StreetSense_forWeb_8.17.10

August 18 - 31, 2010StreetSense.org

A New Library Opens Amidst

Hard Economic Times Pages 4

Tim Young Weighs in on the Changing Media

World Page 7

Ivory Wilson’s Last Installment of

Feathers The Parrot 2

35 cents for Production

of the Paper

65 cents for the Vendor

August 18 - 31, 2010

Tim Young Weighs in

Ivory Wilson’s Last

Where the poor and homeless earn and give their two cents

Volume 7 Issue 20

SUGGESTED

DONATION

READ THIS

Street Sense brings you our Summer Reading Issue

August 18 - 31, 2010 StreetSense.org

1317 G Street, NWWashington, DC 20005Phone: (202) 347–2006Fax: (202) 347–[email protected]

BOARD OF DIRECTORSLisa Estrada Ted HensonBrad Scriber Michael StoopsManas Mohaptra Sommer Mathis Kristal DeKleer Robin HellerJeffery McNeil Jordan RummelJohn Snellgrove Dameon Philpotts

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORAbby StrunkEDITOR–IN–CHIEFMary OttoMANAGING EDITOR & NEW MEDIA DIRECTORLisa V. GillespieCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAM MANAGERAmy VokesINTERNSAdam Sirgany, Cathy Bueker, Priya AnandFOUNDERSTed Henson, Laura Thompson Osuri

VOLUNTEERS/WRITERSRobert Basler, Jane Cave, Robert Fulton, Steve Gilberg, Jane Go-forth, Joanne Goodwin, Roberta Haber, Erica Hall, Annie Hill, Dan Horner, Phillip Hoying, Maurice King, Brenda K. Lee-Wilson, Kim O’Connor, Gabriel Okolski, Lisa Razzi, Diane Rusignola, Wil-lie Schatz, Jesse Smith, Sara Kruger, Jami-Lin Williams, Marian Wiseman, Tim Young, Mandy Toomey

VENDORSCharles Armstrong, Jake Ashford, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Donna Barber, Cyril Belk, Kenneth Belkosky, Tommy Bennett, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Emily Bowe, Andre Brinson, Melody Byrd, Cliff Carle, Percy Carter, Peggy Cash, Conrad Cheek, Vir-ginia Clegg, Aaron Conner, Anthony Crawford, Louise Davenport, Charles Davis, James Davis, David Denny, Ricardo Dickerson, Mu-riel Dixon, Alvin Dixon-El, Roger Dove, Charles Eatmon, Deanna Elder, Richard Embden, James Featherson, Craig Fleming, Samuel Fullwood, Roger Garner, David Ger, Barron Hall, Dwight Harris, John Harrison, Patricia Henry, Shakaye Henry, Phillip Howard, James Hughes, Richard Hutson, Margaret Jenkins, Carlton John-son, Donald Johnson, Alicia Jones, Mark Jones, Clinton Kilpatrick, Hope Lasister, Brenda Lee-Wilson, Michael Lyons, Jonnie Malloy, Kina Mathis, John Matthews, John C. Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Herman Mayse, Robert McCray, Marvin McFadden, Jermale McK-night, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Kenneth Middleton, L. Morrow, Tyrone Murray, Charles Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Franklin Payne, Edward Perry, Gregory Phil-lips, Tracey Powell, Ash-Shaheed Rabbil, Ed Ross, Melania Scott, Chris Shaw, Ronald Simms, Veda Simpson, Gwynette Smith, Patty Smith, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, James Stewart, Garland Stroman, Leroy Studevant, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Paul Tay-lor, Steve Thomas, Larissa Thompson, Deborah Tibbs, Carl Turner, Christopher Walker, Jeanette Walker, Joseph Walker, Martin Walker, Robert Warren, Lawless Watson, Paul Watson, Gregory Wells, Mi-chael Welsh, Edna Williams, Wendell Williams, Susan Wilshusen, Ivory Wilson, Charles Woods, Tina Wright

Our Mission Street Sense aims to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty

while also creating economic opportunities for people who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about start-ing a street newspaper in Washington, D.C.

A street paper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to the home-less individuals who sell it. About 28 street pa-pers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and dozens more exist throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies. For the next three years the paper published on a monthly basis and greatly ex-panded its circulation and vendor network.

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition for the Home-less, but in October 2004, the organization in-corporated and moved into its own office space. In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 sta-tus, becoming a nonprofit organization.

In October 2005 Street Sense formed a full board of directors, and in November the orga-nization hired its first employee, a full-time ex-ecutive director. A year later in November 2006, the organiza-tion hired its first vendor coordinator and began partnering with several service providers. In February 2007, the paper started publish-ing twice a month and to support the increased production brought on its first full-time editor–in–chief in April. As of January 2010 the paper had 72 ac-tive vendors and prints about 30,000 issues a month.

The Story of Street Sense

Vendor Code of Conduct

1. Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Street Sense by any other means.2. I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense staff and will not sell papers to other vendors (out-side of the office volunteers).3. I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, other vendors – respectfully, and I will not “hard sell,” threaten or pressure customers.4. I agree to stay off private property when selling Street Sense.5. I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well–being and income.6. I agree to sell no additional goods or products when selling the paper.7. I will not sell Street Sense under the influence of drugs or alcohol.8. I agree to stay a block away from another vendor and respect the space of all vendors. 9. I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge and wear my vest when selling papers.10. I understand that Street Sense strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

We are proud

members of:

North AmericanStreet Newspaper

Association

International Network of

Street Papers

Do you want to continue to support

Street Sense throughoutthe year?

Order a subscription today!

Not only will you receive 26 issues packed with all our latest news,

poetry and photography, you will also help raise awareness about poverty

in the D.C. area.

___ YES! I want to subscribe to Street Sense for just $40 a year for 26 is-sues.___ YES! I want to give half of the cost of a subscription to my favorite vendor: ______________________________

Name:_________________________Address:_______________________City:____________State:__________Zip: ___________________________Phone: ________________________E-mail: ________________________

Please make checks payable to: Street Sense.

Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW,

Washington, DC 20005.

2

August 18 - 31, 2010StreetSense.org 3

____ $60 With a $60 donation, we can provide ____ $100 With a $100 donation, we can provide ____ $300 With a $300 donation, we can buy ____ $500 With a $500 donation, we can make ____ $1,000 With a $1,000 donation, we can have the ____ $1,500 With a $1,500 donation, we can ____ $5,000 With a $5,000 donation, we can Another amount of _________ to support what Street Sense needs most.The amount of _________ to go directly to vendor ____________________.

Name: __________________________________Address: ________________________________City, State, Zip: ___________________________Phone: _________________________________Email: __________________________________

Please make your check payable to “Street Sense” and mail to:

1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

Larissa Thompson received a degree in massage therapy in 1995 and started her own massage therapy business. She spent several years in England where she discovered she had a rare form of cancer. She returned to the U.S. to find herself homeless because she couldn’t pay the rent. A Street Sense vendor since February, Larissa hopes to be on her feet again soon and able to give a hand up to others who are homeless.

Help Street Sense help people like Larissa restore their dignity, get back to work and improve their lives.

Stimulus Funds Target Needs of Homeless School Kids

About $70 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – or the stimulus bill – is set aside to buoy a federal program that serves homeless children, Mc-Clatchy Newspapers reports.

The money will assist cash-strapped school districts in complying with the McK-inney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a fed-eral mandate to help remove some of the obstacles that prevent homeless students from attending school.

North Carolina received about $1.6 mil-lion in stimulus money under the McKin-ney-Vento Act. Nash County which includes the city of Rocky Mount, used most of its $44,248 allotment to hire a case manager to help connect homeless students with services. The problem of homelessness is real in Rocky Mount, a former manufac-turing hub. About 564 homeless students were enrolled in the 2009-’10 school year, up 9% from the previous school year. The figures put the school district among the ninth worst state in the country for the risk of child homelessness.

School officials are already worrying about how to keep the case manager after the stimulus funds are gone. Meanwhile, critics say the stimulus funds aren’t enough to address the problems of homeless stu-dents.

Diane Nilan, the founder and president of the homeless youth advocacy group HEAR US, charged that the federal government is “almost clueless” and has largely ignored America’s estimated 1.5 million homeless children in dealing with the recession.

“When you look at what you’re getting and what the need is, it’s pathetic,” Nilan said.

United Way’s “Stuff the Bus” Helps Homeless Students

with Supplies

In Ventura County, Calif., United Way helped raise school supplies for homeless students and those struggling with getting supplies, the Ventura County Star reports.

Among the items that the “Stuff the Bus” project collected included more than 13,147 new school supplies. About 300 homeless students will receive backpacks filled with pencils, pens, notebook paper, rules, cal-culators and other must-have items for school.

A total of 28 organizations, libraries and corporations helped support the endeavor, according to the Ventura County Star.

“The ‘Stuff the Bus’ campaign was a great opportunity to show that everyone can make a difference to help advance the com-mon good in the area of education which is part of United Way’s three-pillar approach which also includes income and health,”

said Susan Englund, United Way’s Vice President of Community Impact. “United Way considers these three focus areas as building blocks for a good life.”

Number of W.Va. Homeless Students Jumps

The number of children defined as homeless in West Virginia grew from 4,233 in the 2008-’09 school year to about 5,000 for the current academic year, the Charles-ton Gazette reports. Students are consid-ered homeless if they have no permanent housing and also those who live in motels, a house with more than one family or those in foster care.

Students who are considered home-less get free meals from West Virginia schools, free school supplies, and up to five sets of school clothing. They also receive additional tutoring if it’s needed and transportation to school. Mass. Schools Work to Serve Homeless Students

On any given night, more than 12,000 Massachusetts children don’t know where they’ll be sleeping. They have to do home-work at shelters, campgrounds or even mo-tels. The number of homeless students in the state has nearly doubled from what it was five years ago – a statistic that gener-

ally mirrors the trend across the nation, the Patriot Ledger of Quincy reports.

Homeless youth are more likely to score below grade level, repeat grades, and have poor attendance, according to the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis. So Massachusetts schools are upping the ante to help these students achieve academic success through additional services, in-cluding providing emergency housing and college prep. Washington Government

Cutting $51M in State Welfare

Fewer people will qualify for Washing-ton’s state welfare program under cuts announced by Washington Gov. Chris Gre-goire, Businessweek reports.

Among the programs that will be hit hardest is the WorkFirst initiative, the state’s welfare-to-work program because matching funds from the federal government have re-mained flat since the ‘90s. Other cuts will in-clude granting fewer extensions to families who reach the five-year limit and lowering the income eligibility for the child care sub-sidy. Education, employment and training services will also see cuts.

The cuts will begin to take effect in October. Compiled by Dianna Heitz, from previously published reports.


By Jami-Lin Williams, volunteer

In an age in which the printed word is in-creasingly replaced by technology – books by e-books and newspapers by blogs – the public libraries of Washington continue to promote literacy and learning.

More than a century ago, in 1896, Con-gress established the District’s public li-brary system to “furnish books and other printed matter and information service convenient to the homes and offices of all residents of the District.”

A single man, Theodore W. Noyes, was largely responsible for the new system. Noyes, like his father, served as editor-in-chief of the Evening Star and used his editorial pages as a sounding board to promote various initiatives to improve the quality of life for Washingtonians, includ-ing the founding of a public library system. After his tireless work to create the system, Noyes went on to serve as chair of the li-brary’s board of trustees for 50 years.

Throughout its history, the library sys-tem has shown growth to better serve the metro community through the efforts of vocal advocates like Noyes. Early on, it was through the philanthropy of Andrew Carn-egie – a major supporter of public libraries – that the system expanded, with the con-struction of a number of new libraries, in-cluding three that still stand today. Today, a total of 23 buildings stand in the system, yet expansion efforts still continue.

The library system has eight buildings either opening or currently under con-struction, including the new $15 million

Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library that opened Aug. 2 in a ceremony attended by Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper and Mayor Adrian Fenty, a continued advocate of the library system. Two new libraries are expected to open later this year: the Georgetown Neighbor-

hood Library and the Tenley-town Neighborhood Library in October and December, respectively.

The system has grown not only in number of branches, but also in the services it of-fers. The term “literacy” re-fers not only to traditional reading and writing, but also to competency in the use of modern technology and business training. The Adult Literacy Resource Center of-fers basic literacy classes to residents aged 16 and up and provides resources and mate-rials for teachers, tutors and students.

City libraries also offer free first-come, first-served com-

puter skills classes, ranging from basic typ-ing to a tutorial on how to use Monster.com to search for jobs. Such offerings, which cater to the increasingly inter-dependent relationship between technology and lit-erature, are indicative of the system’s work to keep with the times while preserving its commitment to reading and learning.

Thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the public library system will be able to upgrade its Internet connections and add more than 1,000 computers at 30 locations for public access.

Not only is the library improving its technology to serve the changing needs of its patrons, it is also morphing to meet the demands of the changing climate. The new Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library, for example, is expected to be LEED Silver certified for its environmentally responsible features, such as its EPA-funded vegetative roof.

However, the growth that has become a hallmark of the library system is endan-gered by budget cuts. This year, the library was forced to reduce its hours, with all neighborhood libraries closing on Sundays and reduced hours at the Martin Luther

King Jr. Memorial Library on Mondays and Tuesdays due to a $4.8 million budget cut. Because the library system relies on tax revenue and private donations, its funding has been hit doubly hard during the reces-sion, and the immediate future does not look much better.

The fiscal year 2011 budget of $35.7 mil-lion is a decrease of more than $4 million from the 2010 budget, while the system will experience cost increases for the op-erational costs of new libraries, salaries and employee benefits. June 1, the system began staff reductions to eliminate the equivalent of 23.5 positions, laying off 40 employees. No new library construction is planned for 2011.

The library, a familiar symbol of com-munity and lifetime learning, may be fac-ing fiscal plight, but it is making strides to adapt to the needs of D.C. residents, indi-cating that this is an institution that will not be phased out in the 21st century. Af-ter all, the public library offers two virtues that, though timeless, are hard to come by: getting something for free and the joy of losing oneself in a book.

Thanks to a $1.5 million grant from

the American Recov-ery and Reinvestment Act, the public library system will be able to upgrade its Internet connections and add

more than 1,000 com-puters at 30 locations

for public access.

4

Spirit of Library is Alive

The site of the future Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library (1630 7th St. NW) stood for almost two years before the library was built. A trailer was set up to serve as an interim site close by.

Flic

kr/r

ober

tagt

he

Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library opens, filling a two-year-long void


By Jeffery McNeil, vendor

Having been on the street for a pe-riod of time, I have heard all kinds of c o m m e n t s a n d o p i n i o n s a b o u t homelessness. Some people view the homeless as bums who are lazy and don’t want to

work. Others believe that most homeless people are mentally ill or that they are panhandling to get alcohol or drugs.

Then there are the folks with horror sto-ries. They say they were once sympathetic toward the homeless but because an un-

pleasant incident occurred when they were trying to help a homeless person, they now label all homeless people as savages.

The way I see it, the truth is this that most people don’t understand what it is like to live on the streets, so they suffer from a fear of homelessness and misunderstand homeless people.

You must first understand that homeless-ness is not just sleeping on the sidewalk. Homelessness is a life-and-death situation. Homeless people are at risk of freezing, starving and even dying if they are not aware of their environment.

Homeless women are even more vulner-able than men. They not only have to worry about freezing or starving, they can get at-tacked, raped or forced into prostitution. Some of them, too, end up dead.

Another important thing to remember is that people living on the streets abide by a

different set of laws, the chief one being this: use any means necessary to survive.

If you lie to an old lady for a couple of dollars to get a bite to eat, it’s nothing per-sonal - it’s simply survival. If you sleep in an abandoned building you are not inten-tionally trespassing, you are just trying not to freeze to death. If you sneak into McDon-alds for a couple hours of sleep you are do-ing what is human to get some rest.

If you want to help a homeless person but are unfamiliar with the many complex issues surrounding homelessness, it is best to con-tact a local organization that is dedicated to dealing with homelessness rather than to try

to help that person directly all by yourself. Also reading up on the causes of homeless-ness and statistics concerning homelessness will help you understand more about the problems homeless people face.

Whether you are for or against homeless people as a group, you need to realize that the condition of homelessness isn’t going away. In fact, with more people losing their jobs because of the economy, there will be more people ending up on the streets. If you truly want to help your homeless neighbors, spend some time learning about homeless-ness. Let understanding be your guide to how you can become more involved.

If you lie to an old lady for a couple of dollars to get a bite to eat, it’s nothing personal, it’s simply survival.

5

A Primer on Homelessness

By Paul Berry, correspondent

Living on the streets of Norfolk, Va., I try to find beauty when I can. Nature seems to be the best source. I can often see a hawk soaring overhead or a rainbow. I once tried to stop and smell the roses. I was told if I didn’t leave immediately, I would be ar-rested. But, of all the beauties I’ve seen, one stands out.

One morning, I had finished my break-fast at a soup kitchen and was walking back downtown when I saw a spider web in a tree by the sidewalk. It was the most perfect web I had ever seen: Each strand was perfectly spaced, and the sunlight shining on it made it look as if it were spun from gold.

After a few minutes, I decided to find the artist, so I went looking for the spider. People must have thought me crazier than usual as they watched me walk around the tree, staring at its branches. I didn’t find the spider, but what I did find was that the web would only glow if you stood precisely where I stood when I first saw it. If you looked from any other angle, the web was nearly invis-ible. From this, I knew that in a few minutes

the sun would rise too high to make the web glow. With the web being nearly invisible, someone would probably walk into it and it would be gone the next day.

I gave it one long look and continued on my way.

The next morning, I hurried back to check on the web. As I had feared, it was gone. Isn’t that the way it is? You spend your life making something perfect and then something comes along and takes it away. I sulked away, ready for a day not much bet-ter than the spider’s.

I spent most of that day and a good part of the night thinking about the spider and its web. As I was about to fall asleep, I was struck with something I don’t often have: hope.

The next morning, I was up bright and early to get back to that tree. Maybe the spider had survived the destruction of its home. I asked again, as I had asked over and over the previous night, “If the spider is still alive, what will it do?” I pictured it giving a spidery shrug, sighing, and starting to spin again. As I turned the corner and saw the tree, I didn’t see a web, but as I walked past the tree, I saw the most beautiful thing na-ture has shown me to this day: a new web. It wasn’t as perfect as the other: it was smaller, the strands were at irregular spaces, and the angle was wrong. It would never catch the sunlight.

But it had caught a fly.

Paul Berry is a homeless writer living in Norfolk, Va. He is involved in the Catholic

Worker program there.

Spin or Lose

You spend your life making some-thing perfect and then something comes along and takes it away.

ReflecTiOn

August 18 - 31, 2010 StreetSense.org 6

By Adam Sirgany, editorial intern

Harold Barnum was awakened to a wet touch on his scaling arm. His eyelids snapped violently open like the roll-up maps his classroom had when some jackass kid tugged on one of them too hard because he was too big of a moron to figure out how the damn things worked. His head leapt off the shoulder it was dribbling drool on.

By the time Barnum’s body parts had ar-ranged themselves into working positions and he began to search the living room for what had awakened him, the scene had emptied. The tan-brown worm hairs of the antiquated carpet and the wrap-around davenport that Hattie loved so much, that reminded Barnum of cat shit in color and in shape, were devoid of movement or life. Harold stewed on this for a moment, staring absently into the room as he came to.

“God dammit, Porter.” Barnum pivoted his head scanning for the German shep-herd’s blackish back, the color of the ale he was named for. “Where the hell are y-” Por-ter, who had settled himself at the man’s feet to await his wakening, had heard the first call for his name and thrust his forepaws into the space on the TV chair between Barnum’s knees. Porter smiled at the man. “Jesus Christ. Where’dya come from?” The man frowned at Porter. A drop of sputum fell from the lines that sheared away from Barnum’s mouth and onto his unwashed undershirt. Porter continued to smile, his tongue bobbing loosely to one side as he breathed, a little drool of his own preparing to fall.

“Get on, Porter.” Barnum’s frown dug into his face until it turned into that of a ventrilo-quist’s doll. Porter smiled. “Come on now. Sit. Sit.” Porter sat. His mouth closed. His ears perked up. The skin around his eyes stretched inward and upward, as if trying to form eyebrows to animate his disappoint-ment.

The skin around Barnum’s eyebrows skewed up and in and down, until what was left of them turned from perturbed to P.O.ed Porter, confused, pulled his head back into the fan of his neck and chest fur. Barnum sighed throatily. He closed his eyes, his head dropping onto his damp shoulder as he fell back asleep.

Porter cocked his head to square it with the man’s. The dog sat stilted for a moment, staring into Harold Barnum’s face before ly-ing down and resting his head on his paws. The dog could only manage an attempt at rest.

Returning to a seated position, Porter be-gan pumping his neck like a desperate lung and whimpering the sounds of ungreased pulleys. Barnum remained asleep, mouth ajar and unmoved. Porter came to all fours

and walked his face to the side of Bar-num’s left knee, the one the man fa-vored. Porter rubbed his nose at the rumples in the man’s dungarees. They moved up his thighs in aimless waves. Porter whimpered faster. Barnum breathed slowly, steadily.

Anxious, Porter rubbed his head in broader and broader strokes against Barnum’s leg. His whimper worked up his throat and escaped in a cry. His jaw dropping open and cracking shut as if to lap up much needed water from the air surrounding Barnum’s hip. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Owoo. Barnum’s eyes shot open.

His head spun around the room following some imaginary fly. “What? What is it?” Ow. Ow. Ow. Barnum looked at the dog. The dog barked on. The man couldn’t discern a need for this much commotion. The damn dog was yelping as if Earhart had flown home. The house wasn’t on fire for Christ sake. “Shut up, Porter. Shut up.”

The dog didn’t shut up, though. Porter’s head rolled up the joint of his neck so far Barnum thought the dog would dislocate his skull. Ow. Ow. Oww. He kept on. Oww. And on. Oww. Oww. Until Barnum had his fill. Oww. Had it right up his arm and across Porter’s yapping snout.

The force of the blow sent Porter yelping and stumbling away from Barnum’s hand. As the dog slumped into the next room, the man immediately began to regret hitting him. His hand stung from the bone out. And Porter probably hadn’t deserved it. The damn thing didn’t know when to quit though. The law had to be laid down some-where or the fucking mutt would walk all over you.

Besides he’d only hit the dog once. Porter would get over it. Harold had only hit Hattie once too and she had. It was once when he was drunk and she made some snide com-ment about his strut. The slap was sloppy and hard.

She’d forgiven him in a couple of days. He’d promised he wouldn’t do it again. And, he hadn’t - except for the time when they were lying in bed and he was resting satisfied and she’d asked if he’d wasted any worthwhile energy on his whore. He’d slapped her then too – for Tammy, who was a lady, and no one’s whore.

That time Hattie’d slept on that shitty yel-low couch for more than a week. Until he’d started coming home early in penance. Slowly she forgave him or stored her bitter to burn a colder day.

She didn’t light it up again until they started fighting about children, or the lack thereof. She’d maintained that it was his

fault. She’d been to the doctor and he said she was fine. He probably did. The guy probably checked her twice just for the look, too.

When Harold Barnum was in Korea he’d knocked up some Moose who tried to get him to take her back to the States. She prob-ably just wanted out of that hell hole. But he was still fine. He knew that for certain. Unless Hattie suggested he might’ve worn shorts too tight, or not eaten enough red meat, or wasted his milk on Tammy. Then, sometimes, he wondered.

After a while, the bickering got tiring. There was one more bruise than bruises were worth. Hattie moved to the couch on a more permanent basis. From time to time she’d stay in the guest room. There was no bed there. They never had overnight guests and thought money would be better spent on a crib.

It was a three-pack-a-day period, for both of them. Harold had to stop off at the store before school and after just to keep in stock. That was alright. It did him good to shoot the shit with the stock boys. He hadn’t seen much of them since they’d gone on to high school. And he liked to know who played on the football team and how many strike-outs Dickerson or Michaels had thrown in last night’s ballgame.

Besides, heaps of people came in and out of the store and now and again something interesting would happen. Some broad

would come in, dressed bright as a bunting and fat as a titmouse, pa-

rading around and make for a couple minutes of entertainment. A

few times somebody broke a carton of milk all over the floor. And once there was a boy, a little younger than the ones that Barnum taught history to, outside carrying around rusty paint buckets in his hands, each draped with the curious paws of beagle-mutt puppies.

“What goes, kid?” Harold asked the boy. “My mom said I could only keep one.”

The boy lifted a bucket sadly and shrugged his shoulders in feigned indifference.

“What’dya askin’ for one?”“Not askin’. Just givin. I can’t keep ‘em and

I don’t have time to go into business sellin’ pets.”

Harold picked one of the dogs up by the skin of its neck and caught its bottom with the palm of his other hand. He liked it. It was a little underfed but a good looking dog. Hattie’d like it too.

“You take a dollar for it?” “Told you I was givin’ ‘em away.” “I’ll give you a dollar for one.” “I don’t need your charity.” The boy was

as bewildered as bothered. “Just take the dog.”

“It isn’t charity. I’m buyin’ your dog.” Bar-num pulled the dog to him with one hand and took a dollar out of his pocket with the other. He stuffed the money in the boy’s breast pocket.

To Be Continued...

An Introduction to Harold Barnum

Flic

kr/r

ober

tagt

he


Regardless of the form, America is

reading

By Tim Young, volunteer

When you stop to think about it, Street Sense is one of the only remain-ing physical newspapers in town that people still buy. Our sales people represent the face of pub-lications past; the news-paper vendors who died out with the rise of those nifty unmanned boxes on the street corners. Then those boxes died out too, once the news services started giving away what they once sold, on the Internet.

So aside from what you are currently holding, many of you probably do not read news from a physical paper unless it’s forced into your hands when walking onto the Metro by the free competitors, The Washington Post’s Express, or The Washington Examiner.

Street Sense is unique in its success-not only in its mes-

sage and service, but also in its acceptance in the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for many other print publications, booksellers and news vendors, not only in this city, but in the country as well.

The e-book has taken the nation by storm, replacing the wild inconvenience of having to actually walk into a store and browse books, or the more convenient inconvenience of having to go to a website to browse books. You can order your favorite books now from your e-book with almost no effort at all.

Similar to the flip cell phone, the e-book itself was a con-cept stolen from Star Trek: The Next Generation. On the late‘80s through early ‘90s television show, crew members would read books from a Personal Access Display Device (PADD for short). And similar to the cell phone, since breaking onto the scene just a few years ago, this “space aged” concept has begun to eliminate the need for land-lined or paper-based competitors.

The New York Times, which I read online for free the other day, reported that the e-book is quickly becoming a major contributor to the downfall of bookseller Barnes & Noble. The company, which 20 years ago was the premier seller of all things literary, was last to catch on to the e-book trend; Amazon, Sony and now Apple lead the way. Barnes &

Nobles response may very well be too little too late. E-books, which pride themselves on mimicking the

old school paper books in text and color of display, find themselves falling behind the curve of technology with the sudden upswing in sales of magazines and comic books, which have been re-popularized by the iPad. So now even the e-book needs to evolve with ever-increasing rapidity in order to stay competitive. Sports Illustrated became one of the first hybrid multimedia publications when it released an electronic ‘test version’ of its “Man of the Year” issue last year that involved video and highlights alongside its articles. Current e-books cannot handle that presentation.

What does all of this mean for the future of print? Only time will tell, but I have a feeling that if it isn’t extraordi-narily flashy and convenient, it won’t make a lot of money. I guess we should be happy though, because regardless the form, America is reading.

7

Age Sex IncomeResidenceUnder 21

4%Over 64 5%

4%Over 64 5%

21-3061%

31-4529%

46-6526%

Other2%2%

Female61%

Male37% DC - NW

43%

MD23%

VA19%

DC - NE7%

DC - SW 4%

$40,000 to $79,999

33%

$80,000 to$119,999

18%

$200,000 or more8%

$120,000 to$199,999

18%

Under$20,000

11%

$20,000 to$39,999

11%

How you interact with the paper:95%

55.5% 59.2% 52.1% 44.1%

Your ideas for improving and growing the paper (following are suggestions that we heard from many of you):

35.5% 45.1%

46.9% 96.4%

2010 Reader Survey – Here’s what we heard, and here’s what we’re doing!

Who you are:

The Evolution of the Publication IN MY OPINION

August 18 - 31, 2010 StreetSense.org Summer Reading8

Read in the Street

A few favorites from the Street Sense team to add to your summer

Managing Editor Lisa Gillespie

A Russian JournalJohn Steinbeck

Executive Director Abby Strunk

Extremley Loud & Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer

Vendor/Board Member

Martin WalkerThe Taking

Dean Koontz

Editorial Intern Cathy Bueker

60 StoriesDonald Barthelme

VolunteerJami-Lin Williams

TheftPeter Carey

VendorSusan Wilhusen

The AlchemistPaulo Coelho

August 18 - 31, 2010StreetSense.org Summer Reading 9

Read in the Street

A few favorites from the Street Sense team to add to your summer

Editorial InternPriya AnandEat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

Development and Program

Manager Amy VokesThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde

Editor-in-Chief Mary Otto

Remembrance of Things Past

Marcel Proust

Office Volunteer Maggie Smith

Peter Pan J.M. Barrie

Vendor Phillip Howard

Holy Bible


A Reconciling Congregation Invites you to join us in worship on Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00 AM Homeless Outreach Hospitality: Fridays 9:00 AM Foundry United Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 332-4010 www.foundryumc.org

FOUNDRY

Street SudokuBy David Rubin, vendor

August 18 - 31, 2010StreetSense.org 11

Man Chooses to Become Homeless to Challenge His Faith

A new issue comes out every two weeks, but you can stay connected to Street Sense every day:

...and, as always, find us online at www.streetsense.org.

Follow us www.facebook.com/streetsense acebook :on

streetsensedcwitter :andwww.youtube.com/streetsensedc:

By Mary Yost, editorial intern

Mike Yankoski became a homeless man under particularly uncommon circum-stances – he chose to be one. In his book Under the Overpass, Yankoski uses an easy-to-read narrative describing his ex-periences with homelessness to challenge readers to think philosophically about re-ligion, ethical dilemmas and how to lead a Christian life.

Yankoski’s idea to become a “home-less” individual came to him while he sat in church and listened to a sermon on the Good Samaritan parable. The night before, he had passed two homeless men and cracked a joke about them. “If I don’t have to look at these two human beings, then I don’t have to respond,” he said.

Under the Overpass is Yankoski’s journal of his journey of faith on the streets of the United States following this potentially controversial decision. The six cities he visited – Denver; Washington, D.C.; Port-land.; San Francisco; Phoenix; and San Di-ego – are described in separate sections of the book. Each city is given sufficient coverage to let readers grasp a small sense of what it feels like to be a homeless indi-vidual in that city.

The story of Yankoski and his friend and traveling companion Sam Purvis has a local touch, as the pair spent 28 days in Wash-ington, D.C. “We hung mostly around the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, just eight blocks east of the White House,” he wrote.

“It’s an area where two worlds collide. Walking from one side of the street to the other was like walking across the burn line

of a forest fire. In one block t h e s c e n e r y morphed from new high-rise off ice build-ings and luxu-rious cars to old buildings and dirty streets. Two worlds, side by side, each pretending the other didn’t exist.” The familiarity of this image engages the read-er’s interest throughout the section.

Yankoski makes it clear at the beginning of his book that he presents his ideas from an evangelical, Protestant Christian per-spective. He encourages readers to discern how the American church responds to the needs of the individuals who are on their cities’ streets, no matter what the readers’ religious beliefs may be.

The book takes on controversial topics, such as anger and addictions, and Yanko-ski’s view is that homeless individuals should not be condemned for these be-haviors. Throughout the book, Yankoski is conversational and seems to welcome reader’s feedback on this idea.

Some readers may challenge Yankoski’s actions or be offended by his decision to become homeless and “steal” resources meant for truly homeless individuals. Yankoski recognized that his homeless situation is fundamentally different from literally homeless individuals. “Sam and I became homeless,” he said. “We chose to step into this and then we chose to step out of it.

And the fact that we knew that it was go-ing to end someday meant that our experi-

ence was fundamentally different from the lives of other homeless.” Despite his apolo-gies, these disquieting sentiments add a somber tone to his book.

At the conclusion of his book, Yankoski encourages readers to become involved in addressing homelessness in a manner that appeals to them. He believes that acknowl-edging homeless individuals is the best gift one can give. However, he also provides a multitude of other methods to encour-age different personalities to become in-volved.

Yankoski’s book is an appropriate length because it keeps readers engaged by jump-ing from city to city. The same themes are presented in the description of his experi-ences in each city.

However, his anecdotes and the intro-duction to colorful characters provide readers with the opportunity to analyze each experience with different perspec-tives. This is a must-read book for some-one who wants to question how religious beliefs affect the way we treat the most vul-nerable members of our community.

In the end, readers are left pondering many questions: What do I think of Yanko-ski’s actions? Were they ethical? Do I think he is portraying an accurate picture of homelessness? How can I be involved in

finding out the answers to his questions?

Yankoski and his wife live in Vancouver, British Columbia, and are both studying at Regent College for their Masters of Christian Studies degrees. He serves on the board of directors for World Vision US and the board of advisors for Kilns College. For more in-formation on Yankoski and his book, visit www.undertheoverpass.com.

“Under the Overpass” (2005). Mult-nomah Books. 30 April 2005. ISBN:

1590524020.

He makes it clear that he pres-ents his ideas from an evangelical, protestant Christian persepctive.


By Ivory Wilson, vendor

Joyce rushed and picked up Feathers, saying, “my poor baby. That’s impossible, Becky. I don’t have any alco-hol here.” But Joyce smelled Feathers’ breath and said, “It’s alcohol.”

Becky said, “I told you, Feathers needs AA!” They laughed.

Then Becky took out her cell phone and made a call to Tom, a top agent at the FBI.

Tom answered and said, “hello.”Becky replied, “It’s Becky.”“Oh, hi, Becky,” said Tom. “How are things at the Attorney

General’s office?” “Things are good,” Becky replied. Then she asked, “Brooks,

have you been reading the Post lately?” “Do you mean about Kathy Brooks’ disappearance?” Tom

responded. “Why, yes. I understand that Kathy is one of your lawyers.”

“I’m worried about her,” Becky told Tom. “It’s not like Kathy to just disappear.”

“Ok, Becky,” said Tom. “Give me 24 hours.”Becky said, “Thank you, Tom.” Tom hung up and Becky

hung up.While they were talking, Joyce was thinking about where

her career was heading and that she needed a big story. She had covered stories throughout the city but nothing with a high profile that would put her elbow-to-elbow with her peers.

Feathers was starting to feel better, moving around in Joyce’s arms. She put him back on the bed and said to Becky, “I think I should take Feathers to the vet.”

Becky said, “girl, all that alcoholic needs is some fresh air. It works for me.”

Joyce laughed and said, “okay. Let’s go downstairs to Star-bucks for coffee and to sit on the patio and later we’ll come back up and I’ll clean Feathers’ cage. I’ve been putting off cleaning it for a week. I’ll shower and get ready for the Caps game tonight.”

They were sitting on the Starbucks patio having coffee and chattering in the sunshine while looking at people and watching them have fun. Judge Brooks came out of Fennell Place to walk to the Chop House for dinner and saw Feathers sitting on Joyce’s shoulder. Judge Brooks came rushing across the street and slowed down when he saw Becky the DA.

Judge Brooks said “hello” to Becky. Becky smiled and replied by saying, “hello, Judge Brooks.

This is Joyce, a Channel 4 news reporter. She’s a friend of mine.”

Judge Brooks spoke to Joyce and asked the name of her parrot.

“Feathers,” Joyce told him.Judge Brooks reached out to Feathers and Feathers tried to

peck his hand. Judge Brooks pulled his hand back fast. Feathers looked him in the eyes and said out loud, “I’ll kill

you first, I’ll kill you.” Judge Brooks blew up inside like a volcano. “Get that bird away from here!” he shouted. Joyce quickly defended her bird. “Don’t do that,” she told the judge. “You’re scaring Feath-

ers.”

“Yes,” added Becky. “You’re being very rude, Judge Brooks.”

Now everyone sitting on the patio was listening. Judge Brooks gave Feathers an evil look and started to walk away, looking back over his shoulder at Feathers. He almost got hit by a car because he was hurrying. He walked into the Chop House.

Joy c e t h o u g h t something was w r o n g w i t h Feathers be-c a u s e h e never acted l i k e t h a t with people and he only repeated t h i n g s h e had seen or heard before. Becky was thinking well now, Judge, you’re ready to crack. She grinned.

Getting back upstairs in the condo, Joyce said, “Becky, you know where everything is. Make yourself at home.”

Joyce went to her bedroom, taking Feathers with her. “I’ll be a few min-utes,” she called out to Becky, “then I’ll clean Feathers’ cage.”

Becky sat down on the couch and reached for the TV remote while sipping her coffee. She saw one of Joyce’s practice tapes on the table be-side her camera. Becky picked it up and said out loud, “Girl, you better watch yourself. I’ll start doing this too.”

Becky put the tape in and let it play, looking on smiling. Then the tape went blank and she reached to turn it off. But then she thought she saw Feathers and turned it back on to let it play. Becky’s eyes got large and she shouted, “Joyce! Joyce! Girl, have you seen this tape?”

They both sat looking at the tape. Joyce said, “I left for work and I forgot to turn it off. When I came home the batteries were dead. I just took the tape out and left it on the table.”

They both got up and went to Feathers’ cage. Feathers was standing there looking up at them. Joyce opened the cage and looked inside; moving a blanket she saw a gold tennis bracelet filled with diamonds. There was more jewelry too, platinum rings, and gold chains. Becky recognized Kathy Brooks’ gold ink pen that had dried blood on it. Becky said, “Joyce, don’t touch them! Get me a plastic bag.”

Joyce knew this was her breaking story, the one that would put her on top.

Becky got on her cell phone and called Judge Paul Williams and said she needed a search warrant for Judge Brooks.

Judge Paul Williams said, “Becky, I’m at the 18th hole play-ing golf. Can’t it wait?”

Becky said, “No! He may catch on and run.” Judge Williams said, “Ok, Becky. You better know what

you’re doing.” Becky thanked the judge and hung up and then she called

Tom.

“Tom, I have evidence on tape and a bloody ink pen as proof that Judge Brooks has killed Kathy.”

Tom asked if she had them now. Becky said, ”yes.”Tom said, “I’m on my way.” Becky asked, “Tom, can you meet me in an hour in front

of the Chop House?” Tom said he’d be there. Becky put the ink pen in the bag for

DNA testing. Joyce was on her phone, arranging for her news crew to meet her in front of the Chop

House. Then Becky looked at Feathers, smiled and said,

“Feathers, you’re go-

ing down for this.” The women looked at each other laughing. Then they were

on their way.One hour later Judge Brooks came out of the Chop House,

picking his teeth with a toothpick, when he saw the news team. The Judge laughed and said, “You even got the FBI here over a bird?”

Becky said, “Judge Brooks, you’re under arrest for the mur-der of your wife, Kathy Brooks.” Tom handcuffed him and took him away.

Kathy Brooks’ body was never found. Feathers’ tape and the DNA from the ink pen were all they needed to convict the judge. Monday morning, Joyce was leaving for work and said “bye” to Feathers. Feathers repeated this as he was looking at the sliding door. Joyce smiled and walked over to lock it. When she was walking out the door, Feathers hopped out of his cage, hopped down the hall to Joyce’s bedroom and turned on the radio. Joyce heard a voice coming from her bedroom. It was the radio saying, “What’s the deal, Pickles? Is everything kosher?”

Joyce screamed, “Feathers!” He turned off the radio.

THE END

The Parrot Who Knew Too Much: The Final Chapter Flickr/G

eoFFPenalun

a


By Cathy Bueker, editorial intern

At the Outer Banks, on a muddy cliff, where grasses grow tall and sharp and thin to be whipped by the wind, there is a blue bungalow rental house. Three friends in it are sitting around and drinking. Out the kitchen window, they watch the sun set on the last of their four nights there.

“This one has some nice purples going on,” says Jeanie, sitting closest to the pic-ture window.

“I’ve never seen a bad sunset,” says Rick. “Or a bad sunrise.” He leans back in his chair and puts his feet up on the table.

“It’s physically impossible,” adds Lau-ra.

Jeanie gets up to go the fridge, avoid-ing the fake Tiffany light over her head, and takes out another Coors. “Good! The coldness window turned blue – that says it’s cold, so I can be sure.” The other two giggle.

She leans over the table and says, “Let me refill those,” picking up their sweat-ing glasses to go refill with gin and tonics. This move, the arching, the gripping, the swooping away, comes naturally from her muscle memory after waitressing for more than five years.

Lamplight wraps them in a circle apart from the dusk outside. They will disband tomorrow, in just half a day: Rick to his big-city conservatory, Laura to her New England college, Jeanie to Minneapolis. This ritual of cohesion has been observed twice a year for the last three years, ever since high school graduation.

There’s the buzz of the drink and the buzz of expectations to pack up and melt away. But in this day, with its light-speed innovations, no true friends have to bear total absence. They walk out onto the house’s back porch.

Yesterday morning, Laura and Rick walked into town to get some food, and when they did, Jeanie laid face down at the house path’s end. It wound slightly up for a hundred feet above her. From here at eye level the grasses seemed to swell and shrink the house into a green haze. “So this is what life is like in the ocean’s sea-weeds,” she thought. “I’m a seahorse and that anemone is my friend.”

And if your friend is a human, you can kiss the person with much less sting. Each of the three had done it to one another. Among their circle of friends, they were the trio closest to each other, the brightest con-stellation. When Laura showed up to them in Richmond, transplanted from Colorado, hadn’t Jeanie and Rick welcomed her with open arms? They couldn’t have been sepa-rated, for every passing moment together

made the sacred glue stronger. All their jokes made an infinite pattern. They’d had ineffably perfect experiences. Nowadays, though, Jeanie has to initiate phone calls that usually get missed and not returned.

Drinks taste better on the house porch, they agree. Laura turns its light on, and Jeanie wants it off but she keeps quiet.

“Do you remember,” Rick asks, “when Steve put that rat in that girl’s bag because she’d laughed at him?”

Laura gives a loud and short laugh. “Yes! Oh my god! That was so great. And she had rotted guts all over her books. So messed up. Freaky-weird. Where is he? Is someone keeping an eye on him?”

Jeanie slumps a little. They didn’t have to bring up the schizophrenic ex. They’d stood by after months and months when Steve played cruel pranks on classmates, devised elaborate mind games to play with Jeanie and other girls, like claiming he had fatal pancreatic cancer. And he was still sewn into her life, in places.

“He said he’ll keep staying in New Mexi-co some more, I guess,” Jeanie says.

“I have to admit,” Laura says, leaning forward over the railing, “I never really liked him.” Rick murmurs his agreement. “What were you thinking? Really? He should come with a warning label. It’s like he was raised by aliens or something.”

“Oh, thanks for the news, thanks, you guys!” Jeanie bristles. “Thanks for warn-ing me about him right away. So you’re too sharp to ever get involved with a creep? Cool, thanks, good to know. Must be nice hanging around with perfect people in perfect seminars.” She finishes off her fifth

beer.Rick tries to soothe her. “No, it’s not like

that --” but Laura talks over him.“No, don’t worry, you have plenty of

great ideas,” she snaps. “All your plans are really great.”

“Fine. Whatever. Anyway I barely talk to him anymore.” Jeanie tries to remind herself that her move to Minneapolis was great, that being hostess at The Cheese-cake Factory at the Mall of America is exactly what she needs, that the way the snow muffles life is perfect. It didn’t mean she was an illiterate idiot. She would work her way up to something better, she could make her own money, even if her friends didn’t need to.

They could once share secrets, the three of them. The other two were there when Rick’s uncle passed away, and they were aware of his excellent inheritance. Their quirks were familiar, like how Laura wore the same underwear for a week even after taking showers, or how Rick was afraid of pickles. And the other two were there when Jeanie’s parents split up and she and her mom had to get shelter at friends’ houses for a month, and she had to look after her mother’s alcoholic spells.

As the world starts reeling, they get into the surf. All their sunburns sting. Rick brings his vodka straight down and mixes the saltwater into it. Laura stumbles over the incoming waves. Jeanie splashes her in fun, but she won’t play, not like all the other great water fights they’d had. What about the pool party they’d put on once?

“Now, this ethics thing,” Rick an-nounces, “so we read this – but I just play

trumpet – but this textbook we have. Got a summer paper about some hypothetical situation.”

“Oh! We had to do Plato in a class,” Laura says, “he’s Plah-to? Play-to? That guy? Yeah, so -–”

Jeanie moves too far away to hear them chatter about their sameness. Why should she join in? She sits down; the waves rush over her at shoulder height, and she chokes a little on seawater. The stars are so bright here. Everything is bright. The sun shines unbearably bright. The water flashes bright, almost gaudy, under the moon. Getting a splinter hurts brighter here. And always the sharp heat that sweated you af-ter the fact, that you’d find sticking to your scalp even indoors.

But somehow the water was too cold and they would have to go inside. And there would be a screaming fit over the starfish Laura, in all her affectation, had brought inside only for it to start decomposing and stinking, and some choice words would come out, and some snarls, and Rick would give her a look Jeanie knew only too well, and everyone would go to bed, and wake up to find things still ripped. So life must be pruned, then redrafted.

But Jeanie couldn’t know all this, mi-nutiae that sloughed off her skin. And she could not see farther than the other two, so no one could see the accidental man-slaughter Rick would commit in nine years, or Laura’s rejection of her family in a month so she could fail at being a playwright. I am as far from you as the east is from the west, Jeanie thought without realizing it.

Good to admit it sooner.

Flic

kr/D

Shar

onPr

uitt

13

Friends in the Seaweeds


A meager snack and a paltry one atThat, time. Limp awe, this zoneIs grathered as though alone.-Poem by Franklin Sterling

By Mandy Toomey, volunteer

Franklin Sterling began selling Street Sense two years ago, after some other ven-dors encouraged him to look into the pro-gram. Sterling has had three sets of poems published and now is revising those works. He said the publication of these poems in 2008 was one of his proudest moments. People he meets on the street continue to ask him if he will have more poems pub-lished in forthcoming issues.

One of Sterling’s favorite aspects of Street Sense is the writers’ group, which is a collec-tion of vendors who meet weekly to learn about poetry techniques and to workshop their own creative writing. “I love to see dedicated vendors creating their own sto-ries and poems,” Sterling said.

In terms of his own writing, Sterling thinks his poetry offers readers a break from more traditional forms. “I want to give people access to the types of poems they might not have access to in the library or bookstore. My poetry offers readers a chance to read poetry that doesn’t adhere to traditional English lexicon.”

In his writings, Sterling likes to mix medi-eval and modern English poetry. He gener-ally avoids free verse and includes a variety of poetry devices, such as alliteration and internal rhymes. Inspiration for his poems comes from different aspects of life around him, including literature, politics and cul-ture. “Mankind is my inspiration,” he said.

For Sterling, poetry is a source of valida-tion. “It’s a way to say my life is meaningful, and to be recognized,” he said. “It’s a way to show myself as someone of value.”

Looking ahead, Sterling hopes to live in his own place and to continue working on his poetry. In the meantime, he is seeking work and grateful to Street Sense patrons for their support.

“These are harsh times. Customers re-ally help us stay together because they are encouraging and help us to see that we are all human.”

By Patty Smith, vendorWhen I started going to my local li-

brary, the Watha T. Daniel Interim Li-brary, just next door to where I live, I went to do my classroom lessons on their computer. I have since found so many other useful reasons to visit. The staff and clientele are very friendly. We have become a small gathering place. I sometimes watch DVDs on the computer and also go to the reference section. The members of the staff have been invalu-able. My favorite is Eric – he actually lets me look on his computer and shows me how to research different categories of what I might need.

The Watha T. Daniel Interim Library has been a good place for people with babies. The little ones enjoy playtime and sing-ing songs. And if that isn’t precious, I don’t

know what is. As this library closes and makes room

for our new Watha T. Daniel Library just down the block, I hope we can find that same kind of enjoyment.

VENDOR PROFILEFranklin Sterling

Happy Birthday

July Birthday Vendors!

man·da·musman-dey-muh s a writ from a superior court to an in-

ferior court or to an officer, corporation, etc., commanding that a specified thing be done.

–verb (used with object) to intimidate or serve with such writ.

Origin: mandmus-we command

By David Rubin, vendor

Street Sense newspaper is about the homeless people in Washington, D.C.

I have found it opens doors in associat-ing with the community when all else has failed.

Once I started interacting with the com-munity in my volunteer services at the hospital, I thought my homelessness was resolved.

But that was not to be my last experi-ence of homelessness. I was to find my-self homeless again, even after Street Sense

newspaper helped me resolve my biggest ob-s t a c l e o f fitting into society nor-mally.

T h e problem for me was that other issues that caused homeless-ness arose. T h e s e f a c -tors were beyond the scope of case man-ager and legal judgments made in the law courts.

A need for well-defined mandamus is the probable solution in order to stay fo-cused and end homelessness through em-ployment.

What Makes Watha T. Daniel Interim Library So Good

Finding A Way Through Chronic Homelessness

Jake Ashford

Gwynette Smith

James DavisRichardo Dickerson

Melania Scott

David Rubin

Edna Williams

Robert McCray

Michael Reardon

Hope Lassiter

August 18 - 31, 2010StreetSense.org The DistrictSHELTERCalvary Women’s Services110 Maryland Ave, NE (202) 289-0596 (office)(202) 289-2111 (shelter)www.calvaryservices.org

Central Union Mission (Men)1350 R Street, NW(202) 745–7118www.missiondc.org

CCNV (Men and Women)425 2nd Street, NW(202) 393–1909users.erols.com/ccnv/

Community of Hope (Family)1413 Girard Street, NW(202) 232–7356www.communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington (Youth)2001 Mississippi Ave SE(202) 610–9600www.covenanthousedc.orgHousing, education, job prep

John Young Center (Women)119 D Street, NW(202) 639–8469www,catholiccharitiesdc.org

My Sister’s PlacePO Box 29596Washington, DC 20017office (202) 529-526124-hour hotline (202)-529-5991shelter and other services for domestic violence victims

N Street Village (Women)1333 N Street, NW(202) 939–2060www.nstreetvillage.org

801 East, St. Elizabeths Hospital (Men)2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561–4014

New York Ave Shelter (Men 18+)1355–57 New York Avenue, NE(202) 832–2359

Open Door Shelter (Women)425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW(202) 639–8093

FOODCharlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/char-liesplace

Church of the Pilgrims (Sundays only)2201 P Street, NW(202) 387–6612www.churchofthepilgrims.org

Thrive DC (breakfast Mon-Fri,

9:30-11, all welcome/dinner for women and children, Mon-Fri, 3-6 pm)St. Stephens Parish Church1525 Newton St, NW(202) 737–9311www.thrivedc.org

Food and Friends219 Riggs Road, NE(202) 269–2277www.foodandfriends.org

Miriam’s Kitchen2401 Virginia Avenue, NW(202) 452–8089www.miriamskitchen.org

The Welcome TableChurch of the Epiphany1317 G Street, NW(202) 347–2635http://www.epiphanydc.org/ministry/welcometbl.htm MEDICAL RESOURCESChrist House 1717 Columbia Road, NW(202) 328–1100www.christhouse.org

Unity Health Care, Inc.3020 14th Street, NW(202) 745–4300www.unityhealthcare.org

Whitman–Walker Clinic1407 S Street, NW(202) 797–3500; www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERSBread for the City1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 AND1640 Good Hope Road, SE(202) 561–8587www.breadforthecity.orgfood pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic

Community Council for the Homelessat Friendship Place4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW(202) 364–1419; www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job coun-seling

Bethany Women’s Center1333 N Street, NW(202) 939–2060http://www.nstreetvillage.orgmeals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treat-ment

Father McKenna Center19 Eye Street, NW(202) 842–1112

Green Door(202) 464–92001221 Taylor Street NWwww.greendoor.org

housing, job training, supportive mental health services

Friendship House619 D Street, SE(202) 675–9050www.friendshiphouse.net counseling, mentoring, educa-tion, youth services, clothing

Georgetown Ministry Center1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW(202) 338–8301www.georgetownministrycenter.orglaundry, counseling, psych care

Martha’s Table2114 14th Street, NW(202) 328–6608www.marthastable.orgdinner, education, recreation, clothing, child/family services

Rachel’s Women’s Center1222 11th Street, NW(202) 682–1005http://www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php hygiene, laundry, lunch, phone and mail, clothing, social events

Sasha Bruce Youthwork741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340www.sashabruce.org counseling, housing, family ser-vices

So Others Might Eat (SOME)71 “O” Street, NW(202) 797–8806; www.some.orglunch, medical and dental, job and housing counseling

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESAcademy of Hope GED Center601 Edgewood St NE 202-269-6623www.aohdc.org

Bright Beginnings Inc.128 M Street NW, Suite 150(202) 842–9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.orgChild care, family services

Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW(202) 772–4300www.ccs–dc.orgumbrella for a variety of services

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW(202) 347–8870; www.dccfh.orghousing, substance abuse treat-ment, employment assistance

DC Food Finder Interactive online map of free and low cost resources.www.dcfoodfinder.org

Community Family Life Services305 E Street, NW

(202) 347–0511www.cflsdc.orghousing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet

Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW(202) 332–4010www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs

Gospel Rescue Ministriesdrug, alcohol program (Men)810 5th Street, NW(202) 842–1731; www.grm.org

Hermano Pedro Day Center3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW(202) 332–2874http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/ser-vices/meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing

JHP, Inc.1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE(202) 544–9126www.jobshavepriority.orgtraining and employment

Jubilee Jobs1640 Columbia Road, NW(202) 667–8970www.jubileejobs.orgjob preparation and placement

National Coalition for the Homeless2201 P Street, NW(202) 462–4822www.nationalhomeless.orgactivists, speakers bureau

National Student Partnerships (NSP)128 M Street NW, Suite 320(202) 289–[email protected] resource and referral agency

Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND1516 Hamilton Street, NW(202)889–7702www.samaritanministry.orgHIV support, employment, drug/alcohol addiction, healthcare

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church1514 15th Street, NW(202) 667–4394http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling

St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW(202) 347–3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene

Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE(202) 371–1937www.travelersaid.org/ta/dc.htmlemergency travel assistance

Washington Legal Clinic for the

Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328–5500www.legalclinic.org

WVSA Literacy for Life1100 16th Street, NW(202) 296-9100www.wvsarts.orgGED preparation and work force education

MARYLANDSHELTERInterfaith Works114 W. Montgomery Avenue Rockville(301) 762–8682www.iworksmc.org

The Samaritan Group Inc.P.O. Box 934, Chestertown(443) 480–3564

Warm Night Shelter311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant(301) 499–2319www.cmpgc.org

FOODBethesda Cares7728 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda(301) 907–9244www.bethesdacares.com

Community Place Café311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant(301) 499–2319; www.cmpgc.org

Manna Food Center614–618 Lofstrand Lane,Rockville(301) 424–1130www.mannafood.org

MEDICAL RESOURCESCommunity Clinic, Inc.8210 Colonial Lane Silver Spring(301) 585–1250www.cciweb.org

Mobile Medical Care, Inc.9309 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda(301) 493–2400www.mobilemedicalcare.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESCatholic Charities, Maryland12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring(301) 942–1790www.catholiccharitiesdc.orgshelter, substance abuse treat-ment, variety of other services

Mission of Love6180 Old Central Avenue,Capitol Heights(301)333–4440

www.molinc.orglife skills classes, clothing, house-wares

Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless600–B East Gude Drive,Rockville(301) 217–0314; www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive servicesVIRGINIASHELTERAlexandria Community Shelter2355 B-Mill Road, Alexandria(703) 838–4239

Carpenter’s Shelter930 N. Henry Street, Alexandria(703) 548–7500www.carpentersshelter.org

The Arlington–Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless3103 9th Road, North, Arlington(703) 525–7177www.aachhomeless.org

FOODALIVE!, Inc.2723 King Street, Alexandria(703) 836–2723www.alive–inc.org

Our Daily Bread10777 Main Street #320,Fairfax(703) 273–8829www.our–daily–bread.org

MEDICAL RESOURCESArlington Free Clinic2921 11th Street South Arlington(703) 979–1400www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESAbundant Life Christian Out-reach,5154 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria(703) 823–4100www.anchor–of–hope.netfood, clothing, youth develop-ment, and medicines

David’s Place Day Shelter930 North Henry Street, Alexandria(703) 548–7500www.carpentersshelter.orglaundry, shower, workshops, hy-pothermia shelter

Shelter Hotline: 1–800–

535–7252

15

Jake Ashford

Michael Reardon

StreetSense_forWeb_8.17.10

Documents

Transcript of StreetSense_forWeb_8.17.10