gazebo i needed to be here" in the park now then the pigeons fly down to rest upon the gazebo roof the white pigeon it was on top .,.r;:::._. �STREETVIBES . The Tri Stote's Homeless Grape.vine Page 6 STREETVIBES Editorials and Letters Why No Fanfare for Housing? Where's the Fanfare Today? Today October 30th as I wait for my chance to speak at the grand opening of "Sharp Village," 36 units of low-income housing, I am amazed at the fact that there Is no media around. I am shocked that only one City Councilmember bothered to be in attendance. I remember how many people showed up for Citi-rama and the many at the grand opening of bars on Main Street. As this goes through my mind, I begin to get angry. I am not angry about these individuals not being there. Most Councilmembers have shown countless times how much they care about the low­ income residents of this city and especially this community. I am not angry that the mainstream media refuses to show positive images of inner-city The Fed freezes inflation with high That's not all the Fed freezes . interest rates and high unemployment. Artist Challenges the Image of "Those People" with No Homes Dear Streetvibes, "Baseball on Broadway and Bars on Main are not the answer. We need more Sharp Villages. " communities, especially Over-the -Rhine. I am angry because projects like Sharp Village are so hard to do. There are nearly 3,000,000 homeless men woman and children in this country. The biggest reason they are there is the lack of affordable housing. When, one project like Sharp Village opens, the bands should be marching, the trumpets should be blaring and the people should be shouting. Over-the-Rhine is like a lot of inner-city neighborhoods that are trying to make a comeback. Safe, sanitary, affordable housing is the way to do it. Long term residents want to be here when their long ignored neighborhood becomes a safe place for kids to play and all the drug dealers are gone, when the comer liquor stores become viable businesses that don't profit on the suffering of the less fortunate. Baseball on Broadway are Bars on Main are not the answer. We need more Sharp Villages. Donald Whitehead Outreach Coordinator Greater Cincinnati Coalition For The Homeless I really enjoyed the conference last month. was glad I could attend. You asked for a copy of the pages out of my art diary. Well, here they are: I have heard homeless people referred to as derelicts, drunks and cra.zies. I have also heard "where are all those homeless women and children? All we see are men." I have seen them called criminals, drug addicts, murderers, prostitutes, beggars, lazy, sick, liars, thieves, manipulative and down-and-out. What an image! Labels such as "they," "them," "the homeless" and "those people" all refer to people without a house as a new race. They refer to the homeless as a group of lazy, drunk, crazed criminals. I have read "they are not like us...Send them to work camps." I have also read that we should "manage and contain a difficult population that is not going to disappear; get rid of them." Get rid of them? I wonder what theses words mean. Do these words suggest we should clear, cleanse, flush, empty, destroy, annihilate, crush, dispose, drive away, kill, murder the homeless? In Sacramento, I read that a homeless man was found slain at a church. The article says that some homeless sleep near churches because they have a sense of safety, a refuge. Councilwoman Bobbie Sterne, Denise Irey and Stephany Edwards of Preserving Affordable Housing, and Lois Pitts,. neighborhood activist, attended the Sharp Village Grand Opening. Photo by James Heath I think of Frank, a kind 63-year-old man with a long white beard and dirt ground into his clothes. He had been sleeping on the street. He could have collected social security if someone had taken the time to say hi and ask if they could help him. All he needed was hfs birth certificate. I also think of Richie, a panhandler who is trying to warn the public about where he thinks the world is headed. I have sat and listened to him tear himself up about how Princess Di died. I have . listened to him say that society builds doors which you enter but from which there is no return. Richie, Frank and many other homeless people will fall victim to crimes. Many will be victims of crime simply because they have no home. I wonder: Are we the criminals who form this dangerous image of those who have no refuge? I feel the urgency to change the image of the homeless. I feel that it would motivate more people and help increase public awareness. Art is a good tool. Art has helped us learn more about the past. It has shaped the present, while allowing us to envision the future. Art solidified the face of Jesus. Art has enriched our cultures. Art pulls our emotions every day as we stand iri front of a rack of store products. If you stood in front of a rack of powder detergents for the first time and they all had a white box, would you buy Tide or Cheer? Would it matter? Art has a powerful, proven track record. It has been used to shape our vfews and trigger our emotions. Art is friendly and it lets us absorb our subjects and take them in our hearts. It leaves a lasting impression. I have been painting for 29 years. I am a very dedicated full-time artist and feel that I can portray the images successfully. I can do so not because I have been without a home, not because they threw me out of school because I didn't live with my parents, not because I was denied an education. It is not because my foster brother Brent, who died in 1976, wouldn't have had a home if not for my parents. It is not because of two homeless children, whom I cared for, lived in a car and were prostituted out and beaten. Not because my three­ year-old and four-month-old stayed in the back of fair booths for six months because I couldn't afford day care or a house. But because God gave me the strength to experience it and still have faith in humanity. And I believe all things are possible with God. Thanks, Tammy deGruchy (Pneuma) .. �I STREETVIBES The Tn State's Homeless Grapevine Inner City Voices: Part Two by Pal Mos/of After a hiatus from last month's Streetvibes, this month I will finish discussing salient issues in Over the Rhine. Again, I will not try to advocate one viewpoint. However, because of limited resources I've been unable to adequately address all viewpoints. Most of us already have an opinion on many of thes~ issues. The discussion in this article will, hopefully, open up some new ways of looking at them. The order of discussion in this article will be: 7) Housing Supply and Homelessness 8) Social Services 9) Cr ime I 0) Policing 11) Hlstory Please continue. While reading. remember that careful evaluation of the situation in Over the Rhine is an important component of serving justice In our low income communities. Housing Supply and Homelessness- The most important question to ask when considering this issue is whether or not there is enough housing for low income people. Some groups in society are not very concerned about this question, or believe that market forces will solve the proble m. Unfortunately, very little money is to be made in low income housing unless it is subsidized by the government, as occurs in Section it housing. Indeed, "lack of affordable housing Is a national trend," says Leslie Horner, former employee of Race Street Tenant's Organization Cooperative, (ReSTOC). A further question Is whether there is a connection between a small supply of low income housing and the condition known as homelessness. Many households spend more than SO% of their income on housing. Because so much of their Income goes Into housing. they are vulnerable to becoming homeless if something unexpected happens· loss of employment, sickness, a death in the family. In fact there has been an increase in the number of homeless people over the years, corre­ sponding to the decline in low- income housing. Bonnie Neumeier, longtime activist and employee at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, explains how the face of home­ lessness has changed. "Originally the homeless popula­ tion was chronic alcoholics, with an average age of 67. Now the age has lowered to 45, and women and children are the fastest growing group among homeless people.'' There is a common conception that substance abuse Is a primary cause of homelessness. This is a partial truth. In fact, there are two causes of homelessness among people with substance abuse problems· the abuse itself and low income status. Middle or upper class people with substance abuse problems are unlikely to become homeless because of the availability of quality substance abuse recovery services. These services are more available to people with money and health insur· ance. The poor must find help among the limited services offered at social agencies which are underfunded to address the problem. In this light, then, a person's low income status becomes a critical variable in becoming homeless. A final aspect of this issue to address Is how the . process of gentrification affects the housing supply for I income people. Tim Burroughs studied the Findlay Market area about one year ago as an ethnographic research project at Xavier University. He observed how the increasing value of property in the Market area led landlords to several different kinds of tactics to force low income people out. In some cases, when a building was sold the new owner simply tore the building down to make a parking lot. In other case s, expensive improve­ ments were coupled with higher rents, eventually driving out low income occupants. In still other cases, they let buildings deteriorate so they were uninhabitable. When "Originally, the ho17!eless popula tion was chronic alcoholics, wth an. average age of 67. Now that age has lowered to 45, and women and children are the fastest growing group... " the Health Department condemned it, they could lock the building and renovate it, or "sit" on it until ready to sell. Mr. Burroughs concluded that the motive for such actions was to make profit from buildings in an area of increasing value, regardless of its effect on low income people. In fact, one man Mr. Burroughs knew who lost housing in such a way became homeless. Another had enough money only for housing and had to eat at soup kitchens. Understanding t he relationship between housing and the quality of life of low Income people is extremely important when looking at the larger picture 'of life in the In ner city. Social Services The primary question relating to social services Is whether there are too many or whether there are not enough social services In Over the Rhine. An article entitled ''Social Care choking Over the Rhine~" appearing in the Oncinnati Post on Friday, September 23, 199-4 asked just this question. In the article. advocates for upper Income development In Over the Rhine expressed the opinion that there are already too many agencies serving people with mental Illness, addictions, or people without homes. Marge Hammelrath, director of the Over the Rhine Chamber of Com· merce, says "It's saturation to the hilt. It Is going to take some very dedicated people...to say this has got to change if you intend to make Over the Rhine a healthy community." Similarly, in a relatively hostile letter to Mike Fontana, who had given money to the Drop Inn Center, Mrs. Hammelrath wrote, "we hope you do not .take us lightly when we say we will not tolerate any more dumping of city problems at our doorstep." But many other people in the community feel that there are not enough social service organizations to - Page Please Support Our Advertisers JIMMY HEATH PHOTOGRAPHY CINCINNATI - (513) 564-9856 E-MAIL - JIMMY_ HEATH®JUNO.COM . ·r.;:­m ~~~~~~~~---.C Photo by James Heath. Continued on page 14 '--~~~~~~~~ SPl~ EnY MAl NTENANC I•: Sr1~ HVICE PUIM'lllNG • CARJ'ViTltf • I.AWN S!RV1Ct • PAINTTNG """ IG l :Jl 6114-070R - .., '\n \\ f' 11ttlP (' r\ l ! l .. h,1' l\l:t i u 1 1 n : 1n1 3 11 F:o,.l l :lth Str('<'l, i'h1it..­ r ~,. , ti,, ,. .. ,,, \ (l\ l:ll RIW -0419 1: l u h ••I "' 11uu•in\· .. • "Cinrinn ntl , Ohio 452 10 · ~PRIMERICA 9 ' Fmancial Services Cllfford Jones Rep11senta1tve 8075 Reading Rd., Suite 1 • Cincinnati. OH 45237 Res. (513) 761·3464 • Bus. (513) 821·3332 Voice Mail: (513) 230.6353 A Member of TravelersGrouPt All llldtpeadtll Np11Mal11lwe ol Primerlcl Fluftci.I S.Mctl flepresenUng: Primericil life Insurance Company/ExeculMI Otfices: Duluth; Georgia Friends and Neighbors of Over~the-Rhine An Organization Seeking Justice for People in Cincinnati's Most Endangered Community Contact Center Community Organizing Welfare Rights Coalition Call 381-4242 lo gel involved! I 641 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Women on Track Helping empower people through sewing. 727 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45203 381-5882 ANOTHER CLASS PRODUCTION Disc-Jockey Service CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761-3464 Pat Moslof 7 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grap evine The Words I Write ... (Take Time to Appreciate Life) by Mark Salter Today I awoke to face the day that my past has brought me. What I did yesterday and before (with the grace of my Creator) has presented me with this day. And, what I choose to do with this day Is share it with you. I indirectly bring myself into your life, although a little one-sided. I read once, "The eyes In which you see God with, are the eyes in which God sees you." Imagine that! I've been at the .Drop Inn Center for two months now, and have seen quite a number of Volunteers, young and old. Thank God for Volun­ teers! They do make a difference. We all make a difference, believe it or not. A pebble changes the context of a river once it's tossed in. Even trying to climb a mountain or a long flight of stairs, that first step makes difference and if you take one step at a time, surely you will reach the top. My "Higher" saw fit to give me another day. I choose to spend some of it with you, whose faces I may never see, voices never hear, an~ hearts I may never be touched by. There are probably no words a "Think about the people who you've met and seen, who made your heart leap, your spirits fly, and have yet not told them so. And imagine how often this goes on daily." I can write you haven't read before, nor thoughts and/or philosophy. So, it's only my belief, in that we are all unique, that as I sit down anC:t write hoping that whatever is supposed to make me unique comes to light through and with the Wt>rds. One thing I'd like to say is, don't give up in trying to make a difference. Don't give up in believing that your life is worth the price of living, because it's not always prevalent or acknowlec!ged how your very existence inspires another person. As you go through your day, you see many people and their faces and rarely speak to them at all, but Imagine this: Think about the ~pie who you've met and seen, who made your heart leap, your spirits fly, and have yet not told them so. And, imagine how often this goes on daily. It's like the saying. "I cried a~ut the shoes on my feet, until I saw the man with no legs!" I'm not so unique. · (See Emily Dickinson, "I Stood at the Door of God a Beggar" and Dylan Thomas "Gentle Into That Good Night.") . I'm not so unique that the words I write are alien to you. Nor the message. Not even concrete can keep-a blade of grass from springing up. How many battles must be fought before the war is over? How many casualties--brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers? Although your job may pay you by the hour, you are priceless. You may live by laws and rules-it is you that helps write them. We make order out of chaos. Life is some­ times like a garden, if you let the weeds grow, they will choke the flowers. Before I bring this to a close, let me share with you some words from a Poet, Dylan Thomas: Do not go gentle into that good night. Old age bum and rage at the close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Do not go gently into that good night. Runaround and Denials Give Disabled the SSI Blues Page 8 STREETVIBES · Personal Experiences by Jean Taddie Ken B. nervously opened the letter from his lawyer. Ken had been anxiously awaiting a decision on his third appeal for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. He hoped that the letter would bring news of a positive judgment from the administrative law judge who heard his case. Ken suffered a serious brain injury in June, 1976 that destroyed one-third of his brain, including half of his temporal lobe. Ken is blind in his left eye and deaf in his left ear. He experiences grand-mal and petite seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1977. He also experiences pressure In his eyes that was diagnosed as glaucoma in 1988. Ken first tried to obtain SSI benefits in 1977. He was denied SSI benefits and was told that he was able to work. So for the next eight years, Ken tried a number of maintenance, groundskeeping, and other jobs to try to support himself. "It was hard to keep a job. If employers found out I had epilepsy, or saw me have a seizure, I got fired. I had one incident where I went into a seizure at work that spun me around. I slammed right into a steel support beam and was knocked out." Ken explained that after a grand-mal it takes him at least three days to recover from its effects. This recovery time has also caused him to miss a lot of work. While driving four years ago, Ken experienced a grand-mal seizure that made him pass out behind the wheel. "When I came to, there was blood everywhere and my car was wrecked. I realized that I had just hit five vehicles parked along the road. Thank God no one was hurt but me. That's the day I gave up my driver's license." For the last two years, Ken has been scraping by on Medicaid, food stamps, rent assistance and a $1 18 monthly Disability Assistance (DA) check to cover utilities and living expenses. Ken's lawyer advised him that the best he could hope for would be about $450 a month from SSI. He is not optimis­ tic about the outcome of his third appeal since his origina.I denia.I in 1977. Ken explained, "I got so mad sitting in this latest hearing. The federal work specialist said I would be qualified to work as a janitor or reception­ ist. They forget that I have 2-dimensional vision and can't even climb stairs, let alone clean them. Or how would a company like it if their receptionist had convulsive seizures in front of their clients?" "It was hard to keep a job. If employers found out I had epi­ lepsy, or saw me have a seizure, I got fired. " Ken's letter from his lawyer was just more depressing news. "The judge told me that I would have a yes or no decision to my appeal within 60 days. Well it's been 45 days and now this letter says that I have to go for more complete evaluations. I'm just tired of this runaround." Today I Have the Rest of My Life by Mike Nelson Today I have less than a month to go to finish the Drug and Alcohol Rehab. Program at the Drop­ Inn- Center. Was it easy? I think not. Was it hard? Not really. It's a simple program for complicated people. It's only as hard as you care to make it. The first step is to stop using, of course. This may well be the easy part of the program. The text books we read tell us that recovery is an active change in our ideas and attitudes. I can tell you, this is a must! Many changes will take place automati­ cally if you stay and truly work the program. Honesty, open-mindedness and willingness are the main keys to success in any program. However, these alone are not enough. You have to humble yourself and throw away the old ways, which didn't work anyway. Self-obsession must be tossed out the window! Learn to be patient and apply some tolerance to your life daily. I found that I had to stop dealing with every­ one else's character defects and concentrate on my own. Drop the self-will for it will surely lead you to make decisions based on manipulation, ego, lust and false pride. You can't do It by yourself, so share your feelings with your fellows in the program. Get a good sponsor to share with and talk to your counselors. Practice sharing in the rooms. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Go to meetings and listen; you will soon start hearing your own story told over and over again. Read the text of your choice on a regular basis. I learned something from every book of recovery that I read. The text will tell you that you don't have to understand the program for it to work. All we have to do is follow directions! This may not come easy at first, either. God has surely been the key factor to my making it this far. He has been there for me every time I needed Him. After my first 60 days here, I started to get bored and had doubts that I would stay. I went to bed and prayed to God to just let me be glad for what I had then. I awoke with a sense ol freedom that is hard to describe. I lost the desire to drink! If that was not a spiritual experience, I'll never encounter one! Today I know that I still have a long way to go, but I've come farther than I've ever been. My God will be there for me on the rest of my journey. Thank you, God. Thank you, DIC and all staff members. Today I have some gratitude. Today I have the rest of my iife. Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be pur­ chased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Your subscription helps keep our paper alive. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless-­ Streetvibes. If you have any questions, call the office at 421-7803. �STREETVIBES Pa~c Homeless Grapevine flit' f 11 \tot<·\ v The Dream of a Homeless Husband Alice Walker Provides Food for Soul at Miami U. by Jennifer Summers, Bonnie by Gregory Payton - 0 Neumeier and Mary Burke A homeless husband named John needed to get help for his wife, Sara, and his children, Betty Ann and John, Jr. Being the head of the family, John had to make decisions, so his family could live and grow. The decisions were the ones he didn't like, but the ones he had to make. John walked Sara, Betty Ann and John, Jr., to get help from an agency. The worker just looked at them and told him to get a job. Having no other direction to go, John had to do what he never wanted to do and that was to split up the family. He had no training to get a job that would pay a living wage. Wanting the best for his family, John said, "So be it, it must be done." He had to find shelter for them. He looked back over his life and remembered how he was raised. When the ship sinks, women and children first He hoped the city would at least provide something that he couldn't at that time. john prayed and prayed. He succeeded and was blessed when he found shelter. He knew then that his family would be safe. John also knew he wouldn't get to see john, Jr., as much because he had to go to a different shelter. John knew he had to find work and the problems he faced were all uphill. How could he do it with no trade or skills? Who would give him a chance? How could john show that he was responsible and could be loyal to a company? Where could he work and have benefits? Sara and the children could get sick or even need a dentist in the middle of the night! Where could John work where the company would even be there in 20 years? Where was a company where he could dream of retirement, knowing that management's decisions would not forget the workers and only remember the share­ holders? John dreams and tells his family about the dream house. He tells Sara about the kitchen that has everything she wants and the yard Betty Ann and John, Jr., could play in without getting hurt The dream has something every one of them could share and i~cludes a family car, something they could visit the grandparents with. He wonders if d'ne of the children could be a lawyer some day. He heard about the college tax break and wonders how it's possible without a house. John asks himself how he can do It all when he only makes $5 an hour? The hill becomes a mountain, the tallest he's ever seen. Is it just a dream or a nightmare of despair? No, this is reality. On September 30th, a crisp and colorful fall evening, four activists from Over-the-Rhine drove to Miami University to see and hear Allee Walker. Their hopes that Walker's words would Inspire and rejuvenate their spirits were fulfilled. Alice Walker Is an active advocate for equal rights, voter registradon, and the abolishment of apartheid. She may be best known for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Color Purple". Allee Walker was visiting Oxford, Ohio, as part of Miami University's Lecture Series. She awed and Inspired the crowd with readings from her book, ANYTHING WE LOVE CAN BE SAVED. Somedmes the world can look bleak, especially in Over-the-Rhine where we have experienced many losses. In the past year we have lost neighbors to displacement, buildings to demolition, friends and co-workers to cancer and buddy to political attacks and a violent death. Alice Walker reminded us that there Is hope. We were encouraged to reach down deep to that place of faith that moves us to say "I feel like going on." As Ieng as there Is oppression, folk will find a way to rise up in solidarity and plant seeds of justice. If powers attempt to destroy our work we will just start over. In the introduction to her book she writes: "During my years of being close to people engaged in changing the world I have seen fear tum Into courage. Sorrow Into joy. Funerals into celebrations. Because whatever the consequences, people standing side by side have expressed who they really are, and that ultimately they believe in the love of the world and each other enough to be that--whlch is the foundation of activism." Alice Walker has taken political action and social activism to a spiritual level. She has called on justice seekers to love themselves and to follow their souls. Activists need to be happy. If you are not, just find your brand of activism that fits your soul. Throughout her lecture, as we sat silendy among the packed auditorium, It felt as If Walker was speaking directly to us In Over-the-Rhine. As she read from her poem TORTURE, " ...When they assassinate your leaders and lovers, plant a tree..." each of us thought of the trees we planted after buddy was killed. When she read from her poem, WE ALONE, " ...We alone can devalue gold...Thls could be our revolution: To love what Is plentiful as much as what Is scarce", we thought of the misplaced value put on old fashioned street lights, new brick side­ walks and money and the devaluing of people in poverty. Finally to address our feelings of grief, frustradon, and confusion, Allee Walker offered her poem, REASSURANCE. Word Search by Gregory Payton 0 0 H 0 R u s E A L I s u T M s I L I T y u E N L E E R F v z T L 0 y E p 0 p 0 c E A L E J N B B E T 9 A y T G 0 M u p T R H 0 A A H E G p E p E p L N s 0 H R I N A A T I E N E p c c M E A 0 A N c c A Streetvibes Radio Hour On WAIF 88.3 Im The Homeless Coalition has a live radio program which can be heard on WAJF radio on the second Saturday of each month at noon. The show ls co-hosted by Mary Burke, Pat Clifford, Gregory Payton and Donald Whitehead. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories In this ~r and eclectic musical selections. Here are the next show dates. WAJF88.3 fm Saturday, November 8, 1997, noon ~ I pm Scramble Find these words in the puzzle: Pleasure Love Care Share Trust Patience Acceptance Honesty Hope Humility Alice Walker Is a woman of gende strength. She spoke with conviction and passion. She shared her belief that love can save ourselves, our neighbors, our community and our earth. We were Inspired to expand our world to Include art and literature from struggles from another dme and other countries.. Art and literature can provide the hope we need to condn~e. the solace we need to find peace In ch~os, and the vision to create beauty amid destruction. In the introduction to her book, ANYTHING YOU LOVE CAN BE SAVED, Allee ·Walker writes: "It has become a common feeling. I believe, as we have watched our heroes faJllng over the years, that our own small stone of activism, which might not seem to measure up to the rugged boulders of heroism we have so admired, Is a pal~ offering toward the building of an edifice of hope. Many who believe this choose to withhold their· offerings out of shame. "This is the tragedy of our world. "For we can do nothing substantial toward changing our course on the planet, ~ destructive one, without rousing ourselves, individual by Individual, and bringing our small, imperfect stones to the pile." · We encourage you to read, ANYTHING WE LOVE CAN BE SAVED, by Alice Walker and feed your soul. Joy Angel Alive Youth Humble Happy Feel by Ron Carter Try to unscramble these nam~ of singers: AN BRYD TATEMOISNPT. HET STITRA MOKYES TARNISA SINATRA VSELI • . ·• · EMSJAWRONB ITEYHWN EELLABE TYTAP YDSLAG THGINK' . Answers on page 15. ,• �STREETVIBES 1 The Tri Stote s Homeless Grapevine Denise Crew Draws on Experience for Poems Page 10 WORD ON THE STREET Arts and Poetry An Interview by JYJalaka Sanders SY: Denise, what is your posi.: tion at the Drop and "ow long have you been there? DC: I've worked there 10 years. I'm the crew supervisor and the vice­ president .of the board; but, on different days I wear· many different hats. SY: How did you get involved in ­ homelessness issues? 'i:Sc: i got involved when Buddy (Gray) spoke at PCC (Parent ;and Chi.Id Center) 22 years ago, where I went with my daughter, Rachel, and son, Michael. Then I helped produce the VOICES newspaper, worked for the Housing Task Force, and did advocacy on landlord/tenant issues. One time a woman's stove blew up and she came to us, so things have gotten a lot better down here. SY: What kind of subjects have you dealt with in your submissions to ~treetvibes? DC: Well, in my poetry I've dealt with homelessness, women's issues, and drug related issues. SY: Do you think that Streetvibes is an important publication in this area? DC: Yes, because it gives the homeless a voice, and a chance to display their talents and skills. It helps to dispel myths about homeless people and is an educational tool and direct info to correctly inform. SY: And, finally, what would your mes­ sage be to Streetvibes readers? DC: Keep reading. Don't throw the paper away, pass it on. Get a yearly subscrip­ tion for their doctor's office. Pass on the knowledge. Unlit.led . II by Anonymous There are klansmen in the hills armed with bibles guns and hate having ~sted dreams and visions of what America should be today burning crosses in .their minds and hearts­ ready for a war to start... There are klansmen in the mountains with their sons and daughters tooAnd there .are Nazis in the city wearing threepiece suits . ' just as deadly as those commandos waiting for a chance to shoot: Crystal Ball by Anonymous · It has been said that I look into my crystal ball and conjure up stuff to worry about it was funl'.ly, and a joke '?f sorts You refused to take me seriously at times at a gathering of friends w_e talked about life, death, safety, and fear mostly ours.for you my heart now beats steady, my pain is gone we alone know why the talk by Denise Crew by Anonymous I'm shedding tears 'cause you haven't called and my mind has kept you alive in its rooms and halls but, the doors are all locked because the longing of a long lost love found has ended and begun at the same time... Back to the Days by Sabra Milchell Wake up the people Just don't ~it and let life pass you by Stand up and be counted for our days are not long Take a look around my brother and my sista. Things change and your life won't be the same Join in to our march back to the land of the free · For our days are numbered, so please come along Back to where things were simple you see. Because the new discovery of young women had been found I remember those eyes disbelieving what we said because it was surely not what was heard from his group of peers, who hung out to­ gether It must have been a good one there are no children out of wed lock he took a wife for life and together they planned a new little life and she is "daddy's diddle dirl, darlin" he is also convinced that the darlin likes daddy better than she likes mommie and to prove it she gifts her diaper with wonderful surprises and he proves he loves as a father by going_through great emotional trauma of changing her when ever there are no women folk around (he's no fool, he deligates when ever he can) He's growing to be a responsible man Ms. Crew also said that as winter ap­ proaches, the issue of overcrowding is worse at the Drop Inn Center. However, they are well equipped to provide space for a number of people with even an open door policy when it's really cold. For information on AA, NA, and referrals to other goods and services, call the Drop Inn Center Shelterhouse at 721­ 0643. Just For You by Mark Saller We are here because of a Power greater than us all. To stand straight, to stand tall. Not to belittle nor to befal. I We may stumble, but never fall or lose it all. Many things_change. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly, just as a girl becomes a beautiful person, a woman whose soui we share, whose spirit lights the darkest places of a heart. A boy becomes a man, who will reach out for your hand. Your eyes and your smile are like that of the sun and the moon with stars in the sky, radiate and glowing, from the spirit which is you. As your heart and spirit become one, the words flow from you, becoming wc;>rds etched on people's hearts. Your heart is your wings. Let it free. It's not what you can't do, it's what you can be. You are a ray of light to someone who may be lost in darkness, never let your light go dim. Let your mind lead you, your soul inspire you, and your heart touch; because they are all you, all yours, Just For You. �STREETVIBES T/1c T11 \trJtc)\ Hon1e/ess Gr:ip evin e Page 11 Life Is Worth . Living, They Say Children Express Themselves by Carolyn Meszaros Life is worth living, they say.... For whatl I say. To hike five or so miles every day to Christ­ inspired ''feeding stations" for peanu~ butter sandwichesl If Christ did such inspiring, he inspired "feed­ ing stations" for birds in concrete wilds and peanut butter in desperation. Or, maybe, life is wo rth living to spend 8-5, M­ F looking for work o r "workers," "at a meeting," at lunch, or you name it. (But, of course you can a lways leave a message; W ell, here's the message: I called to fi nd out what yo u had fo r me, not to te ll yo u anything). It's just to get "them" through another day, the good mo nk says.... For w hat? I say. To hike five or so miles.... Or, maybe to spend 8-5, M-F.... Oh, I know! It's to keep "them" standing up long enough to get "t hem" o n a bus to another town.... Life is worth living, the sweet lady says. For whatl I say. She doesn't answe r. Life is wo rth living, the old man says. For what? I say. He doesn't know, either, but he does believe what he says. Well, life is worth living IF it's not consumed maintaining nothing more than basic sur­ vival... IF it is spent doing t hings that are worthwhile, Which is not possible, folks. If t he days are spent chasing after peanut butter lunches and "missing" employees, looking for safe park sites, or dealing with those who think you're the answer to their problems. The guy at the bus stop asked if I would give him a cigarette. I said, "Ten cents." He said, "S--1 have a carton at home" and he got on the bus. I didn't have a carton and I didn't have a legal place to sleep; but, because I sat down for a few minutes, he expected me to support him. Well, life is worth living when that kind isn't around. The Other Side of the Desk Anonymous Have you ever thought just a wee little bit, Of how it would seem to be a misfit, And how you would feel if you had to sit, On the other side of the desk? Have you ever looked at the man who seemed a bum, As he sat before you, nervo us­ dumb-And t hought of the courage it took to come, To the other side of the desk? Have you thought of his dreams that went astray, Of the hard, real facts of his every day Of the things in his life that make him stay, O n th~ other side of the desk? Did you make him feel that he was full of greed, Make him ashamed of his race or creed, Or did you reach out to him in his need, To the other side of the desk? May God give us wisdom and lots of it, And much compassion and plenty of grit, So that we may be kinder to those who sit ON­ THE-OTHER-SI DE-OF-THE-DESK. Through Poetry Dear Mr. Whitehead, We are members of the ·Peaslee Neighbor­ hood Center children's writing group. We would like you to consider printing our stories and poems ·in the.Streetvibes news­ paper. Thank you. Sincerely, Marcel Freeland David Smith The Gray World by Marcel Freeland I dedicate this story to Peaslee and my family. O ne day all the color we nt away. There was no red, blue, yellow or other colors. I felt blah! So... I painted everything my way and my colors. W as it beautiful! Listen to the Earth by David lee Smith listen to the earth Look up look down It's nature all around Listen to the water Listen to the wind They're all trying to tell you something Listen good listen hard The earth is trying to te ll yo u something. The earth is trying to tell yo u Follow your heart and stick to positive t~in king. Movie Review: Soul Food by the Shadow Guaranteed to knock you right o ut of your seat! It captures the spirit of Black life and tells a contemporary family story that touches a generation. The result is a triumphant experience. It moves you to tears and fills the heart until It ts ready to burst. It's the kind of movie that will make you shout DAMN and then sing HALLELUJAH. It's brilliant, spellbinding, fascinating - a work of art. A phenomenum, the best work of the season. Irma P. Hall ls one of my favorite actresses. She portrays Mother Joe, who takes Ill and Is unable to serve the weekly Sunday night family dinner. Brandon Hammond, portraying her young grandson, tries desperately to keep the tradition alive and the family together. He shines llke a star, highlighting the movie. the sexy Vanessa Williams plays the stuck-up sister who thinks she has made It. VIVica A Fox, who acted In "Set It Off", portrays a strong Black woman who knows her priorides. Nia Long, who I loved In "Love Jones" is the younger sister who owns her own beauty shop and has just married Lem, portrayed by Mekhl Phifer. I had compassion for the character, Lem. Uke so many African American men branded with a criminal record, this movie demonstrates how difficult it is for one to find success. Soul Foodlsn't just about eating. It's about family, unit and love. Soul Foodwas written and directed by George Tillman, Jr. The executive producer was Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. After viewing the movie, I asked a couple their opinion of the movie. Sherry Gamble and her boyfriend agreed it w.is excellent. One brother told me it was one of those movies you could watch over and over. I interrupted him and said, "It's a Classic"! Contributed by The Shadow, author of The Odd Cookie. I \ ·,, ,....,.; ..L . .·-"' Gospei COncert Entertains Crowd by Ron Carter For those of you that missed our gospel concert at the Salvadon Army Chapel on Saturday, October 18, you missed a really good show. Every one of the performers was fantasdc. The evening was a sheer delight. I'm sure all that attended will agree. I would like to thank all of the performers for making the concert a great success. It was well worth the five dollars and a lot more. Our "thank you's" go out to all that helped to make our concert so enjoyable. Also, a special thank you to the man himself, Mr. Don Whitehead, for all the work he cld putting the show together and lining up the performers. He did an excellent job. Thank you, Don. And, to Angle Pepper for her rendition of " I Believe I Can Fly," because It Is one of my favorite songs. After your performance we all were flying high. The show wrapped up with a moving "How Great Thou Art" sung by Joel Davis with his mother, Mae. Thank you, all. hllp: cincy.com/gcch Streetvibes Support Your Online Local Vendor Tell A Friend About Streetvibes We have just added a searchable interface for our Streetvibes articles. Websurfers can index our stories by date or subject. Volunteers needed for updating stories. - �STREETVIBES T/1e T1i Stole's Homeless Grapevine Grapevine Vendors Cited for Selling Without a Permit by Pal Clifford A vendor of the Cleveland Homeless Grape­ vine was cited for selling a street newspaper without a permit on November I. This comes after their case was refused a hearing before the U. S. Supreme Court. Representatives from the paper have a meeting with Cleveland Safety Director William CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE Dennihan on Novembe r I0 to attempt t o resolve the issue. The Grapevine has vowed that it will continue to publish and that it will not buy city issued licenses. The Supreme Court refusal to hea r the case means that the decision of tfle Sixth Circuit Appeals Court which allows the City of Cleveland to charge our vendors $50 to distribute the pape r will stand until challenged by another circuit court. The enforce ment of the license fees Is a major setback for the Northeast O hio Coalition for the Homeless, publisher of the Homeless Grapevine newspaper. "We will have a harder time getting the words of homeless people to Greater Clevelanders. But we are committed to continuln~ to publish and distribute the paper," said Brian Davis, Editor of the Grapevine. The Homeless Grapevine is a paper featuring the words of homeless peo ple and news of poverty in Greater Cleveland. The paper has in the past criticized local officials for a lack of attention in reversing poverty and homelessness. locally. The paper is distributed on the streets by homeless people. The vendors buy the paper for $. 15 and sell it on the streets for up to $1 .00. The paper is a viable alternative to pan handling. It allows people on the streets to transition into a job, and back into a stable environment. The o rdinance that Cleveland is relying o n is the law governing hot dog vendors and commercial sales. ''This decision says that the words of poor pe ople have no more value than a hot dog," said Assistant Editor Angelo Anderson. Grapevine advocates say that, while it is clear what the city is attempting to pro tect with the regulation of ho t dogs, it is unclear what public service the licensing of a st reet newspaper se rves. Any way yo u look at it; this decision marks a new path in regulating speech. ''Homeless Like Me'' in the Shadow of Jacobs Field Pag e 12 STREETVIBES Nationwide The danger is that the '40 or more homeless street newspapers across the country, the Socialist papers, Revolutionary Worker papers, and all the Final Call newspapers can now be potentially legislated out of existence. Kevin O'Neill, the lead attorney for the Grapevine on this case said, "You might as well ask the homeless to get a lear jet than ask them to buy a $50 license." He states that while the non-mainstream messages that were car ried by these papers a re now free to publish, they are now subject to the whims of the local government to distribute the paper. Brian Davis, Editor of the Homeless Grapevine, said, "I was surprised to see that more organizations did not stand up to protect our paper. If it can happen to a small paper like us, it could happen to any paper. We are one of the only alternatives to transition pan handlers off the streets, and it is strange that the city has not supported us. It seems that downtown businesses that have favo red the regulation of panhandlers should have embraced the paper as a viable alternative to pan handling." Davis said, "We will survive, and continue to publish. The vendors of the paper are meeting to talk about possible actions." For Your Information US Constitution: First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free e.xe rcise therof; or abridging the freedo m of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peace­ ably to assemble, and to petition the Gove rnment for a redress of grievances. By Darian Henderson It was a warm summer night, about I 0 p.m. and I had just picked up Stanley from Jacob's Field, made a quick stop and we were on our way to find our shelter from the night. This night, we were going to crash at Stanley's place. Stanley'.s unique apartment does not have four walls or a bathroom, but Instead features a open air and a conc;ete slab to sleep. Yet, the moment I stepped Into Stanley's world, I felt comfortable. He was a wonderful host, always concerned about my safety; He wanted to make my stay as comfortable as It could t;e, consid- l ~l ? Cleveland. Stanley's full name Is Stanley Williams. He is a twenty seven old native of Chicago who has been In Cleveland for three years. In the last three years, he has endured Cleveland's four distinct seasons · outdoors In a spot that I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay. He is a graduate of Job Corps and has many skills of which he utilizes In his many endeavors. In addition to his job as a GrapeYine vendor, he Is a parttdme crane operator. [Editor's note: Stanley works for a temporary service as a crane operator for an extremely low income for such a position]. Stanley has a demeanor about himself which affords him the opportunity to be a very successful vendor, and what I feel potentially to be a very successful man. I had planned to stay a night on the streets for quite some time, but was unsure of who I would go with and what I would do. Stanley has become a friend, someone of whom I have come to re spect. He seems to be a kind person, as many of the homeless men and women that I have met are. If he has five dollars in his pocket and you are in need of food, he is the first to offer. The evening I spent with him we talked for hours about life, family, the future, his hopes, and the reality of the world. My desire to stay a night on the streets was for me. I wanted to catch a glimpse of what It was to live on the streets. I had volunteered the last year of my life for a homeless advocacyu organization and felt this would be a good end to my service. I felt that the experience solidified no endings, rather it provided a beginning of a life dedicated to account­ ability and responsibility. Somehow, I hope that Stanley gained something as well. I know he gained a friend. One thing I did learn Is that I will be seeing Stanley and some of the other transient compadres down the road of life when they get back on their feet. Stanley asked a couple of questions, "Why did you want to stay on the streets and sleep under a bridge in Cleveland? What are you trying to prove by staying out on the streets for a day? Do you really feel as if you will obtain any substantive understanding of ~at it is to be homeless in the City of Cleveland?" I respond by discussing a book that was written over thirty years ago called Black Like Me. The book was an account of a white southern journalist and his efforts to obtain personal knowl­ edge of what it was like to be black in the South during the early to mid 1960s. The journalist In an effort to assimilate into Southern black culture obtained a pigment which he used to darken his skin color and a hair c!Ye to change his hair color. He boarded a bus and t14veled the Deep South, documenting all that he had seen and done, remem­ bering the people, the comments, the smells, and the environment. Whe n the tour was complete, and the book was written, the journalist realized, although he was viewed as a black man in the Deep South and he experienced the harsh reality of the racist environ­ ment of the country, he wo uld never truly know what it was to be black in America. He knew when his experiment was complete and the dye had washed out, he would go home to sleep in his bed to wake up in the morning as a white journalist with a family and a job. Yet he came to realize his life would never be the same. I drew many similarities between this journalist and myself. We both were searching for an experi­ e nce we were ignorant of. Though the journalist needed a month to realize he would never know what It was to be black In America, I went Into the night knowing that I would not understand what it truly was like to be homeless. Unlike the journalist who is genetically Incapable of being black, I have come to know that the reality of extreme poverty does not linger too far from anyone In this world. . When the journalist woke up the next morning. he viewed his body In the mirror and saw white skin. When I woke up in the morning, I went back to my bed and took a shower. As I looked out my window, I felt warmth from the heater and the knowledge that at least somewhere I have a place to call my kingdom. Like the journalist, I have now realized my life will never be the same . .. Editors Note: The Stanl~y Williams featu red in this story was the vendor cited for selling the Homeless Grapevine without a permit. He will face trial the week of November I0, 1997. For those who wish to support his efforts, you can contact him through the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, 2012 West 25th Street, No. 717, Cleve­ land, O H +411 3. Their phone number is 2 16-2'41­ l I0'4. �STREETVIBES 1 Tl1e Tn Stole s Hon1e/ess Grapevine · Page iJ People's Lives in Shambles Interview with Clifford Jones after Eureka, CA, Evictions Continuted from Page 4 Humboldt County and the City of Eureka, nesded near the northwestern most comer of California, have an estimated I 500 homeless. In October, county officials evicted nearly 200 of the homeless from their shelters at the South Spit Jetty. Nearly 80 percent of the South Spit residents are mentally or physically disabled. There are about a dozen children. O ne-third of the community is female. Most of the residents have non-operational vehicles. Dr. Wendy Ring. a homeless advocate, swears In her court declaration, "Most live in trailers which provide shelter from the weather, cooking and food storage facilities and some security from theft and assault. Evicting people from shelter, however poor, in the face of oncoming winter weather, without providing an alternative will have detrimental effects on their health...and is not In any way justified by the medical facts." in practical terms, there is virtually no housing available which costs under $300. The Housing Authority has a long waiting list, does background checks and only slumlords will rent to people without rental references. Trailer parks won't admit those trailers still mobile on the Jetty because they are too old. The county has refused even to supply gas money so people can seek housing on their own. Eureka bars overnight sleeping In vehicles. The evicted homeless speak out. Larry, who fled the Jetty in tears on Sept. 23 now sleeps in an abandoned building. He reported that police had threatened to take his dog and told him nobody from the Jetty was welcome in Eureka. He was given I0 days to get out of town. Resident Jesse Katz writes, "I was living in Eureka and I moved out here to get away from the drugs and the police harassment of the homeless. STREET SPIRIT BERKELEY, CA ·. -. I'm clean out here. For the large part we were chased out here, given no options. The jetty is closer to a community than I ever found In Eureka. Kiii me or take me to jail. I don't want either but I'm not afraid." At a later time, Katz was reached at the Ranchmotel and said, "My rent is only paid until the 26th. I was lied to about my pets, vehicle, and possessions being taken care of. Only ten people that I know of actually got housing." Writes seven-year resident Guy Keller, "I'm being held against my will, because I don't have ID. They will let me out, but they won't let me back in." Fourteen-year old Meredith Giles writes, " My mom has asthma, emphysema and her kidneys a.r e failing. I feel like I'm more free here than anywhere else in the world. When all this started happening, I felt like I was a prisoner, that I was more of a nu;ber than a person. It didn't feel like America, that I was trapped In some other country." James Darplno, who lives at the Spit with his wife and two children and one of the few operational vehicles, writes of the "simple but beneficial way of life with people tighdy knit. The unity here has a bond so strong that nobody goes without food, without water or any of the basic necessities of life." Resident and long-time activist Susan Dunn heads a family that lives In a large converted bus. She has spoken and organized against the harass­ ment of homeless people In Santa Barbara and elsewhere. "There are lots of people with disabilities. That's why they're here," says Dunn. "They can't work anymore. There are people who have injuries. They can't walk far. Others ar~ on crutches, probably for the rest of their lives. They will not be able to walk to the free meal and the places they need to go. Social Services used to send these people to the jetty because there is nowhere to go. On the jetty, the people are much better off. The ment:illy ill are relatively safe. People on the jetty have formed a real community, a church and a playground." Another homeless victim, Lurch, who has lived in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara says, "The home­ less o ut here are n't activists or protesters; we'i:e losing It because of that." Phil, disabled and from a well-to-do family writes, "The family out here on the jetty is more important than my own family because they need more." Eleven-year-old Chris, homeless and in fifth grade, says, " I feel like something is going to happen, like there is going to be a big storm or something." Nardia, another resident on the Jetty, writes that her repeated attempts t.o get even a single application form from social workers were met with silence and that her family members have not been allowed past the armed and guarded gate. Another veteran on disability with a broken back named String asks, "They're closing down the military bases; why can't the homeless go there and try to make a living? Why don't they let us go in some of those ghost towns or abandoned homes and let us fix them up?" Merle Adams, an American-Apache Vet wh~ has lived on the Spit on and off for I0 years, simply says, "I had a dream three times. It was the same dream, that I got shot. I ain't got no place to go. I'm willing to die for my land." A resident of seven months, Amy Martin, reported she had no plans to move. She says people don't understand what homeless people face when they try to join the mainstream: hostile landlords, even banks that don't want their money. "When you say you're from the jetty, it's like a wall goes up. It's really sad. I know of at least five people who are now living In abandoned houses In Eureka." "They t.old me I had 20 seconds to get out or go to jail," said Wendell Strouse, another person who had lived on the spit for five years. Strouse explained he was still there trying to repair his pickup truck. When he was ordered to leave, the Eureka Times-Press account continues, he just had time to grab his and a neighbor's dogs, jump into a car which had no license plate and drive off the sandy peninsula. Outside, draped on Susan Dunn's bus, which serves as a makeshift ark for the jetty residents' animals, hangs a huge cloth banner. It reads. "So now where do you want us to•go?" Clearly, It Is a valid question. STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Only $5 each! STREETVIBES I/, ' f/f I ' \ \ (I, •I'( v I/(' 100%.White Collon Shirts XL Purple logo T-shirts are available at our office at I506 Elm Street. Please stop by arid see us. other day. When he saw me, he started jitterbug­ ging because he had just got his teeth pulled. He felt great about It. It does a lot. It lifts your spirit; your esteem Is regenerated. Feeling good about yourself, getting o ut, being able to do things, going to interviews and smiling means a lot! SV: Well, I know It means a lot to me. I can remember the feeling I had coming out of the clinic after having my teeth worked on. Just knowing I could smile and have confidence in myself. We are a society where cosmedcs and outer appearances play a large role. People have the tendency to fee( insecure when they are not able to meet societal standards. And one of those standards is to have clean, shinny-white teeth. I know the effect that It had on me when I had my teeth cleaned. I had a whole different attitude. Even when I'm selling the newspaper, I can smile and have a completely different attitude. What I would like to do now Is to open this space and allow you to say anything you would like to say about the Coalition for the Homeless, about your practice and even about yourself. CJ: If you qualify for these services, ladies and gentleman, this is something you should jump on. We offer quality service and the majority of those services are free of charge. About myself. I am a sincere individual and I find pleasure and gratification In knowing that I am providing quality service for individuals that are In dire need of that service. As far as the Coalition for the Homeless is concerned, being a member, being able to be abreast of some of the current Issues here In the hometown, relating to homelessness, being In the forefront, going down to city hall, working and trying to get a certain agenda set to help alleviate this problem is what I'm geared up to. I feel good about our program because It does provide a very quality service. We're doing pretty much all we can do. I'm doing pretty much all I can do to ensure that it stays that way and that Individuals ~re treated humanely. SV: That's very Important! CJ: Yes it Is. Thank goodness the Homeless Coalition Is able to ensure that there are some things going on in this community to aid the homeless. Otherwise who knows what would be happening with us or with them right now! So, I don't know, bro. I don't know what else to say. SV: I think that you have said quite a lot, and ' I hope that &he people reading this will get a lot out of what you have to say. Not get a lot out of It to talk about at cocktail parties, but to find a place where they can take some acdon, where they can jump In and help. Last of all, I would like to ask a very Important question. What are some of the needs of the Oral Health Council? Maybe there are some readers who are seeking to find a way to give of their time or resources. Please let them know what they can do to make a difference in some homeless person's life through your organization, the Oral Health Council. CJ: Thank you so very much! We need soft dental toothbrushes, dental floss and toothpaste. We also need of money donations through the United Way and to the Greater Cincinnati O ral Health Council. These are some of things we definitely could use as we go out Into the community where there are no toothbrushes or dental floss. These things will really come In handy. Unfortu­ nately, our organization can't afford these things. SV: Brother Clifford Jones, l call you a brother as a black man. I also call you a brother as · a humanitarian. I call you a &rother as a spiritually minded man who seeks to have his life please God. You are indeed a friend of mankind. I appreciate that you would allow us have this interview with you so that we can show another shining example of someone who Is making a difference. CJ: Thank you. SY: See you at the clinic, Cliff! �I STREETVIBES 7/Jc fti Stote\ Homeless Grapevine Page / 4 Inner City Voices Continue.d from Page 7 address the problems present in Over the Rhine. Ms. Neumeier says "there are a lot less services now than in the seventies- there aren't enough beds to treat people with addictions, GED programs have been cut, recreation programs have been cut, senior programs have been cut..." Ms. Horner explains that "many services are here because of the dynamics of the neighborhood- .because people are in poverty, they are more likely to end up homeless, for example." One dynamic which causes the concentration of social services in Over the Rhine Is the NIMBY syndrome. NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard, and refers to groups of people who do not want social service agencies in their neighborhoods. Often, these groups will organize to exert political pressure, preventing agencies serving the homeless or me ntally ill from setting up services in their area. The Mount Airy homeless shelter Is a rarity in that it exists in a relatively affluent area. This is partly because It was established before Mt. Airy was well developed. Periodically, some residents of Mt. Airy have attempted to remove the shelter. The shelter has had to compromise by placing more restrictions on the peo ple staying at the shelter. The Drop Inn Center has faced similar pressure, because many of the city's elite feel that it is too close to Music Hall. Pe rhaps the most significant question is this: if there are no social services in Over the Rhine, where will the people who need them gor Crime I' d like to begin this discussion by aski ng­ "what is crimet' The answer may not be as appare nt as it seems. When considering this question I arrived at two catego ries of crime. The first consists of behaviors which most people in society consider to be heinous- cold blooded murder, or rape, for example. A second category of crime consists of behaviors which are In a more gray area. It appears that many crimes in a society are behaviors which are sanctioned by the empowered gro ups in order to maintain control over the nation. This view, which may be hard for some to see In the United States, is more readily appare nt in countries ru led by more o ppressive governments. For example, Ken Saro­ Wiwa was defined a criminal and put to death for protesting the exploitation of Ogoni land In Nigeria. On the other hand, the empowered groups in society also have the powe r to define certain actions as non criminal, even though they may, in fact cause harm to many people in society. Suhith Wickrema. director of justice Watch, a transitional house for ex- offenders in the West End, believes that this is true. "In a broader sense, an economic system which Is geared to make profit, rather than serve real needs, is itself criminal." Whatever view of crime you hold, however, it is true that Over the Rhine is perceived as a place with a high concentration of crime. Flnnis Bonner, a police officer in Over the Rhine for eight years, reports that there are four general groups of crime which he sees in the community: drug use and sale, violence, prostitution, and theft. But Ms. Neumeier questions whether there is actually as much crime coming from Over the Rhine as is perceived. She thinks that much of the violence Is brought here by people from the outside, who know the neigh­ borhood Is a safe place to "take care of business." She says that "the media targets the poor, as if that is the only place crime is happe ning... and I don't believe that. It may simply be more visible here." Another aspect which one must consider in unde rstanding crime is its motive. In a poor neighbor­ hood, one of the main causes of crimes like prostitution and drug sales may be economic need. Mr. Wickrema reports that many studies show that prostitutes have been The YWCA of Great.er Cincinnati and Women Helping Women announce the Protect Hotline No w victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault can get immediate help with one call...24 hours a day, 365 days a hear. One number can help save the ir lives. Local: 872-9259 Toll Free: 888-872-9259 TTY: 977-5545 sexually abused earlier in life. As a cause of vi91ence, Ms. Neumeier says that "the system pits us against each other as individuals ... people don't have access to the people ma.king decisions so they, take out their frustration on the people closest to them." In this light, Individual motives can be seen to be shaped by larger societal trends such as pove rty, racism and disempowerment. Crime is very difficult to understand. It would be unwise to accept simple answers to questions about crime after considering it for only a short time. Policing- It would be wisest, probably, to preface any discussion of policing in the Inner city with a few words of understanding: Police have the difficult task of enforcing the laws which are_mandated by the elite groups in the United States. Oftentimes, the Interface between the police and the poor. may. be the place where tensions over these rules are played out. As members of an inner city community, we may tend .to objectify the police because we don't have any control over their behavior. In this context, policing feels oppressive. But it is difficult for the police to do th!!ir work for these very reasons. Mr. Bonner-says that "many people have the attitude that the police are bad, period. A lot of youth don't want to get involved with the police because its not cool." In dealing with the police we should bear in kind that the police operate within a clear status hierarchy, which ranges from Carl Lindner at the top, through Phil Heimlich, to the police chief, down to the individual officer. In fact, the officer may not have much discretion in policing. Further, the police are socialized to see low income people and crime from the dominant ideological viewpoi nt. On the other hand, many community leaders have expressed some criticism of the action~ of the police in Over the Rhine. They believe-·that the police are not aware of the specific issues of the inner city. Ms. Neu meier says that "some. officers assume people have done wrong. I think that office~s should be required to "In a broader sense, an economic system which is ·geared to make profit, rather than serve real needs, is itself criminal"--Suhith Wickrema, justice Watch undergo sensitivity training to how race and class can affect their prejudices towards folks." Another issue is the strength of enforcement. Many people have ex­ pressed the opinion that offic4!rs know that drug activity is occurring but fail to do·anythlng about it. Some even believe that this is donl! purposefully to make the area prone to gentrification. This brings us to the role of the police in the gentrification of the area. Officer Bonner, who works with the Safety Committee (a grollp who aims to make Main Street safe). sees that·"some people are trying to change the area. They are the "good seeds' getting together to work on the neighborhood." To officer Bonner, presumably, the police's role is to help change the neighborhood for the. better. But some members of the community feel that there are problems with the police's enforcement of the two different areas. First, there are differences in the amount of policing on Main Street versus the othe r parts of Over the Rhine. These reflect the Inequalities in allocation of resources (or other serVices. for example, they note how money was given for new sidewalks and lights on Main Street while the rest of Over the Rhine receives no such money. Second, there is the sense of a double standard in enforcement. For example, laws against open bottles of beer are enforced against poor community residents. They are not enforced, however, against middle class outside rs visiting bars. Finally, the police may harass "undesirables" on Main Street. Jennifer Summers, who works for ReSTOC.. says that "people from the community don'.t go [ to Main Street ] on weekend nights because the police question them." This was echoed by a person· Tim Burroughs interviewed who sensed that police questioning had increased in the Findlay Market area. In thi.s ·case t!te individual believed that his homeless status led to his treatment from the police. There is a final incident of disenchantment with the police which Over the Rhine community leaders will not soon forget. A few years ago, the struggle between the Over the Rhine community council and the Main Street developers was more acute. On many occasio!ls representatives of the developers :.Vould aggressively disrupt the meetings, oftentim~s harassing buddy gray s o that he couldn't speak. The police officers present, who were supposed to maintain order, did nothing. In fact they were seen to be laughing and talking with the people who were disrupting the meeting! The role of the police in inner city neighborhoods Is very complex. On one hand, many people feel they are necessary to maintain order under aggravated conditions. Others feel that the police increase tension through ineffective practice. It is likely that there is truth in both perspectives. In any case, it is important that citizens question the role of the police in o ur society and ·carefully develop methods to alleviate proble ms related to their actions. History How we define the history of a place or series of events is very political. The process of writing history selects certain attributes to the exclusion of others, shaping our awareness and our sense of cause and effect. It simply is not true that the re is one history, because history is an Inte rpretive process. There may be as many interpretations as there are people. Yet, to simplify for the sake of writing. it could be said that there are two basic versions of ·over the Rhine's history today. The first appears to be depoliticized, but in fact it contains some basic political messages through exclusion and nuances of value. I encountered this version of Over the Rhine history repeatedly as I read news articles about the community. The story goes like this: Over the Rhine developed as a home for German immigrants north of the downtown area in the mid to late 18th century. The area's location north of the Miami- Erie canal and the concentration of Germans gave the commu­ nity its name- Over the Rhine. It became a haven of German culture- containing beer gardens and breweries, nightclubs and German speaking schools. At this point it was the exciting entertainment district of Cincinnati. But trouble befell Over- the Rhine in the early twentieth century when anti· German sentiment arose from the First Wo rld War. Many Germans left the neighborhood then, and again during prohibition. The space left by the Germans was filled by two migratory populations: African- Americans leaving the newly automated planta­ tions of the South, and whites leaving the empty coalmines of Appalachia. The co nse nsus in these articles is that Over the Rhine became a slum, a dumping ground for the poor. Recently, however, Over the Rh ine has had the possibility of regaining its former glory as redevelopment has occurred. But this version of Over the Rhine history does not account for many of the most significant aspects of its -~ existence. It overlooks the role of Appalachians and African- Americans in shaping the face of the ~eighbor~ hood, while implying·that African.:. Am..'ric.ans-anirAppalachians are less valuable people who were "dumped" here. Many of the events sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Over the Rhine today mirror this tendency by celebrating only Over the Rhine's white German history. By characterizing the neighborhood since the 1930s as a slum, it leads the reader to view the current development/ gentrification as a positive occur­ rence. Perhaps most significantly, it overlooks the efforts of poor people to improve their lives in Over the Rhine. Not surprisingly, the People's Movement in Over the Rhine seems to be excluded from most hi.storical accounts. Beginning during the Civil Rights Movement, a continual line of people have attempted to make a difference for the poor residents of Over the Rhine. In the beginning the struggle centered around housing. Some of the significant issues were gaining integrated· housing and fostering tenant solidarity in challenging slum landlo rds. In the seventies the VOICES newspaper was established by some VISTA volunteers, and was used as an organizing tool for the housing struggle. While this was happe ning. people noticed that many people were sleeping on the doorstep. The Drop Inn Center Shelterhouse was established to alleviate this problem. The emphasis on homelessness naturally led to creating low income housing. It was during this time that ReSTOC and other low income non profits were formed. Later, the Peaslee Neighbo rhood Center became part of the struggle when it was closed as a school. Community leaders felt that the school was an important part of the social fabric of the neighborhood, and fought to open it as a community center. In the nineties the struggle has continued, th i~ time against the gentrification in many parts of Over the Rhine. This version of Over the Rhine's history realisti­ cally incorporates struggle and the truth about the inequality which people have faced. According to Ms. Neumeier, this part of Over the Rh ine's history is likely to continue. "I believe where people are oppressed people will rise up to challenge it, because people were meant to be free." • Thank you for taking the time to read about these Issues. Please forgive any oversights or errors I may have made. Remember to keep an open and critical mind as you observe events in Over the Rhine.and the wider. society. Be active, develop awareness, and get involved in your own community, because only devoted people who care for each other will be able to attain justice. �STREETVIBES The Tti Stote\ Homeless Grapevine info. STREETVIBES Announcements Please send your announcements to Streetvlbes Announcements, I 506 Elm Street, Cincinnad, OH 45210 or fax them to 513-421-7813 by the 20th of each month. info. November 7 Washington Parle Elementary Carnival, I :30-3:30 PM, Cake walk, gam~s. food. November 10 "Advocacy Is No Joke: Top I0 Things to Do When Speaking with Public Officials," 5-7 PM, Embassy Suites Blue Ash, Sponsored by Arc Hamilton County, RSVP to 821-2113 ext. 102 Civic Forum, "The Future of the R:egion, The Tower o f Babel," Call Citizens for Civic Renewal at 381 ­ 1034 for info. · November 11 Welfare Rights Coalldon Meeting. I0:30 AM, 1641 Vine Street, Call 381-4242 for Info. November 12 Election Day Tender Mercies Annual Meeting. 5:30 PM, Music Hall, Call 1-8666 for Info. Civic Forum, "The Environment, Its Demands and Rewards," Call Citizens for Civic Renewal at 381­ 1034 for Info. n Civic Forum, "Transportation, our life support system," Call Cidzens for Civic Renewal at 381­ 1034 for Info. ­ November 6 Cincinnati Human Reladons Commission, Public Hearing on Women's Issues, 6:30-9:30 PM, City Hall Council Chambers. Call 352-3237 for more STREETVIBES Classified Ads Streetvlbes is now accepting Classified Ads for items such as Help Wanted, Items for Sale, Apart­ ments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $1 per line, appro_ximately four words per line. Classified ads- are due by the 20th of the month. People below the poverty level will be allowed five free lines for six months to advertise their skills o r products to our readers. Otherwise, payment must be received before the ad will run. No refunds will be made. Also, if there Is an error, notify us after the first printing. You will be given an extra month of ad time. Mail the ad copy to: Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax it to 421-7813 Scramble Answers from page 9 BRANDY TEMPTATIONS THE ARTIST SMOKEY SINATRA PATTY LABELLE ELVIS . GLADYS KNIGHT JAMES BROWN WHITNEY November 15 buddy gray memorial, I0 AM, 1300 Vine Street, Dedicadon of buddy's place, Reception at Drop Inn Center to follow, Call 1-0643 for more n music Streetvlbes (the band). We like to party. R&B, Oldies, Blues/jazz, Reggae. Helpln the homeless to help themselves through free enterprlze. Call 421-7803. position wanted Childcare Spec!a!!st Looking for fulitlme work as a child care specialist. Has o ne year experience working with children In a daycare. Attended Withrow Childcare Program. High School Graduate. Call Julian Gardener at the Drop Inn Center, 721-G643. Laborer Looking for a laborer? Has worked at Riverfront. Is willing to do any kind of work. Call Sonia Craig at the Drop Inn Center, 721 -0643. Elderlx or Children Looking for a community oriented Job dealing with elderly or children. 3 year ourteach worke r/ counselor aide at YMCA. 13 years typing. Computer and cashier experience Including Windows, Lotus, Any Word Processor. Call Anjall Madyun at the Drop Inn Center, 721­ 0643. STREETVI BES provides Classified Ads free to low income job seekers. Others may place ads for only $1 per line. Call 421-7803 for info. Streetvibes Vendor Code of Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. I. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for donations more than $1. I also understand that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future Issues of Streetvibes will be purchased from the Homeless Coalition for 20 cents. 2. I agree that I will never distribute Streetvlbes while under the Influence of drugs or alcohol. 3. I agree that I will· not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others wtth respect. I will not use abusive language or force someone to give a · donation. I will not give a "hard sell" or make someone feel threatened. 5. I agree that I will not iupply copies of November 18 "Financing Public Education in Ohio," ·League of Women Vo ters, 7-9 PM, Geier Room. Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. November 4 November 5 Page 15 Streetvibes to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. I agree not to deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a not-for-profit charity or that I am collecting for the "homeless" in general. I will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvlbes will go to the Individual vendor. 7. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self suppordng paper created by people who are homeless or fomierty homeless. To help In this effort, I will try to spread the word and write stories If possible. · 9. I understand that the failure to comply wtth any of the above statements will result In me no lon&er being able to distribute Streetvibes. November 19 November 20 Homeless Coalition Holiday Dinner, 6 PM, St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen, Food, Music Prizes, $15 at door, call 421-7803 for Info. November 25 . Welfare Rights Coalition Meedng. I0:30 AM, 1641 Vine Street, Call 381-4242 for info. November2! Happy Thanksgiving! .· · . Grateful Givings Day, Sitwells Coffee House, 404 Ludlow Ave, 3-8 PM, .free tradidon~ holfday meal, Call 281-7487 for Info. Stock Ma.rket Continued from Page 3 to the right, cultural crldque toward the trivial, and it homogenize[s] voices, Ideas, anc;f perspectives." Remember how many paper$ I listed before that had all found the same thing newsworthy at the same dme and had come to the same conclusions? That might have something to do with the fact that they're all owned by huge corporations that are in collusion with each other to,not sell a ~ent paper, but to sell you to their (often the sam~) advertisers. It is you not the paper that is the com~dity (that's why the NYTimes can offer the-irs on the internet for free-either way you see the advertisements...) So what you end up with is corporations, reporting on other corporations.which are usually the same corporations their trying to sell you to with their big headlines! Hmm... this is disturbing indeed. Advertise in Streetvibes! Advertising in Streetvibes Is a chance for businesses to help a good cause while promoting themselves to 4,000 concerned people each month. The rates are shown below. Business Card Size · 2" x 3 1/2" $10 per month Two Business Card Size 4" x 3 112" $20 per mont~ A check or money order must accompany the ad copy. We reserve the right to deny any ad, especially those which promote alcohol or tobacco products. You will receive a full refund should your ad be denied. For larger ads, call the number below. · Ads are due by the 20th of each month. If you need assistance In preparing your ad or have any other questions, call the Homeless Coali­ don at 421-7803. Mall ads wtth pa~t to: ~ I506 Bm Street Onclnnad, OH 45210 � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 November 1997 Vol 1, issue 10 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness 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 November 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: homeless protest city council affordable housing buddy gray homeless narrative addiction eviction Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Cassandra Barham Mary Burke Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis Tammy deGruchy Marcel Freeland Rob Freking Darian Henderson Lemuel Israel Carolyn Meszaros Sabra Mitchell Pat Mosolf Mike Nelson Bonnie Neumeier Robert Norse Gregory Payton Mark Salter Malaka Sanders The Shadow David Lee Smith Jennifer Summers Jean Taddie Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Sonny Williams addiction Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis buddy gray Carolyn Meszaros Cassandra Barham Darian Henderson David Lee Smith Denise Crew Donald Whitehead Gregory Payton homeless housing Jean Taddie Jennifer Summers Lemuel Israel Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Marcel Freeland Mark Salter Mary Burke Mike Nelson Pat Clifford Pat Mosolf protest reform Rob Freking Robert Norse Ron Carter Sabra Mitchell Sonny Williams Tammy deGruchy The Shadow welfare https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/7bbf9f5c8c4be14f3f6715d3a4532428.pdf 5144c74938938d36804a069c21cf9829 PDF Text Text Today•s Youth Find No Room at the Inn Christmas wishes shine through the lighted sign on St. Francis-St. Joseph Catholic House. Photo by James Heath. Attacks on Street Papers Strike at the Core of Our Freedoms Commsnlary /Jy 81ian Davis, Edi/or, Cleveland Homeless Grapevine In the two decades leading up to the ,United there were rumblings of change. The literature of change was the pamph)et. Jt was cheap to construct, and easy to print. This form of literature carried the words of Thomas Paine, Phillip Livingston, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Many of these pamphlets were sold on the streets, usually for two shlrllngs. Pulitzer Prize winning author, Bernard Bailyn, called It the "Literature of revolution," and John Adams said that pamphlets and newspapers were the vehicle for "enlightening'' public opinion about the authority Engfand had over the colonies. Today we are seeing the beginning of a movement to return power to disenfranchised Individuals. This movement unites races and regions of the country In a struggle for equality. The literature of this moverT)ent is the street newspaper. Newspapers written by homeless and low income people give a voice to the voiceless, and enlighten the public about the authority of corporations over Sta~ Revolution, Page 3: News: Cincinnalian Fasts for Justice in Honduras Page 4: Mr. 'T' Gives Hope al Showerhouse Page 8: Slleelvibes looks Back al 1997 Page 12: Homeless Man is One in a Million Page 13: Nationwide: Flamingo Hole/ TakenOver in Santa Monica, CA Page 14: Announcements and Classified Ads our life. They are cheap to produce, and provide an avenue for some financial benefit from the sale of the papers. What the media ignore or obscure with sports, entertainment, and business, the street newspapers explore, investigate, and evaluate. While we no longer respect the power of the media, it still exists. Pamphleteers in the 1770s Ignited a revolution. In the late twentieth century, the medra had the ability to change the verdict of a jury, and end the career of a politician, and even end a war. Street newspapers attempt to forward solutions and change public opinion In a peaceful manner. Jello Blafra, leader of the rock group, Lard and the Dead Kennedys, said, "Do not hate the media. become the media." In 40 cities across North America, this Is being done. The street newspapers act as the mouthpiece for a movement, and are just beginning to educate our communities. "Free Speech" Continued on page 13 Christmas Reminds Us of Our Own Wonderful Life "But, if we could for that brief moment, as in that movie, get a chance to view the past and future lives of those we love and care about, viewed before our birth, without us, and after our deaths, I wonder what our responses would be? If we could only have a glimpse of what our lives mean to those we live with, live for, and are In love with, the ones we care for and for that matter our place in the world. Truth Is, there will be a gap without you. Oh, sure, the Boss would replace you, your mate would probably find another, but, It would not be you. The world would not be the same without you. Just as If caffeine Is taken out of coffee. is it then really coffee? Not In It's pure state or true state." Read Ille Full Story on Page 5 by Donald Whitehead As we approach the Holiday Season, some of 1:1s reflect on the past year's accomplishments and triumphs. Some reflect on the year's sorrow and disappointments. Still others reflect on Biblical times and the story of the Birth of the Baby Jesus. I am one of those who reflect on the Birth of the Baby Jesus, and also the young teenage Mary and Joseph as they struggled to find a warm place to rest. As I reflect, I am reminded that things haven't changed much for Joseph and Mary's age group­ there's still no room at the Inn. The ranks of the homeless continue to grow younger. We have seen a sharp Increase in the number of Individuals that are under 22 who now have to depend on shelters and homeless programs. "Many of those we see.now are young women with babies," according to Gail Holle)', Drop Inn Center shelter advocate. She agrees that the population grows younpr every day. "I can't believe the number of teenage boys that we a re beginning to see," says Holley. Mrs. Holley also pointed out the increase in teens migrating from other cities with even fewer shelter beds. In some cities like Philadel­ phia and Minnesota, there are no shelters for single adults although they still remain the largest segment of the homeless population. There are some experts, like Homes for the Homeless in New York, who have come up with astonishing numbers related to the average age of the homeless In America. According to Homes for the Homeless, the average age of a homeless person in New York Is 9 years ofage!! That figure Is a little lower than the average age in Cincinnati, but astonishing none the less. The trend has been well documented by David Dietz, new director at St. Francis-St. Joseph Catholic Worker House. "Yesterday I spent two fruitless hours on the phone trying to find a bed for an 18 year old who had been sleeping on the street, only to then greet a 19 year old at the door. We do our best at St. Francis-St. Joseph but we don't have any staffed trained to provide for younger men's greater needs of attention and support." Since this trend was just brought to the attention of our staffat Streetvibes, we have been trying to track its causes. Homelessness severely Impacts the health and well-being of all family members. Compared with housed poor children, homeless children experience worse health: more developmental delays; and lower educational achievement (Shinn and Weitzman, 1996). In addition, homeless children face barriers to enrolling and attending school, including transportation problems, residency requirements, Inability to obtain previous school records, and lack of clothing and school supplies. Parents also suffer the ill effects of homelessness and poverty. Homelessness frequendy breaks up families. Families may be separated as a result of shelter policies whJch deny access to older boys or fathers. Separations may also be ca1,1sed by placements of children Into foster care when their parents become homeless. In addition, parents may leave their children with relatives and friends in order to save "No Room for Youth" C o ?>t inued on page 10 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State 's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ less. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and Individuals committed to ending home­ lessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrine, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Carolyn Meszaros, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Writers Tim Burroughs Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis James Heath Lemuel Israel Paul Larkin Carolyn Meszaros Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Mark Salter Malaka Sanders Hillary Schwab Tess Donald Whitehead ZacWillette Lynn Williams Carmen Ziegler Vera ZJatkin Volunteer Editors Malaka Sanders Jeff Summers Kimberly Tenai Editorial Policy: Streetvibes accepts all letters, poems, com­ ments or editorials. We will print every­ thing we have room for, giving preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Please send all material to the following address: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch Quote of the Month "You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a .r.· " ilre... Pag e 2 Food Stamp Recipients Caught in Legislative Crossfire Organizing Update .by Lynn Williams "Soon as victory is in hand, they tum it around, snatch it away from you, and put everyone in limbo,'' stated Cassandra Barham when she heard that the November 18th decision on food stamps was canceled. Just when it looked like a sure victory for recipients across Ohio, it was left hanging in the air. Eight members of the ten member Joint Commit­ tee on Agency Rule Review (or JCARR) had been supportive of letting recipients and their families keep food stamps if under a sanction. When it looked like a victory, Arnold Tompkins, Director of the Ohio Department of Human Services, introduced a measure that would cut the food stamps for the adult portion of the stamps, although allowing children to keep their stamps. The vote that was supposed to happen November 18th in the JCARR committee was postponed until December 16th. In the meantime, because the issue has not been resolved, families under sanction will continue to lose their entire household's food stamps if the adult is sanctioned. Postponement of one month makes a tremen­ dous difference for the families who will lose their entire food stamps! The news media tried to blame the victim, saying adults would be cut off If they were "uncooperative" with the work requirements. In a letter from Arnold Tompklns to the Welfare Rights familles' assistance cases will result in homelessness, increased pressure on already strapped food banks and soup kitchens, and great hunger. Theressa Taul, member of the Welfare Rights Coalition, is dismayed. "Why are food stamps getting cut? They are hurting children, hurting families. Has America completely turned its back on the poor or what? Why are they trying to let people starve?" She goes on, describing how her family has suffered deprivation in the past. "I know what it's like to have no food in the house. To wake up In the morning and wonder how I'm going to feed my children today? It's awful to see your children fighting over the last piece of bread in the house." Kay Boyd, WRC member and a grandmother who takes care of her two small grandchildren, is equally outraged. "As far as the sanctions go, it's going to put a lot of Innocent children on the street. There are going to be situations where parents cannot comply, such as taking care of a sick child. If you have a small baby, you're going to be trouble. How terrible to be on the street without food and with a small baby to ta'ke care of...people will be dying." Kay continues on. "They need to start training the caseworkers. They need more adequate training. They need to know what the new rules are so they don't mess up families' cases." Kay Is speaking from experience. The Welfare Rights Coalition held a press "In the meantime, because the conference on November 14th at the Elm Street issue has not been resolved, Food Stamp Office to bring public awareness to this families under sanction will con­ issue. Passerbys on the street who were coming to pick up their stamps were very upset. One woman tinue to lose their entire cried out, "I knew nothing about this! No one told household's food stamps if the me at the welfare office!" When I asked her to speak In front of the cameras.• ·s he shied away. "They adult is sanctioned " might retaliate against me and my children. I can't Coalition, he stated that recipients need "only get on the News." She nevertheless stayed on to comply" with their Personal Responsibility Agree­ listen. ments which they help design. In reality, in many Recipients who are members of the Welfare instances, sanctions have nothing to do with the Rights Coalition are willing to put themselves and willingness of recipients to work! Many sanctions their families on the line! They are willing to are occurring because of caseworker errors: phone continue to speak out against these cruel laws of calls that are not acknowledged by caseworkers, punishment! Families across Ohio will be affected, "lost" paperwork, notification letters that are never and thousands of poor children. "People are going sent out to give recipients a chance to appeal a to have to do their homework and fight against these decision, and caseworkers who do not know the new sanctions. It's going to get a lot worse unless we do rules. These situations are not mentioned by the something!" cried out Kay Boyd. mainstream news media. Instead, myths are perpetu­ Advocates have until December 16th to ated that recipients are cut off because "they don't continue calling and ~ricing members of the JCARR want to work". This feeds into the sentiment that Committee. Urge them to accept policy that does they then don't need to eat if they won't work. The not sanction food stamps for the entire household. mainstream media and OOHS work hand and hand Adult members should not lose their food stamps. If to Influence public perceptions of the very poor. one member of a family is cut, the whole family will The idea that welfare recipients have not worked or suffer. Urge Committee members to maintain this do not work is untrue; nationally, 70% of recipients one last safety net for families: food to survive! have a work history and leave welfare for work in two years or less. Phone Numbers of JCARR Members Mr. T ompklns' notion that recipients have input into planning their Personal Responsibility R.ep. Donald Mottely, Chair- 6 14/644-6008 or 937/859­ 4763 Agreement is not happening in practice. Reports Senator Gary Suhadolnik, V. Chair- 614/466-8056 or 216/ from recipients tell a different story. Namely, that 846-6666 caseworkers make the decisions and then require Senator Karen Gillmor- 614/466-8049 or 419/992-4783 recipients to initial what the caseworker has already Senator Merle Grace Kearns- 614/466-3780 or 937/323­ decided for them. The recipient is then expected to 1581 comply with all of the "agreement" that is mandated Senator Greg DiDonato-614/466-6508 or 330/339-7 187 from above. Senator Leigh .Herington-614/466-704 1 or 330/626-1200 Arnold Tompkins has come up with a compro­ Rep. Joan Lawrence-614/466-6711 or 6 l 4/965-2820 Rep. George Terwilleger-614/644-6027 or 513/722-3344 mise that will eliminate the adult's portion of food Rep. Dan Brady-614/466-3454 or 2161281 -8999 stamps, which in most cases, equates to $100 in Rep. Michael Verlch-614/466-5358 or 330/369-2537 food stamps. The idea is to soften opponents who were concerned about children. Well, it has not softened the opposition! This compromise Is still Stale Legislative Addresses going to harm poor families, including the children. Ohio House of Representatives It Is goingto reduce the overall amount of food Riffe Center available for children because adults are going to eat 77 South High St. out of necessity. Food is not a luxury! It Is a basic Columbus, OH 43215-4276 essential to survival! Postponing this decision Is cruel. In the Senators: meantime, families will continue to be sanctioned Ohio Senate and lose all their food stamps, as well as cash Statehouse assistance. For caseworkers to make "mistakes" on Columbus, OH '43215--4276 In �STREETVIBES The ,-,, '!tOti"~ Hon1e/ess Grap evine p age 3 Cincinnatian Fasts for Justice in Honduras by Marlin Eisen One of the fundamental principles of human rights actJvism Is the Importance of bringing out the truth - for the vlcdms, survivors and their families, and to establish accountablllty. The question that we often face Is "how best do we work to bring the truth to light?" As of this wridng my brother, Matthew Eisen, and Fr.Joe Mulligan are on the 27th day of a fast In front of the United States Embassy In Honduras ­ trying to do their part to exhume the truth about the death of a priest Matthew Is part of an effort, which has attracted a headline article in the Cincin­ nati Enquirer ( 11/25/97), to find out the truth about Fr. James Camey. Fr. Camey was a Catholic priest, from Detroit, and worked as a chaplain to a rebel column in the Central American country of Honduras. In 1983 he " disap~red". He may have been picked up by Battalion 316, which received tralning and aid from the CIA Fr. Camey's famlly has petitioned the United Stat.es government for Information, they've even walked the halls of Congress and met with Administration officials searching for someone to bring the truth to light, but stlll... nothing. WHY? The United States government is often a vocal supporter of "Truth Commissions" when it comes to other countries; unfortunately, it has a very different approach when It comes to dealing with the truth concerning knowledge of, and potential complicity In human rights violations committed by its own agents. The U.S. government has continued to drag its feet In releasing Information about the fate of human rights vktims and survivors and of U.S. involvement - including the case of Fr. Camey. The relevant • Matthew Elsen In El Salvador. Photo by James Heath. H.R.2635). For more lnformadon contact Amnesty lntemational's C incinnad Satellite Office at 73460'43. Hatthew ancl Hartin Bsen, graduates ofXaYier University, both have /Neel ancl worked Jn Over-the- Rhine In the past., helping with rehabllitadon of housing for the homeless. Hartin now works in the Washington, DCoffice ofAmnesty lntt!rnatiom/. Hatthew volunteers with CR/SPAZIn Honduras ancl works ata youth center. Analrsis "The U.S. government has con­ tinued to drag its feet in releas­ ing information about the fate of human rights victims and survi­ vors and of US. involvement ­ including the case of Fr. Carney. " Anti Poor Laws Span Centuries by Hillary Schwab documents remain "classified" - shrouded in secrecy and beyond the reach of the public, the survivors, and the victim's families. WHY? The release of these documents, "declassification," Is being demanded from many citizens groups, like Amnesty International, and thousands of Individuals - like my brother. Matthew Is speclflcally asking that the relevant documents concerning the case of Fr.Joe Camey be reviewed by Secretary of State Madelaine Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno. How long Matthew and his colleague, Fr. Joe Mulligan, condnue their fast and protest. how long they condnue starving for justice, how lotlg this standoff will condnue is unknown. What will It take for the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and our officials In Washington DC to address this Issue? All previous attempts to gain information have resulted In the release of redacted, or blacked­ out, documents - like those you may see on a TV show. It is time for all of us to say "NO" to the Washington bureaucrats who have kept the truth from the public and from the victims, the survivors, and their families. We can bring the truth to light The U.S. Congress has before It a bill call the Human Rights lnformadon A1:;t which would dedas­ slfy, or release, documents about Guatemala and Honduras. Most bills of this nawre don't die by being voted down - they die by being overlooked and Ignored by Members of Congress. If the Human Rights Information Act Is to pass and If Fr. Camey's bmily Is to finally find out the truth after 1-4 years ­ we will all need to get Involved. Help bring the truth to lighc contact both your Senators and your Representative asking them to co-sponsor the Human Rights Information Al:;t (S. 1220 and Anti-homeless laws are the most recent in a long line of laws designed to control the poor. Such l~ws began In England In 13'48 after the Black Plague killed off a large number of workers. This new scarcity of labor allowed the remaining workers to finally be able to demand decent living wages. Landowners, feeling threatened by the new freedom and success of the working class, enacted Statutes of Laborers, which crimlnallz.ed wandering. confined workers to certain places, and fixed their wages at low levels. Lawmakers claimed that these laws were necessary to preserve the public order, but In fact they were just a way for economically and politically powerful people to exert control over the lower classes. In the 1500s, the number of poor, unemployed people In England rose significantly. This increase occurred for several reasons, Including a dramatic rise In the populadon of England, the ending of wars which left many unemployed ex-soldiers, and the new practice of forcing settled peasants off the land to raise sheep. To deal with this new population of poor people without jobs, the English government enacted more strict vagrancy laws with greater penaldes. These laws permitted arresting individuals who seemed suspicious of undesirable, to protect against possible fuwre crime. The government enacted the first Elizabethan Poor Laws In 160 I, making local governments responsible for the poor people In their communl­ des. The laws required appolnanent of overseers who controlled most aspects of the of poor people's lives. These overseers sent poor people to work­ houses, where they were forced to work In unfavor­ able conditions. The poor laws had another negative effect: they led to ~ctment of vagrancy laws by local governments to keep poor people from migrating to their cities. In 1662, the Law of Settlement and Removal was enacted, addressing the local governments' concern. The law allowed local officials to call any newcomer before them to convince them he would not become a public charge. If he could not do so, the local officials could remove him to his place of birth or last place of residence. American vagrancy laws started In colonial dmes, and mirrored the and-poor laws In England. These laws allowed local officials to remove poor people to their last places of residence. In this way, localldes attempted to avoid the problems and needs of the poor, by fordng poor people out of their jurlsdicdons. This behavior such as "ic:leness," and they were enforced arbftrarily and In a discrimina­ tory manner agalnst disfavored classes of people. They also Indicated the manner In which state and local governments, which recognized the problem of the growing number of unemployed, people, c;hose to deal with the poor. Instead of enacting legislation to Improve the slwations of these people, govern­ ments hoped to push them out of their cldes with unfriendly laws and the guarantee of police harass­ ment In the urly 1900s, some states even went beyond vagrancy laws In their persecudon of poor people. New York, New Jersey, and ulifornia all enacted ..pauper statutes" which criminalized the knowing Importation of poor people Into these states. The U.S. Supreme Court indicated Its disapproval of these laws In 19'4 I, when It struck down a California pauper law In Edwards vs. Ca/lfomla. This opinion, coupled with more and more legal criticism of both vagrancy and loitering •Anti Poor History" Continued on page II �STREETVIBES The l 11 )lute\ Homeless Grapevine Page 4 Mr. T Gives Hope at Showerhouse 11 11 Interview with Theardis Ishman by Lemuel Israel SV: All of us who frequent the showerhouse call you Fred. I didn't ever know your real name until just today. I also understand that your friends just call you T. How old are you? Tl: 57. SV: 57? OK, now, you work here at the place I've always heard called the "showerhouse". What is the official name of this place where the homeless come to take their showers and get a fresh change of clothes? Tl: Mary Magdalen House. SV: How long has the Mary Magdalen house been around? Tl: It was opened in 1988. Two or three people got together over at Saint Mary's parish and they wanted to open up a facility for homeless people. The homeless came to the church so oft.en wanting to use the restroom, the phone, and seemed to be in need of a place to clean themselves up. So, they got together and came up with the Mary Magdalen House. They bought two buildings and put in these facilities on the first floor. It's been doing pretty good. It's '97 and business has picked up over the years, especially, since all of the cut­ backs and so forth. SV: Oh yeah? So your saying business has picked up in the sense that more and more people are In need of these facilities from the lack of having their own place to take a shower? Tl: Yes. STREETVIBES Services SV: I can remember when I first came to the Mary Magdalen House, I was staying at the Drop Inn Center. I would hear people talking about the showerhouse. They would say things like, "Why would I take a shower here when I could go to the showerhouse. Over there I can get a shower and a fresh set of clothes to wear for the day, and the ones I'm wearing will be cleaned and waiting for me the next day when I come again?". I think that is an excellent idea! I sure would like to thank the person personally who thought of this idea. This is some­ thing that has become very valuable to the homeless community. Tl: I agree I 00% with that statement. Every once in a while he stops by. So, you might get a chance to meet him. SV: What is his name? Tl: Gamer. Jim Garner. SV: Is he a priest, or a lay person of the church? Tl: No. I guess you could say he is just a concerned Samaritan. They were members of Saint Mary's who had an open heart. SV: Well, they are making a difference In the community. How did you get the job worldng at the Mary Magdalen House? Tl: Well, as so many of us do, I found myself homeless one day and ended up at the Drop Lnn Center. I spent about three months there. Walking around everyday and having nothing to do, I decided to volunteer at the Mary Magdalen House 'cause I didn't see many Blacks there. It was just a way of doing something with my life Instead of running from soup kitchen to soup kitchen, day in and day out. Not really having any work or anything to do except walking from one block to the next, I wanted something better for myself. I didn't care whether I got paid. Just to be doing something was important to me. I didn't want my life to be wasted. I came in 1990, around April or May and I've been here ever since. SY: So, you've put in seven years of service. And you say it was just something for you to do to have a sense of worth and make a contribution somewhere? Tl: Yes. I felt they needed the help and I had the time and the desire to do It. We've become a pretty close~knit family over the years. SV: Can you tell us some of your most cherished moments or situatlons you've found yourself In while serving the needs of the homeless here at the Magdalen House? Tl : Well, the joy that I find is when you see a person come in and they're down on their luck and we're able to help them by giving them some fresh clothes, get 'em cleaned up, with a nice haircut and stuff and they come back and say they got this job. It's the joy. It's the joy...you know what I'm trying to say? It's kinda hard to put into words. it's a glow that: the person has, the joy in their heart,...and you're able to share In that joy. That gives a person a sense of accomplishment, you know, like you are doing something good. SV: Well, I think you are doing good here. When I first started selling STREETVIBES, I was living in the Drop Inn Center and came to the showerhouse regularly. There was a noticeable difference In my performance on days that I didn't shower and put on a fresh set of clothes. I believe it was more of the way I felt about myself than the way In which I was pel"ceived by the purchasing public. There were times when people would even question me as to whether or not I really was homeless, and not just trying use homelessness as a scam. This is because we don't expect a homeless person to look neat and clean! I don't think anyone could disagree with the fact that when we are clean and fresh and have on dean clothes we have a whole different atdwde. We have a different way of carrying ourselves and talking with people and walking through society. There's a certain level of confi­ dence I had knowing I didn't have to worry about the way that I smelled or that my clothes were dirty or had an appearance of being unkept. Like I said, sometimes people couldn't believe I was homeless because I was so well kept up in my appearance. Fl: You see? That says something very good about Mary Magdalen! When people feel that way, It makes me feel great! It's gotten to the point with me, when I see someone that needs cleanin' up, I ask them will they come to Mary Magdalen House and clean up. SV: So, you're a missionary of a sort, huh? Fl: Heh-heh-heh. SY: Goin' out and bringin' 'em in! Fl: (Laughing joyously) Yeah! That's what it's like. The facilities are there and we're very fortunate because we have a great group of volunteers who help us, and also the donations. The people in Cincinnati are most very kind and caring people, because if It wasn't for donations we wouldn't be able to exist. They help in donations in all ways. Money, clothing, and the toilet articles that we need. This Is a blessed ministry. SY: Yes, it is a blessing. I quite often hear the people out in the street remarking how much of a blessing it is to them as far as how you all are conslstendy there for them and how freely you all are giving of yourselves to them. · ­ Tl: See, that constandy makes you feel good 'cause you count on these people to make It. And then there's new people who say," well, I didn't even know this place exlsted!". It just makes you feel good. So often they come back and tell you they've had success; they've found ajob_, they've got an apartment, things like chis. It's so wonderful to see a person who comes In so down and now Theardls Ishman, Mr. "T", works at Mary Magdelen House which provides clothes and showers to the homeless. Photo by James Heath. they're on the rise again. This good feeling never leaves you. You know this could happen to anyone but it doesn't have to destroy you. SV: Racism is said to be a cause of homeless­ ness. What are the effects of racism that you see? Do you see or experience any of the effects that racism has had on homelessness as far as blacks and other non-Europeans living In Cincinn1tll Tl: Well, it very well may have, but I don't have any answers. (Sadly and quietly speaking) I wished I did. It looks like racism ls going to be around for a long time. As I say, I don't have an answer nor do I know what percentage of those who come here are affectS of racism. SV: It doesn't have to be exact, but, what would you say is the ratio of Black and other Non­ Euro-Americans that frequent the showerhouse to the Euro-Americans? Tl: Huh? Oh boy! I would say, to be modest, about seventy-five percent Black and twenty-five percent White. SV: It's Interesting to me to see that the figures concerning the ratio of the Black/White population Is approximately 440160, showing the population as majority White, while the home less people in need of your services is 75% non-White. We always try to deal with the subject of racism as honestly as we can so we can make people aware just how racism plays a role In the creation of homelessness. Now, I would like to shift gears and ask you another question. Fl: Go ahead. SV: What are some of the problems that you encounter with the homeless populace that come to Mary Magdalen House. Fl: As far as what? SV: As far as when they come here to Mary Magdalen House, what kind of experiences do you... Fl: I don't want to put anybody down. SV: I'm not asking you to put anybody down. I just want you to tell me what kind of problems do you see the homeless going through In Just day to day survival. TI: Some of the problems I see the homeless having? SV: Yeah. Let me see If I can give you ~n example: Some of the people are out on the street because their marriage broke up and one of them had to leave the dwelling they both lived In together. Now, all of a sudden the place Isn't big enough for both of them and someone has to go. Another scenario could be like this: A person has a mental disorder that isn't disordered enough to keep them "Showerhouse" Continued on page 14 �STREETVIBES 1/1(~ 111 \f(j{(·\ Ho1neless Gr:ipevine Christmas Reminds Us of Our Own Wonderful Life by Mark Saller P.iPc 5 ..., STREETVIBES Sou/2Sou/ (Tu I:'46 a.m.) Well! The ho lidays are among us again, Christmas and New Year's....Christma.s.... I don't care what people say, It's the most fesdve dme of the year. And, people do change for the better. I don't care if It's once a year, It's all good. Decoradons, donadons, and gift-giving and receiving, Christmas shows and movies.... Speaking of movies, one of the most profound movies I've seen yet ls-guess-" lt's A Wonderful Life," although right now (or any dme for that matt.er) It doesn't always seem that way, especially at those d mes when the ends don't meet or justify the means and when nothing seems to work. It's A Wonderful Life: The husband, father, and provider lost faith In him.self, sank into despair, lost his job and the wife and children wouldn't have a Christmas. Yeah, what a wonderful life. How many children and wives will have Christmas this year? How many families will have a home for the holidays? And, what about you? This year will you be ungrateful In that you have a home? And, perhaps, a lot of us will feel like George Balley In the movie, wandng to jump off a bridge instead of facing the shame, pain, and heartache, of letting down the ones we love and care about. Yes, It does hurt. And, we may see the hurt In their eyes. We may even experience the low feelings o n the scale of I to IO; and, that bridge, then, doesn't seem like a bad Idea. But, if we co uld for that brief moment, as in that movie, get a chance to view the past and fuwre lives of those we love and care about, viewed before our birth, without us, and after our deaths, I wonde r what o ur responses would be? If we could o nly have a glimpse o f what o ur lives mean to those we live with, live for, and are In love with, the ones we care for and for that matter o ur place in the wo rld. Truth Is, there will be a gap without you. Oh, sure, the Boss would replace you, your mate would probably find another, but, It would not be you. The world would not be the same without you. Just as If caffeine Is taken out of coffee, Is It then really coffee? Not In It's pure state or true state. There Is no two of you, and It Is unforwnate we don't get those glimpses. And, from time to time we do feel those pains. However, I can say this, life Is better with you In It because of the smile you have, the beauty yo u possess, even those personality traits and habits that we all have that sometimes Irks us or Wms us off, and when you express your heart, mind and soul. Life, our lives, may not be like in the movies, where we are rescued In the nick of time. But. I will tell you this, at Chnstmas time Angels do fly low. They will walk on two legs and speak to you. I am willing to bet many of us will meet o ur ..Angel(s)" this year. Whether we believe or accept that is anothe r matter; even whethe r we recognize one is. But, the Angels will be present, as they have been througho ut o ur lives. Today I visited an "open house" at 126 E. O lfton, the beginning of Sharp Village. Angels: a lot of people who didn't have to get Involved but were moved to Invest dme, energy and money Into something for somebody that many of them will never know or meet. And, I know there may be people who wish they could do this and that for others; but, this year wu just too consuming. I'd like to say, " Hey! It's 0.1<. You did what you could with what you had. Thank you." A lot of people wlU quesdon the motives. Some wtll even provide one or two of those for them with lltde or no concern for truth or feelings. But, It Is done and will continue to grow. Christmas season: bills, bills, and more bills. Oh, what joy Christmas brings. When It's over, the New Year begins. And, I know C hristmas Is a dme of longings and pain for some of us, especially me....All the ones I've missed, being single and unemployed, and home­ less. What is the kind of Christmas I'd like to have? I would like a Christmas Mark Salter where I can fill the hearts and empty spaces of those who are In my life today. To be able for one day and night to spend the dme relaxed, sitting back cozy with a her, enjoying a feeling of togetherness (after spending days of being of service), watching videos, with a letting the feelings of intimacy grow, just grow. No expectations nor demands and nothing but just being together. Christmas for some of us has changed; our hearts have been hardened by struggles of everyday living. the realities; and, for others, It's just too painful. It will be a dme filled with prayers, tears, wishes and hopes, churches, plays, toys and smlles, commercials, rehearsals, mistletoes and trees, Pngfe bells, rock & roll, R&8 and Rap, country songs, jazz & blues, Xmas sales and ''wishing wells" all with "be on top" and all those Ho Ho's and goodnlghts. Yes, truly for me It will be a delight, because for me, today, It's truly a wonderful life. For if I'm given ano ther day, It Is a day I get to use to wo rk towards bettering myself. It's a chance to help others, a chance to experience being In love and learning when "her" Is In love wtth me. A chance to see children grow and homes renewed and saved. And, for all of you that can save to celebrate Christmas, that's O.K., Christmas will be celebrated for you. Just don't look down on us because some of us really need the holiday, simply because it's the only time of the year when most people will even think about us. I thank God because It Is a wonderful life, and I get to live It one day at a time. f, .;":,ijl\#IBf Winter Brings Thankfullness by Paul Larkin The big picture, that Is life, Is beginning to come a lot more clear for me. The cold, bitter temperatures have set In, and winter is upon us. I must first say that I am very thankful for having a place to live. It may not be the greatest place in the world, but It beats the street, and a spot in the nearest abandoned building. I am thankful for having a place to exerdse my thoughts, and to think of the next move I should make to Improve my situation. There are going to be many ups and downs, but I niust deal with them and move forward. Praying each day has been the most positive tool for getting to whe re I'm at, and It will continue t.o carry me through. The weekends that I do not work my job, I spend doing volunteer work. It ls good to stop worrying about yourself for a while, and concentrate on someone e lse In need. A lot of dmes, you not only help that person, but they help you In rewm. It is a two way street most of the dme, and this gives yo u a good feeling Inside. It ls amazing what can be done with just a little bit of effort, and a whole lot of caring. for this I am thankful as we ll. Watching and observing the thtngs going on around me allows me to create an Image and an Idea about different days, and different circumstances. It is nice to be able to think about them and put them Into writing. Being homeless, my attitude has surely changed on many aspects of life. I try to look at everything In a positive aspect. Negativity only seems to create more problems. It keeps me in one place, and prevents me from moving forward. As long as I follow my heart, and do what I feel Is right. Jesus, the Almighty God, will carry me through anything. Even In hard situations that I do not fully unde rstand, the Lord will be there as a light, to make everything all right. God does no t do anything by mistake. I must condnue to use my experie nces In a posldve way, and Improve on my situation. I am thankful for what I have, and the ability to move forward. Gratefulness Hard to Come By by Tess December is upon us, the elections have passed and he's been gone a year. Have we forgotten the feelings of June 18th, 1997? ...The UW OTR.? Coalition is to report back to the Cincinnati City Council Finance Committee this month on the status of their not-for-profit pursuits, by-laws, search for an EXEC-Director and where the $1 SOK went? Life these days Is confusing. Unsettled thoughts surround me and there is too much to worry about. Perhaps writing about gratefulness will he lp get me out of this slum-PITY-bump-dme In my life. Gratefulness Is a noun and Is defined as follows: I. Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or beneftts received: thankful 2. Expressing or actuated by gratitude 3. Plea.sing to the mind or senses; asreeaJ>le or welcome; refreshing A noun Is any member of a class of words distinguished chJefty by havtng plural or possessive enclngs, by funcdonlng as subject or object in sentence construction, and by designating persons, places, things, states, or qualities. It is easy to be grateful for things and so difficult to be grateful! A wise man once said, "gratefulness has its own resources.'' I suppose this means that each of us is responsible for our own level of gratefulness; therefore, a source for our family, friends' and neighbors' sense o f gratefulness. O H! I forgo t that the sense today Is that we are only responsible for o urselves. Remember the GRATEFUL DEAD? What does this mean? I began a gratefulness journal Thanksgiving Day, 1991 . However, looking back Into this journal I have discovered that It wu then, as It Is now, extremely dlfOcult for me to acknowledge gratefulness as a significant part of my daily life.... I look down rather than up cry rather than laugh gossip rather than praise am mean rather than sweet hide rather than go out.... I am afraid. �STREETVIBES . 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE (Untitled) by Kyshada Thomas STREET Arts and Poetry The Way I See It by Kyshada Thomas Now, the way I see It is that if you succeed you will be somebody; but, if you fail you become a nobody. The way i see it is there's only one way at the world, that's my way; but, I can't tell you how to live yours. The way I see it is I'm gonna always live in poverty; but, if I better myself I will have riches. The way I see it is I ain't nobody until I have my queen; but, she has to be strong, too. The way I see it is me startin' a business for my kings and queens to run; but, if I don't teach them, they will lose it. The way I see it is the only way to prove "The Man" wrong is to get an education; but, we can't do that unless we start our own schools. The way I see it is too many people struggled for me to have a chance to do what I want; but, if I don't do right, they all fought for nothing. Now, that's the way I see it. The _Night Before Xmas by Ron Car/er It was the night before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse The stockings were hung by the chimney with care Because we knew the little fat guy would soon be there When out on my lawn there was such a clatter I jumped up to see what was the matter Then to my wandering eyes what did I see But little old Santa just peeping at me He said, "Break out the hot chocolate and tum on the light Don't you know that it's cold out here to­ night." So he parked his Rolls by the old oak tree Then came in to have a chat with me We sat down and rapped for an hour or two Then he said, "Ron I have work to do." He filled all the stockings with Xmas joy Even left a gift for old Leroy- A Homeless Gent I see every day Selling his Streetvibes down the way­ After Santa had done what he had to do He turned and said, "Now I'm all through." Santa then jumped in his Rolls and drove away And from a distance I heard him say Have a Merry Xmas and by the way I'll be back again next Xmas, OK. I know the rules; But, failed to follow. If I don't do the right thing, I've just bought more time. Thought of time when I could run, But, thought of Mom and the results. I go day to day Not worrying about what can go on. Hope to find someone To help with my troubles.... Can't really express myself, 'Cause staff just don't care. Have to find help From the modern-day shrink They really can't help, just sit and listen. Then the cycle starts all the way over. Can't trust no one like before.... Take the anger out when you play sports. ...Tired of being in this crooked system; But, have to do the time for the things I did.... See my people every Sunday for now; But, soon I'll be home to see the outs. Just a few more to go and I'll be free, Loving everyone that seemed to love me. Woman of the Nineties by Denise Crew I am a strong woman. I wonder if I may be too strong for my own good. Many men have slipped away from me. Those who do not soon tire of my do it yourself attitude, grow impatient with my "'go get' all by myself' way of life. Feeling needed bolsters the ego of the insecure male.... Need you? Yes, my dear strong man, I do. I cannot allow my love for you to leave me a helpless silly, frilly, or a brain-dead fluff-head. I cannot continue to sit looking for someone, anyone, to bring the good life to my door. Allow us to take pleasure from small things, share the good times, work out the hard times. Become my friend, lover, mate, my emotional and spiritual equal; allow me to want what it is I want as I search for it in my own gifted way. Should I choose to share my life with you, rest easy; I will dedicate all of my love -pour myself in-to you not because you expect it or demand it of me, but simply because I am a woman of the nineties and it pleases me greatly to do so. Page 6 The Transitional Man by Denise Crew Bring me back from the wasteland where I hav~ been sent to, sort out the pain another has plunged into me, my mind, my body, my soul. Kind and gentle you are. And, I'm too filled with my own pain to see how much you think of me. You allow me to take from you my pleasure and I take it in my own way and in my own convenient time. To live once again I must draw from you all that inspires me satisfies me and vindicates me. ........And, I'm so sorry. The Brotherhood of the Pipe by Carmen Ziegler The Brotherhood of the Pipe Is bigger than you know The KKK has no power Compared to the blow A secret society, members Uncounted Blind determination Obstacles always surmounted Nothing ele$ matters To those who heed the call On the edge of the gutter Fated to fall There's only one requirement To join those that smoke Nothing matters But one more toke No shame or self respect is needed Sell you body or foodstamps Just to feed it Dues are very steep To those that are in too deep Onward crack soldiers Marching to the war With the cross of addiction Inhale and die once more Herry Christmas by Mary Ann Lederer. Hollday cards featuring this artwork and more are a.i~'.I available through the Over-theRhine Community Council at 381-2956. �STREETVIBES 711e Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 1 Shutter­ bugs Are Big Shots at Peaslee by Ma/aka Sanders It's the kind of shooting in Over-the-Rhine that never seems to make it to the mainstream pages.... Over at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, two innovative youth photography groups have started up- maybe your kids would be interested. The Peaslee "Shutterbugs", under the direction of Steve Elliot of Finneytown High School, and Jimmy Heath of the Drop In Center, is a group for the 8-1 I set that gives children some e xperience taking pictures, and helps them team the basics of photog­ raphy. Jimmy expressed that the kids seem to enjoy it, "We just give them the cameras and let them go crazy!". The Shutterbugs meet once a week on Peaslee's "Fun Friday". The teen program Is a little more intense- and a lot more ambitious. The teen group, headed up by Donna Mayerson, a professional photographer with Photo of Keith Oliver, 17, taken by Brian, age IS , of the Shutterbugs. her own studio, is a year long program whe re the teens deal with the light, color, and other factors of a good photo, with a goal in mind: to be a part of an exhibition. In May the group's work will be dis­ played at the Images Center for Photography in the Pendfeton Arts Center, a non-profit gallery in Over-the-Rhine; ya know, so that they'll get some "exposure" (thank Brenda Zechmeister of Peaslee for that pun....). The teen group Is In need of more students, so if interested, please contact Peaslee at 621-551 "4. Both groups were made possible by a generous g~t by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Please Support Our Advertisers HEATH PHOTOGRAPHY JIMMY CINCINNATI - (5 1 3) 564-9856 E-MAIL - JIM'MY_HEATH®JUNO. COM iii ~~!~afl!!f~ Cllf~ord Jones Representltlft The Game (Untitled) by Kyshada Thomas by.Kyshada Thomas Can't be athletic like Michael Jordan But, to the ones we serve we are important. Can't kick rhymes like 2 Pac; But, have to get paid out on the block. Always ready for a late night creep; On the block all night can't get no sleep. Every day have to Quote my nigga "P." My mama say I won't liVe long--l'm sick, 'cause I idolize Scarface and Al Capone. You wake up thinking about crack; And, you go to sleep with your pockets fat Can't leave my spot, can't you s~e; 'Cause these pheens been good to me. Comin' up like Notorious Big, Punks talkin'­ mess-you have to split their wigs. forgot the rules of being sensitive 'Cause that thuggish life is what I live. Being closely watched by the police; Servin' the narcs and they still can't touch me, 'Cause its about who you know not what you do--1-ocked down for a while I'll be out in a few. Got a lawyer that's like Matlock; After court today I'll be back on the spot Servin' up short dub sacks of A·I (Making extra money is so fun!). After I make it big thing~ ain't gonna be the same; I got one question: Can you stand "The Game"? Wakin' up thinkin', will I diel Askin' the Lord one question, "Whyl" Born to this wortd, all I know is the streets; Every time I tum aroun<t I see the police. They stop me just to pat me down; When they find nothin' they look like clowns. Why you after mel I don't sell dope! I live in the ghetto, and I still can't cope. Walk the same streets day in, day out­ Ain't sold no drugs, but still got clout. Autumn Leaves by Paul Larkin It's a cold, wet winter's day. Leaves rustle aimlessly about the city streets. The temperature drops a degree an hour. The land is ever changing in its looks. It has been one of those "gray days," where you feel alone-chilly cold. As the day passes, people come and go, hustling by along their way. The holiday season is upon everyone, and there are many plans to be considered. These are the things that I have seen and thought today, and for this I am thankful. 8075 Reading Rd.• Suite 1 • Cincinnati, OH 45237 Res. (513) 761-3464 • Bus. (513) 821 -3332 Voice Mafl: (513) 230-6353 AMember of TravtltrsGrouP'f" Ai, llldtptndtnt "P'""""'" el Prlllitttca FMMClll S1mct1 Re11<esemtnQ: Prlmet:tca life lnsinnct Como311YIE~ Ofkes: OuMll; Georgia WHITEHEAD BROTHERS PRODUCTION 1540 ELM STREET CINCINNATI OHIO 45210 COMEDIAN,PROOUCER PHONE (513) 381-0584 Friends and Neighbors of Over-the-Rhine An Organization Seeking Justice for People in Cincinnati's Most Endangered Community ANOTHER C LASS PRODUCTION Oise-Jockey Service CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761-3464 �STREETVIBES The 111 Stott~\ Homeless Grapevine Page B Streetvibes Looks Back on 19! I Chose Honest (Part One) by Gregory Payton My name Is Gregory and I'm homeless. When I became Homeless I wasn't ashamed, I was confused. I knew I needed a job and a place to llve. I really didn't know what to work on first. I needed some­ thing to eat so that's all I could think about. I wanted help but not pity. I wanted guidance and direcdon, not laughter and insults. I wanted con­ structive criticism not destructive criticism. So I searched. I learned early fn life that there's only two kinds of peopre that share with you. So f tlad· to t:ake a chance. I asked a guy If he knew where I could get something to eat. He replied," at the store.~· I said , ''oh" and walked away. I knew then I had to decide. Honest or dishonest. That was easy (honest). So I walked a little and thought a little. And tried again. I asked again rather quickly because of the need to eat. This time I asked a woman. She pause d and asked me, "are you homeless." I paused and, being somewhat embarrassed, said yes. She asked "are you from Cincinnati." I paused again wondering where this conversation was leading and said," yes, but haven't been here In a while." She said It showed. I asked how whlle looking at my appearance. She said, "don't be ashamed to say you're homeless.'' I said I was gathering information, being thankful she wanted to share. "First do you know where the Drop Inn Center Is located.'' I said, " no, what is It." She said it's a center that help homeless people downtown. "You might be able to eat and sleep." I perked up asking where downtown. She said, "do you have any money." I said I don't. She looked in her purse and handed me a dollar bill and a pack of crackers, and said catch a bus downtown, ask the driver where the center is exactly located and eat one cracker every seven blocks I passed on the way. thanked her and the main man upstairs (GOD), happy that I met someone that was willing to share, Instead of laugh. On the bus doing what I told made that pack crackers feel llke a meal. When I got to the center and knocked on the door a lady opened it and asked "what do you want sir''. I said "if possible some­ thing to eat". She sa.ld "step Into that line" before I left she said thank God. I quickly did while moving closer to food. Before I got to the stack of trays a man asked me my name and age. Wondering why after I gave It to him. I didn't think about it long because I was given a drink and then a plate of food. I thanked the ladies while moving toward some dessert. When I got to the end I gave thanks and February 0 0 0 , . • 30 said I will enjoy this. When I sat down I started eating fast for some reason maybe thinking that they might come back and get what they just gave me. Then It hit me, stop and thank God for I'm already eating. I did that fast too. Once I finish eating, I decided I should say some grace just In case he didn't hear me the first time. After that they told me to go to the front and sit down. A few minutes later, a man came up front and welcomed us ancf gave a speecn on tfie poliC:y of the center, then tumed on the television, I asked the man next to me was he homeless and he replied, "everyone In here Is buddy." I looked around and then asked him where are all the people going to go when this place closes. He said Is this your first time, I said yes, he then told me they gave shelter when you're homeless also. I looked up and thanked God again. While I was standing In line receiving a number for a place to sleep, I asked the guy behind me, do they give jobs here. He laughed and said they do everything here. I turned around after I got back to the bench. I said at least I made another day. And I thank God. It was a few minutes before I went into the other room when I decided to ask around about jobs. I talked again with a man, and he told me to sell the Grapevine newspaper. I asked him about it some more and he said when you're homeless, they help you get a vendors license and you help the homeless by spreading the word of homelessness. And then I asked him how I get paid and he said that's the part. I told him, that's what I want to do. He gave me some lnformadon and who to talk to about It. He then said he had to leave. I said, while not trying to get in his business, that it's night and late, why do you have to sleep on the street. He stopped came back and said when you sell enough papers, you'll make enough to get an apartment and a down payment of deposit. Then he turned and left. I looked down to make sure I still had my Information. Then I looked up and Thanked the main man (GOD). Honest Greg. Future vendor of the Homeless Grapevine. Thanks for a Great Year! We at Sa-tvlbes would like to thank all of our vendon, .-den, writers, volunteer edltJOrs and supporten for all of your efforts toward maldnc this paper a wccea We couldn't do It without all ofyoul Eviction Court Looks Down on Poor by Tim Burroughs The legal process contributes significandy to the process of displacement. Although the court may not buy low income apartment buildings, raise the cost of rent, or force people to move, It Is designed to favor those who have resources and power. Observations of court proce­ dures revealed an environment unlikely to result in a fair outcome. The Municipal Hearings Court, where eviction cases are held, creates an intimidating environment for the defendant. I recendy sat through a morning of eviction proceed­ ings. For those who haven't had a chance ·to do this recently, here Is how It went: The process involved a court magistrate who acted as the judge. She was sitting at the traditional seat, elevated significantly above the floor level, with two other court room workers on each side of her. Again. the two were above the floor level, although lower than the women "In charge.'' In front of the judge's platform were two podiums with microphones. This is where the landlord and possibly a lawyer stood (at the right hand of the judge) and then to the left of them the resident stood. Already subject to eviction under the law, the charged resident had to face a position of Inferiority. The environment commu­ nicated a sterile, callous, legal manner with which cases were going to be dealt. Feelings of huma.n compassion were not revealed. Unequal representation characterized the procedures of the Municipal Hearings Court. Both the landlord and the residents were expected to show up at the court date. If the resident did not show up cases were dismissed and the eviction process continued. Many of the landlords, espe­ cially the large land holders, had with them a lawyer. An attorney was there representing CMHA. Three residents out of the 15 to 20 showed up to defend themselves against CMHA and none of them had a lawyer. In another case a lady showed up to defend herself, but the landlord did not. She was asked to come back another day. The lady waited an hour to be heard and then she was turned away until the next week. If she had not shown, the eviction process would have continued. When the landlord missed, she had to arrange to come back later. Court procedures were done systematlcally. Al­ though there are several cases each morning. the systematic nature of the process disregards the individual and the specific circumstances of their situation. The landlords are called up first and all their tenants are dealt with before the next landlord Is called up. From my perspective, it looked as If each landlord had done this many times before. It was very hard to hear, even tho1.1gh I was in the front row. There Is a specific set of questions and answers that are gone through for each eviction case. I could not catch them all...several people went through the process in a . shortdme. The systematic style of dealing with peoples' homes leaves little room for an understanding of the consequence the decision will have. The court is not interested in knowing how long you have lived In the neighborhood, how many children you have, or how you lost your job. Rather, if you are behind In rent, the judge says, "The landlord has the right to ask you to leave." If a resident Is behind in rent, unless the landlord has compassion, one should not look to the court. All tn all, there seems to be no need for a judge tn eviction court, a computer could evaluate the data and determine If, by law, the resident may have a home. Low Income Individuals experience a severe disadvantage because of their socio-economic status. There is no accounting for financial or health conditions. Until changes a.re made, we have a system where evlctees In Cincinnati have little Incentive to show up for their own hearing. · Apri I �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 9 17 Over-the-Rhine Developers Give Tenants Notice on Walnut Street by Bonnie Neumeier There's a project called THE MIDDLE EARTH CONSORTIUM whrch recendy was selected for funding through the City's Housing Round Ill. The Over-the-Rhine Community Council was approached by Mr. Jay Voss from Middle Earth Properties aboutthis project and requested our support. We could not support this project because it involved displacing low-income tenants. It was portrayed as a test case for mixing low in.c ome rental units into market rate rental buildings. This project, Involving various for profit corporations and limited partnerships, is rehabbing 8 buildings within one block area around 14th and Walnut "Being Asked to Leave Your Home Is Never Good News ... " Streets. The buildings will contain 53 residential units~and 4 store fronts. Six of the 8 buildings will have only market rate units (I bedroom/$400 a month; 2 bedroom/$500 a month; 3 bedroom/$600 a month). The remaining two buildings will have only one low Income a piece, rents set at $150 below th!! market rate units. So out of 53 units of housing. ONLY 2 will be somewhat affordable to persons of low income. How fair of a mix Is this? We are losing more low income units than we are maintaining. fNe have never been on the "gaining" side since the 1985 O TR Compre­ hensive Plan called to protect and preserve the 5520 low income units that were occupied at that time.) The number of low income tenants currendy being displaced by this project is greater than the token amount of low income units being planned for this so called mixed development. At the very least. if this project was trying to show good faith effort in advocating a successful economic mix, the number of occupied low income units needed to be pre­ served, and those tenants temporarily displaced due to renovation be offered and made to feel welcomed back home to a newly renovated apartment with affordable rents. One of the buildings in this project is 1410 Walnut Street. Urban Sites Management (Bill Baum and Jim Moll) took ownership in January 1997. Tenants remember beingtold not to worry, they would not have to move. But a letter came to their doors In mid July stating the following: " ...we continue to discover major problems with the building that were not originally anticipated. At this time we feel that Its in your best Interest to vacate the property so that improvements to the building can proceed In a safe manner. BEING ASKED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME IS NEVER GOOD NEWS, THAT IS WHY WE WANT YOU TO HAVE UP TO 60 DAYS TO VACATE.". In this building there are six tenants being displaced and one other tenant who was evicted a short time ago. It's a hardship on all of them and the news quite shocking. It is not easy to find an affordable unit. Those who are elderly, facing many health problems are finding a much harder time. Finding a place that will accept their animal friends is tough. No one was talked to about being able to come back once renovation was complete. All of them were encouraged to meet with Mark Brunner, The Over-the-Rhine Foundation, who works with the Anti-Displacement program, offering Section 8 units, as if that eases all the disruptions that the tenants are faced with. Anxiety is high....the 60 days is too September short a time. Because this project Is using federal dollars from the City the tenants are eligible for Relocation Benefits. Relocation benefits were never discussed. Certain procedures have to be followed so that th~ rights of the tenants are protected. Scott Stiles from the Relocation office of the City was surprised their office had not been alerted of this situation by the Department of Neighborhood Services, nor by the developers themselves so that displacement Issues can be reviewed and monitored and tenants' rights protected. The Appalachian folk who have called Walnut Street their home deserve better than this. It's not fair to take our land, our buildings, and force our people to move. In the words of one tenant "I might not have cash, but I'm not trash". Real people experience real pain when they are displaced from their homes. At this point it is hard to trace the particulars of how each of these buildings became more vacant than occupied. But I know they did not become vacant by accident. It's not only this project, but alot of real estate activity has been taking place in this area, displacing the mosdy Appalachian commu­ nity huddled close around the Appalachian Identity Center. I can't walk down Walnut Street and not notice the change. When I stand there long enough to ~p the sitl!atlon, and look deep Into the eyes of those who still are holding on, gathered la their everyday supportive circles, I listen ...and what I hear are their heartbeats mourning the many "used of been" stories and a quiet anger that knows some­ thing is going down wrong here, because what is going down is not for them.. More on this story next issue. These buildings at 141 0 Walnut Street are slated for .improvements. They have been occupied for decades by Appalachian families. Photo by Berta Lambert. Support Your Local Vendor Tell A Friend About Streetvibes The Eviction by Vera Zlatkin She sits alone on the stoop clutching her litde girl, wat.chlng dewy eyed as men carry her belong­ ings to the curb piece by piece, box by box. And she wonders how this could be happening. She thought she had more time. She had heard that after someone got an eviction notice, they had a month to move. " Mommy's so sorry, Angel," · she whispers softly into the child's curls. "Mommy really didn't know." The men had come half an hour early. "Why aren't you packed?" one of the men demanded. " Do we have to do everything?" " I, I didn't know you were cc;mlng,'' she stammered. "Nobody called." "Can't you read?" he snapped. "The date Is on the eviction notice!" He took a piece of paper from his pocket with her name, address, the date and an official looking stamp. Then he tumed and nodded to his men. They had brought a number of boxes in with ' them, and at his signal, they began to pull things from her cupboards and dump them Into the boxes. She was too numb to protest or-argue or plead or even to cry. Her mind was in a fog as she walked to the bedroom and began to pack clothes in a large duffel bag. Then she went to the kitchen to fill a shopping bag with food while the baby girl looked on. And so here she sits wat.ching as the man passes by with a box. She asks, "Can't we just stay June She stands and secures her duf­ fel bag onto her shoulder, picks up her daughter and her shop­ ping bag, and together they ven­ ture out onto the streets. And thus the "Welfare Mother'' joins the ranks of the destitute and the homeless. one more night?" He shakes his hea~. "No, lady, not one more minute." He walks, to his car and returns with a padlock. "But we have no _place to go," she pleads. He shrugs. "You should have paid your rent lady," he says coldly. 1' 1'm just doing my job." He turns back, walks to his car and drives away. "I don't understand," she whispers to the air. " I just don't understand. Why did th.ey cut my check? I called work and explained why I couldn't come In." She had called and told them that her baby­ sitter was sick and she couldn't leave her little one alone. She thought they had understood, but she didn't have a doctor's excuse, and by law they could make no exceptions. So they sent her a warning letter one day, and the next day cut h~r check. She stands and secures her duffel bag onto her shoulder, picks up her daughter and her shopping ­ bag. and together they venture out onto the streets. And thus the "Welfare Mother" joins the ranks of the destitute and the homeless. �STREETVIBES 11 1\' 1· 1 ·<-:r ', Hon1e/ess Grapevine P.ige 10 1997 Looking Back Report: Homeless Man Left to Die in .Back Alley by Pal CliHord The Cincinnad Police Internal Investigation Section released a report on April 21 regarding the death of Mr. Ottaway Washington. Mr. Washington was a homeless man who died Jn an aJJey next to Tender Mercies, on the night of November 30, 1996. The report sustained charges against Officer Stephen Fromhold for not summoning appropriate services for Mr. Washington. The following is a summary of the events of that night from the Interviews con­ ducted in the Internal investigation. On November 30, 1996, at approximately 10:30 pm, Victor Tayfor was making his rounds as a security worker forTender Mercies, an agency which provides housing for those with mental illness. He encoun­ tered a homeless man who was unresponsive and blocking a fire exit. Officer Fromhold was working the streets of District One that night. He was "flagged down" by Mr. Tayfor as he traveled east on Twelfth Street. Mr. Taylor was concerned about the person who was lying In a doorway off of a nearby alley. Officer Fromhold and Mr. Taylor responded to the doorway where Mr. Washington was lying. He was not wearing any shoes. The officer believed, from the condition of Mr. Washington's socks, that he had been walking without shoes for a period of dme. His personal papers were lying next to him. The officer nodced a "small nick" on his forehead. "My first lndlcadon was that there was an odor of alcohol about his person and that he was Intoxi­ cated." He would not respond to any of Officer Fromhold's verbal requests. He used his flashlight to tap the bottoms of Mr. Washington's feet. He "didn't come around." The officer put his hand by Mr. Washington's mouth and felt for any breath. He was breathing. The officer returned to his vehlde to retrieve a pair of latex gloves. Officer Fromhold returned to Mr. Washington, t.ook hold of the lapels of his coat and sat him up aplnst the wall under a smatl overhang which would keep his upper torso from the rain. The officer began to shake Mr. W ashington in an attempt to rouse him. "He opened his eyes momenta.riJy_and looked at me and moaned something to the effect of 'get ' and raised his hand." Mr. Washington did not say anything else but "his eyes remained open a brief period of dme and he just stared at me. ''I interpreted that as he didn't want any help so I rested him against the wall. He looked at me for three to five seconds then started nodding back out." Mr. Washington closed his eyes and went to sleep. The officer believed that Mr. Washington knew that he was a police officer and that he didn't want any help. Mr. Taylor, the security guard, claims that the officer then said that the "truck" would be by later and "get" Mr. Washington. Officer Fromhold denies any reference to a "truck". The officer left the scene believing he had resolved the sltuadon. Later, Officer Fromhold heard the radio dispatch from another officer requesting a supervisor for a DOA He went to the scene and assisted in placing Mr. Washington's body in the scout car. He went to the Drop Inn Center to determine if they were familiar with Mr. Washington and, if so, to Land Grabbers Threaten Newport Residents by Gregory Payton Newport City Officials are saying that 202 safe, sanitary and decent public housing units on the riverfront must be demolished. The residents have to be moved from Booker T. Washington, McDermett, and Peter G. Noal Housing Projects. Newport Housing Authority paid Comerst0ne Housing to come up with a plan. This plan was paid for with money from the Housing Project Fund normaJly used for repairs. Cornerstone has tried a series of falsehoods to attempt to justify the "neces­ sity" of demolishing this public housing neighbor­ hood In the way of greed and development. Cornerstone said, "The city must destroy its public housing because federal funding to maintain '7he Mayor has /old Mr. Slade Iha/ he 'doesn't wan/ any public housing in Newport"' and operate It will soon be eliminated." Cornerstone said Newport must demolish the housing because condidons are so bad that the units are ..unusable for housing purposes" and cannot be made habitable. Cornerstone said, "The housing must be destroyed, and the land taken, not to make anyone any money, nor to allow economic development, but for the resident's own good." A spokesperson In the community that opposes this plan Is Kenneth Slade. Mr. Slade is banding together with other residents In trying to loate the next of kin. The worker at the desk told the officer that Mr. Washington should have been In bed # 19. There was no one there. The lnvesdgadon goes on to say that the temperature that night was 53 degrees and that there was a light rain with overcast skies. The Death Record from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office lists the cause of death as acute bronchitis and perlbronchltis. The laboratory report Indicates that Mr. Washington's blood alcohol content was .38. In a letter to the Homeless Coalition, Safety Director Kent Ryan assured us that the Onclnnati Police Division strives to provide the highest level of consistent service and holds Its officers accountable for their actions." Lt. Demosl of Internal lnvesdgadon reported that Officer Fromhold received an Admlnistradve Insight which will go Into his personnel file. The report concludes, "It has always been the Police Division's policy to 'err on the side of mercy.' Officer Fromhold realized that he did not possess the skills necessary for a medical evaluation. He had the duty to summon appropriate services." In the wake of this ~dy and the Investigation, the Greater Clnclnnad Coalition for the Homeless Is convening a meedng with representadves of the Police Division, Fire Division, Hospital Emergency Room Sta.ff and homeless agencies to ensure that an Incident of this kind never happens again. fight the city. But the ball Is rolling and the power of eminent domain is coming. Through the power of eminent domain, the government can remove land from private use to augment the supply of public land or to modify land use through urban renewal programs. The units at Newport are well maintained and managed. The project has been recognized three years In a row as outstanding by the Department of Housing and Urba.n Development. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money have gone towards improvements and modernlzadon In 1990s. The Mayor, a champion of development, and the other members of the Newport Ho using Authority Board have voted to demolish. The Mayor has told Mr. Slade that he "doesn't want any public housing in Newport." Mr. Slade also let him know many of the tenants are elderly, disabled, poorly educated, without stable work history, and have poor credit. If Newport's proposal goes as planned, it will enrich the city and private development at the expense of everyone else, you the taxpayer and the aboYe residents. Your prime real estate north of 4th street. near the site for the proposed aquarium, will be the site of many evictions. So once again, big business, big developers and your leaders roll on over small people for the sake of the profits from conventloneers and tourists. July No Room for Youth Continued from page them from the ordeal of homelessness or to permit them to continue to attending their regular school. The break-up of families Is a well-documented phenom­ enon. In New York Oty, ~of residents In shelters for single .adults had children who were not with them. In Maryland, only 43% of parents living in shelters had children with them. And In Chicago, 54% of a combined street and shelter homeless sample were parents, but 91 % did not have children with them (Shinn and Weltzmann, 1996). The Increase has also been associated with new public policies, welfare reform and the early effects of sanctions as factors In the growth of young mothers entering homeless shelters. The lack of affordable housing Is another contributor to this populadon's Increase. Others factors are the lack of livable wage )obs and the lack of staff and shelter beds to address the needs of younger adults facing homelessness. One agency that does provide beds for 18-22 year olds Is the Lighthouse Transldonal Living Program. The Lighthouse program, which has been severely hampered by funding cuts, has had to downsize beds. In fact, since July, the program has had to tum down 130 people looking for shelter between the ages of 18­ 22 years of._ "The Transitional Program offers much more than just beds and clothing. It offers the suppordve services and life skills training that allows the Individual to make a smooth transition Into Independent llvlng." offers Donna Fletcher, Director of the Lighthouse TransldonaJ Housing Program. The Lighthouse program Is the only program that provides this age group with the much needed Independent living skills. Advocates hope that this problem can be recognized by legislators before these numbers Increase any further. "Since members of this population group represent the future of our nadon, It is our nation that we put at risk when Ignore there needs," wams Ms. Fletcher. �, STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Don•t Make the Homeless Into Criminals· STREETVIBES Editorials and Letters by Zac Willette, National Coalition tor the Homeless By definition, a person who Is homeless lives in public. A lack of housing forces those who are homeless to so in public what everyone prefers to do in private. This Indignity is one of many reasons the National Coalition for the Homeless seeks to end homelessness - permanendy. Unfortunately, it has also become the batdeground for the most funda­ mental defense of people who happen to be home­ less: the right to exist. In cities with an admitted lack of day shelters and few jobs that pay a livins wage, people who are homeless sometimes rest at bus stops or on side­ walks. Yet, Tucson, Arizona, has made it unlawful to be at a bus stop for more than 30 minutes, and police in Seatde, Washington, have been instructed to fine or arrest people who are homeless for sitting on the sidewalk. In cities with an admitted lack of affordable housing, people who are homeless are forced to carry their worldly goods With them wherever they go. In response, Beverly Hills, California, has made it a crime punishable by fine or jail time, to set baggage down on the sidewalks, and in Georgetown ~ trendy part of Washington, DC~n archaic part of the District Code is being applied to fine or arrest people for storing property (including people themselves) in doorways. There is an estimated 24 .million people on the waiting list for public. housing in this country. Despite this fact, the city mothers and fathers of Dallas, Texas, and many other cities across this country (including Phoenix, Jacksonville, Columbus, Boston, Austin, New Orleans, Lons Beach, Virginia Beach, Adanta, Sacramento, Tulsa, Miami, and Buffalo) have made it illegal to camp or sleep in a park. To punish people who have no choice but to be public for being In public heaps Injustice on top of indignity. As Santa Monica womari who Is homeless wondered, "When does it stop? Are we golns to push homeless people off the face of the earth? I do have a right to exist." Welfare Reform Causes Food Shortage at FreeStore/FoodBank by Gregory Payton Changes are being made everywhere. The FreeStore/FoodBank, one of many places, must make adfustments to meet the needs for homeless and low­ income. Below is a count of the 1996 and 1997 Thanksgiving distributions. Drastic numbers show an increase in single persons and ho·useholds being served for the holidays: 1996 (3 days) November 24, 25 and 26: 1997 (2 days) November 24 and 25: 183,015 pounds of food to 3,140 180, 170 pounds of food to 3,212 households or 8,393 people hou$eholds or 8,838 people Page 1 J The FreeStore has realized they now have to be more creative In gettlns more donations from major corporations. They are explaining about the "Good Samaritan" law which states: if food is given in good faith, and it is in good shape when It is stven, then there is no liability to the giver. And, it can be tax deducted and most of all It's the right thing to do for the communities. The flaws In the effort to criminalize homeless­ ness are as numerous as they are obvious. Though no one should ever have to sleep In a park or beg for food, making those acts Into criminal offenses does not, in any way, help the people who are forced to ''commit" said offenses. These city ordinances (and similar state laws) ar.e misguided because they seek to hide homeless people, not to end homelessness. They are unjust because they seek to punish people for being poor. They are, In effect, persecution because people who ar:e homeless do not have the option to rest, sleep, and set down belongings in private. People who are forced to live on the streets have very few choices: Are these cities asking people who are homeless to choose NOT TO EXIST!? Though it is easier for cities to attack homeless people than to attack the root causes of homeless­ ness, it wastes scarce resources and human time, energy, and dignity. It costs much less to secure permanent housing than to put people In prison. Even shelters (still more expensive in the long run than permanent housing) cost less than Incarcera­ tion. furthermore, these ordinances and laws demonize poor people, feeding negative public sentiment to target people who experience home­ lessness, rather than the root causes of homelessness itself. In addition to Its other effects, the criminalization efforts tear the focus of both home­ less people and their advocates away from long term, permanent solutions in order to fight for the right of people who are homeless to simply exist Our greatest victories In combating these new civil rights attacks will only secure an already inhumane status quo. Instead of wastins everyone's time playing Keystone Cops, why don't we sit down at the table with our best and most sufficient resources to permanently end homelessness. Anti Poor History C ontinue d from page 3 loitering statute which punished people for failure to show Identification upon pc)lice request. This case, decided in 1983, ended police use of vagrancy and loitering statutes to harass the poor. Unfortunately, the end of these laws has not led to an era of government sympathy for poverty and homelessness. lawmakers continue to create laws that persecute people without homes by criminalizing activities necessary to a homeless person's existence, such as sleeplng in public places and panhandling. In some ways, these laws are more dangerous than their predecessors, in that local charters In this state often preempt California state laws, began a slow trend against these kinds of laws which sinsfed out the poor for differential treatment. A broad success finally came in 1974 in Papachrlstou v.s. City ofjaclaonvllle, In which the U.S. Supreme Court declared the vagrancy ordi­ nance void for vagueness. In addition, the court stated that the law did not give fair notice and encouraged arbitrary arrests and convictions. After vagrancy laws were abolished, the police used equally vague loitering laws to harass people who did not account for themselves to the police's satisfaction When approached. In Ko/ender v.s. Lawson, the Court struck down as too vague a law, making It harder to contest local anti-homeless­ ness laws, and accelerating the adoption of anti­ homeless laws by many localities. Although the times of arresting people for idleness and loitering are supposedly over, the similarities between these laws and current and-homeless laws are strikin& Also comparable Is the motivation for the two types of laws: local vagrancy laws often forced newly arrived poor people out of the city, so the city would not have to address their needs. Similarly, localities now attempt to force homeless people out of their cities through incessant harassment, Instead of trying to create real, lasting solutions to the problem of homelessness. Word Search by Gregory Payton Scramble s by Ron Carter D N N A E 0 v w 0 F L A K E L I L M T s 0 s G N I s T F I G 0 E J 0 y E I B K L D L y s H T N u c s s c E y R K s c R F c 0 L E B B H R 0 c E H H E T R D R E M E R E K c 0 T N s I T E M R A J s T I Find these words in the puzzle: Stockings Sadness Snowflakes Alone Christmas Chestnuts Jackfrost Merry ~ Cook1es Lights Reindeer Home Meat Gifts Holly Cold Tree Love Toys joy Try to unscramble these holiday words: MASCTRHSI NATSA LENO DULDPRH SOTY EERT WSON NAM RHCSTl LOARCS Answers o n page 15. �STREETVIBES /!1() !11 All I Needed Was a Chance by Gregory Payton wtien I was homeless, I had nothing. I didn't know what to do. I had nobody, I was a nobody. And, I cared for nobody. Nothing to look for, nothing to go to, I looked at reality and I couldn't face It. So, I ran; l wanted to escape. So, I used drugs to ease the pain of the world I didn't like. I didn't look In mirrors to see myself, because that was reality. Then one day, it happened. I asked God why He did this to me. I didn't wait for an answer; because, like I said, I was running. I didn't know, then, but He sent out his angels. First I wanted to do something different, because the pain was becoming too great. I couldn't take it. So, I listened and I stopped the dope. Because I was out of money and ideas to get more. Then I listened and found a way to live without it. So, I continued to listen. Then I found hope, and I held on dght I listened and I found out I could live again. The world was starting to look different. · I was told to do some things and go some places. I started to trust some people. On the way I said, thanks, God, and asked, Is there anything I could do for You? I didn't get an answer; but, I wasn't running, either. So, I said to myself, If You can help me, I c;m help someone else. Then I asked, how, and I answered, what would I want? I got a hand up; so, I started grabbing and pulling. I didn't care who I helped up; because, God wasn't choos­ ing, He just done It Today, I look at the homeless and say, let's go together, let's be together, and let's try together. I asked when I should do this and the answer was, every day; I asked who, and that was anybody; I said where, and that answer was where ever you are; I asked how long, and that answer was the restof my life. After all, I had no life when I started. I just had to trust somebody. I trusted people that cared about me (homeless). When I chose to do what they do, I found out that they trusted me. And, they let me know in a special way. They invited me to come go with them. And, I did. They invited me to sit and share dinner at a very special time. At dinner they gave me something. The "they" of whom I speak was the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. The dinner was an annual event. What I received was an award. The award was the Jimmy Render Award. You ask who was Jimmy Render and I will tell you, he done a lot more than me. He touched a lot of homeless people. He cired, shared, loved to do whatever he could for homelessness. I like to talk, but when I received that award, I couldn't say anything. I finally thanked everyone. And, I thought about some people. God, my angels (people), Jimmy Render, and buddy gray. Today I feel I have been blessed. I see reality as God would want me to see. I am somebody. I have a goal, that is to end homelessness in a drug free city called Cincinnati. I learned to go for the stars, and it's all right to land on the moon because I tried with God's will. I thank God that he made me (Somebody). Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be malled to you each Issue. Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Clnclnnad, OH '45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. Ifyou have any questions., call '421-7803. )tote\ Homeless Gr:ipevine Page 12 Homeless ·Man is One in a Million by Gregory Pay/on Today, I see homelessness growing at a quick, steady rate. There are many reasons homelessness exists. When talking to one homeless gendeman, I discovered a unique story, as he explained why he was homeless. The gendeman's name is jack. jack has a good job, working at a pretty good restaurant. He started there as a dish washer, and has since climbed the ladder to food preparation. He feels really good about the accomplishments he has been able to make since starting his job. jack then went on to tell me a little about his past He has been convicted twice for drug use, and has gone through a treatment program to help him get his life back together. He has gone two years and eight months without using drugs, and has recendy joined a church. He grac.iously asked me to stop by the church, where he sings In a choir. I wondered with all of these things going so well, why he was still without a home. He explained that his pay check goes towards old bills and child support. By the time he's through with that, there Is little left for food, much less an apartment I asked jack what his biggest need was, affordable housing, or just a second chance with society. jack did not have many good things to say about society. Jack feels that society treats some people different, and wrong. He wondered why football and baseball players get a second chance, and in some cases a pay raise, after they have made some of the same mistakes. Society accepts them without condition. jack is upset that he does not get the same opportunities as those mentioned. They all have nice homes, while jack is having a rough dme finding an affordable apartment. These people do not need Section 8, the homeless do. I asked Jack what he Intended to do in the future. He responded, "I'm going to keep telling my story, and remain homeless until I can find some affordable housing." He had a disturbing look in his eyes, so I asked him what he thinking. He said that it is one thing to commit a crime, and serve your time, but you sho1;.1ld not have to pay for that mistake the rest of your life. It is something that he, and many others have a hard dme understanding. When he looked up, after telling his story, he simply said, "I'm just going to keep praying." I thanked Jack for his time, and wondered how long it would take society to realize that Jack is just one of the million. P.S. jack, you're in my prayers, Merry Chris~ mas! was Who Said Living Clean Can't be Fun? by Donald Whilehead Before coming to recovery, many using addicts have reservations. One very common reservation is that once they become clean, they can no longer have fun. If any of you reading this article and have that reservation, please let it go. Not only can you have fun, you can have more fun than ever before. The following story is just one example of how recovering addicts are enjoying life like never before. Erle S. has enjoyed sports and coaching for some time. In fact, he was recognized for his efforts with inner-city youth. This year he decided to take on a bigger challenge-coaching adults. Erle, along with several other sports minded recovering addicts, got together to form Cincinnati's first Recovery Basketball League (RBL). The RBL currendy consists of six teams, Hirsch Recreation Center, The Drop Inn Center, Prospect House, Starting Over, The House Of Hope and a Twelve Step Fellowship Team. The level of play in this league has exceeded all expectations!! Many athletes in the league have been world class at one time or another In their lives. If you attehd one of the RBL games on Saturdays beginning at 2;30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. you won't see Michael Jordan or Penny Hardaway, at least not in person, but you will see some exciting basketball games, You will see dunks! behind the back passes! half court buzzer beaters! and hard­ nosed defense. What you won't see in this league is fighting, profanity, or players under the influence. If you are an addict with reservations about having fun clean, come o ut an watch these guys. They are definitely having fun. While this league enjoys fine play and good intentions, it still needs support The league has been largely funded by team coaches thus far and desperately needs outside support. Funding is needed to help furnish uniforms, pay for referees and pay for individual and team trophies. We hope that those reading this article will help squash the myth about having fun In recovery. In January leagues wishes to expand and include other recovery houses and other 12-step teams if you have an Interest in becoming a part of fun in recovery please contact Donald Whitehead at 421-7803. Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Looking for a place to call home? Call the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority ... Affordable rent that never exceeds 30°/o of your income ... Many buildings equipped with security systems ... Units located on buslines and near stores, schools, hospitals, banks Rental units are available in these family and senior communities: Avondale Hopple Street/Fairmount West End Winton Place For more information, call 421-8190 today. �STREETVIBES Tl1e T11 Sto/1'\ Hon1e/ess Grapevine Flamingo Hotel Taken Over in Santa Monica California Advocates Establish the Independent Nado n of Flamingo Ho meless activists chained themselves to the boarded up Flamingo Hotel In Santa Monica, CA. on November I4 to protest lack of available shelter for the ho meless In their city. Santa Monica re lies on cold weather homeless shelters operated by the county and does not run Its own shelters. Afte r November 18, If there is a 50% chance of rain o r if the temperature Is expected to drop below ~. the county opens Its 24 winter shelters. Shelters are open full time from Dece mber 16 through February 28. Below is the te.x t of an e-mail sent to Streetvibes abo ut the event sent from advocate and street newspaper e ditor, Jennifer Waggoner. The Independent Nation of Flamingo (aka. the squat at the abandoned Flamingo Motel in Santa Monica, California) is settling In and working on the details of self-management. Fifteen or so rooms have been opened and cleaned, and are giving shelter to a growing number of people In need. About 40 people are estimated to be living at the Flamingo as of last night. A common room for food and supplies has been established, a portable outhouse donated, and jugs of water made available. A building engineer has donated his services, and made an Inspection of the building yesterday. He determined that It Is basically structurally sound and Is free of vermin. More will be known as additional rooms are opened for new residents. There have been no further threats of arrest by police In the past few days, perhaps because of the widespread coverage the Flamingo continues to receive locally, as well as on the Internet. A member Santa Monica, CA of the Santa Monica City Council. Mike Feinstein (Green Party), was among the people who paid a visit to the Flamingo yesterday. Even the large mainstream Los Angeles daily, the LA Times, provided a sympathetic article (which In the case of the Times, means that they did not portray protest­ ers as lunatics.) One of the residents of the the Flamingo posing. In his words, as a "member of the public" said he questioned a member of the Santa Monica Police Department regarding their Intentions toward "the homeless people at the Flamingo Motel." The Page /J STREETVIBES Nationwide cop replied that this was a " political protest by an organized gro up, not just homeless people." Leaving unchallenged a.II of the offensive assumptions In that statement, It seems reasonable to conclude that the city knows that deploying police ag;i.Jnst people with nowhere to get out of the rain­ who are organized, do have cell phones and comput­ ers~ould have se rious polltlcal fallout. What everyone is wondering Is how, o r whether this will change on Tuesday, when the County says It will . open the official cold weather shelters. These shelters by the way, are located in National Guard armories and o nly open when the temperature ls scheduled to drop below 40 degrees F, or a 50% chance of rain is predicted. Last night, the Flamingo held its first commu­ nity meeting to discuss Issues from safety with candles, the question of the future of the squat and how to keep it going. the issue of police and so on. Meetings will continue as people discuss how to o rganize a functioning society within this fragile environment. Much cleaning also still needs to be done and repairs condnue. First Amendment Continued from pa ge I The Homeless GrapeY!ne, In Cleveland, was started to give homeless people a voice. It is organized by people on the streets, and has assisted many people in getting off the streets. We proviae confidence and hope for a better future. Many of our vendors successfully make the transition to a permanent place and a job with benefits. We provide a forum for all poor people to express themselves, and we have made an Impact In Cleve­ land by breaking some of the stereotypes. The U.S. Appeals Court In the Sixth Circuit, declared that our paper Is no different than a hot dog. The three Reagan/Bush appointed judges, said that the City of Cleveland could Impose the same restrlcdons o n o ur vendors as they Impose on hot dog vendors. Ho t dogs are not a vehicle for social change, nor do they carry any political message. The o nly lasdng Impact that a hot dog has is · CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE increasing an individual's cholesterol level, leading to future heart problems. Each vendor now has to pay a $50 license fee t o sell the Homeless f:1rapevlne. Before a vendor makes a dollar, they must ventllre down to City Hall with two photo IDs and $50 In hand for a license. Then, after they are Issued a license, they have to choose where they are going to sell. In the end, they not o nly have to submit to the e xorbitant filing fee, but all the sidewalks are no longer available to them. We still have not figured out the purpose for the license. We are not selling food that may be poisonous. AJI of our vendors are badged, and distinguishable from the other vendors on the streets. They only sell newspapers on the street, nothing else. Each one of them have signed a code of conduct as well. We wonder If the city is worried that people will receive a calnted paper. The Honw/ess Grapevine exhausted its appeals through the judicial system when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Its case. Despite forty years of previous rulinp to the contrary, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that licenses did not violate the vendor's First Amendment rights still stood. We are In a strange time In our judiciary when all previous decisions are up for rehearing. Here is what Justice Dougfas said In 1943 In writing the Opinion for Murdock r.s. PennsylYa11/a, "It is true that the First Amendment, like the Commerce Clause, draws no distinction between license d taxes, fixed sum taxes, and other kJnds of taxes, but that Is no reason to shut o ur eyes to the nature of the tax and its destructive Influences. The power to Impose a license t.ax on tile exercise of these freedo ms, is indeed as potent as the power of censo rship, which this court has repeatedly struck down." Now we are pursuing local executive and legislative avenues for relief fro m this ordinance. At the same time, we are coordinating national legisla­ tio n to pro tect street newspapers across the country The power to impose a license tax on the exercise of these freedoms, is indeed as potent as the power of censorship...Justice Douglas, 1943 from the dicatets of the local Mayor or City Council. Curre ntly, there are 22 "poverty lssue" papers in the U.S. sold on the street. whose vendors could potentially be forced to buy a license as happened In Cleveland. The re are also a potential 7 new and emerging newspapers, whose vendors may be subject to a license fee If the papers happen to confront or alienate the local administration. We hope that supporters of street newspapers and free speech will contact their local U.S. Repre­ sentative and urge them to support a national ban on licensing street newspapers. This Is not a Democratic or Republican Issue, for Democrats usually support free speech, and Republicans want "to get the government off your back," especially entrepreneurs who are maldng the transition bade Into the work force. A license restricts free speech, and brings government Into areas In which It has never ventured. This might seem like a small Issue, but the right to speak to the public Is a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights. Poor people are Ignored by the teievtslon and have only limited access to radio. Major newspapers are too busy covering sports, entertain­ ment. and business Issues, to worry about poverty. The street newspapers are the last avenue in which to read the voices of the poor. WithotJt some protection we risk alienating and keeping the voices of the poor out of the debate. The lack of the poor's Input, has led to many horrible decisions In the past 30 years. Freedom of speech ls worth preserving. For mo re Information on the efforts tX> protect free speech, contact the Homeless GrapeYine. at (2 16) 24 1-1 104 or e-mail at neoch@bbs2.rmrc.net. For Your Information US Constitution: First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peace­ ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Only $5 each! STREETVIBES ' . /ltlfll< /t• ' lrl,l/lc \!flt' 100% Whlle Collon Shirts XL Purple logo T-shirts are available at our office at I 506 Sm Street. Please stop by and see us. �- .... STREETVIBES T/1e Tn State's Homeless Grapevine Building Torn Down for New Project Page 14 Buddy's Place Dedicated November 15 by James Heath Building B of the Laurel Homes Project at Liberty and Linn was torn down last month as part of a renovation project. Photo by James Heath . The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Author­ ity tore down a controversial building last month as part of the Laurel Homes Renovation Plan. CMHA argued that a combination of safety concerns a.nd the fact that the small unit size was in small demand targeted it for demolitions. Planners for the project would rather have a courtyard in place of the building to boost community space. The Laure l Homes Resident Council opposed 11 the demolition arguing that better screening proce­ dures for prospective tenants should be used to counter the safety problems. In addition, they argued that the building could be reconfigured for larger units. The building contained approximately 30 units. The Laurel Homes Renovation Plan will reduce the net total of units In the project, re placing one bedroom units with larger family size units. O ver a hundre d people came out to the memorial held o n the anniversary of the tragic death of Buddy Gray. About a dozen housing rehabbers and homeless advocates addressed the crowd on the importance of continuing the fight for affordable housing. In the late 1980s, the building at 1300 Vine Street, was targeted for demolition by the city. Buddy Gray and ReSTOC believed that this building should be saved, especially in a neighborhood where low-income housing was so desperately neede d. Homeless shelters were over capacity, and transi­ tional housing was at a premium. This project at 1300 Vine St. was a dream of Buddy's, and on November 15th, 1997, it was named in his honor. Many friends and co-workers of Buddy Gray, braved the cold and wet weather to attend the dedication of "Buddy's Place." "Buddy's Place," will establish 20 units of permanent housing for formerly homeless individuals, and will serve as a model for other communities around the nation. This is a fitting testimony to Buddy, and his dream of continuing to provide low-income housing to our brothers and sisters who are homeless. Showerhouse Continued from Page 4 11 Institutionalized, so they must live with a parent or guardian and then somehow that parent or guardian dies and leaves thern without what they need to continue living on their own. Now, they are out in the streets fending for themselves, living from shelter to shelter or worse still, from abandoned building to abandoned building. Fl: Well, yes. Yes! It's a number of things. There are just a lot of variables. It's neve r just one thing that creates a problem for someone who becomes homeless. Yes. That's it in a nut shell. Like you say, one can get displaced for a number of reasons. Homeless people come from all phases of society. You can find yourself homeless because of fires, drugs, racism, even you can find yourself homeless from a bad attitude that keeps you from being productive in a positive way. So, to me it's a combination. Like Murphy's Law states if anything bad happens a homeless person has probably experienced it. SV: Do you see any way In the near future how these problems can be resolved In a way so there will be an actual decrease Instead of the increase you are noticing today~ Tl: A-a-a-h-h-h! That's another good one. think anyone that's positive would like to see that there's hope at the end of the tunnel, and possibly there Is. SV: The reason why I asked this question is because I think you have a unique point of view as opposed to the person driving by in their car on the way to the suburbs. They need your understanding. Tl: M-m-m. Yes! Well, we do give tours of the place, so, anyone who wants to come In and see how the facility Is run, we invite any and everyone. We certainly depend on donations, so, anyone who wants to open up their heart for any type of dona­ tion; bleach, detergent. deodorant. underwear. These are things we run out of quickly. It's a fast tum over. We need bath towels, wash cloths. These are things we go through very quickly. SY: What about socks? Tl: Yes. Socks. SY: What about any other items such as clothes, coats? Tl: U-hu'h. Ye... Well, we certainly can use any and everything of this sort. Pants, coats, winter coats, thermal underwear, socks, as you say, sweaters, hats, toboggans or whatever you call those funny hats, a.nd believe it or not, we can use money tX>. SY: OK. I want the readers to pay close attention to what Theardis is saying concerning what you can do to make a difference, even in the smallest of ways. If you have more than you need of any of these things, bring them in to the showerhouse and show your charitable nature to those In need. By the way Mr. "T", what is MARY MAGDALEN HOUSE'S address? Tl. 1221 and 1223 Main Street. We're on the first floor. SY: What Is the zip code? Tl: '45210. SY: And what is the phone number. Tl: 721--4811. SY: I have maybe one or two more questions. How did you personally bec~me homeless? You "like Murphy's law states if anything bad happens a homeless person has probably experi­ enced it." don't have to answer this question If it is too painful or sensitive for you. Tl: Well, I was In a drug Infested building. The landlord and I didn't see eye to eye, so, he had me arrested. Later he had the charges dropped because it was untrue. It kind of woke me up. Like I said, he had me locked up, and then they turned me loose. It took about a week to get everything squared away. By then he had set all my things out and I became a candidate for the Drop Inn Center. Through the blessings of the Father, like you and everyone else, I heard talk of the Mary Magdalen House, and I came around and showered. I liked it and I've been here ever since. SY: OK. My brother, if there was anything that you could suggest to the community as a whole, concerning homelessness, what others can do to help, besides all of the donations you need, what other things can a person do to help make a difference? Tl: As I say, we use volunteers. Maybe there's someone who would like to donate three or four hours a week o r ~·1ery other week, whatever. We try to work with our volunteers and whatever hours they have that is flexible. We want it to be conve~ nient for them. We open at 8: 15 in the morning and we close at '4:00. We go to lunch at noon and open back up at I: I Spm. Anyone that has some time or articles to bring in are welcome. We're open on Saturday's till noon. We're closed on Sundays. SY: So, actually, your open six days a week. Tl: Yes. . SY: That's a real blessing. Tl: If people were to see the line we have on Monday morning, they'd wonder why we're closed on Sundays. However, we do need a day of rest. SV: Yes, by all means. Your job has a certa.in level of intensity. I've been here at times when you yourself had to act as sort of a security man and keep things in order. (Theardis is laughing heartily) I see that you get your respect down here. You keep.the order. And one of the things I like about you being in the position you are in is 1?ecause you've been where the now are. Like you said, there is a majority of Black males coming In here and when they see another Black male in the position you have, there is a sort of respect in the fact that you've been homeless and are able to relate to their pain and suffering they are going through. You.also know that feeling sorry for them is not what they always need. There's also the need for what some might call "tough love" to be shown. Tl: That's right! I think everybody is an individual and you know, what works for one may not work for somebody else. You have to keep going till you find what works. But, certainly a fresh, clean body puts the mind in a proper perspective of thinking positive. They have the desire and say to themselves, "Well, I'm going to go out and get this job!". It's almost like willingly. And when you can get someone into this attitude, you really believe in them succeeding 'cause you can see it. You..re gonna have rejection, but, somewhere down the line they're gonna be accepted. SY: I truly believe Mary Magdalen House is doing a lot towards helping a person becoming accepted back into society that has been rejected. want to thank you 'T' for your time. This is your lunch break and you could have been resting or eating your lunch, yet you took the time to do this Interview for STREETVIBES. I'm going to let you go so you can get back to work helping others to get back on their feet. Let me get out of here and let you get your last few minutes of solitude before the madness breaks out once again. Tl: Why thank you. ('T' is really laughing now.) SY: I know you've got a rough afternoon coming up. Tl: Thanks for this interview. �STREETVIBES rhe 711 State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES. Announcements Please send your announcements to Streetvibes Announcements, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax them to 513-421-7813 by the 20th of each month. December 1 Contact Center Toy Sale: Starts, Lasts through December 23. December 3 Streetvibes Planning Meeting, 5 PM, Homeless Coalition Office, 1506 Elm Street, Call 42 1-7803 for info. December 4 Christ Church Forum on Homelessness, 12 NOON, STREETVIBES Classified Ads Streetvibes Is now accepting Classified Ads for items such as Help Wanted, Items for Sale, Apart­ ments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $1 per line, approximately four words per line. Classified ads are due by the 20th of the month. People below the poverty level will be allowed five free lines for six months to advertise their skills or products to o ur readers. Othe rwise, payment must be received before the ad will run. No refunds will be made. Also, if there ls an error, notify us after the first printing. You will be given an extra month of ad time. Mail the ad copy to: Streetvibes I506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax it to 421-7813 Scramble Answers from page 11 CHRISTMAS SL8GH SANTA NOEL NOEL RUDOLPH TOYS TREE 318 E. Fourth Street, Room 306, call 381-4994 for info. Page IS Over-the-Rhine Residents. Call 62 1-5514 for info. Features OTR Steel D rum Band. December 7 December 16 St. Francis Xavier Medal Presentation to Rev. Maurice McCracken, Brunch at I I am, Main Dining Room, Xavier University, $10, call 745­ 320 I for info. Welfare Rights Trip to Columbus for Hearing Before JCARR Committee on Food Stamp Cuts, Leaves at 7 AM, Call 381 -4242 fo r info. December 9 Deadline for January Streetvibes articles, poems and classified items. Welfare Rights Coalition Meeting, I 0:30 AM, 1641 Vine Street, Call 381-4242 for Info. December 11 Public Hearing on City of Cincinnati 1998 Budget, 6 PM, City Hall Council Chambers, 80 I Plum Street December 12 Homeless Think Tank Meeting, 7 PM, Drop Inn Center Shelter, Call 4 21-7803 for more info. December 20 December 21 Homeless Memorial Day, 4 PM. W ashtngto n Park Remembrance of those who died o ri •h P ~ 1 cc Call 421-7803 for info. December 23 Happy Hanukkah! First Evening l f qd '• December 3 I .) December 25 December 13 Merry Christmas! Peaslee Holiday Concert, 3 PM, Salvation Army Chapel, 120 E. Central Parkway, $3 or free for December 31 music an Loo I or Wo Streetvibe5 (the band). We like to party. R&B, Oldies, Blues/Jazz, Reggae. Helpln the homeless to help themselves through free enterprhe. Call 421-7803. position wanted Childcare Spec!allat Looking for fulltlme work as a child care specialist. Has one year experience -ricing with children In a daycare. Attended Withrow Chlldcare Program. High School Graduate. Call Julian Gardener at the Drop Inn Cent.er, 721-0643. Laborer Looking for a laborer? Has worked at Riverfront. Is willing to do any kind of work. Call Sonia Craig at the Orop Inn Center, 721·0643. Elderlx or Children Looking for a community oriented Job dealing with elderly or children. 3 year oul1:each worker/ counselor aide at YHC,A. 13 years typing. Computer and cashier experience Including Windows, Lotus, Any Word Processor. Call AnJall Madyun at the Drop Inn Center, 721­ 0643. STREETVIBES provides Classified Ads free to low income job seekers. Others may place ads for only $1 per line. Ramadan. First Day. (Muslim b sc ends Sales Representative Looking for position as sales representative or management. Has good bookkeeping. typing and supervl$0ry skills. Has experience in retail management, customer service and 5ales. Is avallable to work Immediately. Call Dea Harrl5 at 552-9351. Resta ur ant Work Responsible older man able to work any shift. Has had experience as a cook .-nd as a janitor. Would prefer work as a busser at a restaurant as well as work as a J~1 dish wash" r " •H• very deper11fablt '" ava ilable in u nt:d;.u Please contac.l W Ir Powell at SJ I · 84C t help wanted "~ Continge ncy Fee Lawyer Not afraid of Catholic Church or PUCO. Send office hours and na me of law sc hool on letterhead paper to 1111 Elm Street. No. 432, Cincinnati, OH 45210. Streetvibes Wish List VCR to Show Streetvibes-Episodes to Groups Blank VHS Cassettes Adobe Photoshop Software for IBM to save scanning costs Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories Advertisers to help support the paper Call 421 -7803 if you can help! SNOWMAN CHRIST CAROLS Call 421-7803 for info. Streetvibes Vendor C·ode of Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. I. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for donations more than $1. I also understand that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future Issues ofStreetvibes will be purchase d from the Homeless Coalition for 20 cents. 2 I agree that I will never distribute Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 3. I agree that I will not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect. I will not use abusive language or force someone to give a donation. I will not give a "ha.rd sell" or make someone feel threatened. S. I agree that I wlll not supply copies of Streetvibes to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. I agree not to deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a not-for-profit charity o r that I am collecting for the "homeless" in general. I will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the individual vendor. 7. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self supporting paper created by people who are homeless or formerly homeless. To help In this effort, I will try to spread the word and write stories If possible. 9. I understand that the failure to comply with any of the above statements will result in me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. Advertise in Streetvibes! Advertising in Streetvibes is a chance for businesses to help a good cause while promoting themselves to 4,000 concerned people each month. The rates are shown below. Business Card Size 2" x 3 1/2" $I 0 per month Two Business Card Size 4" x 3 112" $20 per month A check or money order must accompany the ad copy. We reserve the right to deny any ad, especially those which promote alcohol or tobacco products. You will receive a full refund should your ad be denied. For larger ads, call the number below. Ads are due by the 20th 'of each month. If you need assistance in preparing your ad or have any other questions, call the Homeless Coali­ tion at 421-7803. Mail ads with payment to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Onclnnati, OH 45210 �- STREETVIBES 1 711e !11 Slote s Homeless Grapevine Page /6 .Vendor Strives to Make Home a Better Place 11 11 Vendor Profile of Azariah Israel by Carolyn Meszaros A life-long resident of Cincinnati, Azariah has been selling Streetvibes for several months because he believes the lnforn"iation in the newspaper is Important and needs to be spread around town. It's part of his contribution to making "home" a better place to live; "home," Azariah says, is the most beautiful city In the world-he's been both north and In the south--and he doesn't want to go elsewhere to live. He didn't find the newspaper all by himself, a brother and a coalition staff member engineered him into the project. He also sings and plays in the Streetvibes Band, any one of several wind instru­ ments, but he first mentions "saxophone." He would like to see the band a success in the area (west of the mountains and south of the lakes). One of nine brothers and sisters, four of each, with mother still living (but not all family members are In the immediate Cincinnati area), Azarlah is polite to the "nth" degree, soft-spoken, and evi­ dences the gentle, friendly, interested-Jn-life soul of artists in conversation. Indeed, he has Interests In many different aspects of what Is considered art including drawing, woodworking and carpentry, home or domestic arts such as cooking and sewing, and arts and crafts in general. Other activities have included helping to organize a peace rally called the West End Peace Rally In 1988, which was an annual event for about five years directed to helping inner city youth cultivate their talents and direct them into peaceful living. At the time there were many violent deaths among local young people and the project was backed by the City of Cincinnati and was considered Azariah Israel Baptist heritage, the name is a name In the Bible, in the Old Testa­ ment Book of Daniel, and Israel was taken as a reference to the before-slavery ancestry of his people. His goals in life include earning an adequate (living-wage) income from his various artistic efforts right around the extended area. especially in the immediately tri-state vicinity. Vendor: 80 cents Printing and Production: 20 cents Where Your o ar Goes We're sure he'll quietly be in other "activist" adventures and are glad to have him involved In the organization. Streetvlbes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video. Some viewers might not see the show appear at the right channel or time during the next couple months as Warner Cable changes around channels on us. Slreelvibes TV November This show focused on Public Housing Issues In Cincinnati. The guests were.Don Troendel, Director of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority and Maria Pesante, CMHA Resident and Vice Chairperson of the CMHA Board. Channel 10 Saturday, December 4, 1997, 4 pm Friday, December 12. 1997, 11 am S/ree/vibes TV December Streetvibes has a minimal overhead cost so that the vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. If anyone selling Streetvibes claims to be collecting for a private charity, please call our office at 421-7803. Thanks for your support. This show will focus on AIDS and HIV issues in the Greater Cincinnati area. Channel 7 (SB Basic In most of Hamilton Count¥) Monday, December I 5, 7 pm live Channel 10 Friday, December 19, 11 am Monday, December 22, I0 pm Saturday, December 27, 4 pm p? e If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. If you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. SHELTERS: Women and Children Alice Paul House (abuse) 241-2757 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome House 431-8717 SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St. Joseph House Mt. Alry Center Volunteers of America 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 SHELTER.: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn <;:enter (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) Interfaith Hospitality Network 761-1480 821 -5100 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226 Ughthouse Youth Center St. john's Temporary Housing 961-4080 651-6+46 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental llQ Tom Geiger House 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-095.4 721-8666 961 -4555 TREATMENT: Women O.D.AAT First Step Home 241-7343 921-7324 TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both N.A Hopellne AA Hodine C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnad 421-2437 Appalachian Identity Center 621-5991 Centerfor Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network 569-1840 Community Action Agency 381-4242 Contact Center 241-2563 Emanuel Community Center 241-1064 Freestore/Foodbank 771-4800 Goodwill Industries 621-7149 Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. 63.2-7186 Hamilton Co. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 221-3679 House of Refuge Mission 241-9400 Le~I Ald Society Madisonville Ed. &Assistance Ctr. 271 -5501 Mary Magdalen House 721 -4811 Oral Health Council 621-0248 Our Dally Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Travelers Ald 721-7660 721-7900 United Way VA Homeless Program 559-6656 Women's Crisis Center 491-3335 � 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 1997 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 Language A language of the resource English 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. Text Any textual data included in the document - 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 1997 Vol 1, issue #12 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness 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 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: <br />street paper rights<br />anti-homeless laws<br />food stamps<br />Mary Magdalen House<br />Peaslee Neighborhood Center<br />housing policy<br />eviction<br />free speech Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tim Burroughs<br />Ron Carter<br />Pat Clifford<br />Denise Crew<br />Brian Davis<br />James (Jimmy) Heath<br />Lemuel Israel<br />Paul Larkin<br />Carolyn Meszaros<br />Bonnie Neumeier<br />Gregory Payton<br />Mark Salter<br />Malaka Sanders<br />Hillary Schwab<br />Tess<br />Donald Whitehead<br />Zac Willette<br />Lynn Williams<br />Carmen Ziegler<br />Vera Zlatkin Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis Carmen Ziegler Carolyn Meszaros Denise Crew Donald Whitehead eviction food stamps Gregory Payton Hillary Schwab homeless James (Jimmy) Heath Lemuel Israel Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Mark Salter Pat Clifford Paul Larkin reform Ron Carter shelters Tess Tim Burroughs Vera Zlatkin welfare Zac Willette