20 10 291 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/9abbc67e6d0fa1bef32756ec4b59171f.pdf 0be75669333ca39bf82a0c94c8e471c6 PDF Text Text M ay 16nd - M ay 30th 2019 | Vo l . 23 Issue 10 (No. 407) advo cating justice | building communit y Any opinions in this issue are of the authors and don't necessarily represent Streetvibes or The Homeless Coalition. Affordable For What? Article on Page 8 This Issue is sponsored by Cecilia and Tom Kloecker Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.com Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 12 �2 COALITION N o v 16 2 - -NMay o v 19, 0 18 | |NNo. o . 393 May 30,2 2019 407 From The Editor: Money Over People GABRIELA GODINEZ Editor-in-chief O n Thursday, May 9th, 2019 tenants from Wade Street and Central Avenue held a press conference. The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, FightBack Cincinnati, and faith leaders were in attendance and advocated for the rights of Wade Street and Central Avenue Tenants United. The tenants continue asking for their demands to be met by FC Cincinnati in a timely matter, calling out FCC directly at the press conference. Tenants, along with several faith leaders, gave short statements about their opinions and frustrations regarding the subject. It is clear that the tenants feel lost, forgotten, abandoned, and it isn’t difficult to see how they arrived at such emotions. One speaker said they felt that FCC was saying, “I see you, and I don’t care.” A sentiment echoed by many others in their speeches. What many people pointed out was the fact that this is not simply a money issue, but also a moral issue. This is not only about the demands the tenants are making that FCC is refusing to fulfill, it’s also the fact that anyone has to make any demands at all, that anyone has to go through this in the first place. The group is demanding that FC Cincinnati renovate 1559 Central Avenue and “give ownership to Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, allowing those currently residing in 1559 to stay there and for those residing in 421 Wade Street to move once completed.” Knowing that some folks will still be displaced, this is still a compromise that the tenants are willing to make. While FC Cincinnati keeps dancing around the demands, coming up with halfhearted rebuttals and counteroffers, the rest of us have a front seat to the chaos that our local leadership has allowed. Our local political leadership has chosen FC Cincinnati money over people. The moral issue that plagues Cincinnati is that our city has decided that lives don’t mean as much as the money corporations can bring. Pastor Ennis Tate put it well when he said, “FC Cincinnati can only do what they are allowed to do.” Many of us who live in Cincinnati feel that we are not directly affected by this issue, but we have the power to affect this issue. The burden that is put on tenants being evicted affects their mental and physical health; as neighbors who don’t feel personally burdened, it is our responsibility to be there for them however we can. There is no such thing as “this isn’t my fight to fight.” Wade Street and Central Avenue Tenants United are helping themselves but they still need our support. We all need to put pressure on our City Council and FC Cincinnati to do the right thing and put the rights and concerns of people first. It is ridiculous that eviction is a legal option in our city. It is ridiculous that displacement is accepted by our City Council. Since we already know that displacement is going to happen in this case, the Tenants United are demanding that FC Cincinnati pay “any associated moving costs and financial compensation to each Tenant.” It is sad that this is even a demand a person has to make to be able to continue living their lives, but it is infuriating that FC Cincinnati can’t just accept and comply with the demands. This is a corporation made up of individuals that are uprooting the lives of those living in the West End, and they don’t even have the moral capability to fulfill these demands. This is an egregious example of greed and blatant disregard for human lives. Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org www.cincistreetvibe.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor-in-chief: Gabriela Godinez Feregrino Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Sallie Mascus Layout: Gabriela Godinez Feregrino Reception: Bonita Batton, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper STOP SUPPORTING FC CINCINNATI S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Gabriela Godinez, Bill Woods, Jordi Cornella Detrell, Katelyn Lusher, Poorvi Vora, Robert Park, Dr. Mark Mussman, Aliyah Cole, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones, June Alexander ------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: canva.com, Gabriela Godinez, INSP.com, Dr. Mark Mussman, ---------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 39 Nov 230, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 163-|May | No. 407 3 COALITION Ohio Reformers Notch A Victory: Gerrymandered Congressional Districts BILL WOODS I Board Member n the struggle to restore the health of democracy, reformers gained another victory last week. A three judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Southern Ohio found that the Congressional Districts that were adopted by the Ohio General Assembly in 2011 were drawn to create results that greatly favored one political party. The Court ruled that new districts be established, and it gave the General Assembly until June 14th to draft them. The League of Women Voters of Ohio, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, and citizens representing the state's sixteen Congressional Districts filed the suit that led to this ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union provided the legal team for the plaintiffs. As reported in the April 4th edition of Streetvibes, the case took place over a two-week period this March in a courtroom in the Potter Stewart Federal Building in downtown Cincinnati. The three-judge panel led by District Judge Timothy S. Black heard ACLU lawyers make the case that the 2011 Congressional Districts were so blatantly gerrymandered that they violated the Constitutional rights of Ohio voters. Attorneys for the defense (Republican State officials) argued that Congressional redistricting that year had been carried out in the traditional manner, and that the results adequately represented Ohio residents. The ACLU legal team focused much of its time on highlighting the testimony of expert witnesses. One of the witnesses, William Cooper, a demographer, provided maps that he had drawn for Ohio that were both more compact and less partisan than the districts that were adopted in 2011. Cooper specializes in using Census data and geographic realities to draw up fair and compact political districts for states. Other redistricting experts hammered away at the complete disregard for compactness by the 2011 map makers that led inevitably to the twelve Republican held Congressional seats compared to four seats for the Democrats. Usually judged to be a swing state with an even number of Republican and Democratic voters, Ohio was carried by President Obama in both 2008 and 2012. On the other hand, defense witnesses attempted to portray Ohio's 2011 Districts as entities that accurately fit a Republican leaning state. The very large number of split counties, cities, and townships that were made in order to draw the current Congressional District maps seemed be a major factor in determining the three judge panel's decision. Seventythree municipalities and twenty-three counties were split to come up with the 2011 districts. An alternative plan that was shown to the judges included fourteen county splits and twentyseven splits of other municipalities and townships. The judges wrote in their decision: "Either the Republicans were exceedingly lucky, or their map drawers made exceedingly expert use of political data to manipulate district lines to secure the most seats and the least amount of competition possible." Republican state officials plan to appeal the decision. Attorney General Dave Yost hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the District Court's order to prepare new Congressional District maps in time for the 2020 Congressional elections. As readers may recall, the Supreme Court heard two anti-gerrymandering cases last month, but no verdicts have yet been announced. Ohio reformers are naturally pleased with the U.S. District Court's decision. Until the results of this case, most activists thought that they would have to wait until 2022 to have fair Congressional elections in this state. New districts will be drawn in 2021 using the reform guidelines included in the Ohio Constitutional Amendment that was passed by the voters a year ago. Alice Schneider, a board member of the Ohio League of Women Voters, is hopeful that the Court's ruling will give Ohioans fair and competitive Congressional elections in 2020. These are critical times, she noted, and people need to be able to believe that representative democracy works. STREETVIBES SOIRÉE SPONSORED BY URBAN ARTIFACT M A Y 3 1, 2 0 1 9 @ 8 : 0 0 P M HOSTED BY THE GREATER CINCINNATI HOMELESS COALITION THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 ADVERTISMENT N o v 216 - N v 19, 2 02019 18 | N o . 393 May - oMay 30, | No. 407 May 17 - June 2, 2019 For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 ov 2 30, - N o2019 v 19,| 2 0 18407 May 163 -| N May No. U.S. NEWS 5 To Make It On The Streets, I Had To Look Like You: Not Homeless HELEN HILL Street Roots W aiting in line sucks. We’ve all had to do it, and we will again. It’s exasperating and humbling, and it robs us of a precious, finite commodity: time. But when you are living in poverty and in need of the basic tools of survival, such as food, shelter, health care and access to hygiene, the hours of a day lost to waiting in line can rise to a demoralizing, soul-crippling level. I asked our vendors to talk about waiting in line early one Friday morning, while we were all waiting in line outside Street Roots for the lights to come on and the doors to open. Vendor Erik Sweger commented: “That’s all we do. Being homeless, you have to wait in line constantly. You go for housing, you wait in line. To get a mat to sleep on, you wait in line. To get food, you wait – and not even for good food. We’re always being told to wait. We are spending a hell of a lot of time waiting in line. And because we’re homeless, we have a couple bags we’re carrying, so that makes it harder. “It’s really frustrating,” Erik said. “You think, ‘I could be doing something else more productive’. Why is it taking so long? When I was growing up, they would show news clips about people waiting in line in Russia because of food shortages. Now it seems like that’s what we’re doing here. From what I hear, we’ve surpassed Russia; they don’t wait in line so much anymore. It’s getting like the Depression. I imagine we are nearly equal to what the lines during the Depression were like.” Jennifer Bradford has a different perspective about waiting in lines from her wheelchair. After years of being housed, she had a stroke this past year, and four days later, her leg was amputated due to a blood clot. She speaks very slowly; her speech was affected by the stroke. “For me, it’s really hard because I used to walk everyplace and do everything for myself,” she said. “Now that I’m in a wheelchair, people kind of push past me and cut in front of me, and because I’m homeless, they think it’s OK. I wait for the MAX, and when it comes, I try to press the button, but they don’t open the door, and they take off. Every place I go, there’s always a line for something, and I have a hard time explaining, saying what I need.” New vendor Gabriel Bradford is a young man experiencing homelessness for the first time. He’s been on the streets only a few months. “I lost my ID, lost my job, lost everything. It just kind of led me here,” he said. “I used to have a lot of judgment about homeless people. Why aren’t they out there getting a job? They have all day. But what people don’t understand is how busy you actually are when you’re homeless. If you are an addict and want to stay clean, you need to go to a meeting. You need to be at a shelter at a certain time for a shower. You need to be at certain places to eat three meals a day. So you’re constantly busy and running around all day. It’s a challenge. “It’s good for us to learn to be patient, waiting in line. It’s a spiritual journey. When we lose everything, we can focus on God instead of Netflix or our new couch. I feel more blessed homeless than I have ever with all my stuff. It was a challenge to look at it that way, especially when it was cold out. But if you can make it through that, you can make it through anything.” Kerry Anderson put it very simply: “You stand in line to wait for everything. At the end of the line, you get nothing. If you are trying to pursue something, it takes up most of the day,” he said. “You can go to the Red Door and get free clothes and free food, but that’s a long line you have to get in to wait,” Billy Turner said. “I can stand at my corner for that hour and sell papers.” For Magpie Blue, waiting in line is a physical challenge, as well as a mental one. “I don’t do well physically standing for long periods of time,” she said. “Waiting in line is time consuming. Waiting for a bathroom is No. 1. Food is No. 2. And I do a lot of waiting for the streetcar, for MAX.” Magpie estimates she spends 20 per cent to 30 per cent of each day waiting in line. Leah Filar has wanted to write a poem for some time about waiting in line. “You know the song ‘Signs, signs, everywhere a sign’? Well, I want to write a poem that goes ‘Lines, lines, everywhere a line.’ When you are homeless, it’s double the lines,” she said. “You get up in the morning and stand in a line to use the bathroom, and you get five minutes, usually two minutes until someone starts banging on the door. If you’re lucky, you get to pee and brush your teeth. You have to get in line to sign up for a shower. Then you have to show back up and wait in another line to get in the shower. Then you’ve got 15 minutes to shit, shower and shave. Then Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED you have to get in another line if you want clean clothes to wear. And then mealtime, and a lot of times these feeds, the lines are around the corner. Blocks long. When they open up new Section 8 housing, people camp out and wait through the night.” Raven Thickett spoke of the unending focus needed to get through her days. “Housing, food, showers – you have to pick one, and that’s all you’ll be able to do that day because of the long lines. What goes through my head is the fact that I’m not getting anywhere. In order to get out of the homeless position, you have to have all your ducks in a row, everything together. You technically can only take care of one task at a time. “I’ve been stuck in this predicament because of that. It’s like a merry-goround with nothing merry about it,” Raven said. “The wait for a typical food bank is an hour or two hours to get basic pantry food,” vendor Lori Lematta said. “Waiting for buses, looking for housing, waiting for your doctor. I have appointments all week long to get better, but you’re just worn out chasing survival. That’s what it feels like.” Courtesy of Street Roots / INSP.ngo �GLOBAL 6 N o v 216 - N v 19,30, 2 02019 18 | N| oNo. . 393 May - oMay 407 Opting In: The Value of Vaccines THARANGA YAKUPITIYAGE Inter Press Service S ince the introduction of vaccines, diseases such as measles and polio were quickly becoming a thing of the past. However, the world’s progress on immunisation is now being threatened. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 85 per cent of the world’s children received basic vaccines, including the measles and diptheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccines, which can protect them from infectious diseases that cause serious illness and even death. In fact, measles immunisation resulted in an 80 per cent drop in measles-related deaths between 2000 and 2017 worldwide. Still, access to vaccines remain elusive for many out-of-reach communities. In 2017, an estimated 20 million infants did not receive the DTP vaccine, 60 per cent of whom live in just 10 countries, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, and Nigeria. A rising anti-vaccination movement is also threatening to dismantle progress. In the United States, there are now more than 700 cases of measles across 22 states making it the highest figures the country has seen since 2000. The phenomenon has prompted some states to not only make immunisation mandatory, but also to ban unvaccinated children from public spaces. IPS spoke to WHO’s Coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr Ann Lindstrand on the challenges of immunisation and the way forward. Inter Press Service (IPS): How is the overall global picture regarding immunisation, and why does immunisation matter? Dr Ann Lindstrand: Immunisation matters because it is one of the most effective health interventions that we have, and it has saved millions of lives. I don’t think there is any other health intervention that works that well, with such high coverage, worldwide. Just looking back at what we have gained from immunisation—back in 1963 when we didn’t have any vaccine for measles, there were about 2.6 million deaths every year due to measles. Now, that figure has reduced by 95 per cent. The last figures we have are from 2017 with an estimated 110,000 deaths—so there has been a tremendous health gain. Same with polio—30 years ago, we had widespread polio crippling people but now it’s only endemic in two countries Afghanistan and Pakistan with only 33 cases confirmed cases last year. Now the newer vaccines like HPV [human papillomavirus] will help us reduce numbers of cervical cancers and new vaccines on the horizon like the Ebola vaccine which is used in outbreaks in Africa right now has really played a critical role in stopping the spread of the current outbreak in the DRC. Just this month, the first ever malaria vaccine is being piloted in routine immunisation programs in three countries. We still need to reach more. We still need to reach the last 15 per cent and we need to close equity gaps to reach those furthest away. WHO and others have pointed to the anti-vaccination movement as one of the biggest health threats in the world. How concerning is the move away from vaccinations, and what does this mean for people around the world? Is this a new challenge for WHO? It is an area of concern, yes. But it is not the global picture. We do not have the data to say that hesitancy has increased but we have seen that with social media and the internet, misinformation is spread more widely and easily. That’s something we are really worried about. In some areas, there is a resurgence of disease because of unacceptably low coverage rates or that people are refusing vaccines. We need to see this in a historic perspective. Anti-vaccine messages have been around for just as long as vaccines have been around—these things come and they go. But it worries us and we need to be right there to tackle to spread of vaccine misinformation. It is really important to put out the right messages. I work as a paediatrician and I have talked to a lot of parents who have had these concerns and it takes a lot of effort. At the heart of it, it is really the health worker who is sitting there with the [parent] who have concerns or have heard something on the internet or media, and they need to be able to respond to their questions and to listen and respect the concerns of parents. And that those health workers actually have the capacity and time to respond, both with the social ability to listen to the parents’ real concerns and A young boy in Pakistan receives an oral polio vaccine (OPV). Over the last 30 years huge progress has been made against polio and it is now only endemic in 2 countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, with only 33 cases confirmed cases last year. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS also provide the scientific evidence. There is a lot of work in training healthcare workers which is ongoing and we need to keep doing that. We need to equip healthcare workers with the right methods, words, scientific evidence to reassure parents. The bigger picture for us to improve health is for children everywhere to get vaccinated on time and every time. We need to increase access so that vaccine services are made convenient and welcoming so people want to go there, that we are good at putting out credible information from the beginning including what are the facts, what is the evidence. Some U.S. states are enacting mandatory immunisation laws or even barring those who have not received vaccines from certain public spaces. Do you agree with these steps, or does more need to be done? The only disease where WHO actually recommends mandatory proof of vaccination applies to yellow fever and for international travellers in certain countries. Beyond that, it is up to every country to make decisions based on existing disease epidemiology, their laws and regulations, and if it is the best way to go. Many countries have achieved high immunisation coverage without mandatory immunisation. It is a complex area—how do you sanction parents? How far do you go to enforce laws when they are in place? That is a conversation that every country needs to have before even considering any of the mandatory vaccinations. I think it is important to encourage THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED countries to invest in and protect their individuals and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases and then remove barriers—have few access barriers when it comes to cost and convenience. Make it simple and easy. Make the choice of vaccines the social norm. What is your message for people around the world regarding the importance of immunisation? Immunisation is a fantastic health intervention. It is a right for all children, and it is also a shared responsibility. As we have seen with the recent outbreaks, no country and no individual can afford to be complacent about vaccines. It is important that we look at not just putting out fires or responding to outbreaks after they have happened—that’s expensive, ineffective and it costs lives. What is more important is to have sustainable prevention, thinking and ensuring that everyone everywhere is vaccinated at the right time with the right vaccines and throughout their life course. It also important to see that vaccines are not just for saving lives, it helps children to learn, grow, keep them in school instead of sick, avert disabilities and long-term consequences. It reduces the health care costs for a country, and protects families and communities from sliding into poverty. There is no debate to have on the benefit or the risk between vaccines and the vaccine-preventable diseases. We need to continue to protect people also in the future, and we really need to invest in trust in vaccines and in our healthcare system. Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo �No. 39 3 |- N ov 2 30, - N o2019 v 19, |2No. 0 18407 May 16 May GLOBAL 7 How the world’s largest democracy casts its ballots People wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling station during the third phase of general election in Guwahati, India, April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika POORVI VORA The Conversation A bout 600 million Indian citizens are expected to cast their votes over a period totalling 39 days and ending 19 May, in the ongoing election for their country’s parliament. There are roughly 900 million eligible voters, and the country has typically seen about two-thirds of them turn out to polling places. I have been working on the security of electronic voting systems for more than 15 years, and, along with other colleagues, have been interested in understanding how a nation can tally that many votes cast over such a long period. India uses a domestically designed and manufactured electronic voting machine – as many as 4 million of them at 1 million polling places, at least some in extremely remote locations. The first version of the Indian electronic voting machine debuted in the state election in Kerala in 1982. Now they’re used in elections throughout the country, which happen on different days in different areas. How does it work? When a voter arrives at the polling place, she presents a photo ID and the poll officer checks that she is on the electoral roll. When it’s her turn to vote, a polling official uses an electronic voting machine’s control unit to unlock its balloting unit, ready to accept her vote. The balloting unit has a very simple user interface: a series of buttons with candidate names and symbols. To vote, the voter simply presses the button next to the candidate of her choice. After each button press, a printer prints out the voter’s choice on paper and displays it to the voter for a few seconds, so the person may verify that the vote was recorded correctly. Then the paper is dropped into a locked storage box. The whole system runs on a battery, so it does not need to be plugged in. When it’s time for the polling place to close at the end of the voting day, each electronic voting machine device and paper-record storage box is sealed with wax and tape bearing the signatures of representatives of the various candidates in that election, and stored under armed guard. After the election period is over and it’s time to tally the votes, the electronic voting machines are brought out, the seals opened and the vote counts for each control unit are read out from its display board. Election workers handtally these individual machine totals to obtain the election results for each constituency. Security protections – and concerns The Indian electronic voting machine primarily runs on specialized hardware and firmware, unlike the voting machines used in the U.S., which are software-intensive. It is intended for the single purpose of voting and specially designed for that, rather than relying on a standard operating system like Windows, which needs to be regularly updated to patch detected security vulnerabilities. Each machine requires only a connection between a balloting unit and a control unit; there are no provisions to connect an electronic voting machine to a computer network, much less the internet – including wirelessly. This design does offer some Polling officials seal a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a polling station after the end of the third phase of the general election in Kochi, India, April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V protections against possible tampering with how votes are recorded and tallied. The Election Commission of India has repeatedly claimed that the electronic voting machines are tamperproof. However, a scholarly study has demonstratedthere are ways to rig the machines. In particular, the simplicity of the design allows for simple attacks, such as intercepting and modifying the signal carried over the machine’s cable. The Election Commission has not made public any independent security evaluations, so it’s unclear exactly what is – or isn’t – possible. Parties that lose elections often suspect malfeasance and question the equipment. Manufacturing the machines As I and others have observed, when the machines are being made, there are a number of opportunities for someone to physically tamper with an electronic voting machine in ways that preelection device testing might not detect. The machines’ software is designed, written and tested at two electronics companies owned by the government of India: Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited. The chips for the machines are manufactured outside India. In earlier versions of the machine, the chip manufacturer also wrote the machine code into the chip; today the electronics companies do it themselves. At any time during manufacture, testing and maintenance, it may be possible to introduce counterfeit chips or swap out other components that could let hackers alter the results. The Election Commission of India argues that any manipulation or error would be detected because the electronic voting machine is tested frequently and candidate representatives have opportunities to participate in mock THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED elections immediately before a machine is used in a real election. However, it is possible to make changes that will not be detected. Testing can reveal only some problems, and the absence of problems during testing does not mean that problems do not exist. Auditing the machines’ results There is, however, a mechanism for detecting attacks – that printedout paper bearing the vote and stored securely with the electronic equipment. A 2013 Supreme Court directive asked the Election Commission to create that process to protect the integrity of the balloting process. In each constituency, five electronic voting machines will have their results audited by comparing a manual count of the printouts with the electronic tallies. (This means about 1 or 2 per cent of each constituency’s machines will be tested.) Opposition parties have asked the Supreme Court to order audits of half of all electronic voting machines, but that may not happen with this year’s election. While the electronic voting machine system is useful and functional, officials and observers shouldn’t assume there’s no way to tamper with the results. The Election Commission should certainly continue to improve testing and provide public reports of independent testing. However, because no technology can be tamper-proof, each election outcome should be verified by a manual audit, to ensure that the results are correct, whatever they may be. Poorvi Vora is professor of computer sciences at George Washington University Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo �FEATURE 8 N o v 216 - -NMay o v 19, 18 | N o . 393 May 30,2 02019 | No. 407 Affordable For What DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer W e are in the middle of an affordable housing crisis. The crisis is not just in Cincinnati but it is widespread throughout Hamilton County and the region. With over 40,000 units of affordable housing missing in Hamilton County alone, we are facing an unprecedented housing challenge. They're many different ways to calculate whether or not someone is paying too much for their housing, but commonly we believe that if you pay more than 30% of your income towards your housing, you are then paying too much and are rent burdened. When families are rent burdened, they are just one paycheck away from a crisis that can negatively impact their lives. In Cincinnati, we have many different organizations that are fighting to make sure that we have affordable housing available to all, but they haven’t stopped the free market from creating a very difficult situation for many families. We are fortunate in Overthe-Rhine to have organizations that are ensuring that some families are able to remain in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, over the past 15 years, we have lost more than 2,400 units of low income affordable housing in our neighborhood alone. Organizations like Over-the-Rhine Community Housing enable us to not only sustain units of affordable housing but also bring new units online. Over-theRhine Community Housing has been partnering with other organizations, like Tender Mercies and Community Matters, to create new housing in Overthe-Rhine, the West End, and Lower Price Hill. Tender Mercies works with adults with developmental disabilities (and histories of homelessness) to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community have stable housing. They use a “housing first” model to get people into housing while they deal with mental illness or addiction. Tender Mercies has a couple of buildings on 12th Street, and a few more throughout the neighborhood. They have been a model for SRO housing (single room occupancy housing) throughout the region and perhaps the country. Tender mercies and Over-theRhine Community Housing have partnered on new housing in the West End. This new building, on Ezzard Charles, will provide housing for people who are today housing insecure. Combined with the nearly 500 units of affordable housing that Over-the-Rhine Community Housing provide, we are lucky to have such a comprehensive organization in the neighborhood. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing not only provides affordable units of housing, but it also runs the Jimmy Heath House and the Recovery Hotel. The Recovery Hotel gives people a chance to get through drug and homelessness recovery while not giving them a time limit to do so. The Jimmy Heath House provides wrap-around services, such as social workers, to make sure that people will be successful in recovery and out of homelessness. The Jimmy Heath House also houses the employment pipeline, which gives people an opportunity to work toward full-time employment at several local organizations including Nehemiah Manufacturing, Building Value, and the City’s Parks Department. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Another organization in the community that provides affordable housing is the Preservation of Affordable Housing, or POAH, which has taken over many of the formerly Brickstone properties. Brickstone was a part of the developer Model Group. Brickstone was known for creating and sustaining high quality affordable housing throughout the city. Many Brickstone buildings are scattered throughout Over-the-Rhine, Mount Auburn, and other surrounding neighborhood including Walnut Hills and Avondale. POAH manages Brickstone and some Model Group buildings. One of the buildings that Model Group owns and POAH is the manager, is Parkway Towers. Parkway Towers has been a building for older adults and people with disabilities for many years. Over the last few years, there have been some changes at Parkway Towers, which have been concerning to the residents. Not only has management changed, but also ownership. Residents are now being forced to leave the building for a renovation to widen the hallways. The Parkway Towers’ tenant organization has been negotiating through the whole process. They have created a survey of the residents to ensure that the people who are most vulnerable will be able to return to the building. This process started with a 45 day notice for residents to vacate a couple of years ago, but with the organizing of the tenants, and with Legal Aid and the Homeless Coalition, they’ve been able to remain in their home so far. Other organizations in the neighborhood, that help create and sustain affordable housing, are very limited. There is some organically occurring affordable housing in Overthe-Rhine, but many are disappearing very quickly. �No. 39 Nov 230, - N2019 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18407 May 163 -| May FEATURE 9 barriers between communities who are in need and those who are able to facilitate those needs. Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of our government to make sure that people have safe and affordable housing. The way to calculate whether or not you are paying too much, is by taking 30% of your take home pay and applying that to your housing, including your utilities. There is also a nationally recognized fair market value for one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. The fair market value is determined by the cost of living in any given area. For our area, a onebedroom at fair market value is about $645 per month. The amount for a two-bedroom apartment is about $800 per month. And the fair market value for a three-bedroom apartment is a little bit more than $1,100 per month. This fair market value is essentially what the federal government would pay if you were receiving a subsidy for your housing. Certain governmental programs will pay approximately 120% of the fair market value for a unit. Those who receive these subsidies might be receiving a Section 8 voucher, where they are able to find housing in the private market. Other people might be receiving a subsidy through the organization that owns the building or on their own. Many years ago, the federal government decided to move away from project-based housing and into the subsidy of private units. The idea was deconcentrate poverty, but little data has shown that this effect has been positive for the community. To look at it from another perspective, think about the concentration of wealth in certain neighborhoods in our community, and consider whether or not low-income subsidized housing would be welcome in that community. Chances are pretty high that that community of concentrated wealth would work hard to block low-income affordable subsidized housing in their community. So whether or not poverty has been deconcentrated is still up to further research. We do know that concentration of wealth has created THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Fortunately, in Cincinnati, we have an organization called Affordable Housing Advocates, who is advocating for affordable housing throughout our region. But when it comes down to it, housing is always a question of affordability. When a low-income unit is taken offline, chances are it will never return. Without advocates working day and night throughout the year to create more affordable housing, we will never chip away at our 40,000 units shortage of affordable housing. While organizations listed above are doing housing work to ensure that affordable housing is available, each one of these organizations has a waiting list that means that people can take months, to even years, to getting safe and affordable housing. This is a structural issue that needs a systemic solution through local, State, and federal governments. The market will not solve this problem, so a reliance on the market will only make the issues worse, and affordable housing will be even more difficult to obtain. �10 LOCAL N o v 216 - -NMay o v 19, 18 | N o . 393 May 30,2 02019 | No. 407 Archiving 22 Years of Streetvibes KATELYN LUSHER Contributing Writer S treetvibes has been a fixture in Over-the-Rhine for over 20 years. Veteran distributors are often contributing writers in the paper and over 400 issues have been produced since its inception. However, while Streetvibes has documented a rich history of activism in Cincinnati for quite some time, it is nearly impossible to explore this history because it is simply not available to the public. For the past year, I have been attempting to change that. In May 2018, I was asked to join a community book project committee at Peaslee Neighborhood Center. This project is a collaborative effort with activists, academics, and community members in Over-the-Rhine and the objective is to gather writing from grassroots organizations, writing groups, and neighborhood residents from the 1960s onward. Chris Wilkey (Northern Kentucky University English professor and longtime activist in Over-the-Rhine) and I volunteered to gather significant Streetvibes articles to include in the book since we are at the Homeless Coalition once a week for our writing group. We both knew that past Streetvibes issues are stored in filing cabinets upstairs at the Coalition, but we had no idea what we might find up there. In June, we started sifting through the print issues manually, with very little results. It was hot and humid and there is no air conditioning on the second floor, so looking through these archival materials meant that there was very little air circulating and news print was getting all over our hands. We tried to find very specific issues that other committee members requested, but the archive is difficult to accurately search in print form. Twenty five years ago—or longer— it was expected that archival work was often dreary, dirty, and tedious work. Today, we possess technologies and tools that aid archival research and make it accessible to all. Streetvibes, however, has yet to have a consolidated, digital archive that anyone can easily look up and search. After several days of “old-fashioned” archival work in that stuffy attic, I asked Chris, “Aren’t any of these issues digital? Why are we doing this?” To my surprise, I found out that the Streetvibes archive has never been fully digitized or made accessible to the general public. At our next meeting, I half-jokingly said that I would apply for a grant to fully digitize the Streetvibes archive. About four months later, I did exactly that. In October 2018, I received a grant from the Cincinnati Project to fund the Streetvibes archive project. With the funds from this grant, I started digitizing the archive in early February 2019. So far, I have made PDFs of all the issues dating from 1997 to 1999. This summer, I will continue digitizing the issues which are only available in print (1997 to 2004) and continue building the archive’s internet presence. When it is finished, the archive will be accessible to anyone with internet access on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Katelyn Lusher posing with an old issue of Streetvibes, working on the archiving process. On The Front Lines: Lessons For Trouble-Makers ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer B oot camp for Congress people: Rashida Tlaib, a new Congresswoman, was part of a group invited to Harvard University after the 2018 election to learn about how government works and how to do their new job. Guess who was teaching? It was CEOs from General “Close the Auto Plants” Motors, from Johnson & “Drug Profiteer” Johnson, and Boeing “Sorry About The 737 Max” Aircraft Company. The best example from this Harvard “bipartisan, preeminent educational and preparatory” program of how the U.S. ruling class engages in political manipulation was provided by Mr. Gary Cohn, former President/CEO of Goldman Sachs, who informed the eager students that “you guys are way over your head” and “you don’t know how the game is played.” Not even subtle. He could have added “our lobbyists are ready and waiting to help you draft legislation.” This guy is precisely why we need progressives in Congress. This story was laid out in an email fund-raising letter from Congresswoman Tlaib. That letter is a fine example of how progressive fundraising should be done: it should always inform and teach, not just complain that some self-imposed fund-raising target deadline isn’t being reached. Lesson: Do good acts and the money will follow (Bernie showed that). Elizabeth Warren in Mississippi: When she took progressivism to a Town Meeting at a college campus in the Deep South, students there asked some great questions. Questions often provide valuable teaching moments. In Mississippi, Warren dropped the ball. One young man worried that he was from a very “red” area where almost everyone voted for Trump; “how do you propose to reach these people who vote against their own interests?” he asked with earnest concern. Warren responded like a stump robot, listing all her great positions that address these people’s interests (Medicare for all, bust the big banks, consumer rights, etc.). That was the whole point of the question: it doesn’t matter that she aligns with their true interests; something is keeping them from hearing it. Is it the past failure of the Democratic Party to fight for workers’ rights in the South? Is it racism, the bludgeon than enabled the catastrophic Civil War, that forced lower class white farmers and workers to have to compete against cheap slave labor, that has successfully derailed universal health care in America since the 1950s, that has kept the South anti-union forever, that has empowered corporate flunkey politicians in the South for generations? THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED These are huge issues that must be confronted and openly examined by progressives otherwise we will all lose. Another student’s question: how to stop the flow of unwelcome immigrants into our country from South of the border? Warren’s answer: we must act on our values of compassion, empathy and diversity (would have warmed the hearts of Boston liberals). Not a word about 75 years of neocolonial policies in Central and South America in support of U.S. businesses and their local collaborating thugs. Decimated societies now riven with drug networks; dysfunctional client states (Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil…) or ex-client states (Venezuela). Difficult questions are great opportunities. Lesson: Draw the big picture of class power and its consequences. �No. 39 Nov 230, - N2019 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18407 May 163 -| May LOCAL 11 “The Tribune Of the People”: Marxism and The Struggle Against Oppression ALIYAH COLE ContributingWriter P risons are making our youth suffer. Being incarcerated can make trauma even worse. The American Criminal Law Review Journal defines trauma as, “an experience that threatens a person’s life, safety, or wellbeing.” There are 549 young people, between 11 and 20 years old, incarcerated in Ohio; 11.7% of these young people come from Hamilton County. The Ohio Department of Youth services released the Monthly Fact Sheet for March 2019 and the report reveals that an astounding amount of them have a mental health case open: 61%. Trauma can present itself in different ways. The Journal of EvidenceInformed Social Work published in 2016 that trauma presents itself in ways such as “posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, addictive behaviors, emotion dysregulation, reactive aggression, dissociation, and/or serious offending behaviors.” Now imagine yourself as teenager being charged for a crime. You face being taken away from your family, placed in a locked down facility, confined to that space, and being physically restrained from time to time. Imagine adding trauma to this already stressful equation. This is a reoccurring experience happening all over the United States to our young people. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, there are over 45,000 kids locked up in the United States on any given day. Arrest rates for youth have been decreasing but young people who have been locked up before are still returning to these facilities at high rates, says the Urban Institute. Some may say that prisons are needed to scare youth straight to get their behavior to change. But if kids are traumatized by being locked up, and are returning to these facilities’ multiple times, what needs to change? What is needed for a successful reentry for kids with trauma? 1. Implement a Trauma Informed Care framework throughout the juvenile justice system Published in the 2016 American Criminal Law Review Journal, it was said that, “the juvenile justice system has not caught up with the contemporary understanding of trauma's impact on offending and the latest best practices for treatment of trauma.” One way to change this issue is implementing Trauma Informed Care (TIC). TIC considers the trauma people have experienced and implement services that feel safe, empowering, and welcoming. The juvenile justice system can change reentry programming to become more therapeutic and address the specific trauma needs of young people. In Cincinnati, Ohio Lighthouse Youth and Family Services is a trauma informed agency that provides alternative placement for boys who have committed a crime. At this facility the young people receive mental health services. They also have the chance to learn how to plant and care for vegetables and flowers, as well as participate in community service projects as a part of their reentry process. In addition to TIC reentry programs, direct staff members at agencies serving youth who have experienced the juvenile justice system should go through TIC trainings. Some may say that training is an additional cost, however giving direct line service staff the tools to handle trauma means less instances of retraumatizing young people. When there is unidentified trauma and limited treatment options, young people who suffer do not get the care that they need and can cycle back through the system. Giving young people with trauma the care they need means a decrease in facility population size and the money saved from the decrease could be used to fund the trainings. 2. Give young people the tools to advocate for themselves Reentry is not a one size fits all experience. Based on their experiences, living situation, and age they will have different kinds of barriers to face. The Center for Children's Advocacy has books and videos for young people that teach them the rights they have while in a detention center and how to speak up for themselves if they are in a shelter or treatment facility. This would give the young people tools they can take with THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED them as they transition back into their communities. 3. Peer support while youth are reentering Once the young person is back into society, navigation can be overwhelming. It can be hard for a young person to find a job, get reliable transportation, or even figure out how to get a new social security card. Having someone to show them the ropes can be beneficial for their wellness and overall experience while reentering. If you are a Cincinnati community member looking to provide support, The HELP Program takes mentor volunteers to work with people who are reentering. For those who still want to help but may have less time, The Voice of Black Cincinnati has created a list of 70 felony friendly job places in Cincinnati. Job referrals for people who are reentering can go a long way. During my work with homeless and at-risk young people many of them have been a part of, or recently left the juvenile justice system. When these young people shared stories of trauma, it was important to lead with compassion during my time with them. These young people want to be heard, included, and supported. Service providers and community support plays a vital role in young people’s transition back into their community. By implementing TIC in reentry programs, TIC training for direct line staff members and community peer support, we can give these young people a brighter future. �12 STREETVOICE N o v 16 2 --N o v 19, 0 18 | |N o . 393 May May 30,22019 No. 407 Forest For The Trees:trees For The Forest. Two trees, Annabelle and Carrie; Sisters; great, strong, hardwood, blossoming trees sweep through Over the Rhine Sowing seeds of “Baby, just keep working one day it will be alright.” Or “Child, tell me what you need.” Two sisters and their adopted Sister Mary feeding babies, watching, testing, guiding us with wisdom. In their steadfast foundation they held down community council and guided heavily laden souls to places like Peaslee, Daily Bread, the Drop Inn Center and God. Sisterly trees from days before I was born, made a place for protection while mending the wings of battle worn birds And Ed and Bob giving “Tender Mercies” and shelter to wingless and bewildered flocks while gentle Sister Kath made sure these birds could still celebrate holy days. And Baba and June keeping the flames of ancestral voices until the wingless, the flightless are able to soar. Great Eagle! Great Eagle swoops down with no care until a prayer filled oak screams, “You better beware! Our Home is not for Sale!” The old Clift watching the Eagle, “ you still have to take refuge from you position in the sky. You still have to land, to feed, to heal ; no there is no forever you can Tom; giant fir, O great evergreen sing your truth fly” about those who look like you. Filter the lies though your branches calling out Tall trees reach up though the canopy and protect your privilege brother's forgetfulness our progeny. Remind them of the time Tree roots turn the creeks around; let the storms They were once colored know this is still solid ground! They were once immigrants They were once poor and needed a boot strap...a Great oaks like great Mothers, spread your branches boot Lend voice to those who have been cut silent They were once New Deal and G.I. Bill! Stand for those whose limbs have been severed Ignite those flames long extinguished Dorothy and Bonnie; Bonnie and Dorothy--two Inspire, Inspire , their wings to fly higher sisters intertwined like oak and walnut. But ultimately, protect; protect them from corporate Dark and light wood growing from the same root. investors who digest our homes our neighborhood; Echoing a chorus of “our children, our children, our ancestor’s bone while pooping and peeing and our children, our beloved community” defecating coins. Because one day great Eagle you will All the while Buddy’s nourishing tree; felled, but have to land in this Hell of your own making. And I eternally feeding those creatures long forgotten. pray; I hope there is an Annabell or Carrie or Sister Alice and Chris; Jen and Jenn; Tammy, Rachel Mary there to nurse your broken wings. and John; Elizabeth and Pat and BeBe and Larry and Monica and Janet and Kathleen and Mary and Mary Once again I call. Old trees make a forest; make a and Josh and Amy; Liz and Trish and Angela; Terry home. Conjure up peace in an old witch's bones. So and David and Roxzann and so on and so on. I can sleep once more like the days so long ago when Educating the birds there were no humans to destroy our homes. Feeding the birds Housing the birds JUNE ALEXANDER Giving hope to the birds ContributingWriter Giving song, words, and prayers to the birds Streetvibes Writing Circle If you would like to submit a story for publication in streetvibes, come join Katelyn Lusher and Chris Wilkey for a group writing session! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �STREETVOICE No. 39 Nov 2 - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 163- |May 30, | No. 407 Drop The Bottle World Going Around Being 61 yrs old today traveling state after state Drop the bottle just let it go Surviving being homeless i am lost at this rate Let it fall I have never knew so many things rely on politics I never knew to get a new president there would be kicks I never believed a president had time for things like twitter As the world is being divided between the rich and poor i am bitter I thought the kkk, the confederates and supremacy were in Let it break Let it crack Always try to help yourself Stay on track You don't need the bottle my history To communicate or relax But the world goes around to see today a repeat of history Let the poison go is misery And ask God for help I pray to end confused people whether you be foreign, white or black Into the realization that we all bleed red we all live to die that's a fact I appreciate upgrading but to belittle those who appreciate Just let him steer He's there all day He's always near Give it to him but can't afford And do pray Here is homelessness, hunger, immigrants and the Remember God is waiting politicians at a closed door And he does care The world goes around things from history repeat but to know who's world KIM GREEN Contributing Writer Streetvibes Distributor Is to know how to appreciate god's world an not fall into a mixed up curl Just remember the world goes around i have seen rich and the next day broke I,ve seen living and dead tomorrow i see the world today i pray for life Without misunderstanding of who i am where i come from with no strife WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer A Youth Movement To Save The Planet Mother Goose A teenager named Janet Learned all about the planet, And global warming's impact. She joined a lot of her peers, Who voiced the same fears, Protesting it's now time to act BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 13 �PUZZLES 14 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 105 Across 1. Limited in size or scope 6. Zeal 10. Desiccated 14. Kind of fairy 15. Stem of a tree 16. Impersonate 17. Assumed name 18. Item of footwear 19. Compass direction 20. Withstand 22. Nocturnal insect 24. Litigate 25. Helot 27. Blandish 29. Relating to heraldry 33. Epoch 34. Precipitation 35. Similar or related 37. Three note major or minor chord 41. Lodge 42. Large internal organ 44. Singing pair 45. Mix up or confuse 48. Rend 49. Portable shelter 50. Fuss 52. Embellish 54. Evil spirit (folklore) 58. Uncommon 59. Frozen water 60. Utter 62. Pale 66. Disposed of to a purchaser 68. Quality of voice 70. Near 71. Large woody plant 72. Tournament for amateurs and professionals 73. Tightly twisted cotton thread 74. Afresh 75. Tall woody perennial grass 76. Organic compound Nov 2 o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 May 16- -NMay 30,2 02019 407 Down 1. Dissonance 1. Box lightly 2. 1,760 yards 3. Center point of rotation 4. Communication channel 5. Smaller in size, amount or value 6. Flow out 7. Textile machine for weaving yarn 8. Remote in manner 9. Stinging plant 10. Simian 11. Cook with dry heat 12. Publish 13. Discourage 21. Test 23. Male red deer 26. Holy person 28. Mariner 29. Song for solo voice 30. Currency of South Africa SODOKU PUZZLE NO 396 - EASY 31. Psyche 32. Ashen 36. Not at any time 38. Notion 39. Female relative 40. Shower with love 43. Summarize briefly 46. Circuit 47. Redact 49. Latticework 51. Public speaker 53. Seer 54. Panorama 55. Fruit of the oak 56. Noisy riotous fight 57. Run off secretly to marry 61. Leg joint 63. Geographically disoriented 64. Small island 65. Cervid 67. Condensation 69. Finish PUZZLE SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD #104 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 395- EASY PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 Nov 230, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 163-| May | No. 407 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children RESOURCES Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside Bethany House 557-2873 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 591-2246 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 131 E. 12th Street 45202 1125 Bank Street 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street 45202 411 Gest St. 45203 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 First Step Home 961-4663 Shelter: Youth 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 471-1100 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Seraph Ministries 549-0542 St. George Food Pantry 2554 Dennis St. 45219 751-8771 St. Anthony Center 1615 Republic St. Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 241-2965 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Housing: 15 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th St. 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor Cancer Justice Network 404-3882 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center (11-17 y/o) 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Gabriela Godinez Feregrino, 961-0600 email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �16 N o v 216 - N o v 19, 2 02019 18 | N o . 393 May - May 30, | No. 407 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BETTIE BAILEY SINCE 10/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN ADAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHARLES WILLIAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHRISTOPHER KAIHATSU SINCE 7/2017 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DARREL ROZIER SINCE 7/2017 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GERALD FRANKLIN SINCE 7/2017 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 HENRY BRELAND SINCE 7/2017 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JENNY BURTON SINCE 7/2017 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KIM NGUYEN SINCE 7/2017 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 STEPHANIE EAKES SINCE 7/2017 SYLVESTER WALKER SINCE 7/2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2019 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 16-May 30, 2019 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: Money Over People Pg 3: Ohio Reformers Notch a Victory Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: To Make It on The Streets, I Had to Look Like You Pg 6: Opting In Pg 7: How the World’s Largest Democracy Casts its Ballots Pg 8: Affordable for What Pg 9: Affordable for What Continued Pg 10: Archiving 22 Years of Streetvibes On the Front Lines Pg 11: “The Tribune of the People” Pg 12: Street Voice Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 16-May 30, 2019 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gabriela Godinez Bill Woods Jordi Cornella Detrell Katelyn Lusher Poorvi Vora Robert Park Dr. Mark Mussman Aliyah Cole Kim Green Willa Denise Jones June Alexander Canva.com INSP.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aliyah Cole Bill Woods Canva.com Democracy Dr. Mark Mussman Gabriela Godinez INSP.com Jordi Cornella Detrell June Alexander Katelyn Lusher Kim Green Marxism Ohio Oppression Poorvi Vora Robert Park Streetvibes Archive Vaccines Voting Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/374a7bac0bc8845afb342176fb686049.pdf c358e069900d310d01161715ba4a6a1d PDF Text Text M ay 18th - M ay 31st 2018 | Vol. 21 Issue 10 (No. 381) advocating justice | building community Mothers Speak Out For SNAP | 9 This Issue is sponsored by Bromwell's Harth Lounge INSIDE THIS ISSUE An Update on Environmental Protection Forum | 2 Number 1 or Number 2 | 3 The Spread In Income | 5 Photo Essay: Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emporer of China | 9 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: Gentrification is more than just a word I nstead of writing another editorial, I thought it would be good to reprint this recent poem by Dion Harrison and Kenny Carrol. This poem can be found on Shelterforce’s website at: https:// shelterforce.org/2017/10/17/poemgentrification/. Gentrification is more than just a word. Please read, think, feel and act… JOSH SPRING Executive Director Josh Spring Credit: Homeless Coalition “At the top of the stairs,” Meridian Hill (Malcolm X) Park. Photo by Victoria Pickering via flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 “Gentrification” I have seen a neighborhood eat itself for dinner look at its vibrant culture and call it a meal when the food ran out they opened a starbucks and called it community transformation M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 repeated the process until property prices popped suddenly every face on the block looked like it belonged in a Even Stevens episode When years ago they were afraid to walk it So here we are The long-awaited sequel to white flight white return I remember when they started calling my home theirs and every story my father used to tell me about these city streets started flying south for the winter Along with the families forced into Maryland I remember turning onto Georgia Ave but for a second I thought I was in Georgetown a place where the food is expensive but the concerned stares are free I remember when the people in the hood grew up so close they called each other cousin When my grandmother became everybody’s grandmother These are the kinds of people whose stories I tell People who have lived here for so long the breeze remembers their names And how they are beginning to vanish into thin air I open my mouth and they redline my voice to silence Which is to say deny it rent based on race And then have the audacity to Name me visitor in a city I was born in And there is such power in a name The way they changed New York Ave into NoMa And no one seems to actually knows what that means The way they turn public schools like Spingarn into dust then watch the scattered students choke (Continued on page 3) An Update on Environmental Protection Forum Focuses on National and Local Realities T he May 3rd Community Issues Forum provided an update on the current decline of environmental protection at both the national and local levels. With the EPA's weakening and actual elimination of long standing regulations and its lack of enforcement of these regs, protecting the environment and public health is moving in the wrong direction in this country. Marilyn Wall, Chair of the Sierra Club's Miami Group, and D. David Altman, an environmental attorney who specializes in defending average citizens from the impacts of major polluters, gave their perspectives on the current crisis. Altman emphasized a point he had made at a Forum last year. Environmental law with its regulations, he noted, stand as the framework for protecting citizens BILL WOODS Contributing Writer from the health hazards of pollution. If these regulations are eliminated or weakened, environmental lawyers lack the legal structure to take on major polluters. Prior to this Administration and Scott Pruitt's (Continued on page 12) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Larry Johnson, Anne Evans Maintenance: Pete Roper ----------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Dion Harrison, Kenny Carrol, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Michael Earl Patton, Lynn Williams, Jason Haap, Saad Ghosn, Steve Sunderland, Jeannie Masterson, Patricia Patton, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, Victoria Pickering via flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Michael Earl Patton, Lynn Williams, Saad Ghosn, Tony Castrucci, Bill Woods --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. David Altman speaks at Community Issues Credit: Justin Jeffre THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 LOCAL Number 1 or Number 2 No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 DR. MARK MUSSMAN What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Chances are, you head straight into the bathroom to find some relief. Now imagine, you woke up today in an alley, or under a bridge. You still need relief, but where do you go? Pick an alley. Look behind a bush. Your body is telling you it’s time, but your surroundings are foreboding. Maybe I can hide behind this dumpster. Maybe not. In Ohio, public urination/defecation can result in a lifetime of issues. Although it’s a misdemeanor, the resulting fine and possible jail-time, can stay Staff Writer bars read “No Public Restrooms” as if it’s a campaign against restrooms altogether. A lack of readily available restrooms can lead to all kinds of health issues — from urinary tract infections, prostate issues, impacted colons, toxic shock syndrome — to the spread of bacteria and disease. This is a public health crisis. Rarely do we consider how privileged we are to have a shower as well. Getting into the shower at the end of a long day, or to revive yourself in the morning, is something we take for granted. Consider missing those providing them — so why do we fail so badly? You can imagine my consternation when I learned that people have been “banned” from some of our remaining public restrooms by 3CDC employees. One or our Speakers, from our speakers’ bureau at the Homeless Coalition, told me a few months ago that Washington Park employees (Continued on page 5) Sign on Washington Park Bathroom Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Frequently used alley bathroom Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman on your record permanently. Failure to show up in court will result in a warrant, which sets the stage for more serious issues, including harassment by police. The lack of public restrooms is a serious issue in Cincinnati. It doesn’t take an investigator to find proof of this: alleyways smell of urine; piles of feces lay on the sidewalk; signs on JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) Thewaytheychangeddisplacement into renovation And black into impoverished And impoverished into forgotten I’m from Brookland, NE Not Brooklyn, New York I’m from 1.75 is all you ever needed on your smart trip I’m from late nights in gallery place darting under the street lights I’m from calling Malcolm X park, Malcolm X park even though the city renamed it Meridian Hill I’m from Southeast Benning Road I’m from me and my niggas don’t pay for the metro I’m from always walking distance to the white house but opportunities day-after-day, weekafter-week, month-after-month, and you can see what kind of medical issues would pop up. Beyond body odor and matted hair and clothing, serious rashes, unclean sores, or wounds left untreated, will quickly chip away at your quality of life. Lack of public facilities to deal with these issues surely costs us more than still never met the president I’m from calling Malcolm X park Malcolm X park even though the city renamed it Meridian Hill And we always have to repeat it And people who aren’t from my city still ask me what the problem is What this is this is landlords raising prices till the poor fall through this is investors promising to bring back residents after construction then going back on their word this is city council members selling out on morals This is college students benefiting from a community but giving nothing back this is Brookland Manor Columbia Heights Georgia Ave Barry Farms North Oakland Washington Park Public Restrooms Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Rockridge Bayview this is how even with all the love for my city all the anger up in the crook of my mouth I could come back to my home and become a part of the problem My money the smoking gun to the bullet in my chest move in and move out my mans and them So when the suburban settlers begin to tell you what this city means Of how they’ve translated your urban into something that can plymouth rock on their tongues  I hope I tell them This is my home born and raised in I live on these blocks Found First purpose drew first blood left my genes in the cracks of the sidewalk this soil knows my story THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED I learned its face with my finger tips I’ve got its pulse stuck in my palms Here, we are the monuments With cherry blossom hearts Cut us down and watch this city lose its soul the struggle, the way we overcame The way we overcome The future, the past, the way we move And refuse to be moved and really  I just don’t wanna lose my home Kenny Carrol Dion Harrison �4 LOCAL July 7th THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 �LOCAL The Spread in Income No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 N MICHAEL EARL PATTON ormally the health of the economy and the wellbeing of the workers is reported in just a few numbers: GDP (gross domestic product, a measurement of how large the economy is), unemployment rate, maybe a couple others such as average wages and wage growth. These are a good beginning, but insufficient to reveal deep problems. The average condition of my house might be fine even with a roof leak and termites eating away at one corner near the foundation. I wanted to get a look at the range of conditions behind some of these numbers. I recently came across some data for 2016 reported by the Social Security Administration, using data from the IRS (www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/ awidevelop.html), which are the latest data available. I found the spread in income to be much more DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 3) harassed them when they were leaving the bathroom. This individual sheepishly told me that they had to move their bowels, and once they finished, as they were leaving they were confronted by a park employee who accused them of “shooting up” in Contributing Writer clustered near the bottom than I had imagined. Let’s put some of this in context. The average wage in 2016 was $46,640.94, which was a 1.13% increase from 2015. The unemployment rate for 2016 was about 4.9% using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls. gov); this past April it was just 3.9% (quite low by historical standards). The civilian labor force participation rate was just 62.8%, which is relatively low and where it is today. This is the percentage of civilians 16 years or older who are working or looking for work. Inmates are not counted, nor are retirees. What is interesting and somewhat concerning is that the percentage of people working had been going up until the year 2000, when it started trending down. Some the bathroom and threatened to call the police. This Speaker, who I have grown close to over the years and would have no reason to lie to me, was upset because they do not, nor have they ever used, IV drugs, as they are scared of needles. They were not shooting up in the bathroom, so from where did this baseless accusation stem? Public Defecation can lead to serious health and legal issues Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman of the decrease is due to the increase in the number of retirees, but not all. The percentage of people working who are in their prime working years has also trended down. One possibility is that many jobs do not pay sufficiently well to entice people to work them. Perhaps some of this is due to people choosing to be a stay-athome parent because child care costs make working at paid employment unrealistic. A little over 14% of the employed, including self-employed, work parttime. It is reasonable to assume that most of those who are earning in the lowest range are employed only part-time. A little over 3% want to work full-time but are not for economic reasons such as slack work or unfavorable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, or Even more recently, I was approached by someone who I consider a neighbor, although they are experiencing homelessness in Overthe-Rhine. This person was visibly upset because they were “banned” from the Washington Park bathroom for allegedly “shooting up.” While this person wasn’t denying that they use IV drugs, they were mad because they, and others, have been accused of doing it in the bathroom when there is no proof. I asked if they knew if people had been “banned” from other 3CDC run public bathrooms — like Fountain Square, and they answered affirmatively. I spoke with a low-level 3CDC employee who said that they were in fact banning people from the bathrooms for drug use, even without visual proof that drug use was occurring. They said they have a camera in the foyer of the bathrooms, but not inside the bathrooms. This employee seemed to believe that banning people from using the bathroom was in their best interest, and would in fact stop people from using drugs altogether. Anyone who has been following the heroin epidemic closely knows that people are shooting up in more public places as part of a safety plan. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 5 seasonal declines in demand. But even taking out the lowest category, the income levels are heavily skewed to the lowest end. Before I did these plots I had expected a peak in percentages around the average of $46, 640.94, but there is no hint of that. The lower the income, the more people earning in that range. Since I had the data I also looked at those earning at least $100,000. The same trend continues. This shows that the division between the “99%” and the “1%” is somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000. (In case you are wondering, I am nestled well within the 99%.) There are more data collected by the IRS, with the highest range given being those who earned at least $50 million in 2016. There were 143 individuals in that category. This is in no way meant to knock in any way those who earn far more than I and the rest of the “99%” do. (Continued on page 7) If people overdose in private spaces alone, they are not very likely to get help, and could end up losing their life. We also know that sending people to jail for heroin use is also a death sentence, as one’s tolerance drops while behind bars, and once released, the users injects the same amount as before, and quickly overdoses. This is why we will never police our way out of this particular health crisis. What is going to take for the city to own up to its failures to provide decent basic services? Mayor John Cranley campaigned on providing basic public services, but absent in his promises were public restrooms, shower facilities, and even safe spaces for people to inject and exchange. Cranley lacks leadership qualities, vision, and compassion for people in our city who suffer the most — which clearly shows in his priorities. We must treat the health crisis seriously by providing 24/7 public restroom facilities (like Portland Loos), shower facilities, and safe, affordable housing for all who need it in our city. Let’s not shut the door on our neighbors in need. --------------------------------------- �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 �7 LOCAL Mothers Speak Out For SNAP No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 O LYNN WILLIAMS n Mother's Day weekend, the Contact Center held a Town Hall Meeting with Rosalind Fultz, the Aide of Representative Steve Chabot (First Congressional District) at the Contact Center. Ms. Fultz represented Rep. Chabot's Constituent Services Office. Many of the people present spoke on the importance of the SNAP (food stamp) program to help them make ends meet to be able to eat. Contact Center members are very concerned about the impact of the latest legislation passed out of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee that is now in front of the U.S. House of Representatives. Recently the U. S. House Agriculture Committee passed H.R. 2, the Farm Bill, that will significantly cut back on funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a minimum of 2 million people are at risk of losing their SNAP food assistance. These include families with children, senior citizens, veterans, and disabled individuals. The average daily SNAP benefit is $4.18 to eat and drink on for one person, or approximately $1.39 per meal based on 3 meals per day. L Contributing Writer However, if H.R. 2, the Farm Bill, passes in Congress it will be $0.00 available to eat and drink on per day. Some of the policies contained in H. R. 2 include: • Eliminates the child care expense deduction in determining amount of SNAP allotment for households with children • Eliminates the high housing cost deduction for people who pay a disproportionate amount of their income for housing, hence less available for the basic essential of food • Mandates a three-month time limit for SNAP assistance for adults ages 18 – 59 who are not working paid jobs or in official job training sites for a minimum of 20 hours per week or 80 hrs. per month. Volunteering at non-profits in order to meet the work requirement will no longer be counted as fulfilling the work requirement if H. R. 2 passes in Congress. To her credit, Ms. Fultz listened very attentively, asked lots of questions and wrote lots of notes. She said she would definitely relay our concerns to Rep. Chabot and let him know we urge him to vote no on H.R. 2. She stayed an hour and a half without rushing out, which was refreshing for us who are accustomed to politicians and their staff being in a great hurry to get away from low- Participants spent Mother's Day discussing SNAP Credit: Lynn Williams income constituents! Contact Center encourages everyone who is concerned about cuts to food assistance to call and write their U.S. House Representative and U.S. Senators as quickly as possible. H.R. 2 is moving rapidly! For help Things That Make You Go Hmmm ast week, I was watching the reboot of Roseanne. If mainstream media is any indication, this show is a runaway hit with conservative America, while liberals blast the real-life Roseanne for being a Trump supporter. In the new show, one of Roseanne's grandchildren is genderfluid, and another is black. Muslims move in next door, they become friends, and Roseanne defends one of them against a racist grocery-store cashier. Something is truly weird in the world when that's the kind of show beloved by conservatives and derided by liberals. Again, if mainstream media is any indication, another issue derided by liberals is "cultural appropriation." A couple weeks ago, a white girl bought an Asian dress for her prom because she thought it looked pretty. She got MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 5) What I am trying to show is that just giving the GDP, or the average income, or giving the change in average income, is completely insufficient to show what really matters. As I stated above, I am not denigrating those who earn a lot and lot and lot of money. There may be JASON HAAP Contributing Writer blasted on Twitter and international news for culturally appropriating. Last year, two women who owned a taco truck in Portland were run out of business, accused of "cultural appropriation." OTR is now home to a new "Indian-inspired" restaurant called Injoy. My inquiries are currently unanswered, but based on appearances alone from the website's "Our Story" link, it appears the joint is owned by three white guys. Their tagline - "You a baller" - seems to come straight from black English. Cincinnati liberals seem to love the place. I feel like I just can't understand "the rules" anymore. In other news, is Donald Trump about to oversee new stability on the Korean peninsula, or is he legitimizing a crazy person? I feel like any news something negative to say about this extraordinary distribution (not the individuals), but that will wait for another time and another set of data. What I am saying is that I care more about those at the lower end of the income distribution than those at the highest end. Those at the high end get the attention, they get the special deals from the city and county (as seen in the recent soccer stadium with finding out who represents you check out the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area at www.lwvcincinnati.org or Hamilton County Board of Elections at www. votehamiltoncounty.org For more information about H.R. 2, the House Farm Bill, check out article about Kim Jong-un needs to remind us how he tells his people he doesn't poop. Just think of that! This nonsense is way more outrageous than born-again Christians thinking God sent them a savior in the form of a serial adulterer who pays to have sex with porn stars! To tell you the truth, the fact Kim Jong-un wants to become a nuclear power player seems way more normal than trying to convince an entire country you are too perfect to squeeze a bolus of stool from your rectum regularly. Meanwhile, just this week, I saw a video demo of Google Duplex, their latest innovation in Artificial Intelligence. If you thought sci-fi paranoia about the robot takeover was just the stuff of geeky conspiracy theories, you might want to reconsider your position after checking out Duplex. It feels like the future is almost here! deal and property tax abatements), but they are not the ones who are struggling. There is a social doctrine called the preferential option for the poor and powerless. I am aware of it through Christian teachings but I am certain a similar doctrine exists in other faiths. In brief it means that what you do, and especially what government does or plans to do, should be judged first by its effect THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED https://www.clasp.org To get informed in local organizing to protect SNAP, call the Contact Center at 513/381-4242. [Lynn Williams is the Grants Coordinator and Organizer at the Contact Center. You can contact her at lwilliams@zoomtown.com] These kinds of considerations ultimately remind me of the Fermi paradox - which outlines some theories as to why we have not met extraterrestrial life yet. It could be that, before civilizations leave their planet and start to colonize space, they encounter "The Great Filter." Perhaps it's the case that civilization cannot advance its politics as quickly as its technology. In other words, before they have figured out how to get off the planet, they've all killed themselves. In a world where our president pays hush money to porn stars and schedules international summits with a person who claims not to poop - a world where conservatives love the tv show about the mixed family with the maybe-trans-boy and the Muslim neighbors while liberals try to figure out which restaurants need to be banned due to cultural sensitivity - in such a world, it's easy to imagine we are coming up to The Great Filter. It makes me wonder if Elon Musk will make it to Mars before we kill ourselves. on those who have only the smallest of voice. This is especially important if the number of people affected is large, but can come into play even for a single person. If it hurts them, or the one, then be especially careful and critical of what you are doing or plan to do. Making the wealthy even richer is not sufficient reason. And with better data one can better judge the effects of policies. �RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS Inclusion, Contemplation and Action Are the Tenets of Reverend Troy Bronsink's Faith; They Help Him Manifest and Make Tangible the Presence of God 8 "I M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 SAAD GHOSN grew up inside a Christian bubble," says Reverend Troy Bronsink. "My parents, Evangelical Christians, raised me in that tradition, and all I knew growing up were the youth groups of the typical Bible belt megachurch I attended in Charlotte, North Carolina, and who all shared my same subculture." Bronsink's parents were both very religious and his father, a generous and compassionate man, would read the Scriptures at the beginning and the end of every meal. He, himself, as a teenager, would have many existential questions, the answers to which he would often find in religion and Christian theology. He was also very early on serviceoriented, always helping others whenever needed. "I would help widows and elderly near us with their yardwork, build playgrounds in inner city neighborhoods, and accompany my father every Sunday morning to feed the homeless in downtown Charlotte." Bronsink's first exposure to difference came through his church who decided to partner with an African-American church in a lowincome neighborhood of the city, and create exchanges between their Contributing Writer respective members' families. Bronsink's family partnered with the Miller's whose son, Antoine, same age and same grade as him, would visit on weekends. "I would also go to Antoine's house," says Bronsink. "I heard for the first-time music by Stevie Wonder, ate different types of food... It surely helped develop why now I feel at home in different communities." He adds, "And for Antoine's parents and mine to find faith as common grounds for doing this cross-cultural work was fantastic." Bronsink went to a religious school where emphasis was on excellence and on righteousness leading a good life, with the hope to create a safe container for growing kids. "There was no emphasis on social justice per se," he says, "but rather a narrative that spoke of the love of God, of God's presence and Grace among us..." For college, he selected Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's right-wing Christian college in Lynchburg, VA, to study religion. He had already decided by the end of high school to be in church ministry and wanted to excel inside the Evangelical spaces. What is the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Presbyterianism, part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism, became a distinct Christian movement during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church  resisted the reformers, several different theological movements splintered from the Church and bore different denominations. Presbyterianism was especially influenced by the French theologian John Calvin, credited with the development of Reformed theology, and by John Knox, a Scotsman and a Roman Catholic Priest, who studied with Calvin. The Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to England and Scotland. Presbyterianism derives its name from the presbyterian form of church government, governed by representative assemblies of elders.  Its theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ.  Presbyterians hold the position that there are only two sacraments: • Baptism, in which infants and unbaptized adults are baptized by Aspersion  (sprinkling) or  Affusion  (pouring), rather than by Immersion. • The Lord's Supper (aka Communion), in which Christ is present in the bread and wine through the Holy Spirit. Presbyterians express their faith in the form of "confessions of faith," which represent a community rather than an individual understanding of theology.  They see education as necessary and put an emphasis on equal education for all people, so that they can serve the world in God's name.  In their decisions they follow a Majority Rule, believing that the Holy Spirit lives in individuals but works through the community. Presbyterians generally exhibit their faith through acts of generosity, hospitality and the constant pursuit of social justice and reform. In his freshman year of college an awakening/conversion happened to him that changed his outlook on things and deepened his understanding of his faith. At a Washington, DC political march for the right to life, he and other collegemates Republicans were kicked, pushed and injured by a group of angry counter protesters. "We felt vindicated, proven righteous and that people did not like us," says Bronsink. "But this is Troy Bronsink also when my heart started to break, asking myself whether my feelings were consistent with the loving presence of God I had known all my life." From that point on Bronsink associated less and less with the far right, feeling separation between the values of winning and his ability to remain in loving relationships with others. He started then working with Young Life, a non-profit organization, to build rapport with kids who were not in Christian schools, appreciating diversity and associating with individuals outside his bubble. This led him to realize that God was everywhere and that what counted was to be open to His presence. He started at the same time to write and perform socially conscious songs that explored the otherness. They told stories from underneath, of the unlikely folks, questioning who was accepted and included, and how we love. After college, Bronsink continued working for Young Life, but rid of his earlier anxiety to win others over to Christianity. He had been reading Christian mystics, in particular Henri Nouen and Frederik Buechner, and realized that the brave act is to vulnerably love someone and believe that this someone is loved. This is when he also married and moved with his wife to Spokane, WA. In Spokane, Bronsink met and was confronted to different others such as Buddhists, LGBTQ individuals, minorities, etc. whom he found, like him, connected to God and expressing His presence in their daily life; also to activists involved in local and international justice Credit: Saad Ghosn issues. He also came across a liberal Presbyterian tradition that he found much more generous and accepting of others. "This changed my view that there would always be one who is right," he says. "On the contrary, I acquired a new approach on how to understand and include diversity, appreciating at the same time the strong connection to social justice of my faith. It was a radical shift form the bubble of Evangelicals I had known earlier." In 2002, and after living 2 years in Spokane, Bronsink decided to join the Presbyterian Divinity school in Atlanta, GA, in order to become a minister. His studies opened further his eyes to a different and more encompassing reading of the Scriptures. His teachers, and in particular Walter Brueggemann, introduced him to liberation and Biblical theology, to the pronounced presence of the divine in places of suffering and oppression, and to the importance of seeing the many point of view stories embedded in each story of the Gospel. In Atlanta, Bronsink and his (Continued on page 11) Religious Peacemakers is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs for peace and justice. Saad.Ghosn@uc.edu is the founder of SOS (Save Our Souls) Art, an organization that promotes arts as vehicles for peace and justice and for a change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �PHOTO ESSAY Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 TONY CASTRUCCI Contributing Photographer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 9 �10 LOCAL M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 May 18 - June 9, 2018 For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �11 LOCAL WHY IS CANCER MORTALITY SO HIGH FOR MINORITIES IN CINCINNATI? PART 8: COMPASSIONATE LISTENING IS UNDERUSED No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 "H ealth knowledge that makes any difference is knowledge that is acquired across a relationship of trust and put into action through connection with other people and organizations...The knowledge that somebody competent cares is healing knowledge--the rest is footnotes" --Gary Gunderson 1. Introduction: We are repeatedly impressed with the power of compassion to make a difference in cancer care in specific and healthcare in general. Compassionate, thoughtful, patient, and loving listening are almost magical in their influence when people are learning about their cancer or any health crisis. Expanding the practice of compassionate listening as a part of a navigation experience may be the key ingredients in fostering early screenings and timely treatments, as it builds trust among all those engaged in the process. 2. Death and Compassion: Many people rightfully shy away from seeking healthcare for serious illnesses because they are afraid of hearing a “death sentence” from a health care provider who is a stranger. Usually a person sits in an office, frightened by expectations of “bad news” delivered in a strange vocabulary, and they SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) wife moved to an intentional mixed income neighborhood and contributed to the building of the local community. They worked closely with an inner-city church attended by homeless, individuals with disability, chronically poor; developed friendships with different people, vulnerable and oppressed; participated in various social justice marches. After finishing seminary, Bronsink worked as a community developer, shared a co-living house with three other families, and organized regular meals inviting individuals across races, ages and background differences to meet and get to know each other. Ordained a minister, he formed "Neighbors Abbey," a Presbyterian community development church, where he pastored for 4 years, living the Good Samaritan's life with others, engaged daily in social actions, visiting prisons, organizing with neighborhood associations to raise social and political consciousness. The area of Atlanta where he and his family lived, however, and after the economic STEVE SUNDERLAND JEANNIE MASTERSON CSJ Contributing Writer are alone. “I would rather die than be treated the way my mother was dealt with at the hospital,” a woman shared with us at a community meeting. Disrespect, unintentional in many cases, is too often the common memory, especially of people who are poor, or a member of a minority group. Confusion and uncertainty are too often the lingering experience of seeing a cancer specialist. Some physicians, wholly untrained to work with people from different cultures, different economic levels, and different capacities of intellectual comprehension, share information that is totally frustrating to the person. The cancer death scare is increased when the physician communicates in ways that heighten the stress of the patient, even if this is unintentional. A compassionate approach by the healthcare professionals, which includes looking the patient in the eyes and a simple touch of hand or arm in many (not all) cultures, alters these feelings and, perhaps, even changes outcomes as patients “understand” their diagnosis and feel that they are not “alone” in facing the uncertainties of cancer. 3. Compassion and Navigation in Health Care: Currently, the Cancer Justice Network seeks to create a hopeful, trusting, friendly, and helpful relationship with people who are ready to be screened for cancer and/or are ready to adhere to their treatments. We have learned from one on one discussions that a Navigator helps when they listen to the patient’s fears about their future as well as listen to the complicated issues of facing economic, physical, family, and spiritual concerns. Cancer may not be in the top five areas of concern for a person who feels they have to individually take care of their family, keep their job, afford a lot of treatments, and/or manage the many steps to showing up at treatments. Keeping a job or a roof over one’s head is often primary. Having food for the family can be more critical. Safety for the family in the transit to the doctor or the hospital might be just too confusing in terms of managing the complexity of details. Navigators can step in with listening ears and open hearts to see where partnering with the person can be critical in reducing obstacles, improving clarity about options, and in finding a realistic way of coping with complexities. The Navigator can help with the preparation for a visit by helping to find the best times for a meeting with the physician as crash of 2007, was becoming rough and somewhat deserted with houses boarded up, vandalism, drug and sex trafficking increasing. His family having been exposed to violence and funds shrinking, Bronsink decided to leave the area and to move to Cincinnati, OH. It was 2012. For a while, he felt defeated and discouraged, and he somewhat retreated; but this is also when he discovered the Christian mystics, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, St Teresa de Avila, St John of the Cross. They brought him back to an interior and meditative practice, to non-attachment, to cultivating God's presence. "I wanted to be successful at changing the world," he says, "and it became very tiring. Increasingly in tune with the spiritual, it became obvious to me that the contemplative not only informs but also sustains the action, that they strengthen each other, and that they are both needed." Bronsink started then thinking of a space that he would create to bring people together, a multifaith, inclusive and across traditions space which will bridge contemplation and action, energize and uncover creativity and provide individuals with the skills needed to discover themselves and unfold. With the blessing of the Presbyterian church which helped him take off, he founded this gathering space that he called The Hive. "It is a place where people come to become and grow, where they find spiritual rootedness, connect to each other, work at the front of justice but also at the interior front of love," he states. The Hive, which has now been in existence for 2 years in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati, offers classes, workshops, lectures, consulting services, retreats. They focus among others on art, poetry, yoga, resilience and trauma, community organizing and how to create change, finances and budgeting... The many other activities include exercises of vulnerability, learning how to be transparent, to share struggles; and various meeting opportunities... Recently a membership program was added in order to facilitate, for participants, continuity in their learning and an ongoing reciprocal support in their growth. "While I am trained and ordained in the Presbyterian tradition, my passion for The Hive is deeply engrained in all traditions," clarifies Bronsink. Bronsink still ministers as a THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED well as securing a van to transport the individual and their family to the screening/treatment and then back home. Equally important, the Navigator can offer help with the psychological anxieties that are natural in facing cancer at any stage. The Navigator listens deeply for how a person’s confidence can be maintained and strengthened. The Navigator knows that few people want to be alone with physicians when important information may be shared and that the fear of the physician, often a stranger to the person, will be offering information in a very short period of time and without much understanding of the culture of the patient. The Navigator, with the permission of the patient, can slow the process and give both the healthcare provider and the patient a real chance to understand the realties facing the treatment of cancer. We have learned from our clients and Gunderson that "(y)ou cannot understand someone to whom you have not listened. You cannot listen to someone with whom you have not spent time." 4. Compassionate Cancer Care Saves Lives: Navigation programs were initiated at hospitals treating cancer in 1990 when a cancer surgeon, Harold Freeman, MD, (Continued on page 12) pastor to a small Presbyterian church in Bond Hill, but he now most identifies with the mystic tradition, a wisdom lineage that understands a similarity between the Protestant and Catholic, a realization that we are called to a deeper consciousness, to a place where we actively participate with God in the world. "This is different from the reform tradition of Presbyterianism that says that there is a belief about God that we organize our thinking around," he says. Bronsink likes to quote Meistre Eckhard, the 13th century German mystic theologian, who said: "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me." And for him, we need to always widen the aperture, letting love, generosity and grace flow for us and all others. This is what Tronsink himself practices in his daily life, but also what he would like to help all others achieve, irrespective of their religion, gender, age, background... Summing up his faith, he adds: "The story of faith I am drawn to is not freedom from separation but releasing my small kindredness into more and more inclusion, divination and connection to the presence of God." �12 I STREET VOICE Urban Renewal t was without a doubt a familiar ending to the story. FC Cincinnati soccer has been given the green light to re- develop the land where thousands of West End residents have lived for decades in order to facilitate their goal of obtaining a franchise in Major League Soccer (MLS). It is likely that the West End residents feel as I did back in the day when my father’s homicide was the result of the city notifying him that he would have to move his business to construct one of three merging expressways. To have to disrupt lives of families in the name of urban renewal is disheartening. The pattern persisted as I grew into a young woman and saw the same scenario again and again. If my father’s eatery was one of the first to have to relocate the foundation was laid for others to M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 PATRICIA PATTON Contributing Writer follow. The message to continue to reconstruct our community came blatantly and obstinately in and around the city and most noticeable recently. Example: After two years Bootsy Collins - a black well-known funk musician in our community - opened his eatery in 2008, and in 2010 he was unable to compete with the surge of new and upcoming restaurants in the city, its fate was marked and eventually it closed. Was this an effort to maintain only white restaurants in the downtown area? Was the demise in 2016 of Mahogany’s restaurant along the newly developed Banks project an act of discrimination? How did an effort to bring diversity to the table within that project become an attack on the owner, Liz Rogers, so that today all we remember is a knock down battle over debt? What makes us aliens to downtown Cincinnati when retail shops like Saks Fifth Ave, Tiffany’s and Jos. A. Bank alienates us and limits our buying ability? Add to this a string of high class eateries developing as we speak in the downtown area and you’ve mixed another ingredient to the pot that blends into further isolation and invisibility among our race. Are activities such as Octoberfest and a Taste of Cincinnati that are widely celebrated and supported in the media shy in contrast to annual events like the music fest whose attendance is mostly African American an occasion for downtown businesses to close up or disappear until the weekend is over? Are we denied our rightful social visibility? Take another stroll in downtown Cincinnati or ponder riding the 148-million-dollar streetcar BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) EPA, citizens and grassroots groups would take polluters to Court utilizing existing regulations as bases for their cases. With the "dismantling" currently underway at the U.S EPA, continued Altman, the protection of citizens and communities through the courts will become more and more difficult. In fact, declared Altman, the dismantling at EPA has occurred even more drastically then we predicted. He then cited a current EPA decision that has wide spread implications for the future. Almost all EPA regulations, said Altman are grounded on scientific research on pollution and the environmental impacts on health. The Agency now proposes to discount any study on pollution and health that does not list by name the people who provided their medical information. Since almost all scientific studies using personal health data keep that information anonymous, this decision, he averred, would eliminate most critical research as a basis for EPA decisions. Citizens have thirty days to voice their opposition to this new EPA policy before it goes into STEVE SUNDERLAND (Continued from page 11) realized that people were not coming for cancer treatment until the disease had progressed to a point where no treatment was possible. Freeman’s insight was that the best way to get people to come earlier, was to involve navigators, community organizers trained by him to go into organizations and build a positive relationship that could result in the person coming sooner for examination and treatment. Navigators, in five years, reduced cancer death by 70%. Freeman became president of the American Marilyn Wall talks about pollution Credit: Justin Jeffre effect. Marilyn Wall, then, described the work of the Sierra Club in coming to the aid of citizens facing major pollution problems. She cited the long-standing battles with AK Steel in Middletown as a good example. People living near the Company's facilities for refining coal into coke have suffered from major health repercussions such as cancer due to this process. In the first decade of this century, the Sierra Club with the assistance of David Altman helped residents gain some relief from AK Steel's activities. At that time, the national EPA was helpful, and some of the environmental studies that would now be discounted by its proposed ruling were used as evidence of pollution's health impacts on individuals exposed to it. However, commented Wall, this citizen victory was short lived. A new coal refining facility by the Company has created a new and worse situation for residents living nearby. Wall showed attendees several pictures of the coke producing plant and the visible pollution it creates. Sierra Club volunteers have been on the scene interviewing residents and collecting evidence. This kind Cancer Society and shared his program ideas with other physicians and hospitals. Eventually, after much research and evaluation, navigation was seen as critical to cancer care and made part of the accreditation of every cancer program. Freeman’s ideas have been successfully implemented nationwide, with research showing the very positive outcomes in life expectancy, prevention, and massive cost savings. Research at Ohio State University’s Cancer Hospital (The James Center), the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Alabama Medical School, and most comprehensively, at the Congregational Health Network in Memphis, TN, have all demonstrated the power of compassionate navigation on reducing mortality from cancer. 5. Justice in Cancer Care is Compassion: Cincinnati is the cancer capital of Ohio for people who are poor and/or minorities. Life expectancy is seriously lower for low income populations. Local hospitals working with cancer do not have outreach programs similar to Freeman’s navigation approach. The Cancer Justice Network of Navigators is the only navigation outreach program for all of Cincinnati. It is time for THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED investment. Its existence reminds one of its irrelevance and waste of funds. A streetcar that drives around Overthe-Rhine has nothing to do with our desire to create a transportation line that would transport residents to jobs and training opportunities. The continued development or re development of projects within our city at the expense of residents is beyond belief. The disregard for human life in the name of urban renewal will continue to promote broken homes, isolation, and render uncertain futures for the city’s more vulnerable. History demands that we now begin to write a new ending to this story one that will put a period on this destructive process. We must write one that will meet the needs of our community and stop the selfdestructive patterns that it effects. Urban Renewal wipes out poor generations. Cultures no longer exist. The effect is lasting, and the need to change is vital. The time is now to change, and the time to write a new ending to this story is long overdue. of grassroots support, said Wall, is essential in helping people to organize and to realize they can challenge a corporate polluter like AK Steel. Nevertheless, explained Wall, with the U. S. EPA in full retreat, the current situation makes it much harder to hold big polluters accountable. She described how the Ohio EPA merely goes through the motions when asked to examine evidence of the new refinery's destructive pollution. It talks to no one at the plant, and condescendingly asks residents when they last washed their cars. Both Wall and Altman concluded that that the current crisis calls for all concerned citizens to become more involved. The Sierra Club, acknowledged Wall, can always use more volunteers to assist at places like the AK Steel coke refinery. People also need to keep up to date on environmental issues and call their elected representatives about negative policies such as the pending proposal on scientific research. [To find out more about Applied Information Resources or their Community Issues Forums go to http://www.airinc.org/ or email Bill Woods at wkwoods@juno.com] cancer care in our city to look itself in the mirror and ask what can be done to promote healthy outcomes for people with little access. It is time for professionals in healthcare to join with navigation efforts so that patients do not have to face obstacles alone. It is time for action by the Cincinnati Health Department to join forces with navigation efforts and make compassionate care a right for every citizen of Cincinnati. We know that expressed compassion can save lives, reduce suffering, increase confidence in life, strengthen the spirits of both patients and healthcare providers. Let’s do it! �13 STREET VOICE No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 NO ONE ASKED No one asked. How are you today? No one asked, Because no one cared Maybe because everyone is too busy Someone went home today Feeling, sad and empty HOW LONG BOB MUELLER, HOW LONG? How long Bob Mueller, how long? So goes our quite mournful song. We won't stop our continual whine. Public affairs are in such decline. We will keep displaying dismay For at least one horror per day. So, Bob Mueller we beseech. End your report with one word: "IMPEACH!" No one asked, No one cared BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Sometimes no one should have to ask. When was the last time you asked someone BETTER could you help them? Better, is everyday above ground It’s so sad when no one cares enough to ask! Better, is appreciation KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer from everywhere all around... Better, is to upgrade things that are outdated Better, is acknowledging the changes with the recognition that the cost may be outrated Better, is to make downscaled areas be upscaled and look good Better, is to not neglect the people, RICH or POOR! I thought this you understood... Better, is being able to enjoy life in the park, the library, church or just on the square Better, is when I can enjoy upscaled living in this life without my pockets going bare... Better, is to be able to enjoy and have peace of mind no matter what I hear or what the sound Better, is growing from homelessness into housing and gaining respect from all around.... Better, is for me today even though I have to pay taxes for things I may never understand Better, is knowing God is watching us all good and bad all over this land.... WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 151 Across Down 1. Infant 1. Cry plaintively 5. Entanglement 2. Sound 8. Gets stuck 3. Newlywed woman 12. Enticement 4. So far 13. Edible tuberous root 5. Part of a shoe between 14. Paragon 16. Newspaper column 18. Deep ravine 19. Assistance 20. Plate used to stengthen a joist 22. Drawing software, initially 23. Digit 24. Charge per unit 25. Alleviate 28. Lair 29. Sheep with high quality fleece 31. Pike-like fish 34. Fourth dimension 37. Face card 39. Overt 40. Aries symbol 41. Developed 42. Relating to the nose 44. Object of worship 46. Stringed instrument of ancient Greece 47. Boundaries 49. Historic period 51. Extinct bird 52. Feel concern or interest 54. Health spring 57. Employ 59. Anxiety disorder 61. Part of a cable railway 62. Relating to the kidneys 65. Cause to feel self-concious heel and sole 6. Delete 7. Tree trunk 8. Fish lure 9. Fuss 10. Soldier of fortune 11. Heroic tale 13. Someone absent from school without permission 15. Guided 17. Fiend 21. Golf peg 26. Biblical boat 27. One 28. Generator 29. Note, in short SODOKU PUZZLE NO 281 - MEDIUM 30. Finished 31. Spanish title 32. Opaque gem 33. Abode 35. Part of the eye 36. Insane 38. Female sheep 43. Cover 45. Lasso 48. Summit 50. Paraphernalia 52. Small jazz band 53. Church building 54. Relative magnitude 55. Out of fashion 56. Malicious burning 67. Mother-of-pearl 57. Large vase 68. Assist 58. Divisions of an ocean 69. In addition 60. Preliminary race 70. Faction 63. Part of a circle 71. Plaything 64. Allow 72. Part of a hammerhead 66. Strike sharply PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 381 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 150 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 280- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 38 2 | M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 Central Access Point 15 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 St. George Food Pantry 751-8771 2554 Dennis St. 45219 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 Salvation Army 762-5660 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 1125 Bank Street 45214 411 Gest St. 45203 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 2121 Vine Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Family Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 Housing: 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 for 26 issues 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@ cincihomeless.org $100 859-491-8303 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 M a y 18 - M a y 31, 2 0 18 | N o . 38 2 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BETTIE BAILEY SINCE 10/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN ADAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHARLES WILLIAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHRISTOPHER KAIHATSU SINCE 7/2017 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DARREL ROZIER SINCE 7/2017 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GERALD FRANKLIN SINCE 7/2017 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 HENRY BRELAND SINCE 7/2017 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JENNY BURTON SINCE 7/2017 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KIM NGUYEN SINCE 7/2017 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 STEPHANIE EAKES SINCE 7/2017 SYLVESTER WALKER SINCE 7/2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 18-May 31, 2018 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director An Update on Environmental Protection Forum focuses on National and Local Realities Pg 3: Number 1 or Number 2 Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: The Spread in Income Pg 6: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 7: Mothers Speak Out for Snap Things That Make You Go Hmmm Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Why is Cancer Mortality so High for Minorities in Cincinnati? Pg 12: Urban Renewal Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 18-May 31, 2018 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Dion Harrison Kenny Carrol Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Michael Earl Patton Lynn Williams Jason Haap Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland Jeannie Masterson Patricia Patton Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Justin Jeffre Victoria Pickering via flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Tony Castrucci Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cancer CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 China Cincinnati Dion Harrison Dr. Mark Mussman Environmental Protection Jason Haap Jeannie Masterson Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kenny Carrol Kim Green Lynn Williams Michael Earl Patton Minorities Mothers Patricia Patton Photography Religion Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland Terracotta Army Tony Castrucci Victoria Pickering via flickr Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/335eefde704dbaf3b3be8aa0ff27a0be.pdf 5a66b2dd36da80693b6a59c205f8bdc7 PDF Text Text M ay 19th - June 1st 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 37 (No. 356) advocating justice | Building community It’s impossible to count the number of lives Michael Stoops changed| 8 This issue sponsored by Lachey's INSIDE THIS ISSUE A Real Prospect for Political Reform | 2 Border Stories: Saying Goodbye| 3 Not-So-Fake-News from Early America | 5 Hostile Design | 7 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Would You Forcefully Displace Your Grandmother From Her Home? W hat would it take for you to decide to displace elderly people from their homes against their will? Perhaps this question makes you squirm (I hope it does). Maybe you are thinking to yourself, “Well I guess if they refused to pay rent, or were violent toward their neighbors or something like that…”. Is there any chance, you are also thinking, “But I would still try to assist them in finding another place to live that works for them.” What if they had significant physical limitations, trouble walking, and perhaps chronic illness? What if the people and services they rely on to live were near their homes and they said they were scared about how they would get by elsewhere? Maybe you are saying to yourself, “Well I guess if the building were in unsafe physical condition, but I would still assist them in finding a place that worked for them.” What if you learned that this M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 JOSH SPRING Executive Director story is real and is happing right now in our city? What if you also learned that the two elderly women in this story were the final two people a company is displacing from their building after already displacing their elderly neighbors? What if you know these people did pay their rent and were kind to their neighbors? What if you learned that they really do have trouble moving about, one has a chronic illness and both use walkers? What if you know that they really do have friends nearby that assist them in getting their groceries from nearby? What if you knew that they check in on each other, their neighbors check in on them and they have a strong community? And what if it was confirmed that their homes were in safe condition? What if you met with them in person, looked into their eyes and heard their story and the pain this ordeal is causing, would you displace them? What if one of the two women signed a lease for another building you own, but a couple weeks later you learned she felt scared your company was going to put her on the street and was confused and under significant mental duress and that is why she signed the lease? What if you learned that despite the fact the new building has less stairs, they are wider and have inadequate railing and she has already almost fallen multiple times? What if the other woman recently fell in her apartment because your company did not fix problem tiles? What if you learned that these two women who have trouble walking were trying to pack their life’s belongings up and one of them has been trekking the mile to the new apartment trying to carry boxes on her walker, feeling lost, unsafe, and “like she is losing her mind” the whole time? Would any of these make you choose to not displace them from their homes? Maybe you think to yourself, “But if they are in bad health (Continued on page 11) A REAL PROSPECT FOR POLITICAL REFORM – FORUM REVIEWS A NEW INITIATIVE FOR FAIR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS IN OHIO A n opportunity to achieve significant political reform now exists in Ohio. An initiative was just launched to bring about fair Congressional districts in the state. Encouraged that voters passed an Ohio Constitutional Amendment in 2015 to establish fair state districts, the Fair Elections Coalition in Columbus drafted a proposal to reach the same end when Congressional districts are redrawn after the next U.S. Census. At the May 11th Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral, Catherine Turcer, Policy Analyst for Common Cause/Ohio, used a power point presentation to depict the present situation in terms of Congressional Districts in the state and to outline the content of the proposed Amendment that would reform the current redistricting process. She was joined at the podium by Elizabeth Brown, Vice President of the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area, who helped lead the discussion of why this reform is so badly needed. Ohio, noted Turcer, provides BILL WOODS Contributing Writer a model for gerrymandered Congressional districts in the U.S. After showing a picture of the results of the original gerrymandering carried out by Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry in 1812, she used several maps of Ohio to portray how this state’s districts were drawn after the last Census. Taking full advantage of their ability to Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE (Continued on page 3) Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Sr. Nicole Varnerin, Michael Earl Patton, Dr. Mark Mussman, Steve Sunderland, Bobby Morris, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/ Artwork: Alice Schneider, Sr. Nicole Varnerin, Google images, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Catherine Turcer from Common Cause Ohio Credit: Alice Schneider THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �LOCAL Border Stories: Saying Goodbye No. 35 6 3 | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 SR. NICOLE VARNERIN Contributing Writer I have now been in Texas for over two months and will be leaving this adventure for another in the next few weeks. I just felt like I have hit my stride. I am comfortable with where I am and what I do. I’ve figured out my living situation and who my friends are. And now, I have to begin the goodbye process. Leaving is never easy, but after moving around job and living locations a few times, I’ve learned some things that make it easier. Remember Ritual Ritual is a way for me and those I am leaving to get closure to the relationship. Realistically, I am not able to keep in touch with each person I leave. For many, this will be the last time we see or talk to each other. For others, the nature of the relationship will change. I find that without some ritual of goodbye, a card, a dinner, or a personal conversation, feelings can be hurt and people can feel cast aside. The nature of being a sister means I will move around a lot. Moving for me does not mean I am unhappy with where I am, like it does for most people. Moving for me just means going to the next thing. I will always keep those I have met in my heart, and they need to know that. A simple ritual of goodbye can be giving cards or a meaningful trinket. The children I teach in Mexico will each get a handmade friendship bracelet and I will tell them how much they mean to me. I will remember them by a matching bracelet. We will continue to be connected. With my adult students and friends we might go out to dinner to celebrate and exchange phone numbers. Regardless of the specific ritual, the important part is that they will know what impact their life had on mine. Share My Experiences Sharing my experiences not only helps others to learn what I am doing and possibly find a replacement, BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) control the Congressional district drafting process in 2011, Republicans utilized computer experts to create a district map that assured them of a large majority of Congressional seats. Working in a hotel room near the State House, the GOP technicians crafted districts that assured their Party’s dominance until 2022. In a state that is approximately fifty/fifty Sr. Nicole Varnerin and Teresa Photo: Sr. Nicole Varnerin but also helps me to put words to my experience. Finding words to describe my love of a place and for a people helps me to remember and let go. Part of this letting go happens here in my articles and my ability to share my experiences with you. Other times it is in conversations with family and friends. But sharing my experiences in person with others who might take my place is the most life-giving for me. I love sharing my joy with others. I love introducing others to the people and places who mean so much to me. I love seeing the light in their eyes when they experience something for the first time. I love seeing the wheels turning when something new comes along. This week I have had Sr. Nicole Varnerin and Teresa Photo: Sr. Nicole Varnerin in terms of votes for Republicans and Democrats, Republicans now hold twelve of the sixteen Congressional seats. Both Turcer and Brown took on the question of why having unfairly drawn districts is so unhealthy for the democratic process. Since political parties have indulged in some form of gerrymandering for over twohundred years, why not just accept it? The speakers emphasized that today’s extreme gerrymandering “Breakdown Stereotypes” done with “the power of the computer” makes districts so safe for one party’s candidates that campaigns are superfluous. No real debates or discussions take place that allow citizens to learn and talk about complex and important public issues. Many citizens, they noted, come to realize that their votes are meaningless. They simply see no reason to vote in Congressional elections. Do we really want a system where politicians pick their voters the privilege to share my experiences with a young woman named Teresa. It has been a joy to get to know her and I enjoy hearing her reflections on things that I experienced for the first time only a couple months ago. Sharing my experience with her has been a wonderful way for me to say goodbye to all that I treasure here. Another important outlet for sharing my experiences is in journaling and painting. I keep a journal so I can remember what I experienced. I can go back to it and remember how I felt in this new place and how I felt leaving. My paintings express my feelings in a more visual way and allow me to process my experience beyond words. Planning for the Next I know it can be dangerous to plan ahead before it is time, but I find that planning for the goodbye, psyching myself up for it, makes the goodbye much easier. Instead of just leaving, I think about how I want to leave. So how do I want to leave the Rio Grande Valley? I would love to be able to leave promising a return, but I cannot. So I have to say goodbye like it is the last time. I want to leave the valley with love. I want the people I have met to know that “because I knew you I have been changed for good” as a song from the musical Wicked says. I want to leave blessing the land and promising my prayers. I want to leave with all the lessons I have learned intact and engraved on my heart. And after leaving, there is always a new beginning. So how do I want to begin at my next location? It’s never fun to be one place physically and another place mentally. People don’t want to hear you pining for where you wish you could be, but want to hear your stories. Being mentally absent will only hurt me. I want to be fully present where I am, but still remembering how I have changed through the lessons I have learned in the valley. I want to remember where I was and integrate this experience into who I am, but still enter fully into where I will be. Will this be hard? Yes. But with the help of God and my friends, I hope to make it a reality. rather than “we the people” electing our representative? An active participant in drafting the current reform proposal, Catherine Turcer described how this initiative would prevent this kind of partisan abuse in the future. The Congressional redistricting proposal mirrors the state redistricting Amendment that was approved by the voters in 2015. It specifically (Continued on page 8) “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 �LOCAL Not-So-Fake-News from Early America No. 35 6 | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 MICHAEL EARL PATTON O f course I don’t like news that is an outright fraud, but who makes the call? All the proposals that I have seen would have some group set up by a mainstream media organization determine what is fake and what is not, and either block the fake news outright or at least make it harder to access. The problem is obvious – the implication is that the mainstream media can be trusted, while alternative media cannot. Yet the alternative media exist in the first place because many people don’t trust the established media to provide accurate and complete information. That is not to say that the alternative media always gets it right, but considering their meager resources they often do a valuable job by writing about viewpoints and events that do not get proper coverage elsewhere. As I read Mrs. Frances Trollope’s book Domestic Manners of the Americans, I saw descriptions of at least three aspects of American life that surely galled the American Establishment of the 1830’s by its brutally honest – not fake -- depictions. Her book was vilified here but became a best seller in England. The citizens of the young United States came in for special scrutiny for proclaiming that “all men are created equal.” This, of course, was a central part of the Declaration of Independence and was penned by Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Trollope thought it was self-evident that not all men were created equal and rightfully blasted us for being such gross hypocrites in not even making an attempt to live up to the matter when it came to blacks, American Indians, and Irish immigrants. Jefferson came in for some special scorn. I will quote much of what she wrote: “Few names are held in higher estimation in America than that of Jefferson; it is the touchstone of the democratic party, and all seem to agree that he was one of the greatest of men; yet I have heard his name coupled with deeds which would make the sons of Europe shudder. The facts I allude to are spoken openly by all, not whispered privately by a few; and in a country where religion is the teatable talk, and its strict observance a fashionable distinction, these facts are recorded and listened to without horror, nay, without emotion. “Mr. Jefferson is said to have been the father of children by almost all his numerous gang of female slaves. These wretched offspring were also the lawful slaves of their father, and worked in his house and plantations as such; in particular, it is recorded that it was his especial pleasure to be waited upon them at table, and the hospitable orgies for which his Monticello was so celebrated, were incomplete, unless the goblet he Contributing Writer quaffed were tendered by trembling hand of his own slavish offspring. “I once heard it stated by a democratic adorer of this great man, that when, as it sometimes happened, his children by his Quadroon slaves were white enough to escape suspicion of their origin, he did not pursue them if they attempted to escape, saying laughingly, “Let the rogues get off, if they can; I will not hinder them.” This was stated in a large party, as a proof of his kind and noble nature, and was received by all with approving smiles.” Now this has all the aura of what the omissions. We now know that much, maybe most or all, of what Mrs. Trollope wrote is true. Thomas Jefferson did have children by his slaves, notably Sally Hemmings, they did work as slaves in his manor and served at his table, and he did let them escape when they became of age. Whether he had children by other slave women is not covered by this book, but such a practice was certainly not uncommon. And orgies? Well, I am not going to entirely discount that word. Jefferson’s slave mistress, Sally Hemmings, was his wife’s half-sister. Declaration of Independance Credit: Google Images we would call today “fake news.” I checked the entry for Jefferson in my 1982 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana and there is no support for any of the above. The nearest it comes is a brief mention of personal attacks on Jefferson which were publicized in 1802 by James Thomson Callender, a “dissolute and unscrupulous journalist,” during Jefferson’s first term as president. The entry does not describe the nature of these attacks on the president except to say that they have rarely, if ever, been matched (this was obviously written before the 2016 campaign). There is nary a mention that Jefferson even owned slaves, let alone that he used them to run his plantation. “Quadroon,” by the way, is an old term that meant that the person had three white grandparents and one black grandparent. That was then. The 2012 book by Henry Wiencek, Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves, does much to correct They had the same (white) father, John Wayles. Sally Hemmings’ mother was at least half-white, since the mother also had a white father but was born of a slave. This meant that Sally Hemmings would have been a “Quadroon,” to use the old term. (This also meant that the children Jefferson had by Hemmings would have had 7 white great-grandparents and 1 black one. Most of them would be “white enough to escape suspicion of their origin.”) But Hemmings was born of a slave, while Jefferson’s wife was born of a free woman. And that was the only difference that mattered. This sort of thing happened back then, a lot. Whether one used the word “orgy” or another word like “rape” may be just due to the writer’s preference given the times in which she wrote. I covered some of this in an earlier article, The Tragedy of Thomas Jefferson. Mrs. Trollope also mentions some of her personal observations on slavery and the attitudes of their THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 5 owners. She mentions an incident in Virginia when an eight-year old slave girl accidentally ate a biscuit that was buttered and sprinkled with arsenic, meant to kill rats. Mrs. Trollope gave the girl an emetic to make her vomit, took her into her lap, and wiped her mouth. This prompted no end of amusement from the slave girl’s white owners for showing such affection for the poor girl. She also noted that the owners would talk about their slaves in their presence as if, as she put it, the slaves were incapable of hearing. A Virginian slave owner told her that ever since he had married, he had a slave girl sleep in the same room as he and his wife. When she asked why, he replied, “Good heaven! If I wanted a glass of water during the night, what would become of me?” Mrs. Trollope rightly blasted the American government for forcing the last of the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi from their homes and making them move west. And this, as she noted, was after we had bound ourselves to protect their rights by “the most solemn treaties.” She visited the bureau in Washington that handled Indian affairs and noted that there, on display, was evidence that the Indians were no longer wandering hunters but were becoming agriculturists and adopting other aspects of European culture. And now Americans were forcing them from their homes, their crops, and the “sacred bones of their fathers” in order to seize their small territories. When I was growing up, I knew nothing of this. It wasn’t until I saw an exhibit at a little museum in Oklahoma when I was about 30 that I learned about the “Trail of Tears.” The curious thing is that I went to high school and college in Indiana, a state that was named after the Indians. Yet they were all forced out long ago. I wondered about this, and I think I even tried to find some more information (this was well before the internet), but found nothing worthwhile. The final topic I want to mention is her description of our treatment of the Irish immigrants. She wrote that we treat slaves better than we treat the Irish. She noted that there were strong feelings against the Irish in every part of the United States, but they work hard and are employed. If they become sick, however, the Irishman is thrown to one side and a new one takes his place. This is different than with a slave, who is treated as a valuable horse is treated. She relates the story of how a farmer told the country family which she was visiting of a dying Irishman who was literally lying at the side of the road unable to speak. They brought him to their house where he died during the night. He had been working at building a canal, had gotten sick, spent his last cent, left the miserable dwelling which was standard for canal workers, and tried to make his way back to Washington when he collapsed. He looked about twenty (Continued on page 11) �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 �No. 35 6 7 LOCAL | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 Hostile Design DR. MARK MUSSMAN H Staff Writer ostile Design is a way to keep people from doing normal things that people would do – like sit, or lay down. These design elements are used throughout the urban landscape to exclude people from private and public spaces. Hostile Design does not include private security forces, CCV cameras, or other elements that require human interaction. But the signs that stand in proxy for security forces can be considered hostile design. Walking through Over-theRhine and Downtown Cincinnati, I was able to capture several forms of hostile design. The most common element that I saw prohibits people from laying down. Whether it be a bench with a bar in the middle, as you see in Washington Park, or it be a circular bench set up, seen in a few places downtown, it’s clear that laying down is strictly prohibited. While this may make sense at bus stops, what does it mean when you cannot lay down in a park? Would those people who had a vision for a great city park agree with the mentality to make it as inhospitable as possible? I believe parks were created and designed for a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. Now, instead of placing the bar in the middle of the bench, they make the benches too short to lay on, such as the bus shelters, including Government Square. Another common element stops people from sitting at all. This could be as simple as placing a flower pot on an unused stairway, as seen on Circular Bucket Seats Prevent Laying Down Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Outcroppings Prevent Families and People Using Wheelchairs From Having Easy Access Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Alley Leases Allow For Barriers to Privatize Public Space Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman 14th Street in Over-the-Rhine, or it could be a slight slope on ledges that would typically be used for sitting. The slight slope makes it impossible to lay down, but it also makes your legs fall asleep if you sit on it for any length of time. Spikes and ridges may be the most shocking type of hostile design, but little fences, such as the one around the entire perimeter of Washington Park are just as offensive. The ridges around the federal courthouse prevent people from sitting on their wall. The ridged metal in front of Holtman’s Donuts stops people, who may be waiting on a bus there, from having a comfortable place to sit. The recent removal of many of the bus benches throughout the city highlights the lack of value we put into our public transit system. This is to contrast with the privatization of public spaces, like alleys and sidewalks, in the area. While people on fixed and low incomes are struggling to stand waiting for the bus, a few feet away restaurant outcroppings take up the majority of the sidewalk. People sitting, enjoying their expensive meals can enjoy the sidewalk space, but it is otherwise an offense to sit on the sidewalk. I have seen police officers drive up in their cruisers and tell people they cannot have their legs on the sidewalk, when they were sitting on the church steps. Threats of tickets and even arrest have been made, but restaurants claim several feet of the sidewalk making it very difficult to navigate your way down the street with a family or in a wheelchair, in order to serve alcohol on the sidewalk. These double standards need to stop. I was first made aware of hostile design several years ago when I was in Santa Cruz, California. The University of California at Santa Cruz was designed to prevent students from engaging in political protests and marches. The winding walkways and meeting spaces were specifically (Continued on page 12) Ornate Fence Prevents Sitting Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �8 NATIONAL “It’s impossible to count the number of lives Michael Stoops changed” M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 STREET SENSE I t is with great sadness that Street Sense says goodbye to Michael Stoops, who passed away peacefully on the morning of 1 May. Michael directed community organising for the National Coalition for the Homeless, which he helped found in the 80s. No individual has been more committed to or instrumental in empowering people experiencing homelessness. This trait put him on the national stage during the frigid winter of 1986 when Michael slept on the sidewalk grates of Washington with activist Mitch Snyder and others. They successfully urged Congress to pass the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which remains our government’s most significant financial response to homelessness. Food stamps, Section 8 housing, Health Care for the Homeless, community mental health services, education assistance and much more — all McKinney-Vento. But this was only a moment in time. Michael had already been administering shelters and advocating around local issues in Oregon for a decade. He went on to create NCH’s speakers bureau, which trains and pays homeless and formerly homeless people to share their experiences with students, professionals and lawmakers. He instituted National Homeless Persons Memorial Day more than 20 years ago to honor the lives of anyone who dies while homeless. He led an annual effort to track hate crimes against homeless people and tirelessly pushed for homeless bills of rights legislation. He was instrumental in the founding of Street Sense and fostered a network of collaboration among street papers across the country. Michael served on our board for many years. One of our co-founders crashed on Michael’s couch when first BILL WOODS (Continued from page 3) prohibits drawing districts that favor or disfavor a political party. Requiring districts to be geographically compact, it says that splitting counties, cities, and townships must be kept to a minimum. Districts, according to the proposal, must be nearly equal in population, and the overall district map for Ohio must reflect statewide election results over the previous ten years. As approved in 2015, the Ohio Redistricting Commission will include the Governor, the Auditor, the Secretary of State, and appointees by the Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader, the Ohio Senate President, and the Senate Minority Courtesy of INSP.ngoontributing Writer Michael Stoops at the Homeless Persons' Memorial Day in Washington D.C. December 19, 2015 Credit: Alexandra Pamles moving to the District to work on Street Sense. “The same couch that George Siletti slept on,” Ted Henson confided in a hospital hallway after visiting Michael. Siletti, who also recently passed away, was a dedicated member of the NCH speakers bureau and published poetry in the early editions of Street Sense. Clearly Michael opened his heart and his home to many. Yet he never asked for anything in return, except more work. Even though he was the kind of person with the kind of Rolodex that could get Susan Sarandon on a plane to Washington to demand Congressional action on homelessness. After suffering a major stroke in 2015, Michael continued to consult on NCH efforts. In his wheelchair, he participated in the 2015 and 2016 National Homeless Persons Memorial Day marches and interfaith services here the District, which included accompanying advocates to lobby councilmembers in the Wilson Building. He was greeted with a near- standing ovation when he attended the Street Sense annual celebration last year to see our artists perform. In addition to lawmakers, Michael was also committed to educating the next generation on homelessness and Leader. To officially approve a new Congressional District map will require a majority of the Commission that includes at least two members from the minor political party. Finally, public input is a requirement throughout the redistricting process, and any Ohio citizen can submit a Congressional map proposal to the Commission. Initially, explained Turcer, reformers hoped the General Assembly would vote to put their plan on the ballot. When the House and Senate turned their backs on it, the reform coalition decided to move forward with a citizen initiative. Faced with making a revision on the summary of the proposed Constitutional Amendment for Attorney General Mike DeWine, the coalition hopes to be ready to gather signatures in approximately three weeks. Preparing for the daunting task of collecting over 300,000 signatures of registered voters in the root inequalities that lead to it. “Sixth Graders Demand Equal Rights for District Homeless Community” — Michael. “Georgetown Freshman Founds Press, Builds Solidarity in Homeless Community” — Michael again. NCH Speakers Bureau member Eric Sheptock wrote in an email that Michael would always introduce speakers by saying, “I’ve been doing this work for 40 years; and, if we don’t begin to do more than feed and shelter the homeless, then in 40 more years when all of you are my age, we’ll still be trying to end homelessness.” It would be impossible to count the number of lives Michael has changed for the better. And he would never ask us to. But you can show it. In lieu of flowers or condolences, we are sure he would appreciate a wellcrafted call or note to your senator, your representative, your city official or a person struggling on the street. Rest in peace, Michael. We love you. Mitch Snyder (second from right) and Michael Stoops (farthest right), 1986. Courtesy of National Coalition for the Homeless Credit: Rachel Cain Ohio, Turcer and Brown believe that citizens are ready to support a reform that will help revitalize democracy in this state. ------------------------ Catherine Turcer updates audience on the citizen's intiative THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Alice Schneider �WORLD Refugee couple fight to be reunited for their wedding No. 35 6 9 | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 DOMINIK GALLIKER Courtesy of SURPRISE / INSP.ngo A re you nervous? “A little bit.” She laughs, embarrassed. “I haven’t eaten anything today,” she says, clutching a little bag of chicken nuggets that she bought from the train station. “I didn’t want to eat until I knew that everything would go well.” The train arrives. The 14.34 to Fribourg, Lausanne, Geneva, Geneva airport. “Shall we sit upstairs?” asks 31-year-old Laila, her lips painted a matt pink. “I didn’t tell anyone, you know.” She says, once we’ve sat down. “It’s supposed to be a surprise. A big surprise for everyone. I’ll upload a picture on Facebook as soon as he arrives.” The train pulls away from the platform. The station slides by, then the riding school, then the river, the bridges. “He misses Bern a lot,” she says. Can you remember it all, Laila? It was a little more than one year asylum centre, signed in every day to confirm he was there, received 8.50 in Swiss francs per day, to buy food. Like hundreds of others who were turned down. *** Everyone is allowed to get married in Switzerland, it is a human right. You even get a residence permit after getting married, but you need to have the right papers. Toufik was missing one: a certificate of citizenship. In essence, a valid passport. *** “Look at this!” Laila rummages around in the plastic bag she has brought with her. “I bought him a present.” She pulls out a scarf, black, with the label still on. “I’m sure he doesn’t have enough warm clothes with him. He always forgets. In Morocco it’s always so warm…” An announcement interrupts her. Next stop: Fribourg. The Moroccan Laila waiting for her husband, Toufik Credit: Julien Gregorio ago – 8 December 2015 to be exact. Laila and Toufik had an appointment with the immigration authorities. A nice appointment, they thought. “Do we have to talk about it?” asks Laila, chewing on a chicken nugget. She had been making preparations for her wedding. They were at the registry office. At the desk for couples without papers. They had been together for a year and a half. Laila, a women’s rights activist from Yemen, had been given refugee status a long while ago. Toufik, a Moroccan looking for a better life, lived in an asylum centre. His application for asylum had been turned down the year before. He was an illegal immigrant, sans-papiers. However the authorities were missing a Laissez-passer – a pass to get him back to Morocco. Toufik was permitted to remain. He lived in the strange things, like whether or not she knew that Toufik didn’t have a residence permit. That he wasn’t supposed to be here. They questioned her for two hours, Laila told us later. Then they said that Toufik wasn’t sitting next door, he had been taken into custody. Arrested. Administrative detention while they prepared everything for deportation. *** Laila falls silent. The train has already passed Lake Geneva. It’s cloudy. The trolley rolls past us. Someone orders a cappuccino. After a while, Laila says, “Please don’t write anything negative about the immigration police. Or about Mr Ott. Mr Ott is a friend.” Toufik was in jail for almost three months before he gave up. Voluntary repatriation to Morocco, 25th February 2016. “Let’s talk about something else,” says Laila. Next stop: Lausanne. “Oh wow, we’re almost there already. Just one more hour.” Laila takes a mirror from her bag, and make-up. She tops it up, although she’s already perfectly made up. She pulls out her phone and checks one more time. Train’s estimated arrival at Geneva airport: 16.27. Flight from Casablanca due to land at 16.20. “We’ll have to hurry,” says Laila. *** Toufik first came to Switzerland in 2012. He never intended to stay. In his hometown of Rabat he was a carpenter, but he didn’t earn enough money to be able to start a family. His partner left him for another man, he tells us. He decided to leave. He managed to get onboard a ship, dodging the border police in Montpellier. He travelled to Italy. He lived in abandoned houses or on the street. He worked as a chef, embassy didn’t want to give Toufik a passport. Illegal immigrants don’t get passports. They told Toufik that he needed to apply for a Swiss residence permit. To get this, he needed to have a passport. It is this dilemma that Laila and Toufik wanted to explain to the immigration authorities at their appointment on the 8th December of last year. The civil servant had invited them there to talk about the wedding, as far as Laila and Toufik were concerned. “We asked you to come here today to sort out your residency status,” said Alexander Ott, head of the Bern immigration office. He split the pair up – Laila went into one room, while Toufik was led into another. Or so Laila thought. Two immigration officers questioned Laila. They asked her THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED then at a market, earning 30 euros a day. Shortly before the onset of winter, the business was checked for undocumented workers. When he couldn’t show his papers, he had to leave. “I just want a legal job with a steady income, a normal European life,” he said after coming to Switzerland. “Can’t I just stay here for a few months and then go back to Italy in the spring?” he asked. “I’ll freeze to death if I go now.” The State Secretariat for Migration checked whether they could just send Toufik to Italy or to France. Negative. The Dublin Agreement states that because Toufik was never registered in France or Italy, he couldn’t be sent back. There were only two options: he could apply for asylum in Switzerland, or he would be sent back to Morocco. “I wouldn’t fly back to Morocco for all the money in Switzerland,” says Toufik. And then he makes a hopeless application for asylum. In a country where he had no intention of staying. *** The train arrives at Lausanne station. Passengers are waiting by the doors for the doors to open. “Hello?” A phone call from Rabat. A quick conversation in Arabic, then the connection goes. “Toufik’s family,” Laila explains. “They took him to the airport, to Casablanca.” She tries to call them back. No connection. “It was an emotional farewell for them,” she says. “They hadn’t seen him in seven years. Before he was deported, he had been in Europe illegally for seven years. Can you imagine? Seven years!” *** One week before, at the immigration office. Mr Ott is in his mid-fifties with a moustache and a short haircut, grey, with rimless spectacles. A man with authority, and always media-ready. Why was Tourik arrested, Mr Ott? “Mr. S. had gone into hiding after the decision was made to remove him. A legal order was made to have him deported,” said Alexander Ott. Toufik had actually (Continued on page 10) Laila and Toufik reunite. Credit: Julien Gregorio �10 LOCAL M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation DOMINIK GALLIKER (Continued from page 9) gone into hiding and travelled to Germany, but this was a long time ago. He returned to Switzerland and had been in the asylum centre for more than a year. How is this supposed to work? “The immigration enforcement authority doesn’t work with case-specific information,” Ott explained. “However, we clarified it with the appropriate authorities before he was detained. They confirmed that the deportation order was still valid. If Mr. S. had obtained the necessary documents for his marriage, we would have been able to assess his case a second time, but he didn’t have anything to support him and he was in Switzerland illegally. In cases like these, the immigration authorities have a very limited margin of discretion. We were forced to act in accordance with the law.” *** The train leans into the curve. The weather has cleared up outside and we can see the castle in Nyon across a lake. It’s just after 4 o’clock. “I thought about dying my hair red,” says Laila. “Not all over, just a little bit, underneath.” She checks her phone, no message from Rabat. “But then I remembered that Toufik doesn’t like red hair, so I didn’t do it.” *** How did you two meet, Laila? It was in 2014. June. They were both in an asylum centre in Thun. Laila was waiting for a decision on her asylum status. She had been doing an internship with a human rights organisation in Switzerland, and during that time the situation in Yemen had intensified. This is when Laila decided to apply for asylum. She met Toufik in a nearby shopping centre. All of the asylum seekers went there, because there was free internet access. He looked like an Arab. “Are you from Yemen as well?” She asked him, “from Morocco”, he replied. And he wanted to know how long she had been in Thun. “Four days”, she replied. He went into a shop, came back out and said: “come with me, I’ll show you the town.” And that was it. *** Laila checks her phone, sets it aside, and plays with the ring that she wears on her left hand, turning it around on her finger. A wedding ring? “Yeah”, says Laila. “We’re already married, just not on paper.” There was a traditional Islamic ceremony at the asylum centre in Thun. A big party. Someone had put on some African music and everyone was dancing, even Toufik. “It’s real gold”, says Laila. “But from Morocco, so it wasn’t so expensive. Toufik didn’t know what size to get. He just bought the biggest.” She has wrapped sticky tape around one side of the ring to make it fit. *** Subject: press enquiry. An email to the immigration service of Bern: why was there an order to arrest a man who had been living for such a long time in one of your asylum centres? And why was he only arrested when he showed up at the registry office, wanting to get married? The answer: “We would like to thank you for your enquiry. We regret to inform you that we are unable to express ourselves to the media. Thank you for your understanding.” And that was that. *** Geneva, central station. The train has barely pulled up to the platform when Laila stands up, grabs her coat and wraps her scarf around her neck. Just one more stop: Geneva Airport. “I need to do my hair quickly at the airport,” she says. And adds: “I hope Toufik is well dressed. I told him to wear something smart.” *** We sent a request to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM): application for access to files in the case of Moroccan national, Toufik S. After some time, the SEM sends us 200 pages of documents that have been redacted in places. It is Toufik’s story from the perspective of the authorities, from the first interview until the decision to deport him. These documents show that in the summer of 2014 the SEM tried, for the first time, to get Toufik out of the country. They wrote to the Moroccan embassy asking them to identify him and demanding a Laissez-passer. No answer. In January 2015 the SEM tried again. “The person in question does not have leave to remain in Switzerland, and for this reason will have to leave without delay.” No answer. The SEM sent a third letter in May 2015. “Respectfully, we would like to remind you that we are still waiting for a response in this matter.” No reaction. The fourth letter wasn’t THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED sent to the Moroccan embassy; they sent it straight to Rabat. The answer came within a few days: a promise that the Moroccan authorities would issue a Laissez-passer. This was on the 12th November 2015. Just one month before Toufik and Laila would go to the immigration office for their marriage documents. The authorities could not have known that they wanted to get married: it was all coincidence. *** End of the line, please exit the train. Laila dives out onto the platform. We watch people jostling with their suitcases to get onto the escalators. It’s 16.25. “Maybe he’s landing right now,” says Laila. “Now my heart is racing.” We climb the stairs. “Ok… deep breaths.” She laughs, nervously. We go through the revolving door, past the airport cafes and restaurants. It’s now 16.30. Laila heads to the toilets. “Just to do my hair, it won’t take long,” she promises, apologetically. She’s back within five minutes. How are you doing, Laila? “I’m good”, she says. “Good. Excited.” She goes on ahead, towards arrivals. We pass rucksack-laden people drinking coffee. She stops in front of the screen. The flight from Casablanca is fourth from the top in the list. Scheduled arrival: 16.20. Anticipated arrival: 17.10. Delayed. Laila slowly makes her way back to me. We have a seat in a cafe and she orders coffee and cake for us both, and insists on paying. She looks at (Continued on page 12) �No. 35 6 LOCAL WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 STEVE SUNDERLAND 1. Healthcare in jeopardy: The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that calls for the radical cutting of Medicaid funds to the poor, and, devastating cuts to provisions for the elderly and people with disabilities. The president and the Republicans celebrated these changes in the White House Rose Garden as the shadow of dire need fell across millions of people. No one knows, yet, just how many millions of people will be negatively affected or how many people with pre-existing conditions will lose their care, their doctors, and, eventually, their lives. The elderly, in and out of nursing homes, will lose vital options for care. Veterans will face even more obstacles. What is to be done? 2. The work of the Cancer Justice Network: Cincinnati is the cancer death leader of all of Ohio for minorities, people with disabilities, and the aged. Currently, the Cancer Justice Network is the MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 5) and was buried without a name. There was a general belief among Americans that the British were paying the costs of sending some of their poor to the United States, which was widely resented here. She was not able to confirm that but did confirm that many Irish and English poor arrived yearly. She relates that the poor of Great Britain would be better off if they emigrated to Canada instead of the United States, where they were greeted with “malice, hatred, and uncharitableness.” There is an aspect to the history of discrimination against the Irish that I want to relate as it affected my own research into this topic. About 10 or so years ago I wanted to do an article for the old Cincinnati Beacon website about how the situation for the Irish had greatly improved and now, every March 17, “Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.” I wanted to note that Cinco de Mayo was becoming a similar holiday and it would be great if something similar JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2 and have limited mobility they would be better suited in a home designed for people who are elderly.” Maybe so, maybe not, but if you knew all of this would decide not to displace them against their will and instead work with them to determine how they want to spend their years? It is hard to write words that fully express another person’s pain, but if I have gotten anywhere close, I hope you are saying to yourself, “This sounds terrible, I would never do this, no one should ever do this Contributing Writer 11 Medicaid and Obamacare. We will continue our programs until there is a new law that prohibits people from getting insurance. We will continue to visit dinners, health fairs, and educational settings and invite people to join us. We will find transportation that is easy, direct, and accessible for people wanting an exam and treatment. And, we will fight for the maintaining of every caring aspect of health insurance that assists people in fighting cancer. 4. Next Steps: We need to continue to march for justice in health care for everyone. Included in standing up for cancer justice is to also take our health seriously and not let our president and the Republicans decide that our population, our low income individuals and families, our people with disabilities, and our aged, are unworthy for full and rapid treatment. We have many allies in this struggle: doctors, hospitals, insurers, civil rights organizations, and the average American. Take cancer seriously and take action with the Cancer Justice Network. We are joining hands and we will resist this attempt to kill the poor and those most vulnerable in our population. only local program that educates this population on both the realities of cancer and the necessity for early screening and treatment. We visit with the people who are attending free dinners, or community health fairs, or educational meetings and invite them to get immediate care through taking people to health centers for exams to determine if they have cancer. Our program has "navigators," trained staff who are ready to accompany individuals and their families to doctors, nurses, hospitals, and screening centers. We are free because we are volunteers. Most people we see are afraid of cancer and even more fearful of going to physicians and hearing the horrific words, "You have cancer." In the past, negative thoughts about costs have been used as a reason for not going. Or, transportation to and from health centers, hospitals, and doctors' offices have seemed too bewildering. And, once some brave people have visited a doctor, they have been treated as if they were sub-human and ignorant. People have said to us: "I'd rather die than be treated so badly again." Our program seeks to rapidly change the access to health care by providing an ally for the person on the whole journey, from the dinner to the health center and, if necessary, to the hospital for treatments. We want to have everyone transported with confidence that they can master and afford the trips to the health care centers and, once there, understand what their health status and, if necessary, get treatment that is timely, compassionate, and successful. 3. Obamacare still exists: The new legislation does not replace or modify the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. Yet. People can still get insurance that does not discriminate against them because they have a prior health condition like diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. Our navigators can still take people for exams and treatments that are covered by happened with other ethnic groups. Of course I wanted to start by giving some background. I could not find it. There were virtually no records that I found in the internet except for a few scattered incidents. Articles on the subject said that the whole idea was over-blown. In fact University of Illinois Professor Richard Jensen wrote in 2002 that the whole idea of discrimination against the Irish was made up by them for some unknown reason. He wrote that the fact that the Irish-Americans claim signs such as “No Irish Need Apply” were common was a delusion unique to the Irish. His extensive research could find only one such example in the historical record. An electronic search of several hundred thousand pages of magazines, newspapers, and books turned up only about a dozen instances of such discrimination. Other academics echoed his finding. Well, if there was no systemic discrimination against the Irish in the past then I didn’t have an article, so I dropped the idea. George Orwell’s worker at the Ministry of Truth, Winton Smith, in his novel 1984 would have been proud of this “correction” of the historical record. In fact, discrimination against the Irish had been widespread for decades and “No Irish Need Apply” signs were probably common, including in many newspaper ads of the time. This re-revision came about not because of professionals continuing to search for the truth, but because of a high school student, Rebecca Fried. Her study was published in the Oxford Journal of Social History, the same journal that had originally published Dr. Jensen’s article saying Irish-Americans were delusional. True, the internet databases are more extensive now than they were in 2002, but it does call into question Dr. Jensen’s performance. He was a professional – Ms. Fried was a high school student. Sadly, the original article and its influence also showed how quick people were to get rid of a troubling bit of history. As for me, if I had known about Mrs. Trollope’s comments on the treatment of the Irish I would not have dropped the idea and would have written that article. I probably will sometime in the future. So all of this helps show why I like this book. It is an outsider’s look at the young United States and was often highly critical. It went against the mainstream narrative, but that does not mean it was inaccurate. In some areas, at least, it was far more accurate than mainstream accounts. One is the description of Thomas Jefferson’s treatment of his slaves. This was basically truthful, unlike the Encyclopedia Americana as recently as 1982, which lied by omission. As for discrimination against the Irish, this bit of history was covered up just a few years ago! The lesson here is not to automatically believe everything one hears or reads, but evaluate it and see if it fits in with other information. Not that we can always trust the alternative media either: just for the record, I believe the “birthers” are wrong. Barack Obama was NOT born in Kenya. I’ll leave for others to cover the charges brought up against both of the major party candidates in the 2016 election, at least for now. to another person”. Well guess what company is doing this, right now to two elderly women? You have likely heard of them, you’ve likely seen their signs, you’ve probably heard good things about them. You may have even heard that when it comes to for-profit housing development and management they are the “good guys” and do “good work”. And while they have done good work, they have also done and are doing bad work. They are trying to displace and have displaced primarily Black People with low incomes (in the next edition I will give more details on other efforts they are involved in). The company putting these elderly women through this horrible turmoil is Model Group. The fact is, it is never ok to forcefully remove people from their homes for no legitimate list of infractions. It doesn’t matter who the person is, who they are not or how long they have lived there or what age they are. It simply is wrong. So I have not described this currently happening story to say that people who are elderly with limited mobility and declining health have more right to self-determination than another person. It is wrong to displace people without a proven list of infractions, or substantial building, health or fire code safety concerns, period. But you would think that even a company who claims to be on the “good side of things” yet does not believe displacement is wrong would still have respect for their elders. Currently Model doesn’t. Hopefully that will change. By the way, this is what market forces do. The property from which these women and their neighbors are being displaced is on the streetcar line and Model has purchased 37 properties within the last three years within walking distance from this building. What do you think they plan to do with these buildings? THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �12 LOCAL “TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE” M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer & Streetvibes Distributor C an’t remember who made that statement, but I find that today its meaning is powerful. I’ve lied to others regularly as a way of coping with whatever situation I was in. Rather it be to get something from that person or to get out of a bad situation that I had gotten myself into. Now that I’m living a different life, being honest and true to myself is paramount to me staying on this course. No longer can I look in the mirror and lie to myself saying that “I’m Fine”, “I’m good”, “I’ll be alright”. These were lies. I wasn’t “fine, good or alright” I was SICK! Sick physically, DOMINIK GALLIKER (Continued from page 10) her phone. No message. “I’ll upload a picture to Facebook,” she repeats. “And I’ll mention everyone who has helped me. As soon as all this is over, I’ll write a thank-you letter to Mr Ott. Everything has happened just the way he said it would.” *** After Toufik’s arrest, Alexander Ott invited Laila to his office to discuss Toufik’s legal options with her. Soon after, Toufik agreed to voluntary repatriation to Morocco. Once in Rabat, he applied for a new passport and wrote to the Swiss embassy in DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 7) engineered to prevent an uprising. This was done in the wake of student organizing in the 1960’s. UC Santa Cruz has become the model for student political suppression and campus design. Last year, on a trip to Santa Cruz, I was hoping to find something called a “mosquito box.” You might be fooled into thinking that a mosquito box would be used to fight mosquitos – a well-known pest. Unfortunately, truly am. Being me and telling people, No! Showing people that this is me has been life changing. I can walk into a room and not feel pressure to be a certain way I can be the true me. Who knew? One simple, but difficult step toward change has made my life easier each day. I have to thank the people in my life today for teaching me that and my God for allowing me to be open minded about life and seeing the future as a pleasant and bright thing. This makes me smile. What a life I have today. A glorious life full of opportunities and endless accomplishments to be had ahead of me. Today I have Gratitude for that and for that nothing else needs to be said. Be true to You and Life will Blossom. emotionally, and most importantly to me spiritually. I used to run from myself in order to be “ok” with myself and the lies I told myself helped to reinforce those lies. Does that make sense? I lie to myself to make the lies I’m telling myself make sense or believable. WOW! Talk about being mentally and spiritually sick. As I sit here on this raining morning I see that being true to myself is easy once you make that decision that “Honesty is the best Policy”. Being honest with me. It took and will take many more days and in fact years before I completely get a clear understanding what power that is, that is in being true to myself. I’ll tell you about a recent encounter with this. I was telling myself that I wasn’t all that bad in my relationships with other people. They just didn’t understand me. When I told people that I’m quiet most of the time because I’m a shy, reserved person. “Poppycock”!!. (good word). Anyway I did this to build a wall between me and them. The wall also helped me not to look at myself. For years I would act this way and it did nothing but make me more Dark and Depressing instead of being the outgoing, humorous, person that I Rabat, applying for an entry visa. The reason given: marriage. The application was forwarded, and ended up in the Bern immigration office. The documents were verified and, on 12th October 2016, eight months after his arrest in Bern, Toufik received a letter: his leave to remain for the purpose of marriage. With immediate effect. At 17.12, Laila tries to call Toufik on his Swiss mobile number. His phone is switched off. At 17.15 she goes back to the arrivals screen. ‘Landed.’ She comes back to the cafe, twists the ring on her finger, and glances nervously at her phone. At 17.22 she can’t sit any more. She wanders around the arrivals hall. The screen shows that the baggage collection from the Casablanca flight has started. Laila navigates her way through the other people waiting, arriving at the yellow line. Her eyes flit here and there between the two doors leading into the arrivals hall. A woman with flowers comes through the door. A young man follows her and a group of people cheer when they see him. Laila waits. Comes back out from the crowd. “Maybe they’re questioning him, even now”, she speculates. “The border police, I mean. Do you think they’re questioning him?” She doesn’t wait for my answer and goes back to her place at the front. A woman with a yellow suitcase, a police officer, and then a man in a wheelchair pass by. A woman embraces her husband, someone else waves as he comes through the door. *** It’s 17.33 when she first sees Toufik, somewhere behind some backpackers coming through the doors. She lets out a sigh, steps over the yellow line and approaches him. One month later, on 15 November 2016 at the registry office in Bern, the two finally exchange their vows. it is much more nefarious than that. If you’ve been in gentrifying areas, such as Walnut Hills or Over-theRhine, you might be surprised to hear classical music being blasted on the outside of buildings. This is an attempt to push out “undesirable” people from the area. This is also done at Washington Park and the Public Library downtown. I guess the thinking is that people don’t want to hear classical music, so they will move somewhere else. This is a type of mosquito box, but not the most egregious. We have a true mosquito box here in Over-the-Rhine. On the side of Below Zero Lounge, there is a security camera and a mosquito box. Every time you walk by it announces “Warning, you are being videotaped” and gives off a high pitch noise. The high pitch noise is the mosquito box – while it does nothing to repel mosquitos, it causes headaches and forces people to leave the area. Young people are most susceptible to high pitch sounds, so they are more affected by it. We should consider what it means to be a community and to be inclusive. Does preventing people from laying down solve our housing crisis? Does preventing people from sitting at all give the message that people are “blight” and should not be here? Let’s be honest with ourselves – this isn’t about preventing crime, this is about our collective denial and our inability to find solutions to hard problems. Hostile design is one of the topics we cover in our walking tours in Overthe-Rhine. If you want to see some of this for yourself, schedule a walking tour with the Homeless Coalition through our website: cincihomeless.org/education Park Benches with Middle Arm Rest Prevents Laying Down Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Spiked Bar Prevents Sitting or Holding onto Bar Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 6 | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 NO ONE ASKED 13 STREET VOICE No one asked. How are you today? No one asked, Because no one cared Maybe because everyone is too busy Someone went home today MOTHER GOOSE REPORTS ON THE COMEY FIRING Jimmy, Jimmy, the F.B.I. Chief. We are anxious to hear your briefAbout Trump's Russian connection. "I was researching what transpired, And then the Prez said: 'You're fired!' But you can bet it's about the election." Feeling, sad and empty No one asked, BILL WOODS Contributing Writer No one cared A NEW BEGINING Sometimes no one should have to ask. GOD IS GOOD, NOT SOME OF THE TIME When was the last time you asked someone could you help them? It’s so sad when no one cares enough to ask! KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer BUT ALL THE TIME 24/7 I BELIEVE THAT BE THE REASON WE LIVE ON EARTH AND GOD LIVES IN HEAVEN LOOKING BACK ON MY LIFE AND THE SO MANY CHANGES THAT I WENT THROUGH LEARNING FROM REPEATED MISTAKES GOOD AND BAD UNTIL I LEARNED WHAT TO DO REALIZING TODAY KNOWING WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT PLUS THE METHOD TO USE I SEE NOW THAT HAVING KNOWLEDGE DOESN'T DETERMINE THE ROUTE WE CHOOSE I KNOW NOW THAT EVERYDAY ABOVE GROUND IS A DAY TO TAKE HEED AND LEARN I KNOW NOW THAT MY CHOICES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER I LIVE WITH GOD OR I BURN TODAY, KNOWING, UNDERSTANDING WITH THE REALIZATION THAT YESTERDAY IS PASSED PRAYING AND HOPING MY WORDS WILL LINGER IN YOUR MEMORY MAKING A CHANGE TO LAST IF YOU HAVEN'T PAID ATTENTION TO YOUR LIFE MAY YOU LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT A NEW BEGINING IS WHAT'S UP FOR THE POLITICIANS AND THAT INCLUDES YOU AND ME WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 125 Across 1. Concession given to mollify Down 4. Unhappy 1. Frighten 7. Reckless 2. Musical instrument 11. Land measurement 3. Small vegetable 12. Music symbol 4. Figure out 13. Poplar tree 15. Something of little value 17. At that place 18. Major division of geological time 19. Patch up or renovate 21. Bovine mammal 22. Square root of a hundred 23. Parts of the Roman calendar 24. Ecstatic 27. Ancient Roman god 28. Cattle pen 30. Rescue 33. Alleviate 36. Design theme 38. Wading bird 39. Tablet of sheet paper 40. Relocate 41. Summarize briefly 43. Stalk 45. Animal hunted or caught for food 46. Relegate 48. Astern 50. A vote that blocks a decision 51. Naked 53. A small drink 56. Beer 58. Seer 60. Single 61. Army unit 64. Fractious 5. Book of maps 6. Consider or regard 7. Rodent 8. Residue of a fire 9. A close observer 10. Paladin 11. Assist in wrongdoing 12. Conifer leaf 14. Novel 16. Group of three musicians 20. In favor of 25. Limb 26. Expeditious 27. Asian plant grown for its seeds and oil SODOKU PUZZLE NO 255 - MEDIUM 28. Yield 29. Dwell 30. Male title 31. In bed 32. The other way around 34. Part of a church 35. Was seated 37. Elfin 42. Cooking vessel 44. Large long-jawed fish 47. Also 49. Three to a yard 51. Nobleman 52. Strong and sharp 53. Solemn 54. Marquetry or parquetry 55. Look searchingly 66. Follow as a result 56. Hotshot 67. Metal money 57. Yearn 68. Juicy fruit 59. Grains used as food 69. Yawn 62. Young dog 70. Finish 63. Understand 71. Attempt 65. Pertinent PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 350 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 124 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 254- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 35 6 RESOURCES | M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 557-2873 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 241-1064 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 721-0643 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 411 Gest St. 45203 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1125 Bank Street 45214 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Interfaith Hospitality Network Housing: 471-1100 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 621-5300 961-1983 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 351-0422 381-6672 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 721-4700 421-7803 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center UpSpring 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 977-6800 859-572-6226 First Lutheran Church 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry AA Hotline CCAT 1522 Republic Street 45202 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing 961-4663 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn VA VA Homeless 961-2256 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both 221-HELP 721-8666 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 Starting Over 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Talbert House Tender Mercies 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 921-1613 First Step Home 761-1480 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Prospect House Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Caracole (HIV/AIDS) CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street 45202 784-1853 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Charlie’s 3/4 House 2121 Vine Street 45202 Shelter: Youth Health 421-0065 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile for 26 issues Center Independent Living Options Peaslee Neighborhood Center 241-2600 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Goodwill Industries Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House 381-0111 771-4800 579-8547 721-4811 1223 Main St. 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 $100 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio FreeStore/FoodBank 762-5660 Shelter: Men Medical Van 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street 45202 15 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 M a y 19 - J u n e 1, 2 0 17 | N o . 35 6 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GINA MARTIN GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GLENDA CANTRELL GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JONATHAN SLATER SINCE 5/2014 JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 LOTTIE MANNER MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 19-June 1, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director A real Prospect for Political Reform Pg 3: Border Stories Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Not-So-Fake-News from Early America Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: Hostile Design Pg 8: “It’s Impossible to Count the number of Lives Michael Stoops Changed” Pg 9: Refugee Couple Fight to be Reunited for their Wedding Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Where Do We Go from Here? Pg 12: “To Thine Own Self Be True” Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 19-June 1, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Sr. Nicole Varnerin Michael Earl Patton Dr. Mark Mussman Steve Sunderland Bobby Morris Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Alice Schneider Google images Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alice Schneider Bill Woods Bobby Morris Border Stories Congress Dr. Mark Mussman Google Images Josh Spring Kim Green Michael Earl Patton Michael Stoops Ohio politics reform Refugee Sr. Nicole Varnerin Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones 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/5b243391ecc5f898ee983d5637b43e65.pdf d2a4166b7502298a565126ab1bb9a1e2 PDF Text Text Hypocrisy Running Rampant At All Levels of Government! 11 by Donald Whitehead In all my time as an advocate for the rights of low-income people, I have never been as discouraged as I am today. I have witnessed unprecedented hypocrisy at work. The most unsettling fact about this hypocrisy is it runs rampant, not unlike some deadly bacteria throughout Local, State and National Govern­ mental bodies. The extremely discouraging part is that, the effects of this hypocrisy will only continue the all out assault on the poorest among us. The first hypocritical decision comes from the national level. In several cities across the U.S. Public Housing Authorities (PHA's) have started demonstra­ tion projects that insure that the problem of homelessness will continue to increase. In several cities across the country new design funded by HUD's HOPE YI program. The HOPE YI program, which after a decades long ban on demolition, is making $2.6 billion available to raze I00,000 dwelling units that house the section of the housing population with the biggest gap in housing. While the name itself is Hypocrltfcal (how can we call any program HO PE that demolishes much needed housing). The most contro­ versial aspect of the HO PE VI program is that it will reduce the number of public housing units. In nearly every case the government is demolishing more units than it is replacing and, in order to achieve a mixed population, is allotting only about one third of the new units to public housing. Low-income renters who are denied replacement units will receive vouchers or certificates to supplement rents in the private housing market, where a tremendous gap in affordable units already exist. Along with the scarcity of units, with congress continuing to slash HUD budget since 1995, the federal housing budget has shrunk by 25%. Public housing alone has been cut fro m $8 billion per year to $6 billion. Congress is at this moment considering eliminating a rese rve fund targeted to renewing expiring project based section 8 contracts and using those funds for disaster relief: in effect trading one disaster for others. The second and possibly the biggest and most troubling incidence of hypocrisy comes at the state level. Ohio became the first big state to turn grants from President Clinton's new program to create job opportunities for the hardest-to-employ welfare recipients. Ac­ cording to Governor George Voinovich the money is not needed for: a 'new", somewhat duplicat­ ing grant with a lot of red tape. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Hermann was "very disappointed" by Ohio's decision: "We know that $88 million in welfare-to-work funding could be very helpful in areas like Cleveland, Toledo and Youngstown." Labor Department Officials said they expect most states to sign on to the 'welfare to work" program, but they were surprised when Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and Mississippi decided to pass up on a slice of the $3 billion set aside for needy families. Since this money was targeted to the hardest-to-employ welfare recipients, the decision not to take the set aside adds weight to the assumption that improving the quality of life is me rely an afterthought to policy makers behind welfare reform in Ohio. Money from the set aside could have been used for very innova­ . tive programs for the hard to serve. In Michigan, Continued on page 13 Homeless and Others Exploited In Hazardo.us Jobs WASHINGTON (CNN)- U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno on Friday stepped up her agency's fight against the "criminal" and "cruel" labor practice of hiring homeless men and others to remove toxic asbestos and do other hazardous jobs without proper training and equipment. Contents Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page Page 2 2 3 4 5 6· 7 8 10 11 14 15 Steps Update NCH Meeting News Welfare News National Civil Rights The Visible Homeless Arts and Poetry Nationwide Opals Story letters and Editorials Crossword and Games Elsen Update Announcements She said there have been a series of inci­ dents in which homeless men, teenagers or workers hired by the day were used to carry out hazardous jobs, such as stripping asbestos from buildings. Asbestos is a hazardous substance known to cause cancer in humans. (281 K/24 sec. AIFF or W AY sound) Reno announced the indictments of three contractors in Madison, Wisconsin, on charges of improperly removing asbestos from a manufactur­ ing plant. The contractors transported untrained homeless men from a Tennessee soup kitchen to Wisconsin and used them to remove asbestos," she said. The indictment also included charges that the cont ractors fraudulently used other people's social security numbers for the homeless men, so they could carry out the asbestos removal. Federal authorities have tightly regulated the removal of asbestos, which Reno described as a "deadly pollutant." "Knowingly removing asbestos improperly is criminal. Exploiting the homeless and other vulnerable people to do this is simply cruel," Reno said at a news conference in Washington. "That's why we are so serious about stopping this type of crime and preventing it from happening elsewhere." A worker, wearing protective clothing, removes asbestos in accordance with Federal Standards and Local Laws. The Wisconsin case is the latest in a series of such incidents that have been reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In January, the owners of a warehouse in Miami were sentenced to five months in prison for illegally using homeless men to strip 1,600 square feet of asbestos ceiling. The men, who had no special training or equipment, apparently were unaware of the dangers posed to their health. "You might be abl~ to get away with one exposure and not have any negative r esults, but we cannot guarantee that. And the more often you are exposed, the higher your likelihood of developing cancer," the EPA's Cindy Fraleigh told CNN. It is common practice for homeless people to be recruited to do unskilled work, even though some of it is clearly dangerous, authorities said. The reason is simple: The homeless are anxious to work and accept low pay. But federal agencies hope their increased vigilance and aggressive prosecutions will help stop such abusive, hazardous practices. Reno appealed to the public to notify authorities if they learn about such incidents. CorrespondentJeanne Meserve contributed to this report. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 2 STREETVIBES 1heTriState'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 Donald Whitehead, Director Brett Zwolinski, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support James Heath, Coordinator Photo~ Concerned citizens turn out to protest closing ofKlotter Street Steps. Update On Hlllslde Step Clo.sure James Oimmy) Heath Writers Ron Carter Brian Davis James Heath Andy Hutzel Lemuel Israel Berta Lambert Paul Linden Judith Mendriski Patrick MosoJf Gregory Payton Mark Salter Mataka Sanders Penelope Welz Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Brett Zwolinski Volunteer Editors Lemuel Israel Paul Linden Pat Morris Bonnie Neumeier Editorial Polley: 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 fo llowing address: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (S 13) 421-7803 fax (513) 42 1-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch Quote of the Month: "In 20 years America will be as ashamed of homelessness as we were 30 years ago about civil rights... " by Eunice Revena On Thursday April 9th, a Holy Thursday prayer service was held at the Baymiller steps to pray for all those effected by poverty, racism and segregation in our city. Over fifty concerned citizens braved the rainy weather to voice their concern over the step closure. Rev. Bruce Hinkley led us in prayer and invited all to step forward and share their witnes·s. Speakers included representatives of the ORCC (Over the Rhine Community Council), residents of West McMicken and the West End Community Council. The mantra was clear- OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN STEPS! Upon returning home from our celebration of community at the Baymiller steps, many of us received phone calls from Todd Portune's office regarding the Public Works Committee recommen­ dation for the proposed method of step closure. A mailing followed . From the desk ofJoseph Charlton, acting director of Public Works, and approved by city manager john Shirey, the city engineer, Mark Ginty, requested the following: *On the Baymiller steps an eight foot chain link fence to be erected across the right of way. midway between W. McMicken Street. and Klotter. Resi­ dents are concerned about loss of park space and potential loss of the basketball courts which are on the "Klotter side" of the park. The city will also REMOVE five flights of steps on the upper level and grade the area. Again, concerns are raised. If this is a temporary measure, why would steps be removed? Sounds permanent! *On the Freeman Avenue stairway , an eight foot chain link fence will go across Atlas Alley at the bottom of the steps. This will limit all access to the steps from McMicken Street.. *On the Kress Alley stairway, the top flight of steps will be removed and the lower portion will be railed off. The letter states that the Public Works staff worked closely with the KHA (Klotter Homeowners Association) to determine safe and secure measures of closure. This effort will cost city caxpayers $10,000. What's next? The police division of the safety department will evaluate crime statistics for a year to determine if the closure has been effective. (There­ fore, if you witness a crime on Klotter St. in the next year, then be sure to report it just to make sure the stats are not manipulated by anyone's agenda!). They will report back in June 1999. Anyone with questions can call Mark Ginty (city engineer), at 352­ 5291. As can be expected, this report was unsatisfac­ tory to the Over-The-Rhine residents. A delegation of ten went to the Public Works Committee Monday, April 13th, to express disapproval and suggest a creative compromise such as a gate which should be opened during the day and closed at night. And once again, Community Council left city hall feeling unheard and disappointed. Remember these occurrences when you vote. The public works committee is comprised of the following: Portune (D) 352-5302 (chair); Cissell (R) 352-3646 (vice chair); Sterne 352-3604; Yates (D) 352-3643. News From Natlonal Coalltlon Board Meeting by Barbara Anderson An exciting trip to Washington as those of us with the National Coalition for the Homeless traveled for the annual Spring Board Meeting. Several key things happened, among them was my appoint­ ment to the Executive Committee to the Board of Directors. This will require four face to face meetings per year and monthly conference calls, so the updates from Indiana will involve a monthly newslet­ ter. The following resolutions were made and should be require some input from you for me to carry to the next Board meeting: I) Civil Rights: a resolution committing to seeking protected Class status for all those persons who are homeless and for those living under I00% of poverty. The latter to include homeless not meeting federal definitions because lack of shelter as 'Natlonal Meeting' cont. on page 7 �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Athens County: Impact of Welfare Reform on Rural Communities to happen. Caseworkers are required to try to work with the recipient to avoid having to issue the sanction. They notify recipients by mail that a sanction will be imposed unless the recipient takes action. Kathryn Madd, Director of APAC, informed us, "We have a good relationship with the Athens County Welfare Department. They really try to work hard with the recipients to help them. We used to have to do battle with them all the time." However, the county welfare department is still required to enforce policy that is mandated by the Ohio Department of Human Services and the Federal welfare law, regardless of its harshness. Education First by Lynn Williams of the Ohio EmpowermentCoafiffon by Lynn Williams On April 6th, members of the Ohio Empower­ ment Coalition traveled to Athens County to meet with APAC (Appalachian People's Action Coalition), Rural Action, and an ABLE program of the At.hen's Department of Human Services. We were very interested in hearing about how welfare "reform" under Ohio Works First is impacting welfare recipients in the southeastern part of Ohio and in a mostly rural area of the state. We were able to meet with workfare participants at APAC and Rural Action. APAC has a program to train welfare recipients in practical job skills (building mainte~ nance, drywalling, and repairing furniture) that will potentially lead to employment. Jerry Dickerson, who leads this program, is a recipient himself. Rural Action also trains recipients in a similar manner, only in fields of office work, including computer skills. Curt Barnes, a former recipient, oven- rhe program. We asked questions about what kinds of workfare jobs recipients are being assigned elsewhere in Athens County. Jerry stated that some workfare recipients he knows of are being assigned to do road repair: filling in roads in back­ breaking work while the paid workers supervise them from air-conditioned trucks. He stated that the workfare participants are jeered at by the paid supervisors. From reading over the Athens County Welfare Plan which recently went into effect, and from speaking with Warren, a caseworker, it appears that the Athens County Department of Human Services places emphasis on education for recipients. An ABLE program teacher, Joe McGowan, who showed us around his center, spoke enthusiastically about the importance of ABLE programs to the county welfare department. Athens County has allowed as many recipients as possible to stay in G. E. D. programs and higher education, counting as part of the work requirement. Caseworkers are clear ly trained to inform recipients of the allowable hours for education. Warren stated that the education of recipients is extremely important to the local department. However, along with Curt Barnes of Rural Action, he stated that unemployment is very high in Athens County. Most jobs are in the "ser­ vice" area of fast food. He added that Ohio Univer­ sity was also a major jobs provider. To this, Jerry and some of his staff replied that the University jobs do not go to recipients, but to college students from outside the area. Time limits are a real threat to the recipients of Athens County due to the scarcity of jobs. What will happen to these people? Jerry of APAC stated that many people live at far below poverty level in jobs that don't even pay a minimum wage. They are eeking out an existence through a variety of odd jobs. It is a hard life. If their transportation falls through, such as a car breaking down, it can be extremely tough surviving out in the rural areas of Athens County. Some other thoughts: The Athens County Department sends out a pre-sanction letter to a recipient warning them that a sanction is about . . The young mother shared her story with us. "I was able to get almost through college by living on what welfare provided my baby and me to live on. I've got ambition. I want $30,000 a year building a career in what I want to do with my life. Now my caseworker has given me such a hard time about going to college, that I can't take it anymore." She broke down into sobs at the thought of the ordeal she had recently gone through. "He said I shouldn't be going to college if I'm on welfare. That I didn't need welfare if I was in college. I know I am doing the right thing for myself and my daughter by trying to get my college degree." Now that the Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was enacted into law in 1996, only 20% of welfare recipients are permitted to count education and vocational training as the full work requirement. By this rule, it appears that the Federal Government is actively discouraging welfare recipients from getting an education, whether a GED or a college degree. Teenagers on assistance who are trying to get their High School degree or GED are included in this 20%. Individuals who completed their college degrees in the past before the "we lfare reform" movement, who were allowed to go to college and be on assistance, describe that they could not have succeeded without the assistance. One woman, Judi Mendriski, shared with us, "Way back when I was on welfare, I wanted to do something to become more employable. I was able to stay on welfare for the six years it took me to get my degree. Because of welfare, I was able to get my education and support my daughter and myself at the same time." She added, "It was not a rosy time though! Even though I was doing what I want ed to be doing, going to college, it was still rough. The benefit checks were very small. The welfare caseworkers were very dehumanizing. I felt degraded the whole time I was on welfare." She too is drawn to tears at the memory of the ordeal of fighting for her and her baby's survival. The idea that recipients are raking in the money while on assistance is ill-founded and far form the reality. In 48 states, welfare payments and food stamps combined only come to a total of approxi­ mately 75% of the poverty line. In some states, especially the South, the percentage is more like 40­ 50% of poverty. Only two states pull families out of poverty while on welfare: Alaska and Hawaii. Another woman, Cassandra Barham, who is now employed full-time at a job she loves, was able to get her GED while on public assistance. The income support helped her to focus her energies on her edut"ation in a way she couldn't have done without the income support. Ohio Works First requires a recipient to work at least twenty hours each week at a job, and allows only IQ_hours for education. On top of this, many recipients are Page 3 par~nts with small children; they must work in Hamilton County if their children are as young as three months old. Cassandra strongly believes that these policies should be changed. " It should be reversed with education, including post-secondary education, given the priority over minimum wage jobs," she emphatically states. " It's called 'Ohio Works First,' not 'Education First'," she adds. With the passage of Ohio Works First, Ohio's welfare law that went into effect on October I st, 1997, what is being practiced and what is in the law, which includes the 1996 Federal mandate, are two different stories. Recipients are contacting the Welfare Rights Coalition stating that their casework­ ers never mentioned they could include education hours as apart of their work requirement. One caseworker told a mother of two that she could include education hours to get her GED only if she had exhausted all search to fill up the 30 hours with work. This mother ended up in a temporary minimum wage job without benefits at a fast food restaurant. Another woman, who has dreams of becoming a beautician, is now told she must drop out of her beauty college to attend the CASH program. She is already going to college full-time, six days a week. She is understandably angry that she must leave this commitment to attend CASH, which is full-time for two weeks. In a phone conver­ sation, she asked, "How do caseworkers get this much power to decide what I will or won't do with my life?" Our answer is this: APPEAL! APPEAL! APPEAL! Do not hesitate to demand a hearing. If you are unhappy w ith a caseworker's decision o r do not t hink it is fair, APPEAL! Personal Responsibility Agreements are supposed to be contracts between two parties, both in agreement, who have worked out a plan TOGETHER. Otherwise they should be renamed, Pe rsonal Responsibility Coercion. One fi nal point to recognize: if you want to go to college, you are legally allowed I040 hours {the first year) of college to count as the full work requirement. You will probably have to fight hard to be allowed to do this. After the first year, you can legally use a ratio of 15 hours work to 15 hours post-secondary education. It is almost a surety, given the current atmosphere, to push work as a priority over education, that you will have to bring your choice to a hearing. It will be a struggle. One thing is for sure: it will be a struggle to get any benefits of any kind every step of the way. Subscribe to Streetvlbes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be pur­ chased for $12 per year. Please se nd a check to the below addre ss a nd the paper will be maile d to you each issue. Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Ple ase make checks payable to the Greate r Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibe s. If you have any que stions, call 421-7803. c • �__ r..,<-::--0____ ,.._,__~ STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine NATIONAL HOMELESS GROUP STARTS CIVIL RIGHTS. PROJECT Staff people at each location will work to bring together the efforts of a ll local homeless advocacy groups and to fortify efforts in communities that are resource­ poor. People who are or were homeless will be hired to fill all field staff and AmeriCorps VISTA positions created by NHCROP. It is too often the case that the harsh­ est anti-homeless attacks occur in those communities that lack t he resources to organize an immediate, effective response. NHCROP will make it much easier for such locales to hook into the knowledge, experiences and resources of other civil rights efforts in order to improve their ability to best protect the civil rights of people who are homeless. Washington, DC - The N ational Coalition for the Home less ( NCH) is la unching a N ational H o m e less Civil Rights O rganizing Project (NHCROP). Mary Ann Gleason, NCH Executive Director, recently outlined the civil rights concerns of homeless Americans in a meeting with officials of the US Department ofJustice. Ultimately, NHCROP will: *Show the simila.rities between tactics used by different local governments, ·*organize a well-planned counter-campaign against existing or proposed anti-homeless laws, and, *support groups attempting to set up or expand documentation efforts. The Pro ject will star t with e ig ht orga­ niz ing posts in diffe re n t r egions of the country: East, Midwest, Southeast, North­ west and Southwest, plus a natio nal office in W ashington, DC. Proposed field offices include Atlanta, Chicago. Cincinnati. Los Angeles, Portland, OR., San Francisco, Jeffersonville, IN., and Washing­ ton, DC. NHCROP Committee Members urge local communities to document and forward any anti­ homeless activities in local communities to the National Coalition for the Homeless. " By defi nition, pe ople who are homeless live in public. A lack of housing forces them to do in public what everyone prefers to do in private. This indignity is one of the many reasons we seek to end homelessness," says Gleason. "Unfortunately, it has also become the battleground for the most fundamental defense of people who happen to be homeless: the right to exist." In cities with an admitted lack of day shelters and few jobs that pay a living wage, people who are homeless sometimes rest at bus stops or on side­ walks. " Our primary objective is to publicly build suppo r t for our e fforts to stop anti­ homeless legislation in our cities while building a fram ework in which home lessness is e r a d icated from our nation," said G leason. Always with you, Always with· me by Brett Zwollnskl *Tucson, Arizona, has made it unlawful to be at a bus stop for more than 30 minutes. *Police in Seattle, Washington, have been instructed to fine or arrest people who are homeless for sitting on the sidewalk. mountains we climb and seas we traverse time we buy and life passes by in my mind there is but only o ne thought... maddening horror, pent up fear illusions, inebriating crimes told again and again, the story of mine whose life are we seeing? how and when did it all begin? In cities with an admitted lack of affordable housing, people who are homeless are forced to carry t.heir worldly goods with them wherever they go. *In Beverly Hills, California, it is a crime punishable by a fine or jail time to set baggage down on the sidewalks. *In Georgetown, a trendy part of Washington, DC, an 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 acknowledgment of insufficient housing options, the city mothers and fathers of Dallas, Texas, and many other cities across this country (including Phoenix, Jacksonville, Columbus, Boston, Austin, New Orleans, Long Beach, Virginia Beach, Atlanta, Sacramento, Tulsa, Miami and Buffalo) have made it illegal to camp or sleep in a park. times immemorial, death unveiled empty and bleeding, caroused and cheating to let go... Now we hold on even t ighter grasp for breath of fresh air; ahhh... the spirit released ... earth inhaled to our nostrils becoming one with yourself in passionate fit rage and rancor, tearing at flesh killing me softly, taking my breath love is liberty, love is freedom love is mercy, love is justice . . ... . ,,. ,1- · • . • • . ~. --":'.::. :-...- · ' The Cruclble by Mark Salter On February 19, 1998 I was invited to Finneytown High School to see the play " The Crucible." The play was performed by Finneytown High School students-some of these students are regular volunteers at the Drop Inn Center and ReSTOC. I would like to give a special thanks to Steve Elliot. for his dedication and consistent endeavors at the Drop Inn Center and ReSTOC. I would also like to give an extra special thanks to the students. The team of students that Mr. Elliot has assembled are sincere and have great potential to become our future leaders. The students who volunteer at the D.l.C. played the following parts in Arthur Millers, "The Crucible." Katy McHugh portrayed Abigail Williams, David Dewar portrayed Giles Cory, Emily Kuschner portrayed Mary Warren, and lohn Proctor was played by John Rotterman. Now the characters themselves were personified as people with strength, wisdom, and integrity. Some people living today don't have these qualities. I was amazed by the fact that I know the people who portrayed the characters. The students did a very good job. I was appalled, angry, befuddled, empathetic and saddened because these events actually took place: people lives were forfeited in God's name and what they believed was right. One paradox of the trials regarding the witch hunt, to see if a woman was a witch, they would tie her in a burlap sack and throw her in the river. If the woman floated she was deemed a witch. And if she drowned she was not a witch. Do witch hunts still exist today? Are there any para­ doxes of this type today. I feel that the witch trials had something to do with a certain class of people. As for Abigail, I didn't see her as insane, but as a young woman with passion for her beliefs. Abigail noticed the hypocrisy of those who were in control of the society in which she lived. This stuck out for me because I can relate to her experience. Some­ times it is class, elitism. and hypocrisy which makes the call. Abigail had to exorsize some demons, however a human life was forfeited. In today's society how often is a human life forfeited or sacrificed because someone else deems it necessary? I felt as if all the role-players in the play were expressing actual sentiments, having a chance to act out some of those feeling and emotions. _ The tn.Je blessing was having Mr. Elliot transport me to and from the play. The additional blessing was watching Katy McHugh perform, to see her smile with satisfied exhaustion at the end was a real treat. Once again I would like to thank Ms. McHugh, Mr. Dewar, 'Ms. Kuschner and Mr. Rotterman for giving I 00% of themselves and having the courage to go where only a few dare to go. Thanks Katy for not wanting to be anyone other than yourself. I shall keep a special place for you all in my prayers, my mind, and my heart. May God bless you all. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• " The fl aws in this effort to c riminalize home lessness are as numerous as t hey are obvio us. Though no one should ever have to sleep in a park or beg for food, making those acts into criminal offenses does not help the people driven by desperation to commit them. These city ordinances (and similar state statutes) are misguided because they seek to hide homeless people, not end homelessness," said NCH Board Member and Civil Rights Committee Co-chair Paul Boden from San Francisco. • • :.- . ;, ;J" Page 4 CHECK OUT MORE POETRY ON PAGE SIX. •. IF YOU WRITE POETRY AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOUR WORK IN STREETVIBES, CALL 421-7803 OR FAX US AT 421-7813 •.... :. .. ·- ·•o I ... ~ \ .... - .,. ,rt, Support Your Local Vendor... Tell A Friend About Streetvi bes I r• . �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page s to see me become another statistic? The Vlslble Homeless... It's not the end, though; the cycle will remain broken in my family. I look at this as just a huge hurdle to get over. All of us here have our own perso nal problems and reasons to succeed in life. guess this is just a wake-up call to remember where you come fro m and why you're here, to think about your future and everyone else who helped you to this point. Jail is no joke. If any of you ever want to t ruly have a sense of what slavery was like, do so mething to get arrested. After a trip to the general popula­ tion, jo ining Shantytown and sleeping o utside is nothing. W hatever happens, as long as I can dream, I'll survive, because I know there will be a to morrow. Peace, and let's go o ne step fur ther than our parents to put an end to the cycle. Flndlay Market Outreach by Ron Carter View of the Stadium from the now-closed Dixie Terminal. Bringing an End to the Cycle by Te 'tro Amaru W ith so much knowledge. so much talent, and so many opportunities, why does it seem as if I'm destined to live in prison? So what if I'm young. black, and AmeriKKK's public enemy number one? Is there a law which states that if some other nigga hasn't killed him by age twenty-one, please lock him up? Loni and my Pops worked too hard to make a better life for me. My whole family has struggled and is still struggling for me. My younger brother and I are the last hope for the fam ily t~ live without worrying whether the next paycheck will cover all the bills or not. Where does the cycle end? I thought my father broke the cycle by raising two boyz on his own and sending us to college. Now it seems it was only temporary, since his oldest son is facing one co five years in the state penitentiary. How many times must I say, "No, I don't want to fight" ? How much must I allow myself to be manhandled before I say enough is enough? Obvi­ ously I have to let myself be pushed, shoved and grabbed around the throat without responding. Who's to blame for my skill with my fists and my "ghetto" sense to make sure you don't get up when you go down? So should I blame it on society, my north Philadelphia ghetto upbringing? Or should I blame it on my friends who said, "Yes, that's him, officer"? Ultimately, I have to blame myself fo r trusting the wrong people and trying to help someone I thought was a frien d in need. No one e lse in the place seemed to mind that a yo ung woman was being treated very disrespectfully. But it's not in my nature to join the crowd or be a leader- I'm just T e'tro. I should've known better; seeing that I had no intentions of laying that kid out, especially not w ith a slice o n his dome that Photo by Jimmy Heath needed eight stitches. For some reason, I thought I could be diplomatic and talk all the drama out of him. Now it seems I'll be going out like O .J. The most disappointing part about it is that we were both brothas, young black men. After seeing Minister Louis Farrakhan in the Omni Center in Atlanta, Georgia over the summer, I took a vow of peace- especially on behalf of my brothas. Farrakhan made me realize that there is no need for tension among anyone (white people included), no matter what color, but especially not amongst o urselves. And this man is portraye<I as an evil menace of some sort. Therefore, I devised a motto, "Peace or Rest in Peace." This simply means that if anyone feels that we can't sit and talk o ut our differences , coming to some sort of understanding, but is compelled to lay his hands on me- "God bless you, and rest in peace." I figure that if I have to send Someone to 6th and Green, that's less corruption and tension someone else has to deal with. There's no need for violence, tension, drama or whatever. It may sound corny, but "Why can't we all just get along?" One minute I'm signing autographs for little youngsters during the "Colored Museum" reception, telling them to stay strong and realize that knowl­ edge is the key. The next minute I'm sitting in a jail cell telling myself that one to five years isn't the end of my life, believing I can still make things better for my "fams" and thinking about what 's going to happen with "Colored Museum" without me. Stuff like this makes you realize how easy it is to go from that top-of-the-world feeling to the low-man-on-the­ totem-pole one. . On the loud note, much respect goes to Cathy Kuhlman as a friend and a director for going against the grain and giving Xavier some needed culture with the all-black play. And to everyone who was against the play and even threatened to petition against it, thanks for the generous support , and don't even part your lips to speak 'cause I know who you are. And it doesn't even matter whether it was due to greed o r racism; save it! Anyway, where does the cycle end? O bviously not when you get to college, although a lot of us would like to think we're separate form the outside world. Pops al...;ays says, "Success breeds success," but when? And what will determine my success? Everyone was proud to see the first generation of the family make it to college. How many will be proud My first day at the Market wasn't a very pleasant day. It was cold and people were not too friendly. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get what they came to the market for and to get out of the cold. That day I was trying to get some signa­ tures on my Klotter Street steps petition, but the people I tried to talk to said that either they didn't live down here in OTR or they didn't know where Klotter Street was. One lady did listen for a few minutes and then said to tell them to leave the steps open because closing them would not help the crime rate anyway. Some of the people thought I was t rying to sell them something and didn't give me a chance to let them know why I was there. So, I decided to get a new plan of act.ion for the following week since I knew I would have a table set up in the Market House. I made some signs to hang on the walls around my table so everyone would know my reason for being there. When I went back the following weeks with my "Keep Vine Stre et A One Way Street" petition and my signs on the wall, it was a different story. The weather was nicer and so were the people. At this point, I have collected over four hundred signatures from the shoppers at Findlay Market, all in favor of "One-Way Vine." One young lady said that when Vine was a two-way street, she was hit by a car there and certainly didn't want to have part in a two-way Vine. From talking with a lot of people, their main concern was the safety of their kids crossing the street and thinking that cars are coming from one direction instead of two. Residents in the general community and none of the OTR residents seem to be in agreement that the money could be or. should be used to improve the looks of Vine Street. Well, I think I will sign off for now because it's time to get my game plan ready for my next visit to the market. I'll be writing a new report in June, so until then, fairwell. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine A Trio In a Gazebo One Night by Dan Gi bbons NOW, WHO WILL LEAD THE WAY? buddy, you led the way to help the downtrodden people, who could not help themselves; Homeless, Low-Income Housing, you, with "in-your-face­ confrontational-attitude" Now, who will lead the way? Earnest, you led the way with the Civil Rights Movement, bussing and discrimination, you, w ith your quiet & yet, steadfast attitude; Now, who will lead the way? Mac, you led the way, empowered people for a peaceful planet; fought for arms disarmament, you, w ith your quiet voice, put up a hard & strong fight; Now, who will lead the way? All of you, were branded Radicals, T roublemakers, Renegades; All had the strength of giants; NOW, W HO WILL LEAD THE WAY? Walk A Llttle Plalner Daddy Walk a little plainer daddy, Said a little boy so frail I'm following in your footsteps And I don't want to fail. Sometimes your steps are very plain. Sometimes they are hard to see; So walk a little plainer daddy For you are leading me. I know that yo once walked this way Many years ago. And what you did along the day I really like to know. For sometimes when I am tempted, I don't know what to do. To walk a little plainer daddy For I must follow you. Someday when I'm grown up You are like I want to be. T hen I will have a little boy Who will want to follow me. And I would wnat to lead him right And help him to be true. So walk a little plainer daddy Fo r we must follow you. I hear their magic. their music ever so faintly, A rhythmic tap, tinkle, a complex jingle. It wafts as softly to me as a summer whisper From an angel granddaughter surrendering to sleep. An alto fiddle song brightens my midnight silence, While the plung-De-plung-plung guitar blends and fills The hearing spaces '"".ith gracious supporting strums. Twang-a-pluck, pluck, twang a banjo tempts me to Come- Find- Dance! Dance the ageless reel! Brindle leather boots tap, hop in rhythm, On the work worn wooden planks of a real America. I want to dash, leap dance into the midst of this trio And throw my head like the morning-fresh horse. But I stay back, embraced all by the night To watch, listen, and solitary dance While this trinity of musicians melodically soars, Celebrating each other and their-our music. Long stood I, but never did I leap into their midst. It would seem a noisy pratfall in St. Paul's Cathedral, Or a sticky hand on Michelangelo's ceiling to do so. I thank God then and now .that I happened On this small band that soft midnight this summer. T heir magic, their music, still live for me; "Can you hear it?" Page 6 Undying Love by Larry Ushby She speaks to me in hushed tones. I look to the heavens to seek her face. But I cannot find her. She speaks once again. I look once more to seek her... But still I cannot find her. I close my eyes and she speaks I hear her. The small, still voice says she loves me. My heart beats wildly when I hear those words That is when she gives to me her Undying Love I Hear You On the phone...all alone You had the nerve to say "I miss you in a special way" Explained all that you did today The unpacking was going well Talked about the drive from hell I thought, he is crazy He must be. 'Though I'm glad he arrived safely" So you say there are plans for us. I bought a ticket for the bus Packed a bag and off I go Because I miss you- and you me so. You had so much to say About us two when times were gay, There is only one thing left to say I hear you! Thank you Russ, Judy, Warren and Barbara. Never surrender a smidgen ~f your specialness. A Slngle Woman's Prayer Dear God, I've faced another day, Praying true love would come my way. I give my cares, and woes to you. Knowing you will see me through. Praying you will send a brother, Who wants more that a convenient lover. Someone who is kind, and gentle Softly sweet, sane not mental. Someone who can see in me All the reatness that's in me. Who will be a guiding light, When I can't sleep late at night. Who will give me space to work things o ut, Whenever there is even far doubt. He who'll be my perfect mate, I'd prefer that he be straight. Accept my strength and never fear Or cause my ~ye to black and tear. But most of all, before I end, Make this man my dearest friend. STREETVIBES Sweat and T-Shirts! Only $5 for T's, $10 for Sweats. STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine 100% White Cotton Shirts and long Sleeve Sweat Shirts XL Purple logo T-shirts and Sweat Shirts are available at our office at 1506 Elm Street. Please stop ~y and see us. �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Homeless Man turns out to be ploneerl.ng dancer 'Natlonal Meeting' continued from page 2 in small and rural communities. 2) A statement of commitment to deal with the census: as the-census approaches what will we do as a coalition commu­ nity. Will we again attempt to count or boycott the count:? Please forward your thoughts on this issue. 3) Please contact your local legislators representing you in Washington: HR 3206 is on the Hill and will do significant damage to Fair Housing if passed. Please encourage a NO vote to 3206 so that Fair Housing is maintained at the level. it is today. 4) Please ask your Indiana legislator to sign on to HR 74 and SB 1503, (Lugar and Coats). This is the Voting Rights for the Homeless bill. It is time for the rest of the country to get on board. 5) OSCHA Testimony was interesting: the NCH position was reinforced and we basically as a group said one size does not fit all. Please look at Tuberculosis as the disease it is and avoid a panic. The Judge and panel were very responsive and we feel they will at least attempt to listen to the development of rules that will be responsive to the homeless community in a general sense and not confine us to a "blanket" approach to dealing with a very serious problem. 6) NCH and Staff and Board Members met with Bill Lee of the Justice Department and discussed including homeless people in current actions involving hate crimes: they have assured us that we could begin to make our case but there were ho promises made. 7) An old friend, Ira Peppercorn is now with HUD. He, Bill Faith, Andrew Cuomo and I met recently. Bill Faith has been working with Mark St. John and ICHHI on a Balance of State Super NOFA. (Federal Funding Availability). Secretary Cuomo encouraged us to make the process happen. Please call me (Barbara Anderson) at (812) 284-3373 for further discussions on these matters. Help Wanted Catholic Worker House 1437 Walnut Street, OTR Shelter for 15 homeless men needs house staff member. Should be able to Interact with formerly homeless men and be wll/lng to work flexible hours. New.York- Arthur Bell, a 71 year-old man, was found homeless and disoriented on a Brooklyn street last month, barely standing, his feet frozen. He told paramedics that he was once a ballet dancer in Paris. "And they went, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,"' recalled social worker Maria Mackin. Bell's medical chart after all, noted possible signs of dementia. But during the days that followed, Bell would tell Mackin tales of Paris and London, Frederick Ashton, Margot Fonteyn, Olga Preobrajenskaya, Katherine Dunham and James Baldwin. " He started telling me things that only some­ one who was really in the dance world would know. And I thought, 'This is not dementia,"' said Mackin, who happened to have been a ballet photographer at one time. She also saw that Bell was "incredibly graceful...slender, sleek." The accuracy, the richness of detail and the clarity with which he spoke led her to the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Bell's story checked out. He had been a pioneering black ballet dancer. Though he was no star, he left his artistic mark on the I940's and 50's, "when there was no place for African-Americans in classical ballet," said Madeleine Nichols, curator of the dance collection at the library. Bell worked odd jobs after his dance career ended but can't remember how he wound up on the street, where he had been living for months in the dead of winter. His last address was a men's shelter. He would have been sent back there had Mackin not intervened. Now he's in a nursing home, recuperat­ ing from frostbite on his feet and legs. "I convinced them that he needed a higher level of care," Mackin said. " I said, 'This is a guy who was a pioneer in the dance world. He's special, he's an important part of African-American culture. We should go out of our way to help him."' Before she became a social worker, Mackin was a photographer for Capezio, the dance shoe com­ pany. She took photos of dance greats such as Rudolf Nureyev and Bob fosse. When Bell was rescued off the street, "the very first thing I asked was, 'Do you have Medicare?'" Mackin recalled. "And he said, 'Oh, I'm not really sure. We didn't have to worry about these things when I lived in Paris and London; it's a different medical system.' And I thought, oh, this is a very sophisticated man. That was an awakening from my usual clients." "I asked, 'What were you doing in Paris?"' And his story began to unfold. The eldest of a Florida preacher's nine children, Bell finished high school and got on a bus to New York. He quickly found a job in the garment district and started taking dance classes with Dunham. He moved to Paris in the early 50's, where, he said, he lived in the same rooming house as Baldwin, the writer. He danced with the Ballets de la Tour Eiffel while studying with Preobrajenskaya. the retired Russian ballerina. In 1950, Ashton the great British choreographer, chose him as a guest soloist in the New York City Ballet's world premiere of "Illuminations." Page 7 ANOTHER CLASS PRODUCTION Disc-Jockey Service CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761·3464 (513) 230-6353 Community Celebration. live Music! Every Sunday -6PM Free of Charge Nast-Trinity United Methodist Church 1320 Race St Cincinnati 721-7339 11 11 In Memory of Mac Who Believed In Human Rights For Everyone & Who Founded Justice Watch••• Because 'Everyone' included Prisoners and Former Prisonors. Jimmy Heath Photography Cincinnati - (SU) S64-98S6 E-Mail - jimmy_ heath@juno . com Friends and Neighbors of Over-the-Rhine An Organization Seeking Justice for People in Cincinnati's Most Endangered Community ~------------------1 Subscribe to STREE'TVIBESI For only $12 per year you can have STREETVIBES delivered to your home every month. National and Local Stories on Issues regarding homelessness and the poor. News, Information, Personal Stories and more, written every month by homeless and formerly homeless persons.•. Send Check or Money Order for $12 to: StreelYibes C/0 Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Bm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 For more information, call Patrick at 381-4941 or send resume. I • �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 8 OPAL STANDS HER GROUND TO SAVE HOME Streetvlbes lnterYlew by Bonnie Neumeier The following is an interview by Streetvibes (SV) reporter, Bonnie Neumeier, with Opal Martin, a life time resident of Over-the-Rhine. She recently received a "Notice to Vacate the Premises" from the Cincinnati Department of Buildings and Inspections. Under local ordinance, a Notice to Vacate termi­ nates a tenant's obligation to pay rent Beginning in February, Opal placed her rent in escrow with the Hamilton County Municipal Court. The Over-the­ Rhine Community Council joined as a plaintiff in this case against the landlord, Wally Ebert (Phoenix Enterprises), because one of its top priorities is the improvement of housing conditions in Over-the­ Rhine. Together with Opal we are working to pressure Mr. Ebert to fix up his building or appoint a receiver who will take good care of the building and allow Opal and her family to stay. There was a court date set (or April I 7th, at which time Mr. Ebert did not show. judge Melba Marsh set a continuance date (or May 8th. Streetvibes feels this story is important to print because this kind of neglect can potentially make a family homeless. In this case, Opal is standing up (or her rights. SV: H ow long ha ve you lived in Ove r­ the-Rhine, Opal? OPAL: All my life. I started renting from Wally in 1986. Twelve years now. I live at 21 I Woodward Street. I've lived in four of his buildings. SV: W e've heard that you w e re willing to escrow your r e nt re ce ndy and I'd like to get yo ur st o ry and sit uation for the STREETVIBES N e wspaper . Would you t e ll me about your story? OPAL: It started back when I came into my yard from the schoolhouse. I found a note on my door telling me to get out by March Ist. It was coming from the City. And I was going: "Why did the City want me out for?" It got me scared and everything. So I went over to Peaslee and talked to this lady named Bonnie. Bonnie talked to me about getting a lawyer from Legal Aid. We met him. His name is Gary. And I told Gary it got scar1 when I came home and found a note on the dcor. So me and Gary tried to look for the Landlord. We did find the Landlord. He was pulling in, in his truck. I handed him the rent money. He acted like he didn't want it. So I took it down and put it in escrow. SV: C o uld yo u tell me a litde bit about the conditions of your building? Do you think Wally has taken care of your building w e ll in the last seve ral years? OPAL: Well, I think that the roof needs to be fixed better. Peoples telling me now it ain't really on top of the roof, but it's beside of the building. That's still dangerous though. The porches look pretty scary but I don't go up on the porches, so I don't know how strong they are. My apartment's okay. We keep it updated. We do it our own selves. SV: Who's the one doing the work mostly in your apartment? OPAL: The kids' father is. SV: So the Landlord hasn't done much lately? OPAL: Well, he's the type of Landlord who wants to run off and fool with other buildings instead of worryin' about his good tenants. He knows us being good tenants to him we'd be more willing to fix up the apartment 'cause we like it there where we live at. Opal Martin (right), with lntemewer Bonnie Neumeier . SV: Why w e re you willing to put your mone y into the Court instead of giving it to him directly? Why did you want to do that? What did you think would happen if you did that? OPAL: Okay. The only reason why I was willing to put my money anto escrow for, this way I want to stay in my neighborhood. I want to s.tay in my apartment. And I warnt to see what the judge will say about it and everything. And see how far it will carry on. 'Cause school is here too. My daughter's last year up at Rothenberg. That's another reason I went ahead and put my money in escrow. 'Cause she's in the 6th grade. Her last year up there. And I want her to be proud of all the work that she did. All the hassle that she went through, and be proud of it. It seems like they want to kick us out of downtown and put us somewhere else where we might not even want to go. It seems like they are taking our rights away from us... SV: So are you hoping that putting your rent in escrow it will pressure Wally to d o som e needed re pairs? OPAL: Oh I hope so. I hope that he under­ stands that ! am a good tenant. I want to stay in his building. I'm not a type of tenant that would tear up his property or destroy it or cheat him out of his money. Or do something terrible. I'm not like that. I just want to stay in his building. I like it here. SV: And you want to have a safe apartme nt, to have things fixe d up? OPAL: Yes. SV: Were other t e nants in the building willing to e scrow the ir rent? OPAL: They was but they weren't really sure how they was going to push Wally. They wasn't for Wally before. I don't know what all that agreement was about. Oh, I took my chance and put my money into escrow. SV: Whe re did you ge t the energy to stick your neck out? OPAL: 'Cause I see alot going on in my neighborhood and I like it. And I wish there was time where I can be a part of my community where I live at, but I don't know really how to go about it, to talk to other people about it. SV: You're doing fine, Opal. Can you say a little bit about why you like your neighborhood and what it means to you? OPAL: Well, everything is convenient for me to walk. I can walk to school. I can walk to my Photo by Jimmy Heath clinic. I can walk to Krogers. I can walk downtown to shopping centers. I don't have to worry about catchin' buses or taxi cabs. Or spend my money out on gas to just come down here to do all that. At least I live down here and I'm proud of it. Every­ thing is convenient for me. SV: Yo u've lived near Peaslee Ne igh­ borhood C e nte r fo r awhile. Have you done anything ove r the r e? OPAL: I came over to the Homework Room with my kids. And I found that there is some really nice people over there at Peaslee. My daughter started at the Homework Room back in 1989. And she done real good with it and everything. She started the steel drum band. too. That was wonder­ ful for her. SV: I know that you w e re active with a group of Mothers fighting for Ziegle r Park be hind Peaslee a n d next to yo ur house. Why did you put e ne rgy into Z iegle r Park? OPAL: Well, it's for the kids. I'm doing it for the kids downtown. I'm not just doin' it for one color. I was doin' it for all colors. 'Cause I've seen little bitty kids come in over there. Even my own kids. People'd be there playin' basketball. The ball would blow over there to the swings and slides. There would be a big argument over it. "Why don't you get your kid out of the way. Move your kid then." These were older kids. I mean eight or seven didn't have no where to play except for the rocket and fire truck. But the way it is now they have somethin' to play on. It looks a lot better. SV: What did yo u learn when you he lped to organize Mo m s t o go down to see the Mayor about Z iegle r? OPAL: I found out alot about the other parents who lives 'round here. They even stuck there neck out too. They seen J wasn't just pickin' on my own kids, but I was helpin' their kids too. SV: What w e re they going to do to the park if yo u hadn't fought for it? OPAL: I guess they were going to close it down and make a parkin' lot out of it. Or tear it down and build somethin' else there. SV: Yo u live right in the backyard of Main Street. Can you just t e ll me a little bit about what goe s o n a round the re and what's been happening the last several yea rs and how you feel a bo ut it? OPAL: At first Main Street was okay. It was real quiet. But now since they started buildin' these bars down here, you wouldn't believe what's goin' on around here at night time. At least around I :30 to 2:30 AM it's gettin' noisy. People throwin' their garbage out of their cars on to your street or in your yard. Anywhere they want to put it at. They don't use no garbage can. And they walk down the street with their bottles in their hands, wide open, act like they live down here. And mouthin', hollerin' and hoopin' carryin' on. I don't think that's right. Everybody should have respect for people. I don't �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine care where you live at. What kind of neighborhood you in. They should realize it. SV: So you feel t hey are not respecting the neighborhood p eople? OPAL: No they are not. • SV: What have you seen that t h ey have not resp ected? · OPAL: 'Bout two o'clock at night throwin' garbage in peoples' yards. I used to get up and clean up their mess, too. I mean it's terrible when you had to go out there and look in your yard and find somebody else's garbage layin' there from McDonald's or wherever. SV: Are you able to sleep at n ight? OPAL: Sometimes we are, unless they get too rowdy with their cars out there in the parkin' lot. Everybody will hot ride it. And act like they own the world. And we get out there and try to say somethin' to 'em. Heh! Calm your car down whatever. They drive on and holler out the window at ya. SV: Have you noticed anyt hing abo ut t he h o using on t he street since this change occurre d ? Have you been concerned about what's going o n ab out housing? OPAL: Well that housing part though. I'm glad we are getting more housing down here. Hopefully we can, so we can get more mothers to live and communicate with their kids and with other kids down here. SV: Are they having re nts tha t people in o ur n e ighborhoo d can afford? OPAL: No. Everything that I heard down here is going over $400 dollars. $450 to $500. I think that's ridiculous. If you got kids, it's somethin'! SV: Have you had a hard t im e finding low income housing? OPAL: Yeh. Definitely. Denharts wouldn't accept me in their buildin' cause of my income. They was tellin' me I have to go through a police report check. Background of who all is livin' in your house, social security cards and stuff. No, I couldn't get in their building 'cause I had a washer and a dryer. That's before I got my cat and dog. They told me no. But I got four kids. I'm thinkin': "Why are you turnin' me down for?" And then I went to Housing Projects over on Race Street. They turned me down. They told me no 'cause by then I had a cat and a dog and a washer and dryer. They don 't want to come down to poor. They figure us poor people don't got nothin'. But we might have somethin' better than what they got. SV: So it' s har d to find a pla ce for kids an d animals. OPAL: Right. Plus me and the kids' father really not married. So this lady assumin' that me and him is only boyfriend and girlfriend. And she goes: "Well, I need to see both of y'all police report checks to make sure he ain't no violent person or you not no violent person." I agree with the lady. I say, "Okay, fine." I took everything back in there to her then she said, "No, she was all filled up." But at first she acted like she was really in to it, wanted to see me. SV: What do you think's happe ning in t he ne ighbo rho od with a ll the n ew changes? Does it worry you a t all with what's going to happe n to ne ighborhood folk? OPAL: Yeh. It seems like they want to kick us out of downtown and put us somewhere else where we might not even want to go to. It seems like they are takin' our rights away from us. It's all right for them to come on down here. Buy build­ ings, fix 'em up, put bars in 'em. Yeh, we'll put a bunch of bars here, that's all right, we'll make everybody happy. BUT what about us? We was here first before the bars even started up. Before these other people moved in, makin' their projects happening. We's the first one here. Why can't somebody say "Heh, you want a h~lpin hand? Or how do you feel?" I had never heard nobody say that before. It just seems like everybody just movin' in. Tryin' to push us out a little bit at a time, you're gain'. We're gonna buy your buildin'. We're gonna kick ya' out. SV: Why do you think they want to do t hat? Why do you t h ink they t reat us that way? OPAL: I think it's somethin' to do with, ah, they try to be high class. But they don't want to scoop down low. They don't want to come down to poor. They figure us poor people don't got nothin'. But we might have somethin' better than what they got. So who's victim me? Who's this person gonna stand here with a note tellin' me to get out? I got four kids. SV: W hat do yo u think we have as a p eople? OPAL: Well we got respect. We got honesty. We got love for each other down here. We don't have to be scared to walk out our door. Everybody's friends down here. SV: So m o ney isn't everything? · OPAL: No it's not. On Easter I bought four big bags of candy. There was kids over in the park. I gave out candy to 'em. They was happy little kids. I mean kids that we knew and stuff. And they went back tellin' their Mom where they got the candy from and everything. SV: That was sweet of yo u to do that. OPAL: Well, it was Allen's idea. Allen had his little friend from school in the yard with him. His name is Alphonzo. Phonzo, I gave him some candy; then Phonzo had SOllu:; moro fri<>nds in the park, so I gave them some candy. When you share somethin' with other kids, just cause they're kids, they still need that little feelin' there too, and a little touch from other people instead of one person. SV: What keeps yo u having such a positive attitude all the time? OPAL: My kids. I want my kids to show, don't be scared of nothin' cause there ain't nothin' in the world to be scared of. If there's somethin' you're scared of, pray to God. And God will help ya. Like we had that big old rain storm that came through here. Albert woke up in the middle of the night. It was lightenin' comin' through the window. He goes: "Mom, I'm scared." I go well I can't hug ya. Well, I can hug ya and love you, BUT if God's gonna take us, he's gonna take us. Only thing we need to do is pray. So the next mornin' he told me he prayed. I said, "See, we alive!" SV: So whe n yo u got that not ice o n your door that must've been really scary to say you got to be out by a ce rtain date . What did you do not to get sad abo ut that or just give up? OPAL: Well, only, thing what really hurt, not really hurt my feelins but kind a like shocked me. Cause I'm walkin' in, I'm findin' this note on my door and its tellin' me to get out. Now wait a minute! I just paid my rent. So who's victim me? Who's this person gonna stand here with a note tellin' me to get out. I got four'kids. I got no where to go, I figure, okay, I just pray to God. Let God be my strength. That's what I did. I prayed and see how things worked out? Things is workin' out okay now. SV: So yo u think you're going to win t his battle of getting W a lly to fi x up that building so t hat yo u can stay there? OPAL: Oh yes! I hope I can. Hopefully he'll realize what kind of tenants he's got. I'm a good tenant. He knows it. I deal with all kinds of the rest of the tenants. We never get in to it though. None Page 9 of our tenants, we have never argued. But we say words to each other. Like heh, "Why don't you come down here and help us clean up the yard. You live here in the building just like we do." And they did. They came down and helped. SV: Do you think h e should stay the o wner of the building if he's not going to fix it u p? OPAL: No, if he don't fix it up. I don't want him to be the Landlord. SV: So yo u'd rathe r have somebody e lse? OPAL: Yes, I would. But I mean I want to stay. I want the other Landlord almost treat me like Wally is. Wally is a nice landlord. He stick by you when you really gets down where your income has switched over to somethin' e lse. You can't pay on that day. Wally always waited to the next day, or next week. Then come back and get his money. SV: So if we're succe ssful in Court in ge tting some one else t o take the building if W a.lly doesn 't do what he's suppose t o do, you're hoping ..somebody will get it that will cha rge low income re nt? OPAL: Right. Right. Cause my rent is only $ 1SO. I'm proud of that. I'm hearin' everybody else say $200 or $300. At least mines o nly $1 50. I do pay my own gas and 'ledric. SV: Whe n you get up eve ry day where do you get your stre ngth? OPAL: My kids. Cause a four year o ld and a five year old, you have to show them to get up and do things just like they do. Cause I'm a type of Mother that take 'em to school, come back and pick 'em up, feed 'em and go do the shoppin' and stuff. ••.if you got a landlord that don't want to do nothin' on the build­ ing, or you got a City people com in' and puttin' notes on your door, DON'T BE. SCARE.D. YOU ALL CAN GCT '-'~lP OUT HE.RE. SOME.WHE.RE.S. You all can turn to a friend. Or go to· your neighborhood center. SV: There's a lot of people that re ad STREETVIBES now and when they r ead this sto ry they are going to re ad abo ut your fight and your struggle. What would yo u like them to know. What e nco urage m e nt wo uld you give to people who read your sto ry? OPAL: My statement is that if you got a Landlord that don't want to do nothin' o n the building, or you got a City people comin' and puttin' notes on your door....DON'T BE SCARED. YOU ALL CAN GET HELP OUT HERE SOMEWHERES. You all can turn to a friend. Or go to your neigh­ borhood center and ask them to help you too. SV: So sitting down and doing nothing isn' t going to get yo u anywhe re . OPAL: No. That gets you out the door quicker....on the streets. That's mainly what the Landlord might want. Heh. Fine. "I can do this." Or the City can come and say "I can do that." Then will you go...on the streets! And the streets ain't good for nobody. "Opal" continued on page 12... �STREETVIBES . The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine same. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Heidi Beth Sahrbacker Dear Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, On behalf of the Miami Service Network, I am pleased to present you and your organization (the enclosed donation). Thank you for speaking at our Hunger and Homelessness Week coffee house last Fall. Your help was greatly appreciated and Hunger and Homelessness week was a remarkable success. We hope this donation will assist your work in the community. Sincerely, Kimberly Hull, Treasurer (Editors Note: Many thanks to the Miami Service Network for the donation and the support! Sharing our experience and hope about the tragedy of homelessness is important to our goal of ending homelessness as we know it.) Dear Mr. Whitehead: I am writing to you in response to an article I read in the most recent addition of STREETVIBES. The article entitled, "Dog Shelter Welcomes Homeless People?" expresses a common analogy I have hearq expressed by homeless advocates on several occasions. I attended a presentation several years ago given by Michael Stoops form the Natio Coalition and he used n etween ·~ omeless shelters that I find ~necessary, inapplicable, and frankly, quite offen­ sive. I wrote to him about my concerns as well. By comparing the need for animal shelters and the need for human shelters you are a) comparing apples and oranges and b) attempting to value one as more important than the other. The issue of homeless pets and homeless people are entirely separate and BOTH should be given proper atten­ tion. Advocates of the homeless have no right to belittle the needs of animals. Unwanted pets are innocent victims of man's irresponsibility and lack of stewardship. In this vein, they deserve more help than humans who have choices. I have worked with homeless families as my profession for several years now, as well as volunteering at local animal shelters. I see no difference and I am highly offended by · statements such as, "Dogs and animals tend to get more love and care than humans..." This is purely a value judgment and not at all factual. Most animal shelters are not nicer than human shelters- many are horrendous. The animals are trapped and most await a sure death. Acting as if no money should be spent on sentient beings that do nothing to contrib­ ute to the dire straits they are in is both cruel and ignorant. If we do not condone racism, classism, sexism, etc., why should we support speciesi'sm? You can be both and advocate for human and animal rights in an effort to end oppression. At­ tempting to gain favor for a cause by belittling another is insensitive and ineffective at best. I don't know if you wrote this article or if it was gleaned form another source. In either instance, I hope that better judgment will be used by your agency in the future . I would not support or want to be affil aced with any agency that makes such a value judgm nt and I know many others who feel the (Editors Response: Thank you Heidi for taking the time to write to us in regards to this somewhat controversial subject. We agree that ill treatment of any creature is unacceptable and that all living beings deserve and have the right to be taken care of. And we don't want to pit animal rights against human rights in this particular context. However. if you read the article again, you will see that the animals at this particular shelter had TV's, rugs, couches, etc, and that is what we found outrageous about the report. In some communities, humans live under bridges and freeze on the streets and not always by choice, as you say in your letter. What constitutes a good life for a dog, in the dirt, under a bridge i.s pure and simply unacceptable for human beings. A percentage of the homeless humans in our city 'choose' to live this way because of many factors, including mental illness, fear, drug or alcohol abuse ­ many reasons that are not always by choice. Animals, unlike humans, do not have a so-called 'system' in place for the c~re of their own species and each other. We try to provide for these animals the best that we can, and sometimes, even to extremes. But when it comes to taking care of our own human species, we feel that we sometimes fall short. And as humans, we should know better. Beyond the "Call of .Duty": A Soclal Injustice by Azar/ya Israel On April 17, 1998 · t o tee epartment, District I, stopped at the intersection of and Main St. While sitting in the Police Vehicle, officer Little began a cordial conversation with an associate that was either an employee or a patron of _ __ During this time (I 2:05am), I was talking to a supporter of StreetVibes, The Homeless Grapevine. Offic.er Little seemed to be startled when he saw me, so he called me to his vehicle and aske my name and social security number. After Officer Litt.le saw the computer screen showed no warrants on me. he began to lecture me about a state vendor's permit. He threatened to arrest me if he saw me soliciting StreetVibes on Main St. later that evening or any other time. He noted that Main St. is a business district and said, "You are not wanted in this area with StreetVibes." The threat of being arrested a third time involving StreetVibes newspaper was quite stressful to say the least. On February I Ith, 1998, Officer Little arrested me on University Plaza in front of Krogers and charged me with tresspassing and soliciting without proper permit (for StreetVibes). I was bonded out jail three days later. Page 10 more bogus than the first arrest. Officer Little informed me of the term "Selective Arrest." In his words, someone selling Girl Scout cookies doesn't have a vendor's permit, so technically they could be considered in violation directly parallel to my "violation." This is going beyond the call of duty. Something New­ Comedy Corner Was He Loved? I Don't Think So... by Ron Carter I had a friend who came home from school one day to find out that his parents had moved. They did leave a note that read: Dear what's your name, we went back to sleep after you left for school this morning. We both had the same dream. We dreamed that you had left town and was never coming back, so we moved. After we realized that we had only been dreaming, it was too late, we had already moved to our new house. Sorry about that, your name I have forgotten. At that point, my friend had nowhere else to go. So, he quit school, lied about his age, and joined the army. He never received any mail for a year. Finally. one day he did receive a letter and it was from his mother. It read as follows: Dear Son, now we remember who you are. How are you1 We have really been having a ball since you left! When you get your furlough don't waste it by coming to see us. because we won't be home anyway. When are you going to get your furlough/ I need to know so your father and I can arrange to be on our vacation? Write back soon so we will know what to do. Our address is P.O . Box 123 Forget Us Avenue. Well, that's all I have to say Son. Good-bye forever ...Mom. I was going to send you some money. but I have already sealed the envelope. Sorry. P.S. This is a fictional story. Just thought you needed a laugh. --­ Words From The Evangellst (James 2:14-16) by Evangelist Rodney Sutton, Sr. Last month you read of my return to full-time ministry after being engaged in some serious spiritual warfare and you were introduced to AWOL (A Way Of Life) Ministries. I would like to take this opportunity to expand on my vision of AWOL Ministries. The Lord blessed me with many experiences which exposed me to a wide range of personalities; from the homeless, the chemically dependent, the social service agencies, and those who advocate change for such individuals. On February 17, 1998, I was walking through the plaza parking lot with the the intention of going to BW3 restaurant on Burnet Ave. However, Officer Little observed me passing by and arrested me again for tresspassing. He asured me that he wouldn't charge me with soliciting because he didn't observe me selling StreetVibes. I could not afford another bond charge, so I remained in jail I0 days until the due process of the court of law was completed. However, the Lord has also shown me that these advocates and their agencies are mostly putting bandages on the wounds of society. AWOL Ministries proposes a cure. It is my desire to become the link between the homeless. chemically dependent, and the agencies, because most often our agencies fail because we fail to network and properly introduce those in need to the services available. What AWOL proposes is to become the go-between for individuals who need assistance in finding employment, housing, detoxification, and rehabilita­ tion. Not only does AWOL plan to assist you, but to hold your hand until you can sustain yourself as an independent and productive part of society. In consideration of my three encounters with Officer Little, I am of the opinion that Officer Little is going beyond the call of duty concerning myself and StreetVibes. Furthermore. the second arrest was AWOL Ministries is still in the birth stage. Therefore. all who wish to help with organization, donations, sponsorship, office space, etc... please call me at: 210-4181 �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Streetvlbes Crossword Page 11 by Paul linden Struggles Ill by Gregory Payton Today I look at you because I see what has come true. I see education and I see struggles. For who you say? For those who can't pay. When I was young, we wanted it. So, we had to go somewhere different. Because to get it, you had to get it. The best was not in my neighborhood. We went to the teachers. We only had the preach­ ers. Only after the discussion, did we get bussing. That was what I had on my young mind. Because we were looked at as a certain kind. Was education free? For everybody but me. How could my dream come true? I really didn't what to do. With a good education, I learned to have good dreams. With good dreams, I learned good steps, goals, and most of all good reasons to live with my soul. Now that I have the basics, I thirst for r;oore. But today there is no bussing; just my fussing. Across 1. CHILDREN"S MUSICAL AT CONSORTUIM* 7. LOCAL FIRE CO. 11. ARID 12. SACRAMENTO'S AND FISHES* 16. THArSMY 17. PATI-fNAY BETWEEN SEATS 18. CANADIAN CITY 19. DAY TO Pl.ANT A TREE 20. ROAD TYPE 21 . EXPLOSIVE 22. YEARS IN DECADE 24. TO STOP (OFTEN FORCCl'UU.Y} 27.0NEWHO SELLS(STREETVlBES)' 29. BANNED FORMER RED 30. CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA PARLOR 31. UNCOOKED 32. LOCAL PARK 35. OCEAN INLET 36. TO CONFINE DURING WAR 37. DIRECTOR OF THE ODO COOKIE* 40. RIVERSIDE POINT 41 . HESTON'S L.E GION 42. ISLAND COUN TRY 45. EXPLOSIVE 48. DOGINOZ 49. LOCAL HOMELESS COALITION DIRECTOR* 52. A WANOl:RER 55. TOP OF THE LINE 57. HOLY CITY OF ISL.AM 58. HOCKEY SURFACE 59. CANDLE MATERIAL 61 . FED. OR ST. PROSECUTOR 62 . COLLEGE'S SPARTANS 64. CONDITIONED 66. COOLING OEVICE(ABBR) 68. A CONTINENT 71. A CONTINENT 73.MAKESYOUSCRATCH 74. PAVAROTTI FOR ONE 75. NOT LIGHI 76. HONEST STRAP FOR PANTS 78. A CONTINENT 79. POSITIVE ANSWER n. Down 1 . TREATMENT PLACE FOR WOMEN* 2. TO TEE-OFF 3. INTESTINAL DISEASE 4. STEPS TO BE CLOSED* 5 CHARGED PARTICLE 6. TO HAVE A MEAL 7. TREATMENT PLACE FOR 50. REFERRING TO A MALE 51. CLIFTON THEATER 53. LOCUST TREE 54. ROMAN FOR 610 56. LEGENDARY BOXER 60. A CONTINENT 61. 63. A ROOM FOR ONE(ABBR) 64. KLINGER ON M*A*S*H 65. 'DIAMOND' COVER 67. NOT GENUINE 69. REMOTE WAGERING PLACE(ABBR) 70. COOK ON ALICE SHED TEARS n. All* Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the be low address and the paper will be mailed to you each issue. Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please m a ke checks pay­ able to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless-­ Streetvibes. If you have any que stions, call 421-7803. HAIKU I want to see and feel freedom. I want knowl­ edge. I want to grow. I want life and a chance to live. I want education and whatever it can give. How can I get this when you charge~ The price is too high for me. Is the price higher for my children? Is freedom in the sky, when I am on the ground? We have children, not birds. Tell me how 4 - - · ~hi~ '>ound? What will you tell your children when they want to Ott: '' - - > l"\h vou were too busy to listen to me. 8. APARTMENT NEED 9. MONEY OWED 10. OILY ROOFTOP COVERING 13. STAR WARS' VILLAIN 14. HOSPITAL DEPARTMEN T 15. FEMALE RELATIVE 23. STREETVIBES' MONTHLY RAVER* 25. LOCAL PARK 26. DOWNTOWN LANDMARK 28. RECOVERY GROUP 33. OF THE MOON 34. TO EYE 38. OFFICIAL DOCUMENT 39. PANIC EXCITEMENT 40. CURRENT SEASON 43. SMALL PARTICLE 44. SACRAMENTO'S STREET PAPER 46. URBAN APARTMENT BUILDING 47.SNITCH 49. ROUND DECORATION Subscribe to Streetvlbes Because the price is so high, I'm not in the sky. I'm on the ground. Can't you hear how I sound! Community Consultant Looking for community oriented job. Have desire to promote and coordinate involvement with community activities. Also interested in raising support for community agencies such as those within the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Please leave a m essage for Isaac Israel at 421-7803. by Brett Zwolinski Scramble by Ron Carter An unrhymed Japanese verse form of three lines containing usually 5, 7, 5, (or 7, 5, and 7) syllables respectively. Please submit your suggestions for monthly Haiku to Brett Zwolinski, at STREETVIBES. Now, this months Haiku: HAIKU (in 7,5,7) Desultory we have lived Immemorial Unrelenting death our fear Try to unscramble these Automobile related words: CIKBU RVLTEOHER HTUOPLYM AH NOD TAOYOT ROOF SILRO YERCO GDEDO LIMDOEOSLB LICALDAC Answers on page I 5. �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine "Opal" continued from page 9... SV: What would you want to tell t he neighborhood about all the changes that you've seen on Main Street? What would be your advice? OPAL: Well, only part about it is that it's just the bars. I mean the bars mainly at night. That's when you want to lay in your bed and be comfortable. Not hearin' no hot riding or people going down the street hollerin' and c~ssin' and breakin' bottles. Or throwin' t heir garbage in your yard. You don't want to hear none of that. But if you really have to put up with it, try to do it the best way you know how. Or go talk to your Center. Or talk to somebody who owns the place. That's what I'm about ready to do. Go find the owner say: "Excuse me, you need some rules that need to be changed." SV: If you could really talk to some of these people that have moved in and trying to make a ll these big changes that aren't for us folk here in the neighborhood who have lived here a long time...what would you want to tell them, the newcomers? OPAL: To have respect for the people who lives around 'em. And show that we are trusty too and worthy. We're not here to make a lot of noise to get on your nerves. If somethin' did happen out of the bars onto your street then you could come back and contact me and let me know. See what they can work out, and things like that. SV: So you t hink you've had a fair c ha nce to tell yo u r story today? Is t he re something we for got t h at you would like to say? OPAL: I just hope that everybody can get along. SV: You still got a little ways to go to work with W ally t o get him to fi x up that then the cops can see how the people really acts down here. Cause its gonna start bein' like a riot down here. I already seen it. Cause the people comin' in from out of the bars and how they gotta attitude on 'em. That makes it look sad. Everybody should treat everybody equal downtown. Everytime I go walking down the streets II hear people sayin': "Well, she's a white girl on welfare, or on SSI, or whatever." But you should look at people just by lookin' at 'em. You should not judge 'em. If you really want to be nosy about their income then that's up to you and them. Cause some people who lives down here is not on welfare. They might get food stamps and a medical card, but that's good! Everytime you walk down a street you all the time hear "she's a welfare bum, or them are for welfare people." But they should not judge people like that. Some peoples got it hard. Where they turn to the churches for help and stuff and the Free Store. SV: Is there a ny special quote from the Bible, or a song or anything like that, that you look to sometimes for strength? OPAL: 'Lean on me'. Cause everybody's gonna have problems in this world so we all need somebody to lean on. SV: Thanks Opal. We really appreci­ ate hearing about your story. Local Neighborhood Leader Represents Emanuel Community Center. Cincinnati, Ohio- M. Helen Hogue, Executive Director of Emanuel Community Center, was one of the neighborhood leaders from across the United States who met last week for a three-day conference Page 12 giving away of services or goods that can create a wide gulf between givers on the one hand and receivers on the other. M.O.R.E. casts the very same people as providers as well as recipients. Each person is encouraged to give what he or she can and to receive what others give. A mutual-aid support system fosters feelings of self-worth and of true membership in the community." John H. Judd, MBA. Principal of Judd & Associates in Bloomington, Minnesota discussed funding issues for neighborhood centers in a presentation entitled "Fund Raising: Whose Job Is It Anyway?" Open forum discussions addressed issues such as, Diversity/Multi-cultural Issues, Welfare Reform Employment Programs, and Fair labor Services Act: Its Impact on Neighborhood Centers and Privatization of Services. Emanuel Community Center is located at 1308 Race Street in Over-The-Rhine and offers programs that strengthen the family unit and move the family adult to economic self-sufficiency: Computer Technician training and 'Computer Basics for Seniors-Only' classes. Nutrition Certification in conjunction with The Ohio State University, JOBS board and career skills sessions. free twice-monthly FED practice tests, the Academy of Boys & Girls, organized team sports for youth, the first and longest continuously licensed daycare program in the State of Ohio- an education program for parent and child, Motivational Reading for Preschool and school age children, Homework and Computer Clubs, Summer Enrichment, a daily community coffee hour, and so much more! United Neighborhood Centers of America is located in Cleveland, Ohio and provides services such as executive training and regional andn--;tiona1 ----...._ conferences. In addition, UNCA provides accredita-......._ tion services to its 156 settlement houses and neighborhood centers located in 52 cities in 24 states. It was founded in 191 I by Jane Addams, who was the first American woman to receive the Nobel ~~~~---~aSt~th;~e~C~h~a~tta~~n~o~o=g~a~C~h:o~o~C~h~o~o~H~o~lid:a~~n~n~i~n~:.:---~ea~c~e~P~r~ · iz~e~in~:~==~=~==== ocus on "Building our building t h ough . right. I think he will. Next O PAL: Yeh, Court date, we got W ally. now t hat ~___.,r-R1i::1:''fyv.l: 1BES and t h e neighborhood people in Ove r-the-Rhine are really p ro ud of you fo r st icking your neck ou t to t ry and fight fo r t his building. OPA L: I'm fighting for my building. If Wally fix the building up, we still got another floor to rent in the building. If Wally go ahead and fix it up, I got somebody in mind for the fourth floor. She's a young mother like I am. She does got kids. But she's only got two kids. And she'd be more happy to take the building. She'd be happy to rent the apartment. But right now, like I told her. No, I'm not about to put nobody up there cause that place is not fit. Paintin' need to be done. Maybe somethin' wrong with the plumbin' needing fixed . Like I told her, I won't even discuss it with my landlord to rent the apartment out to her. · SV: So yo u' re do ing this not o nly for yo u but.. OPAL: Everybody. Yeh, even the people upstairs over me. If they move out I'll be happy to have somebody else to move back in. But the plac;e needs to be decent. Yeh. I'm not just talkin' 'bout downtown people. I'm talking 'bout people that lives out on Price Hill, up in Harrison Avenue, on Queen City Avenue. See I know other people that l"!eed a place to stay. Where they rent now, the rents too high. Like I told them. If Wally fix up his building and get it more nicer, yeh, I'll come and get you and let you know the place is empty. People downtown lookin' all the time for apartments. SV: So what's your hope for O ver-the­ Rhine for the people in the future? OPAL: My hope is that these bars get their rules. And we get cops on the streets when the bars do get ready to close. That's the only time we really need 'em. When the bars really get ready to close, National Presence- Serving Our Neighbors." Hosted by Chattanooga's Northside Neighborhood House, the 1998 Executive Director's ROUNDTABLE of United Neighborhood Centers of America, Inc. (UNCA) began on Thursday April 2, 1998 and attracted professionals in the areas of human service, neighborhood development, and community planning to discuss issues that affect urban commu­ nities nationwide. M. Helen Hogue reported, "This is a very significant meeting in terms of radical changes in human service programs and implementation of welfare reform. Neighborhood and community centers are experiencing the impact on America's poorest neighborhoods. Now is the time for us to return to social action and create a national aware­ ness of our efforts to build the capacity of residents in the community to solve their own problems. Many neighborhood centers are powerful institutions in their communities, but it makes more sense for the community to be powerful." Conference highlights included a panel discussion with Rodney S. Wead•. Ph.D.. the Presi­ dent and CEO of Grace Hill Neighborhood Services in St. Louis, Missouri. The discussion was about a proposal to develop a national model for UNCA, . based on the Member Organized Resource Exchange (M.O.R.E.) System in St. Louis. M.O.R.E. is a multi­ faceted network of residents who work together through a variety of program initiatives to address both community and individual concerns. Through community boards, members investigate the needs of the neighborhood and individual residents. Dr. Wead said, "M.O.R.E. develops ways of providing direct services to some members of the community, but avoids, when practical, the simple For more information about Emanuel Commu­ nity Center contact: Helen Hogue at (513) 241-2563 or UNCA at (216) 39 1-3028. Recovery at the Drop-Inn Center by Gregory Payton My name is Gregory Payton. I would like to share a story with you. I've tried to share a lot of events with you the reader and supporter that have happened in my life. I've talked about homelessness, getting an apartment, getting a job, and developing an understanding with powers greater than myself. People have come into my life who have been customers (StreetVibes) as well as other people I've met and learned to love. You and others have enriched me with feelings I never knew anything about. I've talked about being in recovery and about drugs and alcohol. Some things I learned were thinking and caring about others, helping another human being by giving away something that was so freely given to me. Not being selfish, but selfless. Not being self-centered, but God centered. Showing and having good-will to another person. Today I work at sharing these special qualities with others. Today I work at the Drop-In Center Recovery Program as a full-time counselor. This position is new, but again, I have and get help from others who are making a smooth transition for me. I always tell people, 'The blessings you need are the one's you receive." Today I thank God and others for the privilege to help other human beings. Thank you God, thank you friends. �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page / 3 reached by calling 352-3000. For State Legislative information call (614) 466­ 8842 or 1-800-282-0253. Governor Voinovich can be reached at (614) 466-3555. All Congressmen can be reached at (202) 224­ 3 I 21. The President can be reached at (202) 456­ 1 I I I. You may also write to your elected officials at any of the following addresses: City Council 808 Plum Street Cincinnati Ohio 45202 Senators: U.S Senate Washington, D.C 20510 "There's no DISCARDED food here...just discarded campaign promises." 'Hypocrisy' continued from page 1... much of the set aside will be used to help non­ custodial parents find work: "When absent fathers are alienated, embarrassed and can't provide support it hurts the children" stated a labor depart­ ment official in a recent Washington Post article. While many recipients are expected to shuffle through mountains of paper work on a monthly basis, Governor Voinovich of Ohio complains about red tape attached to the set aside to ensure that money. goes only to the mo,t needy familiP.s. In the highest spirit of hypocrisy the Governor explained that the State of Ohio has $400 million just sitting in a pot waiting to be spent: this fact would be hard to explain to the many people sitting in homeless shelters whose benefits are inadequate to cover the cost of daycare, transportation, and other job related activities. "States are flush with money," said Jack Tweedie, Children and Families program director for the National Conference of State Legislatures, 'They have money they need to build up programs for the hard-to-serve, but they don't know what works. They can't do it instantaneously." Another hard to explain concept for those recipients is the ever­ present ticking of term limit time clocks as they are forced to comply with self-sufficiency contracts. Another surprising part of the. whole situation is that these decisions along with decisions not to take waivers are being made without consultation from other members of the State Legislature. Hypocrisy is not reserved for State and National Government officials." Our local politicians have been known to engage in decisions that should raise the eyebrows of citizens throughout Cincinnati. The first decision is the seemingly never-ending stadium saga. City council has decided that Broad­ way Commons in Over The Rhine is the perfect location for the new Reds stadium. To insure that the stadium will be placed there, the Council voted to offer the Reds 20 million dollars in tax incentives to build there. It is incredible how fast money can be found for projects like the stadium, while money is hard to find for other projects like our crumbling school buildings. On the same day, council also agreed to give 9 million dollars to former Mayor Arn Bortz to develop the old Lazarus building. Several years ago the city spent I 1.8 million dollars to acquire the property, which they sold to Bortz for little or nothing in a very complex financial deal that only calls for the city to receive funds after the project shows a profit. A real ironic twist to this Representatives: U.S House Of Rep resentatives Washington D.C 205 15 The President: TheWhite House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue story is that the school board must OK tax abate­ ments. In a positive note, the school board recently annou.nced a moratorium on tax abatements. In another rather bizarre ruling the City decided not to approve funding for the Courage House, a family treatment facility. "Although we know about the need for treatment facilities, putting them on top of each other won't solve the problem" stated one council person. "There's a treatment facility for men right next door, when (sic) male addicts mingle with female addicts they have llttlt: vc:av 7 .. .i.i:.~ •." c.,;r1 another. The reason for not approving funding was because of strong opposition by the East Walnut Hills Assembly, an extremely conservative neighbor­ hood group. W hile neighborhood opposition seems to be the determining factor for the placement of some facilities, it is not always the case. For the past several years the Over-The-Rhine Community Council h4s protested liquor licenses being given to countless Main Street bars. Over-The-Rhine has more liquor licenses than any other community in the City of Cincinnati. As we struggle to find an end to homelessness it becomes an increasingly tough task when rules are not applied consistently. It i~ our hop_e that _a(ti~les like these and others in Streetvibes will bring th-ese­ instances of blatant hypocrisy to your attention. The struggle must not end there however: we must make our elected officials accountable for the decisions that they are making. Politi­ cians are making decisions that are negatively impacting thousands of poor people daily. They like to place blame on voting records. This in part is true. Voting records among the poor and minority's are terrible. This must not continue: many people have lost faii:h in the system, believing that their vote has no bearing on the outcome of elections. The truth is, voting is our only defense, we have to fight injustice with a loud voice. Please get out and vote, it does make a difference. I know the day-to-day struggles of poor people in this country leave very little time for anything more than survival, but that is what voting is all about right now, our very survival. last year we buried 28 homeless people -lets not bury any more. Subscribe to Streetvlbes Subscriptio ns to Streetvibes can be pur­ chased for $12 per ye ar. Please send a check to the below address and the r - ........ will be mailed to you e ach issue . 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 421-7803 . · Answers to Streetvlbes Crossword from Page 11... All members of City Council can be . -1:-r- ~ - • ... ~..:· ~ --· . .... ,.. ...... • < -·~'¥ �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Mathew Elsen brings hope to El Salvador youth ••• What went wrong? We should be saying this when we wonder about what we hear, see and feel today. As children of the Baby Boom we stood up and fought against things that weren't right, that we didn't believe in and that we didn't trust...anything that took o ur freedom from us. Matthew Eisen is a 2 6 year-old native of Cincinnati-Delhi Township and has lived and worked in Over-the-Rhine since 1993. Since January, 1997 Matthew has been living and working in El Salvador (Central America) at a youth organization working with gang-members. Many of you may know him through a 45-day fast and vigil late 1997 in Hondu­ ras concerning the disappearance of Fr. Jim Carny in 1983. -- For the past few weeks I have returned to my country- the USA- to spend some time talking with folks in our community about a tiny country in Cen;ral America that doesn't often get the spotlight from local or national media. El Salvador is the smallest yet most densely populated country in Central America ( 6 million). A twelve year civil war ended in 1992 after claiming the lives of nearly I 00,000 people. Though the war ended, El Salvador remains the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere. Our country has a long history in participating in this violence, first through billions of dollars of our taxpayer's money to fund a war " drawing a line against Communism'', which in turn created a wave of refugees seeking ''. peace" in the USA. only to never be truly welcomed or integrated, and then to deport their children after teaching them the gang life. The two main gangs in El Salvador are the "Mara Salvatrucha-13" and the "Mara Dieciocho- 18". The numbers are streets in Los Angeles. We as US citizen's do not like to consider ourselves exporters of military and war-making machines, nor do we like to believe we are in the business of exporting gangs. We must face the cold hard truth and look to create a new kind of solidar­ ity with the ;Salvadoran people, one which includes a space to learn from them. As for myself, the experience of working at the "Generation XXI" youth project has been a true i . what I h opted-community of ~_,,,,..-er-;; -1me-Rhine when I return to the US after finishing my service as a volunteer for CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace in El Salador), a commitment that will run through, at least, March of 1999. I want to offer my work to the youth of Over-the­ Rhine (ages 15-25), and open a space/organization for them to o rganize themselves and fight for their rights- to work for productive life that so many of us dream of. Unfortunately, I see a similarity in the oppression that exists in Over-the-Rhine, and El Salvador, but I also see a wonderful spirit that exists in both communities- a spirit of hope, love, and I determination. What follows is a short reflection of how I see just one of these amazing connections. " I re turned to El Salva dor a few days afte r the assassination of Bishop Rome ro*. The news hit me between the eyes. I could neithe r be lieve nor accept it. I was a paci­ fist. I worked with YSAX (the Salvadoran Catholic radio station) because I was con­ vinced that Romero could find a way out of the country's disastrous crisis. A whole lot of people shared that same hope. When they killed him, that was when I said yes to everything the "compas" (rebels) proposed. I said yes to armed-struggle. The death of Rome ro helped clarify my be liefs. Not only in my case, I think the same thing happene d to many others." -quote above is take~ from Rebel Radio (The story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos) . The assassin's bullet took the life of Arch­ bishop Romero much like that of our own buddy gray. And so too, has it affected our movement in Page / 4 Today as parents we say, "I only want the best for my child." I ask, The best of what? Children don't get to see mu"ch due to a number of reasons: parents having jobs, working hard, going to school, children having only one parent in the house, being raised by baby-sitters, being latch-key children left alone. Children are unable to talk about there feel ings due to parents not being around. These situations cause some children to rebel in a number of ways: grades go down, lack of involvement in extracurricular activities, no dreams or interests for the future, disrespect for authority, refusal of chores, fights and cries for help, acts of violence, legal and physical problems, lying. cheating, stealing, drugs. and even running away. Photo by Jimmy Heath Mathew Eisen Over-the-Rhine and pushed us into armed-struggle, yet our weapons are not violent- they are hope, love and determination. We too have a hope, like the Salvadoran people, that we will lead ourselves out of a "disastrous crisis." Romero V(as very prophetic in calling attention to his assassins, saying that if he was silenced, he would be resurrected in the Salvadoran people. We in Over-the-Rhine do not just have buddy in our veins, but also Mac, King, Dorothy Day, Malcom X, and many more. We shall over­ come, and we invite you to be there with us. *Bishop Oscar Romero was a Salvadoran assassinated in 1980 for speaking out for justice and human rights for the oppressed people of his country. There are many books e. A Society In Denlal by Gregory Payton First- Society: A group of people living together under the same environment collectively, forming a system or condition as a community. Second- Denial: A denying; say "no" to a request; opposed to compliance; a refusal to believe or accept. We only war:it the best for our children. What went wrong? We ask, what can we do? First we need to look at ourselves. Did we lose patience? Did we forget why we are here? ·For some of us, we could have saved a little more: before we bought that new car, moved in that new house. took that vacation, signed up for that vacation, signed up for that class, went to that party. asked them to go to camp or took that second job. tired~. Are you too time, listen, watch, sha ..e, care about what they do, say or feel? Do you get mad when they don't give you what you don't give them? Is it that they don't know how and you do and won't? Or is it that you don't have time and you want too? at ever the reason may be or whatever problem may arise, in our society today we all must look and find a solution. What is the most impor­ tant thing in our society? What were our parents most important concerns? How can we recover from this dilemma? Let's come out of denial. Let's understand what our parents had to. The most important thing to them was raising their children, making sure the basic essentials were met. Making sure that good habits were formed along with manners, respect for people, community and authority. Education was important because their belief in something was brought to the front. As a nation, they stood for what they thought was right. Their children's well being was focused as the most important thing for the next generation to come 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. �STREETVI BES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine ANNOUNCING A new Group at AVOC... For Het erosexuals living With Aids Page f 5 Dear Homeless••• Are Y<JU lookfng for a broader by Myron knowledge of the challenge of living with HIV/AIDS? Would you /Ike to meet people who Don• t Forget Your Mom I share similar experiences and hear their Dear Homeless•••accepts letters. Please You Know Mother's Love Flower coping strategies? send your questions to: Are you looking for peers with who Baskets. If You Can Help As­ Myron 'OU can discuss and plan for the future? semble Baskets For a Mother's cjo Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Day Sale, Call the Contact COME MEET WITH US STARTING ON Cincinnati, OH 45210 Center•.. Sale Will Be at the Con­ tact Center Friday, May 8th and Findlay Market, Saturday May 9th. Also Accepting Donations... C o ntact : C assandra Ba rha m , Organ izer, at 3 81-4 242... ~5/!B Where: AVOC "Gray Room " When: 1st and 3rd Thursdays 6:30 PM to B:PM More Information; Susan or Judy 421­243 Liiborer Sand LookJng for Work St reetvibes (the ban d). W e like to party. R&B, Oldies, Blue~Jazz, Reggae. Hefping the homele ss to hefp themselves through free ente rprize. call 421-7803. 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. Cbs3ified 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 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 atter the TlrH I'' i .. ~ir.6• 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 11.•• Buick Chevrolet Plymouth Honda Toyota Ford Rolls Royce . Dodge Oldsmobile Cadillac forsaJe Native American cooldes; orders beingaccepted: R. C.Janus, (Fax) 891-8663. Lookingfor a laboret1 Has worked at Riverfront. Is willing to do a nykind of work. Call Sonia Craig at the Drop Inn Center, 721­ 0643. Elderly or Children Looking for a community onemectjobdealing wfth efdertyorchildren. 3 year owteachworker/ counseloraide at YMCA. 13 yearstypng. Computer and cashier experiettce 91d&dng Windows, Lotus. Any Word Processor. Call ~MadyunattheDrop lrvlCenter, 721-0643. Ofllce wwker seeks 20-30 ._,,sitdownjobon bus line, within 2 milesof the nver1n eiiner KenQ!Cky u • Ohio; nori-ft1edical tenninology, non-filing cabinet offlcewOftf; social services, sales, public Information. aafts, and other background. some computer experience; contactBox 2, Streetvibes, 1506 ElmSt., Cincinnati, 45210. Degreed,successful grantsadministrator/ Wl'Rl:I" .a~.... commissioned, free lance positionas same: ten percent commission per award. ContactJ.Janus, · Jr. (FaxJ891-8663. Native Amertai,.. Hispanic female seeks sit doWI'\. slowpaced Industrial FACTORY position; physically challenged. (Fax) 891­ 8663. STREETVIBES provides Classified Ads free t o low income job seekers. Others may place ads for only $I per line. Call 421 -7803 for info. Streetvlbes 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 $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 agre e 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 support.ing 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. We will attempt to answer all letters In a timely manner. Sales Representative Looking for positionas safes representative or management. Hasgood bookkeeping.. t.YJ*'gand supervisory skills. Has experience In retail management, customer se rvice andsales. Isavailable t o work i mmediately. cau DeaHarrisat 552-11351. dishwasherorcook. Is very dependable and availableimmediately. Plea se contact Wiley Powell at 831-8404. Restaur•nt Wodc Responsibleoacterman able to work any shift. Has had experience as a cook and as ajanitor. Would preferworkasa busser at a restaurant as wenasworkasa Streetvlbes Radio Hour On WAIF 88.3 rm 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, Donald W hitehead and other monthly guest hosts. 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 Satu~day, May 9th, 1998, noon to I pm Advertise In Streetvlbesl Advertising in Streetvibes is a chance for businesses to help a good cause while promoting themselves t o 4,000 concerned people each month. The rates are shown below. Business card Size z·x31;z· $10 per monlll Two Business Card Size 4• x31;z· $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 acts, 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 Cincinnati, OH 45210 �STREETVIBES . TheTriState's Homeless Grapevine Streetvlbes TV Vendor I I. Proflle: Grady Cook The Streetvibes TV Show 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 programming and channels. I I I ' j' j ~ i l I Grady is a thirty-six year old man and a graduate of Woodward High School. He has two sons and two daughters. His youngest daughter is graduating from Aiken High School this year. Grady grew up in Bond Hill. Grady has been a vendor for Streetvibes since March of this year. Grady is also a good public relations man. He has spread the message to many people about the Greater Cincin­ nati Coalition for the Homeless and has gotten some good response from his efforts. Grady's goal in the future is to one day start his own business. He is uncertain at this time about what type of business he is planning to go into but we know Grady will be successful in whatever he chooses to do; he has the gift of knowing how to succeed. That's one of the ­ reasons he is a good Streetvibes vendor. If we had a few more like Grady selling our paper we would have to get more issues printed each month! Thank you Grady for all your hard work and if you know of anyone else that will be a good vendor for Streetvibes send them or bring them in. Streetvlbes TV May Schedule This month there will not be a LIVE SHOW due to holiday schedule. This month wil be a rebroadcast of a previous month's program. Saturday May 9, 1998, 4 PM Friday, May 8, 1998, 11 am Friday. May 15, 1998 , 11 AM Monday, May 25, 1998, I0 PM Saturday, May 23, 1998, 4 PM Channel 7 Check your local TV next month. Ii listin~s for LIVE Broadcast Broadcast schedules are subject to change - consult your local TV directory. I I Page 16 Vendor: 80 cents If you have any ideas for future STREETVIBES TV shows please contact _our office at 421-7803. We always enjoy hearing from our veiwing audience. Ideas should address subjects related to homeless­ ness and poverty in our city. We are always inter­ ested in viewer ideas, so please give us a call... Streetvlbes Wish List Streetvibes is published monthly on a shoe­ string budget. We depend heavily on the goodwill of many volunteers and donors. If you can help out with some of the items on our wish list please give us a call... >Adobe Photoshop Software for IBM to save scanning costs >Computer Monitor >Computer Printer >VCR to Show Streetvibes TV Show Episodes to Groups Where Your - Dollar >Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories > Fax Machine >Office Supplies >Computer for Streetvibes layout and wri · eetv~ib~e~s ----- -~s:~==;;;;;q:'.jiiij~+-__J~St~r=~~ has a minimal ca11421-7803 lfyou can help! 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. Trnanks for your support. Need Help or Want to Help? Beech Acres 231-6630 Center for Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Cincinnati Health Networ.k 96 1-0600 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Community Center 241-2563 Freestore/Foodbank 24 1-1064 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. 62 1-7149 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 House of Refuge Mission 221-3679 .Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 Oral Health Council 621-0248 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Travelers Aid 721-7660 United Way 721-7900 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 1998 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 1998 Vol. 2, issue 16 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Page 1: Hypocrisy Running Rampant At All Levels of Government!!! Homeless and Others Exploited In Hazardous Jobs Page 2: Steps Update NCH Meeting News Page 3: Welfare News Page 4: National Civil Rights Page 5: The Visible Homeless Page 6: Arts and Poetry Page 7: Nationwide Page 8: Opal's Story Page 10: Letters & Editorials Page 14: Eisen Update Page 15: Announcements 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 May 1998 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ron Carter Brian Davis James Heath Andy Hutzel Lemuel Israel Berta Lambert Paul Linden Judith Mendriski Patrick MosoJf Gregory Payton Mark Salter Mataka Sanders Penelope Welz Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Brett Zwolinski 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>. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF addiction Andy Hutzel Berta Lambert Bonnie Neumeier Brett Zwolinski Brian Davis civil rights displacement Donald Whitehead Drop Inn Center education Gregory Payton James (Jimmy) Heath Judith Mendriski Lemuel Israel Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Mark Salter outreach Patrick Mosolf Paul Linden Penelope Welz Ron Carter the visible homeless vendor profile welfare reform https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/427d39118a45249af655646c694abcf8.pdf 0efdeacbb2381763d03bfddc4b48c159 PDF Text Text CENSUS: HOW DO YOU COUNT THE HOMELESS? What is the most frequently asked question about the homeless? The truth is the exact number of homeless people is really difficult to determine. The very nature of homelessness makes most traditional methods of enumeration very difficult. Point in time studies are used with many groups when attempting to attach numbers to their population. The very nature of many homeless peoples' choice of shelter (which may include abandoned buildings, abandoned cars, under bridges, garages and there are also legends of people living in caves along the Ohio River) makes counting the homeless a very difficult task even for the most dedicated outreach workers. Another difficult group of homeless people to count are those that live in doubled-up situations with other families. The Homeless Coalition has had visits from families that have as many as four families in a one bedroom apart­ ment. Amazingly this population is not consid­ ered homeless by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These complications coupled with seasonal population shifts (the numbers of homeless singles in shelters go up in the winter while numbers of woman and children tend to go down in the winter and up in the summer) add to the difficulties in point in time studies. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition_for the Homeless plans to update the 1992 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Study for 1999-2000. The 1990 census undercounted approxi­ mately 4 million people, about the same total number who were counted in the first census 200 years ago. Even more troubling, this last census was, for the first time in history less accurate than its predecessor. The undercount of the population was 33 percent greater than the undercoat in the 1980 census. The census terribly undercounted those How do you count persons who do not have homes? living in poverty and especially those that were without homes. Agriculture Department Officials made promises to rethink there methodology used to count the homeless. The 1990 census so terribly undercounted the homeless population its numbers were laughable even to the most conservative of critics. Representatives promised not to even give a number attached to the home­ less in this years census. A week ago many advocates were sent letters asking for their cooperation in helping with the 2000 census. I was amazed that after promising that there would be no homeless count this year the department asked for the the locations of outdoor homeless encampments. While the need for a accurate homeless count is extremely important it is an absolute betrayal to give government officals photo by Jimmy Heath outdoor locations that may cause them to loose their only means of existence. The 2000 census will not even come close to the true numbers of people who experience the most extreme form of poverty. We have already seen the total inability to count this population in recent studies by the census. The 1999 Home­ less Coalition Study will try to give you a more accurate picture but even this study will miss a few. The truth is we my never be able to get a completely accurate homeless count, that is at · least not until the guys come in from the caves. INSIDE THE EMPOWERMENT ZONE IMPORTANT LISTS ALONG THE WAY by Berta Lambert In the beginning there was poverty and chao_s and the will to make things better! Twenty-four percent of all Cincinnati residents live in poverty. Cincinnati is the 49th largest U.S. city but compared to the 75 largest cities in the country: (a) it has the 12th highest rate of poverty; (b) the 9th lowest median household income ($24,006); and (c) the 9th greatest population loss during the 1990's (-5%). From such data it is easy to see Cincinnati has problems. In 1994 the Clinton administration created the concept of an Empowerment Zone (EZ) to assist solving poverty in the U.S. Many see the effort as a second generation of the 1960's Model Cities anti-poverty program. EZ's have set programs standards of accomplishment and some deadlines. Six cities were selected in the 1st round in 1994, Cincinnati was not. But in 1997 the Avondale Community Council with Jerry Pryor the lead mobilized nine communities, private and public sectors to reapply. On January 13th, 1999 Cincinnati was formally designated for an Empowerment Zone by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). An EZ should improve the quality of life of its residents by: (1) providing jobs, (2) providing career job skills, (3) improve the health of all ages, (4) improve transportation and (5) en­ hance local culture. The objective is to dramati­ cally improve lives and communities. To make such changes takes money and hard work. Cincinnati's $2.2 billion ten-year commitment of local resources includes; {A) $323 million in cash and program dollars; (B) $430 million in loan commitments; (C) $400 million in supplier subcontract opportunities; (D) $220 million in jobs based on a com­ mitment of 10,037 positions; (E) $700 million in committed Zone investments, and (F) $182 million in staff support and other in-kind services. Impressive Yes! But only if commitments are kept and resources used wisely. Congress is supposed to appropriate $1 o million a year for ten years to each of the 15 Round 2 Urban Empowerment Zones. However, only $3 million has so far been appropriated. The House Ways and Means Committee is the 1st scheduled stop for the $7 million bill. Local Congressperson Bob Portman is a com­ mittee member and is supportive. Rep. Steve Chabot whose district encompasses the entire EZ has not made a public statement of support. The operating structure for managing Cincinnati's Empowerment Zone programs is a non-profit entity known as the Cincinnati Enpowernmnet Corporation (CEC) formed within the State of Ohio October 1st, 1998. CE C's 33 member Board of Trustees has: 11 community representatives; 11 business representatives; and 11 representatives from government, faith community and non-profit sectors. At this printing CEC will have had two Board meetings at the Urban League Building (3458 Reading Road) . At its 1st meeting March 29th, 1999 the Trustees formed 4 organizational committees: (A) Nominating Committee; (B) By­ law Committee; (C) Board Training Work Group and (D) Administrative Work Group. The latter group of which the writer is a member will make recommendations at the trustee meeting April 26th concerning; (1) securing Legal Counsel; (2) �STREETVIBES . The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Home­ less Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for, and about the homeless, social justice and poverty related issues. It is published once a month, 12 issues a year, by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents (to cover printing costs) and then sell the paper for a dollar donation. The vendor keeps the profits. The Streetvibes Vendor Program gives our vendors an opportunity to get back on their feet. All Streetvibes vendors are given an orientation and sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. A case file is developed on each vendor so that we may track and help facilitate the vendors' move from poverty to self­ sufficiency. The Streetvibes Newspaper Plan­ ning Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a com­ ment, story or editorial that you would like published please call 421-7803. 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. Staff Donald Whitehead, Director Jimmy Heath, Coordinator Ron Carter, Vendor Support Gina Miller, Rapid Exit Program Photographer Jimmy Heath Writers Ron Carter Denise Crew Richard Frye Jimmy Heath Mike Henson Berta Lambert Charlie Mattingly Gina Miller Patrick Mosolf Gregory Payton James Pryor Victor Velez Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Sonny Williams Editorial Policy: Streetvibes accepts all letters, poems, comments or editorials. We will print everything we have room for, giving preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Please send all material to the following address: Streetvlbes c/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 web page: http://cinci.com/gcch The Traveler Page 2 America. America should be a peacekeeper in our own backyard. Traveling In The Backyard The National Coalition for the Home­ less Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP), sponsored by the National by Donald Whitehead Coalition for the Homel~ss is a response to the Civil Rights Violations and hate crimes This months traveler comes from over 45 cities. I have traveled to some, and just heard or against homeless individuals by the police policy makers and the general community read about others. I have written about some of throughout the country. The project purposes these places in past travelers and will probably to develop a mechanism through which do so again. T he traveler starts however in a grassroots homeless organizations and place I've never been. You've heard a lot about homeless individuals/families can fortify their this place recently. It is the sight of yet another by hooking up to a national local responses peace keeping mission, a peace keeping mission network. The result will coordinate sharing of that uses bombs rather than diplomacy. A strategies to develop proactive protections/ strategy justified by atrocities perpetrated against strategies/actions against rights abuses, a Ethnic Albanians by Serbian leader Slovan greater ability to fight against local abuses, Milosivic and his troops. NATO forces bomb and increased public awareness-all of away and move ever closer to the use of ground which will help to end the increased use of forces. Albanian refugees are being forced out antihomeless laws. by the 1OOO's. Refugee's are being forced to NHCROP plans to have seven organiz­ endure unimaginable crimes and unlivable ing posts in different regions of the country: conditions. The situation is an unthinkable one East, Midwest, Southeast, Northwest and for most Americans or is it? Southwest and a national office in Washing­ In over 45 cities in the U.S leaders wage ton, D,C. Proposed cities for field offices war on another group of people. It occurred to and national headquarters: Atlanta, Chicago, me that although most Americans are, and Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Portland, San should be, outraged by the situation in Kosovo, Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The site in we ignore or deny the same atrocities here at Washington, D.C will serve as both a field home. Many people will argue that the crimes site and national headquarters. are not the same. They may not be exactly the The National Coalition is taking a same in sheer numbers but they are very similar proactive approach to a very serious prob­ in seriousness. Every day homeless people are lem. Below are examples of laws that are harassed, beaten, even raped or murdered currently discriminating against the Home­ simply because of their lifestyle. We continue to Atlanta: In 1996 Atlan.ta made it illegal less. see new laws that encourage the homeless to for "sleeping in public " and "to camp". become invisible. Our country is filled with jails Camping is defined as laying down on a over- crowded with people who have done little blanket to sleep on, preparing a meal or more than break laws that are for the most part living in a car. Atlanta also made it illegal to civil rights violations. In some cities one way bus walk across a parking lot without owning a tickets are the way to get the homeless to move Austin: In 1996 Austin approved an car. on. In other city's a more direct approach is ordinance to ban camping in public places. taken. In Cleveland police officials were accused Misdemeanor offense carrying a $500 fine. If of dumping homeless people outside the city you can't pay, you do community service or limits. Mayors in New York, San Francisco, go to jail. Beverly Hills: Beverly Hills now Miami, and others have declared an all out war or has a law forbidding sitting on a sidewalk on quality of life crimes. No sitting, no standing, leaving baggage on the streets. Cleveland : no camping, and no walking across the parking In 1997, homeless people won an out of lot unless you own a car there, laws continue to court settlement against the City of Cleve­ make homeless peoples lives ever more unbear­ • land in which the police agreed to end the able. Hate crimes continue to be perpetrated practice of driving and dumping homeless against the homeless. Throat slashing; baseball people at the far end of the city limits. bat beatings; and people doused with gasoline Honolulu: This city has prohibited nighttime and set on fire are commonplace in the homeless sleeping. Missal, MT: You can't linger in community. public. Orlando, Fl: The city just passed a These crimes are of little concern to most law that requires every panhandler to get a Americans who have lost interest in the home­ permit from City Government. Palo Atlo: In less plight. There is little protest when Mayors of 1997, the city passed anti-sitting/lyilllg law. major city's brag about the numbers of mentally Richmond, Va: The City Council passed an ill inmates they have in their criminal justice ordinance requiring that one must get a system. Homeless people also face everyday harassment by police forces in most cites. As we zoning variance to feed more than 30 people in an outdoor location. Santa Ana: "Va­ drive homeless people futher underground, are grants are no longer welcome." The City we any better than those that we denounce in asked charities to quit giving away free food. other countries. The United Nations Declaration Overhead sprinklers are left on 24 hours a of Human Rights lists housing as a basic Human day to discourage sitting and camping. Right. If we believe in the principles the United Police are doing regular sweeps, and are Nations is founded on we are one of the worlds throwing away homeless peoples' personal biggest human rights violators. As cites reclaim properity. Seattle: illegal to sit on the central business districts poor people are being sidewalk. Sparks, NV: a homeless man was pushed out of their homes. Town Houses and arrested for soliciting work. His sign read: Condo's go up and Public Housing comes down. "Unemployed Vet. Will Work for Food. God Where is the protest over the systematic elimina­ Bless You." He got two months in jail. He tion of affordable housing in every major city in America. Our we not cleansing our inner-city's of sued and won a $10,000 settlement. Wash­ ington, D.C.: the Mayor is proposing " minorities and low income people. Beggar Badges." Panhandlers will be People are appalled at the images of requir,ed to have a permit; a fee is to be refugee's living in squalor. Lack of food, water charged. and medical supplies ripe for disease and death. A 1994 Parade Magazine poll found The very same condition exists in hundreds of outdoor camps in the United States. Its time that that 82% of the public does not believe that homeless people should be banned from Americans, the policemen of the world begin to libraries, parks, mass transit and other public police their own backyard. We should justifiably places. A 1995 Gallup Poli found that 86% be saddened by the events in Kosovo. Our of Americans have sympathy for the Home­ hearts should be burdened by their enormous less:31% are more sympathetic today than struggle. We should also be deeply troubled by five years ago. the atrocities that go on every single day in �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine DROP INN CENTER SUBJECT OF COUNCIL DISCUSSION AT CITY HALL Page 3 FOUR RECEIVE MCCRACKIN AWAROS Greater Cincinnati Community Shares The following are excerpts taken from an official transcript of a Cincinnati City Council meeting on April 4th, 1999. Mr. Booth: I do have one additional . byleave. This other byleave is in reference to the Drop Inn Center. I move the administration report on the Drop Inn Center to build a new home for the existing SCPA [School for the Creative and Performing Arts]. We received calls on this and wa11ted to receive an update on that. Thank you. Mrs. Cooper: That will be referred. Mr. Tarbell: Maybe I can help with that a little bit. I am working on several aspects of that. I don't think the city has a position. I don't think the city is involved in that at this point. It was a recommendation by the Cincinnati Arts and Entertainment Committee that is working on a plan for Washington Park, that everything would be better if that program {the Drop Inn Center] was in another location. It is important to under­ stand the history of it. It started on Vine Street some 15 years ago. It was located on Vine Street because the person in charge at that time saw a store front that appealed to him. It was not because the client base was there. Then it moved to 14th and Main. It was there for a couple of years. Not because of the client base was there (sic), but because of available store front. They were evicted by the health depart­ ment. They moved next door to the present location. They occupy the Teamsters Union Hall. Against the City Manager at the time, allowed them to stay. Then the building was built next 'CITY' cont. on page 14... Contents ; I The Traveler Mccrackin Awards Collective Actions Mental Health The Broken City Arts & Poetry Comedy Corner National News Prison News Speakers Bureau Welfare News Arts Center Debate Scramble Letters & Editorials Cinti's Appalachians The Champ Classified Ads Streetvibes Radio TV Schedule Page2 Page3 Page4 Page4 Page5 Page6 Page7 Page7 Pages Page9 Page 10 Page 11 Page11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 15 Page 15 Page 16 Winners of the Maurice Mccrackin Peace and Justice Awards, Left to Right: PhotobyJimmyHeath Denise Crew, Bill Joiner, Mary Ann Lederer, & Mike Henson The late Rev. Maurice Mccrackin spent his life working for peace, equality and justice. He dreamed of building a "beloved community," where all God's children would be welcomed and honored. But he knew it has to be done one-by­ one. That's essential. This is what the annual Maurice Mccrackin Peace and Justice Awards recognize: the efforts of individual Cincinnatians to transform the world, person by person. The 1999 winners are Denise Crew, Mike Henson, Bill Joiner and Mary Ann Lederer. They were honored at a public May Day celebra­ tion hosted by Greater Cincinnati Community Shares, Saturday, May 1st, 1999 at Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church. Denise Crew has worked for 20 years for homeless and low-income people in Over-the­ Rhine. She calls them her "children," but they are also her neighbors. As shelter coordinator of the Drop Inn Center, she puts in sometimes 70 to 80 hours a week. She was a founding editor of Voices, a community action newspaper, and she is a regular contributor to the newspaper, Streetvibes. Her poems have been reprinted in local and state publications, and through song and voice she has contributed to countless rallies and protests. A single-mother, she has raised three of her own children and numerous foster children. Mike Henson is also a writer and social activist with strong ties to Over-the-Rhine. Although his days are full working for the Urban Appalachian Council's Environmental Leadership Project in Lower Price Hill, he continues to volunteer at the Drop Inn Center. A state certi­ fied chemical dependency counselor, he provides free consultation at the Center during his lunch breaks. In previous jobs and during 15 year residency in Over-the-Rhine, he helped organize inner-city Appalachian youth. Both of his books, Ransack and A Small Room with Trouble on My Mind, are unique portraits of life in Over-the­ Rhine. Bill Joiner is a physics professor at the University of Cincinnati who has never let the privileges of middle class life numb him to the needs of the less fortunate. Inspired by Rev. Mccrackin and the late Buddy Gray, he has devoted himself to homeless persons, prisoners and ex-prisoners, working through Justice Watch , the Drop Inn Center and the Homeless Coalition. He helped negotiate the first collective bargain­ ing agreement at UC and has walked the .picket lines and labored in solidarity with numerous other workers. Through additional volunteer efforts at Planned Parenthood, ACLU and the United Way, he has striven to make this a more tolerant and just community. Mary Ann Lederer is well-known as an artist who, with bright colors and vivid images, shares her vision of a peaceful world. She is also a speaker, a regular letter writer and an organizer. Often her campaigns for human rights are through established organii:ations, such as EarthSave, the Contact Center and the lntercom­ munity Justice and Peace Center. But when she finds unanswered needs, she will create her own means to address them. Last year she solicited more than 400 books from friends and distributed them to children in her neighborhood of Fairmont. Though disabled as a young woman, Mary Ann has never let life in a wheelchair be anything less than fully committed to t~e libera­ tion of others. Greater Cincinnati Community Shares was the host of this annual, free event. Featured . speakers were Marian and Donald Spencer. Featured singers were the Laborers Local 265 Men's Chorus and members of MUSE Cincinnati' Women's Choir. A reception followed the program. Greater Cincinnati Community Shares is a federation of local nonprofit organizations that work collaboratively to increase support for their community-based programs, primarily by con­ ducting workplace campaigns. Subscri·be 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. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521O Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. If you have any questions, call 421-7803. �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine FIRE SHOWS LACK OF COLLECTIVE ACTION by Patrick Moso/f St. Francis, St. Joseph Catholic Worker House Newsletter The night of January 7th, one of our guests noticed that a building down the street was spewing flames out of its windows. Outside, people gathered to watch as fire trucks rolled up and set to work extinguishing the inferno. Several hours later, trucks were still blocking traffic on Liberty and 15th streets. Despite the passing interest and the light' show, most of the people reacted with a sense of tragedy. Being a person who looks for the causes of things, I wondered, "Why is this building burning down? Why is this happening despite Cincinnati's lack of affordable housing, and the historic value of the buildings?" One cause appears to be the lack of collective action in the United States. By this I mean that the American people are more likely to look for personal security and gain than to try to work together for mutual goals. Lack of collective action and rugged individualism are two sides of the same coin. "Rugged individualism" is often said to be one of the defining elements of American culture. While it has its positive elements, such as freedom of thought, it also has its downside. One of these is our inability to work as a group for common goals, such as maintaining our city neighborhoods and providing homes for the poor. Another trend in the U. S. also relates to the fire on 15th street. Since the end of World War II, more and more Americans have been living in places called suburbia. At first this trend seems unrelated to individualism. But when one looks deeper, one sees that the motive for living in suburbia is to escape from the population density of the city. The goal of suburban living is to acquire a sizable piece of land which belongs solely to oneself and one's family. In doing this, a family elifT!inates the need for excessive interactions with people in a tightly knit community, and the thorny issues that sometimes go along with It. I wager that the main interaction a suburban family has with the community is through a religious group (probably once a week). This trend to suburban living is individualism expressed as the desire to carve out one's own comfort niche without difficult struggles with the neighbors or commu­ nity members. · On may wonder how this relates to a fire in the inner city. These dwelling patterns, actually a vast migration, have left huge parts of cities in the United States empty, with a declining tax base and abandoned vestiges of past glory. Only the poor remain in these places that are to Unpleasant for many folks in the age of the automobile. The poor, with very little money, cannot keep their communities afloat and the buildings open. Economic forces necessitate that these old buildings decay and become shells. Sooner or later, many are demolished. I stood watching the building burning, less than a block from our House, with one of our former guests. We grew silent for a moment, reflecting on the meaning of the fire. I won­ dered who the owner is - quite possibly an individual who owns many buildings, possibly for speculation. Or perhaps the owner is waiting for the resources to rehabilitate this building. A failure, I thought, not just of the owner, but in another way, of our society as a whole. I walked back to the House; a warm place in winter. It is still open, 14 years later, provid­ ing shelter for the homeless, thanks to the collective effort of many over time. May it be an example that spreads a little further down the street. WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH? Page 4 all the traits of good mental health all the time. One way of describing mental health is to describe mentally healthy people. Just knowing what mental health is doesn't mean you can go out and be mentally healthy, but knowing can help you to understand it. Most mentally healthy people work on their mental health every day. THE PRIMARY CHARACTER/ST/CS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE MENTALLY HEALTHY: 1. They feel good about themselves. They can take life's disappointments in stride. They have a tolerant, easy-going attitude toward themselves as well as others and they can laugh at themselves. They can accept their own shortcomings and respect themselves. They are able to deal with most situations and take pleasure in simple, everyday things. Many people, when they hear the term mental health, think of mental illness. But mental health is far more than the absence of mental illness. Mental health is something all of us want for ourselves. When we talk about happiness, peace of mind, enjoyment or satisfaction in life, we are also talking about mental health. Our mental health affects our everyday life. Think for a moment about how difficult it can be to focus on work if you're worried about your family. Your mental health is affecting (however minimally) your work. Mental health involves the overall way that people get along ­ with their families, at school, on the job, at play, with their peers, and in their communities. It involves the way that each person balances his or her needs, ambition, abilities, feelings and conscience in order to meet the demands of everyday life. Mental Health has to do with three major things: how you feel about yourself, how you feel about other people, and how you are able to meet the demands of everyday life. There is no line that neatly divides the mentally healthy from the unhealthy. There are many different degrees of mental health. No one characteristic by itself can be taken as evidence of a mental illness. And nobody has 2. They are able to give love and to consider the interests of others. They have satisfying and lasting personal relationships. They like and trust others and believe that others will like and trust them. They respect the many differences they find in people. They do not take advantage of others, nor do they allow others to take advantage of them. They feel that they are part of a group, they belong, and they feel a sense of responsibility to fellow human beings. 3. They are able to meet the demands of life. They do something about their problems as they arise. They accept their responsibilities. They shape their environment whenever pos­ sible; they adjust to it whenever necessary. They plan ahead and do not fear the future. They welcome new experiences and ideas. They make use of their talents and set realistic goals for themselves. They are able to make their own decisions and are satisfied with putting their best effort into what they do. Jill Kartisek, Director of Education of Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky, states that the most important thing to remem­ ber as you think about your mental health is that you have the power to change it. Rapid Exit assists families and individuals in moving from homelessness 10 permanent · housing rapidly tor morelnlormauon contact The Greater Clncinnau CoaHUon For The Homeless at 421-1803 and ask ror Gina Miller �STREElVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page s by Jimmy Heath board representative and long time community activist, expressed their anxiety over an outside firm coming in and assessing the needs of a community and then leaving, in the period of one week. The consultants argued that they had listened to community concerns, especially those regardirig Washington Park. That the center of the arts campus would not be focused on Washington Park because of the community's desperate need for green space. Pat Clifford and Bonnie Neumeier, board members and representatives of the Drop Inn Center expressed anxiety that an outside con­ sulting firm would come into the community, assess the needs, and then leave in one week. It is estimated that 33% of homeless persons in this country are veterans. The U.S. Can NEVER Bring Peace By Force! News of brutal ethnic cleansing, mass rapes, artillery bombing of civilians, and massa­ cres have pained people's hearts everywhere. There is a feeling of "somebody has to do something." But is that somebody the U.S.? Can their brand of violence stop violence? Well answer this question: How can the same people who justify their sanctions against Iraq as "worth" the deaths of 1 million children expect us to believe that they care about the people of Kosovo and want peace? As veterans of this country's invasions and wars, we know a little something about the "help" that this country brings to the peoples of the world. In Vietnam, our help included agent orange, napalm and saturation bombings. In Panama, it consisted on bombing civilians and covering them up in mass graves. In the Persian Gulf, our help resulted in the road to Basra and an environment poisoned by chemi­ cal weapons and depleted uranium. So we know that the last thing the U.S. is bringing to Kosovo is help. The real purpose behind the bombings is to force Kosovo and Serbia to accept the U.S. brokered RAMBOuillet agreement which includes a NATO occupying force of 28,000 (4,000 U.S.) troops. The agreement, basically, sets up a much harsher version of the Haiti occupation. The bulk of it is a "democratic" 9onstitution that renders the Kosovars and Yugoslavs powerless to do anything not ap­ proved by the proposed occupiers. The NATO occupiers can do anything they want without restraint or legal liability and the local authori­ ties are required to assist them on demand. With a blueprint like this, it's clear that the only interests served by U.S.involvement in the Balkans will qe their own. When asked on "60 Minutes" in May of 1996 about the deaths of half a million children, [in the Salkans] more than had died in Hiroshima, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright responded, " We think the price is worth it." ARTS CENTER BOARD MEETING TO BE HELD AT DRQ·p INN CENTER IS CANCELLED COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS CONTINUE TO BE A PRESENCE AT BOARD MEETINGS by Susan Knight Erich Kunzel was not present at the April 121h meeting of the Arts and Education Board meeting. However, over thirty Over-the-Rhine citizens and activists were. The concern surrounds the planned development of a new School for the Creative and Performing Arts which would be built up and around Music Hall. The sprawling arts campus could potentially encompass a considerable amount of land, much of which contains low-income housing, Washington Park, the largest green space in Over-the-Rhine and the Drop Inn Center, Cincinnati's largest homeless shelter. Four feasibility plans were presented before the board on April 121h. Three involved the dis­ placement of the Drop Inn Center. The feasibil­ ity plan that allowed for the existence of the Drop Inn Center called for the displacement of the District One Police Station and a power supply company, both of which would be ex­ tremely costly to relocate. The consultants contracted out by the board, hired a firm from Alexandria Virginia to aid in the development of a "master" plan to recommend to the board. Pat Clifford, board representative and General Coordinator of the Drop Inn Center, and Bonnie Neumeier, another However, the question of the existence of the Drop Inn Center remained. Pat Clifford asked that the next board meeting be held at the Drop Inn Center so that the board members would have the opportunity to "see" what they were destroying. At March's board meeting there had been a vote to hold the next board meeting at the Drop Inn Center, but do to a "miscommunicatio'n," that motion had been lost from the minutes. The Drop Inn Center was told it would have the opportunity to host the "special meeting," that was taking place April 121h . With only two days notice, however, and the idea that any "special meeting" could very easily not have good attendance the Drop Inn Center could not accommodate the last minute request. Conse­ quently, all board members were informed that the Drop Inn Center was simply not prepared to host the meeting Pat Clifford had requested in the March meeting. Addressing this issue, Pat Clifford was angered at the entire process and asked for another vote to reschedule· the next board meeting to take place at the Drop Inn Center. The motion failed. The board did vote to "encourage" board members that had not previously toured the Drop Inn Center to do so. The community attending the meeting ex­ pressed their outrage but no board members explained their actions. The next meeting will be Tuesday May 4111 at 4pm at Memorial Hall. All are welcome. 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 every month. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks pay­ able to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless­ Streetvibes. If you have any questions, call 421-7803. . �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE BECAUSE by Mike Henson STREET Arts & Poetry HEAVEN AND EARTH anonymous Some kid shot too much at the show and his click didn't want to call 911. Jesse was not alone when the room grew cold but now he's gone. John was stacking quarter pops at Shalash and told me they gonna run us out. lime to get a hundred people and lock the doors on music hall cause it's our neighborhood. The cops picked up Omar for a week's vacation in hell. Cops got Sonny cause if they run somebody has to pay. Cops took my neighbor at eight this morning. She wore a scarf and sun­ glasses but I saw her dignity. When Ali was against the ropes he would go into a room in his mind where the walls were covered with masks. Said he never lost when he found he could take one and wear it back into the fight. These days there is no beauty but the rain against the kitchen window. No time but now. My soul throws combinations of joy and sorrow. My silence breaks down doors. I count my breath and paint black circles joining heaven and earth. TEARS Because the comfort of one is the poverty of another Because God left the job undone Because there is no escape from pain Because it was all a lie Because Jesus himself went homeless and unemployed Because property is theft Because no one else would Because it said so in the Bible Because of the arrows of conscience Because there is no peace Because he believed what they told him Because there is no justice Because the cold winter wind is called the hawk; it whistles down the alleys it sweeps through the parks with a killing whisper Because it is all a mystery Because nothing else will save us Because the sultans of culture despise the poor Because the heart is the center of all true wealth Becau~e a person only needs just a little to live Because life is hard Because the world is sad Because the Pharisee are reborn more often tha_ n Jesus and the money-changers plan to rede­ velop the temple Because the widow's mite is turned over to Dives and Herod Because City Council passed an ordinance to outlaw gleaning Because the heart is where God lives Because there are just a few sure things Because he wanted to be innocent Because he would not be governed by any law but one: ­ Therefore, he left his home he took up his cross and was nailed to the floor of his office. SINGLES PHONE LINE by Denise Crew by Victor Velez on the tip of my eyes they rest to be cried later to be dried ·' they leave behind tear trace on my face during the night when they come out seeking hope asking for an endwhen will I cry happy tears again? Here I go again, listening to the lines What is everyone looking for It can't possibly be the honesty I keep hearing about from the shallow ones Who want to be gratified instantly About who they want me to be, rather than who I am Non-accepting imperfect people looking for accepting perfect people to pour their emptiness into. There are those who are, for the right, right now...... .. you ....... . For Friendship, For Life Page 6 AURORA anonymous I saw her on the bus that night alive while everyone else was off wandering home through the diesel maze Managua smelling like a pot of beans. She's more than she looks like behind a knife in the kitchen cutting veggie$ tor Jose and Don Trino staring at the latest soap on the black and white TV. She told me about it on the corner at midnight when we both had too much The revolution is dead But what has been born inside Can never be taken away from us People on the mountain Couldn't even read Aurora smokes sometimes cause she's longing for the old days when she used to know what truth was Pablo Milanes plays and sings a little slow on the beat up radio while we sit on the bottom bunk and watch it rain outside I want to get married Go up to the mountains Cause all this means nothing And I'm tired of trying ,. . ..-:.':.::.r (\ Comedy Corner by Ron Carter Here at STREETVIBES we have very good vendors. We have good vendors and we also have a Generic Vendor. As we all know, Generic in medical terms means a cheaper brand that is supposed to have the same effect as the name brand. We also know that the Generic Brand is an imposter for the real stu{f. Th~t brings me back to our Generic Vendor who goes around impersonating a real vendor. Our real vendors sell around 500 to 1000 or better Streetvibes a month, which is great. Here comes our Generic vendor, who will remain nameless, who sells about 5 or 10 papers a week because he spends the day, everyday, in our office. Here's hoping this Generic Vendor will get on the ball and get promoted to a real vendor, soon. Written just for a laugh or two. �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Nationwide One Million Assisted Housing Units for Low Income People· at Risk National Groups Urge Clinton and Congress to Act The Clinton White House must act now to prevent the imminent loss of up to one million units of privately-owned, assisted housing, three national housing organizations declared at a Sacramento Press Conterence on Tuesday. The groups released new data showing that America is losing its supply of assisted housing at an accelerating rate due to unchecked decisions by owners to discontinue their participation in federal subsidy programs and raise rents to high market rates. "We're losing this precious housing at a current rate of over 3,000 apartments per month," said Michael Bodaken, President of the National Housing Trust (NHT), a national nonprofit organization formed to preserve and improve federally assisted housing for low and moderate income use. "This housing is an endangered species. Once it's lost, it will never be replaced." Data compiled by the Trust shows that close to 100,000 units were lost since Congress allowed owners to pay, off subsidized mortgage balances (called 'prepayment') on affordable housing complexes in April 1996. The Press Conference was held at a Sacramento development, Governor's Village Apartments, whose owner prepaid the mortgage last year and hiked rents to market levels. "What's happened to my building and over 600 · others like it across the country amounts to 'economic cleansing' of low income people who are considered less desirable by landlords who want to make a buck by charging high market rents," stated Charlotte Delgado, President of the Governor's Village Tenants Council and a Board member of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT), the nation's first national tenants union of residents in HUD-assisted buildings. "The insecurity and fear of losing our homes each year is a real trauma for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Americans," Delgado added. "In the first two years since Congress restored the ability of owners to prepay, 33,000 units were lost, from April 1996 to April 1998. In the next eight months, an additional 26,000 units were lost from prepayment," stated Michael Kane, Executive Director of NAHT. ''This amounts to a 135% increase in the rate of loss of assisted housing from prepayments alone toward the end of' last year." Kane re­ ported that NAHT affiliates in over 15 cities are releasing data this week showing dramatic increases in loss rates in their states, ranging as high as 2,000% in states such as Florida and New Mexico. The NHT has also documented another 25,000 units which have been lost through owner decisions to 'opt out' of expiring subsidy contracts in the past two years, a problem that is expected to grow in the future as long-term contracts expire over the next several years and owners in high market areas 'opt out' of renew­ als. Owners will opt out of close to 200,000 more of these units in the next few years, according to a recent memorandum issued by Recapitalization Advisors, which represents owner groups. Participants at the Press Conference called on the White House Office of Manage­ ment and Budget to remove its opposition to U.S. Department of HUD proposals to use existing laws to save at-risk buildings. "By taking steps immediately to allow HUD to use existing funds to preserve these units, the Clinton Administration will further many of the goals to which it is committed-deconcentration of poverty, improved access to good schools and jobs, and protection of elderly and disabled people," said Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) at the Sacramento event. The NLIHC is the nation's leading housing organization, founded in 1974 with membership in all 50 states. "Saving these buildings by renewing existing contracts at below market levels is actually cheaper each year than letting owners prepay and providing expensive market rate rent vouchers to tenants required by current law," added Kane. "When owners prepay, the government pays out more money and the units are lost as affordable housing forever. Prepay­ ment doesn't pay." In addition, the groups called on Congress to fund bipartisan legislation (HR 425) filed by Congressmen Bruce Vento (D-MN) and Jim Ramsted (R-MN) to provide federal matching grants to states which act to preserve at-risk housing. The groups also pledged to work with Republican Housing Subcommittee leaders Rick Lazio (R-NY), Jim Walsh (R-NY), and Banking Committee Chair Jim Leach (R-IA) to develop a recent bill (HR 1336) they filed to direct HUD and OMB to save at-risk HUD housing, following dramatic losses of elderly housing in Iowa. Participants at the Sacramento Press Conference were joinea by over 40 tenants representing at-risk developments across the state. California leads the nation with over 11,000 units lost to date, in 26 separate coun­ ties. While prepayment rates have peaked, California is now leading in market rate 'opt outs' of federal "project-based Section 8" subsidy contracts. In the past two months alone, the owners of 27 projects with over 3,000 units in the Los Angeles area have filed to terminate their expiring Section 8 contracts. The California Housing Partnership Corporation, a private nonprofit consulting organization, estimates that an additional 25-30,000 units·in the state will opt out of affordable housing programs in the next several years unless new programs are put in place. The groups urged support for state initia­ tives in California and elsewhere to provide preservation funds or to regulate owner deci­ sions. Contact: Erin Sprinkle, National Alliance of HUD Tenants: 617-267-9564 Linda Couch, National Low Income Hous­ ing Coalition: 202-662-1530x242 Michael Bodaken, National Housing Trust: 202-333-8931 Page 1 DESTITUTE IN SAN FRANCISCO ONCE AGAIN MADE A TARGET AS ELECTION NEARS MAYOR WOULD MAKE IT A CRIME TO BEG BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD Rachel Gordon - of the San Francisco Examiner Mayor Willie Brown has become the latest in a series of San Francisco mayors to zero in on people who are dow.n and out as re-election draws near. With just more than six months before he goes before voters seeking a second term, Brown is backing legislation to crack down on panhandlers. For Brown's immediate predecessor, Frank Jordan, the homeless people hunkered down in Golden Gate Park were in the cross-hairs. He ordered police to sweep them out. For Art Agnos, S~n Francisco's mayor before Jordan, it was the clearing out of the infamous "Camp Agnos" homeless encampment in Civic Center Plaza across the street from the mayor's City Hall office. This time around, people who use the city's median strips or stand on freeway on-and off-ramps to beg for money are election-year targets. Brown wants a law prohibiting them from the practice. Come election time, quality-of-life issues rank high on the minds of candidates, perhaps because they rank high with voters. "Every time there's been an upcoming election, the sitting mayors at the time have imposed crackdowns like this," said Paul Boden, director of the Coalition on Homelessness. "There's certainly been a pattern, and the message is clear: Get them out of sight and out of mind." The latest legislation, introduced by Supervisor Amos Brown Monday, would make it illegal for anyone to sit, stand or lie in roadways and median strips for more than a few minutes. Violators would face a $100 fine on the first offense, $200 for the second and $250 for the third within a calendar year. The mayor has steered clear ot even hinting that the proposed legislation, made public last month, has anything to do with homeless people. Instead, he describes it as a public safety initiative. "We have had an alarming increase in pedestrian fatalities in the last year, and I simply will not tolerate activities that contribute to these avoidable deaths," Mayor Brown said. "I believe that for the safety of our citizens - both pedestrians and motorists - this is a common­ sense approach to eliminating high-risk prac­ 1 TARGET 1 cont. on back page... �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Prisoner's News I I i i ! \ \I \. ... ~ \. ... ! i....... . P ROCEDURAL AND DOCUMENT ERRORS CREATE STRUGGLE FOR PAROLEE I am writing to you in my struggle to undue the wrong that the Ohio Adult Parole Authorities has done to me and my family. I went before the parole board on June 3, 98. My unit case manager filled out my INSTITUTIONAL SUM~ MARY REPORT and typed NONE under programs when I had 36 program certificates and a bachelor degree in Theology. When I went before the board the panel said we see you don't have any programs. I told them I did. They said we can't seem to find your unit file. That was the first part of the lie because the institutional summary report is placed in the unit file. So the board placed me at a MID range because I did have a good institutional record. I was given a projected release date of 7/1/2000. I came back to the unit and told my unit manager what the case manager had done. She told him to write a letter to the .parole board and list all the certificates, that if these would have been presented I would have been granted a parole for programs. The next morning the case manager, Mr. Danridge, called me into his office in front of several people and told me, "I HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS FOR YOU. I GOT IN TOUCH WITH FREEWAY DRIVE AND WE GOT YOU A NEW OUT DATE. CALL YOUR FAM ILY AN O T ELL THEM YOU ARE COMING HOME FEB/2/99." He showed me a memo from the record office with all the projected release dates on it and under my name it said 2/ 1/99. It came from Cindy Lan·e of the record office. After I checked with the record office I found out that this new out date was not true. I went to Mr. Oanridge and asked him about this. He then said he called the record office and that my out date was still 7/1 /2000 and that he didn't know what was going on. At that time I knew that Mr. Danridge had that out date put on that paper to get me off his back for the wrong he done me at my hearing. At the same time knowing that he was going to leave the institu­ tion and move to Florida BEFORE THE OUT DATE CAME UP! He is in fact now gone form the institution. I called my sister in Columbus. She called Ms. Ghee, the chairperson of the parole board, and told her what had taken place. She at that time granted me a new hearing for Sept/3/98 and told my sister to tell me to take all 36 programs and my Bachelor degree to that hearing. At that hearing Mr. Capots, the hearing officer, asked me why they should take the out date back of 7/1/2000. I explained to him what had taken place. He at that time said "we are still going to place you at MID range with the same out date of 7/ 1/2000." I showed him a copy of the paper from the record office. We at that time went out to the desk where Cindy Lane was. He asked her about this and she lied to him saying she made a mistake, that it was my projected review date and he told her no, that it was clear that this was under projected release date. He asked Cindy Lane for a copy of the paper and she did not give it to him. I filed an appeal to Ms. Ghee and she refused to answer the appeal. My sister wrote her two appeals and Ms. Ghee refused to answer either of them. The record office and the parole authorities said that I had a projected review date seven months before my projected out date of 7/1/ 2000. This March my name was on the March call sheet for the March parole board under projected release date. The unit secrelary showed me my name on the call sheet from the parole authorities and it was posted in several places in the dorm. When the parole board came on March 3rd I was not called to the parole board. I went to the unit secretary and she told me that it was for review or something, she wasn't sure. Now no one in the record office seems to know why the parole board placed my name on the call sheet. My sister called the parole board and asked them why my name was on the March call sheet tor the parole board. They lied to her and told her my name was not on the March call sheet. Under the new parole board guidelines there is a guideline for program achievement that states for programs such as Bachelor Degree and other programs that 10 to 15% of the total time you have served could be taken off your projected release date. I have served 132 months. 15% of that would have put my projected out date at Feb/3/99. It is clear that parole board has lied to the public and news media about the seriousness of the guidelines. They have stated several times in news papers how they follow the new guidelines. They only follow the part to make all prisoners serve the MID range of their category no matter how much they have done towards rehabilitation. The facts are clear. If I was placed at a MIO range at the first hearing without programs and then placed at the same MID range. at the second hearing when 36 certificates and a Bachelor Degree with an outstanding ·institu­ tional record and above average work records. They did not follow the guidelines for programs. If they would have then I would have been placed at a MIN range at the second hearing. Or had my case reviewed so that 13 months could be taken off for programs under the new guidelines. The only response I get is to keep up the programs and to stay positive. This kind of action by the parole board can only leave a prisoner more frustrated. The new guidelines are only there for show when it comes to programs. Not one prisoner has received time taken off their projected release date under these new guidelines. My file under programs goes well over the guidelines for program achievement and still the parole board refuses to send a message to prisoners that we care about your rehabilitation. So now I sit here until 7/1/2000, a frus­ trated prisoner who has done everything to rehabilitate himself only to have it pushed back in his face saying that we don't care. My sister has tried to get them to grant me a review to do what is right, but they refuse to listen, and continue to lie to her. Page a The parole authorities set rules for us to follow and then when we break them we are punished. Why can't they follow their own rules? Because they have no one to answer to! Also after the March 3rd meeting I was sent to the ID department by the unit secretary Ms. Hosley to be finger printed and have photo's sent to the unit for a parole packet that was placed in my unit ~ile. Why did the secretary, Ms. Hosley, unit secretary of unit 2E, order this to be done if my name wasn't on the March call sheet? Its because she was expecting for me to go home in 60 days once your name is placed on the parole call sheet under projected release date. This is why she ordered the finger prints and the photos for my unit file. Now the parole authorities are trying to cover this up by telling my sister that my name wasn't on the March call sheet. Ms. Hosley will tell you that it was and that she ordered finger prints and photos just in case I received a parole at the hearings. Richard Frye #205-231 POBox511 Columbus, Ohio 43216 THE OPPRESSOR by James W. Pryor We, with common knowledge, and experi­ ence within our modern day society, have a complete understanding of the term 'oppressor'. Such can come in many forms, the factory worker executive, a judicial officer, police officer, a correctional officer and the established government. We face the oppressor everyday when we are forced to live under the rules of a government that is centered on control, and not the good of it's people. The poor in our society, the underclass, are the ones that are most harmed by the· oppressor. You can see this in your factory worker who is forced to take a pay cut, because the corporation wants to generate more revenue, the homeless family that goes without food and shelter because our social agencies are underfunded due to the fact that governmental expenditures are focused on prison building, jails, police wages, and luxuries tor the executive branches. This list could go on, because of the extreme waste by the capitalists who generate their wealth by oppress­ ing the poor through laws, regulations, policies and a potpourri of political nonsense. The above is a serious problem, but it is the State of Ohio and its branch of corruption called the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, or more proper, DORC. Sure, I believe in rules, laws and regulations, but only when they operate for the worth of the whole people and not just a general class of people. Everyday I wake up to a new rule, policy, regulation or law implemented to oppress the Ohio prisoner {and I am sure that all prisoners in the U. S. face the same), but I can only express my experience. The Ohio prison system employs correctional staff that are undereducated and easily manipulated by the chiefs in charge. The funny part is that they do not realize the position they are placed into by their oppressor. Yet, every day they carry out the commands of their chiefs at the detriment of the Ohio prisoner. Ohio has slaves in the form of prisoners who are forced to work w ithin the Ohio Prison Industries under the dangerous conditions existing for meager wages while generating millions in revenue for the oppressor. The oppressor has the rule to charge a medical co­ pay tee of three dollars per prisoner tor each �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine medical visit, and the sad part is that the prisoner receives seriously inadequate treat­ ment from incompetent doctors and nurses. This may seem normal to some, but you must estimate the prisoner death rate per capita, and the fact that three dollars is one sixth of a prisoners monthly eighteen dollar stipend. Also, it must be realized that the commissary that the prisoner is allowed to purchase items from, charges extreme prices. Another area in which the oppressor capitalizes off of the prisoner is through phone calls, in which the prisoner's family (taxpayers) are charged higher rates than the general public who accept collect calls from family elsewhere. Everyday, I see forms of the oppressor and it hurts to see his actions accepted by fellow prisoners. The prisoner is forced to stand outside for long periods of time in all the ele­ ments of the weather in inadequate clothing waiting to eat a meal that is usually cold and of minute portions. This does include prisoners who are in their 60's and ?O's and older, the handicapped in wheelchairs, the ill, and all other prisoners. There is now a new oppressive move to extort monies form the prisoner. This is done in what they call infraction compensation, where they write reports on a prisoner for existent and nonexistent policies, then they deduct five dollars from the prisoners account. This is done regularly without the oppressor following his own regulations. The sadness goes on, but it would fill a coliseum with paper to write it all. However, with one final expression of disgust, I must make one last statement. Through all of this, there are a majority of Ohio prisoners who accept their oppressor. They do this by stealing from their fellow prisoner, informing on their fellow prisoner for rule infractions and by being the oppressor's boys. This is done by their cleaning up and covering up for the oppressor, the deplorable environ­ ment so that the oppressor can pass inspections and continue oppressing. This hurts, and inside I weep with sadness for these prisoners who are controlled in such a manner as to become nonfunctioning as rational human beings. GEORGE SKATZES Oh January 30, 1996, George Skatzes · (pronounced like "skates") was sentenced to death for the murders of two prisoners during the 11-day uprising in April, 1993, at the maxi­ mum security Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. During the uprising George acted as a peacekeeper and spokesman for the prisoners. Many prisoners credit George with saving their lives during the riot. Former hostage guard Jeffrey Ratcliff asked the jurors to spare George's life, stating under oath that George helped protect two guards and even released a third guard who was badly injured. Ratcliff went on to say that he wouldn't be alive today if not for George. Surely fhe death toll from the uprising would have been much, much higher if not for George. He's been sentenced to death because he refused to cooperate (snitch) with prison offi­ cials, who promised not to prosecute him if he THE SPEAKERS BUREAU Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless forms new public education program. by Gina Miller Page 9 would "cooperate." George became the target of the investigation because he had·the courage to come forward and help negotiate a peaceful end to the uprising. As a spokesman, he became a symbol and a target. The prisoners who actually committed the murders that George has been sentenced to death for haven't been charged with any crimes, or were given lenient sentences in exchange for their testimony against George. Is that how justice works? The real killers get off the hook by blaming their crimes on someone else? They admitted that they killed the prisoners, but claim that George gave the order. These low-lites would say anything to avoid the death penalty! Assistant Franklin County prosecutor Dan Hogan stated, "Hopefully we've sent a message to any. other inmates who might ever consider doing anything like this again." Yes, they intend to execute George to send us a message. But the message is: You can kill guards and prison­ ers during a riot and blame someone else for it afterwards-and the state will help protect you! Another message·the state sends us with this verdict is: Don't get involved; don't step forward and try to stop the killings. Step aside and let it happen-otherwise you become a symbol and a target for state prosecution. That's the real message, and justice was not served in the death penalty verdict George received. He's 49 years old and sitting on death row waiting for his appeals to run out and an execution date to be set. The truth has to come out. We can't allow George to die as a symbol to send us a "mes­ sage." I have known him for many years, and he's a good solid convict who's always willing to help someone else. Everyone who knows George agrees that he's innocent of these charges. This is a desperate plea to support an innocent man. His sister has agreed to help form an outside support group and a defense committee for her brother. For more information contact: Mrs. Jackie Bowers, PO Box 1591, Marion, Ohio 43301-1591 True Pain Gregory Payton Pain-the sensations one feels when hurt, mentally or physically, especially distress, suffering, great anxiety, anguish, grief. Gina Miller, Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless staff person, speaks to conference g roup at Grailville, in Loveland, Ohio. photobyJfmmyHeath Many people want to learn more homelessness. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homelessness has started a "Speakers Bureau." It was formed in an effort to educate people, and share with people stories of hope. I participated in a retreat on Saturday, April 24, 1999. Four gentlemen and I shared about our experiences. We shared about our current efforts to assist homeless people. We also shared about having been homeless ourselves. I am grateful for having had an opportunity to participate in this retreat. I encourage anyone who is interested in sharing about their experience with being homeless to contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition fo( the Homeless at (513) 421 -7803. If you are interested in inviting people to come and speak about homelessness, please contact the Coalition. We would be happy to share information about it with you. This is what I feel when I look at what is happening to the children. This is what I feel when I think about the violence in movies, and on t.v. This is what I feel when I hear about child abuse. This is what I feel when I hear about child neglect. This is what I feel when I see a child homeless. This is what I feel when I see a child hungry. This is what I feel when I see a child all alone. What is the most important thing in our lives. What and who do we live for today. God's Children �\ STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES Welfare News OEC UNITES TO FIGHT INHUMANE WELFARE LAWS by Lynn Williams To the shouts of "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Sanc­ tions have got to go!", the Ohio Empowerment Coalition's third annual statewide Welfare Cont erence and Lobby Day was started with the intent of stopping Ohio's punitive welfare laws. At a press conference, members of the Ohio Empowerment Coalition spoke o ut for justice for the poor. Julie Star of Stand Against Social Injustice (SASI), in Sandusky County, stated, "We are rewed up and we are fighting back. We're not going to let them continue to run over us (recipients)." Mark Stansbery of the Colum­ bus Organizing Center, spoke out, 'We are powerful and we are strong. You {legislators) are going to have to contend with us." On Thursday morning, a group from the conference went to the House Human Services Committee where testimony was being heard on the Human Services budget. Approximately twenty-five members of the Ohio Empowerment Coalition d isplayed buttons with the words, "Stop Sanctioning Children!" and testified before the Committee. The House Committee had not planned to even deal with the issue of sanctions. Our testimony made them consider it. Representative Netzley grilled the recipi­ ents who testified. One man, Warren, who did a terrific job speaking out against the sanctions and who resides at the Drop Inn Center, was grilled over his substance abuse history. Rep. Netzley asked him, time after time, "Why are you an addict?;" and then "Why are you in a treatment program?" Warren stayed calm and held his ground. "I'm in a treatment program because I want to live." Netzley asked, "What did you say?" Warren repeated, "Because I want to live!" Rep. Netzley still appeared to not get it. At the hearing, a mother from Bethany House, a homeless shelter, testified about how being sanctioned had made her family end up homeless. Mothers with a small baby a nd little girl, all of whom are homeless, were in clear view of the legislators. The little girl sat next to her mother, quietly holding her doll. (How hard it must be to be a little child and not even have a place to call home!) Even though speaker after speaker testified about the impact of sanctions on children, and the legislators viewed sanctioned children right before their eyes, they appeared unmoved. When Genevieve Mitchell and Vicky Knight of Cleveland compared welfare sanctions with what the United States is doing to children in other countries {bombing in Serbia and sanctioning children in Iraq), Representative Carey hit his gavel. 'We are not going to discuss politics at this hearing!" he stated. 'We are here to discuss the budget!" And yet, there clearly is a connection of how the government is treating children & families in all these coun­ tries. Children are being deprived of the essen­ tials of life: shelter and food, and heat in the winter, right here in the heartland of America, as well as around the world in Iraq. Children are the victims, bearing the brunt of inhumane policies of our country. When legislators can cut off all support for poor families in Ohio, even hurting children, by sanctions and time limits, the Ohio Empower­ ment Coalition clearly has its work laid out for us. Currently, according to the Ohio Department of Human Services' testimony in the Legislative Red Book, 31,000 families are being sanctioned each year in Ohio. Considering that most welfare families have three members (a mother and two children) this equals approximately 93,000 individuals, of whom 62,000 are chil­ dren, being sanctioned. Our work is needed now more than ever. At our conference, repre­ sentatives from across the state (Northeast, Central, Northwest, Southeast & Southwest Ohio) united to take action on changing Ohio's bad welfare laws. Update: Members of the Ohio Empower­ ment Coalition met with Representative Barbara Boyd of Cleveland, member of the House Human Services Committee, on April 22nd to urge that the sanctions be changed. Rep. Boyd informed us that she plans to introduce legisla­ tion soon that will restore the cash assistance to children under sanction. The adult portion will be sanctioned, but not the childrens. Call Rep. Boyd to give your support for this legislation being introduced. Also call the other House Human Services Committee members to say you support this change in the sanction policy. Jacquelin O'Brien is the Cincinnati area member of this powerful Committee. Also call your Ohio House representative and senator. House Human Services Committee Members: Rep. John Carey 1-614-466-1366 Rep. Gary Cates 1-614-466-8550 Rep. Jackie O 'Brien 1-614-6;44-6886 or 231-5331 Rep. Barbara Boyd 1-614-644-5079 Rep. Robert Netzley 1-614-466-8114 Rep. Jeannine Perry 1-614-466-1418 Talking Points With Your Legislator • A statewide survey by the Ohio Empow­ erment Coalition shows that sanctions are hurting families with children across Ohio, driving them deeper into poverty. • 31,000 families were sanctioned from welfare in the past year in Ohio that is equivalent to approximately 93,000 people of which approximately 62,000 are minor children. (Data from OOHS Director Sensky's testimony of April 6 , 1999) • An OEC survey shows that most Page 10 sanctions are caused by miscommunication between the caseworker & recipient, or lost paperwork, but NOT due to recipients being unwilling to wo rk. • Ohio Works First families get cash benefits equal to approximately 33% of the Federal Poverty Level. A family of two gets $298 monthly; a family of three gets $362 monthly. When these families are sanctioned, they don't have savings to tide them over. (Most OWF families only have one or two children.) • Some counties are using sanctioris to pump up "work participation" rates for their counties. This is an incentive for caseworkers to sanction families. Counties will get extra money for meeting "work participation" rates. • O nly fourteen states across the United States cut off the entire cash assistance on a first sanction. Ohio is one of these states. Federal law does not require sanctions to be as punitive as Ohio has chosen to make them. For more information and other ways for you to get involved, call the Contact Center at (513) 381-4242. 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 month. Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521 O Please make checks pay­ able to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless-­ Streetvibes. If you have any questions, call 421 -7803. 6600 B Dixie Highway (Diplomat Village) Falrtield, Ohio 45014 All About Tuxedos 203 E. 7th Street Cincinnati, OhiO 45202 Carl le's @ B.Y. A Pager 513-670-6782 arel 3764 Montgomery Road Norwood, OhiO Cellular 513-582-TUXS http://www/network1000.comtALLtux/ "The Outfitters of the Stars' �STREETVIBES The Tri-State•s Homeless Grapevine Page 11 NEW ARTS AND EDU·CATION CENTER PROPOSAL QUESTIONS ARTISTIC INTEGRITY have been waging for decades. by Jimmy Heath The proposal to expand Cincinnati's Music Hall into a larger, world class Arts and Educa­ tion Center continues to pit a poor urban neigh­ borhood; Over-the-Rhine, against the power of big city business and development interests. The Greater Cincinnati Arts and Education Center plan includes the purchase of private land around Music Hall to be developed and used for this monumental expansion project. Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conductor Erich Kunzel's dream of a world class education center for the arts has developed into a large scale money and business scheme with private landlords, consultants, construction companies, architectural firms, and corporate entities all lining up to cash in on this gold rush. The plan to overrun our community, take over by what­ ever means necessary the city's largest home­ less shelter (the Drop Inn Center) primarily for the land, seems to have nothing to do with how important art is in this city. The arrogance of these developers, in the name of 'art' and what they say is right for our city and our community is remindful of an all powerful ruling class telling its less fortunate citizenry what is best for them. The idea and the true form of this 'art' and its impact on the community, and the social responsibilities of this impact does not seem to be a real consideration. The community of Over-the-Rhine and its residents do not seem to matter much to the high-minded contrivances of the Arts and Education Center planning board. Over-the-Rhine, a small block of land just one square mile in dimension, north of Cincinnati's downtown business district, is considered to be prime real estate ripe for development. Yet it is home to thousands of low-income persons; ,.....~~- And Where is the Art? Erich Kunzel photo by Jimmy Heath families, children and senior citizens who find refuge here because of affordable rents, easy access to schools, transportation, shopping and social service providers. Erich Kunzel's 'dream' is a cloak devised by opportunists as a way to get poor people off of this land that is consid­ ered by many (rich folks) to be crucial to Cincinnati's economic growth and downtown expansion. And underlying all of this is the age old battle of the rich ruling-class waging war against those less fortunate as if we do not exist or do not matter. lhis is a battle that the community and the people of Over-the-Rhine H1TTHE BULL'S EYE WITH 0 USING IN A Scramble by Ron Carter HURRY! If you're in the market for a new apartment, call Cincinnati's. affordable alternative ... CMHA! CMHA communities are budget-friendly, are located in neighbor­ hoods across Hamilton County, and are near the places important to you ... jobs, churches, hospitals and stores! With CMHA's Housing In A Hurry Program, you can be made eligible to be housed in 5 days or less. Don't miss this opportunity! Hours: Mon.-Sat., 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. What responsibilities does the artist have to the community and society in general? The artist has the power to educate, make effeqtive change and bring awareness to the social issues of the day. Walker Evans, through photography, documented poor tenant farmers in Alabama in the 1930's, bringing awareness to the plight of sharecroppers and the rural poor. Diego Rivera documented, through his paintings and murals, the rumblings of a revolution. And with this power comes the issue of moral responsibility. Who owns the art that is created out of a community, a society? Can art be in itself an act of violence or should it only mirror the violence around us? Economic and social violen9e against poor persons is a constant battle fought daily in Over-the-Rhine and all around the world. As a community we are always fighting to keep what other communities sometimes take for granted; the right to live and . work in peace, with guarantees of certain basic rights. Is the Greater Cincinnati Arts and Education Center plan more important and beyond all moral considerations? Certainly, Erich Kunzel knows the power of the celebration of music and its importance to a community. It seems to me that elevating art beyond its community, by creating a class of art or artist, destroys the integrity of the work. Is fine art only a privilege that the well off may enjoy? When art becomes a commodity, a business to be bought and sold and classified, it becomes something other than a creation from the heart. It is tainted art. It becomes a destroyer of the people that it touches and is no longer art. Location: 1635 Western Avenue Try to unscramble these related words: IVRIYNSTEU STESVANE ODOG MRTISANAA HWSJIE HETSEDAB NSEDESAOC NSDLREIHC SHCTIR ECNPVRIDEO SAITN KELU YCRME ANIARCFCSN Call CMHA at 421-8190. Answers on page 15. . . Phone: 921-1231 STATE AVENUE SALVAGE HISTORICAL BLDG. MATERIALS ANOT H ER CL·\.SS P R ODvCT IO ~ Disc-Jockey Service EARL (CHARLIE) MATIINGLY 1958 State Ave. Cinti., OH 45204 CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761-3464 (5 13) 230·6353 Please Support Our Advertis­ ers �- STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES OVER THE Editorials & RHINE HAS ALREADY Letters SUFFERED Page 12 way? buddy gray is still watching over us and still lives in all of the homeless advocates in this city. We will not tolerate this unfair treatment of homeless individuals. Please think about what an inhuman proposal you are making and be consciously aware of the folks you would be putting on the streets to sleep in freezing temperatures or heat stroke conditions. Sincerely, Valerie Taylor 1- · · · - · · · - · · · - · · · ·..· · · - · · - · · · - · · · - · · · - · · · -..· ·\ \-/----C~'.::.~-~~::~-=~:=:7 I / ••••• --'i~=~~~~.:---·........ ( _...,,..;.>·;;·\.,...._•··--...! / \~~).____.__... -·- ~--~·-.,_·-·· ·- -- .... \ \, .. ••y. /# \ .' ,. -_... \ \ /:-....--~.....-.-·-·-·......... . ___ --· ·..: ..:.:-:.:·- __......- ....- __ .............--.............. ~--:;··-· .... ...- · f - ··~·:·-···/ ' ' ', l ........- .....__··-~\I/ Dear Streetvibes, John Perotti went on a hunger strike on April 17th because of prison conditions at Ohio State Penitentiary, Youngstown ,Ohio. Also he has been denied the right to call his attorney that is representing him at his federal lawsuit in Cincinnati. You can write to John Perotti, 167-712, at 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Road, Youngstown, Ohio 44505-4635 or call the Prisoners Advocacy Network in Cincinnati at (513) 421-1108. After a brief absence from Cincinnati, I returned to find that a new Arts and Education Center had been proposed to adjoin Music Hall, necessitating the removal of the Drop Inn Center and the effective closing of Washington Park Square. I have been involved with the arts in Cincinnati; for 3 years I was a member of the Cincinnati Boys Choir under the direction of Bill Dickinson. While I do support the arts in Cincinnati, an I believe that the SCPA needs to either renovate their existing building (it was bad when we practiced there over 15 years ago) or have a new facility, I do not believe that it is in the best interests of the Over-the-Rhine neigh­ borhood to relocate/remove the Drop Inn Center. OTA has suffered much from the gentrification which has forced many from their homes, and I honestly believe that the neighbor­ hood has oecome worse, what with increased police presence to protect the non-resident customers of new establishments. Quite frankly, what has happened amounts to a middle-class invasion of a poor neighborhood that until very recently was considered a lost cause by many. The arts are important to Cincinnati, and in recent years we have been fortunate to have the blossoming of theater companies and perfor­ mance spaces. Let's not make the arts and social services adversaries. Sincerely, Andrew L. Donaldson Sincerely, Prisoners Advocacy Network-Ohio The following letters are the result of public response to plans to relocate or remove the Drop Inn Center in Over-the-Rhine to make way for a new Arts and Education Center campus. See additional story on page --­ DONT SACRIFICE PEOPLE As a long time season subscriber and supporter of both the Cincinnati Symphony and the Pops I am all for increasing the arts educa­ tion and participation in Cincinnati. HOWEVER this most certainly is not at the expense of other segments of our community and its people. The Drop Inn Center has done a tremendous job to help and support the homeless and victims of our community. They have done this in a slow and persistent manner, with not a lot of help. I feel you are showing tunnel vision when you have a disregard for this community organi­ zation and their remarkable efforts on behalf of some people of Cincinnati. As a taxpayer and visible community leader, I urge you to recon­ sider your efforts and direction toward an arts complex. Surely there is another area rather than the corner of Twelfth and Elm for your plans. And perhaps you might even offer a helping hand to your Music Hall neighbors. Sincerely, Barbara W. Nellis MOVING THE ·D ROP INN CENTER IS INHUMAN Dear Mr. Kunzel. As a concerned citizen of this community I am outraged to hear about your inhuman proposal to make the Drop Inn Center move. Do you or have you had any personal experi­ ence with homelessness and how difficult that issue is for individuals who are homeless? I have been a homeless advocate working in the Cincinnati area for the last nine years. Drop Inn Center has been a saving grace for many of the folks I have worked with in the last nine years. They always have their doors open and in the winter take many more people than they can handle so folks don't freeze to death. Drop Inn Center takes in the chronically homeless who may not have any resources, are too sick either mentally or physically to find permanent hous­ ing, substance abusers wanting treatment who can not afford to go elsewhere but Drop Inn's treatment program, or folks who just have not been given the same opportunities you or I had in life. If you pursue this issue you again take away from those who do not have in the first place. Wouldn't it be more human to give money to assist them with their services than to try and destroy the most important center for homeless individuals? Is money such an important issue that human life has gotten in the PARENT OF VOLUNTEER SPEAKS OUT Dear Mr. Kunzel, My daughter Sara Baum, is a college senior at the University of Illinois (with a 4.0 average) and also helps to operate a men's homeless shelter on the campus there. She has a deep commitment to work with the homeless people to assist them in helping themselves. She also took her whole Spring Break week and went with another group of students to work on rebuilding a church in East St. Louis, Missouri. Her desire to do this type of work is a direct result of volunteering at the Drop Inn Center near Music Hall, through Finneytown High School under the direction of a caring teacher there, Steve Elliot. I am writing in behalf of the Drop Inn Center and my daughter to express how upset I am that the removal of the Center is even being considered. Sara volunteered there when she was in High School and my wfe and I also helped out. We were able to observe first hand how the Center provided food, shelter, warmth, a home, and counseling for the homeless persons that came there. The Center really provides an important contribution to Cincinnati humanity and it should be allowed to continue without interference. As you may know, it is also difficult to relocate a center like this to another area and still provide services for all the people that it now serves. I sincerely ask that you reconsider continu­ ing any further efforts to relocate the Center. Thank you for your time. Howard Baum, Father of 4, Grandfatf}er of 2, Mechanical and Industrial Engineer at an agency for the blind, attendee of many of your fine concerts, and resident of the fine city of Cincinnati for 57 years!! ACTION STEPS: Contact Erich Kunzel and urge him to reconsider his p lans for relocating the Drop Inn Center. 1241 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 or fax your letter to Kunzel at: (513) 651-2262 Send a copy of your letter to the Drop Inn Center at 217 West 12th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45210, or fax it to the Center at (513) 721-8937 Volunteer at the Drop Inn Center by calling Susan Knight at (513) 721­ 0643 �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine URBAN APPALACHIANS IN GREATER CINCINNATI Urban Appalachian Council You may be Appalachian . Approximately 34% of Greater Cincinnati is of Appalachian descent. Your family may have been among the three million people to leave the Appalachian region following World War II to seek economic security through factory and other work in the industrial mid-west. The Appalachian mountain range runs through 13 states from Mississippi to New York. In Cincinnati, most Urban Appala­ chians have roots in Kentucky, Tennessee, Eastern Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. We are your neighborhoods, co-workers, friends, professionals, service providers and artists (to name a few) . With more than 213,000 first- and second-generation white and black Appalachians in Hamilton County, you're bound to know one of us. We helped to build this community and to clothe it, teach it, feed it and care for its citizens, young and old. We come from all walks of life and in all shapes, sizes and religions. We are an important part of Cincinnati's history - and its future. Throughout its history, the people of Appalachia have contributed to the art and culture of the United States. Appalachian culture is rich and vibrant. Did you know that the only musical instrument indigenous to the Unite States is the lap dulcimer? It originated in the Appalachian Mountains. You probably know that Elvis and Dolly are Appalachians, but how about opera diva Kathleen Battle? Or film actor, George C. Scott? Or acclaimed writer Thomas Wolfe? The Cincinnati art scene, too, has been greatly enhanced by Appalachian musicians, photographers, writers, actors and artists working in a variety of media. We are family. The majority of the area's Urban Appalachian population has achieved some level of economic security. However, about a fourth of Urban Appalachians continue to live in poverty. A lack of educational attain­ ment and job training, limited employment opportunities and perceived or actual inaccessi­ bility to social services can make a goal of self­ sufficiency seem impossible to achieve. These Appalachians are not seeking a hand-out, but rather a "hand up" to quality education, decent wages, safe and secure homes. schools and communities and a sense of pride and dignity based, in part, on societal recognition of the value of the Appalachian culture. Achieving a decent quality of life for Greater Cincinnati's Appalachian citizens increases the livability of this community for us all. Cincinnati neighborhoods with the highest concentration of Urban Appalachians include: Lower Price Hill, East Price Hill, Camp Wash­ ington. Northside, East End, Over-the-Rhine, South Fairmount and Sedamsville. Many Urban Appalachian neighborhoods in Cincinnati have the higher drop-out rates and lower adult education levels than other neighborhoods. It is estimated that more than 50% of the 16-19­ year-old drop-outs in the city are Urban Appala­ chian. · HANGING OUT WITH THE CHAMP byRonCarter Homeless Coalition staffer Ron Carter, with 'the Champ.' One night about fifteen years ago my was so excited I yelled out "it's the champ, Muhammad Ali!" He looked up and smiled. brother Michael called me. He said he was coming over to pick me up to take me some­ knew this was a Polaroid moment that I couldn't pass up. I had to get my picture taken with the where but he wouldn't say where we were going. Champ. When he showed up, I asked him "where The Champ was very pleasant and agreed are we going?" Her just laughed and said wait to take a couple pictures with me. He also gave and see. He drove to Roselawn and at that time my brother and his family lived in Roselawn. I me a copy of his book he had written at that figured we were going to his house but he pulled time. The house turned out to be his bro..ther~ . - ·b th-· ­ house, also a r.eal ni~ ~ ·- -nup on a different street. When we got out of the - - · ... vc l:JUY, W om my ro er . b k d th th 'd f ~~ · ~., car I saw a b 1g us par. e on e o er s1 en ~ K k M'k d ·t 'bl f th 5 t "" t 1 t · t fi,,. ·-- -. Ml e new. 8 o 1 e ma e 1 a 11 poss1 e or me to meet the Champ. b ~ r -~ · ~;_ ryi_!:IQ. ~ .. ~ure out who it 1 ; _ onge_ ~. r\rcer we went into the house I For me, a chance of a lifetime. Thank you 1 .vund out who owned the bus. There sitting in to the man himself, the Greatest, Muhammad the living room watching TV was the answer. I Ali! Page 13 It is projected that close to one-third of Urban Appalachian are "making it" quite well. Another 40% are stable in lower middle class, blue collar, factory working families. About one­ quarter of the Urban Appalachian population lives in poverty. They tend to be concentrated in the inner-city neighborhoods and isolated rural pockets and tend to be the most alienated from urban life. Urban Appalachian Council 2115 West 8th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45204 (513) 251-0202 UNNATURAL DISASTER by Charlie Mattingly In this fast paced moving city, nothing has a permanent place anymore. Entire housing communities either have or will face demolition shortly. The old will be replaced with the new. The value placed on a human life is based on how much material goods they can produce, how much money they can generate and what they can produce for their governments. Hu­ mans are no more than a 'ready made' labor force, a number, a statistic, to serve and protect those with clout, money or position. If a tornado had struck the area housing the Drop Inn Center, politicians, investors and patrons of the performing arts like Mr. Kunzel and his partners would have cheered. That part of Over-the-Rhine would be demolished in short order. Most properties are either not insured or have very little insurance on them. Unlike Blue Ash and Montgomery and other tornado affected areas, funds would not have been collected to rebuild. Motels and hotels would not have opened their doors to temporarily house the Afro-American or would they offer to house the poor Appalachian residents. Food and other staples would not have been shipped in by the Semi-truck loads. Residents would be told to go the food bank, missions, or to stay with relatives or friends. The burden of making the decision to relocate the Drop Inn Center would be lifted from the decision makers downtown. These same decision makers do not understand the psychological damage they have already done to the Over-the-Rhine residents. The very thought of having their homes taken away and possibly being relocated to unfamiliar areas could destroy them. Areas in Over-the­ Rhine are the only world that many in that area know. Some may die from lack of serviqes, others may simply give up and die from a broken heart. Children would be scarred for life. Mr. Kunzel and Associates: You are not doing any favors by building a performing arts center near the Music Hall. Why not disas­ semble the Music Hall and relocate it in Blue Ash, Montgomery or Kenwood? It would be cheaper, the land there in those communities is available and you and your blue collar cohorts can have your own arts and music, blue collar kids performing in their very own blue collar communities, but leave historical areas atone! What you believe is best for Cincinnati may not be the best for everyon~ concerned in Cincin­ nati, Ohio. }\ ,,..C-1- : ·1 - c;==:. . '-'··Ji°'.. �~- STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 14 'ZONE' from front page ... applying for IRS 501 (c)(3) status; (3) grant agreements; (4) process for preparing revised. Implementation Plan and (5) process for recruit­ ing Executive Director. For the citizen who wishes to know more: (1) all Board of Trustees meetings are in the evening and open to the public; (2) the detailed application book for Cincinnati's EZ is available free from the city mangers office and is titled; PARTNERS BUILDING PATHWAYS TO PROSPERITY: LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND. Postscript: The Cincinnati Empoernment Corporation will schedule an all day Workshop for Board Training for Saturday, May 22nd, 1999. > Neighborhood and Census Tract Identification with Empowerment Zone boundaries in bold. Prepared by City Planning Department, September, 1998 + 'CITY' cont. from page 3 ... door. Once again the client base was not there. It was a convenient location for the program. That is why it is where it is. Let's not get hung up as to where it might best be. The client base is all over. It seems to me where the clients can work on their problems quietly and without being in the public eye constantly, if it is moving to a better location in the community and it can meet the clients needs, that is an advantage to all of us. I know the arts group is working with the administration of the program to find a good location. It won't happen, if it happens, it won't happen until that is the case and everyone is in agreement. I thank you. This is not in response to you Mr. Booth. It is out there in front of people. It is being discussed quite a bit and there is not a good history. I thank you for the opportunity. Mr. Booth: Thank you . Mrs. Cooper: It will be referred. Mr. Booth: I disagree. We are involved because we do fund the Drop Inn Center. We have a number of citizens concerned about the relocation. It was not meant as interference with the process. I think we need to inform our citizens who are calling in to find out what is going on. Thank you. Mrs. Cooper: Mr. Portune? Mr. Portune: Thank you. I have not been following the issue that closely in terms of the development plans. Though, I sense that it is about time we advance that issue more to the front burner as opposed to the back burner. I get a tittle concerned, though, when people talk about the Drop Inn Center, the homeless population. Those who have difficulty in terms of the best location for individuals who suffer the plight is in places where they are not seen. It is as if we want to just shove the issue under the rug and not deal with it directly. I don't know where the ultimate program goes, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered. The city has, I suspect, I have not done the calculation, I'm sure we have more than $1 million of public money in the Drop Inn Center of capital construction. The taxpayers could be reimbursed for the taking of that and the taking of the building. My guess is that we · ·• · - - - ....+-ih11t"' tn this project [Arts ~will be asKea tu 1..v11u •...,..... ~ ·- . . Center]. Yet again, to the building and capit~r needs of a homeless population that does exist. People who have real problems, who we can't 1gnore, the majority of which are there not because of their incompetence but for reason~ outside of their control, I'm concerned about that. The Washington Park Redevelopment Plan. I know the citizens and families and children love Washington Park School. What are the plans long term for that school that has a tong following? I think that is under consid~r­ ation. Much against the interests of those tn the community or the neighborhood. I don't know what the final decision is on that. But in the last question, I don't want to get into committee work on the floor of the council. The issue has been raised. We have to be mindful of all of these issues. I think a new school for the SCPA would be wonderful. It is an exciting process. What level or amount of public school funds are going to be called upon for the construction of this new facility at a time when we have schools thoughout the entire district with exposed wires and building and fire code violations, with leaking roofs and other. things. It is the stadium project revisited all over again. Dealing with the luxury item as opposed to the priority. N~t .that we don't all like luxury. I make these dec1s1ons in my house and in my business outside of council as all of us are called upon to do. If the washer and dryer needs repaired, you don't buy the new TV set. I worry about these things. Not because I'm against progress or against good things happening, but because we canno~ ig.~ore these issues. We have to address the pnont1es first before we tackle the luxury. I want to raise this issue before the appropriate council com­ mittee. Does that mean in the final analysis that the Drop Inn Center stays or is relocated? I don't know. Let's make sure we have all of the issues on the table before we make the fin al decision. I don't agree that the problems of the poor are adverse to the positive interests of the city. People come to the city and they come to the urban core because it is where the resources are and the help is. We are the central seat of aid and assistance in the community and the region. That is why people come there. Seek­ ing that help. They will always come there. Let's get all of the issues out on the table. Let's not be afraid of them. Let's have this discussion done in a way so if this arts campus moves forward, the taxpayers don't suffer a hit. So the schools move forward in addressing their priority capitol needs in a way they are not put in the - -•hinn P.lse. If arts campus hap­ · ·----<>tc:: ::ire shelf or sonr1::11111 •::t - ·pens, it happens after those other lnie1"0'.... - · . met. Mrs. Cooper: I request Mr. Shirey, you heard and I'm sure people in your administration heard many of the questions. We request .t hat we get a report as comprehensive as possible. You need to talk with the representatives involved to find out how this will be affected by the monies given and the circumstances of the schools. it is something that is a big deal to us. We would like to hear from you in a comprehen­ sive manner. Thank you. Mr. Tarbell: Thank you. First of all, there is no room for rumor here. There has never been any discussion about moving Washington Park School unless it was to include that school in the development. That is the only context that it has been mentioned. Secondly, the neighborhood surrounding the Drop Inn Center and Music Hall and West End as well have survived because we removed the role models that have made those neighborhoods great. They both thrive because of the integration of the communities. That is why they are not thriving now because we removed that eco­ nomic integration. They will only be revived if we go back to what made them strong in the first place and reintroduce those formulas. . Over-the-Rhine will thrive on the backs of Music Hall. It will not thrive ever on the enhancement of an institution that caters to transients. You cannot rebuild Over-the-Rhine on the backs of the poor. You have to have the resources that bring leadership and role models in an econo~y in the first place. That is Music Hall. If there is any institution that represents our culture and the best of what we have had to offer our citizens, it is Music Hall. Why would you ever consider people with problems, why would you consider doing that? I was in the room when the founder of that institution said we will put it at the corner of 12th and Elm because it is in the faces of people who go to Music Hall everyday. Like that is the way to solve the problem. It was a political decision. The decisions for it have been political. If anybody can tell me that walking down 12th Street between Vine and Race and Elm is any way to address the prob­ lems of people that have trouble, mentally or otherwise. It is a mess. It is the biggest dis­ grace in the history of this city. We better recognize it now and take whatever measures to redo it. Look to your history and role models to give us those answers. Mr. Donaldson .said if you allow this to exist, it is the worse thing to P.ver happen. He was right. We need to go - · ,. •hn~e remarks and look at how · ......<>te in a kind back and rev1su u "·we take care of those less fonu1 ........ . .._f and humane way and revisit that as the way ..... the future. �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page .15 PREP, Inc. is looking for STREETVIBES Announcements Live Studio Au.d ience Wanted SECOND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH AND IS BROADCAST FROM THE STUDIOS OF CINCINNATI COMMUNITY VIDEO, 2114 READING ROAD, FROM 7 TO BPM. STREETVIBES TV COVERS NEWS ON POVERTY, HOMELESSNESS AND RELATED ISSUES. CALL US AT THE GREATER CINCINNATI COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS IF YOU STREETVIBES TV WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF OUR LIVE STUDIO SHOW­ AUDIENCE. FOR MORE wouLD YOU LIKE TO BE A PART OF OUR LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE? INFORMATION - 421-7803 SHOW IS TAPED LIVE ON THE STREETVIBES Classified Ads Streetvibes is now accepting Classi­ fied Ads for items such as Help Wanted, Items for Sa le, Apartments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $1 per line, approximately ten 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 our readers. Otherwise, payment must be re­ ceived before the ad will run. No refunds will be made. Also, if there is an error, notify us after the fi rst printing. You will be given an extra month of ad time. Mail the ad copy to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax it to 421-7813 music Band Looking for Work Streetvibes (the band). We like to party. R&B, Oldies, Blues/ Jazz, Reggae. Helping the homeless to help themselves through free enterprize. Call 421-7803. position wanted Dwight Wise HVAC Technician for hire. 24 Service! Call751-3182. Thank You! ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• STREETVIBES provides Classified Ads free to low income job seekers. Others may place ads for only $1 per line. Ca/1421-7803 for info. persons interested in the following trades: *ACI CARPENTERS *ASBESTOS/INSULATION WORKERS *BRICKLAYERS *CARPENTERS *CEMENT MASONS *ELECTRICIANS L.U. #212 *MARBLE, TILE AND TERRAZZO *PLASTERERS *ROD WORKERS *ROOFERS *MILLWRIGHTS PREP. Inc. is in its 31st year of advocacy for minorities and women to enter into apprenticeship in construction. Call (513) 221-4700 for more information. Scramble Answers from page 11 ... University Veterans Good Samaritan Jewish Bethesda Deaconess Childrens Christ Providence Saint Luke Mercy Franciscan Streetvibes Radio Hour On WAIF 88.3 fm Support Your Local Vendor... Tell A Friend About 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, Donald Whitehead and other monthly guest hosts. 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, June 12th, 1999, noon to 1 pm Streetvibes! Advertise in Streetvibes! Streetvibes Vendor Code of Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. 1. 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 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 the word and write stories if possible. 9. I understand that failure to comply with any of the above statements will result in me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. Advertising in Streetvibes is a chance for businesses to help a good cause while promoting themselves to over 5,000 concerned people each month. The rates are shown below. ***Business Card Size 2" x 31/2" $10 per month ***Two Business Card Size 4 11 x 3 1/2" $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 Coalition at 421-7803. Mail ads with payment to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 4521o �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine 'TARGET' from page 7 STR-EETVIBES· Streetvi bes TV tices, such as selling flowers and newspapers, and drive-by panhandling in our streets and along median strips." But while the number of pedestrian fatali­ ties in the city nearly doubled in 1998 from the year before, ponce were hard-pressed to come up with examples that were connected with roadside panhandling. The American Civil liberties Union already has voiced concern about the ban, stating that the panhandlers' First Amendment rights could be violated. If beggars are posing safety risks, ACLU attorney John Crew said, existing laws address errant behavior that disrupts traffic. In addition, aggressive panhandling is barred in the city. Boden, a frequent critic of the mayor's policies, was skeptical of Mayor Brown's position that roadside panhandlers posed a pedestrian safety risk, choosing to believe that the real target was the homeless. Supervisor Brown, who has led successful drives at the Board of Supervisors over the past year to pass laws banning public liquor consumption and camping in Hallidie Plaza, Civic Center Plaza and U.N. Plaza, said. Monday such views were hogwash. "This has nothing to do with homelessness," he said. "It's about safety. It's about order." Super­ visor Brown will usher the "Pedestrian Safety Act" through the board's public hearing and deliberations process on the mayor's behalf. "TV~s~heau·1e· The Streetvibes TV Show is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video, 2114 Reading Road. If you would like to be a part of our live studio audience please call t he Greater Cincinnati Coalit ion for the Homeless at 421-7803 for more information. Streetvibes TV JUNE Schedule June's Live TV show will begin at 7PM, Monday, June 14th, and will be broadcast from the Reading Road Studio. The new show format includes a studio audience along with a guest panel discussion. Channel 7 LIVE CALL-IN SHOW. MONDAY. JUNE 14th at 7PM. Rebroadcast Dates for Show on Chan­ nel 24: Saturday, June 5, 1999, 4 PM Friday, June 11, 1999, 11 am Friday, June 18, 1999, 11 AM Monday, June 28, 1999, 1O PM Saturday, June 26, 1999, 4 PM Broadcast schedules are subject to change - consult your local TV directory. Vendor: 80 cents Printing and Production: 20 cents Where Your Dollar Goes 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 Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (Veterans) Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of America 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 661-4620 381-1954 SHELTER : Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (Singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Teens) 761-1480 821-5100 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226 961-4080 If you have any ideas for future STREETVIBES TV shows please contact our office at 421-7803. We always enjoy hearing from our viewing audience. Ideas should address subjects related to homelessness and poverty in our city. We are always interested in viewer ideas, so please give us a call ... Streetvibes Wish List Streetvibes newspaper is published monthly on a shoe-string budget from the offices of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. We depend heavily on the goodwill of many volunteers and donors. If you can help out with some of the items on our wish list please give us a call. .. >35 MM Film for Streetvibes photo's >Laser Printer >Advertisers to help support the paper >Good used or new Xerox machine >Office Supplies >Supplies for Vendors Lounge (coffee, cups, etc.) >Computer for Streetvlbes layout and writing >Subscribers Call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 421-7803 if you can help! 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 collect­ ing for a private charity, please call our office at 421-7803. Thanks for your support. Need Help or Want to Help? SHELTERS: Women and Children 241-2757 Alice Paul House (Abuse) 281-5770 YWCA Transitional Living Prog. 557-2873 Bethany House 762-5660 Salvation Army 431-8717 Welcome House Page 16 St. John's Temporary Housing HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental Ill) Tom Geiger House TREATMENT: Women O.D.A.A.T First Step Home TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House St. Francis- St. Joseph House Starting Over TREATMENT: Both N.A. Hopeline A.A. Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary OTHER SERVICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati Appalachian Identity Center Beech Acres 651-6446 721-4580 632-7149 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 639-7056 961-4555 241-7343 921-7324 784-1853 921 -1 613 381-4941 751-3260 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 421-2437 621-5991 231-6630 Center for Independent 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 Co.Mental Health Bd. 632-7186 Hamilton Co. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center 352-2902 Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Mission 221-3679 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 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 Genter 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 1999 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 1999 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 1999 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Census: How Do You Count the Homeless Inside the Empowerment Zone Pg 2: The Traveler Pg 3: Drop Inn Center Subject of Council Discussion at City Hall McCrackin Awards Pg 4: Fire Shows Lack of Collective Action What is Mental Health Pg 5: The Broken City Pg 6: Arts & Poetry Pg 7: Nationwide News Pg 8: Prisoners News Pg 9: George Skatzes The Speakers Bureau Pg 10: Welfare News Pg 11: New Arts and Education Center Pg 12: Editorials & Letters Pg 13: Urban Appalachians in Greater Cincinnati Hanging Out with the Champ Pg 14: Zoning from Front Page Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Staff: Donald Whitehead Director Jimmy Heath Coordinator Ron Carter Vendor Support Gina Miller Rapid Exit Program Photographer: Jimmy Heath Writers: Ron Carter Denise Crew Richard Frye Jimmy Heath Mike Henson Berta Lambert Charlie Mattingly Gina Miller Patrick Mosolf Gregory Payton James Pryor Victor Velez Donald Whitehead Lynn Williams Sonny Williams Arts & Poetry Berta Lambert Census Charlie Mattingly Denise Crew Donald Whitehead Drop Inn Center Editorials & Letters Gina Miller Gregory Payton James Pryor Jimmy Heath Lynn Williams mental health mental illness Mike Henson nationwide news Patrick Mosolf prisoners news Richard Frye Ron Carter Sonny Williams the broken city The Traveler Victor Velez welfare welfare news welfare reform https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/038618098a44c6fc00567007ba8cb810.pdf 3976352d7c80afa3ef484d362db2bd9f PDF Text Text M ay 2nd - M ay 16th 2019 | Vo l . 23 Issue 9 (No. 406) advo cating justice | building communit y Any opinions in this issue are of the authors and don't necessarily represent Streetvibes or The Homeless Coalition. UnderThe Law Article on Page 8 This Issue is sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.com Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 12 �2 COALITION N o v 22 -- N o v 19, 0 18 || N o . 393 May May 16,22019 No. 406 From The Editor: Individuals In A Society: Intersectionality and Homelessness GABRIELA GODINEZ Editor-in-chief W hen we talk about homelessness in America it is easy to go into the stereotype of a man, likely a veteran, on the streets panhandling since he doesn’t have a job. While that narrative of homelessness if far too common and can be true, it is not the only experience. Though there are people living on the streets, we have to recognize the other versions of homelessness that are not immediately visible. Many people experiencing homelessness do in fact have jobs, but don’t have their own place because of a surplus of luxury apartments and lack of affordable housing. This can lead to people doubling up, meaning two families live in one home where they would otherwise be living separately. Similarly, some people experiencing homelessness might be couch surfing, where a person might have a place to stay with friends or family but not have a permanent home to call their own. It is important to identify the different stories that come from experiencing homelessness in America, and being able to see how they manifest in our society. People experiencing homelessness can be and are of all genders, races, sexualities, etc. Ignoring the intersectionality within homelessness will only hurt the issue further. Homelessness is a race issue. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “African Americans make up more than 40% of the homeless population, but represent 13% of the general population.” Since the United States is still largely segregated, people of color are more likely to live in areas that have fewer resources including proper education and job opportunities. Institutionalized racism still affecting our American society causes people of color from under-resourced areas to end up experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives. Homelessness is an LGBTQ issue. According to the UCLA School of Law, about 40% of youth experiencing homelessness is LGBTQ. Children who come out as queer, or are outed against their will, are likely to either be kicked out of their homes or run away if they live in a homophobic community. Many communities in America still don’t largely accept the LGBTQ community, which results in a lower life expectancy and a higher risk of experiencing homelessness for LGTBQ folks. Homelessness is an accessibility and health issue. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported that “on a given night in 2017, 20 percent of the homeless population reported having a serious mental illness, 16 percent conditions related to chronic substance abuse, and more than 10,000 people had HIV/AIDS.” They also reference the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reporting, “People living in shelters are more than twice as likely to have a disability compared to the general population.” Homelessness is a complex, multifaceted issue. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. When we stick to only one version of a story, we only attempt to mend that version. People of privilege, whether inadvertently or not, end up putting folks into easy to understand boxes that all look exactly the same. That not only makes it difficult for us as a society to address the issue, but also strips people of their identity. To tackle the issue of homelessness we have to tackle all social justice issues. While this might sound exhausting, it is necessary. Homelessness does not come at the fault of a single person, but at the fault of a society made up of individuals that would rather look away when others get knocked down. Of the people experiencing homelessness as of 2017: Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org www.cincistreetvibe.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor-in-chief: Gabriela Godinez Feregrino Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Sallie Mascus Layout: Gabriela Godinez Feregrino Reception: Bonita Batton, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper ------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE 34 % (192,875 people) lived in a place not meant for human habitation 7.2 % were veterans (40,056 people) 7.4% were unaccompanied children and young adults (40,799 children and young adults) 66.7 % (369,081 people) were single individuals 33.3 % (184,661 adults and children)were people in families Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Writers: Gabriela Godinez, Bill Woods, Josh Spring, Dustin Dandliker, Jordi Conella Detrell, Emelio Godoy, Dr. Mark Mussman, Melissa Lilly, Raya, Willa Denise Jones, Martha Stephens, Alexander Monaco ------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: canva.com, Gabriela Godinez, INSP.com, Dr. Mark Mussman, ---------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 39 | Nov 16, 2- N o v 19, 2 0 18 May 2 3- May 2019 | No. 406 3 COALITION From The Director: Come Out and Say "NO WAY" JOSH SPRING Executive Director A s Jeff Berding and FC Cincinnati try to kick seven households out of their homes, they are also asking our City for yet another benefit. Jeff Berding and FC Cincinnati are trying to steal the homes of people from ages 99 to 5 and simultaneously are asking our city to change the zoning rules for them. Already they have the City Planning Commission and City Council approving a major zoning change, which allows them much more leeway in construction. Now, they are asking for approval of a major amendment to the original zoning benefit they received. This means, if approved, it would include 421 Wade Street. This is where they are trying to force people from their homes. Sitting close by is 1559 Central Avenue where they are also trying to remove people. Perhaps they thought the many people who care about basic human rights would not notice this, but we do. There is one more important meetings about this coming up and we need everyone to come out and demand that our City not provide another benefit to FCC Cincinnati if they still plan to displace people from their homes. A city planning commission hearing will be held Friday, May 10, 2019 at 9 am in Two Centennial Plaza on the 7th floor. On Tuesday April 30th, 2019, FightBack Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition attended the Public City Planning Staff conference about Fc Cincinnati’s request for the zoning change. We still ask people to support our cause and loudly demand that FC Cincinnati agree that they will not tell any of the residents at Wade Street & Central Avenue to leave or threaten evictions. A meeting between the tenants and FC Cincinnati has to be held to be able to reach an agreement. Tenants are also asking that FC Cincinnati renovate 1559 Central Avenue and give ownership to Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, allowing those currently residing in 1559 to stay there. We know that this would still displace those in 421 over to 1559 Central Avenue, but in an effort to reach a resolution, the tenants are offering this compromise. In order for this to happen, FC Cincinnati will have to pay any associated moving costs and financial compensation to each tenant. Last year, Jeff Berding and FC Cincinnati publicly told everyone they would not displace anybody. Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), the region’s fair housing watchdog, told FC Cincinnati they have significant concerns that FCC is acting in violation of federal fair housing law. Federal fair housing law prohibits discrimination of people of specific races or color and people who are differently abled. The tenants say, “we are all either Black and/ or have handicaps.” Jef Berding and FC Cincinnati have not responded to HOME. As of now, even after a brief meeting with Jeff and FC Cincinnati on Friday April 26th, FC Cincinnati is still telling the tenants to leave their homes. An Overlooked Piece Of Good News BILL WOODS Board Member W ith Trump's "national emergency," the Mueller Report, and other horrendous news swirling around Washington, D.C., one positive action that took place in the nation's capital this spring received very little attention. On March 8th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1- the For the People Act. This piece of legislation sets the gold standard for political reform in this country. It includes reforms on voting rights, gerrymandering, and "big money" in campaigns. The bad news is Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s declaration that the "For the People Act" won't even get a hearing in the Senate. The Senator from Kentucky's commentary on this bill makes it sound like any genuine effort to renew the health of democracy represents a political attack on the Republican Party. Nevertheless, this comprehensive reform deserves a great deal more attention than it has yet received in order to make people aware of its potential for improving the current political process. First of all, H.R. 1 is not just a political ploy to insure the election of Democrats. Traditional reform groups such as the League of Women Voters and Common Cause strongly support it. In fact, Common Cause worked behind the scenes with the drafters of the bill to insure that certain reforms were included in the final version. When it came up for review in the House, Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause, testified for H.R.1 before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. What is in the bill? Protecting and enhancing voting rights certainly remain a focus of the proposed legislation. Election Day would become a national holiday, and a variety of steps are put forward to make it easier for people to register and vote. For Federal elections, the proposed law attempts to minimize the impediments that states often adopt to make it more difficult for some groups to vote. It calls for the availability of Internet registration, and an automatic registration process. It revitalizes the Voting Rights Act that had been weakened in recent years, and it calls for all states to restore the right to vote for ex-offenders who have been released from prison. A redistricting reform that would essentially eliminate gerrymandering is included in the House Bill. It proposes to establish non-partisan state commissions to draw Congressional district lines every ten years. This method would do away with the highly partisan process that currently exists in many states, and such a citizen commission would also improve Ohio's new plan adopted by the voters in 2018. H.R. 1- even tackles the major problem of "big money" as a dominant factor in today's political campaigns. It calls for disclosure of major donations to candidates for Congress. Although certainly not a cure, disclosure at least gives public exposure to "Fat Cat" efforts to influence elections. The bill also provides limited public financing for campaigns. A certain number of small donations will trigger a percentage of public dollars to aid candidates who are not receiving huge THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED PAC contributions. However, Supreme Court rulings such as the Citizens United Case still make it extremely difficult to diminish the influence of "big money" on the political process. H.R.1- also establishes reforms for administering elections. It seeks to protect the voting process from any tampering by domestic or foreign organizations, and it lays out guidelines for preventing hacking and other forms of fraud. It also mandates sufficient funding to pay for administrative improvements. In conclusion, reformers need to call attention to the many needed changes that would occur if the For the People Act became the law of the land. For those who believe that a renewed democracy is critical to addressing other growing problems such as income inequality, poverty, health care, racism, and climate change, the passage of H.R. 1- would be a major step in the right direction. Who knows? If reformers make enough noise and the news media picks up the message, Republicans in the Senate might feel pressured to at least give this bill a hearing. �4 ADVERTISMENT NMay ov 22 - -NMay o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 16,2 02019 406 May 17 - June 2, 2019 For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �N o. 3923-|May Nov 216, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May | No. 406 U.S. NEWS 5 To make it on the streets, I had to look like you: not homeless DUSTIN DANDLIKER Street Roots T here are people walking around downtown Portland every day who presently are or once were homeless. You would never know based on their appearance. I am one of those people. An investigation by The Oregonian revealed that unhoused people made up 52 per cent of arrests in 2017. Far too much of the time and tax dollars spent by Portland’s law enforcement in 2017 was devoted to nonviolent, addictionrelated and other low-priority infractions. I was homeless for most of 2017, and the spectre of imprisonment for being poor was very real. To look “not homeless” is not merely a matter of pride, but also survival. To look “not homeless” meant looking like I had money. I carried only what I could fit in a backpack. I never carted a sleeping bag or extra duffel. I definitely never carried anything but food in plastic bags. Above all, I never carried a garbage bag. Doing any of the above would have painted a target on my back for harassment by cops and branded a scarlet letter on my chest, ensuring avoidance by fellow citizens and store owners. Like many other houseless citizens, I sought sanctuary at the Central Library and Portland State University. I could pass for a student or patron of the arts. I usually showered three times a week. I had to take opportunities where I could; otherwise, I had to go without. Remaining unwashed and smelly, again, meant unwanted attention. Dad had a single room occupancy (SRO) apartment at the Patton Home. I could clean up there, for a while, but once the manager got wind of me doing so, she enforced an ostensibly preestablished regulation that guests could not shower while visiting residents. After that, I could only cajole Dad into allowing me to bathe maybe once a week. He only consented when the manager or custodial staff were off shift or otherwise occupied. Doing so meant he risked losing his own housing. The unfortunate reality of poverty is desperation. Warm food, clean water, shelter, safety and hygiene are customary privileges for most people in the United States. When was the last time you missed your morning routine for a few days out of necessity? For people in poverty, however, these basic needs are never guaranteed. I showered at shelters only as a last resort because some of my peers would take clothing, shoes and anything of durable value if they had no immediate alternative; acts of desperation. Shelters are afforded only the bare minimum when it comes to amenities because ending homelessness is an unpopular cause. So, I had no safe place to stash my belongings when attending to my hygiene. If I wanted to clean up at a shelter, I had to keep one eye on my gear while keeping soap from dripping into it. Tricky and only viable if I wasn’t already exhausted. I rarely sat down to a hot meal in a safe place; certainly not in any place I felt at home. When I was alone, I bought meals exclusively at grocery stores and only if they had inside seating and accepted food stamps. I ate outside only in picnic weather. And when I did, I made sure I was at Pioneer Square or a public park during the day so as not to draw law enforcement’s attention. Other times, if I could manage my PTSD symptoms and I had someone with me, I would patronize the oftencrowded Sisters of the Road Cafe. We could buy healthy, hot meals for a buck and a quarter. They accepted food stamps and barter labor. We were waited on and treated with respect. Sisters of the Road ascribes to “gentle personalism.” As they put it, “Gentle personalism is profoundly about love.” Free meals seem segregated to acceptable “poverty sectors”, however. Most meals are offered at the shelters, usually along Burnside in Old Town. I worry the programs there may be priced out by gentrification someday. I was lucky to have family that still loved and supported me regardless of my income. Many houseless folks – especially the elderly and people with severe mental illnesses – are not. When my food stamps ran out, I could count on Dad for a sandwich or hot breakfast. When he had the money, we would go out to coffee and see a movie. Those days I felt the most legitimate like I was finally a part of the larger community again. I saw other people use disguises similar to mine, although more nuanced. A couple of men I knew from the Portland Rescue Mission wore full suits, tie and jacket included. They each had only one such outfit and they meticulously cleaned them every day. One of the two gentlemen even had a briefcase. Perhaps they had jobs that required formal wear, but they returned to the shelter every night. Dresses and blouses clogged the donation area at the Rescue Mission. However, most women I observed preferred work clothes often miscategorized as men’s apparel because they were baggy and durable. More than a few shaved their heads too. I can’t say for certain, but I imagine many of them feared the added risk of sexual assault. Conversely, I have additional layers of biological camouflage. I am a large, white male, so I passed through psychosocial barriers without detection. I have never bunked down in a doorway worried someone might sexually assault or harass me. Additionally, I walked unimpeded through stores and other public places without concern for racial profiling. Provided I kept clean and unencumbered by additional belongings, I could sometimes purchase food, sit in a coffee shop and even get away with using the bathroom without buying anything. Illustration by Kat Davis THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED People living outside are shuffled to the margins of society then blamed for falling off the edge. They send police to confine us, sanitizing the public conscience and keeping us out of your neighborhood. We ride public transit to the farthest terminals. We hide in Forest Park or the deep, undeveloped areas of the suburbs. We squat in empty houses and unused industrial areas. Yet, once found out, “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore ... the homeless, tempest-tost” are arrested, hospitalized or segregated in shelters. Portland’s “cesspool” is ruthlessly cleaned by police sweeps, but the baby gets thrown out with the bath water. We are your neighbors, sons and daughters, grandchildren and grandparents. We try everything to look like you – not homeless – to humanize our struggle. We have a right to exist, unimpeded by prejudicial fears. Homelessness is inconvenient to store owners and commuters, but it is a lifeand-death struggle for those citizens living through it. We are doing so much just to survive, just to get by. Please, educate yourselves about the underlying causes of poverty, rather than judging on appearance. Engage in dialogue with us. I challenge you to take an elderly homeless person to lunch with you. These are creative, compassionate solutions to our mutual dilemma that are waiting for your talent and input. If you can’t contribute your time or money, at least use your voice to change the law instead of calling the cops. �GLOBAL 6 NMay ov 2 2 - -NMay o v 19, 18 | N o . 393 16,2 02019 | No. 406 Migrant Farm Workers, the Main Victims of Slave Labour in Mexico EMILIO GODOY Inter Press Service “T hey mislead the workers, tell them that they will be paid well and pay them much less. The recruiters and the employers deceive them,” complained Marilyn Gómez, a migrant farm worker in Mexico. Gómez, a member of the Mixteco Yosonuvico of Sonora Cerró Nublado cooperative and the mother of two girls, said that the migrant workers are forced to buy whatever they need in their employers’ stores – “where everything is super expensive” – because they aren`t allowed to leave the farm. “There’s no social security, no contracts, we work very long hours. They take advantage of the fact that people need work,” said Gómez, who began to work in the fields with her family at the age of 13, picking grapes and vegetables in the northern state of Sonora. The 27-year-old migrant worker and activist, who has worked sick and has frequently worked for more than 12 hours a day for just a few dollars, has harvested fruit and vegetables near the town of Miguel Aleman, part of the municipality of Hermosillo, about 1,600 kilometres north of Mexico City. Her account illustrates the working conditions of migrant farm workers, who provide substantial returns to their employers and who put vegetables and fruit on the tables of Mexican and U.S. consumers. They are generally peasant farmers who migrate temporarily or permanently from the southern states to harvest export crops in central and northern Mexico. They routinely suffer violations of labour rights, and of their rights to housing, education, health and a healthy diet. And they lack work contracts, adequate working conditions, social security and overtime pay, according to the report “Violations of the rights of agricultural day laborers in Mexico“, launched on 21 March in Mexico City by the National Network of Agricultural Day Labourers, to which Gómez belongs. In Mexico, migrant farm workers or day labourers are the main victims of slave or forced labour, according to this and other local and international studies. The National Network, made up of workers’, indigenous and academic organisations, has identified cases of labour exploitation, human trafficking and forced labour and/or services. The latest National Survey of Occupation and Employment, from 2017, placed the number of migrant farm workers at 2.9 million, while the governmental Programme of Care for Agricultural Day Laborers put the figure at 1.54 million, plus 4.41 million family members who follow them as they move about. The government of leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office on 1 December 2018, dismantled the programme and has not yet put in place its successor. Regional context There are 1.95 million victims of slave labour in the Americas, five percent of the world total, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, produced by the non-governmental Walk Free Foundation, based in Australia. Forced labour represents 66 per cent and persons, especially women, in forced marriage, account for 34 per cent. The region has, on average, a prevalence of 1.9 people living in modern-day slavery per 1,000 inhabitants. And one-third of the victims of forced labour were in debt bondage, while the Latin America and Caribbean region accounted for four percent of all exploited labourers in the world. While Haiti, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic had the highest rates, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia had the absolute largest numbers of people in situations of slavery. In Brazil, Latin America’s giant, with a population of 208 million, 369,000 people were living in modernday slavery, representing 1.8 per 1,000 inhabitants. In Mexico, the second largest regional economy with 129 million inhabitants, 341,000 people were living in slavery conditions, or 2.71 per 1,000 people, while in Colombia, the fourth largest regional economy with a population of 45 million, the figure was 131,000, or 2.7 per 1,000. Modern-day slavery includes human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and commercial sexual exploitation, according to the Walk Free Foundation. For Mayela Blanco, a researcher at the non-governmental Center for Studies in International Cooperation and Public Management, migrant farm workers in Mexico are vulnerable to falling prey to trafficking for labour exploitation. “There is a recruitment chain in which the recruiters offer people work and an advance payment to draw them in, but there is no contract. In some places, they don’t get paid until the end of the work period,” said Blanco. There are a growing number of studies on this phenomenon in the Mexican countryside, and there has been no improvement for day labourers. The “2018 List of goods produced by child labor or forced labor“, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, includes reports on people forced to work in the production of chili peppers in Mexico. “Many of these victims report being recruited by middlemen, called enganchadores, that lie to workers about the nature and conditions of the work, wages, hours, and quality of living conditions,” the document states. Cases of forced labour in chili peppers production predominantly occur on small and medium-sized farms and have been found in states such as Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, and San Luis Potosi, according to the report. “Once on the farms, some men and women work up to 15 hours per day under the threat of dismissal and receive subminimum wage payments or no payment at all,” it adds. Meanwhile, “Some workers face growing indebtedness to company stores that often inflate the prices of their goods, forcing workers to purchase provisions on credit and limiting their ability to leave the farms,” the report says. In Mexico, the company stores on factories and rural estates in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were known as “tiendas de raya”, where the workers were forced to buy their provisions – just like the company stores of today. The U.S. list also includes cattle ranches and peanut farms in Bolivia, textile factories and logging companies in Brazil, and Brazil nut harvesting and the logging industry in Peru. Washington bans the entry of goods produced with forced labour, under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, in force since 2016 and based on the old Tariff Act of 1930. Since 2015, the governmental THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED National Human Rights Commission has issued at least six recommendations for violations of the rights of migrant farm workers, which are non-binding proposals. In one of them, issued in 2018 for violations of several human rights for trafficking in persons, such as child labour in the form of forced labour, the Mexican Commission highlighted abuses against at least 62 migrant workers belonging to the Mixtec indigenous people, including 13 adolescents. The members of the indigenous group, originally from the central state of Guerrero, were harvesting cucumbers in the western state of Colima. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, number eight, which promotes decent work, sets among its targets the implementation of “immediate and effective” measures to eradicate forced labour, ban modern forms of slavery and human trafficking, and ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Despite some advances and international commitments, Latin America and the Caribbean are making only moderate progress in the fight against this phenomenon. The Global Slavery Index gave the region an average rating of “B” and indicated that Argentina, Chile and Peru improved their status compared to 2016, while Brazil, Mexico and Central American countries remained the same. Blanco says the conditions faced by migrant workers in Mexico are seen as normal and that they are not considered victims. “They run the risk of losing their jobs. We have not seen a response from the authorities,” she said. Gómez, who is still a migrant worker harvesting fruit and vegetables but now in decent conditions, said the government should intervene. “The institutions don’t do what they are supposed to do; we are asking that they take action and ensure our rights,” the activist said. The National Network made recommendations such as a census of employers, the monitoring of working conditions, a comprehensive programme to address the issue and a census of migrant workers. Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo �GLOBAL N o. 392 3 -| May Nov 216, - N2019 o v 19,| No. 2 0 18406 May 7 Franco’s invisible legacy: books across the Hispanic world are still scarred by his censorship Photo by Alfons Morales on Unsplash I JORDI CORNELLÀDETRELL The Conversation t’s 80 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War, when General Francisco Franco’s populist forces finally overcame the leftist resistance and plunged the country into full-blown dictatorship. Decades after his death, Franco continues to cast a long shadow over Spain, from the rise of the far-right Vox party to the hundreds of mass graves of people who died in the war that are still waiting to be exhumed. One other hugely important legacy that few people are aware of is the continuing effect on books, both in Spain and throughout the Spanishspeaking world. To this day, translations of many world classics and works of Spanish literature are being reprinted using expurgated texts approved by the dictator’s censors – often without publishers even realising it, let alone readers. It has had a chilling effect on freedom of speech over the years, and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Between 1936 and 1966, every single book published in Spain had to be submitted to a national board of censors for examination. The censors would decide whether the text should be banned altogether or was fit for publication, in which case they would stipulate any necessary changes. After 1966, when a new law that partly liberalised freedom of speech was introduced in the country, publishers could voluntarily decide whether to submit a text for censorship. However, the authorities still retained the ability to withdraw any book from circulation that they deemed unacceptable. Franco’s censorship laws sought to reinforce Catholicism and promote ideological and cultural uniformity. The censors enforced conservative values, inhibited dissent and manipulated history, especially the memory of the civil war. Sexually explicit material was banned, as were alternative political views, improper language and criticisms of the Catholic church. Spain abandoned these policies after Franco’s death in 1975, yet most of the same texts are still widely available today. Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby is available in more than 20 different Spanish-language editions, for instance, including an electronic one, all of which lack two extended passages that according to the censors glorified Satan. James Baldwin’s Go and Tell it on the Mountain is only available in a version with cuts that include references to birth control and details about the sex lives of the main characters. The publication of this expurgated text is sponsored by none other than UNESCO. Many literary works by some of Spain’s most important 20th-century writers have suffered similar fates, including those by Ana María Matute, Camilo José Cela, Juan Marsé and Ignacio Aldecoa. In some cases, such as George Orwell’s Burmese Days and Ian Fleming’s Thunderball, censored parts have even survived in retranslated and restored versions. With no one under the age of 40 even alive during the dictatorship years, few people are even aware of the problem. Public libraries are encouraging people to read thousands of volumes without realising they are censored. Many of these texts have been imported to Latin America, sometimes even being republished in Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain's emerging far-right party VOX, speaks during a rally in Barcelona, Spain, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez different countries with their censored parts intact. It means that a fairly large proportion of the world’s population is being routinely denied access to literature as it was intended to appear. Why censorship never ended It is a well known fact that Spaniards have found it difficult to confront their traumatic recent history. The so-called “pact of forgetting”, a tacit decision among the Spanish political elites not to question or examine the past, was seen by many as vital to make the transition to democracy possible in the late 1970s and 1980s. For years, this included a general amnesia about Franco’s cultural policies: even when books were retranslated to restore censored parts, few people said anything about it. Spain’s 2007 Law for the Recovery of the Historical Memory was a major step away from these years of forgetting. It condemned the dictatorship and established compensations for people who endured political violence during the regime. It also initiated the removal of statues and other public symbols which glorified Franco’s reign. Yet other cultural artefacts, such as books, were overlooked. The upshot is that Spain’s literary censorship problem is alive and well today. Indeed, it is arguably getting worse: it is easy to release digital versions of these classics, so Franco’s hand even reaches into Kindles and tablets. We are talking about one of the most long-lasting yet invisible legacies of his regime. The effect on culture in Spain and in other Hispanic countries is almost incalculable. Censorship has certainly distorted many people’s perception of the civil war and its consequences. Many readers will also be ignorant of writers’ real points of view regarding important social issues THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED such as gender roles, birth control and homosexuality. The question is how to deal with this complex problem – particularly now that the Vox party, which is expected to do well in the upcoming election, has promised to repeal the Law of Historical Memory on the grounds that it manipulates the past. The most important task is to raise awareness among the reading public. This needs clear support from the Spanish government, plus serious engagement from the whole literary sector, including libraries, publishing houses, translators, archives, cultural publications and writers themselves. The technologies that are giving new life to the problem could be used to help: a public database of restored texts, for instance, could become an important tool. The point is that while Spain has increasingly been addressing the impact of Franco’s regime in the country’s social and historical memory since the early 2000s, the process of coming to terms with the past is far from complete. The pact of forgetting has not only marred Spain’s democratic progress, it has severely damaged the country’s cultural heritage. Spain and the rest of the Spanish-speaking world will not be free from Franco’s censorial shadow until this issue is publicly and decisively addressed. With people on the ascendant who would prefer to turn back the clock, there is no time to lose. Jordi Cornellà-Detrell is senior lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Glasgow Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo �FEATURE 8 N o v 22- -N o v 19, 0 18 | |NNo. o . 393 May May 16,22019 406 Under the Law DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer “W hy don’t the people with too much money help the people who are struggling to get out of poverty?” This is the question that a middle-schooler asked me after an Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement Walking Tour this week. The student had just been exposed to the real history of our neighborhood and was noticing the stark contrasts between the rich and the rest of us. Noting the number of BMW’s that were parked on each block, the student was confused as to how people would just ignore suffering around them as they sauntered into bars and restaurants, trying to ignore the people holding signs and asking for help. The middle school student pointed it out on every block between 12th and 14th Streets, along Vine Street. Wealth and income inequality are so pervasive in the United States right now, that some have said it hasn’t been this bad since before the Great Depression. Our walking tours provide people with a perspective that is purposefully left out of the other walking tours in the neighborhood. After yesterday’s tour with the middle school students, one of the chaperones pulled me aside to thank me for starting off with the Native American presence in the area. She told me that “most people just don’t even care about the destruction of Native American communities… they just act like they never existed.” While this is something that I understand to be true, it made me connect the dots between the person who is denial about wealth inequality who just parked his BMW and scuttled into a boutique on Vine Street and the people who believe the earth is flat, or that vaccines cause autism, or that climate change is not the fault of humans. All of these people have one thing in common - their inability to look directly at facts and accept them. But the facts behind wealth inequality reveal something even deeper about the American psyche. Wealth inequality has been an obvious characteristic of American from day one, when the wealthiest man in America was elected our first President and the people who were tabulated as his wealth, people from Africa who were enslaved, had absolutely nothing other than some fictionalized debt to pay to America’s founding. African Americans have always been held back by white people in this country through laws and practices. The laws, or de jure, have been crafted to keep African American people from obtaining and retaining wealth. Laws such as slavery in the south, and the Black Codes in the north, gave way to a legal process in which African American people are exploited for their labor, ideas, innovations, and companionshop. Students at the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition engage in a Streetvibes Shadow activity. Black Codes in Ohio required all African American people who desired to live in Ohio to have two white people vouch for them at a courthouse and pay a large sum of money. The state of Ohio was literally built using these funds, as the law went into effect within a year of statehood. Other northern states, such as Illinois, also used laws to make it legal to sell the labor of African Americans who were otherwise residing in a “free state.” These laws continued through the end of slavery and into the Jim Crow era. Jim Students host Willa Jones from the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Speakers Bureau. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crow was marked by segregation and laws that kept African Americans out of the housing market and forced them into segregated communities that were disinvested in for decades. The ability to create generational wealth that was given by federal policies to white people was forbidden by law for Black people. These laws didn’t end with the era of Jim Crow, they were just replaced by the era of mass incarceration, in which we currently reside. America has never been meritocracy, and we have never had a level playing field. At a speaking engagement this week, we heard from Melissa M. who shares her story of homelessness, that basically lasted the first 50 years of her life. She discusses her journey to her first apartment, including times of isolation and loneliness that come from homelessness. With the rise of criminalization of homelessness, we are indeed seeing more de jure implications for people experiencing homelessness. When Melissa slept on the sidewalk before she found housing, it wasn’t illegal to do so, but today it is different. Last year, Mayor John Cranley and County Prosecutor Joe Deters made it illegal to experience homelessness in all of Hamilton County, on public or private land. When the police and sheriff started to enforce this law, real people were hurt. One man had a heart-attack when they came to sweep his tent off of Third Street. Another man jumped off a bridge into the Ohio River. A young woman was interrogated by the police at the encampment near the Casino and walked off before her ride to the youth shelter arrived. She had no shoes, and was possibly being sex-trafficked, but the network of people that was assembled to help her had not arrived before she was scared off by the police, never to be seen again. These laws have �No. 39 Nov 216, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 23- |May | No. 406 Students with a member of the Speakers Bureau. had direct impact on the lives of people who are struggling to get help in a city where most people are turned away from shelter and the lack of affordable housing is literally sending more than 100 people to an early grave each year. Another kind of discrimination that occurs without the direct application of laws, is what is called de facto, which occurs because of market and social trends. When real 9 FEATURE estate agents direct potential buyers into certain neighborhoods, this is a form of de facto segregation. When parents choose specific schools based upon their racial makeup, or when people choose churches with people who are of their “own race,” these are forms of social control that advocate for segregation, for a social hierarchy. De facto segregation is occurring every day. I need to be clear that while blockbusting was used to lower prices in white segregated communities, there is a new type of blockbusting occuring in our inner-ring neighborhoods, where African American people are simultaneously seeing their property taxes go up, yet the sale value of their homes going down. It is not a success when a neighborhood becomes more “diverse” if the power of the minority groups is non-existent. Melissa also spoke to the group about how she is housing insecure because of the proposed FC Cincinnati soccer stadium project. She has been living in the West End for a couple of years now, becoming more active in the community. She sees her friends receiving eviction notices directly from FC Cincinnati’s property manager, and she is worried that her home will be next. FC Cincinnati commissioned a housing report to be released this summer that already shows that 53% of the West End residents are likely to lose their housing in the next 5 years. Imagine if someone told you that half of your neighbors would be gone in 5 years, how would you feel about your neighborhood? The forces of displacement have been ignited by the proposed soccer stadium, yet the team refuses to take responsibility for it, as Jeff Berding, team spokesperson, claims that they have not committed any crimes. Well, that’s a low bar, don’t you think? When we know that de facto segregation, discrimination, racism, etc., occurs on a daily basis, we’d hope to have higher standards for a project that is receiving millions in city taxpayer subsidy. When we think about the middleschool perspective of what is right and just, it’s hard to understand why we allow the millionaire class to make the laws, enforce the laws, feel they are above the law, while everyone else suffers under the law. Criminalizing homelessness is not the answer, but perhaps we should criminalize those who make people homeless, like the real estate lobby, the landlords, the developers who through entire communities out on the street, the bankers who still redline, the politicians who allow for the illegal funding of our schools, the healthcare systems that function for profit, the polluters and carbon emitters who are at fault for global warming, and the fossil fuel industry that killed public transportation. Let’s first start by taking away the subsidies for luxury development and soccer stadiums, and focus our budget on the lack of affordable housing in our county and city. We will never have enough money to satiate the rich, but we do have enough to ensure everyone has a safe and affordable place to live. Students in Over-the-Rhine after working with the Education Department from The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL N o v 22- -N o v 19, 0 18 | |NNo. o . 393 May May 16,22019 406 Nakba Tour: Palestinian Stories MARTHA STEPHENS Contributing Writer F riends, I’m writing about an event of a few weeks ago at the Clifton Mosque. I expect very few of us who read this paper are indifferent to the sufferings of the Palestinian people. The two Palestinian women who led the event at the Mosque are still living in the camps in Lebanon where many families fled when they were evicted from their village in Palestine. The Mosque hosted a marvelous gathering for these two women on March 27. Food and talk and good history and information was the program. A black solidarity group was a co-sponsor. The two women are traveling the country with the Nakba Tour. You may recall that “nakba” is the Arabic term for the long march into exile when much of Palestinian land was given over to the State of Israel back in 1948. The younger speaker gave us an interesting history of all that happened before and during those early years of exile, and then she sat down by the older woman and helped her tell exactly what it had been like for her and her family. The intruding forces, along with many other men, killed her husband. They didn’t want any men to survive. Since ancient times, this community had a rich life in their village on the coast. They farmed, fished, and were able to other towns with their catch and their produce. When the women had suddenly to pack up and get out, they could take very little with them as they fled across the border into Lebanon. The older woman we met, Um Akram, told us about her long life in the camps with what was left of her family. They had to walk quite a ways, for instance, just to visit the toilets near the fences of the camp. We can read more online about the Nakba Tour, and of course all the details of the Palestinian struggle can be studied at length through other media sites. Many in the U.S. want our government to stand by the Palestinian people in their attempts to resist their confinement in the virtual prisons of Gaza and the West Bank. A few weeks after this event at the Clifton Mosque, a leader of the Mosque, Karen Dabdoub, whose husband is Palestinian, was the speaker on April 9 at the Tuesday forum of Progressive Democrats. She gave a splendid talk about Muslim beliefs and the pain many Muslims abroad experience when being unable even to visit here for weddings and funerals. The stories these women have to say are important and need to be heard. Humanizing a crisis makes it easier to understand, deconstruct, and therefore attempt to fix. These are topics that the Progressive Democrats discuss at our weekly meetings. Readers of Streetvibes might be interested in joining the weekly forums of Progressive Democrats. We meet every Tuesday at 12:00 for lunch and good talk at the Blue Gibbon Restaurant on Sherman Avenue. Um Akram and her young Palestinian co-host Where’s the Harm in Sex Offender Registration Laws? ALEXANDRA MONACO Contributing Writer F or a moment, let’s imagine that you have just been sentenced to 10 years in jail. You serve your time and are then released. Being a formerly incarcerated individual, you lack strong social ties or relationships, cannot find a job due to your record or label as an “ex-convict”, often cannot return to formal education (high school, college, professional education), you are now barred from financial aid, often experience homelessness, and have the criminal justice system breathing down your neck through your parole or probation officer. Now, let’s consider that your charge was for a sex offense. In addition to the above, you also have to register as a sex offender, which often leads to more challenges. What exactly does this entail, though? You are bound by Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) Laws, which require you to publicly register as a sex offender, restrict where you can live and work, require that you notify your neighbors that you have a sex offense charge, and control who you can and cannot interact with (including your family and sometimes your children). According to Dayton Daily News, you and 17,000 other people in the state of Ohio are affected by these SORN laws. SORN laws are controversial and difficult to understand. These laws were created to help keep the public informed and safe. While this goal is important and admirable, we must think critically about the effectiveness and impact of these laws. Is the public actually safer because of these laws? Do they truly help curb repeat offending? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Or, are they helping to perpetuate the barriers discussed above? To put it simply, no. There is a vast body of research about the effectiveness and consequences of SORN laws that suggest that the public is minimally affected by these laws. There is little evidence that there are any lasting positive effects of these laws. In fact, some scholars suggest that communities experience a false sense of security because they focus on “stranger danger”, which accounts for a very small percentage of sex offenses. Thus, communities are prepared for a crime that will likely not occur in their neighborhoods. Further, according to one study published in 2018 by Jill Levenson, there is no evidence that residence restrictions prevent sex crimes, or that registered sex offenders who live closer to child-oriented locations (e.g., schools, playgrounds, or bus stops) are more likely to reoffend than those who live farther away. In fact, another study from a researcher at Barry University stated THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED that few people seem to search registries on a regular basis. When they do, even fewer take preventative measures after viewing a registration website—even if they find someone who is registered in their neighborhood. Not only are these laws largely ineffective, it seems people are not taking advantage of them or taking them very seriously. All of these research findings suggest that SORN laws are largely ineffective at “protecting the public” and do not prevent repeat offending, either. The general public is often afraid of the idea that people labeled as “sex offenders” are more likely to become repeat offenders than other types of offenders. However, according to a researcher at Barry University, research has consistently determined that “sex offense recidivism rates are lower than generally assumed, averaging between 5% and 15% across studies.” This is lower than most other types of offenses. In addition to being largely �No. 39 Nov 216, - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 23- |May | No. 406 LOCAL 11 Where’s the Harm in Sex Offender Registration Laws? Continued... ineffective, these laws make it incredibly difficult for formerly incarcerated individuals to become reintegrated into society after their incarceration. The limitations placed on people that have to register as a sex offender are vast. Finding a job after incarceration is even more difficult for this population, as they are required to maintain a certain distance from schools, playgrounds, bus stops, and other child-oriented places. Housing restrictions and limited employment opportunities often push this population into homelessness. One man was even prohibited from living with his own children due to his criminal history. For the population of people that were charged with sex offenses, their imprisonment does not end once they are released from jail or prison. Knowing that SORN laws are largely ineffective and create a lasting negative impact for those intertwined in them, it is time for these laws to be redrafted to become more efficient, effective, and considerate. To learn more about the laws in your state, and to help change them, please call or local officials and state legislators. Changes in laws and practices like these begin with individuals and communities. Unfortunately, these are conversations that most people feel uncomfortable having. Let’s get comfortable with the uncomfortable and make a change. “The Tribune Of the People”: Marxism and The Struggle Against Oppression RAYA ContributingWriter I n What Is To Be Done?, Lenin argued that a socialist party must be a “tribune of the people” that “is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression, no matter where it appears” and “is able to generalize all these manifestations and produce a single picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation.” For such a party, there can be no singleissue movements, only one totalistic struggle that unites all the oppressed and exploited groups in society. Whether one begins with the question of trans liberation or combatting climate change, it immediately become obvious that the fundamental question is one of overthrowing the capitalist system. Likewise, anyone who wishes to seriously challenge capitalism and the economic inequality it generates, must necessarily develop a program for the liberation of those groups uniquely oppressed impacted by it. Homelessness, for instance, cannot be meaningfully addressed as an economic issue without engaging with the racist, homophobic, and transphobic systems that lead to people of color and queer people to experience it disproportionately. Nor can queer or black homelessness be addressed without raising the question of why homelessness exists at all in a society that has more than empty homes to shelter everyone experiencing homelessness at the present time and developing a program of struggle against the capitalist system that produces such absurdities. This understanding and totalistic commitment is the foundation for the solidarity of individual revolutionaries with all movements of the oppressed and exploited people, and upholding this solidarity is foremost among the duties that a revolutionary party imposes on its members. Marxists begin from interconnection of all types of oppression within capitalist society and seek to overturn it. As Malcolm X put it “you can’t have capitalism without racism,” and as socialist feminists have always emphasized “There will be no women's liberation without revolution. from and unaffected by the struggles of that group but choosing to lend their support to it, but are part and parcel of every oppressed group and every movement that arises from the initiative of the oppressed and exploited. The liberation of each oppressed group is the precondition for the liberation of any one oppressed group. Those organizations that base themselves on single-issue reformist There will be no revolution without women's liberation.” The struggle against every type of oppression and explication is linked to the struggle against every other type and the victims of any one type of oppression are harmed by existence of every other type. Marxists are not allies of any oppressed group, standing separately programs, as well as those supposedly revolutionary organizations that postpone radical ends to distant future in favor of a moderate practice in the present, become safety valves of the prevailing world order. Through a million unnoticed and unplanned actions their sense of political possibility and imagination is lost, their purpose is THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED narrowed to the point were discussion of their original goals can seem almost heretical, and they turn on their most militant and committed members. They co-opt and contain the spontaneous dissent of the oppressed and exploited masses, becoming barriers to the end of oppression and exploitation. Worse, those organizations which merely propose a program of limited reforms or of ameliorating some of the evils of the system within the system can often become directly involved in perpetuating oppression. The task of revolutionaries must be, therefore, to ensure the closest possible unity between educating and organizing on behalf of radical goals and everyday political practice. The struggle for reforms within the context of the present world order should take the form of transitional demands that leads to the questioning of that order and expose the oppressive nature of prevailing power relations. When activists are attacked by police for protesting against white supremacy, or even for demanding the preservation of local libraries, they receive an unforgettable lesson on the institutional function of law enforcement agencies in class societies. For its part, the revolutionary party gains the confidence of the masses through its participation in the spontaneous movements that emerge from them and in the struggle for the demands raised by these movements. Members of a revolutionary party are distinguished from individuals spontaneously drawn into ongoing struggles only by their theoretical understanding of the situation and their commitment to the international revolutionary movement as a whole. �12 STREETVOICE Nov 2 N o v 19, 0 18 || No. N o . 406 393 May 2 -- May 16, 22019 Dreams Over-the-Rhine I was born in Cincinnati in 1950 into a first generation German family named Beck. My nana, grandpa, momma and our extended second-­‐generation family of aunts and uncles all lived together in a historic Ohio farmhouse. The home was one of the first built in the Ohio Valley by an English family surnamed Edwards. It was reputed to be part of the Underground Railroad, sheltering runaway slaves in the coal cellar. Cincinnati was settled in 1788 on the banks of the Ohio River across from Kentucky. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, free Blacks and runaway slaves came across the river seeking better lives and less prejudice. After the Great Depression of the 1930s Appalachian families from rural Kentucky hills crossed the Ohio with new dreams. Cincinnati was an immigrant crucible of Germans, Jews, and the Irish. In reward for their hope, the city gave many immigrants small opportunity and large restrictions, The 50’s were a conservative era in segregated Cincinnati. Our white family visited the neighborhood of Over–the-­‐Rhine once a year just before Christmas to shop at Findley Market, the oldest operating food market in Ohio. That’s where Aunt Martha would buy a goose for Christmas dinner, like straight out of Charles Dickens. Going to the market was like going to another world for me; I loved it! Over-the-Rhine got its name from working-class German immigrants who lived on one side of the Erie Canal and laughingly referred to it as the Rhine River. A historic urban area that has undergone recent gentrification, I have come back home to “Cincy” to explore the trendy, now predominately white neighborhood called “OTR”. My first stop is the old location of The School for Creative and Performing Arts on Sycamore Street. The history of the magnet school involved a mandate to integrate. When I taught Theatre at SCPA, directors double cast all black and white actors, singers and dancers with “non-traditional casting” based on talent, not race. The school has now been converted into pricey condominiums for ex-suburbanites. The newly built arts school near Music Hall admits talented students grades K-12. It is tuition free for kids from all of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods based upon potential. Eric Kunzel helped establish the funding for the new SCPA near historic Music Hall. Maestro Kunzel conducted the Cincinnati Pops in its hay day and invited the SCPA children’s choir to perform at Music Hall on many occasions. The kids dreamed big. Today I listen proudly to the young female vocal group called “The Baby Grands” singing in the renovated Music Hall. It is a mixed group of twelve young women with individual artistic dreams, singing their hearts out on that hallowed stage in Over-the-Rhine. As I embrace their dreams of finding fame through the arts, I remember the reality of Harry Belafonte’s statement about racism made in October of 2002: “If you walk into South Central Los Angeles, into Watts, or if you walk into Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati, you’ll find people who live lives that are as degrading as anything that slavery had ever produced, They live in economic oppression. They live in a disenfranchised way.” Over-the-Rhine is now franchised. There’s a Graeter’s Ice Cream parlor, and an upscale Taste of Belgium restaurant in the same block as the millennia’s’ favorite soul food restaurant The Eagle. I go to The Eagle for lunch, and sit next to a couple of white businessmen in suits, eating free-range fried chicken with collard greens. I can’t help but wonder, “Where have all the black neighborhood street folks gone? Where are the poor, white Appalachians living in the fringes of Over-the-Rhine? As I leave The Eagle, I run into an African American in a wheelchair selling the newspaper Streetvibes. In an article titled Disappearing Communities, Dr. Mark Mussman states that Over-the-Rhine has been drastically changed by outside forces. People who live in the rich white neighborhood, have come into our small neighborhood and stood for one thing: displacement. Dr. Mussen’s research mentions that at least 2400 units of housing have been lost to gentrification, “never to return. Cincinnati still has no possibility of upward mobility for most African American residents today, Most of the buildings in Over-­the-­Rhine are owned by out-­of-­state landlords or local white people who are out to make a buck.” Understanding economic displacement is complex. I scan the Cincinnati Enquirer for a few quick headlines: “Cincinnati’s poverty rate among five highest for US cities.” The city’s poverty rate grew faster than the nation as a whole in 2002 to 2017. In the Cincinnati Public Schools, 81.9 percent of students qualify for meal assistance. Median household income has not recovered from the 2008 recession in seven of Greater Cincinnati’s fifteen counties. Poverty is worse in 1/3 of those counties. Statistics in Cincinnati show that the Great Recession stole wealth. Some jobs came back after the recession but financial security didn’t. Family medical expenses keep rising. When forced to leave Over-­ ‐the-­ ‐Rhine, the only place to go may be to public housing, which is so tight as to be considered realistically unavailable. There are only 43 affordable rental units for every 100 extremely low-­‐income households. The alternative is living on the streets with the rest of the local homeless population. “On the streets” in reality means staying in a homeless shelter with 86% of the homeless population in Hamilton County. According to the 2017 census, 1,692 of the homeless are children. And that number is on the rise in Over-­‐ the-­ ‐Rhine. I think of the talented neighborhood children at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. And I think of the beautiful play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which opens with the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. The first line of the poem begins: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” The dreams of displaced people from Over-the-Rhine are not just detoured. They seem to be dead. But I can’t end my Cincinnati homecoming journey with such negativity. I know that it is time to recognize that our differences shared become our personal riches. We have to move heaven and earth to find homes and finally come home. I have read about the work that the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church has done to provide warm beds for the homeless when the temperatures drop. It isn’t a home. On Sunday I go to Quaker meeting. As I study the bulletin of the Cincinnati Friends Congregation, I discover their organization called “Tender Mercies” with the mission to provide “Security, Dignity, and Community” to homeless adults in Over-­‐the-­‐Rhine. Security means a housing environment where residents’ safety is priority. Dignity means housing that allows residents to develop economic strengths. Community is housing that offers family while affirming the individual. I learn: “The Quaker congregation achieves its mission by maintaining 134 units of permanent housing in six buildings in Over-­ ‐the-­ ‐Rhine. Our model of housing addresses the root causes of homelessness by providing community supportive services through Bethany House. Bethany House empowers homeless and atrisk families with solutions to achieve housing stability and long-term self sufficiency.” And so the dream is renewed: to respect our differences by helping others, as we would like to be helped. Respectfully, I quote: ”There but for the grace of God, go I”. MELISSA LILLY ContributingWriter Streetvibes Writing Circle If you would like to submit a story for publication in streetvibes, come join Katelyn Lusher and Chris Wilkey for a group writing session! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �STREETVOICE No. 39 | Nov16, 2- N o v 19, 2 0 406 18 May 2 -3 May 2019 | No. Lives That Matter After all i been threw being homeless i live to be a part of history to live to see a black president and a white women nominated The Mueller Report Revisited what's the mystery it seems like god has a plan for people to come together and be at peace and know we all live and we all die so why the racism doesn't The Mueller Report, the Mueller Report! The A.G's synopsis was biased and short. cease still it matters what color , religion and what creed you are things matter today whether you work or find a place to live so who's scared i believe we as a human race teach our children what to believe in and how i believe if we don’t show our children love with understanding we dead now Now that we have a much longer version, We can read about the lies and perversion. It now seems time for citizens to beseech That Congress takes action to impeach. all lives matter knowing that all lives end, life being so short what is the fight let people be blessed in who they are rich or poor just give BILL WOODS Contributing Writer respect that's right so whether you support the homeless or not pray it won’t be you someday WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 13 �PUZZLES 14 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 104 Across 1. Hen-peck 4. Destiny 8. Dainty 12. Exclusive 13. Esurient 14. Communication medium 16. Leonine animal 17. Hoop 18. Harvest 19. Livid 21. Matured 23. Merchandising agreement 24. Beverage 25. Fiend 27. Wonderment 29. Young kangaroo 30. Consumed 31. Pair 34. Acquiescence 37. Seize 38. Outer part of a wheel 39. A sudden impact 40. Pouch 41. The present location 42. Beer 43. Musical work 45. Fractured 47. Pole 48. Distilled from fermented molasses 49. Amphibian 50. Female swan 51. Crack in a lip 52. Consume 55. Rodents 58. Period of time 60. At that place 62. Repent 64. A small piece of anything 66. Length by width 67. Team race 68. Field sport 69. Building containing a skating surface 70. Gender 71. High-pitched bark 72. Small vegetable PUZZLE SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD #103 Down 1. Dissonance 2. Hawaiian greeting 3. DNA segment 4. At a great distance 5. Building were birds are kept 6. Undertone 7. Boundary of a surface 8. Be nosey 9. Lift up 10. Notion 11. Move about in a confused manner 12. Spline 15. Poem 20. Midday 22. Information 26. Acquire 28. Entanglement 29. Hard black form of lignite 30. Part of a circle 31. Long and difficult journey 32. Finishing line on a racetrack 33. Presage 34. Slightly open 35. Musical composition for one voice or instrument 36. Sledge 37. Fuel 40. A quantity of money 41. Box on a pole for carrying bricks 43. Metal-bearing mineral 44. Inferior in strength or significance 45. Constrictor 46. Ecstatic 49. Exhiliration 50. Relating to punishment 51. Small boat 52. Strange and frightening 53. Walk of life 54. Hard durable wood 55. Spoil 56. Detail 57. Carbonated drink 59. Catch sight of 61. Stringed instrument 63. Oculus 65. Sharp explosive sou N o v 22--N o v 19, 0 18 | |N o . 393 May May 16,22019 No. 406 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 395 - MEDIUM SODOKU PUZZLE NO 394- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 39 Nov 2 - N2019 o v 19, 2 0 18 May 23- |May 16, | No. 406 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children RESOURCES Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside Bethany House 557-2873 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 591-2246 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 131 E. 12th Street 45202 1125 Bank Street 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street 45202 411 Gest St. 45203 Prospect House 921-1613 1437 Walnut Street 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Parkway Center 661-4620 First Step Home 961-4663 Shelter: Youth 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Shelter: Family Interfaith Hospitality Network Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 471-1100 1522 Republic Street 45202 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Seraph Ministries 549-0542 St. George Food Pantry 2554 Dennis St. 45219 751-8771 St. Anthony Center 1615 Republic St. Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 241-2965 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Housing: 15 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th St. 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor Cancer Justice Network 404-3882 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center (11-17 y/o) 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Gabriela Godinez Feregrino, 961-0600 email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �16 NMay o v 2 2- -NMay o v 19, 18 | |NNo. o . 393 16,2 02019 406 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BETTIE BAILEY SINCE 10/2017 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN ADAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHARLES WILLIAMS SINCE 7/2017 CHRISTOPHER KAIHATSU SINCE 7/2017 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DARREL ROZIER SINCE 7/2017 DAVID MCCANE SINCE 2017 ERIC VALDEZ SINCE 2/2017 GERALD FRANKLIN SINCE 7/2017 GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 HENRY BRELAND SINCE 7/2017 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2000 JENNY BURTON SINCE 7/2017 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 KIM NGUYEN SINCE 7/2017 KENNY BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2012 MAURICE GOLSBY MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 1999 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 STACIA HOLLANDER SINCE 2017 STEPHANIE EAKES SINCE 7/2017 SYLVESTER WALKER SINCE 7/2017 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2011 VICTOR MUMPHRY WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WINNIE RICE SINCE 7/2017 QUEENACELASTINE SINCE 7/2017 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 VIOLET COLLINS SINCE 2017 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2019 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 2-May 16, 2019 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Come Out and Say “No Way” An Overlooked Piece of Good News Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: To Make It on the Streets, I Had to Look Like You Pg 6: Migrant Farm Workers, The Main Victims of Slave Labour in Mexico Pg 7: Franco’s Invisible Legacy Pg 8: Under the Law Pg 9: Under the Law Continued Pg 10: Nakba Tour Where’s the Harm in Sex Offender Registration Laws? Pg 11: “The Tribune of the People” Pg 12: Dreams Over-the-Rhine Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 2-May 16, 2019 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gabriela Godinez Bill Woods Josh Spring Dustin Dandliker Jordi Conella Detrell Emelio Godoy Dr. Mark Mussman Melissa Lilly Raya Willa Denise Jones Martha Stephens Alexander Monaco Canva.com INSP.com Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alexander Monaco Bill Woods Canva.com Dr. Mark Mussman Dustin Dandliker Emelio Godoy Gabriela Godinez INSP.com Jordi Conella Detrell Josh Spring Martha Stephens Marxism Melissa Lilly Mexico Migrants Slavery Oppression Over-the-Rhine Palestine Raya Sex Offender Registration Laws Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/6a737b8ab10067d59dfded55fff52be2.pdf a1d607a506646c014fea373c0552441c PDF Text Text M ay 20th - June 2nd 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 11 (No. 330) advocating justice | Building community OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Recovery Hotel | 9 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Panhandler Like ME | 3 Working with youth to raise awareness about homelessness | 4 Voting rights, immigration reform and confirmation hearings | 8 Author Wows Interfaith Workers Center May Day Brunch | 2 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From the Director: Infuriating Fakeness JOSH SPRING Executive Director I am infuriated with fake stuff. It seems that in our city right now the only thing considered to be “development” is expensive new buildings or renovations with expensive finishes. Everything has to be just so-so: straight edges, crisp clean facades, hip lighting and sidewalk dining. But then there is this contradiction. Wood siding is hung on exterior and interior walls, not just wood though “reclaimed wood”, so it looks like it has wear from age. Stores have shelves made from “reclaimed wood”, sidewalk bar tops are welded steel and polished rough-cut wood. In some of these shops you can purchase furniture and decorations made from “re-purposed” industrial antiques. You can buy “home-made” pet food. You can get an “organic” lunch with bio-degradable utensils. You can get “hand-crafted” sushi, “authentic” food or visit a “neighborhood” bar. One of the contradictions is that everything is desired to be crisp, clean and new, but is made to look antique, laid-back and hand-made and environmentally friendly. People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a condo in a “historic” neighborhood in a “historic” building, despite the fact that the only thing still “historic” about the building is the exterior façade. Everything inside the building was gutted, sent to a landfill and rebuilt when it didn’t need to be. And in many cases the “historic” building was also gutted of its previous inhabitants. The stores are supposed to appear to be “welcoming” places, but the actual neighborhood stores like the hardware store or discount dry goods store were pushed out. It’s said that “development” is supposed to support young families, yet the local candy store and children’s karate school is forced out and the early child-hood community center is closed. Of course, I am describing some specifics in Over-the-Rhine, but this applies to portions of the Central Business District, Price Hill, Walnut Hills and Clifton. Often when walking through such an area, passing new and nearly entirely white yuppie groups of people out on their lunch break or drinking an overpriced “craft” beer on the sidewalk “re-claimed” wood bar top, I wonder what they are thinking and how they can enjoy what they are doing. The simple hanging out with friends part, I understand. The rest I cannot fully grasp. Is it ignorance, ego, apathy or capitalism? I guess it may be all of the above and more. What drives a group of predominately white people to want to spend time in a bar or restaurant that is in a building where a neighborhood store used to be, above which predominately black people used to live until they were forced out, standing on a sidewalk that was freshly re-poured only because someone thought enough white people moved in to make it worthy, under lighting that was only updated for the same reason, drinking a beer that you could purchase cheaper elsewhere, on a street that several years ago they didn’t know existed and would have felt afraid to be May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 on, knowing they can drink that beer on the sidewalk because they can pay the expensive price, but anyone else who can’t afford that but still would like to hang with friends and drink a beer on the sidewalk can be charged with a crime? Not only do people seem to greatly enjoy this activity, they want to see more places like it created and in community arguments about “development” they say they value “inclusion” but believe the city needs more “economic base”. People think they are a part of something big and new. People think they are urban “pioneers”, saving a historic neighborhood from blight, crime, disinvestment and dirt, when really all they are doing is attempting to force a neighborhood to look and act just like themselves. Not only that, but to have residents and tourists who have the same economic means as themselves. They think they are progressive when in reality they are a part of the age-old systematic practice of displacing people from their homes and racial and economic segregation. So, yes they are urban “pioneers” and should research the terrible history of pioneerism in this country - these are not ranks of people you should want to associate yourself with. Are some people’s worlds so small, easy and self-focused that they are able to not see the truth that is all around them? But then again, I guess the more you make things look a way that makes you and those you know comfortable, you see less and less of what you don’t understand and therefore are challenged less. I am infuriated with fake. I am infuriated with people saying they value diversity, when they take part in and promote systems that force sameness. I am infuriated with people acting like they are laid-back and open when they won’t walk down (Continued on page 11) Restaurant Workers Organizer and Author Wows Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center May Day Brunch BILL WOODS A n overflow crowd attended the annual May Day Brunch sponsored by the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center at St. Monica-St. George Parish. Union members, faith leaders, and civic activists comprised the attendees who heard a dynamic speaker describe the reform movement now underway to improve the lives of restaurant workers across America. A rapt audience listened as Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, reviewed the Contributing Writer sad history of restaurant workers and the current efforts to eliminate what amounts to their wage slavery. Jayaraman earmarked the practice of tipping as the long term factor that entrenched low wages for restaurant workers in the U.S. Imported to this country after the Civil War, tipping was the only form of payment for the former slaves who became Pullman Car employees during that era. Tipping soon became common in restaurants, and owners began to exploit this custom as a justification for paying low sal- aries. Ironically, noted Jayaraman, tipping began in England at places such as Downton Abbey as a reward for good work over and above a regular wage. This tradition of customer tipping has been successfully used over the years as the reason to provide restaurant workers with a lower minimum wage than other employees under federal and state minimum wage laws. For instance, in Ohio the minimum wage is $8.10 an (Continued on page 12) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Leslie Moorhead Director of Education: Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Peter Kobak Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Jim Luken, Leslie Moorhead, Michael Earl Patton, Dr. Mark Mussman, Camri Nelson, Caroline Cory, Justin Jeffre, Steve Sunderland, Willa Denise Jones, Kim Green Photography/Artwork: Jim Luken's friend, Leslie Moorhead, Key Beck, Caroline Cory, Andy Hutzel, Paul Beidenbach, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 LOCAL No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 Panhandler Like Me JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer Panhandler Like Me I'm gonna be standin' on the corner 12th Street and Vine With my Kansas City baby And a bottle of Kansas City wine. Fats Domino I Preparation Six weeks ago, I made a cardboard sign, which read: “Another Hungry Person. CAN U HELP? Please.” I hate lying, so I didn't want to say that I was homeless (although I had undergone homelessness for about six weeks in 1995). To make certain that I would indeed be hungry, I ate nothing after Thursday night. This would be my longest “fast” since the late '80s. For the past year I had been letting my gray hair grow out to almost shoulder length curls. But I had decided I would clean up my act and get a haircut on my birthday. For the panhandling experiment I wanted to look like someone who was down on his luck. So I told my Streetvibes editor that I needed to do this “research” project while I still looked... seedy. He agreed to come out on Friday night and take my picture, as I stood with my sign at the northeast corner of 12 Vine. you very much,” before looking in my can. I looked. I couldn't help smiling. I looked across the street at the violinist. She had had a half dozen donations already. I had counted them. But I felt certain that I was way ahead of her, cash­w ise. Thus, my smile. I had given money to panhandlers and beggars for the past twelve years, ever since moving to “the ghetto.” In the old days it was often “fiddy­cents.” Now it was almost always a dollar. The most I had ever donated was a Hamilton ($10), one day long ago when I had some major extra cash in my wallet. At some point I noticed that more people were crossing Vine at the southeast side of the intersection, this because of a play at the Ensemble Theater. So I moved across the street. Pickings were pretty slim there, in spite of all the well­heeled theatergoers who had paid $45 dollars each for their tickets. I was disappointed in their stinginess. I am a “theater person” myself. I recognized one couple as they approached on their way to the play. The woman fished in her purse for a bill. Then I watched the gleam of recognition on her husband's face. We had been occasional friends since our college days. He knew that I was an OTR resident, but I could tell that my scraggly appearance had taken him by surprise. “What are you doing?” he asked, with a trace of anxiety on his face. “A story for Streetvibes,” I replied. “Good,” he said, obviously relieved, “I kinda thought that.” I asked him to take a couple of pictures of me with my phone, just in case my editor failed to show. This turned out to be fortuitous, because my editor indeed failed to show that night. The couple and I chatted a bit. The wife dropped the five in my coffee can, and they headed off to the theater. I was very pleased that she had decided to give me the money before she knew it was me. Hitting the streets I decided I would spend three hours panhandling. I left home at about 6:15 PM and headed to OTR's restaurant district on Vine. For the first twenty minutes I “earned” only a dollar for my efforts. Not long after my arrival at the corner, a young woman set up shop on the other side of the street. She had no sign, just a violin, which she played with a fair amount of skill. I watched, jealously, as passersby leaned down to put money into her violin case. Clearly, her version of panhandling was doing much better than mine. Then a forty­ish guy, strolling by with his lady friend, dropped a bill in my coffee can. “All the best, Man,” he said, and walked off. I said “Thank The food This part of the experiment turned out to be an unexpected surprise, one which made me a bit uncomfortable. Before I had crossed the street to beg from the theater crowd, a man walked up with a small pizza box from A Tavola, the fancy pizza joint. “Do you want some food?” he asked. I didn't really want any food at this point, but my sign said I was hungry, which I was. Very hungry. So I graciously accepted his offering. But I felt strange having access to food without devouring it. I put the box down on the little wall behind me, and ignored it. Before crossing the street, I placed the little box very carefully into the half full city trash n 1961, John Howard Griffin published an extraordinary book, so famous that I learned about it as a junior in my all­ white, all­ boys high school here in Cincinnati. That book, Black Like Me, chronicled Griffith's six­week journey through deep South states, after having had his skin artificially blackened so the young Dallas man would pass as a “Negro.” What Griffin learned on his odyssey bordered on the horrible, but made for a mindexpanding book. Over the past few months I had been considering a very modest attempt to do something similar to Griffin's monumental research project. I wanted to feel what it was like to be a panhandler, to gain a sense of what those hundreds of Cincinnatians feel as they take to the streets, sign in hand, to earn their “livelihood.” On, Friday the 13th my birthday, my sign in hand, I received the long anticipated “learning experience.” Jim Luken with his sign Photo: Jim Luken's friend container sitting almost in front of me. I told myself I would retrieve the box later. By 8:00 PM, the theater crowd had gone inside, so I moved to a location that my editor had suggested. I stood in front of the Sloane boutique, located between The Senate restaurant and A Tavola. Tons of people walked past me there. All in all, over the next three hours, I received four more food donations. I noticed that people were offering me food without even glancing at my sign. I offered the second pizza box almost immediately to a very drunken white man who tottered nearby. He sat down and ate it, right at the doorstep of the restaurant where it had been prepared. The other three items I placed in a pile on the ledge behind me. One woman handed me a box, explaining that she had already taken a bite, but if I wanted it, the contents were mine to eat. I accepted it, knowing that I would probably not eat it. The money Everyone whom I've talked with regarding this panhandling story wanted to know how much I got. I got exactly $40. The twenty. Three fives. And five singles. This means that I had earned about $13 for each of the three hours of hard work. Some friends from the Homeless Coalition who had “worked” as real panhandlers had told me that, on some days, they did pretty well. On others, not so well. My experience echoed both of these situations. The first half of the night was profitable. The second half...dreadfully unprofitable. If I were relying on panhandling to make a go of it, the night had been good. But half of the money had come from one person. The more sobering fact was that only nine people had responded to my panhandling efforts. In three hours. Three people per hour, from among the three hundred or so who had walked by me during each hour. Statistically, this was not quite a positive show of human kindness. Ten in a thousand? 1%. Four people had given generous- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ly. But for the most part I was underwhelmed. The people By far, the majority of the folks who walked by me had plenty of money. That's why they were in the neighborhood, partying. The vast majority—90 to 95% of them—chose not to glance my way. Obviously, like everyone who comes downtown or lives downtown, they were used to us beggars. And they had developed a method of avoidance, of refusing to notice people in need. No doubt, most of these middle­ class folks would have preferred that I didn't exist. They would rather that the homeless and the hungry were somewhere else, were out of site. So they made me invisible. Good trick. I tried to make eye contact with everyone who walked by, just as I had seen other panhandlers do when I drove by them standing at many of the intersections downtown. A few of them glanced my way. One man said, “Have a good life, Sir. I mean it.” He didn't give me any money, but I felt his greeting was sincere. Oddly, or so it seemed, I received lovely smiles from a number of beautiful young women. I smiled back, welcoming these smiles as if they were monetary gifts. In some ways, to this old man, they were better than money. Early in the evening one couple stared at my sign. The man took a bill from his wallet, and asked, “How long has it been since you've eaten?” I told him that it had been almost an entire day. I told him that I wasn't lying about that. He held out a fivedollar bill. “You'll buy food with this if I give it to you. Right?” I told him that I buy beer as well as food. “I'm not going to lie about that.” I don't think anyone has the right to “legislate” or demand their own notions of morality and proper behavior. He and his wife were probably going to have drinks with their dinner that night. He dropped the money into my can. He seemed (Continued on page 7) �4 LOCAL Working with our youth to raise awareness about homelessness Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 LESLIE MOORHEAD O Staff Writer n April 30, we got to hang out with these awesome 6th and 7th graders from The Clubhouse-Dream- programs to low income families. We worked with the awesome future young leaders of this group. Despite the pouring rain (be- Signs made by our young leaders Photo: Leslie Moorhead Young leaders in front of the Coalition Photo: Leslie Moorhead builders.org from Dayton, Ohio! The Clubhouse is a nonprofit organization that trains teens to design and run free after school and summer cause homelessness doesn't stop when the weather is bad) we sent these young teens out onto the streets to participate in our Service The Runners-Up MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer I had my own list of possible of possible replacements for Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill long before the choice of Harriet Tubman was announced (see my previous article “Civil Disobedience Pioneer on $20 Bill”). I didn’t look at it from the standpoint of finding a suitable woman to be on the currency, but as a challenge to pick someone who was NOT a top government official or military leader. Women almost automatically fit that criterion. Look at whom we currently honor on our coins and currency in general circulation – Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, F.D. Roosevelt, and the only partial exception to the list, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is famous both for his work outside of government -- as a printer, writer, experimenter, and inventor extraordinaire – and within as a delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and ambassador to France. Celebrity status alone or being the first in something is insufficient to make my list, she had to have made a significant contribution to a better society in some way. And, of course, American. Because our society is focused so much on celebrities, one has to dig a little to come up with such a list of either women or men. Here are the ones whom I call my runners-up, in roughly chronological order: Dorothea Dix, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Dorothy Day, Grace Hopper, and Rachel Carson. I’m giving honorable mention to Deborah Sampson and Jeanette Rankin, which I’ll explain later. Three on the list have been the subject of U.S. postage stamps, which are pictured here. The others certainly deserve that recognition, too. Dorothea Dix was an activist who, through vigorous and unrelenting lobbying, was responsible for the first system of humane mental asylums in America. Starting in Massachusetts in 1840, she investigated the existing facilities funded by towns and which were often almost medieval, with the inmates being chained and treated as beasts. Prompted by her reports the Massachusetts legislature expanded the state mental hospital in Worcester. Then she moved her attention to New Jersey, which passed a bill establishing a state facility in 1845. She worked and had success in other states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. During the Civil War she was the Superintendent of Army Nurses for the Union Army. Her tenure did not go smoothly, to say the least. She wanted female nurses in the hospitals, many doctors did not. She often didn’t trust nurses she hadn’t trained or hired herself, and that included Catholic nuns serving as nurses. Such issues aside, she was widely known for her even-handed treatment of both Union and Confederate wounded. She resigned her post in 1865 after the end of the war. Dorothea Dix then continued her efforts to improve the care of the mentally ill. The change in attitude towards the mentally ill in this country from chains to treatment is due to her. Harriet Beecher Stowe was an author who is known today for just Seekers Scavenger Hunt. They were divided up into two "families." One family had to find what services are available to a single mom with children, and the other group had to find what services a Veteran experiencing homelessness could receive. While out finding the locations of the shelters, soup kitchens, a place to shower and so forth, the teens were displaying the startling statistics of the reality of homelessness in our city. They did great! If you have a group that would like to participate in this education program, or to find out about other programs that we offer, please contact us! Service/Volunteering is wonderful, but a Service Learning experience can really take volunteering to another level. For more information contact markmussman@cincihomelesss.org. qualifying renters are essential. one book, but what a book it was. In the years leading up to the Civil War there were arguments back and forth between the abolitionists and those in favor of slavery. There were periodicals and lectures, and some former slaves spoke out forcefully against it. But her 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin provided characters and stories that captured the attention of the nation. The events it narrates, such as a Kentucky farmer selling some of his slaves – and breaking up their families -- to pay his debts, an escaping slave crossing the Ohio River, and life under an extremely cruel slave owner who in the novel is named Simon Legree, were often based on real events. It became a best seller and inspired Southerners to write novels that would portray their society in a more favorable light, but which were not nearly as popular. By today’s standards it would be considered to be melodramatic and overly sentimental, but for its time it was a sensation. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s son recalled that President Lincoln greeted her at the White House by saying that she was the “little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Whether or not Lincoln actually said this, her book certainly imparted to the North a moral purpose to the war that was coming. Historians sometimes overlook the things that shape the moods and beliefs of people and create the conditions that make subsequent events possible. Dorothy Day was an American journalist and social activist. She helped start the Catholic Worker movement, a pacifist movement that practices direct aid for the poor and homeless. The recent story in Streetvibes about Joyce Asfour and the Grace Place Catholic Worker House she founded comes from that tradition. She believed that we should work directly with the poor and not delegate this responsibility to the government. Dorothy Day was an ardent pacifist, refusing to participate in mandatory Civil Defense drills, picketing the offices of the Atomic Energy Commission, and opposed the war in Vietnam. She did not believe there was such a thing as a “just war.” In 1973 she worked with Cesar Chavez in his campaign for farm workers and was arrested for picketing in spite of an injunction, spending ten days in jail. She was deeply religious and loved those whom Jesus loved, especially the poor. She wrote extensively and was a strong advocate of distributism, which she said was between capitalism and socialism. For her work and her inspiration, which still motivates people today, she is included in this list. Grace Hopper joined the Navy Reserve in 1943. She was first in her class at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College. She was assigned to serve on the Mark I computer programming staff, where she co-authored three papers on the first computer that could execute long computations automatically. After the war, and still in the Navy Reserve, she worked for the Remington Rand corporation. In 1952 she built the first compiler for a computer. This compiler could take instructions in a programming language that was something like English and translate them into the commands that the computer needed to execute its instructions. According to Hopper, no one would at first believe her, thinking that computers could only do arithmetic. And writing commands in an unnatural, artificial language was prone to errors. With her compiler, this could be done much easier, quicker, and with fewer errors. She was named the company’s first director of automatic programming and her de- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ (Continued on page 7) �5 LOCAL UPZ: An LGBTQ App for All No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer L ast summer, I began a project called the Creative App Project here in Cincinnati. After teaching in a GED program for several years, I began to notice an interesting relationship between technology and education. I taught basic computer skills at the GED school because the GED is now on a computer (at a testing site, not on the internet) and so many people would come to our school and not even know what a mouse was. I developed a curriculum that began with taking computers apart and putting them back together. For me, it doesn’t make sense to just use something, I like to get inside of it to understand it. I had heard of a new organization in town called People’s Liberty. It was going to award individuals (not non-profits) grants to do projects that engage Cincinnati. I went to an open house informational session without an idea, but by the time I left I knew that I could help Cincinnati become a more “tech savvy” place. My goal was to teach non-traditional tech people how to make Android Apps. Once I was awarded the grant I worked with a team to make sure that the participants would not be 35 year-old white men, but would be open and inviting to minorities in Cincinnati. The class itself lasted only 10 weeks at the old Mercy St. John site by Findlay Market, and it was attended by mostly minority participants. We were the last program there when it closed last summer. Over the course of the 10 weeks, we developed 13 Apps, including apps on black women’s natural hair, vegan food options in Cincinnati, a cycling app, an app for photographers, and one to help the preservationists in town. All of these were individual’s ideas and passions. We also worked as a team to create an app for Lighthouse Youth Services that is aimed at reducing instances of homelessness among LGBTQ teens and young adults. After Melissa Meyer from Safe and Supported, which is housed at Lighthouse, gave us the charge, the class broke into five teams, each one developed a look, a logo, functions, and flow charts for the app. We then took these ideas to the Sheakley Center for Youth in Mt. Auburn/ Corryville and had the youth focus group the ideas. Key Beck led the focus groups and was able to capture what the youth liked and didn’t like about the app ideas. We took this information back to the group and I began creating a demo app. I began to incorporate what I was learning from my new position at the Homeless Coalition into the app. We met again with the advisory council for Safe and Supported, and confirmed that we were on the right track. Once the demo was ready, we put it on a couple tablets and brought it back to the Sheakley Center. This was the true test of the work that the students had done – did we listen to them? Almost all of the youth said they would download the app today if it was available. This was a huge success! I then spent a couple of more months fine tuning the app and getting it on the Google Play Store. You can get UPZ today on the Google Play UPZ Listing on the Google Play Store Store. The App itself contains several parts meant to help youth before, during, and after they experience a crisis. Anyone can use the UPZ app – if you are a social service provider, it is good to have on your phone because it contains quick call and text options for the CAP Line and other hotlines for suicide, self-harm, domestic violence, 211, etc. It has a location feature that shows where users are on a map, and a map with important places like the Sheakley Center, public single bathrooms, wifi, libraries, and the BMV. It also includes games, a drawing board, an events calendar, a journal to record your feelings and activities for reflection, and a customizable avatar to express yourself. All of the personal information, including a contacts section, is password protected, so if your family or friends get your phone, they can’t get your private information. The reason we focused UPZ on LGBTQ youth is because more than 40% of youth experiencing homelessness self-identify as LGBTQ – even though they represent a very small percent of the total population. Safe and Supported is working on reducing this number through rapid-rehousing, providing tools like UPZ, Safe Space training organizations, and educating the public (including parents) on the importance of empathy, understanding, and appreciation of LGBTQ youth. CAP513 continues to provide community-based technology education today. Currently, we are working with Future Leaders of OTR to create a place-based gaming app that the youth have envisioned. We are looking for a permanent space to hold technology classes for individuals on fixed or low-incomes – we would like to remain in Over-the-Rhine, if possible. I will never know the true impact of the UPZ app, but I hope that it helps our community become more compassionate and connected. (Note: We hope to have an iOS version of UPZ out by the end of the summer.) ------------------------ P5 CAP513 Class One Photo: Key Beck “Breakdown Stereotypes” “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 �No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 3) nice. He seemed sad, probably that I might use his money to seek solace in “demon rum.” The feelings For me, this whole experiment had been envisioned and conducted out of my desire to walk for a while (an admittedly short while) in the shoes of very poor people. People struggling to survive by doing what most of us middle­ class folks would consider a demeaning, perhaps even degrading activity. Begging. Only once in my life can I recall anything similar. During my high school years, we had to sell chances on a car being raffled by our school. I remember how much I hated knocking on door after door, getting mostly turn MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 4) partment was responsible for some of the first programming languages. Someone else would surely have done this eventually, but she was the first. And because she was an American whose native language was English, she wanted programming languages to be similar to English. If it had been someone else, another language might have been used, such as German or Russian. Her invention helped boost the young American computer industry and was a major step towards our modern, internetfilled world. Grace Hopper retired from the Naval Reserve in 1966 at the mandatory age of 60. She was recalled to active duty in 1967 and retired again in 1971. She was asked to return again in 1972 and, after attaining the rank of Rear Admiral, finally retired in 1986 at the age of 79. She was hired as a senior consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation, where she worked until her death at age 85. In addition to helping develop our modern computer era, she showed that often age is just a limitation we impose on ourselves. Rachel Carson was a biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service who transitioned to a full-time nature writer in 1952. Her articles and chapters from works in progress appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Nature, Science Digest, The New Yorker, and Collier’s. Her book The Sea Around Us was on the New York Times best-seller list for 86 weeks. Her most famous book, Silent Spring, called attention to the use of synthetic pesticides and the effect they were having on the environment and connection with cancer. She is most well-known for her warnings about the unrestricted use of the pesticide DDT. She foresaw that insects would develop resistance to it and other chemical agents and wrote that their use should be restricted to as little use as possible. Not only would that lessen damage to the environment, but it would slow the development of resistance. Her works were a major inspiration to the environmental movement and served notice that technological progress is not an automatic benefit to humankind. Deborah Sampson: The choice of Deborah Sampson would break my rule of not choosing a woman because she was first in something, and she may not have affected history in any significant way, but her perseverance and shear gumption definitely earn her an honorable mention. Deborah Sampson was not the first woman to fight with the Continental Army during the Revolution- 7 LOCAL The moral of the story All in all, I had had a good night. I had learned a lot. I knew that I would (probably) never need to beg for my survival. But I can now imagine almost exactly what it would be like to do this hour after hour, day after day. When I got home, I counted my money, washed my hands, and ate my “free” pizza. As I was writing this story, I recalled a strange and compelling quote from St. Vincent de Paul, who famously worked all his life with and for the poor. “It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give them.” I will, of course, be giving the money I earned to other beggars. Here's hoping they will have enough love in their hearts to forgive me. downs. I felt the activity was beneath me. I felt demeaned. Thanks to my grandmother, I attended a “rich boys” school. My own folks were working class poor. I knew that the parents of most of my classmates were buying all of their sons' required allotments. But this panhandling thing was entirely different. From the moment I held my sign in front of me, I felt almost proud to be standing there. I did my best to look dignified. I never felt demeaned. For the hour and twenty minutes that I spent under the SLOANE sign, I received only one dollar. Although I wasn't really collecting the money for myself, I began to feel a bit angry, and resentful. Hundreds of people passed by during that time. It was very tedious, standing there, hoping that people would notice me, and respond. At 9:15 PM, I was approached by a man in a yellow shirt wearing a walkie­talkie on his belt. He asked if I knew the rules about panhandling. I asked who he worked for. He said he was head of security for 3CDC. He told me I was violating at least two of the city's ordinances against panhandling: it was well after the 8 PM curfew, and I was standing within 20 feet of a retail establishment. He told me that the police would be coming by and that I could be arrested. “Your decision,” He shrugged. “I'm just telling you you're breaking the law.” I knew that there were better political issues for which I might risk arrest. Remembering what my mother had said about those starving children in China, I retrieved my pizza box, still sitting neatly and cleanly in the trash bin, and headed home with three boxes of food. ary War as there were several instances of women helping in the fury of battle. She was, however, the first to enlist, serve, receive an honorable discharge, and later receive a pension from Congress for her military service. In 1782 she took a suit of clothes from a man about her size, bound her breasts with cloth, and enlisted under the name Timothy Thayer. She was quickly found out, however, when an acquaintance recognized her soon afterwards in a tavern. She had another suit made from cloth she had woven herself, telling the tailor it was for a male relative about her size. She enlisted again, this time under the name Robert Shurtleff, joined the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, and fought in several skirmishes. During a battle in 1782 she was hit by two musket balls in her thigh. Rather than let a surgeon remove the balls and probably discover her true sex, she left the hospital. She removed one of the balls herself with a penknife (Hollywood, are you paying attention?), but the other was too deep and left it in. She sewed and dressed the wounds, and after a few days recuperating in the woods went back to her regiment. In April 1783 she was promoted and served as an orderly to General Paterson. That summer she became deathly ill and was sent to an infirmary. While unconscious, the doctor making his rounds examined her and discovered the cloth she was using to bind her breasts. She was promptly moved into his house where he and his family took care of her. He kept her secret until after the war was over with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Then he had her take a note to General Paterson and her secret was out. But the general had been impressed by her service and gave her an honorable discharge. Before he sent her home, and with her wearing female clothing, he had her parade down past the ranks of her former comrades-in-arms. Not one recognized her. She was discharged on October 25, 1783, after 17 months of service. Jeanette Rankin: Like Deborah Sampson, Jeanette Rankin breaks my rule of not choosing a woman because she was the first in something. In this case she was the first woman elected to Congress, having won her seat in Montana in 1916. This was even before the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women nationally the right to vote had been ratified in 1920, but was possible because most states had already changed their own voting rules. She was a pacifist and deserves to be remembered for her convictions even in the face of overwhelming sentiment for war during both her terms in office. Shortly after she took her seat in 1917, President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. The reason he gave, which is the normal explanation given today, was Germany’s U-boat attacks against American shipping. Of course much of that shipping was to deliver war materials to the British and French, but that was rarely mentioned. The alternative explanation for President Wilson’s request for a declaration of war was that it was going badly in the west, especially for the French. There had been widespread mutinies and refusals to follow orders among the French troops, and there were fears that this would spread to the British Postal stamp with Dix, Stowe, and Carson troops. (Interestingly, some of the who joined her. After the war she was French documents relating to the mutinies are still classified.) In the asked if she regretted her votes. She east, there was a revolution in Russia explained, “Never. If you’re against and Czar Nicholas II abdicated. As war, you’re against war regardless of there were many millions of dollars what happens. It’s a wrong method of in loans to the British and French, but trying to settle a dispute.” In retrospect, there are certainly not to the Germans, losing the war would place repayment of those loans ample grounds to question America’s in jeopardy. A number of Americans involvement in World War I and espesuspected there were other motives cially its acquiescence in the Treaty of than the U-boats and wanted us to Versailles. Its onerous terms and the remain neutral. Besides, the United subsequent depression in Germany States had a large population of Ger- were fertile grounds for Adolph Hitman immigrants and their descen- ler to exploit. Even before Pearl Hardants – in Cincinnati German was bor, Rankin suspected FDR wanted to send troops to Europe and introduced often heard in the streets. Jeanette Rankin was one of 50 resolutions requiring congressional House members who voted against the approval before doing so. The resodeclaration, but as the only woman in lutions failed. I’m not defending her the House she received most of the vote against war with Japan – by that attention. However, once the United time it was too late for any other acStates was in the war, she supported tion. I do want to point out that much our military efforts. In December more information has been uncovered 1917 President Wilson again asked for or declassified about the lead-up to the a declaration of war against Austria- attack that was not generally known Hungary, which was Germany’s ally. then, or only suspected. See Robert This time she voted for the declara- B. Stinnett’s book Day of Deceit: The tion. As she explained when casting Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor for her vote: “The vote we are now to cast more information. Once again, the above is my list of is not a vote on a declaration of war. If it were, I should vote against it. This women whom I think should be better is a vote on a mere technicality in the known for their actions, convictions, prosecution of a war already declared. and in most cases, their effect on hisI shall vote for this, as I voted for mon- tory. I think the world is a better place because of them. For what it’s worth, ey and for men.” Due to redistricting, Rankin de- I did find the address and procedure cided not to run again for the House for nominations for subjects for postal in 1918 but ran for the Senate, and stamps. Three of them – Dix, Stowe, lost. She ran again for the House in and Carson – already have been the 1940 and won. On December 7, 1941 subject of stamps that did not, howJapan bombed Pearl Harbor and on ever, give much of a hint as to what the 8th, she was the only member of they did. I’ll be nominating the four either house to vote against war with women above who haven’t yet been so Japan. This vote was extremely con- honored. I will also suggest the Post troversial, to say the least. She ex- Office re-issue stamps for Dix, Stowe, plained that, “As a woman, I can’t go to and Carson that give some explanawar, and I refuse to send anyone else.” tion as to why we should remember Within days there were similar dec- them. larations against Germany and Italy, and this time there were a few others ------------------------ ------------------------ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �8 LOCAL May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 The Keep Our Courts Campaign Continues CAMRI NELSON Contributing Writer C oncerned residents of OTR have become outraged after discovering that four to six hundred thousand dollar condos will be replacing the basketball courts and community gardens in their area. As a result, On May 5th residents met at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center to discuss the Keep Our Courts Campaign. The developer, North Pointe, about a year ago proposed the idea of building Rothenberg Row, 21 single family homes, across the street from Rosenberg Preparatory Academy. North Pointe plans to develop homes on the 76,000 sq. feet of land there. If the condos are built, residents are concerned that the youth in the community won’t have a place to go. Alicia Ferguson, a dedicated volunteer in OTR, an educator, and community mentor, is one of the residents who are outraged about the proposed project. She is very passionate about the campaign because of the generational tie. Not only did she grow up in OTR but her grandparents, parents, and children grew up there. She refers to the courts and community garden as a place of solitude for the youth. “It’s just a place for peace for the kids. When they come home from school it’s one of the places that they know that they can go to get away from what happened that day,” says Ferguson. She believes that the only way that the OTR community can stop gentrification is by voicing their opinions. She claims that this systematic oppression continues to happen because people remain silent. “If we keep sitting down in the background, the world will get smaller and smaller and smaller for our kids, she said. The Peaslee Neighboorhood Center has been a great advocate for providing affordable housing in OTR, and bringing the community together. Music programs, pre-service teacher programs, and caregiver programs, are just a few of the services that they offer. Peaslee also spends a lot of time with the youth to make sure that their voice is heard as well. One of Peaslee’s youth programs, Agents of Change, recently created their “We Can Go There” video which emphasized the importance of space in OTR for children to gather and socialize. One of their most phenomenal and empowering moments is when the children had attended one of the OTR’s Community Council Meetings. During this particular meeting, students silently bounced basketballs outside to illustrate the importance of keeping their basketball courts. Jennifer Summers, the executive director at Peaslee, has been working in the OTR community since the 90s by providing public housing and educating children in public schools. Since becoming the director in 2014, she has seen a lot of positive transformation in OTR. One of the biggest public housing developments that she has watched grow has been in East Clifton. She believes that if it weren’t for the help of some of the OTR organizations, there wouldn’t have been much progress. “I consider that a huge testament OTR youth celebrating their court Photo: Leslie Moorhead that places like Peeslee, The Homeless Coalition, OTR Public Housing, and the Contacts Centers are here doing the work all of the time. People’s spirits continue because there is not an option to stop,” said Summers. Summers believes that the youth are a big component to changing the systematic oppression in the city. She claims that what children say, do, and think matters because they are capable of making a positive change in the world. “We’re all getting older by the minute and young people need to know that what they do matters in a positive way so that they stay engaged in positive ways in our society,” says Summers. According to Summers it is the responsibility of the elders in the community to empower the children and give them the confidence so their voices will be heard. She believes that we need to invest the same amount of time that we do into the buildings into the youth of the community. Peaslee is currently working on the Letter Writing Campaign which allows the community to write letters to the economic development about their concerns that they have with the proposed condo idea. Summer hopes that this campaign will make people of the community feel powerful. On May 19th The Cathedral Outreach Committee will have hosted another forum about Reducing Poverty in OTR at the Christ Church Cathedral on 318 East Fourth Street. Look for the next issue of Streetvibes to read about the event if you weren’t able to attend. ------------------------ Voting rights, immigration reform and confirmation hearings a top concern for Cincinnati voters CAROLINE CORY W ith an emphasis on immigration and voting rights being cited as two main components of a local senator’s obstruction, Cincinnatians gathered downtown on the morning of Monday, May 9 outside of the politician’s office in the Scripps Center to find out more information regarding the two areas at a press conference. Even though there is an open seat in the U.S. Supreme Court, many Ohioans are more concerned with voting rights and immigration in Senator Rob Portman’s (R-OH) term, according to a poll conducted by Gerstein Bocian Agne Strategies (GBAS). Sen. Portman, who was elected into office five years ago, has said the seat should remain vacant, but this can Contributing Writer be troublesome for Ohio citizens getting our voices heard since we are in an election year. With this in mind, the press conference featured two speakers. Samuel Gresham, Jr. opened the press conference with a focus on voting rights and Jorge Martinez discussed immigration. Gresham, who has been Chair of the Board of Common Cause Ohio since 2013, believes that voting rights should be more available to all people — regardless of situation. “Usually, those who want to limit voting opportunities target those most vulnerable to disenfranchisement: people of color, low-income Americans, naturalized citizens and students,” said Gresham. On the immigration portion of the conference, the issue of undocumented children was brought up. “If this is not approved, mil- lions and millions of children will be turned to welfare,” said Marti- (Continued on page 11) Bill Woods with Manuel Pérez Photo: Caroline Cory THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Recovery Hotel 9 No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 JUSTIN JEFFRE Editor O n a very warm and beautiful Friday, May 6th, local nonprofit Over-the-Rhine Community Housing celebrated the 20th anniversary of Recovery Hotel, which provides permanent supportive housing for homeless men and women in recovery from substance abuse. The event was well attended and many passionate speakers spoke about how the Recovery Hotel had helped them transform their lives from being out on the streets to becoming incredibly productive and engaged citizens. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing serves as owner, manager, and service provider for Recovery Hotel. Rent for all 20 efficiency units is subsidized through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Shelter Plus Care Program, which is administered through a contract with Strategies to End Homelessness. Skilled case management services as well as daily, on- site Narcotics Anonymous meetings provide residents the support needed to maintain their housing, secure income, and rebuild their lives. The event featured current and former residents speaking about their experience at Recovery Hotel, including Donald Whitehead, one of the country’s foremost experts on homelessness. A former resident of Recovery Hotel, Donald is now the Manager of Outreach and Case Management at Healthcare Center for the Homeless in Orlando. Speaking of his time at Recovery Hotel, Donald said, “For me, Recovery Hotel was much more than a building; it was an oasis in the desert of destruction caused by active addiction. It was the place where I learned that my situation was not my destiny.” Longtime Homeless Coalition supporters remember that many years ago Donald became our executive director and helped start Streetvibes. He along with Pat Clifford, Greg Payton, Jimmy Heath and many others made this project what it is today, one of the longest lasting street papers in the nation. Andy Hutzel, Director of Housing Services at Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, helped open Recovery Hotel 20 years ago. “The Recovery Hotel has stood on Vine Street in Over-theRhine for the past 20 years as a place for homeless men and women to recover, work, and become part of a supportive community,” said Hutzel. “Several people, like buddy gray, worked for years to make this project happen and it has delivered on all of its promises.” Many former residents move on to successful careers and continue to give back to the community by supporting others who engage in the journey of recovery. Since opening in 1996, the program has served 255 individuals with a successful completion rate of 83%. Now in its 20th year, the success of this innovative housing program demonstrates how housing, compassion, and support can transform the lives of individuals in recovery. Founded in 1978, the mission of Over-the-Rhine Community Housing is to build and sustain a diverse neighborhood that values and benefits lowincome residents. They focus on developing and managing resident-centered, affordable housing in an effort to promote an inclusive community. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) is a non-profit community development organization that provides a wide spectrum of affordable and supportive housing options with life-changing programs that help lowincome residents in Over-the-Rhine succeed. To meet its mission, OTRCH has restored 123 properties (420 housing units) and assembled 20+ service providers/agency partners to ensure that residents receive affordable housing along with access to health care, job services, education, faith-based services and community associations that strengthen their ability to succeed. OTRCH is located at 114 West 14th Street in Over-the-Rhine. To learn more about OTRCH, visit www.otrch. org. ------------------------ Mary Burke Rivers, Donald Whitehead, Pat Clifford and Vice Mayor David Mann Photo: Andy Hutzel Donald Whitehead giving the keynote speech Photo: Andy Hutzel Donald Whitehead reunites with many old friends Photo: Andy Hutzel THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati's Protest CAMRI NELSON Contributing Writer On April 9th a crowd of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters met on the steps of the Justice Center to passionately proclaim their testimonies of racism that they’ve experienced by the Cincinnati Police Department. One of the protesters, Robin Scott, has been frustrated with CPD since September of 2015. On September 4th her son, Melvin Murry, was killed in a tragic car accident. According to Scott her son had hit a tree, and the officer, Krissy Johnson, claimed that he had made an illegal U turn which caused the accident. She became frustrated and angry after being informed about her son’s death hours after the occurrence. What made her even more upset was that five months later she found out that Specialist Johnson had called her son out of his name. “I would not have ever known anything about my son when they were degrading him or belittling him if I didn’t do my investigation and I felt that it was a disrespect,” said Scott, Scott believes that her son’s death wasn’t caused by reckless driving, but instead by the officer who may have hit the back of his car. She can’t be sure about what happened because the dash cam wasn’t on during the crash and the police vehicle didn’t have a license plate. It wasn’t until recently that she received some of the dash-cam footage. Since the incident, she has had meetings with Chief Issac and he has assured her that he will look into disciplinary action for the officer. Her biggest issue with disciplinary action is that the officers only receive little if any counseling. “Who are the supervisors in charge of the police officers when they are doing wrong? They need to admit that they did something wrong to my son,” she said. During her speech to the audience Scott proclaimed that she will not stop fighting for justice. She stated that she will tell the story of her son to her fourteen grandchildren so that his death will not be forgotten. “What I’m not going to do? I’m going to keep on talking, I’m going to keep on preaching, I’m going to keep walking in these streets and I’m going to keep, on and on,” she said. Another protestor that day, Chris Harrell spoke about the racial profiling that he has continued to experience with CPD. Harrell has posted several videos on Facebook where has been arrested for doing nothing wrong. The particular video he spoke about on Saturday involved an officer on a bike who stalked him while walking down the street. Harrell was just casually walking down the street with his recently pur- Ashley Nicole speaking Photo: Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati chased hot beverage when a police officer had insulted him with profanities. “I turned around once I passed the second block and he looked back and asked me, ‘What the f--- are you look- ing at, you got a f---ing problem?’,” said Harrell. At that point Harrell felt a sense of hostility and became nervous so he (Continued on page 13) The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the Woodward Theater! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 The Principles of Fair Cancer Care for All STEVE SUNDERLAND, PHD Contributing Writer "Can we be compassionate to those whose suffering remains hidden from the eyes of the world?"-H. Nouwen (1994). Here and now: Living with the spirit. Crossroad. pening the door to fair treatment for minorities and the poor who may have cancer will involve a cultural shift. For too long, the gap between black and white mortality from cancer has been accepted as "normal." Recent research has made it clear that minorities and the poor have suffered in major ways from indifference, inadequate policies, and poor treatment once a person gets to a doctor or a hospital. Capturing the scope of injustice, one scholar has described "the excess in premature death among blacks is the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing each day." Looking across many diseases, the head of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, writes that it’s dangerous to one's health to be black. Understanding that health professionals, like many in the general culture, see it as acceptable to hear about and give poor treatment to minorities and the poor makes it imperative that health programs seeking to change will need to follow a different set of training, as well as work on a major difference in expectations for health care, and involve themselves with understanding why poor outcomes for minorities have existed. a more positive and healthy result is expected. We want any minority or poor person who feels they may have cancer to be able to talk with a person, a "navigator," who will guide them to a screening and, if necessary, treatment. We will emphasize trust in a new partnership, a welcoming to face health care and hospital procedures, a clarity about how cancer works and how it can be survived if caught early, a desire to assist in overcoming obstacles of transportation, finances, and child care, and, most of all, a partnership that cares enough to make sure that compassionate treatment occurs. The following organizations are in the Cancer Justice Network: FreeStore Food Bank, Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, Churches Active in Northside, Christ Church Cathedral, Caracol, St. Francis Seraph, Center for Independent Living, Santa Maria Center, Peaslee Center, First Ladies Health, St. Vincent de Paul, University of Cincinnati school of social work, Xavier University school of nursing, Crossroads Health Center, Cincinnati Health Department Health Centers, American Cancer Society, and Let's Change Our City. We are working on the details of how to provide regular cancer education by physicians, help with difficulties in going to screening by providing navigators, and assistance with getting treatment by being accompanied by navigators. The Cancer Justice Network: Cincinnati has the opportunity to create a new form of cancer education. Realizing that Cincinnati cancer mortality for minorities is the worst in Ohio, a group of social service organizations, professional programs, American Cancer Society, churches, Jewish Hospital, and city health centers are forming a Cancer Justice Network. Over the next few years, with these agencies working together in the areas of the city with the lowest life expectancy, What works in reducing minority cancer mortality? The Cancer Justice Network will follow the organizational outlines created by Harold Freeman, MD, director, Ralph Lauren Center for Patient Navigation. Freeman, an African American physician, researched what would make a difference in cancer mortality if he found a way of bringing minorities sooner to screening and treatment, when cancer was in its earliest stages. As a surgeon, he knew that he was O CAROLINE CORY (Continued from page 8) nez, an attorney at law who specializes in immigration law in Hamilton, Ohio. He views the way immigration is legally treated as “questioning executive powers of presidents, specifically regulation of immigration powers.” Gresham agreed citing Portman’s JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) streets where people with low-incomes haven’t been displaced. I am infuriated with people saying they believe in community when they complain about people hanging out and talking loudly in the neighborhood park. I am infuriated with people talking about how new businesses create “economic 11 limited in how he could help a person if cancer had advanced to the fourth and most advanced stage. The key was a change in how much access minorities had to the earliest screening when it could make the most difference. He pioneered the development of community navigators, local citizens who could help the person with overcoming any obstacles to gaining early treatment. In five years of using navigators, he was able to double life expectancy of patients as a result of people getting early screening and timely treatment. Dr. Freeman has visited Cincinnati and met with many members of the Cancer Justice Network and we continue to follow his advice on how to create a similar program. The Principles of the Cancer Justice Network: What does the Cancer Justice Network stand for in terms of health care and peace? Here is our attempt to change both the thinking and the outcomes: 1. Realizing that mortality from cancer is widespread in the minority and poor community of Cincinnati, we seek to reduce suffering and death from cancer through community based programs of navigation to screening and treatment. 2. Realizing that access to cancer information for low income and minorities is limited, we seek to provide timely and useful information about how cancer can be survived if there is timely screening and treatment. Cancer education will be provided at social agencies, religious institutions, and educational settings. 3. Realizing that obtaining screening is often made difficult by obstacles such as transportation, finances, as well as fear, we will assist people to work through these barriers with trained navigators. 4. Realizing that treatment for cancer can often be challenging, we will provide navigators to assist people with preparing and going for treatment. 5. Realizing that cancer effects the family of an individual, we will navigate the person and their family to support groups that discuss the aftermath of cancer treatment. 6. Realizing that cancer is an emotional as well as a physical shock, we will have trained navigators able to assist people in finding groups that will help cope with the ongoing fears that cancer may cause. 7. Realizing that cancer information can be understood in different ways because people learn in many ways, we will provide cancer information through print sources, talks with physicians, phone numbers that may be useful, and referrals to physicians and nurses who can go into depth. 8. Realizing that supporting people seeking to find out if they have cancer or helping them with cancer treatment is often complex, we will set up a learning system to understand the many ways navigators may help people as well as documenting the ways in which obstacles may stop rapid screening and treatment. 9. Realizing that people seeking to find out if they have cancer often are treated brusquely, we will underscore compassionate relationships as a standard for all care in the navigation process. These principles call for a new orientation by the health care profession: a realization that any agency can be a partner in promoting the best health outcomes if a union of goals and procedures can be accomplished. The Cancer Justice Network seeks bold results: we want to see cancer deaths reduced in the near future as a direct result of early screening and timely treatment. To create a peaceful and just Cincinnati, we choose to change the culture of normality and acceptance of health for all. ------------------------ work ethic as a key factor into assessing where the senator stands on the immigration issue. “There’s some major problems in immigration. Rob Portman has opposed confirmation,” said Gresham. “We need to get Rob Portman to do his job.” Another result of the GBAS poll was that politicians who oppose the Senate conducting confirmation hearings on whether the empty S.C. seat should be filled by someone nominated by President Barack Obama are viewed less favorably than those who have shown public support of the possibility. The poll, conducted on both a national and state level, with Ohio being one of six states participating during the April 25-27 survey, also showed nearly 70 percent of individuals supported the use of confirmation hearings when determining who will be seated next in the U.S. Supreme Court. base” and benefit the neighborhood when it actually doesn’t work like that figuratively or financially. I am infuriated with people saying they have been a part of a drop in crime, when all they have done is push crime to another corner they don’t go on and moved in more white-collar crime that goes unprosecuted. I’m infuriated with people saying they want to see historic build- ings saved when they are okay with the displacement of the people who have historically lived in those buildings. Let’s get real. People can say they don’t want a place to look just like themselves and only have people with their same economic means, but words don’t count for much. It’s actions that really matter. If a person or company does “development” or supports “de- velopment” that directly or indirectly displaces people or is only accessible by people of their same financial means, then they don’t truly care about people that don’t fit their mold. And if they think they do care, then they must change their practices. There is no fence-riding. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ ------------------------ �12 LOCAL May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) hour, but only $4.05 for restaurant workers. (The federal minimum wage is $7.25 and $2.13 for tipped-employees.) This wage difference, declared Jayaraman, has created a situation where millions of workers who serve you food do not have sufficient incomes to feed their own families. Jayaraman and her organization lead the fight to end tipping as a factor in setting wages for restaurant workers and to establish a “living wage” for all employees. They are up against a powerful opponent in the National Restaurant Association, the seventh largest lobbyist group in Washington, D.C. She compared this organization to the National Rifle Association in terms of its ability to influence Congress and state legislatures. It has worked diligently, she said, to discredit her efforts. Jayaraman and her Centers are making progress on two fronts. They have convinced several successful restaurant chains that paying a fair wage not based on customer tipping is good for business. Shake Shack and Chipotle are two well-known companies that have embraced the practice of establishing reasonable wages that do not factor in tipping. These decisions by major chains provide some momentum for changing the way employees are treated in the restaurant industry. The second area of progress centers on the number of states that have passed minimum wage laws that don’t include lower minimums for restaurant employees. Six states have taken this step, and they include California, Oregon, Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, and Nevada. Furthermore, data collected by Jayaraman and her allies Saru Jayaraman speaking to an overflow crowd about improving wages Photo: Paul Breidenbach show that the economies actually improve in states that pass universal and fair minimum wage legislation. Their research refutes the standard argument of the National Restaurant Association that such actions will decrease jobs and cause many restaurants to do badly or go out of business. Jayaraman’s story sparked optimism in a crowd that often hears bad news about growing income inequality in this country. Much still needs to be done, she acknowledges, in an industry where 70 percent of tippedworkers are women, who because of their lowly economic status often suffer sexual harassment. Pushing the minimum wage to $15 an hour also looms as a major part of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United’s goal of achieving a “living wage.” Besides her role as an organizer for ROCU, Jayaraman is also director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California. Much of the information included in her speech at the Workers Center’ brunch can be found in her book, Forked: A New Standard for American Dining. The May Day event offered a good venue for Jayaraman’s story, because of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center’s commitment to advocating for exploited and powerless workers. ------------------------ For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �13 STREET VOICE No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 A Theft in The Economy It takes a thief to steal the people of the country’s belief It takes a thief to have the people have to change their lives, now that’s deep It takes a thief to double the price of football stadiums and fields It takes a thief to convince the county the police deserve a Las Vegas deal It takes a thief to steal channels from our children, scanning through the T.V. Whether it be for the Converter Box, Cable Box or Direct T.V. Do you understand me? For me to steal anything or to be classified as a political thief Would for me never to have believed in the Constitution and damn Democracy So now where do we go as a people in order to regain the stability we so freely lost In the future we must read every dotted line, keep the faith and let God alone be the boss! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Gusty Winds CAMRI NELSON (Continued from page 10) On April 9th a crowd of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters met on the steps of the Justice Center to passionately proclaim their testimonies of racism that they’ve experienced by the Cincinnati Police Department. One of the protesters, Robin Scott, has been frustrated with CPD since September of 2015. On September 4th her son, Melvin Murry, was killed in a tragic car accident. According to Scott her son had hit a tree, and the officer, Krissy Johnson, claimed that he had made an illegal U turn which caused the accident. She became frustrated and angry after being informed about her son’s death hours after the occurrence. What made her even more upset was that five months later she found out that Specialist Johnson had called her son out of his name. “I would not have ever known anything about my son when they were degrading him or belittling him if I didn’t do my investigation and I felt that it was a disrespect,” said Scott, Scott believes that her son’s death wasn’t caused by reckless driving, but instead by the officer who may have hit the back of his car. She can’t be sure about what happened because the dash cam wasn’t on during the crash and the police vehicle didn’t have a license plate. It wasn’t until recently that she received some of the dash-cam footage. Since the incident, she has had Robin Scott speaking Photo: Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati The sky was dark The sun was gone The arrival of rain made the gusty winds come The air was cool, the rain felt good As I embraced the gusty winds it felt good The wind is my friend, it gives me fresh air When it’s a gusty wind I feel refreshed and whole once again This is what happens within the gusty winds KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Mother Goose Assesses the Economy Hey diddle, diddle, Less folks in the middle, The 1-percent's wealth is rising. With Labor on its knees, And jobs shipped overseas, Inequality is not surprising. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 99 Across 1. Temporary inactivity 6. Highly excited 10. Ready money 14. Keyboard instrument 15. Decorative woven fabric 16. Woodwind 17. Something that has survived the past 18. Security interest 19. Deep wide chasm 20. Sartor 22. Naive or inexperienced person 24. Was seated 25. Notion 27. Greenhouse 29. Below 32. Understand 33. Become less intense 34. Marine mollusk 36. One of the senses 40. Belonging to us 41. Sheltered port 43. Church bench 44. General kind of something 47. Unaccompanied 48. Melody 49. Litigate 51. Harmony 53. Slightly odd 57. Close 58. Epoch 59. Percussion instrument 61. Nape 65. Fan blade 67. Object of worship 69. Singing voice 70. Sharpness 71. Certain 72. Unjustified 73. Scottish dance 74. Encounter 75. Took without permissionplayer Down 1. Computer interface 2. Region 3. Large sweet juicy fruit 4. Seafaring 5. Encrypt 6. Entire 7. Profit 8. Large body of water 9. Unusual mental ability 10. Part of a gear wheel 11. Maltreatment 12. Relating to the sun 13. Brawny 21. Scope 23. Metal bar across a fingerboard 26. Book of maps 28. Division of 8 Down 29. Color between green and violet 30. Acquire or deserve by efforts or actions 31. Mayhem 33. Murkiness 35. Kind of gourd 37. Acantha 38. Look after 39. Female sheep 42. Canonical hour 45. Country, initially 46. Vocalized 48. Deluge 50. Self-interest 52. Desert plant 53. Cut off 54. Barter 55. Series of hills or mountains 56. Empower 60. Bloodshed 62. Change by reversal 63. Violation of the rules in sport 64. Liberate 66. Fish 68. Allow SODOKU PUZZLE NO 229 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 329 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 98 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 228 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Bethany House 381-SAFE 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 981-5800 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 762-5660 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 241-5525 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202 VA VA Homeless Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry Mercy Franciscan at St. John 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 AA Hotline CCAT 351-0422 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 221-HELP 721-8666 977-6800 859-572-6226 421-0065 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS Center for Respite Care People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place Talbert House United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 $100 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 381-0111 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Mary Magdalen House ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 721-4700 421-7803 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Northern Kentucky Health 621-5300 981-5800 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Advocacy 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 241-2600 241-2563 Peaslee Neighborhood Center Hamilton/Middletown 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 768-6907 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 961-4555 381-1954 421-5211 351-3500 977-4489 Other Resources 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 Talbert House Tender Mercies 961-2256 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 562-8841 784-1853 Starting Over 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 661-4620 Crossroad Health Center NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 271-5501 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 721-0643 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 621-6364 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 872-9259 961-1983 535-2719 591-2246 FreeStore/FoodBank Shelter: Both Housing: OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Parkway Center 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry Our Daily Bread 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 15 for 26 issues and a $50 donation 771-4800 751-0600 579-8547 721-4811 351-7921 631-1114 751-7747 211 977-5541 421-5211 981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 859-491-3335 859-572-6202 �16 S May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330 treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 GINA MARTIN GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JONATHAN SLATER SINCE 5/2014 JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 LARRY FILES SINCE 6/2012 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER MIKE CARANO SINCE 4/2016 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014 GLENDA CANTRELL GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MARK SHEARS SINCE 4/2016 MAURICE GOLSBY MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2016 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 20-June 2, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Restaurant Workers Organizer and Author Wows Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center May Day Brunch Pg 3: Panhandler Like Me Pg 4: Working with Our Youth to Raise Awareness About Homelessness The Runners-Up Pg 5: UPZ: An LGBTO App for All Pg 6: Cincinnati Stand Down Pg 7: Jim Luken Continued Michael Earl Patton Continued Pg 8: The Keep Our Courts Campaign Continues Voting Rights, Immigration Reform and Confirmation Hearings a Top Concern for Cincinnati Voters Pg 9: OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Recovery Hotel Pg 10: Black Lives Matter Pg 11: The Principles of Fair Cancer Care for All Pg 12: Bill Woods continued Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 20-June 2, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Jim Luken Leslie Moorhead Michael Earl Patton Dr. Mark Mussman Camri Nelson Caroline Cory Justin Jeffre Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones Kim Green Jim Luken's friend Leslie Moorhead Key Beck Andy Hutzel Paul Beidenbach Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Andy Hutzel Bill Woods Black Lives Matter campaign Camri Nelson Cancer Caroline Cory Cincinnati Dr. Mark Mussman immigration Jim Luken Jim Luken's friend Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Key Beck Kim Green Leslie Moorhead LGBTQ Michael Earl Patton panhandling Paul Beidenbach Protests Reforms Steve Sunderland Voting Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/93de0427804edd6759a2b23eae5d8da0.pdf 0fcb70a83e4212e423715996cf3217dd PDF Text Text The World Bank? The IMF?What's All the Fass About? Local Advocates Travel to Washington to Protest the Harmful Policies of Global Institutions ...By Susan Knight It is the biggest mass movement the United States has seen in a long time. Interestingly, however, the average "joe public" could not even begin to tell you what these enormous protests are all about. Some would even argue, your average "joe protestor'' could not even begin to tell you what these enormous protests are all about. The issue is com­ plicated, but a sincere commitment has been demonstrated on the part of the protestors. Non-violent tactics and teach­ ings dominate the demonstrations, despite isolated incidents of violence, most spe­ cifically in Seattle. (Seattle's police de­ partment has taken some responsrbility for this and the chief of police has in fact resigned over his handling of the demon­ strations.) Adding to the confusion is the presence of a wide diversity of issues. Protest posters range from "Save the Turtles" to "Stop Sweatshops" to "Gentrification Needs to End;, to "Free Peaceful demonstrators face-off with police Police barricaded many streets throughout the two days of protests. Abu-Mumia Jamal." So what is the connection? What is uniting all of these people in opposition to such giant global institutions? Beyond the accusations that the protests lack diversity, do not have a coherent media message and no leader­ ship to speak of, the issue is that too much power has been consolidated in the World Trade Organiza­ tion (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Time has shown that as a result of these organiza­ tions' agendas, people are suffering and dying, the environment is being deci­ mated, and global corpo­ rate power continues to go unchecked. The World Bank and the International Mon­ etary Fund The World Bank and the IMF emerged in 1944 in the aftermath of World War II. The United States, as the only industrialized coun­ try left standing at the end of the war, began the daunting task of . rebuilding its consumer base in Europe. There was obvious economic interest in seeing Europe recover from the war's devastation, as Europe was the biggest overseas market the US had. The Marshall Plan was developed to funnel millions of dollars to the region. Most of this money was in the form of gifts and investment. In an effort to oversee these millions and to stablize currencies, a conference was called in Bretton Woods, New Jersey, and with the United States at the forefront, the World Bank and IMF were established with Europe eagerly signing on. The World Bank and the IMF's inter­ ests began to expand as World War II became history and Western Europe once again became viable and self-sustaining. World Bank and IMF founders believed if they could stablize currencies and suc­ cessfully oversee European development, why could not the same formu la work for underdeveloped nations? Moreover, considering the volatile global political WORLD BANK -- continued on page 3 Homeless Advocates Believe the Homeless Census Numbers will be inaccurate The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless expresses concern that the census results will grossly under­ represent the the existing homeless population. Here are the concerns outlined by the National Coalition: A. Shelter residents are not counted in the same way or on the same dates as the general population. B. Family members who are homeless -parents and each of their child ren -- will be given an Individual Census Report (ICR) form to complete, instead of all being counted together as a family, as housed families are. C. Individuals enumerated at soup kitchens, mobile food vans and outdoor locations may not be allowed to complete their own Census forms and individuals wi ll most likely not stand in line to have their census form completed. D. The homeless count is a one-time shot; Households will have 7 opportunities to be counted. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is also concerned that only those individuals wiling to complete the form will be counted. Individuals who are not able, or not willing, to ask for help will ·not be counted. For example, the official Drop Inn center count was 140 men and women. However, on the 27th, the night of the count, the Drop Inn Center men's dorm was at capacity. The men's dorm sleeps 200. Bill Woods works with Air Inc., and contracts with the Homeless Coalition to do a 2000 assessment of the Cincinnati homeless population. He commented on HOMELESS CENSUS, continued on page 3 I Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless I �ST REE TV I BE 5 The Tri-State's. Homel~ss Grapevine . ·. Page 2 Do.n ald Whitehead Elected Chairperson of Nation~l Coalition for the Homeless Former director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless ponders his own journey and discussesthe continuing problem ofracism in A merica. Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Home­ less Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for, and about homelessness, social j ustice, and poverty-related issues. It is published once a month, 12 issues a year, by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents (to cover printing costs) and then sell the paper for a dollar donation. The vendor keeps the profits. Becoming a Streetvibes Vendor is a great way for homeless and other low­ income people to ge~ back on (or stay on) their feet. Streetvibes vendors are given an orientation and sign a code of conduct before being given a Streetvibes ver.idor badge. ~ THE T-RAVELER I once again find myself in my favorjte. writing position. Here I sit strapped in a seat cruising at 30,000 feet. There's something about the serenity one experiences looking down on the clouds. Even the occasional turbulence that most travelers become·used to is not a detenent to the experience of tranquillity that can only happen at 30,000 feet. I ani a little tired on this flight. I generally don't fly late night or early morning flights, but on this trip I did both. I am returning from a board meeting for the National Coalition for the This board meeting has been an Homeless. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition extremely impo1tantone for homeless individuals. for .the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to I was elected Board Chain.nan for the National ending homelessness in Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless I have served on through coordinating services, educating many different boards, especially in the lastfive the public and grassroots organizing. years. The significance ofthis position is that it makes a statement about change. My path lo this position was not a walk through a rose garden; it Staff ~as filled with many wrong turns and unfulfilled Susan Knight, Administrative Coordinator opportunities. My sto1y is no different from most Tom Billman, Streetvibes Editor recoverma0 addicts. It's not the details that make John Halpin Assistant Editor . Jess Ballew Editorial Intern my story significant but the symbolism. It says ·Ron Carter, · ' • • Vet~dpr Support . _ . loud and cle<).r that people can change·and that · ·warren Perki~s. ·· Tenam Organizing' · ~PatMfcliell'· ·· ·" · · · Votunt~e ~eceptionrst ··· · neitherhomeless~ess nor addictipnis a.permanent roadblock in people's lives; people can and will Mary A. Gaffney Receptionrst recover with a little intervention from someone that cares. There are so many wonderful Writers examples of people who have succeeded in spite Donald Whitehead Charles Mattingly ofroadblocks. John Halpin Jess Ballew Tom Billman Sonny Williams Originally, in this column, I ':Vanted to talk Rodney Sutton Marsha Ramsey aboutthe resurgence ofracism in America. I find ~ Tina Maser Pat Mitchell it amazing howmany people-shut down or walk Anthony Watkins Susan Knight away once questions ofracism su1face. I think William J. Mayo Mecello Barrar it's hard for most to understand the1'a:in Alanna Maloney Gordon Maham experienced by young African Americans on a · reguJar basis. I used to travel .in a sweatsuit ·because I felt extremely comfortable.in my Graphics sweats. I got so tired of'\\!ho do you play for" or· Photographs by Rodney Sutton, Susan "are you a.singer'' questions on·planes that! · Knight, and more .... stopped. These questions may be more abouf. ignorancy than racism, but the feelings of discomfort accompanied by those questiGos are just as painful, reg.ardless of their cause. Life as Streetvibes accepts letters, poems, stories_. essays, original graph­ an African American is an almost constant· ics, photos. ... We will print everythi n·g reminder that you .c an' t be trusted. There's we have room for, givi11g preference to nothing more .uncomfortable thanreing constantly . those who are homeless or vendors. follo~~9.at t9-e ~ep~t:?Qt s.tor~ by .an~mpJ9yey'. _ t ! hsking; ·~~1ill~~lR y~u wftl;l~~JAe,tlpnJ§?f'jgnp~gr 1 j : : F>1eaM 's~rld all'materiaffcf hu of the other customers who are notAfrlean the following address:· American. Streetvibes Racism has a huge effect on c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition homelessness in America. Unfair lending for the Homeless practices by financial institutions and 1506 Elm Street widespread and blatant discrimination by Cincinnati, OH 4521 0 renters not wanting "those people in their r , ..... ' J ... I ...(513) 421-78.03­ fax (513) 421-7813; ..• ,' r·. e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com (text­ only) or homecoal@primax.net ( attached files) web page: http://cinci.com/gcch Donald at a conference in Portland, Oregon property" are common. Groups like'Hou~iug Opportunities Made Equal are only able to investigate a fraction of the hou ing discrimination that occurs in America. Developing trend_s i.n-Welfare Reform show a definite pattem of d1scrim111ation in the workplace, also. It is extremely important that we have the courage to call u as it is. In.discussionS·about homelessne8s,'we often minimize the role that racism plays-. There is belief by advocates·m America that the i:eason that Government or the general public does not adequately address· homelessness is because it is a "Black Problem." Even some national advocaey groups that represent African Ainericans treat homelessness as an embarrassmenfrather than the serious problem it has·become·. Whilesome Afiican­ American religious leaders are quick to denounce inequality in the·workforce, entertainment industry, and in law enforcement, seldom do they speak on matters involving housing and employme.nt inequities. Some ofthe oiggesf victories in the Civil Rights movement have tieen cleverly negated through ooncentration and disinvestment •If racism continues to be disconnected from the problem of homelessness~wemay never see·an . ( end t0 th'e1growing:nl1rtlbets: <bfl Afticaiv Americans notrealizing·fue American Dream. If Afriean'­ Americans oontinue to·view homelessness as simply a moral issue and ignore the economic and social contribution brought on by racism, the problem ofhomelessness will, as Julian Bond stated, become more embarrassing to America than racism. .........Donald 'W hitehead a Streetv~bes. exists as a forum for the expression of the vi~ws and opinions of oµi;_ readers and suppo.(t~rs. : The OQinions ~xpre$sed.he~ein. are not .• · necessarily those of the Streetvibes staff o~ :fhe~ Greater Gincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. . · · . · . . • I c' �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine products, such as coffee. As a result, exports go up, GNP ·goes up, but more people starve be­ cause there is less food, and the food that is available is more expensive because it is now imported. Also, many Third World class structures have consolidated the land into a few selectfamilies. Consequently, the money brought in by increased exp0rts more often stays with a select few land holders, and the peasants are left with very little (trickle down economics works about as well in the Homeless man Joins Protesters in D.C. Third World as it did in the United States). WORLD BANK, (Continuedfrompage 1) Environmentally, Brazil is an excellent case i~ point. Because the United States con­ environment, it was in the United States' sumes so much beef, Brazil has converted best interest to stablize "Third World" many of its resources into ·meat produc­ economies because a stable economy tion. In order to provide the necessary would be less suceptable to a "communist grazing land, rain forest is being cut down. takeover." The World Bank and the IMF Or, in the case of Central America, when could take a leadership role in "spreading Hurricane Mitch hit, a mudslide swept over democracy and freedom" throughout the. an entire village, killing 2000. This Third World. This is not what happened. mudslide could have been minimized, if not Instead, the United States chose to put completely stopped, had the mountain not stipulations on the money going to the been clear cut. There were no trees to underdeveloped world and Structural stop the mud. Adjustment came into existance. Struc­ Tearing down protective barriers to tural Adjustment is the reorganization of encourage investment has equally the existing political system in effort to detrimentle results . Investment provides provide a nation with the capital to repay jobs and develops infrastructure for corpo­ its loans. Structural Adjustment involves rations that need roads and bridges to slashing social programs, converting the transport their goods. Many also believe economy to exports, dismantling any or all open borders are essential for capitalism protective barriers in an effort to encour­ to succeed globally. Unfortunately, capital­ age investment and to ultimately increase ism relies on exploiting your comparitive the Gross Nation?I Product (GNP). From advantage. Ad midst these giant, techno­ an economic standpoint it seems as if logically advanced corporations, the Third structural adjustment is essentially a long­ World's comparitive advantage is cheap term investment. Painful in the present, labor and lax environmental regulations. structural adjustment will ultimately result To rise above sweatshops and environ­ in the positive economic growth of a na­ mental degradation would mean these tion. countries were no longer exploiting their Unfortunately, time has shown that this is not the case, and that the economic comparitive advantage. Under the current system of rule it is unlikely an underdevel­ and environmental ramifications of such oped country could ever get out from policies are horrific. It is also important to under the controlling hand of global corpo­ note that because the Marshall Plan lay rations. Currently, the Gap Clothier's the groundwork for Europe to initially CEO can make 40 million dollars a year, comply with the wishes of the U.S. on and pay his workers on a small island of issues surrounding the World Bank and the coast of Taiwan 13 cents an hour (he IMF, now any indebted Third World nation makes $4566.00 an hour, 24 hours a day). not accepting loans from the World Bank All of this is happening while social and JMF is denied any outside governmen­ programs,. already limited, are being cut tal aid a~d is considered a credit/invest­ completely from budgets. Additionally, ment risk. although the GNP is increasing, the vast Strueturial· Adjustment~. (,: , . 1. j • • : • • mafdrity of COLiritries are AOW~ere fieaF ~ 1 ' ' •i 1 , Whe(l;a n:atiora ~)foep!s a IQan foom ~ hitting the actual oalance of tHeir'debt. the World Bank, it-qr:e .also accepting the They are simply paying off interest, as World Bank's "expertise." The World · more interest accrues. In other words, the Bank's specialists come from a limited World Bank will be setting policy for these philosophy of economic thought -- 85% of all the top level and policy making positions countries for generations. at the. World Ba.nk and IMF come from one What do the protestors want? Many are asking for the complete of fou r colleges: .Oxfqrd, Harvard, Yal~ forgiveness of Third World debt. The and Princeton. These specialists work with the government to establish a means _movement is demanding that the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO reevaluate (as mentioned above) for paying off their ~ debt. · their priorities. Much of the debt accrued by these countries is questionable and When converting a Third World needs to be evaluated. For example, economy to exports, ·a few problems arise. Nicaragua ?Ccrued the vast majority of its Self-sustaining crops, such as beans an.d. rice are converted to more foreign friendly . - - - .. .. .. Page 3 debt in the 80's fighting a war waged against them by the United States (the Iran Contra affair in which the U.S. illegally sold arms to Iran and took that money to pay mercenary soldiers in Honduras to wage a 10 year war in Nicaragua). The Interna­ tional Court.of Justice, a United Nations appointed court found the United States guilty of waging a war that violated interna­ tional law and ordered the US to pay reparations. The US has never paid repa­ rations. The United States has also finan­ cially backed many genocidal dictators who have laundered/squandered much of their country's money while bowing to US corporate interests. A US backed regime is much more difficult to overcome and replace with a legitimate democratic gov­ ernment. The movement demands a reevalu­ ation of the system of unchecked corpo­ rate rule. Consolidated power of a select few has injured the labor movement within the US, has made it more difficult toques­ tion potentially illegimate governmental policies within the US and outside the US (as often times politicians bow to special interests), has made it more difficult to protect natural resources , demand living wages, or anything that may challenge the vast wealth possessed by a small number of people in this country. The movement does not acc~pt the World Bank, the IMF, and the World Trade Organization as legitimate policy: People, animals, and ~ultures are dying and there· is no relief in sight. Yes, there are prob­ lems with the protests and the movement itself. Some of the criticisms are war­ ranted. But the issue is legitmate and the commitment to non-violence is real. The protesters are working towards a better world, one in which a// can partieipate. Next month: Understanding the World Trade Organization. + + + .. ~ HOMELESS CENSUS, from page 1 .....how the 2000 survey differed from the Census count: "A Q~e:d~Y :GOljlCl! j~ fl S~pp~hot. It leaves no room for error. We are evaluating the shelters' records and doing two point-in-time counts. This won't be completely accurate; however, we believe we will come much closer to the actual numbers of homeless in the Cincinnati area. We are also evaluating the qualitative factors associated with homelessness; doing one-on-one interviews as well as talking to the care providers. I think as a result, wewill have a much better handle on the circumstances surrounding homel~ssness in Cincinnati. A one-time count is going to miss a lot of people and information." *** �ST REE TV I BES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 4 Environmental Records of the Presidential Candidates Revealed Statement by Deb Conservation group finds Bush has "weakest record" on environment; launches on-going environmental information effort related to presidential race I would like to describe our findings on the candidates by discussing some of their key positions and actions: I'll start with Governor Bush. The saying that "everything is bigger in Texas" unfortunately applies to the state's environmental problems under Governor Bush. While Bush has recently changed his position and acknowledged that global warming exists, he opposes the Kyoto treaty that addresses the problem. He has acknowledged the importance of environmental protection, yet he has worked to make some Texas air pollution regulations voluntary, rather than mandatory for industry. This despite the fact that Texas has some of the nation's worst air and water pollution - including smog worse than Los Angeles - and at least a third of the state's rivers and streams violate federal water quality standards. Bush has repeatedly made clear that he believes that the federal government should have a reduced role in environmental enforcement and regulation, and that state and local governments should do more to protect "private property rights". Forinstance, when speaking about the Endangered Species Act, he stated, "I say to the federal government, leave us alone. We know what we're doing...we know how to run our own business." Under Governor Bush, the Texas parks system ranks next to the bottom nationally in the ·amount ofmoney it invests in state parks, and Texas has acquired no new park lands during the Governor's tenure. He has, however, publicly called for increasing funding for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. To boil it down, if Bush applied his "Texas knows best" standard to the rest of the nation, 30 years of environmental progress could bejeopardized in only four years. We believe that Bush rer:>resents the biggest threat to the environment of any leading major party presidential candidate. Vice President Gore is the most knowledgeable candidate on issues pertaining to environmental protection. He has helped foster an open-door relationship between environmentalists and the Clinton administration and led on many of the Clinton administration's environmental initiatives including suburban sprawl and open space protection. He was instrumental in opposing the anti-environmental initiatives generated by the 104th Congress, including efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act. His lifetime LCV score is a 64 percent. As a member of the House, Gore was a leader in the passage of the first Superfund legislation in 1980. He worked with Representative John Lewis (D-GA) to pass the Environmental Justice Act in 1992, and in 1997 he supported the EPA's successful efforts to strengthen Clean Air regulations, a contentious issue within the Clinton administration. Gore supports the Kyoto treaty on crtmate change , which he helped to negotiate. He has been an outspoken advoca~e on global warming, and he held the first congressional hearings on the issue in 1974. However, some environmentalists believe that he has not done enough to translate his commitment to the issue into action, through stronger controls on the pollution that causes climate change. Vice President Gore is considered a friend of the environmental community and if elected President, we expect him to be leader on ef1vironmental issues. WASHINGTON- Cal ling o n the .and the world in respect to conservation presidential candidates to talk more about and environmental policy," Callahan said. their environmental plans and records, the "Public opinion surveys consistently show League of Conservation Voters (LCV) that the American public cares about a today released its 2000 Presidential candidate's stance on environmental Profiles on the enyironment. The League issues. LCV's 2000 Presidential Profiles did not endorse any candidate, but did say provide substantive information so the that Republican front-runner George w. public can assess the environmental Bush's record on environmental issues is credentials of each Republican and the weakest among competitive major Democratic presidential contender." Based on extensive research, party candidates. "George w. Bu sh 's tenure as interviews, and presidential questionnaire governor of Texas is marked by weak responses, the 2000 Presidential state environmental regulations, neglect of Profiles are the first effort by an Texas state parks, worsening air quality organ ization to fully assess th e and a general governing philosophy that, environmental record of this year's major if applied nationally, would jeopardize party presidential candidates. The 2000 three decades of national environmental Presidential Profiles are available on the progress," said League president Deb Internet at www.lcv.org. As part of an Callahan. ongoing information effort, LCV wi ll Based on each of their records, regularly update the site to include the Callahan said Democratic candidate Vice latest environmental information from the President Al Gor.e has·.b~en a friend of the presidential campaigns. environment .and . would . promote ~ The nonprofit League of environmental-progress from the White . ConservatioRVOt~rs is the'political voice . House. for the national environmental and ''The 2000 presidential candidates conservation community. LCV is the only have all at one time or another referred to national organization dedicated full-time the importance of environmental issues, to i.nforming the public about the but most ofthem have yet to define a clear env1~onmental reC<?rds offederally elected vision for how they would lead the nation officials and candidates. (clipped from the Oregon Peace Worker) . ': '~.: .···, =.·.. .. ... - '•l .1·. :~· ·r_' .. , .. .. ' .. - ~ - I ·• • Callahan, President, League of Conservation Voters r.. ~· ,· _, .. i'· ~- �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 5 Congress to Decide Housing Assistance of the National Coalition for 2001 ........ . Courtesy for the Homeless renewal funding of existing housing vouchers, plus 120,000 new Section 8 vouchers. The new Section 8 vouchers are to be distributed as follows: 60,000 vouchers to be distributed fair share (with 5 ,000 for non-elderly disabled housing units and 2,000 for the Family Unification Program); 10,000 for the new housing production program; and 32,000 for people moving from welfare to work. The budget also calls for the creation of a Housing Certificate Fund - The President's funding request for the fiscal year .Voucher Success Fund, which would allow Courtesy of the National Coalition 2001 Housing Certificate Fund is funds to be used to ease the burden on those for the Homeless $14,128,000,000. Ofthis amount $13 billion is people who have barriers to obtaining housing for contract renewals. The budget calls for full with vouchers, for example, for transportation The U.S. Senate is currently considering a.,__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-. or security deposit assistance. bill (S. 2), "The Educational Opportunities Act," A new aspect of the budget is that the which incJudes provisions (the "Academic How You Can Get Involved President moved Shelter Plus Care renewals Achievementfor All Demonstration" or "Straight into the Housing Certificate Fund. Previously, A's" provisions) that would allow governors to Shelter Plus Care renewals were funded out of Please contact your representative in the block grant virtually all federal education the Steward B. McKinney Homeless United States Congress to let them know programs in their states; this inc1udes the Assistance Funds in the past. This move your opinions on these important issues. McKinney Act's Education for Homeless represents a victory for homeless advocates You can contact them at the Capitol Children andYouth (EHCY) program. In states who requested this move, arguing that once Switchboard at 202-241-3121, that opt for this approach, the McKinney Act people are placed in Shelter Plus Care housing, or write to them: would no longer apply, nor would these states be they are no longer truly homeless. Moving the Address letters to SENATORS at: required to spend any federal dollars on homeless The Honorable [Full Name ofSenator], renewals to the Housing Certificate thus "frees children and youth. As a result, homeless children United States Senate, Washington, DC 2051O; up" McKinney dollars for those who are not yet and youth's educational rights would be permanently housed. Dear Senator [Last Name:]. eliminated. S. 2 is likely to reach the Senate floor in the - ·. ··Stewarl .JJ. 'McKinney·lfomeless"· -~ · Address letters .to REPRESENTATIVES a~ last week ofApril. Now is a critical time to write Assistance Act·- Tbe·McKinney ~ct is the · The-Honorabl~ [Full Name ofRepresentative], to your U.S. Senators to urge them to oppose the major source of federal funding for homeless U.S. House ofRepresentatives, Washington, Straight A's provisions in S. 2, or any block grant initiatives. Last year, Congress enacted $ 1.02 DC 20515; provision. All U.S. Senators may be reached billion; the President's budget requests a total Dear Representative [Last Name:]. through the Capitol Switchboard at of $1.2 billion, including $105 million for 202.224.3121. Section 8 housing programs. The Section 8 allotment creates 18,000 new vouchers for DISCUSSION POINTS: Points to include in people who are currently homeless who are yourcommunication include: determined by the Continuum ofCare process "Straight A's" eliminates homeless have created the foundations for success for to have the greatest difficulty obtaining homeless children. "StraightA's" removes that . children·and youth's right to a free, permanent housing. -foundation and stops the progress that is appropriate public edueation and all the - In addition, the budget request funds educational rights contained in the McKinney -~ underway. 14,500 transitional beds cmd 11,000 permanent . "Straight A 's" removes a Critical Act.. The federal program requirements that beds, all linked to supportive services. accompany McKinney funds ate focused upon ­ source offunding from homeless children The language of the proposal highlights states' responsibilities to ensure equal opportunity and youth.. Homeless children are frequently the need for better coordination and integration for homeless children and )'.OUthinvisiblein their schools and communities; in the · ·they set forth ofMcKinney-funded programs with thenghfs ofhomeless children to'receive the same absence ofexplicit outreach, identification, and mainstream programs for which homeless 'Services, they go unseen and unserved. Without educational opportunities as their non-homeless people may qualify, such as Medicaid and the targeted funding provided by the McKinney peers. Without the federal requirements ofthe TANF. Mc:Kinney Act, homeless children and youth may Act, homeless children and youth will lose out ACTION: The next step in the budget be once again shut out ofschool. And without in the competition for funding to morevisible process is the drafting of fiscal year 2001 and powerful constituencies. Moreover, there access to school, there can be no success in appropriations bills in the House and Senate. are no state-funded homeless education school. "Straight A's" thus represents a return to Input from homeless advocates is crucial to the days when homeless children spent their days programs. The federal McKinney Act dollars assuring increases in spending for homeless are thus an essential resource for ensuring in shelters, cars, campgroupds, or motels instead programs. Please contact your U.S. ofin school. homeless children and youth's enrollment, Representative and your two Senators and "StraightA's" undermines the lessons attendance, and success in school. encourage them to: ACTION ALERT: Funding at Risk for Homeless Children learned from thirteen years ofexperience working to meet the educational needs of homeless children and youth,_ Prior to the McKinney Act, an estimated 50% of homeless children and youth did not go to school. Now, as a result of the McKinney Act, an estimated 88% ofhomeless children and youth are enrolled in school. States and school districts have revised pol.lc1es, devised effective practices, and built strong local programs to support homeless children and youth's education. In doing so, they The National Coalition for the Homeless is working to persuade Congress to provide significant funding increases for permanent housing and homeless assistance programs in the fiscal year 2001 appropriations process. Funds for these programs are included in annual legislation funding the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Homeless children and youth's educational opportunities should never be waived in the name of "innovation." Rather than the misguided approach of the "Straight .Ns" proposal, the McKinney Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program should be strengthened and expanded by incorporating the wisdom, insight, and experience ofthe practitioners who work to meet the educational needs ofthis nation's most vulnerable children. l. Reauthorize the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act without block-granting the funds 2. Include Shelter Plus Care and Supportive Housing Program renewals in the Housing Certificate Fund, not in McKinney Funds 3. Fund 34,000 new vouchers for homeless individuals and families under the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. �5 TREE TV I BE 5 The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 6 WORDS FROM THE EVANGELIST.... Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt. 5:16) On April 15 at noon the City Gospel Mission kicked off its 2nd Annual Indoor Carnival. Jackie Jackson, Director of Evangelism, who coordinated this event, is also Pastor of Living Testimony Christian Center which currently meets at Anderson Place Elementary in Madisonville. Pastor Jackson has been at City Gospel Mission for two years and has coordinated two block parties (JOE'S "Jesus On Elm Street" Party) in addition to the carnivals. When speaking of these events Pastor Jackson says that his goal is to impact as many young lives as possible with the Gospel of Christ. This particular event was planned with a kid focus, so there were games, drama, videos, prizes, clowns, and handout material that were all geared toward the children, however, there were approximately 40 volunteers from the three different churches who came together to make this event possible. Each church in their own way provided the light necessary to make this event shine. For example: Love & Faith provided a drama team which performed skits for the child and adult audiences. These skits all provided sound Christian Center provided an evangelistic t team which shared the Gospel of Christ in word and deed. And Vineyard kept the games go1ng and the food coming. Three different churches at City Gospel Mission, a non-threatening religious environment, providing both physical and spiritual food. As my son and I enjoyed the festivities, I learned that community residents were among the volunteers who passed out flyers to announce the event, and were present still lending a hand here and there. A good thing, too, because their efforts resulted in approximately 600 men, women and children experiencing the love of Christ. Forty-seven individuals received salvation on this day and there were several restorations. One mom told of her son's persistence which resulted in her and his two siblings attending the carnival and receiving the Lord. I take my hat off of Officer Mike Williams of the Cincinnati Police, because he was a special part of this event with his ready smile and quick wit. He seemed to be everywhere, and not just as a police officer providing security but as a friend and role model to the children. And when it was time to go, Officer Williams was there with broom in hand helping to clear away the debris left by the children, families, and homeless who came together for this special event. On Tuesday when I talked with Pastor Jackson he was still glowing from the . community response, especially since when arriving that morning he was greeted by children who asked if the!e was anything they could do to help at City Gospel Mission. Such is the glory of God when revealed through His servants. My son and I were blessed by this event and I am sure others were also. Glory be to God: A reminder to all who would like to increase your relationship with Christ and your understanding of His Word ; every Thursday evening from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm, I am leading a Bible Study·in Camp Washington at 2950 Sidney Ave. We h~ve a family dinner and fellowship afterwards. Please come and join us for a blessed time in the Lord. Direct all inquires to 210-4181 or 541-7757. In His Service, Rodney L. Sutton, Sr. Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions can be purchased for $15 per year. (You can give more if you want) Just send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed to you each month STREETVIBES, 1506 Elm Street, Cincin­ nati, OH 45210. Please make D.J. checks payable to GCCH. If you have any questions, call 421-7803. If you have subscribed, 1 ~~ but are not receiv­ ing your Streetvibes, Please let us know. .~' New Photos of Over-the-Rhine by Jimmy Heath Documenting life in an inner-dty neighborhood through photography Featuring the writing$ of Mike H:e n,on and.Bonnie N~umeier Artists Recep~ion - May 19th, 7PM Peaslee Neighborhood Center. 215 East J4th S~eet Over-the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 (513) 611-55 14 .....,........._...-,.,.,r-._..,:~ \) On Exhibit May 19 - May ~6~.'.20~0 iii . ­ ~ �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine ·; New Director for SmartMoney Community Services Formerly known as Cooperative Fiscal Services SmartMoney Community Services now has a new Executive Director - Darrick Dansby, succeeding Rahim Spence, who headed the organization since 1994. Dansby, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, was the Senior Volunteer Resource Associate at the United Way and Community Chest's Volunteer Resource C enter. He attained a Bachelor's degree in History and a M aster's in Educational Foundations from U C. H e was recently nominated as a YMCA Black Achiever and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Madisonville Education &Assistance Center (MEAC). SMARTMoney Community Se1-Y1ce's ongoing efforts in minority entrepreneurship (SMART Business). Individual Devel6pment Accounts (SMART Step Savings), tax prepartaion assistance (SMART Tax), and economic education (SMART C hange) allow people to save their way our of poverty in O ver-the-Rhine. Financial support fo SMARTMoney comes form the City of Cincinnati, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Provident Bank, PNC Bank, and GE Capital Consumer Card Services. SmartMoney ­ 1731 Vine Street, 513-241-7266 .~ . Page 7 HELP!!!!!!! HELP!!!!! HELP•••••• '''''' CHURCHES, ~AMILIES, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND NEIGHBORS! RALLY and PRAYER VIGIL to SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES and LOW INCOME HOUSING Information: . Call 651-5093 MAY 4, 1000, 7:00 PM LAUREL PARK IN THE WEST END AT EZZARD CHARLES AND WADE STREETS - If we allow this final ground to be leveled, Over 10 0 million dollars of taxpayer money will have been wasted in the past 4 years to rebuild and tear down the Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes Apartments. Sponsored by Tyrone Smith. Avondale Public Hearing Helµ at Hirsch Recreation Center ' ..... by Sonny Williams City Prosecutor Robert Johnstone and Cincinnati City Councilperson We Need Your Creativity! PauJ Booth opened the March Avondale Send your poetry, writings or artwork to Community Council meeting at 7 ·p.m. Among those in attendance were Cheryl Meadows and Streetvibes, Cincinnati City Councilperson Alicia Reece. Che_ryl Meadows mentioned that the Avondale do G~CH (Greater Town Center was supported by her department Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless), and by City money. Alicia Reece was representing the Health and Human Services 1506 Elm St., Committee. Cincinnati City Councilperson Cincinnati 45210 James Tarbell, who is a member of the Law and Phone- 513-421­ Public Safety Committee, was absent from the 7803, Avondale meeting. It was announced that E-mail (text): to Michelle Taylor-Mitchell was on the Housing streetvibes@juno.com, Committee of the Avondale Community E-mail (attached Council. files, graphics): to homecoal@primax.net Reggie Boyd of the Empowerment state of the city at the present time. The Committee said he was very concerned about the poverty of Avondale residents exceeds that of people in Washington, D.C. In Cincinnati's black community there have been 130 homicides committed by other black people World Trade within the last year. Or~anization Community resident Robert Jenkins wanted the Cincinnati police to shake down residents for guns. District Four's Captain Cotton said a shakedown of residents would be a violation of their constitutional rights. Jenkins also wants Xavier University students to stop speeding through the Avondale community. He said that Victory Parkway in Avondale looks like I-275 during rush hour. Channel 12 News reported on the Avondale Town Meeting. "We know a number ofinternational companies who are hiring. Can you pass for under 12?" For more information call Cincinnati City Councilperson Charles Winburn at 352-3000. �ST REE TV I BES The Tri-State's Top U.S..Clothing Retailers Agree to Settle Saipan Garment Worker Lawsuits Jones Apparel, Liz Claiborne,.and The May Company Support Ground­ breaking Monitoring Program HONOLULU - Eight more leading U.S. clothing retailers - Calvin Klein Inc., Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne foe., The May Department Scores Company, Oshkosh B'Gosh Inc., Sears, Roebuck and Company, Tommy Hilfiger USA Inc., and Warnaco, Inc. - have agreed to settle claims against them in a federal class-action lawsuit alleging sweatshop conditions in the garment industry on the Western Pacific island of Saipan, a U.S. Commonwealth. Today's announcement means that seventeen U.S. retailers have agreed to pay a total of $8.0 millio~ in settlement and to adhere to a rigorous system of independent monitoring at the Saipan factories of contractors who produce their clothing. The settlement provides that in future supply contracts, retailers will require factories to comply with strict employment standards, including guaranteeing overtime pay for overtime work, providing safe food and. drinking water, and agreeing to honor employees' basic human rights. The settlement requires court approval and does nor involve an admission of wrongdoing by the defendants. That leaves The Gap, J.C. Penney, Target and Lane Bryant, among other defendants, who have not agreed to settle these cl-aims. None of the primarily~ foreign owners who actually operate- the garment factories on Saipan have yet agreed to settle. "This is an important step in the right direction. We are glad to see these companies take a stand for human rights on Saipan," commented Medea Benjamin, President of Global. Exchange. "These settlements will dr~a.tically improve the· lives of thousands of garment workers on Saipan. The strict and independent monitoring established will insure that in the future, rights wiJI be protected and laws obeyed," ...said Jay Mazur, President of UNITE! Under the terms of the settlement announced today, the seventeen companies will each make a one-time contribution to a fund that will finance an independent monitoring program, public education, administration costs and attorneys' fees, as well as payments to workers. These settlements will bring the total fund to approximately $8 million. "As a result of these settlement~, the first legally enforceable set of monitoring standards has been agreed to by retailers and will provide a model for the rest of the industry to follow," said Lora Jo Foo, an attorney with Asian Law Caucus and President of Sweatshop Watch. Veriee, an Amherst, Massachusetts-based non­ profit group, will independently monitor compliance by exercising far-reaching powers to oversee the conduct of contractors doing business with the settling retailers, including surveillance, ~nnounced and unannounced visits to facilities, and investigations ofworker complaints. The monitoring body can provide for payment of back wages, reimbursement of impermissible recruitment fees, and even recommend the termination of contracts where a pattern of violations exists. Veriee will report jointly to the retailers and to the plaintiffs in the two settled lawsuits. These include two international human rights groups ­ Global Exchange and Sweatshop Watch, the Asian Law Caucus, and UNITE, the labor union which Homeless Grapevine Page a AIDS in AFRICA Series wins Pulitzer Prize A Village Voice reporter who got experience in the lesbian and gay press has won the prestigious prize for his AIDS in Africa series. .... Mark Schoofs (is) a staff writer and columnist specializing in science and medicine at New York City's venerable weekly The Village Voice. Here is an excerpt from his first article: "Only 17 years have passed since AIDS was first found in Africa, on the shores of Lake Victoria, yet according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAlDS),'the virus has already killed more than 11 million sub-Saharan Africans. More than 22 million others are infected. Only 10 percent of the world 's population lives south of the Sahara, but the region is home to two-thirds of the world's HIV-positive people, and it has suffered more than 80 percent of all AIDS deaths. Last year, the combined wars in Africa killed 200,000 people . AIDS killed 1{) times that number. Indeed, more people succumbed to HIV last year than to any other cause of death on this continent, including malaria. And the carnage has only begun. Unlike ebola or influenza, AIDS is a slow plague, gestating in individuals for five to 10 years before killing them. Across East and Southern Africa, mor.e than 13 percent of adults are infected with . HIV, according to UNAIDS. And in three countries , including Zimbabwe, more than a quarter of adults carry the virus. In some districts, the rates are even higher: In one study, a staggering 59 percent of women attending prenatal clinics in rural Beitbridge, Zimbabwe, tested HIV-positive. Life expectancy in more than a dozen African countries "will soon be 17 years shorter because of AIDS --47 years instead of 64," says Callisto Madavo, the World Bank's v ice president for Africa. HIV "is .quite literally robbing Africa of a quarter of our lives." In the West, meanwhile, the HIV death rate has dropped steeply thanks to powerful drug cocktails that keep the disease from progressing . These regimens must be taken for years, probably for life, and they can cost more than $10,000 per patient per year. Yet in many of the hardest-hit African countries, the total per capita health-care budget is less than $10. Many people --in Africa as well as the West-­ shrug off this stark disparity, contending that it is also true for other diseases. But it isn't. Drugs for the world's major infectious killers­ tuberculosis, malaria, and diarrheal diseases­ have been subsidized by the international community for years, as have vaccines for childhood illnesses such as polio1and measles. But even at discountad prices, the annual cost of putting every African with H.IV on triple combination therapy would exceed $150 billion, so the world is letting a leading infectious killer for represents many garment workers. Verite has extensive workplace monitoring experience, and has previously served as an independent monitor under agreement with Tommy Hilfiger USA Inc., among others. The rwo lawsuits at issue were filed in January 1999. One is a class action alleging violations of U.S. anti­ peonage and indentured servitude laws and of international ·human rights law, initially filed in Los Angeles federal court and recently transferred to which treatment exists mow down millions ...." See more on the website : http: // www.villagevoice.com/specials/africa/ Schoofs was honored for Foreign Reporting for a 1999 series on AIDS in Africa the Pulitzer panel called "provocative. and enlightening." Along with tremendous prestige, the award brings $5,000, half of which Schoofs is. contributing to AIDS charities in Africa. Schoofs said in a statement, "Even though I have covered AIDS for 13 years, nothing prepared me for the devastation the disease has caused in Africa. It's the worst catastrophe since slavery. The fact that The Village Voice, an alternative newspaper, could make this kind of impact sends out a message: Anyone anywhere can do their part to help end this crisis." In six months in nine African countries, often in remote villages, Schoofs was most deeply affected by see·ing elderly, enfeebled grandparents caring for their many grandchildren after the epidemic killed their children . Learning of his prize he called it "an incredible moment" but added that, "For the people that I reported on, unfortunately, nothing has changed." He told the Los Angeles Times that, "I got a letter the other day from the headman in a village in Zimbabwe telling me that a woman I'd interviewed had died. Her husband was already dead. So while I'm sitting here drinking champagne today, her four children are orphans, with probably not enough money to go to school." He told the New York Times that AIDS is a "catastrophe that is transforming the [African] continent forever," but also that, "This country" - 1he U .S. - "can make a huge difference." · -Schoofs humbly credited his employer, saying, "It is a testament to The Village Voice that once I proposed this series on AIDS, the editors did not hesitate for a nanosecond. I had the paper's full support, and they did everything in their power to help me do the job." One report quoted the cost to the Voice of Schoofs' travels at$20,000. Editor-in-chief Don Forst said, "Mark Schoofs is the kind of reporter that The Village Voice develops. His commitment to the world crisis of AIDS and his · unflinching reporting during a six-month stay in Africa represents the best of alternative journalism." ... from PlanetOut News Staff, Friday, April 14 Hawaii. The other is an unfair business practices c~e filed in San Francisco Superior Court. The litigation will continue against the Saipan factory owners and several other major U.S. retailers who have yet to settle. Plaintiffs are represented by the San D.iego firm of Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach and the San Francisco firm of Altshuler, BeJ:zoo, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demaio. ...... Courtesy ofSweatshop Watch �. . · STREETV_ Tri-State's .- -Homeless Grapevine .. .· . ...I.BES ,· ·.· .· .The . . . ~· ' . . ~ ~ ~ - .. --:- . . Page g Model Moratorium Resolution Urge your church, city counci~ civic group and other organizations to pass a resolutWn calling for a moratorium on executions! (Prepared by Equal Justice USNQuixote Center) WHEREAS there is ample evidence that the death penaJty is applied in a racist manner: In 1987, in McCleskey v. Kemp, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to act on data demonstrating the continuing reality of racial bias. In 1990, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported "a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty." Nationwide, 82% of those put to death had been convicted of murdering a white person even though people of color are the victims in more lb.an halfof all homicides. The U.S. Congrcs has failed repeatedly to pass the Racial Justice Act, which would allow prisoners lO challenge their dealh sentences using standards normal in civil discrimination cases. WHEREAS death c;entences are reserved for the poor: About 90% of those persons facing capital charge~ canno1 ,ifford their own attorney. No state has met standards developed by the American Bar Association (A BA) for appointment, perfomrnncc, and C'ompensation of counsel for indigent prisoners. WHE REAS prisoner appeals have been severely curtailed, increasing the risk of imprisonment and execution of innocent people: In a series of rulings since 199 l, the Supreme Court has drastically restricted the rights of death row prisoners to appeal their convictions and death sentences in federal courts, even in cases where prisoners present compelling evidence of innocence. In 1996, new legislation drastically limited federal court review of death penalty appeals and gutted public funding of legal aid services for death row prisoners. WHEREAS the American Bar Association bas concluded that administration of the death penalty is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency" and has called for a moratorium on executions. Now, therefore, be it resolved that this church/ faith community calls on the Governor and our state representatives, and President Clinton and our representatives in Congress. to enact and adopt legislation imposing a moratorium on executions at least until this state and nation implement policies and procedures which: Ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially in accordance wilh basic due process. Eliminate the risk that innocent persons might be executed. Prevent the execution of mentally disabled persons and persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses. Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution shall be forwarded to the Governor, our state representatives, President Clinton, and our representatives in Congress. Dear Sonny, Greetings, Give everyone my regards. I hope that my note finds y'all high-spirited and each morning up for the struggles "we" face -­ "Wt! must become the change that we seek".....Mahatma Gandhi P.S. Tell everyone that you cannot send postage in the Texas penal system. There­ fore I got to send them back. I appreciate your concerns. Forward with the Struggle, Kaman Wa Ngengi, w./jHill #568787. P.O. Box 16, Lovelady, Texas 75851 The following contains excerpts from an official document of the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice: This isa picture ofMahmoud El­ Khatib and his family at Christmas ofl 998 (from left tolightin the photo:Mahmoud, hisdaughterHana, now5 years old, his The following items are considered Contraband by the Texas Board of Corrections: + + + + + + + + + Stamps and stamped envelopes money orders cash money Blank greeting cards sent by individuals Home_made cards sent by individuals Picture frames Postcards (blank) Medals and charms Stationary and writing materials sent by individuals + Newspapers, magazines and/or any publication sent by ijndividuals + Canceled checks or money orders + Hair + straw + Paintings + Posters + Playing cards + Maps + Stick-ups ex-wifeSusan, hisoldest daughter Alexandra, age 9, and his son Sid, age 2. Mahmoud hasnotseen hischildren since February23, 1999asthe INScame into theirhome and an-ested him. They still have him in theircustodyatThe Dayton Human Rehabilitation Center. They have kept himaway from hisfamilyfor almostayear,already. Mahmoudwas born on July23, 1965 in Kwaitt. He came to this country in search ofa betterlife and "Freedom" in 1984when hewasjust 19years old. There may be an end in sight. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently SJ1l&1'9S Prisoners News contains news about thejustice system and the writings of persons incarcerated in our nation's jails and prisons. Subscribers within the walls receive Streetvibes free. If you want to support us in this effort, please sponsor someone on the inside by sending us $1 5 for a year's subscription Sendyour comments and questions to streetvibes@juno.com mail : STREETVIBES, 7506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 452 70 Protest May 13, 2000 10 AM - 12 PM For the Lucasville-5 Death Sentences Anyone interested in coming to the rally or helping to organize the anti-death penalty rally, call the Lucasville-5 Support Committee at 513-241-8014 or write to The L-5 Support Committee P.O. Box 1746 Cincinnati, Ohio 45201-1746 ruled that immigrants accused of crimes in the U.S. could not be held indefinately...... ....The ruling stated that aliens must be released 90 days after a final deportation order must remain free under INS supervision until their home country reaches an agreement with the United States to accept deportees. • • • �STREETVIBES TheTri-State's HomelessGrapevine William Mayo still languishes in Georgia Prison Since April, 1992, William J. Mayo has been sitting in a Georgia Prison, paying for a crime for which he was convicted on dubious "evidence" andfalse information. Careful examination of the facts might have won him an acquittal. 1Wo young men from Chicago, whom William was introducing to Morehouse College in Atlanta, have already confessed to the crime (aggraved kidnapping and burglary), and they have recanted their original stories, which originally lead police to implicate William Mayo. Still, the courts have not overturned the guilty verdict or his life sentence, nor listened to appeals f or a new trial. For a detailed description of the case, contact the Justice for W. J.M. Campaign. Here is a letter from William Mayo: Dear Streetvibes; Thank you sincerely for printing my plight for justice in your paper. For those of you who are familiar with my case, I hope and pray this article will give you an update on my plight. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my case, I hope you'll contact my W.J.M. Chairperson at the following: • The Justice for W.J.M. Campai gn · c/o Ms. Kimberly A. Todd 1581 Summit Rd. Apt. #53 Cincinnati, Ohio 45237 (513)761-5452 (home) (513) 351-9099 (work) I hope this story opens your eyes and heart to the kind of injustices that occur in these United States of America , or should I say "United Snakes of American? Some of you may know me as the brother from Morehouse College; the brother who grew up in Avondale, who graduated from Roger Bacon (i.e . W illiam J. Patterson-Mayo, class of 1984); the brother who attended Southern Baptist Church under the late Rev. James E. Milton; the son of Elaine Patterson, etc .... Nevertheless, it's my request and prayer that each person who reads Streetvibes help me! I am the same brother who appeared on Applause Magazine for Cincinnati's black lifestyle. I was the April/May 1992 Cover model for the spring edition on health & fitness. (See his picture below, taken from that magazine cover) On April 27, 2000, the W illiam Jonathan Mayo Campaign supporters from Cincin nati, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark/Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, and from elsewhere will be in Atlanta to peacefully demonstrate and campaign in front of the Federal Courthouse for my freedom and to request the Federal Judge to rule on my case. The W.J.M . Chairperson Ms. Kimberly Todd and others have appeared on Cincinnati's local radio (WCIN), Rev. Garr's show 9-11 pm Sundays , and T.V. stations on my behalf. My case has been sitting in the Federal District Court for nearly 2 years , and the federal judge has yet to issue a rul ing or decision. For the past few years, as the word becomes more publicized , more people are joining my fight for freedom. The reason for the demonstration/protest, is that my case has been before the federal courts for two years; we want an answer!!! We want to call their attention and the attention of the nation to what has been bypassed and hidden in the state level of appeals. T here is clear cut evidence proven on the state level, and now the federal level, that I did not committ this crime and that most of my constitutional rights were violated. Grounds: (1) To-Wit: The ineffective assistance of counsel (four lawyers) 2) Due Process claim 3) Unlawful photographic identification 4) Partial jury . 5) Recantation of Codefendants 6) False testimony and false name of two of the State's w itnesses 7) Findings of fact and conclusions of law In addition to the above, on Feb. 4, 2000, my attorneys filed an additional motion from a private investigator which includes: 1) Evidence of the criminal history, probation and/or warrants of the State's Key witnesses (in effect at the time of their testimony at my trial.) 2) Proof that the prosecuting attorney ~new of possible cri~inal a~tivity o~ his key w itnesses but drd not disclose 1t to the defense (which is an open Brady constitutional violation) 3) Proof that the investigating detectives knew of arrests of their two key witnesses but did not disclose it to the defense. 4) Proof that my own attorney (State appointed) was made abreast of the false name of the State's witness, Brandon Hill, but did nothing about it. Page 10 Mr. Hill's real name is Claude Jenkins) 5) Proof that co-defendant Dale Thomas testified under a false name and is incarcerated as we speak under this false name.. . It was stated in the detective's report that complete background checks were run on the th ree (Myself and 2 co-defendants). My record was clean for 25 years until current incident. 6) The State of Georgia has continually turned its head to the facts in my case. If the Federal Courts grant me an evidentiary hearing and take a good look at the petition now before them, I would be a free man immediately.... In conclusion, some Streetvibes readers have written letters of support to me, including Ms. Stephanie Hunter and Ms. Kathleen Diffenderffer. Thank you sincerely for believing in me. I am Muslim now. I believe firmly that no one has the right to be worshipped but God, "the ever-living, the one who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumbers nor sleep overtake him. To him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. W ho is he that can intercede w ith him except with his permission? He knows what happens to them (his creatures) in this world , and what will happen to them in the hereafter. And they w ill never encompass anything of this Knowledge except that which he wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and he feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And he is the most high, the most great!" from the Holy Quran 2:255 I have enclosed a poem I wrote called "Who am I"! (see page 17) May god's peace be upon each of you .. .. Your brother in the struggle, William Jonathan Mayo (Hakim) Monday, April 9 OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE: 83-year-old Cincinnati Activist Gordon Maham and 16 others arrested during protest at Nuclear Weapons Plant Dear Fellow Activists, Sonny ­ We closed Y-12 completely. It certainly was not "business as usual ." The policeman that arrested me, when I answered his questions honestly, became hostile. This is how it went : Policeman: " Are you working?" Gordon - "Yes." Policeman: "What are you doing?" Gordon: "Closing the Y-12 down." Policeman: "I mean, do you have a continued next column f �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine land near the downtown area were needed to develop a super-model city that could host the 2012 World Olympic Games. The plan proposes new, unique housing for young pioneers and empty nesters; plenty of entertainment and eateries, everything these new residentS would need within walking distance. Cincinnati has a very large problem. The West End and Over-the-Rhine are overflowing with Cincinnati will be on a roller coaster ride for the high crime areas. Poor, low-income families fill the old, next eleven-and-a-half years. So, citizens, guard your decaying apartment buildings. Bouncing the poor, low­ wallets and homes! If you live close to d owntown income families from one overpopulated area downtown Cincinnati, you may lose your home to eminent domain. to another does not solve the problem. The poor, low­ All of the new construction you see downtown income folk would have to disappear from the downtown may appear to be mass confusion. It is not! The · area. construction is a part ofthe well-placed plans for the future Oh, by the way! The po liticians and city of C incinnati. T his C incinnati-for-the-future got government leaders failed to mention another huge project underway more than 20 years ago. The timing had to be on the drawing boards: a new federally funded project perfect to set the wheels in motion. called the New Hope Housing Project, a project that is What is common knowledge to "those in the big enough to house all of the displaced citizens in know" in government politics and others in power is a dark, Cincinnati, Ohio. Corruption, lies, alibis and deception sinister secret kept from the common residentS ofHamilton plague our city. There is too much to tell in only one County. One of the darkest secretS is that "no private weiring. I'll let you digest what I have written until next citizen acrually owns any property in the jurisdiction of month. Cincinnati's city limits." It's a shock to find out that you December the 12th is not far away. That is when are only a caretaker ofthe property "you believe you own." Cincinnati, Ohio has to have its bid in for the 2012 World Ir's a fact that Cincinnati wanted to be a "super­ Olympic Games. model" city for many years. In the 1980's it was only a dream. Charlie Luken was a council member, the mayor, ..... Charlie Mattingly and a member of Congress in the I 980's, before coming back to Cincinnati where he was a news reporter for 1958 State Ave. Channel 5 television for seven years. And now he has re­ Cincinnati, Ohio 45204 entered as mayor of Cincinnati once again. 921-1231 Nick Vehr left city council co go on a crusade ro bring the World Olympic Games to Cincinnati, Ohio. fu her present condition at that time, Cincinnati could not possibly host the Olympics. From out of nowhere, and Editorial #2: now seemingly everywhere, new construction began. Longtime small businesses in the downtown area No information. Misinformation. No began falling like bowling pins. Large businesses left, too. accountability. Even our City Government officials are Phase one of four phases had begun. Cleaning and left in the dark. County government and big business clearing off the land was imponanr in downtown and the thumb their noses at anyone who would interfere with surrounding areas. The hammer was falling hard. their "well laid plans." A tiny handful ofcity government Phase two began: acquiring and demolishing all officials arc in the know, "but they're not telling." the old buildings and businesses along the river front. In Ever wonder why there is so much chaos? I'd the West End, demolition began in much ofthe low-income bet you that county commissioner Bob Bedinghaus and property, such as Lincoln Court, Laurel Homes and many Nick Vehr could tell you, but they former ciry councilman abandoned old buildings. Tremendous amounts of prime won't. Nick Vehr, member of the River Front Commission and former Ciry Council Gordon Maham, 10years member, set out on a crusade to bring the ago at Fernald World Olympic Games to Cincinnati in the regular job?" year 2012. The bid to bring the Olympics Gordon: "Yes." to us in Cincinnati is due in on December Policeman: "What is 12th, 2000. Everyone concerned realized that that?" Gordon: Cincinnati, Ohio was not equipped to host "Making this a more the Olympic Games because of too little peaceful planet." entertainment, n ot much downtown Policeman: "I mean, residential living quarters, outdated sports do you have a job that facilities, a small convention center, and not enough surrounding land to fill the needs pays money?" for the world Olympic Games. Gordon: "Not That's when the chaos began. money." Policeman: Ugly buildings had to go, new sports "You are trying to act facilities had to be built, new downtown smart and I am losing office space had to be provided: and new entertainment had to appear. New green my patience with you. space, streets, and anything that would help I can throw you in the EDITORIAL: The World Olympic Games 2012 A WILD RIDE County jail and set a high bond and keep you there a while." Gordon:" I am answering your questions truthfully and honestly" We got through all the questions, but he was not smiling. Notice the ages of my group: 18 - 83; Never too young or too old! Eric Johnson is a preacher. His daughters Ingrid and Andrea were arrested. The arrest and charges and court dates have been somewhat mixed up, but the bottom line seems to be - I had better pay $149.50 court costs or not cross any more lines in Tennessee. It is a difficult decision. l have not spent one dollar on lodging, and very little on food. Those peaceful people are really great! The Court's a problem. Gordon Maham , peaceful planet person Page 11 create a super model city had to be considered. The year 2012 was not too far away. New blood was needed for new housing in downtown Cincinnati. New arts centers and enticing facilities were needed to attract potential foreign businesses to Cincinnati. T he apparent chaos was not really chaos at all; it was a well laid plan. We have seen mass construction, mass spending, mass confusion and mass costly mistakes. The planners of this super model Cincinnati do not want any public interference because it would slow down the progress and raise questions that Mr. Bedinghaus, Nick Vehr, and their partners do not want to answer. They want free reign to do as they choose to do. The hardest blow from the hammer will hit the low income and homeless populations. They will have to be moved our of downtown and hidden behind one of the seven . hills of Cincinnati. Developers and politicians have to gobble up as much land as they can in and near the downtown area. Compared to what has to be done to make Cincinnati ready for the Olympic Games, twelve years is not much time. Blighted areas have to be torn down and rebuilt at market-rate value. Lincoln Court is gone. Laurel Homes is going. Over-the-Rhine residents and buildings will be going soon. The City of Cincinnati cannot possibly absorb all of these folk who will lose their homes. Other neighborhoods that are targetS include Lower Price Hill, Sedamsville, South Fairmount, and North Fair mount. All of these communities will lose their homes to eminent domain. Their land is needed to help host... the World Olympic Games. Another little tidbit that slipped Mr. Bedinghaus' mind is a new federal housing project that is big enough to house all of the residents of Over-the-Rhine, Lincoln Coun, Lower Price Hill, North Fairmount, and South Fairmount. Ofcourse, this federal hou~ing project will be located outside oftown, a community ofdisplaced people. "New Hope" Federal Housing Community sounds inviting. Uprooting families and moving them behind one of the seven hills has been a plan long time coming, and now it is knocking at the door. Dreams are shattered; tears are shed. T he politicians and money men and women knew the poor would put up a good fight, so they starred building around them, dosing in on them until it was too late to halt this madness in our ciry. Only a handful of City officials arc aware of the real picture and the reasons for the upheaval of our city. They were not informed and neither was the general public. Behind closed door meetings, our fate is decided by a few powerful people. We may never know who they arc. County officials and City officials say they can't conduct business with the public watching! What parts are they trying to hide from the public? Non-profit, for profit; It doesn't matter! The public money being used for any project should be accounted for by those using tax dollars to fund any project. The public has a right to know and should be allowed to attend an y meeting where tax dollars arc being spent. Further, these meetings that are conducted in places owned by tax payees, and tax payers, should be allowed access in those buildings, to any meeting. ..... Charlie Mattingly, YOU'RE FOREIGN AND NO OUT DATE ••• RIGHT? �5 TR EETV I BE 5 The Tri-State'.~. Homf?le~$ GrapevirJe. _.· .. ·" .-· . . ' . ' . ,-·~~.. ,:.~ag~ ;. 12; ~ ' company going to Cincinnati to the Drop Inn and picking up bus loads of people. Then they would cherry pick (pick our of order) the sign-up sheet. Example: A friend and I went in one night and signed up. After waiting 1112 hours, four young people came in, put in their applications, and went out that night. My friend and I were bumped off the job. Thus, ·the people on the Kentucky side get cut out of jobs. Now, what is a homeless person that doesn't want to be on the streets bur has no home address to give an employer to do? I feel that if a temp agency isn't here to help the people of Kentucky find work, why isn't their company over here instead of Cincinnati? We live in I'm writing the letter because I understand that a lot of people are.not aware of what goes on Kentucky- Let us have first choice on the jobs with the homeless in our community. I'll begin in our area rather than going to Cincinnati first. by telling you a little about myself. I'm 40 years Now to say the least, I'm not perfect nor do I old and had a job with a large company for 14 claim to be. Bur 1 don't understand why the police say a person looks homeless. Is there years and 9 months. It was very stressful and exhausting. The people there were the type that anything wrong with how a person looks? For if you were trying to climb rhe ladder to get that matter, who's to judge? Yes, I wear two coats, somewhere in the company they would either a ball cap and skull cap to keep warm. Bur I'm pull you down or step on you to make themselves clean shaven and my clothes are rarely dirty. Bur it seems I can't walk down the street without look better. As a result I began to drink and I eventually quit my job and moved from being stopped, usually without probable cause. Cincinnati to Covingron . Thar was in January, Exam ple: A friend and I were walking co New­ ~~~~~-1~9~9:4~·,.-,-,--..,-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.pu.~:e-ge~l'-Sefl1etlllng to ear at the soup I joined a program to overcome my kitchen there. One the way, we were picking up problem. When I did .finally leave I found myself aluminum cans. Out of the blue, we were on the street and working for temp services. I stopped and asked for I.D. and asked to step up worked through Minute Man - Covington office. against the wall while they checked us out. The My day was always the same - Sign up at officer told us char he had received several calls of 11 :00, go back at 1:30; from there, go to the us lingering around the neighborhood. The only Cincinnati office and wait until 3:00; from problem I say was that we were in no way there go to work for 10 hours, get back co lingering, bur we're making a straight path from the fourth Street Bridge to 9m& York. Jn any dowmown. <;incinqa~i ac 3:30 in. the A.M.,_get my check about 4:00 and from there walk back case, we hadn't done anything wrong, so chey h ad to Covington. My whole day was waiting to go to let us go. to work, with never any time to sleep or put in I just don't understand why people see applications at full time jobs. someone down on their luck and homeless and When that office eventually closed, I had automatically chink they're up ro no good! We already signed up at a new temp service are people too. I myself don't like or want to live on the streets, and am trying my best to get Labour Solutions. When I first begaa there, everything was going fine. The first 2 years were back on my feet! But until I do, it would be nice pretty good; but when staff began to quit and to feel like I was an equal..... -- -~eµllred,..new-sr-alf1 things-began-ro­ change. It began by the company losing a lot of ....A concerned homeless man my regular tickets or jobs. It then spread ro the Dear Streetvibes, Dear Streetvibes: I live in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Queen City is larger and greater than I realized. Many of those who have lived here for decades wonder where, when, and what has happened to the American Dream. It has turned into a nightmare, and it is crumbling before o~r eyes. As I walk the st re ets, avenues, and boulevards, I envision a people who are amazed , wondering , as I have, what has happened to the American Dream. It has left us for reality. We have made everything that exists and we the people are distraught as we experience the world today. Many are distressed, for meager skills count as minimum wages. I affirm that there is dignity in all work. And being able and capable and educated in professional technical colleges throughout our great cities of opportu nities in this great state of Ohio. I remain excited. I am considered to be a voice and a spokesperson for the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they rally with me and encourage my plight. For mine is theirs .... . ...... 1will show you stout, capable, able-bodied men with good minds and knowledge. Great architects with great and vital skills of masonry, carpentry, brlcklaying , cement mixing, and painting, as well as electricians and plumbers. We desperately need professional colleges skilled in training people in these skills. When the students are ready, the instruction will come from professional colleges. ..... Looking at the life-styles of today's modern world, much remains to be done ...... ..... At the intersection of Central Parkway and Vine St. all appears to be well; however, walk north on Vine St. , to Twelfth St., and continue through thirteenth, Fourteenth, and so on to Liberty St., and you will find yourself here in the "Ghetto". . .. Carol Cunningham trying to survive May 2000 By Alanna Maloney: the Urban Astrologer. Happy Birthday Taurus! feeling of restrictions you may have been feeling this year. All Taureans are especially lucky this month and there are opportunities for self-expressive expansion. Early month there are six planers in your sign! Beware of sore throats and stiff necks! There is unusual focus on you -- if things feel out of hand in both negative and positive ways, it is because they are! All this month you are looking attractive to oth~rs. This time ofyear is always a good time fo r you to show your face in new places especially parties, especially where people will be giving you gifts or hugs or even better, gifts and hugs! You will be feeling Gemini smarter and chattier than This month there is powerful usual chis month. Ir focus on your house ofsecrets would be a really good - and spiritual transcendence. time to begin a new U nforrunately the illustrious artistic or financial Astrological foreparents also project. Those of you who were born in the called this the house of self-undoing! third week of May will be feeling particularly Misunderstood and hidden self-detrimental under the gun these days, however this month patterns are going to whack you in the face all will bring blessings of many kinds to lessen the month (especially those having to do with self­ esteem and money). Be ready. Do what you can to process deep emotional pooh because it's all stirred up right now. Meditate it, Tai Ch'i it, Reiki it, write it, Shrink it, swim it off, film it, use it or it will use you and you will wind up in a ho house with a bottle ofJack between your knees by the time of your birthday! Really though, this could be an awesome time to shine in the arts, especially film and photography. Your p ersonal magnetism will be at an all time high. Cancer If you have important dealings with groups, social work, technology or politics there is a blessed break from restrictions this month. Blessings and gifts can come to you right and.left. In areas co do with the unusual, the revolutionary, and the greater good of all people, you can work well, communicate well, experience blessings, �STREETVIBES express yourself, and take much needed dramatic action. If none of this rings a bell for you then maybe you could dye your hair pink and join a protest this month, or open your own internet co,mpany, or join an organic farming collective or... Leo I know your career has been acting crappy lately, big dealings one day, dead the next; but May is bringing out the big guns for you in the work d~partment. Women contacts, mentors, blessings, opportunities, self-expression and action are here at last. Don't let your shock and disbelief at how well things are going cause you to miss out on enjoying this important month. Take the blessings and let them keep your spirits up throughout this year. You are not out of the woods quite yet but you have come to a big clearing, with a ~pring, and deer and wildflowers... Vtrgo _ Art classes, massage or healing classes, and education of all sorts appeal to you greatly this month. And if none of that sounds appealing, maybe raising funds for an overseas trip is called for. If you are really lucky, you are going on a trip to Thailand to buy spiritual items for a shop. That's the vibe that is kicking heavily for you this month. Exotica, !earning, and traveling. In what way do you seek the big truth in life? This month it is a focused blessed area. Look for the opportunities; the cash will be there! Libra This is a really weird month for you. Like Gemini and Aquarius, it takes you out of your comfortable air element of thinking, talking, and observing. It is going to demand a lot of you in areas to do with the big three-- sex, death, and taxes. Sex in its most spiritual form. Clean any residual guilt, and shadows from your erotic closet. Death in the sense of a strong awareness of the oth er side of life, an awareness of life's passing, the remembrance of the loss of a loved one, or an actual communication from the other side in a dream, a vision or a scented breeze. Here "taxes" is a catchall term meaning, of course, taxes, but also shared financial resources, banking, insurance, and inheritance. The watery mysterious under side ofyou is taking physical form this month. These three areas are bringing you unusual blessings, but at what cost to your peace of mind? Scorpio Your marriage, partnerships and best friendships have all the best to offer this month. You can be enriched and enhanced by important others in your life. Overall this area is under surveillance by delaying restricting Saturn this year and last- so really take this time The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine to enjoy the break in the clouds. Business partnerships and weddings are especially promising at chis time. Your spouse or friend may hook you up with a great job, give you a fat present, or get a great job themselves. Harmony, balance, beauty, and art are all enhanced in your life this month. Maybe it's about you giving a special gift to your honey or bud? Sagitta.dus So yeah, this pesky job thing... hmmm. Or is~it your health? Either way this month should bring you tangible results and even rewards for your patience (not you Sag. Surely not!) and hard work. Good advisement is to be had from mentors afl:d female cohorts. A raise is surely due, or some other equally tangible blessing. If you have been experiencing a throat or neck ailment, a good cure or solution should be at hand. For all your cogitating and theorizing, Sag. When it comes to work, you want to do something tangible, really meaningful, even permanen t. If your current employment denies you this feeling of something to build on think about scrapping it for something more fruitful this month! Capricorn Creativity, creativity, creativit}r... The crunch has. been on your self-expression chis year. Old sHf­ limiting paccerns have punched you in the face repeatedly (and taken your wallet and all-kinds of nasty stuff) , but chis month you can make a · comeback and be a real artistic contender. In matters to do with children, enjoyment, and speculation, you are blessed and blessed. Be open to opportunity for self-knowledge and expression that you were never allqwed as a child. You can make cash from just being you! Aquarius Whoah! Aquarius! Put that credit card away! (O kay, only those of you who haven't already fo rsaken all forms of money as a bourgeois concept). You are going to want to spend mass cash (barter) on your home, apartment, or family this month. The time is right for this kind of focus, but you could also overdo it rd ue to planetary urging. Try to do as much as you can with your own artistry and creativity, then let the gifts and good deals flow in. You may do well to visit a place that has fond childhood memories for you. You may also enjoy spending time with your dad. You may also inherit some kind of property this month. And importantly, if you are an Aquarius who has become homeless this year you may be in luck this May! Pisces There is a super focus of earth energies affecting all of Page 13 us this month and for you Fish folk it is in your house of siblings, communications, and short trips. Expect the roof to blow off in these areas. Buy a new journal, get more disk space, get a cheaper .long distance plan, and keep a good eye on your present car (bike, tennis shoes, scuba gear. ..) . And, keep your eyes peeled for a great deal on a new one, heck maybe your brother will even GIVE you a car. T here's just so m uch good luck and blessedness for you in this area this month- feel good about' finishing your novel or catching up on co rresponden ce w hile you are at it! Aries y D udes, this wh ole m onth is abou t m oney and self-esteem. Your world is just u n usually physical at· this time. Q uestions of cash , art, sex, exercise or lack thereof are vital these days. There is a possibility of b uilding something great and it's just a wonderful month to put all your wonderful id eas into action and solid form . If you were an architect this would be the month to b reak the dirt! Start a savings account for heaven's sake. And if you are lucky enough to h ave one already . t hink about h ow you could invest it. This physicality/finance thing has been restricted all year and now you are getting a blessed break and an unusual influx. Don't miss out! Squeeze that Horoscope 'til it yelps1 (This tidbit is repeated from February because I think it bears repeating!]) O ften we complain that Horoscopes are gen eralized. This is because they are! Each of us h as at least 36 variables that make our astrological profile (birth chart) unique. Newspaper horoscopes can only cover 3 of these variables at m ost. You can, however, use a horoscope more to your advantage, and bring that variable number much higher if you know your chart. If you h ave an interest in using horoscopes to your best advantage learn your rising (ascendant sign) and your m oon sign from an astrologer, book, computer program, or the Internet. T hen read those signs every month. T his will give you a more personalized h oroscope. Example: ifyour sign is Taurus, your moon sign is Pisces, and your risin g sign is Leo; then you read Taurus to learn about your self- expression (sun), Pisces for your emotional life (moon), and Leo (rising) for your social expression. T his will help to make horoscopes make more sense and bring m eaning. Readings with Alanna: Tarot: Tuesdays from 9pm to Midnight at ~itwell's Coffee House, 404 Ludlow Ave. Fridays from 8:30 PM to M idnight at Mullane's on Race Street. Astrology, Tarot, and Reiki: consultations and training are available by appointment through E-mail at psi_chic@hotmail.com. ­ �ST REE TV I BES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 14 Low-Income Groups Seek to Redefine the Economic Security Agenda Courtesy of the Welfare Law Center The December 1999 issue of Welfare News reported the efforts ofseveral emerging released in Washington, D.C., community organizers in over 30 states and 50 cities released the report locally. coalition of low-income grassroots groups to forge a vision for an economic security agenda Poor Supports criticizes the states for that draws upon the experiences and views of denying Medicaid and Food Stamps to low­ low-income people. These efforts focus both on income families seeking welfare and leaving long-term organ11ing and more immediate welfare for work. It charts the decline in the opportunitie.' in the 'tates un<l at the national level variou<> states, and it urges the states to cake in the context ofTemporary A'sistance to Needy tep to correct the-..e abuses and the federal government to as urc that -..tare compl) with the Families ( fANF) reauthorization. ln the pa-..t l\\O month the folio'' mg tv.ocoalttion.. . h<\\e law. repo11ed -..ig11ificant de\elopments in their 01 ganizing ,md .t<h ocacy effrnK GRO\VL (Grass Roots Organizing for Call for states to spend TANF surplus to reduce poverty --- Welfare Liberation): Grassroots groups of low-income people come together to shape a welfare reform agenda. Thirty activists from 25 gral)sroots organizations across the country came together in A number of the leading grassroots and February for two days of ''politica1 exchange, • community organizing networks have come skills development, and vision building that together to promote a national agenda for economic security. This agenda seeks to address focused on creating a common progressive welfare reform agenda that advances race, the problems of persistent poverty and income gender, and economicjustice," according to the inequality and takes advantage ofthe Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO) of opportunities presented by a thriving economy Oakland, California, which convened the group. ·and budget slirpluses. The coalition seeks to About half of the participants were current or build on recent successful state and local advocacy and to use this work as the basis for a former public benefit recipients. Many ofthe groups had attended the November 1999 national campaign. Its plan includes the Welfare Strategy Gathering in Oakland. Those following: attending agreed that the voices oflow-income An income support system which meets women and women ofcolor need to be heard in everyone's basic needs for housing, the welfare debate and that they would work on education, healthcare, transportation, food, and clothil}g _ _ a multi-level campaign with several coordinated Job opportunities for all that are safe, secure, activities that would support a national campaign. These activities include documenting racial and pay a living wage and provide adequate gender bias in the welfare system, urging federal benefits hearings on discrimination in welfare programs, Racial and gender equity as central goals of all policies, programs, and practices adopted and developing a communications strategy to get the coalition's agenda into the public debate. to eliminate poverty Policies that allow all families to balance work and family life Targeted investment in low-income communities Recent Welfare News from Around the Nation The New York Bar Association repo1ts th.1t less than t\\ o of e\ery ten New Yor1' Cit) \\eltare dcc1-;1ons are upheld when the~ are challenged in a hearing. A complaint has hcen filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Sen ices Office ofCi' ii Righb that Lo~Angeles County"<;; welfare agency fails to m,tke sufficient "erv1ces. training, and infonnation a\'ailable to legal immigrants and refugees who are not proficient in English. This is in violation ofTitle VI ofthe federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Illinois has agreed to change its child support cooperation rules. In the past, a parent who could not provide precise information on the whereabouts ofan absent parent would lose cast assistance for the fam ily and Medicaid for the custodial parent. The new rule allows parents to sign a statement under oath to verify that she or he does not have information about the absent parent. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law reports that large numbers oflow-income people are suffering as the result of severe restrictions on the work offederally­ funded legal services attorneys. The restrictions include a ban on bringing class actions or challenges to the legality orconstitutionality of changes in welfare policies. Information courtesy of'the Welfare Law Center Life after welfare reform In late February the National Campaign _ , issued two reports calling on states to make investments to reduce poverty and to assure that families receive the Medicaid and Food Stamps to which they are entitled. The reports were issued to coincide with the annual meeting ofthe National Governors' Association in Washington, D.C. Poverty Amidst Plenty reports that 45 states and the District ofColumbia have $7 billioninTANFfunds which remain unspent while poverty remains high. According to the report, a few states have diverted money from the TANF block grant to tax breaks and other state programs. The National Campaign has called on the states to seize the opportunity to spend these funds for innovative programs to reduce poverty. At the same time the report was "Since they cut offourfood stamps we've been eating out a lot." �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 15 Wanted:Volunteers to Help plantPeaceRoses in OTR. The objective is to plant at leastl OOOoverthe next couple ofyears. Atthismomentwehaveappropriations forl 20, some already crying to be planted Contact Berta Lambert at P.o. Box 101 08, Clntl 4521 O Ifyou wantto help. ' May you live all the days ~ of your life. - Jonathan Swift Former GCCH Director goes to Capital Hill Our Staff at the GCCH gives a standing ovation to our former Director Donald Whitehead, who has moved on to bigger and better things. Yes, Donald, you are the man! We congratulate you for your promotion as Chairman of the Board of the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, D.C. We are extremely proud to have worked with you. I'd like to quote you, Donald - (referring to t~e fact that he is the first formerly homeless Chairperson) "By electing me, it shows that the Organization is sincere about fulfiHing its mission." You go, Donald! ... .. .Pat Mitchell The Homeless Coalition visits McCauley High Our host for our visit to McCauley Members of the GCCH staff spoke on some homeless issues to an audience of about 300 people, 240 being students. We were received well, and our messages seemed to be enlightening. Speakers included Don Whiehead, Susan Knight, Pat Mitchell and Ron Carter. For me this was a new experience, but a very rewarding one, educating about homelessness. Because anyone can be homeless; It could happen J'.O you. Hi~ School was Steve Elliot. .....•Pat Mitchell A protester in Brazil BRAZIL CELEBRATES SOOTH BIRTHDAY AMID PROTESTS By Phil Stewart PORTO SEGURO, Brazil (Reuters)- Brazil marked on Saturday the 500th anniversary of its discovery by Portuguese explorers, with official celebrations of its rich cultural diversity tempered by angry protests against centuries of ill treatment of Indians, blacks and peasants. More than 60,000 people gathered in Porto Seguro, a palm-lined beach town about 600 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, where Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral first dropped anchor on April 22, 1500, nearly eight years after Christopher Columbus made his first landing in the Americas. Police shot tear gas and stun grenades to break up thousands of protesters who threatened to push past a blockade, arresting 141 people in a swift morning crackdown that quickly snuffed out the threat of a mass march on the town center. By midday, the limelight turned to the party and its hosts - the presidents of Brazil and Portugal - who swooped on in Porto Seguro's restored colonial center to be greeted by colonial music, dances by a local indigenous tribe and an air show by Air Force stunt pilots. A regatta of more than 40 vessels also awaited the heads of state, just off the coast, after replicating the long voyage across the Atlantic to commemorate the birth of Latin America's largest and most ethnically diverse nation. "Looking across at this great mass of ships, I have to think of how lucky we were that Portuguese had the courage to cross the Atlantic," said Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. "We are not Portuguese; we are much more. There are the indigenous tribes that are still many ... and the African-Brazilians. But we will have always have deep ties between our two nations," Cardoso said, casting an affectionate gaze at his Portuguese counterpart, .President Jorge Sampaia. Cardoso also apologized for any excesses taken by the police and even added that Brazil's landless peasant movement (MST), the most violence­ prone group in a nation known for its peaceful protests, were "an uncomfortable, but necessary reminder of the concentration of private land" in Brazil. MST leaders had hoped Saturday would give them a chance to draw attention to vast inequalities in Brazil, where more than ­ half of Brazil's 165 million people live in poverty while 2 percent of the population owns about half the arable land. Indigenous tribes planned a peaceful mid­ day march to protest their continued poverty and to voice their opposition to celebrations they say ignore the racial killings, forced labor and disease that slashed their population from an estimated 6 million before the·Portuguese arrived to just 350,000 today. "This is a country where there is still murder of indigenous people, where there is still no justice. I don't understand why I should celebrate," said Marilene Jesus dos Santos, from the Pataxo Ha, Ha, Hae tribe. Her brother, Galdino, was murdered three years ago this weekend by middle­ class teenagers who doused him with alcohol and set him ablaze while he slept at a bus-stop in the nation's capital, Brasilia. Riot troops stormed the Pataxo reservation early Saturday, trying to silence the budding protest before it could absorb 10,000 members of the MST, labor groups and the black rights movement. Of 140 arrested, more than 20 were Indians and 30 were Catholic missionaries, according to indigenous rights groups. forwarded by the Homeless Peoples Network Hpn maillist ­ Hpn@projects.is. asu. edu �ST REE TV I BES Poetry and Art The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine HOW DO YOU BECOME HOMELESS? by Marsha Ramsey There is no set way that you become homeless. Homelessness can strike anyone at anytime. Your life can be going great and then you find yourself homeless. In my situation I had two heart Lord, why am I walking your streets at night? attacks in April of '99 and couldn't go back Did you know that homeless days to work, so I was abandoned by my now ex­ Started with a homeless night boyfriend and was asked to leave by my Rain pouring down on my head, but where landlady. I couldn't pay rent. So, what was can I go? to become of me? I know one place where I cannot go Like so many others I thought that becoming homeless would never happen to And that's home for sure. me! Guess what? I was wrong. When you Cause for some reason they wanted me gone. are abandoned by the ones whom you trusted and have been thrown aside like an Will tomorrow be a better turn? old shoe, it makes you sit up and take­ Cause I can't go home. notice. How do you feel about being This homeless life can't be true. homeless? For me, I felt devastated. Here Whatever happened to my life? I was always used to taking care of myself How did it ever come to this? E_nd heJQing oth.ers..with ~ver I C.illJld; -----~ Wasn't poor nor eitlier rich. and now I found myself homeless. I be down on my knees just asking the Lord In our society, people have a to tendency to look down their noses at the homeless. They feel that we are a burden Please give me a place to sleep. to them. What's even worse is being People looking at me like I'm dirty· homeless and sick on top of it. Some of us Because I'm all on the street. have panic disorder, which complicates Living in boxes and buildings issues. Again , some would say that's just a Make what I can to feed the children. scapegoat; well I'm here to tell you that's not so. It's very real and very scary. Wife die 2 years ago. Others are considered bipolar and Hard to explain to my baby boy that mama suicidal. How can anyone judge when they won't be back haven't walked in our shoes? I want to No more, know what gives people the right to think And we can't find a place to call home that we have a contagious disease. We Can't find a job also are thought to be lazy and losers. I for one would gladly go to work if I And we forced to be gone. coulcLB.ut I.have to accept the fact that that's not going to happen. So I sit waiting Lord, all I ask ofyou on my disability benefits to come through. Is to open the hearts ofall your children. I don't like having to depend on Make them help one another others; I'm used to independence big time. Stop looking down at my kind, I feel if your name is not Jesus then don't And give just a little change judge me, for he is the only one who has the Before it's somebody in their lives right to judge. Living this homeless life So if you still ask the question, "What is it like to be homeless?" Then trade By Mecello Barrar places in your mind with those who are, and imagine being devastated, feeling like you are at the end of your rope , with nowhere to turn except the much over-crowded shelters. Then you will get some idea of what it's like to be homeless and anxiety­ stricken. Most of us have been abandoned and rejected by our families and we feel unwanted to the point that if it weren't for the shelters, we would cease to exist. I've been lucky because Tender Mercies is my home - at least for the time being. I'm able to work on my goals and medical issues there. I can go to bed at night, knowing tomorrow is another day. I Can't Go Home - Page 16 take one day at a time. I also feel that most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled by Great Ambitions. That's why if you're homeless, it is important to take it day by day and treat each day as a new challenge. I have talked to many people who say, "Well, I've got some college, so I'll never become homeless." NOT TRUE! I have a high school diploma and a college diploma in Production Art, and here I am homeless; so it doesn't matter what kind of education you have. You can still become one of the homeless statistics. People also tend to think that drugs and alcohol play a big part in becoming homeless - that's not always true; they can play a part but mostly homelessness happens because people run into very hard times. A lot of people are a paycheck away from being homeless, but they sometimes do not realize this fact. So if you meet people who say they're homeless, reach out a hand and shake their hands; because a lot of the time, that will make them feel good, just to know that some folks see them as human beings just down on their luck, and not people just looking for a hand out. A homeless person will eat from the dumpsterjust to stay alive. They sleep under bridges, under park benches, and battle the cold and rain . These people do not live in shelters because there is simpjy no room. They panhandle just to survive on the streets. Also, homeless people can be seen carrying everything they own on their backs, in bedrolls or grocery carts. They take chances every time they go to sleep whether or not to wake up to face a new day. Some of the homeless are homeless because they have been de-institutionalized and put out on the street with no follow-up program or medication and nowhere to go. These circumstances of the mentally ill have left a legacy of many positive changes that are probably permanent, but they have also left a legacy of problems that are unlikely to be solved. It is time therefore for a fresh look at the present and future of the homeless and mentally ill long-term care policy. We have gotten into much of the current mess by acting on best intentions without foreseeing the worst of unintended effects. One more thing in closing: we have a lot of talented people in our homeless circle; you'd be surprised what they can do. Check out the windows at 29 W. 12th Street, and you will see some of our talent. Marsha Ramsey Part of the Inner Circle �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine LORD, WHY? Lord, why did you put me here to live to die to burn to learn? Lord why did you put me here to die, in a world full with pain? What is there to gain, in this wicked game? What is there to gain when your back is against the wall , and you constantly fall, when every time you try to get by you fall on your face? What's left to save to the human race? What is to gain when hope is gone and you are standing all alone? To burn in hell or to die in a jail cell. When pain and sorrow, and it seems like no tomorrow, thinking back to the goodness we once had. It seems to me that the world is so sad; when everybody professes to keep it so real, when it comes down face to face they hold their head down in disgrace in this The PULSE of the NEIGHBORHOOD wicked place. When everybody's puffing on so much ch ronic smoke, it seems that life is one big joke. When kids play with guns thinking that this is a game offun, and money rules the world and its war and tears and its man that they fear. Don't they know the Savior is near? And the heavens open up and I heard a voice say, "My son what I said will be, so always keep your faith in me." Than I said to the lord, "Will I down in the sea or weaken like a willow tree?" Then in reply, "The lord said to me, "Stay strong even if you stand alone" So my brothers and sisters we must have hearts like steel to keep it real , looking up to God's beautiful grace in surrounding in this wicked place. .....Anthony Watkins Who Am I? Who am I? I am William J. Mayo I am a man from a distant land, A man who fears no chains or bonds, A man who knows the ugliness of oppression, injusti~e, and racism, A man who knows few highs and many lows, I am a conscious educated black man in these "United snakes of America'', A man with a burden to bear I am a man who must reach down and pull up both brother and sister. A man who must educate the uneducated, feed the hungry, defend the defenseless, love the unloved, and respect the unrespected. I am a man who must clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and protect the abused. These are the duties of a Morehouse Man. I am a man who must love, honor and respect the black woman; for without her I have nothing. I have recognized the beauty within her, A beauty that has been passed down for generations. I have become mesmerized by her darkness, and must join with her in a strong sustaining will. I must join in a strong sustaining will for my dear mother: Elaine Patterson; my best friend, Kimberly A. Todd; my ~ i:•ri ••" • , . ,.. ·i •·. . - I Page 17 CRIME CAMERAS ARE -YOUI Do you feel belier, now? Dear Streetvibes, I am responding to the report by Kent Ryan, Cincinnati Safety Director, that Over-the­ Rhine residents had an adequate chance to comment on the camera at Race and Elder Streets. We at the Over-me-Rhine Community Council never got the notice ofPublic Discussion about the Over-the-Rhine camera, period. So how can the majority of O.T.R. residents respond, if they knew nothing of the Law and Public Safety Committee meeting that approved the camera? ...Sonny Williams, OTR Resident college friend, Ennis Cosby, and those before them. Document #200000315 To: Law and Public Safety Committee From : Kent A. Ryan, Director of Safety Copies to : Police, Safety Subject: Findlay Marker C~era J know that l am not the foot shuffling, fast talking, product selling, pocket The City Council at its session on February 16, 2000 picking, prostitute pimping, sex referred the following item for review and report. hunting, bank robbing, pill popping, cocaine snorting or the crack smoking COMMUNICATION, dated 1131100, stud that this cruel society has projected submitted by Council member Reece, from Sonny Williams, PAN-Ohio, objecting to the approval of me be. surveillance camera.s being placed in Over-the-Rhine without a public hearing being heki at City Hatt I know that I am the Lawyer, the On May 28, 1998, a report wa.s prepared and Doctor, the Dentist, the Muslim, the submitted to City Council regarding the installation of Minister, the Teacher, the Mentor, the a surveillance camera at Findlay Market. In the College President, the News Reporter, report, the Safety Director stated that the area around Findlay Market had wng bem a source ofdrug­ the Mayor, the Senator, the Governor, the Man who must provide for my wife, related complaints. In light ofthe restoration ofthe Market and the drug and crime complaints filed with children and family. the Cincinnati Police Division, it wa.s recommended by the Police Division and the City Administration Surely, I have turned myself to you, oh God, striving to be upright to you who originated the heavens and the earth, and I'm not of the polytheist. Surely my prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for the lord of the worlds. that a surveitlance camera be instaUed. Supporters ofthe Camera included Hart Realty. Metro Management, the Findlay Market Association, the Over-the-Rhine Safety Committee and various community members. The report wa.s placed on the law and pubic Safety Committee agenda for discussion and wa.s subsequently approved by Council I know that I am a servant of God, an educated black man, a Morehouse College man, an innocent man who has spent 8 years of my life in prison trying to help two young men understand their self-worth. A man who fully understands the word "Friend" and "Conditional Friend". In September of 15!98, another report was prepared updating Council on the progress ofthe cameras. This report was also placed on the Law and Public Safety Committee agenda for discussion and approved by Council. In both ca.ses, the public was welcome to comment on the issue directly to the Safety Department or the City Council APPROVED .... William ]. Mayo john F Shirey City Manager ..... �ST RE ETVI BES Homeless Grapevine The Tri-State's ADVERTISE IN STREETVIBES!!! Socially Conscious Readers Support Socially Conscious Businesses H you haye a business, Streetvibes is a great place to advertise. We reach over 6,000 socially conscious residents of Greater Cincinnati every month who want to support businesses who are equally socially conscious. We regularly sell papers at locations such as Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, St. Xavier High School, Ursuline Academy, Ludlow Avenue, various downtown locations, Bellarmine Chapel, and many other local churches. Our business card-size ads are just fifteen dollars and a double business-card size ad is just thirty dollars. We'll even help you design your ad! H you own a business or an employment agency and need employees, put your help wanted ads in Streetvibes, for just $1.00 per line, with ten words per line. Your advertising-dollars will help us-make-eertain-ou~ vendors have ­ the latest Streetvibes to sell, all month long. The sale of advertising will also give us the flexibility we need to help vendors become seriously involved in the writing and editing of Streetvibes. Advertising in Streetvibes in one of the most tangible ways that you can support the homeless in Cincinnati. It gives you a chance to be part of a very exciting time for Streetvibes and the Homeless Coalition as we expand and make our services even better! Give John or Tom a call at 421-7803 for more information, or feel free to send an ad with your check to Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210. Page 18 CORRECTION IntheApril issueofStreetvibes, we publishedthelyricsto a song called ''Thundering In"andfailedtogivecredit totheoriginalwriterofthelyrics. The tyricswereoriginallywritten byDougie Mcleanand later adapted by Paulette Meierwithhispennission. Our apologies toboth ofthem! WAIF FM ALERT - wann~show? If you are a record collector (vinyl/tape/CD's) or have an idea for a public affairs/news show and are free weekdays, propose a SUMMER SHOW on all-volunteer WAIF 88.3 FM. Think about getting underwriting ($$) from a friendly merchant, and 1~ consider how you will publicize your show. Become a radio STAR! Here's help: alertAMP@aol.com 513/ 751-1740 5131333-WAIF ~ Cl) ·-> ~ ..J ~ en o Cl) :c .c 0 > ·.., "'C ·­ Cl) cu ~o:: .., (/) ANOTHER CLASS PRODUCTION Disc-Jockey Service Check us out, We~re on TV! The Streetvibes TV Show is produced at the facilities of Media Bridges (Cincinnati Community Video), 2114 Reading Road, Cincinnati Ohio. If you would like to DON'T MISS THE NEXT STREETVIBES CLIFFORD JONES be a part of our live studio audience (513) 761-3464 e-mail: jonesacp@tbol.net please call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 421-7803 for more information. I• ; I' tL May Schedule i f• 1 I (513) 230-6353 VENDORS MEETING : 11 :00 A.M. Friday, June 2nd, the day the next issue of Streetvibes comes off th6 presses. 1 Broadcast Dates for May's Show on Channel 24: (Please check your schedule) Thursday, May 4, at 10 AM Saturday, May 6, at 5 PM Tuesday, May 9th, at 1O PM Saturday, May 20th, at 5 PM Tuesday, May 23, at 1O AM Thursday, June 1, at 1O AM Broadcast schedules are subject to change - consult your local TV directory. Strectvibes TV covers news on poverty, homelessness and related issues. ff JOU would like to be a part of the audience, or if JOU have ideas for future shows, call us at 411·7803 �- · : ,STREETVIBES . ~ The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine . Page 19 STREETVIBES Classified HOUSING: Landlord Problems in your Subsidized Housing? Contact Warren J. Perkins, Tenant Support Organizer, 421-7803, in the Homeless Coalition Office, 1506 E lm St. Streetvibes has a minimal overhead costs so that the vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. If anyone selllng Streetvlbes claims to be collecting for a private charity, please call our office at 421-7803. Thanks for your support. ----..,----r-------t The Ftee Mar f<et Fish Pond Streetvibes accepts Classi­ fied Ads for item·s such as Help Wanted, Items for Sale, Apartments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $1 per line, approximately ten words per line. People below the poverty level will be given five free lines for six months to advertise their skills or products to our readers. Call 421-7803 for more information Mail the ad copy, or deliver, to: GCCH,1506 Elm Street,Cincinnati, OH 45210 · or fax it to 421-7813, or e-mail to streetvibes@juno.com SALUTE! Wish List Streetvibes newspaper is published monthly on a shoe-st ring budget from the offices of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. We .depend heavily on the goodwill of many volunteers and donors. If you can help out with some of the items on our wish list, please give us a call. .. O Supplies for vendor's lounge (coffee, cups, paper towels, cream and s ugar, etc.) 0 Organic home baker to supply vendors with Whole grain Guer illa cookies O Photography Help of all sorts for Streetvibes- photographers, film, devel­ oping , (a digital camera?) O !Advertiser~ and_Su~scrjbers 0 Computers/components (monitors , hard drives, etc;) for story-writing, edit ing, research, and homeless com­ puter lab If you can help!, contact us at: Streetvibes, clo Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 ph: (513)421-7803, fax(513) 421 -7813 e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com Father James P. Kelly, of Old St. Mary's Catholic Church, has gone out of his way to help people, especially the homeless! No matter what day or time of night, he .is always tl;lere ton~lp!, Lmyself will always commend him and give·him thanks for what he has done for people. Thank you , Father and God Bless! ....D. Watkins THANK YOU, TO EVERYONE WH O A SS I STED WITH AND PA RTICI­ PA TED IN CENSUS 2000 �5 TREE TV I BE 5 Don't Miss the Annual "Mac D ay" Celebration! June 10, from Noon til 6, in Laurel Park on Ezzard Charles Drive, across from St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Political Groups, Children's activities, Free Food, Entertainment, Qpe~j Mac Day, held in honor of the late Over-the-Rhine activist, Rev. Maurice McCrackin, has been a child-friendly gathering of peace-making, alternative .. ·"wlivin~, 'en~rorµn~ntal, grassitiO-B~ ifttirnlik~ 'h.tstneless advocacy, all good-thing I good­ vihe people festival, with lots of good food and music. For more information, or to help in the organiZtZtion, contact bcrum@fuse.net The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 20 CINCINNATI AIDS ACTIVIST LOBBIES IN WASHINGTON ....By John Halpin Cincinnati resident Norman Hampton knows the importance offederal funding for AIDS programs. That's why he was one of was one of eighteen Ohio representatives who joined advocates from around the nation to lobby in Washington last month for continued federal support of HIV/AIDS programs. This is the third year Hampton has participated in AIDSWatch a project ofthe National Association of Peopl~ with AIDS. Hampton says this year's lobbying effort is doubly important because the Ryan White C~RE Act is up for reauthorization in Congress this fall. The CARE Act is the landmark 1990 legislation that serves as the federal government's centerpiece of efforts to improve the quality and availability of care for people with HIV/AIDS and their families. Not only did AIDSWatch 2000 lobb Congress for the reauthorization of CARE but also to meet their recommendations for funding of other AIDS programs and research. Norman Hampton had the opportunity to me~t with several Congresspersons, including regional representatives Steve Chabot, Tony Hall, and staff from Representatives Boehner· and ~obson 's offices. AIDS Action, a group XX8(~1n~ ~~gur~ ~ fair nati?nal policy on AIDS, graded memt>e1S of the 105ttl Congress 't or tfieif support of AIDS legislation and funding. Local House Representative Tony Hall scored the highest, voting AIDS-supportive 60% of the time. He was followed by Rep. Hobson at 40%, Rep. Portman at 30%, Rep. Boehner at 20%, and Rep. Steve Chabot at 9%. In the Senate, Mike DeWine scored a 40%, and former Senator !g Hampton's main efforts were directed to g~ini~g support for AIDS funding that helps low-income people. One-third to one-half of persons with AIDS are homeless or in imminent Norman Hampton in Washington danger of becoming homeless, he said. Hampton stressed the importance of a home for anyone, but particularly for someone with HIV/AIDS. For a person with HIV/AIDS to stay healthy, they need a home and the stability that it brings. The Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, provi.des the funds needed to make housing possible for low-income individuals with HIV/ AIDS. - · Two other programs important to Hampton are the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the AIE>S 9rug_Assistance Program (ADAP). SAM HSA-.. pr0-\Qdes program support for substance abuse treatment and prevention, ameR9-Q!!ier things. Hampton, a former substanC"e abuser, stressed the importance of assistance to this population. ADAP, which is funded under the Ryan White ct, provides a ·wtc:te-vane o health care and supportive services, including life-prolonging medications, to low-income people. Hampton said that he feels he and his fellow delegates had a good, productive visit to Washington. He said that one of the most important ingredients for success is that members of Congress get to meet the people and hear the voices of those who are asking for support. "They needed to see it, and they got to see it!" he said. Need Help or Want to Help? If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treat­ ment, Housing or Services. If you have any questions, feel free to call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. SHELTERS: Women and Children YWCA Battered Womens Shelter 872-9259 (Toll Free) 1-888-872-9259 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 Airy Center Volunteers of America I : : SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (Singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) Interfaith Hospitality Network 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761-1480 821-5100 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 471 -1100 LighthouseYouth Center (Teens) St. John's Temporary Housing 961-4080 651-6446 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTA Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies Tom Geiger House 721-4580 632-7149 241-0504 369-0004 381 -1171 639-7056 961-4555 TREATMENT: Women O.DAA.T First Step Home TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both NA Hopeline AA Hotline C.CAT. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-501 1 241-7343 961-4663 AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati 421-2437 Appalachian Identity Center 621-5991 Beech Acres 231-6630 Center for Independent Living Options 241-2600 591-2246 Churches Active in Northside Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 Community Action Agency 5')9-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Community Center 241-2563 Freestore/Foodbank 241-1064 Goodwill lndustries 771-4800 621-7149 Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Resource Center 357-4602 352-2902 Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Mission 221-3619 241-9400 Legal Aid Society Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 Oral Health Council 621-0248 621-6364 Our Daily Bread Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 721-7660 Travelers Aid 721-7900 United Way 572-6226 VA Homeless Program 491-3335 Women's Crisis Center Women Helping Women 872-9259 � 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 2000 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 2000 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: The World Bank? The IMF? What’s All the Fuss About? Pg 2: Donald Whitehead Elected Chairperson of National coalition for the Homeless The Traveler Pg 3: World Bank Continued Pg 4: Environmental Record of the Presidential Candidates Revealed Pg 5: National News Pg 6: Words from the Evangelist Pg 7: Avondale Public Held at Hirsch Recreation Center Pg 8: Aids in Africa Pg 9: Prison News Pg 10: William Mayo Still Languishes Georgia Prison Pg 11: Editorials & Letters Pg 12: Editorials & Letters Continued Street Scopes Pg 13: Street Scopes Continued Pg 14: Welfare News Pg 15: Brazil Celebrates 500Th Birthday Amid Protests Pg 16: Poetry & Art Pg 17: Poetry & Art Continued Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 2000 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Donald Whitehead Tom Billman John Halpin Jess Ballew Ron Carter Warren Perkins Pat Mitchell Mary A. Gaffney Tina Maser Anthony Watkins William J. Mayo Alanna Maloney Charles Mattingly Sonny Williams Marsha Ramsey Mecello Barrar Gordon Maham Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Africa Aids Alanna Maloney Anthony Watkins Arts & Poetry Charles Mattingly Donald Whitehead Editorials & Letters Evangelist Funding Gordon Maham Housing Assistance International news Jess Ballew John Halpin Marsha Ramsey Mary A. Gaffney Mecello Barrar Model Olympics Pat Mitchell Presidential Candidates prisoners news Ron Carter Sonny Williams Tales from Across the River The Traveler Tina Maser Tom Billman Warren Perkins welfare news William J. Mayo World Bank https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/4707efe5945c4ecf59b6a4e6be6a090d.pdf d9936e9140a13d69d48dcdf114dbb5db PDF Text Text .... • • ;:-- .. .. -. Righteous i Rebe\\\on I· ot" R\ot1 . . 6REA.T £R CINCIN.N ATI COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS �··Street View ~~~~1¥.~20!11 Cinci~aP.:Rllz££~!t~;h ?ef. ~!2J.g!ft~~lfn~~~' The streets, a world of its own incorporated into the bigger scheme of things. A world that is shaded from those who have never had the opportuni ty, or p erhaps th e misfortune to be subjected to that sort of life. In a sense it is something that everyone should· have some knowledge of, or at least so me experience with. However, from a strict sense of practicality it is only Riccardo M. Taylor for some ie., those who have that strike against them which helps to keep them from ever realizing their potential. It is from this standpoint that the view is perceived. Looking from the perceptions of the street person this can signify one's total existence. A reality which seems changeless or without the possibility of relief. The so urce of thi s uncertainty is based on a two- prong principle. 1. Education, both, formal and practical. 2. External support. Often it is the factor of moderate or no educational background, which hampers the street person from obtaining the tools that can make tl:!e t~ansition form the street life to productivity easier. In an age of technical know how many of the street peop le have little or no training. This, alone can be the basis of employment opportunity. Without the educational know how many jobs are not available to the person of the street. Causing them to seek other means of surv ival ie., begging, theft, or other unorthodox methods. In the practical sense, street people often have not had the opportunity or the available information to gain the experience necessary for this transition. Often we are thrust into the world of the street without preparation. Either we have not been exposed to the street life, or our situation came without warning. Which is to say, that our Ii ves took some type of change which caused us· to move from View , continued page 19 Miami University professor The April 7th early morning shooting death of black teenager Timothy Thomas by white police officer, Stephen Roach, has triggered outrage in Cincinnati. Once again it is a time of urban rebellion . And once again Ci ncinnatians are shocked: How could this happen to the Queen City? On the April 13th edition of ABC's "Nightline," Mayor Charlie Luken lamented the "violence" as "unthinkable." He and many others seem unable to grasp the public expressions of outrage ­ in the confrontations at qty Hall, in formal protests, and in the streets. At a press conference earlier that day he pleaded for the "violence" to cease. "Knock it off," he said. '~Knock it off now. It's just that simple." No question, the violence should stop. But, as a white professor active in Over-the-Rhine for twenty years, I consider the matter is far fr om s impl e . At times like these it is vital to thi nk clearly about how soc ial problems, including violence, are defined. In this case, newspapers and telev is io n coverage have identified the core problem as "police/communi ty relations," the "cop culture," and "race relations." As is now well known, fifteen African Americans have been killed by police o(ficers since 1995, four since last November. They have been the only people killed in this leader and organizer of the Black United Front, remarked on the same "Nightline," some of these shootings may be "justified," but too many happened under suspicious causes, such as the asphyxiation of Roger Ownensby Jr. after he was already handcuffed . This is absolu tely tragic, and as the Rev. Mr. Ly nch urged, changes must occur quickly within the cop culture. But the problem of race relations has other dimensions that need attention too, dimensions that may escape notice if the problem is defined mainly as " police/ community relations." In fact, there is somethi ng superficial about bemoaning "Cincinnati's Racial " Cincinnati in Cris is." To be sure, race relations in Cincinnati are not good. The tone of much media coverage about race tensions and segregation in Cincinnati , as well as the Mayor 's comments at Timoth y Thomas' fu nera l, are abo ut the need fo r healing and reconciliation - as if the problem is merely a lack of communication that can be cleared up by a good counseling session. While police/community relations are very much a part of race relations, to equate the latter to the former is a reduction. Reducing our view about the myriad and seemingly intractable problems of Rebellion, see page 18 In the aftermath of the civil unrest in Over the Rhine, UC students provided one response. The students marched from UC to City Hall, catTying a banner that read "Students and Yo'uth Organize for Justice-Equality." Photo by Berta Lambert Mt. Airy Shelter Fights for Survival By Abcia Beck At a recen t meeti ng of the Human Services Advisory Board, Don Thomas, Di recto r of the Hamilton County Department of Human Services, an nounced that due to recent budget constraints, the closure of Mt. Airy Shelter Center may be imminent. Tucked away in the Mt. Airy Forest, the Mt. Airy Shelter Center has been quietly providing a sanctu ary of rehabilitation for Cincinnati's homeless for the last 64 years. Started in J 937 as a Civilian Conservation Corp camp, a program started to employ wage earners during the Great Depression, it has been adm ini stered by Hamilton County for the majority of its existence. In the mid l 940's, it began to function as a place for men with no home, to provide temporary shelter. Over the years, Mt. Airy Shelter has seen changes in services providers, i~cluding detox, mental and the faces it serves, but it h as health, dental assistance, job training constantly remained as a peaceful and placement, veterans services, setting away from the downtow n housing, and services for those with Ci ncin nati area, helpi ng men to ph ys ical, sensory, and cognitive rebuild their lives. disabilities. The entire staff of Mt. This program is virtually the Airy works together to provide only service the Hamilton Cou nty support and encouragement to men Department of Human Services in achieving their goals to selfprovides for single men. The Mt. Airy, see page 18 termination of these services would mean the end of the primary source of support that Hamilton County provides to single men try ing to escape homelessness. Among the many on-site services it provides to the over 700 men a year it temporarily shelters are a cJient­ centered servi ce plan and assessment, laundry facility, clothing, transportation, meals , medical services, and chemical dependency programs. It has also formed valuable collaborations with a wide variety of community service GRIATERCI Cl NAT COALITIO FOR THI HOMELESS �J', STRE ET V IB E S MAY 2001 STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine • -·~ VENDOR NEWS Page 2 Vendor Pr2k~J~:m.§£f!ger Love By Dan Marschner Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, -is a newspa­ per written by, for, and about homelessness,. social justice, and poverty-related issues. It is published once a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents (to cover printing costs) and then sell the paper for a dollar donation. The vendor keeps the profits. Becoming a Streetvibes Vendor is a great way for home­ less and other low-income people to get back on (or stay on) their feet. Streetvibes Vendors are given an orientation and sign a code of conduct before being given a Streetvibes Vendor 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. \ G CCHStaff Alicia Beck Executive Director Susan Knight ~d ministrative Coordinator Dan Marschner Editor H. L. Bowen Assistant Editor Pat M itchell Outreach Volunteer Mary Gaffney Receptionist Mary Taylor Receptionist Writers Alicia Beck Ric~ardo Taylor Dan Marschner Mr. Lee Brian Garry Linda L. Berger Maleshia R. Neugebauer Aaron Pitchford Iah Isreal Rodney Sutton. Kenneth D . Smith David Mitchell Tyrone Smith Susan Hueskin Kanta Kenyatta Ronald Leroy English Abdul Karriem Muhammad Streetvibes accepts. letters, poems, stories, essays, original graphics, photos.... We will print every­ thing we have room for, giving preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $ 15 per, year. c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH ) 1506 E lm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421 -7813; ' e-mail: street vibes@juno.com or homecoaJ @primax.net web page: http ://cinci.com/gcch changes in the lives of the homeless. Booger has been involved with Then, the program came into some Streetvib~s since he cam e to Booger Love is a well-known unfortunate circumstances: "one of Cinc innati. H is opinio n of th e man on the streets of Cincinnati. He the partners fell of the wagon, and it publication: " It's a good thing. It's is one of the mos t fri e ndl y killed Dreamweavers ." Booger a goo~ paper t? have. It gives you Streetvibes vendors, and he has a states that the addiction of one of the some mformation about how it is on fraternity of Boogerettes the streets, how people and Booger Junio rs - · live on the streets. You a round town . He need to keep reading constantly moves fro m it." Booger also has worked wi t h th e the Greater Cinci nna ti fo r the GCCH onits Homeless C oalition Civi l Ri g hts Homeless office to City Organizing Project. Hall and throughout the c ity; B ooger 's got a In regard to his mission . Booger took unusua l m o ni ker, tim e o ut of h is bus y Booger was given his nickname from his schedule to share his story. Boeger h a s been mo t her seven years homeless for six years. He ago. He kept the name o r.i gi nally li ved i n because he wanted to Shelbyville , Tennessee. be unique: " It was a Booger explains why he name no one else had." began to l ive o n th e B r::: Bo.o ger asks people he streets : " I became ooger ove _strikes his cliaractenstlc·pose. meets to become part ho m eless because I photo b y D a n M arschne r of the Boogerette and wanted to. I wanted to li ve like the rest of thestreetpeople, tryingtoget a program started to help get more affordable housing and get better jobs through a nonprofi t organi zation so that they can get back into the mainstream of society." Booger a.l)d four frie nds sat underneath a bridge one night in 1994 and came up with the name for their program: Dreamweavers. Dreamweavers wanted to start two housing shelters through HUD: on e for men and one for women and children. An executive board for Dreamweavers was created, and it consisted of the five homeless men, a corporate lawyer, a Vanderbilt professor, a corporat~ advisor, and a Catholi c p ries t. Mem bers of Dreamweavers also traveled to youth groups and churches to discuss life on the streets. The program was founding.partners ofDreamwea~ers co st the progr'a m its fi nanc i a l stability:- Dreamweavers collapsed. Afte r Dreamweaver's demise, Booger remained on the streets in Tennessee until 7 months ago. He decided t·O· come to Ci ncinn ati because he had a friend here. He lived on the streets for a month before fin di ng hou sing through Tender Mercies. Currently he lives in an apartment complex. Booger dreams of starting a simi lar program here in Cincinnati. He searches for people who m ay want to he lp establ ish a prog ram to provide afford able housing and jobs that pay be tter th an mi nim um wage . Whether Dreamweavers' Cincinnati incarnation becomes reality will depend on Booger's ability to subsist o n his stead y diet of candy and cigarettes. Booger Jr. families; they repeat an oath. He has oo ideahow large the extended Booger clan may be, and he has no plans to reduce its size. Boeger clai ms that he has never encountered a stranger; he just meets friends he hasn't met yet. Booger's contact information: "You can reach me at ·u~ci~ Booger's Babysitting Service. I babysi t wo me n 18 to 80, blind, crippled or crazy. Or they could reach me at Uncle Booger's Bonding Company. The number is BR5-49. Call after 5:00." Booger can also be reached at hi s e m a il address : boogerlove57@ hotmail.com. He welcomes anyone's comments about how homeless people can help other ho me l ess peopl e . We here at Streetvibesaregratefulfor Booger's presence, and hopeful that his vision will become reality. Streetvibes Vendor Code Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 volun­ tary donation. I agree not to ask for dona­ tions 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 fo r 20 cents. 2. I agree that I will never distribute Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alco­ hol. 3. I agree that I will not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect. I wi ll 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 regis­ 6. 7. 8. 9. tered distributors. I agree not to deceive the pubiic 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 ~h e profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the individual vendor. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 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. I understand that failure to comply with any of the above statements will result in me no longer. being able to distribute Streetvibes. �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 I &'.:• Page 3 Through the Eyes of a Health Care for Homeless Veterans/ Social Work Intern By: Maleshia R. Neugebauer Itistbefirstdayofmyintemship and I feel anxious about starting my new job. I cannot quite put my finger on it but I .know that I am uncomfortable about something. Yes, I have experience working at the VA hospital. I worked in the outpatient clinic as a social work intern and as a c~erk in many administrative positions throughout the hospital. But there is something about this job that has my palms sweating, my feet tapping and my mouth dry. What could it be? I walked in the HCHV office with a smile on my face and the posture of a person with confidence to try to hide the uneasy feelings I was experiencing. Mrs. Iola Green, Health Care for Homeless Veterans Coord inator, greeted me with a healthy s mile and an uplifting "Hello!" The energy she gave off was amazing! Right away, she handed me a schedule that included the dates and times I would be spending with some community agencies that served homeless veterans. While she was telling me about these agencies and the services they provided, I was preoccupied House and Mt. Airy Shelter. Each with the thought of having to go out veteran gave his or her Life story into the community. The hospital about how he or she became was my comfort zone. 1 was homeless. A majority of their stories comfortable with the building and were filled with mishaps such as alcohol/drug the staff. I knew what abuse, mental to expect. I i l l n e s s , f i na nc ia1 thought to m Ys e l f , difficulties and/ maybe this or child abuse/ is why I am neglect. Each veteran shared so anxious a different story about m Y new job and but they all then the ended up with butterflies same the ending, which rn my w a s s to ma ch "homelessness." said, "No, · all Maleshia R. Neugebauer tells her story. that is not r thought to myself, maybe I am anxious because of it." Duringthenextfourweeks,Igot I am afraid of being personally acquainted with the ·staff members touched by these stories. But once at these community agencies and again, I felt there was a little bit more developed a better understanding of to the story. As ti me went on I began the differenttypes ofservices offered to homeless veterans. I participated developing rapport with some of the in some individual and group veterans. Ibegan to understand each counseling sess ions at some person's psychosocial history and wonderful community agencies such personality. They shared their as the Joseph House, the Prospect dreams, hopes and fears with the each other and the staff. There was one special veteran that set off a sparkinmyheart! Hehadaheartof gold and a co ntagious smile. I worked closely with him throughout my internship to assist him with hou sing and other psychosocial needs. Through this experience, I learned that it is not all about finding shelter for these individuals, but an ongoing social connection between a cJient and a social worker that can improve a person's overall quality of life. After spending time with these amazing veterans, I finally understood my uneasy feelings. It was the inner person in me fighting to make a connection with homeless veterans and striving to touch their h · earts in a special way. I have made some of these connections through my encounters as an intern but my mission to be an advocate and a voice for homeless veterans has just begun. So, as I pursue my professional career as a social worker, I will never forget my experiences as a health care for homeless veterans-intern and I hope veterans will never forget that they can count on us for sure! Celebrating Rev. Mccrackin "Mac" Day 2001 By Brian Garry Rev. Maurice Mccrackin (Mac) was perhaps Cincinnati's mo st prominent civil disobedient for nearly a half century. He followed his own conscience in causes rang­ ing from anti-war demonstrations, civil rights and homelessness to the death penalty, nuclear waste and · prisoners' rights. On Saturday, June 2nd from 12:00' pm-6:00 pm, we are hosting our fourth annual Rev. Mccrackin Day in the West End, at the Laurel park on the corner of Ezzard Charles Dr. and Linn Streets, across from St. Joseph Catholic Church. We will have speakers, children's games, music, free wholesome food, religious organizations, and political action organizations. There will be an open mic Sharing of Mac Memories at 3:30 pm. "Mac Day" is dedicated to the principJes he lived by. Our theme for this year will be "Preserving Low-Income Housing in the West End." On Sunday, June 3rd at4:00 pm, we will be holding an Inter-Faith Service for Youth and Non-Violence at St. Joseph. A fund-ra iser entitled, "An evening of Rev. McCrackin videos" will be held 7:00 pm Friday, May, ll lh, at St. Joseph Catholic Church I) The similarities between Rev. McCrackin and Mahatma Gandhi. 2) How Rev. Mccrackin sought P.eace and how I can seek Peace. 3) Maurice McCrackin's life for Peace and Civil Rights. 4 ) Who was Rev. Maurice _McCrack.in? The length of the essays are as follows: Sr. High: 500-r,500.words Jr. High: 300-750 words EJementary_: l00-250 words. Prizes are as follows: Sr. Hi gh - 1st place $200 g ift certificate for Lazarus, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25 Jr. High - l st place $200 gift certificate from Pete's Photo World, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25 Elementary_ 1st $200 gift certificate for Kings Island, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25 Research is available at: The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, using ProQuest (available only at the Library), DialogCarl (http://pkh.lib.oh.us/ resources/dialog.html); Ebscohost (http://plch.lib.oh.us/reso urces/ ebsco.html), NewsDecks & info­ in the cafeteria. A love offering donation of $IO or more will be trak. Rev. McCrackin's biography, gratefully receiv ed. All are entitled ' Building the Beloved welcome. Refreshments will be Community," by Judy Bechtel is available at the Public Library (Main provided. In conjunction with Mac Day, we Branch) and online at http:// www.nku.edu/-Bechtel. All of Rev. are sponsoring an essay contest McCrackin's sermons and papers are about the life of Rev. Mccrackin. available at the Cincinnati Historical Students have the following topics Society, located at the Museum from which to choose: Center in the Union Terminal. Charlie Schott is available for tutoring on this project. He can be reached at 481-3770. The deadline for submissions is May 25 ,h, 2001 . Please mail submissions to: St. Joseph Catholic Church C/O Mac Day 745 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti. OH 45203 Winners announced June 2"d at Mac Day. For more info.: Brian Garry 221­ 5537- bcrum@fuse.net - Fax - 281­ 8425 Preserving Low-Income Housing in the West End 7 :00 Monday, May 7th West End YMCA on Ezzard Charles Dr. Sponsored by the Rev. McCrackin Day Committee Advertise to Socially Conscious Readers! Call 421-7803 for more information about how advertising in Streetvibes will work for your business �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Page 4 Provider of the Month: Kevin Finn Health Resource Centers Director ofSocial Services By Dan Marschner As a junior at St. Xavier high school, Kevin Finn started as an offensive tackle fo r the football team. He planned on playing college foo tball, maj oring in business and making a good sa lar y once he graduated. D uri ng the s ummer before hi s seni or year, F in n pa1ticipated in a six week mission trip to Peru . He had such a profound experience that he decided to make some changes in his lifestyle. When he dec ided to forego his seni or season to concentrate on community service activities, the coach told him that Ohi o Sta te Uni vers ity h ad expressed interest. ''I' m not sure that I could have played for OSU, but I knew that I could play football somewhere , and I figured that I could have a great time majoring in business," he explains. He considers hi s Peru experience the single biggest factor why he currently works at the Health Resource Center today. The HRC provides medical and psychological services free of charge to visitors four days a week. Finn's that a Cincinnati anti-dru g law work emphasizes homeless youth actuall y enco urages sharin g of under age 26. "I spend about 80% needles. "If a youth has a syringe, of my time with the youth. Mainly I with or without· drugs, they can be bang out by Short Vine to establish charged with possess-ion of drug relationships with them." Working paraphernalia. Thus, many youth with homeless s h a r e youth presents needles to several unique reduce the challenges; Finn ri sk of cites one of the b e i n g major obstacles: ca u g ht. " "Youth under 18 M o s t can ' t enter an y 0 u t h adult shelter. If cont ac t they go to the Finn infre­ .Lighthou se quently; if youth shelter, th ey do their parents are t n 0 contact i m mediately i n f o r. med . him , he a ss um es Thus, many Kevin Finn takes the that either youth decide to opportunity to relax from his work. stay on the they are street." The lack of services for not in immediate need or their youth under 18 is a constant situation has become worse (incarceration, hospitalization, etc.) challenge foi: Finn's work. Another obstacle for working Clear cut successes in Finn's work with homeless youth is their use of are rare; small victories are the most drugs, especially heroin. Finn argues significant. WorQs From the Evangelist I) The killmg of young Timothy is a tragic affair which has tragically affected our Over-the-Rhine and surrounding communities. 2) The eagerness with which African-American leaders came forth to champion the cause of justice is commendable. 3) The initial response of the people during the peaceful protest was a demonstration of the strength we hold when we come together as a people laying aside economic and racial differences. 4) The unparented youth (who remained afloat in Over-the-Rhine after the peaceful protest was over) found themselves left energized by the days' events. They continued their taunting of the police and it turned tragic. It turned tragic because the leaders were gone, and some of our young and less patient police officers could contain themselves no longer. 5) Then on Tuesday, our city leaders, had no words of reconciliation. These events are what many would like to say were the catalyst for the riotous behavior, however, I would challenge you, the reader, to look far deeper at the root cause of what will now beremembered as the "Riots of 200 I". This fight seemingly began as one between the police and the people. Then our focus became the police versus African-American men. And then, sadly, it became; black against white. However, when the last bell sounded it is obvious the opponents in this fight are those who have not versus these who have. If you have been listening to these "peace talks" and following the many editorials you have seen the focus go from jobs for youth to re-thinking how we manage our police force. None of these things get to the root of the p~oblem. Until we deal with the economic disparity in this city there shall be no reconciliation: between black and white, rich and poor, Christian and non-Christian. Mayor Luken sent out a letter requesting the assistance of the religious community, as has so many leaders throughout the history of mankind; because all come to realize that it is only with the infinite wisdom and power of God that true change can be attained. On Maundy Thursday (Apri l 1 12 h), while our city was under curfew, Washington United Church of Christ in Camp Washington went on with our evening worship service. We had over sixty people in attendance, and thirty of them were African-American youth. I affirmed .. everyone's right to be angry at the "betrayer" in our midst. I delivered my message from John 13:1-17, 3lb­ 35. I identified the betrayer by name: hatred , prejud ice, racial and economic inequality, violence, envy, Evangelist, see page 19 Finn dreams of starting a shelter for youth in Cinci nnati. The HRC has contacted Covenant House, a national network of youth shelters, in order to gauge their interest. Finn believes that Covenant House would be a valuable service to homeless youth. He hopes that the HRC will be at the forefront of the programs developed in Cincinnati. Alth o ugh Finn deals with difficult circumstances every day at his work, he has learned to enjoy his work. His inspiration remains a pr.ayer that "was drilled into our heads every day at St. X", the prayer of St. Francis Xavier: Lord, teach me to be .generous, To serve you as you deserve To give and not to count the cost To fi ght and not to. heed the wounds To toil and not to seek for rest To labor and not to ask for any reward Save that of knowing that I am doing Your will. Streetvibes salutes the efforts of Kevin Finn toward ending homelessness in Cincinnati. For more information about the programs offered at the Health Resource Center, call 357-4602 or visit their offices in the Freestore/ Foodbank. ~ .':1.1.1'.l'~~.l,f~,,-,-~,,,.,,;r~ The 2"d Annual Camp Washington .Health Fair Saturday, May 12, 2001 . 9a.m. -lp.m. Washington United Church of Christ At Th~ Corner of Rachel & S~dney Aves. Free Gift Bags, Refreshments '& Entertainment . Screenings Provided: Blood Pressure Blood sugar Osteoporosis Cholesterol v~~n ~aocoma Hearing Dental Heart & Stroke Risk Assessment **Mammograms **Call 241-9990_to pre-register (financ:ial assistanc:e available for those who qualify) Other services and educational booths will be provided. �• STREETVIBES MAY 2001 1181• Page 5 Agency Profile:_Corryville Family Resource Center By Mr. Lee history, it's services have focused on benefiting yo un g people. The Family Resource Center is designed Generally, Streetvibes likes to "spotlight" one of our member to assist the neighborhood residents agencies each month. This month of CorryviUe in forming programs we have decided to focu s on the and services that strengthen families Corryville Family Resource Center and the community as a whole. This (CFRC), a community based agency partnership is a family centered, that is a satellite program of the community based effort to solicit the FliarsClub. The Friars Club, Inc. is active suppo rt of the Corryville a Greater Cincinnati non -profit, residents. The community helps to social service agency dedicated to determine and implement strategies providing quality programs and to empower families in a culturally services that assist lower income and sensitive manner. The needs that at risk youth, their families and have been recognized are addressed community develop s tre ngth, collaboratively by the residents, stability and self-sufficiency. Friars business council, churches, police hosts an athl etic c lub and nine and other co1illllunity resources. Programs and services include: differe nt s ocial se rvice and community service programs. The Youth Activities & Alternatives Family Support & Development agency programs are: Community Organization Low Cost Residency for Men The CFRC also has recently Children's Residential Center started an Adult Employment and Full Athletic & Fitness Center Training Program funded by the Homeless Shelter for Families Department of Hwnan Services to First Step Residential Program help indi viduals obtain and retain Basketball Program Corryville Family Resource Center stable employment by P.roviding Evans Family Caring and Sharing career development opportunities to increase their earning power. Program The CFRC also coordinates the Friars Club Center for Learning (Fifth) Annual Corryville Family Satellite After School Program Friars Club was founded in 1860 Festival and Slam Dunk scheduled by a Catholic priest. Throughout its for August 26 from l2:00 noon to 8:00 pm. The ·day will include a Talent Competition, African Dance Group, Singing Group, Drill Team, and many booths of interest to the community. All of the festivities will be located on the site of the Corry ville Recreation C e nter g round s . The festiv a l i s a colla boration between the CFRC staff, Ad_v isory board, Community Council , a nd the Co rryvi ll e Recreation Commission (CRC). The CFRC is unique in that it has a homey feel. When you enter the agency you don ' t ge t that institutional feel that many agencies out of necessity have. The agency's size allows it to have a community­ based atmosphere, a luxury in these cost-efficiency times. That fact is emphasized by it monthly family dinner, held for the community the last Friday of each month. As w ith a ll of our me mber agencies, the Ftiars Club/Corryville Family Resource Center exists for charitable purposes and is supported throu gh gra nts, donations and contracts. We encourage anyone desiring to support this agency in its mi ss ion to contact CFRC at 281­ 2?06 or the Friars Club at 381-5432 to identify their needs. As with alJ charities all unrestricted monetary donation are welcome and taxdeductible. Vibin' on the Moon: Wesak Celebration e soteric science kn'ow and understand the hidden energy at It becomes increasingly clear work upon our planet. These from year to year that the more one energies are cyclic by nature ,. stucties the problems of humanity, corresponding to the astrological the more one sees that there are position of the sun and planets of our causal energies at work behind the solar system as we pass through the sce nes. These energies are made twelve constellations of the zodiac,:. available to he lp solve these These seven cosmic radiations affect probl e ms . Tho se with and mobilize all life forms on earth .. understa nding know there are Each one of these cosmic radiations · formulas that allow humanity to (or rays) have certain and differing util ize these energies to evolve to qualities that influence the hi g he r states of awareness and conciousness aspect of all living develop the virtues needed to entities including the mineral, plant, overcome the difficulties of the animal and human kingdoms of human state of existence. What we nature. This is so from the smallest call the seven deadly sins (lust, atom all the way up to and including laziness, gluttony, pride, anger, envy, the living entity we calJ mother earth and greed) are the primary vices (some refer to this being as the which bring about the negative planetary logos). At the time of the reactions called the seven sources of full moon each month, certain of pain (arrogance, addiction, these cosmic radiations are prejudice, hatred, violence, transmitted via the sun according to victimhood, and shame). These are the constellation of the zodiac it is the source ofevery problem on earth. in. Various radiant energies are One of the things groups all over the world are doing to lessen these transmitted according to the sun sign negative reactions is the observance bringing with it opportunities for of the fuJI moon festivals. These raising our awareness, according to causal energies (seven in number) our ability to be receptive. Those are cosmic in nature, reaching our found in meditation and purposeful planet via the sun and planets of our prayer can take advantage at these solar system. According to the full moon times to be of service to position of the sun in the various humanity. Group meditation during constellations certain energies are the full moon is especially potent and capable of evoking a response stronger at times than others. Those who are students of the that can cause world changes for the by: lah isreal better. For tliose who want to do something to serve humanity and don't know where to start, or want to do more effective service than which they are presently engaged in, I suggest startin g or j oining a meditation group whose purpose is to focus on humanities problems. Cincinnatians will be gathering for a full moon meditation on May 6th at 2:30p in Mount Storm Park. This is one of the most special full moons of the year according to legend. The legend has it that the Budda and the Christ meet at a secret place in the Hima laya Mountains called the Wesak Valley. At the exact time of the Taurus full moon of May, they send out their blessings over the whole earth. This is an annual event of mag nanimou s proportions! Many of the spiritual masters of all faiths and practices appear with them to receive these benedictions and pass them on to a world .hungry for peace, love and understanding. There is no price to high to pay in order to be a part of this once-a-year celebration. Join us here in Cincinnati and partake of the greatest spiritual moment of the year. The Wesak is an international event that has been celebrated annually for over 2000 years. This Wesak celebration is to promote unity in the pr~sence of cultural, racial , religious and political diversity through love, tolerance and sharing. Keep vibin' on the moon ya'll! Peace, Love and JAH guidance. Festival �- STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Page 6 Police-Community Relations: The Double-Edged Sword By Linda L. Berger As a person who works in the Criminal Justice Field, and a lifetime member of th e Cincinnati community, I have experienced both sides of this ongoin g police­ community relation's issue. As a free-lance paralegal for the last seven years, I have worked with many African American women, assisting them with domes ti c violence, custody anq child support issues. Additionally, I _hav.e worked with the homeless for the same period of time , a ddr es~ ing the homeless proble ms encountered with many African f\merican men. I have seen the effect of the court system and police on the lives of these men and wome n and their families. Many of the women are thankful for the police intervention and protection becau se of their violent experiences with husbands, boyfriends and others. However, in the same vein, the African American men who stay at the Drop-Inn Center or li ve in Washington Park are sometimes tom betwee n being thankful for the Civility By Riccardo M. Taylor The idea that we live· in a civil society has been challenged by the recent events of civil unrest. As every problem occurs there is the reality that they have two sides: a reason and resolution. Our recent problems are a result of misunderstanding and suspicion between the Ci ncinnati Poli ce Department and the Black Community. In assigning blame, I have to suggest that both parties play a part in the disparities which are at the root of the recent unrest. A large part of the blame has to be directed toward the Cincinnati Poli ce Department; however the Black community as a whole has to stand up as well. The Cincinnati Police Department has in recent years been at odds with the Black community in our city, perhaps due to a lack of communication with the Black population, or at least due to their suspicion of certain entities of the Black community. Whatever the particulars of this relationship the fact remains that there exists a huge gap between the two groups. The Black community has responsibility in its relating with those officers that patrol the ir particu lar neighborhood. The citizens of those ne ighborhoods are responsible for initiating .or at least engag ing in rapport with these officers in times of encounter. Though suspicions run deep on both sides, the black community has the with our Good Samaritan Homeless Outreach in Washington Park on Saturdays and the Street Dreams Tea m, dealing with inner city citizens, led by one of our pastors, Bob Clark. We s upport ALL of the community, police and citi zens alike, and hope that with God 's touch, we will resolve this difficult issue. However, with both sides refusing to give even an inch, we are at a standstill as to what can be accomplished. , All of our community leaders need to stop the politicizing and playin g to the public's whims and look within themselves to realize the right direction to take, whether or not it is the popular view. If one leader from each community would stand up for the fair and jus t v iew, emotions aside, and logica ll y approach these problem~ ~d issues, it would knock down these.,self­ made walls within our community. Our leaders need to stop being afraid of what their community thinks of their stance, and try to realistically resolve these issues together. police protection under t hese circumstances but remain wary of how they could be treated by the police BECAUSE of their current situation. Consequentially, the police face a double-edged sword when dealing with the inner city community 's experience with the police. When the police take a proactive stance within the community, as requested by n:iany responsible citizens·in the inner-city who are tired of the drug dealing, stealing and assaults, they are many times condemned by these same citizens when the situation becomes violent during apprehension and arrest of .the perpetrator. I have discussed each police experience with these m~n and women, and I try to be the devil's advocate, so to speak, to give them a better understanding of the justice system, with the stress and problems that the police community experiences in their own lives on a daily basis. At times,.! have become frustrated with some of the police c'omplacency I myself ·have experienced when assisting these men and women. However, I find that this attitude is in the minority within the police community, and many police officers, when asked, . are very happy to assist .the homeless and other victims of crime, and have gone above and beyond "the call of duty" to he lp them with the ir problems. During the recent riots, the police took a reactive stance, allowing protestors to vent and express their anger, without being aggressive with them. Again, playing the devil's advocate, how many of these same prot~stors would have srood their ground, while being cursed, assaulted with flying objects ·and other aggressive measures? As a member of the Vineyard Community Church, I spent the Saturday morning of the funeral for Timothy Thomas at my church with about 60 or so other members, making 3,000 sandwiches to be handed out to the people attending the funeral. Our church also sent fruit baskets· to the five police districts to also support them. The Vineyard Community Church is active in the inner city community responsibility of protecting its own interests in the community. Again, since the Police are an integral part of the overall community, they have to be included in day lo day activities and other workings in the community. It is essential that the police be respected as a part of the community and given the due of their duties. By allowing the police to feel more comfortable, while doing what is expected of them, suspicions can be alleviated. How simple a solution! All we need to do is just come together and things can be civil, jus t c ome together and fix what's wrong in our community. Things would be so great if we cou ld just turn the m around at a moment's notice. Forget all the resentment and embark on a new relationship between the different factions of our community. homeless is better than it used to be. The UC Hospital That is because you can apply for By Aaron Pitchford medical assistance in the outpatient clinic to get your medicines as opposed to doing it at th"e welfare office. The current system allows a homeless person to save bus fare oocause he doesn't have to go to the welfare office whenever he needs medicine. Before the new system, you had to apply for a medical card at the welfare office, but now you can go to the hospital to apply for a medical card. The system now is that you can go to the emergency room one time and they will give you a five day s upply of whatever medication you need. And so, after that, you have to go to the outpatient clinic. You are given the application to apply for medical insurance or e lse you w ill not receive any medicine except at the free clinic. The UC Hospital is a part of the Health Alliance that inc1udes Jewish Hospital, Fort Hamilton Hospital1 St. E lizabeth Hospital East, Christ Hospital, and the Alliance of Primary Care. U.C. Hospital is one of the top one hundred hospitals in the nation. The fir st re sidency trauma training was provided at the hospital. This training is within the Cardiac Transplant/Conges tive Heart Failure Clinic that does heart, lung, liver, and pancreas transplants. In 1999 a cuttin g edge X-ray machine, the Lex R, a cardiac tumor weapon was fir st used in U.C. Hospital and it .was the first radio­ therapy machine made in the world. The hospital system to help the Althooghlwo~doothefir~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ admit that there is no ready made solution for the problem, it is my conclusion that the gap can be shortened if we as a community were to come together and work on it. It takes us all to bring some sense of closure. It will take some effort on the part of a11 of us. We will need to put all of our resources into effect if we expec t some change in community relations. Of course, it will not happen overnight, however, it can be accomplished. The healing starts the moment we as ·a community admit that there is a problem and began to look for ways to correct it. We are all accountable for the past and the future of our community, so let us come together and make a difference. I ~ One hundred (100) protestors, including former U.S. Congressman Tom Luken, petition Governor Bob Taft at the Ohio Governor 's Mansion to end capital punishment and give clemency to J. D . Scott. hoto b B e rta La.mbert �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Recovery Barriers More Common . ~ong African Americans b Mr. Lee y Being a Negro in America is not a comfortable existence. Jt means being part ofthe company of the bruised, the battered, the scarred and the defeated. Being a Negro in American means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life . amid psychological death. It means the pain ofwatching your children grow up with clouds of inferi.ority in their mental skies. It means having your legs cut off, and then being condemned for being a cripple. It means seeing your mother andfather spiritually murdered by the slings and arrows ofdaily exploitation, and then' being hated for being an orphan: Being a Negro in America ...means being harried by day and haunted by night by a nagging sense of nobodiness and constantly fighting to be saved . from the poison of bitterness. It means the ache and anguish of living in so many situations where hopes unborn have died. MARTIN LUTHER KTNQ, .TR.. 1967 Though lacking the eloquence of Dr. King, the following list/article simply documents in one specific focus area what Dr. King and almost all negroes, afro-americans, blacks and african americans have know for over 400 years. It has always been (and aJways will be?) harder and continues to be harder to be black in America. Dr. King uses descriptive words such as bruised, battered scarred and defeated. He gives examples of the victimization that most African Ame1icans experience in a more subtle manner than in times past when lynching, rape and maiming was in vogue. He speaks of being subjected to a restrictive and/or debilitating experience and then being criticized or penalized for that condition. This list is by no means com­ plete. Nor js it offered as" The gos­ pel". There will probably be much disagreement on the validity, rank or importance of the factors listed. It is a list created. from ts.sues tdentl­ fied in my own hfe, the bves of other African-Americans and from the ob­ servations shared by many AfricanAmericans in recovery. The factors listed have been grnuped in some general categories. Those categories are l) Cultural, 2) Environmental, 3) Health, 4) Lifestyles, 5) Rec:;overy and 6) other. Emphasis upon ~xternal versus internal restorauon different value systems Employment (fewer and less recov­ ery friendly opportunities) last hired, first fired Preoccupation with financial recov­ ery, financial vs. spiritual Work-Type, physical, stressful Role-models-Male, we can't teach what we don't know Homelessness, higher levels My hair, my nails, my money, my dope Hair, sick thinking in our youth Acceptance is the answer to all my problems. When I am distu~ it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation - some fact of my life unacceptable to me. I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situa­ tion as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment Nothing, absolutely nothing, Environmental happens in God's world by mis­ Black neighborhoods take; unless I accept life com­ in general, with pletely on life's terms, I cannot be Dope boys posted up happy. I need to concentrate not so on most str.eet comers. And much on what needs· to be changed Females openly soliciting Reli&ious in the world as on what needs to be male's johns. Religious experiences, lack of changed in me and in my attitudes. Neighborhood stores selling drug knowledge about chemical paraphernalia. near- too many. author unknown - based upon dependency among our clergy N~ighborhood bars and Church support services, absence of p.449 AA Big Book After hour spots ~ recovery friendly environments that everyone knows about. 29. Who has woe? in our churches Alcohol and cigarette advertising Who has sorrow? Pastoral counseling, counseling con­ everywhere Who has strife? flicting with 12 step recovery pro­ Storeibusiness owners Who has complaints? grams, ins{ead ofChristian based 12 that purchase and resell Who has needless bruises? step treq,,tment stolen merchandise (that 's right!) Who has bloodshot eyes? 30. Those who linger over wine, Recovery Styles Cultural/Family who go to sample bowls of Sponsors-use of, Smaller/weaker support system, we don't askfor help mixed wine. daddy's gone, and_momma can 't. Do not gaze at wine 31. Alanon ourfamilies don't get Fewer resources, they can't give1 the help they need when it's red, what they ain't got. when it sparkles in the cup Alateen, our kids don't get Parenting styles/issues and related the help they need when it goes down smoothly! stresses,fathers without fathers try­ 32. In the end it bites like a snake! Older coming into recovery, ing to teach sons And poisons like an viper out there longer what they don't know. 33. Your eyes will see strange Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, sights, land your mind living in a war zane affects you Health imagine confusing things. Codependency, they ain't got a clue Lifespan - African American males 34. You will be like one sleeping on average live less than whites (10 Other on the high seas · years less off the back end) lying on top of the riggi ng. Computer networking, Less heath-care 35. They hit me you will say" communication (can you say no insurance?) but I' rn not hmt! They beat E-mail, another resource We drink more alcohol and me but I don' t feel it! Criminal history/incarceration, an­ Smoke more cigarettes. When wilJ I wake up so... other barrier to overcome to restore It~<; a fact, jack. I can find another drink. our lives and rebuild our futures Hlgh blood pressure, daddy had it Diabetes, momma got it Proverbs 23:29-35 The topic djscussion and Mental Health the research regarding recovery for New International Version(NIV) Use of professional services, The Bible on alcoholism. don't use enr Barriers, see page 19 Psychiatrists, don't trust em. Therapists, ain't got one Stress management, get real AIDS damn! 1--------------------------­ buddy's place Lifestyles Single parent households, guaranteed poverty Different value systems unmanageable in clifferent ways than whites, misunderstood, not worse just different Permanent Housing for formerly homeless individuals at 1300 Vine Street. For more information, call Connie Martina or Agnes Mack at .. (513) 784-0800 �ST R EETV lBES MAY 2001 Race is not the Issue: Respect IS By Kenneth D. Smith - ,. being inflicted upon us as a people? To answer that question we must hit a few spots in history. Over the last 140 years two great men have risen and their words were recorded. The firs t sp oke of a na tion and its government. President Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysberg Address, called this n ati on's government a government "of the people, by the peopl e, for the peopl e"! He understood that for the American dream to be fulfilled the "people" bad to be the bedrock, the foundation upon which alldecisions were made. The government, under our Constitution, IS "We the people". The second man spoke of a people, an American people consisting of All races, nationalities, or ethnic origins. This man, Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., lowes t of OUR SERVANTS. You have all noticed it, THE LOOK. They give it to all of us when "We the People" ask them, OUR SERVANTS, to do their jobs.- It is but a short step from the RESPECT our neighbors. His or her bureaucratic distain of the citizens views, likes, drea ms, ways, of this country to open lies and a ambitions may be different to ours bullet in the back! We now see the but he or she has a right to them as Director of the Ohio Depaitment of WE have a .right ours. As long as Rehabilitation and Corrections lying we respect each other 's rights we can to the people about why HIS budget work together to be "We the people" We h ave that forms our government. But we sho uldn 't be c ut. politicians in our legislature leaving allow the politi cians, the an unconstitutional property tax in bureaucra ts, and so-call ed ci vi l place to burden the poor and elderly rights leaders to stir up trouble where while they try various "schemes" to there is none and in the process cause con the Ohio Supreme Court into the division that allows THEM to allowing them to con more money stay in power! out of the workers of this state. We So what is the answer? First, WE must realize that THEY have been Whether you realize it or not we ALL should feel working to divide US for decades and this MUST stop. Second, WE the same fear and outrage as those who are must start talki ng to each other directly in the drama being played out. Why ? honestly, openJy, and stop feeling that we are the ONLY ones being Because WE could be the next victims. targeted by the "authorities". Third, we m ust sta rt tak i ng O UR had a dream. Both the wisdom of have bureaucrats, whose jobs are GOVERNMENT responsibilities the President and the dream of the based upon the destruction of lives se riousl y. WE ARE THE Civil Rights Leader died under the a nd fam ilies, telling us that the GOVERNMENT! If we continue to weapons of assasins . Were the 19,000 political prisoners in OUR allow OUR S ERVANTS to lie, vision and wisdom of the President prison system are a more serious cheat, s teal and destroy OUR or the dream of the Civil Rights threat to "society" than current RIGHTS, then we will get what we Leader carried on? NO ! Too much offenders. All lies, which the media .deserve: slavery ! WE must ALL money can be made through division parrots without question, and "We become active, not only in voting but and control! the people" do nothing to stop it! aski ng serious qu es ti ons a nd At one time in our country's past But how did the p oliticians, demanding serious answers. Only the " politicians" were less bold, they bureaucrats, and other "authorities" when "WE THE PEOPLE" stand feared the wrath of the people. But become so bold? They discovered shoulder to s houlder across th is the development of the welfa re one simple fact: "We the people" DO country and de mand total system and its ability to control the NOT RESPECT EACH OTHER! accountability fr om OU R votes of whole segments of our Whe n they d iscovered th is they SERVANTS, total truth from OUR society the politicians changed. found the tool of division, the tool SERVANTS, and a cleansing of the They started thinking that President necessary to control us. The rule fat from our current bureaucracy will Lincoln had been misquoted. "D.ivide and Conquer" was applied we see change. Suddenly a lot of Certainly he meant "a government with great diligence. A community the politicians favorite mantras ­ of the politicians, by the politicians, whose residents get along suddenJy racism, get tough on crime, gun for the politicians"! With this find a politician harping on the control, run away taxation , pork thought came a ch·a nge. Soon seriousness of "racism" in their barrel projects, etc. will diminish citizens, any citizen, were looked community. Th e residents look and, if we work hard on it, eventually upon as inconveniences, necessary around, see none, but know it ml,Jst disappear. evils, to be avoided at all cost. Over exist because the media reported that Only then will we see justice in the years the politicians started lying the politician said it was there? Then our criminal justice system, honest to "We the People" and the lies the suspicion begins. It may amaze taxation, and efficient government. became more bold. Political cronies people but WE DO NOT have to like Only then will the "Look" disappear. bought up or already owned the news our neighbors. That is everyone's BUT, freedom is not free; it must be media so their lies were published right. What we DO have to do is Respect, see page 19 or broadcas t as fac ts . Ou r Once again a yQung m an falls before the guns of the "authorittes" and a city erupts in violence. This scene has been played out in this country for nearly forty years. Each year the number of "official" killings increases. Each year the rights of an ever increasing number of United States citizens are violated, lives snuffed out, fami lies destroyed . When all these incidents are added up they cou nt i n the thousands nationwide ye t the number of "officials" punis hed fo r th ese v io la tions, these officially perpetrated murders or other equally heinous acts, is so small as to amount to virtually nothing! We have all witnessed acco unts of the "violations" rela ted to the news media by family or friends of the victims. We have also witnessed the sanitized and carefully orchestrated explanatio ns or " official" justifications used to shi eld the "officials" from prosecution. Most of these "violations" NEVER are publicized or if they art we only receive the "official" media blessed version. Whether you realize it or not we ALL should feel the same fear and outrage as those who are directly jn the drama being played out. Why? Because WE could be the next victims. The events unfolding in this nation have little to do with race, religion, or ethruc origin. These offi ciall y sa nctioned acts of violence, deceit, deception, and manipulation are directed toward each and every group, section, or segment of this society and each feels that they are the ones being targeted the most. This is natural yet deceptive. What is happening here to Blacks is also happening to Hispanics in Los Angeles and other heavily Hispanic areas. Those of Oriental descent receive this special attention in San Francisco, while White s are targeted in the Appalachians and upper Western states. Native Americans receive this "special attention" an over the Western states. The question we should all ask is "Why?" The answer is RESPECT, or more importantly, a total lack of! Respect? How could respect or constitutionally guaranteed "free the lack of it cause all the misery press" became nothing more than a propaganda machine for the various political parties, bureaucrats, and PENPAL WANTED would be national fi gures. Truth died and with it the last vestige of David Hawkins respect the politicians held for "We the People". They quickly forgot #383940 that THEY were the Servants of the NNCTF People, instead vie wing us, th e 2000 Avon Belden people, as THEIR servants. When this happened the change, which Road Grasten, Ohio 44044 came from the top, filtered down through the bureaucratic ranks to the Prisoners News contains news about the justice system andthe writings of persons incarcerated in our nation's jails and prisons. Subscribers with inthe walls receive Streetvibes free. If you would like to support us in this effort, please sponsor someone on the inside. A year's subscription costs $15. .Send your comments and questions to streetvibes@juno.com mail : STREETVIBES, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 �~- STREETVIBES MAY 2001 ~ a'1• Page 9 --- Supreme Court: Welfare Reform Challenges Ban Unconstitutiorial Reprinted from Welfare News In a tremendous victory for the First Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Congress' attempt to prohibit federa ll y-funded legal services lawyers from challenging the legality or constitutionality of welfare laws. Th e Court said that the government could not fund a lawyer for a poor person and then prohibit that lawyer from making certain arguments. The so-called "welfare reform" restriction was added in 1996, a year after the elimination of funding for the Welfare Law Center and other national and state support centers. The case is Legal Services Corporation v. Velazquez, decided February 28, 2001. On the day the decision came down , the Legal Services Corporation said it will revise its regulation on the welfare reform restriction. The Welfare Law Center is pleased that many more lawyers will be able to represent clients being denied aid as the result of unlawful or unconstitutional policies. LSC also said: "It is important to note that the Court did not strike down any other Congressional restriction imposed by the Congress in 1996, which LSC successfull y defended, and this decision will have no impact on the vast majority of work do ne by LSC fund ed programs." Among restrictio ns that the Supreme Comthas not addressed are those that bar federally-fu nded programs from invol vement in class action lawsuits or from seeking attorneys' fees in successful cases, as provided for in federal law. These drastic decisions make it diffic ult for legal services programs to bring cases affecting wrongful treatment of thousands of poor people, and w~ look forward to the day when those restrictions can be lifted. On March 4, 2001 the Court declined to review the low er court's denial of a preliminary injunction in Velazquez against the other restrictions. Challenges to these restrictions may be pursued in the ongoing Velazquez case or in other cases, and the Supreme Court's reasoni ng in striking down the bar on welfaTe reform challenges will help in attacking those other limits. Velazquez was decided by a 5-4 vote. The majority opinion, written by Justice Kennedy, distinguished the issue in this case from the "gag rule" upheld in Rust v. Sullivan ( 1991). In that case, doctors working in a private clinic receiving public fund s c ould not -~,......,...,.~-=""-· even di scuss referral for abortio n counseling or treatment. The doctor was being paid by th e gov ernment to deliver th e gover nm ent's message. The legal services attorney, how ever, is being paid by th e government to deliver the client's message. The government bad its own attorney in c·ourt to deliver the government 's message. T he government may not use its spencli ng power to interfere with free speech - especially when the speech concerns alleged invalidity of government policies. Justice Scalia, writing for the four dissenters, was scathing, saying that th e majority had used an interpretation that was "novel and un suppo rtable" and that the "decision ts qu.i te s impl y inexplicable on the basis of our prior law." He suggested that if the restriction is unconstitutional, the appropriate remedy is to prohibit legal ser vices lawyers from involvement in any welfare case, no matter what arguments they might be making. When the decisio n was announced, Burt Neuborne, Legal Director of the NYU Law School Brennan Center, who argued the case, said " B y reaffirming First Am e ndme nt principles in thi s co ntext , the Supreme Court is reminding us that lawyers for the poor are real lawyers, possessing the same rig hts, responsibilities and opportunities for advocacy as any other lawyer. Today's ruling ensures that lawyers for the poor can do their j obs right, and clients can expect quality legal representation." The Welfare Law Center congratulates the Brennan Center on this wonderful victory. For further in~ormati on about the implications of the Supreme Court 's decision contact the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, 161 Avenue of the Americas, 12m Floor, New York, NY 10013-1205, tel. (212) 998-6363, or www.brennancenter.org. Are you IQoking for the opportunity to have a positive impact in the lives of homeless people with mental illness? CR! and Tender Mercies are teaniing up to provide outreach and referral services to the homeless, mentally ill population in Hamilton County. This is a progra1n funded by a PATH grant that seeks to break new ground in servicing this population. OUTREACH . WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES . Seek out and assist persons who are homeless and mentally ill by providing community outreach, assessment, and linkage to appropriate services. Position involves making one on one contacts with homeless persons as well as maintaini ng communication and coUaboratioo with other service agencies in order to identify potential PATH Project patticipants and coordi nate service provision . Connect individuals to services aimed at addressing mental health issues as well as basic needs. Submit reports and service-documentation. Minimum of 2· years education/ experience required: M ust possess good written and oral communication skills and commitment to aiding an at risk population. Must be able to work a flexible schedule. Must be a licensed, insurable driver and provide own vehicle for transportation within two months of employment. Excellent salary and benefit package. Send resume to: Tender.Mercies Attn: HR-PATH Outreach 27 W. 12th Cinti, OH 45210 FAX (513) 977-5328 equal opportuniry employer --- �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Page 10 Police Brutality: Who are the Real Crifninals? By David Mitchell were looted and their windows were shot 4 times. Hi s children were broken that th ey addressed the crying, worried about their father's Editor's Note : Streetvibes problem. As soon as they began to safety. His wife was also threatened. repo rter Da vid Mitchell has lo se money captured scenes f rom the police then they put shooting after the funeral ofTimothy on a mask of Thomas on Saturday, April 14. A compassion. lawsuit against the Cincinnati During the Police has been f iled as a last weeks consequence of these events. I've been W HO ARE THE REAL right in the CRIMINALS? This is the question center of this we as a community must ask. So let storm. I've the truth be told. Our oppressors spoken to have no one to blame but hundreds of themselves. John Hiedegger said, the peop le "The increase in problems is due to who were the failure of our institutions int im ately themselves." This conuption starts involved in from the very top of America's this conflict. pyramid and works its way down to I wrote this the lowest levels of our society. artic le so Andy McGrath said, "Make it.clear that people that the prime oppressor of people could see in this world is not ethnicity. Money through the sits at the top of a pyramid and we eyes of the all sit on the steps below. Those on real victims David Mitchell records the experiences of several youths. the highest step, dictate the life of of the those on each step beneath them." inju s tice , Th e wolf 's in sheep's clothing: not through the eyes of the real Jeffrey Quinton James, 11 years Ame rica's politicians and criminals or their agents, many of old, looking out his window on the lawmakers, the current slave masters whom are media correspondents. second floor apartment on Elm St. of our United States. Founded by These people twisted the truth and heard shooting. He spoke about the deceitful practices and still who have done so in our country for fact that he was "angry and afraid." maintained by them. I for one no a very long time. So listen to the Jermaine Freeman, 8 years old, just longer believe in the American voices of these people and decide for "wanted everything to stop. I am dream. It's a lie. The only reason yourself who's side your on. tired of being scared." Alfonzo our country has prospered is on the said Enya Kirksey was told by the Cholk, 13 years old, backs of the builders of tbe pyramid. police she could not enter her own "Everybody should be treated fair and th e police have no right to s h 0 0 t p eople." K e nn et h Burton , 13, and his broth er , Jerry, 14, saw aman shot in the back with a rubber bullet and a woman who was ma ce d . They said " peopl e needed to Pete Shriner is covered in blood after being shot in the head with a rubber bullet. photo by Berta Lambert lis ten to the voices This class system where the rich home - she was shot at arid hit. Then in our community. When people run become rich and the poor become someone pushed her out of the line from the cops it gives them a reason poorer; giving us scraps while they of fire and she saw a rubber bullet to shoot. It is not a crime to run... eat their feasts; speaking of freedom hit a 5 year old boy who was right It's no racist thing, just the police when they enslave us. The root of next to her. Her .leg bled with all have no right to shoot people." all evil is the only reason why they these holes left by the so called The po li ce continued the acted concerned with what has taken harmless beanbag bullets. Her face shooting. Mary Ann Meridith was place in our community. Economics told a different story. standing on the sidewalk in the is what is important to them, not the Leroy Pearson was commanded middle of 131h Street between Elm ever growing number ofpeople who by the police to move from his own and Race Streets. She stated to a they've murdered or incarcerated. residence. Of course, he refused .. policeman, "What are you gonna do, It wasn't until their businesses Then they began shooting; he was shoot me?" and that exactly what they did, right in her head with a beanbag slug. She fell to the ground bleeding very badly. She was taken photo by Katie Terrell to University Hospital where she was given 20 stitches. She and 4 others also written about here are involved in a federal lawsuit against the city of Cincinnati. Courtney Simpson was parked in his car next to Merryweather's with his brother and his cousin. Three police rolled up on bikes. They thrust a can of mace into the car and maced everyone . One of the policemen opened the door and threw Courtney on the ground hitting him with a hard object in his head. Police were yelling at him: "You mothaf****r, you wanna play?" Pete Shriner commented about his experience with a friend: "Aaron and I were walking north up Race Street to see what was going on, to protest the shooting of Timothy Thomas, an d to observe police behavior. As we approached Findlay Market cops were firing rubber bullets from west to east across Race Street. We hung back at the corner on tbe east side of Race and the side street that is south ofFindlay Market. The police line turned the corner and stayed in formation all the way aqoss Race from sidewalk to sidewalk. After a few minutes they started marching so uth on Race towards us while hitting their shields in unison. There were no verbal warnings or commands given to the crowd on the corner and the crowd was peaceful. "As the police advanced, I heard a young man beside me .yell to everyone 'Put your hands up' so that the police would not shoot. As we put our hands up, the rubber bullets started flyin g without warnin g . Everyone started to scatter. I turned to run east and was at that point hit �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 in the head right above the left eye with o ne of these supposed non­ lethal rubber bullets. It felt like I had been hit in the head with a bit. The guy then said, ' oh there it is.' I had to get thirteen stitches to m ake sure the fl ap of skin that peeled of my forehead and eyebrow Page 11 because our rights were violated. We Our city has experienced a great were protesting police brutabty and injustice. Police Brutality did take abuses, then we were subjected to place. In the words of police officer those very things. It must end. This S. Johnson: "In some cases excessive Gity be longs to the force was used." Just listen to the people. We should words of Lt. Colonel R. Janke during not be afraid to live in the protests when the people were it and we we'll no trying to go to Fou ntain Square. He longer be afraid. We stated "Thi s crowd must disperse wi ll take ou r City immediately. They wil1 move if we have to move them." An back." independent source saw Police Chief Mercedes Harris was tear gased and shot in Striecher elbow a officer standing the back by police. next to him, pointed at the source After the funeral of and fired hitting the man standing Timothy Thoma s next to him. And in the words of the people while people were dispe rsing calmly, there's "NO JUSTICE NO PEACE. police began It's sad that it took all this violence shooting. They hit a for our voices in this city to be heard, small 7 year old girl, but there still not listen ing. Police an 11 year o ld girl, Brutality goes beyond any racial two adults one of issues, but when the powers that be whom was a teacher. continue to treat the minorities in Police jumped back this country unfairly, this can onl y in the ir cars and continue . Hate goes beyond the A woman grimaces in pain after being shot. Her two companions look for answers. color of a man 's skin. It resides in photo by Berta Lambert drov e off only to the heart of a man, and until the day return again. when we will unite and fi ght sledgehammer. It knocked me down would heal correctly. I guess I comes These are just a few of the many to one knee but I recovered, as my consider myself lucky because if tragedies that took place. The against our true enemy we will only main priority at that point was to get that bullet had com e an ~ inch away from the police who were closer I would without a doubt be obviously trying to hurt people . As blind in my left eye right now. " I kept running with my hand on my Jana Doug l ass and Tristan head, I realized that there was blood Everson and fri ends were standing covering my whole forearm, my in the middle of 13th street between shirt, and my pants. Blood was E lm and Race participating in a flowing onto the sidewalk; all this protes t agains t the killing of was coming from my bead. People Timothy Thomas. On their way to started gathering around to help me a peace rally, p olice approached and at this point I heard somebody them with their guns drawn and say that my eye was gone. After half illegally searched them. They ran a second of panic at this thought, 1 their ID cards, stole a total of 86.00 attempted to open my eye. To my in cash and continued to harass relief, I could see out of it just a little them for an hour. It took twenty minutes jus t for them to fig ure out how to get t h e . handcuffs off · of Tristan. By ' that time hi s hands had turned blue. He still has. a visible scar. Jana and Tristan filed a suit Cincinnati Police patrol Over the Rhine during the civil unrest. against the photo by Tristan Everson police as a res pon se . amount of evidence that proves the continue to fi ght against ourselves. In th eir Cinc innati Police D~partment is The media has only played on the words, "We guilty of the use of excessive force fears of society, and turned it into a did not file is ove rwhelming. Photographs, race riot. When in all actuality it was this lawsuit videos, along with the Hospital a joining of white and blacks along for money records and testimony of individuals with other nationalities protesting o r who were involved only solidify and again st the police a nd th eir retaliation verify that this city's Police Force continued use of force. While some against the committed a great deal of crimes used it for a reason to commit crime, police or against our community. There are the majority of people used it so that The wounds from a "bean bag" used by police in crowd the city. lawsuits be ing fil e d in Federal we as a community may have Just!ce control measures. Photo by Tristan Everson We filed it Courts, and more are being added. and Peace. II �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 EDITORIAL SECTION Page 12 The Failure of the Justice System Righteous Rebellion or Riot? By Tyrone Smith prerequisites of any c rime) are abandoned in light of a conviction. A great deal of attention has The courts have taken the stance of been focused on the irrationality of "So what if we make a sli ght the American justice system lately. . infringement on the law, we got a Most of the attention has centered conv iction. " In Cincinna ti, around biased police behavior and convictions for the most part are in vas tly disproportionate priso n conflict with the statutes that define populations. However, little a particular crime. Ultimately, if attention is given to the deplorable you are poor and Black, you' re act of racial profiling by guilty of whatever you' re judges. Black .males tend charged with. How many to have a 100% gu ilty Black men in Cincinnati verdict on no-contest pleas. are given the same quality The constitutionall y and quantity trials as OJ. mandated " Innocent until Simpson or Puffy Combs? proven guilty" has virtually No rational person would been di sregarded in the dare to say that any poor pursuit of higher conviction rates Black man has been given such a and the deep-rooted belief that if trial. Yet allegedly O.J. is no greater you're Black and in court, you're in the eyes of the law than a guilty. Critics may think that the homeless vagrant. We all know this previous statement defers from fact, is not the reality of court, so how but the truth is, even under the long will we cast a blind eye to the lightest standard of proof, there is denial of true justice, the expanding a callous disregard for the finding economics of incarceration, and the ofinnocence. The unmerited panjc proliferation of two societies in over capturing "smal1-time" drug Cincinnati? dealers has led to a generalized Currentl y in Cincinnati antipathy of how a conviction is (whether the judge is White or obtained in any case. Issues such ·token Black) we have a White as lack of "probable cause" and justice system and a Black Just-Us "intent" ( both necessary Center! In The Name of Allah: The Real Solution By Abdul Kan·iem Muhammad so-called minorities are treated more like property, rath.er than citizens are under siege. Peopl e c rying, fires blazing, policefiring, hitting people, people Thi s was or is an outward running, hurting, rebelling, all expression of what has been going reacting to the way they are being on prior to this expe ri ence. treated S.YStematicaJly. Where they Ineffective, insufficient, reactive act as though they are free citizens organizations purposefull y even though they know they aren ' t. operating at the expense of those it's Prior to this people go to city hall suppose to help. Reactive media, and cry out, realizing that they are paid to smooth things out, and sonot being heard. UnlawfuJ called leaders talking of curfews in fact marshal solutions which they know law being enforced, blacks are unrealistic. They, as be in g c all e d "Nigger". well as the present writer Homeless peopl e being know that you can't solve a arrested, being unable to ,._ problem on the level on get into the Drop Inn #A which you find it, you must Center where they live rise above it. because they 're bar~ed. Bus service The only real solution is to completely stopped, people being "Submit to Allah". Why do I say arrested for breaking curfew, who this? It 's impossible to obtain in fact were waiting for the bus justice from a rrian's law, especially without knowing what was up. This a man whose intent was th e is in some small way my experience oppression of others with the in Over the Rhine this past week. creation of hi s laws. A law by As a matter of fact, the so-called which you had nothing to do with minorities are repeatedly slapped in being formu lated, all you do is the face, and told "Shut up bitch and / " Abide " by it, and caU ypurself pay the bill," and they do just that. free, and know that you' re not. This This is the condition of the sois the criterion of the most called minorities in the City of fundamental issue in which we are Cincinnati, and hundreds of other presently engaged. cities across this country, where the By Mr. Lee Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? -Chicago Transit Authority Today, I am convinced that someone does, and there are people who care, many who care more today than before April 71h, 2001, the day that the life of Timothy Thomas was ended with one shot from the gun of Cincinnati Police Officer, Steve Roach. '.fhere is a widespread misconception that the focal issue is the taking of African American male lives by Police officers in Cincinnati. Actual1y, what happened to young Timothy and the fatal contact experience of 15 other African American males, while deplorable, is not the real problem. It is a most saddening symptom of the problem. The most amazing part of this sad and shocking chapter in the history of Cincinnati is that for those who are in the 50+ age range it is hauntingly familiar. We did this in 1968. Remember? We bad the rioting, and destruction of property. We had the angry disenfranchised youth, the fru stration and anger. We had the arrests, the beatings, the racial separation and community tension. The angry words, harried public officials, riot gear, public demonstrations and fear. While many are trying to figure outwby it happened and what can be done to prevent it from reoccurring, most are trying to move on and get on with their lives. The events of the ten days (4/7- J7/01 ) caught almost all by surpri se. Most Americans do not have a true senses of the quality of life, experienced by the majority of people who were involve in the public demonstrations and 1.o oting that occurred. Most could not have handled the day to day pressure and despair that goes with being poor and black in America. The mayor is forming a blue ribbon commission. The Hamilton county prosecutor is investigating, the FBI is making an inquiry. "The President of the Un ited States is concerned... but will not use the immediate situation" ... to do squat! Will anything change? What will be the fate of Officer Roach? Will reaJ justice be served, or will it be the absence of justice that the African American co mmunity be li eves is standard operating procedme? Only time will tell. The difference is, the whole world is watching Cincinnati. History has proven that you cannot leg islate love and compassion in the hearts of men. It is no longer an issue of ci vil rights . The laws are on the books. It is the enforcement and adherence to the law that we as a community struggle with consistently. I wtote this article not because we believe that Streetvibes has something to say that hasn't been said, but because we recognize that the problems that beset our society and the homeless population made many homeless, mental1y ill, and poor people the real living victims of this tragedy. Wish List Streetvibes newspaper is published monthly on a shoe-string budget from the offices of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. We depend heavily on the goodwill of many volunteers and donors. Some of the more pertinent needs of the GCCH include: o Advertisers -Classified and unclassified o Supplies for vendor's lounge (paper towels, cream and sugar, snacks, etc.) o Office and Cleaning Supplies o Photography Help - film (400, 800, 1600), developing. help, digital and/or film camera(s). o Computers/components for Streetvibes story-writing, editing, research. o A new vehicle (van?) If you can help!, contact us at: Streetvibes, cl o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210 ph: (513) 421-7803, fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com Streetvibes exists as a forum for the expression ofthe views and opinions ofour readers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Streetvibes staff or the Greater Cincinnati Coalition or the Homeless. �STREE TVIB E S MAY 2001 Page 13 Homelessness: A Telling Symptom By Rufus Goodwin Reprinted from Spare Change Homeless ness is ofte n a symptom not of what is wrong with the homeless, but what is wrong with society. People bec ome homeless for economic, social, psychological and cultural reasons. They may lack money or work, come from dysfunctional families or s urroundings, and/or be psychologically maladjusted. They In fac t, may be refugees. homelessness is sometimes even a conscientious protest against the way things are. · Homelessness is sometimes the only solution, the strange or sad c ho ice that a p e rson takes consciousl y or un consc io usl y again s t a world of troubl es . Homelessness is a way, sometimes the only way, that a person has of solving life's problems - be it a war vet unable to return to civil society, a person escaping a dysfunctional and abusive home, an unemployed person trying to make ends meet, a man or woman thrown out of their house by a wife or husband, or a lo ne r who ca n ' t cope with insurance, credi t cards, welfare regulatio ns, lawyers, doctors, banking and credit rules, deadlines, licen ses, taxes, comp uters, regulations or just plain·hypocrisy and unfairness. There have been nomads since the start of time. There have been gypsies, vagabonds, hobos, and beggars throughout history. Poets and minstrels have wandered the world in the Medieval Ages. These people were all human. In some ways they were protesting against hi story - against wars, money, usury, and religious intolerance. They wandered and became homeless because they were against injustice, unfairness, persecutions and intolerance. Many Jews became homeless throu ghout hi story because Christians, or Arabs or Nazis drove them f~om their ho mes; many Palestinians are homeless today because they have been driven from their homes. Refugees are often homeless because society drove them from their homes, not because they were at fau lt. Slaves in the Uni ted States became homeless because they rejected slavery. In Charlie Chaplin's time, the burn was seen as a human hero who overcame the inhumani ty of the machin e, of the indu strial technology, and the brutality of the police. The aud ience laughed. Now, if you act like Charlie Chaplin in our streets or in our society - and believe me, I have tried it - they put you away. Homeless people often yearn for a simpler, fairer, more under standable lifestyle than modernity offers them. Often they are refugees from the injustices of the world. They cannot keep up with the Joneses - and often they don't want to. The hobos who rode the rails didn ' t want to , the vagabonds didn't want to, and the gypsies didn' t want to. Homelessness was sometimes their way of trying to so lve a problem, not creating one. They were getting away from it all. There is something even poetic, brave, valiant, and sad about homeless people. Beggars in the East used to be considered holy people in a way, messengers of God. Jesus too associated wi th the poor, meek and homeless. We need to understand these things to come in terms with the tragedy ofhomelessness -we need to understand ourselves and the failings sometimes of our society to give hum ane basics: affordable housing, dignified and meaningful work, ~ccessible medical care, justice, fraternity, and yes, cultural meaning. Nor can we expect that everyone will kowtow or march lockstep to obtain these things. You have employees who qualify for foodstamps. Loss of home, of shelter, of place, of identity, of health, of work is a tragedy that has d ire consequences for all involved. We have to remember that it is often a symptom of much greater issues. These are complicated issues, more complicated than the hackneyed opinion that the homeless simply don't want ~o work. These issues, and the homeless people who embody them, deserve our respect and our sympathy -not just our pity or scorn. Homelessness is often the last gasp of people who are suffering ­ suffering the outrages of imperfect society. It is a zero sum industry, as they say, becau se although homelessness may legitimately protest or express what is wrong with society, we do not want to promote a moveme nt that encourages or finances it. We want homes for ourselves and for the homeless - be tter meaningful homes in a better, more meaningful society. We should res pect homelessness for what it is - a symptom of th e wrongs in our society. We can all learn from the poor, the refugees, the homeless something about life, values, and even beauty. But only with respect for the people and the issues, no matter what th e ir p roblems ­ economic, social, psychological, or cultural - can we hope to solve the Basically, you're asking taxpayers to subsidize your low wage operation. The gov't should eliminate food stamps. �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Page 14 IT'S (PAST) TIME HAPPY M OTHAZ D AY You kn.ow, I know. Why wait It's late. Matha May I express to thee, How much a motha like you has meant to me? You were there first At the time of my birth And you are still here now, To show me how. T RADEWINDS You know I saw some kids the other day Reminded me of us when we were young Then I saw some other children And it really broke my heart because The values an the things we care Brotha could you explain to us, about as kids Why you cause our Motha to fu ss? They don' t even know She gave you life Tell you how I see it Through her sacrifice, Tell you how we can make it better Plus she gave you a home To call your own Here I stand looking It's time my time your time our time. Life's short we need to abort this deed. Looking around me White all around me What do I see Unhappy faces call? Behind.the painted smile She raised you up the right way, Heartaches and loneliness Watching over your work and play. Dressed up in modem style Plus she taught you most that you Unhappy people · know They're living in sin and.shame And now you have some thanks to Reflections of the past show Life is no easy game Ohno The whole world could use a They're caught in the tradewiods Mothazlove Tradewinds of time Then there would not be a problem Hey to think of. So let's take this day to celebrate, Here I stand looking For the one who suffers through all Looking ·a round me our fates. While all around me Sista would you excuse your friends and all, In order to answer our Mothaz Why waste yo' time my time who's time? His time? You tried I failed we cried 'been hell? It's time to move doocha got a 'new groove? 'Got a New Hope better than dope movio' on movin' ... on. KUNTA KENYATTA DON'T QUIT It's time. Almost a crime To waste· Any more time. It is time. Way... past time. MR. LEE MIRACLES OF BROTHERS KEEPERS I had a dream Of poor man's honor A man I respect P raying for Salvation Honor of hope Where legends are made Where dreams are born Saying I am a man amongst men Standing tall in a man 's world Peace be with you Let freedom ring Arn I my brother 's keeper For his love and respect Because I believe in miracles For his mother 's salvation For his father 's wisdom Peace be with yo u Let freedom ring Wishing you all the happiness for you in this world And your loved ones And may you go Where rio man has gone before RONALD LEROY ENGLISH When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, And you want to s mile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turqs, As everyone of us so metimes learns, And many a fai lure turns about, When he might have won had be stuck it out. D on't give up though the pace seems slow, You m ay s ucceed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside o ut, The silver lint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you 're hardest hit, It's when things seem worse, That you must not quit. AUTHOR UNKNOWN What do I see Young ~ifls wh,o. so~~ pec,oq;ie Streetwalkers in'the night Young boys with re~tless dreams Looking for a fight · Ch ildren both rich and poor They're searching for the truth If they don' t find it God help tomorrow's youth They' re caught in the tradew inds Tradewinds of our time Ooh, they' re caught in the tradewinds Oh my Tradewinds are blowing They just blow away Blowing around me While all around me What do I see I see so much hatred (hatred and jealousy) Brotherhood is dying (Brotherhood is dying) Love is what we really need But, nobody:'s buying Good people turning bad (If you look out on us) Some don't b.ut are few (Smile a lot) The winds are blowing The choice is up to you Were caught in the tradewinds Tradewinds of (our) time Caught in the tradewinds The tradewinds of our time When the wind's gonna blow, let your love start flowing Don't get caught, don't get caught in the tradewinds,,tradew~ds .... Tradewinds of our time. SUBMITTED BY MR. .L EE Shadows, Iron and Brick Charles Street side of the Central Parkway YMCA in Over the Rhine �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 INSPIRATION I a m jus t a sojourn e r here and spre ading th e mess age is my motivation I went to the wilderness for a time of rec.uperation I will not be silenced by syn~ication and I Am not looking for man 's admiration. So feel the rhythm and the flocculation. Of energy, which became thought, which becomes my pronunciation. Using m y to ng ue like divine instrumentation. To speak words of truth that flow with no hesitation. A Record of what.is really going on and it's verbalization. Take for instance the power structure summarization of the new world and westernization. The land of immigratioQ. Colonization. Stole the land from the Indians and gave them a reservation. The independence and its declaration. The bill of rights and the articles of confederation. Where all the tribes and tongue's received this nationalization. The time allotted for us to come together because in Babel we alreadY. had the separa,tion. The statue of liberty in the so-called land of freedom and Americanization. Politi cians a nd democratization. Their deceiving public reputations. Fund raising organized crime and their association . The presidential nomination. Corrupt administrations. The constitution and congressional legislation. Our rights and their violation. Wall street our economy unemployment and inflation. Government taxation. The powers and prin c ipalities and the ir collaboration. N.A.T.O. the U.N. ahd over seas relations. A New World Order the one world government and its formation. Demonetizations. One global c urrency c redit c ard verification . The mark of the beast the new ide ntification . Will they insert in us like dog's microchips by microm ini aturi zat io n? The re is already a company called A.D.S. with digital angel ready for microchip transplantation. The anti-Christ and world domination. The conquerors of the world and their coronation. The link between them oracles astrology and divination. Psychic consultations Parapsyc hology the intelligence agencies and their secret operations. CJ .A. STARGATE remote viewing a nd object ifi catio n. Project MKULTR A and be hav io ral modification. Hypnos is and sleep depravation. World Trade Organi zation. Monopolization of powerful corporations. Bureaucratic Big Brother dictation. The Uncle Sam best friend impersonation. Like COINTELPRO were always under their observation. They' re the puppet masters and using the strings is their· specialization. Knowledge is power and our lack of it no exaggeration. Were led astray by manipulation. By brainwashing and mfod control they gain our cooperation. Poisonous seeds being planted in our minds by penetration. Influe nced by the supplemental messages played by the radio and television stations. And Hollywood's feature presentatation. Violent dramatizations. The way they turn the truth into fairy tale s fictionalization. Popular perceptions and their assimilation. Were fed fabrication. An example is Project MOCKINGBIRD and CHAOS of the lies and their publication Propaganda in the media and their falsification. If the truth were air we' d be suffering from suffocation . Lack of real education like the public schools and indoctrination. Falsified historical documentation. The big bang theory evolution and its populari zation. Scientific ra ti ona li zation. Psychological s peculation Philosophical idealization . A rcheological excavation. Mathematical calculations. Went out into the world to multiply and our multiplication. Mastered the art of navigation Man and his inventions and innovations. Industrialization. T r a n s p o r t a t i o n . Commercialization.Aviation.Artificial Intelligence and its app li cation. N.A.S.A Hubble, Atlantis and space exploration. Of the planets stars and constellations. Computerized communications. Cyber space the Internet and the hi ghway of information. www.Computerization. D .V.D 's C.D's and Virtual reality simulations. Digital graph ics and animation. Technological globalization. Satellite tracking devices that can pinpoint our exact location. Just rent a new Cadillac OT­ S on your next vacation. There's ECHELON surveillance systems and triangulation. There 's laboratory experimentation. Cryogenics and human body refrigeratio~. Sperm donation. Artificial insemi nation. lnvitro fertilization. D.N.A genetic analysis a nd pre-implantation. Genetically engineering food animals and man is no hallucination. Were trying to be God and with the forbidden our fascina tion. Arms proliferation. The soldiers and their preparation. Military forces and their mobilization. Laser guided missiles Chemical, Biological and nuc lear warhead accumu lat ion. Killing machin es war a nd devastation. Population co ntrol vers us se lfpreservation. Suicide a nd selfmutilation. Abortion and genoc ide systematic extermination. Evi l our co ntamin atio n. In the executive legislative and judi c ial branc h configuration. Law and regulation. Police investigations. Interrogations Lawyers an ~ liti gatio~. Prosecutors and. accu s~t1ons. The Jury and their dehberat10n. The ir method of criminalization. Incarceration. The aggravation of no rehabilitation. Strict regimentation. Treated like an animal de human izati on. M a n' s Page 15 domestication. The fru stration of be in g just anothe r numbe r institutionalization. Then the so­ called emancipation, but not without parole or probation. The system and its sophi stic ation. To gain more wealth to consolidate controls the rich man's expectation. Back to the inner cities and it 's polarization and magnetization. Segregation. Integ rati on. Racism a nd discrimination. Crime a nd victimization. In the salad bowl melting pot culturization. Mode rn day slavery in the new plantation, but didn ' t Abraham already make the proclamation. Now they're confining their subjects by urbanization. The drug infestation. Doctor's and their recommendation's. The F.D.A. their miracle piUs and medication. They speak of a war against it but like Iran contra all I see is its continuation. Intoxication. Many are under these spell s and incantations a nd the sorcery behind the pharmaceutical phenomenon bas got us believing we can do it all in moderation. Fights and altercations. Murder and assassination. Endangered species and wildlife conservation Pollution and deforestation Diseases and pl agues and their ramifications. Gentrification. The Holy Land Peace Treaties and Negotiations. Natural disasters tornados, floods, earthquakes and emergency evacuations in this climatic situation. Our destruction and to it our desensitization and nullification A land of desolation. Thirst and dehydration. Homelessness hunger and starvation. Poverty and Desperation. From protests to riots to people's vilification. The sick and the dying and the hospitalization. Burials and cremations Prophesies being fulfilled unde~ closer examination to kill steal and destroy evil's only occupation the real .e ne my 's stratagem and its orchestration. The deceiver's dissimulation. The serpent and his solicitation. Sin and its . sensation. Sexual immorality likes homosex uality bestiality a nd masturbation. Unholy procreation. LikeEveandJezebelmansweakness and his infatuation. Women and their exploitation. Our moral deterioration. And al l thi s material saturation. Products from around the world and their importation. Were eati ng the fruit in the modem day garden of temptation. A lost generation. The Crookedness of an entire civilization . Babylon the great in revelation. The great city and her glorification. Filled with the filth of her abominations. Mothe r of Harl ots and her fornication. Living in the times of tribulations. Like Jeremiah in the book of lamentations. A world in need of salvation. The woman riding the beast and the euro dollar can you see the relation? Idols a nd their exaltation. Idolization. Demons beinoI:> worshiped under different name and shape variations. They're the cause of U.F.O's sightings apparitions ~nd t eir materialization. Notice the way they change form throughout history and our lives duration. False religions Guru's and reincarnation. The occult demonic possession voodoo and zombification. The false teacher false prophe t c ombin ation. Wolf 's in sheep 's clothing and their ordination. Deceiving the congregations. The tares among the wheat and their infiltration. Speaking of religious dogmatic universalization. The broad a nd wide road that leads to condemnation. The Harvest and its cultivation. The battle between good and evi l the final consummation. Our future and to it our fami liarization. Apocalypse and Armageddon and its anticipation. No one knows when the worlds going to end but they all have their estimations. Aren ' t the signs and wonders of the times a good enough indication? Of the coming judgment day wrath and indignation. Instead were living after our own imagination we choose the easy way for our lack of determination. For momentary pleasures of sin and instant self-gratification. We've gone from innocence to insubordination. Even though our decisions determine our final destination . Our potential and our underesti mation. Bad choices and their justification. The spirit and its vexation. The question in need of an explanation is our originat ion. Take this into consideration. The Creator created creation. God and his manifestation. The conception of emaculation. The Messiah's incarnation. The miracles and the mountain of transfiguration. The betrayal and crucifixion death by asphyxiation. By his blood the purification. The atonement of reconciliation. Witnesses and written which led to the bible and its translations. Merged with idolatry by Roman Catholic capitalistic christianization. The pope and his consecration. The church and the Different refo rmation. denominations. From this liberation. Found the answers by prayer and supplication. The tru th and its realization. The path of righteousness and it's illumination . The light that shines through the dark and it's visual ization. The facts and their Bring about me mori zation . co nfirma tio n. A stamp of authentication. The mind and its fortificat io n. Stud ying and re sea rch ing in a state of contemplation. To a higher level of co nsciousness we all need a graduation. What is written here shou ld be th ought about in meditation. So you may find en lighte nment and revitalization. From the problems in this life and their escalation. Knowledge, wisdom and und e rstandi ng Of Drea ms, visions, conspiracies, prophecies and their true interpretation True no man knows all things we all have our limitations. But you shouldn't deny or argue against true INSPIRATION. DAVID STEVEN M ITCHELL �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Page 16 Make The Veggie Transition Easy With Meat Substitutes By Susan Huesken If you ru:e thinking abou t becoming a vegetarian for health, environmental or ethical reasons, and are hesitant in doing so because you will be giving up many foods that you baye come to enjoy or crave, think again. There is a vegetarian alternative out there for almost every animal product available. Many are read ily available in your local grocery store, or can be mail ordered to aiTive at your door. The demand for meat protein substitutes has been growing.every year and food producers have been respondi ng with many am?zing products that taste almost like the real thing, but are much better because no anjmal had to suffer and die to make them. When you choose these products, you also reduce your risk of exposure to the many microbes that are found in raw meat and milk , that cause millions of iJlnesses and thousands of deaths annually. One of the most familiar and popular foods in the United States is the hamburger, and not surprising th is was one of the first meat alternatives developed to supply the demand for. those who wanted a burger but not one made from an animal. Now most Americans have had so me expos ure to veggie burgers. They are sold at your local s upermarket, and at famiJiar restaurant chains such as Friday's, Johnny Rockets, Hard Rock Cafe and many others throughout the U.S. and Europe. McDonald's and Burger King also sell veggie burgers in Europe, and with the threat of Life and Gardenburger's Flame Gtilled Style are made from soy and /or wheat gluten, and mimic the taste of traditional ground beef burgers. Others, such as the original Gardenburgerthat is sold at Friday's are made from combinations of grains, beans and vegetables, and create a new and delicious type of burger experience. With so many types to choose from you will surely be able to find several brands that you enjoy. Another popular American food is the hot dog, which is available in a veggie version in many grocery stores, and in most health food stores across the U.S. There are many brands to choose from, some contain very little fat; I personally prefer the ones with higher fat content. With these veggie dogs you do not have to worry about what parts of the animals are thrown in the mixture , or be concerned about nitrites that are used in processing. They are definitely much healthier for you! Believe it or n9t there are even meat sub stitutes available for seafood products. Worthington Foods make veggie sea scallops and aproductcalled"Tuno"thattastes so much like tuna, that you could make a faux tuna salad from it and fool all your meat-eating friends. You can purchase these produc~s at Kroger's and Saigon Market (located in the Findley Market area); they are also ayailable by mail order. Fish and seafood are among the most highly contaminated animal foods because said fishes and sea animals spend their lives living in polluted waters and concentrate toxic substances, STREETVIBES TELEVISION Streetvibes TV is produced Live, the Second Tuesday of each month, · 7 - 8 PM , at Media Bridges, 2114 Reading Road, Cincinnati Ohio. If you would like to participate in making an episode of Streetvibes TV, please call us at 421-7803. Mad Cow disease and the latest outbreak of Hoof and Mouth Disease, I am sure they are as popular as ever! There are many brands and types of veggie burgers available to choose from: Boca Burger, Light come in ham or turkey style, phoney baloney, veggie bacon and many more. You can also buy veggie bacon bits for your salads, veggie pepperoni for your pizza, and jerky for a snack. You can start your day with "fakin bacon" or vegg ie sausage links or patties, that can be served with " tofu scrambler'', a scrambled egg alternative that is really good. You do not need to deprive y"ourself of other trad iti onal American favorites; easy to prepare veggie mixes are available that let you make 'meaty ' BBQ, Tacos, chili, sloppy joes, meatballs, beef stew, and burgers. Faux turkey, chicken, roast beef and tenderloin tips ' n mushrooms are also available in mixes and each'comes with a savory gravy. For those of you who do not want to consume dairy, there are many delicious ~ltei;nati ves. There are now so ·many companies making soy, rice, and almond milks that it is h~d to choose one; you can ev.en buy s~y milk in l/2 gallon cartons in the dairy case. You can choose from, chocolate, vanilla and plain. ·Soy yogurt by White Wave is very good and can be use as you would dairy yogurt. No need to pine away for Graters ice cream when you can by pints or quarts of "Soy Delicious'', which is so good and comes in so many flavors that, you will never miss dairy ice cream again. Non~dairy creamers for your coffee are sold at grocery stores. Soy cheeses are also available at health food stores. Don 't forget good old tofu that has been around for centuries as an alternative for meat. No doubt you have been hearing or reading about its health benefits. If you have tried it once and were not impressed, it is because you did not taste one of the recipes from Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler. It is so versatile and economical. There are many types available from soft to extra firm, and also the silken varieties that can be u sed for puddings, sauces, desserts and more. When you try a veggie product, (for example a soy hot dog) that you don ' t like, try another brand. The same goes for all the other products en the market. These meat and dairy substitutes are rapidly appearing in the marketplace because there is such a demand, and they are improving all the time, but as with other products at the grocery store you are not go.ing to like alJ of them. But I am sure you willfmd many products that you like and hopefully realize that with food this good there is realJy no reason to eat meat. These meat alternatives might be just the foods to get you committed to a vegetarian diet and helpyoutornaketbetransitionvery easily. But if you are like me, after being meat free for a while, you will soon discover how good just fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes can be, and how good you will feel eating them. If you are interested in ordering some of th e ·meat analogues that I mentioned above here is how: For a copy ofThe Mail Order Catalog for Healthy Eating call toll free at 1-800-695-2241 and they will send you a COP)'.· Check out their web site at www.healthy­ eating.com or for a copy of the Dixie Diners Club mail order book call toll free 1-800-233-3668 (1­ 800-BEEF-NOT). DISC J OCKEY SE l~Vl CE Cli££ord Jones (5 13) ·230-635 3 May Schedule Re-Broadcast Dates for May's Show on Channel 24: (Please check your schedule) Friday, May 11, at 5 PM Saturday, May 19, at 9 PM Tuesday, May 22 at 9 PM Friday, May 25, at 5 PM Broadcast schedules are subject to change ­ Consult your local TV directory. ''""''"""· c:. Voicemail ~c-~ l>~ticx change· # The GCCH would like to tha nk.this Starbucks loca tion for the ir g e n e rous -dona tion of coff e e a nd p astries . 3 366 Erie Avenue E ast Hyde Park (513) 533-3402 �STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Qiy~rting Reprinted from Real Change SEATTLE (ANS) - Three years ago, Stanley Stevenson, a much loved local firefighter, was murdered by a mentally ill man who bas been shunted back and forth between Washington state's social service and justice sys tems for years. Stevenson's death prompted a hard look at the qual i~y of communication between the state courts and human service agencies, and many concluded that the firefighter would still be alive today if the system had been designed to deal with the mentally ill, who run a fow l from the law. Today Stevenson's legacy is the King County Mental Health Court in Seattle. After studying possible approaches to dealing with the growing number of mentally ill defendants, and including the Stevenson family in the process, King County officials opened the court in 1999. By offering those defendants who commit misdemeanors treatment instead of jail, a judicial team hopes to reduce recidivism, keep the public safer by thwarting more heinous crimes, and to give these mentally ill men and women a chance to live relatively stable lives. "When I heard abo ut the concept, I had a high expectation that a different way of doing business should be successful," said Judge Jim Cayce, who presided over the Seattle court last August. Dealing with the mentally ill defendants in a traditional court system had left him feeling frustrated without a grasp of how Page 17 the Mentally ID from Jail to get them the treatment they so obviously needed, Cayce said. But once the court was up a running he saw almost immediate benefits. Recidivism , while hard to quantify, was lower than in regular court. Access to treatment facilities and compliance with the treatment orders rose. The new system wasn 't perfect - the shelter beds and ce nters for drug and alcoho l treatments were scarce - but it was working. "I saw a tremendous number of people [who] came through in ctire c ircum s tances whose life circumstances improved from when we first saw them to when they left the court after s uccessfu l compliance," said Cayce. Cases before the court vary. One defendant , for example, was charged with assaulting his mother, with whom he lived. An honor student until his first psychotic episode, he needed treatment, not jail, his mother argued. Another woman, whose mental illness was well documented, was in court for stalking her former husband. A Ph.D. candidate, former school teacher, and mother of two, she finally agreed to an evaJµation at the mental hospital, accepted that she had an illness, and agreed to strictly comply with the requirements of the treatment program. The growi ng number of mentally i1J prisoners has caused · concern across the country. According to the federal government, up to 16 percent of all inmates - 283,000 of those behind bars - have a severe mental illness such as p syc hosis or manic depression. Up to 90 percent also suffer from substance abuse. Indeed, experts say, most of the illegal acts of the mentally ill are directly related to the chronic shortage of programs that integrate mental health a nd subs tance abuse treatments. " Clearly a jail or prison is absolutely the worst environment that you can put someone with severe mental illnesses," said Ron Honberg legal defender for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ul. Most of these offenders are not h~rdened criminals, he pointed out, but people who have not received the focused and complex array of treatment services they need. Whi le mental health courts exist, they have, to varied degrees, served as catalysts for services in their committee, advocates say. Having a court mandated treatment plan and accountability to a judge gives the defendant a lot more confidence to access those services and "often plays a dynamic role in brining the provider to the client," said Judge Stephanie Rhoades, who runs the mental health court in Anchorage. Teamwork makes these courts tick. Rather than the numerous attorneys, judges, and health care workers that a defendant might see in regular court, in Seattle's mental health court there is just one judge, one prosecutor, one defense attorney, one treatment contact, and one parole officer with vastl y reduced caseloads to better serve their clients. Participation in the court is voluntary: But most of the people who are eligible agree to enroll. Of the 199 referrals to Seattle court last year, just 17 refused to participate last year. Generally those who do participate successfully avoid j ail time. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren presides over Florida's mental health court in Fort Lauderdale. A p ioneer of the concept, she explained that the essence of her court is the decriminalization of mental illness. Committing a minor c rim e while in the throes of a psychotic episode is far different from committing a similar action with one 's mental fac ilities al l intact, she said. "The objective of the cou1t was not to panacea f? r the deficits in the community mental hea lth" said Lerner-Wren. "It was designed to improve the ad mini stratio n of j ustice for these citizens and in the spirit of the ADA (American Disabilities Act), to level the playing file so they don't languish in j ail for up to 210 days on simple types of misdemeanors simply because of their mental illnesses." The hope that Mental Health courts offer drew the attention of Congress last year and resulted in the legislation that would establish more than 100 similar courts across the country. Keeping these co urts' effective ness and role in the perspective is important, said Judge Mark Chow, who now heads the Seattle team. "This just happen_s to be a small piece of a big picture," be said "if there's going to be (real) support for the mentally ill it needs to be done before they are committing crimes." New Study Examines Homeless Healthcare By Blaise Maccaronne Reprm · ted from spare Ch ange The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has recently pub li shed a study examining the varying degrees of healthcare available to, and used by, the homeless population of America. The authors of this study, Margot B. Kushel, MD, Eric Vittinghoff, PhD, and Jenpifer S. Hass MD , examined interviews conducted by homeless assistance programs with a total of 2,974 homeless people around the country. From these interviews they have concluded that a homeless person's health coverage, or lack of coverage, has a lo~ to do with the kind of medical care they are able to receive for thetr dlnes~es, which are often more frequent and severe than those . of the non-homeless population. In fact ~he study observed that "In the Uruted States' on1Ypersons older than 65 years of age ha_d a rate of hospitalization as those ID our study, whose median age ~~s 37 y~ars." The study_..group exhibited high rates of mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug and alcohol abuse. . M~re than ?alf of the people mterviewed said that they were uninsured and over one fourth said that they had not had contact with any type of medical care in the past year or more. One fourth said that they needed medical care in the past year and they had not been able to receive it. Just under half of those studied said that · they were supposed to be taking a prescription medication, but most of these peop 1e were not able to get the · that they needed. med"1cation The conclusion of all of this is someth"mg that homeless people, and those who work with them, have known for a while: If you are unable to get health insurance often your only option is to wait until your illness gets serious enough for you to go to the emergency room for treatment. While the mainstream American can afford at least doctor's visits, if not rehabilitation clinks and mental health care, the homeless have the more immediate concerns o f obtaining food and housing before they get the luxury of thinking about their illness. Though this study may not have contained many revelations for tbe homeless community about the state of their healthcare, the fact that it was published in the JAMA . may be a great step toward nat10n­ · · · · wide recognition of this problem. The study concludes with these thoughts, "These data suggest that improving insurance rates amongst homeless persons will require not only expansion of eligibility, but also improvement in identifying and enrolling those who qualify. The provision of medical insurance may... decrease the tendency am·ong homeless persons to delay d d Th. · is, m turn , may nee e care. contribute to decreasing high rates of emergency department use and inpatient hospitalizations and may (have a favorable impact on 1 · ) b ·d · essenmg mor 1 ity among homeless persons." Maybe now that the doctors have completed this study more people will take notice of homeless health care issues. �Page 18 STREETVIBES MAY 2001 Mt. Airy , from page 1 sufficiency. Amidst claims that there are no funds to run the only county shelter for the homeless, county officials claim that the shelter buildings are falling apart, and that there is no ma ndate to help homeless men, unlike other populations the county serves. In fact, advocates from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Rebellion, from pa:ge I the inne r city to that of police/ community relations may miss an opportunity to unde rsta nd suc h p robl e ms in a deeper and more syste mic se nse. · Worse, constructing Over-the­ Rhine issues ideologically around police/community relations may re inforce a · rathe r truncated discourse about c rime, where behaviors of outrage are isolated from the social context that produces them: "If you do the crime, you do the time ," period . Crime here simply becomes an individual matter, its origin in social life neatly dismissed. As the ironically named Mr. Fangman, the aggressive president of the Fraternal Order of Police, notes, "We can't help it that these suspects committed violent acts. We_ don' t create these situations, folks, we just react to " t h e m The mass media and some political leaders have already exercised this punitive discourse, evoking references to the Gaza Strip, Beirut, and LA, and denigrating enraged black youth as looters, rioters, knuckleheads, lawbreakers, and ro ving· mobs, de void of humanity, just "dogs" in the street. This kind of discourse will never r~veal how people of color have been systematically disenfranchised and brutalized in thi s co untry. While everyone focuses on the "viole nce" currently raging in the s treets, we need to come to understand how violence has been waged against African Am~ricans and other people of color for a very long time. These trends cripple the Uvelihood and reveal the sham of Homeless say that the con1bined operating and capital budget of the shelter is only about $750,000 per year and Hamilton County DHS pay approximately half of this amount. Remaining funding comes from outside the Department of Human Services with a combination of Federal, State, and private grants making·up the balance. And as far as building maintenance, advocates point to the county's recent use of Plan, County Commissioners and federal Emergency Shelter Grant City Councilman adopted a plan that doll ars to replace old windows and would maintain the number of beds renovate the heating system for the provided by homeless shelters in our shelter. communi ty, with no pl ans to As this issue presses forward, the eliminate the 65 beds at Mt. Airy Hamilton County Commissioners Shelter. Will they now leave the will de termine the final decision thou sands of home less me n of regarding the fate of Mt. Airy Shelter Cincinnati wondering wh~ther they Center. In the last Consolidated will be able to find help? "equal opportunity" for communities of color- and African­ American communities in our inner cities in particular. The "hyper­ segregation" of blacks in the inner cities is now a structural reality. As sociologists Massey and Denton say in their book American Apartheid, "One-third of all Aftican Americans in the United States live under conditions .of in te n s~ rac ial segregation ... No other group in the contemporary United States comes close to this level of isolation within urban socie ty." Recent census data now states that Cincinnati is the eighth-most segregated city in the US. This extreme social and spatial isolation exacerbates the pathological effects of poverty, making it difficult to sustain neighborhood institutions and social organization . Revitalization efforts in Over­ the-Rhine are selling an image that has no place for the poor who actually live there. "Development" means attracting people of higher incomes to live and play and work. Certainly development is a complex process entailing change, and I am not suggesting that the neighborhood keep out newcomers, including people of higher mean s . My point is that the city fights to deny resources to community-based organi zation s while promoting renovation that expressly caters to whiter, wealthier residents. And in this process, the buildings and urban ambiance are sold like a stage-set to folks who want to consume an urban night out. OTR is being Disney-fied, and this requires pushing people who don' t look nice on the postcard out of the way. No wonder Over-the­ Rhine residents feel resentful of such a development strategy. No wonder Main Stree t sy mboli zes the inc ursion of foreign investment. Will such conditions propel new thinking within the city's elite about how to vie w urba n i ssues a nd propose solutions? I am doubtful. Hardly any version of co~unity developme nt today is conce ptuali zed outside of the ideology of corporatism, with its lingo of public/private partnerships, enterprise and empowerment zones, tax abatements, tax incentives, and deregulatory legislation, all of which are ploys to advance privatization, to reduce environmental standards, and generally to subordinate social movements to the interests of business and the profit system. Community development has been reduced to a kind of plea­ bargaining with the powers that be, such that utopian vi sion (full employment? housing as a right? free healthcare? transportation as a right?) cannot even make it to the table, and thus what ends up construc ted as hope within the community is the desire to have a little more money funneled in its 'd i r e c t i o n Trying to meet social need within a systemic distribution of resources that is badly skewed and maladjusted is the domina nt ideology-in community development today. Make no mistake; I am not dis paragin g community-based ac ti vists. But I do ins ist that Cincinnatians understand the larger forces at work over the last 50 years and to see how they circumscribe and conditio n wha t is conceptualized as possibility on the part of community leaders . That community in stitutions Streetvibes Classified Social Security/SS! Denied? Call -John M. Keegan Attorney at Law Practice concentrated in Social Security/SSI Disability Law NO FEE UNLESS WE WIN continue to persist at all within this context is an amazing testament, consider the 30-plus year history of th e O ver-th e-Rhine People's Movement. We should be thankful for their unending and tireless work to mee t desper a te need. Urban disruption indicts the institutional rules that structure police/community relations, race relation s, .and community development in the US , and Cincinnati. It is the clarion call that such rules are not working, and that the new theoretical ground already embodied by such groups as the Over-the-Rhine People's Movement and the Black United Front needs to take root. The concept of"violence" needs expansion. Ge ntrification that produces displacement is an act of · violence. Ignoring the 1985 Over­ the:.Rhine Comprehensive Plan wi th its clear call to preserve a minimum base of low-income housing is an act of violence. Economic development that neglects to provide jobs for the people in OTR is an act of violence. Building stadia and supportin g corporations at public expense while closing inner city schools are acts of violence. These violences are not separate fr om the i ssues we normally associate with police/community relations, or race relations. They are integ~al. And as long as all these issues are theorized on the same ground, within the same institutional rules, in favor of the same powerful groups who make those rules, poor communities of color will only lose. We should not be surpri sed when such communities erupt in righteous anger against the bonds of their oppression. Americorps VISTA Positions Available! GCCH Position Available The NortheastOhio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) bas positions available in Canton, Akron, Cleve­ land, Columbus, and Cincinnati with the Homeless Children and Youth Project. Contact the NEOCH for more information. Outreach Coordinator will direct the Speaker 's Bureau. The Outreach Coordinator will recruit cites and speakers for the GCCH Speaker 's Bureau. This coordina­ tor will also assess the speakers in the Speaker's Bureau. ~ (513) 651-9222 ~ NEOCH 201 2 West 25th Street $717 Cleveland, Ohio 4411 3 FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION email: neoch @bbs2.rmrc.net www.neoch.org (216) 241-1104 Interested applicants should contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elrri. Street, Cincinnati Ohio 45210 or call (513) 421-7803. �Page 19 STREETVIBES MAY 2001 View, from page 1 Calendar of Events Sireetvibe.s bas a monthly calendar of events to keep you informed. Please contact us if you have an item to list. Any submission is welcome: local community council meetings. social justice fora-ms, protests, · community festivals, art shows, etc. Please call :421-7803, fax to 421-7813 or email streetvibes@juno.com to list an event. May 3 6 .15 16 17 19 19 Amnesty International Cincinnati Group 86 meeting, l:OOp.m. at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion. For more information, ·contact Amnesty International at 221-7 659 EartbSave Dining Out, 6:00 p.m. ata restaurant to be determined, Call EarthSave at 929~ 2500 or. Macy Ann Lederer at 591­ 3003 for more information. Over the Rhine Park.s and Recreation Committee Meeting; 12 :15 p.m. at the Contact Center. Call 381-4242 for more infor~ ma ti on. Greater Cincinnati Allia.nce fo r Democracy meeting, 7:30 pm, Old St. George Church, 42 Calhoun Street. For more information, call 542­ 0958 or 662-3712. Greater Cincinnati Coali­ tion for the Homeless General Body Meeting, 1:30 p.m. at the Drop Inn Center. Call 421-7803 for more i,nfonnation. EarthSave Vegetarian Pot Luck Dinner, 6:00 p.m. at St. John's Unitarian Church, 320 Resor. For more information, call EarthSave at 929-2500 or call Mary Ann Lederer 591-3003. The Catholic Social Action Office presents Toward a Region in Balance: A Catholic Perspective, a forum about human, ecological and economic dimensions of regional stability f rom 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the First United Church of Chris t, 5808 Glenway Avenue, College Hill. Cost including lunch is $35. For more informa­ tion, contact Catholic Social Action at (513) 421 -3131 x239. stability to uncertainty. Of course this can be varied to the degree that there is no uni versal cause. However, the effects are the same. Education plays such an important role in the determination of failure or success in our society that it cannot be ov.e rlooked or under rated in its importance. The formal aspect of education is a necessity to a degree, but the practical aspect of education is as important. It takes a combination of the two to create a working program. The saying that everyone needs someone is even more vital to the street person the n one might imagine. It is an essential that those who live this life have some degree of support, if there is to be any sense redefining in their lives. The support that one gets from those who Ii ve the same life, is one thing , it allows one a sense of belonging, however, if there is no outside influence or effect Barrier, from page 7 us as African Americans will form the basis for an article or series to be written on the subject. The question is not really whether there are barriers to recovery unique to African Americans. To most knowledgable professionals in the field, such as Roger Zellars, the n there is not much hope for change or relief from the same old same old. It is absolutely pertinent that som e other supports be included, if there is to be any change in the l ives of those who live the street life. The street person often finds themselves in need of those influences, even if no more than a word of encouragement. Services, wh1ch can make a difference, are often not available to the street person. Then when they are, it is often .just as hard for the street person to utilize those services. There may be various reasons why the street person cannot make the most of these serv ices, anything from not being able to get to the particular service that can help them in a given situation, too not having the time to attend. Often the street person has necessities that hamper them from attending: such things as showering times to feeding times at the local kitchens. What this means is that if the service is available at a certain time the street person may have more pressing issues like the above mentioned, ie., bathing or eating which may be available at those times only. Also, there may be the instance in whlch the street person may feel intimidated by such a service, causing them to forgo the help simply because of ego, or some other self induced expression. The idea that these factors can be detrimental to the survival of the street person is susceptible towards the possibility, for change in the Iives of the street person. It is with this reality that the problem of homelessness and the idea of the street wisdom must be confronted. The entire situation of street life, as viewed by me is based upon these precepts . I t is with th is understanding that we as a society must confront the situation, if there is to be a difference in the future. Assistant Director of the Prospect House; Inc., a long term residential chemical dependency treatment program of national repute, the answer to this question has long been known. This topic was placed on the "floor" for discus­ sion at a Black Support Meeting,. held at the Prospect House every Monday, Wednesday (in house), and the last Saturday of every month for social recovery (sober booty shakin' ) added to the two hour discussion of various recov­ ery, but surprisingly not necessarily culturally specific topics. The question is how and to what extent treatment and when. Respect, fro m page 8 between "WE THE PEOPLE" will every one of us has to make: political earned, fought for, and guarded get the job done. And we must sta11 and ' economic freedom or political jealously. If we do not do this then NOW, tomorrow just may be way or econo mic slavery. P ol itical "We the people" will continue to too late! Each of us CAN make a pa1ties are not the answer, they are slide into the bonds of political difference. Education is the key that the havens of our oppressors. Men s lavery, eco nom ic sl avery, a nd opens the door, work is the oil that and w ome n of in tegri ty are the eventually plain old slavery. Feeling makes the process move, and open answer. People of the people, by the sorry for ourselves will not change communica ti on is the forc e that people, and for the people. Nothing a thing. Only open communication holds the door open! It's a choice else will do! I . , . Evangelist, from page 4 etc . I concluded w ith the sole solution to conquering the betrayer: love one another (v.34). This is the message of Christ, a nd sho uld be the mes sage of Christians everywhere.· Otherwise we shall find our city in a state of decline. A lready prospective business to the city has been scared off. I say this with the knowledge that seven churches from other states have cancelled youth mission trips to our c hurc h a nd c ommunity, because the media picture is not an inviting one. We are talking about almost 200 volunteers and thousands of work hours the Camp Washington community will lose. In what manner has this state of affairs affected other communities, c hurche s, bu sines se s and organizations? Mayor Luken has asked for our assistance, and I in turn, as a citizen; ask for his. Give us a new charter and policies which will address the economic and racial disparities in our city. Do not allow big business or politics, in whatever form they may come disguised, change from a course which will give the country confidence in our ability to li ve peaceably and equally. There is much to do, and I shall be doing as you the reader very well know. Come visit u ~ at Washington United Church of Christ, 2950 Sidney Ave. We have Sunday Worship at 1Oam, Tuesday and Thursday evening meals at6:15pm. Our freestore is open Tuesday and Thursday from 12pm to 2pm and Saturday 2p to 4pm. There is always something going on at Washington. Come and share in the love and fellowship. May 12 from 9am to 1pm is our Health Fair. Doctors, Dentist, nurses (free health screenings), barbers (free haircuts), etc. will be on hand. For additional information call 54 I -7757. His Humble Servant, The Evangelist Rodney L. Sutton, Sr. Are you a dedicated individual with a desire to educate the public about homelessness? Volunteer at Streetvibesl We need writers, photog:rapers, editors, webpage updators:' any help you can provide. Call 421-7803 for more information. • �mMfMEttt;_Mfn 721-4580 Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 241-0504 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 859-491-4435 421-2437 621-5991 Beech Acres 231-6630 Center !or Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in North side 591-2246 Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 St. Francis/St.Joseph House 381-494 1 661 -4620 Mt. Airy Center Volunteers of Amer. 381-1954 §HE!.MM 761-1480 Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House 821-5100 381 -5432 Friars Club Drop Inn Center (Singles) 721-0643 Haven House (Hamilton) 863-8866 Interfaith Hospitality Ntwk 471-11 oo Lighthouse Youth Center (Teens) 961-4080 St. John's Temp Housing 651 -6446 ReSTOC Tender Mercies Tom Geiger House 381-1171 639-7056 961-4555 f8UfitlljfiW!Hlm O.D.A.A.T First Step Home 221-6937 961-4663 569-1840 Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati 721-2522 Contact Center 381-4242 241 -2563 Emanuel Comm. Center Freestore/Foodbank 241-1064 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 421-7803 G.C. Coalition for the Homeless Hamilton Co. Mental Health Board 621-7149 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Resource Center 357-4602 352-2902 Homeless Mobile Health Van House of Refuge Mission 22 1-3619 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Center 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 Oral Health Council 621-0248 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-551 4 Project Connect •• Homeless Kids 357-5720 St. Vincent De Paul 562-8841 The Emergency Food Center 471-4357 Travelers Aid 721-7660 United Way 721-7900 VA Homeless Program 859-572-6226 Women's Crisis Center 859-491-3335 Women Helping Women 872-9259 � 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 2001 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 2001 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Rebellion in Cincinnati: Violence by Any Other Name Mt. Airy Shelter Fights for Survival Pg 2: Vendor Profile Pg 3: Through the Eyes of a Health Care for Homeless Veterans/Social Work Intern Celebrating Rev. McCrackin “Mac” Day 2001 Pg 4: Provider of the Month: Kevin Finn Words from the Evangelist Pg 5: Agency Profile: Corryville Family Resource Center Vibin’ on the Moon: Wesak Celebration Pg 6: Police-Community Relations: The Double-Edge Sword Pg 7: Recovery Barrier More Common among African Americans Pg 8: Prisoners’ News Pg 9: Welfare News Pg 10: Police Brutality: Who are the Real Criminals Pg 11: Police Brutality Continued Pg 12: Editorials Pg 13: Homelessness: A Telling Symptom Pg 14: Arts & Poetry Pg 15: Arts & Poetry Continued Pg 16: Make the Veggie Transition Easy with Meat Substitutes Pg 17: Diverting the Mentally Ill from Jail New Study Examines Homeless Healthcare Pg 18: Mt. Airy Continued Rebellion Continued Pg 19: View Continued Barrier Continued Respect Continued Evangelist Continued Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 2001 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Alicia Beck Susan Knight Tom Billman Dan Marschner H.L. Bowen Pat Mitchell Mary A. Gaffney Mary Taylor Mr. Lee Brian Garry Maleshia R. Neugerbauer Aaron Pitchford Rodney Sutton David Mitchell Susan Hueshin Ronald Leroy English Abdul Karriem Muhammad Linda L. Berger Iah Isreal Kenneth D. Smith Tyrone Smith Kunta Kenyatta Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aaron Pitchford Abdul Karriem Muhammad Alicia Beck Arts & Poetry Brian Garry Corryville Family Resource Center Dan Marschner David Mitchell Editorials Evangelist H.L. Bowen Healthcare Iah Isreal jail Justice System Kenneth D. Smith Kunta Kenyatta Linda L. Berger MAC Maleshia R. Neugerbauer Mary A. Gaffney Mary Taylor mental illness Mr. Lee National News Pat Mitchell police brutality prisoners news Race Rodney Sutton Ronald Leroy English Social Work Supreme Court Susan Hueshin Susan Knight Tom Billman Tyrone Smith UC Hospital veterans welfare reform