6 10 291 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/5dd922dd1b5871a14fed733ccb929171.pdf c109a4eb0599a2a1070a12f628cedf41 PDF Text Text December 15th - December 28th 2017 | Vol. 20 Issue 52 (No. 371) advocating justice | building community Looking Back At 2017 | 3 This Issue is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral INSIDE THIS ISSUE Homeless In SF: A Walk in the Park | 2 Photo Essay: Annual Dinner | 9 Street Life Our Reality | 12 Forum Focuses on Local Responses to Trump's Immigration Policies | 5 Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL From The Director: The Worst Time of Year T his is the worst time of year. I know plenty of folks consider this the best time of year. A time of reflection, perhaps giving, family, celebration, etc. But for our folks without homes it is cold, potentially snowy and more difficult to get things done because of so much distraction caused by the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, we are thankful for the folks who donate and attend our annual dinner. We are also thankful for the root message of these upcoming holidays (which often gets overlooked). But the cold and holiday closures make this time of year especially difficult. There currently are not enough funds made available to open the Winter Shelter in time for the dropping temperatures. We are working and advocating for the City of Cincinnati to put in an additional $60,000 which would get the Winter Shelter open and operational by the fifteenth of this month. Getting public dollars to adequately fund something as simple as a Winter Shelter should not be difficult, but getting all the pieces to fit together to make this happen is difficult. Please stay tuned as we may need to solicit your vocal support. On December 21st, the longest night of the year we will gather in Washington Park to honor those who have died in our area over the past year due to homelessness. Last year there were 72 people we knew about. Certainly, the number was JOSH SPRING Executive Director actually higher, but these are the folks we knew about. Over the upcoming days we will be collecting names from our Member Organizations. If you know of someone, please let us know. You can also join us at 5:30pm in Washington Park on December 21st as we take part in National Homeless Memorial Day. As we end this year and head into 2018 we continue the fight we have been in since our inception; the fight to end and prevent homelessness. We will remain focused on several particular efforts that are a part of our larger strategy: the creation and funding of a local affordable housing trust fund to generate local revenue to build and sustain affordable housing, the organizing of Tenants in representing thousands of units of affordable housing which is threatened with closure or loss due to gentrification, displacement, slumlords, etc., our work to end the D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 criminalization of homelessness in local laws, our community outreach meant to educate people about the causes of homelessness and empower people to stand with us as we work for systematic solutions and our support and unity of our many Member Organizations working daily with people currently experiencing homelessness. If you are not already working with us, please do. Please call us, email us or stop in so that we can discuss how you can get involved in this struggle to end the systematic problem of homelessness which harms individuals and families and shortens lifespans. You are valuable, and your partnership would be valuable as well.believe that most companies are trying to provide people with quality services because it is the right thing to do? Certainly not. Do you believe that in order to get a profit companies are working to provide people with increasing quality? Primarily companies are trying to cut their own costs through paying poverty wages whether directly or through other companies they contract, purchasing parts cheaply and providing an end product that people think is good, but really doesn’t have the quality it pretends to have. It is about the façade to get profit. This applies to small and large products we purchase. This also Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Mona Jenkins Director of Education: Dr. Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Larry Johnson, Anne Evans (Continued on page 5) Maintenance: Pete Roper Homeless in SF: A Walk in the Park G olden Gate Park knifes its rectangular finger for more than three miles from the Pacific Ocean into the center of beautiful San Francisco. You know: that city where Tony Bennett left his heart a long time ago. He's certainly not the only one to have done so. The park is half a mile wide, and is home to spectacular museums, ball parks, Japanese and Chinese gardens and shrines. A herd of Buffalo roam through one fenced-off area. The lakes and landscaping there are spectacular. It JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer might remind one a bit of Spring Grove Cemetery... without the dead people, and brimming with life. It is also “home' to many Bay Area people experiencing homelessness. San Francisco is mostly a city of soft edges. The red swooping bridge, steep hills, “little cable cars,” ferries scudding constantly around the Bay. The notorious Alcatraz island prison, now a major tourist attraction. By and large the city is clean and calm, famously welcoming to LGBTs for many decades. The weather never goes below freezing. The police force seems laid-back and “obscure” for the most part. The primary homeless district downtown is named “The Tenderloin.” How sweet is that? In short San Francisco has a huge appeal. And, although the skyrocketing rent structure makes it very unwelcoming to the poor (the African American community has become tiny and dispersed). Nonetheless, because of its weather, its history, and its awesome beauty, San Fran continues to attract a sizable homeless community. By all appearances, people ----------------------------------------------CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: experiencing homelessness there look and live quite differently from their fellow homeless brothers and sisters in cities like Cincinnati. Very few of its homeless population generally were born in that uppity city. Like the Haight-Ashbury hippies of the '60s, many of them come there—as I was told— because, “it’s a great place to be homeless.” You see, San Francisco's homeless are by and large, young and white. Downtown, some own sleeping rights in favorite doorways, or storefronts, once the stores (Continued on page 5) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Spring, Jim Luken, Dr. Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Saad Ghosn, Steve Sunderland, Ricardo Taylor, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones ----------------------------------------------Photography/ Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Jim Luken, Saad Ghosn, Laura Domet, Bill Woods --------------------------------------------------Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �No. 37 1 3 LOCAL Looking Back at 2017 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 DR. MARK MUSSMAN E ach year, the Homeless Coalition works tirelessly to eradicate homelessness. We do this through various means, each department working separately, but also in concert with each other. When I say department, I really just mean our one employee in that department and then our member organizations and volunteers who assist us in our goals. We are fortunate to have so much support in the community, and we could not do it without the whole region’s efforts. For our advocacy department, Josh Spring, our Executive Director, and Daulton King, a Public Ally, countless hours were spent organizing tenants, working with community leaders at City Hall, and crafting documents to be used in legal cases, city motions, and other venues. Our advocacy has resulted in hundreds of families being able to stay in their homes this year. They have also continued the work to de- Staff Writer has crafted membership packets with great items and information. For me, in education, I work with schools,communitygroups,churches, and others to help educate the public about hunger, homelessness, poverty, displacement, and gentrification – among other topics. I do this by providing enriching educational programming to students and adults throughout the city, region, and country. In the course of a year, we bring our educational programming to about 5000 people. It is no small feat, when you consider how many days there are in the year! Our Speaker’s Bureau is certainly our flagship program. This program was started after people who were experiencing homelessness were being physically assaulted and brutalized by young people in our community. The Homeless Coalition realized that it wasn’t good enough to reach adults, but we need to shift the thinking of young people in the Education Director Dr. Mark and Development Director Mona Jenkins at the Burning the Mortgage Event Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman criminalize homelessness through the survey they have been collecting for well over a year. A huge change will come to Cincinnati because of the work Josh has been doing with the Affordable Housing Advocates on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In March 2018, we should start to see some significant legislative progress on the Trust Fund, which will fund the creation and maintenance of affordable housing in Cincinnati. Our Development Director Mona Jenkins, has been recruiting new members, helping keep members in the loop about what’s happening in the city, and finding new and creative ways to help us to become selfsufficient. Mona has increased our membership by more than 10% this year, and we started doing the Mona and Mark Show on Facebook to keep people updated on issues we see in the community. We also started a weekly email update about our member organizations, and Mona process of eradicating homelessness. This shift in thinking doesn’t just represent the humanization of people experiencing homelessness, but also the understanding that solution lies in affordable housing and livable wages. We do speaking engagements year-round and whenever we are needed. The cost for the program is shared with the speaker, and is a great way to support people experiencing homelessness or those whose housing is threatened. Another one of our educational offerings is a Social Justice Walking Tour of Over-the-Rhine where we educate participants on the history and contemporary issues in the neighborhood. I focus on the Overthe-Rhine People’s Movement, which are the people and organizations that have been fighting for dignity in the neighborhood for the past 50 years. Each neighborhood block contains countless stories of individuals and organizations working together to bring a better life to the people living here, a story about the city neglecting those who need the most help, and years ago. Shelter Seekers put you in the shoes of someone working in a shelter, deciding who can stay the night, given limited room. Our Streetvibes Shadow activity also gives participants an opportunity to learn about Cincinnati’s anti-solicitation laws from a Streetvibes Distributor, then go into the streets and try to Distributor Lee with Xavier University CUE participants Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman neighbors banding together to find a solution. It’s a unique experience, and I highly recommend it to everyone who might want to understand what is exactly happening in Over-theRhine. Our CUE (Cincinnati Urban Experience) trips are ways in which local and national universities bring service-learning experiences to their students. We partner with local churches, organizations, and schools to create an exceptional program among Alternative Breaks in the country. Our program helps participants learn the ins and outs of community involvement, social justice, non-profits, and gentrification. CUE trips last 5-10 days, and are very intense. I am often drained, but this year we had great groups of students from all over the country, and we are looking forward to expanding the program beyond Spring and Fall Breaks with Keene College’s (New Hampshire) visit this month. Our education department also offers different activities like Shelter Seekers, which we developed here at the Homeless Coalition many get people to donate for the paper. This is an immersive experience that gives participants the feeling of panhandling, and with that, all the reactions from people walking by. Some students have left that experience in tears because of the horrible ways they were treated. It is an eye-opening experience for sure. Finally, our entrepreneurial program, Streetvibes, brings you this paper you are reading every two weeks. This is no easy task as several people work hard to get this paper to you. Justin Jeffre, Streetvibes Editor, picks which stories get published and encourages people to write and do photography on specific topics. Key Beck stays calm as the print deadline approaches to make sure the layout is exceptional. The writers are instrumental in crafting articles and poems from perspectives different than what you’d find in other newspapers. Finally, the Distributors, managed by Daulton King, do the leg work of making this paper available to you. When we look back at 2017, we will certainly have mixed feelings. (Continued on page 6) Josh being interviewed for a national documentary THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman �4 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 �LOCAL FORUM FOCUSES ON THE LOCAL RESPONSES TO TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION POLICIES No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 W hat are the local responses to the immigration polices put in place by the Trump Administration in 2017. At the December 1st Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral, a panel of speakers reviewed community efforts to date, and engaged attendees in a discussion of what is working and what still needs to be done. The panel included Brennan Grayson, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Allison ReynoldsBerry, Executive Director of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Samantha Searls of IJPC, and Magda Orlander of the CIWC. Brennan Grayson led off the forum by providing an overview of recent local responses on behalf of the area's immigrant population. Much of the work prior to this year involved advocacy for an updated JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2 applies to housing. Think about it. A company comes into a neighborhood or onto a street that over the years people who didn’t live there said wasn’t desirable. The company purchases a property that needs some improvement, but generally functions because people have lived there or it is close to what is currently considered a “desirable” area. The company purchases said property for a relatively low cost and then hangs BILL WOODS Contributing Writer and fair immigration reform law. Meanwhile, organizations such as the Workers Center focused on assisting immigrant workers who were cheated in terms of their wages. Progress was also made when the Catholic Arch Diocese and MARCC were able to establish an ID that immigrants could use, and the Cincinnati Police would accept. When the more drastic deportation measures of the current Administration were announced, noted Brennan, local immigrants and their advocate organizations determined that further steps were needed to oppose the tearing apart of families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and work places. IJPC and the Workers Center took a leadership role in calling people and groups together to plan new responses. Allison Reynolds-Berry described the process that ended up creating the Immigrant Dignity Coalition of Cincinnati. She emphasized the openness of the process, which included lots of discussion and the participation of many diverse groups and individuals. Out of these meetings emerged the Dignity Coalition with a current membership of twenty-seven organizations. Committed to fundamental human rights and dignity, The Immigrant Dignity Coalition of Cincinnati "stands united in opposition to unjust deportation and to anti-immigrant harassment of all kinds." It works with neighborhoods, schools, businesses, unions, religious institutions, and civic groups to educate the public and to forge a community that opposes "fear, racism and confusion emanating from our nation's capital." Better communication between groups has notices that everyone living there must leave. This can be scary for the folks living there, so some folks leave soon after the notice, costing the company only the price of the paper. Some Residents stay longer and the new owner files eviction and a couple more Residents leave before the hearing to avoid an eviction on their record. This again costs the owner virtually nothing. A few Residents stay through the eviction hearing and the owner pays an attorney a relatively small amount to push the eviction through the landlordfriendly court system. The company then either does minor repairs and puts in new modern looking finishes and appliances or guts everything and puts up cheap but nice-looking walls and finishes and then charges a rent that is three to five times higher than the previous rents or charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for the units as condos. People move in to what they see as a pretty building with modern finishes and nice appliances. They are told this used to be an unsafe and undesirable location, but we are bringing new life to this area and you are a part of something special by moving here. You are revitalizing. JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 2) have gone dark. Six years ago, on a visit I interviewed a number of these downtowners for a Streetvibes article. This time, because I was very busy taking care of a very sick friend, I observed the homeless scene mostly from a distance, walking or on a bike I had rehabilitated to use. Sometimes it felt as if I were outside the glass walls of a large aquarium of homeless sea creatures. After sixteen years living in OTR, life on the San Francisco streets seemed foreign, and in some ways exotic. I know other realities, of course, but nonetheless I could sense the appeal of the lifestyle, the way the lives of train-hopping hobos appealed to working people in the '30s and '40s. The house that my friend shares with an owner/roommate is a mile and a half from the ocean and a half block from the park. I spent most of whatever free time I could manage in either of these two locales. One afternoon, I climbed to the top of one of the 50' high sand dunes that line the five miles of beaches along the western edge of the city, all 5 San Francisco Bike Map Credit: part of the city's park system (thus open to everyone). When I got to the top, I found several mattresses nestled together providing tonight's residents an awesome view to the nighttime. These were pretty amazing sleeping arrangements at edge of the crashing waves of the Pacific. A large percentage of the city's homeless use Golden Gate Park as their sleeping quarters. As you move about the park you can often spy sleeping gear secreted away inside plastic bags in the heavy, abundant THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED been emphasized, because of the need to react quickly when news of a local deportation occurs. Samantha Searls and Magda Orlander then discussed some of the day to day work of the Coalition. They emphasized the need for quick response and effective action. After describing one failure to stop a local deportation, they followed with the success story of blocking the deportation of a young person who still had DACHA-status. They described frustration with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department and the County Justice Center. Both seem to quickly communicate with ICE officials whenever an immigrant is in their hands. At the moment, the Coalition is actively promoting the continuation of DACHA-status and the passage of the Dream Act. See that is a product that cost the company relatively little, provided a quick turnover with relatively cheap improvements, a fake marketing story and a quick sale at a significant profit. It was cheap and highly profitable to the company and extremely costly to the displaced household. That is freemarket. This, however, is not the end of the story. We will work with People to, yes, fight back, but to make systematic changes such that profit at the cost of Peoples’ housing is no longer allowed. undergrowth. In the evenings you can see the homeless as they gather. Most spend their days moving about the seven-square mile playground of a city, the “City by the Bay.” Again, I'm not saying their lives are cushy, but winter in San Francisco is mostly damp and foggy. No one ever dies of exposure or loses toes and fingers to frostbite. There are homeless in the downtown business district of course, but they are not as visible as we are used to. Not many “fly” their signs. They panhandle more casually. “Sir, can you help me get some food?” Many find “fancy” food to eat, simply by digging half-eaten leftovers that tourists have pitched into trash cans. One guy, who survives by recycling, told me, “Shit, Man, it's usually better food than I could afford.” In the tightly-packed neighborhoods, you find various “strips” of businesses crowded with customers on the afternoons and evenings. There, homeless folks, mostly “kids,” gather in decent weather and try to talk you out of a buck or two. Often you simply see (Continued on page 12) �6 LOCAL "#METOO", "#USTOO": What's at Stake Is Liberating ALL, Women, Men & Society, by Eliminating the Pervasive Male-Dominated Culture D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 S SAAD GHOSN exual Harassment is the key word these days, and justly so. Our society allows men in position of power to prey on vulnerable women, children and occasionally other men, taking advantage of their "in control" prerogative to impose their unwanted sexual advances and actions on dependent, confused, and somewhat lost individuals. With most abusers, this usually starts with a paternalistic approach which, with time, implies being helpful, concerned and caring. It progressively captivates the mind of an otherwise emotionally or financially dependent individual, and thus facilitates the way for the abuser's intent. The victim may unwillingly fall in the trap or resist, but in either Contributing Writer case will embark on a road of pain, disillusionment, confusion, including guilt and shame. It is refreshing to see that this problem is now being seriously addressed and discussed in many states of our society, most recently entertainment, politics and sports. And that our media, the courageous women through the #metoo campaign, and the courageous men who came forward, keep raising awareness about it, strongly propelling the many voices of the victims. Sexual harassment should stop PERIOD and should not be tolerated. Our social and legal systems should DR. MARK MUSSMAN leave no room for it, and should provide strict rules, regulations, and control checks to eradicate it and penalize the offender. Imposing, however, only rules, regulations and penalty to address it, will not eliminate its real cause which is the prevalent ideology of our male-dominated society and world, where men continue to be the elite, in leadership and control positions, dictating the tone. In our society, males, from the moment they are born, are raised and impregnated with the idea of their dominant and supremacist role. In order to liberate for good, the abused, one needs most importantly to liberate the abuser, Politically, it has been pretty bleak, both nationally and locally, and I believe a lot of people are feeling frustrated about the direction we are headed. But, on the positive side, we have had a giant impact on the community through our advocacy, development, and education, and entrepreneurial programs. The Homeless Coalition is both a resource and change-maker in the community and we appreciate all the support we (Continued from page 5) and take away the conditions that allowed him to become such. One thus needs to eliminate the ideology for the prevailing dominating/ subservient gender relationship; and create from a very young age the premises for a relationship of equality where, everyone, irrespective of gender, age, background, socioeconomic status, contributes equally and as importantly, in harmony and respect, to the world. To achieve this in our current society one needs first to liberate the mentality of men from these early acquired notions, and distantiate them from the privileges and controls that they were born into, and that they feel entitled to their (Continued on page 7) receive through donations, program requests, and partnerships. We hope that we have made all our constituents – people experiencing homelessness, people whose housing is threatened, our member organizations and their clients – very proud of the work we do. We are certainly proud of the work and results they attain. --------------------------------------- Ms. Iolanda, front desk staff, moved on to a new job this year Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Josh speaking at the National Day of Action for Affordable Housing Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Education Director, Dr. Mark and Distributor Willa Jones with the West End AmeriCorps Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Speaker and Distributor Cleo with Roger Bacon Students Josh, Aquashia, and Allie at a Member Appreciate Event Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 LOCAL A NEW BEGINNING? | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 J ust think it was 1 year ago that I started writing and getting my articles published. I have had a great time doing my writings. I thought I would write about the past year, but I don’t want to make this a recap of my up and down 2017. This is about my 2018. A New Beginning? What’s going to be “New” is my attitude mostly. I for so long have used my emotions to drive my behaviors and actions. So this year I will stop for that one SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 5) entire lives. One, therefore, needs to change these conditions at the root, i.e. the ideology that gave birth to them. But how to? How to get rid of this predominant male-dominated design of our world? We would need to address and remedy all aspects of our society where such a notion is deeply entrenched, and they are many. It will surely not be easy, but it is something essential to consider, recognize and start confronting in order to achieve the equal and harmonious world we should aspire to. In our society, and for the majority of families, this will start with the concept of patriarchal matrimony. Due to it, and from the beginning, the man is the one considered in charge, the leader, the head and protector of the household, providing for the family and responsible for its conduct; the woman playing a 2nd role, a helper to her husband whom she follows, taking care of the children and of the domestic chores. This model which originated early in history when men, thanks to their physical attributes and strength, were playing the dominant providing and protective role, is now being reconsidered in many modern societies. It is, however, still the predominant one across the world, and still effectively applies to the majority of the western societies, including ours. Of course, its persistence is facilitated and compounded by the actual on-theground reality, where women have less access to higher and control positions across the majority of jobs; have less access to higher education; suffer significant wage disparity when compared to men for equal positions; have less to say when it comes to many legal matters; and thus are kept inferior and in secondary roles. Unconsciously (or consciously), and due to the exacerbated de facto valorization of men and the indirect devalorization of women, many families and parents would rejoice more at the birth of a boy, and in some societies female embryos would be preferentially aborted, and sadly some newborn girls even killed. Boys BOBBY MORRIS Contributing Writer moment and analyze my attitude before I act. It’s called “maturity” in some circles, or rational thinking in the Academic world. I just want to make this upcoming year better than the last. A New Beginning? Having been employed for a while now, a new beginning is me working at the start of the year. For so many years I was unemployable due to my actions of would be raised differently from their sisters, given more independence and more freedom from a young age, encouraged more to pursue higher education, allowed more liberty in their social, sexual and extra conjugal life. In addition to matrimony, and surely of no less importance, is the role religions play in maintaining this inequality. In fact, most religions in particular the two largest ones in the world and in the United States, Christianity and Islam - are still in their deep selves’ male-dominated and contribute to, if not promote, such an ideology. In his text on marriage, Ephesians 6:21-33, St Paul states specifically: “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands” (2224). Yes, St Paul continues by asking husbands to love and respect their wives and be one with them, but still implies all along that the man is the controlling head. This notion of Christian patriarchy affirms, in addition and for many, that God Himself is masculine, not feminine; and that He intended distinct gender roles for men and women as part of His created order. Also in Christianity, when one analyzes the text and the ideological insinuation behind the ubiquitous prayer of "Hail Mary" recited by more than one billion individuals, one finds that the part humans added to the prayer**, i.e. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death," assigns to Mary a secondary role, an interceding and not a direct saving one, contrary to the direct and specific power given to the Father in the seminal prayer "Our Father": "Thy will be done... Give us this day... Forgive us... Lead us not... Deliver us..." And in Catholicism, only men are permitted to hold ruling office in the church. Women are not allowed to become priests. Bishops, cardinals and popes, who dictate the path of the church, are all men. And nuns, despite devoting their entire lives to Christ, still have to rely on a man for most of their spiritual needs. In "Islam" also, women do not the past. I have a lot of gratitude for my job. Yet I feel there is more I can do for myself and the people around me. Being of service is the thing I pray for every day before I leave my home to go to work. “God help me be of Service Today”. That’s all I say, and then I go to work. This simple prayer has made me more of a man, a responsible hardworking, caring man. A New Beginning? Letting go of the past and moving on in my life is a have access to Imam-hood. They are kept separated from and behind men during religious practices. They have less a say and less freedom than men, and weigh less legally. They function mainly inside the home, as domestic providers. They are not allowed, contrary to men, polygamy. And in many Muslim countries, women have their rights significantly limited. This being said, the observations above may not be intrinsic to the essence of the religions themselves. They are, nevertheless representative of them and of the subtle (and often not so subtle) male-dominated ideology these religions implant in their followers, as presented, taught and determined by their man-controlled infrastructure and hierarchy. Matrimony and Religion in their current construct and understanding are only but two important areas which allow the status of men as an elite, dominating and controlling one to be perpetuated in our society. They need to be clearly addressed and their ideology made more egalitarian and not control-dominated. Education also, falling prey to the cultural stereotypes that affect the sexes, plays an important role in maintaining this gender disparity. Teachers, themselves victim of the gender bias they have already acquired, treat girls and boys differently. And there are some fields of studies and work, such as science, math, engineering, business, technology... that women, from an early age, are indirectly discouraged to follow and in which they are underrepresented. And this not to mention the significant leadership and wage gap that women are exposed to. This male-dominated culture, coupled with consumerism, also objectifies the female body, often limiting women to sex objects for the pleasure of men. This is reinforced at all levels of society and by all cultural means, such as entertainment, fashion, advertisement, beauty pageants, etc. rendering the woman, in addition to being a victim, an accomplice in the gender biased culture, thus perpetuating the discriminatory stereotype. It is clear that sexual harassment will continue to prevail unless we cut the roots to the patriarchal system THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 7 new beginning. What I am reluctant to mention is that I am talking about my social life or lack thereof. I have to move on from trying to find that special someone. I have spent far too much time and energy trying to find that girl. By doing this I lost what it was I was seeking, ME! I tried to put all my energy into making myself that “Guy” who every girl wants and not being me. So a New Beginning is being me. I have to make that a priority above all else. A New Beginning? Maybe the word “NEW” is not correct. Should it be “A Positive Beginning”? New (Continued on page 11) in which power is primarily held by adult men. In such a system men hold the privileges and play the major roles in the social, legal, political, religious and economic leadership of the culture. This position allows them easily to both, institutionally and personally, subordinate, exploit and abuse women. Both men and women need to be helped and liberated from these limiting stereotypical societal dictations of which they are both victims and that make them abusers and abused. Our society needs to be ideologically equal, one in which everyone grows with the basic values of equal rights, equal opportunities, equal contributions. It needs to be egalitarian and respectful, and its basic approaches to family, work, education, health, politics, religion, not based on control and dominance but rather on sharing and inclusive participation. Eliminating male dominance will get rid of the male controlling and subordinating attitude that accompanies it. It will achieve a lot but, alone, will not suffice. Control and subservience can reestablish themselves in different ways in society, such as, for instance, in personal relationships, work environment, physical and financial dependence, etc. In such situations, there will often be someone powerful and in control who might take advantage of his/her position to subjugate and exploit the vulnerable other. This could again lead to sexual harassment, but also to all other kinds of abuse. For all harassments and abuses to disappear from our society, we need, therefore, to work hard at not only eliminating the prevalent male-dominated ideology, but also, and as importantly, at establishing everywhere a culture promoting equal relationships, away from dominant power and control. **The prayer Hail Mary incorporates two passages from Luke's Gospel: "Hail, the Lord is with thee," and "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb," and one from John 1:14: "full of grace." The newer part listed in the text above was added by the church in the 16th century, around the time of the Council of Trent. --------------------------------------- �8 RELIGIOUS PEACEMAKERS For Karthik Raghavan, Love Is the Way for Self-Realization, and Serving Others with Love Is Serving God B D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 orn in a Hindu family in the city of Chennai, South India, Karthik Raghavan grew up religious and from a very young age, participated in Hindu rituals, celebrating religious festivals and going regularly, at least once a week, to the temple, to chant, pray and meditate. "I was also vegetarian," he says. "It was the way to be and almost second nature. I never questioned it and just followed by example." Raghavan was also from the beginning, and throughout his life, guided by the moral duties of the Sanatana Dharma (or Eternal Duty), also called Hinduism, a code of ethics incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect, and which, when closely followed, would allow one to reach enlightenment and liberation (moksha). In school and through a moral sciences class, Raghavan was taught virtues and was exposed to other religions, learning their creeds and their prayers. For college, he left his birth city and went North, to attend an engineering school near New Delhi. There he befriended many Sikh students, accompanied them often to their temple, and found commonality with their faith. Even though aware of social injustices all along, he had not been actively engaged until then. This was, however, bound to change. "While in college, our Indian prime minister was assassinated by her Sikh body guards, and full-scale SAAD GHOSN Contributing Writer riots ensued targeting the Sikhs," he says. "I had to protect my friends and hide them from the mob; this could have been me." Raghavan also ran for the student government; and protested cheating on campus by a hunger strike and by working at changing the college rules. In 1987, at the age of 21, he enrolled at the University of Missouri, in Rolla, to pursue a Master's degree, then a PhD degree, in chemical engineering. This was his 1st exposure to the US, where he has been living since, save for a 4 years hiatus, back to India, to take over his father's firm. His 6 years in Rolla were mostly devoted to studying, but also punctuated by social services to the community, mainly during the holidays, gathering clothes and food for the homeless and the underserved; also providing help and guidance to newcomer students on campus. Late 1990's Raghavan moved to the Cincinnati/Dayton area for professional reasons and got married around the same time. His wife and her parents were followers in India of Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian guru and philanthropist who passed for being the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, himself an Indian spiritual master of the early 20th century, regarded by his devotees as the true guru, a saint and an incarnation of God. Introduced to the spiritual teachings of Sathya Sai Baba, Raghavan was What is the HINDUISM Hinduism is one of the oldest known organized religions; its sacred writings date as far back as 1400 to 1500 B.C. It is also one of the most diverse and complex, having millions of gods. Hindus have a wide variety of core beliefs and exist in many different sects. Although the third largest religion in the world, with over 1 billion followers, Hinduism exists primarily in India and Nepal. The main texts of Hinduism include the Vedas which contain hymns, incantations, philosophies, rituals, poems, and stories from which Hindus base their beliefs. Even though Hinduism is considered polytheistic, it has one “god” that is supreme—Brahman, believed to inhabit every portion of reality and existence throughout the entire universe. Brahman is both impersonal and unknowable and exists in three separate forms: Brahma—Creator; Vishnu— Preserver; and Shiva—Destroyer. There are many schools of Hinduism and "Hindus" are very diverse. To be Hindu one has to recognize the Vedas as sacred. The Vedas are “theo-mythology” books deeply rooted in India's history and culture and a Hindu has to embrace to some extent the Indian culture. Because Brahman is everything, Hinduism asserts that everyone is divine. The spiritual goal of a Hindu is to become one with Brahman, referred to as "moksha". Until moksha is achieved, a Hindu believes that he/she will be repeatedly reincarnated. quickly taken by their wisdom, their focus on love and on self-realization, and saw them as complementing his Hindu faith; he quickly became one of his fervent followers. "Sathya Sai Baba wants each of us to recognize the divinity inherent in us," says Raghavan, "to emphasize and experience the One in all we do or speak, and this principally through Love. He said: 'Love All; Serve All. There is only one caste, the caste of Karthik Raghavan humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart.'" In fact, in his teachings, Sathya Sai Baba always stressed the unimportance of a differing religion, sect, status or color, the main goal being to help each individual be the best he could be, in harmony with God. "Following Sathya Sai Baba actually helps me be a better Hindu," says Raghavan. "He gives me rules of conduct to live well my life; he guides me; he gives me the tool." In Mason, north of Cincinnati, where he and his family currently live, Raghavan joined the Sathya Sai Baba Center (SSBC) of CincinnatiDayton located there and recently became its president. All like Sathya Sai Baba who through his life stressed devotion through prayers; education through his teachings, writings and the many schools he founded; and service through the many free hospitals he started and the programs of free water distribution he established; the SSBC has also created 3 wings along the same lines. Raghavan in his position of president oversees them and helps coordinating them, and also as a member participates actively in each of them. At SSBC Devotion is achieved every Sunday by unison group singing and chanting in many languages and of prayers of many religions (bhajans), also by individual prayer and meditation. Education which focuses on values is achieved by different means. Classes are offered every Sunday of the school year to kids of different grades. They emphasize Credit: Saad Ghosn the universal human values of Truth (Sathya); Righteousness (Dharma); Peace (Shanthi); Love (Prema) and Nonviolence (Ahimsa), essential for leading moral lives. They are taught by parents who would have undergone themselves specific training for that matter. Study Circles also occur every Sunday during which spiritual writings and topics are discussed by a group of adults who will also examine their effective application to their daily life. "We are now discussing the topic of mindfulness," says Raghavan, "also finding ways on how to practice it in our lives. We will evaluate ourselves and our efforts afterwards." Speakers and lecturers are also frequently invited to come to SSBC to instruct and enlighten the community on various topics pertaining to spirituality and religion. The Services to the community that Raghavan facilitates and in which he and his family participate are numerous. They include: providing food, cooking and serving dinner and lunch several times a month at 3 shelters in both Cincinnati and Dayton (the David & Rebecca Barron (Continued on page 12) Religious Peacemakers is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati individuals who use their faith and religious beliefs for peace and justice. Saad.Ghosn@uc.edu is the founder of SOS (Save Our Souls) Art, an organization that promotes arts as vehicles for peace and justice and for a change. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 PHOTO ESSAY Homeless Coalition Annual Dinner December 13, 2017 The Syndacate, Newport, Kentucky | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 9 Mona Jenkins, Director of Development welcomes guests to annual dinner. Bill Woods shows off his Distributor of the year Jacket. Bill Woods speaks about the legacy of buddy gray after accepting buddy gray Lifetime Achievement Award. Daulton King presents James Brown with Distributor of the Year Award Kimetta Carter, and Alms Apartments Residents Association, shares their community story and presents Legal Aid Society with Julie Martin Service Provider of the Year Award THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �10 LOCAL D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 December 21 - 31, 2017 For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL Why is Cancer Mortality So High in Cincinnati? Part Three: Physicians are Ill Prepared No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 1. Introduction: The first two parts of these essays made two major points: First, cancer mortality is most serious in the neighborhoods that have minorities and, secondly, that hospitals have stood by doing nothing to change this epidemic even though funds are pouring into hospitals from federal, state, local and private sources. In this essay we explore the role of physicians in treating cancer patients that are poor, minorities, and un- or underinsured. It is my assumption that cancer mortality and life expectancy are linked to physician incompetence to work with patients in compassionate ways. I am not suggesting that all physicians fit into this category; rather, that a critical mass of physicians contribute to maintaining the high death rates and lower life expectancies. 2. Facing the Minority Patient: Physicians have little experience with poor people who are either healthy or sick. Sadly, this lack of experience is too often translated into the loss of life. Here is the reality of the chasm: "Three times as many African Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 1993 as in 1963. This rate is nearly twice that of white Americans and is sorely underestimated: The real black diabetes rate is probably double that of whites. As with most chronic diseases, African Americans suffer more complication, including limb loss, blindness, kind eyes disease, and terminal heart disease. Cancer, the nation's second greatest killer, is diagnosed later in blacks and carries off proportionately more African Americans than whites. African Americans suffer the nation's highest rate of cancer and cancer deaths."(Washington, p. 3.) These statistics also exist in Cincinnati, the minority cancer capital of Ohio. (CDC) Where is the response of the Cincinnati medical profession to these dramatic losses in the minority community? Where is the hospital outreach to neighborhoods where the deaths are greatest? The deafness of the medical community to the individual and family's plight means that the whole quality of BOBBY MORRIS (Continued from page 7) makes me think what I plan to do this upcoming year is something new. NO! It’s a continuation of the past year but with more positive results (hopefully) and positive growth. I don’t know, I just know that it will be better and having that positive feeling going into the New Year is worth the effort it’s going to take to do what it is I want to do. A Positive Beginning? So as I end 11 STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer life of minorities is under constant threat from untreated or medical attention that is too late. What this means is that there is a growing number of unnecessary deaths: "In one generation, between 1940 and 1999, more than four million African Americans died prematurely relative to whites."(Roberts, p. 81.) Those who have survived are suffering from the reality that the health care community has chosen to avoid this public health crisis. 3. The Underlying Cause of Physician Incompetence: Bias, intended or unintended, toward African Americans. Many reasons may contribute to the health gap for physicians when it comes to minorities. The most generous interpretation is provided by a distinguished, former chair of orthopedics at Harvard Medical School: He notes: "Orthopedics, cardiology, oncology, gynecology, psychiatry...almost every specialty has its own grim history of disparate care. Unequal treatment is, in its way, the last frontier of racist prejudice, all the more fascinating because so much of it is a result of biases that function below the level of consciousness, that affect even doctors who have no intention of being anything other than compassionate, egalitarian caregivers." (White, p. 3.) Yet, coming face to face with minorities needing health care means facing the realities of the obstacles to productive, clear, and compassionate discussion. In our work in the Cancer Justice Network, we have been watching how a physician can reverse the expectations of clients when discussing chronic disease. Most of the low-income people we meet with on a regular basis have rarely had a long conversation with a physician. Our physician sits at a dinner table in a church, or community center, and listens and listens to the questions about health and the fears about health that a person carries with them. Our physician is a frequent visitor to these churches, to their dinners, and to health fairs. The low income or homeless person, over time, develops a trust, a feeling that the doctor is taking their fears, histories, and signals of disease seriously. Usually a navigator accompanies the physician and, if necessary, the navigator will accompany the person, at a later date to a health center or to a hospital. In one evening, of about two hours, the doctor and the navigator can meet and discuss with a dozen or more people with the result that many questions are answered, people can relax and know that they can be listened to, and that, if needed, more medical attention can be almost immediately reached. In another setting, first year medical students have a chance to interact with this same population at a weekly clinic. Prior to meeting people, the student expresses their anxiety about what will happen when they interact and try to take a person's blood pressure or blood/ sugar reading. The expectations of conflict, of fearing the questions, and reality that people will expect respectful and compassionate care, all build up in our discussions. Yet, the interactions are usually very pleasant as people who have come to the clinic seem to be looking forward to having a period of real time with a health care staff member. In the review that follows a morning of interactions, it is not surprising to hear how dramatically the student's attitudes have changed. Instead of "those people" we are now hearing about "Joe," or "Mary" and what their reaction was to having their blood pressure taken. The conversation reveals that the unconscious fears and biases about poor people can be examined and replaced by a caring and realistic perspective. 4. Changing Segregated Medical, Nursing, and Pharmacy Schools and Their Course of Study: Little will be expected to change if there is no change in the education of the healthcare provider. The lack of diversity in these schools reinforces the unconscious bias that only a few are capable of being health care providers. As one historian of medicine has put it: "...illness is highly segregated in this society, as are those who treat it." (Rothman, this 1st article for the New Year, I will say thank you to everyone who has been there for me. Especially those that believe in me. I needed all of the support you guys have given me to do what I do. Thank you so much and to those who read this and find themselves relating to it or not, thank you. This world we live in is for us all and it takes all of us to make it a better place. A New Beginning? YES! It is New and Positive. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED p. 5.) There is now a greater distance between healthcare providers and patients, especially those with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. The knowledge of the sector of the community in greatest need of both health care and supplemental services is a kind of combined knowledge that is unknown to the students. Human relations, better and compassionate communication, awareness of medical practices that serve as obstacles (the procedures to gain access to a physician, a hospital, a screening, financial aid), skill in assisting with other life threatening problems (drugs, housing, jobs, transportation), and an recognition growing out of a study of racism in the health systems (admissions, ties to slavery, black medical schools), all would contribute to a different theory and practice of health care. Who can teach these areas of knowledge? What kind of continuing education is necessary? How will healthcare individuals and institutions be held accountable for changing their behaviors? Not facing these questions only postpones true justice in health care. A hurricane has descended on a very large population. Much has been long lost; yet, some people have been survivors, salvaging what they can of their families and communities. Health care and so much more is needed to rebuild the foundations of communities. A new partnership based on reconstruction of the soul of health care is needed just as the communities need a redevelopment of their neighborhoods. The wreckage is clear. What remains is whether or not healthcare will step up. To be continued. References: D. Roberts (2011). Fatal interventions: How science, policy,and big business recreate race in the 21st century. The New Press. D. Rothman (1991). Stranger at the bedside. Basicbooks. H. Washington (2008). Medical apartheid. Anchor. A. White (2011). Seeing patients: Unconscious bias in healthcare. Harvard Press. ------------------------------------------- �12 LOCAL Street Life Our Reality ‘L D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 RICARDO TAYLOR ife can often reflect, like images in a mirror, but never reflect like scenes of a mirage.’ For those of us who are invested in the life of the streets there are never moments of mirage; (times when we thought/believed) those instances where we saw or imagined relief from our self-imposed plight in life. It is always the same; that reflective appearance, like our reflect ion in a mirror. Our reality, existing, momentarily in hopes and dreams of a presupposition of what life is supposed to be only having to return to the reality of our true existence! JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 5) them sitting on the sidewalks. A half dozen years ago, the city passed a law against people sitting on the SAAD GHOSN (Continued from page 8) Center for Men, formerly Drop Inn Center; the Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women; the St Vincent de Paul Gateway Shelter for Women & Families); participating in medical camps and health centers in the area, providing medical manpower, and helping in any task needed; singing, playing music and reading stories to Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer How easy is it to see that relief from the immediate sufferings which we often find ourselves with promises of tomorrow? “Well I know that Friday is payday, so I can spend what I have and then take care of my bills on Friday!” Only to find that when Friday comes my bills have doubled! So, often we find that our intent is not so much a reflective ion of our ability or our being, but better stated a mirage of our desires. Our experiences tell us that the reality we perceive is unreal, yet we continue to commit ourselves to acts which we know are non-beneficial towards our welfare or well-being. A mirage! Our image suffers the reflective ion of ourselves, and we hardly see ourselves in reflective ion and instead see ourselves in an arena of who we’d want or try to be! The self becomes lost in a sort of fantasy, losing the way we view the world, and of course our true selfimage. We often start to lose hope, that most fundamental grasp of sanity! We become that mirage of self, and we know from experience, that when hope dies; we prey instead of pray and our lives spin out of control! That oh, so, miserable feeling of self-image becomes the mirage sidewalks. Difficult to enforce, as well as be-smudging the image of SF as diverse and welcoming. Obviously, if the law still exists, no one heeds or enforces it. Please forgive this rather glamorous glimpse of homelessness in San Francisco. If you want a seamier depiction, look up my previous article. I'm recalling the feeling that the amazing Otis Redding captured in his #1 song, “The Doc of the Bay” (1967). Could Otis himself have been homeless at the time he wrote this iconic tune? Whatever. Clearly, the character, sitting there on the doc by the Bay was simply “chillin'” in one of the world's most beautiful cities. You could do worse. the elderly residents of Mason Health Center. Raghavan and members of the Center also lend their hand to Christmas in April, a program similar to the one Habitat for Humanity organizes. They help fixing houses, painting, cleaning, doing yard and landscape work. To strengthen interfaith exchange, collaboration, and to promote unity in diversity, SSBC also celebrates the holidays of the various religions (Christmas, Ramadan, Hannukah,...) by special gatherings and events. Raghavan would like to have a Walk for Values started in Cincinnati. He would see it as a culmination of many other widespread activities throughout the year, focused on moral values, peace and justice. Spirituality is an important part of Raghavan's daily routine. He always aspires to be mindful of his thoughts, words and deeds so that they are in sync with each other. His goal is to self-realize himself and serve his community. For him religion implies that: eternal duty to himself, to his family and to society. "By serving others, I am serving God," he says. "Love is responsible for everything. It is the only way to self-realize oneself and the God who is in each of us." “Breakdown Stereotypes” Ricardo Taylor of our longings in such that we find ourselves in the mirage of whom we’d like to be; allowing our reality to become the stage of that thin line between reality and the wishes we have for our well-being. ‘That no man’s world where only hopes and dreams exist; Our Reality. --------------------------------------- “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at MarkMussman@cincihomeless.org. We would like to send a huge thank you to all of the supporters that made the annual dinner possible. But, we would especially like to thank Christ Church Cathedral for their gold level sponsorhip and St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church for their bronze level sponsorship. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 LIVING BY GOODNESS 13 STREET VOICE Each day God gives us life THE REAL FACTS PILE UP There seems to be some confusion When Trump declares no collusion. How merciful our creator He gives us a wonderful start To live life with breath First Manaforte and now it's Flynn Were exposed to have a Russian-in. Mueller's dogged fact collection Leads us to a Kremlin connection. In our lungs and a beating heart BILL WOODS Living by goodness and by grace Contributing Writer HOOLIEO Thank you God for another day I ain’t Hoolieo I heard somebody say Living by goodness makes one feel good I ain’t out here conning and tricking people And thankful for Gods good grace for a raise in pay I’m trying to give others respect as I want for myself KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer I’m trying to keep my lively hood open to the hand I’ve been dealt I aint Hoolieo I heaard another person say I ain’t making up fairy tales trying to get sympathy for money today I’m trying to be honest to people I meet along the street I’m trying to receive God’s blessing with each heart beat I ain’t Hoolieo I finally shouted very clear out loud I rebuke thee Hoolie and vanish thee from my mind up to the clouds So if things are not going your way and you feel a Hoolieo attack coming on A urge to con, trick or lie to people for pay, just kick Hoolieo to the curb and curse the day he was born!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 140 Across Down 1. Complementary ticket 1. Moue 5. Unit of weight for precious 2. Motor vehicle stones 3. Ignore 10. Health resort 4. Abrasion 13. Snow leopard 5. Religious song 15. Mindful 6. Veneration 16. Distant but within sight 7. Operated 17. Reversal of direction 8. Suitable for cultivation 18. Relating to the kidneys 9. Cogent 19. Horse-drawn vehicle 10. Sweet, sticky liquid 20. Nicotiana tabacum 11. Sang-froid 22. Top worn by women 12. A strong emotion 24. A tame parrot 14. Extra or repeated 25. Item of footwear performance 26. Particular environment 21. A fastener or walk of life 23. Eye 29. Portable shelter 25. Take without the 30. Beer owner's consent 31. Bird of prey 26. Heroic tale 34. Band that holds a saddle 27. Useful or valuable quality in place 28. Assist 38. Seabird 32. Juicy fruit 40. Delicacy 33. Allow 42. Remedy 35. Corrode 43. Savory jelly 36. Large woody plant 45. Book of maps 37. Perceive via the 47. Division of an ocean auditory sense 48. Part of a boot or shoe 39. Internal organ 50. Annoy persistently 41. Large, mainly nocturnal 52. Clique ungulate 55. Plant tissue 44. Leaves used in 56. A kind of heavy jacket soups and stews 57. Skilled worker 46. Small sofa 61. Uncooked 49. Gilbert and Sullivan 62. Wheeled vehicle opera, The ___ 65. Call forth 51. Tremble 66. Compete 52. Engrave 67. Worship 53. Live broadcast sign 68. Suggestive of the 54. Tall structure supernatural 55. A list of jurors 69. Wander off course 58. Painful 70. Warble 59. Similar 71. Rive 60. Requirement D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 270 - MEDIUM 63. Deity 64. Metal-bearing mineral PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 369 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 139 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 269- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �No. 37 1 RESOURCES | D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 Central Access Point 15 381-SAFE Shelter: Women and Children Bethany House 557-2873 1730 Race Street 45202 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 St. George Food Pantry 751-8771 2554 Dennis St. 45219 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church 621-7265 1528 Race St. 45202 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 386-7899 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 6037 Cary Ave. 45224 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 Other Resources St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 215 E. 14th St. 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave. 45214 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 4230 Hamilton Ave. 45223 Salvation Army 762-5660 112 E. Liberty Street 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave. 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 1125 Bank Street 45214 411 Gest St. 45203 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1437 Walnut Street 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 2121 Vine Street 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 1805 Dalton Ave. 45214 Parkway Center 661-4620 682 Hawthorne Ave. 45205 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Youth Sheakley Center for Youth (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave. 45219 569-9500 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave 45220 961-4080 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Shelter: Family Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both Interfaith Hospitality Network First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 471-1100 Housing: 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. 45214 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street 45202 114 W. 14th Street 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Advocacy Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 2401-2411 Reading Rd. 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 2401 Reading Rd. 45202 VA 977-6800 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 UpSpring 363-3300 Health 961-0600 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 OTR: 1620 Vine Street 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert Ave. 45206 3550 Washington Ave. 45229 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton County Office of Reentry 946-4304 138 E. Court Street Room # 101 First Floor Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 5 E. Liberty St. 45202 for 26 issues 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-572-6202 Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky 634 Scott St. 41011 859-291-4555 You can support our mission and spread the word about your business. For more information contact Justin Jeffre at 513421-70803 x 12 or email streetvibes@ cincihomeless.org $100 859-491-8303 Want to advertise in Streetvibes? Cincinnati Health Network 2825 Burnet Ave. 45219 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 D e c 15 - D e c 2 8 , 2 0 17 | N o . 37 1 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 15-December 28, 2017 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Homeless in SF Pg 3: Looking Back at 2017 Pg 4: How to Respond to Panhandling Pg 5: Forum Focuses on the Local Responses to Trump’s Immigration Policies Pg 6: “#MeToo”,”#UsToo” Pg 7: A New Beginning? Pg 8: Religious Peacemakers Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: GCHC Pg 11: Why is Cancer Mortality so High in Cincinnati? Pg 12: Street Life Our Reality Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 15-December 28, 2017 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Jim Luken Dr. Mark Mussman Bill Woods Saad Ghosn Steve Sunderland Ricardo Taylor Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Laura Domet Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Cancer Cincinnati Donald Trump Dr. Mark Mussman GCHC immigration Jim Luken Josh Spring Kim Green Laura Domet Me Too Photography Religion Ricardo Taylor Saad Ghosn San Francisco Steve Sunderland Street Life Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/91f0531e8121fe0d0e196c4ba46ab31b.pdf 993f1405361f61c24bd2d21f46a62af4 PDF Text Text December 16th - December 29th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 26 (No. 345) advocating justice | Building community End of The Year Annual Celebration | 2 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Call to (In)Action? | 3 Hidden Sunflower Medallions | 4 Winter Is Coming | 5 Walking the Walk & Singing the Talk | 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: End of the Year to reach beyond his personal situation and his personal struggle with homelessness to connect with many other people and take part in pursuing the systematic changes Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, necessary to end homelessness. We heard from Jaymel Reed, a advocating justice and building student at Aiken High School and community. Streetvibes reports on JOSH SPRING I Executive Director economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. know you’re probably hearing many people say it, but it really is hard to believe that nearly all of 2016 is over. As such our 2016 Annual Fundraising Dinner and Awards Ceremony is also over. On December 7th, like we do every year we gathered to end the year together by looking back over the struggles and successes of the past year and to look forward to our goals and strategies for the next. We also took the time to honor some of the hard working, committed and passionate people in our Movement. This year, as we have done the previous four years, we came together at the Newport Syndicate. For five years the Newport Syndicate has been both a friendly and giving 113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 Jenn Summer and Amy Silver with friends and family Photo: Michael Flood Jaymel Reed and John Rieman-Klingler from Aiken High School Photo: Michael Flood host. We are very thankful for their continued commitment to our Homeless Coalition by keeping costs such that this can be a true fundraiser. Hundreds of people came to our dinner. We were so thankful to share the evening with our many Memberorganizations and their wonderful social workers, case managers, directors, managers, receptionists, accountants, planners, etc. (if I listed every person-group, the list would go on far too long). If that were not enough, we were able to spend time with our donors, volunteers, board members, partner school teachers, Streetvibes Distributors and partner organizations like Faith and Community Alliance, Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati and Miami University Center for Community Engagement (the risk in making these lists is that you inevitably leave somebody out, if I have done so, I apologize). We broke bread together, talked, listened, hugged, shook hands, danced, bid on auction items and generally enjoyed the company D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 of many friends. This year we highlighted the experiences of Sam Jackson a long time Streetvibes Distributor and speaker for our Speakers’ Bureau. WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com his teacher, John Rieman-Klingler. They both took part in our City-Wide Shantytown, Social Justice Walking Tour and Streetvibes Distributor Shadow. Jaymel explained how these experiences broadened his perspective and assisted him in relating to the larger picture including the systematic causes of homelessness and the solutions. John shared how powerful it is to see the lights come on in his student’s heads and the opportunity it provides for students who themselves have experienced homelessness to openly talk about it and further empower their classmates to learn. It is important to honor the hard work through struggle of our people. This year we gave the Jimmy Heath Streetvibes Contributor of the Year Award to Tess Sohngen who has 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: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Key Beck, Brooke Adams, Cassidy Venema, Maggie Woolf, Tess Sohngen, Dr. Mark Mussman, Robert Park, Jim Luken, Malia Pitts, Jason Haap, Bill Woods, Michael Earl Patton, Kim Green, Sonny Williams, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Michael Flood, Wikipedia, Brooke Adams, Dr. Mark Mussman, Tim Kraus, Katz Painting, Bill Woods Jenn Summers speaking about how buddy gray inspired her Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Photo: Michael Flood Sam explained how the Coalition through Streetvibes and the Speakers’ Bureau offered him the opportunity given months to Streetvibes as an (Continued on page 3) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �LOCAL Call To (In)Action? No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 KEY BECK Contributing Writer “Y ou guys got to fight. It’s war. It's always been war. It's a struggle, it's always been a struggle.” Those were the closing remarks from Ta-Nehisi Coates at a speaking engagement at Xavier University this past November. The event titled, “Race In America” was an opportunity for local residents, students, staff, and community stakeholders to hear Ta-Nehisi Coates’ perspective of race in America. Simply put, it was an opportunity for our city to get some perspective on how race, class, gender (and I would’ve hoped) sexual expression play into structural systems of oppression from a Rhodes Scholar, New York bestselling author, and expert on race. The event was highly anticipated, so getting tickets required access to resources, networks, or at the very least, time and transportation. Many of the tickets were given away to students, but the hosts made several opportunities for community to get tickets from libraries, bookstores, and Xavier University. Inviting Ta-Nehisi Coates to speak at a community event was an opportunity to flex our city’s diversity and inclusion muscles, show our willingness to discuss tough issues, and bring attention to the many current issues of systematic racism/oppression in our city. Sadly, I think we only partially accomplished those goals, which is okay. I was hoping Ta-Nehisi Coates would cater his keynote to local issues like the hung jury of officer Ray Tensing, the national issue police-sanctioned violence, and judicial practice of acquitting officers accused of murder, for example. Instead, he focused his talk on the effects of the Post- and Pre- Civil War slave economy on our current economic and justice system. Don’t get me wrong, that is an important issue, but for many in the audience, myself included, this Ta-Nehisi Coates Credit: Wikipedia was a primer on race relations and partly covered in his book. It was an informative and lively event, so don’t take this as a complaint, but a positive criticism. The atmosphere of the event was juxtaposition of timid laughter and empowering call and response. There were many bouts of applause as he hit some of the highlights, which I always find confusing. Are we applauding racism or irony that we people of color are still fighting for equity decades after the abolition of slavery? There was an especially energetic applause when Ta-Nehisi Coates exclaims, “Race is the child of racism, not the father.” He eloquently explained, “Someone decides to do racist things then come up with the idea of race to justify it. I decide I want to take something from you and in order to justify taking something from you, I call you something.” This point was especially poignant for me as I thought about how many police officers have such a fear of black bodies based on images they create inside their heads. These images are so powerful that they rely on knee-jerk reactions to handle situations. Thus, you have cops who shoot first and ask questions later. It is in my opinion that Ta-Nehisi Coates’ statement could be applied to over-zealous cops and implementers of micro-aggressions. I watched on as a group of black students looked at each other and nodded in agreement to the points being shared, while a white student next to them uncomfortably shifted in their seat. So it was apparent that his words were having effects on the audience. I would be remiss to ignore the fact that Ta-Nehisi Coates did address the historical effects of slavery on our current economic system, the cultural and social implications of human ownership within society, and the connection between privilege JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 2) intern, including bringing together the edition marking the 20th anniversary of the death of buddy gray. The Jimmy Render award is given to a person who has experienced homelessness and since then has dedicated themselves to working for an end to homelessness. This award was given to Ron Hector of the Consumer Advisory Board to the Cincinnati Health Network. Talina Hill received the Streetvibes Distributor of the Year Award for her commitment to the cause of the paper as well as to her customers. This year we gave out two Julie Martin Service Provider of the Year Awards. This award is given to honor a person or organization who has provided Ron Hector receiving the Jimmy Render award Photo: Michael Flood exemplary services to people experiencing homelessness and has shown dedication to the mission of ending homelessness in Greater Cincinnati. As an organization, Bethany House Services received this honor because of their constant commitment to families with THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 3 and power and a diminishing working class. But, why did so much of this have to have a historical point of reference? I felt that many of us were hoping to hear a critique on the current system and hear some grassroots action steps, as evidenced by one of the audience questions during the Q&A. What can we do now to fight oppression and systematic violence? He never really addressed those questions, except telling us to fight and struggle, like we have always done. Should his closing remarks be seen as a call to action for the many disenfranchised folks, or should it be viewed as a hermeneutic exercise of enduring oppression? As I was leaving, many of the students were having conversations about the talk. They asked questions about the point of the lecture and who was the intended audience. Those are good issues to raise indeed. Maybe the purpose of the lecture was to lay a foundation for future work, so the historical perspective was needed to do the tough work. Or perhaps, it was meant to educate those who don’t see a connection between the struggles of the past and our current judicial system. Either way, I am glad that Ta-Nehisi Coates came to Cincinnati. It was needed and very necessary. While this wasn’t a city sponsored event, there were many organizations who helped sponsor the event. KnowledgeWorks, The Strive Partnership, Xavier University, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, YWCA, Christ Church Cathedral were the main sponsors of the event. They each have an arm that focuses on eliminating inequity in education, so it was welcomed to see them do some grassroots level work. I am excited that community organizations are coming together to support issues of diversity and inclusion. It shows that we are willing to acknowledge the many voices needed at the table to affect systemic change. It is showing that the city realizes the power of coalition building. It is also showing a willingness to include everyone in the community, not just the ones with economic power. children without homes. This year, when an area family shelter was due to close, which would have resulted in a loss of half of our family shelter capacity, Bethany House stepped up and began to do the hard work of running these beds, more than tripling their capacity. Amy Silver, a social worker at Over-the-Rhine Community Housing received this honor as an individual for her relentless and holistic commitment to assisting individuals and families in getting housed and staying housed. Finally, Jenn Summers of Peaslee Neighborhood Center received the buddy gray Lifetime Achievement Award. Presenter Bonnie Neumeier explained that when buddy died in 1996, Jenn was one of the people who stepped up to make sure the (Continued on page 10) �4 LOCAL Why are there sunflower medallions hidden around Over-the-Rhine? S trolling through Washington Park, a man and his wife find something strange hidden on the bench: a sunflower painted on a medallion. It fits in the palm of their hand but they cannot pluck it from the bench and drop it in their pocket -- it is zip-tied in place. Someone intended for this flowery token to be there, but why? The medallion was planted there by four Miami University students as part of a social activism project to draw attention to “hidden gems” within the Over-the-Rhine community. What the man and his wife cannot see upon discovering the flower is the special place it represents, a place important to the past and present community that does not receive enough recognition for the valuable role it plays in the neighborhood. There are six of these “hidden gems” throughout the neighborhood that can be discovered along with a story that tells of a current history being made. Along with the medallions, the students created a website where the stories of these places are told. However, these important places and stories are BROOKE ADAMS, CASSIDY VENEMA, MAGGIE WOOLF, AND TESS SOHNGEN D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 people and places in Over-the-Rhine have withstood the wave of change that has transformed much of the neighborhood. Their roots are firmly planted deep into the community, and they face optimistically toward the sun. Contributing Writers largely ignored or unknown by newcomers to the community and the Over-the-Rhine historic tours. Why are these places ignored? Perhaps because they represent a history that many would like to exclude from the new narrative of the community. These places -Rothenberg Preparatory School, the Drop Inn Center, Washington Park, Imagination Alley, Venice on Vine, and Our Daily Bread -- tell a story of gentrification, privatization of public property, and a breaking community. Some of these places (the Drop Inn Center and Washington Park) have already been victims of the changes in the community, while others (Our Daily Bread) are still fighting for their place in their community. Some will stumble upon the quest as the man and his wife had, while others will seek out these treasures. If you find one though make sure to share its story with others who then too can search for these hidden objects. Just be polite and leave them behind after you find them. The sunflower is one of the Sunflower Marker near the former location of the Drop Inn Center Credit: Brooke Adams most durable plants and stand tall against the greatest odds. They are not unlike the places they are tied to. Like the strong sunflower, many THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Visit the website for the stories: www.otrsunflowerchallenge.weebly. com �5 LOCAL Winter is Coming: Please Help the Winter Shelters No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 Bobby isn’t the only person in a position like this – in fact, the person who owned the pickup, also slept in it. And this person didn’t make it through the winter without losing his foot to frostbite. His whole foot, up to DR. MARK MUSSMAN L Staff Writer ast week, the Winter Shelter opened at the Shelterhouse for Men in Queensgate. The Winter Shelter is open to anyone over 18 years old who need a place to stay for the night, and will be open until the cold weather passes us by in February (I’m being hopeful) or March. There is always a need for donations for the shelter, and for the auxiliary shelter that is still open in Over-the-Rhine at Prince of Peace Church on Race Street. I am thankful that we can come together as a city and offer such services in the cold of winter. people who have felony convictions. We learned at the Poverty UnSummit that there are over 800 laws barring people with felony convictions from work in our state. For example, you cannot own your own construction company – no matter how good your skills are, or how badly you are treated by your boss. These laws, in combination with the inability to find stable housing, made life for Bobby completely unwieldy – until one day. A few years ago, Bobby met and fell in love with a young woman, and they had two beautiful daughters. Bobby began to devote his life to Snow on the Bridge Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Snow on the Riverbank Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Last winter, one of my good friends – let’s just call him Bobby – was having trouble finding a place to stay after dealing with some legal issues. Bobby, who I have known for many years, is a kind-hearted soul who just grew up in a very difficult situation. By the time he was 16, he was in prison and life was looking very bleak. 20 years later, still in prison, he ends up finding Yoga, giving him a new outlook on life. After leaving prison, he wanted to do everything “on the level” but Ohio has some of the most restrictive laws governing his daughters, making sure not to jeopardize their relationship, Bobby sought out legal ways to earn money, but due to his checkered past, was stuck subsiding on his SSI of $700 per month – barely enough to house the new family. This lasted for a couple of years, until he was busted for jaywalking and taken in for an outstanding warrant (from before he even met his girlfriend). This led to an immediate 6 months lock up, and in turn, his girlfriend and children were evicted, all his belongings were destroyed, and he was apart from his family for the longest time yet. When he was released, he had nothing, and his family moved to Kentucky and he couldn’t stay with them, so he ended up on the street. Last fall, we met up and talked about what he needed – a deposit and first month’s rent was the biggest issue. He knew that his record held him back from consistent work, and his inability to get a job was making it impossible for him to find a stable place to live. Bobby had lived with me before, but this time it wasn’t possible, so I tried to go through the avenues that I knew, but no luck. He couldn’t stay at the Shelterhouse because he slept at a friend’s house one night after staying there, and he was barred for sometime because he had found a place to stay one night. (This was before the Winter Shelter opened.) I talked to him about the Catholic Worker House, but without a job, he cannot stay there. We don’t have many options in Cincinnati, so he ended up staying in a pick-up truck throughout the winter with a man he met while sleeping in a doorway of an abandoned building. Even though it was close to his family, he wasn’t able to spend the holiday with his family because of the restrictions on her housing. mid calf, was amputated and during that time Bobby had to find a new place to stay. The last we spoke, many months later, Bobby was still looking for a place to stay with his family. This is just one of the many stories that people have to deal with in our country that puts convictions over compassion, handcuffs above housing, and replaces health with wealth. Until we decide that we cannot accept the legal system as it is – one that purposefully destroys lives at all costs rather than builds people up in the benefit of society – we will continue to pay more for incarceration than education. And to be honest, I’m not sure if it is having the desired effect – are people becoming rehabilitated or are they just forced to live in substandard housing, having lousy opportunities, adding to recidivism? What do we gain as a society when there is no hope? At the very least, we can hope that no one loses their leg this winter and families are able to spend the holidays together. It’s a hope, but not a reality, for far too many in Cincinnati. A Cold Night on the Ohio River A Cold Night on the Ohio River Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �6 LOCAL “The jobs aren’t coming back” D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 ROBERT PARK Contributing Writer T he talking heads who didn’t anticipate Trump supremacy have fallen back on their unshakable foundations and are proclaiming “the jobs aren’t coming back.” The people who made sure the jobs were going away – including most of the Democratic Party leadership – are now trying to justify their betrayal by arguing Marxist economic determinism: technology and fundamental economics have forced these transformations that are far beyond the control of hapless governments or dreamer, pie-in-thesky politics. This is really rich: we have the corporate liberals telling an elected President who claims to be wanting to fix a vexing problem that the working class is intimately familiar with, that he can’t do it. Dig your hole deeper, guys. If you’re saying he can’t do it, you sure won’t do it. Good-bye. Could it be done? Of course. This is about trade. About trade agreements. They all have provisions and enforceable requirements. That’s what the WTO – World Trade Organization – is all about: specifying and enforcing the rules that the global corporate lawyers have written into it. And they do enforce it. They go crazy over intellectual property rights (Microsoft, Apple, big Pharm,…). The problem is that they are the wrong rules. Trade is a huge economic powerhouse of incentives. It can make or break countries, political parties, poverty. Here’s what the rules could look like and how they could be enforced. 1. Environmental standards Water and air pollution regulations, manufacturing practices. Storm water management for land protection, water conservation. Explicit goals and time-frames with different levels specified for advanced vs. developing economies with a timetable for eventual harmonization. 2. Sustainability standards National policies and laws to keep the coal and oil (and fracked gas) in the ground; promotion of renewables., esp. geothermal, wind, passive and photovoltaic solar, efficiency; agroecology and permaculture to rebuild farm land, increase productivity and sequester CO2. 3. Clear guarantees and protection on civil and human rights. 4. Corruption standards Publicly funded, transparent elections; comprehensive bribe prevention and disclosure; minimum requirements for publicprivate partnerships. Tax reform: progressive income taxes, securities transaction taxes, and uniform corporate tax requirements. Protection of free speech, internet access; severe controls on state and private surveillance data-mining. 5. Labor standards Protected right to organize unions; labor law with minimum procedural requirements for union democracy and accountability, and stringent prohibitions on employer interference. Minimum living wages. Explicit goals and time-frames with different levels specified for different countries and with a timetable for harmonization. These rules would level the playing field, increase production 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 costs in slave-labor countries, greatly reduce out-sourcing and actually bring jobs back. Some companies are already coming back because of rising labor costs in China and other impediments in their business plans. Most importantly, the working classes of developing countries would be a whole lot better off because the obscene profits going to crony capitalists and their global collaborators would be severely redirected to the workers. Internal markets would flourish. The corporate lawyers writing trade agreements don’t want this to happen. Obviously, this process would start off from where things are now. The transitions would have to be feasible and politically viable. Each country would present a unique basket of interests, limitations and possibilities. The way to drive it forward would be for a block of progressive states to establish a preliminary set of rules and form a very favorable trading arrangement that would be an inducement for other countries to follow. Even corrupt, hopelessly entrenched elites would be under extreme pressure to conform in order to participate or else face mounting isolation and unrest, not to be suppressed with any (Continued on page 12) �LOCAL Walking the Walk & Singing the Talk Streetvibes reviews the new CD by Just Earth No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 T his reviewer has been seeing (hearing) a lot of good music lately. On Saturday, December 10th I was privileged thanks to the generosity of OTRers Bonnie Neumeier and Mike Flood to attend the Judy Collins concert at Ludlow Garage. Judy had been a favorite of mine in my twenties, and she wowed the audience. Judy spoke of her famous relationship with recently deceased Leonard Cohen, telling the audience that Leonard had existed “just in time,” i.e., the night before the election. She mentioned his latest album, “You Want It Darker.” “Well,” she quipped, “it's gonna get darker.” Then she dropped the subject. The following Sunday afternoon, I attended a Special concert at Urban Artifact in Northside. The concert was celebrating the release of a new CD, two years in the making, by a local group, Just Earth. In her opening remarks, the group's founder Paulette Meier talked briefly about the “dark” days that we are facing. But she explained that the music on the new CD could help to lift us up. The group's name derives from their desire for an Earth that is, to put it simply...just. “And the name reflects the fact the Earth is just about all we have,” Meier said. The concert that day proved amazingly professional while feeling refreshingly informal. A few mistakes and restarts were needed, but they happened with a lightness and friendliness that made human and real, even funny. The eleven mostly original songs had been written over the past several dozen years by Paulette and guitarist/singer Jamie Fota. They (four others) made up the play list of the CD, “One Planet, One People, One Future.” JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer Just Earth Album Cover had gone into this complex nuanced album. 11 musicians participated that afternoon, playing drums and Congas, electric and acoustic guitar, violin, cello, piano, trombone, trumpet, melodia and harmonica. Lots of musical variety, sometimes hard driven and brash, counterpointed by songs of quietude and subtlety, a capella harmonies mixed in among the big band sounds. All the more amazing was the overarching reality that each of the songs reflected the group's primary mission: to bringing their time and The first song, exquisitely performed without accompaniment by the primary four members of the group, told the story the “Diggers,” a commune movement of 1649 in England. Dedicated to the ideal of a classless society, the Diggers settled on privatized land and held it in “the common good.” The movement of course was put down by the powers that be. What would we expect when the Diggers sang lines like: “the sin of property we do disdain.” The next number, entitled “Power” was not about the thirst for 7 “Litany,” written and sung by Ms. Fota, was a desperate plea to godlike Mother a feminine protector/ sustainer. “Mother listen to our plea, help us return to sanity.” A hard driving electric guitar gave the song an eerie modernist urgency. Ms. Meier wrote the song, “I Want to Know,” which deals with living in the consumer driven world. “I want to know,” Meier sang, “where all the things that I use come from. So I can know to whom I owe my gratitude.” Simple words, profound idea. “We were born to love and love is what we are here for” is the beautiful refrain from the song, “Born to Love,” movingly accompanied by violin and cello. The notion of our being born to love seems way too easy for us to forget, even at Christmastime. The final two songs were rabble rousing as well as just rousing, “The Race to the Bottom” is a kind of negative cultural anthem, which was underpinned by the sound of a bluesy trombone. “Where labor costs are low, as corporate profits rise” went the refrain. Who would doubt that we are in a kind of rat race to the bottom indeed. And, as the old saying goes, the rats are winning. For now. Just Earth closed its concert with a song that brought a few folks to their dancing feet. “Put the Old Ways on the Run” involved all the players onstage. “And we've only just begun to undo the damage that was done.” So clear to everyone filling the venue was the fact that (maybe now more than ever) the damage is still being done, and to undo it will take effort, and maybe a large helping of risk from all of us. Full disclosure: I have been friends with several of the group members for many years, Paulette in particular. These folks have been doing this kind of hard core activist singing for forty years or more, seldom rewarded by any more than our gratitude. Out in the streets at protest events, time and again, they have led us in song, and rallied our spirits at vigils and action. For me there is comfort in knowing that they have been with us, year after year, artists and artisans, faithful to the yoked causes of justice and Peace. Thank you, Just Earth, for your lifelong true grit. I encourage you to go to Paulette's website: paulettemeier.com. CD Pre-release celebration at the College Hill Coffee Company Credit: Tim Kraus It had taken the group two years to put the material together, with the help of a young, professional sound engineer Sean Kelly. We concert goers could see and the work that talents to bear on issues and ideas that might contribute to a more peaceful and saner world...and to its admittedly fragile future. power, but needing the power of the sun and the wind and the flowing water. Sustainable energy. Lifeblood of the planet. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED You can get a taste of the wonderful music and hopefully buy a CD. Through all the tumult and the strife I hear [their] music ringing I finds an echo in [our] souls How can [we] keep from singing. --redaction of the old Quaker hymn �e 8 LOCAL Brittany Katz on her work of art D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 MALIA PITTS Contributing Writer B rittany Katz, 28, is a local painter who has a reputation of creating brilliantly painted canvases of young color and doodling everywhere,” said Terri Collett, Brittany’s mother. “I went out to Walmart one day and went crazy in their arts supplies sec- liked it that way,” she said “Everyone would always try to invite me out and get me to do other things, but I was content with painting and being in living room, painting his sunsets and scenery and the best part is when he would let me add my touch wherever I wanted. I would always add streaks of bright colors,” she said. Brittany’s parents always encouraged her artistic abilities, motivating her to continue her craft in college. After getting accepted into the University of Cincinnati DAAP program for Fine Arts, Brittany was Credit:Katz Painting women using emotional expression. Over the years, she has sold over 100 paintings and plans to continue her craft, one canvas at a time. Born and raised in Loveland, Ohio, Brittany was fascinated with art at a very early age. When she was four, her mother introduced her to painting, and she hasn’t put the paint brush down since. “She was always fascinated with tion. When I brought the supplies home and saw how excited she was and how fast she used everything, I knew right at once I had a little artist on my hands,” she said. Growing up, Brittany was a quiet, shy girl, who used art to express her feelings. When most kids were outside hanging out or looking for trouble, Brittany says she avoided it. “I didn’t have many friends and I Credit:Katz Painting my room full of art. Yes, I was one of those kids,” she said smiling. Her love for art was passed down by her father, Val Skurow, who used painting as a hobby when he wasn’t working full time as a hotel manager. “He was more of a landscape painter. He would spend hours in the Credit: Katz Painting THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED exposed to a variety of challenging studio experiences that helped furnish her skills and technique. “I loved college because it helped me become more open with my work Credit: Brittany Katz (Continued on page 9) �9 NATIONAL New York City criticised for failing to get a grip on its record homeless population No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 REENA KARASIN COURTESY OF ISPARE CHANGE NEWS / INSP.NGO A record-breaking 60,000 homeless individuals sought refuge in New York City's homeless shelters over autumn - a deluge that is drawing attention to the city's handling of its homeless citizens. nities (LINC) rental assistance programs subsidise rent for individuals or families in a number of situations. LINC, which provides support for families who are working full-time, requires that families pay 30 percent of their income in rent. A family of four could receive a $1,119 monthly A homeless woman sleeps in an alcove on 7th Avenue in Times Square in Manhattan, New York. Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri subsidy. While New York City prohibits landlords from discriminating against applicants based on source of income, Simone says that people in the LINC program have been turned away nonetheless. The coalition is calling for greater enforcement of the anti-discriminatory law. LINC has also promised landlords a $1,000 signing bonus since October 2014 and offers them financial protections if the tenant fails to pay rent or causes damage to the unit. But even these steps do not ensure that all LINC beneficiaries can find housing, given the city's housing shortage. "Even if you have a landlord who is completely on board with the voucher program, if you have dozens of applicants there's still one apartment," Simone says. "We can't just voucher our way out of the homeless- ness crisis - we simultaneously need to be building our way out of it and increasing the housing supply with real affordability levels." DHS also offers services to prevent homelessness, many of which are part of the Homebase program. With 23 locations, Homebase is designed to keep New Yorkers out of the shelter system - a move that, Simone notes, saves individuals from experiencing trauma and saves taxpayers money. Homebase presents an array of services including eviction prevention, job search assistance, and financial counselling. The city has recently dedicated extra funding to legal services that help prevent against evictions, Simone explains, but adds that the coalition would like to see the initiative expanded to a legal right to council in housing court for people at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. Despite the high number of homeless individuals in the city's shelter system, the DHS says in a statement that Mayor Bill de Blasio's programs made that number about 7,000 fewer than projected. "We said five months ago that it would take time to reverse 20 years of policies and that the number of people in shelter might continue to grow," Commissioner of the Department of Social Services Steven Banks said in a statement. He added, "Our current programs have substantially slowed the rate of growth in homelessness. And we will keep working to strengthen our efforts to prevent homelessness." Simone says that the city has plans to expand Homebase. DHS did not provide comment. "We know how to help [homeless individuals], but we just don't have the resources to help them," Simone says. "We really need both the city and the state to do as much as they possibly can to tackle this crisis, because we know what works to solve homelessness, and we just need our elected leaders to embrace these proven solutions by focusing on housing." and painting worked as a catalyst to help bring my emotions out,” she said. “So, I began creating images with acrylic, of woman using emotional expression, specifically emotions that run through me at the time and onto the canvas,” she said. After college, Brittany continued her work of art, this time displaying her work for the world to see. From Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and EBay, Brittany used the internet to help sell her work and build a respectable, credible image. “Women from all over the city were messaging me, requesting paintings, and buying online. I was excited of course, but then I realized that I used painting all these years as my personal escape, when there are millions of women who go through things in life and my paintings represent that, my paintings represent how their feeling,” she said. Currently Brittany, now married with two children, still paints her work of art. She now has her own art studio, a renovated attic in her home her husband made for her. She hopes to pass her artistic skills down to her children one day, like her father did to her and continue to make a name for herself in the art industry. “Painting has always been a passion of mine,” she said. “I love the way it gives me the freedom to express my feelings without having to say a word. My girls watch me paint just like how I used to watch my dad and man it’s a great feeling to see them so fascinated just like I was,” she added. Homeless John Stewart caresses his dog Cuddles as he sits on 14th Street. Stewart has been homeless for two and a half years and can't find a bed in a shelter because he refuses to give up his dog who he has had for 20 years. Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri The city's affordable housing crisis is the primary cause of the increase, according to policy analyst for New York City's Coalition for the Homeless, Jacquelyn Simone. The median annual housing cost in New York City in 2014 was $15,780, according to U.S. Census data. High housing prices lead almost half of the city's residents to spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing. "There isn't really any affordable neighbourhood in New York City anymore," Simone says. "When you have a crisis like that, an affordable housing crisis, it's just a matter of time until somebody falls behind on their rent and ends up in the shelter system. It can happen to anyone." The city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) offers a suite of programs designed to help individuals in shelters relocate to permanent housing. The six Living in Commu- MALIA PITTS (Continued from page 8) and finally be able to talk and discuss art with other students who were just like me. I didn’t feel out of place and my best work was made during that time,” she said. From her knowledge and skills, she gained from DAAP, Brittany discovered her personal touch when it came to painting. “I noticed that I always had a hard time expressing my emotions THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Contact: Brittany Katz (513) 2571663, Terri Collett (513) 253-8459 �10 LOCAL Mansplaining T he topic I'd like to address is almost impossible for someone like me to talk about. I'm liberal, but I'm also a white man. Liberal ideology has become strangely hostile to white men who say things that don't align with the leftist dogma, with dissent categorized as a result of sexism, racism, and white privilege. This outright attack on divergent viewpoints is utterly non-productive, and it distracts us from the problems of real sexism, real racism, and real white privilege - none of which are the case simply because a white man has an opinion. Here's why the topic is so tricky: if I come across like a white man who feels oppressed, then I become laughable. White men are still firmly entrenched in our country's power structure. White men, as a group, are not disenfranchised. I know that. But my involuntary membership in a specific group should not disqualify my brain from forming politically oriented thoughts. Let's consider the issue of abortion for a moment. (For the record, I'm pro-choice. Apparently, if my opinion matches what liberals believe, then it's not because of my white male privilege.) Gallup has been tracking opinion trends on abortion since 1995 (actually since the 1970's but the chart I'm referencing now JOSH SPRING (Continued from page 3) work kept moving forward, notably coordinating the efforts of ReSTOC (now a portion of Over-the-Rhine Community Housing). She kept ReSTOC on solid ground, including the completion of buddy’s place. Jenn has continued to commit her life to the cause of fighting homelessness and poverty. D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer goes back to 1995), and in 2015, the pro-choice numbers squarely took the lead for the first time since 2008. However, it's not like the issue is blown out of the water. It's a close call, and it has been a close call for a number of years. In 2015, 54% of women were prochoice compared to 46% of men. That year marks one of the widest gaps but there have been years when more men were pro-choice than women: in 2003 (49% of men compared to 48% of women), in 2005 (49% to 47%), in 2007 (50% to 48%), and in 2010 (47% to 42%). Male support for abortion hit an all-time low in 2012 (38%), but it has been increasing since. Here's the bottom line: there are a whole lot of women who are prolife. If a white man talks about opposing abortion to a liberal woman, he will likely be accused of sexism, or in the very least of "mansplaining" (more on that word in a minute). This is weird, though, since such a man would be in agreement with a statistically significant portion of the female population overall. (Please note that I'm not commenting on whether it's appropriate for a bunch of white male legislators to be in charge of writing laws concerning women's health issues. I'm just talking about an average white Joe having opinions on the issues of the day. The legislators and Joe may share a race and a gender, but that's hardly Joe's fault.) Usually, Republicans are the ones who master the propaganda of wordchoice. Just think about how, for years, the word "liberal" was largely considered a bad word. But with terms like "mansplaining," progressives have boarded the propaganda train. There might legitimately be a problem with men over-explaining things condescendingly to women, but that doesn't mean men should be disallowed from explaining their thoughts. It seems like white guys who disagree with liberal woman are now just written off as sexist mansplainers who need to be put in their place. When I think about all these dynamics, I try to step back and to consider the view from 30,000 feet, In short, we are thankful. As an advocacy organization, we do not receive governmental funds and therefore rely on the giving of our donors, the dues from our Members, the tables they purchase at the dinner, the schools who pay for Speakers’ Bureau events and those who buy Streetvibes. Being funded this way allows us to speak freely. A Coalition is a group of people and organizations coalesced for a focused goal. Ours is to eradicate homelessness. The dinner provides a beautiful opportunity to see so many people in one room that together with those who could not be there, make up our growing Coalition. The final action we take as a Coalition before the end of the year is to take part in National Homeless Memorial Day. On Wednesday, so to speak. If we, as liberals, are collectively going to support this trend - accusing white men with differing opinions of sexism, racism, and of being perpetrators of white privilege - then how can we be surprised at the growing number of extreme white male positions on the right-side of the political spectrum? We are attacking them on the basis of involuntary group membership, which would only highlight the traits of said group. When any group feels essentialized and under attack, it is natural to form a bond over the presence of the attacked traits. I'm not saying that white maleness is under some sort of existential threat, but the group psychology is similar to other groups that have been oppressed. So I think this emerging liberal position encourages white men to bond with one another on the basis of their white maleness. Then, this same liberal mindset further attacks these white men for those bond formations, further solidifying them and causing them to really identify in terms of their race and gender. As a liberal, that is the exact opposite of what I want to happen. But I can't help but wonder how many readers will think I'm just mansplaining right now from my position of privilege. December 21st we will gather at 5:30 pm in Washington Park to honor the people who died in 2016 because of homelessness. The systematic problem of homelessness ends lives early and we will use this time to further commit ourselves to the cause of ending homelessness. Please join us. Bethany House services receiving the Julie Martin Service award Jenn Summers and Amy Silver with the awards they received Photo: Michael Flood Photo: Michael Flood THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? BUILDING A REFORM AGENDA FOR 2017 W here do we go from here? That's the theme of a hastily organized public forum sponsored by a local reform coalition. Stunned by the recent election, the organizers see a need for citizen activists and reformers to begin planning a reform agenda for 2017. This Forum takes place on Friday December 16th, 12:00 noon at the Mt. Auburn Community Methodist Church, 103 William Howard Taft Road. Reformers faced daunting challenges no matter who won on November 8th. The results, however, of Trump plus Republican control of both the House and the Senate create Sisyphean labors for those concerned about renewing the democratic process. It once seemed that the appointment of one new Justice to the Supreme Court could lead to the overturn of the five to four Citizens United Case of 2010. Such a quick solution to a decision that opened up the floodgates for unlimited Super PAC and BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Fat Cat campaign spending now seems like an impossible pipe dream. When all the donations are tallied, 2016 will undoubtedly set a new record for campaign spending. In the Ohio U.S. Senate race alone, Ted Strickland collected $10-million, while Rob Portman raised $24-million. Controlling the warping impact of "big money" on campaigns will certainly be part of the agenda of the upcoming Forum, but no simple answers or silver bullets will be available to latch onto. One possible bright spot could be the potential of reforming Ohio's extremely gerrymandered Congressional Districts. Such a reform was successful in 2015 when voters handily approved an Ohio Constitutional Amendment that reformed state legislative districts. Catherine Turcer, Policy Analyst for Common Cause, will speak about this new potential at Friday's Forum. She has been participating in recent meetings in Columbus where attendees are at work drafting a Constitutional Amendment proposal to take to Ohioans in 2017. Besides focusing on redistricting reform and what to do about "big money" in politics. Forum participants dare not leave out the subject of voting rights. One of the fallouts of the Presidential campaign was all the suspicion raised about rigged elections and millions of illegal voters. According to the polls, Trump's untrue rantings have actually convinced a large number of Americans that rigged elections and illegal voting are major factors in U.S. politics. These false charges could lead to new efforts in Ohio and other states to make it more difficult for people to vote. Another topic on many people's mind is reforming the state winner take all electoral college system. Hillary Clinton now leads Trump by three-million in the popular vote. If the reverse had happened, and 11 Clinton had won the electoral vote, Trump may well have urged his supporters to take to the streets to oppose a "rigged election." A Constitutional Amendment would be required to change the current process. Forum organizers feel that the historical clock is ticking in terms of getting citizen activists and reformers to begin thinking about and fashioning a reform agenda. Although faced with enormous institutional and societal obstacles, the goal of renewing democracy in this country looms as an even more critical need after the fall campaign. The country is polarized. An anti-establishment feeling grips the country, and citizens are losing confidence in representative democracy. It's time to start rolling those reform boulders up the hill again! The sponsoring coalition includes the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, the Woman's City Club, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Common Cause/Ohio, the League of Women Voters, the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, and Applied Information Resources. For further information about the Forum, call 381-4994. The Income Squeeze MICHAEL EARL PATTON M Contributing Writer ost of us have experienced a “squeeze” in income since the start of the Great Recession in 2008, or know someone who has. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) does surveys of income and expenditures and separates households by quintiles – lowest 20% income, next 20%, and so on to the highest 20%. The BLS also does the consumer price index (CPI), used to measure inflation. Data go back a few decades. However there was a change in how the BLS did the surveys in 2004. This change captures more income, so that is the date from which I start in the charts below. Looking at the below chart (Household Average Annual Income -- Not Adjusted for Inflation) things don’t look too bad. There is a small dip at the start of the recession but then income starts going up again. But this is not adjusted for inflation. Once that is done the chart changes. I am using CPI-W data, which is the index used to adjust Social Security payments for inflation (the “W” stands for urban wage earners and clerical workers). The index that is normally reported in the press is CPI-U, which measures inflation for urban consumers. They wind up being very similar, however. The next chart, Household Average Annual Income -- 2015 Dollars (Adjusted for Inflation) shows that the household average annual income peaked in 2006 and then generally declined until 2013, at which point it started rising strongly again. The National Bureau of Economic Research normally is the group which declares when recessions begin and end. To do this it looks at economic activity -real GDP (Gross Domestic Product), real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. They concluded that the Great THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Recession in the United States started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. This chart, however, suggests that its effects on income continued for several years past that. The chart below shows the household average annual income by quintiles. (Continued on page 12) �12 JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 7) All income quintiles were affected by the recession, but it looks as if the top two quintiles have recovered better than the bottom two. It is very important to note also that in general the households in the top two quintiles have incomes which considerably exceed their expenditures. That is not true for the bottom two quintiles, where their expenditures generally exceed their incomes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics points out that when households expend more than they earn the difference could be due to such factors as living off of savings or taking out loans. Taking out ROBERT PARK (Continued from page 6) help from the block. Each aspiring country would have to undergo a public negotiation with the block on how they would make adjustments to conform to the rules. The rules would evolve with practice and public evaluation. Probably the most powerful club of enforcement would be based on reporting of violations from citizens on the ground. Workers would report labor and environmental violations. Public media would be crucial. It would be crowdsourcing-standardsprotection and violator identification. Reprisals against whistle-blowers LOCAL loans to go to college is in fact quite common, Another possibility is that some of these households are being subsidized by other family members – parents, for instance. For clarity I am just going to give the lowest two quintiles in the next chart. This will allow more detail to be shown. Note that until a couple years ago, households in both quintiles were losing ground. And since their expenditures were already greater than their incomes, the squeeze was getting tighter. The past couple years have seen an improvement, but still the households are, in general, worse off than what they were before the and violation sleuths would be fatal for governments seeking admission to, or continuing membership in, the block. The block would have protected legal rights of discovery and investigation in cooperation with citizens. Interpol (the planetary cops) would be turned upside-down. Another source of violation reporting would be the intelligence services of the block member states. Instead of tracking and monitoring pathetic terrorists, devastated immigrants and dissident citizens, they would be examining financial behaviors, environmental data and rights violations of predators in the member states and wannabee member states. D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 start of the Great Recession. Looking at these charts it is not surprising that the two major unconventional candidates (Trump and Sanders) did so well. Candidates who basically promised more of the same, or who appeared likely to more or less continue the same policies as have been in place for the past two decades (Clinton), had an uphill battle regardless of other attributes. I have looked for factors other than the overall economy that may explain these trends. I did not find anything significant. I thought maybe changes in household size could explain it, but household size is basically unchanged in 2015 compared to 2004. The definition of income seems comprehensive enough. It includes wages, salaries, self-employment income, investment income, Social Security, pensions, disability income, unemployment pay, and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits (food stamps). The percentage of lower income households with at least some college education has actually increased over the past 10 years. It seems, then, to be the economy. This has certainly changed with increased outsourcing, leaving many former factory workers to compete with immigrants for lower wage jobs. Others have gone to college, but if that has had an effect it has not been enough to turn things around. I want to make a suggestion here. When major changes are planned such as trade treaties, outsourcing, and tax policies, business and political leaders should first evaluate the effect of those changes on people who are already struggling to get by. If the proposed changes make their situation worse, then please change the plans. Don’t just judge changes by the average effect, and certainly not just by the effect on those who are already well-off. Look at the most vulnerable in society first. There is much more to unpack in the BLS data, some of which will be covered in other articles. The world’s enormous intelligence monster would be repurposed to defend standards and rules that work for the people, tracking shipments, interviewing plaintiffs, data-mining commercial reports, news stories, horror stories. Sounds like the European Union? Well, no, the EU is run by corporate lawyers. If it operated in pursuit of the standards proposed here, it wouldn’t be collapsing around the German commercial fortress. Greece, and Spain and Italy would be thriving. Can this work?... Sure. Will this work? No…, not with Trump or Hillary and their friends running things. For one thing, the U.S. is in violation of all of the above standards, esp. labor rights. But what if we had the revolution that Bernie started? With progressives taking control of Congress? We could reach out to Iceland and maybe all of Scandinavia, for a start, and then maybe Spain, France, Greece, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Nepal, Bhutan, New Zealand, Namibia, Tunisia, .. who knows? Canada might get in ahead of us. The block would have enormous visibility and appeal to people everywhere. Parasitic elites would fall left and right. Radical Islam would disappear. So would racism. The planet might be saved. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �13 STREET VOICE No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 The Darkness of Day To the Water Protectors at The Darkness of Day is so shallow Standing Rock, North Dakota There’s no means of stopping it Why is the darkness so black To Sophia Wilansky, I feel her pain. To lose an arm from a concussion grenade at Standing Rock. The Morton County Police are tools of the Rich Man’s Like a deep hole Rule. Uncertain of the depth it will unfold Justice for Standing Rock. The darkness of the day is there Justice for Sophia Wilanksy! How is it dark when it’s in the day Is the darkness in the day the same As the darkness in the night Just seen through a different light KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer SONNY WILLIAMS Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer CAN YOU Can You shut ‘em down? Does the world believe that this is the world’s solution? Can you shut ‘em down? Keeping factories open with no work, now that’s pollution Can you shut ‘em down? The free clinics, people homeless, no more Drop Inn Center Can you shut ‘em down? Washington Park, the sanitation workers, I can’t help but litter Can you shut ‘em down? Over-the-Rhine was white then it was black, I thought we were all together Can you shut ‘em down? I’m confused so tell congress I really thought they knew better Can you believe in your heart that the decisions of our country are either republican or democratic? Can you believe that out of all the people in the world two simple parties be worthy of so much static? Can you close your eyes to the reality of the fear that has such a tight grip on our nation today? Can you keep living shut down and shut up? I’m baffled but not lost for words I can honestly say For me, learning to live without doubt or fear in my life and keeping God so close to my heart I have no doubt that without God’s blessings this world is doomed to fall completely apart With much faith and without any regards for the republicans or democrats controlling my being Without any doubt what so ever today I know that almighty God is the only real thing So can you shut ‘em down? Now slow down and take the time to think, what do you really understand? You need to come back into the days of Adam and Eve and remember when only God ruled the land! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 114 Across 1. Animal 6. Jewel 9. Ursine mammal 13. Planet 14. Pasture 15. Work out 16. On the move 17. Hard tough wood 18. Tripod 19. Principal theme in a speech 21. Heavy fire of artillery 23. Pitch 24. Kind 25. Health resort near a spring 28. Finishing line 30. Interfere 35. Sapidity 37. Baseball glove 39. Broadcast again 40. Boundary 41. Part of a flower 43. Female relative 44. Sports venue 46. Aromatic herb 47. Prevaricator 48. Erase 50. Orderly 52. Free of moisture 53. Small branch 55. Chart 57. Teller 61. Living environment 65. Part of a church 66. Imitate 68. Express mirth 69. Gape 70. Beverage 71. Follow as a result 72. Ripped 73. Consume 74. Souvenir Down 1. Bill 2. Comfort 3. Showily imitative 4. Smallest American sandpiper 5. Pharynx 6. Great merriment 7. Snakelike fish 8. South American dance 9. Watercraft 10. Other than what is under consideration 11. Report or maintain 12. Depend 15. Long-haired hunting dog 20. Heavy footfall 22. Limb 24. Scene 25. Lieu 26. Military chaplain 27. The world's highest waterfall, ___ Falls 29. Having patches of different colors 31. Bargain 32. Pre-Christian priest among the Celts 33. Relating to the moon 34. Access 36. Segment of DNA 38. Story 42. South American cud-chewing animal 45. Clothing of a distinctive style 49. Female animal 51. Pill 54. Very angry 56. Musical instrument 57. Actors in a play 58. Singing voice 59. Celestial object 60. Swift long-eared mammal 61. Form of energy 62. Long tooth of a walrus 63. Chills and fever 64. At that time 67. Small vegetable D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 244 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 113 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 243- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 Shelter: Women and Children Cincinnati Health Network OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 Prospect House 921-1613 Shelter: Both Starting Over 961-2256 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) Housing: 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 241-2965 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 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 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Northern Kentucky 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 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Advocacy Health $100 Other Resources Hamilton/Middletown 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 981-5800 961-0600 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 15 St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary 859-491-3335 859-572-6202 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. 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 3/2005 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 1999 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 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 4/2007 MAURICE GOLSBY MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 cincistreetvibes.org 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 December 16-December 29, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Call to (In) Action? Pg 4: Why Are There Sunflower Medallions Hidden Around Over-the-Rhine? Pg 5: Winter is Coming Pg 6: “The Jobs Aren’t Coming Back: Pg 7: Walking the Walk & Singing the Talk Streetvibes Reviews the New CD by Just Earth Pg 8: Brittany Katz on Her Work of Art Pg 9: New York City Criticized for Failing to Get a Grip on Its Record Homeless Population Pg 10: Mansplaining Pg 11: Where Do We Go from Here? Pg 12: Jim Luken Continued Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 16-December 29, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Key Beck Brooke Adams Cassidy Venema Maggie Woolf Tess Sohngen Dr. Mark Mussman Robert Park Jim Luken Malia Pitts Jason Haap Bill Woods Michael Earl Patton Kim Green Sonny Williams Willa Denise Jones Michael Flood Wikipedia Tim Kraus Katz Painting Bill Woods Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Bill Woods Brittany Katz Brooke Adams Cassidy Venema Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Jim Luken Josh Spring Katz Painting Key Beck Kim Green Maggie Woolf Malia Pitts Michael Earl Patton Michael Flood New York City Over-the-Rhine reform Robert Park Sonny Williams Tess Sohngen Tim Kraus Wikipedia Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/637af0aeeb4befb4129a43117a09f15f.pdf be97597a9a3be49634f3cfc2ba4e2547 PDF Text Text December 18th - December 31st 2015 | Vol. 19 Issue 26 (No. 319) advocating justice | Building community Hollywood filmmakers turn the spotlight on world’s homelessness crisis | 7 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Last Community Forums of 2015 | 3 Prince William: “Ending youth homelessness is achievable” | 9 Student Reflections of OTR | 6 Roll Up Your Sleeves: Volunteering at the Coalition | 5 Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 streetvoice | 13 �2 LOCAL We Are People JOSH SPRING Executive Director O n December 9th we had our Annual Dinner and Award Ceremony. Lots of people and organizations came out, for which we are very thankful. This dinner is quite important to us. We do not receive government funds and therefore we completely rely on the people who have passion for our mission. The dinner raises some of the funds to fund our mission. The dinner, however is very special to us. It is special because it is an opportunity for our member-organizations, donors and supporters to come, commune together, reflect, relax and have some fun. Being a part of this Homeless Coalition is wonderful. I am really thankful to look out over the large crowd and not only know that the individuals and organizations represented are our sup- porters, but to also know that they are our Coalition; not only that but the people that could not be present and the many people that our member-organizations serve collectively are our Coalition. We exist because many, many people share the same mission: eradicating and preventing Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 homelessness in Greater Cincinnati. I started thinking about the numbers of people our Homeless Coalition represents. Collectively, our member-organizations have several thousand employees, when you add in the many different people our members work within a year the number reaches close to 100,000 people. As we enter the New Year, we have big plans and we hope that you will be involved in them. Thank you! ------------------------ 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 Curtis Scribner describing A Place at the Table Photo: Justin Jeffre Layout: Peter Kobak Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson, Dante Williams Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark Mussman, Christopher Wilkey, Marla Mackey, Aaron Hatfield, Peter Enzweiler, Emily Dones, Valeria Degutis, Kensey Harman, Jessica Willis, Erin Myers, Jason Haap, Carolyn Park, Steve Sunderland, Wayne Stump, Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Dr. Mark Mussman, google images, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Party on the dance floor at the Homeless Coalition’s Annual Dinner Photo: 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 Last Community Forums of 2015 Focus on Investing In Neighborhoods and Addressing Mass Incarceration No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 BILL WOODS Contributing Writer C an a neighborhood economy comprised of locally based businesses serve as a healthy alternative to our global economy dominated by huge corporations? At the Community Issues Forum on November 19th, Kevin Jones, Co-Founder of Social Capital Markets, made the case for investing in local enterprises concerned about building community as well as making a profit. Fresh from coordinating and addressing a two day “Neighborhood Economics Conference” at Xavier University, Jones talked about some neighborhood business ventures already underway in other cities as well as several potential projects in Cincinnati. Founded in California in 2008, Social Capital Markets is “a network of heart-centered investors, entrepreneurs, and social impact leaders who believe in an inclusive and socially responsible economy to address the world’s toughest challenges.” “Its founders,” noted Jones, “saw that current financial institutions and venture capitalists were geared to making loans and investments purely based on the criteria of monetary success. They launched SOCAP to create an investment environment that aimed to support socially responsible enterprises that thought beyond their bottom lines. SOCAP-leaders, declared Jones, began to recognize that our often neglected and declining urban neighborhoods offer good places to build this alternative economy. Jones provided examples of how alternative models are emerging in neighborhoods and how people can become involved in this movement. Nearby Louisville, Kentucky is currently a city where SOCAP has invested in several businesses aimed at reviving low-income neighborhoods. “Cincinnati,” he advised, “is a new place where SOCAP will coordinate some small grants that will assist small neighborhood enterprises to launch startups.” Jones described the process of finding local people to help discover potentially successful new enterprises and to assist SOCAP in grant making. Xavier University will house the small grant making operation known as “the Accelerator,” while the city already has “a Community Quarterback” in place who is charged with finding likely candidates for receiving grants. A startup grant is usually $5000 in size. The last Community Forum on December 10th focused on mass incarceration in the U.S. and Ohio. David Singleton, Executive Director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, addressed the harmful consequences resulting from the huge incarceration growth that has taken place in this state and the rest of the country. He also acknowledged some recent momentum to reform the legal pro- percentage of African-Americans who comprise our inmate-population. In Ohio, African-Americans currently constitute nearly fifty percent of the total. Singleton acknowledged that racism or “an implicit bias” was one factor at work that helped to generate this percentage. In an ongoing dialogue with Forum attendees, he discussed a number of other factors involved in both the total number of inmates and the very high percentage of AfricanAmericans. Putting people in prison ban courts, and Singleton declares that ill-advised poor black clients often get talked into agreeing to plea bargains that send them to prison for long terms. “Plea bargaining,” he said, “is a huge ill.” Our entire criminal justice system, noted Singleton, is badly in need of reform, and the huge incarceration rate is integrally tied to a system that isn’t working very well in terms of providing justice. Prince Brown speaking in a forum led by David Singleton Photo: Justin Jeffre cess that has led us to this situation. Singleton depicted our staggering incarceration statistics. In the U.S, that leads the world in terms of the percentage of people incarcerated, the number of prison inmates grew from 62,388 in 1982 to 2.4-million today. During this same time frame, Ohio’s number expanded from 13,256 to 50,600. Besides the overall number of people sent to prison in the U.S. and Ohio, Singleton pointed to the high Kevin Jones speaking at the community forum Photo: Justin Jeffre for non-violent crimes especially related to drugs accounts for a huge rise in the numbers. Related to this reason is the practice of mandatory sentencing that emerged since the 1980s. During this period, he explained, an attitude of “get tough on crime through punishment” prevailed in our criminal justice system. Poverty linked with race must also be acknowledged. Low-income clients often receive little or no representation in our overcrowded ur- For years, the Ohio Justice and Policy Center has been working to improve the criminal justice system in this state. Much still needs to be done in terms of creating what Singleton calls “a restorative justice system,” but he remains hopeful. “A conversation is now going on in this country about ending mass incarceration.” Singleton believes we must build from this conversation. ------------------------ Kevin Jones leading a discussion Photo: Justin Jeffre THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297 The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the Woodward Theater! The 2016 Day by Day calendar is now available online at http://cincihomeless.org/ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL Roll Up Your Sleeves: Volunteering at the Coalition No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 5 DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer I often get questions about volunteering at the Homeless Coalition. I appreciate that people are so willing to help us out in our mission to eradicate homelessness. I also appreciate when people are able to give up of their own time to aid us as we complete our vision. One thing that comes up is a desire for people to see quick results of their hard work – which is understandable, but not always possible. As an advocacy organization, we know the road ahead of us is long and full of obstacles. With the political landscape in constant flux, we know that many of our opportunities have not been defined yet. We are always adapting and pushing hard to make sure that everyone is supported with basic necessities. How will federal changes to the definition of chronic homelessness affect an individual’s ability to obtain housing? Who is trying to reduce Medicaid at the state level? What changes in the city’s anti-solicitation laws will impact our Streetvibes distributors? How do we organize tenants who feel isolated and powerless in the face of disaster? None of these questions have clear answers, but bringing more people, organizations, and municipalities, to the table will bring the best possible outcome. However, the only way they will know about what is happening is through the direct mailing, emails, phone calls, social media, and outreach that we do. Helping us to spread the word is one of the most powerful ways that you can help us fulfill our mission. Talking to your friends about affordable housing, the minimum wage, The front desk sparkles as it’s put back in place. Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman A volunteer cleans the microwave and chairs. Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman and creative ways to reduce the medium income gap in Cincinnati is a powerful way to get more individuals involved, yet sometimes we just need help stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, and sharing through social media. If you haven’t had a chance to hear one of our Speaker’s tell their story, I challenge you to get a group of people together and book a Speaker through our website. This is a powerful way to learn more about the individual challenges associated with homelessness from someone who has struggled, and with the help of other individuals and organizations, may be in a better situation today. One of the themes that seems to come out of the speaking engagements is that it takes someone on the other side, perhaps on your side, the comfortable side, who reaches through the barrier and helps restore an individual’s hope. You can be that person for someone – someone’s mother, their sister, their brother, their son, their father, or their child. On occasion, we need volunteers to help us in our building on E. 12th Street in Over-the-Rhine. Recently, we put out a call for help to do a deep cleaning on our reception area. This area is important for many reasons, including welcoming guests to our offices and giving people a place to relax during the day. People who have mailboxes with us also use the space every weekday as they collect their mail. The deep THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED clean was a rousing success with several volunteers from the community who put in more than their share of sweat into the project. We moved the front desk and cleaned it from top to bottom. We scrubbed the walls and chairs, and removed piece after piece of clear tape on every imaginable surface. After we were finished, everyone commented on how nice the reception area looked and smelled – Clean and Fresh! Sometimes people with special talents also like to contribute to our mission. While it might not seem that knitting will help people experiencing homelessness, when a high school student with knitting skills contacted me about volunteering, we came up with a creative solution that will benefit the community. As you may remember from my article on Alternative Breaks, the Sarah Center suffered a fire in October. As a result, the quilts that many women had been working on were destroyed by the smoke. The Sarah Center’s fall sale is happening as I write this article, but they agreed to include the knitted headbands that the high school student created in their sale. This will help raise money for the Sarah Center as they try to rebuild their quilting and jewelry making space. I also had an acclaimed local artist, James Billiter, ask how he could help with our mission. James’ work is intimately Cincinnati as he creates posters that enliven the landmarks and culture of our great city. I am proud to say that he donated a large, framed, signed poster for our silent auction at this year’s Annual Dinner. The Annual Dinner will have already happened by the time this is published, but it is one of the most fun events of the year! There is always great food, music, and dancing, as well as moving speeches by people who have been impacted by the great advocacy work of the Homeless Coalition. We are embarking on some large projects in 2016 that you can help shape by donating or volunteering. If you are able to organize a group of people from your workplace, school, church or civic organization to book one of our wonderful Speakers, social justice walking tour, or Streetvibes Shadow, you will be helping us fulfill our mission by educating the public on empathy and inclusion while shedding light on the lived experience of people experiencing homelessness. You can sign up for an event or to volunteer (individually, or as a group) on our website. So, the next time someone asks you how can they get involved, let them know that it is only limited by their creativity and willingness to roll up their sleeves. We can do this together! ------------------------ �6 LOCAL Student Reflections of OTR Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 CHRISTOPHER WILKEY Contributing Writer The three writings in this section were written by Northern Kentucky University students and Miami University students who participated together in a servicelearning course titled Writing and Designing for Social Change. Students in the course met regularly in Over-the-Rhine over the course of a semester, and had the opportunity to meet with OTR residents and activists while learning about the ongoing stories of struggle and empowerment in an urban neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Northpointe and Cincinnati, We Need Recreation, not Re-Creation Marla Mackey, Aaron Hatfield, Royce, Peter Enzweiler It’s hard to find a quiet spot in bustling Over-the-Rhine. People are always on the move. However, right on the border of Mt. Auburn and OTR, across the street from Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, there is a little green oasis of a park which features a handful of basketball courts, some open greenspace, and a community garden. The courts give young people an opportunity to play and exercise safely and the garden allows residents to grow their own fresh produce. However, recently the NorthPointe development group has been pursuing the purchase of the land where the courts, half the garden, and neighboring low-income housing sit. This new development, which would be called “Rothenburg Row,” would have homes starting at around $500,000. While the deal is not yet final, the city of Cincinnati, which owns the public park, is negotiating with NorthPointe to sell the land at a reduced price. We believe that public space is for the public’s use, not for private development. If you look at NorthPointe’s “Company Core Values,” they are: “Integrity- always aiming to do the right thing; Commitment of Excellence- to our clients, partners and to each other; and Stewardship- mindful of our responsibility for our product and environment.” We would like NorthPointe to take a good look at their core values and decide if replacing public space with market-rate housing is really “doing the right thing” for residents and their environment. Our team believes that Northpointe should not demolish the courts because local children believe that these particular courts are safer than other courts in the area. Destroying the courts can hinder the futures and social skill development of the children that make use of them. That should matter to everyone because these children will one day be adults who represent the city of Cincinnati. Every decision that we make now that affects these childhood will affect how they contribute or do not contribute to our community in the future. Please show your support by signing the petition to “Keep our Courts” at change.org and be sure to follow us on twitter @ RAMPonVine_OTR . Transparency, Not Invisibility Emily Dones, Valeria Degutis, Kinsey Harman, Jessica Willis, and Erin Myers As Miami University and Northern Kentucky University students, we chose to take a class called “Writing and Designing for Social Change” that meets at Buddy’s Place in Over-the-Rhine. We didn’t quite understand the extent of certain problems in the neighborhood until we came into direct contact with those problems. It took us reaching out to community members to hear their perspectives on Over-theRhine to fully appreciate these individuals and their viewpoints, giving each of us new insights into a world Young kids playing basket ball on a community court Photo: Justin Jeffre with many different sides. With our project, we set out with the intention of humanizing OTR’s long-time community members and finding a way for them to feel visible in the ever-changing community. In an attempt to walk with residents who have lost their sense of community due to the developers and tourists who have taken over the neighborhood, we hoped to make sure these individuals know how valuable their opinions are. The video we created is comprised of multiple interviews from long-time community members speaking about the place that has been their home for years. There is also a photo collage of various messages to visitors of OTR, which includes posters designed to be thought-provoking for everyone experiencing Over-the-Rhine. We have both a Facebook and an Instagram page that focus on the real people of Over-the-Rhine and tidbits of their lives. Through the interviews that we’ve conducted, we’ve been able to sit down and really talk with the residents. As rare as it may be in our society today, the individuals we have encountered have been so real and honest with us. They have not tried to paint the world into a pretty little picture like the glam of Hollywood or the posts you find scrolling through a typical social media page. They have been vulnerable with us in sharing their life stories, and we cannot thank them enough for letting us into their hearts and minds. We want people to realize that OTR residents are not a part of the scenery. They are not a nuisance to the bar scene happening on Vine or the concerts taking place in Washington Park. They are not invisible. They are real people with hopes and dreams, beliefs and opinions. It’s not their fault developers decided one day that this place was suddenly of worth only to themselves, this place that has been home for years to some truly beautiful people. To access our project, visit us on Facebook at “Humans of OTR” Community garden next to Rothenberg Preparatory Academy Photo: Justin Jeffre “Breakdown Stereotypes” Social Injustice I’d like to ask you, reader, to take off your shoes. And once you’ve done that, laces unbound, I’d like to ask you to try on the shoes of your neighbor and wear those instead. Many different kinds of people exist here in Over-the-Rhine. We live our lives as well as we can; that much can be said for everyone. Yet things happen which shouldn’t. The greatest evils and the smallest unkindnesses. We often treat one another differently based on how dissimilar they are to ourselves, be it race, gender, age, fashion choice or apparent wealth – these are injustices. Shouldn’t someone be able to sit on their front steps and enjoy the day free of disdain from a passersby? Shouldn’t everyone feel welcome in the neighborhood where they grew up? Shouldn’t a person be able to ask any other person for help, without certain assumptions being made about their character and choices? When we enjoy these liberties ourselves, we tend not to notice when others don’t have them. So while you’re wearing your neighbor’s shoes, notice where they will and will not take you. These injustices shape the lives of those they affect in profound ways. It is a system of blindness and self-interest that builds our cities. Cincinnati is not one which has risen above the structure of haves and have-nots, where what is to be had is respect and equality and those who havenot are determined so by their race, gender, age, fashion choice and apparent wealth. It must be understood that a difference in culture and means does not equate to greater or lesser human beings. Follow #ThisIsOTR and the QR code below to hear directly from individuals in Cincinnati who perhaps are unjustly perceived as the have-nots. ------------------------ “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL Embracing Conflict as an Invitation to Grow No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 7 JASON HAAP Contributing Writer R ecently, I published an editorial in The Enquirer, and it became quite the adventure! Here’s the recap: the paper published a Sunday feature about the history of the phrase “Who Dey,” but they left out the potentially troublesome issue of the chant’s likely link with racist minstrel shows at the turn of the last century. My editorial was a response about this fact, and then the internet blew up! The Enquirer web-page hosted around 200, mostly hate-filled comments against me, the item was picked up by sports blogs across the country, and later that evening I was interviewed on ESPN 1530 AM by Mo Eggers, and on WLW 700 AM by Rocky Boiman. Everyone thought I was calling football fans racist for saying “Who Dey!” The Enquirer even published a follow-up to my follow-up, a rebuttal to my editorial penned by Andrew Perrin. It turns out the controversial origins of the “Who Dey” chant serve as a springboard into what’s wrong in our society right now: knee-jerk reactions, personal character attacks, blind political ideology, and a general lack of logical thinking. We can do better. We must. While some may contend we have more important topics to tackle (like the threats of global and domestic terrorism, or economic inequality), perhaps we could use practice with something that should be safe, like a simple football chant - even though (rather to my surprise) this issue stirs up severe emotional turmoil. What the whole experience emphasized for me is an inherent general chaos with regards to trying to mediate a public discussion. I think some people react to a first impression, without taking the time to thoughtfully consider details. They saw the word “racism” linked with “Who Dey,” and they got defensive, calling me an overly sensitive PC communist who needs to leave Cincinnati. That my item had nothing to do with calling Bengals fans racist seemed beside the point - they just associated words together and react- google images ed. I think this is a problem. (And for the record, I’m not a communist.) Consider the Donald Trump campaign, as just one example. Newspapers and Republicans across the country are condemning his statements, yet he continues to rise in popularity. In October, the Boston Globe reported that when Trump talks, as analyzed by the Flesch-Kincaid readability scale, it comes back at a 4th grade level. (This current article is written at about the 10th grade level.) There is little complexity of thought at the 4th grade level - just on-the-surface, underdeveloped, emotional responses. Being emotional and passionate is fine, but we must temper that with complexity and reason, too! This isn’t an issue of “political correctness,” either. So many people accused me, in my editorial, of being “too PC” before saying they were not going to stop chanting “Who Dey.” It felt like people wanted to shout me down because they thought I wanted to censor their speech. Ironically, by telling me to “shut up” and “go away,” weren’t they really trying to do exactly what they fear the “PC movement” is about - shutting down someone’s right to free expression because they don’t agree with its content or tone? (That’s not what the “PC movement” is about, but such is another matter entirely...) We need to move past this low-level of discourse. I applaud Andrew Perrin for publishing an editorial that attempted to debate my original point, but even he made some argumentative missteps - namely, how to cite and refute individual claims with counter-claims that disprove (or at least seriously call into question) the original argument. For example, Perrin claims “that Who Dey is in no way racist due to its potential connection with minstrel shows. The context of Who Dey in Cincinnati is one of brotherhood and sisterhood, of loyalty to a team, and, as Carol Mostinger wrote earlier this week, a way for Bengals players to connect with the fans. I challenge anyone to show me what could be racist about black and white fans alike sharing a bond with black and white players.” This is a red herring. Of course “Who Dey” can serve as a rallying point of community building among Cincinnati football fans of any background. That there might be something racist in the phrase’s origin has no bearing on this fact. ‘Right to work’ a tired, failed proposal CAROLYN PARK Contributing Writer W orking people have taken a beating in recent years. Our paychecks aren’t keeping up with costs that keep climbing. It’s getting harder to find good jobs that offer a living wage and benefits. Wealthy CEOs, corporations and politicians have manipulated the rules in their own favor, and the rest of us are falling behind. Ohioans have had enough with the failed policies and empty rhetoric that got us here. And we are starting to do something about it. Here in Ohio, a broad coalition of working people is mobilizing against yet another attack on collec- tive bargaining. Even though “right to work” has failed repeatedly in the past, Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout, is pushing a new bill in the statehouse. It’s an effort to keep middle-class Ohioans from speaking up together for wages and benefits that can sustain our families. This is clearly an idea that should be kicked to the curb, as it was in several states earlier this year and as it was when Ohio voters rejected the same scheme by a 2-1 margin in 2011. More and more, the tide is turning against this brand of corporate politics all over the country. In September, the Missouri Legislature upheld Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a so-called right-to-work measure, which had been a top priority for out of state, big money special interests, as well as some state house leaders. Right-to-work laws make it harder for working people to band together on the job and result in lower wages for all working people, whether they are in a union or not. The working families who stand to lose when anti-worker legislation is on the table aren’t a special interest, and they don’t belong to one party. They’re ordinary Americans who live in every city and voting district. Lawmakers in Missouri chose to listen to their constituents over outside special interests, and a bipartisan THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED The reality is that it can both have something racist in its history, while not being racist any more. I’ll leave that distinction for the readers to decide. Here’s another uncomfortable fact: one of the standard ice-cream truck songs is totally racist, and there is absolutely no getting around the fact. As reported by NPR in a 2014 item entitled “Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song? We Have Unpleasant News For You,” the tune originally had words and a title: “(Nword) Love A Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!” There is a long period of time between the song’s composition and now (between racist minstrel songs and modern ice-cream trucks), but history is history. Am I saying people are racist if they get happy at the sound of the ice-cream truck in their neighborhood? Of course not. Am I saying we can’t allow our children to enjoy ice-cream trucks, or even that particular tune as it announces the arrival of refreshingly sweet treats? Of course not. History is complicated, but it’s not my fault this racist history exists, and sharing the fact has nothing to do with “political correctness.” History is history, and we should remember it when we can. Some history may be uncomfortable, but that discomfort is an invitation for personal reflection - whatever conclusions you ultimately draw. This kind of social discomfort, however, should not be an invitation for hatefilled, divisive speech and anger. We need to do better than that. I’m afraid we might not be able to discuss Gold Star versus Skyline without people getting extreme. If we can’t even talk about “Who Dey,” when we will ever be able to talk about the class-based prejudice in our city’s split between the East and West sides of town, or the fact that we have some of the most racially segregated neighborhoods in the country? We need to embrace these conflicts as an invitation to grow, and not an opportunity for insult and bombast. ------------------------ coalition stood with working families as they defeated the bill and upheld the governor’s veto. In the past year, citizens rejected similar legislation in Kentucky, New Mexico, West Virginia and Illinois. Last fall, anti-worker measures failed to make the ballot in a number of states, including Ohio. A proposal to seriously limit workplace rights did make the ballot in Anchorage, Alaska, where it was roundly defeated by voters. And now Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor who staked his entire political career on attacking union members and working families, has fallen on his face. Only a few days after doubling down on an extremist anti-worker platform as part of his presidential bid, he bowed out of the race. He was polling favorably with less than one-half of one percent of voters. (Continued on page 12) �8 WORLD Hollywood filmmakers turn the spotlight on world’s homelessness crisis Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 ADRIAN LOBB STEVEN MACKENZIE www.INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK R ichard Gere is one of the most famous faces in cinema but during the making of his latest film, Time Out of Mind, in which he plays George, a homeless man living on the streets of New York, he found himself being completely ignored by passers-by. “I was invisible in New York,” he says in a report made available to the world’s street papers via the INSP News Service. “Because I was this character, people decided within two blocks of seeing me that I was homeless, and didn’t look any further. No one made any eye contact. It was confusing and profound. “If Richard Gere, who has money and fame - and in this situation everyone thinks kindly about me - if I can stand on a street corner and be treated like garbage? That’s a profound lesson for me personally but for an audience it should be as well. It radically changed my view of myself and of the social fabric around me.” Gere shared his experiences making the film during a private screening with vendors from One Step Away, a street paper based in Philadelphia. Gere believes “vendors have done something heroic. They’ve pulled themselves out of a very deep ditch, they’re survivors.” Like buses, you wait ages for a film focusing on homeless characters then several show up at once. Out now is Maggie Smith’s quirky vagabond in Alan Bennett’s cosy and quaint The Lady in the Van, which will be followed by Hector, starring Peter Mullan. “It is an important subject to tackle,” Mullan says. “When you are so disenfranchised, there’s so little you can do. You can only exist for the absolute immediate moment, and that is when you become invisible. “We all make assumptions about people on the street. You see some poor soul lying there and think he must be a junkie or an alcoholic. Sadly, we see more and more people just rubbering, as we say, the homeless, be they Roma, be they Caucasian Scots, be they the recent emergé of whatever ethnic group. They are being ignored.” The film follows Hector’s pil- grimage from Scotland to London to celebrate Christmas with his sister. “The character’s journey is the thing Jake [Gavin, Hector’s director] and I worked on,” Mullan explains. “At one point the script had alcoholism as being what pushed Hector over the edge but that was the glaringly obvious one. My sister worked with the homeless for a long time. I met a lot of homeless guys who didn’t drink and didn’t smoke but had mental health issues, be they temporary or long term. They couldn’t cope with their responsibility in the world. “Now we have this horrendous Jerry Tucker (One Step Away) and Richard Gere. Credit: Al B housing crisis, where regardless of mental abilities or addictions we are back to a Cathy Come Home situation, where we have whole families being evicted because of benefit cuts and sanctions. The next big epidemic is going to be homelessness. I feel I have to talk out. “In the ‘80s the movie industry got into ‘greed is good’ and Wall Street, which made it look incredibly glamorous. It has always been the case. And it always will be if we allow their voices to reign and if we don’t have honest, original responses to it.” Homelessness has been a big issue for a long time but rarely makes for big box office. Hector’s producer Stephen Malit describes the difficulty securing distribution. “We premiered at Edinburgh Film Festival and got good reviews,” he says. “We screened it to distributors but the nature of the film industry at the moment is you’re either big or you’re no one. We had a couple of offers but they were pretty lousy. So many will put it out but they won’t get behind it. So I got together with a cinema booker, we went to the BFI (British film Institute), who adored it, and we’re putting it out in partnership from December 11.” Hector is one of the few brave enough to battle Star Wars at the box office. “Literally everybody said you are insane trying to release a small art film at Christmas,” Malit says. “But let’s try, nobody else is going to do it! I’d like to think there’s a market for social realist films. I grew up in the ‘80s, and whether it was music or fashion shows - everything had something to say. We’ve gone bland.” In an industry that loves shiny escapist blockbusters, why have some film-makers suddenly discovered homelessness? Paul Bettany, best (Continued on page 10) Paul Bettany: “The reasons for homelessness are myriad. Who am I to judge?” STEVEN MACKENZIE I didn’t start off wanting to make a film about homelessness. I wanted to direct a movie [pictured below], and then thought I might rather like to make one about judgement. I have this worry that in a world full of increasing grey areas we’re becoming more entrenched in black and white positions. I live in New York, on the Hudson River. There is a tiny triangular park on the corner of Canal and the West Side Highway where this homeless couple lived. I passed them every day on the school run and would try to talk to them. My kids would say good morning. But more and more, I’m ashamed to say, I began not to be able to see them. Somehow they became part of the landscape of the city I live in. Then Hurricane Sandy happened. www.INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK There was a mandatory evacuation of downtown riverside Manhattan. In the madness of getting my three kids, dog and cat and wife in the car, I didn’t stop to think where they - my neighbours - would weather the storm. I never saw them again. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I’m sure they were fine and had moved on but I imagined what their lives might have been and they became a template for a film about judgement. Why do we treat homelessness the way we do? I think it’s got something to do with fear, a terror that one might end up (Continued on page 10) Cast member Paul Bettany poses for a portrait while promoting “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Burbank, California April 11, 2015. Credit: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �WORLD Prince William: “Ending youth homelessness is achievable” 9 No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 SOPHIA KICHOU V ery few people can be unaware that Prince William is a father of two young children. Baby George turned two in July, while his sister Charlotte is now seven months old. And as William reveals in this exclusive interview for The Big Issue UK, getting a full night’s sleep is a luxury, even if you’re second in line to the British throne. Yet the Duke of Cambridge remains a busy man. He works as a full-time pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, based at Cambridge Airport. He also keeps on top of a wide array of royal duties and charitable work, including his role as patron of Centrepoint, the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people. Significantly, this was the first patronage he chose, back in 2005, and it was a cause very dear to his mother Diana, who was also a Centrepoint patron. In December 2009 Prince William spent a night in a sleeping bag near London’s Blackfriars Bridge for Centrepoint, to get an idea of the conditions experienced by young rough sleepers. The Duke told us why the struggles of homeless people remain important to him, and described how society needs to wake up to the scale of the problem. That’s not to say he thinks it’s a losing battle. With focus, he told us, youth homelessness is something we can fix. And he said a safe and secure Christmas for Centrepoint’s young people would be a good start. Homelessness is a subject Sophia Kichou knows all too well. She became homeless at the age of 18, sleeping in a hostel before finding support with Centrepoint. She first met Prince William four years ago and told the Duke of Cambridge about her dream of becoming a journalist. She said she would love to interview him some day. He agreed. And at the end of November he sat down with Sophia so she could interview him for The Big Issue. www.INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK When Sophia met William at Kensington Palace for her royal appointment he appeared very happy and relaxed (if Charlotte is causing sleepless nights, her dad didn’t show any sign of tiredness). The Prince joked about the “interrogation”, asking if Sophia was going to “Paxman” him and admitting to feeling a little nervous. Hi William. Hi Sophia. It’s great to see you again. How are things with you? I’m now in my last year studying journalism, so it’s an exciting time. How’s your job? What’s it like flying a helicopter? Well, it’s a lot easier than journalism, that’s for sure (laughs). I’m really enjoying my time with the Air Ambulance - it’s fantastic. I work with brilliant people, and the medical side is truly fascinating. We’ve got some of the best doctors in the world and the job they do saving lives is quite something. To feel I’ve contributed in some tiny way to the work… it’s a worthwhile feeling I get at the end of the day. You’ve visited Centrepoint many times over the years. Why is the issue of youth homelessness so important to you? I think it goes back to when my mother first took the role when I was a small boy. I was very struck by the people I met and what they were struggling with - sleeping rough, sofa surfing, not having basic comforts a lot of us take for granted. That really struck me at a young age, bearing in mind the gulf for me, growing up in a palace, and seeing the other end of the spectrum where others were faced with huge personal challenges and were overcoming them. That was powerful to see at a young age. In today’s western world, with all the advancements and privileges we have, the fact some people don’t have a bed or a roof over their head is quite ridiculous. You’ve met a lot of young people who have been through homelessness. Have there been any stories that really stayed with you? It’s hard to pick people out. But something that did live with me for a long time was meeting an Eritrean guy whose entire family was killed in Eritrea. It was probably one of the closest times I’ve ever come to fighting back tears of emotion listening to someone tell their story. I think seven members of his family had been killed, and he found himself here with no-one in the world left to look after him. And Sophia Kichou and Prince William. Photo shot Centrepoint was the orexclusively for The Big Issue by Louise Haywoodganisation to give him the Schiefer at Kensington Palace, November 24, 2015. network of support that allowed him to rebuild his life. I was really blown away by that. And there are so many stories like that. My sister and I were young when we lost our mum. I was eight, a little younger than you when you lost your mum. I couldn’t live with my dad, so at 18 I was homeless, having to go from place to place. Do you think people understand the kind of things people go through? For me, seeing people overcoming personal challenges, the adversity you and others have fought through - it’s incredibly moving and powerful. And it’s what gives me the confidence that we can beat the problem. I think if more people can understand what you and others have gone through, and how you’ve turned your life around, they would understand more. Do you think we can ever end youth homelessness? I do think it’s achievable. There are 136,000 young people in England and Wales in need of emergency support, yet only 16,000 are officially accepted as homeless. It shows it’s still a huge problem we haven’t addressed fully. I would love the country to wake up to the issue. It’s complex, but it’s fixable. I do strongly believe that. You slept outside for a night in a London alleyway back in 2009. I heard you almost got run over by a road sweeper truck… Well, that might have been a slight exaggeration (laughs). Was it difficult? Did it show you the reality of homelessness? No, it couldn’t show me the reality. I thought it was important to spend one night doing that, but I can’t even remotely pretend that I know what homelessness is like. I had a nice bed to go home to at the end of it. It did help illustrate just how lonely it must be if you had to do that every night, and the vulnerability you are under. I had police protection, and I had Seyi Obakin (Centrepoint’s chief executive) for company, but others face the risk of hypothermia, the risk of abuse and assault on their own. So it focused your mind on the problem… It did focus my mind on how desperate young people must be to have to go through that, and some of the methods they might go to in order to get a roof over the heads - self-harming to go to A&E units, committing a crime just to be in a cell. If young people have to go to those lengths then we have to do something about that. When it comes to youth homelessness, do you feel you’ve seen progress? I think so. I think I’ve seen ups and downs, if I’m being honest. Initially, there was a feeling we - at Centrepoint and other homelessness THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED charities - had a gauge on how big the problem was and we were tackling it. In recent years the problem has got worse. Services are being stretched, as much as they possibly can be. I still believe it’s possible to end youth homelessness. Early intervention is key. The earlier we can tackle young people’s problems, the more likely we are to give them the ability to fix their own future. Can I ask you about Christmas? Yes, sure. I’m spending it with my mentor and her family, and I’m really looking forward to it. What will you be doing on Christmas Day? Well, if I get any sleep on Christmas Eve it’ll be good, because George will be bouncing around like a rabbit. I think George will be extremely bouncy this year because he’s suddenly worked out what Christmas is all about (laughs). So that will be two children, one who suddenly appreciates Christmas, which could be quite challenging. But I’m looking forward to it. And how does the day pan out? We’ll go to church as a family on Christmas Day, as we always do. Then we’ll watch George try to tackle his presents as he tries to unwrap them. It’s a very different experience at Christmas, having a family of your own. It’d be nice if we got a white Christmas because we haven’t had one in many years. What are you asking Santa for? Well, let me see… I would love everybody at Centrepoint, all the young people, to have a happy Christmas and to be safe and secure somewhere. And to have some love in their lives. I know that sounds quite naïve and romantic, but that would be the thing I’d ask for. Thank you so much for your time. Lovely to speak to you. We’ll do it again when you’re anchor on ITV or somewhere like that! ------------------------ OUR INTERVIEWER Sophia Kichou is 24, and in her final year studying for a degree in journalism at City University, London. Her mother died when she was eight and she grew up in Uganda with her aunt. At 18 she wanted to reconnect with her father in London, but it wasn’t the safe home she was promised. She had to leave and ended up sleeping in a hostel. She found support at Centrepoint, and began working towards her dream of becoming a journalist. A report on youth homelessness won Sophia ITV’s Breaking Into News competition. She was also a member of Centrepoint Parliament, a group of young people that successfully campaigned to protect parts of the Education Maintenance Allowance. �10 ADRIAN LOBB STEVEN MACKENZIE (Continued from page 8) known from Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind and as Vision in the Marvel films, makes his directorial debut with Shelter, set against the homelessness crisis in New York. He believes the problem has become so great that film-makers can no longer ignore it. “Art is a response to the culture in which you live,” he says. “Since the crash of 2008 the homelessness crisis is crazy, it’s everywhere. You’d have to be blind not to see it. That’s why I think there are movies about it. But it’s not like Hollywood has remade The Fisher King - Richard Gere and Peter Mullan’s films, like mine, are independent. All films, any film, is welcome. To be part of the discussion is really important.” In Shelter, Bettany directs his wife Jennifer Connelly and fellow Avengers actor Anthony Mackie as a couple who have lost everything but find each other on the streets. “An agent of mine, who will remain nameless, said you can’t make a romance about homeless people because nobody wants to see them kiss,” says Bettany. “I was so shocked STEVEN MACKENZIE (Continued from page 8) there, so an absolute, resolute, this could never happen to me attitude you must have done something yourself to bring yourself so low. In New York, homelessness has spiralled out of control in the last 10 to 15 years. Social housing (I need to say public housing here because the word social gets everybody’s back up in America) has been slashed by 32 per cent. There are 60,000 homeless people in the municipal shelter system every night - and 24,000 of those are children. Last year in New York the first apartment for $100m was sold - yet thousands are in the municipal shelter system every night. That is untenable but you’d be a fool and a communist to draw a line between rising rents and the lack of rising wages… Simply providing people with legal representation WORLD Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 by the awfulness of the statement. “What I heard was how they were thinking of these people as something other. That was what I wanted to discuss and examine. To present two people who on paper are unforgivable then make you love them because people are lovable when you get to know their stories.” Films tackling homelessness is a trend set to continue into 2016. Preproduction is under way for Hampstead, starring Brendan Gleeson as a homeless man living on the Heath, and Diane Keaton as a wealthy American widow, who both take on property developers. The tale is based on a true story, as is, of course, the big screen adaptation of A Street Cat Named Bob, coming soon. But cinema has long had a fascination with homeless characters. One of its earliest icons was Chaplin’s Little Tramp, who evolved from being a rambunctious vagrant in Keystone comedies to the lovable everyman, whose poverty was played as much for tears as laughter. Chaplin wrote in his autobiography that the character “became a man with a soul - a point of view”. In more modern times there’s been a return to homeless characters being used to reflect social issues. The BBC’s feature-length drama Mr Stink was a Christmas hit two years ago, reminding an audience of more than six million about the true meaning of the season, while last year’s highest-grossing British film, Paddington, contained more heart and punch when it came to engaging with migration and how to house people than most media and politicians have dared express. Also scheduled for 2016 is a film that brings social commentary full circle. Fifty years after Cathy Come Home caused an outcry and debate in parliament, Ken Loach will release I, Daniel Blake. Like his 1966 game-changer, the film exposes those victimised and suffocated by the bureaucracy of a broken welfare system. The film’s screenwriter, Paul Laverty, wrote it as a reaction to the way poor people are often portrayed on screen, in the media and in politics. “There’s been a grand narrative created about picking on the poorest in society,” says Laverty from I, Daniel Blake’s shoot in Newcastle. “You’ll have seen endless programmes on various channels, what I call fascist TV, stereotyp- ing strivers versus skivers. There is a punitive, judgmental element running underneath all these documentaries it’s really their own fault and if they just got off their arses and found work… “These programmes often focus on people who are massively vulnerable, who have a drink problem, who are obese, who are shouting and swearing but when you talk to people at foodbanks you find many of them are in work, many have worked for many years then something has happened to them. You see the nuances, the contradictions.” I, Daniel Blake follows the struggle of a 59-year-old joiner who can no longer work after an illness. He meets a single mother of two forced to move from London to Newcastle because of the housing crisis crippling the capital. The film is a rage against the benefits machine, which hinders as much as it helps. “If you look at the speeches from a lot of government figures, strivers versus skivers is a narrative they try to create,” Laverty says. “Life’s much more complicated - we have to break down and challenge that narrative.” ------------------------ would stop a crazy amount of evictions. A homeless family is 80 per cent less likely to be evicted if they have counsel. Counsel costs the city $12,500, while the average stay of a homeless family in a shelter is $45,000. Morally it makes sense but it also makes sense politically. The state of Utah has hugely reduced homelessness by thinking outside the box [the local government worked out it was cheaper and more effective to house homeless people rather than keeping them on the streets]. That seems to be paying off. Of course, in a capitalist society people are screaming, “Nanny state!” and, “How can someone get something for nothing??” The problem is… it worked. It’s difficult to ignore that fact. The reasons for homelessness are myriad; the loss of a job, loss of a family member, a breakdown, and yes, drug or alcohol addiction. Everybody has a story. Who am I to judge? My father died recently. He was a very religious man. Whenever we passed a homeless person he would always say, there but for the grace of God go I. And I love that sentiment. It’s an admission of how close we all are to slipping by the wayside. When I was about 17 years old I had a family loss. I came down to London and ended up outside the boarding house where my sister was living. I used to throw a stone at her window and when the woman who owned the rooms was asleep, she would let me sneak in and sleep on the floor. That was a huge period of time for me. I was not in my best mind. I was grieving, I was not well. There were times I didn’t get into that room and slept on a park bench. I never thought of myself as homeless and I wouldn’t want to overstate that but it absolutely felt that my safety and situation were precarious. I busked for two years, playing gui- tar and singing. If I took sick I wasn’t able to earn my living or feed myself. It was really frightening at that age. I went from having a house with parents who did everything for me to suddenly having to work if I wanted to eat. I was lucky enough to get one of the last grants and ended up going to school to study acting. An agent of mine, who will remain nameless, said you can’t make a romance about homeless people because nobody wants to see them kiss. I was so shocked by the awfulness of the statement. What I heard was how they were thinking of these people as something other. That was what I wanted to discuss and examine. To present two people who on paper are unforgivable then make you love them because people are lovable when you get to know their stories. Shelter is out on Blu-ray and DVD on January 11 ------------------------ THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �LOCAL Cancer Justice Require New Thinking, Leadership, and Action 11 No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer 1. Introduction: Cancer deaths for poor and minorities in Hamilton County are ignored, dramatically increasing, and too readily accepted by the health establishment. The trend is clear for men and women: Cancer deaths for Black women is 186.7 per 100,000; for white women it is 158 per 100,000. For Black men the death rate is 286.5 per 100,000 and for white men it is 214 per 100,000. (2008-12 Trend Period, State Cancer Profiles, National Cancer Institute, Centers for Disease Control.) Cancer is now the number one killer of the poor and minorities in Hamilton County. These deaths translate into twenty year life expectancy differences in Hamilton County neighborhoods. (N. Maseru and C. Jones. “Why Do We Die: Cincinnati Mortality Data Project. City of Cincinnati Health Department, 2011.) Sadly, there is no task force headed by a major health official or politician to call for a change in this reality. Our hospitals have continued to operate in a “business as usual” approach and business is “good.” But not for minorities and poor individuals. Access to timely care to be screened or treated is not coordinated by the hospitals: where is the best place to go for a screening for lung cancer, or to be treated for breast cancer, or for rapid treatment if a cancer is found is a dangerous puzzle. Explaining the cancer signals to individuals in an understandable language is a communication nightmare. Insuring that rapid and effective treatment is made available is another unknown that has seriously negative consequences. Finally, helping individuals overcome their fears of having cancer, being supported in taking the necessary steps toward treatment, and being treated with respect and compassion are sad- ly lacking throughout the health system. Changing this reality will require new thinking, leadership, and action. 2. New Thinking: Creating a New Health System for Stopping Cancer Deaths in Hamilton County. Every organization that works with poor people and minorities could be thought about as a cancer prevention agency. Right now, health concerns, including cancer, are not the major focus of these organizations. Rightly organized for food, housing, education, family and individual emergencies, these organizations that work with the poor are flooded with demands that make up Hamilton County’s “safety net.” Falling through the holes in the net are health concerns, especially a focus on cancer. The many organizations that serve the poor and minorities are trusted by the people. They have built relationships of compassion through responding to vital needs, often in times of crisis. Thought about in a county-wide perspective, these agencies make up a “critical mass” of concerned and active unique systems of care. Being focused on their own goals has prevented a broad-based approach to solving common problems of nutrition, housing, and spiritual needs. Each group works with the neighborhood or group of individuals that most need their service with some important exceptions. For example, the FreeStore Foodbank and the Homeless Coalition have found effective organizational approaches to both supporting individual agencies and developing system-wide solutions. Cancer care requires newer thinking about how to address the County-wide crisis. Can the FreeStore, the Homeless Coalition, AMOS, CAIN, Christ Church Cathedral, Santa Maria, Closing the Health Gap, CILO, and other service agencies Dear Mister WAYNE STUMP Contributing Writer M y name is John Doe and I’ve been homeless for a while. I’m sure you don’t remember me because you pretend you don’t see me when you walk by. There are some things I think you should know because you believe there is no way you could ever end up like me, but the funny thing is I never thought I would be homeless either. I’ve made a lot of friends out here and they talk about their life before they were homeless, and you really do have a lot in common. I remember what it was like window shopping and tapping my toes to the music about Old Saint Nick and riding in a one horse open sleigh. I see how excited your kids are by all of the lights and piles of toys in every store, there is no way to keep them close by holding their little hands. Your family looks like one of those Christmas cards people send out to everybody. Take plenty of pictures with them because I can tell you when they are gone Christmas is very different. Gosh, how I miss those days! Maybe someday I’ll be able to have a normal Christmas again, I would love to celebrate the holidays like it used to be and just forget about how my life is right now. Sometimes I just wish there was no such thing as Christmas, birthdays, and special holidays because when you’re home- add cancer education to their goals? Which agencies are places where the population will feel comfortable with sharing fears and realities about cancer? Who will help citizens find their ways through the maze of questions about what is cancer? Who will help with providing a serious education, print materials that are bi-lingual and in person discussion groups, to review cancer’s complexities? Once believing that cancer may be a possibility, who will coach individuals and their families to take the necessary steps in a timely fashion? Who will help with transportation logistics, meetings at health clinics, appointments at hospitals, and contact with other cancer survivors? 3. New Leadership: It might be said that health is too important to be left to hospitals and doctors. Agencies that serve the poor have the kind of leadership that is vitally needed in changing the quality of health options for their constituencies. Identifying a person within the agency to serve on a Cancer Prevention Council would start a process that could bring major results. This Council could look at each agency as a “home” for being open to education and support for each individual. Being a leader means agreeing to find support for transportation, making contacts with the American Cancer Society for coming to the agency, and creating a “road map” that gets people to screenings and treatment in a timely manner. Using Harold Freeman’s, MD, approach to lay patient navigation, with each lay patient navigator having key responsibilities for linking people to health centers and hospitals, each agency becomes a key force for reducing cancer deaths. (H. Freeman. A Model Patient Navigation Program. Oncology Issues. September/October 2004.) Eventually, the less it’s more like a fairy tale meant for other people. I would never let my family see me like this and I can’t make myself call them because they act so worried on the phone. Some of my friends out here are grandmas and grandpas, and mothers and fathers and they say the same thing. There is Christmas music playing everywhere we go, and people carrying their shopping bags are laughing out loud... we used to do the same thing too, ya know. Before we were homeless we were just like you. Let me guess... you have some terrific advice for me, and if I would have done that in the first place I would not be homeless now, right? It’s okay mister, I understand you just don’t know what to say to me so go ahead and keep walking with your family over there, most people act like I’m invisible anyway. I keep thinking someday I’ll get used to it but I know I am a decent human be- THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Cancer Prevention Council will need to link to the health systems directly and to the political systems that support healthcare as well. Unified in an organization promoting rapid reduction of cancer, the Cancer Prevention Council can represent an important social force for health in our city. 4. New Action: In order to have “Cancer Justice” in Hamilton County, that is, equally high quality access to cancer screenings and treatment for all, individuals should expect that visiting a social service agency is also visiting a health agency. Agencies on board with the mission of reducing cancer deaths need to offer a set of activities that include: education about the realities of cancer: who can survive?; a place to meet a lay patient navigator: a relationship of trust to discuss possible cancer findings and action; and, action to get through any obstacles to getting rapid screening and timely treatment. With such a “home” for any individual, the chances of being screened in the early stages of cancer are strongly improved and life with cancer increased. More effective practices by agencies in educating and providing support, also provide a base for greater pressure on the health systems to take more seriously the cancer needs of the poor and minorities. Changing the status quo, the acceptance of high numbers of death due to inadequate screening and treatment, has to be a major priority for all in our community. Our health systems must face a new kind of accountability in demonstrating that minorities and the poor have just as much a chance to be successful in their cancer treatment as non-poor. Our health systems will need to change the boundaries for thinking and acting differently about who deserves full treatment. Cancer, in sum, is a moral concern: no poor person with the possibility of cancer should have a second thought about where and when they will be treated. The cancer plague can be stopped with this new approach. ------------------------ ing and we aren’t supposed to feel like we don’t even exist. Somebody called me a bum this morning just because I told him Merry Christmas! I didn’t ask him for anything and I was only being nice... he didn’t even want to know my name. Sometimes I catch myself staring at someone across the way because they remind me so much of how my life was not so long ago. Children can’t help but stare back at me the whole time they are walking by because they just can’t understand why I’m sitting here like this. I watched a mother lean down to her child with a pointing finger and I could only imagine what she must have been saying... when you grow up you can be anything you want ­but don’t you even dare become homeless! [You can contact me at homelesswayne@yahoo.com] ------------------------ �12 LOCAL Gifts donated to Streetvibes Distributors by Adath Israel congregation members Photo: Justin Jeffre CAROLYN PARK (Continued from page 7) It turns out that most people understand that strong unions make for a strong middle class. The majority of Americans – including nearly half of registered Republicans – hold a positive opinion of the labor movement. In an economy where wealthy corporations and CEOs are calling the shots while many ordinary people feel stuck, unions are a path forward. But corporations and CEOs are still finding new ways to manipulate the rules in their favor by trying to make it even harder for working people like teachers and firefighters to come together, speak up, and get ahead. And if they can’t fight us in public, they’ll go behind the scenes. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear a case called Fried- Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 Holiday Helpers deliver presents for Distributor Holiday Party Kathy Wise, Gilda Schwartz, Pastor Irvin Photo: Justin Jeffre richs v. California Teachers Association. If the special interests backing this case get their way, they will effectively make all public service jobs “right to work” – hurting paychecks for all working families and public services for communities nationwide. It’s time politicians here in Ohio and in Washington, D.C., got the message: Americans are tired of policies that benefit the wealthy few at the expense of everybody else. We are ready for something better. And we vote. [Carolyn Park is an executive board member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 232, representing employees of the Cincinnati Public School system.] ------------------------ 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. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 TWAS SIX WEEKS BEFORE IOWA Twas six weeks before Iowa and all polls were hazy. The Republican candidates were acting quite crazy. Their crowded debates that the public could see Compare to very bad sitcoms and “reality TV.” Suddenly from my set I heard so much chatter, I adjusted the remote to see what was the matter. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear, But all the contenders looking not of good cheer. Hark Texan Ted Cruz with his right wing rant, And Mike Huckabee with an evangelical chant. Let’s not forget Jeb Bush and his verbal snafus. Lines like “stuff happens” may cause him to lose. Rand Paul subs for his Dad the septuagenarian. Rand’s a chip off the old block a true libertarian. Next is Ben Carson who makes the GOP laugh, When he calls Prez Obama a true psychopath. Enter Governor Kasich with his tax cutting bio. John also brags he’s from a key state - Ohio. Senator Marco Rubio offers too many views, And his personal finances give him the blues. Gone is Scott Walker who couldn’t sell himself Despite support from the Koch brothers’ wealth. And lest we forget him in this endless parade, Out prances “The Donald” with his daily tirade. This constant bombardment of loud wacky pap Will keep us from taking our long winter’s nap. (By Bill Woods with apologies to C. Clement Moore) BILL WOODS Contributing Writer THE CAMPAIGN CAROL SING ALONG COME ALL YE CANDIDATES Your birds are amazing dear Lord Come all Ye candidates. What a wonderful sound to hear Start your advertising. your birds signing their beautiful Come let the polling start In every key state. Come Bush and Clinton, Rubio and Carson. Oh come let us deplore them. songs From all around they all join in with their little tweets and chirps The older birds work hard to help We really can’t adore them. the little ones learn to grow We ought to implore them. Teaching them how to join in on the “Go get a life!” songs the baby birds grow OH LITTLE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE So many different types of birds Some red robins, some humming Oh little state of New Hampshire, birds, some baby sparrows Once peaceful and once still, so precious with its own different But for the next two months or so, The sound bites will get shrill. BILL WOODS Contributing Writer Santa Claus The Birds Some wild, some loud, each bird is style The birds learn to fly and soar high KIM GREEN Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer Today while watching the news I heard that Santa Claus arrived in a helicopter They also talked about tax cuts and how the politicians were eating out at Red Lobster What happened to the days when the bells rang for Santa Claus, his reindeer and sled What happened to the belief in miracles and all the little children went to bed Waiting for that glorious morning to open all the presents that Santa left under the tree Asking questions about how he brought all the gifts down the smoke filled chimney Waiting day and night, trying to be good all for Christmas so we’d be granted the ultimate blessing Looking back and understanding that as a child I was tricked, Santa in a helicopter that’s a new lesson Without the holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas Day what else is there to really look forward too Without giving thanks for so many blessings and being thankful for Jesus’ birth just to name a few So for me Christmas has somehow lost the true spirit and has been misunderstood by all We must always remember God’s blessings, don’t forget to give thanks and bring back Rudolph the red nose reindeer driving Santa Claus!!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 84 Across 1. Mark or grade 6. Felt cap 9. Junk email 13. Gathering of witches 14. Anger 15. Solitary 16. Conform 17. Workplace for scientific research 18. Beauty parlor 19. Liberate 21. Reply 23. Illuminated 24. Equivalent 25. Pouch 28. Jump 30. Reveal a hidden identity 35. Front part of a vessel 37. Zealous 39. One of the senses 40. Chills and fever 41. Durable fabric 43. Region 44. Sweet carbonated drink 46. Rant 47. Military vehicle 48. Ensnare 50. Record of golf score 52. Hawaiian garland 53. Pulp 55. Drink flavored with juniper berries 57. Offspring 61. Indefinite number but not many 65. Large internal organ 66. Regret 68. Conjure up 69. Drama set to music 70. Employ 71. Reddish brown 72. Limited period of time 73. Standard number of strokes for each hole in golf 74. Tendency Down 1. Evidence of past injury 2. Set of rules, principles or law 3. Ellipse 4. Repulse 5. Involve 6. Steel hand tool 7. Epoch 8. African equine 9. Hit with something flat 10. Field game 11. Pulpy tropical fruit 12. Repair 15. Acquiesce 20. Lieu 22. Large flightless bird 24. Dark green leaves eaten cooked or raw 25. Surge 26. Inert gas 27. Enumerate 29. Assert 31. Castle fortification filled with water 32. Relating to hearing 33. Subdivision of the act of a play 34. Cloth used for military uniforms 36. Low dam 38. Prima donna 42. Combine 45. Photographic equipment 49. Play on words 51. Reduce or dispose of 54. Thick sweet sticky liquid 56. Not at any time 57. Storyline 58. Mature 59. Concluded 60. Microbe 61. Oracle 62. Catch with a lasso 63. Related in quality or character 64. Heavy metallic element 67. Country, initially SODOKU PUZZLE NO 218 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 318 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 83 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 217 - MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 319 | Dec 1 8 - D ec 31 , 2 0 1 5 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Mercy Franciscan at St. John OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 981-5800 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Shelter: Men Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Shelterhouse 721-0643 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 921-1613 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Parkway Center 661-4620 Starting Over 961-2256 Shelter: Both Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Food/Clothing First Lutheran Church 421-0065 1208 Race St. Food - Last Monday 12-1 Clothing - second Monday 12-1 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 Cincinnati Health Network $100 for 26 issues 961-0600 $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless for 26 issues and a $50 donation 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �16 S Dec 18 - Dec 31, 2015 | No. 319 treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012 DONALD YOUNG ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014 GINA MARTIN GRADY COOK SINCE 1997 GREGORY RAY SINCE 4/2015 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JONATHAN SLATER SINCE 5/2014 JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 KRISTINE HOFSKY SINCE 3/2015 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 MAURICE GOLSBY MAXINE GRANT SINCE 4/2015 QUEENACELESTINE LEVY RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 JOHN HORN JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 LARRY FILES SINCE 6/2012 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MEACO WAITE MELISSA MOSBY SINCE 9/2014 MICHAEL BEHYMER MYRA WILSON RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY WOODS SINCE 4/2015 RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TINA SINCE 4/2015 TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 VICTOR MUMPHRY LOTTIE MANNER NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 TALINA HILL SINCE 2/2015 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014 GLENDA CANTRELL GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2015 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 18- December 31, 2015 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: We Are People Pg 3: Last Community Forums of 2015 Focus on Investing in Neighborhoods and Addressing Mass Incarceration Pg 4: GCHC Pg 5: Roll Up Your Sleeves Pg 6: Student Reflections of OTR Pg 7: Embracing Conflict as an Invitation to Grow ‘Right to Work’ A Tired, Failed Proposal Pg 8: Hollywood Filmmakers turn the Spotlight on World’s Homelessness Crisis Paul Bettany Pg 9: Prince William Pg 10: Adrian Lobb Steven Mackenzie Continued Pg 11: Cancer Justice Require New Thinking, Leadership, and Action Pg 12: Carolyn Park Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 18- December 31, 2015 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Dr. Mark Mussman Christopher Wilkey Marla Mackey Aaron Hatfield Peter Enzweiler Emily Dones Valeria Degutis Kensey Harman Jessica Willis Erin Myers Jason Haap Carolyn Park Steve Sunderland Wayne Stump Kim Green Willa Denise Jones Justin Jeffre Google Images Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aaron Hatfield Adrian Lobb Bill Woods Cancer Justice Carolyn Park Christopher Wilkey Dr. Mark Mussman Emily Dones Erin Myers GCHC Google Images Hollywood Incarceration Jason Haap Jessica Willis Josh Spring Justin Jeffre Kensey Harman Kim Green Marla Mackey Over-the-Rhine Paul Bettany Peter Enzweiler Prince William Steve Sunderland Steven Mackenzie Valeria Degutis Volunteering Wayne Stump Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/7bbf9f5c8c4be14f3f6715d3a4532428.pdf 5144c74938938d36804a069c21cf9829 PDF Text Text Today•s Youth Find No Room at the Inn Christmas wishes shine through the lighted sign on St. Francis-St. Joseph Catholic House. Photo by James Heath. Attacks on Street Papers Strike at the Core of Our Freedoms Commsnlary /Jy 81ian Davis, Edi/or, Cleveland Homeless Grapevine In the two decades leading up to the ,United there were rumblings of change. The literature of change was the pamph)et. Jt was cheap to construct, and easy to print. This form of literature carried the words of Thomas Paine, Phillip Livingston, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Many of these pamphlets were sold on the streets, usually for two shlrllngs. Pulitzer Prize winning author, Bernard Bailyn, called It the "Literature of revolution," and John Adams said that pamphlets and newspapers were the vehicle for "enlightening'' public opinion about the authority Engfand had over the colonies. Today we are seeing the beginning of a movement to return power to disenfranchised Individuals. This movement unites races and regions of the country In a struggle for equality. The literature of this moverT)ent is the street newspaper. Newspapers written by homeless and low income people give a voice to the voiceless, and enlighten the public about the authority of corporations over Sta~ Revolution, Page 3: News: Cincinnalian Fasts for Justice in Honduras Page 4: Mr. 'T' Gives Hope al Showerhouse Page 8: Slleelvibes looks Back al 1997 Page 12: Homeless Man is One in a Million Page 13: Nationwide: Flamingo Hole/ TakenOver in Santa Monica, CA Page 14: Announcements and Classified Ads our life. They are cheap to produce, and provide an avenue for some financial benefit from the sale of the papers. What the media ignore or obscure with sports, entertainment, and business, the street newspapers explore, investigate, and evaluate. While we no longer respect the power of the media, it still exists. Pamphleteers in the 1770s Ignited a revolution. In the late twentieth century, the medra had the ability to change the verdict of a jury, and end the career of a politician, and even end a war. Street newspapers attempt to forward solutions and change public opinion In a peaceful manner. Jello Blafra, leader of the rock group, Lard and the Dead Kennedys, said, "Do not hate the media. become the media." In 40 cities across North America, this Is being done. The street newspapers act as the mouthpiece for a movement, and are just beginning to educate our communities. "Free Speech" Continued on page 13 Christmas Reminds Us of Our Own Wonderful Life "But, if we could for that brief moment, as in that movie, get a chance to view the past and future lives of those we love and care about, viewed before our birth, without us, and after our deaths, I wonder what our responses would be? If we could only have a glimpse of what our lives mean to those we live with, live for, and are In love with, the ones we care for and for that matter our place in the world. Truth Is, there will be a gap without you. Oh, sure, the Boss would replace you, your mate would probably find another, but, It would not be you. The world would not be the same without you. Just as If caffeine Is taken out of coffee. is it then really coffee? Not In It's pure state or true state." Read Ille Full Story on Page 5 by Donald Whitehead As we approach the Holiday Season, some of 1:1s reflect on the past year's accomplishments and triumphs. Some reflect on the year's sorrow and disappointments. Still others reflect on Biblical times and the story of the Birth of the Baby Jesus. I am one of those who reflect on the Birth of the Baby Jesus, and also the young teenage Mary and Joseph as they struggled to find a warm place to rest. As I reflect, I am reminded that things haven't changed much for Joseph and Mary's age group­ there's still no room at the Inn. The ranks of the homeless continue to grow younger. We have seen a sharp Increase in the number of Individuals that are under 22 who now have to depend on shelters and homeless programs. "Many of those we see.now are young women with babies," according to Gail Holle)', Drop Inn Center shelter advocate. She agrees that the population grows younpr every day. "I can't believe the number of teenage boys that we a re beginning to see," says Holley. Mrs. Holley also pointed out the increase in teens migrating from other cities with even fewer shelter beds. In some cities like Philadel­ phia and Minnesota, there are no shelters for single adults although they still remain the largest segment of the homeless population. There are some experts, like Homes for the Homeless in New York, who have come up with astonishing numbers related to the average age of the homeless In America. According to Homes for the Homeless, the average age of a homeless person in New York Is 9 years ofage!! That figure Is a little lower than the average age in Cincinnati, but astonishing none the less. The trend has been well documented by David Dietz, new director at St. Francis-St. Joseph Catholic Worker House. "Yesterday I spent two fruitless hours on the phone trying to find a bed for an 18 year old who had been sleeping on the street, only to then greet a 19 year old at the door. We do our best at St. Francis-St. Joseph but we don't have any staffed trained to provide for younger men's greater needs of attention and support." Since this trend was just brought to the attention of our staffat Streetvibes, we have been trying to track its causes. Homelessness severely Impacts the health and well-being of all family members. Compared with housed poor children, homeless children experience worse health: more developmental delays; and lower educational achievement (Shinn and Weitzman, 1996). In addition, homeless children face barriers to enrolling and attending school, including transportation problems, residency requirements, Inability to obtain previous school records, and lack of clothing and school supplies. Parents also suffer the ill effects of homelessness and poverty. Homelessness frequendy breaks up families. Families may be separated as a result of shelter policies whJch deny access to older boys or fathers. Separations may also be ca1,1sed by placements of children Into foster care when their parents become homeless. In addition, parents may leave their children with relatives and friends in order to save "No Room for Youth" C o ?>t inued on page 10 �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tri State 's Homeless Grapevine Streetvibes, the Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for and about the homeless. It is compiled by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Home­ less. Vendors buy the paper for 20 cents and then sell it for a dollar donation to get back on their feet. All vendors sign a code of conduct before being given a badge. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and Individuals committed to ending home­ lessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. The Streetvibes Committee meets monthly to plan our issues and increase circulation. If you are interested in helping or have a comment, please call 421-7803. Staff Pat Clifford, Coordinator Donald Whitehead, Outreach Coordinator Frank Corrine, Vendor Support Ron Carter, Vendor Support Carolyn Meszaros, Vendor Support Photographers James Heath Writers Tim Burroughs Ron Carter Pat Clifford Denise Crew Brian Davis James Heath Lemuel Israel Paul Larkin Carolyn Meszaros Bonnie Neumeier Gregory Payton Mark Salter Malaka Sanders Hillary Schwab Tess Donald Whitehead ZacWillette Lynn Williams Carmen Ziegler Vera ZJatkin Volunteer Editors Malaka Sanders Jeff Summers Kimberly Tenai Editorial Policy: Streetvibes accepts all letters, poems, com­ ments or editorials. We will print every­ thing we have room for, giving preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Please send all material to the following address: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: homecoal@primax.net http://cinci.com/gcch Quote of the Month "You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a .r.· " ilre... Pag e 2 Food Stamp Recipients Caught in Legislative Crossfire Organizing Update .by Lynn Williams "Soon as victory is in hand, they tum it around, snatch it away from you, and put everyone in limbo,'' stated Cassandra Barham when she heard that the November 18th decision on food stamps was canceled. Just when it looked like a sure victory for recipients across Ohio, it was left hanging in the air. Eight members of the ten member Joint Commit­ tee on Agency Rule Review (or JCARR) had been supportive of letting recipients and their families keep food stamps if under a sanction. When it looked like a victory, Arnold Tompkins, Director of the Ohio Department of Human Services, introduced a measure that would cut the food stamps for the adult portion of the stamps, although allowing children to keep their stamps. The vote that was supposed to happen November 18th in the JCARR committee was postponed until December 16th. In the meantime, because the issue has not been resolved, families under sanction will continue to lose their entire household's food stamps if the adult is sanctioned. Postponement of one month makes a tremen­ dous difference for the families who will lose their entire food stamps! The news media tried to blame the victim, saying adults would be cut off If they were "uncooperative" with the work requirements. In a letter from Arnold Tompklns to the Welfare Rights familles' assistance cases will result in homelessness, increased pressure on already strapped food banks and soup kitchens, and great hunger. Theressa Taul, member of the Welfare Rights Coalition, is dismayed. "Why are food stamps getting cut? They are hurting children, hurting families. Has America completely turned its back on the poor or what? Why are they trying to let people starve?" She goes on, describing how her family has suffered deprivation in the past. "I know what it's like to have no food in the house. To wake up In the morning and wonder how I'm going to feed my children today? It's awful to see your children fighting over the last piece of bread in the house." Kay Boyd, WRC member and a grandmother who takes care of her two small grandchildren, is equally outraged. "As far as the sanctions go, it's going to put a lot of Innocent children on the street. There are going to be situations where parents cannot comply, such as taking care of a sick child. If you have a small baby, you're going to be trouble. How terrible to be on the street without food and with a small baby to ta'ke care of...people will be dying." Kay continues on. "They need to start training the caseworkers. They need more adequate training. They need to know what the new rules are so they don't mess up families' cases." Kay Is speaking from experience. The Welfare Rights Coalition held a press "In the meantime, because the conference on November 14th at the Elm Street issue has not been resolved, Food Stamp Office to bring public awareness to this families under sanction will con­ issue. Passerbys on the street who were coming to pick up their stamps were very upset. One woman tinue to lose their entire cried out, "I knew nothing about this! No one told household's food stamps if the me at the welfare office!" When I asked her to speak In front of the cameras.• ·s he shied away. "They adult is sanctioned " might retaliate against me and my children. I can't Coalition, he stated that recipients need "only get on the News." She nevertheless stayed on to comply" with their Personal Responsibility Agree­ listen. ments which they help design. In reality, in many Recipients who are members of the Welfare instances, sanctions have nothing to do with the Rights Coalition are willing to put themselves and willingness of recipients to work! Many sanctions their families on the line! They are willing to are occurring because of caseworker errors: phone continue to speak out against these cruel laws of calls that are not acknowledged by caseworkers, punishment! Families across Ohio will be affected, "lost" paperwork, notification letters that are never and thousands of poor children. "People are going sent out to give recipients a chance to appeal a to have to do their homework and fight against these decision, and caseworkers who do not know the new sanctions. It's going to get a lot worse unless we do rules. These situations are not mentioned by the something!" cried out Kay Boyd. mainstream news media. Instead, myths are perpetu­ Advocates have until December 16th to ated that recipients are cut off because "they don't continue calling and ~ricing members of the JCARR want to work". This feeds into the sentiment that Committee. Urge them to accept policy that does they then don't need to eat if they won't work. The not sanction food stamps for the entire household. mainstream media and OOHS work hand and hand Adult members should not lose their food stamps. If to Influence public perceptions of the very poor. one member of a family is cut, the whole family will The idea that welfare recipients have not worked or suffer. Urge Committee members to maintain this do not work is untrue; nationally, 70% of recipients one last safety net for families: food to survive! have a work history and leave welfare for work in two years or less. Phone Numbers of JCARR Members Mr. T ompklns' notion that recipients have input into planning their Personal Responsibility R.ep. Donald Mottely, Chair- 6 14/644-6008 or 937/859­ 4763 Agreement is not happening in practice. Reports Senator Gary Suhadolnik, V. Chair- 614/466-8056 or 216/ from recipients tell a different story. Namely, that 846-6666 caseworkers make the decisions and then require Senator Karen Gillmor- 614/466-8049 or 419/992-4783 recipients to initial what the caseworker has already Senator Merle Grace Kearns- 614/466-3780 or 937/323­ decided for them. The recipient is then expected to 1581 comply with all of the "agreement" that is mandated Senator Greg DiDonato-614/466-6508 or 330/339-7 187 from above. Senator Leigh .Herington-614/466-704 1 or 330/626-1200 Arnold Tompkins has come up with a compro­ Rep. Joan Lawrence-614/466-6711 or 6 l 4/965-2820 Rep. George Terwilleger-614/644-6027 or 513/722-3344 mise that will eliminate the adult's portion of food Rep. Dan Brady-614/466-3454 or 2161281 -8999 stamps, which in most cases, equates to $100 in Rep. Michael Verlch-614/466-5358 or 330/369-2537 food stamps. The idea is to soften opponents who were concerned about children. Well, it has not softened the opposition! This compromise Is still Stale Legislative Addresses going to harm poor families, including the children. Ohio House of Representatives It Is goingto reduce the overall amount of food Riffe Center available for children because adults are going to eat 77 South High St. out of necessity. Food is not a luxury! It Is a basic Columbus, OH 43215-4276 essential to survival! Postponing this decision Is cruel. In the Senators: meantime, families will continue to be sanctioned Ohio Senate and lose all their food stamps, as well as cash Statehouse assistance. For caseworkers to make "mistakes" on Columbus, OH '43215--4276 In �STREETVIBES The ,-,, '!tOti"~ Hon1e/ess Grap evine p age 3 Cincinnatian Fasts for Justice in Honduras by Marlin Eisen One of the fundamental principles of human rights actJvism Is the Importance of bringing out the truth - for the vlcdms, survivors and their families, and to establish accountablllty. The question that we often face Is "how best do we work to bring the truth to light?" As of this wridng my brother, Matthew Eisen, and Fr.Joe Mulligan are on the 27th day of a fast In front of the United States Embassy In Honduras ­ trying to do their part to exhume the truth about the death of a priest Matthew Is part of an effort, which has attracted a headline article in the Cincin­ nati Enquirer ( 11/25/97), to find out the truth about Fr. James Camey. Fr. Camey was a Catholic priest, from Detroit, and worked as a chaplain to a rebel column in the Central American country of Honduras. In 1983 he " disap~red". He may have been picked up by Battalion 316, which received tralning and aid from the CIA Fr. Camey's famlly has petitioned the United Stat.es government for Information, they've even walked the halls of Congress and met with Administration officials searching for someone to bring the truth to light, but stlll... nothing. WHY? The United States government is often a vocal supporter of "Truth Commissions" when it comes to other countries; unfortunately, it has a very different approach when It comes to dealing with the truth concerning knowledge of, and potential complicity In human rights violations committed by its own agents. The U.S. government has continued to drag its feet In releasing Information about the fate of human rights vktims and survivors and of U.S. involvement - including the case of Fr. Camey. The relevant • Matthew Elsen In El Salvador. Photo by James Heath. H.R.2635). For more lnformadon contact Amnesty lntemational's C incinnad Satellite Office at 73460'43. Hatthew ancl Hartin Bsen, graduates ofXaYier University, both have /Neel ancl worked Jn Over-the- Rhine In the past., helping with rehabllitadon of housing for the homeless. Hartin now works in the Washington, DCoffice ofAmnesty lntt!rnatiom/. Hatthew volunteers with CR/SPAZIn Honduras ancl works ata youth center. Analrsis "The U.S. government has con­ tinued to drag its feet in releas­ ing information about the fate of human rights victims and survi­ vors and of US. involvement ­ including the case of Fr. Carney. " Anti Poor Laws Span Centuries by Hillary Schwab documents remain "classified" - shrouded in secrecy and beyond the reach of the public, the survivors, and the victim's families. WHY? The release of these documents, "declassification," Is being demanded from many citizens groups, like Amnesty International, and thousands of Individuals - like my brother. Matthew Is speclflcally asking that the relevant documents concerning the case of Fr.Joe Camey be reviewed by Secretary of State Madelaine Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno. How long Matthew and his colleague, Fr. Joe Mulligan, condnue their fast and protest. how long they condnue starving for justice, how lotlg this standoff will condnue is unknown. What will It take for the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and our officials In Washington DC to address this Issue? All previous attempts to gain information have resulted In the release of redacted, or blacked­ out, documents - like those you may see on a TV show. It is time for all of us to say "NO" to the Washington bureaucrats who have kept the truth from the public and from the victims, the survivors, and their families. We can bring the truth to light The U.S. Congress has before It a bill call the Human Rights lnformadon A1:;t which would dedas­ slfy, or release, documents about Guatemala and Honduras. Most bills of this nawre don't die by being voted down - they die by being overlooked and Ignored by Members of Congress. If the Human Rights Information Act Is to pass and If Fr. Camey's bmily Is to finally find out the truth after 1-4 years ­ we will all need to get Involved. Help bring the truth to lighc contact both your Senators and your Representative asking them to co-sponsor the Human Rights Information Al:;t (S. 1220 and Anti-homeless laws are the most recent in a long line of laws designed to control the poor. Such l~ws began In England In 13'48 after the Black Plague killed off a large number of workers. This new scarcity of labor allowed the remaining workers to finally be able to demand decent living wages. Landowners, feeling threatened by the new freedom and success of the working class, enacted Statutes of Laborers, which crimlnallz.ed wandering. confined workers to certain places, and fixed their wages at low levels. Lawmakers claimed that these laws were necessary to preserve the public order, but In fact they were just a way for economically and politically powerful people to exert control over the lower classes. In the 1500s, the number of poor, unemployed people In England rose significantly. This increase occurred for several reasons, Including a dramatic rise In the populadon of England, the ending of wars which left many unemployed ex-soldiers, and the new practice of forcing settled peasants off the land to raise sheep. To deal with this new population of poor people without jobs, the English government enacted more strict vagrancy laws with greater penaldes. These laws permitted arresting individuals who seemed suspicious of undesirable, to protect against possible fuwre crime. The government enacted the first Elizabethan Poor Laws In 160 I, making local governments responsible for the poor people In their communl­ des. The laws required appolnanent of overseers who controlled most aspects of the of poor people's lives. These overseers sent poor people to work­ houses, where they were forced to work In unfavor­ able conditions. The poor laws had another negative effect: they led to ~ctment of vagrancy laws by local governments to keep poor people from migrating to their cities. In 1662, the Law of Settlement and Removal was enacted, addressing the local governments' concern. The law allowed local officials to call any newcomer before them to convince them he would not become a public charge. If he could not do so, the local officials could remove him to his place of birth or last place of residence. American vagrancy laws started In colonial dmes, and mirrored the and-poor laws In England. These laws allowed local officials to remove poor people to their last places of residence. In this way, localldes attempted to avoid the problems and needs of the poor, by fordng poor people out of their jurlsdicdons. This behavior such as "ic:leness," and they were enforced arbftrarily and In a discrimina­ tory manner agalnst disfavored classes of people. They also Indicated the manner In which state and local governments, which recognized the problem of the growing number of unemployed, people, c;hose to deal with the poor. Instead of enacting legislation to Improve the slwations of these people, govern­ ments hoped to push them out of their cldes with unfriendly laws and the guarantee of police harass­ ment In the urly 1900s, some states even went beyond vagrancy laws In their persecudon of poor people. New York, New Jersey, and ulifornia all enacted ..pauper statutes" which criminalized the knowing Importation of poor people Into these states. The U.S. Supreme Court indicated Its disapproval of these laws In 19'4 I, when It struck down a California pauper law In Edwards vs. Ca/lfomla. This opinion, coupled with more and more legal criticism of both vagrancy and loitering •Anti Poor History" Continued on page II �STREETVIBES The l 11 )lute\ Homeless Grapevine Page 4 Mr. T Gives Hope at Showerhouse 11 11 Interview with Theardis Ishman by Lemuel Israel SV: All of us who frequent the showerhouse call you Fred. I didn't ever know your real name until just today. I also understand that your friends just call you T. How old are you? Tl: 57. SV: 57? OK, now, you work here at the place I've always heard called the "showerhouse". What is the official name of this place where the homeless come to take their showers and get a fresh change of clothes? Tl: Mary Magdalen House. SV: How long has the Mary Magdalen house been around? Tl: It was opened in 1988. Two or three people got together over at Saint Mary's parish and they wanted to open up a facility for homeless people. The homeless came to the church so oft.en wanting to use the restroom, the phone, and seemed to be in need of a place to clean themselves up. So, they got together and came up with the Mary Magdalen House. They bought two buildings and put in these facilities on the first floor. It's been doing pretty good. It's '97 and business has picked up over the years, especially, since all of the cut­ backs and so forth. SV: Oh yeah? So your saying business has picked up in the sense that more and more people are In need of these facilities from the lack of having their own place to take a shower? Tl: Yes. STREETVIBES Services SV: I can remember when I first came to the Mary Magdalen House, I was staying at the Drop Inn Center. I would hear people talking about the showerhouse. They would say things like, "Why would I take a shower here when I could go to the showerhouse. Over there I can get a shower and a fresh set of clothes to wear for the day, and the ones I'm wearing will be cleaned and waiting for me the next day when I come again?". I think that is an excellent idea! I sure would like to thank the person personally who thought of this idea. This is some­ thing that has become very valuable to the homeless community. Tl: I agree I 00% with that statement. Every once in a while he stops by. So, you might get a chance to meet him. SV: What is his name? Tl: Gamer. Jim Garner. SV: Is he a priest, or a lay person of the church? Tl: No. I guess you could say he is just a concerned Samaritan. They were members of Saint Mary's who had an open heart. SV: Well, they are making a difference In the community. How did you get the job worldng at the Mary Magdalen House? Tl: Well, as so many of us do, I found myself homeless one day and ended up at the Drop Lnn Center. I spent about three months there. Walking around everyday and having nothing to do, I decided to volunteer at the Mary Magdalen House 'cause I didn't see many Blacks there. It was just a way of doing something with my life Instead of running from soup kitchen to soup kitchen, day in and day out. Not really having any work or anything to do except walking from one block to the next, I wanted something better for myself. I didn't care whether I got paid. Just to be doing something was important to me. I didn't want my life to be wasted. I came in 1990, around April or May and I've been here ever since. SY: So, you've put in seven years of service. And you say it was just something for you to do to have a sense of worth and make a contribution somewhere? Tl: Yes. I felt they needed the help and I had the time and the desire to do It. We've become a pretty close~knit family over the years. SV: Can you tell us some of your most cherished moments or situatlons you've found yourself In while serving the needs of the homeless here at the Magdalen House? Tl : Well, the joy that I find is when you see a person come in and they're down on their luck and we're able to help them by giving them some fresh clothes, get 'em cleaned up, with a nice haircut and stuff and they come back and say they got this job. It's the joy. It's the joy...you know what I'm trying to say? It's kinda hard to put into words. it's a glow that: the person has, the joy in their heart,...and you're able to share In that joy. That gives a person a sense of accomplishment, you know, like you are doing something good. SV: Well, I think you are doing good here. When I first started selling STREETVIBES, I was living in the Drop Inn Center and came to the showerhouse regularly. There was a noticeable difference In my performance on days that I didn't shower and put on a fresh set of clothes. I believe it was more of the way I felt about myself than the way In which I was pel"ceived by the purchasing public. There were times when people would even question me as to whether or not I really was homeless, and not just trying use homelessness as a scam. This is because we don't expect a homeless person to look neat and clean! I don't think anyone could disagree with the fact that when we are clean and fresh and have on dean clothes we have a whole different atdwde. We have a different way of carrying ourselves and talking with people and walking through society. There's a certain level of confi­ dence I had knowing I didn't have to worry about the way that I smelled or that my clothes were dirty or had an appearance of being unkept. Like I said, sometimes people couldn't believe I was homeless because I was so well kept up in my appearance. Fl: You see? That says something very good about Mary Magdalen! When people feel that way, It makes me feel great! It's gotten to the point with me, when I see someone that needs cleanin' up, I ask them will they come to Mary Magdalen House and clean up. SV: So, you're a missionary of a sort, huh? Fl: Heh-heh-heh. SY: Goin' out and bringin' 'em in! Fl: (Laughing joyously) Yeah! That's what it's like. The facilities are there and we're very fortunate because we have a great group of volunteers who help us, and also the donations. The people in Cincinnati are most very kind and caring people, because if It wasn't for donations we wouldn't be able to exist. They help in donations in all ways. Money, clothing, and the toilet articles that we need. This Is a blessed ministry. SY: Yes, it is a blessing. I quite often hear the people out in the street remarking how much of a blessing it is to them as far as how you all are conslstendy there for them and how freely you all are giving of yourselves to them. · ­ Tl: See, that constandy makes you feel good 'cause you count on these people to make It. And then there's new people who say," well, I didn't even know this place exlsted!". It just makes you feel good. So often they come back and tell you they've had success; they've found ajob_, they've got an apartment, things like chis. It's so wonderful to see a person who comes In so down and now Theardls Ishman, Mr. "T", works at Mary Magdelen House which provides clothes and showers to the homeless. Photo by James Heath. they're on the rise again. This good feeling never leaves you. You know this could happen to anyone but it doesn't have to destroy you. SV: Racism is said to be a cause of homeless­ ness. What are the effects of racism that you see? Do you see or experience any of the effects that racism has had on homelessness as far as blacks and other non-Europeans living In Cincinn1tll Tl: Well, it very well may have, but I don't have any answers. (Sadly and quietly speaking) I wished I did. It looks like racism ls going to be around for a long time. As I say, I don't have an answer nor do I know what percentage of those who come here are affectS of racism. SV: It doesn't have to be exact, but, what would you say is the ratio of Black and other Non­ Euro-Americans that frequent the showerhouse to the Euro-Americans? Tl: Huh? Oh boy! I would say, to be modest, about seventy-five percent Black and twenty-five percent White. SV: It's Interesting to me to see that the figures concerning the ratio of the Black/White population Is approximately 440160, showing the population as majority White, while the home less people in need of your services is 75% non-White. We always try to deal with the subject of racism as honestly as we can so we can make people aware just how racism plays a role In the creation of homelessness. Now, I would like to shift gears and ask you another question. Fl: Go ahead. SV: What are some of the problems that you encounter with the homeless populace that come to Mary Magdalen House. Fl: As far as what? SV: As far as when they come here to Mary Magdalen House, what kind of experiences do you... Fl: I don't want to put anybody down. SV: I'm not asking you to put anybody down. I just want you to tell me what kind of problems do you see the homeless going through In Just day to day survival. TI: Some of the problems I see the homeless having? SV: Yeah. Let me see If I can give you ~n example: Some of the people are out on the street because their marriage broke up and one of them had to leave the dwelling they both lived In together. Now, all of a sudden the place Isn't big enough for both of them and someone has to go. Another scenario could be like this: A person has a mental disorder that isn't disordered enough to keep them "Showerhouse" Continued on page 14 �STREETVIBES 1/1(~ 111 \f(j{(·\ Ho1neless Gr:ipevine Christmas Reminds Us of Our Own Wonderful Life by Mark Saller P.iPc 5 ..., STREETVIBES Sou/2Sou/ (Tu I:'46 a.m.) Well! The ho lidays are among us again, Christmas and New Year's....Christma.s.... I don't care what people say, It's the most fesdve dme of the year. And, people do change for the better. I don't care if It's once a year, It's all good. Decoradons, donadons, and gift-giving and receiving, Christmas shows and movies.... Speaking of movies, one of the most profound movies I've seen yet ls-guess-" lt's A Wonderful Life," although right now (or any dme for that matt.er) It doesn't always seem that way, especially at those d mes when the ends don't meet or justify the means and when nothing seems to work. It's A Wonderful Life: The husband, father, and provider lost faith In him.self, sank into despair, lost his job and the wife and children wouldn't have a Christmas. Yeah, what a wonderful life. How many children and wives will have Christmas this year? How many families will have a home for the holidays? And, what about you? This year will you be ungrateful In that you have a home? And, perhaps, a lot of us will feel like George Balley In the movie, wandng to jump off a bridge instead of facing the shame, pain, and heartache, of letting down the ones we love and care about. Yes, It does hurt. And, we may see the hurt In their eyes. We may even experience the low feelings o n the scale of I to IO; and, that bridge, then, doesn't seem like a bad Idea. But, if we co uld for that brief moment, as in that movie, get a chance to view the past and fuwre lives of those we love and care about, viewed before our birth, without us, and after our deaths, I wonde r what o ur responses would be? If we could o nly have a glimpse o f what o ur lives mean to those we live with, live for, and are In love with, the ones we care for and for that matter o ur place in the wo rld. Truth Is, there will be a gap without you. Oh, sure, the Boss would replace you, your mate would probably find another, but, It would not be you. The world would not be the same without you. Just as If caffeine Is taken out of coffee, Is It then really coffee? Not In It's pure state or true state. There Is no two of you, and It Is unforwnate we don't get those glimpses. And, from time to time we do feel those pains. However, I can say this, life Is better with you In It because of the smile you have, the beauty yo u possess, even those personality traits and habits that we all have that sometimes Irks us or Wms us off, and when you express your heart, mind and soul. Life, our lives, may not be like in the movies, where we are rescued In the nick of time. But. I will tell you this, at Chnstmas time Angels do fly low. They will walk on two legs and speak to you. I am willing to bet many of us will meet o ur ..Angel(s)" this year. Whether we believe or accept that is anothe r matter; even whethe r we recognize one is. But, the Angels will be present, as they have been througho ut o ur lives. Today I visited an "open house" at 126 E. O lfton, the beginning of Sharp Village. Angels: a lot of people who didn't have to get Involved but were moved to Invest dme, energy and money Into something for somebody that many of them will never know or meet. And, I know there may be people who wish they could do this and that for others; but, this year wu just too consuming. I'd like to say, " Hey! It's 0.1<. You did what you could with what you had. Thank you." A lot of people wlU quesdon the motives. Some wtll even provide one or two of those for them with lltde or no concern for truth or feelings. But, It Is done and will continue to grow. Christmas season: bills, bills, and more bills. Oh, what joy Christmas brings. When It's over, the New Year begins. And, I know C hristmas Is a dme of longings and pain for some of us, especially me....All the ones I've missed, being single and unemployed, and home­ less. What is the kind of Christmas I'd like to have? I would like a Christmas Mark Salter where I can fill the hearts and empty spaces of those who are In my life today. To be able for one day and night to spend the dme relaxed, sitting back cozy with a her, enjoying a feeling of togetherness (after spending days of being of service), watching videos, with a letting the feelings of intimacy grow, just grow. No expectations nor demands and nothing but just being together. Christmas for some of us has changed; our hearts have been hardened by struggles of everyday living. the realities; and, for others, It's just too painful. It will be a dme filled with prayers, tears, wishes and hopes, churches, plays, toys and smlles, commercials, rehearsals, mistletoes and trees, Pngfe bells, rock & roll, R&8 and Rap, country songs, jazz & blues, Xmas sales and ''wishing wells" all with "be on top" and all those Ho Ho's and goodnlghts. Yes, truly for me It will be a delight, because for me, today, It's truly a wonderful life. For if I'm given ano ther day, It Is a day I get to use to wo rk towards bettering myself. It's a chance to help others, a chance to experience being In love and learning when "her" Is In love wtth me. A chance to see children grow and homes renewed and saved. And, for all of you that can save to celebrate Christmas, that's O.K., Christmas will be celebrated for you. Just don't look down on us because some of us really need the holiday, simply because it's the only time of the year when most people will even think about us. I thank God because It Is a wonderful life, and I get to live It one day at a time. f, .;":,ijl\#IBf Winter Brings Thankfullness by Paul Larkin The big picture, that Is life, Is beginning to come a lot more clear for me. The cold, bitter temperatures have set In, and winter is upon us. I must first say that I am very thankful for having a place to live. It may not be the greatest place in the world, but It beats the street, and a spot in the nearest abandoned building. I am thankful for having a place to exerdse my thoughts, and to think of the next move I should make to Improve my situation. There are going to be many ups and downs, but I niust deal with them and move forward. Praying each day has been the most positive tool for getting to whe re I'm at, and It will continue t.o carry me through. The weekends that I do not work my job, I spend doing volunteer work. It ls good to stop worrying about yourself for a while, and concentrate on someone e lse In need. A lot of dmes, you not only help that person, but they help you In rewm. It is a two way street most of the dme, and this gives yo u a good feeling Inside. It ls amazing what can be done with just a little bit of effort, and a whole lot of caring. for this I am thankful as we ll. Watching and observing the thtngs going on around me allows me to create an Image and an Idea about different days, and different circumstances. It is nice to be able to think about them and put them Into writing. Being homeless, my attitude has surely changed on many aspects of life. I try to look at everything In a positive aspect. Negativity only seems to create more problems. It keeps me in one place, and prevents me from moving forward. As long as I follow my heart, and do what I feel Is right. Jesus, the Almighty God, will carry me through anything. Even In hard situations that I do not fully unde rstand, the Lord will be there as a light, to make everything all right. God does no t do anything by mistake. I must condnue to use my experie nces In a posldve way, and Improve on my situation. I am thankful for what I have, and the ability to move forward. Gratefulness Hard to Come By by Tess December is upon us, the elections have passed and he's been gone a year. Have we forgotten the feelings of June 18th, 1997? ...The UW OTR.? Coalition is to report back to the Cincinnati City Council Finance Committee this month on the status of their not-for-profit pursuits, by-laws, search for an EXEC-Director and where the $1 SOK went? Life these days Is confusing. Unsettled thoughts surround me and there is too much to worry about. Perhaps writing about gratefulness will he lp get me out of this slum-PITY-bump-dme In my life. Gratefulness Is a noun and Is defined as follows: I. Warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or beneftts received: thankful 2. Expressing or actuated by gratitude 3. Plea.sing to the mind or senses; asreeaJ>le or welcome; refreshing A noun Is any member of a class of words distinguished chJefty by havtng plural or possessive enclngs, by funcdonlng as subject or object in sentence construction, and by designating persons, places, things, states, or qualities. It is easy to be grateful for things and so difficult to be grateful! A wise man once said, "gratefulness has its own resources.'' I suppose this means that each of us is responsible for our own level of gratefulness; therefore, a source for our family, friends' and neighbors' sense o f gratefulness. O H! I forgo t that the sense today Is that we are only responsible for o urselves. Remember the GRATEFUL DEAD? What does this mean? I began a gratefulness journal Thanksgiving Day, 1991 . However, looking back Into this journal I have discovered that It wu then, as It Is now, extremely dlfOcult for me to acknowledge gratefulness as a significant part of my daily life.... I look down rather than up cry rather than laugh gossip rather than praise am mean rather than sweet hide rather than go out.... I am afraid. �STREETVIBES . 1 The Tri State s Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE (Untitled) by Kyshada Thomas STREET Arts and Poetry The Way I See It by Kyshada Thomas Now, the way I see It is that if you succeed you will be somebody; but, if you fail you become a nobody. The way i see it is there's only one way at the world, that's my way; but, I can't tell you how to live yours. The way I see it is I'm gonna always live in poverty; but, if I better myself I will have riches. The way I see it is I ain't nobody until I have my queen; but, she has to be strong, too. The way I see it is me startin' a business for my kings and queens to run; but, if I don't teach them, they will lose it. The way I see it is the only way to prove "The Man" wrong is to get an education; but, we can't do that unless we start our own schools. The way I see it is too many people struggled for me to have a chance to do what I want; but, if I don't do right, they all fought for nothing. Now, that's the way I see it. The _Night Before Xmas by Ron Car/er It was the night before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse The stockings were hung by the chimney with care Because we knew the little fat guy would soon be there When out on my lawn there was such a clatter I jumped up to see what was the matter Then to my wandering eyes what did I see But little old Santa just peeping at me He said, "Break out the hot chocolate and tum on the light Don't you know that it's cold out here to­ night." So he parked his Rolls by the old oak tree Then came in to have a chat with me We sat down and rapped for an hour or two Then he said, "Ron I have work to do." He filled all the stockings with Xmas joy Even left a gift for old Leroy- A Homeless Gent I see every day Selling his Streetvibes down the way­ After Santa had done what he had to do He turned and said, "Now I'm all through." Santa then jumped in his Rolls and drove away And from a distance I heard him say Have a Merry Xmas and by the way I'll be back again next Xmas, OK. I know the rules; But, failed to follow. If I don't do the right thing, I've just bought more time. Thought of time when I could run, But, thought of Mom and the results. I go day to day Not worrying about what can go on. Hope to find someone To help with my troubles.... Can't really express myself, 'Cause staff just don't care. Have to find help From the modern-day shrink They really can't help, just sit and listen. Then the cycle starts all the way over. Can't trust no one like before.... Take the anger out when you play sports. ...Tired of being in this crooked system; But, have to do the time for the things I did.... See my people every Sunday for now; But, soon I'll be home to see the outs. Just a few more to go and I'll be free, Loving everyone that seemed to love me. Woman of the Nineties by Denise Crew I am a strong woman. I wonder if I may be too strong for my own good. Many men have slipped away from me. Those who do not soon tire of my do it yourself attitude, grow impatient with my "'go get' all by myself' way of life. Feeling needed bolsters the ego of the insecure male.... Need you? Yes, my dear strong man, I do. I cannot allow my love for you to leave me a helpless silly, frilly, or a brain-dead fluff-head. I cannot continue to sit looking for someone, anyone, to bring the good life to my door. Allow us to take pleasure from small things, share the good times, work out the hard times. Become my friend, lover, mate, my emotional and spiritual equal; allow me to want what it is I want as I search for it in my own gifted way. Should I choose to share my life with you, rest easy; I will dedicate all of my love -pour myself in-to you not because you expect it or demand it of me, but simply because I am a woman of the nineties and it pleases me greatly to do so. Page 6 The Transitional Man by Denise Crew Bring me back from the wasteland where I hav~ been sent to, sort out the pain another has plunged into me, my mind, my body, my soul. Kind and gentle you are. And, I'm too filled with my own pain to see how much you think of me. You allow me to take from you my pleasure and I take it in my own way and in my own convenient time. To live once again I must draw from you all that inspires me satisfies me and vindicates me. ........And, I'm so sorry. The Brotherhood of the Pipe by Carmen Ziegler The Brotherhood of the Pipe Is bigger than you know The KKK has no power Compared to the blow A secret society, members Uncounted Blind determination Obstacles always surmounted Nothing ele$ matters To those who heed the call On the edge of the gutter Fated to fall There's only one requirement To join those that smoke Nothing matters But one more toke No shame or self respect is needed Sell you body or foodstamps Just to feed it Dues are very steep To those that are in too deep Onward crack soldiers Marching to the war With the cross of addiction Inhale and die once more Herry Christmas by Mary Ann Lederer. Hollday cards featuring this artwork and more are a.i~'.I available through the Over-theRhine Community Council at 381-2956. �STREETVIBES 711e Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 1 Shutter­ bugs Are Big Shots at Peaslee by Ma/aka Sanders It's the kind of shooting in Over-the-Rhine that never seems to make it to the mainstream pages.... Over at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, two innovative youth photography groups have started up- maybe your kids would be interested. The Peaslee "Shutterbugs", under the direction of Steve Elliot of Finneytown High School, and Jimmy Heath of the Drop In Center, is a group for the 8-1 I set that gives children some e xperience taking pictures, and helps them team the basics of photog­ raphy. Jimmy expressed that the kids seem to enjoy it, "We just give them the cameras and let them go crazy!". The Shutterbugs meet once a week on Peaslee's "Fun Friday". The teen program Is a little more intense- and a lot more ambitious. The teen group, headed up by Donna Mayerson, a professional photographer with Photo of Keith Oliver, 17, taken by Brian, age IS , of the Shutterbugs. her own studio, is a year long program whe re the teens deal with the light, color, and other factors of a good photo, with a goal in mind: to be a part of an exhibition. In May the group's work will be dis­ played at the Images Center for Photography in the Pendfeton Arts Center, a non-profit gallery in Over-the-Rhine; ya know, so that they'll get some "exposure" (thank Brenda Zechmeister of Peaslee for that pun....). The teen group Is In need of more students, so if interested, please contact Peaslee at 621-551 "4. Both groups were made possible by a generous g~t by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Please Support Our Advertisers HEATH PHOTOGRAPHY JIMMY CINCINNATI - (5 1 3) 564-9856 E-MAIL - JIM'MY_HEATH®JUNO. COM iii ~~!~afl!!f~ Cllf~ord Jones Representltlft The Game (Untitled) by Kyshada Thomas by.Kyshada Thomas Can't be athletic like Michael Jordan But, to the ones we serve we are important. Can't kick rhymes like 2 Pac; But, have to get paid out on the block. Always ready for a late night creep; On the block all night can't get no sleep. Every day have to Quote my nigga "P." My mama say I won't liVe long--l'm sick, 'cause I idolize Scarface and Al Capone. You wake up thinking about crack; And, you go to sleep with your pockets fat Can't leave my spot, can't you s~e; 'Cause these pheens been good to me. Comin' up like Notorious Big, Punks talkin'­ mess-you have to split their wigs. forgot the rules of being sensitive 'Cause that thuggish life is what I live. Being closely watched by the police; Servin' the narcs and they still can't touch me, 'Cause its about who you know not what you do--1-ocked down for a while I'll be out in a few. Got a lawyer that's like Matlock; After court today I'll be back on the spot Servin' up short dub sacks of A·I (Making extra money is so fun!). After I make it big thing~ ain't gonna be the same; I got one question: Can you stand "The Game"? Wakin' up thinkin', will I diel Askin' the Lord one question, "Whyl" Born to this wortd, all I know is the streets; Every time I tum aroun<t I see the police. They stop me just to pat me down; When they find nothin' they look like clowns. Why you after mel I don't sell dope! I live in the ghetto, and I still can't cope. Walk the same streets day in, day out­ Ain't sold no drugs, but still got clout. Autumn Leaves by Paul Larkin It's a cold, wet winter's day. Leaves rustle aimlessly about the city streets. The temperature drops a degree an hour. The land is ever changing in its looks. It has been one of those "gray days," where you feel alone-chilly cold. As the day passes, people come and go, hustling by along their way. The holiday season is upon everyone, and there are many plans to be considered. These are the things that I have seen and thought today, and for this I am thankful. 8075 Reading Rd.• Suite 1 • Cincinnati, OH 45237 Res. (513) 761-3464 • Bus. (513) 821 -3332 Voice Mafl: (513) 230-6353 AMember of TravtltrsGrouP'f" Ai, llldtptndtnt "P'""""'" el Prlllitttca FMMClll S1mct1 Re11<esemtnQ: Prlmet:tca life lnsinnct Como311YIE~ Ofkes: OuMll; Georgia WHITEHEAD BROTHERS PRODUCTION 1540 ELM STREET CINCINNATI OHIO 45210 COMEDIAN,PROOUCER PHONE (513) 381-0584 Friends and Neighbors of Over-the-Rhine An Organization Seeking Justice for People in Cincinnati's Most Endangered Community ANOTHER C LASS PRODUCTION Oise-Jockey Service CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761-3464 �STREETVIBES The 111 Stott~\ Homeless Grapevine Page B Streetvibes Looks Back on 19! I Chose Honest (Part One) by Gregory Payton My name Is Gregory and I'm homeless. When I became Homeless I wasn't ashamed, I was confused. I knew I needed a job and a place to llve. I really didn't know what to work on first. I needed some­ thing to eat so that's all I could think about. I wanted help but not pity. I wanted guidance and direcdon, not laughter and insults. I wanted con­ structive criticism not destructive criticism. So I searched. I learned early fn life that there's only two kinds of peopre that share with you. So f tlad· to t:ake a chance. I asked a guy If he knew where I could get something to eat. He replied," at the store.~· I said , ''oh" and walked away. I knew then I had to decide. Honest or dishonest. That was easy (honest). So I walked a little and thought a little. And tried again. I asked again rather quickly because of the need to eat. This time I asked a woman. She pause d and asked me, "are you homeless." I paused and, being somewhat embarrassed, said yes. She asked "are you from Cincinnati." I paused again wondering where this conversation was leading and said," yes, but haven't been here In a while." She said It showed. I asked how whlle looking at my appearance. She said, "don't be ashamed to say you're homeless.'' I said I was gathering information, being thankful she wanted to share. "First do you know where the Drop Inn Center Is located.'' I said, " no, what is It." She said it's a center that help homeless people downtown. "You might be able to eat and sleep." I perked up asking where downtown. She said, "do you have any money." I said I don't. She looked in her purse and handed me a dollar bill and a pack of crackers, and said catch a bus downtown, ask the driver where the center is exactly located and eat one cracker every seven blocks I passed on the way. thanked her and the main man upstairs (GOD), happy that I met someone that was willing to share, Instead of laugh. On the bus doing what I told made that pack crackers feel llke a meal. When I got to the center and knocked on the door a lady opened it and asked "what do you want sir''. I said "if possible some­ thing to eat". She sa.ld "step Into that line" before I left she said thank God. I quickly did while moving closer to food. Before I got to the stack of trays a man asked me my name and age. Wondering why after I gave It to him. I didn't think about it long because I was given a drink and then a plate of food. I thanked the ladies while moving toward some dessert. When I got to the end I gave thanks and February 0 0 0 , . • 30 said I will enjoy this. When I sat down I started eating fast for some reason maybe thinking that they might come back and get what they just gave me. Then It hit me, stop and thank God for I'm already eating. I did that fast too. Once I finish eating, I decided I should say some grace just In case he didn't hear me the first time. After that they told me to go to the front and sit down. A few minutes later, a man came up front and welcomed us ancf gave a speecn on tfie poliC:y of the center, then tumed on the television, I asked the man next to me was he homeless and he replied, "everyone In here Is buddy." I looked around and then asked him where are all the people going to go when this place closes. He said Is this your first time, I said yes, he then told me they gave shelter when you're homeless also. I looked up and thanked God again. While I was standing In line receiving a number for a place to sleep, I asked the guy behind me, do they give jobs here. He laughed and said they do everything here. I turned around after I got back to the bench. I said at least I made another day. And I thank God. It was a few minutes before I went into the other room when I decided to ask around about jobs. I talked again with a man, and he told me to sell the Grapevine newspaper. I asked him about it some more and he said when you're homeless, they help you get a vendors license and you help the homeless by spreading the word of homelessness. And then I asked him how I get paid and he said that's the part. I told him, that's what I want to do. He gave me some lnformadon and who to talk to about It. He then said he had to leave. I said, while not trying to get in his business, that it's night and late, why do you have to sleep on the street. He stopped came back and said when you sell enough papers, you'll make enough to get an apartment and a down payment of deposit. Then he turned and left. I looked down to make sure I still had my Information. Then I looked up and Thanked the main man (GOD). Honest Greg. Future vendor of the Homeless Grapevine. Thanks for a Great Year! We at Sa-tvlbes would like to thank all of our vendon, .-den, writers, volunteer edltJOrs and supporten for all of your efforts toward maldnc this paper a wccea We couldn't do It without all ofyoul Eviction Court Looks Down on Poor by Tim Burroughs The legal process contributes significandy to the process of displacement. Although the court may not buy low income apartment buildings, raise the cost of rent, or force people to move, It Is designed to favor those who have resources and power. Observations of court proce­ dures revealed an environment unlikely to result in a fair outcome. The Municipal Hearings Court, where eviction cases are held, creates an intimidating environment for the defendant. I recendy sat through a morning of eviction proceed­ ings. For those who haven't had a chance ·to do this recently, here Is how It went: The process involved a court magistrate who acted as the judge. She was sitting at the traditional seat, elevated significantly above the floor level, with two other court room workers on each side of her. Again. the two were above the floor level, although lower than the women "In charge.'' In front of the judge's platform were two podiums with microphones. This is where the landlord and possibly a lawyer stood (at the right hand of the judge) and then to the left of them the resident stood. Already subject to eviction under the law, the charged resident had to face a position of Inferiority. The environment commu­ nicated a sterile, callous, legal manner with which cases were going to be dealt. Feelings of huma.n compassion were not revealed. Unequal representation characterized the procedures of the Municipal Hearings Court. Both the landlord and the residents were expected to show up at the court date. If the resident did not show up cases were dismissed and the eviction process continued. Many of the landlords, espe­ cially the large land holders, had with them a lawyer. An attorney was there representing CMHA. Three residents out of the 15 to 20 showed up to defend themselves against CMHA and none of them had a lawyer. In another case a lady showed up to defend herself, but the landlord did not. She was asked to come back another day. The lady waited an hour to be heard and then she was turned away until the next week. If she had not shown, the eviction process would have continued. When the landlord missed, she had to arrange to come back later. Court procedures were done systematlcally. Al­ though there are several cases each morning. the systematic nature of the process disregards the individual and the specific circumstances of their situation. The landlords are called up first and all their tenants are dealt with before the next landlord Is called up. From my perspective, it looked as If each landlord had done this many times before. It was very hard to hear, even tho1.1gh I was in the front row. There Is a specific set of questions and answers that are gone through for each eviction case. I could not catch them all...several people went through the process in a . shortdme. The systematic style of dealing with peoples' homes leaves little room for an understanding of the consequence the decision will have. The court is not interested in knowing how long you have lived In the neighborhood, how many children you have, or how you lost your job. Rather, if you are behind In rent, the judge says, "The landlord has the right to ask you to leave." If a resident Is behind in rent, unless the landlord has compassion, one should not look to the court. All tn all, there seems to be no need for a judge tn eviction court, a computer could evaluate the data and determine If, by law, the resident may have a home. Low Income Individuals experience a severe disadvantage because of their socio-economic status. There is no accounting for financial or health conditions. Until changes a.re made, we have a system where evlctees In Cincinnati have little Incentive to show up for their own hearing. · Apri I �STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Page 9 17 Over-the-Rhine Developers Give Tenants Notice on Walnut Street by Bonnie Neumeier There's a project called THE MIDDLE EARTH CONSORTIUM whrch recendy was selected for funding through the City's Housing Round Ill. The Over-the-Rhine Community Council was approached by Mr. Jay Voss from Middle Earth Properties aboutthis project and requested our support. We could not support this project because it involved displacing low-income tenants. It was portrayed as a test case for mixing low in.c ome rental units into market rate rental buildings. This project, Involving various for profit corporations and limited partnerships, is rehabbing 8 buildings within one block area around 14th and Walnut "Being Asked to Leave Your Home Is Never Good News ... " Streets. The buildings will contain 53 residential units~and 4 store fronts. Six of the 8 buildings will have only market rate units (I bedroom/$400 a month; 2 bedroom/$500 a month; 3 bedroom/$600 a month). The remaining two buildings will have only one low Income a piece, rents set at $150 below th!! market rate units. So out of 53 units of housing. ONLY 2 will be somewhat affordable to persons of low income. How fair of a mix Is this? We are losing more low income units than we are maintaining. fNe have never been on the "gaining" side since the 1985 O TR Compre­ hensive Plan called to protect and preserve the 5520 low income units that were occupied at that time.) The number of low income tenants currendy being displaced by this project is greater than the token amount of low income units being planned for this so called mixed development. At the very least. if this project was trying to show good faith effort in advocating a successful economic mix, the number of occupied low income units needed to be pre­ served, and those tenants temporarily displaced due to renovation be offered and made to feel welcomed back home to a newly renovated apartment with affordable rents. One of the buildings in this project is 1410 Walnut Street. Urban Sites Management (Bill Baum and Jim Moll) took ownership in January 1997. Tenants remember beingtold not to worry, they would not have to move. But a letter came to their doors In mid July stating the following: " ...we continue to discover major problems with the building that were not originally anticipated. At this time we feel that Its in your best Interest to vacate the property so that improvements to the building can proceed In a safe manner. BEING ASKED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME IS NEVER GOOD NEWS, THAT IS WHY WE WANT YOU TO HAVE UP TO 60 DAYS TO VACATE.". In this building there are six tenants being displaced and one other tenant who was evicted a short time ago. It's a hardship on all of them and the news quite shocking. It is not easy to find an affordable unit. Those who are elderly, facing many health problems are finding a much harder time. Finding a place that will accept their animal friends is tough. No one was talked to about being able to come back once renovation was complete. All of them were encouraged to meet with Mark Brunner, The Over-the-Rhine Foundation, who works with the Anti-Displacement program, offering Section 8 units, as if that eases all the disruptions that the tenants are faced with. Anxiety is high....the 60 days is too September short a time. Because this project Is using federal dollars from the City the tenants are eligible for Relocation Benefits. Relocation benefits were never discussed. Certain procedures have to be followed so that th~ rights of the tenants are protected. Scott Stiles from the Relocation office of the City was surprised their office had not been alerted of this situation by the Department of Neighborhood Services, nor by the developers themselves so that displacement Issues can be reviewed and monitored and tenants' rights protected. The Appalachian folk who have called Walnut Street their home deserve better than this. It's not fair to take our land, our buildings, and force our people to move. In the words of one tenant "I might not have cash, but I'm not trash". Real people experience real pain when they are displaced from their homes. At this point it is hard to trace the particulars of how each of these buildings became more vacant than occupied. But I know they did not become vacant by accident. It's not only this project, but alot of real estate activity has been taking place in this area, displacing the mosdy Appalachian commu­ nity huddled close around the Appalachian Identity Center. I can't walk down Walnut Street and not notice the change. When I stand there long enough to ~p the sitl!atlon, and look deep Into the eyes of those who still are holding on, gathered la their everyday supportive circles, I listen ...and what I hear are their heartbeats mourning the many "used of been" stories and a quiet anger that knows some­ thing is going down wrong here, because what is going down is not for them.. More on this story next issue. These buildings at 141 0 Walnut Street are slated for .improvements. They have been occupied for decades by Appalachian families. Photo by Berta Lambert. Support Your Local Vendor Tell A Friend About Streetvibes The Eviction by Vera Zlatkin She sits alone on the stoop clutching her litde girl, wat.chlng dewy eyed as men carry her belong­ ings to the curb piece by piece, box by box. And she wonders how this could be happening. She thought she had more time. She had heard that after someone got an eviction notice, they had a month to move. " Mommy's so sorry, Angel," · she whispers softly into the child's curls. "Mommy really didn't know." The men had come half an hour early. "Why aren't you packed?" one of the men demanded. " Do we have to do everything?" " I, I didn't know you were cc;mlng,'' she stammered. "Nobody called." "Can't you read?" he snapped. "The date Is on the eviction notice!" He took a piece of paper from his pocket with her name, address, the date and an official looking stamp. Then he tumed and nodded to his men. They had brought a number of boxes in with ' them, and at his signal, they began to pull things from her cupboards and dump them Into the boxes. She was too numb to protest or-argue or plead or even to cry. Her mind was in a fog as she walked to the bedroom and began to pack clothes in a large duffel bag. Then she went to the kitchen to fill a shopping bag with food while the baby girl looked on. And so here she sits wat.ching as the man passes by with a box. She asks, "Can't we just stay June She stands and secures her duf­ fel bag onto her shoulder, picks up her daughter and her shop­ ping bag, and together they ven­ ture out onto the streets. And thus the "Welfare Mother'' joins the ranks of the destitute and the homeless. one more night?" He shakes his hea~. "No, lady, not one more minute." He walks, to his car and returns with a padlock. "But we have no _place to go," she pleads. He shrugs. "You should have paid your rent lady," he says coldly. 1' 1'm just doing my job." He turns back, walks to his car and drives away. "I don't understand," she whispers to the air. " I just don't understand. Why did th.ey cut my check? I called work and explained why I couldn't come In." She had called and told them that her baby­ sitter was sick and she couldn't leave her little one alone. She thought they had understood, but she didn't have a doctor's excuse, and by law they could make no exceptions. So they sent her a warning letter one day, and the next day cut h~r check. She stands and secures her duffel bag onto her shoulder, picks up her daughter and her shopping ­ bag. and together they venture out onto the streets. And thus the "Welfare Mother" joins the ranks of the destitute and the homeless. �STREETVIBES 11 1\' 1· 1 ·<-:r ', Hon1e/ess Grapevine P.ige 10 1997 Looking Back Report: Homeless Man Left to Die in .Back Alley by Pal CliHord The Cincinnad Police Internal Investigation Section released a report on April 21 regarding the death of Mr. Ottaway Washington. Mr. Washington was a homeless man who died Jn an aJJey next to Tender Mercies, on the night of November 30, 1996. The report sustained charges against Officer Stephen Fromhold for not summoning appropriate services for Mr. Washington. The following is a summary of the events of that night from the Interviews con­ ducted in the Internal investigation. On November 30, 1996, at approximately 10:30 pm, Victor Tayfor was making his rounds as a security worker forTender Mercies, an agency which provides housing for those with mental illness. He encoun­ tered a homeless man who was unresponsive and blocking a fire exit. Officer Fromhold was working the streets of District One that night. He was "flagged down" by Mr. Tayfor as he traveled east on Twelfth Street. Mr. Taylor was concerned about the person who was lying In a doorway off of a nearby alley. Officer Fromhold and Mr. Taylor responded to the doorway where Mr. Washington was lying. He was not wearing any shoes. The officer believed, from the condition of Mr. Washington's socks, that he had been walking without shoes for a period of dme. His personal papers were lying next to him. The officer nodced a "small nick" on his forehead. "My first lndlcadon was that there was an odor of alcohol about his person and that he was Intoxi­ cated." He would not respond to any of Officer Fromhold's verbal requests. He used his flashlight to tap the bottoms of Mr. Washington's feet. He "didn't come around." The officer put his hand by Mr. Washington's mouth and felt for any breath. He was breathing. The officer returned to his vehlde to retrieve a pair of latex gloves. Officer Fromhold returned to Mr. Washington, t.ook hold of the lapels of his coat and sat him up aplnst the wall under a smatl overhang which would keep his upper torso from the rain. The officer began to shake Mr. W ashington in an attempt to rouse him. "He opened his eyes momenta.riJy_and looked at me and moaned something to the effect of 'get ' and raised his hand." Mr. Washington did not say anything else but "his eyes remained open a brief period of dme and he just stared at me. ''I interpreted that as he didn't want any help so I rested him against the wall. He looked at me for three to five seconds then started nodding back out." Mr. Washington closed his eyes and went to sleep. The officer believed that Mr. Washington knew that he was a police officer and that he didn't want any help. Mr. Taylor, the security guard, claims that the officer then said that the "truck" would be by later and "get" Mr. Washington. Officer Fromhold denies any reference to a "truck". The officer left the scene believing he had resolved the sltuadon. Later, Officer Fromhold heard the radio dispatch from another officer requesting a supervisor for a DOA He went to the scene and assisted in placing Mr. Washington's body in the scout car. He went to the Drop Inn Center to determine if they were familiar with Mr. Washington and, if so, to Land Grabbers Threaten Newport Residents by Gregory Payton Newport City Officials are saying that 202 safe, sanitary and decent public housing units on the riverfront must be demolished. The residents have to be moved from Booker T. Washington, McDermett, and Peter G. Noal Housing Projects. Newport Housing Authority paid Comerst0ne Housing to come up with a plan. This plan was paid for with money from the Housing Project Fund normaJly used for repairs. Cornerstone has tried a series of falsehoods to attempt to justify the "neces­ sity" of demolishing this public housing neighbor­ hood In the way of greed and development. Cornerstone said, "The city must destroy its public housing because federal funding to maintain '7he Mayor has /old Mr. Slade Iha/ he 'doesn't wan/ any public housing in Newport"' and operate It will soon be eliminated." Cornerstone said Newport must demolish the housing because condidons are so bad that the units are ..unusable for housing purposes" and cannot be made habitable. Cornerstone said, "The housing must be destroyed, and the land taken, not to make anyone any money, nor to allow economic development, but for the resident's own good." A spokesperson In the community that opposes this plan Is Kenneth Slade. Mr. Slade is banding together with other residents In trying to loate the next of kin. The worker at the desk told the officer that Mr. Washington should have been In bed # 19. There was no one there. The lnvesdgadon goes on to say that the temperature that night was 53 degrees and that there was a light rain with overcast skies. The Death Record from the Hamilton County Coroner's Office lists the cause of death as acute bronchitis and perlbronchltis. The laboratory report Indicates that Mr. Washington's blood alcohol content was .38. In a letter to the Homeless Coalition, Safety Director Kent Ryan assured us that the Onclnnati Police Division strives to provide the highest level of consistent service and holds Its officers accountable for their actions." Lt. Demosl of Internal lnvesdgadon reported that Officer Fromhold received an Admlnistradve Insight which will go Into his personnel file. The report concludes, "It has always been the Police Division's policy to 'err on the side of mercy.' Officer Fromhold realized that he did not possess the skills necessary for a medical evaluation. He had the duty to summon appropriate services." In the wake of this ~dy and the Investigation, the Greater Clnclnnad Coalition for the Homeless Is convening a meedng with representadves of the Police Division, Fire Division, Hospital Emergency Room Sta.ff and homeless agencies to ensure that an Incident of this kind never happens again. fight the city. But the ball Is rolling and the power of eminent domain is coming. Through the power of eminent domain, the government can remove land from private use to augment the supply of public land or to modify land use through urban renewal programs. The units at Newport are well maintained and managed. The project has been recognized three years In a row as outstanding by the Department of Housing and Urba.n Development. Millions of dollars of taxpayer money have gone towards improvements and modernlzadon In 1990s. The Mayor, a champion of development, and the other members of the Newport Ho using Authority Board have voted to demolish. The Mayor has told Mr. Slade that he "doesn't want any public housing in Newport." Mr. Slade also let him know many of the tenants are elderly, disabled, poorly educated, without stable work history, and have poor credit. If Newport's proposal goes as planned, it will enrich the city and private development at the expense of everyone else, you the taxpayer and the aboYe residents. Your prime real estate north of 4th street. near the site for the proposed aquarium, will be the site of many evictions. So once again, big business, big developers and your leaders roll on over small people for the sake of the profits from conventloneers and tourists. July No Room for Youth Continued from page them from the ordeal of homelessness or to permit them to continue to attending their regular school. The break-up of families Is a well-documented phenom­ enon. In New York Oty, ~of residents In shelters for single .adults had children who were not with them. In Maryland, only 43% of parents living in shelters had children with them. And In Chicago, 54% of a combined street and shelter homeless sample were parents, but 91 % did not have children with them (Shinn and Weltzmann, 1996). The Increase has also been associated with new public policies, welfare reform and the early effects of sanctions as factors In the growth of young mothers entering homeless shelters. The lack of affordable housing Is another contributor to this populadon's Increase. Others factors are the lack of livable wage )obs and the lack of staff and shelter beds to address the needs of younger adults facing homelessness. One agency that does provide beds for 18-22 year olds Is the Lighthouse Transldonal Living Program. The Lighthouse program, which has been severely hampered by funding cuts, has had to downsize beds. In fact, since July, the program has had to tum down 130 people looking for shelter between the ages of 18­ 22 years of._ "The Transitional Program offers much more than just beds and clothing. It offers the suppordve services and life skills training that allows the Individual to make a smooth transition Into Independent llvlng." offers Donna Fletcher, Director of the Lighthouse TransldonaJ Housing Program. The Lighthouse program Is the only program that provides this age group with the much needed Independent living skills. Advocates hope that this problem can be recognized by legislators before these numbers Increase any further. "Since members of this population group represent the future of our nadon, It is our nation that we put at risk when Ignore there needs," wams Ms. Fletcher. �, STREETVIBES The Tri State's Homeless Grapevine Don•t Make the Homeless Into Criminals· STREETVIBES Editorials and Letters by Zac Willette, National Coalition tor the Homeless By definition, a person who Is homeless lives in public. A lack of housing forces those who are homeless to so in public what everyone prefers to do in private. This Indignity is one of many reasons the National Coalition for the Homeless seeks to end homelessness - permanendy. Unfortunately, it has also become the batdeground for the most funda­ mental defense of people who happen to be home­ less: the right to exist. In cities with an admitted lack of day shelters and few jobs that pay a livins wage, people who are homeless sometimes rest at bus stops or on side­ walks. Yet, Tucson, Arizona, has made it unlawful to be at a bus stop for more than 30 minutes, and police in Seatde, Washington, have been instructed to fine or arrest people who are homeless for sitting on the sidewalk. In cities with an admitted lack of affordable housing, people who are homeless are forced to carry their worldly goods With them wherever they go. In response, Beverly Hills, California, has made it a crime punishable by fine or jail time, to set baggage down on the sidewalks, and in Georgetown ~ trendy part of Washington, DC~n archaic part of the District Code is being applied to fine or arrest people for storing property (including people themselves) in doorways. There is an estimated 24 .million people on the waiting list for public. housing in this country. Despite this fact, the city mothers and fathers of Dallas, Texas, and many other cities across this country (including Phoenix, Jacksonville, Columbus, Boston, Austin, New Orleans, Lons Beach, Virginia Beach, Adanta, Sacramento, Tulsa, Miami, and Buffalo) have made it illegal to camp or sleep in a park. To punish people who have no choice but to be public for being In public heaps Injustice on top of indignity. As Santa Monica womari who Is homeless wondered, "When does it stop? Are we golns to push homeless people off the face of the earth? I do have a right to exist." Welfare Reform Causes Food Shortage at FreeStore/FoodBank by Gregory Payton Changes are being made everywhere. The FreeStore/FoodBank, one of many places, must make adfustments to meet the needs for homeless and low­ income. Below is a count of the 1996 and 1997 Thanksgiving distributions. Drastic numbers show an increase in single persons and ho·useholds being served for the holidays: 1996 (3 days) November 24, 25 and 26: 1997 (2 days) November 24 and 25: 183,015 pounds of food to 3,140 180, 170 pounds of food to 3,212 households or 8,393 people hou$eholds or 8,838 people Page 1 J The FreeStore has realized they now have to be more creative In gettlns more donations from major corporations. They are explaining about the "Good Samaritan" law which states: if food is given in good faith, and it is in good shape when It is stven, then there is no liability to the giver. And, it can be tax deducted and most of all It's the right thing to do for the communities. The flaws In the effort to criminalize homeless­ ness are as numerous as they are obvious. Though no one should ever have to sleep In a park or beg for food, making those acts Into criminal offenses does not, in any way, help the people who are forced to ''commit" said offenses. These city ordinances (and similar state laws) ar.e misguided because they seek to hide homeless people, not to end homelessness. They are unjust because they seek to punish people for being poor. They are, In effect, persecution because people who ar:e homeless do not have the option to rest, sleep, and set down belongings in private. People who are forced to live on the streets have very few choices: Are these cities asking people who are homeless to choose NOT TO EXIST!? Though it is easier for cities to attack homeless people than to attack the root causes of homeless­ ness, it wastes scarce resources and human time, energy, and dignity. It costs much less to secure permanent housing than to put people In prison. Even shelters (still more expensive in the long run than permanent housing) cost less than Incarcera­ tion. furthermore, these ordinances and laws demonize poor people, feeding negative public sentiment to target people who experience home­ lessness, rather than the root causes of homelessness itself. In addition to Its other effects, the criminalization efforts tear the focus of both home­ less people and their advocates away from long term, permanent solutions in order to fight for the right of people who are homeless to simply exist Our greatest victories In combating these new civil rights attacks will only secure an already inhumane status quo. Instead of wastins everyone's time playing Keystone Cops, why don't we sit down at the table with our best and most sufficient resources to permanently end homelessness. Anti Poor History C ontinue d from page 3 loitering statute which punished people for failure to show Identification upon pc)lice request. This case, decided in 1983, ended police use of vagrancy and loitering statutes to harass the poor. Unfortunately, the end of these laws has not led to an era of government sympathy for poverty and homelessness. lawmakers continue to create laws that persecute people without homes by criminalizing activities necessary to a homeless person's existence, such as sleeplng in public places and panhandling. In some ways, these laws are more dangerous than their predecessors, in that local charters In this state often preempt California state laws, began a slow trend against these kinds of laws which sinsfed out the poor for differential treatment. A broad success finally came in 1974 in Papachrlstou v.s. City ofjaclaonvllle, In which the U.S. Supreme Court declared the vagrancy ordi­ nance void for vagueness. In addition, the court stated that the law did not give fair notice and encouraged arbitrary arrests and convictions. After vagrancy laws were abolished, the police used equally vague loitering laws to harass people who did not account for themselves to the police's satisfaction When approached. In Ko/ender v.s. Lawson, the Court struck down as too vague a law, making It harder to contest local anti-homeless­ ness laws, and accelerating the adoption of anti­ homeless laws by many localities. Although the times of arresting people for idleness and loitering are supposedly over, the similarities between these laws and current and-homeless laws are strikin& Also comparable Is the motivation for the two types of laws: local vagrancy laws often forced newly arrived poor people out of the city, so the city would not have to address their needs. Similarly, localities now attempt to force homeless people out of their cities through incessant harassment, Instead of trying to create real, lasting solutions to the problem of homelessness. Word Search by Gregory Payton Scramble s by Ron Carter D N N A E 0 v w 0 F L A K E L I L M T s 0 s G N I s T F I G 0 E J 0 y E I B K L D L y s H T N u c s s c E y R K s c R F c 0 L E B B H R 0 c E H H E T R D R E M E R E K c 0 T N s I T E M R A J s T I Find these words in the puzzle: Stockings Sadness Snowflakes Alone Christmas Chestnuts Jackfrost Merry ~ Cook1es Lights Reindeer Home Meat Gifts Holly Cold Tree Love Toys joy Try to unscramble these holiday words: MASCTRHSI NATSA LENO DULDPRH SOTY EERT WSON NAM RHCSTl LOARCS Answers o n page 15. �STREETVIBES /!1() !11 All I Needed Was a Chance by Gregory Payton wtien I was homeless, I had nothing. I didn't know what to do. I had nobody, I was a nobody. And, I cared for nobody. Nothing to look for, nothing to go to, I looked at reality and I couldn't face It. So, I ran; l wanted to escape. So, I used drugs to ease the pain of the world I didn't like. I didn't look In mirrors to see myself, because that was reality. Then one day, it happened. I asked God why He did this to me. I didn't wait for an answer; because, like I said, I was running. I didn't know, then, but He sent out his angels. First I wanted to do something different, because the pain was becoming too great. I couldn't take it. So, I listened and I stopped the dope. Because I was out of money and ideas to get more. Then I listened and found a way to live without it. So, I continued to listen. Then I found hope, and I held on dght I listened and I found out I could live again. The world was starting to look different. · I was told to do some things and go some places. I started to trust some people. On the way I said, thanks, God, and asked, Is there anything I could do for You? I didn't get an answer; but, I wasn't running, either. So, I said to myself, If You can help me, I c;m help someone else. Then I asked, how, and I answered, what would I want? I got a hand up; so, I started grabbing and pulling. I didn't care who I helped up; because, God wasn't choos­ ing, He just done It Today, I look at the homeless and say, let's go together, let's be together, and let's try together. I asked when I should do this and the answer was, every day; I asked who, and that was anybody; I said where, and that answer was where ever you are; I asked how long, and that answer was the restof my life. After all, I had no life when I started. I just had to trust somebody. I trusted people that cared about me (homeless). When I chose to do what they do, I found out that they trusted me. And, they let me know in a special way. They invited me to come go with them. And, I did. They invited me to sit and share dinner at a very special time. At dinner they gave me something. The "they" of whom I speak was the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. The dinner was an annual event. What I received was an award. The award was the Jimmy Render Award. You ask who was Jimmy Render and I will tell you, he done a lot more than me. He touched a lot of homeless people. He cired, shared, loved to do whatever he could for homelessness. I like to talk, but when I received that award, I couldn't say anything. I finally thanked everyone. And, I thought about some people. God, my angels (people), Jimmy Render, and buddy gray. Today I feel I have been blessed. I see reality as God would want me to see. I am somebody. I have a goal, that is to end homelessness in a drug free city called Cincinnati. I learned to go for the stars, and it's all right to land on the moon because I tried with God's will. I thank God that he made me (Somebody). Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. Please send a check to the below address and the paper will be malled to you each Issue. Streetvibes I 506 Elm Street Clnclnnad, OH '45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless--Streetvibes. Ifyou have any questions., call '421-7803. )tote\ Homeless Gr:ipevine Page 12 Homeless ·Man is One in a Million by Gregory Pay/on Today, I see homelessness growing at a quick, steady rate. There are many reasons homelessness exists. When talking to one homeless gendeman, I discovered a unique story, as he explained why he was homeless. The gendeman's name is jack. jack has a good job, working at a pretty good restaurant. He started there as a dish washer, and has since climbed the ladder to food preparation. He feels really good about the accomplishments he has been able to make since starting his job. jack then went on to tell me a little about his past He has been convicted twice for drug use, and has gone through a treatment program to help him get his life back together. He has gone two years and eight months without using drugs, and has recendy joined a church. He grac.iously asked me to stop by the church, where he sings In a choir. I wondered with all of these things going so well, why he was still without a home. He explained that his pay check goes towards old bills and child support. By the time he's through with that, there Is little left for food, much less an apartment I asked jack what his biggest need was, affordable housing, or just a second chance with society. jack did not have many good things to say about society. Jack feels that society treats some people different, and wrong. He wondered why football and baseball players get a second chance, and in some cases a pay raise, after they have made some of the same mistakes. Society accepts them without condition. jack is upset that he does not get the same opportunities as those mentioned. They all have nice homes, while jack is having a rough dme finding an affordable apartment. These people do not need Section 8, the homeless do. I asked Jack what he Intended to do in the future. He responded, "I'm going to keep telling my story, and remain homeless until I can find some affordable housing." He had a disturbing look in his eyes, so I asked him what he thinking. He said that it is one thing to commit a crime, and serve your time, but you sho1;.1ld not have to pay for that mistake the rest of your life. It is something that he, and many others have a hard dme understanding. When he looked up, after telling his story, he simply said, "I'm just going to keep praying." I thanked Jack for his time, and wondered how long it would take society to realize that Jack is just one of the million. P.S. jack, you're in my prayers, Merry Chris~ mas! was Who Said Living Clean Can't be Fun? by Donald Whilehead Before coming to recovery, many using addicts have reservations. One very common reservation is that once they become clean, they can no longer have fun. If any of you reading this article and have that reservation, please let it go. Not only can you have fun, you can have more fun than ever before. The following story is just one example of how recovering addicts are enjoying life like never before. Erle S. has enjoyed sports and coaching for some time. In fact, he was recognized for his efforts with inner-city youth. This year he decided to take on a bigger challenge-coaching adults. Erle, along with several other sports minded recovering addicts, got together to form Cincinnati's first Recovery Basketball League (RBL). The RBL currendy consists of six teams, Hirsch Recreation Center, The Drop Inn Center, Prospect House, Starting Over, The House Of Hope and a Twelve Step Fellowship Team. The level of play in this league has exceeded all expectations!! Many athletes in the league have been world class at one time or another In their lives. If you attehd one of the RBL games on Saturdays beginning at 2;30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. you won't see Michael Jordan or Penny Hardaway, at least not in person, but you will see some exciting basketball games, You will see dunks! behind the back passes! half court buzzer beaters! and hard­ nosed defense. What you won't see in this league is fighting, profanity, or players under the influence. If you are an addict with reservations about having fun clean, come o ut an watch these guys. They are definitely having fun. While this league enjoys fine play and good intentions, it still needs support The league has been largely funded by team coaches thus far and desperately needs outside support. Funding is needed to help furnish uniforms, pay for referees and pay for individual and team trophies. We hope that those reading this article will help squash the myth about having fun In recovery. In January leagues wishes to expand and include other recovery houses and other 12-step teams if you have an Interest in becoming a part of fun in recovery please contact Donald Whitehead at 421-7803. Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Looking for a place to call home? Call the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority ... Affordable rent that never exceeds 30°/o of your income ... Many buildings equipped with security systems ... Units located on buslines and near stores, schools, hospitals, banks Rental units are available in these family and senior communities: Avondale Hopple Street/Fairmount West End Winton Place For more information, call 421-8190 today. �STREETVIBES Tl1e T11 Sto/1'\ Hon1e/ess Grapevine Flamingo Hotel Taken Over in Santa Monica California Advocates Establish the Independent Nado n of Flamingo Ho meless activists chained themselves to the boarded up Flamingo Hotel In Santa Monica, CA. on November I4 to protest lack of available shelter for the ho meless In their city. Santa Monica re lies on cold weather homeless shelters operated by the county and does not run Its own shelters. Afte r November 18, If there is a 50% chance of rain o r if the temperature Is expected to drop below ~. the county opens Its 24 winter shelters. Shelters are open full time from Dece mber 16 through February 28. Below is the te.x t of an e-mail sent to Streetvibes abo ut the event sent from advocate and street newspaper e ditor, Jennifer Waggoner. The Independent Nation of Flamingo (aka. the squat at the abandoned Flamingo Motel in Santa Monica, California) is settling In and working on the details of self-management. Fifteen or so rooms have been opened and cleaned, and are giving shelter to a growing number of people In need. About 40 people are estimated to be living at the Flamingo as of last night. A common room for food and supplies has been established, a portable outhouse donated, and jugs of water made available. A building engineer has donated his services, and made an Inspection of the building yesterday. He determined that It Is basically structurally sound and Is free of vermin. More will be known as additional rooms are opened for new residents. There have been no further threats of arrest by police In the past few days, perhaps because of the widespread coverage the Flamingo continues to receive locally, as well as on the Internet. A member Santa Monica, CA of the Santa Monica City Council. Mike Feinstein (Green Party), was among the people who paid a visit to the Flamingo yesterday. Even the large mainstream Los Angeles daily, the LA Times, provided a sympathetic article (which In the case of the Times, means that they did not portray protest­ ers as lunatics.) One of the residents of the the Flamingo posing. In his words, as a "member of the public" said he questioned a member of the Santa Monica Police Department regarding their Intentions toward "the homeless people at the Flamingo Motel." The Page /J STREETVIBES Nationwide cop replied that this was a " political protest by an organized gro up, not just homeless people." Leaving unchallenged a.II of the offensive assumptions In that statement, It seems reasonable to conclude that the city knows that deploying police ag;i.Jnst people with nowhere to get out of the rain­ who are organized, do have cell phones and comput­ ers~ould have se rious polltlcal fallout. What everyone is wondering Is how, o r whether this will change on Tuesday, when the County says It will . open the official cold weather shelters. These shelters by the way, are located in National Guard armories and o nly open when the temperature ls scheduled to drop below 40 degrees F, or a 50% chance of rain is predicted. Last night, the Flamingo held its first commu­ nity meeting to discuss Issues from safety with candles, the question of the future of the squat and how to keep it going. the issue of police and so on. Meetings will continue as people discuss how to o rganize a functioning society within this fragile environment. Much cleaning also still needs to be done and repairs condnue. First Amendment Continued from pa ge I The Homeless GrapeY!ne, In Cleveland, was started to give homeless people a voice. It is organized by people on the streets, and has assisted many people in getting off the streets. We proviae confidence and hope for a better future. Many of our vendors successfully make the transition to a permanent place and a job with benefits. We provide a forum for all poor people to express themselves, and we have made an Impact In Cleve­ land by breaking some of the stereotypes. The U.S. Appeals Court In the Sixth Circuit, declared that our paper Is no different than a hot dog. The three Reagan/Bush appointed judges, said that the City of Cleveland could Impose the same restrlcdons o n o ur vendors as they Impose on hot dog vendors. Ho t dogs are not a vehicle for social change, nor do they carry any political message. The o nly lasdng Impact that a hot dog has is · CLEVELAND HOMELESS GRAPEVINE increasing an individual's cholesterol level, leading to future heart problems. Each vendor now has to pay a $50 license fee t o sell the Homeless f:1rapevlne. Before a vendor makes a dollar, they must ventllre down to City Hall with two photo IDs and $50 In hand for a license. Then, after they are Issued a license, they have to choose where they are going to sell. In the end, they not o nly have to submit to the e xorbitant filing fee, but all the sidewalks are no longer available to them. We still have not figured out the purpose for the license. We are not selling food that may be poisonous. AJI of our vendors are badged, and distinguishable from the other vendors on the streets. They only sell newspapers on the street, nothing else. Each one of them have signed a code of conduct as well. We wonder If the city is worried that people will receive a calnted paper. The Honw/ess Grapevine exhausted its appeals through the judicial system when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Its case. Despite forty years of previous rulinp to the contrary, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that licenses did not violate the vendor's First Amendment rights still stood. We are In a strange time In our judiciary when all previous decisions are up for rehearing. Here is what Justice Dougfas said In 1943 In writing the Opinion for Murdock r.s. PennsylYa11/a, "It is true that the First Amendment, like the Commerce Clause, draws no distinction between license d taxes, fixed sum taxes, and other kJnds of taxes, but that Is no reason to shut o ur eyes to the nature of the tax and its destructive Influences. The power to Impose a license t.ax on tile exercise of these freedo ms, is indeed as potent as the power of censo rship, which this court has repeatedly struck down." Now we are pursuing local executive and legislative avenues for relief fro m this ordinance. At the same time, we are coordinating national legisla­ tio n to pro tect street newspapers across the country The power to impose a license tax on the exercise of these freedoms, is indeed as potent as the power of censorship...Justice Douglas, 1943 from the dicatets of the local Mayor or City Council. Curre ntly, there are 22 "poverty lssue" papers in the U.S. sold on the street. whose vendors could potentially be forced to buy a license as happened In Cleveland. The re are also a potential 7 new and emerging newspapers, whose vendors may be subject to a license fee If the papers happen to confront or alienate the local administration. We hope that supporters of street newspapers and free speech will contact their local U.S. Repre­ sentative and urge them to support a national ban on licensing street newspapers. This Is not a Democratic or Republican Issue, for Democrats usually support free speech, and Republicans want "to get the government off your back," especially entrepreneurs who are maldng the transition bade Into the work force. A license restricts free speech, and brings government Into areas In which It has never ventured. This might seem like a small Issue, but the right to speak to the public Is a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights. Poor people are Ignored by the teievtslon and have only limited access to radio. Major newspapers are too busy covering sports, entertain­ ment. and business Issues, to worry about poverty. The street newspapers are the last avenue in which to read the voices of the poor. WithotJt some protection we risk alienating and keeping the voices of the poor out of the debate. The lack of the poor's Input, has led to many horrible decisions In the past 30 years. Freedom of speech ls worth preserving. For mo re Information on the efforts tX> protect free speech, contact the Homeless GrapeYine. at (2 16) 24 1-1 104 or e-mail at neoch@bbs2.rmrc.net. For Your Information US Constitution: First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peace­ ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. STREETVIBES T-Shirts! Only $5 each! STREETVIBES ' . /ltlfll< /t• ' lrl,l/lc \!flt' 100% Whlle Collon Shirts XL Purple logo T-shirts are available at our office at I 506 Sm Street. Please stop by and see us. �- .... STREETVIBES T/1e Tn State's Homeless Grapevine Building Torn Down for New Project Page 14 Buddy's Place Dedicated November 15 by James Heath Building B of the Laurel Homes Project at Liberty and Linn was torn down last month as part of a renovation project. Photo by James Heath . The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Author­ ity tore down a controversial building last month as part of the Laurel Homes Renovation Plan. CMHA argued that a combination of safety concerns a.nd the fact that the small unit size was in small demand targeted it for demolitions. Planners for the project would rather have a courtyard in place of the building to boost community space. The Laure l Homes Resident Council opposed 11 the demolition arguing that better screening proce­ dures for prospective tenants should be used to counter the safety problems. In addition, they argued that the building could be reconfigured for larger units. The building contained approximately 30 units. The Laurel Homes Renovation Plan will reduce the net total of units In the project, re placing one bedroom units with larger family size units. O ver a hundre d people came out to the memorial held o n the anniversary of the tragic death of Buddy Gray. About a dozen housing rehabbers and homeless advocates addressed the crowd on the importance of continuing the fight for affordable housing. In the late 1980s, the building at 1300 Vine Street, was targeted for demolition by the city. Buddy Gray and ReSTOC believed that this building should be saved, especially in a neighborhood where low-income housing was so desperately neede d. Homeless shelters were over capacity, and transi­ tional housing was at a premium. This project at 1300 Vine St. was a dream of Buddy's, and on November 15th, 1997, it was named in his honor. Many friends and co-workers of Buddy Gray, braved the cold and wet weather to attend the dedication of "Buddy's Place." "Buddy's Place," will establish 20 units of permanent housing for formerly homeless individuals, and will serve as a model for other communities around the nation. This is a fitting testimony to Buddy, and his dream of continuing to provide low-income housing to our brothers and sisters who are homeless. Showerhouse Continued from Page 4 11 Institutionalized, so they must live with a parent or guardian and then somehow that parent or guardian dies and leaves thern without what they need to continue living on their own. Now, they are out in the streets fending for themselves, living from shelter to shelter or worse still, from abandoned building to abandoned building. Fl: Well, yes. Yes! It's a number of things. There are just a lot of variables. It's neve r just one thing that creates a problem for someone who becomes homeless. Yes. That's it in a nut shell. Like you say, one can get displaced for a number of reasons. Homeless people come from all phases of society. You can find yourself homeless because of fires, drugs, racism, even you can find yourself homeless from a bad attitude that keeps you from being productive in a positive way. So, to me it's a combination. Like Murphy's Law states if anything bad happens a homeless person has probably experienced it. SV: Do you see any way In the near future how these problems can be resolved In a way so there will be an actual decrease Instead of the increase you are noticing today~ Tl: A-a-a-h-h-h! That's another good one. think anyone that's positive would like to see that there's hope at the end of the tunnel, and possibly there Is. SV: The reason why I asked this question is because I think you have a unique point of view as opposed to the person driving by in their car on the way to the suburbs. They need your understanding. Tl: M-m-m. Yes! Well, we do give tours of the place, so, anyone who wants to come In and see how the facility Is run, we invite any and everyone. We certainly depend on donations, so, anyone who wants to open up their heart for any type of dona­ tion; bleach, detergent. deodorant. underwear. These are things we run out of quickly. It's a fast tum over. We need bath towels, wash cloths. These are things we go through very quickly. SY: What about socks? Tl: Yes. Socks. SY: What about any other items such as clothes, coats? Tl: U-hu'h. Ye... Well, we certainly can use any and everything of this sort. Pants, coats, winter coats, thermal underwear, socks, as you say, sweaters, hats, toboggans or whatever you call those funny hats, a.nd believe it or not, we can use money tX>. SY: OK. I want the readers to pay close attention to what Theardis is saying concerning what you can do to make a difference, even in the smallest of ways. If you have more than you need of any of these things, bring them in to the showerhouse and show your charitable nature to those In need. By the way Mr. "T", what is MARY MAGDALEN HOUSE'S address? Tl. 1221 and 1223 Main Street. We're on the first floor. SY: What Is the zip code? Tl: '45210. SY: And what is the phone number. Tl: 721--4811. SY: I have maybe one or two more questions. How did you personally bec~me homeless? You "like Murphy's law states if anything bad happens a homeless person has probably experi­ enced it." don't have to answer this question If it is too painful or sensitive for you. Tl: Well, I was In a drug Infested building. The landlord and I didn't see eye to eye, so, he had me arrested. Later he had the charges dropped because it was untrue. It kind of woke me up. Like I said, he had me locked up, and then they turned me loose. It took about a week to get everything squared away. By then he had set all my things out and I became a candidate for the Drop Inn Center. Through the blessings of the Father, like you and everyone else, I heard talk of the Mary Magdalen House, and I came around and showered. I liked it and I've been here ever since. SY: OK. My brother, if there was anything that you could suggest to the community as a whole, concerning homelessness, what others can do to help, besides all of the donations you need, what other things can a person do to help make a difference? Tl: As I say, we use volunteers. Maybe there's someone who would like to donate three or four hours a week o r ~·1ery other week, whatever. We try to work with our volunteers and whatever hours they have that is flexible. We want it to be conve~ nient for them. We open at 8: 15 in the morning and we close at '4:00. We go to lunch at noon and open back up at I: I Spm. Anyone that has some time or articles to bring in are welcome. We're open on Saturday's till noon. We're closed on Sundays. SY: So, actually, your open six days a week. Tl: Yes. . SY: That's a real blessing. Tl: If people were to see the line we have on Monday morning, they'd wonder why we're closed on Sundays. However, we do need a day of rest. SV: Yes, by all means. Your job has a certa.in level of intensity. I've been here at times when you yourself had to act as sort of a security man and keep things in order. (Theardis is laughing heartily) I see that you get your respect down here. You keep.the order. And one of the things I like about you being in the position you are in is 1?ecause you've been where the now are. Like you said, there is a majority of Black males coming In here and when they see another Black male in the position you have, there is a sort of respect in the fact that you've been homeless and are able to relate to their pain and suffering they are going through. You.also know that feeling sorry for them is not what they always need. There's also the need for what some might call "tough love" to be shown. Tl: That's right! I think everybody is an individual and you know, what works for one may not work for somebody else. You have to keep going till you find what works. But, certainly a fresh, clean body puts the mind in a proper perspective of thinking positive. They have the desire and say to themselves, "Well, I'm going to go out and get this job!". It's almost like willingly. And when you can get someone into this attitude, you really believe in them succeeding 'cause you can see it. You..re gonna have rejection, but, somewhere down the line they're gonna be accepted. SY: I truly believe Mary Magdalen House is doing a lot towards helping a person becoming accepted back into society that has been rejected. want to thank you 'T' for your time. This is your lunch break and you could have been resting or eating your lunch, yet you took the time to do this Interview for STREETVIBES. I'm going to let you go so you can get back to work helping others to get back on their feet. Let me get out of here and let you get your last few minutes of solitude before the madness breaks out once again. Tl: Why thank you. ('T' is really laughing now.) SY: I know you've got a rough afternoon coming up. Tl: Thanks for this interview. �STREETVIBES rhe 711 State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES. Announcements Please send your announcements to Streetvibes Announcements, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax them to 513-421-7813 by the 20th of each month. December 1 Contact Center Toy Sale: Starts, Lasts through December 23. December 3 Streetvibes Planning Meeting, 5 PM, Homeless Coalition Office, 1506 Elm Street, Call 42 1-7803 for info. December 4 Christ Church Forum on Homelessness, 12 NOON, STREETVIBES Classified Ads Streetvibes Is now accepting Classified Ads for items such as Help Wanted, Items for Sale, Apart­ ments for Rent and other non-personal items. The rate is only $1 per line, approximately four words per line. Classified ads are due by the 20th of the month. People below the poverty level will be allowed five free lines for six months to advertise their skills or products to o ur readers. Othe rwise, payment must be received before the ad will run. No refunds will be made. Also, if there ls an error, notify us after the first printing. You will be given an extra month of ad time. Mail the ad copy to: Streetvibes I506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax it to 421-7813 Scramble Answers from page 11 CHRISTMAS SL8GH SANTA NOEL NOEL RUDOLPH TOYS TREE 318 E. Fourth Street, Room 306, call 381-4994 for info. Page IS Over-the-Rhine Residents. Call 62 1-5514 for info. Features OTR Steel D rum Band. December 7 December 16 St. Francis Xavier Medal Presentation to Rev. Maurice McCracken, Brunch at I I am, Main Dining Room, Xavier University, $10, call 745­ 320 I for info. Welfare Rights Trip to Columbus for Hearing Before JCARR Committee on Food Stamp Cuts, Leaves at 7 AM, Call 381 -4242 fo r info. December 9 Deadline for January Streetvibes articles, poems and classified items. Welfare Rights Coalition Meeting, I 0:30 AM, 1641 Vine Street, Call 381-4242 for Info. December 11 Public Hearing on City of Cincinnati 1998 Budget, 6 PM, City Hall Council Chambers, 80 I Plum Street December 12 Homeless Think Tank Meeting, 7 PM, Drop Inn Center Shelter, Call 4 21-7803 for more info. December 20 December 21 Homeless Memorial Day, 4 PM. W ashtngto n Park Remembrance of those who died o ri •h P ~ 1 cc Call 421-7803 for info. December 23 Happy Hanukkah! First Evening l f qd '• December 3 I .) December 25 December 13 Merry Christmas! Peaslee Holiday Concert, 3 PM, Salvation Army Chapel, 120 E. Central Parkway, $3 or free for December 31 music an Loo I or Wo Streetvibe5 (the band). We like to party. R&B, Oldies, Blues/Jazz, Reggae. Helpln the homeless to help themselves through free enterprhe. Call 421-7803. position wanted Childcare Spec!allat Looking for fulltlme work as a child care specialist. Has one year experience -ricing with children In a daycare. Attended Withrow Chlldcare Program. High School Graduate. Call Julian Gardener at the Drop Inn Cent.er, 721-0643. Laborer Looking for a laborer? Has worked at Riverfront. Is willing to do any kind of work. Call Sonia Craig at the Orop Inn Center, 721·0643. Elderlx or Children Looking for a community oriented Job dealing with elderly or children. 3 year oul1:each worker/ counselor aide at YHC,A. 13 years typing. Computer and cashier experience Including Windows, Lotus, Any Word Processor. Call AnJall Madyun at the Drop Inn Center, 721­ 0643. STREETVIBES provides Classified Ads free to low income job seekers. Others may place ads for only $1 per line. Ramadan. First Day. (Muslim b sc ends Sales Representative Looking for position as sales representative or management. Has good bookkeeping. typing and supervl$0ry skills. Has experience in retail management, customer service and 5ales. Is avallable to work Immediately. Call Dea Harrl5 at 552-9351. Resta ur ant Work Responsible older man able to work any shift. Has had experience as a cook .-nd as a janitor. Would prefer work as a busser at a restaurant as well as work as a J~1 dish wash" r " •H• very deper11fablt '" ava ilable in u nt:d;.u Please contac.l W Ir Powell at SJ I · 84C t help wanted "~ Continge ncy Fee Lawyer Not afraid of Catholic Church or PUCO. Send office hours and na me of law sc hool on letterhead paper to 1111 Elm Street. No. 432, Cincinnati, OH 45210. Streetvibes Wish List VCR to Show Streetvibes-Episodes to Groups Blank VHS Cassettes Adobe Photoshop Software for IBM to save scanning costs Volunteer Copy Editors and Stories Advertisers to help support the paper Call 421 -7803 if you can help! SNOWMAN CHRIST CAROLS Call 421-7803 for info. Streetvibes Vendor C·ode of Conduct Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to sell the paper. I. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for donations more than $1. I also understand that I will be able to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future Issues ofStreetvibes will be purchase d from the Homeless Coalition for 20 cents. 2 I agree that I will never distribute Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 3. I agree that I will not ask for donations after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect. I will not use abusive language or force someone to give a donation. I will not give a "ha.rd sell" or make someone feel threatened. S. I agree that I wlll not supply copies of Streetvibes to persons who are not registered distributors. 6. I agree not to deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a not-for-profit charity o r that I am collecting for the "homeless" in general. I will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes will go to the individual vendor. 7. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a self supporting paper created by people who are homeless or formerly homeless. To help In this effort, I will try to spread the word and write stories If possible. 9. I understand that the failure to comply with any of the above statements will result in me no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. Advertise in Streetvibes! Advertising in Streetvibes is a chance for businesses to help a good cause while promoting themselves to 4,000 concerned people each month. The rates are shown below. Business Card Size 2" x 3 1/2" $I 0 per month Two Business Card Size 4" x 3 112" $20 per month A check or money order must accompany the ad copy. We reserve the right to deny any ad, especially those which promote alcohol or tobacco products. You will receive a full refund should your ad be denied. For larger ads, call the number below. Ads are due by the 20th 'of each month. If you need assistance in preparing your ad or have any other questions, call the Homeless Coali­ tion at 421-7803. Mail ads with payment to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Onclnnati, OH 45210 �- STREETVIBES 1 711e !11 Slote s Homeless Grapevine Page /6 .Vendor Strives to Make Home a Better Place 11 11 Vendor Profile of Azariah Israel by Carolyn Meszaros A life-long resident of Cincinnati, Azariah has been selling Streetvibes for several months because he believes the lnforn"iation in the newspaper is Important and needs to be spread around town. It's part of his contribution to making "home" a better place to live; "home," Azariah says, is the most beautiful city In the world-he's been both north and In the south--and he doesn't want to go elsewhere to live. He didn't find the newspaper all by himself, a brother and a coalition staff member engineered him into the project. He also sings and plays in the Streetvibes Band, any one of several wind instru­ ments, but he first mentions "saxophone." He would like to see the band a success in the area (west of the mountains and south of the lakes). One of nine brothers and sisters, four of each, with mother still living (but not all family members are In the immediate Cincinnati area), Azarlah is polite to the "nth" degree, soft-spoken, and evi­ dences the gentle, friendly, interested-Jn-life soul of artists in conversation. Indeed, he has Interests In many different aspects of what Is considered art including drawing, woodworking and carpentry, home or domestic arts such as cooking and sewing, and arts and crafts in general. Other activities have included helping to organize a peace rally called the West End Peace Rally In 1988, which was an annual event for about five years directed to helping inner city youth cultivate their talents and direct them into peaceful living. At the time there were many violent deaths among local young people and the project was backed by the City of Cincinnati and was considered Azariah Israel Baptist heritage, the name is a name In the Bible, in the Old Testa­ ment Book of Daniel, and Israel was taken as a reference to the before-slavery ancestry of his people. His goals in life include earning an adequate (living-wage) income from his various artistic efforts right around the extended area. especially in the immediately tri-state vicinity. Vendor: 80 cents Printing and Production: 20 cents Where Your o ar Goes We're sure he'll quietly be in other "activist" adventures and are glad to have him involved In the organization. Streetvlbes is produced at the facilities of Cincinnati Community Video. Some viewers might not see the show appear at the right channel or time during the next couple months as Warner Cable changes around channels on us. Slreelvibes TV November This show focused on Public Housing Issues In Cincinnati. The guests were.Don Troendel, Director of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority and Maria Pesante, CMHA Resident and Vice Chairperson of the CMHA Board. Channel 10 Saturday, December 4, 1997, 4 pm Friday, December 12. 1997, 11 am S/ree/vibes TV December Streetvibes has a minimal overhead cost so that the vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. If anyone selling Streetvibes claims to be collecting for a private charity, please call our office at 421-7803. Thanks for your support. This show will focus on AIDS and HIV issues in the Greater Cincinnati area. Channel 7 (SB Basic In most of Hamilton Count¥) Monday, December I 5, 7 pm live Channel 10 Friday, December 19, 11 am Monday, December 22, I0 pm Saturday, December 27, 4 pm p? e If for some reason you find yourself homeless, contact a Coalition Member Agency for Shelter, Treatment, Housing or Services. If you have any questions, feel free to call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803. SHELTERS: Women and Children Alice Paul House (abuse) 241-2757 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome House 431-8717 SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission Garden Street House Joseph House (veterans) St. Francis- St. Joseph House Mt. Alry Center Volunteers of America 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 SHELTER.: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn <;:enter (singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) Interfaith Hospitality Network 761-1480 821 -5100 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 244-7226 Ughthouse Youth Center St. john's Temporary Housing 961-4080 651-6+46 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies (Mental llQ Tom Geiger House 721-4580 241-9683 241-0504 369-0004 381-095.4 721-8666 961 -4555 TREATMENT: Women O.D.AAT First Step Home 241-7343 921-7324 TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both N.A Hopellne AA Hodine C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 491-4435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnad 421-2437 Appalachian Identity Center 621-5991 Centerfor Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network 569-1840 Community Action Agency 381-4242 Contact Center 241-2563 Emanuel Community Center 241-1064 Freestore/Foodbank 771-4800 Goodwill Industries 621-7149 Hamilton Co.Mental Health Bd. 63.2-7186 Hamilton Co. TB Control 357-4602 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 221-3679 House of Refuge Mission 241-9400 Le~I Ald Society Madisonville Ed. &Assistance Ctr. 271 -5501 Mary Magdalen House 721 -4811 Oral Health Council 621-0248 Our Dally Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Travelers Ald 721-7660 721-7900 United Way VA Homeless Program 559-6656 Women's Crisis Center 491-3335 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1997 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Language A language of the resource English Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document - Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 1997 Vol 1, issue #12 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1997 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Relation A related resource - Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource - Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context - Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant - Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project (curated by Katelyn Lusher) Description An account of the resource Issue covering: <br />street paper rights<br />anti-homeless laws<br />food stamps<br />Mary Magdalen House<br />Peaslee Neighborhood Center<br />housing policy<br />eviction<br />free speech Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tim Burroughs<br />Ron Carter<br />Pat Clifford<br />Denise Crew<br />Brian Davis<br />James (Jimmy) Heath<br />Lemuel Israel<br />Paul Larkin<br />Carolyn Meszaros<br />Bonnie Neumeier<br />Gregory Payton<br />Mark Salter<br />Malaka Sanders<br />Hillary Schwab<br />Tess<br />Donald Whitehead<br />Zac Willette<br />Lynn Williams<br />Carmen Ziegler<br />Vera Zlatkin Bonnie Neumeier Brian Davis Carmen Ziegler Carolyn Meszaros Denise Crew Donald Whitehead eviction food stamps Gregory Payton Hillary Schwab homeless James (Jimmy) Heath Lemuel Israel Lynn Williams Malaka Sanders Mark Salter Pat Clifford Paul Larkin reform Ron Carter shelters Tess Tim Burroughs Vera Zlatkin welfare Zac Willette https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/894eb87e99b94b5aaeb3a819261ad0da.pdf 7b3e62ec6ce29a28015dd4053a23ccc7 PDF Text Text Homeless becoming a target for hate crimes Peaceful Kentucky Camp Attacked by 'Lord of the Flies"- style mob Photo by Warren Perkins Edward Murphy: "Me, Ernie, and his girlfriend Rita were down at the river; we had a camp set up. We was working out of Prestige(temp employment). We got out of work that evening; we were sitting around the campfire, cooking dinner. Ernie and his girlfriend were in the tent. We saw these kids coming, all white boys, 8 or nine of them. They came up on the hill above us, and started hollering, "KKK, Nazi KKK, and they started throwing bricks at us. One of the bricks went through the tent and hit Rita in the chest. Ernie came out of the tent, ducking bricks, and I'm dodging bricks. Ernie turned to keep from getting hit in the face and was hit in the back. I caught two in the ribs, one in the back, one in the leg. Rita is running around crazy pleading with them to stop. Ernie is pleading with them to stop. We charged up the hill to try to get to them, and we couldn't, cause there was so many of them and the bricks was coming so fast. One of them hit me in the face; broke my nose, knocked me out. I'm bleeding. The older kid, about 15, the one most dominant, pulled a gun out, and was going to shoot me, because, they said, I was camping with a black man .... Ernie pleaded with him, talked some sense into him, .. .so they wouldn't shoot us............. The kids finally took off. ... The Police c.ame; the paramedics came. The police took off without collecting any information from us, said they was going to look for the guys." ........ . Ernie gazes at the bloody stones which bombarded him, his pregnant wife, and partner Eddie, when a group of teens attacked them as they slept in their riverside encampment. Protesters Plead with the U.S. Army: Close the Sch~ol Cotton, Clay and Coca-Cola .... Columbus is Georgia's second largest city and adjacent to the 97,000-acre Fore Benning, home of SOA since 1984. Established in the Panama Canal Zone in 1946, the SOA has spawned graduates that have been brutalizing and murdering Latin American citizens for decades. 11 :00 P.M., Friday, November 19, 1999: Forty-three Cincinnati-area residents left Over-the-Rhine tO protest and Bad bruises, 3 cracked ribs and a broken nose, and no sense that justice would be done, because, initially, the Covington police did not seem to want to pursue the case. After meeting later with Eddie and a GCCH (Homeless Coalition) representative, however, they agreed to investig~te the case seriously. * * * The Purple Turtle of the Antericas (SOA) commemorate events like the Massacre at the On the night University of Central America. of November 16, 1989, a Salvadoran Army patrol entered the University of Central America in Salvador and killed six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Nineteen of the military officers cited for this atrocity received training at SOA. Following our eventful but sleepy bus ride (you know that half-slept feeling) , we quickly checked into our two hotel's and · proceeded co the vigil site on Fore Benning Rd. at the main entrance. Here we joined 5,000 + other folks of all ages. There were speeches and songs, in short sleeve weather, a brief rainstorm about 5 P.M. In the next 76 hours or so, I ran into many associates and friends from the anti­ nuclear movement ­ in particular, che Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. Fellow activists: a sister and brother (Michigan, Iowa City), a walker form Chicago, a Canadian friend (who had just walked 5 days from Atlanta), internationally known state organizer from Florida, a Plowshares activist I had not seen in 11 years, and a GPM couple from Cleveland, not seen since the Poor People's march on Columbus) and many others, including the great 80-year-ol.d folk si~ger, Pete Seeger (in a brief b;:ickstage encounter [Unfortunately, I lost the photo of he and I together]) On Sunday, we arrived at the p rotest site at 10 A.M. More speeches, songs, and friends, old and new, and literature and food cables co be perused , and pamphlets to collect and one long line up port-o-potty hill. Oust in case a long sterile afternoon lay ahead). Ac the entrance, the road is divided by a green median strip. As you face the welcoming sign, chose on the right side planned to "cross the line" and risk 6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine . 10,000 people grew silent at noon as the procession began, led b>'. black-robed, white Close the SOA, continued page 3 J �STREETUIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine STREETVIBES The Tr i - 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 ~ 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 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. Staff Donald Whitehead, Director Susan Knight, Administrative Coordinator Tom Billman, Streetvibes Editor Ron Carter, Vendor Support Gina Miller, Rapid Exit Program Warren Perkins, Tenant Organizing Photos by Beverly Mae, Tom Billman, Berta Lambert, Warren Perkins, and more .. Writers Berta Lambert Tom Billman Te'tro Amaru Rodney Sutton Kenneth D. Smith Caci Cambruzzi Richard Reibow Donald Whitehead Ron Carter Lynn Williams Sonny Williams Pat Mitchell Vera Zlatkin Walter C. Clair Streetvibes accepts letters,. poems, stories, essays, original graph­ ics, photos.... 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 45210 (513)421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813; · e-mail: streetvlbes@juno.com (text-only) or homecoal@primax.net ( attached files) web page: http://cinci.com/gcch The Streetvibes Newspaper Planning Committee is about to resume its monthly meetings to plan the next issue and increase circulation. If you are interested in giving us a hand, please call 421-7803. Page 2 The Traveler taking a home less person outside the city limits and leaving them) have become common. Individuals in several cities have resorted to ........... Donald Whitehead actually targeting homeless people with senseless hate crimes. These crimes have ranged from Thanksgiving drownings in South Dakota, to beheadings in Denver Colorado. Just the other day in The images ofThanksgiving are happy Covington groups of homeless people living on images - times ofwarmth where families share the blessings of the past year. Thanksgivings for the riverbanks were viciously attacked by a me have always been special. I have enjoyed the group of teens. Right across che river in special bond that my family and I have shared. I Jeffersonville, Indiana, a transitional housing have a heartfelt deep-rooted thankfulness because facility for families was fire bombed, resulting I know tha~ Thanksgiving was not always this in two deaths and more homelessness for the remaining families. While many of us can look way. back at our year and be thankful for new cars, new careers, and new houses, a homeless person can only be thankful to be alive. Nor only does he have to fight the harsh conditions caused by living outdoors; he also has to face cruel laws and maniacs. Ir very hard to believe that America has sunk to this level of cruelty that there are those that would prey upon those with the least means. Ir's hard to understand the mean­ spirimess that it takes to walk up on a person asleep by a river and simply push him in. It is even harder to understand the attitude that put him there in the first place. How can we demolish housing while people live under As a homeless person I only spent one Thanksgiving on the street. The bridges and in abandoned cars? How can we arrest people for sleeping on the streets when · images are still very vivid in my mind. I specifically remember the total isolation that I wealthy employers don't pay enough co afford felt. It was as ifI was the only person in the the housing they need? How can we spend world when I woke up and realized it was billions on the ~ar on drugs when we don't spend a penny on treatment for those living on Thanksgiving. I guess as a homeless person I always felt somewhat alone, even though I slep t the streets? How can we cut food stamps for in a room with 180 other people,_I always was babies a~d continue to build bombers. In some City's the "Pull yourself up by your by myself. bootstraps" mentality has really gotten out of Thanksgiving as a homeless person was nor totally dismal. I remember die staff at the hand. I suspect that even chose rhat subscribe to the conservative notion that everyone ­ Drop Inn Center being a little more upbeat a regardless oftheir circumstances or barriers they little more caring and a little friendlier. I have faced - should earn what they receive, are remember all the volunteers with t heir cheery appalled at the mayors ofsome cities who have faces. I remember some of the very warm clearly crossed the line. Mayor Guilliani in conversations about their jobs and their homes New York has now moved to make an and their families. I remember feeling like they emergency shelter something that is earned were my family too. For a period of time, I felt a sense of belonging; my dreary ex.i.stcmc;e was' not through some sore ofself-sufficiency contract. Once again we see an elected official unwilling as hopeless. Those people who came to the to admit that the need for housing is at its shelter char day had, for one day, made me feel a highest level in history. Instead Mr. Guiliani part of che real world. For that one day my and others in Cleveland, Austin and other places world had other people in it. that will soon follow suit choose to punish The next day things were back to those that face the terrible condition known as normal. All the volunteers were back in their own world and I was back in mine. I remember homelessness instead ofaddressing its root causes. No.wonder homeless people look wondering why we didn'c have that kind,of forward to the holidays; they have so much to volunteer presence year round. Why didn't any be thankful for. of the volunteers ask me to be a part of their photo by Warren Perkins world, their church or their family? My sadness didn't last very long. I soon realized that Christmas was only a month away and there'd be a lot ofvolunteers that day too. For today's homeless, loneliness is the least oft heir worries. When I was homeless, it was beginning to become illegal to be homeless. Today it's not only illegal it can be fatal. Cities all over the country have adopted anti-homeless ordinances. ln other cities it wasn't enough just to arrest homeless people to keep them our of sight; ocher more This peaceful scene was shattered as drastic measure like dumping (the practice of B-2 Kentucky homeless camp was bombarded by bricks �STREETVIBES Close the SOA, continued masked death figures carrying black coffins and children's small white coffins, each decorated with a rose or some other emblem of loss. Just as the line was crossed; buckets of red dye were splattered on these figures and their burdens; and from the stage, a man and woman, in alternating chants, read out the name ·of a murdered victim. Each voiced description (a .name, place, age, relationship) of the victim was followed by thousands raising hand-held crosses, in rows five-abreast, responding "Presente" (here in spirit). · The road began to wind and the stage became more faint as individuals in the lines read names - one person, one name. After what seemed to be nearly a mile, the protesters stopped. I was about 100 yards from the front, so I coul4 see that many front walkers had gone limp on the road. Before this, word had been passed down the line and via The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine yellow arm-banded peacekeepers, that we would walk through this group. But the military had other ideas, so we stopped. The day was hot - long-sleeved garments, long ago taken off, were no~ used as sitting pillows. The setting was beauttful. There was a very gentle slope in the right and a pleasant steeper embankment on the left. The trees reflected an early Cincinnati's September coloring pattern. My area of the line had just passed by 30 feet the death entourage lying motionless by their coffins. . Affinity groups began to form and spread out on either side of the road, large sitting circles were created on the road, singers began, women in front and men· 50 feet back, lead their immediate areas. Uniformed guards began walking up both sides of the road announcing that if protesters wanted to walk around those lying in front of them, buses were waiting and no arrests were being made. One could see the buses photo by Berta Lambert Page 3 arriving on the upper road .. . ........ . Ac the bus, dark was coming, but someone spotted Gordon Maham across the wide street and we chanted "Gordon, Gordon, Gordon", and he waved on his way to Oak Ridge. 5,228 crossed the line this day, 20 from our bus, and many from the universities of our area - Miami, Xavier, NKU, and Dayton About 62 people were arrested for going limp and will be given 5 year "Ban and Bar" letters. One brave soul was from our bus (which he missed) He told me a couple of days lacer chat he had caught a ride with a Lexington group, arriving in Cincinnati a couple of hours after our bus returned - Monday, 6 a:m. ....... Berta Lambert After Killings, Denver Streets Strike Fear in Homeless DENVER, Nov. 6 - His muscles tightened as he talked about life on the streets. He admit­ ted he was afraid. "You have to look around every corner now," Tom Hollis said. "Especially when it is getting dark." Mr. Hollis is one of about 5,800 homeless people in Denver. Many of them sleep on downtown streets and in local shelters. But since the killings began, many more are crowding into churches and shelters for safety. Since early September, five homeless men have been found beaten to death and two others have been assaulted near the trendy section known as Lodo, for lower downtown, an area of new bars, bistros and restaurants that attracts thousands of patrons every night. The police have arrested two people in connection with one of the killings and six in connection with the two assaults. All those arrested are age 16 to 21 and are known to the police as "mall rats," for their hangouts along the l 6'h Street Mall, the 13-block -commercial center of downtown. Like the men attacked, the police said, many of the mall rats are homeless, and they often compete with other homeless men for corners to panhandle on. But none of chose in custody have been linked co che four other killings, which have had a startling effect on many of Denver's homeless, including Mr. Hollis, 44, who was one of the men assaulted. "Ic's been a big change, a big change," Mr. Hollis said on Friday. "Everybody is really scar4ed right now. Everybody used co get along real well. People were friendly, like brothers and sister. Now, people carry railroad spikes in their .... by Michael Janofsky pocket to protect thems~lves. You're always worried about who's going to mess with you." Though the killings have not liad any appreciable efkct on downtown business, they have prompted an offer of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. City officials refused to identify the donor, describing the person only as a Colorado resident and business associate of Larry Strutton, publisher of T he Rocky Mountain News, one of the city's daily newspapers. The reword has not appeared to stimulate pro'gress in the case. Sgt. John Priest, a homicide detective who is leading the investigation, said the authorities were still developing leads and were reasonably certain they were not searching for "one mad killer." More likely, he said, several people might be responsible for the killings, and some could be involved in more than one case. The first victims - Donald Oyer, 51, and George Worth, 62 - were found together on Sept. 7 under a loading dock, beaten on the head and upper body. Police officers have not arrested anyone in connection with those killings, but they have arrested two suspects in the killing of Melvin Washington, 47, who was found on September 8. About three weeks later, Mr. H ollis and. another man, George Burdge, 39, were assaulted. They provided the police with enough information co arrest six people, one of whom, T homas Holden, 18, is suspected in che killing of M r. Washingcon. On Sept. 26, the same day Mr. Hollis chased away his assailants with a rock, the police discovered a fourth homicide victim, Milo Harris, 52, floating in the Platte River with wounds on his face, broken ribs and internal injuries. The police found the latest victim, Kenneth Rapp Jr., on Oct 22 in an open field with severe head wounds. His body was badly decomposed, and the police said he had probably been dead four to six weeks. He was 43. Mr. Hollis said he was sleeping when the attack on him began, with one young man kicking him in the back before "five more came from out of nowhere." Despite wounds ro his head and face that required 16 stitches, he said, he scrambled to his feet and began chasing them. Along the way he picked up a rock. "I found two of them,". he said. "I hit one of them in the head with the rock." He said he had no idea why he was attacked. le could not have been for money. He said he had $2.50, maybe $3, and a few cigarettes. . Mr. Hollis said three of the dead men were his friends. But now, he said, many homeless people are so frightened that they do not know whom to trust. And the arrests have not eased fears because no one is sure if the killers are in custody. "I hope rhe ones in jail are the ones that did this," Mr. Hollis said. "They need to put a scop to this. I've lost three Friends; I do n't wane to lose any more." * * * �------ ---------- STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 4 photo by T.B. Vine Street B ttle Continues Seattle (August and March): A 46 year old homeless man was fatally stabbed 18 times as he tried to sleep beneath an interstate overpass in North Seattle. Three teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors say that one teen bragged about the killing, telling friends, "l et's just say there's one less bum on the face of the Earth." In March, a 14-year old was tried and convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a 50 year-old homeless man. After eating and drinking with the man, the youth, slammed him, and repeatedly struck him with a skateboard, robbed him, and then stabbed him to death with a pocket­ knife. The homeless man was found dead in a park with a dozen lacerations to his head, and many stab wounds to his chest, neck, eyelid and leg. Seven days after the killing, Seattle over what used to be the most convenient and A year ago, the Streecvibes headline read, police got a report that the teen was accessible route. Bumper-to-bumper traffic; "OTR LOSES VINE STREET BATTLE" bragging to his friends that he had beaten Up to ten minutes to go from Vine and Liberty Dozens ofOver-The Rhine residents, business and killed a bum. streets to Vine and Clifton; Reports of School The youth was sentenced to juvenile and community leaders fought for months to children and other nei_ghborhood residents detention until he turns 21 . tty and keep Vine Street one-way from becom­ nearly hit by cars when confronted by the new ing two way. Safety, common sense, and two-way traffic .. ... . Chicago (July): On July 14, Cleotha respect fo r community residents seemed to have The end resulr of an effort ro increase Mitchell fell asleep on a part bench. While ·been -disregarded in the City's final decision to business profits may very well be to discourage he slept, someone doused him with a convert Vine back into a two way street. people from patronizing the area because of flammable chemical and set him on fire.· If Thirteen months later, with the cwo-way inaccessibility, often the result ofplans that put a jogger had not seen him and put out the change actually in place ....the battle profit before people. fire, Cleotha would have surely burned to concinues . ..... .only now it is a battle of motor death. Instead, he will live the scars from vehicles rrying to make their w~y to Clifton third degree burns over 20% of his body and emotional scars the rest of his life. ' His only offense was being homeless. * * * * Hate Crimes Against Home­ less People in 1999: Jeffersonville, Indiana (September): An incendiary device was thrown through the window of an apartment building causing the deaths of three homeless people, ages, 40, 23 and 4 months old. Three other fami­ lies (15 people in all) were made homeless again. Three youth (ages 14-19) are prime suspects in this triple murder. Rapid City, South Dakota (Sept.): ·Eight homeless men in 16 months have been found.drowned in a stream near Downtown Rapid City. In typical years, only about one homeless turns up drowned along the creek. "There's just too many of them to say it's coincidence. But it could be," said Police Chief Tom Hennies. Six of the eight homeless men were Native Americans . The homeless people who live under the bridges along the creek say they believe someone is pushing unconscious or helpless drinkers in the water. · Chief Standing Elk believes the killers to be racist skinheads. He says the creek people have banded together to chase some of them away. The homeless and other complain that the police are doing little to investigate the deaths because most of the victims are Native Americans . The two men who lead the task force investigating the deaths say they have asked themselves whether they would do anything differently if the dead men had been affluent whites. ; Chief Sheriff's Deputy De Glassgow says he believes the investigating in being· conducted the same as if all the victims had been white. A $4,000 reward has been offered. Portland, Oregon (August): Three teens who beat a North Portland homeless man pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in exchange for 10-year prison sentences. Prosecutors agreed to the manslaughter charges because the three did not intend to kill the homeless man and he was alive when they left him. In addition, the teens did not use weapons, and the attack was not prolonged although they severely punched and kicked him. The man died of internal injuries, including a lacerated liver and kidney, caused by blunt force trauma to his stomach. Anchorage (Summer): Police are investigating two deaths of homeless people this summer as homicides, includ­ ing that of a woman, age 45, found dead behind an abandoned warehouse. Homeless outreach teams have reported breaking up "numerous fights between street people and teens . Police claim this was an isolated incident, but homeless people say other­ wise . They cite numerous incidents of assault and murder of homeless people as they slept. Cleotha Mitchell continues to have nightmares about waking up on fire . He is afraid to go back to.that neighborhood even though his family and support systems are there. The police have visited him once , but he has no idea what is happening with his case. Los Angeles (May): Margaret Mitchell, 55, a 5-foot-1-inch, 102 pound widow, was shot to death by a Los Angeles police officer who had approached her with hjs partner on bicycle patrol to ask if the shopping cart she was pushing was stolen. The police say Mrs. Mitchell bran­ dished a foot-long screwdriver and threat­ ened to kill the officers, until one of them , stumbling as he ducked to avoid her, feared for his safety and fired . · Police Chief Parks said it did not appear that his officers had "done anything wrong ." He questioned why Mrs. Mitchell's family had not done more to help her and ·complained that critics of his department were seeking to exploit the incident for their own ends. But at least two witnesses who dis­ pute the police account, saying that they saw nothing in Mrs. Mitchell's hand and that she never threatened the officers. �STREETVIBES Many activists are asking two police officers couldn't have found a less lethal way to subdue a 55-year-old woman who was only 5 feet, 1 inches tall and weighed 102 pounds. Los Angeles police had recently begun cracking down on homeless people and confiscating their shopping carts. In October of 1999, Police Chief Parks has determined that the officer who-shot Mrs. Mitchell used faulty tactics, but did not violate department policy. If Parks' views are adopted, the two officers would have to receive training to improve their tactics. In response to the Chief Parks' deci­ sion , the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness has called on the Civilian Police Commission to conduct an independent investigation. "We really found it to be a paradox.' How can you have a faulty tactic and still have it within policy."" It doesn't make sense," said Bob Erlenbusch, director of the Los Angeles Coalition. The Los Angeles Coalition also pre­ sented the Civilian Police Commission with 1O recommendations to improve police training, including more time in learning how to recognize mental illnesses, and how to handle mentally ill homeless people. Richmond, VA (March} In the month before his slaying and beheading on March 1, Henry Northington, 39 found a measure of peace and grace among Richmond's homeless. Police still have no motive or suspect in the slaying which apparently occurred near a cemetery. The killer or killers then carried his head nearly a mile, carefully placing it on the footbridge, apparently as some sort of message, police believe. While the ghastly nature of Northington's death has some in the gay community fearing that this was a hate crime, many in the homeless communit' are also wondering ifhe was killed and beheaded because he was a street person. San Francisco (February}: on Feb. 12, three homeless living under a freeway overpass were beaten. A homeless couple said the incident began early in the morning when he and his wife were awakened to calls for help from a homeless woman friend who was being attacked by three assailants armed with numchucks and steel rods. He and his wife responded immediately. Nearby campers identified the attack­ ers for police, who arrested two men, 18 and 20 years old , and a 28-year-old woman. "We got beat up pretty good .... My wife's forehead and back of her head are busted open ," said the husband. She also fractured both of her hands. The husband suffered a broken arm in the attack in addition to the gash on his head. 'They didn't attack us for money," he said. 'They didn't try to rob us. It was a hate crime." * * * The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 5 Ernie, Eddie, and what's left of the campsite that was their Covington, Kentucky home. (from page 1) INTERNATIONAL NEWS HOMELESS PEOPLE'S ENCOUNTERS WITH THE CHRIST ''But my gut feeling is that God is doing something in our time. I don't know what it is, but he seems to be making himselfknown in a way thatperhaps hasn't been done since Bible times. "... Paul Prather, Southern Baptist pastor. Author of Modem-Day Miracles: How Ordinary People Experience Supernatural ActsofGod. Out ofthe blue, people will talk about their experience ofMaitreya openly, publicly. " (Maitreya's associate in Share International, Jan/Feb. 1991) The US tabloid newspaper The Sun reported . on the experiences of several homeless people in the US who claimed to have had encounters with the Christ. Among the experiences reported: Alejandro Diaz, a 67 year-old man from Miami with cancer, had "lost his faith in God when doctors told him he had less than a month to live." One evening Diaz was searching through a restaurant dustbin for food when, he said, "a soft-spoken man tapped me on the shoulder. I thought he, too, was homeless so I offered him half of the bread crust I had fished from th~ trash. He smiled and took my hand. It was a feeling like none other - a kind of comforting warmth that oozed through my body. For the first time in years I felt happy to ee alive. Tears welled in my eyes and I blurred out to this stranger: "l don't want to die! Please help me! " We kneeled and prayed right there among the cockroaches and rotting food. My new fri end, ofcourse, was none other than Jesus. It didn't surprise me when the doctor at the free clinic told me my cancer had vanished." · Diaz said he has met a number of other homeless people in South Florida wich similar experiences. H e now holds daily prayer sessions on a street corner in Miami. "What you remember most is his eyes," said Tina Forsch of Los Angeles. Forsch was on the street with her three children because their father had left with another woman. "I was begging for food and change," she said, "and was so desperate I even considered selling my body. I saw this guy coming down the street and thought to myself: "He won't hurt me. He looks coo kind. " Before I could utter a word, he put his hand on my shoulder and said: "Your body is a temple given you by G~d ...ifyou desecrate this temple, you are turning your back on the one who cares and can lead you to the promised land. He held me as I cried like a baby. When my tears stopped, I felt my soul had been cleansed." Forsch accepted a $50 bill from the man before he revealed his identity. H e urged her to place the children in .a safe place.. Forsch donated the cash to church where she now works as a housekeeper. a Sylvia Dennison, suffering from senilicy, wandered into a dangerous neighborhood of Chicago. She was surrounded by several young men, but the would-be attackers were driven off by a flash of flame and searing heat. When the smoke deared, "Jesus guides Sylvia to a shelter." John and Mary Donaldson of Pennsylvania because homeless after their uninsured home burned dewn. A few days later Mary died. John Donaldson became so desperate for money co give his wife a proper burial, he planned to rob a bank. But, according to the article: "He's met at the door [of the bank] by Jesus who walks him to a park bench where they chat for hours." John vows to continue on with his life, and change his ways for the better. Money from an anonymous donor pays for his wife's service. (Source: The Sun, USA) From Share International's website: http://www. Shareintl.org/homeless.html �STRffTUIBES The Tri-State's WORD SCRAMBLE Homeless Grapevine WORD ON THE STREET •.......by Ron Carter INSESERP EERNIRED ~ffiX TS. KCIN IYLHO The Night Before Xmas GSLEIH NDYAC YTORFS ....•.. Ron Carter LRO SCA Season's Greetings ( answers on page 15) Portland, Oregon: STREET YOUTHS CLAIM POLICE ABUSE Peter Farrell of The Oregonian About 30 youths, some of whom said they have lived on Portland streets foryears, complained Wednesday to May~r Vera Katz that Portland police officersare harassing them , sometimes physically abusing them. The mayor talked briefly with the group members as they prepared to camp outfor the night under the portico of City Hall. She asked them to write aletter for an appointment so she could set up a meeting to discuss the issues. Katz is police commissioner. Dozens of people going in and out of City Hall signed a petition asking for an end to the harassment. "Most of us are what we call 'old school' and have been on the street for a while, and we're doing this to protect the 'newbies,' " saic;f Renee McDonald, 16, who talkeato the mayor. She said a similar protest eight years ag9 brought some relief for street youths . Holly Baugh, 19, who said she has lived on the street for most of the past eight years, said that when they sleep under bridges or in parks, some police officers will kick them in the head to wake them up. "Most of us come from extreme abusive backgrounds and are on ..the street to get away from abuse," Baugh said ......... ..... ... . SUPPOrt 'lo11r ~ocal Vendor••• . Tell A friend It was the nigh t before Christmas and all through the house Not a creature was stining, not even a mouse, T h e stockings were hung by the chimney with care Because we knew the little fat man would soon be there When out on my.lawn there was such a clatter I jumped up to see what was the matter Then to my wandering eyes what did I see But little old Santa just peeping at me H e said break out the hot chocolate and turn on the light Don't you know that it's cold out here tonight So he parked his Rolls Royce by the old oak tree Then came in to have a chat with me So we sat down and rapped for an hour or two T hen he said, "Ron, I h ave work to do" He filled al the stockings with Xmas joy. Also even left a gift fo r old Leroy a Homeless Gent I see every <;lay Selling his Streetvibes down the way After Santa had done what he had to do Turned and said, "Now, I'm all through" Santa then jumped in his·Rolls and drove away And from a distance I heard him say H ave a Merry Xmas, and by ~he way I'll be back again next Xm~, 0 K. · Page 6 Y2K The New Millennium approaches Is even at the door And wealthy merchants worry That Y2K will make them poor. So they build their secret shelters And prepare to hide their gold While they plot to build a world Free of the poor and maimed and old. The New Millennium approaches And politicians everywhere Seek to be in power when Y2K IS FINALLY HERE. They envision a New World Order And want to have their say In forming a new government Where technology holds sway. In the newage that is coming They want no poverty or fuss. With the emphasis being on "order" They see no place for us. But they're convinced the poor will all die off When hard times come our way; Never realizing that we have survived Worse times tha~ Y2k. For we have lived in Homeless shelters. Under bridges and on the street; And worked all day at menial jobs When we have had nothing left to eat. We have been thrown into prisons­ Oft when we've done no wrong- And been told we're less than human, That we never can belong. We've been denied an education, Justice, jobs, and shelter too, And access to healthcare; But somehow we made it through . As the New Millennium approaches · We too MUST have our say. For the world belongs to all of us And we will not go away. . .... Vera Zlatkin About Streetvibes! We Need Your CreativitJ1! Send your poetry, writin gs or artwork to Streetvi bes. do GCCH (Greater Cincinnati COalition for die Homeless), 1506 Elm St., Cincinnati 45210 Phone - 513-421-7803, E-mail (text): to streetvibes@juno.com, E-mail (attached files, graphics): to homecoal@primax.net Ho melessness is largely a n ou1come oft.he sh o rtage of affordable housinR at1d an increase in 'the num bers of t he poo r p,heot~ · .Jan Spene,; �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Y'all missed a great Concert! Page 7 Bernetta Price Shakes the Chandeliers with Gospel Song This year's "Helpin2 the Homeless .Through Song" Benefit Concert ; i , 1 was a do~n-home, relaxed event that delighted everyone who attended. Lemuel lsreal's Reggae was rocking the stage, accompanied by !l stage full ofpercussionists, members of the Streetvibes Band With everything from Flamenco guitar to gospel to improvisational jazz, this year's concert was a tapestry of tones and beats. Those who missed it are already shaking their heads in regret! Singer Songwriter Joel Davis lays it down Words from the Evangelist As I type these words it is with the realization that some ofyou will read them while I am cruising on the Carnival's Ecstasy. This cruise will be a spiritual retreat for me, because I shall be walking on land I have never tread before and cruising foreign waters; therefore, I will be turning to the One who supplies all my needs.The supply ofyou r needs is what Jwould like you to meditate upon this month, because I recently mer a man to whom God has demonstrated His supply. This man is MarkPastor: a community activist and entrepreneur, and a man who is battling intestinal cancer. Under the guidance ofhis physician Kent Robinson, he is undergoing a holistic treatment that is nor covered by his insurance. However, God has surrounded him with such a circle offriends and aquaincances who on October 10, 1999 came together at Swifton Commons Mall for "The Art OfHealing"; an afternoon ofspiritual healing and renewal. The primary goal ofThe Art ofHealing was co raise $18,000 ro defray Pastor's medical expenses, and to educate the community about a variety ofholistic and natural approaches to health management and healing. There was an auction oforiginal arc, which was donated by many ofthe arrisrs Pastor worked with over rhe years as co-owner ofArtistic Apparel and Black World Produces lncernational. There were performances by the African American Dance and Drum Ensemble, New Prospect Baptist Church Choir, poetry readings, and holistic practioners were on hand to discuss and demonstrate alternative forms ofhealing: including herbal therapy, massage, yoga, medication, cai chi, karate and other stress relieving methods. Frank Frazier designed the limited edition collectible t-shin that was on sale during the Art of Healing for a minimum donation of$50. There were only 100 ofthese t-shirts available. T here are also white t-shirts with Frazier's design for a minim um donation of$ l 5. Poster prints ofthe same design are also available for purchase. , The day prior to the evenc C incinnati saw non­ s.cop rain, and the day ofthe event began overcast and cool. However, by l pm che words ofDr. Kenr Robinson, "I'd prefer sunshine", became a reality as the sun pushed boldly through rhe clouds, and the people began to g~ther to help this special person. I watched chem come: young and old, black and white. I watched as che music and dance excited and then soothed the growing crowd. I watched as Cunis Fuller played auctioneer to such citizens as Vice-Mayor Cooper and Councilman Winburn. I watched as the healing ofa community cook place. In the air was a feeling oflove, harmony, and togetherness which reflected God's blessings upon this special event. As the Arr of Healing came to a close I estimated approximately 500 people had been in atten­ dance, and I learned from Pasror's in ner-circle that over $13,000 had been raised with donations still coming in. Those in che Arc ofHealing Circle and the many others who came together co make this event happen all have their faith rooted in God and His ability co make all things possible. I was blessed co be a part of this special event, especially since I know what it takes to plan such an event; and In this instance God's supply-w.as evident from beginning co end. .... by Rodney Sutton If you are ofa pessimistic nature, then this evidence ofGod's working for the benefit ofMark Pastor thro ugh a community offriends and srrangers should convince you that my Godshallsupply allyour needaccording to His riches in glory by ChristJesus (Philippians 4: 19). Not only shall He supply all your need, but as you continue to trust in Him and allow Him to be your Shepherd and guide you shall nor be in need (Psalms 23: 1); because everything is the Lord's (Psalms 24: 1) and He shall not withhold no good thing.from them that walk uprightly (Psalms 84: 11 c). The Arc ofHealing Circle plans co make this an annual event which will continue the emotional, physical, spirirual healing and renewal ofthe whole city of Cincinnati. As I type these words a healing circle has been formed at New Prospect Baptist Church, and it is my prayer char a healing circle will begin in your church and community. Then as a chain is linked together we shall draw our strength from one another as each draws strength from God (Philippians 4: 13). Ifyou have questions about forming a healing circle or would like to help the Art ofHealing Circle in defraying Mark Pastor's medical expenses, call' 38 1-7700. While I am away on my cruise I would like you people wirh a PC co check our my web page: http:// www.geocicies.com/Athens/Sparca/7907/and send me an e-mail (awol@goodnews.net) with your commencs and questions, and ifyou don't own your own PC go co che library and send me a PTL. Prayer requescs can still be placed at 210-4181. In His Service, Rodney L. Sutton, Sr. �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Prison News Jailhouse Lawyer John Perotti had a heart attack in November at Youngstown Supermax Prison. At last notice, he was at 0.S.U. Hospital, Columbus. PAN-Ohio says, "Get well, and Solidarity, John" PRISONERSSPFAKOUfABOUf<DNDIDONS ATOIIlOSfAlE , OUNG510\VN Isolation I Booklimit "We are in lock down in our room 23 hours a day. All we have is time co read and study. They only allow us two religious books in our cell at one time, two legal books, and two library books. OSP is dictating to us how much we can read and learn about our religion and how much legal work we can do at one . ,, ume ... Lockdown "No 01,itside recreation for us; no sun, no air, no grass.... They have a room with a six foot tall by 4 inch wide window with grated steel. screen; they call that outside recreation. It is not outside!!" Restraints "Being handcuffed and held on to by two guards just co go to the shower is very excessive! These door s are automated, and all they need to do is open one door, let the inmate go to the shower, wash, and return. I'm so sick of guards grabbing on to me, I won't even.shower or rec. ,, now. Cell Searches "Every time you come out of your cell they tear it- up. I personally come out every day for rec. & this happens every single time. I can understand once in a while, but when they tear it up every day it gets on your nerves." Food "The food is horrible sometimes and cold all the time. I haven't eaten hot food since I've been here." Transfer Out "Most of us inmates have no idea when we are or will be able to leave OSP> They have no set guidelines for security classification." Dangerous Medical Neglect "I have been waiting to have a lump removed from my right shoulder since October 1998.. . I can't work out or sleep on my right side because ofthe pain. The lump is the size of a Ping Pong ball. It could be cancer. When the doctor examined me, he took no blood or x-ray. He just felt the lump and said that he wil remove it if I want him to. I told him yes. That was nine months ago." Phone Calls "The phone calls we get to stay in touch with our family, we get 2 calls and we do not know what time to call. They bring the phone at different times, so ifwe try to call and no one's home, we lose our call and don't get to try again." Insufficient Programming "Programs that are supposed to help a person should change where the inmate has some direct verbal communication with the teachers, weekly. The way things are attempting to be taught, the inmate can only listen [co programs on the T.V.] He can't ,a sk a ·question • ifhe don't understand or while the subject is being taught." Limited Visits "The visits are only on week days. lt~s hard enough tha tI live in Columbus, a 4 hour dive one way, but my family works, as must people have to to live right. They can't affodrd co take days off, plus my kids would have co miss school. Every other place has weekend visits. Because o fonly week day visits, I have not seen my kids in a year and a half." Restraints During Visits Transfer In . " In .November 1998, I was transferred to OSP from Lucasville; for what reasons, I do not know. I have never demonstrated an act of violence, since my incarceration, or been affiliated wit)l any gangs or group movements." No Legal Assistance "If a inmate here don't know how to read and write, also do legal work, they are in bad shape. 'The staff or legal service won't do nothing but give him legal books. Also the staff don't allow us co pass anything to another inmate or help another inmate with writing a letter or doing l_egal work. We don't have any . contact unlesss we talk from our cells." "The visiting conditions are the most_grueling and sdiscou'raging I've ever e~perienced. ·My Mother cried from seeing me in pain and . agony caused by the chain around my waidst being so tight ap.d the cuffs with a black box causing my wrist to swell right before my eyes. My wrists and sides are always bruised and swollen after a visit, and because of this, my family doesn't want to come to. visit me here any more ... " [Typically the right hand is cuffed with the palm up, the left hand is cu.f fed with the palm down; , the hands are held back-to-back with a black box that keeps the hands several inches ,. apart.] Page a Illegal Repercussions for Complaints "8/3/99... Today when I received your legal letter it was given to me by Lt. _ _ and I had to put my signacure on a log sheet of paper that Le. _ _ had before he gave me your legal letter. Ac the time Le. _ _was handing me my legal letter from you, Le. _ _ made a threat to me that ifl continue co file complaints on his employees that I am digging my own grave to be here at OSP for several years, and ifI give him a reason that he (Lt. _ _ will personally do a cell-extraction on m e and I won't like it.!!!" PRISONERS .A T OSP ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES AT RISK TO GIVE THESE TESTIMONIALS. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO WHATYOUCAN. The Ohio Department ofRehabilitation Correction has formed a committee to consider changes at OSP. Write to Director Reginald Wilkinson and ask him .to keep you informed about changes. Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction 1050 Freeway Drive, North Columbus, Ohio 43229 ... ;. :... ..anonymous .......for funher information, contact P.A.N.- Cincinnati, (513)241-8014 Prison Rights Activists Investigate Lucasville Uprising For the past two years, Alice and Staughton Lynd have been investigating the Lucasville uprising of April 1993. In an effort to summarize the results oftheir investigation and to present' tb~m. to the public, they· plan t<> produce a docudrama that prese~ts the fac~ in the form of a play. The text of the docudrama will, to the greatest extent possible, consists of dialogue that was actually spoken during the rebellion or at trial. Footnotes will identify the exact source of the spoken words. A transcript of this docudrama co be critiqued by interested individuals is being offered. The Lynds want to hear from readers as co "whether you understand what is presented, whether there are still questions in your mind when you finish reading, whether you have ideas about how to present the material more effectively. In other words, what you receive in the mail should be understood as a draft, still capable of revision .afte.r you' make your input. To receive these transcripts send your name· and address to George Skatzes Supporters, P.O. Box 1591, Marion, OH 44301-1591. (The Lynds are veteran workers ofthe Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam 'War movements. As law2yers they have fought for the rights ofworkers and their families who were locked out oftheir jobs with the plant closings in Youngstown, Ohio. As historians they have published many books ofbenefit to working class people. They help edit IMPACT, the monthly Rank and File Newsletter. As prisoner rights activists, they organize to expose the horrors associated with the new ''Supermax"prison in Youngstown and Ohio's new private-for7profit j>rison.) �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 9 The Dept. of Corrections and Victims Services Free at Last ...... Walter C. Clair I was irresponsible, so they sent me to a place where I had no responsibilities I wasn't a productive member of society, so they isolated me from the community. I wasn't positive and constructive, so they put me in a place where we're degraded and made -useless. I wasn't trustworthy, so they put me where there is no trust. I wasn't kind, so they placed me where I was subjected to hate and cruelty. I wasn't loving so they put me where there is little love. They wanted me non-violent, so they placed me where there is violence all around. They wanted me to quit being a tough guy, so they placed me where the tough guy is respected . They wanted me to be a winner, so they placed me where all the losers are housed under one roof. They wanted me to quit exploiting people, so they put me.where people exploit one another. They wanted me to see myself, · and when I looked around, I didn't like what I saw. I wanted to change what I was, now they are helping me do that. I'm Human Too!, . ......by Richard Reibow, I was born a human being in a world that knew no bounds, I also did a lot of things, and traveled lots of grounds. I even did numerous things that helped to make me grow; Some I am paying for, . yes you reap what you sow. I was born a human being, sure I made a few mistakes, But humanism is not a title that one can forsake. I notice that how recently it seems to be the norm, Society has given up on me, they think I can't conform. That's really not the half of it, or the part that hurts the most. I was. born a human .being, now they call me an animal. Although I'm here for committing a crime, I'm human just like you. All I ask is for a chance to re-enter society. And be looked upon as a human being, cause I was born one. I'm paying my does to society, by serving all this time; To label me an animal is a much greater crime. Smoke, Mirrors and Bureaucratic Waste For the last two decades we h ave beard che politicians and bureaucrats crumpet the cause of che victims of crime. If you have watched close enough you have noticed that viccim's services offices have sprouced up all over the place. Of course, you would expect thac che Stace would be che leader in providing services to those who had b eco m e the viccims of cri m e under vario us circumstances. Some of these people cruly need help, such as those physically injured to the pofoi: chat chey cannot work for a period of time. This, incidencaJly, is handled through a fund, a rather substantial fund, overseen by Attorney General Betty Montgomery. Bue what ofsome of che ocher Victim's Services offices? What do chey actually do, if anything? Recently I was approached by an inmate in Orient Correctional Institution who wished to make a rruly sincere effort co undo some of the damage he and caused co his vicrim. This man had undergone a religious experience and felc chat he was obligaced co help his vicrim heal che wounds caused by his actions. After assuring myself chat che man was sincere, I assisted him in writing a letter to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections' Office of Victims Services. This office. is located in . ch e ·.mai n Corrections complex ac l 050 Freeway Drive in Columbus and is adminiscered by Ms. Karen Ho. Supposedly the D. R. & C. Office of Viccims Services is chere co help viccims and cheir assailants reconcile and start a process that brings understanding, empachy and mutual respect to che point thac boch parties can heal che wounds of crime. That is what it's supposed to be. Apparenrly the Office of Victims Services is something else and what that is should cause Citizens of O hio to gee angry. The inmate's letter requested that the Office of Victims Services help him to help his victim. He was very sincere and looked forward to doing something positive for the first time in years. His leccer was mailed co Ms. Ho in Augu~c, 99. Two weeks later another .man decided cha~ lie sho~ld do the same ·thing and after assuring myself of this man's sincerity, I assisted him in composing a letter co the Office of Victims Services. This letter wen t ouc around che first of September. Mid-September came and went and the first inmate received no response. Deeply concerned, he asked chat I assist him in doing a follow-up Exodus Jail Visitation Program Training Through Exodus, volunteers listen co incarcerated people who are sometimes filled wich anxiety, Frustration and depression because of cheir past and present life situation. Volunteers are trained to identify and report symptoms of pocential~y harmful behav.iors and co bring· acceptance,, respect and help co a specialized segment of our community. No client visited by Exodus has committed suicide since che program's inception in 1985. This past year we saw 463 inmates and utilized 55 volunteers. This service continues t5o be an approved and apprecitaed option for inmates by all che jail facilities in Northern Kentucky. If you are interested in participating in this valuable service, please call co sign up for che training chat will take place in February. The training will require 8 - 12 hours of your time, spread out over 2 to 4 weeks. If you are interested in chis very rewarding program, please call Diane at 292-2485 for more information or to sign up. letter, which I did. It was mailed in mid­ Sepcember. By the end of September che second inmate came co me complaining that he, coo, had not received a response to his request for help. I assisted this man in doing a follow-up also. It was mailed around the first of Occober. Weeks have now passed and neither of chese men has received a response form either of che letters they ma.iled to Ms. Ho. If is apparent chat che Office ofViccims Services is nothing more than a bureaucratic sham designed to make jobs and little else. If Ms. Ho and her employer, the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, understood che crue after-effects of crime, these men would have received a prompt response and che. assistance chey requested. There are two victims to every crime, che criminal and his victim! Anyone who chinks chat crime is a one way street has never considered the waste of tax dollars, lives, futures and families chat result from these acts. Not only is the object of che crime harmed, but also his or her whole family is affected. Additionally, che one who commits che crime and his or her whole family is also affected. Society is also affecced because of che excessive incarceration today and the tax burden it imposes on all working citizens. So who is the victim of crime? le is everyone and all parties should have che assistance they need to heal and break che cycle of offense and incarceration. Our society should oe doing all in its power to see that chose incarcerated be given every chance to achieve positive goals. We should never ignore positive attempts, as has been done in chis case. The D.R. & C's Office ofVictims Services appears to be noching more than window dressing chat deludes che public into chinking that chere is real effort being made co address che after-effects of crime. And if chis is truly the case, then all che money spent on its employees is wasted and constitutes legalized fraud. Ms. Ho and her staff should be required to either address all che needs of all che victims of crime or che Office of Victims Services should be terminated and che money saved used for really wor~hwhile rehabili~ative efforts. .........Kenneth D. Smith Orient Correctional Institution P. 0. Box 5 11-305504 Columbus, Ohio 45216 STlffTVf£S Prisoners News contains the writings of persons incarcerated in our nation's jails and prison$. 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 $12 for a year's subscription Send your comments and questions to streetvibes@juno.com mall: STREETVIBES 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 Fax: (513) 421-7813 -- �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 10 Welfare News WELFARE REFORM IN APPALACHIA Lynn Williams Recently ~embers of the Ohio Empow­ erment Coalition made an outreach trip to the Southeast area of Oliio. In particular we were interested in finding out how welfare "reform" policies are affecting low-income families and individuals in Representative Carey's home district. Rep. Carey is the Chairperson of the House Human Services Committee; a power­ ful committee that largely decides what welfare policies gees passed in the Ohio Assembly. This is the committee that designed welfare policy giving Ohio recipients the three-year cime limit for receiving cash assi.stance and harsh sanctions. What we found was appalling. Appalling in che fact that Rep. John Carey's Party ever agreed to a three-year time limit for receiving welfare. His District includes Lawrence, Meigs, Galia, and Jack~on C<;>Unties. This area of che state has some of the highest unemploy­ ment and poverty conditions in the entire state. Everywhere we went, we learned that job · prospects for welfare recipients are few, and livable wage jobs for unskilled, uneducated laborers a rarity. Official unemployment rates are high for all of these counties. Keep in mind that official unemployment rates ·d o not include the.people who are working pare-rime . b ut need full-rime employment and people who have given up looking for work or welfare recipients. Official figures do not list by gender, education level and race what unem­ ployment rates are for a particular group in society. - I I In all these counties, we learned that fast foods restaurants are the majority of employers and they (logically) are most likely to hire individuals who have reliable transportation to get to work. A simple statement, but this is definitely not a simple issue in the lives of recipients trying to find jobs. This is not a simple issue in the lives oflow-income workers hoping against hope that their dunker does nor break down rill they can build up emergency savings on a minimum wage budget! All of these areas are largely rural. In trying to locate one small village in Pike County where recipi­ ents were willing to meet with us, we drove for miles in hilly terrain to get there. It would be a definite obstacle ro lack a car in this area of the scare! At our visit in Ironton, which is in Rep. Carey's District, we learned that there were no jobs for recipients to go into. According to a shelter director, more families are on public assistance in Ironton than are working because there are no jobs! T he few wirh jobs had cars and could drive to minimum wage fast food jobs in Portsmouth. Sanctions In Pike County, we mer with a group of women, Community Pride With God's Help, who had story after story in ~nswer to our question, '"What are things like with welfare reform here?" It seems each per~on in this g~oup had been sanctioned or si~p1y termi­ nated from welfare, largely due to lack of transportation. The women who had cars were unable to get PRC (emergency assistance) for car repairs; they were cold PRC could not be used for that purpose!!! Two mothers reported being required to walk miles to gee ro their workfare sites. One mother was required to walk 17 miles, through dark, hilly, rural, seemingly deserted territory, one way to her workfare site. Nc;mecheless, she did it because she couldn't risk getting sanc­ tioned: she has three small children to feed.at home, one of them an infant. She was required to do worl<.fare after her baby was less than one month old! She ended up getting sanctioned, even though she faithfully walked those 34 miles each day for the sake ofher children. She wouldn't identify the father of her oldest child because she had been raped and didn't want anything to do with the man. She wiped away tears as she related this to us. Her caseworker never informed her she would have good cause to not identify the father. This is how welfare reform has impacted the life of this Appalachian mother of three small chil­ dren. Anotherwoman, age 49, who had a disabled leg, was 'm andated by her caseworker to walk 10 miles to get to hc:;r workfare site each day. She refused because she was physi­ cally unable to do it, and was promptly sanc­ tioned. As the woman before, she was never told that lack of transportation could be a good cause reason to not be sanctioned. Other sanctions included a woman who was required to clean out the morgue area of the county hospital as her workfare assignment. She did it for a while, but cleaning up the blood from victims got to her. She said one person was brought to the hospital after a shooting. When he died, she had to clean the spot where he lay.. This was too much; she· refused, and was sanctioned. Other mothers who gathered around us told how their children, their elderly parents and themselves were unable to get Medicaid. One caseworker refused to sign a toddler up for Medicaid because the mother had taken.a minimum wage job that offered health insur­ ance. The insurance company would cover the daughter (if che mother paid $50 each month for coverage). The welfare department denied Medicaid co the child. The mother was unable to pay an extra $50 for health insurance each month on a minimum wage salary. (Nore: Legally the daughter should have been able to gee Healthy Start). Transitional Medicaid was unh'.eard of by rhis groµp we met with in Pike County. . Time Limits Even without adequate jobs or reliable cars, even if these women walk hundreds of miles during year 2000 to comply with welfare work requirements, the time limit will cut their small children and themselves off from their survival means on October 1, 2000. The Ohio Empowerment Coalition is urging the Ohio Assembly to make a change in Ohio's three-year time limit. Our Stop the Clock Campaign is working to get the three years extended to five consecutive years. The majority of states .are allowing ~ecipiems to have the five c~nsecu~ive years allowable under Federal regulations. States have the option of extending the five years by' funding their welfare program.with state money. Four states have already committed to using state money to extend the five years. Representative Catherine Barrett, Democrat of the 3 1st District (Over-the-Rhine & West End) and Rep. Dale Miller, Cleveland, are planning to introduce legislation to give Ohioans the five consecutive years. Call your Ohio House Representative and Ohio Senator and urge them to support this legislation. For more information and/or to endorse the Stop the Clock Campaign, call the Ohio Empowerment Coalition at5131381-4242. �STREETUIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Are you concerned about welfare time limits? Lack of quality child care? No health insurance? Confused & perplexed about all the welfare rule changes & endless mounds of paperwork to turn in on time? You are not alone! Join with ot hers from across the state who want to better life for their families, themselves! Page 11 PLEASE HELP ME FIND MY MISSING BROTHER ! OHIO EMPOWERMENT COALITION . Meeting December 11, Saturday, 11 :00 A.M. HENRY WAYNE HOLT at First Old Presbyterian Church 1101 Bryden Road (corner of Bryden & Ohio Avenue) Believed to be in the Cincinnati Area May use other name s 60 Years Old, D.O.B . 12·14·38; 6'2", Approximately 200 Lbs; Bl ue eyes and Grey hair, Tattoos on a rms Known to Wear a St. Christ opher's medal Columbus, OH for directions, call (513) 381-4242 PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE AT 1-888-394-4175 Berta Lambert receives Five Star Award by 1999 United Dairy Farmers/Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, for keeping Over-the-Rhine "Clean and Beautiful" Berta Lambert has lived in Over-the-Rhine for nearly 20 years. For the past four years, Berta has serv3d as the Project Coordinator for the Over-the-Rhine Community Council's ongoing Community Cleanup Program. Berta's efforts have focused on large visible projects wth an emphasis on creating an arch of clean lots and streets in the northern part of Over-the-Rhine. Over 400 individuals includng school children, church members, and other community volunteers have worked in this program through coordination with the non-profit organization, ReStoc. A significant dent in the massive trash problem has been made - with much more to do! Berta has alos initiated a Peace Rose planting project with the goal of planting 1,000 peace roses over the next several years. The project, scheduled to being in 2000, has already been funded for the first year. Berta makes a difference by demonstrating in one of Cincinnati's poorest and most depressed neighborhoods. Schizophrenics Anonymous Group .Starts The Recovery Network is leading a Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA) support group every Thursday, starting November 4,6-8:00 p.m.; St. Elizabeth South Behavioral Health Unit, 2ndfloor multi-purpose room . SA began in Michigan in 1985 and there are now groups in about 20 states and 7 counties. SA follows 6 steps to recovery and is seen as a self-help group which is to be in addition to a person's therapy and medication. The leaders, who are mental health consumers, have all completed SA leader training. SA meetings are open to anyone affected by schizophrenia or schizophrenia-related illnesses. There is no cost to participate. For further information , call the Recovery Network at 261 -1546 or the N. Ky. Mental HealthAssn.At292-2487 Subscribe to Streetvibes Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $12 per year. (Get 'em now before the rate goes up!) Just send a check to the below address and the paper will be mailed ro you each monch Streetvibes, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210 Please make checks payable to the Greater C incinnati Coalition for the H omeless--Streervibes. If you have any questions, call 421-7803. If you have subscribed, but are not receiving your Streetvibes, please know. Our dog (Streetvibes computer) ate some addresses during a recent crash. �STRffTUIBfS The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 12 letters TEAM UP to Support the Homeless! Letters are still coming in concerning the Greater Cincinnati Arts and Education Center boardplan to relocate the Drop Inn Center. To support the Drop Inn Center '.r 'right to not be moved, Write to: Erich Kunzel, 1241 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210, Send Copies ofyour letter to: Drop Inn Center Attn: Pat Clifford, 217 West 12th St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45210, and to Streetvibes Dear Friends, We are asking you tO"support the Drop Inn Center Shelter and ReSTOC Housing Cooperative in their Annual Hol iday Fund-raising Drive to help those who are without homes in our city. The Drop Irin Center and ReSTOC have been helping the Homeless in Cincinnati for over 26 years to providefood, cJothing, treatment, and housing. Your dollars will go directly to help those who have fallen on hard times. No donated funds are used for administrative expenses. During this holiday season, please keep the homeless in your mind and heart. By "teaming" up to help others, we can change lives that will strengthen our entire community of Cincinnati. Will you join us in supporting our brothers and sisters who face this winter without homes? ~ Sincerely,. _ ~-p(lOsv-;­ \ fa · Skip Prosser Head Coach Xavier University Basketball University ofCincinnati B~ketball HeatherFrench MissAmerica2000 Dear Friends, I was honored this y~ar with the HOUSE THE HOMELESS, INC. P.O. BOX2312 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78768-2312 (512) 796-4366 Fall1999 oppo1tunity to realize my dream of becoming Miss America 2000. However, while the glamour is still fresh in my mind, the work has just started. My mission this year is to bring attention to our Forgotten Heroes: Honoring Our Nation's Homeless Vets. You may be surprised to learn that 30% ofour nation's homeless are veterans. And I'm sure you would agree that as long as there is one homeless veteran, that is one too many. The Drop Inn Center is one of the largest resources for homeless veterans in the Tri-state Area. It provides basic food, clothing and shelter as well as drug treatment and transitional housing. It links up with ReSTOC to provide permanent housing in Over-the­ Rhine. I have volunteered there in the past and know it is a worthy program. Please consider supporting our homeless vets and these organizations ~is holiday seac;on. Sincerely, Ii r ,. ". . _ Q' c:~.tl4--~)~.L~ Heather R. French Miss America 2000 I An Open Letter to the Citizens of North America Homeless Solutions for the New Millennium {excerpts from part two in a four part series) In spite of the overall desperate need for affordable housing in this country, in spite of government subsidies and tax brakes being used to keep building costs down and in spite of mixed use initiatives, low income housing is only rarely being built in America and never at a price affordable to homeless citizens. If we can't create truly affordable housing using these kinds of broad-based approaches, and if the Federal Governments response to our plight is no more comprehensive than to give billions of our section 8 housing voucher dollars to foreign countries while our people live on our own streets, then perhaps we need to take a different approach to addressing the problem. Perhaps we need to ensure that people can simply enter the general housing market under their own financial power. This can be accomplished by embracing the simple axiom that suggests that we should pay people a fair {living) wage for a fair day's work. Can we not all embrace the moral premise that says: anyone working a full forty hour week should be able to access at least the ch eapest level of housing without the need for government subsidies? ...... ... ... . E-MAIL STREETVIBES: Holiday Survival Guide Beat the Holiday Blues! · Ideally the holiday season is one of the happiest times of the year, but in re~i~ it ~ is often the m~Li4t,--:----­ dep.ressiorris-surpn singly widespread. The problem seems to be rooted in overanticipation - expecting coo much form ourselves and ochers. H ere are some tips to help you cope during the holidays. *Be Moderate - in you r activities, eating drinking and spending. Be Realistic - estimate the amount of time, energy and money available and plan accordingly. Keep parry plans and meals simple. Prioritize - list what must be done and what would be nice to do. As pressure mounts, concentrate on the must do list. Be Healthy - get enough rest, take time to relax and to be alone, exercise regularly. Laugh - a sense of humor is the best medicine there is ro relieve tension and promote a happy atmosphere. Do Something Nice for Yourself - a favo rite treat or acti¥ity. Ir will energize you for the holidays. streetvibes@juno.com I �- - ---- STREETVIBES Spreading the 'Vibe ...... Caci Cambruzzi - 12'1' grade As I walked through the lobby of my school, Ursuline Academy, one day last year, I noticed something different. There were two men who appeared ro be selling some sort of newspaper. The two men stood out from the contrasting all-girl population ofthe school. Our of curiosity, I approached the table where . the two men conti11ued to sell the papers." Who are these people?" I asked myself, still unsure ofwhy these strangers were in our school. When I reached the table where they sat, I found that they were selling a paper called ScreetVibes. "How much for a paper?" I asked, still a little confused to see them at school. "One dollar," the man replied politely. I also learned that the man was homeless and that 80 cents of the dollar from the sale supported him and his family. I still wasn't sure what I was purchasing as I pulled fou r quarters from my lunch money. Giving money to the homeless seemed like a worthwhile charity, so I bought the paper, put it in my book bag, and continued my normal day at school. It wasn't until after I got home 1999 The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine when I started to realize the true value ofwhat I had bought. T hat night, after I finished my homework, I found the paper I put in my book bag earlier that day. As I read some of the articles, I was astonished by some of the events, none ofwhich I had ever read about in the regular newspaper. I learned about problems I never knew existed. I learned of a man that died in shanty fire as well as many other hardships the homeless must face on a daily basis. It was also refreshing to hear about homelessness from a different point ofview, other than what is heard in the regular news. It was as if Cincinnati gained a new dimension. After reading just that one issue, I began ro view homelessness from a different perspective. The next cime I saw the ScreetVibes vendors, I approached them eagerly with a dollar in hand. Only, this time was different than last time, I began to talk with the ven­ dors. They told me their names were Azariah and Grady. In the conversation, I heard first h and what it is like to live under an overpass in the middle ofwinter, and other experiences. I could not believe the courage of these men. I went home and read my second issue. Again, I Home less Coa lition Holiday Dinne r Page 13 was surprised at what I read. I was pleased with this opportunity to learn more about my world in such a unique way. However, some of what I learned angered me, like the threat to the Drop-Inn Center. Bue overall, reading the paper compelled me to do something about the problem of homelessness that plagues our Clty. Of all the things to buy fo r a dollar, a StreetVibes paper, in my opinion, is one of the most valuable. The dollar is not just charity given our of pity, but instead is a step towards justice. StreetVibes is a way to spread the word about the actual problems that affect the homeless community. The more people who become educated about che truth ofhomeless­ ness, the more people are likely to work towards a solution. T his awareness of the problem is priceless. Know ofa place where a vendor could continue to spread the word? Call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at (513) 421-2701 or email: streervibes@iuno.com ' Help fight homelessness ... one dollar is a small price to pay to come closer to justice! New Staff Member at the GCCH Office .......Pat Mitchell Thursday, December 9, 1999 7-9 P.M. Washington Park . Elementary School, $1 5 per person at the door * MUSIC, DOOR PRIZES, AND RAFFLE DINNER SERVED BY Power Inspires Progress VEGETARIAN ENTREES AVAILABLE * PRESENTATION OF JIMMY RENDER AWARD and 1ST ANNUAL buddy gray AWARD * * * The Homeless Coalition Holiday Dinner gives us a chance each year to focus on this year's positive accomplishments and share hopeful stories of the future. Anyone in the community is invited to participate. The Jimmy Render Award is given each year by the Homeless Coaltion to honor a homeless or formerly homeless person who has struggled to help those still on the street. Power Inspires Progress is a non-profit job training organization designed to empower low income communities through job development. The Buddy Gray Award is given to an individual dedicated to advocacy in the homeless community. If you would like to sponsor a homeless person for the dinner, please send $15 per person to: Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45210. Call 421-7803 for more information Greater Cincinnati Coalition For The Homeless , I am a new member of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 1506 Elm. And to my amazement, this is a very important and useful organization. I really enjoy working with these people. This has been a very interesting and fulfilling position. One of their most interesting features is their paper, Streetvibes (editor, Tom Billman). Streetvibes is a very popular newspaper, enabling homeless vendors to be somewhat independent and have some self-esteem and self worth. Also on staff is Gina Miller, who is a real asset to the program, finding housing and giving out referrals of all sorts to the homeless and needy. Gina is very efficient and very good at her job. Warren, who is also on staff, is our tenant organizer. We also have Susan, administrative coordinator, who does fine community work. And we all know and love Donald Whitehead, who is our director, a jack of all trades. We never know what adventure Mr. Whitehead's job . will take him to. Last but not least are our little people, w ho indeed need to be mentioned - Ron Carter, another asset to the program, who has been with the staff for 3 years; and under him, Pat Mitchell (myself). Ron and I keep the vendors happy and supplied with newspapers. Don't just walk by next time you pass 1506 Elm --- Drop in! Coffee is available for all! -~ - �- - - -·- - -- -- STRffTVIBfS The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine NIGGER or NIGGA Why we can say it and You Can Not Growing up, the word 'nigger' was probably the worst thing you could say in our household. Using curse words and foul language were out of the question (as it should be in every household). My grandmother even scolded my brother and I whenever we slipped up and said the word 'lie'. Outside of talking back, which usually followed with a stern look of death from my father chat would make the toughest of men wee their underpants, and saying ' I can't' when pertaining to accomplishing anything and everything. The word 'nigger' was simply not used nor even thought of within our household. Sure, I was included within the growing number of children whose parents sought a better life for their children co coincide with their monetary status and thus provided chem with the besc that life has to offer by sending us to private, science and technical, or the top of the line suburban schools to further ensure we received che same and/or more opportunities in life. And since a child's first and sometimes major influences aod learning manuals derive from their parents, compounded wich the face that as an African American child within a suburban school of high standards you are more chan likely one of the eight or so chocolate faces within che entire studcntbody, being called a nigger or overhearing the word ~sed .co negatively describe you is sadly mevnable. However, my first recollections of the word 'nigger' being heard within our household was during an HBO special of Richard Pryor ' Live In Concert'. When I first heard him say che word in connection wich one of his hilarious scory-celling jokes, I quickly snapped my head co look ac my father's reaction and thought to myself, "Richard Pryor is about co gee it in the worse way.". Oddly enough, my dad laughed even harder. And as we both sac and laughed so hard that we had tears in our eyes, I thought to myself that maybe now it's okay to use the word. Although I know he said not co use that word and whenever my brother or I would say anything close to it or he thought he heard us using the word, we would gee the 'death stare' and at the speed of light would have to clearly and articulately state what it was that we had just ·said. But we had just sat through an hour and a half of this Richard Pryor guy and laughed until our hearts content as he told jokes using the forbidden 'N' word and my father never once motioned for me to change the channel. And although the majority of Black children being raised within my era never questioned our parents when col~ to do . something, unless you had a senous beam malfunction that wasn't cured after the death scare and smack upside the head you received after asking why. We simply did what we were cold while silencly mumbling under our breathes as we walked away. But never the less, confusion sec within my formidable mind and I assumed chat it was now okay to use the word ­ nigger (nigga). So as we dried our eyes at che conclusion of Richard Pryor's HBO special, 1 committed the worse mistake of my life (co this dace). Definitely and measurably more foolish than che rime I allowed my uncle Jarvis co trick me inco getting drunk back in fourth gra~e, wh ich lead co rhe worse whipping of my life and che most prominent reason why I do not drink co chis day. Anyhow, looking back, as I got up off che couch co gee some mo re kool-aid, wirhouc chinking I proclaimed to my father, .... Te'tro Amaru "That 'nigga' is funny". And unaware that the death-stare had been placed upon me, my father asked casually of me to repeat myself and I did with the same enthusiasm - call ic temporary insanity. Now to be fair and honest, I do not recall entirely what came next but I can say that my father hits extremely hard. And I muse have blacked-our, because the nexc image thac I had of him was in the bedroom where I laid across his waterbed ac che edge with only my ~-shire and underwear on as he whipped me with his thick genuine leather belt for exactly three hoW:s straight. The reason I know this wich such detail is because we (my brother and I) normally goc lashes on our butts for an hour straight and my dad wouldn't lessen the cime when we seldomly would squirm away co che other side of the wacerbed. Just thinking back gives me shivers as I can hear my father's deep voice saying, "Whenever you're ready, get back over here. You've still goc uhmm (as he would look at the clock) rwency-five minutes". However on this occasion, I could've sworn rhe clock was broke. And has he had previously given his lashes while simulcaneously celling me his reasons why he was whipping me, what not tO do in the future, and chat (somehow) whipping me hurt him more than it hurc me, chis time he was complecely silent. And when I squirmed a~ay from rime to time he followed. Even cacchmg me with che big silver belt buckle a couple times. And I must poinc out and make clear that I do believe his discipline methods would be mosc definitely thought of and looked ac as child-abuse (or even assaulc and battery for that matter) in our present day. Bue I have co admit thac those methods of discipline are what has been the foundation of success for many a Black child entering adulthood and maintaining a successful life. Needless co say that the usual hour plus car drive full of lectures and speeches of my facher's pasc similar experiences, chac normally accompanied my major screw-ups, did not follow. The forbidden 'N' word was simply never spoken in the household again nor even thought of within a twelve mile radius. But as I got older things changea .. ... Although the word nigger has derivations from the overt slave days in America with which it was solely used co describe the Africans that were uprooted and transported co America in the ucmosc vile and degrading terminology created by man in a thorough effort co noc only crush the hopes and dreams of those living presently on a day co day basis, hue also co be manifested within che generations to come. The master plan was to noc only enslave us physically buc mentally, which is more . painful then any physical abuse you ca~ thmk of. Yet, like wich anything and everything second-handed to us and/or left behind that we've encountered, we have embraced the word, changed the definition (which now promotes . and invokes a positive image of someone who 1s willing co do whatever necessary co accomplish cheir goals), and declared chac only our race be allowed the choice to say it or not. All others {without exception) who dare co attempt co invade our newly formed club will pay the consequences. However, many people do n~t understand and accept the concept of America's young Black generation. Elderly Blacks wh~ survived rhe vicious mob attacks and lynchrngs, Page 14 who have had police dogs and water hydrants turned upon them during che 1950's and 1960's Civil Rights Movement, and who have seen their peers unjustly beaten and murdered as they fought for equality and the God-given right co be treated above the second-class citizenship status that they've incurred upon the soil of their birch places, are completely outraged. Which is easily comprehended when one considers everything they went through noc to be called a 'nigger' and then to finally accomplish their goals (by systematically implementing laws against racial slurs) only to hear and see young Black youths calling themselves 'Niggas'. I understand, buc times have changed. Which leads me to the inspiration of this article. A colleague of mine spoke with me in private abouc a dilemma thac she was having with her six year old grandson. Donna Sander, a truly nice and down-to-earth white middle-aged woman who is one of the four or five white families chac reside within a 90% Black apartmenc complex community (and from what I've heard, it isn't the type of place your · everyday white person or any person for that matter would live if chey didn't have ro) pulled me aside recently during one of our breaks to ask me a serious question. Being as though we've only known each ocher for a very short period, she began her question with some background information of herself and up-bringing. She confided in me that she has never used the 'N' word and was raughr as a child chat it was a word never to be used . So w she recently overheard her six year old grandson say rrigga~ he goc a whipping and was told to never .use . ~ that word again. But mind you, he wasn t saying the word in a negacive manner and later questioned why it was alright for his many ~lack friends to use che ' N ' word but wrong for him simply because he is white? This is where I co into play. After intelleccuaUy discussing the matter and my explanation of why we can say 'nigga' and why white folks can not, she still did not understand. Finally I used the symbolic story that my father would say co me whenever I asked similar questions (but only when I grew , coo big for him to have lay at the edge ~f h.is wacerbed for his fashionable hourly wh1ppmgs). "If everyone jumps off the bridge (co their deaths), are you going to jump off the bridge too?". And with that I could see that she undersrood as she replied that ic still wasn't fair, it's a word that shouldn't ever be used by anyone, and of the difficulty in expl~ing this to her six year old grandson. T hen I simply let her know that life (due to our members only race-club thac is unwillingly to accept outsiders) was not fafr and chac the power of Black people have forced whice people to either accept it or face the consequences. Lastly, I think chat I should mention something stated to me during our discussi~n . Donna asked if I had any white friends and 1f so, did they use the 'N ' word. I laughed and said that I guess I have a few whice friends buc they would never refer co me in that manner. She nexr revealed to me chac her twenty year old son, who works with many Blacks, uses the 'N' word amongst his Black friends. And he also told her of a special way of pronouncing the word, 'N-I-G-G-A', and that to pronounce it as 'N -I-G-G- E- R' was rhe bad way. Not being a native of Cincinnati (I'm from Philadelphia), my only reply ro that was . . . "Only in Cincinnati". �STREETVIBES The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 15 Americorps Position Still Available With Project Connect in Cincinnati, A program that provides educational services and support to homeless children and youth in Cincinnati. They assist children and their families when enrolling in school, provide transportation to and from school, facilitate in-school food service, provide educational supplies, provide opportunities to join an after school tutoring club and create fun-filled enrichment programs for the children and their family. Streetvibes TV covers news 'on poverty, homelessness and related issues. If you would like to-be a part of the audience, or if you have ideas for future shows, call us at 421-7803 Streetvibes Live Radio Hour ADVERTISE IN STREETVIBES Tune in to WAIF 88.3 fm! on the second Saturday of each month at 12:00 noon for The Homeless Coalition's live radio program. 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. Help a good cause while promoting yourself to over ~. ooo concerned people each month. Business Card Size ~ 2" x 3 1/2" $1 0 per month STREETVIBES Classified 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. STREE1VIBESpro.vides Classified Ads free to low income jub seekers. Others may place ads for only $1 per line. Ca/1421-7803 for info. 9"Two Business Card Size 4" x 3 1/2" $20 per month Larger Adds also available If you need assistance in designing your ad or have any ocher questions, call us at 421-7803. Please send your add by che 20th ofpreceeding month, accompanied by your check I money order, co Streetvibes, 1506 Elm Screec Cincinnati, OH 45210 \.\'.le reserve the right to deny any ad, especially those whichpromote alcohol or tobacco products. You will receive a foll refund shouldyour ad be denied. r~ l . Presents, Holly, Reindeer, Sleigh, Scrooge, Candy, St. Nick, Frosty, Carols NOW HIRING Competitive Wages Great Benefits (513) 230-6353 Rapid Exit Items for Sale, Apartments for Rent and ocher non-personal items. The rate is only $ 1 per line, appmximately ten words per line. People below the poverry level will be given five free lines for six monchs to advertise their skills or products co our readers. Mail the ad copy, or deliver, to: Streetvibes 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 or fax it to 421-7813 If interested in the position, please contact: Debbie Reinhart, Project Connect 1425 Linn Street, Cincinnati, Oh 45214(513) 357-05720,Fax: (513) 357-5722 Word Scramble Answers: ·' Disc-Jockey Service Streetvibes accepts Classified Ads for items such as Help Wanted, • Community Outreach • Tutoring homeless youth • Recruit train and place qualified volunteers • Promote parental involvement Generate funds -grant writing.etc • Assist in the database development • Conduct and organize presentations • Design outreach to runaway youth Organize a resource bank for receiving educational materials and supplies -===f==============================:: : - . ANOTHER CLASS PRODUCTION CLIFFORD JONES (513) 761-3464 e-mail: jonesacp@tbol.net JOB DESCRIPTION: <o,§P' NEXT SHOW DATES: Saturday, December 11th Saturday, January 9th QUALIFICATIONS: • Bachelor's degree • Concentration in social type fields preferred • Ability to work with administration, staff, and community • Must have car Goodwill, one of the nation's largest providers of rehabilitation programs, is seeking energetic, honest and reliable people to fill the following postitions: assists families and individuals in moving from homelessness. to permanent housing rapidly for more information contact The Greater Cincinnati Coalition ForThe Homeless : 421-7803 and ask for Gina Miller * Production Workers -.Retail employees . Donation Center Attendants * Rehabilitation management staff * A variety of other positions * Some jobs require bending stooping, lifting, reaching over head, upper and lower body movement and mobility. * Please apply at any Goodwill Location or call Hilda Hesse at 771-4800, ext. 225 __, �STRffTUIBfS The Tri-State's Homeless Grapevine Page 16 / Volunteers Needed! Streetvibes Vendor code 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 be a part of our live studio audience please call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 421-7803 for more information. Hli@•iu M@iHM~ Broadcast Dates for December's Show on Channel 24: {Please check your schedule) Saturday, December 4th, at 5 PM Tuesday, December 7th, at 10 PM Saturday, December 18th, at 5 PM Tuesday, December 21 rd, at 10 AM Thursday, January 7 at 10 AM Broadcast schedules are subject to change - consult your local TV directory. Each vendor has to sign the following code to be able to selJ the paper. 1. Streetuibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for dona­ tions more' than $1. I also understand that I will be a ble to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future issues of Streetuibes will be purchased Crom the H omeless Coalition for 20 cents. 2. I agree that I will never distribute Streetuibes 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 Streetuibes 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 p rofits from the sale of Streetuibes will go to the in.dividual vendor. 7. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. 8. I understand that Streetuibes 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 spr ead 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 Streetuibes. 20 Cents Streetvibes newspaper is looking for volunteer writers and editors interested in serving on the. Streetvibes Editorial Board. For more information, please call the office.at 421-7803 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. .. 0 Supplies for vendor's lounge (coffee, cups, paper towels, cream and sugar, etc.) 0 35 mm Film for StreeiVi e·s-ph0ltos,.._i camera or free/cheap developing service 0 Advertisers and Subscribers Printlns a Production : Streetvibes has a minimal overhead costs so that the vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. If anyone selling Streetvlbes claims to be collecting for a private charity, please call our office at 421­ 7803. Thanks for your support. 0 Editing, graphics, and layout help 0 Website update help a -Computers/components (monitors, hard drives, etc. for homeless computer lab If you can help!, contact us at: Streetvibes, clo Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 ph: (513) 42 1-7803, fax (513) 421-7813 e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com · 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. 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) !-888-872-9259 YWCA Transitional Living Prog. 281-5770 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 L II t SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) Chabad House Drop Inn Center (Singles) Friars Club Haven House (Hamilton) 241-5525 241-0490 241-2965 381-4941 661-4620 381-1954 761-1480 821-5100 721-0643 381-5432 863-8866 ' Interfaith Hospitality Network 244-7226 Lighthouse Youth Center (Teens) 961-4080 St. John's Temporary Housing 651-6446 HOUSING CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Network ReSTOC Tender Mercies Tom Geiger House 721-4580 632-7149 241-0504 369-0004 381-0954 639-7056 961-4555 TREATMENT: Women 0 .D.A.A.T First Step Home TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 314 House Prospect House Starting Over TREATMENT: Both N.A. Hopeline A.A. Hotline C.C.A.T. Talbert House Transitions, Inc. VA Domiciliary 241-7343 961-4663 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 .... 820-2947 861-9966 381-6660 684-7956 4914435 559-5011 OTHER SERVICES 421-2437 AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati 621-5991 Appalachian Identity Center 231-6630 Beech Acres Center for Independent Living Options 241-2600 . Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 961-0600 Cincinnati Health Network Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Community Center 241-2563 241-1064 Freestore/Foodbank Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Ham_ilton Co.Mental Health Bd. 621-7149 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 House of Refuge Mission 221-3619 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Madisonville Ed. & Assistance Ctr. 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 621-0248 Oral Health Council 621-6364 Our Daily Bread 621-5514 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 721 -7660 Travelers Aid 721 -7900 United Way . VA Homeless Program 559-6~56 491 -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 December 1999 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Homeless Becoming a Target for Hate Crimes Protesters Plead with the U.S. Army: Close the School of the Americas (SOA) Pg 2: The Traveler Pg 3: Close the SOA Continued After Killings, Denver Streets Strike Fear in Homeless Pg 4: Vine Street Battle Continues Nationwide News Hate Crimes Against Homeless People in 1999 Pg 5: International News Pg 6: Arts & Poetry Pg 7: Words from the Evangelist Pg 8: Prisoner’s News Pg 9: The Dept. of Corrections and Victims Services Smoke, Mirrors, and Bureaucratic Waste Pg 10: Welfare News Pg 11: Welfare News Continued Pg 12: Editorials & Letters Pg 13: Spreading the ‘Vibe Pg 14: Why We Can Say It and You Can Not Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1999 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Donald Whitehead Susan Knight Tom Billman Ron Carter Gina Miller Warren Perkins Beverly Mae Berta Lambert Warren Perkins Berta Lambert Te'tro Amaru Lynn Williams Rodney Sutton Sonny Williams Kenneth D. Smith Pat Mitchell Caci Cambruzzi Vera Zlatkin Richard Reibow Walter C. Clair Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Appalachia Arts & Poetry Berta Lambert Caci Cambruzzi concert Denver Donald Whitehead Editorials & Letters Gina Miller Hate Crimes Kenneth D. Smith Lynn Williams nationwide news Pat Mitchell police brutality prisoners news protest Richard Reibow Rodney Sutton Ron Carter SOA Sonny Williams Susan Knight Te’tro Amaru Thanksgiving the broken city The Traveler Tom Billman Vera Zlatkins veterans Vine Street Walter C. Clair Warren Perkins welfare welfare news welfare reform https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/09b1dee89eaa12a94e68165c5ea6b191.pdf 8f21deb1b2491f92ad6bf7ceab341092 PDF Text Text December 2nd - December 15th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 25 (No. 344) advocating justice | Building community Reflections on 2016: Educational Program | 5 This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter INSIDE THIS ISSUE Grid Vulnerabilities| 4 Darryl Owens Continues to Push Through With His Writing | 10 Old History Is Going Out -- Or Is It? | 7 Still giving Denver's Homeless a Voice | 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: Ending Homelessness is Integral to the Inherent Mattering of Black Lives S ometimes people ask us why we are a part of the Countdown to Conviction [of Ray Tensing] Coalition or why we are partnered with Black Lives Matter Cincinnati. Black People account for about 45% of the city of Cincinnati, however in the last 20 years 83% of people shot (dead or alive) by Cincinnati police were Black. In the last six years 79% of complaints against police officers (examples include: discharging or pointing a gun, discourtesy, discrimination, improper entry) investigated by the Citizen Complaint Authority were made by Black People. Similarly, Black People make up approximately 25% of Hamilton County, yet Black People make up more than 65% of the shelter system.  If we accurately knew the numbers of individuals and families with children bouncing from couch to unsafe couch, this percentage would be significantly higher.  Black People bear the vast majority of the burden of the systematic problem of homelessness.  Every weekday the waiting room at Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services is filled with people trying to re-establish their food stamps or obtain temporary welfare assistance so that the remainder of their income might cover housing. Most of the people in this daily sit-in are Black. In nearly every building where we work with people to organize themselves to save their homes, almost everyone is Black.  Most everyone that has been displaced from their homes because P Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on JOSH SPRING Executive Director of gentrification and “redevelopment” is Black.  The Hamilton County Eviction courtroom is filled daily with Black People. One of the ways systematically that Black Lives are treated as if they don’t matter is homelessness.  At the Countdown to Conviction rallies, vigils and teach-ins we are talking about the overcrowding at shelters, the high numbers of people sleeping outside and the need for affordable housing- both to keep what we have and create new units. We are talking about the planned displacement of people and the many people experiencing homelessness who go uncounted by federal systems. The systematic reasons that lead to a disproportionate number of Black People losing their lives to police are the same systematic reasons that thrust a disproportionate number of Black People into homelessness. This has been a wonderfully organized, committed group of people with which we are joined.  At rallies, marches, vigils, film showings and teach-ins this collective is discussing and educating about the systematic disproportionate marginalization of Black people including police violence, disproportionate prison sentences, poverty, gentrification, displacement, housing and homelessness.  This has been a collective of reciprocity.  Participants have also come to meetings to economic issues, civil rights, the join in our efforts to promote the environment, the peace movement, development of affordable housing spirituality and the struggle both in the private sector and through against homelessness and poverty. city government departments.  Distributed by individuals experiencing People experiencing homelessness homelessness or on the edge of have chosen to be involved repeatedly homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00 in the activities of this group. Donation. Streetvibes is published This group also includes: • Black Lives Matter Cincinnati • Peaslee Neighborhood Center • Interfaith Workers Center • AMOS • Black Church United • American Indian Movement • UC Students for Sam DuBose • Over-the-Rhine Community Church BILL WOODS Contributing Writer in Ohio. For Presidential elections in modern times, he noted, "Ohio has been a bellwether state that the winners carry." One key factor in Trump's victory was his appeal to white male voters. Nationally, Trump carried male voters by 12-percent, while in Ohio the number was 23-percent. He handily won in depleted industrial areas such as Youngstown, and piled up a large majority in Southeast, Ohio. It appears that the Presidentelect received the support of a high 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 While we have not had the time to be involved in every activity, over the EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org last month this group has hosted the Editor: Justin Jeffre following types of events: • spoken word gathering • educational teach-ins • film showings • vigil and rebuilding of a memorial for Sam DuBose • protest marshal training • rallies • book reading groups • marches • petition collection If you or your group would like to be involved in the Countdown to Conviction Coalition, or if you have any questions or input please send me a message. WHAT HAPPENED ON NOVEMBER 8TH? WVXU POLITICAL COMMENTATOR HOWARD WILKINSON OFFERS HIS INSIGHTS ABOUT THE ELECTION undits will be writing about the factors determining the fall election for months to come. At the November 17th Community Issues Forum, Political Commentator Howard Wilkinson of WVXU offered some initial insights about what happened nationally, locally and in Ohio. With many attendees still in shock or in mourning, the Forum was as much a therapy session as it was a provider of political analysis. "Why did Trump win?" asked Wilkinson. He then cited several reasons that were especially in play D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 percentage of Labor Union members, as his message about restoring industrial jobs resonated with this group of voters. Wilkinson said that he could sense a lack of enthusiasm for Clinton at the annual Labor Day picnic at Coney Island. Wilkinson contends that Hillary Clinton did not come through as a champion of the working people who had watched their standard of living decline. She did not spend enough time campaigning in industrial and rural areas in decline, and she did not craft an effective message that spoke to the concerns of this constituency. (Continued on page 3) THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Leslie Moorhead Director of Education: Mark Mussman Distributor Program Manager: Justin Jeffre Layout: Key Beck Reception: Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton, Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Jim Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Steve Sunderland, Dr. Mark Mussman, Jason Haap, Martha Stephens, Malia Pitts, Marvin Lowery, Kim Green, Jim Northrup, Willa Denise Jones Photography/Artwork: Dr. Mark Mussman, Martha Stephens, Malia Pitts, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice. Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office. �3 LOCAL Remembering to Resist No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 End of the year dedication JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer T his is an essay (and a call to action) regarding Armistice Day, now called “Veterans Day” in the US, but traditionally known as “Remembrance Day” in the rest of the world. DEMOCRACY It's coming to America first The cradle of the best and of the worst It's here they got the range And the machinery for change And it's here they got the spiritual thirst It's here the family's broken And it's here the lonely say That the heart has got to open In a fundamental way Democracy is coming...to the USA from the song by Leonard Cohen, who died November 7 If you are reading this, Remembrance Day is long past. But I am writing these words on November 11th. In a few minutes, the clock hands will point themselves to 11 AM...on the 11th Day of the 11th month, the moment that (so we are told) the truce was signed, formally ending the hostilities of WWI (1918). That First World War was supposed to have brought about an “end to all wars.” Europeans who survived the bloodbath felt, in their deepest souls, that the whole thing had been too insane and too horrific. Human beings would never permit something so obscene to happen again. Obviously they were wrong. Nearly 100 years have now passed since that first 11.11.11 moment. Along with millions of war-hating people all over the world, I will observe two BILL WOODS (Continued from page 2) On the other hand, Trump had a simple slogan for these angry voters. Wilkinson pointed out another group that went more heavily for Trump in Ohio than nationally. Among white women with a college education, their percentage for him nationally was 51 to 45. In Ohio, however, this number was 55 to 41percent. One factor that should be figured into an analysis of this election, according to Wilkinson, is the drop in the number of voters. After coming minutes for silent reflection at that exact time. This is the 4th year that I have written something for Streetvibes to commemorate this day and that somber, century-old moment. As one who has been up close and personal with war, doing freelance journalism in various war zones on nine different occasions, I will tell you readers once again that I hate war more than anything. Nothing (I promise you) equals the horrors endured by ordinary people who find themselves trapped in a place where war is happening all around them. Natural disasters—tornadoes, earthquakes, floods—bring death and destruction and great misery of course, but such devastations come to a natural conclusion, and they do so in a fairly short time span. But war plows on and on and on, leaving more and more devastation, and ever-growing lists of dead and injured men, women, and children. Living in a war zone sews an ongoing fear into peoples' hearts. At any moment, a bomb might devastate your house. At any moment, a sniper might snuff out the life from your child. Unfortunately, most Americans have never had to deal with war on a personal level. I use the word “unfortunately” on purpose. If we had endured war close to home—as many in the world have been forced to do—I believe the American people would prevent our going off to bogus wars as we did in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, to name just three. A different kind of Remembrance For me, this Remembrance Day feels especially poignant, mostly because of the bizarre election that happened just two days ago. November 9, 2016. We Americans may have trouble forgetting that date. It could become another kind of Remembrance Day, one signaling not an ending, but a scary new chapter in our nation's history, Under a President Trump, who has already promised to be vicious in dealing with our enemies, the possibility of a war, even a major one, seems not only possible, but probable. The sobering reality is that our country has elected a man who has proven himself to be prejudiced against so many, a hater and a demagogue, a bully with a short attention span and a nasty temper. He has already suggested his willingness to use nuclear weapons, to press the infamous red button. When he was a relatively harmless self-promoter on TV, his favorite expression was a smug, “You're fired.” Now, those of us (like you, Reader) who believe in a modicum of kindness and compassion, will be dealing with a dictatorial personality, our worst political nightmare, on a daily basis. Only about 25 % of America's eligible voters participated in the election. At this point we have learned that Hillary Clinton actually won the election by more than 2 million votes. But there it is, the orange tycoon with those little hands, will soon to lead us into our political, social, economic future. Anything is possible. It may not be as bad as we fear. Or it could be worse. out in massive numbers for Obama, the African-American vote declined by 5-percent this fall. Negative advertising also discouraged people from voting, and potential voters were faced with choosing between two of the most unpopular candidates of modern times. "People voted out of anger," declared Wilkinson, "and he predicts there will be a lot of voter remorse in the coming months. Switching gears, Wilkinson discussed how Hamilton County is becoming Democratic. The elections of Denise Driehaus, Aftab Pureval, and Marilyn Zayas-Davis provide evidence for his contention. Cincinnati, he concluded, is now such a Democratic stronghold, that the Republican Party will be hard pressed to come up with candidates for City Council and for Mayor. Two subjects that emerged from questions and comments from Forum attendees focused on the inaccuracy of the polls and the huge role of social media in the election. Polling, admitted Wilkinson, now misses huge blocks of voters. The fact that so many households no longer have traditional telephones is a trend that pollsters have not yet come to grips with. The disturbing trend that so “Breakdown Stereotypes” Before the inauguration happens, we will move through two other memorable holidays that could bring many of us a renewed sense of hope and resolve. In midDecember, Muslim's celebrate Malwid, commemorating the birth of their esteemed prophet Mohamed, just as Christians celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Jews mark Hanukkah, the eight-day feast of lights. In a sense, all three of these important holidays are intended to make observant Muslims, Christians, and Jews, more reflective and open to peace, light and harmony. Maybe each of you, Readers, could use the holiday to look back on your own past and upon the history of our nation. What have we—each of us—done (or failed to do) in terms of making our home, our city, our country and our world a better, less hateful, place. Think hard. Remember. Not long after these holidays, most of the world observes some form of New Year’s celebration, most on January 1. On that day we can/ should set our sights on the future. Resolve to do specific things. In light of the horrible reality that came with the election of Donald Trump, each of us might focus our energies on limiting the damaging things he will most certainly try to foist upon us. The lives of the poorest, including the homeless, will probably get worse. You, Reader, might find ways to mitigate their pain. President Trump will be trying to push through programs and initiatives that you may despise. Things that are detrimental to the environment, to women's rights, or to basic human rights. He will certainly (Continued on page 10) many people get their information through social media was discussed. Instead of voters making up their minds utilizing essentially the same set of facts, many people are reading or hearing false information and fabricated stories on the Internet. Since democracy depends on compromise and coming together on essential policies and programs, a situation where large numbers of Americans are making decisions based on completely different realities bodes ill for the future. ------------------------ “Eradicate Misinformation” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community. To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �4 LOCAL Grid Vulnerabilities MICHAEL EARL PATTON Contributing Writer O ver the past few years several events have shown that our electrical grid is vulnerable and portions of it have gone down, sometimes for extended periods. In my recent article “Prepping” I noted that I had lost electricity at my home in Cincinnati for 3 days and then for 4 days due to weather. By keeping track of different events in the news I put together the following list of possible causes for widespread outages in the Cincinnati area. 1. Weather, 2. Human error, 3. Massive solar flare with corona mass ejection, 4. Physical attack, 5. Electromagnetic pulse, 6. Fuel shortages, and 7. Hacking This is not a comprehensive list. It concentrates on events that could damage or destroy the grid but leaves most other infrastructure intact. It does not include such things as earthquakes and tidal waves, such as those which destroyed the Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan. Nuclear plants bring their own problems to the above list, but there are none near Cincinnati. Not all of the above possibilities have been widely reported, and I have not seen an article with descriptions of multiple causes such as I am doing here. My intent in doing so is to raise awareness of the vulnerability of the electrical grid. Everyone should be prepared for losing power for at least a few days. I’ll have a little more to say about this at the end. 1. Weather: In 1989 I lost power for 3 days due to an October snowstorm which came while the trees still had leaves on their branches. The branches snapped and took down power lines as they fell. In 2008 the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through and the high winds took down or shorted out power lines. These outages happened to me, here inside the city limits of Cincinnati, not out in the country someplace. In January 2009 an ice storm took out power to over 2 million people in Kentucky and other states. Many people had to leave their homes until power was restored because they had no means of heating them. Per the Wikipedia, 65 people were killed, most of them due to carbon monoxide poisoning because they used power generators indoors or the improper use of kerosene heaters. 2. Human Error: On a hot August day in 2003, several human errors, a software bug (which is a type of human error), and a high voltage line contacting an over-grown tree caused a widespread blackout from Cleveland to New York City and Toronto. Cincinnati was not affected. A total of 508 generating plants at 265 different power stations shut down. Power remained off for several hours to a day, depending upon the locality. 3. Solar Flare with Coronal Mass Ejection: Sometimes during a solar flare part of the sun’s corona is flung outwards and escapes the sun’s gravity. Most of the time this ionized gas misses the planets, but every now and then a large coronal mass ejection gets close enough to strike Earth’s magnetic field. When it does, the field moves. A moving magnetic field induces current in conductors and even the ground itself. The movement of the field is slow enough that significant current can only build up over conductors that are miles or even hundreds of miles long. As it happens, electrical transmission lines are often that long. Damage so far has been extremely rare, but so far nothing has been as large as the one that struck Earth’s magnetic field in 1859. There was no electrical grid then but there was a fledgling telegraph network. There were reports that sparks flew from the equipment and some operators found that they could transmit and receive messages just by using the current induced in the telegraph wires. A very much smaller storm in 1989 tripped grid circuit breakers in Quebec and caused a power blackout that lasted several hours. A major transformer in New Jersey suffered severe damage and had to be replaced. Such transformers are not “off-the-shelf” items and can take a year to obtain, but in this case a replacement one was available from a cancelled nuclear plant project. If an event similar in size to the one in 1859 were to happen today, widespread damage to the grid is expected that could take weeks or months to repair. In October President Obama issued an executive order which “defines agency roles and responsibilities and directs agencies to take specific actions to prepare the Nation for the hazardous effects of space weather.” 4. Physical attack: A direct physical attack is also possible and Planting Seeds of Fire: The Foundation of New Cancer Care For Minorities "I was learning a lesson in cancer care. It is important to have someone you trust to help manage the case." Tom Brokaw (2015). A lucky life interrupted. Random House. 1. Introduction: New steps toward improving cancer care for minorities are underway in Cincinnati. A network of organizations are providing the foundation blocks for compassionate care. They are planting seeds that are exploding in new hopes. People scared of seeing a doctor or going to a hospital to learn about cancer are now changing their minds and taking action. New settings, new relationships, and new opportunities for a personal health care discussions have begun. A bright light has been STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer turned on. This article will explore the key actions and their implications for changing cancer care. 2. The Big Change Is Compassionate Care Through Navigation: In the past four weeks, over 500 low income people have received a form of cancer education that has emphasized the ways in which cancer can work and the necessity for early screenings to stop death. The educational process has been at dinner discussions in churches and community centers. Navigators, trained staff of the Cancer Justice Network, working with our medical director, Nemat Moussavian, MD, have provided a personal, thoughtful, and action oriented message at dinners. People, many for the first time in their adult lives, have had the opportunity of talking face to face with people who are caring about their health and survival. Their response has been to sign up for exams at Crossroad Health Center and to be accompanied to their screenings, if they want, by navigators. Previous barriers of denial about cancer's power, or, decisions to postpone seeking healthcare due to expense or poor treatment have been altered, and, clarity about survival through taking action has been initiated. People now realize that they need not be alone to face daunting obstacles to getting cancer care. 3. Why Navigation Works: Navigation has been effective because people have believed navigators can connect to the health systems in new and more effective ways. The first key of the navigator is to provide THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 has happened at least once. On April 16, 2013 gunmen attacked and knocked out the Metcalf electrical substation near San Jose, California. This happened in the early morning hours, and in the spring when electric demand was low, so there was no failure of the larger grid. It cost about $15 million and took 27 days to repair the substation. Although Pacific Gas & Electric has offered a large reward, so far there have been no suspects identified. The attack was the second of three attacks in a 3-day period. The first, on April 15th, was the Boston Marathon Bombing and has been extensively covered in the media. This, the second attack, has received very little coverage except in The Wall Street Journal. The third was the sabotage of the fertilizer plant in West Texas. The plant exploded, killing 15 people. Note that the attacks were across the United States with at least several people involved, and that whoever directed them has/ have not been caught. It is likely that the group responsible for the attack on the substation is still intact and capable of carrying out another one. 5. Electromagnetic pulse: In 1962 the United States conducted the Starfish Prime atomic bomb test 250 miles above the Earth. The bomb’s electromagnetic pulse knocked out about 300 streetlights in Honolulu, which was 900 miles away. This was an accident, but further testing showed that it would be possible to make the pulse itself a weapon that could damage or destroy the electrical grid and many electronic devices. I think this is far-fetched and the least likely scenario listed, but sometimes one hears warnings that North Korea may be developing such a weapon. 6. Fuel shortage: During a cold snap in February 2011, there was not enough natural gas to both (Continued on page 11) education about cancer at the person's level of interest and motivation. Sitting down over dinner at a church or community center and discussing the steps to finding out about cancer is an experience most people have never had. Cancer education has rarely been focused or presented in a way that personal questions and fears can be immediately addressed. Looking in the eyes of the navigator, hearing their concerns for the person's health, and realizing that the navigator will continue with the person, lights a new belief in health care. The conversation is only about caring for the individual's survival. The message the navigator is sending and that is accepted is: "You are too important to let cancer kill you. Take action. I am here for you, if you want help." Rarely in the history of health care has the poor heard such a message. Sadly, a powerful silence about cancer has been noticed by minorities and the poor, a "death silence" that is frequently the only message sent by the health (Continued on page 12) �5 LOCAL Reflections on 2016: Educational Program No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 6 schools participate this year in our Cincinnati Urban Experience program, from Vermont, New Hampshire, Chicago, Colorado, Miami University, and Xavier University. We received high marks on the national Break Away DR. MARK MUSSMAN Staff Writer T his is the time of the year when people typically reflect on the last 12 months and see what was positive and what was negative. 2016 may go down in the books as one of the worst or best years, but having some time to pause and think about the things we are thankful for is an American tradition that families celebrate during Thanksgiving. This year, thousands of people were served Thanksgiving dinner at the Duke Energy Convention Center, marking a significant number of people who may have dined alone, or those who may not even have a dinner table. Some of the highlights of 2016 have been through our education program at the Homeless Coalition. We have spoken to thousands of high school and college students, hundreds of people at churches, and we have reached many more through our social media and attendance at events. I will look fondly back at this year’s Speaker’s Bureau engagements, as I have heard Sam, Melissa, Willa, Cleo, Lauren, Nyah, and Gina tell their stories to captivated audiences of all ages. Since everyone who has experienced homelessness has a different perspective, I am always amazed at the new things I learn each An Alternative Break Group Learns about Anti-German Hysteria at Findlay Market Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman This time of year, organizations across the city get together to show their kindness and dedication. I am thankful for the work of the Homeless Coalition this year, and I look forward to our Annual Dinner on December 7th to celebrate and give out meaningful rewards to people in our community that have been engaged in purposeful work across the region. time I hear one of the speakers tell their story. Through the Speaker’s Bureau and other events, I learn new things, not only about their personal lives, but also about the educational system, the judicial system, and ways in which the system in general puts up barriers for people’s success. In fact, I learned this year that there are over 800 laws in Ohio restricting A High School Group after the People's Movement Social Justice Walking Tour Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman people who have felony records from gaining work. This information came out of the event that the Homeless Coalition sponsored with Community Shares and other organizations called “The Poverty Un-Summit: There is Enough” where David Singleton from the Ohio Justice and Policy Center discussed the ways in which people with records are treated once they return to the general population. Also at the Un-Summit, I learned that the State of Ohio still has not fixed the illegal way we fund our public schools, and that there are no charter schools with an “A” or “B” rating in Ohio, yet we spend more per student at charter schools than neighborhood schools. The Un-Summit was just one event that opened my eyes to new things. We have one of the best Alternative Break programs in the entire country at the Homeless Coalition. This is in no small part due to the fact that the Coalition has so many community supporters that help educate participants on topics such as redlining, wage theft, displacement, gentrification, historical perspectives, community struggles, and poverty. We had We should engage in conversations with people we disagree with O xford Dictionaries has named "post-truth" as the word of the year. Living in a "post-truth" world means that facts get trumped by personal beliefs and emotional responses. Unfortunately, there is nothing new about this phenomenon - even if the trending use of the phrase is new. If you are an ardent #BlackLivesMatter supporter, and I start talking about the importance of respecting police officers, there is a high likelihood you will reach JASON HAAP Contributing Writer a premature conclusion about my point, characterizing your fabricated red-herring as an example of racism. (Perhaps my use of the word "you" in the previous sentence strikes you as aggressive, or even a bit personal. If so, that's an example of your beliefs and emotions getting in the way of the facts!) It is totally possible, of course, to believe in respecting police officers without being racist. Similarly, if you are an #AllLivesMatter supporter, and I start talking about police brutality, you might very well be incapable of hearing my point behind your frenzied emotional responses. All of this is further aggravated by the fact that most of us think our personal beliefs are "correct," whereas we think other people are "wrong." No one, to my knowledge, is capable of sincerely believing something known to be factually incorrect. I can't even imagine the possibility. As a case in point, I feel rather confident that all of my personal beliefs are factually correct, though I can't ever seem to find THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED clearinghouse, as well as, high praise at a national conference on service learning. We have already booked a group in early January from Dayton, and the University of Vermont in March. These programs are intensive, immersive, and give participants a real-life view of life in Over-theRhine, complete with struggle and cooperation, scarcity and generosity. Students come away with a toolkit to bring back to their communities and work on social justice issues at home. Our Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement Social Justice Walking Tours were again a big hit this year, with tours given each month. I expanded the tour into new territories (Northern Liberties, as well as Ziegler Park, which is currently undergoing a Washington Park-like transformation.) A full tour would take about 3 hours, but we are able to give a great tour in about an hour. We have given the tours to people of all ages, from many different groups and backgrounds. As history is currently being rewritten in the neighborhood, it’s important to keep our eye on the (Continued on page 7) people who agree with me about everything! I don't know how to fix this problem. Sometimes, I think it important that we earnestly engage with people who are different. Increasingly, though, our culture has become more ideologically self-segregated. And, despite what I just wrote, I don't really want to engage with people who are clearly disgusting and wrong - such as, say, racist neo-Nazis. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe even the racist neoNazi ended up that way, at least in part, because he or she never had earnest interactions with people maintaining different beliefs. ------------------------ �6 LOCAL THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 �LOCAL Old History Is Going Out -- or Is It? On the Tragi-Comedies of U. S. Inaugurations 7 No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 F riends, we’ll soon be inaugurating a new president, and the piece below describes one person’s thoughts about the first inauguration of Obama. Even this one was not all that pretty, so just imagine how we will feel on January 20, 2017! I’M AT PLAZA SUITES for a winter stay, my friends, and I’m watching on T. V. a popular tragicomedy of the day -- the U. S. inauguration of 2009. It’s worth turning on the big eye to see, on the inaugural platform, Mr. Cheney rolled about in a wheelchair. MARTHA STEPHENS Contributing Writer out of his office the other day and hurt his back. This is a man whose personal papers have brought pain to many citizens of the world, pain a good deal worse than a strained back -- the ultimate pain, in fact, for many, of disappearance from the earth. I assume the grandmas of Baghdad who happen to be still alive would be gratified today if they could see Mr. Cheney departing in a wheelchair. HISTORY will change now, the T. V. tells us in awed tones. Obama will change us. But I expect the fat and satisfied celebrities of governments, old and new, whom we see flocking now onto the distinguished platforms of the swearing-in, do not wish old history that has rendered them so fat and satisfied, with rolls of money in the bank and fancy homes in no grave danger of foreclosure. Why would they want to see it change, this old history of ours? I watch what I watch standing up before the T. V., to focus my eyes the better, and I look beyond it from time to time through my floor-to-ceiling window into the courtyard of my motel. I see Tim, the gardener and man of all work, toiling up the outer stairs across the way to the third floor. Perhaps a toilet has flooded up there or a blind come down or a fire alarm gone off. Tim is not watching the new history coming in on the television peaceful transition, as if every other country of the world but us is ruled by coups and assassinations. I recall a statement by my socialist friend Tony Benn of England: if elections meant anything, we wouldn’t be allowed to have them. Two of the performers today are worth watching, I find -- Aretha Franklin, with a raving, nearly mad concoction of “My Country Tis of Thee,” and an old guy from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a Reverend Lowry, who speaks an old man’s scratchy, unreconstructed truth, asks almighty our Streetvibes Shadow activity. Students learn about Cincinnati’s Anti-Solicitation Laws from a current Streetvibes Distributor, usually Lee, and they hear a little bit about his background. Once they have practiced their pitch, they hit the streets and try to distribute the paper, for a $2 donation. This activity really opens students up to a new level of understanding – not only about the difficulty in distributing the paper, but also how important it is to treat people with respect and compassion. I highly suggest this for any group of teens or young adults. The Homeless Coalition should be very proud of the organizing work we’ve accomplished this year – from keeping hundreds of families in their home, seeing better living conditions, to fighting unjust laws, and demanding accountability in our city leadership – the Coalition has had a year full of advocacy and education like no other, and I am certainly very proud to be a part of it! Credit:Martha Stephens A crude thought, I suppose, but somehow the image of this is fetching. We’re told that Dick Cheney is in a wheeled chair because he was moving boxes of his personal papers DR. MARK MUSSMAN (Continued from page 5) People’s History and how we have been able to create and secure affordable housing to strengthen our community. We have also helped students expand their ability to empathize with people who panhandle through history to change. The old history is plenty good enough for them. It’s the but simply trying to earn his $7.25 an hour -- no benefits. There’s no mention in the services today of the grandmas of Baghdad. They would not make a pretty subject, after all, for our selfsatisfied rites of passage. Diane Feinstein is our host, and she says we should be as proud as punch of our (Continued on page 10) ------------------------ Alternative Break Students help double bag for donations A Speaking event with Sam Jackson Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �e 8 NATIONAL City of New York sued by Philadelphia’s Homeless Advocacy Project over denial of homeless rights D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 ALEXIS WRIGHT-WHITLE T he Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), a nonprofit legal services organization in Philadelphia, has sued New York City (NYC) for their refusal to issue birth certificates to NYC-born residents of Philadelphia. HAP deemed NYC's action unconstitutional. Photo IDs needed to thrive Helping homeless clients obtain their birth certificates so they can then obtain a photo ID is just one of the 50 different kinds of civil legal cases HAP handles. "A photo ID is state issued and necessary for so many varying things, such as getting into a building, applying for services, or getting housing," says Marsha Cohen, HAP's Executive Director. In order to obtain an ID, a birth certificate must be present. Yet, without an ID, a copy of a birth certificate cannot be obtained. This is the catch-22 that many people affected by homelessness find themselves in. Because people often do not possess documents that are used to prove their name and address, they are left without either form of identification, which hinders them from qualifying for jobs or other avenues of assistance. Through the Attorney Protocol, HAP makes arrangements for Philadelphians affected by homelessness to receive copies of their birth certificate at no cost. The system allows a person experiencing homelessness to give volunteer attorneys the authorisation to apply and receive copies of a birth certificate on the client's behalf. The process requires attorneys to gather all necessary biographical information for their client, complete the application forms and pay the fees. They also must supply their own photos IDS and law licenses. Attorney Protocol is acceptable in every birth-issuing authority with New York City the only exception. It even differs from New York State, which like all other U.S. recognised and accepts Attorney Protocol. Policy at play and in the way New York City policy is what nullifies Attorney Protocol in the Big Apple; it requires the application to include a current, governmentissued photo ID or two proofs of ID for the client. This has proven to be an obstacle for Philadelphians affected by homeless who were born in New York City; they have no proof of address and rely on Attorney Protocol because they do not have a government issued ID. Cohen and HAP have seen this serve as an obstacle firsthand for many of their clients. COURTESY OF ONE STEP AWAY/INSP.NGO "We have a number of clients who can't get into treatment for drug and alcohol issues in Philadelphia without a photo ID that shows they have a [city] address," Cohen says. "We have a number of clients who have been waiting on the PHA vouchers for months because they're missing birth certificates for members of their family who were born in New York City, including one veteran family." The NYC Commissioner and NYC Department of Health and Hygiene are delegated to regulate the issuances of birth certificates and their copies to individuals born in the city's five boroughs because of an Administrative Code in the city's Health Code. The Code states that copies of birth certificates can only be issued if the seeker has any of the following: a driver's license, public benefit card, passport, certificate of naturalisation, military ID card, employee photo ID, MTA reduced fare Metro Card, student ID, or inmate photo ID. If the attorney cannot include any of those forms of ID with the application, under the Health Code, two proofs of address in the form of utility bills and a letter from a government agency can be submitted in lieu of ID. In response to several failed attempts to claim birth certificates for NYC-born clients in conjunction with threats of suits, HAP decided its only recourse was to commence a lawsuit. Certificates refused HAP brought two of NYC-born clients, Anthony Green and John Kagain, who were refused birth certificates to serve as plaintiffs in the case. HAP has approximately 55 open cases for those whom it was not able to get birth certificates for from NYC. "[Green and Kagain] have very clear cases," Cohen says as to how HAP chose them to serve as Plaintiffs in the suit. "They're really compelling, and we are still in touch with them. So many of the folks who can't get services kind of float in and out of our contact. These two guys, when we were actually putting our complaint together, were very much in constant contact with us and eager for us to move the litigation forward." Green, 57, was born in the Bronx and moved to Philadelphia when was 5-years-old. Homelessness became a factor in his life when his house burned down. In the fire, his belongings, including his photo ID were destroyed. The Homeless Advocacy Project hosted a Birth Certificate Clinic earlier in the year, with pro bono volunteers from seven corporations and six law firms and prepared birth certificates for 197 clients. Courtesy of One Step Away THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED Green was left without a government- issued ID or a mailing address. Through HAP, Attorney DeFlece worked with Green, submitting the application to receive a copy of a birth certificate on Green's behalf. NYC says they were able to locate a birth certificate for Green but refused to release it because his application did not include the three identity verification documents. Kagain, 56, was also denied his birth certificate. Brooklyn born, Kagain obtained his master's degree from George Washington University and a law degree from Temple University, becoming a Philadelphia resident in 1991. A serious illness led him to his homelessness. From living on the street, Kagain's Pennsylvania driver's license was stolen or lost, and his passport and birth certificate were also stolen. Attorney Morrow submitted an application to NYC for Kagain through HAP. Morrow heard nothing for six months and resubmitted the documents, where the Department refused to issue the birth certificate. It says that their records indicated that Kagain was deceased. "The people we are trying to help have a desperate need for essential services such as housing, medical treatment, and employment," Cohen says. "But access to those services require state issued IDs, and people need their birth certificates in order to obtain their IDs." A plea for justice In its complaint, HAP stated that it spends substantially more time assisting NYC-born clients due to the NYC Policy. According to HAP, the policy violates the due process component of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and is therefore unconstitutional. HAP's mission is to provide free, civil legal services to homeless individuals and families residing in Philadelphia shelters and to advocate for change in the broader systems affecting homeless people. Its overarching goals are to increase the stability and functioning of their clients. Since its founding in 1990, HAP has served more than 42,810 homeless individuals and families. The legal organisation conducts more than 125 annual legal clinics at 25 shelters, soup kitchens, transitional housing facilities, and overnight cafes in Philadelphia. "Our city is ahead of the curb," says Cohen. "I think people really take the photo ID for granted. It's really frightening when you think about it: when you can't get an ID and you can't apply for services, don't (Continued on page 12) �NATIONAL Still giving Denver’s homeless a Voice after 20 years No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 ELEANOR SUSAN LIM T 9 INSP. Among the advantages is the access to shared street paper content through the unique INSP News Service. "Support from INSP and content from the INSP News Service COURTESY OF INSP.NGO he very first issue of the Denver Voice was put together with a single typewriter and a donated social security check. 20 years later, the Voice has employed more than 4,000 people experiencing homelessness and poverty, helping them move off the street and into other jobs. Now a veteran of the street paper network, the Voice has withstood staff changes and financial troubles. This month they celebrate their 20th birthday by looking back on their successes in a special edition of the paper. "There have been several versions of the Voice. Each had its own passionate group of people working hard behind the scenes to make sure the paper went to press," says current editor Sarah Harvey. "Each eventually ran out of money, but managed to pass the torch on to another group instead of letting it die completely. "During the past two decades our editorial operations have been run from a booth in the back of a dive bar, a corner of a municipal building, a room in a church, and even a few official office spaces." In 1996, when the paper began, Shirley Whiteside's work at the Denver Catholic Worker Soup Kitchen led her to cross paths with two regulars from the St. Francis Centre, refuge for men and women who are homeless in the metro Denver area. Jo-Jo DeHerrera and Floyd 'Tumbleweed' Hamilton shared Shirley's frustration with the low profile for issues affecting the homeless among the general public. With a shared love of Seattle street paper Real Change, the enterprising Raelene Johnson says the Voice never cared about her past. “This is so much more dignified than holding up a sign.” Credit: Denver Voice Denver Voice vendor Rodney Woolfolk. To date, the Voice has employed 4329 people. Credit: Denver Voice trio got together to print the first edition. The paper's first incarnation lasted until 2006, when it was forced to cease publication due to a lack of funding. Until then the Voice had been distributed for free to vendors, and then sold on the street by members of Denver's homeless community, including their very first vendor Bruce Wright. When financial troubles overtook the team, it was one of Bruce's regular customers, local businessman Rick Barnes, who resurrected the paper a year later in 2007. The changes Rick made have endured: he implemented an official vendor programme, based on the INSP (International Network of Street Papers) model, and hired professional journalists to help with organisational and editorial tasks. They reported on local news and helped give a voice to the homeless has been crucial in getting us through the leaner years," she explains. For some vendors, the paper has been life-changing. Raelene Johnson is one such person. "I walked into the Denver Voice office, and they didn't care about my past, they didn't care about anything but my desire to work," she says. Since getting her vendor's badge Raelene has stopped using drugs, and now owns her own home. She takes obvious pride in her work: "This is so much more dignified than holding up a sign." When John Alexander first became a vendor eight years ago, he had no plans to stay with the paper. "[My main intention was] getting my free papers, getting some money, and buying some dope," he says, "but I ended up with this sense of pride, running my own business. I've taken advantage of every opportunity, like writing for the paper." John Alexander has been a vendor for eight years. "I've taken advantage of every opportunity." Credit: Denver Voice An infographic charting the history of the Denver Voice. Credit: Morgan Kinney community in Denver and beyond. Sarah Harvey believes this approach gives the paper credibility, as does connecting with the wider street paper movement through THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED His involvement has changed the way others see him, too. "I'm a known community figure now, because of (Continued on page 11) �10 LOCAL Darryl Owens continues to push through with his writing in remembrance of his girlfriend MALIA PITTS “S he supported me 100% and was behind everything I did,” Owens said. Darryl Owens, a local author, lost his girlfriend to Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer back in September of this year. In her remembrance, Owens plans to continue with his writing and hopes to gain the publicity he feels he deserves. Owens has written two works of fiction that have received positive reviews on Amazon,” Sworn not to Betray,” and “A Silent Killer Within.” His first novel, “Sworn not to Betray,” is about two major crimes that take place in Cincinnati within 6 months of each other on the same exact date. The police commissioner assigns three top detectives to lead the investigation, only to find out that one of the detectives are working with the criminals who are suspects behind one of the crimes. When Owens was incarcerated back in 1989 to 1994, he began working on “Sworn not to betray,” spending much of his time, reading and writing. “I was in Warren Correctional Institution at the time and somedays I had to spend 22hrs in a cell. I had nothing else to do but read, but that’s when I became fascinated with the work of fiction. It amazed me how authors could turn something totally fictional and make it appear real,” he said. Owens believed that he had the potential to produce a great work of fiction. He began to write, ideas flowing from his thoughts onto paper, after just two words the story unfolded. When he was released from prison in 1994, Owens put his writing on hold, as the streets of Cincinnati took a hold of him. “I put the book down for a while. MARTHA STEPHENS (Continued from page 7) god to forgive us our sins against each other and the world. That is his theme: forgiveness. He doesn’t sound all that hopeful about it though. He’s noticing, no doubt, as I am, that we don’t seem to be asking for forgiveness today. And even if we do ask, could forgiveness ever come to a people as violent as we are? Notes: In September 2016 the JIM LUKEN (Continued from page 3) be trying to destroy as much of our Public School system as he can. Even Medicare and Social Security could be on the line. He will seek to install partisan, retrograde judges at every level. But you, Reader, and I (writer) Contributing Writer I started ripping and running the streets, doing petty crimes, and getting high, the book wasn’t on my his second novel, based in Minnesota was published. Even though he had a new work of fiction on his hands, his Darryl Owens Credit: Malia Pitts D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 for his work. “Cincinnati is very biased. If you don’t come from a certain background, they don’t want to recognize you. It really hurts to know that someone who is a Cincinnati Native and has written a novel based in the city, still can’t get any recognition. That’s the biggest hurdle I’m dealing with now. It almost makes me want to move out the city and see how far things can go somewhere else,” he said. Owens plans to continue to self-promote his work in hopes to eventually gain the publicity he feels he deserves. “I received good reviews online for both books. If I keep getting good reviews, at some point the door must open to for big name publicist to finally take notice,“ he said. Even though Owens wanted to give up, his girlfriend was always the support system he needed to keep him going. “She was amazing and still is an amazing person. She was a big part of the inspiration behind me wanting to become very successful in my writing,” he said emotionally. After her diagnosis with cancer, Owens put his promotion and writing on hold for two years to help take care of her and the home they shared. “She made sure to motivate me, even when she was sick and not feeling her best, she always made sure to encourage me. Sometimes I catch my self-waiting on her call but then I realize, I’m never getting another call again,” he added. Owens plans to continue with his work, now more motivated than ever, he plans to work on a sequel to “Sworn not to Betray” and an auto biography about his life. “I want her to be able to look down and smile. I want to leave a legacy behind for my children and grandchildren. I want to be known as Darryl the author, not Darryl the drug addict or the homeless man,” he said “I’m going to continue to pursue my dream and I won’t give up until I’ve reached it,” he added. mind at the time,” he said. On October 5th, 2010, Owens finally completed his first novel. Taking his work to the public library, he began to search for publishers and found an online publishing site, where he could submit his manuscript. “I was so elated when I logged into my email and saw that my book was accepted, till this very day I still feel the same. The first thing I did was call my daughter,” he said. Later, main concern was his first novel, not getting the publicity it deserves. “I’m more focused on “Sworn not to Betray,” because it has the potential to be made into a film, I just need the publicity to make that happen,” he added. Over the past seven years, Owens was off and on homeless, living on the same streets he grew up on. He never lost hope and continued to push through with gaining publicity rising clock of the Iraq Body Count showed the documented deaths of civilians in Iraq since 2003 to be 187,161. The actual deaths may be twice that number. The Dick Cheney mentioned above was the CEO of the firm Halliburton until he left it to run for vice president in 2000. Once in office, he continued to receive deferred salary from this military contractor, estimated by the NYT in 2004 to have earned over five billion dollars for providing, very poorly and without competitive bidding, food, housing, fuel, and other logistical support for U. S. troops. Martha Stephens investigated the radiation experiments at U. C. in the late 90‘s and led a lawsuit to compensate the families of the victims. Twenty-one people coming to a cancer clinic at General Hospital had died within a month of being irradiated over their whole bodies. Stephens’ book The Treatment: the story of those who died in the Cincinnati radiation tests (Duke University Press) appeared in 2002. A new book Me and the Grandmas of Baghdad (2015) is a memoir about her life growing up in South Georgia, raising a family in Cincinnati, and teaching at U. C. can decide to stand up to much of this. We can pick our fights. We can choose the best tactics in fighting the corruption and the corporatization that is coming our way. There will be many opportunities to take to the streets. The powerful despise when the people assume a power of their own. We must try to grasp the significance of Remembrance Day. Resolve to keep the next war from happening, even if it means putting yourself on the line, risking more that you ever thought yourself capable of risking. Remember the world famous song/chant that came out of the Chilean struggles of the '70s. El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido! “The people united will never be defeated!” Leonard Cohen sang that “democracy is coming” here, but it looks more like fascism. Let's agree to do all we can to prevent that outcome. THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED ------------------------ She blogs at marthastephens. wordpress.com. ------------------------ ------------------------ �11 LOCAL No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 Over-the-Rhine Sunflower Challenge There are hidden treasures all around your community. CAN YOU FIND THEM ALL? Post a picture of yourself with the hidden sunflowers using the hashtag: #otrsunflowerchallenge ELEANOR SUSAN LIM (Continued from page 9) the Denver Voice. I'm even known as the honorary mayor of the Stapleton neighbourhood - I haven't been booted out of office yet!" As the team plan celebrations for the big two-zero, what does the future hold for the Denver Voice? John Alexander is optimistic. "I think the 20th anniversary shows that the Voice is doing something right." Back when the Denver Voice relaunched in 2007, Kali Lynn, the paper's first editor, said: "The truth is that each incarnation of the Voice has MICHAEL EARL PATTON (Continued from page 4) heat homes and to generate all the electricity that was needed in Texas. Rotating blackouts were the result. The problem is created because we are shutting down coal-fired plants and using gas-fired ones instead. Natural gas is certainly a cleaner-burning fuel, but combined with the decrease in drilling for gas the chances for a supply shortage increase. See my articles this year on Duke Energy’s new proposed gas pipeline for more information. 7. Hacking: In December 2015 unknown hackers took remote control of the power system’s own computers to turn off the circuit breakers to almost a quarter million residents in Ukraine. This is the first verified hacking of an electrical grid been fuelled by the energy, charisma, personality, and excitement that a handful of people brought to the paper." Considering all the challenges the Voice has faced, Sarah Harvey agrees. "The Voice will continue to adapt to meet the needs of the people we serve," she says. "I think our greatest achievement is that we're still here." COURTESY OF INSP.NGO -----------------------A selection of Denver Voice covers from the last 20 years. Credit: Denver Voice and lasted several hours. According to an article in Wired magazine, the United States is also vulnerable to such an attack. And, unlike Ukraine, many of our grid’s circuit breakers cannot be reset manually. Hacking was also the premise for a recent National Geographic program, “American Blackout.” Though the details of the fictional blackout are somewhat unrealistic – the entire contiguous United States loses power for 10 days and then it all comes back on again – it does a fair job of showing different situations of people trying to cope without power. Most people depicted aren’t prepared at all, and one family is prepared and way, way over-reacts. Getting Ready: This depends a lot on your own circumstances. Everyone should have flashlights, probably a lantern, a battery-powered radio (maybe even one equipped with a hand crank generator), food and water for a few days, and a way to heat or cook the food if needed. I have a battery-powered television which I bought at a major truck stop. I have a gas stove so I can, and have, cooked without electricity. How much more one does depends on your own assessments. My mother lives in a part of Indiana that seems to lose power for a few hours every winter. She has a gas fireplace in the living room that can run without electricity. When the power goes out and her place starts getting cold, she will shelter in the living room. I am more tolerant of cold, but of course I have sweaters, a couple extra blankets, a knit cap, and winter socks. I have a gas water heater with a pilot light, which enables me to take hot showers even if the power is out. Since I get up THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED before dawn, the last time the power went out I used a battery-powered lantern in the bathroom, which has a more even light than a flashlight. I don’t have a fireplace or woodburning stove, but I wish I did in case I were to lose power for an extended period when it is really cold outside. If I ever were to build new, I would include one in the plans. I am going to stop here. There is simply too much variation from one person’s circumstances to another’s for me to make more specific recommendations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) recommendations for preparedness in general – not just an extended blackout -- can be found at www.ready.gov and a brief description of supplies at www.ready. gov/kit. ------------------------ �12 OPINION D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 ello. My name is Marvin Lowery. I am a forty-sixyear-old disabled African American homeless writer, who was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born on Winneste Avenue in Winton Terrace housing projects, attended CAPE (Cincinnati Academy of Physical Education), and was a gymnastics sensation as a child. I also grew up in the Fay apartments on Nottingham drive and attended Roll Hill Elementary. Because I grew up in an abusive household, my grandmother was granted custody of me and my older sister by two years and we moved to Lincoln Heights, Ohio. I went to Lincoln Heights Elementary and Princeton Junior/high school, located in Sharonville, Ohio. I excelled in all areas of academics (e.g., spelling bee champ, poetry club, debate team, ran track and played wide receiver for the Princeton Vikings from 1983 until 1987.) I was a product of a deranged dysfunctional family tree and became mentally ill (sick) in 1989, right before I graduated high school. Even though I have an extensive work history, psychological trauma and sexual abuse as a child, made me eligible for SSI-disability benefits because a review panel for Social Security thought that I was mentally retarded. I completed a day program in Corryville called Sami STEVE SUNDERLAND trust, sharing opportunities to listen, offering assistance to cancer exams and to transportation to health centers, and recognizing how to accept when people do not want to proceed, makes up a warm continuing education of compassion. 5. What Kind of Training is Necessary For Navigation?: We wanted our navigators to understand the pioneering work in navigation of Harold Freeman, MD. Dr. Freeman, a cancer surgeon at Harlem Hospital in New York City, 26 years ago, realized that his patients were arriving too late for successful treatment due to the progression of their cancers. His approach to change was to identify, train, and hire people to be community navigators. They would connect to community organizations and seek to bring people to the hospital for exams at an earlier stage in the development of their cancer. Over 5 years, Dr. Freeman and his navigators dramatically changed the mortality of minorities. So successful was his program, that national studies were funded, and eventually every cancer hospital was required to have "patient navigators." We also wanted our navigators to hear from people who were trained by Dr. Freeman and/or who had experienced navigation of a family member or friend. Our navigators heard from Dr. Anjanette Wells, a graduate of Dr. Freeman's training and a professor of social work at UC, from Sue Wilke who was a part of a team of friends that created a navigation process, and from Kiana Traube, an executive with the YMCA, about the navigation role she created to assist a family member. Their stories of creating new structures of caring around family and friends with cancer impressed us with their determination, creativity, and courage. We learned that navigators can be crucial in the survival of people with cancer. We wanted our training to look into the area the emotions connected to cancer care. Chris Lottman, retired professor of social work, provided an in-depth review of how the emotions can be used in effective communication and relationships with people struggling with cancer. In small groups, we discussed the emotional realities facing navigators and people who are afraid of finding out about cancer. Chris helped us see that the "emotional intelligence" of the navigator is a key to building trust, sparking openness, and establishing a relationship that can endure painful moments. Finally, we wanted navigators to understand and hear just how our medical director would present a brief talk on cancer and screening. Realizing that the presentation would be for average people meant thinking about what people, in general, needed to hear in order to begin a thinking process about whether cancer could affect them. Dr. Moussavian gave several talks that modified his presentation and prepared the navigators for key points that could be expanded in small groups at the dinners we expected to attend. We wanted to have Dr. Moussavian give valuable information to people considering a cancer screening without either scaring them or giving so much information that the person was drowning in detail. Most of all, our message should be that information about cancer is comprehensible and helps any attempts to fight cancer. 6. Where Does Navigation Occur?: The Cancer Justice Network is made up of over 20 organizations that serve the poor and especially minorities. We have started to begin our navigation process in those agencies that offer a weekly dinner and to join the dinner and add cancer education to the discussion. Christ Church Cathedral has had two meetings and one additional meeting is planned for the new year; Madisionville Education and Assistance Center has held one meeting and another is scheduled; and Northside Christian Church has held one meeting. Each meeting was an opportunity to be introduced by staff to the idea of cancer education and prevention. We have found two meetings at each agency to be beneficial. In the coming months, we will be at Southern Baptist Church and additional members of the Cancer Justice Network. (Please look at our website to see the full list of agencies: cancerjusticenetwork.org) 7. What Have We Learned?: We have learned that by personalizing cancer education many people will be encouraged to take action and get a cancer exam. Sharing the idea of navigation, of accompanying people, is a new idea for people and we are looking for ways of suggesting this form of assistance that is readily acceptable. The most powerful learning is about the strength of compassionate discussion to trigger a desire to discuss personal and family health. Each meeting has been an opportunity to participate in discussions about family histories of caring that have sidestepped cancer or stories about deaths from cancer that might have been prevented. These insights have arisen because of the trust people have shown in our navigators and in the welcoming attitudes of Crossroad Health Center in the registration process. We are seeing the outline of a new kind of health service, a future in which caring is located in places where people feel warmth and caring as well as efficient connections to needed services. We are all learning that healthcare can be a positive and productive experience if navigation is genuinely offered. striking down the voter ID law, which would require a photo ID from everyone casting a ballot at the polls during the general election this month. Yet, first-time voters must bring a form of photo ID to the polls. "When you make people jump through hoops in order to exercise a basic right, questions need to be asked and answered," says Cohen. HAP's demands in this case include the court declaring that: the NYC Policy violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; NYC be revoked of its ability to deny birth certificates on the basis of the NYC Policy; and Green and Kagain's attorneys' fees, costs and all other proper relief be awarded. HAP's initial conference with a judge is scheduled for December. "Some of these people are just out of luck [if the NYC Policy isn't revoked], where they have been for years and years," Cohen says. "So e effectively, nothing changes because they have been somehow managing to survive without identification. But there's only good news ahead. I'd be really surprised if we were not successful." To learn more about the Homeless Advocacy Project or become a legal volunteer, visit www. homelessadvocacyproject.org MEET MARVIN MARVIN LOWERY H Contributing Writer (Continued from page 4) profession. The navigator is aware of the prior experience of indifference and, in a short time, acts to change the framework for the meaning of caring. 4. Who Are the Navigators?: Navigators come from several different groups. Seven of our navigators are experienced community organizers. They see cancer education and prevention as an important addition to their work on community education, caring about wages and benefits for care providers, caring about mental illness problems, caring about the psychology of children needing help, or having experience supporting people with terminal cancer, and caring for children as nannies. Their prior experience adds a solid base for reaching out to people in church and community center dinners. Also navigators are first year medical students from the University of Cincinnati. The desire to help has been a key reason for wanting to be a doctor. Nursing students from the school of nursing at Xavier University share similar concerns as do social work students from UC, and health communication students from UC, too. Over 40 people have been through an extensive training and have continued their education about navigation through individual and team approaches in our churches and community centers. The mixture of very experienced community navigators with college students with varied ideas about navigation has led to a powerful approach to the idea of effective navigation. Each navigator brings both a personal experience about cancer as well as some professional understanding of how the health system is working for minorities and low income populations. Building ALEXIS WRIGHT-WHITLE (Continued from page 8) qualify for housing, and can't get benefits because you just can't get this document from a government agency that really should be thinking about it from the point of view of the folks who really need it." Cohen also praised the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED and was granted a part time job and first apartment by Queen City Case management (currently GCB.) I met a much older black woman named Michelle who would eventually turn my life upside down because of alleged domestic abuse, and ruin my reputation in Cincinnati forever. In closing. Extreme identity theft scams have left me as a "dead cell" to society (dead man walking.) I am currently fighting my way out of a homeless situation. feel free to follow me at; lowerymarvin@facebook. Read my most recent public posts. ---warm regards: Marvin. Eagerly awaiting a response. ------------------------ �13 STREET VOICE No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 XMAS “rez car” Xmas is here It’s that time of year There’s lots of family And sharing Lots of love, lots of caring It’s the start of the New Year Xmas is every day Especially when you have hope With cheer paving the way For a Happy New Year KIM GREEN Contributing Writer It’s 17 years old It’s been used a lot more than most. It’s louder than a747 It’s multicolored and none of the tires are brothers I’m the 7th or 8th owner I know I’ll be the last What’s wrong with it? Well, the other day the steering wheel fell off. The Radio doesn’t work but the heater works The seats have seen more asses than a proctologist I turn on the key, it starts I push the break, it stops. What else is a car supposed to do? JIM NORTHRUP 1943-2016 Native American Vietnam Veteran SANTA CLAUS Today while watching the news I heard that Santa Claus arrived in a helicopter They also talked about tax cuts and how the politicians were eating out at Red Lobster What happened to the days when the bells rang for Santa Claus, his reindeer and sled What happened to the belief in miracles and all the little children went to bed Waiting for that glorious morning to open all the presents that Santa left under the tree Asking questions about how he brought all the gifts down the smoke filled chimney Waiting day and night, trying to be good all for Christmas so we'd be granted the ultimate blessing Looking back and understanding that as a child I was tricked, Santa in a helicopter that's a new lesson Without the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day what else is there to really look forward too Without giving thanks for so many blessings and being thankful for Jesus’ birth just to name a few So for me Christmas has somehow lost the true spirit and has been misunderstood by all We must always remember God's blessings, don't forget to give thanks and bring back Rudolph the red nosed reindeer driving Santa Claus!!!! WILLA DENISE JONES Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �14 PUZZLES CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 113 Across 1. Sort 5. Small snake 8. Brusque and surly 13. Vessel 14. Cylindrical tower 15. Relating to the moon 16. Curved masonary structure 17. Slow pace of running 18. Become one 19. Part of the eye 21. Trial 23. Golf accessory 24. Jargon 26. Mesh 27. Dwell 29. Ballroom dance 34. Container 35. Period of calm weather 37. Health professional 38. Adjoin 40. Chubby 43. Lowest part of the musical range 44. Pale purple color 46. Cogwheel 48. Feline 49. Contestant 52. Faithful 54. Neither one __ the other 55. Facilitate 56. Armed conflict 59. A duplicate copy 61. Signal fire 65. Dodge 67. Young horse 69. Wander 70. Strange and frightening 71. Solitary 72. Talon 73. Clean with a bill 74. Finish 75. Stop Down 1. Alpine lift 2. Yesteryear 3. Treaty 4. Principles of right and wrong 5. Atmosphere 6. Gambling machine 7. Having great influence 8. Person who eats and drinks to excess 9. Operate 10. A single undivided whole 11. Destiny 12. Liberate 14. Type of comedian 20. Metal fastener 22. Darn 25. Recount 27. Small bird 28. Express great joy 30. Long crusty sandwich roll 31. Extended area of land 32. Composition 33. Annoying person 34. Large bundle 36. Carry with difficulty 39. Mariner 41. Boundary line 42. A short moral story 45. Water flask 47. Artifice 50. Immediately 51. Sponge cake with jam, wine and custard 53. Explore 56. Sob 57. Allege 58. Uncommon 60. Midday 62. Carbonated drink 63. Ellipse 64. Small semiaquatic salamander 66. Device used for shaping metal 68. Conjunction D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 243 - MEDIUM PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 342 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 112 SODOKU PUZZLE NO 242- MEDIUM PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED �RESOURCES No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 Shelter: Women and Children Cincinnati Health Network OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women 2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH 562-1980 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 NAMI of Hamilton County 351-3500 PATH Outreach 977-4489 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Shelterhouse 721-0643 Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Parkway Center 661-4620 Prospect House 921-1613 Shelter: Both Starting Over 961-2256 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219 569-9500 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women First Step Home 961-4663 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 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 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) Housing: 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Talbert House 221-HELP Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 241-2965 2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 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 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 Talbert House 751-7747 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Northern Kentucky 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 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 for 26 issues $150 THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED 621-5514 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 Advocacy Health $100 Other Resources Hamilton/Middletown 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 221-HELP Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Salvation Army 762-5660 2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219 Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 981-5800 961-0600 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Bethany House 557-2873 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 15 St. Raephaels 981-4200 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary 859-491-3335 859-572-6202 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 for 26 issues and a $50 donation �16 D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4 S treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches. ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014 ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012 BELINDA CHERRY SINCE 8/2015 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 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 3/2005 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 1999 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 WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014 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 4/2007 MAURICE GOLSBY MYRA WILSON NEBRASKA SINCE 3/2015 PERVIS MENTON SINCE 8/2015 cincistreetvibes.org 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 December 2-December 15, 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cover Page Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Remembering to Resist Pg 4: Grid Vulnerabilities Planting Seed of Fire Pg 5: Reflections on 2016 We should Engage in Conversations with People We Disagree with Pg 6: GCHC Pg 7: Old History is Going Out Pg 8: City of New York Sued by Philadelphia’s Homeless Advocacy Project Over Denial of Homeless Rights Pg 9: Still Giving Denver’s Homeless a Voice After 20 Years Pg 10: Darryl Owens Continues to Push Through with is Writing in Remembrance of His Girlfriend Pg 11: GCHC Pg 12: Meet Marvin Pg 13: Street Voice Pg 14: Puzzles Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 2-December 15, 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Bill Woods Jim Luken Michael Earl Patton Steve Sunderland Dr. Mark Mussman Jason Haap Martha Stephens Malia Pitts Marvin Lowery Kim Green Jim Northrup Willa Denise Jones Malia Pitts Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF African Americans Bill Woods Darryl Owens Denver Dr. Mark Mussman education Jason Haap Jim Luken Jim Northrup Josh Spring Kim Green Malia Pitts Martha Stephens Marvin Lowery Michael Earl Patton Minorities New York Philadelphia Steve Sunderland Willa Denise Jones WVXU https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/e2e3382464034cbfabc0ae5034f8857a.pdf d7d328191ff601fd55d76ab0c939bc5a PDF Text Text �DI AN INSIDER'·S GUIDE TO HOLIDAY HELPING Holiday Giving Guide By Alicia Beck During the Holiday Season, there just doesn't seem to be enough time to do all of the festive things we have lined up for our families. However, many generous hearts across Cincinnati take time out of their busy lives to share with those in need by volunteering their services at local shelters and soup kitchens. Organizations serving homeless and low-income people are grateful for this assistance and look forward to the addition of extra hands to lighten their heavy workload. In fact, there is not always room for the many volunteers that would like to offer their time during this busy month, as many organizations and clubs request this particular time for their volunteer efforts. However, volunteering is just one way in which you can reach out to those in need. Along with your time, your talents and treasure are also of great value to agencies serving the poor. Material goods and donations als0 make a great impact on the lives of those in pover~. So gather your frjencls and family and ~11stead of heading down to the local shelter, try ~ one of these ideas to help the poor and homeless of our community: ~ o During this blustery season, shelters and ~ncies can't keep up with the need for warm clo1hes-(pa1ti9"ularly men's clothing) including coats, long und erwear, jeans, sweaters, hats, and gloves. Organize a drive in your neighborhood, school, church, or place of worship to gather needed items. You might consider concentrating on, one particular item, like jeans or long underwear to keep the process simple. Put up a donation tree at with items listed on the decorations. Collect donations at your store, or provide a I 0% discount to customers giving new hats and gloves. Or offer a "casual day" when employees can wear j eans to work in exchange for donating a pair of jeans. o Involve your friends and fami ly in creating care-packages for the homeless. Items that are needed in c lude soap, shampoo , deodorant, cosmetics, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. o Cincinnati's food pantries have experienced an overwhelming demand for assistance with non-perishable items during 2000. You can help to replenish their supply and aid in the fight against hunger by organizing a canned food drive at your place of worship, work, or at your school. o You can set up a donation drive and share your treasures with local organizations serv ing the poor a nd hQme less of our community. You co uld take an extra collection during worship services, organize a penny brigade in your neighborhood or classroom, or place a coffee can at the copier at work. o While donations and volunteering especially occur during the Holiday Season, please remember the homeless and poor are in need throughout the year. Shelters and organizations serving the impoverished of our community need your time, talent, and treasures throughout the year. Consider calling a shelter and making a commitment for one of the months to come. Ask the shelter or organization you are calling for their needs. Remember that what you may want to provide may not be the real need, so ask for suggestions. After you have collected your treasures, deliver them to your local shelter or food pantry so they can be distributed to families in immediate need. Many organizations are willing to provide tours to groups that have taken the time to organize drives on their behalf. Please call ahead to see if this is a possibility and to make arrangements, otherwise the organization will not be prepared to provide this to your group. You will find a list of shelters and other organizations serving the poor on the back of this Streetvibes. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless can also direct you to the appropriate organization, or you can make yqur monetary donations d irec tl y to the Coalition's Fund for the Home.less. This fund was established for those wishing to make a donation to the homeless, but without a specific shelter or organization in mind. If you would like additional ideas, or need suggestions about where to bring your donations, please call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at (513) 421-2600. Thank you for sharing your time, talents, and treasures during this Holiday Season. Happy Holidays from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless! * COALITION FOR A HUMANE ECONOMY RALLiES AT FOUNTAIN SQUARE Friday, November 17, Fountain Square rally: Rev. Steve Van Kuiken, from his speech: Brothers and Sisters: You are all beautiful; your hearts are beautiful. I thank you all for being here and lifting up your voices in the streets. There are those who are watching us, wonder­ ing why we are here. And so I ask the question, Why should we care? Why should we care if young girls are sewing shirts in El Salvador or Haiti 60 hours a week for 25 cents a day? Because we find · God, said Dorothy Day, " in the distressing disguise of the poor." Why should we care if ch:lldren are sold into servitude to work at the looms in India or to make toys in Bangkok under miserable and dangerous conditions? Because, said Albert Schweitzer, "Unless we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, we will not find peace.'' Why should we care if countless children are robbed of their childhoods, deprived of their schooling and sentenced .to a life of poverty? Because, in the words of WiUiam Sloane Coffin, "The quickest way to lose your hwnanity it to tolerate the intolerable." One interesting aspect about the new global economy is that we are bound to "distant others" as consumers and workers and investors. We buy tennis shoes made in China and oranges grown in South America. So our true social values are now determined by what we tolerate in the factories of Nov. 17 -- Coalitio_n for a Humane Economy Marches to Fountain Square Thailand or Bangladesh. Gandhi spoke of an ancient, spiritual and ethical understanding. "I am part of the whole," he said, "and I cannot find God apart from the rest of humanity." And the global marketplace has made more cJear our interdepen­ dence and shared destiny. And yet, global commerce, even with all of its wondrous technologies, is restoring the old barbarisms once forbidden by law. Those "dark Satanic mills" about which William Blake wrote, have returned with a vengeance. This is because the free market has no moral intelligence, and the CHE PROTEST, continued on page 10 GREATER CINCINNATI COALITION FORTHI HOMELISS �Rehab at the VA Nursing Center By Ron Carter Streetvibes, the Tri-State's HomeJess ' Grapevine, is a newspaper written by, for, and about homelessness, social justice, and pove11y-rela.ted 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 dolJar donation,. The vendor keeps the profits. Becoming a Streetvibes Vendor is a great way for homeless and other low-income pee>ple 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 individuaJs committed to ending home­ lessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the pul;>lic and grassroots organ izing. GCCHStaff Alicia Beck Susan Knight Ron Carter Warren Perk.ins Director Administrative Coordinator Editor Assis tant Editor GCCH Intern Outreach Coordinator Tenant Organizing Pat Mitchell Oureach Volunteer Mary A. Gaffney Soony Wrn iams Receptionist Piison News Editor Tom Billman Dan Marschner Gina Kohlhepp . Hi, I'm Ron. I have been a patie nt at the VA nursing Center for 10 weeks , because of a fractured knee. At this point I have been wheel-chajr bound, unable to put pressure on my leg. I have been getting around by myself with the help of some useful ite ms given to me from the occupational therapy departme nt. They removed my cast on November Ist.· Now I am having to learn to walk all over again. A nd I'm needing a lot of therapy to help f!le get strong again. I don' t know when I'll be able to return to work. But I am thankful that I am starting to be able to walk again. You see, a lot of people don't know it, but I have had muscular dystro­ phy for twenty years. T herefore, I am lucky to be able to get around like I do. Some of these people in here don' t have legs a t all; they' ve have been here for years and will never leave here. And some of them unbelievable in the way they hold their heads up high and still can smile and have a good time. I was very depressed when I first got here, but now, after talking to some of these people and seeing the condition they are in, I thought to myself, I have no reason for being as depressed as I was. The staff here are great; every time I turn around, some!;me's at my door wondering if I need anything. I try to do as muc h for myself are CORRECTION: Kenny Cruthers, Writers Mr. Lee Rodney Stltton Pal Mitchell Lynn Williams Dan Marschncr Alicia Beck John Perotti Ron Carter Robert Freeking Johnny Byrd Anthony Walkins Warren Perkins Tom BUlman Jerome Johnson Kath y Miller Doctor Donovan mentioned in Pat Mitchells Article Joseph house, is a therapist/supervisor at the Veterans Hospital Detox pro­ gram, 8th Floor, not at Joseph House as we stated in No vember's Streetvibes Photos Photographs by Berta Lambert, Sonny Williams, Jimmy Heath, Beverly Brooks, (Front cover snow scene by Beverl y Brooks, CHE wreath and Merry Christmas sign from photo'\ by Ji mmy Heath) stories. essays, originaJ graphics, photos.... We will print everything we have room tor. giving preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Subscriptions to Streetvibes can be purchased for $ l 5 per year. (Please make checks payable to GCCH) Please send all mat~rial to the following address: Streetvibes c/o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45210 (5 13) 421-7803 fax (513) 421-7813; Vendor Harassment By Jerome .Johnson I was selling my papers on 1LI 10100 a n d the police stopped me. They took my Streetvibes and they took my Ve ndor 's badge. I feel like I was done wrong, because we have all of these drug deale rs on these street corners and the police have nothing better to do than stop a m an doing some thing positive. But they won ' tbother the drug dealer or the ma n committing a more serious crime. A ll I can say . is, Lord h ave mercy on our police force. St reet vi bes Vendor Code Each vendor has to sign the fo llowing code to be able to sell the p aper. ' Streetvibes accepts letters. poems. as l can, though . I tell the aids and nurses to go he lp someone who really needs tl)e m. Some of the reside nts here, who haven' t a nybody on the outside to take care of them, spend the rest of their lives here. People have been wonde rful to us. We get gifts of all sorts. And we're constantly being invited to different places to have lunch. On these trips, there's a wheelchair chauffeur for each disabled veteran. I always sympathize with the guy pushing me (I get tired for him) . Individuals and organizations also provide prizes for the Bingo games, which Oust the oppos ite of the "real world") are "fixed" to give a lot of people a chance to w in. We go to horse races, too. And a couple wee ks ago, they took 12 of us to the Argosy Casino, gave e verybody $100 to gamble wi th ! Do you think I was going to gamble away a]] that money? No, I already had my prize. But those that didn ' t save it went to eating $100 worth of food at the buffet. Well, I' ll close for now. Here's hoping to be back at the Coalition office soon. Thanks to all my visitors and phone callers. Al so , thanks to the Coalition for the flowers. 1. Streetv1bes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for donations more than $1. I also understand that I wi ll be able to keep 80 cents of each dollar collected. Future issues of Streetv1bes wi ll be purchased from the Homeless Coali­ t ion for 20 cents. 2. I agree that I wlll never d istribute Street v1bes whi le under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 3. I agree that I w ill not ask for dona­ t ions after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect. I w ill not use abusive language or force someone to give a donation. I wi ll not give a "hard sell" or make someone feel threatened. 5. I agree that I will not supply copies 6. 7. 8. 9. o f Streetv1b es to persons who are not registered d istributors. 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 Streetv1bes will go to the individual vend or. I agree that I will not contest t errito­ ries with other dist ributors. I understand that Streetv1bes strives to b e a self-supporting paper ere­ ated by p eople who are homeless or formerly homeless. To help in this effort, I will try to spread the word ar:id write stories if possible. I understand that failure to comp ly with any of the above statements w ill result in me•no longer being able to distribute Streetvibes. I e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com or homecoal@primax.net Streetvibes exists as a forum for the express~on of th€ vjews. and opinions of our read­ ers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein -are not necessarily those of the Streetvibes staff or t~e Greater Cinc1nnati Coalition for the Homeless. �STREETVIBES Attention STREETVIBES Vendors/Writers/ Volunteer Editors: MEET at GCCH (1506 Elm) at 5:00, Tuesday, December 12 To Discuss any and all aspects of. the paper Mt Airy Shelter: From the Inside Out Life In The Shelter: Love It or Leave It by.Mr. Lee Thi s is the third in a series on Mt. Airy Sheller. In the li.rsl of Lwo installments of this series, Mt. Airy Shelter the Overv iew, L wrote about the various services that are available to homeless men who reside at the shelter. These services assist the men in obtaining benefits, treatment, housing or what ever is needed to improve their lives. Installment two, "The Pi ck-up Point", was the fict ionalized account of a homeless man going through the pre­ interview waiting, interviewing, bus journey, and waiting at the pick-up point, and fin ally the van trip to the shelter. Hopefull y, the reader got the feel of this man's experience of being sent to a vacant lot, hungry, tired, and depressed to wait for the van ride ~e shelter. Well, hopefully the five people besides my mother who read my articles realize that l am not into bashing the county, Mt. Airy, the staff or anyone -............._ else. I'm just talkin' bout wh.at l'm talkin' bout. ---...... Once a man has been processed in , filled out the forms, surrendered any weapons or medicine, and been informed of the rules, he is allowed to go to the laundry room and pick up his bedding. Those who arrive on the 4: 30 PM pick up are allowed to go directly to dinner before being processed. You stood in line to get into the department of human services, you stood in line for entry into the office, you stand in line for processing into the curiously constructed office, and you stand in line for meals. This is a constant and normal process for those who li ve at the shelter. Some men arri ve really beat up and the body's need for rest coupled with the availability of a clean personal bed override~ all other i ~sti ncti ve behaviors. It bverrides the need for food , even though a real meal may nor have been eaten in days. It overrides lhe nicotine addictive craving, even though the presence of 60+ men, slightly better situated fi nancially, means is not that difficult. It overrides bummina0 a ciaarette 0 the desire/need to clean up and change clothes. As bad as this man smells and as grungy m> he feels, he is basically exhausted. He may tell himself that he is onl y going to Lie down for a little while. Wrong! Sees me Uhearya! That is the sen sory experi ence of your dorm mates . They see you , looking pretty bad, they smell him and they hear him snoring, talking in his sleep. He probably won't wake until 3 or 4 in the morning. This man slowly begins to work himsel f into the main s tream of th e community. ·Sometimes this process takes hours sometimes days. Clean clothes, his laundered or others donated and dispensed through the clothing room. A few meals under his belt and be begins to feel better. Let us briefly discuss food. It is hard to believe that the same, two stadium building county, that serves up the lean cuisine at the Just-Us Center (Queeosgate North), is the same County that provides ample balanced meals supplemented by donated .. See Mt. Airy, continued page 14 LOCAL NEWS Page3 Salvation from Homele~sness by Pat Mitchell The Salvation Army is a program of structure - with an Emergency Shelter and Transitional housing, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, religion, or age. Salvation Army provides Emergency housing and transitional housing through referral and through agencies. They have a Socia] Service Bureau that provi~es professional and experienced social work staff thatare licensed in Ohio and Kentucky. AU referral s are held in confidence. Guests m the Emergency Sh " e1ter stay ior approximately three weeks. The transitional housing is located nearby for families who need a longer stay - as long as a year. Residents are expected to work and seek employment through various agencies. Their children go to school with transportation provideq by buses from the Chabad House. Single women are accepted into Salvation Army Ernergencyffransitional hous ing, along with homeless mothers with children. Salvation Army also has a Rapid Exit Program, which provides money for rent Emergency Assistance depos its. Budget Counseling Since working with homeless people for Emergency Shelter about a year, I have found out that these Transitional Housing programs work. And the needs of the homeless Information and Referral are met in the shelters that I write about each Day Care & Programs for the Elderly month. Of course, the homeless are met with Counseling on an individual basis, the barrier that these shelters are almost always Parenting groups over-crowded , especially in the w inter months, Cris is Intervention w hen the need for shelter is a must! Homeless T he Family Services also provide help people are accepted on a first come/first served with Pal'ent/Cbild problems, · basis. More funding is needed to extend mQre Problems in Aging, housing to the homeless. Treatment for Alcohol or Drug problems, Don't think that because you ' re not depression and hopelessness homeless or have never been homeless, that it Anger Management can' t happen to you. One of my most Housing Problems memorable expe1iences is when I became Employment/unemployment problems homeless from being a victim of a fire. This Money management was devastating to me and my family, ·my mother and three kids. I didn' t know the I personally toured the Emergency Shelter, . resources I know today, working at the and interviewed Lauren White, Emergency Coalition - like where to get housing, food, Housing Supervisor, and found the shelter very soap, and other daily necessities. We must be accomodating. The atmosphere was clean and thankful to God for the blessings we take for comfortable, w ith washers and dryers, and play granted every day, especially as the Holidays area for the kids. Each living quarters is set up are approaching. As I end my article, I'd like for a families with one or more kids. Families to leave you with some food for thought: sleep together. Each also has a dining area for meals and family gatherings. Don't down the one that's down today, House Mo thers are on Staff 24 hours, but Cheer them in their sorrow, cooking and serving meals. A social worker is For this ol' world is a funny ol' world available Monday through Friday, 9:00- 4:00. Who knows, )lQY. may be down tomorrow. Services of the Salvation Army: TOOTH MAN FOR THE HOMELESS , Clifford Jones, Receives Awards The Gail Benninger Member Scholarship Award is given to an active member of the Ohio Dental Hygienists' Association who is pursuing a higher degree of education. The ODHA Outstanding Effort Award for outstanding commitment to the Ohio Dental Hygienists' Association honors a selected member or ODHA committee who best exemplified outstanding service to the State Dental Hygienist's Association during the 1999­ 2000 fiscal year. Clifford Jones received both awards as a result of his efforts toward improving the dental hea!th of homeless people. Clifford Jones is a Dental Hygienist employed by the Greater Cincinnati Oral Health Council as a program coordinator of the Healthcare for the Homeless Dental Project. Clinical services are provided in partnership at the City of Cincinnati Health Department. He is also a board member of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Congratulations, Cliff! Clifford Jones proudly displays his awards .../ • �STREET VI 8 ES I.,() (~ il I., N J~ l\T S "They look just like us." NAACP rally of 400 called for FBI investigation of the victims of recent Cincinnati police killings (photo taken Sunday, November 12) by Tom. B illm.an Driving, Walking, Talking, Breathing While Black On Monday, November 13, in the wake of the deaths of Roger Owensby Jr. and Jeffrey Irons, a special meeting of the Cincinnati City Counci l was ca!Jed. The police officers i n­ volved in the strangulation death of Roger Owensby had pleaded the Fifth Amendment, refusing to talk about what happened. It seemed to many as if the City administration was staging a cover-up. When I walked into the Council Chambers, Mayor Charlie Luken was promising to support the convening of a Grand Jury and the appoint­ ment of a special prosecutor, if police involved in the two killings were found not to be co­ operating in uncovering the truth. Council Members Pat Dewine, Charles Winburn, Alicia Reece, and Todd Portune all spoke to the fact that the official truth about · what happened to Roger Owensby was very , Legal Observers are needed to testify at the trials of CHE protesters. Contact N-16 Legal at 513-588-8383 slow to reach the people. The only Council member who spoke as if he trusted the .poli ce to present the facts to the public was Phil Heimlich. Despite the fact that 13 of the 13 people killed in confrontations with police since 1995 were black, Mr. Heimlich is hesitant to come to the conclusion that racial profiling exists in Cincinnati. But for almost all of the peogle who .signed up to speak before city council and the cable television cameras, the whole i's sue seemed to boil down to racial profiling. The families of Mr. Irons and Mr. Owensby stood with other fam ily members of murdered victims to cry out their pain and plead for understanding from a community, a society, that seems to believe that racism is no longer a problem here in the U.S.A. Page 4 · James Irons, a minister of the gospel in Chicago, father of the man who was shot down after shoplifting from a convenience store, was not quick to condemn. His feel­ ings: The Police Department is negligent in its training of officers. They should be much more diligent in determining whether any prospective officer is fit to perform the duties of the office. "How much is a young man 's life worth today?" Shiela Adams, president of the Urban League, was incensed by statements from Cjty officials, that there is a question of whether raciaJ profiling exists. Said Ms. Admus, "Every mother, wife, sister knows that her male family member is in danger." One proposal now before City Council is to undertake a detailed study to detennine whether racial profil ing exists in Cincinnati. Mr. Cecil Thomas of the Human Relations Commission, however, stated that the money would be better spent on Diversity Training fo r police. One speaker from the public, a Navy veteran of the Gulf war, has been trying to find ways to improve police/commu nity relations since his return. He sees people feeling disenfranchised and threatened: "Being a black man in Cincinnati can be bad for your health." He fears that his brothers, sons, and cousins may not have the discipline, as he has, to avoid risking their Ji ves by reacting to police rather than remain ing calm. Almost 20 speakers graced the public with moving stories and passionate pleas. Minister James Muhammed seemed to capture the essense of the feeling in that Council Cham­ ber: "We are moved here because people are speaking from their pain. The emotional feeling is necessary in order to find a solution. Yet this feeling is often missing when public officials try to deal with issues. Problems of the human fami ly can be solved when God is put back into the equation." I agree. When fear shows up and love leaves, tragedy happens. ReSTOC: Shaking off the Dust and Moving On by Robert Freking ReSTOC 's Vine Street Community Proje~t is ready to go! With all the financin g in place, we are preparing to rehab 33 units of affordable housing for working families in Over the Rhine. These units w ill be completed by 2002. The buildings included in this project are currently vacant and need abundant resources to renovate. This will be the first time that ReSTOC will gut and rehab multiple buildings at one time. A total of seven buildings that were vacant for decades will be transformed into affordable housing. Our last major project, "Buddy's Place," was completed in 1999. There will be four buildjngs renovated on Vine Street: 5 one bedroom un!ts, 9 two bedroom units, 3 three bedroom units, and 4 four bedroom units. Two buildings will be, renovated on West 13111 Street: 3 two bedroom units and 2 four bedroom units . Our beautiful_, We remember buddy gray on the anniver­ maj estic building at lYh and Republic will sary of his death, November 15 house 1 two bedroom unit and 6three bedroom May his spirit continue to live units. in our Community In addition there will be a community room for social events and tenant meetings. A Property Manager/Tenant Organizer will be hired and a Block Watch Program will be instituted in cooperation with the Cincinnati Police Depar.tment. Five commercial storefronts will have basic work done to bring them closer to occupancy. We are currently fundraising to create green space and playgrounds for the families who will be moving into our new units. We have received some donations for green space improvements and we expect to raise enough funds to have a pleasant play space for the children of our tenants. We have fought long and hard to get financing in line for the seven buildings. Yes, we had to make a compromise, one that has been di scussed throughout the community. Our Board <?f Owners agonized over our decision. We ask for your support for the Vine Street Community Project because we still have a lot of work to do to complete this project. This will be a community project of which all Re.S TOC's supporters will be proud. • �STREETVIBES l\1 1~1..l~lllll~ Nl~l\1 S Pages Third Month Of Cut-Offs Begins elfare Reforin: Pain, No Gain By Pat Mitchell I don' t know .the statistics, and I haven' t done a survey. My knowledge of Welfare Reform is from my own personal experience. Standing in line at a food pantry, listening to the complaints of seniors like myself, and through experiencing the struggles of the working mothers with children which affects my children and grandchildren. The issues of the seniors are numerous, especially medical and prescription drugs. If they buy medicine they can't buy food. If they are given a medical spend-down, this means (in my case) no medical coverage at all. Personally I was employed 20 years at the same job. Now l am disabled and struggling to survi ve on a small amount of money. Yet I was given 10 dollars worth of food stamps. I onJy received stamps twice and then I received a letter saying I was denied the stamps and medical spending. It never was clear to me why I was denied . I wanted to know, if only to try to find some other solution. Most seniors have to provide for their own medicine (out of pocket), glasses, and food. So the only option is to stand in line at the food pantries. Then there are mothers trying to raise their kids and work, relying on childcare provided by Welfare reform. And they have to pay with their earnings plus the vouchers given to them for childcare. Tnis is sometimes not feasible . . . . . ._ You May Be Eligible For A Medicaid Card by Lynn Williams Ohio Empowerment Coalition The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, under pressure from advocates and the federal government has agreed to reinstate famj)ies who were terminated from Medicaid between November 1997 and April 2000. These were families who were then on Ohio Works First (or rather, were terminated from Ohio Works Fisst. According to the Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA), these families wi ll be issued Medicaid cards that are effective Janu~y I, 2001 through March 31, 200 J. Recip ients will also be mailed a short application to determi ne if they are eligible for continuing Medicaid after the three month period. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will also cover back bflls during the "look back" period (Nov. 1997 through April 2000). IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU AND YOU CAN SHOW BACK BILLS FOR THAT TIME PE RIOD, Medicaid should cover them. Notices will be mailed out during the last week of October. If this Medicaid reinstatement applies to you and you did not receive a notice, call lour local welfare department to request a three month Medicaid card. If your welfare department does not respond to your request, call your local legal services office for help in getting the Medicaid See Medicaid, continued page 19 for all working mothers, especially mothers with more than one child. In most cases you will hear caseworkers saying, "I'm sorry, but you make too much money." And they always go by your gross. You don' t take your gross pay home and so in some cases you ' re denied food stamps. · If you made too much money, you wouldn't need childcare. You are denied vouchers if your gross is higher than their_ guidelines, especially mothers working minimum wage jobs, who end up leaving their kids with anybody, anywhere, to avoid getting vouchers. The dollar you make is taken back for childcare through the voucher fees. ff they want mothers to work, they should cover childcare. We always hear about the success story. never about the ones that don't succeed because of some banier, like a three-year Limit on welfare. The barriers include poor housing, raising kids in poor, bad environ­ ments, and no coordination because of surroundings or drugs. I feel that there are some good programs-0ut there for welfare recipients and the ir children. But I am looking at the percentage of women and children that fall through the cracks, who cao't or won't pick themselves up. With the three-year cutoff they will be homeless in a matter of time. Extra! Extra! Support Streetvibes by Advertising to Socially Conscious Readers! Rates: about 2 bucks per square inch Studio IJudience Wanted!!! Streetvibes TV is produced live# the Second Tuesday of each month# 'l · 8 PM. at Media Bridges , 2114 Reading Road, Cincinnati Ohio. If you would like to be a part of our studio audience, or have ideas for shows, please call us at 421-7803 December Schedule Re-Broadcast Dates for November's Show on Channel 24: (Please check your schedule) Saturday, Dec. 2, at 5 PM Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 1O PM Saturday, Dec. 16, at 5 PM Tuesday, Dec. 26, at 1o AM Thursday, Jan. 6, at 1O AM Broadcast schedules are subjeCt to change ­ Consult your local TV directory. by Lynn Williams Ohio Empowerment Coalition Despite efforts by the Ohio Empowerment Coalition and its allies around the state, many low-income fammes on public assistance (Ohio Works First) were cut off of cash assistance on October 1. October l marked the first round of cut offs due to Ohio's three yeru: time limit for receiving cash assistance. Since then, December 1 has brought another round of families losing their eligibility for cash assistance. Each month from now on, more and more families will be terminated from Ohio Works First. Each of Ohio's 88 counties can design extension categories for 20% of its caseload so that some families can continue temporru·ily to receive cash assistance. However, counties are not applying the extensions in an equal manner or by the same categories. • For instance, only one county (Perry) is extending cash assistance for families with no other income source. • Only one county extends cash assistance for recipients working towards a high school diploma (Mru·ion). • Only two counties extend cash assistance to reci.pients with language or literacy bruTiers (Jackson, Vinton). • Out of 88 counties in Ohio, only 12 counties extend cash for homeless recipients. However, no matter how humane some counties' extension policies are, for the most part they are only temporary, usually reevaluated month by month or six months at the longest. Recipients are not receiving "fair ru1d equitable treatment under the law" in Ohio. Once a county reaches the 20% number of households with extensions, the limit will be reached. This means that families who otherwise would qualify for the extension (for example, are disabled) wil l be cut off of cash assistance. This is definitely not "fair and equitable treatment under the law." To compare the difference in county policies, in October, Hamilton County extended cash assistance for nearly all of the county 's recipients reaching the time limit, but Cuyahoga County cut off 1,800 households and extended cash assistance for only three families! These numbers do not include the number of ch ildren being terminated from cash in these families. 20% extension policies are not enough to provide a humane and beneficial policy to lift poor families off of welfare & out of poverty! Ohio should not cut families off of cash assistance until they are working jobs that pay livable wages to support their families! If you have been denied an extension by your county and bebeve you should have received one, you can still appeal this decision. Ask for a state hearing. See Cut-Offs, continued page 19 �- Camping Ban Overturned Homeless in Oregon By Remona·Cowles Homeless people in Portland, Oregon wive finally received much needed relief. For nineteen years Portland's Anti-Camping Ordinance made it criminal to sleep outdoors - in public, in private property, or in vehicles. The ordinance was ruled unconstitutional on September 27 by Multnomah County Judge Stephen Gallagher, who felt it was cruel and unusual punishment. Judge Gallagher found the ordinance to be in violation of the United States Constitution because those without homes are punished for their status of being homeless. The ordinance was also found to be in violation of equal protection and the fundamental · right to travel by denying homeless people the opportunity to possess their belongings with them while traveling throughout the city. The case was brought by the Stare of Oregon against Norman Wickes, Sr. · and his son, Norman Wickes, Jr. who had been living in their vehicle, parked nightly at various locations in Portland to sleep. Portland police had, over a short period of time, given the Wickes over forty citations for camping in their vehicle. Interestingly, it would not have been illegal for the Wickes to sleep in their truck had they had a home to live in. This·disparity is one of the issues that made Judge Gallagher's ruling possible. Judge Gallagher spoke eloque ntly and thoughtfully on behalf of homeless people. Demonstrating a keen knowledge of the issues faced by homeless people in their daily struggle to survive, Judge GaUagher offered a point by point explanation for his ruling. In response to the question whether enforcement of the ordinance constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, and is therefore unconstitutional under the Oregon and United States Constitutions, Judge Gallagher wrote, "The court finds it impossible to separate tbe fact of being homeless from the necessary 'acts' that go with it, such as sleeping. The act of sleeping or eating in a shelter away from the elements cannot be considered intentional, avoidable conduct. This conduct is ordinary activity required to sustain life. Due to the fact that they are homeless, persons seek out shelter to perform these daily routines. Yet the City considers this location to be a campsite if the homeless person maintains any bedding. The homeless are being punished for their behavior indistinguishable from the mere fact that they are homeless. Therefore, those without homes are being punished for the status of being homeless... This court does not accept the notion that life decisions of an individual, albeit seemingly voluntary decisions, necessarily deprive that person of the status · of being homeless." Judge Gallagher also found that the ordinance burdens homeless people's fundamental right to travel. "The homeless carry their belongings with them or store them in a location in which they have access. Those belongings necessarily include the tools required to participate in the basic necessities of life - bedding for sleeping and a stove for food preparation. Tf a homeless person is traveling through our city, or traveling within our city looking for work and a permanent place to reside, he is not allowed to remain in his vehicle or lean-to without being in violation of the ordinance. By denying defendants the ability to partake in simple necessities of life, the ordinance restricts their freedom of moveme nt. Homeless choosing to travel throughout our city are not allowed to stop without being in violation. Those homeless who are trying to make a life in the city are in constant violation." Jn response to the city's a rgument that homel ess people camping pose health and safety dangers , Judge Gallagher argued, "Although protecting the health and safety of the citizens of this Camping Ban, continued page 7 By Heidi Soderstrom, East Oregonian PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) The campfire leaps and crackles in the crisp air, creating shadows on the ground. The shadows become real people huddled by the fire. They are a part of the homeless culture in eastern Oregon. Yes, homelessness is here, and the shadows of John Forcum and Dusty Murphy only begin to give light to the issue. "We're living out of our car until we can find something," Murphy said. The couple, who live out of a b.eat-up van, are staying at Sand Station fo r a few days, an Army Corps of Engineers park northeast of Hermiston. People are allowed to stay 14 days at no cost. Forcum and Murphy are part of an estimated 50 homeless people each month who go through the Agape House, a food and clothing non-profit distribution center. "We see two or three fami li es and individuals that are homeless every day," said John Thurlow, director of the Agape House. "The homeless issue is very much here. It's not just a Portland problem." " Of the 470 families we see per month, which is 30 fami lies more per month than last year, 10 percent or more are homeless. It's probably more than 10 percent," Thurlow said. And that's just in Hermiston. St. Mary's Outreach Program in Pendleton provides food to about half a dozen transients a month and gives monetary support to Helping Hands, an agency that helps with housing. La Grande's Salvation Army helps at least six families a month, said Darlene Hollingshead, a social service worker. "It is an issue; it can't be ignored," she said. Yet, according to those close to the issue, the homeless problem is largely ignored in the region. "This community is very ignorant," said Mike, a homeless man who declined to give his last name and hopes to settle in Hermiston. Mike and Mary, his companion, have been living in their car off and on for six months, and travehng from place to place for more than two years. "Sm all town, small minds," he said. "They really can't fathom how someone would end up like us." . For those who wander the streets in eastern Oregon, there is little available in the way of housing. No shelters are available except in Pasco and WalJa Walla. It's illegal to sleep i11 parks in many large cities. The Hermiston and Pend leton police departments, as well as in La Grande, try to direct homeless people to places where help might be available. "We direct them to the Salvation Army," said Pendleton Police Chief Gary Ward. "That's how we've done it, along with the churches in Oregon Camping . continued page 9 '"VERTISE •.. Mlf '°lllS STRll . If NCH Secures Health Policy Victories by Bob Reeg National Coalition for the Homeless T he I 06th Congress has included provisions favorable to people experiencing homelessness in new laws that reauthorize, strengthen, and expand the addiction treatment and mental health programs of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra­ tion (SAMHSA) and the Ryan White CARE Act (RWCA) HIV/AIDS programs of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) played a significant role in developing and ensuring passage of SAMHSA and RWCA reauthorization legislation. Several of NCH's recommendations for reauthorization were enacted into law or addressed in report language that accompanies the legislation. Chief among the accomplishments, the SAMHSA law (Public Law 106-310) reauthorizes the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHJ) program - a targeted homeless addiction and mental health services competitive grant program. The Clinton Administration had proposed to repeal GBHl, and consequently NCH had to fight mightily to save it from extinction. The law also reauthorizes the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program, a targeted homeless mental health services state formula grant program. With regard to HIVI AIDS, the new RWCA law (Public Law J06-345) requires states and localities receiving RWCA funds to involve homeless and housing providers in resource prioritization and allocation processes. The new law also requires entities receiving RWCA funds to establish health care referral relationships with points of entry to the health services system, including homeless shelters. NCH is proud to have achieved several critical health policy changes for people experiencing homelessness and congratulates the consumers, service providers, and advocates who weighed in from the field to secure these positive outcomes. NCH has prepared detailed summaries,of the SAMHSA and RWCA reauthorization laws. They can be found at NCH's web page, http://nch.ari.net, or by contacting Bob Reeg at NCH at 202/737­ 6444, x. 3 14. Our Advertisers help a good cause while promoting themselves to over 8,000 concerned people each month. Business Card Size .., Two Business Card Size 2" x 3 1/2" ~ $15 per month Send your add copy to Streetvi[Jes, 1506 Elm Street,Cinti, 45210, honiecoal@primax.net , or call 421-7803. IM ~ 4" x 3 1/2" .$30 month (Larger Adds Also Available) p~r �r " r • • 1" • Pltl 1 I l'f STREETVIBES ADVOCATE DEFIES NO- SHACK POLICY Columbus Dispatch - Monday. November 6, 2000 J odi Nirode • Dispatch Staff Reporter Sam Elam says city workers tore down his camp in late October and he hasn't been able to get into homeless shelters, which are full. For now. Elam has settled under an overpass near Miranova, the upscale condominium complex being built Downtown. When Harold and Ada Martin founded an organi zation to help the homeless in 1982, build­ ing shacks wasn't part of the plan. They just wanted to offer simple acts of kindne s: A blanket. Some food. Letting people take a shower at their home. Their own home, though, wasn't enough. Over ti me. the Martins took mortgages on three other homes, offering them for free to people in need of a place to stay. Tenants needed only to make progress getting over an addiction to stay, Mr. Martin said. " Somebody needed to tell them that God loved them, too," he said. But the additional mortgage payments proved too much, as Mrs. Martin struggled with kidney problems and her husband with heart problems. So the Martins sold the extra ho mes in 1997 - and started building shacks. Made of plywood walls and with tarps to keep the rain ou~, the shanties ­ with blankets and mattresses inside - were a labor of love from the Martins to the homeless. "We'd bring mu ic. Motown or gospel. Whatever anyone wanted to hear,'' Mr. Martin said of building them. '·We'd fry fi h. We'd j u t have a ball." The Marti11s built l 3 shacks. One even had windows and a door tJiat could be locked. Last week, the city began tearing them down - includ­ ing one shack that was home to nine men and wo men - just west of the Short Street overpass for 1-70. It was one of the last shelters built before Mrs. Martin ,t: .!d of kidney failure July 29. Mr. Martin still is deaJhg with grief from his wife'. death and is worn out from trying to keep up with work they both used to do, yet he vows to ke~p going. This weekend, he was planning to butld another shack, though city officials have said they need to come down. "What are they going to do? They will let a dog on the street, but a human, they won't let them sleep on the street," Martin said. "They are not going to top me until they come up with a solu­ tion for the problem and do something to help these people." Along with the shacks, the city took most everything that their tenants possessed, Martin said. Gone were blankets, clothing, shoes and rood. Part of the problem is that shelters are full. said Kent Beittel. executive director of the Open Sheller. ..This is actually the first -.ummer lhat we ·vc gone through where ,\II four men·, <;helters arc operating at capacit) for the entire ,eason:· Bcittcl said. ·There ·., usually ...ome fle\ibility."' Sam Elam knows that all too well. Since the city tore down his shack in late October. he said he's been trying to get into shelten.. " I can't oet in. " said Elam, who is in his 30s. He came ;ith his family to Columbus from Georgia, but three years ago had a falling out with them, and he's been on the streets since. For now, he makes do in one of Martin·s shad.-. or a tent in a mall wooded patch southwest or Downtown. The shack provides shelter and comfort. But Elam's panoramic view includes Miranova. the nearby upscale condominium complex that he and Martin blame for propellincr 0 the c ity's cleanup of homeless pcopl~'s belona­ ings. "They want us out of here. but we're no7 causing any trouble," Elam said as he rose to his feet. shaking his finger. In a letter to city officials dated Oct. JO, a i\lliranova developer said more than $3 million in llttlllll Il l OHIO NEWS Page 7 sales were lost "due to the perception that the area around Main, Mound and Short streets is not safe." That complaint, though, had nothing to do with taking down the shacks, city officials say. However, the city's c leanup this time was unlike others in the past. "Historically. we·ve been notified when these things are coming,,. Beittel said, ··so we' re not quite sure what happened this time." In the past, a con ortium of advocates for the homeless has worked with the c ity to provide warnings about changes to come and options for people. The consortium is made up of representatives from Take It To the Streets, the Open Shelter, Veterans Affairs. Southeast Recovery and Mental Health Care Services and Health Care for the Homeless. Hoping to quell anxiety among the area's homeless on how they wi ll survive the winter, the consortium is requesting a meetino with city officials this month, Be itte l said. "We u~der­ stand the city needs to move forward," he said. " But if we can hammer out a clear, collective communication pattern, that will enhance everyone's ability to be effecti ve." City officials say they agree and hope to put a policy in place that would require aJvocates for the homeless be called before shacks are removed, said Mary Webster, assistant director of the city's Public Service Department Until more shelter space or subsidized apartments become available, Martin said he' II keep his hammer busy. "[ made a promise to (my wife) that I' d carry on, and that's what I intend to do." HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK http://aspi11.asu.edu/hp11 Camping Ban, from page 6 c ity may very well be compell ing, there are less restri ctive means to address the problem. The Wickes found themselves livjng out of their car due to the ir inability to find adequate and affordable hou ing. Rather than slapping a homeless person with a citation for maintaining life in a public place, the city could first explore avenues of providino suffi.cient housing for all individuals. Adequat~ services should also be in place to help individuals fi nd housing and jobs . .. There are a great number of alte rnati ves regarding hous ing, j o b training, mental health services, etc., that should be put in Homeless Backlash British charity raps government's anti-begging drive. SHELTER, Britain·s best-known homeless charity. has lashed out at the government's new anti-begging campaign. Reuter reported Nov. 6. The government ·s "Change a Life" cam­ paign asks good Samaritans not to g ive spare change to the estimated 1,600 homeless people who sleep on the streets each night. Instead, the campaign suggest people should volunteer at local soup kitchens or donate items to charity. The government's "Rough Sleepers" (homeless) Unit created controversy when it suggested that giving money to the homeless fuels alcohol and drug addiction. She lter fears the campaign could make life more difficult for the home less. "This initiative could increase the stigma of homelessness and make life even worse for people who are already subject to high levels of abuse and violence," said Shelter director Chris Holmes. place to both minimize the effect of homelessness and e liminate homelessness altogether, before o u; city resorts _to arresting indiv iduals fo r sleepina and . . 0 eating 111 the only locations available to them." Judge Gallagher conc luded, " Individuals wi thout a ho me must carry what belong ings are necessary to survive, such as beddi ng and food, with them at all times, or store them in a place to which they have access. The place where these belonofoos ~e kept is by law deemed to be a campsite. Eve~y t.Jme a homeless person remains at that location he is in vio latio n. .. Those w itho ut ho mes 'are impermiss ibly pun ished for the status of bein o homeless. Pe1forming such li fe sustaining acts a~ sleeping with bedding is a necessary action for someone without a home. This act of sleeping is not conduct that can be separated from the fact of the individual's status of being homeless. Portland's anti-camping ordinance punishes the status of beino .:. homeless." Understandably, Mr. Wickes, Sr. responded to Judge GaUagher's ruling with elation. "It was Camping Ban, continued page 18 Get yo ur G r eater Cincinn ati C o a\it io n f o r t he H om e less Yea r JOO I CALEND AR N owf Examining Homeless ness f r om a kid's p oin t of vie ""' Featurin g phot os by Jim my Heath . 5end .$10 t o G CCH, 1506 E\m 5t ., Cinti, Oh 45 ~ ~ �.._ From Death Row Beam Me Up, Scotty by Johnny Wm . Byrd, Jr. By John Perotti Who will eek my blood lust, eye for an As 1 was sitting in my 8x lO cage bere at eye? Who will revenge my murder committed the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP), by state elected offi cials? Who will stand in contemplating who would win the presidential my place if my day in court ever -comes about? election, the state of the ho meless and hungry Who will be the medium to give voice to my in the world, and other events of some ghost after my murder? Who will put a stop to significance, l was rudely inten-upted by a the corrupted politics that are the foundation of voice over the speaker in my cell, saying capital puni shment? Will it be you, or will you "Perotti , get dressed, were bringing you out to shamelessly turn away and leave it for another see someone." Now bear in mind, this same to deal with? Accepting and turning away speaker I tried for eight hours to get emergency makes you just as guilty of the murder of an medical treatment from when I had a major innocent man, woman or c hild. Eye for an eye, heart att ack here exactly one year ago today. remember? Murder for murder. When does So I look up in amazement and say, "Who the blood lust end? Will it be at the tail gate wants to see me?" I'm told, "The Gang party on the dawn o f a human being's murder? coordinator." Now I have no desire to go Is Humanity so savage that it can ' t see the through the painful and humiliating procedure barbarity in applauding these acts of of being double-cuffed behind my back (I have degradation? Who will be there for you, your a pinched nerve and chronic pain that this chHd, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandchild, inflames) and held by each arm by club­ family, or fri end, when this abomination is wielding guards, so I tell my "speaker'' I don' t visited upon your loved ones? Will it be you? want to see him unless he comes to my cell. I Or will you try and turn away as the blood lust get an "OK," and I go back to my meditations. drips its judgment? How can right be wrong Fifteen minutes later, here we go again. and wrong be right? It's wrong to kill, unless "Perotti, why don't you want to come and see you are feed ing into society 's animalistic me?" I say, "Who's that?" "Wiley," be cravings of rabid humanity. Who am I to say responds. I explain that we have nothing to these things? I am your victim today; talk about and if he has something to say put it tomorrow it' II be one of your very own. There · in writing, then proceeded to tell him how dirty convicted on no evidence, just the perjured he was for denying my father his visitation testimony the prosecutors knew was purjured rights the day before. He responded with from a jail house snitch - to get a conviction, sarcasm, "You should have come out and talked to me." I see I made another enemy, when, fi ve the same snitch that has been hurting innocent citizens from the moment he got the minutes later, he sent six guards to tear my cell prosecutors their conviction - when he should up, searching it. I'm placed back in my cell, have been serving up to fifteen years in prison. legal papers strewn everywhere, and begin to Wash the blood from your hands and find peace straighten it up. As I'm halfway through in your heart, by simply doing what is right and straightening, here come three more guards, just for "us all" and save what is left of and I'm escorted to the strip cage. This is humanity a 1d an innocent man 's life!!! approximately 1 pm. I'm left in this cage until 5 pm , told i.t was "per orders of the major." It really was good ol.d fashioned OSP retaliation. Legal Assistance : Unfortunately, You see, I'm a jailhouse lawyer, an activist and Streetvibes cannot help prisoners with I'm constantly subject to this type of treatment any type of Legal Work, other than because that's how prisons play us for indirectly inspiring our readers. For help organizing or assisting others in trying to obtain proving innocence by DNA testing, justice. So, I'm taken down to the R & D strip cage, held naked and ordered to defecate in a contact: The Innocence Project at pan. When I incredulously ask why, I'm told Cardozo Law School, 55 5th Av­ "You know why, now do il, and we' re going to enue, New York, NY 10003. X-ray you, too." I protest, but it falls upon deaf (212) 790-0354 ears. I later learn through my "observer., that they spread word that I had either ingested or secreted drugs or tobacco. How this could have STRllTVIBIS been done since I' ve been confined to OSP 6 PliSORIJISNIJWS weeks now is beyond my scope of contains news about the justice understanding. I realize it is just a form of system and the writings of persons retaliation because a fe llow prisoner w ho was incarcerated in our nation's jails beaten, maced and ki cked named me as a and prisons. witness to the S tate Highway Patrol. fn o rder to fo rce x-rays on a pri soner, Subscribers within the walls receive prison offi c ia ls must have probable cause that a Streetvibes fre e. If you want to s upport pri soner ingested a substance that is a life us in this effort , please threatening substance. Thus, any x-ray not sponsor someone on the inside by consented to must be ordered by a physician on sending us $ 15 for a year's this basis, or said x-rays are violations of your subscription right to privacy and earch and seizure. Well, I Send your comments know there was no probable cause in my case, and questions to nor was any contraband fou nd, so after 18 streetvibes@juno.com hours in a strip cage, 3 defecations in a pan mail : STREETVIBES, 1506 Elm Street while be ing videotaped , and x-rayed twice as Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 well as verbally taunted, I'm returned to m y cell at 3 am, and informed by my fell ow prisoners that the Lieutenan t and guards told the prisoners in my pad that they were all being searched because I was out there "snitching" on them, and they shouldn ' t be foll owers and file paperwork li ke Perotti - "It' ll just get you in trouble". On other topics, the reaction of the prison 's instituti on inspector to our requests for formal grievance fo rms to fil e on the prisons grievance procedure itself, brought not only the grievance form (and I' ve been trying to get one unsuccessfull y for 6 weeks, now), but also a conduct report. Seems she wants to retaliate for challenging the grievance system by saying we lied when we stated we asked for grievance form s in the past and were not issued them (even though I've got a stack of documentation proving otherwise). And again, I've got guards on all three shifts coming to my cell , calling me "snitch'', "write another arti cle", etc. So, here you are, Oh narrow-minded ones. It may take a while, but ye wi ll learn constitutional law before this is al l ove r with ; and hopefully, then, you' II take your own misguided ignorance out on the powers that be, that are screening you just like us, rather than me. R<'member Autka, Remember New Mexico , Remember Lucasville! !! 'I I To Streetvlbes: Mr. Luqman Baliir Taqwiim #141-950 P.O. Box 1436 Youngstown, Ohio 44505 Dear Reader, I received your latest issue of Streetvibes, and I write to thank you for the support you've offered by allowing me to use your paper as a vehicle for communication. I think your paper can be a great contributio n in many areas - the Homeless and oppressed are a few under the spacious sky. However it is my belief that nothi ng happens wilhout the Divine Will and a purpose. These two monumental issues, poverty and oppression, can be addressed, but first we must change the hearts of people! How can you go to bed at night with your cupboards fult while your neighbor starves? How can one oppress and look not for the meeting with his Lord to whom all matters must return . I wrote to inform you that you failed to include my institution number in my last article. Again it is my sincerest appreciation fo r placing my article before d1e people. Hopefull y, we have planted a seed that will bear fruit. In Earnest humility, Luqman Bahir Taqwiim �, ST REET VI BES Page 9 LEONARD PELTIER' S CLEMENCY PAPERS .SIT ON PRESIDENT CLINTON'S DESK Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio, America's first public radio station, asked Clinton point blank about Leonard. Here's what ·he said word for word: Amy Goodman: "What is your position on granting Leonard Peltier, the native american activist, executive clemency?" ' lb: Anthony W. Nyk.tas, Senior Assistc.znt U.S. Attorney, 220 Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse JOO East Fifth Street. Cincinnati, OH 45.202 • Re: John Perotti, #A167712 Dear Tony: Enclosed is a Letter dated S eptember 18, 2000 to me from John W: Perotti, an inmate at Lucas ville, SOCF, in response to a letter from Marianne Pressman, Assistant Attorney General. I am troubled by the second paragraph of Ms. Pressman's letter concerning the availability of administrative remedies and his response. particularly in the first parag(aph of his letter. If there is any truth to the fact that he is being hindered in his attempts to follow the law in utilizing the grievance procedure by the authorities at SOCF, then I think there is a serious constitutional civil r ights violation occurring which should be investigated by the Civil Rigl)ts Division of the Justice Department. Please forward this matter to the appropriate authorities at the Department of Justice for further action. I expect cooperation both from Perotti, the authorities at Lucasville, as well as the Ohio Attorney OeneraJ whe.it lQQking int<> this matter. Oregon Camping , from page 6 the area." Hermiston Police Chief Andy Anderson said homeless people don't want help from the police for the most part. . "If they do come to us, they' re in dire need, and in that case we direct them to the Agape House," Anderson said. "But we really don't bother them much unless they cause a problem. They seem to be our forgotten few, either because of society's lack of concern, or it's their preference." Forcum and M urph y spend the d ays hunting for cans and bottles to cover the cost of gasoline. Food stamps buy a little food, but they agree it is not enough. And while a monthly visit to the Agape House for groceries helps, they said it doesn't quite cut it. But with 470 families to feed and clothe and with the number growing by 7 percent eac~ year, there is not always eno ugh to go around. "Th e re are peopl e liv ing u nder the bridge, in their cars, and at least one a day comes in for a shower," Thurlow said. "We fu rnish the soap, shampoo, towel. That's the one thing we can do every day. It's impossible to meet every need an the time." So impossible, in fact, that Thurlow said he is faced w ith shutting down the Agape House if the surrounding c01mnunity does not give more assistance soon. "Our client base continues to grow, but our fu nds to operate have not. This has placed Oregon Camping ,continued page 18 President Clinton: "Well, I don't have a posi­ tion I can announce yet. I think, I believe, there is a new application for him in there, and when I have time, after the election is over, I'm going to review all the remaining executive clemency appl ications and, you know, see what the merits dictates. I will try to do what 1 think the right thing to do is based on the e~·idence, af!d I've never had the time actually to sit down myself ana review that case. l know it is very important to a lot of neonle. mavhe on hoth sides of the issue, and I think I owe it to them to give it an honest look see. So part of my responsibilities in the last ten weeks of office, after the election, will be to review the request for pardons and executive clemency and give them a fair hearing, and I pledge to do that." Amy Goodman: And you will give an answer in his case? President Clinton: "Oh yeah, I'll decide, one way or the other." So Leonard's been in jail three times longer than . Clinton's been in office, and he didn 't have time ? S upport Leonard with a letter/phone callle-mail to the white house! http://ishgooda.nativeweb.org/natnews.htm PENPAL WANTED Richard Frye #205231, OCL P.O. Box 511, Columbus, OH 43216 PAN-OHIO Prisoners Advocacy Network Meets Next at Old Presbyterian Church, corner of Bryden Road & Ohio Avenue, Columbus, Ohio, on January 7, 1-5 p.m. For further information, contact (513)241-8014 ., Homeless men: Forgotten, discarded and Ignored By Kathy Miller Every day I enter my office early with a cup of coffee and start my day reading a passage from Iyanla Vanzant's "Acts of Faith"; the passages are always profound and they help me focus on what I need to do for the day. Today's passage was especially significant: "No man is free until all men are free. No · woman is healed until all women are healed." As one of the Homeless Disability Services Coordi nators for the Center, my challenge is to assist homeless persons w ith a physical, sensory or cognitive disability to locate accessible h ousing that is safe and affordable. I am lucky; I have a great deal of community support to do my job successfully. The shelter staff are some of the hardest working people I have encountered. They are supportive of the j ob I am entrusted to do and give me kudos when I accomplish my task. The majority of the consumers I work with are male, which is the point of this writing. Homeless men are somewhat ostracized in the community as a whole. I am not saying they are not served well by social service agencies; they are j ust served differently. The avenues for understandi ng tend to shut down faster. This often is two­ fold for homeJess men with a disability. It isn ' t anybody's fault. In our society the general ideology is that a man should be the take-charge breadwinner and the strong counterpart of the family. It is only an ideology; life i sn ' t that simple and most of us don't survive this way. The male consumers I work with have had challenges that most people cannot even envision. First, they a.re not trusted because they are male and they are not living up to society's expectations. Second, in our society, the thought is this : be a man, take care of your responsibilities, get a j ob and do right for yourself. Third, there are no exceptions to the rules for a man in a society that has preconceived notions on how a man should act or be: Men don't need safety, a roof over their head, food and a warm place to lay down at night. Iyanla Vanzant say~ "We owe it to ourselves and everyone else to see that all people live painless and free. It is our duty to share what we know if it has helped us move beyond darkness in life. We should think about where we would be if there were no books or people to guide us when we need it." Homeless men face many odds. Living life on the streets day in or day out, facing the great odds of not surviving, is a dangerous existence, by any means. It can happen to an yone. Illness, disease, loss of employment through an accident, or a hundred other reasons could result in any one of us having a disability and losing our homes, fam ilies and/ or livelihood. Each of us has our independent struggles; hopefully, they teach us survival strengths. Many homeless men have strength of h eart beneath their sometimes gruff and unkempt exteriors. They have needs, wants, and yes, dreams maybe not as elaborate as some of ours. Sometimes those dreams consist only of wanting and needing a roof over their See Homeless Men, continued page 18 • �. STREETVIBES Page 10 · 10,000 Gather at Military Base to Close the School of the Americas 3,600 Participate in Civil Disobedience.... by School of Americas Watch Over I0,000 people from all over the Americas gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning co-workers in E l Salvador in 1989 by SOA graduates. When met by military police a half mile inside the gate, the lead group fe11 to the ground, reenacting a massacre. They were Protestors hold a sign that reads"Never more " A protester prays for some of the victims of SOA graduates, commemorated by white crosses. today to de mand the closure of the U.S. Arn1Y School of the Americas (SOA). Over 3,600 risked arrest by crossing onto the base in a massive act of civil disobedience. Thousands were called to express their outrage at the deadly impacts of U.S. counterinsurgency training on Latin American communities. More than 2, 100 protesters including clergy, students, veterans, and grandparents were arrested and processed. They were given letters banning and barring them from entering the base for five years. Actor Martin Sheen was ampng those arrested. The protesters were taken to local parks and released. The last busload of protesters was released shortly before midnight. At l l am, about 3,400 filed onto the base in a so lemn funeral proc ession , carrying thousands of crosses and other sacred symbols inscribed with the names of victims of SOA violence in Latin America. They were led by a group dressed in black shrouds and white death masks who carried coffins to commemorate the assassination of six Jesuit priests and their two Po/lee Search TABD pig for contraband among the fi rst to be carried away by the milit_ary police. On ce the e ntire first procession had completely crossed the line, 32 additional activists, dressed as campesinos and soldiers, crossed the line and staged a massacre by Colombian para militari es. Th ey were immediately taken into custody by military police. Then a second procession of200 activists with giant puppets, costumes and drums entered t he base. Other affinity grou ps entered simultaneously through different entrances and engaged in various creative actions of nonviolent resistance, such as street-theater and the blocking of the road with their bodies. Dozens of activists planted corn in Ft. Benning soil as a symbol of life and hope. . In Chiapas, Mexico 300 members of the civil society group Las Abejas fasted and prayed simultaneously with the Georgia action. At great personal risk, Mexican human rights activists planted com in soil al a military camp in Chiapas in a coordjnated symbolic action. The vigil featured speakers from Chiapas and Colombia, as well as several other Latin American nations. Both Colombia and Chiapas have beeri targeted for massive U.S. military aid and counterinsurgency training. Colombia has more SOA graduates ( I 0,000) than any other nation. Paramil itary death squads are a key element of civilian targeted warfare as it is taught at the SOA. In Colombia, former Defense Minister Gen. Harold Bedoya, SOA graduate and guest instructor, has advocated the use ofparamilitaries for years. In Chiapas, Gen. Jose Ruben Rivas Pena, who took the elite Command and General Staff course at the SOA, has also called for the u se of param ilitaries. P a ra militari es, in collaboration with the Colombian and Mexican militaries, are now cited for the vast majority of human rights abuses in these conflicts. "We know the names of the generals and the high-ranki ng officers jmplicated in these killings, and nothing has been done," said Luis Eduardo Guerra, a Colombian peace activist whose community has repeatedly been,targeted by paramilitaries. "We know that the officers who trained the paramilitaries were trained at the School of the Americas." For more information, contact the School ofAmericas Watch PO Box 4566 - Washington DC 20017­ www.soaw.org CHE PROTEST , continued from page 1 the free market has no moral intell igence, and the WTO and the TABD have no soul. Generations ago, the dawn of the industrial revolution produced fantastic weaJth, but also great economic disparity, poorhouses and children working in factories. In response to this, people came together in a great movement-people of faith, people awakened to what is good and right and true, young people and old, people in labor unions, students, people in congregations­ people came together in a coalition to challenge the barbaric treatment of children, women and men. And they brought more justice and humanity to the land. And by the grace of God and with people like you, I can say this with certainty: We are back. 20 We are back to say to the market and to the powers and to the TABD that people are not commodities to be bought and sold: people are not machines to be used up and discarded; the earth is not a garbage dump to be raped, defiled and polluted. We are back to say that each person is holy and precious; each person bears the image of God; each person deserves our respect and our love. We are back. We are together. And we're not leaving. �ST RE ETV IBES Crossing the Line By Dan Marschner Page 11 funeral procession. Eventually, the procession was stopped by the military police. The high-risk group that led the procession carried caskets into the base, and at thi s point they placed their caskets and tbemsel ves on the ground in an attempt to get a rre sted. I can' t describe all the reasons why I found myself outside Fort Benning, Georgia, in a frigid, wet temperature, ready to be part of a · massive act of ciyiJ disobectience. I- was one of 3400 who stood ten across with a sm all c ross in my hand , terrified. I had no idea what I was walk ing into. but I knew .that l was followirig my conscience into Fort Benning. 1 was part of a to p rocessio n remember the victims of graduates of t he School of the Americas, a training fac ility for Latin American soldiers in Fort Benning. I had heard about the school for some time, Ft. Benning, Georgia, Nov. 18: Xavier Students Cross the Line and paft of me holding crosses commemorating the victims of the US parct­ expected an military training camp, the School of the Americans intimidating fortress L __:.:;.:::.:.;;:.:.!..:.:,.:.;.;,;..;_..::,._....,:~---------------with snipers on towers waiting for a target. Instead, I found myself staring at a rather simple gate, and the snipers were replaced with a lone police officer in a telephone pole mechanic's basket. I had difficulty imagining how such an unassuming place could have produced such horrific soldiers. Graduates of the School of the Americas have been linked to some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. Thousands of people have bee n murdered or have "disappeared" as a result of forces headed by SOA graduates. Protests against the school haye recently picked up steam, and the name of the school was changed due to the connotations of the former name. The name'Change did not lead to extensive changes in the school's curriculum, however, and so the protests continue. As part of the funeral march, I hoped that I might help close the school permanently. The procession was a very powerful experience for me. The procession's aim was to commemorate the lives of people killed by graduates of the school. After each name, those in the procession responded "Presente!'' to illustrate that the spirit of that person was guiding our path. I started about fifty ·rows back in the procession, and I moved slowly forward. As I reached the white line indicating the property of Fort Benning, I took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and continued marching with the procession. We were immectiately confronted with the sign te ll in g us that we were not permitted to enter the base for the purpose of protesti.ng. The procession continued well into the base. We tried to remain solemn, although occasional cheers did happen. Sometimes people became so wrapped up in the act of defying the law that they were bounding ~ith excess energy. I chose to place my cross on the side of the road, along with many others. Several crosses in the same vicinity created a graveyard­ like atmosphere, and helped to refocus the crossed that we would wait until an officer individually asked us if we were tHIS leaving the base voluntarily or if we were asking to be anested. We wanted confrontation to confirm that we were willing to accept the consequences of breaking the law. We weren't disappointed. After several hours of indecision, we were · finally confronted. We saw an officer ahead of us asking people if they were leaving by bus or by walking out of the base. The six of us quickly huddled and decided that this was the moment we were waiting for. When the officer approached me, I was intimidated and confused, but I quickly decided that I wanted to face prosecution. When we walked past another officer, he informed us that we could lose our student Joans if we were processed. After a slight hesitation, we continued forward. All six of us eventually decided to take the bus off the base and let the Army decide what to do about us. The bus ride was nerve-racking. We had no idea where we were headed, but the rest of the protesters in the bus were very suppo rtive. The bus drove through Columbus, Georgia as we . waited for our fate. I didn' t know what to expect, but I was ready to accept the consequences of my action. The bus drop ped us off at a park about a mile from the base. No military officers greeted us", and no processing occurred. We were free, and the experience e nde d without severe consequences. I was pleased with this result. We walked back to the base, where other Xavier students who made the journey met us. The energy outside the base was tremendous, and the celebration was incredible. We may not have closed the base, but we continued the struggle. Crossing the line was a powerful experience for me, one I hope I will not get the opportunity to do next year. Everyone else stopped walking, but continued singing or chanting. The litany ·of victim s continued, and the "Presente!" chants with them. The standstill lasted several hours. At first, the military police told the .crowd that they were free to leave at any time, either by returning through the gate from which they came, or by being bussed off the base. Bussing off the base carried the additional possibility of being processed for trespassing , which could lead to a ban and · This sign welcomed protesters outside Fort Benning. bar letter. This letter would prevent someone from entering the base for the next five years. Most of the people in the procession bad no interest in leaving, however, so we continued to defy the military police and stay right where we were. Food and water became extremely important at this point, because they were in short supply. Luckily, the six Xavjer students came prepared, and no one became weak or dehydrated." We kept waitrng. Every once in a while, someone from the School of the Americas Watch (th'e..group that organized the prote.~ ) would provide an update of thh situation. Militar y Officers began walking the crowd, to answer questions and to ensure that the protest remained peaceful. In fact, I witnessed no acts of viol e nce by the protesters or the military police throughout my experience, a remarkable feat. The gro up of Xavier students decided before we _ �EDITORIAL STREETVIBES PAGE No Deterrent for Police Abuse of Power By Tom McKay Why shouldn' t the police abuse homeless people? Nobody can stop them. If homeless people cannot afford a lawyer to defend their civil rights, they have no rights. The sheer volume of citatio ns given to homeless people is a testimony to the investment in police harassment. The Coalition on Homelessness bas found that in 1999 the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) issued a record total of 23,87 1 citations for so-called "qual ity of life" infractions. While working to protect homeles people from this unconscionable abuse, it has been learned that many of the e citations are i sued even though there bas been no violation of the law. For example, the SFPD loves to issue citations to homeless people for "Obstructing the Sidewalk" (MPC 22). These citations are issued even when the sidewalk is not being blocked. They are given to homeless people who are simply sitting on the sidewalk, even though Lhe sidewalk is wide and there is plenty of room for pedestrian traffic to walk past. Homeless people are then put to the trouble of arranging for a court date and appearing in court to defend themselves against the citation. UsualJy it comes down to a judicial determination of credibility. The judge almost always believes the testimony of the officer, unless the homeless person can prove his innocence. In any case, most homeless people are not lawyers, and they are not skillful enough to successfully defend themselves in court. Homeless people lose in court so often that they give up even trying to defend themselves. When a homeless person does not try to defend himself in court, the court conveniently decides that the person is automatically guilty and they are fined accordingly. When a judgment against a homeless person is not paid within a certain amount of time, it turns into a warrant his arrest. Once a fine has become a warrant, a police officer has the disc;retion of using the warrant as blackmail to enforce obedience to his every command. Any person with a warrant on his record must obey the police offi cer or go to jail. The net result of all this is that innocent, poor ho meless people are routinely abused, fined, and arrested by the system which we have called "justice." One problem with depending on "law and order" to solve all our problems is that "law and order" has no HEART. There is no forgiveness, mercy, compassion, or love in law enforcement. What this world needs is more love, not more crue lty. The police are the heroes of the rich . Rich people don' t care how the polke get rid of homeless people; they j ust want them gone. The police are encouraged to harass homeless people because that is how they get them to go to so me other place. Every city is doing the same thing. The ultimate message to homeless for ' people is get off the planet, or go to jail. Our political leaders refuse to invest the resources that are necessary to solve the problem in a humane way. There are no effective checks and balances when it comes to investigating the police. Internal Affairs is no more than a pretense that is used to prevent any real oversight from being established. Do we allow criminals to investigate themselves? Of course not! Nor can we allow the police to investigate themselves. Their Internal Affairs investigations are preventing the public from being informed about police misconduct. San Francisco has an Office of Citizen's Complaints (OCC) which investigates complaints against police officers. Although this offi ce has done a competent j ob of investigating complaints, it has no power to require a public heru·ing. When it has found that a complaint is valid it can o nly recommend that the San Francisco Police Commission hold a public hearing. The Police Commission has historically been protective of police officers. They simply refuse to hear a case if they think it might embarrass the SFPD. Mary Dunlap, Director of the OCC, explains that the San Francisco City Charter does not give the OCC the authority to compel the Police Commission to hold a public hearing on a verified complaint. She feels that we need to amend the City Charter to give that power to the OCC. That is certainly a step in the right direction. But as long as the members of the Police Commission are doing everything in their power to protect the police from public exposure of their misconduct, there will still be a problem. We have heard, on the street, of a case in which a homeless person was assaulted by a police officer. When the homeless person filed a complaint with the OCC, he was assaulted again by the same police officer. The police officer was never arrested or charged with a crime, even though assault is a crime. Needless to say, this person no longer wishes to try to assert his lawful rights. There is little doubt that the police officers know about one another's criminal behavior, but the "Code of Silence" protects police officers from criminal prosecution. The Blue Brotherhood would never want to arrest their friend and fellow officer. Good, honest, whistle-blowers are run out of the department. This is a clear indi cation that the department is hiding criminal behavior from public exposure. Law Enforcement has become an injustice in itself. It is corrupt to the core. Undercover Police pretend to be something they are not. In the process of fooling everybody they become profic ient liars and deceivers. When police interrogate people they lie to the suspect in order to get more information out of him. Police officers have become so habituated to dishonesty that it comes naturally to them. When they get on Page 12 the witness stand, they are the best liars that ever "testi-lied." They have become such expert liars that you cannot trust their testimony at all. There is no way to reform a system that has so much power to protect the perpetrators of its crimes. The rich power elite has captured the highest positions of power and authority, and they use the police for their personal protection. Most of our political leaders are bought and paid for by the rich. The rich, who are gradually turning our political system into a police dictatorship, have subverted democracy. The police are notorfous for ignoring our Constitutional, Civil , and Human Rights . The police are totally out of control. We must resist this unju t abuse of police power. A funny thi1=1g happened on the Way Home from the Forum. By Tom Billman ' It was clear fall day in 1998. I had just finished a gig at the Harlem Coffee . House, with my fellow band members, Victor, Dishon, Matt, and Jack of THE HEALING SYSTEM. Victor was driving my wife and I home, up Hamilton Avenue. the main drag in Northside. ~ Suddenly we were surrounded by about 8 cop cars and had about 10 rifles pointed at our heads. We were quick to put our hands up in a gesture of surrender. After questioning us, the cops were quickly convinced that we were not the diabolical culprits who had just robbed a convenience store in Northside. Several of the officers were a bit apologetic, having themselves realized from the start that we were innocent citizens. We thought, to humor ourselves, "Perhaps it was part of a campaign against the <Rad locks conspiracy; or against the conspiracy of avant-garde jazz." But, really, we came close to death that night. Our mellow attitude the only thing which prevented us from lying in a pool of blood on Hamilton Avenue. Citizens with even a touch of paranoia may well have made a stupid mistake that would cost them their lives. Judging from more recent events like the death of two suspects on election night, the police seem to have the attitude that it is better to murder innocent citizens than to subject themselves to any risk whatsoever. And truly, Fear seems to be the guiding force in law enforcement today, just as it is the primary element in the dissolution of respect in modem society. Rather than the police and the law being part of the solution, they are in­ creasingly a big part of the problem. And resorting to the letter of the law when the spirit has fled is like arming babies with lethal weapons. �STREETVIBES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR November 10, 2000 To: Streetvibes Homeless Newspaper Dear Sir: , I am writing you thi.s,letter in response ~o an articl e written by WaIT.en Perkins that appeared in the November issue of your informative newspaper. You produce a good newspaper that can benefit all of the people regardless of whether they live on the streets or in an apartment. Your newspaper is very educational and much can be learned by reading it as it gives news about people that the other two local newspapers don 't cover. rm·writing this letter to you because I am very offended by the article written by Mr. Perkins. I'll go sentence by sentence s~ that you can understand why I am upset. Mr. Perkins starts off by saying that he is an 'indi vidual. I agreed with him one hundred percent, and Mr. Perkins is entitled to his opinion. This is a free country, so he can say anything he desires and I respect hi s opinion even though I disagree with him. He says that he wears black and listens to different music. I wear a t-shirt and most of the time and I listen to talk radio. I also have numerous f1iends and I resent how some people exclude me or think that they are better than me. If they don' t like me, then that is their problem, not mine. I don't wear designer clothes. I do go to the Goodw ill or to yard sales to get my clothes. I agree with him about the rights of workei:s because I' ve been a union member my entire working career. I'm a good, moral person who starts my mornings off with prayer. I don' t belong to any gun groups (NRA) because they are Republicans who are trying to get Mr. Bush elected. I do have a couple of weapons which are registered to have in my home. I strongly stand up for personal rights and the right to do as I wish in the privacy of my home. The next~entence in Mr. Perkins' article is very offensive. He states, "fags want to tal\e away gun rights." Mr. P erkins, I ~sk you for o ne piece of evidence where gay people request th at people not own weapons. I own two weapons and.I'm. gay so why ~hould I oppose anyone else owning a weapon? I've never used my weapons and I pray to God that I never have to resort to such violent means. My real question to Mr. Perkins is this: why does it matter to you what I do behind closed doors? I don't care -what you do so why should you be concerned with what I do? The Republicans try to oust Mr. Clinton from the White House because of his personal life and I feel that you're wrong to invade my personal life. I don't hate the police nor do I hate you or anybody else. I would never shoot anybody unless they broke into my home and tried to hurt me. Even then, I would still try to resolve the problem without resorting to violence. Your last paragraph showed me how much of a racist you really are. I went to a school that was 98 percent of one color but it didn't mean anything to me because I was there to get an education. Mr. Perkins, you sound as though you are upset with some of the decisions you have made in life, and I can agree with you because I made some bad . decisions also. I've worked all my life and it doesn't get any easier as I get older but I'll retire one someday. I graduated high school at 18 and then I had to go to the ..:,,~""military (Air Force 1965-69) and ended up in Vietnam from April 1968-69. I got out of the military, then rej oined. the reserves in 1977 until 1996. I also went to the Gulf War for.six months but that was nothing com.pared to Vietnam. I take insults and threats all the time but that is part of the job. I do n't like for my s upervisors to get on me but that is part of the job. I can't walk off the job like you because I'm too old (55), so I keep working until the da)' I get the opportunity to retire. I hope that Mr. Perkins ·can relate and see bis thinking towards gay people. There's more gay people in Cincinnati tha n you think. We keep our lives private because of the threat of harm from people such as Mr. Perkins who hate us but don' t really know ME. I wisb I could identify myself to Mr. Perkins because I ~· Warren Perkins' Response Dear Sir, It seems that you have missed the point of my poem. The intent of the poem was to t>Oint out the hypocrisy that s~me ~ople- bave. I tend not to hate people. Hating people is bad policy when you are in the line of work I am. If I had those kinds of hatreds,. I would probably work for the Pat Buchanan campaign (he did have an African American running mate by the way). My work was meant as a satire. I was making fun of people who hate others. One example was wHen I wrote: "I am an individual. Th~s why I wear all black and listen tq different music. I am my own person. Just ask all my friends how different I am, they dress in black anq listen to the same music so they should know just how-differ~nt I arq." See the vie~point is that of a person who is a hypocrite. The point of this is that many·people who claim to be different and tolera(rt of other viewpojnts really just have a different kind of prej udice. T he first viewpoint is Qne of a "typical" activist that one might meet, a person who claims to be open-minded but really is intolerant. My second viewpoint is that of a "typical,. conservative person who is also very homophobic. The hypocrisy 1 tried to show is that many conservative people tend to talk about person privacy and freedoms but the)! then turn around try to restrict the Page 13 think after he got to know me and how I feel about people, he would really like me and respect me as a person and not a FAG. Mr. Perkins, I was going to make copies of your article and send them to the local tristate gay newspaper, but I won't because it would cause gay people not to buy Streetvibes and that would hmt the homeless. How do you think I got a copy of this paper? I bought it from a homeless person. I hope that you can find it in your heart to have love and compassion for your fellow beings instead of hate. Please start saying good things about people and learn from a person before you judge them. May God bless all of you and I 'll continue to buy your paper even though I know you have member(s) on your staff who hate me. That's the same as hating a person of color and you don ' t even know them. Peace to all. rights of others. "I stand up for personal rights and my right to do what I want in the privacy of my own home. You know its fags tha~ want to take away gun rights. They are afraid what good mora] people might do if we ever found out what they are doing behind closed doors." Row someone say that they have a right to do what they want in their own home but restrict what other want to do in privacy? The answer is that they can't, that's why I am making fun of them. My last viewpoint is that of "typical" angry down and out black man. I am a black man and I am very angry when black men blame racism for every single problem that comes along. l have seen people in my own family curse out their bosses then tom around and blame "the white man'' for not · letting thero get ahead in life. "You can't trust these people they always think you ate back in slavery days. Yellin at you to do shit I gotta go look for another Job right now though. If I get this job r 11 be making enough m.o ney to say fuck you to anybody. I ain't goin to take· no Shit off anybody. Soon as those Assholes start telling me what to do I'm gone." In my poem I set up three distinct perspectives, that, if rea~ carefully, show that I am supporti ve of your viewpoints. I hope this cleared up any misunderstanding. Waffen J. Perkins House Manager Needed : A 16-bed men's homeless shelter seeks a "hands on" house manager. Responsibilities include: supervising/training staff, coordinating volunteers, fund-raising; day-to­ day operating/managing house. Experience working with homeless preferred. Send resume and references to: The Catholic Worker House P.O. Box 10118; Cincinnati, OH 45210 513-321-1341. Deadline for application 72/75/00 �. ,. ~ .. .. ,. ~ STREETVIBES \ .' .. POETRY The Great Physician and the Paralytic Page 14 MISS LIBERTY Anthony Watkins On page 19 of the Big Book of Alcoholics -No more hunger Miss liberty ain't did shi t for me Anonymous, at the top of the page, the first com­ l expect a miracle as far as the eye can see, except for poverty, plete line reads, "After such an approach many take -peace for a ll men up their beds and walk again". The preceding page nd equality; and misery. I expect a miracle spoke about the approach of one alcoholic sharing his t rick m akes me ·sick. T -no mor e horQelessness his story with another suffering alcoholic. In study­ While others die, this witch gets rich I expect a miracle ing the book, a " newcomer" asked, what this line Miss liberty, yo u lie to me, meant. The following is the story that the wise and If you can percejve it, a nd believe it, you you put me h ere, experienced "old-ti mer" shared with him. can receive it ....Today. here brothers get shotup, locked up and Once upon a time, a great physician, known for ....They call me '!yfr. Lee slaughtered by these crooked pigs his miraculous skills and heatings, was teaching a It's time somebody split y'all wigs, you been group of doctors, writers and teachers and learned ricking way too danrn long men, many of whom were skeptical of the growing It time to release this rage that's been buried reputation of man and the miraculous cures and in a dark cage. healings credited to him. While lecturing o n the sub­ ject of spiritual healing and the power of God, four Blood, sweat, and tears for 400+ years be!ievers brought a man, whose legs were paralyzed, Why is it the black man you fear? into the assembly to be healed by the Great Physi­ Why do you pigs give us the deaf ear cian. The Great Physician, seeing the faith of the four Is it that we stand solid as a rock, men and discerning the spiritual illness that afflicted you pigs can't stop, the paralytic, gave words of encouragement to the or clearly knock me off my block man and told him that his sins were forgiven. The Miss Liberty red, white, blue The Greater Cincinnati skeptics in the crowd openly whispered among them­ Does those colors only stand for you selves, wondering how this man could assure this Coalition for the Homeless If so, you can get the black fits, man "take heart son; are forgiven. because I'm sick of this The Great Physician, sensing the doubts of the Annual Holiday Dinner But now I know you want to cop out. assembled scholars, asked, " Why do you entertain will take place on .evil thoughts in your heart? Which is easier, to say But yet, in turn, blow my brains out your sins are forgiven, or to say to this man to get up Because it's the g's in m e, the good in me December9 and walk? So that you may know that I have the What America can't see, Miss Liberty Pendleton Heritage power to heal this man. The Great Physician imme­ M iss Liberty, take a few m oments, diate!y perfonned "spiritual surgery" with miraculous Center, Walk in my shoes, a young youth mentally techniq ues that only he among all men possessed. 2760 Eastern Ave . beaten and abused. The Great Physician then told the paralytic to "get (The Old Railroad Depot) , up, take your bed and walk." . When the masses saw this they were encouraged HOUSING ADVOCATE at 6:00P.M. and they praised God who had given such authority ticfcets: $15 NEEDED · to men. The Great Physician was a man called Jesus . To malce your reservations, Friars Club Shelter has a part-time position The story of the Healing of the Paralytic appears in available working with residents of its' call 513-421-7803 three of the gospels. Matthew, Luke and M ark. The Homeless Shelter For Families and Low Cost theme or message within the story is centered upon (Transportation available) Residency for Men. 10 hours/week, evenings faith, the power of God, and the forgiveness of sin. and weekends. Salary commensurate with In the Big Book, the writer was trying to con­ experience. Interested applicants should mail vey the message, that as a result of one alcoholic resume to Friars Club, 65 McMillan St. , Cinti., carrying the message to another, that a miracle of - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ­ OH 45219, ATTN: Housing Coordinator recovery is possible. A miracle...The thought of this .or fax to 241 -0356 miracle reminds me of a song by the Gospel group Disturbance Prayer the Clark Sisters. I've attempted to " boil" the song .. Chris Chatfield, Housing Coordinator. Lord, make me a channel of your down to the basic poem and message that these art­ distu rba nee. ists were trying to convey. That message being that See con.tiniied page 14 Where there is apathy, let me provoke, they possessed the faith to look fo r, to expect and to believe that a miracle wa~ going to happen. Where there is silence, may I be a voice, pastr ies know affectionately as "ol' donuts". In short W here there is too much comfort order, this man has gone from being hori1eless, hungry, dirty and raggedy to being sheltered (still homeless), fed, and too little action, Looking for a Miracle... and cleanly dressed. The county overall to this point Grant disruption. I expect the impossible... has done good. This is very important. A man suffe1ing Where there are doors closed, I feel the intangible ... from variou::. physical. mental and spiritual ailments has and hearts locked, l see the invisible. already received relief in Lwo key areas: physical and Grant me the willingness to list-en. (I know that) the sky is the limit mental. Jusl the process of gaining shelter and not When laws dictate and pain is To what Tcan have worrying about eating regularly, the man's spirits are overlooked .. . (He said) that the sky is the limit lifted. He feels better. He ·s off the street, off the block When tradition speaks To what I can have. "block'" and out of the "skillet". It is important to note louder than need ... that this man's spiritual illness may not have been aided I can have anything I want, ·"'cause Our own church ... (by his own choice) one iota. A window of opportunity The sky is the limit to what I cm1 have. Our own poor... is rapidly closi ng. Just to recap, this man entered in the shelter in what the bible calls a "broken state" - humbled, Dist urb us, 0 Lord, If I believe and receive it, depressed and helpless. A spirit or fl icker of willingness Teach us to be radical, God will perform it today. is alive, he knows that he is powerless and that his life Gra nt that I may seek rath er (yes, he will) has become unmanageable. He comes to the shelter with to do justice than to t alk about it; some level of commitment to get clean and sober. This To be w ith as well as for th e poor; ·I'm looking for a miracle wi ndow may close very quickly, the rate of closure being To love the unlovable as well as Looking' for a miracle to happen to me dependent upon any number of factors. the lovely; Expect the impossible At this point the man may choose any of several To touch the passion of Jesus in the Expecting something good to come routes. He may choose a course that leads to enlm·gement Pain of those we meet; I feel the intangible of hi s spiritual li fe . This me ans th at he has a To accept responsibility to be church. I may not be able to c01npete. "shot"(chance, hope, opportunity, etc.). T he man may l see the invisible Lord, make m e a channel of your move into what I call the maintenance mode; you know, That's what hope is eat, sleep and poot. Just like a baby. There may be other distu rbanee. I am looking for a miracle to happen to me regular activities, smoking cigarettes, readi ng (plenty of submitted by Gina Kohlhepp J expect a miracle Mt. Airy, Mt. Airy , continued page 17 �. . STREETVIBES t:.~ & ' . . ...... , . . . .. ... . . . . . . . WEB VIBES /MED VIBES www.homelesskids.org Working with Homeless Children Worldwide by Dan Marschner Homeless Children International is a non­ denominational Christian organization that helps to empower homeless children throughout the world. The organization works with foster parent groups, orphanages, and programs that support street kids. The group is founded on the belief that homeless children need love and support in order to survive in their difficult circumstances. Homeless Children International began after its current president, David High, visited street children in Brazil. He was inspired by his trip to get more information about homeless children throughout the world, and he eventually founded various branches of the organization to address the issues of homeless kids worldwide. The group was founded in I991 and now has projects on five continents. One of the newest of these projects is in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenya program started in 1998 as an attempt to reach out to the estimated 60,000 street kids in Nairobi alone. Homeless Children International-Kenya has four aspects: the hospital visitation program, the street outreach .program, the Woodley Informal Education Program, and the Chombo Cha Upendo (Swahili for "Channel of Love") Street Girls Program. Volunteers for Homeless Children International visit children who are sick and tenninaUy ill. The volunteers hope to brighten these children's lives, especially kids without regular visitors. The volunteers hope to provide a few smiles to the kids, and provide Two of several people Homeless Childern Interna­ tional has helped in Kenya. them with some friendship. The street outreach program addresses homeless children in their element. Homeless children may live on the street as a result of unstable living environments with their parents due to sexual or physical abuse, lack of funds to support children, or drug or alcohol use . Teams from Homeless Children International visit these kids on a regular basis, establishing trust and illustrating concern for them. Some of the kids want to leave the streets, so teams provide counseling and referrals. Teams also have access to basic supplies, and occasionally provide things to make life on the streets easier (i.e., blankets). The Woodley Informal Education Program Page 15 provides educational resources to homeless kids. Classrooms are tailored to the children's individual needs, and attempt to address the educational deficiencies that children face. A boys shelter is also part ~f the program. The program is open seven days a week and provides an important opportunity for children to escape street life. The program also has a counseling aspect for the parents whose children are part of the program. This counseling helps the parents to better understand their children's needs. The Chombo Cha Upendo Street Girls Program provides shelter for girls, whose life on the streets is often more difficult than boys. This program has three stages. The first is a temporary shelter where girls can receive food, shelter, education, and counseling. The shelter provides a safe environment where girls can escape from the harsh difficulties of life on the Streets. The longer a girl stays in the program, the more responsibility she learns. With time, the girJs have the opportunity to prepare their' own meals, do household chores, and take educational classes. The second phase is a transitional house, for those girls who no longer desire life on the streets and want to continue improving their lives. At this transitional house, .girls have the opportunity for more responsibility and they learn some vocational skills. The third stage is a permanent housing option for homeless girls. This option allows the girls to get advanced vocational training and help to transition them into independent living. . Homeless Children International provides vital services for homeless kids. The organization illustrates that homelessness is a worldwide problem, and that treating homeless people with love, respect and support is absolutely necessary. Homeless Health Tips: Hypothermia By Doctor Donovan With the cold weather here, everyone has to pay attention to the cold, but most especially eeople who are homeless because of their greater exposure to the elements. Average body temperature is around 98.6°. Hypothermia refers to a condition where the body temperature falls below 95.0°. In the United States, about 750 people die each year due to hypothennia. Elderly people are particul~rly at risk for hypothermia because their bodies ate less able to adapt to changes in temperature, and because medications an d diseases may decrease their ability to adapt. Because of these problems, older persons may even develop hypothermia indoors. Sometimes yon hear people say that they're goi11g to drink an alcoholic beverage to "warm up". Alcohol may make you feel wanner because it opens up the blood vessels of the skin. But, in fact, alcohol makes you less able to compensate for the cold outside temperature because these opened up blood vessels let body heat to escape through the skin. Many medications can also reduce a person's ability to deal with the cold. One group of medications that does this are the ones used to treat many mental illnesses. In addition, dehydration, starvation and prolonged contact with wet clothing or metal can add to the risk of developjng hypothermia. Because a significant proportion of homeless people suffer from alcoholism and/or mental illness, ·and because of thei r rather constant exposure to the elements, they are very susceptible to hypothermia. Hypothermia occurs gradually (as opposed to frostbite which happen s quickly). The symptoms most often progress Hke this: • • • • • • • • • Pale and puffy :face Cold feet, hands and face Excessive shivering (Although when the body temperature fa])s below 90°, shivering actually stops.) Listlessness, drowsiness, then mental confusion Apathetic, hostile or irritable attitude Cold belly Poor coordination or balance, jerking movements Slow, shallow breathing Then low blood pressure, erratic and slow pulse, and finally death occur. As many of these symptoms overlap with intoxication or mental i11ness, impending disaster could be ignored in people with these problems. So it's essential that people be provided with a warm environment even in somewhat cold weather. At even lower temperatures, especially with significant wind chill and/or wet conditions, anyone who is not easily able to move about must be brought to a warm place. If someone shows the milder symptoms of hypothermia, he or she should be moved to a warm place, any wet or damp clothing should be removed and warm clothing put on and then should be given something warm (but not hot) to drink. Do NOT give hot liquids or caffeine, force any food or drink, give alcohol, massage the skin, cover with heavy blanket.;;, use heating pads or hot water bottles or aUow the person to walk if the feet are affected. With more serious,syrnptoms, or if there is any question, the person should be evaluated by a professional. As you can see, havit1g a warm place to stay is essential in this weather. Supporting places like the Drop Inn Center and other shelters, and encouraging the city's maintaining warm sites for especially cold days. will help prevent injuries and death from hypothermia. Also check in on older persons who are alone and can quickly fall victim to cold weather, even inside. �VEGGIEVIBES STREETVIBES •1 £ at V.1.our Vcegg1es • Save 0 1 ' By Susan H uesken Page 16 most cattle in the US now spend 100 days in feedlots, where they are each fed over 1,900 pounds of grain and soybean products (about 19 pounds a Recent increases in gasoline and oil prices, day) plus hormones and antibiotics. What we have plus the release ofoil from our reserves, have made today are grain-guzzling beef animals. the economic and military implications of our And it is not only cattle. Yesterday's reliance on foreign oil increasingly apparent. The chickens were barnyard creatures, and didn't take need to reduce our oil dependence has become too large a bite out of our grain scores. But with more urgent. the advent of factory farming, the birds are now Bur few of us realize how much our food kept inside immense factory compounds, and fed choices have to do with all of this. enormous quantities of grain. Growing any kind of food, and getting it Hogs, too, are big grain consumers in the into our homes and restaurancs takes energy. Some US. In fact, hogs consume almost a third of the foods take considerably more than others! g_rain that is fed to American iiv~stock, ranking Agricu lture engineers at Ohio Seate nght up there with cattle in the quantity of grain University compared the energy cost of producing they are fed. Today, vast amounts of our nation's poultry, pork and other meats with the energy costs most fertile land are growing feed to fatten animals of producing soybeans, corn, and other foods. They found that even the least "Not yet hardened by the world, for slaughter. To plow and efficient plant food is nearly ten times as this kid knows that animals are harvest these huge fields, for loving, not eating"... 1:B. hundreds of thousands of efficient as the most energy efficient tractors, trucks, irrigation animal food. Even the best of the animal pumps and other equipment enterprises examined, returns only burn millions of gallons of 34.5% of the investment of fossil energy gasoline and diesel fuel each ro us in food energy, whereas the poorest day. Ir takes about 140 offive crop enterprises examined returns gallons of oil equivalent to 328%. raise just one acre of corn. Other studies show the same . Additionally, these fields are pattern. Corn or wheat provide 22 times sprayed with enormous more protein per calorie of fossil fuel quantities of pecrochemical­ expended than does feedlot beef. based fertilizers, herbicides, Soybeans are even better - 40 times more and pesticides. efficient than feedlot beef1 We have based our Today's meat production food productions system on systems are an energy conservationist's petroleum and other energy worst nightmare. On a traditional farm, will continue to dwindle. sources t at pigs and chickens kept warm in the winter by Right now, modern agriculture yields come largely . nestling in bedding. On today's factory farms, from cheap oil. When oil starts getting expensive, however, there is no bedding, only cold concrete we wont have the resources to heavily fertilize our or drafty metal slat floors. In order to maximize soil. the animal's weight gain under these condicions, The oil consumed i.n raising the vast temperatures must be artificially controlled, and amounts of humanly edible grain, that is fed to that takes energy. livestock, might be justified if the mathematics of More energy js needed to bring feed to the the meat equation were positive, but for every 16 animals. And more is needed to move their wastes lbs. of grain and soy fed to beef cattle in the US, away. 1n fact, the whole assembly is designed at we only get one p9und back on our plates. The every step to minimize human labor, and instead other 15 pounds are lose to us, because they are use machines that consume energy. either used by the animal ro produce body heat, Instead ofgoing from pasture to slaughter, or to make some part of its own body that we do ANOTHER CLASS Disc-Jockev CLIFFORD JONES (513) 76 1-3464 e-mai l: (513) 230-6353 not eat (like hair or bones), or are excreted. D avid Pimentel, a Cornell University professor and Henry Kendall, a Nobel Prize­ winning physicist and professor at MIT, in their paper "Global Food Supply" found that abou t 38% of the world's grain goes to feed livestock. In the US, about 135 million tons per year of grain, of a total production of 312 million tons,' goes into feeding livestock; that is 43%. But in a United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA) report, World Cereals Used as Feed, their figure was that 70% of U.S. grain is fed to farmed animals. The department ofAgriculrure also says that the average, for all US livesrock, is seven pounds of grain and soy fed, co produce one pound of edible food. Using this figure, of rhe 135 million tons of grain and soy fed to our catde, poultry, and pigs, only 19 million tons are returned ro us in meat, poultry and eggs. The rest, (135-19), about 116 million cons of grain and soybeans ­ become inaccessible to human consumption. Imagine how many people that grain could feed, not to mention the amount ofoil, land, water char were squandered -away ro produce ic. In chis modern meat production system, we have a level of wastefulness that is unprecedented in human history. Considering the wastefulness of feeding grain to animals, it becomes apparent that the food choices we make everyday, can have a larger impact than just on our health. This seemingly innocent decision, of eating meat, affects our country's oil and en ergy consumption and its available food supplies. Also, the extra grain chat is fed to animals creates additional pollution and uses enormous amounts of our land and water. So a decision not to eat animals and to become a vegetarian, can be the best choice you can make for the future health of your body and for our planet. butlQ's place Permanent Housing for for merly hom eless individuals I ·. .... at 1300 Vine Stree t O Secure, drug-free bui lding O Single room occupancy for men and women A case manager on site O An elevator to all floors o Green space D Soon to have common space and outdoor terrace . To a~ply for buddy's p lace you need.. . · D A picture ID o A pol ice check o To be homeless. o Rent is income based. Applicants mu st have an income less t han $ 12, 150. Supportive services program agreement.•.. When a tenant signs a lease, s/ he also signs a supportive services program agr~ement ~s a part of the lease. The agreement states that ~he tenant will be act1vesly working on a plan for self-sufficiency which includes attendance at regular meetings with the case manager at Buddy's Place. contact: COnnt Nanfna·, Case manager --- Mon -Fri 7: 30 am - 4: 30 pm 5V--7M.fJ8tV ~ Naet , ReSTOC, Inc. Resident Manager --- Mon-Fri 2:00 pm - 10:00 pm Non-Profit SELF-HELP CO-OP HOUSING �STREETVIBES Page 17 WORDS FROM THE EVANGELIST We are once again closing out the year together. Much has happened. At the start of the year I gave caution regardi ng resolutions, and reminded all that true·change comes from God and the renewing of ones mind with the things of God. So now as you reflect back over the year; count your resolutions and com­ pare them with the change that God has wrought in your life. As you know I have been in Camp Washington working diUgently doing the work of the ministry, so as I close the year I would like to give you an over­ view of what has taken place. First, I'd Iike to introduce you to Pastor John Wierwille who leads worship, study, housing, and work camp ministries and provides direction and over­ sight for church staff and volunteers. He is also some one to call friend and brother. He is a thirty-three year old spirit-filled pastor who was beginning to be­ lieve he had gotten in way over his head. Then the thing he already knew in his heart burst forth: "GOD IS TN CONTROL" Once his faith became reality, there came to Camp Washington what Pastor John calls: " bread from heaven," and with this bread John has led work camps in the beautification of the church and neighbornood. There are presently twelve confirmands (after twenty­ plus years with none), young people who are enthusi­ astic and searching in the ir faith matched with ma­ ture adult Christians. The outreach ministries are so varied that the needs of all can be met somewhere in this church. There is the free GED school, that has computers with the latest software, there is the Home­ work Club which can always use more tutors, the Jor­ dan Center which presently has a smoking cessation class going on where the patch is provided and there are attendance incentives. There is the Camp's Cup­ board (our free store) where neighbors receive care bags, and all are welcome to come for emergency food and clothing. There is the new van which is being used to pick up people for Tuesday and Th ursd~y fam­ ily dinners, and Sunday morning worship. There is our mission partnership with Crusaders for Christ to Crank's Creek, and with the holidays upon us there are ju. t so many needs to be met. We gave out more than l 00 food boxes for Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time when we would like to help all who come calling, however, we can only do it with your help. We hope to give each fam ily who comes some gi ft items and some basic necessities. Last year Wash­ ington United Church of Christ helped approximately 180 families. This year we hope to help 200 fami1ies. Although we need lots of food items, we are in spe­ cial need of donations of new children's clothing, and donations of new (non-violent, please) toys and games. Monetary donations are also important to this pro­ gram. They may be mailed to: Washington UCC Christmas Program. 2950 Sidney Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45225 We are also returning to Crank's Creek on De­ cember 22, and we would like to take as many children's coats, hats, gloves, boots, toys, blankets, Mt. Airy, continued from page 14 novels around); talking, and avoiding. Work, (volunteer or otherwise), fami ly, wives, creditors, life, responsibility, court system, meetings, recovery ... . This man physically a nd mentally gets better each day. Certainly be is getting fatter. People who have suffered or endured hunger, irregular eating, often overeat and gain a lot of weight. A lot of food, and little exercise tend to do that. This mans chances of entering into quality sobriety at this time are slim and none. He is doing nothing to enlarge upon his spiritual life. There is another man who is an interesting type. Though suffering and enduring losses due to his addiction and/or alcoholism, he is a worker. His disease and/or mental illness have not yet totally robbed him of bis ability to work. He is a working, semi-functional individual. He is either not aware of or in denial of the extent of his illness. He may or may not be physically ready to work, but he believes that all of his problems will be lessened if he gets back to work. His focus is on seeking or returns back to work as quickly as possible. He ignores his health needs, and his need for spiritual healing, counseling, rest and recovery. He blocks out everything but the maintenance of his basic needs and his pursuit of work. He deludes himself into thinking that working wiJI make everything better. He may stay 3-4 weeks, or go out witb the first check. The truly sad case is the one whose disease allows him to work, save money obtain a sleeping room or apartment and then attacks him. He js victim of a hideous form of-self-deception. He is soon struggling and fighting himself as well as the disease. There is another man who also as most arrives in a broken state. He realizes in a moment of clear thinking that be needs more than a shower, meal and bed. He knows that he is not work ready. He wants to stop the pain. He seeks help. The social worker, SAMS treatment staff and Alcoholics Anonymous members who attend meetings on the "Hill", find him willing and desirous of help. What is available? He gets help in small, easily digestible amounts. A few words of encouragement from Steve Knight the Adfi!inistrator, Jackie the social worker, Bob McBrady, the psychologist. A counseling session, a brief discussion before or after a meeting. A teeth cleaning appointment with Cliff Jones, a visit to the medical van, a call to a former sponsor. Slowly, in some combination of the above begins to bring this man back to somewhat stable state of mind and towards recovery/restoration. He may reconnect with a wife, significant other, mother, brother, or friends. Life ain't great, but it's getting better. He may not even be conscious of the fact that time is a major factor in his healing process. You can't fast track time. It takes exactly 90 days to the second, to gain 90 days of sobriety. There are some realities about Ufe on The HiJJ that need to be "tetched on", just a bit. Some men come to the shelter, and continue to di:ink and drug. They are caught up in the obsession and compulsion and cannot stop of their own will. Probably no human power can relieve them of their alcoholism. If you recognize that line, you know what I'm talking about. They leave in the morning, head to the ' Rhine (or their using/drinking zone of choice) and do the ir thing. It this man stays long enough, and opens his eyes, he will see it. hams, chicke ns, and turkeys as possible. The day of the 22nd we will sort and bag food and clothjng in preparation for the approximately 2,000 men, women and children who will come out of the Appalacian mountains on the 23rd to receive their Christmas blessings. You, the reader, the people of God came through for Crank's Creek before. You read last month's story and saw the pictures which bear witness of your gen­ erosity, so I come asking again that you bless these people of Crank's Creek, Kentucky. To help in any way call Steve Myers 541-814l. I invite you, one and all , to come and fellowship with us at Washington UCC. Whether it be for Tues­ day or Thursday Family Night Dinner at 6pm or for Sunday Morning worship at I Oam, it is an experi­ ence that will not leave you unchanged. So, if you are already writing down your new year's resolutions, remember: He said, "l am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Rev. l :8a), and if you trust in Him from beginning to end He wi ll bring aboun he change you are seeking. Once again 1 thank all who have helped AWOL Ministries be a blessing to many. Whether it was through contributions, volunteering, or prayer you made it all possible. I ·am once agai n on-line, so you can e-mail me at awol@goodnews.net and be look­ ing for an AWOL Ministries webpage with the new year. 24 hour prayer requests are still received at 2 10­ 4181, and my mailing address re!Ylains: P.O. Box 36065, Cinn., Oh. 45236. Ill His Service, Rodney Sutton, Sr. They arri ve beat up and they leave only s lightly removed from that hopeless condition of mind and body. They use the shelter, as I have previously described. Like a boxer uses the stool between rounds, he rests, revises his strategy and rushes back into the fray. The only difference is that he is fighting a fight that he has no chance of winning without divine help. The man if honest, will see much of himself in this fe lJow. The man may be watching a friend, relative or fellow . traveler down the back.roads of life. Steve Knight, bless his heart, says and believes that everyone who comes to + + tbe hill comes because they want to change their lives. + At Jobs Plus you'll get the tools to get and keep the full-time, permanent job you're qualified for. lf you are serious about your fut ure, call us. Jobs Pl s 1625 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210 513124 1-1800 fax 5131241-1633 email: jobsplus@core.com Your Communi ty E mp loym ent �STREETVIBES AGENCIES CAREFULLY CAST THE FACE OF NEED By Adam C. Smith, St. Petersburg Times Area social service agencies have adopted a tried-and-true marketing move to maximize do­ nations for the homeless: "The Old White Guy." You may have seen him gri zzled and hunched over a plate of food, tugging at your heart strings: He could be your uncle or father after a lifetime of bad cho ices. Thousands of Tampa Bay residents will see his photo this holiday season and open their checkbooks for local homeless progran1s. But you probably won't find this sad follow at any area shelter. His photo, or o ne of another similarly down­ on-his-luck senior, appears in dozens of news­ papers from Florida to California. Advertjsing executives insist he is - or once was - an ac­ tual person in need, though they don't know off­ hand his name or whereabouts. He gets no roy­ alties. And while rescue missions don't much like to talk about it, Mr. Anonymous is also part of a curious tru ism among service providers for the homeless: the Old White Guy sells. Put a picture of a Hispanic teen, a black se­ nior, or any mother and child in a newspaper or direct mail piece, and people will give money. Use an old white man, and more people will g ive money, say advertising executives. "You test and you test and you test, and in the end you go with the guy who draws the most," said Tom Harrison, a senior vice presi­ dent at Russ Reid Co., which provides an ad cam­ paign to about 60 rescue missions across the country. "I was shocked because I would think a pic­ ture of a mother and child that's homeless and needs everything would draw the most, but it doesn' t," said Harrison. "What works best is the stereotypical vision of what the homeless per­ son is. People think of an older male alcoholic." The Tampa City Mission and St. Petersburg City Mission this year a.re using California-based Russ Reid to place newspaper ads featuring a wrinkled, white-ha.ired man in a ball cap look­ ing into a plate of food. The campaign la.st year helped the Tampa mission raise $227,000 and the St. Petersburg mission more than $350,000. Tampa's Metropolitan Ministries for the first time · this year started placing a sinlilar ad with a weath­ ered man's photo supplied by another national firm. The Old White Guy marketing principle raises perplexing questions about human nature and compassion. It is also the source of great debate among service providers who know first­ hand that the face of homelessness is in fact black and white, young and old, male and female. But the providers need every penny they can get to meet needs, and marketing pros keep re­ minding them that the elderly white man works best. "It's a big controversy, and there are groups ofpeople in the industry that are starting to chal­ lenge that assumption," said Chasz Parker, the former assistant director of Metropolitan Minis­ tries in Tampa and now the director of a large rescue mission in Syracuse, N.Y. "Everyone's told that the picture of the old white guy works best. Perhaps it reminds somebody of your dad, your uncle, your grandpa. Or perhaps it's just the most pathetic picture you can have. I just don 't know the answer." http://projects. is.asu.edu/mailmanllistinfo!hpn Page Camping Ban , from page 7 absolutely necessary to get that mean-spirited law overturned. Don't stereotype those who are homeless. I wanted to do it in the right way. I choose not to commit crimes to resolve my situation. I hung on. A lot of people get worn out - I was on the verge of being worn out, but I endured and prayed. My son and I - we have moxy. I would suggest Mayor Vera Katz be homeless for two or three months to see what it feels like to not be able to bathe when you need to, change your clothes, go to the restroom, or any of the normal things that everybody takes for granted. Being home less is not a crime, and it's demeaning to the police who a.re forced to spend time they could use to fight real crime to roust homeless ;Jeople. Mayor Vera Katz needs to leave it a lone and accept the defeat. This country was founded by people who camped and now we're too good for that. Judge Gallagher made the right decision." With the help of Northwest Pilot Projects, JOIN, and the generosity of Durham Construction Co., Mr. Wickes, Sr. and his son are now housed. Wickes, Jr. is now attending school, where he is studying computer technology in a special program that will be followed by a new job in the local computer industry. Mayor Vera Katz responded with frustration to Judge Gallagher's ruling, promising to use other violations to continue the C ity's efforts to keep homeless people off the streets . Some of the violations often used to keep homeless people on the move are trespassing, loitering. and public nuisance. An increase in these kinds of violations could be expected if Mayor Katz's strategy is put into effect. Mayor Katz hopes that the District Attorney will appeal the decision, and that the ordinance can continue to be enforced until the case is heard again - a process that may take as long as a year. The decision of some homeless people to remain living outdoors, when examined more closely, is not a decision to be homeless, but rather a decision to stop head-butting the brick wall of barriers to obtaining a home in a housing market that bas no mercy. This ruling may mean the dissolution of some of those batriers. Social service workers who help homeless people find housing are hoping this will mean that their clients' crimina l records will be cleared of anti-camping violations - ironically, one of the many barriers to obtaining housing for their clients. • • • • gfu (Jiau @Jw- · ~ 3722 Camden Avenue ~ Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 5 73-708-2228 bgeaster@fuse.net www.theglasscharmer.com ./ Economy cmd deluxe wedding invitations, bi!1h announcements, parties and custom work. Homeless Men , continued from p age 9 hea ds and a warm b ed to lay their bodies . Living day in and day out on the street or in a she lter by ones wit takes strength and courage. They are not " Strangers in a Strange Land." They need assistance just like at some point we all do. At this time of the year there a.re a lot of people w ho have needs - homeless families. and children, elderly, and the sick and shut-in. All I say is that there is a need for us to add homeless men when we think a.bout giving to others. Homeless men could use g loves, socks, caps, and warm outer clothing. Hopefully Vanzant's passage will allow ea.ch of u s to go outside with an open heart and an extended hand and try to pull someone else a.long, giving them some of the strength that we have gained from the dark moments we encountered in our lives. • • • • 1s Oregon Camping . from page 9 us in need of financial support," he said. In order to remain open beyond Nov. 22, the budget requires at least $7,000 for each of the next three months. The Free Food Program operated out of varjous churches in the Hermiston area may also be in danger. Right now, those in need can get at least one meal five times a week, thanks to volumeers. The program began about nine years ago through the United M e thodist Churc h. H ermiston js not the o nly town with programs to feed the poor. Most towns do something to alleviate need in their communities. ln Irrigon, the Irrigon -Boardman Emergency Center acts as a distribution center for food and clothing. People in Pendleton usually are directed through the Salvation Army office, but workers at St. Mary's Outreach said they see at least half a dozen homeless a month. La Grande's Salvation Army is also where the greater portion of needy people are directed in that area- the same with Baker City. But most of these centers are only open in th e daytime. T he re is no place for the homeless and abandoned to stay. The closest shelte rs are the Union Gospel Mission in P asco and the Christian Aide Center in Walla Walla. Agape House started out as a shelter, but liability insurance a nd havi ng to pay someone to be at the site around the clock .was too much for their budget. "I don 't know what the answer is for these homeless," Thurlow said. "Some of ~t is their own choosing, but not all of it. Some of it is domestic viole nce. I think sometimes people get so discouraged that they give up, which is an issue of hope," he said. • • • • Wish List Streetvi'{Jes 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. Tf you can help out with some of the items on our wish list. please give us a call... Q Advertisers -Classified and unclassjfied Q SuppUes for vendor's lounge (coffee, tea, paper toweJs, cream and sugar.etc. Q Office and Cleaning Supplies 0 Photography Help - film (400,800, 1600,), developing help, digital and/or film camera(s)f CJ Computers/components for Streetv.ibes story-writing, editing, research. 0 A new vehicle (van?) ¥· If you can help!, contactus 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 �Calendar of Events Streetvibes has a monthly calendar of events to keep you informed of happenings around the Greater Cincinnati area. Please contact us if you have an item to list. Any submission is welcome: local community council meetings, social justice forums, protests, community festivals, art shows. etc. Please call 421-7803, fax to 421-7813 or email streetvibes@juno.com to list an event. December Justice W~tch Annual Dinner, 5:00 pm at the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Hall. · Dinner will be at 5:00 pm, and the program will start at 6:00 pm. The program will include a showing of the new Justice Watch Video: "The Prison Industrial Complex." Call (513) 241-0490 for more details. 2 6 Ohio Empowerment Coalition Meeting in Columbus (call 381-4242 for info) 7 Welfare Rights Coalition Potluck lunch and meeting, 12 noon at the Contact Center. A new co-chair will be elected at this meeting. Call 381-4242 for more information 7 EarthSave Dining Out, 6:00 p.m. at a restaurant to be determined. Call EarthSave at 929- 2500 or Mary Ann Lederer at 591-3003 for more information. GCCH Annual Holiday Dinner: 6:00 Pendelton Heritage Center. East End. 8 '\4 Save Our Schools Committee, 5:30 p.m. at Peaslee Neighborhood Center. Call 381-4242 for more information. 1O Amnesty International Cincinnati Group 86 meeting, 1 :00 at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion. For more information, contact Amnesty International at 221-7659 20 Over the Rhine Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting, 12:15 p.m. at the Contact Center. Call 381-4242 tor more information. 17 21 CarthSave Vegetarian Pol Luck Dinner, 6-00 p.rn at St John's Unitarian Church. 320 Resor For more information. call EarthSave at 929-2500 or call Mary Ann Lederer 591-3003. Greater Cmc1nnat1 Coalition for the Homeless General Body Meeting 1:30 p.m at the Drop Inn Center Call 421­ 7803 for more informat1on Vietnam Veterans Against the War cel­ ebrate Veterans Day with a proclamation To hell with your national honor, we won't be used again! A s veterans of the U.S. military, we know that there is no honor in the kinds of actions the U.S. has carried out against people around the world. How can we be proud of this country and its military when hundreds of people in Iraq, mostly infants and chil­ dren, are dying daily because of the ongoing sanc­ tions? How can we be proud of this country and its military when thousands of innocent civilians where killed by the bombings ofcivilian facilities during the Gulf war? How can we be proud of this country and its military for the deaths of thousands at the hands of SOA graduate ? We can't and we won't! Our experiences have taught us that real honor and pride comes from standing with the people of the world against the injustices and aggression brought by countries like the U.S. On this veterans day, we urge all veterans to join with us in the call to end the sanctions against the people oflraq. Join us in taking a stand that brings real honor and pride ..... .... Like most of the people in this country, we started out believing in what our government said and did. We believed that we were fighting for "freedom" and "demo~racy" and that the Saddam Husseins of the world were the only bad guys. But for us, these iHusions were hattered by the murder of innocent people by our hands--people who happened to be in the way of the economic or political interests of the U.S. We found out first hand that it is not the Saddam Husseins of the world that pose the biggest threat to the people of the world, it i the U.S. as it " levels tbe playing field" and protects it own interests. With ag­ gressions like the war against Vietnam, the suppo11 for the contras in Nicaragua, the invasions of Grenada and Panama, the U .S. has clearly demonstrated the lengths it will go to in maintaining control of what it calls "the American Century." (Since the encl of World War 2, the U .S. has carried out over 200 overt mili­ tary and 6000 covert interventions.) As a result of these U.S. actions millions around the world have died. Countries, families, and cultures have all but been obliterated. Currently. the U.S. imposed sanctions on the people of Iraq are killing 5000 children a month. Medicaid, from pages Tune in to WAIF 88. 3 fm! on the second Saturday of each menth at 12:00 noon for The Homeless Coalition's Live radio program. The show is co-hosted by Mary Burke, Donald Whitehead and oth~r monthly guest hosts. The show mixes talk focusing on the stories in this paper and eclectic musical selections. Streetvibes Classified PLACE your help wanted, for rent, for <;ale items in Streetvibes Classified. Only $1 per line, free for 6 months for.homeless/ low-income people 1-800-589-5888 to get the number of your local Legal Aid office. card. Call OSLSA ac The Medicaid cards will be mailed during the last week of December. A simplified application form for ongoing Medicaid after the three months w i ll be included. Streetvibes Live Radio Hour When asked on "60 Minutes'' in M ay of 1996 about the deaths of half a million chi ldren, more lhan died in H iroshima, Secretary of Stale Madeleine Albrighr responded. " We think the·pricc is worth it." Worth whaL? M outhing weak condemnations about "weap­ ons of mass destruction," the U.S. subverted the UN inspection teams to spy on President Hussein and plot their military attacks. The U.S. says that Saddam Hussein should be punished for crimes against his own people and the Kurds. But let's not forget that the major genocide against the Kurds in I raq was commitecl during the period of friendly relations with the U.S. at d1e conclusion of the Jran-l raq War. As soon as Hussein had plans of his own for the region, then, to the U.S., he became evi l incarnate and had to be stopped at al I costs, even if those costs included the deaths of innocent children. Albright's response is acceptable to the people of this country because we have been lied to and deceived for so long we are blinded to the realities of the true consequences of lhe actions of our country. It also allow the government to threaten and attack people of con cience who are trying to oppose the e aclions and wake the citizens of this country up to reality. Voices in the Wilderness has been threatened with tens of thousands of dollars in fines and long prison sentences for taking medicine and toys to Iraq. Under this administration, com­ passion for dying children is apparently a criminal activity. We owe these courageous activists our support. A s Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Edward Herman, and Edward Said recently stated, in their national statement, "The time has come for a call to action to people of conscience. We are past the point 'Yhere silence is passive consent--when a crime reaches these proportions, silence is complicity." We will work '#ilh others to strategize, organize and take whatever actions necessary toward this end: We denounce sanctions against the people of Iraq as immoral and illegitimate.We cal l for an immediate end to the ongoing anctions war against the people of Iraq.We vow our support for all those threatened or prosecuted for violating the sanctions and opposing intervention. We will oppose all US interventions, overt or covert, in the sovereign affairs of other nations. Vietnam Veterans Against the Wru· Anti-Imperialist http://www.oz.net/-vvawai, vvawai@oz.net PO Box 2 1604, Seattle, WA 9811 l-3604 ph/fax: 206-374-22 15 Also, if you w ere terminated during these specific months & did not receive this temporary Medicaid card, you can request a three month M edicaid card from your county welfare department at any time during 2001. This is just a reminder that Medicaid offers more than just m edical care, although that's extremely important. Medicaid will also cover dental care and v ision care. Eyeglasses are cover ed under Medicaid. The three month Medicaid card applies to all ser vices that Medicaid covers. (Resource: Ohio State Legal Services Association) Cut-Offs, from pages The Ohio Empowerment Coalition wants to hear from you if you arc facing the time limit, have been denied an ex tension, or are currently cut off of cash assistance. A rc you working a part time job and receiving partial cash benefits? Are you an Ohio Works First rec ipient in an education or job training program that would help you find a Livable wage job upon completion? Call (513) 381-4242 or write Ohio Empowerment Coalition, clo Contact Center, 1641 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45210. The next Ohio Empowerment Coalition meeting is December 6, Wednesday, 11 :00 a.m. at First Old Presbyterian Church, 110 I Bryden Rd., Columbus. If you are concerned about state policies affecting low-income families' economic survival , you are welcome to attend. Call (614) 252-9255 or (5 13) 38 1-4242 for directions. • �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. lf you have any questions, feel free to call the Gl'eater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. HOUSING: CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTA Housing Network.. 721-4580 632-7149 241-0504 369-0004 SHELTERS: Wom en and Children YWCA Battered Womens Shelter 872-9259 (Toll Free) 1-888-872­ 9259 Bethany House Salvation Army Welcome House SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Garden St. House 241-0490 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 St. Francis/St. Joseph House 381-4941 Mt. Airy Center 661-4620 Volunteers of Amer. 381-1954 SHELTER: Both Caracole (AIDS) 761-1480 Chabad House 821-5100 Drop Inn Center(Singles) 721-0643 Haven House (Hamilton) ..863-8866 Interfaith Hospitality Ntwk ..471-1100 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 TREATMENT: Women O.D.A.A.T 221-6937 First Step Home 961-4663 TREATMENT: Men ,..,..., ROH& HARDWARE . . . . . . . Com., Charlie's 3/4 House Prospect House Starting Over 784-1853 921-1613 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both. N.A. Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline 861-9966 381-6660 C.C.A.T. Talbert House ·684-7956 Transitions, Inc. 491-4435 VA Domiciliary ..859-559-5011 Center for Independent Living Options .. . 241 -2600 Churches Active in 591-2246 Northside ............ . Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Comm. Center 241 2563 Freestore/Foodbank 241-1064 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 G.C. Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 Hamilton Co. Mental Health Board 621-7149 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 House of Refuge Mission 221-3619 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 621-5514 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 572-6226 Women's Crisis Center 859-491-3335 Women Helping Women 872-9259 Dustbuster 100 Cordless 14• H and Vac 1500-Watt Ce Thank you for your support. � 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 December 2000 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: An Insider’s Guide to Holiday Helping Coalition for a Humane Economy Rallies at Fountain Square Pg 2: Rehab at the VA Nursing Center Pg 3: Salvation from the Homelessness Mt. Airy Shelter Pg 4: Restock: Shaking Off the Dust and Moving On Pg 5: Welfare News Pg 6: National News Pg 7: Advocate Defies No-Shack Policy Pg 8: Prisoners’ News Pg 9: Leonard Peltier’s Clemency Papers Sit on President Clinton’s Desk Pg 10: 10,000 Gather at Military Base to Close the School of the Americas Pg 11: Crossing the Line Pg 12: No Deterrent for Police abuse of Power Pg 13: Editorials & Letter Pg 14: Arts & Poetry Pg 15: Working with Homeless Children Worldwide Pg 16: Save Oil, Eat Your Veggies Pg 17: Words form the Evangelist Pg 18: Agencies Carefully Cast the Face of Need Pg 19: Vietnam Veterans Against the War Celebrate Veterans Day with a Proclamation Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 2000 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Alicia Beck Susan Knight Tom Billman John Halpin Dan Marschner Gina Kohlheff Ron Carter Warren Perkins Pat Mitchell Mary A. Gaffney Sonny Williams Mr. Lee Rodney Sutton Lynn Williams Dan Marschner Doctor Donovan Anthony Watkins Jerome Johnson John Perotti Robert Freeking Johnny Byrd Kathy Miller Berta Lambert Jimmy Heath Beverly Brooks Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Alicia Beck Anthony Watkins Arts & Poetry Berta Lambert Beverly Brooks Buddys Place Camping children Dan Marschner Death Penalty Doctor Donovan Evangelist Fountain Square Gina Kohlheff Health Tips Holiday Jerome Johnson Jimmy Heath John Halpin John Perotti Johnny Byrd Kathy Miller Leonard Peltier Lynn Williams Mary A. Gaffney Military School Mr. Lee Mt. Airy National News Oregon Pat Mitchell police brutality Rehab Robert Freeking Rodney Sutton Ron Carter School Sonny Williams Street Susan Knight Tom Billman Veggies vibe veterans Vietnam Veterans War Warren Perkins welfare news https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/3170e7ec2cb7269ef44508fc51cb3a6c.pdf d7bf0d39c6ceb0d0a798f903179fa960 PDF Text Text I \ . St Doaatio11 VREET ur Progressive News Souli BUY FROM BADGED VENDORS ONL DECEMBER 2002 ~ Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless �I / / rv l}~i,~' ~ December 2002 Huntington Meadows: Low-income housing complex saga continues Real Estate Developer Offer Rejected Everyi!lmily within the 1, 165 unit Huntington Meadows housing complex was recently evicted to make way for a project that will house middle and upper-middle class people. The current plan calls for tearing down all 58 affordable apartment buildings on the 65 acre parcel and build new homes for people who are more wealthy. The Huntington Meadows complex was deemed uninhabitable by the previous owners citing abestos and other problems with the buildings, which resulted in the eventual mass eviction ofall the low­ income tenants. The leaky pipes and abestos problems at Huntington Meadows were fixable. Budget Real Estate has owned several properties similar to Huntington Meadows around the country. The offer they made to purchase the housing complex was comparable to another company's offer. The difference is that Budget Real Estate would keep Huntington Meadows as affordable housing. Jorge Newbery, Budget Real Estate representative, also stated that he could double his offer with no problem, but doubted that it would be becuase the City w:as attempting to block the property from being used for affordable housing. There is further documentation in terms ofthe offer and the capability of Budget Real Estate Inc. to handle such a project as Huntington Meadows. Budget Real Estate has already ~ purchased the CQunterpart to Huntington Meadows, located in Columbus, called Woodland Meadows. Jorge Newbery, of BudgetReal Estate wrote: Our visit to Cincinnati on September 19th was very enhghtening. After meeting with the Vtce Mayor Alicia Reese s office and the Community Development ChiefPeg Moertl, we discovered that the City ofCincinnati is intent on limiting the supply ofaffordable housing within the City limits, · which, in my experience, appears to be a policy contrary to just about eve1y major city in the US. The City seems to hope that Huntington Meadows is demolished completely and converted to townhomes and single1amily residences, which will attract higher-income families ·and reduce the "burden" that the Oty feels saddled with when poor people reside within its borders. Thus, the City has apparently impressed upon Fannie Mae that they want to see a developer who shares the City~· vision for Huntington Meadows to be the purchase1: Therefore, Fannie Mae is reportedly proceeding with another developet: Honestly, even if the other developer were to f alte1; I do not believe that Fannie Mae would sell to Budget or any other affordable housing developer, unless the City s stance were to change. who has a track record ofturning I was in Columbus, Ohio around troubled projects. [on} Friday October 19, touring For me, I personally would the Woodland Meadows _have preferred making the deal in Apartments, which, as you know Cincinnati. However, we do not were owned by the same group as Huntington Meadows and suffered feel we were doing business on a level playing field in terms ofhow a shockingly similar fate. We intend to pursue the acquisition of · our offer was being evaluated. Thus we felt that business-wise the Woodland Meadows, using the most logical choice was to }ind financing which we had lined up another project and Woodland for Huntington Meadows. Jn dire Meadows appears to fit that bill contrast to Cincinnati, the sellers and City [of Columbus] appear to well. I wish you and the City be welcoming to a new affordable luck, especially the low-income housing develope1; particularly one residents ofCincinnati, as the challenges ofbeing poor appear to be compounded by living in a city that does not want you. The Huntington Meadows complex was deemed uninhabitable by the previous owners citing abestos and other problems withthe buildings, which resulted in the eventual mass eviction ofall the low­ income tenants. The leaky pipes and abestos problems at Huntington Jimmy Heath photos Meadows were fixable. Homeless Man Dies After He Was Set on Fire in Springfield by John Cartwright Dennis R. Wade, 47, suffered severe third-degree bums over 80 percent ofhis body as he slept on the front porch ofan abandoned house on August 13, according to Springfield Police Chief David Walters. Wade died from his injuries after eight days in the hospital. Walters said that he believed that Dennis Wade was doused with gasoline or lighter fluid and then set afire by person or persons unknown at that time. The flames on Wade were extinguished before the Springfield, Ohio, Fire Department arrived on the scene. ~ Dennis Wade reportedly told paramedics at the scene, "I can't believe they set me on fire." His brother, Johnny Wade, told the Springfield News-Sun newspaper immediately after the incident that he didn't expect his brother to survive the third-degree burns over 80 percent ofhis body. Wade's brother held out little hope that his brother would survive, and Dennis Wade died on August 21. ''He has no skin. The damage· is. done. He is not going to make it," Johnny Wade said onAugust 14. Johnny said that he had been asked to sign a do-not-resuscitate order by the staffat Miami Valley Hospital. "That is the choice they are giving Springfield paper. "This burn is not me." He told the reporter. "I don't trying to kill you, it's putting you in want to lose him. I can't bury him. I misery.". can't afford it. I'll figure something Reprintedfrom the August out." 2002 issue ofCleve/ands Dennis Wade was reportedly Homeless Grapevine. John sleeping on the porch ofan Cartwright is a former volunteer abandoned house in Springfield with the Northeast Ohio Coalition because be had nowhere else to go. for the Homeless. Springfield Police ChiefWalters said Hate Crimes Against the that the incident is being treated as a Homeless homicide, and are investigating the Over the past several years, circumstance to see if it is connected advocates and homeless shelter to another suspicious fire on August workers from around the country 3, 2002. "I can see people doing a lot ofthings to people, but this ... bum is Cont. on page 3 mi.sery." Johnny Wade said to the Hate Crimes.... GREATER CINCINNATI COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 2 The ''Giving'' Season by Jimmy Heath During the holiday season, we see the spirit ofgiving manifest itselfin many ways. Here at the Homeless Coalition office in Over­ the-Rhine people ask us how they can volunteer to help the homeless. Every year it's the same; as the holidays approach, the volunteers start to pour in. One homeless man who stopped by the office recently for a cup ofcoffee remarked, "who are these people [the volunteers] and where are they the rest ofthe year, during the summer, or in the dead ofwinter after the holidays?" His question was not lost on me. Don't get me wrong - I think that all volunteers are important. The volunteers learn first­ hand and·are able to spread the word to their community. They take what they have witnessed back to the suburbs. And they lend a helping hand during part ofthe busiest winter months. But a staff member at a local shelter told me that after the season of giving has passed it is all they can do to keep the shelter running, especially during the summer months, when donations drop drastically, and volunteers disappear. During the winter, especially holiday time, they are booked up solid with folks.who want to come in and "serve food to the homeless." She had a complaint about the type ofdonations they receive at the shelter - used underwear, tom coats, furniture that was headed for the dump, spoiled food. "They think because it'.,c; for looking for a way ·to spot the unworthy beggars, and they are asking me to tell them how to do it. It's hard to give a straight answer anyway because I don't like to tell people how to give. How we give is a decision that needs to be made by the individual and the circumstances. What I stress in my conversations is that the real point ofcharity is not in judging the recipient, or giving with strings attached. When we encounter people on the street, these are real opportunities for us. People cross our paths for different reasons and we should be open to the possiblities ofthese chance encounters. The money we give them doesn't matter. Sometimes there are expectations that reinforce stereotypes - that come with the giving ofgifts to the less fortunate. We expect that the money we give won't be used for "getting high", that the receiver of the gift will be eternally grateful ~d ev!n~ submissive and that somehow we can change this person's life with 50 cents or a dollar or a bowl _afs rtainly people need those things, u o deep is our commitment ­ how do these small acts of Jimmy Heath photo giving address the fOQt .­ was painful to watch as my CaySes?-HOW-are-We to rffake a disheveled friend in his tattered deeper, more sustainable impact in clothes and confused state struggled the way our society treats the less to put on the coat while self­ fortunate? consciously posing for the man's We need to continue our camera. I've often wondered what small acts ofcharity and giving at the became ofthat photo and what was it shelters and on the street. It begins used for. with our individual encounters with When I talk to people about the stranger on the street. And in my work there is always the giving with grace, without strings attached, because it is the right thing inevitable question as to whether we should be giving money to to do. One question to ask yourself panhandlers. I think that some is not how much, or to whom, but why. people who ask that question are the homeless, we should be grateful for anything. They clean out their garages and bring it over here instead ofto the garbage." This exploration ofgiving also extends outside ofthe shelters. There is a young man I know who has a mental illness and spends a lot ofhis time on a bench in Washington Park. A while back, I watched as he was approached by a man who wanted to give this friend a new coat - but first he wanted to snap his picture wearing the new clothing. It · Streetvibes Vendor Code Each vendor must sign and agree to abide by the following code of conduct... 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 voluntary ..... donation. I agree not to ask for donations of more than $1. I also understand that I will be able to keep 80 cents ofeach dollar collected. 2. Streetvibes may onJy be purchased from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH). Purchasing or selling unauthorized papers, or from other vendors, will result in termination from the program. 3. I agree that I will not ask for donations or attempt to vend after 12 midnight. 4. I agree to treat others with respect - other ven­ dors, customers, and GCCH personnel. 5. I will not sell Streetvibes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 6. I will not give a "hard sell" or make someone feel threatened. 7. I agree not to deceive the pubµc 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 ofStreetvibes will go to the individual vendor. Falsely stating intent or otherwise misrepresenting is a violation of a.city ordinance and may be cause for arrest. 8. I will always present my badge when purchasing papers, and I will display my badge at all times while vending. Replacement badges are $5 each. 9. There are no territories. I agree that I will not contest territories with other distributors. I will not sell on private property without permission. 10. 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. 11. I understand that failure to comply with any of the above statements will result in termination from the Streetvibes vendor program. GCCH reserves the right to terminate a vendor at any time as deemed appropriate. �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 3 North American Homeless Hate Crimes .... campus newspaper the Daily Trojan Cont. from page 1 News Digest (www.dailytrojan.com), the money byMolly Rhodes St. Alban'sEpiscopal Church in Southern California, has decided to take on the city ofEl Cajon rather than give up a Tent City on its property. The city wants the makeshiftencampment removed from the church parking lot, and is threatening to fine the church for various municipal code violations, according to the San Diego Union Tribune (signonsandiego.com). The church countered that there are no other places for the people livmg in the camp to go. The rector o.(St. Alban's, the Rev. John Conrad, approached the city council about the lack ofhomeless services in the area this summer, in response to which the council passed a non­ binding resolution to build two -­ shelters. Nothing has been done to create these shelters since then. 'The very moment there is alternative shelter, I will direct (the homeless) there," Conrad told the Union Tribune, "and physicallymove them myselfif! have to." Homeless peopleliving near UniversityofSouthern California will no longer get food through the recently defunct program·that had allowed USC students to use unused meal points at campus eateries to buy non-perishable food for local LOsAngeles shelters. Students who had formerly worked with the three­ year-old Feed with Flex program balked at the idea that USC's Hospitality Servjces, which runs the flexible meal point system, was trying to control how students spent their points, even ifit was on food for needy people. According to the on- Call for all Witnesses and video Tape ­ We need any and all witnesses who witnessed or video taped any of the arrests at the anti-war protest while President Bush was in Cincinnati .. Please contact: Brian Garry 236-4180 or by email at bgarry@fuse.net will now go to fund other Hospitality Services areas, such as overhead costs and keeping products in stock. Yet while LA-area homeless are losing a collegiate source offood, New Haven-area homeless are poised to gain one through local Yale University. According to the Yale Daily News (www.yaledailynews.com), the Yale College Council recently created the BringingReliefEvery Day program, or BRED, designed to give leftover dining hall food to the inhabitants ofa Tent City that has sprung up on New Haven Green next to campus. SophomoreLeila Rastegar beljeves giving the unused food to homeless people would be a better use for the food than to chuck it all away. The food will be picked up seven days a week by different meal programs throughoutthe city, incluclingtheYale Hunger and Homelessness Action . Project pantry and the Harmony Place CommunityCenter. Humanservices officials in Portland, ME, don't think they can carry on like they are much longer. Because the city offers the only homeless shelters and an emergency overflow plan in the state, their shelters are frequently filled to capacity with people who come from outside the city. City officials are lookingto other neighborhoods in the state to pick up some ofthe slack. The city'~ primary shelter has reached capacity 12 times since September, and the Preble Stteet Resource's soup kitchen has seen the number ofpeople it services every morning climb from 240 to morethan300. A one-night count ofthe homeless people this month in Edmonton, Canada, revealed there are more people living on the streets than in any other time in the city's history, according to · edmonton.cbc.ca. Although the exactfigures will not be released until the end ofNovember, the preliminary results from the work of almost 200 volunteers showed the greatest increase in the number of children who call the streets home. The total figure is expected to be more than 5,000. crimes/violence against homeless people, there is no systematic method ofcollecting and documenting such reports. Many ofthese violent acts have seen an alarming increase in go unpublisizedor unreported, making reports ofhomeless men, women and it difficult the true situation. Often, even children being killed, beaten, homeless people do not reportcrimes and harassed. In 1999, the National committed against thembecause of Coalition for the Homeless, along fear ofretaliation, mental illness, with its Civil Rights Work Group, a substance abuse, past incidents, or nationwide network ofcivil rights and frustration with police. homeless advocates, responded to The National Coalition for the this concern and produced the first Homeless is urging the Justice compilation ofhate crimes against the Department to maintain a database homeless. Cincinnati is one ofnine that addresses the issues ofviolence regional Civil Rights Organizing sites against the homeless population to in the U.S. better identify this growing trend. People who are forced to live The NCH is committed to creating and sleep on the streets are in the systemic and attitudinal changes extremely vulnerable situation, and necessary to end homelessness, but a the NCH feels that it is unacceptable major component ofthese changes that they are not protected by hate must include the societal guarantee of crime prevention laws. safety and protection and a Hate crimes are commonly commitment by lawmakers to combat called bias-motivated crimes, violent acts and hate crimes against referring to the prejuclice ofpartiality people who experience ·o fthe perpetrator against the victim's homelessness. Currently, there is no real or perceived grouping or federal criminal prohibition against circumstance. The National Coalition violent crimes directed at individuals for the Homeless (NCH) and the because oftheir housirig status. Cincinnati Regional Site relies on For more information visit news reports and homeless shelters the NCH website at around the country for the data and www.nationalhomeless.org, or call the documentation that it includes in the Greater Cincinnati Coalition its reports. Although the NCH acts for the Homeless, 421-7803 as the nationwide repository ofhate ~ationa1 f.fomeless Civil Rights Ol'ganizing Project (NHCROP) 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 hom~lesscivi lrights@yalioo.com f513) 421-7803 Presenting Our Volunteer Staff by Pat Mitchell, Volunteer Outreach Worker PatMitchell Send letters or comments to: Streetvibes@J~no.com,.''· or write the Coalition office attn: SheetvibesLetters, I506 Elm Sheet Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 I'd like to introduce myself My name is Pat Mitchell and I am a volunteer outreach worker at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, working with Cheryl Ware. on the Speakers Bureau and Streetvibes program. I have worked here before, doing the same job. I left to work at a homeless shelter, so I am capable ofhelping our vendors with referrals for food, furniture and housing, or whatever they might need. Ifyou are in need ofsome assistance, please contact me. �STREETVIBES Decem·b er 2002 THERE ISA NEW#lIN TOWN!! "New Number I vendor"? Frederick told me; d1ping his orientation he could "easily sell 900 papers in a months time." I told him to do it, and lo and behold he did! Frederick said he had New Vendor, New observed a female selling papers to a Number 1!! gentleman on the street. After the transaction, Frederick asked the man by Cheryl Ware ifhe could see the paper. Unfortunately, it was a City Beat "Hey Cincinnati", there is a newspaper; which we all know is new Number 1 Vendor in town; his FREE!!!. Later Frederick name is Frederick Morris. Frederick encountered one ofour Streetvibes came to Cincinnati by way of vendors and observed her selling Chicago. He hopes to return to technique. He asked how many Chicago sometime next year. papers she had, and bought two of Fredrick came to the them. He suggested to her to try coalition October 7 and signed up to talking to her customers about the be a Streetvibes vendor. Who knew content ofthe paper. He also asked when he came in the door, that less .how he could become a vendor. She than one month later he would be our told him about the coalition and how OfPain and Fabulous Wealth by Martha Stephens Coming home one day from the trial ofLynn Watts, (see A Day Jn Court, page 16) who was acquitted, in the end, ofdisrupting a public meeting, I met up with two incidents that seemed curiously related to the day in court. · I made my way to the bus terminal, and near the Public Library I was approached by a woman asking for money. I attempted to turn away from her, but finally I could not. Her face was wracked with pain and severe fatigue. She needed $4.80, she said, to buy her infant grand-daughter a gallon ofsoy milk. The child is allergic to cow's milk, she said. This grandmother offorty-nine had come downtown to seek help from a certain agency, but help would be slow, she said. She tried to explain her difficulties. "I have not changed these clothes in three days," she said. She looked at me intently as if judging whether she could tell me such things or not. "I have no underwear on ..... I don' t have the money to wash things ... I need groceries ...." No one should_have to tell a stranger such things. I could go with her to buy the soy milk, she said, and she rolled up her sleeve to show me that she did not do drugs. I gave her the cash I had with me, about twenty dollars. For this modest sum she blessed me over and over again, and her face was a picture ofreliefand JOy. Such encounters are, of course, an everyday occurrence in Cincinnati- but surely they do not need to be. On the bus down Reading Road to Paddock I counted the riders: fifteen A:fiican-Americans, one white - myself; and I remembered that in court we had seen in the jury five white men and three white women, plus one woman who was black. I sat up front beside an elderly black rider who had a sticker on which said Help the Elderly: Vote Yes on Issue Six. Th1s woman had been to a meeting at Findlay Market led by Todd Portune, hoping to head offan attempt to de-fund senior centers in Mt. Auburn and Over-the-Rhine. "They're all some people have," she said. "Otherwise people just stay inside; they never leave their apartments. My own sister did that." This citizen had lived in Huntingdon Meadows, as it turned out. When the mass evictions came this summer, by most accounts the largest forced exodus we have had in this city, she had been away visiting in Georgia and had been phoned the news by her daughter. It seemed unbelievable, she said. She had been Page 4 to sign up. He then went down the · street and sold those two papers. He was offered $5. 00 each for the papers. On October 7.. he signed up here at the Hornless Coalition office, and the rest is history. By October 31 ", Frederick had sold 958 papers, making him our "NEW NUMBER 1, TOP SELLING VENDOR!!" When asked what his selling technique was, he said, "You first have io get the customer to smile." "Once you do that, you begin to talk to them about the articles in the paper." Frederick also talks about the organizations )isted on the back cover of Streetvibes, and encourages his customers to contact the coalition office to volunteer. Here at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless we offer incentives to our vendors to sell the paper. For every 300 papers they purchase, they will receive 50 fre papers the.following month. We also offer opportunities to earn free papers by volunteering to help out around the office, active participation in the Civil Right Work Group, or submitting stories, poems, etc for publication in ti Streetvibes. These free papers however do not count toward the 50 free. Other vendors who received free papers this month were Grady Cook 887 Earlene Moreland 507 William Johnson 420 Terrial Pratcher 343 Mary Ann B ravo 310 Congratulation to these and ALL of our vendors. citizens to be shot down in the content in Huntingdon Meadows; streets. If there were decent jobs at her place was good and in aliving wage, decent places to live, reasonable repair; it was hard to understand why she must leave. No decent prospects in life for all ofus, frightened young men would not need drugs in her building, she.said; to be tracked down by other upstairs there were "poor people," as she described them, but no drugs frightened young men ... down dark allies ofno return. or disorder. Many know better than I do She had found another -~==---apartment that she thought would be tnarsociety1tsetr-sho11\d-be-b.eJQ -.,._ responsible for all such deaths and all' all right, but many others had no unneeded suffering. The.death of place to go, she said, and no ~me knows today where they are. I don 't Timothy Thomas had been a theme in court that day, and ofcourse thiS--­ know much, but I know this - ai:d shoollng was a tragedy in and ofitself like many others, have known it a - this youngster was not even a long time- that this is not the way violent offender; but this death has for people to live ...not in a country also become a symbol for offabulous wealth. We don't need all the wrongs we see about us, on to be experts on economics; we need only to look around us, and we our ow.n streets, perhaps, within our own families; and we need symbols know that everything is wrong and that concentrate our anger, our fear, that things could be profoundly our sense ofthe unnecessary different from what they are. nightmares ofmodem life we see We do not need pain and every day in the half-ruined cities of poverty and mass eviction. We do not need unarmed the U.S. Dick, I'm sure it's your turn to do the dishes tonight. �STREETVIBES December 2002 Reader Hail Page 5 .~ Dear Streetvibes,· but, I'm not really ofa mind to go I just read your article. While running all over downtown to find a I do not advocate violence against · vendor.... This is, therefore, all in non-violent protesters, you must regard to the October issue. We would like to hear from you understand the anger ofthose ofus in I must say, I was delighted to - please address letters and the suburbs. This so-called boycott see your first story, the picketing of is ran by white-hating racists. Of SenatorDeWine's office. (October, comments to; course, the Lynch crowd will say that 2002, page 1) While the story Streetvibes, blacks cannot be racist. What a doesn't say so, l gather from the fact 1506 Elm Street, bunch ofcrap! that there were pickets that some Cincinnati Ohio 45202 The problem in the inner city people were not happy with his (or) email to: is the lack ofa two-parent family and governmental services. I was not too Streetvibes@iuno.com a violent rap culture. I heard a happy with what were his statistic on the radio that a black girl governmental services some time ago; Letters Challenge the is more likely to get pregnant than but, I would have looked rather small Protestors graduate high school. So, what white picketing alone. Mr.Heath, In regard to the editorial person made her do it? At the end ofyour column inquiry, comments about the boycott: While racism is a fact and a (Oktoberfest Draws Record problem (on both sides ofthe aisle), This may be one few people would Crowds, and Protestors Too, the black community would rather offer. I'm not originally from October, 2002, page 2) you asked blame whites than take personal Cincinnati; therefore, ~ don't think it is what we think about the boycott. responsibility and make something of my place to be telling the people From my point ofview the worst thing their lives. (natives) ofCincinnati what to do about the boycott is that nobody As long as black leaders about THEIR town. It is THEY who understands it. When the media asks continue to blame the white man and will have to live with what they "people on the street" about it, no one not advocate personal responsibility decide. can answer. I am sure the media can in the.black community, folks like me On page 3 you had an take part ofthe blame but the will not care! interesting feature c.alled "Homeless organizers need to work harder at Regards, Steve · News Digest" which I thought "nifty" education. Isn't there at least and something you should continue. someone in the media who could help Among other things, it said a inform everyone? The public's image Where are the Streetvibes homeless woman is running for office Vendors? ofthis has become one ofchaos and (either directly or indirectly) against disruption. A couple ofthoughts for you Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Great I have tried to find out about to look over, answer, or whatever: idea. It should be duplicated, the boycott but haven't any more clue Could you not, with very little expanded or some such thing. about it than anyone else. What are effort, make sure there is a vendor There might be a couple of the exact goals? How do they regularly - like the first two days of more thoughts worth including here; the month or some such thing - at measure progress? Or lack ofit? but, this will take up enough space. What did they try before the boycott? certain pre-determined locations? Good issue. Hope you get the How much ofthe goals need to be Perhaps a half-dozen places already computer you want. met before they stop boycotting? frequently covered? Carolyn Meszaros Why did they pick the downtown? There was a person on a Merchants and festivals? What is the certain comer promptly at the first of editor responds; background ofthe problems that led every month for some time. Evidently In regards to your request to the situation they are upset about? the man managed to get a job, since for the placing ofvendors at a The questions could go on and on. .this month he was gone and no one predeterminedplace or time in the Thanks for taking time to read my replaced him until the 18th. I rather downtown area - we don 't manage concerns. like the newspaper and ifI can get territories for the vendors, we Jeff Hahn one I usually share it with a friend; leave it up to them to find their Support your local Street vibes Vendor! Know Your Rights Brochure Available! The Know Your Rights Brochure is now available at the Coalition's office. The brochure is a legal guide for Cincinnati's homeless and covers a person's basic rights when interacting with the police, as weU as some local •i ft · laws that might be of interest to the ~' homeless population. If you are a ~1.t homeless person or if you work ~ · with homeless people and would ·.· like to obtain free copies of the •, brochure for yourself or your agency, please call 421-7803, or stop by the Coalition office and pick '' one up. ff f Your vendor keeps 80 cents of every dollar..... own placesfor selling Streetvibes. It may difjic_ull to sometimesfind a vendor and we are always worhng on ways to make the paper available to as many people as possible. One way to get Streetvibes is through a subscription, which will be mailed directly to your home, or you can stop by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless office in Over-the-Rhine at 1506 Elm Street. Pea/see Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine also has Streetvibes available for purchase. Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act onit. Pablo Casals . Through Gandhi and my own life experience, I have learned about nonviolence. I believe that human life is a very special gift from God, and that no one has a right to take that away in any ca use, however just. I am convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence. Cesar Chavez Write Usl We'd like to hear f r om you .... · ., Send letters or comments to: Street vibes@Juno.com, or write t he Coalition off ice attn: Streetvibes Letters, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 6 Exploring issues of Homlessness In Our Nation's Capitol Xavier University Urban Academic Service Learning Group Get Firsthand Experience.in Washington, DC ~o w wants fair housing and better, more Afghanistan and will be spent in Akiem. He moved to the U.S. do you learn first-hand from Korea 10 years ago. accessible human services so his Iraq. And I wonder how much about the struggles of life in an family can have a chance ofgetting money is spent for the poor? Although he speaks very broken inner-city community like Over­ It was very ironic that after off the street. Before I could ask English and has been homeless tbe-Rhine? Xavier University Nicholas more about him and his spending an entire day since he moved here, he is filled devoted to Professor Bill Daily believes that homeless awareness with other with hope and gratitude. He liv ing and working in a community, life on the stre,ets, he turned the conversation to 01e, where I go to Xavier students, my friend Jon and spends his time being thankful for and having discussions with com­ what he has, instead ofworrying munity leaders and neighbors, is the school, what I study and what I like I were eating dinner at an Indian restaurant. Shortly after receiving and dislike. By the ti01e he finished about what he does not have. It is best way to learn and help a com­ asking all about me, I had to go our food, a lady approached us funny that by our society's munity make positive strides. It is asking where the closest homeless materialistic standards, I have a Jot catch up with my group. a great opportunity too for· the shelter was. Strangely enough, our more than Akiem, but, on a deeper I feel as ifthat five-minute students who work as volunteers conversation lasted two seconds. I group just returned from the largest level, he has so much more than I helping several neighborhood non­ do. profits do their work. The students know that it will stay with me for a homeless shelter in Washington lifetime. And even ifNicholas While I am truly grateful for D.C. Even though we gave her the learn about life in the community never gets to share his story with directions and that she was from all of the work being done to and are able to spread the message the world, he shared a tiny fraction the area, she insisted that we take educate our society, I am infuriated about the positive work going on, her that homelessness exists! I am ofhis life with me .... and challenged to the shelter ourselves. Jon as well as enrich their own lives and I once again explained to her me to be a voice for the voiceless. learning more facts, hearing more through the experience. Xavier stories and seeing more faces of how to use the public transporta­ University's Urban Academic Unsettling Dichotomy tion system and how easy it would homelessness. I am finding myself Service Learning Group maintains by Zakariah Wernecke angry and speechless that in such a be to find the building. We com­ an apartment on Race Street in Washington D .C. is such an promised settling on taking her and rich country and in our nation's Over-the-Rhine where the students ironic city. You walk around as a her belongings to the Metro stop capital, homelessness is a make their home for a semester. In tourist and you see the Capital, the (where she needed to get on). I am monumental problem that many do October, nine of the Urban Aca­ White House, the Lincoln and demic Service.Learning Group sure that she fou.nd her way to the not even see. In a nation built on Jefferson Memorials, and the shelter. equality, we are taught that the students got the opportunity to Washington Monument (such homeless are the exception to the travel ·to Washington DC, with rule. We are taught to ignore them Streetvibes editor Jimmy Heath and 01assive and expensive structures). Infuriated and Inspired Then you contrast that experience by Danyce Saul · to the point where they have Dr. Bill Daily. The purpose of the by exploring other parts of the I just spent five days in - become invisible! trip was to compare and explore district and you start seeing the -Washington, D.C. leaming about In D.C. , I learned that we are issues ofhomelessness in our homelessness. I am left confused, homeless resting in alleyways, all part_of the problem, so we nation's capitol. Here are the overwhelmed, heartbroken, sitting on benches in parks, and should all be part of the solution. I reflections of three of the travel­ wrapped in blankets on the sides of infuriated and inspired. It is am left asking, what is my role in ers... inspiring to see so many people streets. What an unsettling di­ ending homelessness? It is such a Nicholas' Story motivated and dedicated to ending chotomy. It is so hard to justify huge task, so I need to start simple. by Katie Meyer how America as a nation can stand homelessness! It was incredible to I have begun to see people without When I was in Washingfon, hear stories from people who have for the ideals of freedom and homes as individuals. Like Akiem, DC a few weekends ago, I met a made it out of homelessness and democracy when it can not even each person has their own story, young man named Nicholas. who are spending their time their own lessons to teach. All it help the well being ofits own Nicholas is 27, intelligent, educating others about their people. How can such a country takes is looking each person in the charming,handso01e,and with such a visible homeless experiences. Formerly homeless, eye, learning their name and homeless. This blonde-haired, as well as people who are currently speaking with them to recognize proble01 fight in a war over seas blue-eyed firecracker sleeps on the homeless, 4ave so much wisdom to that they are just like me. They, when it has problems that it needs street with his mother and brother. to first address at home? Billions share with us. too, deserve to be treated with By 8:30PM on a cold Saturday While walking in a park, I met respect and dignity. and billions ofdollars were spent in night, the three of them are huddled together under heavy-duty blankets on top of the closest beat grate they can find. While other 20-somethings are out bar-hopping or theater-going or doing any other Saturday night activity, Nicholas is trying to get some sleep and t1ying to keep his mother safe and warn1. He graduated from high school in DC and never went to college. After his mother and father separated when he was about sixteen, it was all he could do to work his butt off to help support his mother and brother. The three of them have been in and out of run down apartments, around the. block with slum landlords, and more-or-less homeless since Nicholas was 19. I asked Nicholas if he stays in any shelters in DC. He rolled his eyes, flashed me a sarcastic smile and told mw, "The warlords that run the shelters are no better than Donald Whitehead, (center), Executive Director ofthe National Coalition for the Homeless, walks the halls people who are in prison." He ofCongress with Xavier University group. �ST R EETVIBES December 2002 · Wish List - Can You Help? Streetvibes newspaper is published.monthlKon a shoe-string budget from. the offices ofthe Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Can you help us with some of the following items'? Page 7 A Great Holiday Gift.... Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine Limited Edition Print o Electric Stapler - Heavy duty o Blank CD-RW ,l)isks - For Streetvifjes. o Supplies for Vendor's Loun~e (~apertowels, cream and sugar, snack's, etc.) ··· · Cleaning Supplies o Office Supplies - floppies, copier paper and otl1er o supplies Now available, 18" X 24" poster-size print: Washington Park,. Over-the-Rhine, Wlntt:r 1999. Each print is individually signed by photographer . Jimmy Heath. Purchase benefits the children's Literacy Through Photography program at Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine. Posters are $10 each, plus $3 for shipping. Send your order and check to: ' Area Company Makes Generous Offer to Streetvibes Vendors Edwards & Kelcey Holiday Hug­ toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hats A-Vendor Program Kicks Off and gloves. Gifts will be delivered by Cheryl Ware, Streetvibes Vendor and distributed the week before Coordinator Christmas. Peaslee Neighborhood Center One afternoon late in Thank you to Edwards & ' ,· Attn: Photography Program Kelcey, and every one else.who October our organization was 215 East Fourteenth Street have donatedJto the Coalition to contacted by a young lady stating help the homeless of Greater she and the company she worked Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Cincinnati all year long. In closing, for would like to buy gifts for the .._ or call (5! 3) 621-5514 for more information please allow me to remind you that Streetvibes newspaper vendors. She identified her selfas Sheri those in need, are in need year Johnson and the company was round, not just during the holidays. National Homeless Civil Rights Organ.izing So in a couple of months when the Edwards & Kelcey. Christmas gifts have lost their Each holiday season Project (NHCROP) luster, and the batteries are dead, Edwards·& Kelcey chooses an -1506 Elm Street organization to help out during the and you are ready to pitch items Cincinnati, OH 45202 holidays. We are blessed and you have lost interest in, stop and this year they chose the if someone else could use or thankful think homelesscivi lrights@yahoo.com benefit from it and donate it to your Greater Cincinnati Coalition for (513) 421-7803 favorite charity. the Homeless and the Streetvibes vendors. Edward & Kelsey is lo­ cated on Fair Lane, with a staff of approximately 30 people. Thirty people, with generous hearts wiWng to give to strangers to make sure they (our vendors) have something for Christmas. Sheri Johnson, spokesperson for the firm stated in the past they have do­ nated to an Over-the-Rhine church and a residential home for AIDS patients. Vendors who are actively selling the newspaper, and support­ ing Streetvibes and the coalition have been selected to receive the necessities they need for the holidays. .Many need what we take for granted everyday; personal care items, long johns, blankets a1;1d food. I was surprised the requests were minimal, many vendors asked for very littJe. They simply need the bare necessities. They do not need name brand, "Right now I'd settle_for some Homeland Job Securitv." high-end expensive items, merely ____________________________________________ �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 8 Sell Cleveland to Settle Ohio's $4 Billion Deficit Dispatch from Cleveland Cleveland Homeless Grapevine by Brian Davis Ohioans have heard the projections for a $4 billion deficit by the end ofthe next fiscal year, and we have not heard very many credible solutions. As a public service, The Homeless Grapevine newspaper has come up with a solution: Sell Cuyahoga and surrounding cou_nties to Michigan for $5 billion. We have recently sent a letter to Michigan governor John Engler asking what steps we would need to take to initiate this change within the political boundaries. Michigan is the best state to buy Northeast Ohio because they are familiar with having a non­ contiguous geography. Lake County has a couple offine lighthouses, and Michigan is the the greatest hardship, with the state state with the Jargest number of budget balanced on the backs of lighthouses. Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the poor people. world and wquld only be The truth is that those of us augmented by Cuyahoga and Lake in Northeast Ohio have more in Counties. Michigan has some common with Michigan than we do wonderful city names including with Ohio. We are much more Bad Axe, Eden, Hell, Paradise, socially responsible than our strip Podunk, and Slapneck. Best of all, mining friends ofSouthern Ohio. it is iliegal in Michigan to kill a dog We are a union friendly environment, as is Michigan. We do using a decompression chamber. not understand how the state house The reality is that we face was hijacked by rural farmers and declining tax revenue in Ohio, in used car salesmen who don't give a part because in years past our crap about poverty. legislature gave surplus money Ohio has a larger population, back to taxpayers instead of but only 68% of the population own building the capital and infrastructure needed. The Ohio homes. Michigan has a 73% legislature is terrified ofthe words homeownership rate. With only 175 "tax increase," and has a court. people per square mile versus mandated I.O.U. to the schools. In overcrowded Ohio's 277 people per square mile, there is much more 2002, Ohio solved its deficit problem by raiding one-time-only space in Michigan for our homeless pools of funds (tob~cco settlement, population. Michigan had more housing starts in 2000 compared to rainy day fund, welfare surplus, Ohio despite their smaller etc.) When they go to the population, again benefiting our cupboard this year, however, they will find it bare. We anticipate that homeless population. We would move to a state poor and homeless people will face Local Schizophrenia/Schizo-affective Research Study * Financial Compensation * 45 years and over * Symptoµis of depression * 13 visits (513) 861-3100 ext 4187 or toll free (888) 267-7873 ext 4187 that does not have the death penalty, treats its welfare recipients with a little more respect, and does not have the problem of routinely allowing federal dollars to bypass the state. We are proposing that Lake, Geauga, Cuyahoga, and Medina Counties become the lower peninsula ofMicliigan. We anticipate beginning a petition drive to put this on the ballot in March, well before the end of the Ohio fiscal year. The Ohio legislators tell us that .we need to treat the Ohio budget more like our personal budgets and cut when times are tough. This is ~ctually not how the real world works. When times are tough we not only cut our expenses, but we get second jobs and have a garage sale. Since it is unlikely our legislators will get second jobs to raise $4 billion, we will need to stage the largest garage sale in history: we' ll sell Cleveland. Reprinted from the August 2002 issue ofClevelard's Homeless Grapevine. The GCCH would like to thank these Starbucks loeations for their generous donation of coffee and pastries: 11379 Montgomery Road (513) 469-1111 3366 Erie Avenue East Hyde Park (513) 533-3402 7896 Montgomery Road (513) 891- 7740 "May we borrow your credit card? We 're having trouble meeting the ayroll this week." �Page 9 STREETVIBES D ecember 2002 1Bienvenidos! by Samantha Broclifield vivienda perrnanente, los servicios medicos, los servicios sociales, los lugares donde Ud. puede obtener comida, y los servicios de salud mental. Nosotros creemos que es importante que Ud. sepa cuales son sus derechos civiles como p.trsona sin hogar. Tenemos folletos que los explican. Nos gustaria que Ud. nos visitara algun dia para que le podamos dar servicios mejores. Para reunirse con La Coalicion: 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 421-7803 www.cinci.com/ gcch Ahora Streetvibes esta dedicando una pagina .a su comunidad. Este es el peri6dico escrito para crea.r una conciencia de las personas sin hogar, la injusticia social, y la pobreza en nuestra cuidad. Es la hora que se oye la voz de usted. lHa pasado algo emocionante en su vida recientemente? l Tiene Ud. unas ideas que quiere publicar? lHa escrito algun tipo de poesia? Streetvibes quiere publicar sus historias, su poesia, su prosa, y sus pensarnientos. Hay personas que Para ayuda, llame- Su Casa pueden ayudarle a escribir y Ministerio Hispano preparar todo para redactarlo. (513) 761-1588 Tarnbien, Ud. puede ser un 115 W. Seymour Ave vendedor de Streetvibes y ganar Cincinnati, Ohio 45216 dinero. La Coalici6n de Greater Cincinnati provee el peri6dico San Damiano House- Los para las personas sin hogar en -Hermanos de Las Personas Pobres Over-the-Rhine. El meta de la (513)241-8585 coalici6n es elirninar la situaci6n de 923 Bank St personas sin hogar, con respeto a la Cincinnati, Ohio dignidad y diversidad de sus 45214. miembros, las personas sin hogar, y Tambien, hay una lista de lugares (para el refugio, la vivienda, el la comunidad. La Coalicion y sus miembros pueden darle a usted lo tratamiento medical, y otros siguiente: el refugio de emergencia, servicios) en la ultima pagina del peri6dico. las habitaciones provisionales, la Peaslee Neighborhood Center Presents A Holiday Concert and Boutique Saturday, December 14, 2002 at 3:00 P.M. At St. Francis Seraph Church, 1615 Vine Street (NW corner o.f Liberty & Vine Streets-Over-the­ Rhine) Featuring The Over- the-Rhine Youth Steel Drum Band The Peaslee Piano Players The Mallet Music Makers And Peaslee Poets A $5 or Affordable Donation Appreciated Be sure to visit the "boutique" fable before and after the concert for crafts and other items for holiday gift-giving! Call 621-5514 For More Information The Music Programs at Peaslee Neighborhood Center are funded in part by The City of Cincinnati. The Ohio Arts Council. The Keyboard Club and The Fine Arts Fund. Extra! Extra! Advertise in Streetvibes! Reach thousands of downtown workers each month! Call 421-7803 for more information about how advertising in Streetvibes will work Jor your business_ We Can Be Proud! ,Judge MARK PAINTER Ohio Court of Appeals The Most-Published Hamilton County Judge Ever! Our own Judge Mark Painter has reached a milestone­ 250 of his decisions have been published nationally. He is the most~published Hamilton County judge ever, and one of the most-published Ohio judges in history. Judge Painter has: • Served on the Court of Appeals for seven years, after 13 years on Municipal Court. His opinions have been recognized as legal precedent more than 2000 times-­ in cases, textbooks, and encyclopedias. • Written 52 articles on appellate practice, sentencing, DUI, contempt, and legal ethics. He writes a monthly column on legal writing for Ohio Lawye!S Weekly. • Taught 85 seminars for judges, lawyers, and police officers, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at U.C. • Authored the textbook Ohio DUI Law, now in its 12th edition. His other book. The Legal Writer: 30 Rules for the Art of Legal Writing, was published in June. www.Judgepainter.org f>•.id for by The Judge Painter CoMtnlttee, Greg Ruehtmann. Chair, 312 Walnut. St., Clndnnatl Volunteef:, · Opportunities at the Greater Cincinnati for Coalition .. the Homeless .... ... There are numerous opportunities for volunteers at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. We are willing to work wJth each individual in choosing a service opportunity that is right for them. The foJJowing are a few of the areas in which the Coalition could use your help: Desi'gning a web .site for .o ur National Civil Rights Organizing Project. This would include working with two Americorp Vista volunteers on how to prevent further criminalization ofl1omeless individuals as well as preventing the increasing hate crimes against them. To enhance our Streetvibes program, we are searching for volunteers to s~licit advertisements from local businesses. lf your business or a business you know o£would like to advertise in our paper, we offer very cornpetiti-~e rates for ads that .reach about 15,000 people per ·· _month! t>ur dream volunteer would be a self-motivated volunteer that would like to fundraise for our organization. This could include asking your friends and family for donations to researching anckwriting g rants for our excellent progn1ms. The Streehlibes newspaper project is always in need ofpeople interested in writing articles on social justice/poverty issues. We need help in the afternoons at the front desk, an~wering phones and handling tran~actions with our Streetvibes Vendors. This person will address the needs ofvisitors, having direct contact with homeless individuals and should.be available one afternoon a week. There is always a need for help with bulk mailings. For Streetvibes, .there are monthly mailings. Other mailings include the annual report, quarterly newsletter, and various capitol campaigns. lf you are interested in volunteering at th~ Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, please contact the office at 4~ 1-7803 , or visit us at 1506 Elm Street in Over-the­ Rhine. �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 10 The-Peace Village The City Faces New Cha~lenges .in the Peace Process by Dr. Steve Sunderland councilpersons, and the mayor calling for _a cooling off period, a chance to My musings earlier last month reevaluate, and, a moving forward on got interrupted by a set of explosions the spirit ofthe agreement while in the peace process in Cincinnati. getting to know Dr. Kalmanoffand As many ofyou know, Cincinnati his staff. My letter and another one signed a peace treaty a few months were printed in our local newspaper, ago with its police, city government, "The Enquirer," and there has been the Black United Front, and, the no further news about either Dr. American Civil Liberties Union. The Kalmanoff, a meeting between all of treaty calls for implementation of a the parties, and/or any actions by the police-community agreement to both judge. problem solve and supervise What I have learned from this is relationships between police and another lesson in how difficult it is to citizen groups. All ofthese polices move into the substance ofpeace were to be supervised by a work. The signing ofthe agreement "monitor," eitherjointlyagreed upon occurred only because ofa by the parties or settled upon by the compromise by the City concerning Federal judge ifthe parties could not 'the payment ofthe plaintiffs lawyers' reach agreement. Following two fees. Now, the appointment ofthe extensions to permit the parties to supervisor ofthe peace process has reach agreement that were been placed in jeopardy for reasons unsuccessful, the judgefinally decided not all together clear. Developing a last month on Dr.Alan Kalmanoff, mutual and connected peace process University ofCalifornia Jaw professor ofall ofthe parties, including the and a team ofcriminal justice experts. police and the community groups, . Dr. Kalmanoff seems as difficult came to town, a step to achieve "The attitude ofthe city's met with the as anything. The mayor and the peace process, I leaders revealed such a council, suggested am learning, hostility to peace with that he needed requires a period Kalmanoff that little more time to see ofpeace work just how much where discussions seemedpossible... " time would be about issues in needed for full implementation, even conflicts, requires efforts and a time suggested that the extent ofhis work to make peaceful and trusting might even depend upon compliance relationships, and, most importantly, ofthe parties, and, le.ft town. The requires an attitude ofpeace, ifpeace arrival ofhis bill for 3 weeks work is to have a chance ofgrowing in the has been met with a firestorm of overheated and violated ground on protest by our mayor and the city which we all stand. I had the feeling council, charging Dr. Kalmanoff with that I had.lost this last point as the listing so many "horrors" as to month's actions seem to overwhelm endanger the agreement and the any thought that Dr. Kalmaiioffcould credibility ofthe council. So, in one be a positive force for peace in our ofthe..few unanimous actions in city. The attitude ofthe city's leaders recent history, the council and the revealed such a hostility to peac~ with mayor voted to immediately terminate Kalmanoff that little seemeCI possible. his contract and not pay his bill. Only the restoration ofsome other The immediate response ofthe perspectives by the Black l.::Tnited other parties were to accuse the city Front andACLU's spokespersons, council and mayor ofacting without seemed to change some ofthe consultation and inappropriately since climate. (ed note: Dr. Kalmanoff the agreement calls for all four parties has since resigned as monitor in to meet and discuss any problems. the federal settlement.) Dr. Kalmanoff has indicated he will The cross-burning and gay not continue to work unless he is bashing that took place surrounding paid. Thejudge has remained silent. Miami University had some important As many of news this week. you know, I have Four high "school "Dr. Kalmanoff has . been involved teens were 'indicated he will not with the police­ charged with the community continue to work unless cross-burning. conflict even Why these he is paid. The judge has before the riots of students.did these remainedsilent... " April, 2001, as actions is to be part ofthe ARIA explored and process to work on racial profiling. I whether they were connected to the continued to be involved after the hate email aimed at gays and lesbians, agreement was signed as chair ofthe is still to be determined. I am sure Citizens United for a Fair Settlement. that team members in Oxford, Ohio, I worked all week to get letters have more information and will give written to the judge, the us reports as they learn more going through our fear, through our information. distrust ofgovernment's·actions, These events go into the focal, through our anger at the regional and national news that adds incompetence ofour Democratic numbing fo our post-9/11 events and leaders, and going toward a spirt ofa feelings. Tcannot remember a time tender-hearted peace movement. when so many terroristic and Not to say this this would be easy or irrational events have seemed to avoiding tough issues. Ray spoke come at the same time. Making eloquently ofhis process ofbecoming sense ofsue}). events, even ifthere is a conscientious objector in WWII no conceivable connection, is a and how difficult it was to reach that daunting task, as each day brings a decision. I asked him about whether new story ofh.o rror. I feel that this he had ariy regrets, especially since recognition ofthe social numbing, so many ofEuropean Jews and accompanied by new assaults, may others were exterminated and even offer us some ofour most important more would have died ifthe allies had work as a Peace Village in the not stopped Htler's war machine. coming weeks and months. Ray did not hesitate with his tough Attending an answer: "The interfaith group, Peace-seekers, "/continued to feel that atrocities"could have driven me to chaired by Rev. tenderness was also suicide, but not to RayWoodruff . the military." made me smile needed, a kind of with wonder as a tenderness that could be "What an unusual statement of group came together to speak defined, built upon, and strength," I ofpeace, amidst expanded as a source of thought to myself Others suggested the storm ofall of resistance and as a that we look, too, our recent events. teachingfor a society · into Gandhi's It is too easy to tough non-violent minimize the that could turn to stances, and, of importance of productive acts of course, Martin such groups, cartng... " Luther King's especially when we have to deal approaches. with what seems like a call to the We continued to talk ofwhat might be needed in a peace president and congress for a more aggressive stance toward Iraq. Yet, I movement for today, with our complexities making it important that feel that the president has altered his we not lose sight ofthe horror facing plans for attack since the peace many people, both here and in other movement organized so many statements ofcaution, and resistance. parts ofthe world. I continued to feel that tenderness was also needed, a Who would have thought we would kind oftenderness that could be have seen the UN Security Council debate and vote just two months ago defined, built upon, and expanded as a source ofresistance and as a and/or to see the new Powell teaching for a society that could tum doctrine being implemented? The to productive acts ofcaring. Team peace movement, whatever we are, can take some credit for keeping the member Jane Yolen's two books on the holocaust war out ofthe were in my mind Middle East and, "Ifeel that this as I reflected on perhaps, other places in the recognition ofthe social how we can construct a peace world. We spoke numbing, accompanied movement that did at our little by new assaults, may not lose it's heart. meeting ofmany ofthe topics of I offer us some ofour most thought ofthe door in"The the day, agreed to important work as a Devil's meet again, and Peace VU/age in the Aritlunetic," that even sang a version of"God theyoung girl coming weeks and Bless America" walks out of, . months..." going from her with new lyrics by Monica and Ray comfortable l 990's Passover service, to the · Woodruff. ("God bless the whole streets ofa Polish village, in the early wide world, planet we love! Stand 1940s, about to be captured by the and guide us, through beside us, war's nigh to the light, filled with love. Nazis. In a powerful way, September 11 has been such a door FromAmerica, toAfghanistan, or to for me, as I find .myselfin a world that Tokyo, or to Rome, God guide us, everyone, tq make earth home! God with all, everywhere, .to make earth P('.ace Village.... home!") (Watch out Seegar family!) Cont. on page 13 I sensed that this meeting was . �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 11 The Grea er Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless cordially invites yOu to attend their Annual Dinner "Many Missions, One Heart" Saturday, Dece1 mber 14, 2002 6:30pm Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church Kathy Wilson of CityBeat, Keynote Speaker Silent Auction , Split-the-Pot Raffle, Dinner, Fun To Be Added to the Guest List, Please send $15 Payable to: Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Ho~eless ..... 1506 Elm Street ­ Cincinnati, OH 45202 . . • Consider Sponsoring Dinner for a Homeless Individual-for a $15 donation or Have Your Company Sponsor A Table for $120 " . Please Call Brendan Goodwin at 513.421 .7803 with any questions �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 12 Home Free: the Short, Happy Life of Tyrone Douglas Lewis by Davida G Breier Earlier this year my mother was reeling from another disastrous visit with my long-lost sister. We've been attempting to build a relationship for three years, with nothing more than a shaky foundation of blood relations. My mother was nearly broken from the attempts. She had seen a man standing around in Aberdeeµ, obviously homeless. He never begged, but he was visible on the highway and in the park behind the library. It was the start of a hot summer that would boast days upon days of temperature~ exceeding 90 degrees. The man, who was dressed in multiple layers of clothing, was noticeably suffering in the heat. She brought him some clean clothes, hoping this might help, but he simply added them to the layers. Concerned for his wellbeing, she began to stop and see him regularly, giving him cold drinks and a little cash here and there so he could get what he wanted from the convenience store. Then one day she decided to make a plate offood for him lild took it to him down at the park. He had been scared and shy around her, but this simple acknowledgement that he was hungry opened a door. He hadn't had food regularly until she started to bring him..dinner. They began to talk more and more. She would bring him at least one meal, sometimes two, snacks, and cold drinks. She'd continue to try and get him to take some of the layers offby bringing him new clothes, but they were either added to the huge duftle he .carried or tucked inside his jacket where he carried Photo Views Fountain Square, Downtown Cincinnati... Photo by Anthony Dent his soda and water bottles. He only asked for one thing : a small transistor radio. He would listen to it all the time, often playing classical music. She would learn his name was Tyrone, that he was from Connecticut, and that he was still suffering from gunshot wounds inflicted when he was asleep in his sleeping bag. At a distance Tyrone could appear imposing, standing over six feet tall and made bulkier by the multiple layers of clothes. He always wore a hooded jacket and knit cap pulled tight around his face. He had a dark complexion, and between that and his hood of his jacket, there were times his face was all but impossible to see. My mother looked straight past the exterior and saw a hungry, terrified man w ho needed both help and friendship. The Aberdeen police, three cops in particular, started harassing him. They chased him from place to place around town, threatening to arrest him if he didn't move on. The temperature was in the high 90s, and it was obvious he was both sick and suffering mental problems. My mother, who was in ·contact with a shelter in the next county, offered to drive him to a new location where he could be safe. They, like so many of the agencies she contacted, were a dead end. He disappeared over the Fourth ofJuly weekend. My mother was frantic. It took some doing but he was tracked down at the Harford County Detention Center. His crime: littering. When the police chased him from the small, seldom-used public park behind t~e library he was forced to leave behind the blanket my mother had given him. The police, eager to "get rid of the problem," charged him with littering and slapped a $50 fine on him that he obviously couldn't pay. They issued a warrant and arrested him. We arranged for him to be released into my mother's custody. This was July 9, 2002. Not knowing what el$e to do, she moved him into our home. I am going to admit there was some resistance to this arrangement, but she was detennined, no matter what, to help this man. In the weeks following his absorption into our home they became good friends. It became apparent he was autistic, with other unknown medical and physical problems. It turned out he loved watching movies as much as she did, so they frequently rented videos or went into Bel Air to catch a matinee. She told me he would often clap at the end of the movies. He liked Wesley Snipes action movies, as well as Robert Altman films. The more she got to know him, the more she saw he was like a child. He was a very gentle man. Sensing that my mother was having trouble crossing a high bridge (one of her fears), he offered to hold her hand. On another occasion he made her stop the car so he could place an inch worm on the ground where it would be safe. At the flea market one morning I caught him playing in a rain puddle. They were both survivors of childhood abuse. For Tyrone this meant an overriding fear of people. He would barricade his door and windows at night. My mother gave him a key for the bedroom door, so he could feel safe at night. He was afraid or shy around the rest of us, so we didn't get a chance to know him like she did. . He' d have good days and he' d have bad days. He loved my mother 's van and he'd often ask to go for a ride. She took him to a nearby state park and he said it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. On other days he would hide in.the room, refusing to come out. He would often rock or tremor when. he was scared or nervous. ·He was ashamed ofthis and tried to hide it as much as he could. We realize now he probably had a seizure disorder, which is common in people with autism. It was obvious he needed to see a doctor but he refused. Far from being one-sided, their friendship helped my mother as well as Tyrone. In recent weeks my mother had taken a great deal of ribbing because she had begun to cook huge meals for him. None of us had ever seen her cook like this before. He didn't bat an eye when he found out he had been eating as a vegetarian for months. Tyrone told her he was in care of some kind as a child, state or·foster - it was never made clear. Recently he told her that this was the happiest he could remember being since he was a child. He bad never stayed at a motel until last month when she took him with her to an antique show in Virginia. He apparently had never had anyone care for him like this. She'd try to do a little something to make him happy each day, even if it was a simple little gift, and she did. They often spent the evenings watching movies in his bedroom. Last night my mother and I went out for a few hours, to spend a little time together. When we arrived home about 10:30 p.m. she knocked on his door, but there was no reply. Ifhe was having a bad day this wasn't unusual. She . came into my bedroom to talk to me about the situation. She feared his mental health was getting worse lately. He hadn 't wanted to leave the room for several days. She decided to get the other skeleton key and open the door. It looked like he was asleep on the bed. He didn't respond. He was cold to the touch. We called 911. The paramedics, who arrived a few m.inutes later, said he had been dead for abqut six to eight hours. They remembered picking_him up over the winter and taking him to the hospital. He had been living in a vacant lot, wrapped in three sleeping bags, exposed to the elements, and lying in his own waste. Though he refused treatment the first time, the second time he was unconscious and they were able to take him to the hospital. Tyrone had massive sores all over his body, and he had somehow interpreted these sores to be gunshot wounds. He spent months recovering in the hospital, explained the paramedic, wi.th an injury to his Achilles tendon so bad that he was left with a permanent limp. The paramedic was especially nice. The state trooper and coroner arrived next. Both were very compassionate. The coroner even started crying when she heard the whole story. She said it was the first time this had ever happened on a call. We have so many unanswered questions. His background is still a mystery. It is �STREETVIBES December 2002 · unknown how long he was on the streets and what aJI had happened to him. He was 47 years old, but his body appeared much older. His death may have been caused or mitigated by the heat, or from any one of many health problems. He said he wasn't feeling well, but he never said what was wrong or that he thought it was serious. It is also likely he was hiding how sick he was, so he didn't have to leave or go to the hospital. If my mother hadn't taken him in, it is likely he would have died on the street. His unclaimed, unknown body would have been donated to science, something this fearful, shy, modest man would have abhorred . We will have him cremated. He will be remembered. Most ofthe questions will remain - joined by sorrow. Last night about 4 a.m. my mother asked me to write about Tyrone. She wanted people to know who Tyrone was. She wanted people to stop and consider the person under the plastic tarp, 7 layers of clothing, or cardboard box. She is angry and mournful that Tyrone and people like him are invisible in our society. Most importantly, she wants people to know that this tragedy could have been avoided if someone had ·seen Tyrone and helped him sooner. Last week I gave a speech where I credited my mother with teaching me compassion. I think she could teach all of us a thing or two on the subject. Davida G Breier lives in Maryland. In Memory of Tyrone Douglas Lewis Peace Village.... Cont. from page 10 has little connection to the world just before the planes were . crashed. For many of us, at least as recorded jn so many posters, there has been a heart breaking experience of looking at the here and now as one serious act of terror after another, with the door opening even wider to show us the anthrax realities, the pressure of a "homeland defense, "the snjper, the war in Afghanistan, and the continuation of the war propaganda. Where is there room for tenderness, for acts of service that suggest a solidarity with the human condition that has been deeply violated, and, with others, perhaps many, who seek a non- Streetvib~s Page 13 In peace, shalom, salaam, vrede, military set of actions that are kiss to those who are wondering if grounded in the kind of affection our efforts really will make any Tubman .... so readily apparent in the many difference in the larger peace Dr. Steve Sunderland, effort. Choosing to "kiss" the activities ofthe Winton Place professor ofSocial Work at the figure of peace in our work, opens Youth Center, the Open House University ofCincinnati, is the efforts, the work of Doctors us to the chance to see the deeper Director ofthe Peace Village, possibilities for a kind of peace Without Borders, the work of a group ofindividuals from those in Nigeria for the orphanage that may not be ever obtained. the national and international for both Islamic and Christian Yet, we go on, one poster after community committed to another, one peace effort of youth, and in so many activities of examining all issues for peace friends working to understand the youth and adults continuing to in the world. Dr. Sunderland work in service? I feel that the efforts ofconscientious objection, also heads up Posters for one act of bringing respect to making of the posters is an act of Peace which engages people tenderness, a simple and gentle elders now in threatened symbol of some emotion that can be shared, within a group, and find by irrational expressing costs and respect, meaning,and support for their the questions of how to go dangers, one visions of act of through this door that has been peace, in operung our opened to us. Jane's book their own door to the describes the journey of someone words, orphans1 to going through the horror of the through Hplocaust as a young person, a the battered, the to the youth who grows up seeing ·creation prejudiced, horror replaced with individual ofposters. and to the acts of caring, before the forces of evil suffocate these acts and not isolated. of tenderness. Our the memory efforts within the Peace Village are also through this door, asking each of us what we can do, now, to make our time, a time. of young adults are invited to learn Peaslee Neighborhood Center, construction of the Peace Village 215 Bast 14th Street> hosts lots · basic photography skills through for all. Some of my old friend$ are coming back with some of arts opportunities for adults introd~ctory co,urses provided at strategies for making and children to learn skills Peaslee. Call the Center for organizations that might be such as playing a steel drum or class schedtiles. contributing to a kind of peace piano, photography, mafing that is not false, with justice, and, mosaic art, or writing. Any Wdting - :Any young person in without overriding fear, and resident of Over-the-Rhine or the Greater Cincinnati area may continual victimization. I am the West Enu is welcome! All submit poems and/or articles yia happy to reconnect with these email for publication :in sessions are FREE, including great thinkers and designers and ins~ction and materials. No Streetvibes. Content should be look forward to sharing their previous artistic experience related.to homelessness, ~ocial work, Lew, Al, Harry, Mel, Bill, necessary. Contact Brenda Z. · justice, or poverty-related Ron, Nurete, David, and others, issues. at 621-5514 for more with the Peace Village. Just as I want to hear more from Namaah's information. important work with the Reform Call For New Arts Advisory Jewish high school in Israel, OTR Steel prum Band -Learn Committee Me~bers! -The Emmanual's serious work with Arts Advisory Committee is how to play the steel drums in Jos, Nigeria, Tamara and Maria looking for representatives from an introductory series for and Lisette's important work in adults. Parents may bring their the neighborhood and the arts the Netherlands, and, the ongoing childien (age 9 and up) to·learn and business communify. -This work with the ·homeless ofJimmy, committee helps to formulate "together if they like. and the efforts of Steve to the direction and development Participants will learn steel connect, tenderly, the children of ofPeaslee's arts programs. dnuntechtrique,rhytlnns, and the affluent of Cincinnati with how to read music. those in greatest need. Looking For New Sta.f f - · We are through the door, friends, and as Thich Nhat Hahn Community Mosaic Art Peaslee is also looking for new ' reminds us, we are mindful of for the piano Project - Community members music instructors each step toward and in peace. are corrling together to make and the mallets program. This is There is a moment in Jane Yolen 's mosaic art for.the Over-the.. a wonderful opportunity to get "Briar Rose," when the "dead" Rhine neighborhood. The involved in teaching music in a Jewish girl, gassed and thrown in organizers ate looking for ideas fun and rew¥ding setting. a pile of bodies, is brought back to for the next project. 'Forward ' Anyone mterested in any of Life, through mouth to mouth your ideas to Brenda Z. these opportunities, contact breathing, a kiss, by a member of Brenda Z. at Pe«!islee, 215 East the resistance. It is another door Photography- Over-the-Rhine 14th'Street, Ov~r-the-Rhine, to think about as we go on with 621-5514._ and West End teenagers and our work, as we try and offer a ART, MUSIC, AND WRITING OPRORTUNITIES.! exists as a forum for the expression ofthe views and opinions ofour readers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those ofthe Streetvibes staffor the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. �STREETVIBE S Decem ber 2002 Art&Poetry Christmas Eve, 2001: 6. For the Travelers by Mike Henson 1. A Fall of Snow Outside my window, a crisp, silent snow, the first in this strange season. The kitchen light flares against the glass and I cannot see the snow, but moments ago I stood in the yard. Snow curtained the woods beyond the yard. Cold snow touched its·fingers to my cheek. The frosted grass cracked beneath my shoes. Deep in the woods, the deer shook out their coats, bent at the knees, and settled like Benedictines into their cold beds. 2. Poverty and Birth This is the season when we honor poverty and birth, when we tell a story of the homeless and the cold, small people hustled out onto the roads by the whim ofthe powerful. Tiberius Enron. This is an old, old story. 3. Sick at Heart Day by day, the television flares with images of a ruining world and children huddle in the rubl;?le of a half dozen nations, George Bush, dutiful son, conjures gifts for the Magi. We stumble through the portals of a brutal new century and I am sick at heart. And so, I have turned at this late hour to the silence ofthis fall of snow. 4. Midnight Mass When I was a child this was the hour when we bundled together for Midnight Mass. The church was crowded, pew by pew. I sat beside my father and we sang together, hymns to the plaster child in his bower of pine. 5. A Sign Sometimes I think Herod found his Jesus. Caesar bought him and brought him t6 Rome and left us with the painted plaster baby in the creche. But still the Innocents are slaughtered. So maybe that1s a sign. Ifyou want to find the Exile look to the. roads. A midnight car turns at the bend in the road . Fugit ive lights spider across the kitchen wall - quickly!­ and pass away. For the travelers We keep our tree lights burning and a line oflights along the fence. Page 14 This is a hard, hard story. ' To think that a child is born to be pierced hands and feet to die naked on a hill. I would like to think that this is a story of redemption. I would like to think that God erupts in every womb. 11. Journeys The hours scroll toward morning. I must rest. What I hope to feel at dawn is hope, 7. In the Woods that this solstice dark will bend to the light. The woods behind my house And perhaps there is reason for hope. are silent Even now, dark and gravid a woman of the Pushtun leads a mule as the inside of a womb. From my kitchen to the manger of a refugee station. And even now, you would think that all is still. But this is the winter wait. a girl of the South Bronx In each gray bud pulls back the blanket I hear to look once more a dim cellular tick, at the child in her arms. leafand flower cramp and coil. Hope walks hobbled. Pulsing Hope has the stony path. · in the doe, Hope is crossed the raccoon sow, by the shadow ofthe Kalashnikov. The Holy Families ofthe poor the pocketed opossum I see: still trek the cold Gallilean hills. the pale zygotic lights of their young. I do not hope for much of hope. But there is everywhere, 8. The Hard Births of the Poor in spite of all, defiant Too many are born hungry. inexplicable amid all that centurion clatter. Too m~y are born cold. Too many are born to the chatter of guns. and the smoke and clutter of war Too many are born who will not live out the the persistent human impulse. year. Again and again Too many are born under a chemical haze. the angel carries Too many are born who will never see a school. the word to the womb and there is birth. Too many are born to be beaten. Too many are born on the wrong side of a 12. And in the Morning border. Too many are born who will know too much. Snow still pitters against my window. Too many are born after ten straight days of ram. A few more minutes Too many are ~om and where wiJl we get the and I will go to seek a restless sleep. money for the medicine? We cannot know what.marches toward the hard new Bethlehems Too many are born and the blood is infected and I fear for those I love from the moment it is and all who fall into the pat h . · blood. of the pinstripe Herods. Too many are born who will not sing. But the old story tells us . . 9. Those I Love compassion survives in the mangers of the poor. So ifl want a blessing Those I love most closely in the morning lie asleep. If I go to the door I will go to see I can hear them breathe. outlined in snow the pallets of the bedded deer. Some I love are far off, spread like the drift of snow across a continent. And I cannot hear them at all. by Ron English Song ofPrayer 10. What is the Story? for God's Wisdom for sorrow of sin ­ _ of damnation, I ponder the story we tell each year: The angel speaks. for brother's peace and the virgin conceives. dream of sister A star blazes in the sky. Hope for Love and Respect The world is in awe Because ofFaith, at God in a stall. and Worship of Speech Then, poverty, exile, slaughter ­ and freedom of God's Creation �Art& Poetry STREETVIBES December 2002 The Day Before Xmas by Ron Carter It was the day before Xmas at the Progressive Day Car; Center, it was good and cold ' after all, it was winter. With Kirn in her kerchief ' and her children ·taking a nap, Also, with Vanessa holding, a child on her lap. I was monitoring the hall, As kool as I could be ' and just wondering when, this day would end for me. About that time, Diane came by, ~nd said Ron, it won't be long, m an hour and a half ' I'll be gone. Those words were close to my heart, because I knew time was getting short. Betty and Rebecca were busy with their infants ' trying to stop them from crying, and they were loud, and I am not lying. SNAKE Irregular Ode to Man by J M Pleasant Everyday, five times each day, on the fifth hour in the evening, I languidly climb these seven steps ofmy stoop --everyday. Each time, I slip on the fifth step and spiral down, my chin cracking on the seventh -every time. My upper and lower teeth rip through my lazy tongue, then collide into each other, shattering themselves into enamely shards. I smile at the kids and kiss the wife, with my bastard mouth overflowing thick, soft blood. Tanya and Sylvia were catching it too, so many toddlers, until they didn't know what to do. The ladies were trying to get them in order, but al they wanted was some water. .P age 15 Let me tell you about this girl named Sweet and Petite From heavens above you would by Gary Lehmann think A soldier's eyes slam open She is a precious gift. interrupting the dead ofnight But in reality, she makes me sick. like a bayonet in the belly. See, in her mind, she says she's a witch. Ancient fears, forgotten features. But down on earth we know her as His lady brings him wat~r. a trick. "It'll be all right now, honey." Like fire and thunder, she often makes em wonder. You know, like Stevie Wond~r Calling herself Queen Bee But in reality she lied to me. She's the devil's child, running wild makes herself an angel to light You know, smooth, like Dolomite. But it's out of date, she's always late Or, her name might be Gail, she'll put You in living hell. Post with no bail. Darkness by D-Von Sanders There is darkness on the surface of the deep But is the darkness really bad Because with light comes life then death and emotions She's too fat, she might break her Ofpain and suffering, for the things you've never had back. So is the darkness really bad? Thinks she goes lovey-dovey, We was born in darkness she'atell-o-tubby ofthewomb She'IJ cut you up with her eyes. Of our Mother Earth, and we wilJ · You got a date with cake and can't return be late. · to Darkness Until the dawn of our new birth No, in reality, she's just a snake. Thinking that her heart is made of So is the darkness really bad? No I don't think so steel. Because in the Darkness there is That girl needs to chill before peace somebody breaks her grill. From Heaven above and Hell She's bad for your health. Get that poison·off your chest and below leave her to rest. Shutter Speed by Jimmy Heath So Kim said let them all get a swallow, or two becau~e in one more hour this day is done, you can befieve ' it has been no fun. ' Well, as you know, my name is Ron, · ·and I wrote this little story for your delight, it all cam to me last night. Now, l know this story was written too soon because Xmas is still weeks away. But when we do get to that day, I hope it's a Merry One, OK? Dedicated t o the ladies that work at the Progressive Day Care Center in North Fairmount. Zieg/e~ Park Pool Soldiers Song Over-the-Rhine .. �STREETVIBES December 2002 News & Editorial Page 16 district, and had had my first meal A Day in Court downtown in many months. by Martha Stephens When I arrived at the court in mid-morning, a jury was still being impanelled, and a large group ofpeople milled about in the hallway outside the room. The scene had very much the look of an important trial. I had come as an observer, but people were easy to talk to, and I was able to learn something about them for this report. By 11:45 the jury was complete, but the court was adjourning for lunch. The defendant came out and joined her friends in the corridor. Her name is Lynn Watts. She is a slender, dark­ skinned woman of forty-two, a resident of a community on the outskirts of Cincinnati, the Village of Evendale. What crime was she being tried for - and why was this crime of so much interest to people? In a meeting of the city council of Evendale on May 2, 2002, Watts had persisted in speaking beyond the ninety-second limit imposed on that occasion by the Mayor. She had been escorted out by the police, arrested, and charged with "disrupting a lawful meeting.:' The story of this council meeting - the events leading up to it, its early adjournment by the Mayor, and its alleged disruption ­ would unfold in plenteous detail that afternoon in court. The trial of Lynn Watts would explore the limits of citiZens' rights to speak out and confront the authorities, to be angry at the authorities - rights which seem more and more fragile in a time when order and policing and the security of the homeland have become the ruling ideas. the Watts family have two boys, fourteen and eleven, and this trial would have a bitter subtext. An infamous Cincinnati event, the death of an unarmed young black man, Timothy Thomas, his shooting by Officer Stephen Roach, would not often be directly referred to in court, but that event would fo1m the impassioned backdrop of the proceedings. Court would reconvene, we were told, at 1:45, and people drifted away for lunch. I walked over to a nearby eatery, ordered a sandwich, looked over my new copy of Streetvibes, and went to work on some notes on the case. Later 1 realized I had completely forgotten about another reflex of the death of Timothy Thomas, the boycott of the central business under the First Amendment, Citizens, but ninety seconds. The wrote Mezibov in his briefs on Mayor had anticipated trouble at this meeting and had met that the case. If public bodies The intense interactions morning with his police establish a space for political among the supp01ters of Lynn Watts, their closeness and their department. A plan had been made speech, the guidelines for this racial mix, had seemed encouraging for speakers to be taken away if speech must be "reasonable." ­ they exceeded a limit ofninety "It is simply absurd to believe," that morning. I had counted seconds; but that such speakers he wrote, "that ninety seconds sixteen whites; ten other citizens would be arrested, the Mayor said, offers ample time for anyone - a were African-Americans like the had not been specifically agreed to. citizen or a politician - to defendant. It seemed curious to me that so many would-leave their A cable company was filming this meaningfully address political jobs to be present all day in court. of Council, only the meeting issues at a public forum." Indeed, they all came back second such meeting to be aired, At 3:30 in court that day, and lawyer Mezibov's contention the next day; and the evening the jury was sent home, but the was that the Mayor did not wish before the trial, a much larger Judge then heard two motions the residents to witness on t. v. a group had staged a silent vigil in from the defense: one to dismiss the Evendale amphitheater. the case, and the other to acquit long line of people attacking his actions regarding Officer Roach the defendant for lack of evidence The courtroom of and had expected to find a pretext to support the charge. We heard Municipal Judge David Stockdale, these motions explained by for canceling the meeting. on the first floor of the Hamilton Mezibov 's associate, John Lynn Watts bad been tbe County Courthouse, is small; it has first to speak on the evening of Feldmeier, and court was seats for only about thirty people, May 2. She had begun with adjourned. and so it was a close squeeze to get cursory remarks about the The next morning the everyone in. No one is allowed to recreation department, where she is Evendale citizens were back in stand, and I had a quick warning a volunteer, but had proceeded their hallway. At 11 :00 all were allowed to re-enter the from the bailiff when I attempted to with harsh, angry attacks on the Mayor's actions. When she was courtroom, and again the room rise in a corner of the room to of the council watch the video taken away for refusing to cease was filled. The Judge read his and desist after ninety seconds, the ruling on the two motions of the meeting in question. The defense of Watts was defense. One of these he second speaker rose, Watts' conducted most skillfully, most husband, as it happened, and he too rejected, and he did not dismiss carefully, it seemed to me, and I did fired fierce challenges at the Mayor the case, but then came a not know at first that I was and attempted to speak on after surprise: he was ruling to acquit watching the work of a well-known ninety seconds. the defendant. Emotional sounds criminal defense attorney, Marc It was at this point that the rose up from the onlookers and from the defendant, and there was Mezibov. The prosecutor, a young Mayor disbanded the meeting, and a general air of celebration. woman named Deborah Casey, it was at this intersection of events The attorneys caucused that Marc Mezibov inserted in was also well-prepared, tightly with the Watts family in the focused on her precise logarithm of court his most pointed attack on the charge against Lynn Watts. The corridor, and the witnesses they questions for Mayor Douglas Lohmeier. Lohmeier's questioning meeting had not been ended by her had not needed to call, and in lasted for several hours; he was the personal testimony; it had time I had a brief exchange with Marc Mezibov. Had he ever had proceeded through another only witness called by the state, a case like this before? No, no, and at the end of his testimony, the speaker, and thus the meeting had he said quickly, not like this. I not been disrupted by her. The state rested its case. said I had Mayor had wanted to disarm this The video of the May 2 intended just to look in on this meeting had oeen shown, and we political speech against him, it was trial, but had found it strangely argued, and had not wished to find had learned that sixteen members compelling. I am no expert on a way that night for conducting his of the Concerned Citizens of Evendale had signed up before the normal business. Mayor Lohmeier law, I told Mezibov, yet somehow I seem to end up writing on legal conceded, on the stand, that he meeting to speak on the return of affairs. "Everything is legal," he could have moved the Items of Officer Stephen Roach to the said - ')ust as everything is Citizens to the end of the program, Evendale streets. After the death after other matters had been political," and I felt I knew what of Thomas, Roach had been hired by Evendale, over serious attended to. he meant. Political speech is protected objections from citizens, but he had been assigned to a desk job Martha Stephens is a writer and a retired professor ofEnglish. Her most following a report by the City of recent book appeared last March and is available in stores and libraries: Cincinnati that he had lied about The Treatment: the Story of Those Who Died in the Cincinnati why he had fired that night. Radiation Tests. 0 .c a. The citizens who appeared .c .,; to speak on May 2 had been r angered at the opening of the meeting by two surprise announcements by Mayor Lohmeier: that Roach was already being returned to the streets, without further consultation with the citizens, and that the speakers would have, not the three minutes Martha Stephens generally allotted for Items from 0 Streetvibes exists as a forum for the expression ofthe views and opinions of our readers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those ofthe Streetvibes staffor the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. �STREETVIBES December 2002 News & Editorial Page 17 quickly; For the Senate the word is http://www.senate.state.oh.us/ of a very important event. It's simply "Senators," likewise for an Of course that's not all of been 99 years since man got off the alphabetical listing and some means the government. It IS enough to ground in what is called "manned to find one quickly. keep someone exploring for several flight" and someone interested in On to the states! For some background can find it at: hours ifhe/she is not familiar with by Carolyn Messaros frequent users, especially iflooking it, so SOME counties and cities http://www.aviationtrailinc.org/ and of special interest to the black will be listed some other time. In anywhere in the country, there's It 's called "The Information also a tip, below. the meantime: communities around the site (item Highway! " or, more commonly, the Tip for frequent users: # 2) leads to some information on Everyone should know Internet or Web. The days have people accustomed to going back about "Urban Legends." For those Paul L . Dunbar, the famous poet. come when almost anyone can get and forth with the back button A good many people know who have never found a source or on the information highway to find might find it handy to access the want another: http:// that there are homeless people's out things both important and newspapers around the country and site for Kentucky listed below as www.snopes.com/ (it is "the" nonsensical. one!). they have a national "umbrella" on the home page there is a link It seemed sensible to nicely marked "Other Web Sites" in Foreign news is important group (a site to be posted another provide some websites that people which there is a link marked "Other these days. The British time, possibly along with other might save for further reference. State Legislatures" which brings up Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is national organizations); but, not This is not so much with the everyone knows there is also an a U.S. map that connects to other a good source: http:// expectation of people sending (or state legislatures. news.bbc.co.uk/ should get one INTERnational group: http:// getting an answer!) by email. It's www.street-papers.com/ (and don't Otherwise, it's suggested there, although the web address more of a list to see what may be miss "dash" in "street-papers" !). that anyone somewhere else go one might find is longer and more "going on" somewhere or what's through the trouble of typing in complex. If copying it down, make They have postings, etc. , frorri claimed here or there. sure what's put is "co" not "com." around the world. The official their own state [something like: Some of these will government > state> (name of There are a number of good name is International Network of (logically) be repeated from time to state)] and find their own state sites for E-cards; this is just one if Street Newspapers. time; since they would seem to information. one needs some pretty nice Lastly, in case someone have some permanent value and didn't read the masthead of INDIANA postcards to send to friends and things do get lost.. .. Hoosierland does not lead others: http://bowcreek.com/ (that Streetvibes, http://cinci.com/gcch Another "great" election is the Greater Cincinnati Homeless someone directly to their "House" is, if one needs one or some in a time is over. Some "old" people Coalition's offerings on the web. It or " Senate," although it has both. hurrry! will have been voted out of office. Neither does it lead one to any December starts a year-long doesn't hurt to look in sometime to Some new people will take office, committees, although it seems rememberance in southwest Ohio see what's going on there. sit on committees, propose to unlikely there would be absolutely advise constituents on matters, and nothing equivalent somewhere. so forth. Government comes first What it does do is lead someone to and of that, the federal comes first. the political faction membership of U.S. House of Represen tatives: each branch of the legislature. http ://www.house.gov/ Possibly the best someone U.S. Senate: can do is locate their particular http://www.senate.gov/ representative or senator (or the Committees and sub­ one in the next district over) and committees are of major "explore" personally from there. importance since any legislation One can skip the state main page has to go through the committees. and go to the link below and click Both the U.S. House of on "legislators." Representatives and the U.S. Indiana General Assembly: http:// Senate have committees and sub­ www.in.gov/legislative/ cormuittees and both their names KENTUCKY and the names of the people who The Commonwealth calls it sit on them are listed different the Kentucky Legislature and it places. Be it committee or conveniently presents Committees, legislator, the various pages also Senate, and House of have different set-ups. Representatives one right after the So, in a search bar, for, other ifyou click on "Organization firstly, committees and sub­ & Administration" at the link committees, type in the appropriate below. Although the web link below, then: For the U.S. addresses are longer, frequent 'users m--+---+-'-'-""-¥---k..:._,_,__....M..-"'---~'---'--------...........--"""-'"--~----il.1 House of Representatives ofKentucky information might (Congressmen) click on want to list each part separately. "Committee Offices," then on one Again, one can skip the state main or the other of tb.e various pages. committees - somewhere in there Kentucky Legislature: http:// you should find committee www.lrc.state.ky. us/home.htm membership and sub-committees as omo well as other worthwhile Ohio likewise calls it a information; General Assembly, and again one For the U.S. Senate the can skip " official site," etc., and the first click word is simply governor's picture. One can also "Committees," then one picks one skip the confusing page marked from the Senate list of committees General Assembly and go directly to click on; and, again somewhere to the House of Representatives or in there one should find committee the Ohio Senate where both membership and sub-committees as members and committees are listed well as other worthwhile for each, however, one has to information. choose which way to "view" (that To get the websites of the is, by name, by district, or legislators themselves, use the whatever). same links: For the Ohio House of For the House of Representatives: Representatives click on "Member http://www.house.state.oh.us/ Offices" for an alphabetical listing For the Ohio Senate: and some means to find one A WORLD OF WEBSITES! �STREETVIBES December 2002 Page 18 Police Efforts Lead to Arrests of Homeless " I by Al Baker, NY Times Arrests of homeless people for offenses ranging from minor violations to felonies have sharply increased in the last month, reflecting a shift in the city's policy of dealing with what many h~ve labeled a rapidly growing homeless population. The arrest tally is, in part, a result of increased police attention to traditional homeless encampments and to complaints about homeless people violating public nuisance laws, police officials said. With the number of homeless people appearing to be on the rise, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said last month that such a conclusion was based more on perception than reality. But he later conceded that there probably were more homeless people and that the city has been pressed to find ways to move them off the str~ts. About a month ag~, the Police Department merged two units assigned to homeless outreach and assigned more officers to it. The merged unit has 80 officers, compared with about 50 in the separate units. But advocates for the homeless and others say that rather than trying to encourage the homeless to go to shelters, or to take them there forcibly in cold weather, the police have pursued a policy of making arrests. That has drawn an objection from the New York Civil Liberties Union. While officials in the Bloomberg administration and the Police Department acknowledged that there has been a sharp increase in the number of homeless people being arrested, they said the department's policy continues to be focused on outreach. "There is no question that the mayor and the police commissioner want more aggressive handling of homeless people in the streets and that's what is happening," said an aide to Mayor Bloomberg. "But there is no directive from City Hall to lock them up." Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in an interview yesterday that the il'l:crease in arrests is a byproduct of more frequent interactions between homeless people and the police in the refashioned Homeless Outreach Unit, which now works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "I know our arrests are up,'.' Mr. Kelly said, "but our arrests are up because we have a lot more contacts and the contacts are up." Tlie latest statistics provided by -the police show that 580 homeless people were arrested for crimes and violations in the one-month period ending Nov. 11 , up from 499 in the previous month, a 16.2 percent increase. Of those, the total arrests directly attributed to police officers assigned to provide assistance to homeless people jumped to 172 from 142, a 21.1 percent increase. In nearly the same period, the police reported more than 30,000 arrests citywide. In the comparable month last year, 288 homeless people were arrested. Just 28 of those arrests were directly attributed to outreach efforts. Officials noted that the city was still reeling from the Sept. 11 attacks and that homeless enforcement had not been a priority. Michael P. O'Looney, Mr. Kelly's chief spokesman, pointed out that the number of contacts officers have made with homeless people has grown sharply, to 4,180 between Oct. 11 and Nov. 11 of this year, from 450 in the same period a year ago. Those contacts have resulted in more trips to intake and health facilities for the homeless, city officials said. Neither the city nor groups Vendor: 80 cents Printing and Production : 20 cents that advocate on behalf of homeless people keep a tally of the number of transient homeless people living on the city's streets, so it is difficult to say with certainty whether that population is rising, declining or holding steady. Over the last few years, the number of homeless people in · the city's shelters has surpassed records set in the 1980's and early l 990's, but it is believed that thousands of people shun the official shelter system. Police officials and other analysts have said that the homeless are more visible now because of the displacement that occurred on Sept. 11. Many qomeless people lost footholds in subterranean passages beneath the World Trade Center. Also, as the poli9e began patrolling beneath bridges and beside waterways for security reasons, they disturbed camps where homeless people lived, forcing them into public view. Still, some employees of the Police Department with firsthand knowledge of the Homeless Outreach Unit called the latest efforts misguided. "They want arrest numbers; it is that simple," one said. "They are discouraging services to be offered to the homeless. They are encouraging mass arrests. They want to try to change attitudes. They want to get the homeless to think twice about where they are going to put down roots." The arrests have drawn an objection from the New York Civil Liberties Union. The new approach is "selective law enforcement," said Donna _ Lieberman, the organization's executive director, who requested a meeting with Commissioner Kelly or his staff in a recent letter. "Being homeless isn't a crime, but what is a crime·is the policy of arresting people for being homeless," Ms. Lieberman said. Ms. Lieberman said the numbers of arrests belie the claim by the police that the increases are just a byproduct of more contacts. In the letter, she described how the organization was informed that officers were ordered to single out homeless people for arrests even if others who were not homeless were engaged in the same low-level 'criminal activity, such as being in a city park after closing time. Mr. Kelly said he had not yet seen the letter, but he said the iss':le was important and part of Mayor Bloomberg's effort to improve the city's quality of life by cracking down on noise, panhandling and other nuisances. "This is part of it," the police commissioner said. "We are committed to it." Peaslee Neighborhood Center 215 East 14th Street Over-the-Rhine Cincinnati , Ohio 45202 (513) 621-5514 Empowering our neighborhood children through peace, art and education Where Your Dollar ·Goes The Streetvibes program maintains a minimal overhead cos t so that our vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. Please call our office at 421-7803 for more informa­ tion about the program. Many thanks for your support. Write Usl We'd like to hear from you .... 1~ Send letters or comments to: Streetvibes@Juno.com, or write the Coalition office attn: Streetvibes Letters, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 �Page 19 ;T REETVIBES December 2002 PRACNews Digest rhe weekly Food Research and \.ction Center (FRAC) News )igest highlights what's new on mnger, nutrition and poverty ssues at FRAC, at the U.S. )epartment ofAgriculture, iround the network of national, ;tate and local anti-poverty and mti-hunger organizations, and n the media. FOOD STAMP PARTICIPATION CNCREASES IN AUGUST ?002; IS 2.7 MILLION PERSONS ffiGHER THAN £N AUGUST 2000 Participation in the Food Stamp Program in August 2002 (the latest :lata available) increased by 353,483 persons from the previous month, to 19,696,785 persons, according to FRAC's analysis of preliminary data from USDA. The August 2002 level of Food Stamp Program participation represented a rise of more than 1.9 million persons compared to the August 2001 level, and of about 2.7 million persons compared to August, 2000. It was, on tbe other hand, more than 1.8 minion persons lower than the level five years earlier, in August 1997. Increases in participation in 2001 and 2002 likely have been driven by improved access to the program in a growing number of states, and by the weakened economy. http:l/www.frac. orglhtmllnews!fspl 02aug.html STUDY SHOWS THAT FOOD STAMPS BUFFER THE RISK OF FOOD INSECURITY (Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, October 2002) About one-third of the current and former TANF recipients in Illinois had difficulty feeding their families, according to the first two annual illinois Families Study surveys (in 1999-2000 and 2001). This proportion stayed the same between the two surveys despite drops in TANF and food stamp use over the time period. Also, the increased demand for emergency food assistance and other forms of informal support indicate a possible trend towards growing food insecurity in the future. The study found that families who consistently receive food stamps have reduced risk of food insecurity, while the loss of benefits may increase food insecurity. The report concluded that the Food Stamp Program can have a powerful impact on f arnilies making the transition from TANF to work. http://www.northwestem.edu/iprl researchlfoodinsecurity.pdf fAdobePDF) SENATE l)ESIGNATES DAY IN NOVEMBER FOR HUNGER AWARENESS (Senate Resolution, October 15, 2002) Senate Resolution 341, passed on October 15th, designates November 21, 2002 as "Feed America Thursday." The resolution notes that there are 33 million Americans who lack adequate food. The resolution, introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and others, hopes to build on the spirit ofThanksgiviilg and calls on Americans to give up two meals on that day and donate to anti-hunger charities the money they would have spent. http://thom.as.loc.gov/ (Type "S.R.S. 341" in search box.) SURVEY FINDS MORE THAN 2.2 MILLION FOOD INSECURE CALIFORNIA ADULTS (San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA, November 4, 2002) The California Health Information Survey, conducted by researchers from the University of California, finds that more than 2.24 million low-income adults in the state cannot always afford food and that one in three (658,000) of these adults experiences hunger. The high cost of living in the state has made the situation so bad that families are forced to choose between paying rent, utilities and medical bills or eating. Only 10 percent of the 4.9 million Californian adults who are eligible for the Food Stamp Program participate. The researchers suggest streamlining the application process for food stamps and eliminating the practice of fingerprinting applicants, which discourages many applications. http ://www. chis. ucla.edu/ ST. LOUIS ELEMENTARY STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT HEALTHY AND AFFORDABLE FOOD (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, October 29, 2002) Operation Food Search, an anti­ hunger organization in St. Louis, helps host classes that teach children in local schools as well as low-income adults about healthy eating and food budgeting. The· classes are part of Share Our Strength's nationwide program, known as Operation Frontline, that dqtws chefs, nutritionists, and volunteers to provide the tools to make healthy and affordable food choices. The goal is to promote long-term solutions to hunger. Emergency food assistance providers in the St. Louis area are dealing with increased demand. http://makeashorterlink.com/ ?CJB731E52 FOOD BANKS IN MASSACHUSETTS SEE RISE IN DEMAND (Hampshire Gazette, Northhampton, MA, November 2, 2002) More than 400,000 people have visited food pantries in Massachusetts <?Ver the last year, many of them working poor. With food donations dropping and demand for emergency assistance rising, the boxes of food handed to needy people are getting lighter, according to food bank officials.> http://www.gazettenet.com/ 11022002/newsll474.htm IN omo, DEMAND INCREASES WHILE DONATIONS DROP (Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio, October 31, 2002) The Martin ·Luther King )r. Kitchen for the Poor in Toledo is currently having its toughest year out of 33 years of service. Attendance has swelled to 300-a-day from 200-a­ day four years ago as people are leaving TANF and losing food stamp benefits. http://www. toledoblade.com!appsl pbcs.dlll article?AID=2002JJ0310064 NUMBER OF HOMELESS AND HUNGRY PEOPLE INCREASES IN INDIANA (Star Press, Muncie, IN, November 1, 2002) High unemployment has resulted in record demand for rescue shelters and emergency food assistance in Muncie, Indiana. At the Muncie Mission, the shelter is full and people are sleeping on floors; "[i]t is the first time in 17 years that we had so many people," according to the mission's director.> http ://www.thestarpress.com/tsp/ news/loca/102/novl 11 OJ homelessnews.php INCREASED ·FOOD STAMP USE BOOSTS ECONOMY (Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL, November 3, 2002) The nationwide increase in Food Stamp Program participation over the past two years reflects the slowing economy. With an increase in food stamp users, "grocery stores sell more food, and farmers produce more food," says USDA Undersecretary Eric Bost. "That pumps more money, of course, into the economy." http:l/www.orlandosentinel.com/ news/nationworldlorl­ asecfoodstamps03110302nov03. story MORE PEOPLE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FOOD STAMPS iN omo (WCPO-TV Channel 9, Cincinnati, OH, October 25, 2002) Food pantries in Ohio and surrounding-states are experiencing a huge increase in demand and hope to spread the word that many working poor individuals and families are still eligible for food stamps. Enrollment in the program has dropped in recent years because many people do not realize that they are eligible despite having earnings. http://wcpo.com/news/2002/local/ 10125/food. html REPORT: POOREST FAMILIES GET FEWER BENEFITS, INCLUDING FOOD STAMPS (Institute for Women's Policy Research, October 29> 2002) This report finds that children in extreme poverty (family incomes below 50 percent of federal poverty line) are living in deeper poverty in 2000 than they were in 1996. Cash assistance, health insurance, and food stamp programs that previously helped these children now are not as effective at reaching children in extreme poverty. The percentage of childr~n living in extreme poverty who are not receiving benefits increased by 32 percent for school-aged children and 44 percent for young children by the year2000. http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/d451.pdf (Adobe PDF) OIDOPROGMM SUBSIDIZES INTERNET ACCESS FOR BENEFITS (Federal Computer Week, October 25, 2002) Public housing residents in Indiana and Michigan are receiving free internet access and subsidized computers through a for-profit program called the Community Technology Network Project. One of the goals of the project is to help residents while at home to communicate with government agencies that provide food stamps, TANF and Medicaid. http://wwwjcw.com/geb/articles/ 200211021/web-ctnp-10-25-02.asp �--- -Need Help or Want to Help? If you need help or would like to help please call one of the .Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless members listed below. SHELTERS: Women and Children YWCA Battered Women's Shelter 872-9259 (Toll Free) 1-888-872-9259 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome House 859-431-8717 Women's Crisis Center 859-491-3335 SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Garden St. House 241-0490 Joseph House (Veteran~) 241-2965 St. Francis/St.Joseph House 381-4941 Formed in 1984, The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a membership organization. Our member groups serve the homeless through emergency shelter, transitional living facilities, permanent housing, medical services, social services, soup kitchens, and mental health/addiction services. The Coalition also consists of individual citizens who want to take an active role in ensuring that Cincinnati is an inclusive community, meeting the needs of all of its citizens. Join the fight to end homelessness; contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at (513) 421-7803, 1506 Elm Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 ·£):••• Cineifl6fftf· CA.?alttiol) ; . 'fhe W~etJN·I I' Mt. Airy Center 661-4620 Volunteers of Amer. 381-1954 SHELTER: Both Anthony House (Youth) 357-4602 Caracole (AIDS) 761-1480 Friars Club 381-5432 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Haven House 863-8866 Interfaith 471-1100 Hospitality Lighthouse Youth Center · 861-1111 (Teens) St. John's Housing 651-6446 HOUSING: CMHA Excel Development Miami Purchase OTR Housing Net. ReSTOC Tender Mercies Tom Geiger House 721-4580 632-7149 241-0504 369-0004 381-1171 639-7056 961-4555 TREATMENT: Women First Step Home 961-4663 Full Circle Program 721-0643 TREATMENT: Men Charlie's 3/4 House 784-1853 Prospect House 921-1613 Starting Over 751-3260 TREATMENT: Both N.A. Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline 351-0422 C.C.A.T. 381-6660 Talbert House 684-7956 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 DIC Live-In Program 721-0643 OTHER SERVICES: AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati 421-2437 Appalachian Identity Center 621-5991 Beech Acres 231-6630 Center for Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Center 241-2563 Freestore/ Food bank 241-1064 Fransiscan Haircuts 651-6468 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 Hamilton Co. Mental Health Board 946-8600 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Rsrc. Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 House of Refuge Mission 221-3619 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Madisonville Ed. & Assis. Center 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 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 859-572-6226 Women Helping Women 872-9259 MIDDLETOWN/HAMILTON (Butler County) St. Raphaels (F:ood Bank/Soup Kitchen) 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center . 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 New Life Baptist Mission (Soup Kitchen) 896-9800 Hope House (Homeless Families/Singles) 423-4673 � 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 2002 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. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2002 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Huntington Meadows: Low-Income Housing Complex Saga Continues Homeless Man Dies After He Was Set on Fire in Springfield Pg 2: The “Giving” Season Pg 3: North American homeless News Digest Pg 4: There is a New #1 in Town!! Of Pain and Fabulous Wealth Pg 5: Reader Mail Pg 6: Exploring Issues of Homelessness in our Nation’s Capitol Pg 7: Area Company Makes Generous Offer to Streetvibes Vendors Pg 8: Sell Cleveland to Settle Ohio’s $4 Billion Deficit Pg 9: ¡Bienvenidos! Pg 10: The Peace Village Pg 11: Annual Dinner Pg 12: Home Free: The Short, Happy Life of Tyrone Douglas Lewis Pg 13: Peace Village Continued Pg 14: Arts & Poetry Pg 15: Arts & Poetry Continued Pg 16: News & Editorial Pg 17: A World of Websites! Pg 18: Police Efforts Lead to Arrests of Homeless Pg 19: FRAC News Digest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 2020 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Georgine Getty Brendan Goodwin Pat Mitchell Mary Taylor Cheryl Ware Jimmy Heath Brian Davis Ron English Brian Garry Mike Henson Carolyn Messaros Molly Rhodes Martha Stephens Dr. Steve Sunderland Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Arrests Arts & Poetry Bienvenidos Brendan Goodwin Brian Davis Brian Garry Carolyn Messaros Cheryl Ware Court Dr. Steve Sunderland FRAC Georgine Getty Jimmy Heath Martha Stephens Mary Taylor Mike Henson Molly Rhodes News & Editorials Pat Mitchell Peace Village Police prisoners news Ron English Street Life Tyrone Douglas Lewis Websites https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/82f3425b5f6116b7ee0743aa15bb6ba0.pdf 219f45964c0ffdac5033b35f14a4f0bc PDF Text Text Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless �• ree ----- December I 2003 ------­ Two Cincinnati Homeless Pe rish in House Fire by Jimmy Heath Clara Young, 44 and Gerald "KY" Cash, 5 1, a homeless couple who were re.cently forced to leave their downtown bridge encampment, died last month in a fire at a vacant building in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Clifton. A homeless man is now facing charges for a fire that killed the two homeless people. Anthony Gilliam, 42, is charged with two counts of aggravated arson and two counts of murder. When firefighters arrived at the building they found heavy flames on two floors that were spreading quickly to the third floor. Firefighters thought the building was empty but used a thermal-imaging camera and found two people - a man and a woman - on the second floor. The female victim, Clara Young, was unconscious when she was taken to Cincinnati's University Hospital. She died several hours later, police said. Cash was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. Witnesses and neighbors said the victims occasionally stayed in the building because they were homeless. Investigators said they · learned during a preliminary investigation that Gilliam was in or near the building when the fire started . Gilliam was later questioned by police and arson investigators before he was arrested and charged . Gilliam might have been playing with matches or might have kindled a fire to keep warm. The fire's cause is still undetermined. . It's also possible the couple found a way into the building and started a fire to keep warm . Temperatures that evening dipped to 49 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The couple apparently had been homeless for several years. They were rousted from a riverbank camp in Kentucky and moved across the river to Ohio where they set up camp under a Cincinnati bridge. Newly enacted tresspassing laws targeting the homeless living under Cincinnati bridge's eventually led them to the abandoned house in Clifton. Cash and Young were among five homeless people who sued the city of Cincinnati in federal district court in 200 1 after their belongings were removed and House in Clifton neighborhood where homeless couple perished thrown away from a camp under the Fifth Street viaduct. Young and Cash are the third and fourth homeless people killed in southwestern Ohio in the past two years, said Georgine Getty, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. One person was beaten to death with a brick in a downtown Cincinnati park, and another was set on fire in Springfield, she said. Firefighters knew the victims, said the District Fire Chief They had made EMS runs on them in the past. Gilliam was charged with murder under a statute that does not deal directly with intent, but instead looks at committing a violent act that results in a death, said Jon Esther, a spokesman for Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen. Technically, Gilliam is accused of causing the deaths as a result of the arson. Gilliam is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $2.2 million bond. Join Us For Homeless Memorial Day, December 22 Homeless Memorial Day will be held this year on December 22 at 5 : 3 0 p.m. in Washington Park. Every year, homeless individuals, friends, families, and advocates from around Cincinnati gather to remember those homeless individuals who have passed away in the recent year. A list of those who have died is read aloud and friends and family are asked to comment on that person's life, remembering them, but also realizing the significance of a human life. Annually, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless gathers people together on the shortest day of the year to call attention to the horror of homelessness in our community. Adovcates from all around the country gather on or around this day to remember those who have died in their respective cities. Oftentimes homeless individtials pass away with no one to remember or morn them. Homeless Memorial Day seeks to remedy that by gathering family members, shelter workers, and concerned citizens together to I i -l ' J Photos from Homeless Memorial Day, Washington Park, 2001 quietly remember. At sundown, p·eople will . circle around a burning barrel fire and take a moment to remember the homeless individuals who society has forgotten . . A litany of names will be read and candles lit in remembrance. A brief, non­ denominational service will be conducted, followed by an opportunity for sharing memories about the people who have passed away. Last year over 50 people gathered in Over-the-Rhine's fort Washington Park to remember those who have passed away ·<>m Cincinnati streets. Everyone is welcome to attend Homeless Memorial Day. This is a great opportunity to show your support for the homeless ' people of Cincinnati and to share your grief over the continuing tragedy of homelessness. For more information, call the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless; 421-7803 e 0 eess �,. ON A SCALE OF ONE TO A HUNpRED, I :r HOW MUCH DO YOU DISAGREE WITH THE CITY'S TREATMENT OF CINCINNATI'S HOMELES.S? ------------------------------- 1 Will ooNATE: [fil I s20 I I S4o I I s10 I I sao I Is1ool He's only 18 months old and already he's trapped in the cycle of homelessness in Cincinnati. His mother needs an· affordable place to live and a job with a living wage as she escapes a life of domestic violence. The current treatment of homeless individuals in our city means that he may never be able to live in a home of his own. There are 25,000 people in Cincinnati that experience homelessness each year. More than one-third of those are women and children. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless believes that by addressing the root causes of the problem through education, advocacy and coordination of services, we can · end homelessness in our city. The more support we have from the community, the further our efforts reach. Please cut the coupon and pick a box. It could mean that one less child will have to live in one. Send your donations o Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Greater Cincinnati Coalition For The Homeless ------------------------------------- STREETVIBES December, 2003 - Page 2 �Reflections on the Season our lounge filled up until it was coffee. They made phone calls and standing room only. I couldn't tried to pull things together. In our make enough coffee and hot tea to ·lounge, all of the complexity of life keep up. People came in chilled to played itself out in endless cycles: the bone. fiustration, hope, companionship, by Georgine Getty, This is homelessness in Executive Director, Cincinnati. Greater Cincinnati Homelessness is cold . gratitude. Coalition for the hands and feet. It's love, hate, anger, compassion, need, generosity, fear and Homelessness is . empty bellies. It's Homeless complicated because "the looking for work. It's On November · ·· homeless" are first and foremost scraping together bus people and people are never cold. On the weather fare. It's worrying simple. reports, newscasters in about getting sick thick, warm sweaters and having nowhere 13, 2003, it got really Georgine Getty playfully cnmplained This holiday season, I hope · to go. that every Cincinnatian will take a moment to contemplate Of course, about the chill with · homelessness in our community. grins. For the people at home, the that's not the whole picture. In our The solutions may not be easy, but end of summer meant an lounge, people joked, laughed and they do exist and we must work mconveruence: scrappmg icy go·ssiped. People of all colors and towards them. Please contact us at windows, wearing a few more languages gathered to exchange 4 21-7803 to find out how you can . . . . layers, turning up the heat. I saw a different picture. On the first cold day of the year, information on where to find jobs, help. Together, we can end dry socks and free coats. They ate homelessness in Cincinnati. muffins and drank gallons of Vendor: 80 cents here Your Dollar Goes... · Printing .and Production: 20 The Streetvibes program maintains a minimal overhead cost so that our vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. Please call our office at 421-7803 for more information about the program. Many thanks for your support. Each vendor must sign and agree to abide by the following code of conduct... 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for a $1 Vendors must not tell customers that the money voluntary donation. If a customer donates more they receive will go to GCCH or any other than $1 for a paper, vendors are allowed to keep organization or charity. Also, vendors must not that donation. However, vendors must never ask say that they are collecting for "the homeless" in for more than $1 when selling Streetvibes. general. 2. Each paper purchased from the Greater 9. Vendors must not sell papers without their Cincinnati Coalition for.the Homeless (GCCH) badge. Vendors must present their badge when costs 20 cents. Papers will not be giveq out on purchasing papers from GCCH. Lost badges credit. Old papers can not be traded in for new papers. STREETVIBES . ' cost $5.00 to replace. Broken or worn badges will be replaced for free, but only if the old badge 3. Streetvibes may only be purchased from is returned to GCCH. GCCH. Never buy papers from, or s ll paper to 10. Streetvibes vendor meetings are held on the other vendors. first weekday of the month at lpm. The month's 4. Vendors must not panhandle or sell other items paper will be released at this meeting. If a at the same time they are selling Streeh!ibes. v ·e ndor cannot attend the meeting, he or she 5. Vendors must treat all other vendors, should let us know in advance.. If a vendor does customers, and GCCH personnel with respect. not call in advance and does not show up, that 6. Vendors must not sell Streetvibes while under vendor will not be allowed to purchase papers on the influence. the day of the meeting or the following day. Five 7. Vendors must not give a "hard sell" or free papers will be given to those who do attend. intimidate anyone into purchasing Streetvibes. 11. Failure to comply with the Code of Conduct This includes following customers or continuing to may result in termination from the Streetvibes solicit sales after customers have said no. Vendors vendor program. GCCH reserves the right to must also never sell Streetvibes door-to-door. terminate any vendor at any time as deemed 8. Vendors must not deceive customers while appropriate. Badges and Streetvibes papers are selling Streetvibes. Vendors must be honest in property of GCCH, and must be surrendered stating that all profits go to the individual vendor. upon demand. December, 2003 Page 3 �Motto : Sta n d Ta l l, Sta n d· Straight Foreve r by Ms. Mary Gaffney Well, this is the 12th month and the last month in the year 2003. I'm looking back over the past months, especially regarding the homeless. You know my feelings for the homeless; they are my brothers and sisters. Regardless of their color, creed, or nationality, they are all the same in the eyes of God. I pray daily for the homeless that something good will come out of their struggles and the hardships that they are expenences. On a recent Friday night, I visited Good Samaritan Center in Hamilton, Ohio. They have a Rehab Center for the homeless, and who did I see? There were some of my homeless friends who were previously living under a bridge in Cincinnati. They are now involved with getting services at Good Samaritan Center. The five people recognized me and this was a joy. - I'm thankful to know that what little I do is helping; ev n it is ju t a smile, or whatever. l' m'thankful of my heritage, my ancestors who were, in a way, homeless themselves. My grandfather was named John Wesley, whose father was an African. He came to 96 Island in South Carolina with his father and five uncles and six sisters. At the end of slavery he took the-name of Logan because he had traveled with an Indian named Chief Logan. There in his travels he met my Grandmother, who was Indian. A White man named Miller came to the camp and took my grandmother and her mother to his home in North Carolina. He gave them the names, Mary Angeline; and her mother, Cordelia Miller. He didn't put them out with the slaves, and they continued to carry the name of Miller: if he hadn't taken them this way, they would have been homeless too. After meeting Mary, John Wesley married her and they eventually raised thirteen children. I am one of the third generation of Mary and John. My grandfather was, in a way, homeless. He prayed, and with the help of some white people he was able to find a place for his people to worship. It took them 25 years (from 1865-1880) to raise enough money to b*y the land froni some white people, Mr. and Mrs. Levitt, who were letting them just use the land. The new church was named Sheer Creek African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Many slaves and other homeless came to worship at the church. My grandfather and grandmother came to Cincinnati in REVt:REND JOHN WESUY LOGAN June 7, 1853 • Moy29; 1929 1917. Here they joined Saint John African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church where he was assistant pastor until 1929. My grandmother was a deaconess until 1939. Six generations of us attended St. John's. Even with limited education and for the most part, no college, my ancestors had made it through those times. Some of them were homeless but with the help of a lot of people nothing hindered them in their struggles. Many were rewarded with children and MARY ANGELINE LOGAN September 7. 1860·December16. 1939 grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Some have become doctors, lawyers and entered the field of education. Yes, some became ministers too. This is why I talk to, and like being around the homeless. I want to tell them not to give up. With the knowledge that we all have shared probfoms, through a pat on the back. Even in the midst of yoµr own problems, they can help you to believe. This is why I am so thankful as this year comes to a close. Thankful to my God, who is my ma er, friends regardless of their struggles, how can teach you a lot about life. Many things that you might not have the opportunit know. To you my fellow men and women, I say to you, may each of you have a most blessed, peaceful and happy holiday. And as the New Year dawns, be thankful and remember the homeless, because they are still precious in the eyes of God. Merry Christmas and Love! Peaslee Neighborhood Center 215 East 14th Street Over-the-Rhine Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513) 621-5514 Empowering our "We 're not asking you to sell your soul to the company. We 'djust like to rent it.for a while." STREETVIBES December, 2003 neighborhood children through peace, art and education Page 4 �I ·: < , . . ' '· . . ' •' · " . · . '."'· . · . , ... : ' :'...... Homelessness: how you can help medical, dentistry, writing, child care, counseling, tutoring, or mentoring. by Andy Erickson, Education Coordinator On the evening ofMay 21, a team of homeless advocates and Streetvibes vendors searched parks, bridges, doorways and alleyways looking for homeless people in order to gain an accurate picture of homelessness in our community. We found 193 men, women, and children sleeping outside. We found 1, 018 sleeping in shelters. That's 1,211 people that we found without a home in just one night in Cincinnati. There's no reason to think that number will be any l ss during the holiday season. The best gift we can give to the people who are sleeping in shelters and in the streets is to join the fight against homelessness in Cincinnati. You can do a lot or you can do a little, but we all need to do something. When we do nothing, we allow homelessness to continue. We allow 25,000 people to experience homelessness at some point during the year here. We allow children to comprise 32% of that population. While the causes and solutions to homelessness are complex, there is much that an individual or community group can do to help. No matter what your skills, interests, age, or resources, there are ways you can make a difference for some of the men, women, and children who are homeless. Volunteer work, advocacy efforts, financial or material contributions, and continued self-education are all important and needed as we work our way to a solution. .· : , .. - Awareness-raising events Andy Erickson Below are some suggestions you can use to bring awareness, r sources, and a positive difference to the homeless. this holiday season and beyond. Volunteer The Coalition for the Homeless has over 45 member agencies with varying needs for volunteers. Contact the Coalition to find out where you can help. Voice of the Homeless Speaker's Bureau Invite a homeless or formerly homeless individual to speak at your organization. The Coalition for the Homeless believes that education is key to ending homelessness. Learn what it's like from someone who's been there. A small fee of $35 is required, all of which goes to the speaker. Awareness-raising events such as "sleepout nights for the homeless" are a great way to educate and raise money for organizations that help the homeless. The Coalition for the Homeless can provide speakers and other help for such events. Offer professional skills directly. Direct service providers may be able to use many services and skills, including secretarial, catering, plumbing, accounting, management, carpentry, public relations, fundraising, legal, Become a member of the Coalition for the Homeless Continue to educate yourself You can become an Read Streetvibes regularly! individual member of the Homeless Visit the websites of the Greater Coalition for $35 . You will receive Cincinnati Coalition for the our mailings, newsletter, and a Homeless Streetvibes subscription. (www. homeless. cincy.com), the The Coalition for the National Coalition for the Homeless and other area services Homeless will continue to work hard this (www. nationalhomeless. org), and holiday season to educate and the Nation11l Student Campaign advocate on behalf of the homeless. Against Hunger and Homelessness Please join us in our efforts in any (www. studentsagainsthunger.org) way you are able. Your support is for more information about greatly appreciated this holiday homelessness and how you can season. Together we can work to help. Use what you learn to . educate others. An educated public end homelessness with respect for the dignity and diversity of our is a compassionate public! homeless citizens and the . Homeless Awareness Week community that we all live in. Homeless Awareness Week is the week before Thanksgiving · Buy Streetvibes Food or Clothing Drives Contact organizations in town that help the homeless. Find out what they need most, and hold a drive to help them out ! · week and is sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many schools choose to hold awareness-raising events during this week. Invite a speaker, have a sleepout, volunteer, have a food drive, or create other events for your school to participate in. Find out what other schools and organizations are doing, and work with them, too - there is power in numbers ! rom Badged Ve n d o rs O n ly! Streetvibes Vendors are required to sign a code of conduct and agree to abide by all the rules of the Streetvibes Vendor Program. If a Vendor misrepre­ sents or breaks the rules, she/he may be removed from the Program. To report a Vendor, call 421-7803. ext. 16 Authorized Vendors always wear a Badge! G E 0 R G V' E N D 0 R I N E Front Streetvihes vendors are '- Dinner serving line, Marion House, Colorado Springs paticipants in a program at the Coalition for the Homeless National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP) 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 homelesscivilrights@yahoo.com Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (513) 421-7803 STREETVIBES December, 2003 that allows them to distribute the Streetvihes newspaper for l 17 East Ill'- Stl"'lfl!Ct Chttitt.n;11ti, OH 45202 (5U) 421 -�)3 FaJ:: (51J) 4ll-78U Stmhi'i ��tOtO..OOAI Ph m1 a $1.00 donation. The money used to purchase the paper goes to the individual vendor. Vendors are not employees of the Coalition for the Home­ less. Jtendors are not fundraising for the Coalition for the Homeless. ··sack of Badge Page 5 �The Peace Village by Dr. Steve Sunderland -- I am sitting with an email from team members, Dan and Ruth Britt, and wondering what they are feeling this morning: I just took a momentary break from my work. Maybe it is the sad song playing. I don't know. But, the news that my son called with last night is settling into my chest. His Guard unit is to be mobilized on November 15. After a few weeks of advanced training at Fort Lewis in Washington State and then again in California - as he put it, fighting an army that is trained to portray the enemy - he and his girlfriend Desiree will be shipped to somewhere just outside Baghdad for a year's tour. This is not theory or philosophy or politics. This is that skinny little kid who cut his forehead when he fell off his bike. This is the little boy who ran before he could walk. This is the quiet teen who read books in the back seat as we traveled from state to state on family vacations. This is the amused young man who will always slide in a zinger when you least expect it. Softly, undetected, if you are not paying attention. This is their choice. They enlisted in order to get some schooling paid for. At that time, Iraq was on the horizon. There is a part of Aaron that wants to go for his buddies, he says. I think it most likely that a part of him wants to "prove himself' in that ancient arena that we as a civilization cannot seem to move too far away from. I would abandon all my personal beliefs and take his place in a nanosecond. I made him promise to restudy the sections in his manual on "ducking"_ I will come to understand the burden of those who wait. I have seen young people like Aaron in the peace programs at Clark Montessori high school. Clark's faculty designed a two week intersession for some students who want to look more deeply at "Peace and Social Justice,'' and another session for those students and teachers wanting to explore "Service Learning." Thanks to assistant principal, Ynetta Harper, and counselor, Mari Lorenz, I was able to join in conversations as well as to assist in the invitations to · members ofthe Peace Village with one group, and with the strong support of assistant principal, Marta Donohue, I was able to meet with a very large group of students and teachers. Entering this high school of quality is always surreal: very STREETVIBES young people are walking and sitting in comfortable classrooms as if they are knowledgeable about what is really happening in our world and so they take a major role in teaching about these important and too abstract concepts. Many of these students live in "war zones" in Cincinnati or come from countries "at war." Their posters and discussions wake us up to . many of the realities facing very young people who seem so assured and self confident. "Clark is my real home,'' one bright eyed student,. dressed in a red jump suit declared. "I do not know any other peace,'' Dr. Steve Sunderland he added to other youth nodding their agreement. "BUT WHAT DO TIIESE STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT PEACE AND JUSTICE?" I wondered. They had heard stories of great courage and insight from very brave people in our Peace Village and city: the editor of a newspaper for the homeless, members of the Children's Hospital diversity team, the leader of our only all female social justice chorus, a minister from Nigeria's war tom community, the boldest columnist from our freest weekly newspaper, and others, too. "BUT WHAT DID TIIEY KNOW, REALLY, AB0UT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PEACE AND WAR, JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE?,'' I kept asking myself Our conversation started at 200 miles per hour as the students grabbed at whether or not what they had learned was connected to Clark as a place of"community." What seemed like it was going to tum into a group cheer leading session quickly became an invitation to violence. "Clark is not a community for me,'' said one bright young male to a equally bright young woman who was extolling Clark's openne­ss. Another student raced in with: "Ah, you're just a racist." He said this quietly, as if he were just stating an obvious truth. But the December, 2003 subject of his statement leapt from her seat in those nanoseconds we hear about and ran around the table, her voice already at its highest level, her hand raised in what we were sure to see as the first blow of this seminar. She stopped so close to his face that her eyelashes seemed to touch his and she screamed: "Define your terms!" Just as quickly, the confrontation was over as we . discussed just what had happened. We were all dazed by the emotion, by the transformation of our discussion into acts of war, by the uses oflanguage among friends that also had hidden the fears and horrors of much that had been learned all week and were still being learned. I was so impressed that the quality of the continuing conversation was maintained at an honest level, even though there were bruises to be healed. One student, the one who had reacted to the name calling, walked me to the next group, and we shat=ed....whati was like to be in conflict. I cannot believe that this student is more than 14 or 15, or, that she has had someone call her a racist name, or, that she normally responds so quickly and passionately. Her lovely smile and gentle eyes covered a ferocious portion of her personality. "This was a great program,'' she said, as we walked together carrying the posters, "I got a lot." I wondered about what I was doing, suggesting to students and teachers that "peace" could be deeply discussed at a time when conflict in our city and world are so overwhelming. One young man said to me, "You are just too intense about peace. How come?" I thought he was asking the key question. These young people may be going to war to die ! Do they know what they are doing, where they are going, why they are being told to go and do they have any choice? Who is laying out the basics of peace for them, connecting these. basics to our beliefs in freedom and peace with justice? What are we saying to these youngsters as adults that · say that their contribution may be a waste of their time and, or their lives? Who wants to go through the wall of teen age emotionality and sadden, frighten, depress, and awaken the seeds of peace in them? Why does it seem to me that time is running out? Why does it appear that we are trapping poor, minority, Peace Village and ignorant young people in what has been a discredited game of mis­ education? Who and when are we going to tell these young people that the real "fires" are not in California alone but in Cincinnati and Baghdad? "The more you tried to hold it back, the more sweetly and irresistibly it arrived. " The first Northside Peacemaker's Dinner arrived on the wings of great joy. Over 100 people were honored with t-shirts, a certificate and a delightful meal, all of the desserts provided by neighbors. Northside has been battling the urban storms for the recent past and the toll has been serious in both loss of life, the destruction of property, and the migratiof!-, in and out, of many people. Who knew if a "peace" dinner would bring anyone? Slowly, the over 225 filed in, took name tags, put their desserts on a long table, and sat in tables of 8, greeting and celebrating their good fortune at being named and/or being there to honor. We ate in shifts and no one minded the short wait; music by a dear old friend, started and accompanied the meal, and then the tables were cleared for the award ceremony. A proclamation was read by one of our council people, Dave Crowley, who had been a peace :ep Bosnia and the Peace Corp, and then the names were read and certificates given to each person who had been nominated. Old aru! young came forward to a joyous applause, a noisy and appreciative sound of caring, as each person, with a smile of delight, grasped the paper with their name. The ceremony ended with a group of 15 elementary school children coming up to receive their award. How slowly and gingerly they came, these kindergarteners and first and second graders. How serious was the look on their faces, and how proudly their teachers and parents beamed. For a moment, peace flew in and filled the church we were in, making it a holy and joyous place. We could see our "heroes" moving toward each other, bowing to the appla{ise, and laughing that "winner's" generous laugh. 3 hours later it was over and a group of recipients cleaned the hall, divided up the remaining cake, and held onto the last flickers of the sweetness of the day. And what does my heart tell me is peace? Have I found the words and sounds of love that are realistic and fantastic, two qualities that my faith says are necessary for the long day by day drift or pulls of Peace Village.... · cont. next page Page 6 �Peace Village .... cont. from page by Molly Rhodes In mid-October, homeless people in Portland lOoked to create what no other self-run homeless encampment.in the country has: a 1O year lease with the city. Officials in Dignity Village, a two­ year-old transitional community for homeless people that's run by homeless people, presented the city of Portland with a plan in which the village would upgrade many ofits facilities and expand its services for homeless people in exchange for the city providing financial support and protection from eviction from their current site. The proposal came in response to the city's demand for a solution to the village's safety and hygiene problems if they didn't want to face immediate eviction. However, a lot of the ideas brought forward by Dignity Village were ones they had already acknowledged would be needed to make their model a success. Upgrades to Dignity Village would include replacing make-shift structures with wood-frame strawbale houses, adding community gardens and a "shop" for distribution of donations, and offering employment training workshops. Dignity Village would also partner with other social service agencies in the area to provide needed medical and housing assistance to its residents. While the city has yet to formally respond to the request for the 10-year lease, even officials who support the idea of a self-run transitional center are hesitant about one that's supported by Portland taxpayers. ''I'm not going to dismiss the model they've created but I'm nervous about a model that calls for the city to support it," Portland Commissioner Erik Sten said in an interview with the Portland Oregonian ( www. oregonlive.com ). "The idea of the city paying Dignity Village's bills is a big leap from where we are now." Yet Dignity Village officials counter that their plan is the best for the homeless people they are trying to help. "We want the people who come to stay at the 6 Al are all there, arguing in their wonderful game of peace. I can hear them singing a chorus of, "peace can come at any time and with music, too;" Hector is whistling a lullaby. We are slowly cruising and Marta and Marty join hands and sing abo)..lt a time, this time, when we floated right into the harbor and they were waiting with baskets of chocolate. Merrell is there, thinking that there might be a. better compass created, using Harriet's old one but with his addition of a pointer. We are the peace boat, alive to the changes in our . understanding of climate and context, enjoying the ride, honoring those on board and those who are waiting and those who could not make this ride. We are dying, too. And we see that this is also a part of today. Perhaps, just as it was so surprising for Nelson to live to be president of his boat, we may be surprised a to what we do in this moment of declaring peace. Ynetta says she sees a bird and hopes it is a dove. Don't we all? the oar-less arms? I am surprised, repeatedly, by the faith in those on board that we are really going somewhere toward peace. What a courageous guy Village to be working their way out Noah must hav.e been to take two of the Village into permanent of everything and cruise toward housing,'.' said Dignity Village peace! My wonderful students chairman Jack Tarafi in a press remind me that the ark has to be release from the village. "We're strong and with room enough to not trying to be an alternative to allow for peace, too. Each student good permanent housing, but we knows stories of failed trips, are an alternative to the doorways crashes, and many have had 'the and the streets." nightmare of hearing waterfalls To further compound the ahead, perhaps down that finger of problems for Portland's homeless a waterway or this one. I am no population, a year-old "sit-lie Noah. Although, I, too, enjoy ordinance;' bars people from rainbows every chance I get to see loitering downtown, and levies one. I suspect that we have not heavy fines or jail time against. been told that Noah was blind and anyone who refuses. The. that the rainbows and the ordinance was passed by Mayor passengers were partly figments of Vera Katz behind closed doors, a his joyous dreams for another· move that outraged neighborhood chance at peace with justice. My activists and led to this fall's . friend, Annie, is on board and is Obstruction as Nuisance Festival. guiding us with herdog, Jessica, A group of about 20 homeless toward a peace without anger at activists camped at various sites color. Sarri is here, too. And, Sam around the city over the course of knows winds and rain and dreams the weekend, according to the of a place where both are prized as Dr. Steve Sunderland, Portland Mercury professor of Social Work at (www. portlandmercury.com). The friends. Ed is on the front of the boat and he has designed a flag that the University of Cincinnati, idea behind calling the event a is the Director of The Peace festival was to bring to light one of· is so pretty that everyone wants to Village, a group of make the sign of Ed's peace. The the many loopholes in the law, individuals from the national children are here and there, some including one which allows people and international community even swimming with these great ,to lie, sit, or stand in one place in committed to examining all smiles of trust. Look, there is downtown for as long as eight issues of Peace in the world. Steve; the old captain, who has hours as long as they are attending Dr. Sunderland also heads explored so many streams and a festival. Every eight hours, the oceans. And, his friend, Jimmy, is up Posters-for-Peace which Obstruction as Nuisance Festival there with his camera, holding off engages people in expressing would relocate,· thus skirting the taking any pictures until the llght of their visions of Peace, in edge of the law. compassion is just right. their own words, through the The festival focused its creation of posters. moving location to land in front of Emmanual, Hector, Naamah, and businesses that had been pafticularly supportive of the new Library With a View... anti-sitting law.and have a low Photo by Jerome Manigan tolerance for homeless people. The Public Library of Cincinnati · and Hamilton County system consists While city officials continue to of the Main Library and 4 1 branch libraries. It is ranked among the best claim that the anti-homeless in the country and ranks among the top ten circulating libraries in the ordinances are the only way to .get United States. In addition to a total holding of 10. 3 million items, the homeless people off the streets, library offers free computer use with Internet access, book clubs, homeless advocates point out that lectures, and theater and music performances. The price is . charging homeless people with right . . . FREE ! If you have a library card, use it; if you don't have a misdemeanor offences if they card sign up for one today. And remember; Information is power. violate the ordinance only keeps them out of shelters, as many shelters do not accept people who have recent criminal records, including misdemeanors. For more information about homeless issues and future demonstrations in the Portland area, see www. crossroadspdx.org. . · · Write Usl We'd like to hear from you .... · Send letters or comments to: Streetvibes@Juno.com, or write-the Coalition office, attn: Streetvibes letters 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati Ohio 452 2 . • STREETVIBES I 0 December, 2003 Page 7 . · �Homeless Civil Rig hts S uccesses, 2003 - City police were making it a practice to In the past few years there selectively enforce a law that have been a number of successful prohibited "obstructing a highway" responses to the criminalization of homelessness in the United States as a way to force homeless people off of streets, sidewalks, and and other civil rights violations medians. This resulted in a class against homeless people. As action lawsuit that was eventually homeless individuals and advocates settled out of court. ·In response, in Cincinnati seek solutions and the city.proposed a "Sidewalk· responses to the city's Behavior Ordinance" that banned criminalization efforts (bridge sleeping on sweeps, public panhandling sidewalks registration, and etc. ), it is established interesting to "zones" look at past around accomplishments restaurants, in homeless civil banks, rights across the ATMs, and country. other Chicago, IL prenuses. Last month, it Advocates was reported attempted that the city of Elizabeth Linville to work Chicago had with the city to halt the passage of tentatively agreed to settle a this ordinance but were eventually lawsuit filed in 200 1 on behalf of forced to use political action to get· those who had been ticketed or their message known (sit-ins at. city . arrested for panhandling. A 199 1 hall, testimony at city council ordinance in Chicago classified hearings, and lobbying of panhandling as disorderly conduct, an offense that carries fines as high constituencies such as student groups). Advocates were unable to as $500. Those who have been stop the passage of the ordinance, ticketed or arrested for but they were successful in getting panhandling in Chicago may be eligible to file a claim for anywhere more fu1;1ding and other proactive responses to homelessness included from $50 to $400. Philadelphia, PA by Elizabeth Linville Pti (J" : - · - · �" e. ource Cards A ,YO , . y Committee PO in the law. An additional 6 million rewarded $8 16,000 in back wages. dollars was given to social services Cleveland, OB In February of ·in the city, the city assisted in 2000, the City of Cleveland agreed developing long-term strategies to that, while police could still arrest address homelessness (an outreach individuals for disorderly conduct, · hotline, more outreach, and they would not "arrest or detain any individual, including homeless additional shelter beds), a d a police protocol was written to individuals, for performing oversee interactions between police innocent, inoffensive acts such as and people experiencing_ sleeping, eating, lying or sitting in homelessness (this involved giving or on public property." Previously, verbal and written notices to the city had instructed its police relocate, contacting outreach force to remove homeless workers to offer alternatives to individuals from the sidewalks, individuals, and stopping regardless of what they were doing. enforcement of the law ifthere are The agreement was the result of a no shelter beds available). Many lawsuit filed by four homeless advocates still feel the police find people, the Northeast Ohio ways to work around the Coalition for the Homeless, and the requirements of the Sidewalk American- Civil Liberties Union. Ordinance, but, in general, their For further information advocacy forced the city to about civil rights battles across the recognize the importance of country check out the reports stronger social services in helping published by National Coalition for people move away from a life on the Homeless (http :// the streets. www. nationalhomeless. org/) and New York, NY In 1998, 198 the National Law Center on formerly homeless individuals won Homelessness & Poverty (http: // a lawsuit against 2 business www.nlchp.org/). In many of these improvement districts that were cases,)ndivi uals were not able to employing them for $ 1/hour to completely halt a city's work as security and cleaning staff. . criminalization efforts; they were The districts promised the work successful, though, in raising would help people out of awareness across their cities, homelessness. Some individuals forcing their governments to look worked over 1,000 hours at_this closer at' the root causes of below minimum wage rate. Ajudge homelessness, ancthelpin declared the districts in violation of homeless individuals receive the minimum wage laws. In 2000, financi l settlements they deserve. ·after a settlement on an appeal of Hopefully, Cincinnati will add to the case, homeless workers were these successes in 2004. , · ................. Ofiio Box 1746 Cincinnati, Qhio 4 201-1746, or submit a prisoner's name and jail number at cleves1947@yahoo.com .Finding pen-pals for people incarcerated in jails . thro(Jghout Ohio. Rockdale Temple has announced the release of the latest in its series of Community Resource Cards. Our New Address Still Downtown, still in Over-the-Rhine! The new one, printed in Spanish, is customized for the needs of Cincinnati's rapidly growing Hispanic/Latino population. The tri-fold, plastic cards are funded by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati as a project of Rockdale Temple, in consultation with Bienstar, Su Casa and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless & Streetvibes 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (5 13) 421-7803 Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. In addition to the Hispanic Resource Card, the Resource Card Project has also produced cards for senior citizens, the homeless, and public school and Catholic - school students covering the Tri-state area. Cards can be ordered from: ... cc 5300 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio (513) 541-0099 STREETVIBES December, 2003 45224 #210 - or send a fax request to: • Page 8 �What C i n c i n n ati c o u l d d o to h e l p h o m e less i n d ivi d u a ls by Linda Corey My name is Linda Corey and I am currently living at the Drop Inn Center in Over-the­ Rhine. In the next year, I would like to see the city of Cincinnati take a building in the downtown area and refurbish it into a better homeless shelter. I would like to see a medical staff at the shelter 24 hours a day. Also, I would like there to be a career center at the shelter that could help people get on their feet by providing GED classes, career coaching, and job listings. I would like to see a staff at the shelter that is all well qualified to deal with people living with homelessness. I used to live in Florida and in Orlando. They just opened a Homeless Pavilion there. This emergency shelter has no limit on the length of time a person can stay and has a day care, Head Start program, Boys and Girls Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! I h ave from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men. Leonardo Da Vinci Club, and a coalition office that helps with employment issues. Residents are able to sleep on mats on a floor that is heated in winter and there are 200 transitional beds available. 1 In Jacksonville, they have a Mission House run by Jan Flager, a man who has been trying to fight the city's anti-panhandling ordinance and law making it illegal to sleep and perform life sustaining activities in public. In exchange for clients helping with daily chores, the Mission House provides showers, bus tokens, daily laundry, and meals. If you agree to attend church on Sunday you get a free tent and a cheeseburger from McDonalds. They also have a van that takes you each day to a temp service that provides you with work, like construction or landscaping, and pays you the same day. There is a clinic annexed to the Mission House that can help with any medical needs clients might have. I wish that Cincinnati would look to these other cities for more creative options to help homeless people. Holiday Gi ! 18" X 24" lithograph : Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine, Winter 1999 - photograph by Jimmy Heath. Each print is individually signed. Purchase benefits the children's Literacy Through Photography program at Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine. Prints are $10 each, plus $3 for shipping. Send your order and check to: Peaslee Neighborhood Center Attn : Photography Program 2 1 5 East Fourteenth Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 or call (513) 621-5514 or visit the website for more information: www.jimmyheath. org Write Usl We'd like to hear . from 'JOU- •• Send letters or . comments to: " m' ' Sheetvibes@Ju or W-: . the o�,, .com, on :1 ; c .; ,; Streetvibes Letters, I I 7 East I. 2th Street Cin innati 'oh1i1' 4s o2 attn: · �· "*--> STREETVIBES December, 2003 G CCH News Page 9 �/ Bum Fights to Bum Life: Air Cavalry._ while-seniing a 1 3 month t r in Vietnam. H was -i-ep o e EXpl Oiti ng H om el es s P awarded both the purple heart and pa rt 1 1 . __..----· ( - released in the spring of 2002. It is interwoven with street fighting among teens, and shows: * a homeless man's hair being set on fire; * a man who smokes crack and defecates on the sidewalk; * a man who pulls out a tooth with pliers; * a documentary segment in the production entitled "Bumhunts" depicts an Australian man dressed in the safari wear of Steve Irwin from Crocodile Hunter, creeping up on sleeping homeless people; gagging and tying them; and then marking their sleeping bags and body parts. . Billed as the star and formidable anti-hero is "Rufus the Stunt Bum," who voluntarily rams his head into fast-food restaurant signs and breaks his best friend's leg in a dangerous brawl. The truth is: Rufus Hannah is 47 years old. Honorably discharged for injuries obtained in combat training in 1 982, he has been homeless ever since. Rufus and his friend Donald Brennan are featured first and foremost in the video, sporting huge "BUMFIGHTS" tattoos on their foreheads and knuckles. Donald (age 53), was also honorably discharged from the US Army in 1 970. He was a member of the 1 st · From the National Coalition for the Homeless WASHINGTON, DCAfter facing seven felony and four Misdemeanor charges, the filmmakers of "Bum Fights" are now serving sentences of 250 hours of community service and three years probatiori. Nevertheless and shockingly, now banned in some countries, and condemned on the floor of the U. S . . House of Representatives, the sequel "Bumfights 2 : Bumlife" was released this fall. The producers, Ty Beeson and Ray Laticia, sold the website and video rights to a pair of businessmen in Las Vegas, Andrew LaPica and Tommy Bell, for $ 1 . 5 million, before the sequel's release. Beeson and Laticia made millions not only off the video, but from merchandise, including thousands of sweaters. Hailed by radio "news" host Howard Stern as, "I'm shocked and I'm not shocked by much. You gotta see this!" Sales soared to $6 million in one month; their website promotes it as "the fastest selling independent video series" . • The original, "Bumfights: Cause for Concern," was 1A a silver star, one of the I 00 000 ' veterans, who have served their country and are now homeless. Both men, like many featured in the video may be considered alcoholics, mentally ill, or suffering from drug problems, another large demographic of society's most vulnerable population. Both Hannah and Brennan have civil suits pending against the producers in California. Though the website explicitly states, "No Bum Footage," on the page explaining procedures of sending in home recordings for money, an intern at the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) proved otherwise. He emailed the producers explaining to them that he dressed up like a cop, tackled sleeping homeless people, tied them up and gagged them, kicked them a few times, and then painted them. He also assured them that he had paid $5 to each homeless person and got them to sign release forms, after the attacks that is. In the same day he received their response: "Sounds great. Send it in. By the way, show love to the bums. We love the bums." This sort of assault, paying after the incident, is still chargeable as an assault, and this solicit'1.tion of such illegal acts is an important legal question. So what began as two kids goofing around trying to make some money has turned into a "loose-knit terrorist network of pranksters." Leaving us to only wonder: How deep does this run? The NCH calls on U. S. Congress for a General Accounting. Office (GAO) investigation into the nature, and the scope of hate crimes and violent acts that occur against p ople experiencing homelessness. In addition, calling upon federal, state and local authorities to launch a full investigation into the making and distribution of"Bumfights 2 : Bumlife." It was illegal the first time and NCH finds it hard to believe that Part II will stand up to a full investigation. "These horrific acts of violence threaten the lives of the over 3 . 5 million women, men, and children experiencing homelessness each year," says Donald Whitehead, executive director of NCH. The GAO study would examine perpetrator behavior and beliefs, while addressing prevention, education and law enforcement strategies. This request has been endorsed by over 400local and national organizations. For more information please visit www. nationalhomeless. org/ hatecrimes for an editorial, and two articles about the history of the "Bumfights" video. nlay, December 13. 2003 3:00 pm SL · Francis S h Church 1615 Vine Sreet er of Libeny &' Vine Streets (N'/'{ Over-th ne) · Featurig: The aer-the-Rhine Youtlr Steel Drum -.Btiiid Peaslee Piano YI/ayers - other Peaslee __ Ron 's Joke. . . Can I see anf!ther s woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another 's grief, and not seek for kind relief? WUliam Blake guesf, lil;tist Firelytes Sfe/ft(1'Ftiln Band and . m1ssio n ·Dea . Peaslee Neighborhood Center Music Programs are funded in part by The City of Cincinnati, The Keyboard Club, and . J:IJe Louise Taft Semple·· Foundation .1fe for the January 2004 edition of STREETVIBES is . n ···· A lady walks into a drug store and tells the pharmacist she needs some cyanide. The pharmacist say's, "Why in the world do you need cyanide?" The lady explained that she needed it to poison her husband. The pharmacist's eyes got big, and he said, "Lord have mercy! I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband ! That's against the law! Then the lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife and handed it to the pharmacist. The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "Well now, you didn't tell me you had a prescription." submitted by Ron Carter, former outreach coordinator at the Coaltion, also vendor CE. 0. STRE ETVIBES December, 2003 Page 10 �. . D EAR R EAD E RS ! Send us you r Vendor Stories Th roug h O u r Eyes Do you have a favorite Streetvibes Vendor that you would like to tell us about? Send us your stories or comments to: Reflec loris on Homelessness Streetvibes@j uno.com or Streetvibes 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati. Ohio 45202 The GCCH would like to thank Starb u cks for their generous donation of coffee and pastries. Apnfad"'� Mdlru4f�.Hf!h 5ilwl.J ile {irarlv for• Help build a powerful , resident led organizationl The book, Through Our Eyes, a collaboration of Cincinnati s Mother ofMercy High School and the Greater Cincinnati Coali­ tion for the Homeless. . . . & Vi ne Street Block Through Our Eyes: Reflections on Homelessness takes The Republ i c Street you on a experiential j ourney of learning by high C l u bs are fig hti ng for the rig hts of low- · school students as they leave their s burban comfort zones to explore the world of the inner-city homeless of Cincinnati. A collaboration of Cincinnati's Mother of Mercy High School and the Greater Cincinnati Coali­ tion for the Homeless, Through Our Eyes attempts to . i ncome res idents i n Over-the-Rh i ne and they are going strong. Block c l u bs are form ing i n other parts of the neigh borhood, too. 381 -4242 or stop educate other high school students and the larger com­ Cal l the Contact Center at munity about homelessness· through stories of homeless by and formerly homeless individuals, reflections, art­ learn more about how you can get i nvolved work and photography. The books are available from with these res ident led organ izations . the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless for $ 10 each, plus $2 shipping and handling. Make checks payable to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1 1 7 East 12th Street, Cincinnati Ohio 45202. For more information call (5 13) 42 1-7803 Extra! Extra! Advertise in Streetvibes! Reach thousands of downtown workers each month! Call 421-7803 for more information about how advertising in Streetvibes will work for your business.... STREETVIBES Decemb er, 2003 1 227 Vi ne Street i n Over-the-Rh i ne to ,, Know Your Rights Brochure Available ! The Know Your Rights Brochure is now available at the Coalition's office. The brochure is a legal guide for C incinnati ' s homeless and covers a person's basic rights when interacting with the police, as well as some local . \ laws that might be ofinterest to the homeless population. If you are a homeless person or if you work " with homeless people and would like to obtain free copies of the t\ brochure for yourself or your " agency, please call 42 1-7803, or stop by the Coalition office and pick fj f �"Go A way You Obnoxious Bums " Article Elicits Outrage From A ctivist Mr. Dillon has that they are as Should you find a job mother, a father, a brother, or a Community valuable humans as anyone, and outside this institution, you arefree friend. Please consider removing Mr. The Clarion, the student · to leave. But you cannotjust go Dillon from your student body and apparently far less harmful than Mr. newspaper of Sinclair Community back to being a panhandler. . ... I issuing an apology in your paper. Dillon may be. I've long held College in Dayton, Ohio, recently ran am sick ofwatching crack-hen;ds Sincerely, Georgine Getty, Sinclair Community College in high an editorial, which advocates among piss on walls of buildings and Executive Director, Greater regard for manifesting the vision of other things, killing the homeless as a eating out of trash cans. Cincinnati Coalition for the David Sinclair, but I find the article, Homeless its publication, and the College's Mr. Johnson, apparent tolerance for such "But someone cares for solution to panhandling. People who have no choice those people, " I keep hearing people tell me, but I don 't believe it. but to be homeless have no choice but to be public. To punish them for Ifpeople caredfor them, I am writing you out of utterances abhorrent and concern. As a 23 -year-old college irresponsible, as well as counter to graduate who has spent six years the values the College claims. this heaps inj ustice on top of indig­ they would have a place to stay and nity. As one Santa Monica woman people to help them out. Ifyou are working directly with the homeless, I who is homeless wondered, "When on the street beggingfor money would like to raise a strong obj ection does it stop? Are we going to push then obviously your support to a recent article in The Clarion expulsion or at least suspension of homeless people off the face of the network is wearing thin. entitled "Go Away You Obnoxious Mr. Dillon. His words may indeed Bums." While I understand and be criminal, such as yelling "fire" in support the freedom of the press, I a crowded theatre, but if not, they are earth? I do have a right to exist. I Add in thefact that most of have the right to food, clothing and them are hardcore drug addicts, shelter because I live." you begin to believe a line must really see how be drawn when Though no one should ever I hope you take appropriate action, which would, I think, the hateful, ignorant and malicious. Sincerely, Bob Moore, Executive have to sleep in a park or beg for futile caringfor violence is Director, Interfaith Hospitality food, making those acts into criminal and helping advocated against Network of Greater Cincinnati offenses, subj ecting them to ridicule those individuals anyone, especially or threats ofvioence does not help really is. against a group about an article that was published in already so Sinclair's student newspapers by All I!m the homeless. I am extremely concerned Here are excerpts from the editorial saying is that marginalized. student Jonathan Dillon. The by Jonathan Dillon, Editor. . . . next time you are Hate crimes editorial, "Go Away You Obnoxious Bums" reeks of an ignorance and If one more homeless bum driving and have against the asks mefor change in the Oregon the opportunity homeless have hatred that I am appalled to see District, I may have to start to run over some steadily increased printed in the publication of an institute of higher learning. running them over when I see them obnoxious bum in frequency each on the street ... who 's been year, and though I The particular segments begging you for obj ect to much advocating the killing of homeless polite andfriendly, and if they don 't money as wng s more in the article, individuals is especially frightening. recognize me they tell me that their you can I respect the right I highly advise Mr. Dillon to brush car broke down. If I am familiar, remember, why for your students up on his journalism ethics, or they simply explain how poor and not swerve? Fun, fun, fun. to express their opinions. To repeat perhaps speak to a professor or wretched their life is, and want to Hear are some of the responses from my point, a line should be drawn at professional j ournalist for some know if I 'm a good enough person the community about this art_i cle . . . . advocating violence, especially guidance on the principles of good to spare·some change. Dear President Johnson: They wander up, act very I am writing to My personalfavorite during this week of National editorialism. I also highly advise that Homeless and Hunger Awareness. I Mr. Dillon take some time to educate annoyance is crack-head Phil, also express my disgust with Jonathan find it particularly heinous that a himself on some of the serious issues known as the muffin man. He Dillon's article regarding college utilizes tuition money (and surrounding the homeless population walks up and down the Oregon, homelessness. taxpayer money, for that matter) to and some of the socioeconomic and promote such unwarranted violence personal obstacles that make toward other human beings. transitioning back into mainstream saying "Excuse me, you got some Ohio was rated the 4th most changefor a muffin ? " I'm going dangerous state to live in the country society a challenge for many to let you in on a little secret, he if you are homeless. This is because doesn 't want a muffin he wants ofhate crimes committed against crack. .... people experiencing homelessness. COHHIO, call for the resignation of In the past two years, one man in the newspaper faculty advisor, Bruce at Sinclair should take this incident very seriously, because although we When Ifirst started In response to this grievous wrongdoing, I, in support of homeless individuals. I feel that the administrators hanging out down there, I had Cincinnati was hit over the head with Dawson, and for the expulsion of the some pity.... but now Ijust look at a brick while he slept in the park and student editor, Jonathan Dillon. I all wish to support the First them with disgust I see these one man was lit on fire as he slept in hope that I can trust you to take Amendment, this type ofreckless people every day, they give me the a doorway. In addition to these two appropriate action on this matter. publishing has no merit within the same line every day, and they murders, countless acts of violence Thank you for your time, Katie scope of good, informed, including theft, lighting- belongings McHugh Connolly educational, and newsworthy on fire, rape, and beatings have Dear President Johnson: journalism. expect me to pay them every day. · Why don 't these people get occurred. In almost all cases, the ajob.... ? perpetrators of these crimes were .... Simply killing the I write to express my disgust Please let me know what and disappointment regarding the your plans are to deal with this upsetting situation. homeless would be the easiest way young men with homes, people j ust article by Jonathon Dillon advocating to handle the problem, but since like your Mr. Dillon and his mistreatment of the homeless. In Christa Zielke, ECO Campaign there are too many moral issues audience. fact, Dillon went so far as to Director, Cincinnati I understand and embrace with this I believe I have a better Ifyou are homeless, you have a predetermined amount of advocate murdering them. Although this may have been with tongue in Please contact the President of that words have power and that this cheek, this indeed happens all too Sinclair Community College and power should not be taken lightly. In often in many cities across the voice your opposition to this the First Amendment. I also realize solution. time, say around six months, to an institution of higher learning, I country. It's not too far-fetched to victimization. You can reach the find work and a place to live in would hope that the focus would be imagine a disturbed, angry, intoxicate President of Sinclair Community order to be a contributing member on debunking myths that dehumanize young person taking this advice to College by using the following ofsociety. a segment of our population and Shouldyou fail to comply with this, you are put into a facil!ty heart and carrying it out. Dillon, the methods: focusing on sustainable solutions to a paper's faculty sponsor, the College, President Steven Lee Johnson - national problem. its Board, and you would all share in president@sinclair. edu When columns like Mr. where you do city beautification work; for which you are paid a Dillon's are printed, word becomes small stipend as well as given food action, hate becomes normal and and shelter. people literally die. Someone loses a STREETVIBES December, 2003 the blame. Working with the homeless every day as I have for many years, I know from far more experience than 800-315-3000 Sinclair Community College 444 West Third Street Dayton; Ohio 45402-1460 Page 12 �O h i o Cou l d Loc k l a n d Hig h S c h ool St u d e nts B e n efit F rom U rb a n E n g ag eme n t P rotect Expe rie nce . by Jackie Acus, Lockland High School Student their whole life story to a group of teenage students they didn't even know. They did this in my eyes, to make us realize how much drugs can really mess you up, no matter who you are. Their stories really touched me and I really commend these ,women for doing what they are doing and talking to us young people to try to make a difference in our lives. Also, the tour guides in the Drop Inn Center were all very great. Everyone there in my opinion has a heart of gold willing to do whatever to do to make Over-the­ Rhine a better place to live and visit. Thank you to everyone that made my experience something that I will never forget. It was. a very wonderful experience going downtown last week. I really enjoyed helping out at the ·soup kitchen and getting a tour of the Drop Inn Center. I believe that after that day I now view Over-the-Rhine much differently. I used to believe that all that as in the Over-the--Rhine were criminals and drug addicts. But when I was serving at the kitchen I had conversations with some of the homeless people and others that came in through the line. I was touched and surprised on how nice, polite and thankful these people were. I expected people to be rude and nasty. I realized then that a lot of those people were on their way to work by Laura McDonald, and that these were just regular Lockland high School Stu,dent people going through hardship in On October 23, I spent the their lives. I felt so good to be day doing community service in able to help them that day and Over-the-Rhine. Being a junior hear their thank you's. from Lockland High School, The Drop Inn Center also everything I saw and experienced touched me a great deal. There touched me deeply. Even growing was a place for people to eat, up the way I did, I still could not sleep and get clean from drugs. I believe most of the things I saw. met three ladies there that touched First off, I spent time with me more than anything on the pre-schoolers and kindergarteners trip. We went to the ladies side -0f at Rothenberg Elementary. What the rehab center and met three , surprised me most about those women there struggling with drug children was how old their eyes problems doing everything and were at such a young age; how anything to stay clean. Mrs .. Love streetwise they were; just how and the other two women made much they acted like highschoolers me think a lot. These women told when they hadn't even become a · Sara s Art. . . . $> F n 0 ....,. · .i .t> ::s ' l o._,, . •. ,0 '"' - • it \=l. {( f )) ) ) ! ) ' STREETVIBES December, 2003 true child yet. The second place that we went to was the Drop Inn Center. This is the place where I really connected with some of the people in Over-the-Rhine. I have been so close to being somewhere like that before,_ mostly because (and I'm · not afraid to admit it) my family is poor. If it hadn't been for my grandmother taking us in, my parents, sisters, brother and I would be on the street. I by Lynn Williams, Ohio understand why most people are Empowerment Coalition . there: no money, no job, too many Organizer medical expenses, and houses cost . too. much, all different. Many of The Ohio Empowerment the women are there to get away Coalition has launched its Family from abuse: mental, physical and Violence Option (FVO) emotional. I can relate to those Campaign to get a bill introduced people; most of them have in the State Legislature that would forgotten, or so much has protect domestic violence victims. happened to them that they The FVO would ensure that couldn't afford anymore. public assistance recipients are I don't understand why no screened for past and present one thinks to help these people. domestic violence abuse by How many of the homeless on the caseworkers trained in domestic streets were at one time heroes, viofence. The FVO would also either in time of war or just a ro!e­ model for a younger person in their ensure that recipients receive referrals and support services. youth? There are so many people Furthermore, domestic violence out there that cannot be anything because of a simple thing called victims would be eligible for money. Why can the government ·exemptions from OWF work care so much about the rich and the requirements and time limits that middle-class, and not so much put their families at risk. about the poor and the homeless? I The FVO is important to know they are trying to create a low-income families. Studies better economy, and not just for the · have shown that as many as 60% wealthy, but also for the ones of women receiving welfare have without so much money. been victims of domestic violence I hope that one day compared with 22% of women in everyone will realize that the world the general population. Forty does not revolve around the states have adopted the FVO as affluent, but more so on the part of their welfare laws. Ohio penniless. has not. Instead, Ohio allows counties to decide what services they will provide for domestic violence victims on public assistance. Counties are not mandated to require any special services under Ohio Works First except to screen recipients for statistical purposes! The result has been a hodgepodge of 8 8 policies, some excellent, some dismal. The .FVO would mandate a statewide policy that protected domestic violence victims in a more fair, humane and equitable manner. Endorsements are important to show widespread community support for this issue when we meet with state legislators. Please sign the below endorsement & mail to ·Contact Center, 1 227 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 or fax (5 13) 3 8 1-4022. For more information or to find out how you can get involved in the FVO Campaign call the Ohio Empowerment Coalition toll free at 1-877-862-5 179. Domesti c Vi olence Vi cti ms in P overty · · Page 13 �C H I LD O F TH E U N IVERS E The Other Side of the Des k by Anonymous I firmly believe that mother universe will provide all that I am in need of to sustain this life of mine. Each of us can harness the talents and energies to accomplish everything we set for ourselves as a goal. We are each in the space and place we belong in. Where we are and where we are headed is already pre-destined. . It has been determined by the seeds we have sewn-in this life and by those of the past. Its success depends on how well we attend to the crop we have planted within us. when in doubt we must speak truthfully. . . . . . .in all matters love every one_ with a open hand . . . . . . even when it is painful to do so . . . . . .look into tomorrow and. do what is for the good of all . . . . . . . including you Great care should be taken of what you manifest. Do not speak or act anything negative into existence . . . Knowin ly refrain from these activities. Another Day H om eless by Gregory Payton Please understand my fear . I'm the only one standing here When I woke up, I didn't know what to do I do remember I prayed to you This time and place is new to me There's no instruction for me to see Please God, can I hold your han_d At least I won't-be lonely as I stand. My feelings and goals are hard to do ;But God, deep in my heart, there really for you _ Their paths you make and choices you give Ate those that I chose to live You are my master, I am your servant I seek you. I submit to you Even without you in my view With your grace and mercy everyday I can face fear and doubt in every way As everyday goes past My faith in you, I know will last Thank yo.u God in every way Thank you God just for today Your lack ofinspiration Has been the foundation And source for my creation Of this display offrustration I developed a fascination When I cam to the realization That my current situation Was in need of transformation Not just me, my whole nation The entire population Overcome with the temptation To ignore their obligation To help others through donation But with the combination Of sharing tliis information And acti on, if we hasten I will be filled with elation Instead of agitation When we finally bring about the termination Of suffering selfishness and discrimination. Have you ever thought just a wee little bit, , Of how it would seem to be a misfit, And how you would feel if you had to sit, On the other side of the desk? Have you ever looked at the man who seemed a bum, · As he sat before you, nervous-dumbAnd thought of the courage it took to come, To the other side of the desk? Have you thc,mght of his dreams that went astray, Of the hard, real facts of.his every day Of the things in his life that make him stay, On the other side of the desk? Did you make him feel that he was full of greed, Make him ashamed of his race or creed, Or did you reach out to him in his need, To the other side of the desk? May God-give us wisdom and lots of it, And much compassion and plenty of grit, So that we may be kinder to those who sit ON-THE-OTHER-SIDE-OF-THE-DESK. ,i r · inforniati lt Jif $Uh!1litting your /poetry or art to · +s TREE'fe:VJBES �eet!J,';§J�ilti.clin A Tri o I n a Gazebo One N ig ht by Dan Gibbons ·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 with gracious supporting strums. Twang-a-pluck, pluck, twang a anjo 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 df 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. Lorig 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 S!Ilall band that soft midnight this summer. Their magic, their music, still live for me; "Can hear it?" Grace Thank you Russ, Judy, Warren and Barbara. Never surrender a smidgen ofyour specialness. STREETVIBES December, 2003 A rt & Poetry Page 14 �Memorial Day, A Battered Women's P rayer Dear God I am only a broken down shell. My bodies all battered, And I don't feel so well. I've got a lot on my mind, maybe that will heal in time. I can't show any emotions they're all locked inside. I've lost my self-esteem, But not my pride. I feel like I have no friends or no family to help. So that leaves me with me alone with myself I need some help God, I can't do this alone. Help me start all over to stand tall and strong. Heal my body All I feel in pain, Heal my mind with all of this strain. I have so many questions I don't know were to start. the answers are hidden deep within my heart. So carry me God help me get on my feet . Show me the way, Don't let me give in to defeat. Amen Shaddon U p U nti l Now by Robert Manassa I once thought life was a bowl of cherries, It was so full of fun along with a lot of merriness. But once I sat down and found myself thinking, That how wrong I was, I was surely sinking Now that I can think again I'm becoming a better man I now know that life's not peaches and cream I can surely say I've been redeemed. 2003 Sidney, Ohio b y Michael Henson Wal k A Little P l a i ne r 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 you 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. Then I will have a little boy Who will want to follow me. And I would want to lead him right And help him to be true. So walk a little plainer daddy For we must follow you. I never ever knew what life was all about Now I'm laughing, singing, praying. I'm so full oflove oflife That I also shout In the cemetery south of town: families walk quietly among the tombstones. Everywhere, little stiff flags beat in the wind, each flag fastened to a small brass star. This is my father1 s first year to wave his small flag. He is so new here the grass has not taken hold and the small yard of his grave is marred with dandelion and chicory. He would not like this at all, I know. Someone has left a broken knife on a headstone nearby so I borrow it to dig out the weeds. Someone, soon, will round up the weeds. Someone, soon, will seed the grass. But I dig anyway. This is my first year to have this duty and it seems right, at my father1s grave, to putter and stay busy. In a little while I have finished with the weeds so I brush the grass clippings from the face of the headstone and I sit. I sit for a long quiet time near the graves of my father and mother. The sky here is a blazing blue and the air has a tang of herbicide. Up the hill, the silent tracks of the New York Central. Down the hill, the rattling waters of the Great Miami. I never knew this up until; now. Shutter Speed by Jimmy Heath Merry Christmas from the homeless STR E ETVIB ES December, 2003 A rt & Poetry Page 15 �.! , ·. .... " ' . . -: ;. . • -,, I • ' '· . :-.. J . . "' · ·, : . . . . . _. . "'· . ' . ' . . .· · ' Sittin g o n o u r Hands Bush bashing is so easy, isn't it? Watching him re.ad to school kids at warm and fuzzy photo-ops - while the Republican-dominated House is busy cutting 30 percent from the funds needed for his "Leave No Child Behind" bill - elicits a knowing smirk. But that smirk can look a lot like Dubya's. Easy as it is, Bush­ whacking is not good for us. The cheap moral righteousness it buys us may be the number one reason keeping us from doing the more useful things we could be doing: writing a check to a food bank, volunteering at a shelter, becoming politically active. Here's the rest of my top ten reasons why I - well, okay, we - choose to sit back and smirk more often than is good for us. 2. I mused at the Spare Change News office the other day that maybe PATRIOT Act surveillance might be a good thing - if those cameras were aimed at the shelters and street corners where the poor struggle to live a decent day to day life, so those in power could see the suffering their policies cause. But, said those who heard me thinking out loud, the Busbies know what is happening. They just don't care. Instantly I was boomeranged back to a conference I'd been to, where intellectuals were resolving to stop writing complicated prose, and start talking clearly to their fellow citizens instead. Perceptions and voting patterns would change, some said, if people only knew how things really stood. But that . !' . ..- : . .· :' , ·. . . ; · ·. by Susan R Horton . ... . . , .. . - . •, ,. , ' central point in David Reiff's A Bed winter, she went out in the fall and gathered all the nuts she could find Crisis. A battlefield reporter and stored them in the garage. during nearly every war fought in However, when she went to put the the last ten years, Reiff' s nuts out, she disc.overed that they'd experiences in Afghanistan and all rotted. Her intervention Bosnia especially prompted his ensured that more squirrels than book. We in the West, he says, are usual went hungry that winter. touched by the iconic photo of the 9. As workers with thin wallets, we white humanitarian worker cradling believe that to do a lot, you have to the starving black child. But not all have a lot. Only a Bill Gates can the needy, and not all refugees, are make a difference. British novelist innocent children. Many are adults Charles Dickens' cold-hearted who have political opinions; who capitalist Mr. Dombey suddenly may in an earlier round of ethnic becomes a soft-hearted and giving war have been victimizers man after his fortune is made. But themselves. When the UN before Dombey had made his headquarters in Baghdad was fortune, it wouldn't have made bombed recently, we were puzzled: much difference if he had been Why would anyone want to bomb soft-hearted, because he' d have UN peace workers? Closer to had little to give. And if Scrooge home, that homeless person may be hadn't been, well, Scrooge, for crotchety and short-tempered. most of his life, he couldn't have Human beings and their complex become a philanthropist at the end situations swamp and sap our urge of it. to do something. . 1 0. We all know someone who is 6. When our inaction makes us struggling financialiy: wrestling uncomfortable, we ease our with addiction, mental illness, or consciences by assuring ourselves homeless or on the verge. We may that there are others who are better have tried to help, and found our at helping than we are. Reiff calls help insufficient, unappreciated, or those people who do what we only ena ling. Our lurking fear is don't "Designated Consciences." that some people may be 7 . As idealists but also pragmatists, unhelpable; some problems we convince ourselves that our unsolvable. My top ten list here will help only serves to take the pressure off the government, which stock no food pantry; house no refugees. But, like liberals should be doing the work of alleviating poverty and suffering. everywhere in every moment in Faith-based charity, we think, is a history, I believe that clarity, government hand-off, a shirking of explanation and honesty are-well, responsibility. Why participate in at least, something. Maybe even a that, we ask? prelude to action. 8. Or, we suspect that our Reprinted with permission of Spare meddling may only make things Change News, Cambridge, worse. A friend's young daughter Massachusetts, USA. had so much compassion for the squirrels storing nuts for the For the Night: Humanitarianism in discussion ended exactly where ours at the newspaper did. The problems we face can't be solved with knowledge; they're matters of power. By offering case studies of community actions by everyday folk that have changed people's lives for the better, Robert Putnam's new book Better Together proves that this notion is not necessarily true. Our conviction that it is one reason we don't do more. 3. Most of us who buy this paper are liberals, or left ofliberal. That means we have compassion. But it also means we have great faith in the power of explanation: of talking about and analyzing problems. Nothing wrong with that. But we come to believe that talking about something is somehow doing something. Or we believe that urging others to do something is doing something. Those in the newspaper business talk about "putting legs on their editorials" : doing something about the problems being written about. Too often, we don't. 4. Turning the pages of our daily newspapers and seeing the suffering faces ofAfghans, Iraqis, Liberians, or at the photos of homeless men and women sleeping . under park benches, we suffer compassion overload. So much suffering; so little aoility to help . We give up; turn the page. 5. Since we are idealists, we tend to idealize those who need help. Then, we are disappointed when we discover those who need help turn out to have thorny . personalities and opinions we hadn't counted on. This is a Leaders hip Strips C uba Trave l Am end ment Against the Wil l of Co n g ress In a move that defies the will of both chambers of Congress, the congressional leadership last month stripped out an amendment _ from the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill that would have allowed travel to Cuba. The · move came during the conference committee on the bill behind closed doors, provoking outrage among groups and individuals across the nation that have been working to end the counterproductive travel ban. The Senate voted 59-36 to adopt the amendment while the House voted 227- 1 88, for the fourth consecutive year. In the most egregious twist, sources on the Hill said that the Cuba provision was stripped out before the conferees even formally met, so there was no opportunity for STREETVIBES passed the House by a wide bipartisan margin. There is absolutely no reason the provision them to vote on whether or not to remove it. should be removed from the "We believe that stripping Treasury-Transportation out this amendment behind closed· .Appropriations bill. To do so doors casts doubts on the merits of would be a direct act against the our democracy at a time when the will of a majority of Congress and embargo is purported to encourage majority ofAmericans." Pressure from a White democracy in Cuba. What kind of House-eying Florida's electoral a message do_es this send?" asked votes-was cited by congressional Mavis Anderson, Senior Associate leaders as the reason for the at the Latin America Working change. "It's clear that the White Group. Going into the conference House isn't listening to the will of committee, many of the legislators the majority ofAmericans, who support ending these senseless who had worked to pass the restrictions," said Philip Schmidt amendment urged their colleagues to respect the will of Congress and from the Latin America Working Group. "The administration retain the provisions. believes that gaining a few votes in In a statement last week, Florida is worth angering a broad Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) said section of the rest of the nation. "Suspending enforcement of the . Cuba travel ban passed the Senate This thinking could backfire on them." From www. lawg. org by a wide bipartisan margin and December, 2003 We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy and doubt, that peace and abundance may manifest for all. . . . Dorothy Day · . Editorial Page 16 �Adventu res i n P oetry.: Farewel l to Edwa rd Tel l er by Wes Browning Last month Edward Teller died, and I was reminded what a truly monumentally shallow guy I ani. You should all know wh0 . Edward Teller was. In case you've forgotten, he was the so­ called father of the H-bomb, who may also end up being called the father of the forthcoming anti- . missile system. Either of those two facts would make him an extremely important figure in modern history, but what do I think about him? I'll tell you what I think about him. I think he didn't have good manners. Thafs what I think about him. It's all because I'm so incredibly shallow and the fact that I only care about what happens to me. OK, that's not entirely true. I am interested in the events in Liberia, even though I have never been there and have no personal connection to the place. But, on the other hand, would I be so interested if the new president there wasn't named President Blah? I think not. So that example only proves again how shallow I' am. I am so shallow, I am more interested in how shallow I am than in whether Seattle gets ·an espresso tax or not, or whether the police will make marijuana use a higher or lower priority than unlicensed flag pole sitting, for example. I am so shallow that · yesterday when I was talking to someone about Issa9uah I got wrapped up in trying to guess what people from Issaquah should call themselves and it ended up being the high point of my day. You know, if you're from Seattle you're a Seattleite, if you're from New York you're a New Yorker, if you're from San Francisco you're a San Franciscan, if you're from North Bend, you're a Bender. What are you if you' re from Issaquah? An Issaquant? An Issaquator? I didn't really want to know, I just wanted to make up answers for an hour or two, but the guy I was talking to got annoyed and shut me up after a minute. That sort of thing happens a lot when you're as shallow as I am. One time in college I was required to take a physics lab course. They gave me things like Bunsen burners and oscilloscopes and expected me to perform serious physics experiments with them and prove that I could be the next Edward Teller. Instead I set fire to stuff and tried to make cool designs on the oscilloscope screens. Later they let me at an air table, one of those tables where you can slide things around almost without friction. I took the hockey pucks they provided and crashed them repeatedly into each other. It was great until one of them fl e w off the table and nearly beaned the lab instructor. Boy, what a snoot he turned out to be. · You'd think I had nuked a city or something. Speaking of nuking cities, did I mention that Edward Teller also had a hand in getting Roosevelt to set up the Manhattan Project? So he wasn't just the H­ bomb daddy, but he was also kind of at least a godparent to the regular A-bomb:- Talk about your weapons of mass destruction. But I'm so shallow I won't even try to judge Teller for that. Nor wquld I try to judge him for any his other well-known traits, such as that he was a good piano player, or that he kicked ass at table tennis, or that he was a great teacher. One night years ago, at a time when Teller was in Seattle promoting his anti-missile ideas, I was homeless and happened to be walking dejectedly along a path on the UW campus when a group of five or six men in suits came charging straight toward me, shoulder to shoulder. I was in danger of being run over. I had no time to get out of the way. But the guy in the middle of the pack, the one with the bushy eyebrows, looked me right in the eye and yelled, "GET OUT OF MY WAY ! !" It was Teller. Fortunately, the reporter following next to him separated from Teller at the last minute so they could pass around me. Now, finally, Teller himself is stepping aside for all the rest of us, too late. --������-- Support your local Streetvibes Vendor! Your vendor keeps 80 cents of every dollar..... Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Nonviolence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win. Cesar Chavez Cleaning Supplies '"' t: 15 bmcj Sup iies ! ost;I ' tamfl ' fl fl.Pies fopiei:n <:·paper,,and other . upplies * 11 "Must you smirk at all ofyour former employees? " STREETVIBES December, 2003 Page 17 �Words fro the Eva ngel ist . . . . Labor ofLove meals. They also shared a ministry The day began gray and of food, fellowship, music, overcast. There was .a hint of rain testimony, and prayer from Nast in the air. However, · men, women, Trinity to Washington Park, where and children began to form a line Clifford Jones ofAnother Class outside the doors ofNast-Trinity Productions provided a variety of United Methodist Church on Labor music and sound for what turned Day. They were there because the . into quite a beautiful day. Hearts for J e sus Ministry with the From the women singing in help of many volunteers, a the kitchen of Nast Trinity to the monetary donation from a member . youth and others doing outreach in '" of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Washington Park this event was a Commerce, and special dishes real "labor of love". On the day prepared by people from the Over­ which labor was being ceiebrated the-Rhine community; was and many were taking a "holiday" preparing to serve a meal. these folks performed a "labor of After coordinating a love" to those in our community successful meal and outreach in who are less fortunate. The words A twelve year old young Washington Park on the 4•• of July, "thank you" and "God bless you" man came forward for prayer, and Jannette V Johnson, Founder of could be heard tumbling from the the youth who surrounded him the Hearts For Jesus Ministry; was lips of the young and old as plate demonstrated the love that Christ asked to come and minister in after plate of food was distributed said would show all men who are Washington Park again on Labor in the Fellowship Hall ofNast­ His disciples (John 13: 34-35). The Day. So with the help of some Trinity, until there was none left. same "labor of love" that the faithful friends and co-workers in Over in Washington Park there was Apostle Paul commended the ministry, and youth from the a special performance by Regis "K­ church at Thessalonica for Greater Cincinnati/Northern Drama" Jones and Big Steve, two exhibiting to one another (Thess Kentucky United Church of Christ young local Gospel Rap artists. 1 :2-3). After praying for this young Racial Justice Youth Ministry; Ms. Then there were some testimonies man, his mother, and other siblings Johnson and company served 729 and a call for prayer. who were present; the youth turned My Vis i o n fo r C i n c i n n ati· by Brian Garry My vision is a bright future for Cincinnati where all those who are currently excluded from the system become included as valuable parts of the decision making process. My vision for Cincinnati brings all the people together as O.N.E. O.N.E. Stands for Opportunity, Neighborhoods, and Equality for all. · Black and white will be paid equally All people young and old, abled and disabled, black and white, gay and straight, male and female, rich and poor will be given equal opportunity and equal treatment. We are all God's Children and as such no one has the right to tell us that we don't belong or are not valuable, or are not apart of, or that we are inferior. For, if any of us do not belong or have no right to be here then none of us belong and none of us has the right to be here. The train that we are driving carries saints and sinners, losers and winners, whores and gamblers - it carries lost souls. Our dreams will not be thwarted. Our faith will be rewarded. I stand with those not listened to, the down-trodden, the disenfranchised, the disinherited, the damned, and · money on our priorities, our children, the poor anci the working class. We will employ the people the despised. in the neighborhood and they will We believe in helping run the construction done in our people. We help people help communities. We will achieve this vision themselves. When people need · help we are there for them. We call through active citizen participation. this the City that Cares. The Many people feel that the system has nothing for them, that even Homeless will be taken care of when they voice their concerns and Homelessness will not be opinions they are not listened to. criminalized. We will attack and We believe people are eradicate poverty instead of poor strong and smart and have answers people. to our city's problems. We ask the City That's why we want to start Administration to see the world through our eyes. Those of us who a Community Support and Advocacy Organization. In this struggle month after month to pay city-wide, all inclusive rent and make ends meet. We ask for understanding of our plight, not organization; each community will support other communities in their . blame and judgment and endeavors to improve their condemnation. neighborhoods. We will see Our Vision is for a happy crossover in support between what city. Money does nm make a have traditionally been exclusively · person happy, but when a person's black or white and rich or poor basic needs are met, they are free to pursue all the activities which neighborhoods. We must stand up to the plate and advocate for each lead to happiness and spiritual other, for it is· only in this way that fulfillment. we will achieve unity of purpose The time for begging for and action. what is rightfully ours is over with. Further, "those whom much We are coming in the house; we are has been given; much is required". tired of the field. We are tired of The rich and powerful, the knocking. We will open the door businesses, must share. Those of ourselves and Damon Lynch and I us with slender resources must be will be sitting in those seats of included. We must get our slice of power, but we will do things the pie. We must have a citywide differently - we will do what minimum wage as do other cities in benefits the people. I will spend to me and said he must become a part of our group. Lives were changed that day as a result of this collaborative effort of the religious and business community. Together we can "labor in love" to make a difference. His Humble servant, R. Lewis Sutton, Sr. The Evangelist A.W. O.L. Ministries (513) 349-5119 the U.S. This will raise the quality oflife for those le s fortunate and add to the economy because the poor and the working class will be able to stimulate the economy by making more purchases with their newly acquired increased standard ofliving. I was born and raised in Bond Hill at 1765 Catalina Avenue. I am the 3rd son of Pat Garry, formerly Pat Crum. She was the past President of the Bond Hill Community Council. I am a single father of my son, Keegan. The power of example is the strongest power on earth. It was through a living, breathing example of Rev. Maurice McCracken that I was to become what I am today. I still aspire to live up to the highest standards which he set through his example to me. The principle of Love ·above all else is the highest principle higher than Truth because somet ng may be true but to say it might not be loving to say it so I must place love first, above all else. The second principle is service. Service is the expression of Love. Love of God and Love of all Life. Givers never lacl\. Jesus said, "give to those who ask", I must be generous in my poverty. The third Principle is kindness and respect. I must be kind and respectful to all people, even to my enemies. Streetvibes exists as a forum for the expression of the views and opinions of our readers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Streetvibes staff or the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. STREETVIBES December, 2003 . Editorial --------...-� Page 18 �F RAC News (Reno Gazette­ Journal, Reno, Nevada, October 28, 2003) This editorial highlights the benefits to the local economy and to needy, low-income residents gained from greater utilization of the federal Food Stamp .Program. The Food Stamp and federal nutrition programs make "food available for families who might fall through the cracks." Food stamps also bring federal funds into Nevada that generates two dollars in local economic activity for every food stamp dollar spent. The editorial raises the challenge to reach people who are eligible for benefits but do not receive them. http://www. rgj .com/news/stories/ html/2003/ 1 0/28/5 53 1 0 .php ECONOMY and Action Center FOOD STAMP PARTICIPATION INCREASES IN AUGUST 2003 TO MORE THAN 22.3 MILLION PERSONS; IS ALMOST 5.5 MILLION PERSONS IDGHER THAN IN JULY 2000 (FRAC Analysis, November 5, 2003) As high rates ofjoblessness continued, more states improved access, and the effects of the food stamp reauthorization improvements continued to be felt, participation in . he Food Stamp Program in August 2003 (the latest data available) increased by 3 1 2, 6 1 4 persons from the previous month, to 22, 3 5 1 ,854 persons, according to FRAC's analysis of preliminary monthly data from USDA In the last six months the caseload grew by an average of more than 267,000 persons per month. In the 1 2 months before that, the average was 144.000 per month. The August 2003 level of Food Stamp Program participation represented. a rise of about 2 . 66 million persons compared to the August 2002 level, almost 4.6 million persons compared to August 200 1 , and nearly 5 . 5 million persons since July, 2000. http://www.frac. org/ html/news/fsp/03 aug. html SURVEY FINDS EXTENSIVE POOR NUTRITION AMONG LOW-INCOME INFANTS AND (Los Angeles Times, November 3 , 2003) A national survey of 3 , 000 infants and toddlers, ages 4 months to 2 years, presented recently at the American Dietetic Association found that infants as young as 7 months drink soda, toddlers eat French fries more than any other vegetable, and many children go an entire day without eating fruits and vegetables. By the time many children are 1 9 to 24 months old, they are having a dessert, sugary drink or salty snack such as potato chips at least once a day. Nutritionists find the results particularly alarming because of the extent and early age of poor nutrition among young children. Children in low-income families who receive benefits through the Wom:en, Infants and Children Program fare even worse. [Lynn says this is due to low income, not because of the program] The survey was conducted for baby food manufacturer Gerber Products Co. http:// www. latimes. com/features/health/ la-he­ kidfood3nov03 , 1 , 5 297 1 5 2. story (free registration required) STREETVIBES FOOD STAMP PROGRAM IN NEVADA HEL S LOCAL from the F ood Research TODDLERS EDITORIAL: GROWTH IN EARL SHORTENED LUNCH PERIODS COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT CHILDREN' S EATING HABITS (Sun, Bremerton, WA, November 3, 2003) Cole Middle School in Denver has sixth-graders scheduled to eat lunch at 9 : 3 8 in the morning. "It's too early," says Karen Evans Stout, an associate professor of education at Lehigh University, who has attended and studied more than 2,000 school lunch practices. When children go long periods between meals they tend to snack on unhealthy foods and develop eating habits that may lead to a lifetime of obesity. Nutritionists, educators and researchers are examining the effects on children of early lunch schedules and short lunch periods. In a study entitled "How Long Does It Take Students to Eat Lunch?" researchers found that students should have at least 20 minutes at the table to eat and socialize. At some schools, lunch is offered very early in the day because of scheduling conflicts caused by staff shortages due to budget cuts. http:// www. thesunlink.com/redesign/ 2003 - 1 1 -03/features/health/ 302883 . shtml · NEW YORK PUBLIC ADVOCATE PROMOTES FOOD STAMP RESTORATIONS FOR. LEGAL (Public Advocate, New York, NY, November 2, 2003) New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and several city officials and anti­ hunger advocates showed support of recent Food Stamp Program restorations that make all qualified legal immigrant children eligible for benefits. "It is my hope that every eligible immigrant child take advantage of this federally funded program - it is their right," IMMIGRANTS December, 2003 Gotbaum said. More than 800,000 New Yorkers who are eligible for food stamps do not receive them. This press release also contains contact information for Gotbaum's office (where translation services are available), Community Food Resource Center, and other groups serving immigrants. "[I]t is important that all American families - whether they immigrated to America last·year or decades ago ­ are able to obtain food stamps," said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition· Against Hunger. http:// www. pubadvocate.nyc.gov/press/ 1 1 0203 . shtml . UTAH RANKS WORST IN THE NATION FOR FOOD INSECURITY, ACCORDING (Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, November 4, 2003) Utah had the highest percentage of households that were food insecure in the nation according a U. S. Department ofAgriculture report on food insecurity for 2002. About 1 5 .2 percen.t of all Utah residents were food insecure. The national average was 10. 8 . Despite the fact that unemployment in the state has dropped, emergency food providers are seeing an increase in demand for emergency assistance. Gina Corina, _executive director of Utahns Against Hunger, sees the increase in demand at food pantries as troubling and points out that such assistance is not a solution: "It is not the answer to hunger. It's a one- or two-time thing." http:// www. sltrib.com/2003/Nov/ 1 1 042003/utah/ 1 0809 1 . asp TO USDA REPORT USDA TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY FOOD STAMPS FOR CALIFORNIA FIRE VICTIMS (Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2003) In the wake of the wildfires that spread across many parts of southern California, local and national officials announced measures meant to help those whose homes or businesses were destroyed or damaged. The U. S. Department of Agriculture will provide emergency food stamps for victims of the wildfires. [Editor's note: emergency food stamps are a one-time allotment available to all victims of a disaster under circumstances broader than the usual income and asset eligibility requirements.] http :// www. latimes.com/news/local/la­ me-main3nov03 , 1 , 1 1 50832.story (free registration required) THOUSANDS OF NEW YORKERS CAN CONTEST DENIAL OF FOOD STAMP AND OTHER PUBLIC (U. S. Newswire, October 29, 2003) Thousands of needy New Yorkers denied public assistance, food stamps or Medicaid b.enefits after January 1 , 2002 are being notified of their right to .contest the denial through a state action hearing. An order signed on October 24th by the U. S . District Court, Southern District of New York finds that all applicants who were sent a standard notice stating that the· reason for denial was a "failure to provide complete information" are eligible for a new hearing. Many needy New Yorkers were denied benefits illegally through the City's Eligibility Verification Review (EVR) office that was set up in 1 995 by former Mayor Giuliani. http ://releases. usnewswire. com/ GetRelease. asp?id= 1 02- 1 0292003 ASSISTANCE BENEFITS FRAC School Breakfast Scorecard - On an average day in the 2002-2003 school year, more than 6. 7 million low-income chil­ dren ate school breakfast - double the number in 1 990 - according to the annual School Breakfast Scorecard released by FRAC on November 6th. More than three out of four (78 .3 percent) of the 97,674 schools that offered school lunch also offered school breakfast during the 2002-2003 school year. This ratio was a record. By an­ other measure, however, progress has stalled. For at least 1 2 years, since FRAC began analyzing these data, the number of low-income children eating school breakfast as a proportion of those eating lunch had risen. From the 200 1 -2002 school year to the 2002-2003 school year, however, the ratio of 42.3 children at breakfast to every 1 00 at lunch remained unchanged. The FRAC report includes state-by­ state breakdowns. The web site is http://www.frac. org To subscribe to the weekly FRA C News Digest go to: http:// capwiz. comlfraclmlml Ben Winter Food Research and Action Center 1 875 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 540 Washington, DC 20009 Email: bwintet@frac. org While we make every effort to provide a forum for those without a voice, · S TREETVIBES and the staff of THE GREATER CINCINNATI COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS, is not responsible for statements, and do not necessarily endorse the opinions of the people whose writings are represented here. FRA C News Page 19 �Need Help or Want to Help ? If you need help or would like to help Mt. Airy Center 661 -4620 Vol u nteers· of Amer. 381 - 1 954 please call one of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless members (Youth) 357-4602 Caracole (AIDS) 76 1 - 1 480 Friars Club 381 -5432 Drop Inn Center 721 -0643 Haven House 863-8866 I nterfaith 471 - 1 1 00 Hospitality Lighthouse Yo uth Center 861 - 1 1 1 1 (Teens) St. J o h n 's Housing 651 -6446 HOUSIN G : 721 -4580 Excel Development 632-7 1 49 transitional living facilities, permanent housing, medical services, social services, soup kitchens, and mental health/addiction services. The Coalition also consists of individual citizens who want to take an active role in ensuring that 632-7 1 86 Health Rsrc. Center 357-4602 Health Va n 352-2902 House of Refuge M ission Madisonville Ed . & Assis. Tender Mercies 721 -8666 Center 961 -4663 221 -5491 241 -9400 271 -5501 Mary Magdalen House 721 -48 1 1 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 Our Daily Bread 621 -6364 TREATMENT: Men Peaslee Neighborhood C h a rlie's 3/4 House 784- 1 853 Center P rospect House 921 - 1 6 1 3 P roject Connect Homeless Starting Over 961 -2256 TREATMENT: Both N . A . Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline 3 5 1 -0422 C . C .A.T. 381 -6672 Ta lbert House 684-7956 Transitions, Inc 859-49 1 -4435 VA Domici l iary 859-559-50 1 1 D I C Live-In Program 721 -0643 421 -2437 citizens. Join the fight to end Cincinnati homelessness; contact the Greater Appa l achian Identity Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless Center at (5 13) 42 1-7803, 1 1 7 East 12th Beech Acres Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Center for I ndependent Living Options 357-5720 Kids The Emergency Food Center 471 -4357 Travelers Aid 72 1 -7660 Un ited Way 721 -7900 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Women Helping Wom e n M IDDLETOWN/HAMILTON (Butler County) St. Raphaels 863-3 1 84 621 -5991 . 231 -6630 · 872-9259 (Food Bank/Soup Kitchen) Salvation Army 863- 1 445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 241 -2600 Open Door C h u rches Active i n Northside 62 1 -551 4 St. Vincent De Paul 562-8841 meeting the needs of all of its 591 -2246 Cincinnati Health Network 961 -0600 • 558-8888 ·- Hamilton Co. TB Control 381 - 1 1 7 1 A I D S Volunteers of r Point ReSTOC OTHER SERVICES : Great r Cincin nati Coatitfol'!l Por The Hom less Mental Health Access Legal Aid Society Cincinnati is an inclusive community, ... · 946-8600 Health Board 369-0004 First Step Home through emergency shelter, 421 -7803 Hamilton Co. Mental 241 -0504 F u l l C i rcle Program 721 -0643 member groups serve the homeless Coalition for the Homeless M i a m i Purchase TREATMENT: Women is a membership organization. Our Goodwi l l I nd ustries 771 -4800 OTR Housing Net. Tom Geiger House 96 1 -4555 Formed in 1 984, The Greater 24 1 - 1 064 Fransiscan Hai rcuts 651 -6468 Home less Mobile C M HA Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless 241 -2563 Foodbank Anth ony House SHELTERS: Women and 381 -4242 Emanuel Center Freesto re/ SHELTER: Both listed below. Contact Center Community Action Agency 569- 1 840 Pantry 868-3276 New Life Baptist Mission (Soup Kitchen) 896-9800 Hope House (Homeless Famil ies/Sing les) , 423-4673 � 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 2003 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2003 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Two Cincinnati Homeless Perish in House Fire Pg 2: GCHC Pg 3: Reflections on the Season Pg 4: Motto: Stand Tall, Stand Straight Forever Pg 5: Homelessness: how you can help Pg 6: Homelessness: how you can help Continued Pg 7: Peace Village Pg 8: Homeless Civil Rights Successes, 2003 Pg 9: What Cincinnati could do to help homeless individuals Pg 10: Bum Fights to Bum Life Pg 11: GCHC Pg 12: Bum Fights to Bum Life Continued Pg 13: Lockland High School Students Benefit from Urban Engagement Experience Pg 14: Art & Poetry Pg 15: Art & Poetry Continued Pg 16: Sitting on our Hands Pg 17: Adventures in Poetry Pg 18: Words from the Evangelist Pg 19: FRAC News 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 2003 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Georgine Getty Brendan Goodwin Andy Erickson Elizabeth Linville Mary Gaffney Jimmy Heath Jerome Manigan Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Andy Erickson Arts & Poetry Brendan Goodwin Cincinnati civil rights domestic violence Edward Teller Elizabeth Linville FRAC Georgine Getty Jerome Manigan Jimmy Heath Mary Gaffney Memorial Day Peace Village poverty Words from the Evangelist https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/06c68beeaca11fe7a6356f5fa0068a3c.pdf be246243b785a9dbcf8d4c4b52889649 PDF Text Text �Cincinnati 3rd Meanest City Toward Homeless Drop Inn Center Kicks oft Hollday, Fundraislng Drive Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless �The Stigma of Section 8 Housing • lli11\*ll l1i 11Wl1¥n!l1l014'1 >cl V111lt Iha CoafiUon' New Website �91 "'' 01 llhl 'I I '™ !'II I '' •><oil' ti llUti I! December 21, 2004 Washington Park, Ower-the-Rhine �Dancing in Poverty ill .A Journey to Streetvibes Words from Ms. Mary �Streetvl Letter PWI) t-lvllh111111w l'UtWlf!t tt11v1t bHn 11h1111~1m91r9cr ftli1Frn t;iil!lluld llilllff nl'lppeFl~ct il!11~lthrc~r cnn �. i PntJna Your Vote••• Your Voice 1dwtatdle.-lleroflad:lv....... ,.~. 294 Jntild tlM Ga:JI •llllihlftd. �The Right Thing For the R~ht Reason: A Journey from Addiction to UnderMandlng Over--the·Ahlne: The Struggle for Place �Imagine Peace and Unity In Over-the-Rhine �"Homeres&ness: A Teacher's Gulde'' Available Next Month City Budget Cuts Affect Soclal Services �TheP Villag �The Safe and Sleble Famlles Laglalatkm Wiii End Gaps In the System I I �SltmfvllM• Vendor Codcf of Canduat About the Grealer Cincinnati AN «Cm1MI Coalition for Homeless and Streelvibes.... Where Vendor: 70 cents Ycur Dollar Gees .... Buy Streetvibesf • Suppn Your Local Vendor �Break My Fall 20 Y•am SERVING THE °'11N·thrl-Rhlne NEIGHBORHOOD 1 ��Momtnv: � 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 2004 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2004 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cincinnati 3rd Meanest City Toward Homeless Drop Inn Center Kicks of Holiday Fundraising Drive Pg 2: The Stigma of Section 8 Housing Pg 3: Homeless News Digest Pg 4: Dancing in Poverty A Journey to Streetvibes Pg 5: Streetvibes Letters Pg 6: Unexpected Prajna Your Vote… Your Voice Pg 7: The Right Thing for the Right Reason: A Journey from Addiction to Understanding Over-the-Rhine: The Struggle for Place Pg 8: Imagine Peace and Unity in Over-the-Rhine Pg 9: “Homelessness: A teacher’s Guide” Available Next Month City Budget Cuts Affect Social Service Pg 10: The Peace Village Pg 11: The Safe and Stable Families Legislation Will End Gaps in the System Pg 12: Streetvibes Vendor Code of Conduct About the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and Streetvibes… Pg 13: History-Making in Motion Break My Fall Pg 14: Arts & Poetry Pg 15: Arts & Poetry 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 December 2004 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Georgine Getty Alison Leeuw Andy Erickson Rachel Lawson Kate McManus Janice Faulkner Mary Gaffney Jimmy Heath Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF addiction Alison Leeuw Andy Erickson Budget Cuts Cincinnati Drop Inn Center Food Research FRAC Fundraising Drive Georgine Getty Holiday Homeless News Digest Janice Faulkner Jimmy Heath Kate McManus Mary Gaffney Over-the-Rhine Peace Village Rachel Lawson Section 8 Housing Social Services Teachers Vote