Street Spirit Volume 20, No. 6 June 2014 Donation: $1.00 A publication of the American Friends Service Committee JUSTICE NEWS & HOMELESS BLUES IN THE B AY A REA On Our Way Home: Documenting Life on the Streets

Homeless photographers cre- ate an eye-opening exhibit to document the dire conditions endured by people living on the streets of Oakland. by Lydia Gans mong the many galleries and out- door shows, food vendors, per- Aformers and general fun activities on Oakland’s First Friday in May was an exhibit at Uptown Body and Fender called “On Our Way Home.” It is a moving and inspiring series of photographs and state- ments by and about the lives of eight for- merly homeless men in Oakland. In contrast to most displays in galleries and museums, the photographers in this case were not professionals living in com- fort and security while standing back and documenting the lives of “others.” They were homeless or recently homeless senior men who had lived on the streets and personally suffered the inhumane conditions they were documenting. Each photographer had experienced the trauma of not having a place to rest and “A Need for Advocacy.” Guitar Whitfield took this photo of a homeless man in a nearby park. " I want everyone to Guitar Whitfield sleep, a place where they were safe from photo inclement weather and hostile attacks, a have a decent life in America. People are running around hungry and homeless. People need to help one another.” secure place to keep their possessions. They had experienced the deprivation of poverty We must make it possible for as they wandered from place to place with their shopping carts, trying to obtain food all people to find their way and get their most basic needs met. home. It often takes years to They were caught in a web of hope- find decent housing. lessness and loneliness, all too often despising their own lives. Their lives changed when they enrolled pated in the project. They went out in the in the winter shelter program at St. Mary’s neighborhoods to take pictures. Senior Center in Oakland. St. Mary’s For six weeks, they met weekly after Center serves as a temporary home and lunch with Susan Werner and Taryn provides meals, health care, help in find- Evans to share their experiences and ing permanent housing, and various pro- select their most compelling photographs grams and services. It also provides a to be prepared for the exhibit. Then Evans community where the seniors acquire the had their images enlarged and Werner had skills and develop confidence in their own them framed and prepared for the show. ability to redirect their lives. The show is one way to bring aware- Artist and photographer Taryn Evans ness of the situation of poor and homeless developed the concept for the photogra- seniors to the public. But just as impor- phy project. She found that Oakland has tant, if not more so, is the huge positive the highest percentage of homeless effect that creating this exhibit has had on seniors in the country. the men who participated. It was this “It was just astounding,” she recalled. experience that made it possible for them She became determined to make people to look back and talk about what their aware of the extent of poverty on the lives had been like on the streets. streets of Oakland. “I want to bring the Werner explained, “I think that when everyday lives of homeless seniors living we go through traumatic experiences, it’s in Oakland, California, to the public.” hard to take a look at oneself when you’re Evans secured a grant to provide a num- still in it. So here they had had an experi- ber of homeless seniors with disposable ence and moved through it, so their cameras and pay them a stipend to go out reflecting was based on the security and and take photographs. The aim was to pre- the accomplishment and the safety of their pare an exhibit that would tell the public, in own home. That makes such a difference words and pictures, about the plight, as well for someone to be able to talk about such as the humanity, of people who are poor a difficult experience.” and homeless in our community. The photographers write and talk of Evans connected with St. Mary’s how their lives have changed, what they Center. For Susan Werner, art facilitator have learned and can give back to the and social worker at the Center, it was an community. The title of the show, “On ideal opportunity. Eight men who had Our Way Home,” Werner recalls, seemed gone through St. Mary’s program partici- See On Our Way Home page 6 “Heavenly Threshold.” A homeless man in a church doorway. Pedro Del Norte photo 2 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014

First Bay Area Transgender Shelter Aims National Campaign for Youth Shelter to Open Doors with Community’s Help he National Campaign for Youth Shelter is being launched in part- ue to the harassment, abuse, nership by the National Coalition and neglect they have encoun- T for the Homelessness and the Ali tered in shelters, transgender Forney Center. The New York-based people in the Bay Area have Ali Forney Center has worked with Dbeen forced to live on the streets. numerous organizations to put together Transgender women are specifically a huge rally for LGBTQ youth experi- impacted by the lack of safe or afford- encing homelessness. able housing, while experiencing high LGBTQ youths are disproportionate- rates of discrimination in employment ly over-represented in the homeless and education. youth population, with as many as 40 With the help of the community, all of percent of the nation’s homeless youth that will soon change. Queens Cottage being LGBTQ. It is important to Shelter and Transitions House, a trans remember this devastating statistic dur- housing advocacy group, plan to open the ing Pride Month and to band together to area’s first housing program for transgen- effect change for ALL young people. der women. Queens Cottage Shelter and Over the course of the campaign, we Transitions House are partnering with are determined to see: local organizations, including the SF 1. A federal commitment to provide LGBT Center’s Trans Employment ALL young people, ages 24 and under, Program (TEEI), an initiative that pro- with immediate access to safe shelter. vides career and educational services to 2. An immediate commitment to add the trans community. 22,000 shelter beds along with appropri- Breezy Golden-Farr, founder of ate services — a five-fold increase over Queens Cottage Shelter, and Clair Farley, the current level of resources. Transitions House founder and associate 3. A more accurate and comprehen- director of economic development at the sive effort to count the number of home- SF LGBT Center, recently started a less youth in the nation in order to deter- crowdfunding campaign on mine the number of beds that are needed IndieGoGo.com. over the next decade. Initially, Queens Cottage Shelter’s goal In order to see improvements in the was to raise $5,000. The community took “When’s the Last Time You Slept on the Street?” A question raised by demonstrators lives of young people experiencing home- interest in this one-of-a-kind project, and calling for shelter, housing and services for transgender youth who are homeless. lessness, we must all work together and Queen’s Cottage Shelter raised almost speak out! Please use your voice to help $10,000 by the end of the first week. A first of its kind, Queens Cottage Contact Transitions House and others understand the gravity of this issue. Queens Cottage Shelter and Shelter will be the only shelter for trans- Queens Cottage Shelter For more information, please visit the Transitions House hopes to make their gender women in Oakland, Calif. In part- Clair Farley, SF LGBT Center National Campaign for Youth Shelter dream a reality with the continued support nership with Transitions House and the community, Queens Cottage Shelter Email: [email protected] web page: http://www.nationalcam- of crowd funders. The organizations hope Phone: (415) 865-5632 hopes to open its doors and provide stable paignforyouthshelter.org to raise $20,000 to offer shelter, food, IndieGoGo.com Campaign: housing and referrals to community connections to local resources and a safe https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trans- — from The Advocate by the National resources to trans women in the area. haven to transgender women in the area. housing-now-queens-cottage-shelter Coalition for the Homeless. The Ruthless Elites at the Top of the Pyramid common humanity makes it far more dif- become nice guys. “on foot,” I usually just give them some The gross inequality of our ficult for this evil to be performed. It can be humiliating to beg for help. coins from my pocket and maybe a word Thus, anyone who opposes govern- This is especially so if you are trying to get of encouragement. society, and the hoarding of ment policies becomes a traitor. Innocent assistance from a mean and ungenerous I get offended when a wealthy person vast amounts of wealth, people in other countries and now here in person. If you ask for help, you risk discov- accuses someone else of having “a sense demonstrate the short-sight- the United States are suddenly “enemy ering whether someone is willing to treat of entitlement.” Certainly, that person’s combatants.” People of lower socioeco- others well, when they believe they could fortune came about because they weren’t ed heartlessness of the eco- nomic status have become “white trash,” get away with stomping on you. afraid to take money from people. nomic and political elites. “trailer trash,” or worse. Anyone who is I can’t believe that there are people who When human beings are hiding behind not in the corporate world or country-club will toy with someone for amusement a corporate shield, their legal liabilities in set doesn’t count as a “real” person. rather than assisting someone in need or in cases of improper conduct are less, and it by Jack Bragen Homeless people are perceived by trouble. The business world seems to is as if they are wearing some kind of t is astoundingly unfortunate that the mainstream society as being something encourage the attitude that help will never warrior mask behind which they are more “down and out” someone less than a person, to be avoided, or to be be given unless there is an incentive. This anonymous. When they do something that Iappears, the more abuse gets shoveled rounded up and driven out of sight. attitude is contagious and is one of the main hurts people, the corporation is in trouble. at them from people more fortunate. Ruthless people have taken control of reasons why the United States has so many As individuals, they may escape Homeless people, who have fallen upon society. Describing them as callous would self-induced problems. unscathed, possibly with a generous sev- bad luck or hard times, are looked upon be an understatement. Their philosophy is, People in big business are taught that erance package. We saw that happen with disdain by most people. “I’ve got mine, and if you want any, good you are some type of a sissy if you have when the government bailed out the bank- It was encouraging to me when I saw a luck getting it yourself.” the motive of helping people who are less ing system, and when President Obama homeless person on crutches having diffi- Their greed and lust for the feeling of fortunate. An idealistic person in politics gave massive amounts of public funds to culty crossing the street at a busy intersec- power are unchecked by any considera- is often subject to ostracism by peers. giant automakers to prevent their demise. tion, when a woman got out of her older tion for others, and they are having a Human nature is such that if you show As individuals struggling to survive, if we model Toyota and helped that person get grand old time wrecking everything. It’s weakness, it encourages random abuse. are not a multibillion-dollar business we are across the street. Those who help home- “everybody out for themselves” and they People often go into politics in the out of luck. less people are often the same ones who are having a “free for all” of grabbing all quest for status, power, and prestige for It’s nice that successful people endowed are to some extent struggling economical- of the wealth and resources. themselves — and without being motivat- with unimaginable amounts of wealth are ly themselves. The gross inequality of our society, the ed by a regard for human life. People having a good time in their mutual admira- It seems that nature has given us the way human rights are trampled underfoot, should go into politics because they tion. An example of this can be seen if you ability to cut off compassion and empa- and the hoarding of vast amounts of would like to help others, but this seems a keep up with the Kardashians. This is a thy, as a matter of survival. However, this wealth, all demonstrate the short-sighted, rare motive among politicians. family which is famous for its fame, and same instinct of cutting people off is now small-minded heartlessness of the eco- People may believe I have been stating which hasn’t apparently done anything of jeopardizing the human species. nomic elites. And this growing disparity the obvious and may ask the question, particular merit. When on the receiving end of cruelty, and economic inequality in our society is “Where have you been?” However, at the I was just at a convenience store buy- it can be horrifying to see that one’s per- unsustainable in the long run. age of nearly fifty, I am finally acknowl- ing soda and a burrito, and the gentleman petrator doesn’t care that they are hurting Reasoning with perpetrators like these edging that people are ruthless. before me was delusional and believed his you — or they are even happy about it. people is about as useless as reasoning A lot of homeless people these days one “power ball” pick would make him a In order to wreak violence on others, with a broken microwave oven. The poor have resorted to begging by the side of the fortune. This is how desperate people whether the violence is economic, social, and the middle class all have to get angry, road. I have a problem with helping them become more desperate. psychological or physical, it is first neces- organize, and come up with some kind of because I am trying to stay out of car acci- From where I stand, the people on tele- sary to perceive the intended victim as massive boycott of the rich. We can’t dents and out of trouble with patrolling vision with billions of dollars may as well less than a person. To acknowledge our expect those in power to voluntarily police. When they have asked while I am be from another universe. I can’t relate. June 2014 S TREET S PIRIT 3 The State of Homelessness in San Francisco

“The largest developers of low-income housing are the California Department of Corrections and the U.S. Department of Justice.” — Joe Wilson, Hospitality House by TJ Johnston ew fronts in the battle on home- lessness in San Francisco have Nopened up recently, including struggles for the rights of tenants, mental health clients and low-income residents of the Mission District. These are just a few of the immediate skirmishes advocates face, according to a panel addressing the state of homeless- ness in the city. On May 23, the Coalition on Homelessness hosted a town hall meet- ing at the dining hall of St. Anthony Foundation, where hundreds of low- income and homeless people receive food, health care and other services. Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said that as the city marks the tenth anniversary of its 10-year plan to abolish homelessness, 6,000-plus people still seek roofs over their heads, and while the media make a hue and cry over how much taxpayers’ money is spent on homeless people, ser- The true state of homelessness in San Francisco. A woman sleeps, alone and vulnerable, on Market Street. Lydia Gans photo vices only account for 2 percent of San Francisco’s $8 billion budget. Mental Health Association-San Francisco, reported that 10,000 San Francisco resi- people who hang out at the plaza — “Historically, homeless people have said removing a client’s agency under- dents were displaced under the act since including SRO tenants and homeless peo- been used as political scapegoats,” she mines treatment. “Compliance is not the 1997, and almost one-third of the units ple who use her nearby drop-in center — said. “Our job is to make it no longer same as dignity or self-determination,” were by landlords who repeatedly are targets of a constant police presence. acceptable to scapegoat on the basis of Gouse said. “Ellised” tenants out. Her assertion is supported by a sample housing status.” C.W. Johnson, a former mental health But measures are under way that could from a recent Coalition on Homelessness Joe Wilson, program manager of client who is also active with the associa- stanch the flow of evictions. They include survey. More than 100 people, mostly Hospitality House’s community building tion, said the law would have a dispropor- a San Francisco ballot proposal to levy people of color, said they experienced program, pointed out that public officials tionate effect on homeless people. heavier taxes on properties that are harassment from the general public and have chosen to disinvest in affordable According to a report from the state’s flipped soon after they are bought. scrutiny by law enforcement. housing for low-income people in favor of mental health department, Laura’s Law In addition, on May 29, the state senate criminalizing them. “The largest develop- hasn’t been uniformly effective in provid- passed SB 1439, a bill by Sen. Mark ers of low-income housing are the ing treatment. However, the California Leno, D-San Francisco, to delay landlords Street Spirit California Department of Corrections and legislature extended the law’s sunset date from invoking the Ellis Act to evict ten- Street Spirit is published by American the U.S. Department of Justice,” he said. to 2017. ants for at least five years after buying Friends Service Committee. The ven- The panelists also said they are afraid A confluence of escalating poverty and rental properties. dor program is run by J.C. Orton. that a law-enforcement approach to home- increasing rents are driving more people Despite the wave of evictions, Shortt lessness could also put those with mental out of their homes and onto the streets, said she is buoyed by a resurgence in ten- Editor, Layout: Terry Messman health problems at risk. said Sara Shortt, director of the tenants’ ant activism. “The silver lining is we have Web designer: Jesse Clarke Recently, implementing state legisla- advocacy organization Housing Rights more power, organization, strength and Contributors: Vernon Andrews, Keith tion called Laura’s Law was proposed as Committee. Displacement in San energy among tenants than we had in a Arivnwine, Claire J. Baker, Darrell a ballot measure by Supervisor Mark Francisco is often presaged by evictions, long time,” she said. Black, Jack Bragen, Joan Clair, Ron Farrell. If five of the other 10 supervisors she added, and the most vulnerable popu- People power could also play a factor in Clark, Pedro Del Norte, Perkin in San Francisco co-sponsor the ordi- lation make under $15,000 per year. keeping Mission District residents in the Edwards, Charles Ford, Lydia Gans, nance, Farrell would remove it from the She also pointed out that real estate neighborhood. Laura Guzman, director of T.J. Johnston, Judy Joy Jones, Dong ballot and pass it legislatively. speculation is fueling the latest wave of the Mission Neighborhood Resource Lin, Mike Marino, Karen Melander- The law, which passed in 2002 but was evictions, adding that the overheated mar- Center, said displacement has been devel- Magoon, Steve Pleich, Mary Rudge, enacted fully only in Nevada County, ket is more dire than in the dot-com bub- oping over a long period of time. Guitar Whitfield, George Wynn would compel mentally ill people into ble days of the 1990s. “Homelessness is not just now,” she said. All works copyrighted by the authors. involuntary commitment. It would allow “People could maybe double or triple Her drop-in center is part of a coalition The views expressed in Street Spirit arti- family members, neighbors or roommates up or maybe go to another neighborhood,” opposing the “Clean Up the Plaza” drive. cles are those of the individual authors, — as well as police or mental health pro- Shortt said. “Those resourceful measures This clean-up campaign is fronted by not necessarily those of the AFSC. fessionals — to force people into programs. are no longer the options they once were. political consultant Jack Davis, who is While Laura’s Law is endorsed by the When you lose your home, it’s a one-way often aligned with real estate developers. Street Spirit welcomes submissions of National Alliance on Mental Illness, state ticket to homelessness.” The plaza at 16th and Mission streets is articles, artwork, poems and photos. mental health and disability rights groups Shortt cited the state Ellis Act, a tool also the site for Maximus Real Estate Contact: Terry Messman oppose the measure on the grounds that a landlords use that allows no-cause evic- Partners’ proposed 300-unit mixed-use Street Spirit, 65 Ninth Street, person’s power to make his own decisions tions of tenants under the pretense of leav- development that would displace neigh- San Francisco, CA 94103 would be removed. ing the rental business. Tenants Together borhood merchants. E-mail: [email protected] Michael Gouse, deputy director of the and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project Guzman said this is gentrification, and Web: http://www.thestreetspirit.org

Donate or Subscribe to Street Spirit! Street Spirit Vendor Team Street Spirit is published by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Homeless vendors receive 50 papers a day, earn The Street Spirit vendor program is income and find a job providing a positive alternative to panhandling, and educate the community about social justice issues. Please managed by J.C. Orton. More than 150 donate or subscribe to Street Spirit ! Help us remain an independent voice for justice! homeless vendors sell Street Spirit in Berkeley and Oakland. The vendor pro- ❒ I enclose $25 for one year's subscription. gram provides many jobs to homeless ❒ I enclose a donation of ❒ $100 ❒ $50 ❒ $ 25 June 2013 people in bad economic times.. Please buy Street Spirit only from Send Donations to: Name: ______badged vendors. If you have questions AFSC Address: ______about the vendor program, call J.C. 65 Ninth Street, Orton on his cell phone at (510) 684- San Francisco, CA 94103 City: ______State:______Zip: ______1892. Email: [email protected] 4 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014

Little Child in Your Land A Classic For All Ages by Mary Rudge by Mary Rudge Little child in your land Seven-year-old Diana and I bombs bursting in air. cry over Gogol’s The Overcoat We watch TVs, check our remote, on channel 9 now to see your crumbling skyline, be sure cold Russia old poor man that our flag is still there even without subtitles in your streets, around your home. his face we both know. In your streets, around your home, It was cold in our house last winter bombs burst in air, we put them there. we had coats from the thrift shop We have so many bombs to spare, at night we slept in one bed and crave your oil, a major share. we piled on all the coats. Say, are you safe within our care? — The cold old man is going to die we bomb your land because we can, we saw that face once in our mirror, kill your neighbors to show we dare, and cry. destroy your home, pollute your air, though vague on how to grieve for you, or leave. Letter to the Not Homeless Who’s bad or good our power declares. by Mary Rudge Vengeance is ours to decide A letter from the outer rim of rage Let’s have no hidden weapons now, to the core of the inner being we get ours out onto your land. of everyone From our pockets to your skies. knowing the people In your streets your body lies. Over carnage our flag flies, who live on the street out of mind we watch TV to see it’s there, without home without healing bombs bursting in air. that we’ve learned to walk by without seeing Little child, in our land, that we don’t care who is feeding on the sidewalks homeless lie homeless hungry children cry, that no one is feeding, a letter to all schools are crumbling, and the poor with home and mailbox. cannot afford health care and die. A letter to all who have learned not to care Money sends bomb-burst in air, not to share anymore, there have been who has cared for your welfare so many so poor so long they are not in our little child in our land? We see where line of vision, though they stand before us over horror our flag flies. beseeching, saying God Bless You So many years, so many wars, for nothing. A letter is coming, has come so many little children die. from fury, from anger, from despair. How can peace come to all lands And it says (what it said ten years ago, if we sing bombs burst in air “In your streets, around your home, and last year, and this morning): We though our flag is there. don’t know where to go, what to do. Help! When our flag is there. bombs burst in air, we put them there.” If flags fly then children die. Anyone You’ve Lost Journey from Christmas to Easter TO THE MISSING by Mary Rudge by Mary Rudge He was 18, 29, 52, 70, he had wandered far. by Mary Rudge There are shanties down by the railroad track SEQUENCE 1 and some are tarpaper, some are tin, ***** I desperately look for your face They followed the star some are board with the walls so thin SEQUENCE 4 among the homeless and hungry. and found him newspapers cover the inside walls I cannot find you. sleeping in a doorway. He was not a wise man I will feed this one, to keep out the wind. He could not follow the directions. I will take this one home, They followed the star He was fired, laid off, not hired. in your name. And the homeless build in the park, and found him some with cardboard and some with tarp lying in the alley, on cardboard. He was bipolar, alcoholic, When I said I was searching for you tents or lean-tos of plastic scrap. schizophrenic, an addict, they asked: which ward do you They followed a star too low I.Q. There are people blanket-wrapped, and found him want to see? by day it’s a coat by night it’s a bed — He did not understand What Multiple Sclerosis looks like? sitting against a building, move on from this doorway the policeman said. wrapped in a blanket. there would never What it looks like to be dying? be room for him. Have you seen AIDS? Schizophrenia? And a family can live in a rundown truck They followed a star and found ***** Hunger? him at a bus stop, at 3 a.m., that doesn’t move much, just enough SEQUENCE 5 to keep on the move hypothermia setting in. One He had wandered far every seventy-two hours, it’s the city law, ***** turns like a flower toward the sun 1968 1986 2008 are they clean, do they cook, how do they eat? SEQUENCE 2 toward love still no home, no shelter. like you, delicate around the mouth He looked up and saw the stars with violet shadows, Living on the street, through the drizzle of rain. He had no job skills everywhere I look. under the bushes close up to the church They were his roof. no social connections outside where the ground is protected by frost no family No buddy Do people slip through the slats in they shelter themselves, the ones who’ve lost. He looked up and saw the stars no place in the end. picket fences, the slats in hospital The ones we’ve lost, but still our own, on the badges. beds? Become lost in trees? He had wandered far, our children, our sisters, our brother’s child. The police said, "go!" Has anyone fallen past the Pacific Rim? Louisiana, Texas, California, Is anyone you’ve loved and known The men with stars He could not pay — Is any poem I hold without a home? Is anyone without a home on their police badges — no room no room no room. strong enough for a lifeline? someone you can love? they would give him room: jail cell, hospital, morgue A black plastic sack ***** a cardboard box his hands on a cart One Nation Under God Midnight Haiku SEQUENCE 3 of crushed cans, he said, by Mary Rudge by Mary Rudge He had wandered far this is home. Sonora to California, ***** With broken eyeglasses and broken veins A bus goes by; another, another. illegal, ill, still no home, no room, she stands on the corner showing things She is not waiting for a bus. SEQUENCE 6 dispossessed, disappeared. have a kaleidoscopic other view. She is already at home. Here. On this bench. She laid him When she asks spare change He had wandered far wrapped in a blanket but you pass by wondering where to sleep in a garbage bin her only response is “God bless you” that night the shelter was full an infant, new-born and a broken-toothed smile. Any Sunday Haiku no room for him again. They found the infant by Mary Rudge She shows you how hearts really break, He did not hear wrapped in a blanket can you feel your own? Sunday morning. She does not go to church. the angels sing in the garbage bin — She lets you see a whole country with No place to park her shopping cart the police with the stars a government full of broken promises. full of crushed cans. just police sirens. on their badges. June 2014 S TREET S PIRIT 5 Santa Cruz Activists Call for One-Year Moratorium on Laws that Criminalize Camping and Sleeping

Outlawing the right to sleep is a failed policy. We must not vilify a large segment of our community based solely on their housing status. by Steve Pleich lthough the Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project is a rela- Atively new ally with the commu- nity of people experiencing homelessness in Santa Cruz, many local advocacy orga- nizations have been active for decades in the fight for homeless rights. Together with groups such as Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom (HUFF) and Housing Now, we are not only working to support the unsheltered, we are developing new strategies to challenge the institutional prejudices that have not only marginal- ized but have also criminalized homeless people in Santa Cruz. In an effort to focus the community discussion on the underlying causes of this prejudice and marginalization, we have created an online Petition for One A woman named Butterfly packs her belongings in San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz. This photo was taken by Natalia Year Moratorium of Camping Ban Banaszczyk as part of a Santa Cruz project called “Not the Other: Oral Histories of People Experiencing Homelessness.” Ordinances and Laws to raise the level of public debate about how we treat our of camping/sleeping ban ordinances and est legislative priorities. We believe that gency that challenges all of us to take a homeless residents and what we can do to laws. The proposed moratorium would even the symbolic gesture that this may leap of faith. In creating our Petition and better understand them. not only provide an accurate accounting well be can profoundly impact the public proposal, we are declaring that small steps Since their enactment in the city and of those costs and savings; it would also perception of this issue. are no longer enough. county of Santa Cruz, the laws and ordi- identify those agencies and organizations The more substantive approach would The full text of the One Year nances that prohibit “camping” and/or where policy change with regard to the include the creation of a commission or Moratorium on Enforcement of Camping “sleeping” have been wholly ineffective homeless community could have the max- committee singularly tasked with address- Ban Laws and Ordinances can be viewed in addressing the environmental and imum positive effect. ing homelessness in Santa Cruz, and given at: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/one- social impact of survival sleeping by local Simply by just “pressing pause” on this full advisory authority to do all acts in fur- year-moratorium-on homeless people. They have also been massive investment in anti-homeless therance of that task. ineffective as a policy aimed at reducing enforcement, the structural design flaws in This is our proposal. Some community Steve Pleich is director of the Santa Cruz Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project. the size and presence of the homeless the existing system could be examined. members have expressed concerns about population. This alone, in our view, would justify the the practical effects of the proposed mora- Recent statistics clearly show that the abatement of enforcement for this rela- torium. Some say that even a temporary number of people experiencing homeless- tively brief period. suspension of existing law and ordinance Your Mirror Image, God ness in both the city and county has During this period, we are also calling would have a disruptive effect on our by Mary Rudge increased despite the continuing enforce- upon our elected officials to review the fea- community, and this is a possibility. ment of these laws and ordinances. sibility of establishing “safe space” But we are in a state of social emer- The violence of ignoring you Additionally, the Santa Cruz Police overnight parking areas within the city and shatters your soul Department, Parks and Recreation county, as well as the development of a I see the pieces on the sidewalk Department, the City Attorney, the plan to increase the availability of and To The Homeless Sheriff’s Office, as well as the entire access to public restroom facilities at night. Santa Cruz County Superior Court judi- Local groups, and particularly the faith Street Person On Defining cial system continue to expend resources community, have called for the creation of by Mary Rudge and funds in the enforcement and admin- designated areas within the city and coun- Democracy How do I love thee not, istration of these laws — resources that ty where vehicularly housed residents let me count the ways: by Mary Rudge could be more productively applied to could safely park from dusk until dawn for the guilt I feel A democracy addressing the very real challenge of end- and find the peaceful night’s sleep that when you sleep on sidewalks; was once defined ing or significantly reducing homeless- they cannot get by parking on public for impotence I show sarcastically – ness in our community. streets in violation of local ordinances. when you cannot be helped; as a land where It is clear from these facts that crimi- It is estimated that between 200 and for anger that destroys me rich and poor can nalizing homelessness, and particularly, 300 motor homes, recreational vehicles, at what is not tried; sleep under bridges outlawing the essential right to sleep, is a vans and automobiles are home every for sleeplessness in despair that equally. failed policy and one that must be revisit- night to those who cannot otherwise find solutions have been failures; ed if we are to move forward and create shelter. This may represent as many as Now no one is free for tears when I see your truly positive outcomes for our unshel- 500 of our nearly 3,500 homeless resi- to sleep picture in the newspapers; tered residents. dents in Santa Cruz County. The possibili- on sidewalks, for tears when no picture, That is why homeless advocacy organi- ty of providing a “safe space” for so sig- in doorways, no report is made zations are now calling upon the Santa nificant a percentage of the unsheltered in parks, in cars, as if no one cares; Cruz City Council and the Santa Cruz more than justifies serious consideration among bushes, for obituaries that say County Board of Supervisors to consider of this proposal. under bridges. Randy, or David, or Linda — for approval a One Year Moratorium on the While we believe that these are practi- What philosophy no info, no other name; enforcement within their respective juris- cal suggestions that speak to a culture that bridged this land for my being part of society dictions of all camping and sleeping ban has systematically worked to vilify and from Then until Now? that cannot cope with poverty; laws and ordinances between the hours of exclude a large segment of our communi- because religion and government Fines, prisons, jail 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Also, we are call- ty based solely upon their housing status, are at odds on the homeless — for those who fail ing upon our local governing bodies to change is needed on a policy level as well. when the Bible warns there will to keep this new law. instruct their respective staffs, in coopera- We are calling upon our local elected bod- always be poor, for one reason after But to be tion with their finance departments, to con- ies to designate ending homelessness as a another, in every country, equally duct a fiscal review of the cost savings of legislative priority. in every time, inhumane the proposed moratorium. Although reasonable minds may differ so have a plan to care for them. to both sane By any reasonable estimation, the City about the wisdom of our current policies, For my own suffering, and insane and County of Santa Cruz are spending it cannot be disputed that the fair treat- more than yours and to all homeless, many tens of thousands of dollars annual- ment of people experiencing homeless- I know I love you not. is still democracy. ly in the enforcement and administration ness has historically been one of our low- 6 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014

Susan Werner pins a boutonniere on Keith Arivnwine to honor his work Lydia Gans as a photographer in documenting the conditions facing homeless people. photo

“Urban Camping.” Many homeless people are resourceful and skillful. Pedro Del “I Feel for Him, Whoever He Is.” Charles Ford said, “Homeless people Charles Ford They find ingenious ways to live outdoors by creating a sense of home. Norte photo feel desperate and totally hopeless. Life is rough when you’re homeless.” photo On Our Way Home: Documenting Life on the Streets

It is shocking to realize how many lives are ruined and destroyed by poverty in the affluent Bay Area. from page 1 to come out spontaneously from their planning discussions. “This is what it’s like on the way home. It was apparent to us all of a sudden. It is home not only in the physical sense, but in the sense of belonging in this world as somebody.” At the exhibit, photographer Keith Arivnwine pointed to one of his pictures titled, “It becomes acceptable,” which shows a pile of detritus on a city street. “It becomes acceptable,” he said. “You no longer notice the mess in the streets around you. You see it every day. I now have a different life and it’s not accept- able. There’s something wrong with this picture.” After the classes and training at St. Mary’s, he wrote, “I feel good about myself and fit into the lifestyle of being housed and mentally stable.” And now he can give hope and encouragement to other people who are homeless. “I Am My Brother’s Keeper.” Photographer Perkin Edwards said, “All human beings are family and friends we haven’t met yet.” Perkins Edwards likes to quote his grandfather who was a pastor. “My grand- “It was a really touching thing,” for a night. It’s like urban camping but echoed by the man who goes by the name daddy used to tell us, ‘Change the way Andrews said. Acknowledging that even a it’s not by choice.” “Guitar” Whitfield. (Yes, he is an accom- you look at things and the things you look poor man can be a father “made people Describing his experience in St. plished jazz musician and guitarist.) at change.’” feel a little better about themselves. It Mary’s Center, Del Norte said, “I am in Guitar “had been living a fast life,” he Photos of free meals provided by made people inspired about restoring their the process of creating a fulfilling life and admits, when he suddenly became home- churches and community organizations self-esteem and restoring themselves to I like to contribute to the common good. I less. “It brought me down to earth,” he appeared in several of the displays, but being fathers.” hope that we can all come together to said. When he was admitted into St. one carried a special message. Vernon Pedro Del Norte said, “I never felt make the world a healthier place.” Mary’s Winter Shelter, he had the oppor- Andrews titled his picture, “Restoring homeless, I never looked homeless.” But The idea of “giving back” by reaching tunity to get his life in order. self-esteem.” This particular meal was a he talked about couch surfing. “I stayed at out to help others, and by becoming an Along with the basics, such as food lunch celebrating Father’s Day. my sister’s, and at the Richmond Mission advocate for the poor and homeless, was See On Our Way Home page 7 June 2014 S TREET S PIRIT 7

“All Wrapped Up.” A homeless woman in Oakland is all wrapped up as a shield from the cold, and in self-protective isolation from an intolerant society. Charles Ford photo On Our Way Home from page 6 and shelter, he was offered counseling, social skills and career development. And they found him permanent, affordable housing. Since his own experience at St. Mary’s had been so helpful, he said, “I felt like everyone should have an opportu- nity like I had at St. Mary’s. So they sug- gested I go out and tell people my story.” Now, Guitar tells his story to people on the street and to people in power in Oakland and Sacramento. And he plays his guitar at community events that sup- port the cause. He is a Hope and Justice Senior Advocate at St. Mary’s, traveling with his fellow seniors to public hearings and community events, and speaking out on the social issues that affect the lives of homeless people in Alameda County. As this project developed, it became an important way for homeless men to make their voices heard, and they learned to use images to open the eyes of the public to the terrible increase in poverty and home- lessness among seniors in Oakland. The physical hardships and dangers of life on the streets are shortening the life spans of “Anything Helps.” A man’s sign seen through a windshield: “Homeless and hungry. Can you help us please?” Darrell Black photo seniors in tragic ways. the essential element and that seems only The photographs taken by the senior to become increasingly inaccessible and men are also meant to reflect the hope and unaffordable. commitment of homeless people who are According to Werner, all but two of the trying to improve their lives. Yet, the seniors participating in the project have overwhelming message of this exhibit is been housed, but this is highly unusual. that far more help is needed than political “It often takes years to get into affordable, officials are willing to provide. It is desirable housing,” she said. shocking to realize how many lives are We must make it possible for all peo- ruined and destroyed by poverty in the ple to find their way home. affluent Bay Area in the 21st century. Reading the men’s statements and listen- ing to their stories, it is truly impressive to see how they have succeeded in turning Homeless Photographers their lives around. Men who were wasting Describe Life on the Street their lives, and were rejected by society, not only improved their own lives, but began to See the stories of the homeless and reach out and help others. formerly homeless seniors who docu- With community and government sup- mented the conditions of life on the streets of Oakland. Read their stories port, more programs like St. Mary’s could “A Way to Survive.” “When I was homeless I used a shopping bas- Photo by Keith on pages 8-9. have a big social impact. But housing is ket to carry my belongings and to recycle,” said Keith Arivnwine. Arivnwine 8 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014

I Want Every Person to Have A Decent Life

by Guitar Whitfield want everyone to have a decent life in America. People are running around Ihungry and homeless. People need to help one another. I see some people on the streets getting help. I got help and want others to get help too. I came to the Bay Area from Las Vegas at a time I wanted to make a change in my life. I wanted to be near my children and grandchildren. I didn’t know what I was going to do or where I’d live. Then my brother and sister-in-law introduced me to St. Mary’s Center. When I entered St. Mary’s, I was offered shelter, food, counseling, social skill development, and access to trans- portation, medical care, career develop- ment, and affordable transitional and per- “Peace on Earth.” Guitar Whitfield said, “If I can advocate and play music for the benefit of other people, I will.” manent housing. I met regularly with a case manager. Staff at St. Mary’s work start saving one-half of my monthly touch with my craft: playing the guitar. Affordable Housing Associates to help straight from the heart. I saw that if I income. I had never done that before. I Within the gated and manicured commu- build opportunities for others. gave the program a chance, something saved money and my savings added up! nity of St. Mary’s, I continued to play As a Hope and Justice Senior would work for me. I felt hope. I applied for housing and needed music. What more could I ask for? Advocate, I speak out primarily for I started to learn about homelessness. I someone to advocate for me. Sister Mary I moved into subsidized housing at affordable housing. I also play music for met and felt for people who are homeless Nolan wrote a letter of recommendation Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments in these organizations at events throughout and became connected to people. I had to to accompany my applications. Her state- Oakland. I was grateful for the advocacy the community. humble myself and see I had been living a ment helped to show my accountability that I had received. Now I volunteer with I’m about giving. If I can advocate and fast life. I needed to stop a lush life of and participation in St. Mary’s programs. St. Mary’s, East Bay Housing play music for the benefit of other peo- splurging. To stay in the shelter, I had to While I was at St. Mary’s, I stayed in Organizations, Satellite Housing, and ple, I will. They Care for the Lives of the People They Serve by Vernon Andrews beyond serving food; they care for the lives Some people are mentally challenged “What’s going on with you?” of the people they serve. On Father’s Day, and have dual disorders. Some would per- They want to know how you are. It is have been homeless a few times over the church added festivities to recognize ish if they didn’t have people helping meaningful that we communicate. One the past twenty years. I know people fathers. The celebration felt spirit-lifting. them. They are people with needs. People man I’ve known for over 20 years always Iwho use the drop-in centers, soup On Thursdays, I eat at another church who need social services are worthy of speaks to me. His caring spirit uplifts me. kitchens, and agencies for poor people. in Berkeley on Fairview Street. At least being recognized. People I’ve known show me kindness. It’s important to have places to eat. 100 people come during the hour that Some homeless people recycle. They This contrasts with when I’ve been treated Churches have been helping poor peo- food is served. The staff has a passion for put a lot of effort into collecting bottles heartlessly and judged as less than. I care ple for a long time. They provide nutri- people. They serve meals on a regular and cans. They walk and travel a lot of about these people. Some people are able tional food which enables people to live basis without pay. They wouldn’t show up ground. They are not lazy. I admire them. to live independently. Some may speak and have hope. unless they cared. Inside the church, peo- The people I’ve known when homeless slower, but know what they want to say. I go for a meal on Wednesdays at a ple from all races come to eat. A balanced honor our relationship as friends. They They are more honest than a whole lot of church on Idaho Street in Berkeley. The meal is served and fresh vegetables are have good spirits and are cordial. They people I know. They are genuine, good people who run the meals at this church go available to take home. always have time to say “Hi” and to ask, people, caring and loving.

I Feel Connected to Their Suffering I’m Concerned for the Human Family by Charles Ford out; I needed some help. I turned to God by Perkins Edwards want to hide. I could show my personal for guidance and believed there’d be y granddaddy always said, “All feelings. I walked around with my eyes ad. So Sad. I could be one of the something better for me. I asked the human beings are family and full of tears. When I wept, people under- people in these photos. Homeless Almighty “Where shall I go?” friends we haven’t met yet.” stood. people are part of the population, M When I struggle with a self-defeating S I went to the men’s shelter in And, “Change the way you look at things they are among us. Life is pretty rough Berkeley where many homeless people and the things you look at change.” habit, I resent people telling me what to when you’re homeless. People often feel stay. I felt lost in the crowd and left. I’m 67 years old. I’ve come to know do. At St. Mary’s we are in the same sit- desperate, totally hopeless. Then after a hospitalization, I was dis- that the way I approach life makes a differ- uation. When we sit around the tables for Homeless people become more visible charged to St. Mary’ Center’s shelter. ence. I see the crisis in our government, classes or dinners, we speak from the when we see them sleeping on the I was skeptical about another shelter the reductions in subsidized housing, the heart. The spirit connects us. When I streets, and we walk by them, seeming stay and downhearted when I arrived. I dismantling of schools and homelessness. hear and feel the truth and energy of our indifferent. That’s heartbreaking. Of all participated in the shelter program at St. I see a young man in a sleeping bag on shared life, I know I have a chance to the places I’ve slept when homeless, a Mary’s. The atmosphere and people the street, hiding his face. I know this per- survive and overcome adversity. church felt the safest to me. around me felt better than other shelters. son and his family. People are concerned When I see people who are homeless, Homeless people have the burden of I began to feel better about myself and about and care for him. Some people on I see a bit of myself. People need places carrying their belongings wherever they more positive about building a more ful- the streets have mental health problems. I to a take time out and remember one’s go; they do not want to lose their things. filling, productive life. am concerned for the Human Family! real self. They need places where every- Carts with their life possessions can be I feel for people who are going through When I became homeless, I looked for one is equal and recognized for their cre- seen throughout town. Homeless people homelessness. Many suffer from mental a working example of a solution. I found ativity and ability. often walk all day long to eat, be safe, and poverty and are not capable of accessing St. Mary’s Center, a waystation for peo- At St. Mary’s, I went to the on-site sleep. It is hard work and necessary. When services and putting their lives together. ple who are homeless and in transition. inner courtyard for solitude, silence, and I was homeless I was on my feet during People are constrained by poverty in many I came to St. Mary’s Center like the to heighten my awareness of God’s pres- the day collecting cans. The payoff was ways. There is a lot to understand about energizer bunny ready to be recharged. ence and guidance. I learned to love $25 a day for a few big bags of cans. people who are homeless, like what makes The staff has a mission and offers love, being myself and to stay in touch with To be homeless is exhausting. People it difficult for people to accept services understanding, and loyalty. I was raised my Heart and Spirit. Now when I meet need spots where they can rest and reju- and what makes it possible. in a village as a child and I found village adversity, I dig a little deeper. venate. People need jobs. Homeless and I see people who are not well off and I people and friendship at St. Mary’s. I Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero poor people also need free food. This is feel connected to their suffering. needed to be with people who had expe- and role model for me. He told Black basic to living in poverty. Homeless people need connection to oth- rienced and understood homelessness. people to believe in equality for all peo- When I was homeless I often felt very ers who care and offer more possibilities On the street, I needed to be a macho ple. I too am a troublemaker on a mission bad and without hope. I did not see a way for their lives. I truly hope to be of help. man, a tough guy. At St. Mary’s I did not for equality. It ain’t over yet! June 2014 S TREET S PIRIT 9

Life Gets Better and Better Every Day by Keith Arivnwine wellness classes and did things I didn’t he lifestyle of homelessness is a normally do. I took the classes seriously and looked at things for what they really decision that I made. When I was are. The classes offered important train- homeless, I used a shopping bas- T ing to maintain a proper lifestyle when ket to carry my belongings and to recy- housed. At St. Mary’s I was around posi- cle. I met many homeless people at the tive people who also wanted to do some- recycling center. It was productive to thing different with their lives. collect cans. St. Mary’s is across from a park Unfortunately, I saw many people where homeless people gather. When I’d using the money for wants, not basic see people in the park, I was reminded of needs. Also, I became accustomed to see- my past, and felt strength to stay with my ing stuff trashed and dumped on the desire for change. street. Walking past disgusting things After engaging in St. Mary’s pro- everyday became acceptable. I accepted grams for four months, I had a key in my the misery because I felt miserable. hand for my own studio apartment. When I was in jail, I felt a desire for Every time I turn the key to open the change from within. Once I felt the door to my apartment I feel appreciation touch, I started making changes in my and accomplishment. life. I began to see my homeless lifestyle I’m now living where God wants me for what it was. I realized I needed help to be. I feel good about myself and fit to be retrained. into the lifestyle of being housed and I applied for General Assistance and mentally stable. I keep in mind that used the funds to buy a cell phone and bus everything starts from within. I will have pass, which helped me to be successful in obstacles in my life. I now know that my new venture. Having good free meals when an unexpected situation happens, I and contact with people with positive atti- can deal with it. tudes in the community also helped. Life is so good and gets better and I learned about St. Mary’s shelter better every day. People who are home- when in jail and entered the shelter in less now come to me and ask, “How did December 2012. I attended the shelter’s you do it? How can I do the same?” “Opening to a New Lifestyle.” Keith Arivnwine opens the door of his new apartment. The Streets Became My Home But I Did Not Give Up by Ron Clark did not materialize. was my couch, the green grass and trees have a bed. I became depressed — that was not like were my living room. I’d take in the sim- I feel for people on the streets. I’ve been walk along the street, see a person on me. I prayed, “How will I get myself out of ple pleasures of life. seeing and speaking with some people for a bench, many bags, blankets by his this mess?” I didn’t know where to turn. After a while, I felt too uncomfortable years. Some people talk crazy to defend and Iside. Cursing. I know what he’s going Circumstances of staying with other people around the night crowd and rats roaming protect themselves. With some, the more I through. Being homeless, you don’t like were not what they initially seemed; they the streets of Oakland. talk with them, the more they make sense, the way people look at you, you don’t feel turned out to be full of conflict. I then stayed in shelters. At the and we become friends. worthy, you don’t feel right. The streets became my home. I always Richmond Rescue Mission, I’d sit hud- When homeless, I understood I needed I do not agree that homelessness is a kept neat and clean; I did not give up my dled close to others listening to a sermon. to do some things and give up some things choice. If I were given the option of jump- humanity. I did not give up. I felt coerced. I could have left, though to make a change. I also needed to be treat- ing into a fire or sleeping on a comfortable As a gypsy traveler, I rode buses, espe- that’s a hard decision to make, especially ed like a human being and offered a life couch, I’d take the couch. Not all people on cially during the night. Bus drivers would when it’s raining outside. preserver so I would not die on the streets. the streets are able to make that choice. ask me, “What are you going to do?” I’d I stayed at the men’s shelter in I want to see more acceptance and less I became homeless about 15 years ago. reply, “I’m gonna catch another bus.” Berkeley. It felt foreboding to walk judgment of homeless people. People need At that time, my mother developed Sometimes I’d pass the wee hours of through a narrow passageway to enter the places to go to get their life together. No Alzheimer’s. Her illness affected the fam- the night on a park bench. I’d wake up shelter. Staying in this shelter was OK. I one should be out there on the streets. ily and plans for me to inherit her home early morning and sit. The park bench understood I had to do certain things to I Learned I’m a Warrior, a Survivor Make the World a Healthier Place by Darrell Black stressful and stress can kill. Circumstances by Pedro Del Norte amount of comfort and safety. Having a spot gives a person a sense had been receiving a pension for can draw people over the edge. Some peo- hen I became homeless, I ple agreed to a photo. Many said no and of “home.” People become territorial and three years when the union unexpect- didn’t feel it or look like it, raised their hands in front of their face. protective of their spot. edly informed me that my retirement but I was. As I surrendered to I After St. Mary’s shelter, I went to W Mattresses are important creature fund was expended. I had not been aware Second Opportunity Christian Center’s being homeless, I needed to re-evaluate comforts. A person can stretch out and of a limit. Then, all of a sudden, my Transitional Safe House. It’s a sober living what my life had become. The old ways feel rested on a mattress. Sleeping on a employer stopped paying me for my house for people serious about their recov- were no longer so important to me. mattress is much better than sleeping in a work. I was not able to afford my rent ery and belief in God. I received support to I began to accept new views of myself car or on a bench. and was evicted. become employed and now manage a and life and to operate in unfamiliar terri- Homeless people’s lives have been Places I stayed were temporary. I felt restaurant and a construction business. tory. I live more in the present to find derailed. A homeless person is in sur- depressed. I feared I’d have to sleep on the I’ve learned from my experience of opportunities and my future. vival mode and focused on what’s need- streets. A friend told me about the shelter being homeless that I’m a warrior, a sur- For this photography project, I woke ed to make it through each day. When at St. Mary’s Center. When St. Mary’s vivor. When I was going through rough, up at 5 a.m. to walk the streets. I saw homeless, it is not easy to find gainful offered me a shelter bed, I felt relieved. raw stuff, people said things to me that people sleeping at bus stops, under free- employment. Even with skills, it can be When I had no money, I was hungry. I felt hurtful. I learned that no matter what ways, at social services, all around St. difficult to become re-established. found places where people receive food a person goes through, it’s most impor- Vinny’s, behind the police station, under- Homeless people need assistance to for free, such as the GRIP Souper Center tant not to look down on anyone. neath the BART overpass, and at the get back on track. People often need in Richmond. GRIP (Greater Richmond It matters to offer encouragement and threshold of churches. access to a wide range of support to make Interfaith Project) offers Love, Help, Food hope, and to tell a person, “Don’t give By 6 a.m., the people had left their a life change. At St. Mary’s Center I and Work. With Love, a lot is possible. up. Life is not over. You can make life spots to begin their daily routine. enjoyed connecting and engaging with My appreciation increased for places that better.” I learned not to wear my feelings Homeless people live a semi-nomadic other people. I felt a sense of belonging provide services to homeless people. on my sleeves and to continually focus life, and go until they are beat. as we shared experiences and collaborat- I felt for a woman living under the free- on changing my life. Many people fall through the cracks ed in overcoming adversity. way. I could have been out there like her. People who are homeless need help. and become homeless. Many have felt Now when I see someone who is She was happy to have her photo taken. Services in our community for shelter, disempowered, isolated, and out-of-sync homeless or emotionally challenged, I She had adapted, made the best of her situ- meals, health care, education, and with other people and society. like to consider how to share a kind word ation. The sign on her cart read, “Please do employment are essential. Programs And many homeless people are inge- and offer comfort. yourself a favor for tomorrow or any day; motivate and assist people to make real nious, intelligent, and resourceful. They I am in the process of creating a ful- don’t let the hype fool you. Stay Safe.” changes in their lives. Funding for these establish comfortable ways to live out- filling life and I like to contribute to the I spoke with several people on the programs needs to be continued. doors. Some people find a dry spot, a common good. I hope that we all can streets for this project. People who are I give thanks to God. God brought me quiet place, and create accommodations. come together to make the world a homeless can survive sleeping outside. through and helps all who trust and They arrange their valuables, bedding, healthier place. I do see this evolving, lit- However, poverty and depression are believe. and stuff to make a niche with a certain tle by little. 10 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014

Walking the Walk by Judy Joy Jones Hoarding Wealth Impoverishes Workers walking the walk living the talk speaking up loudly against all inequality I see

until all people are free will I be forever thru eternity singing for rights of women children and the poor until they are treated with dignity

walking the walk living the talk singing boldly and strong against all injustices I see until all women children and the poor are treated with dignity

blood of the homeless by Judy Joy Jones the blood soaked pillow The deadly poverty created when billionaires hoard wealth is symbolized by the skulls worn by tycoons. Art by Victor Arnautoff of a homeless man who used by Jack Bragen with enormous levels of success. famous movie star, spent approximately a concrete streets But let me play devil’s advocate for a hundred million dollars in a short period rominent multibillionaires — those few paragraphs. of time and became poor. At the time of for his bed at the top of the economic heap — died in the night Contrary to what one might believe, his death, Michael Jackson owed more Pand multimillionaires — those who people with money have their own sets of money than he was worth. are “merely” comfortable — often need to hardships that they have exchanged for Big money entails a lot of temptation. I didn’t know you invest in public relations so that the public my precious friend the ones that exist for the poor. People One very famous rap celebrity had dia- doesn’t despise them for hogging up all with money often need to defend it monds implanted on his front teeth. Shoe but I’ll carry on the money. Publicists are eager to point the flame against lawsuits. If someone is injured on collections of the rich and famous could out all of the “good” activities and the their property or in a car accident, it can take up a whole room, with each pair in honor of generosity of these moguls. In fact, no your life entail millions in damages. Or, a lawsuit being worth tens of thousands. Extreme individual should be allowed to hoard a could be fabricated from insubstantial wealth leads to extreme waste. billion dollars. It just isn’t right. you did not supposed wrongs. The prestige and power of wealth lead In a society that had any sort of fair- live in vain They must deal with the IRS, which is to arrogance. People with money believe ness, we might have a cap of maybe twen- apt to put them in prison if they slip up they are superior. They believe that they ty million dollars as a maximum amount may I carve the name too much on their taxes. People with have succeeded in life merely by hard that one individual is allowed to have. of this unknown poet money must deal with relatives or work, by superior ability, and by being an This might sound like a communist ideal, in the book of life acquaintances begging for some of it, and intrinsically better person than those less but, in fact, it is only fair. such a loan only creates resentment on fortunate. While it is true that many peo- When someone is able to accumulate a you will both sides. ple have become rich and famous mainly personal fortune into the billions, it is be known People with money must deal with through their own efforts, it doesn’t mean ridiculous not to acknowledge they are cap- as my neighbors with whom relations aren’t that they are somehow better people than italizing upon the work of thousands of sub- eternal brother always good. If they don’t want neigh- those who haven’t done as well. ordinates, workers and supporters. You do forever more bors, they might get a house in the middle The only thing worse than hoarding not get that kind of money merely through of nowhere. In this case, they are ripe for money while depriving others of basic your own work — it is not plausible. a home invasion robbery. People with needs is the disdain that many affluent Thus, for every multimillionaire or bil- money must constantly deal with turning people have toward people not as high on spotters needed lionaire, there are hundreds of thousands on and off their burglar alarms and with the socioeconomic totem pole. by Judy Joy Jones who barely get by on low wages, all of not creating a false alarm. Rich people perceive the poor and the spotters needed whom are contributing to the increasing People with money must be educated homeless as being human garbage. This catch homeless wealth of one person at the top of this in how to handle their money. If they sort of condemnation only adds insult to trying to pee pyramid. leave the handling of it to a specialist, injury and creates a society in which suc- eat or sleep It is easy for the wealthy to scoff and their money managers and accountants cess is god, and in which hard circum- on our fine streets say, “Go out and make your own fortune. could rip them off. stances supposedly indicate turpitude. In I did it, why can’t you?” And this is yet Money entails a tremendous amount of fact, those who hoard billions to them- turn ‘em into another example of the sense of entitle- responsibility at a level which many poor selves while depriving others are largely the police ment and the arrogance of those blessed people could not handle. Nicholas Cage, a the true immoral ones.

it’s fun — they sit In Defense of the Burned Out! "Unsightly" too long in a cafe Damned! by George Wynn by Joan Clair call 911 by George Wynn White as Wonder Bread Was it the sight of an “unsightly” man and watch ‘em run like this one the Buddha saw, Every time I hear or read muscled, naked to the waist inspiring him to give up his palace the geometry of negative angles bare feet teaching youth of wealth and search for more? working in stores and meaningless words racing a shopping cart An elderly, homeless gentleman how to treat of the mainstream media covered with posters in the lobby of a library stoops down, the most helpless ones disregarding the unhoused of the Grateful Dead trying to gather himself together — of our society as if they were wild animals down Market Street who should be chased out of town his paper bags, his clothes in rags make ‘em walk I, George Wynn, feel myself with manic haste half on him, half on the floor. until they die churning on the inside as if he wants I offer the man a sturdier bag of cloth. so we can and move into the to push time faster The voice from the core of rags and bags be happy and free street-writing groove and get away: is educated, words enunciated clearly. and play the piano "No thank you," he says. get ‘em anywhere but here on paper and sing and rant "No thank you," said the Buddha, out of sight tendons in his neck as best I can giving up all his possessions, and everything will be in defense of screaming: "I'm on the trying to transcend the pain of all right the damned! verge of breaking!" sights like this one. June 2014 S TREET S PIRIT 11

The Trauma Stare by George Wynn I look into my mother's eyes and see sadness for a time lost. She's hanging laundry on a Tenderloin rooftop in the 1950s, so mesmerized and confused by America she looks out into space for hours at a time after finishing her daily wash. I see the same blank and weary look in contemporary chronic homeless souls on dreary and rainy days seeking shelter and sleep in the Metro and under Tenderloin and Market Street awnings. My mother saw the world in the color green. She was beaten down by the time she came to America. Behind her eyes she was remembering Nazi green-uni- formed soldiers in jackboots stealing loaves of bread from Jews on the streets of Krakow. She'd shake her soft hand before making a fist, sigh, then exclaim, "Oh how they beat them! Oh how they beat them!" She would purse her lips for a few minutes, relax them, then look out trance-like with that trauma stare and forget I was there. Some homeless folks have that stare. Combat photographers who dare to chance firezone fronts along the dance of war have captured the traumatic, "Near Catatonic" stare of American soldiers with too many tours of duty with weapons in their arms, reinforcing the lasting power of an overabundance of negative images in the human psyche. A woman looks for meal in a trash can, ignored by the crowds. Photo credit: Dong Lin

Down on 8th Street Night Steals Softly Bag of Bones EPITAPH by George Wynn by Karen Melander-Magoon by Mary Rudge by Mary Rudge Both of them Night steals softly through the The skin grows looser, I woke to rain and bitter cold. have long white hair city streets and looser around me, Hard ground was my bed. and hip pain Pads gently along urban roads old bag, shaken up, And so soon was my name inscribed she is as tall as he Covers chairs and tables in our home the jumble in my brain. On the wall of homeless dead. Blankets the homeless What hand is this, this destiny They limp along Lying in each archway in a land that has tossed me Market Street In each doorway like garbage. mile after mile A Day of Death Blankets without warmth by Karen Melander-Magoon hand in hand But democratically in the rain Night arrives for all of us The World Asks for One sunny day Both of them Consonant with skies Solutions Last year so quiet And spinning earth A year old girl on their way to Night sings the same song by Karen Melander-Magoon And a baby boy the Ferry Landing Humming in our cortex The world asks for solutions Were both shot for a bay ride Velvet lullabies As children die And killed to Tiburon Night comes as gentle mother As children are exploited With guns their treat Draping layered veils Tortured, killed, left to wander The little girl of the week On presidents and paupers Along streets Was on her nanny’s back Silkworms and silken gowns That are no metaphor Resting from learning Nothing has happened Shivering children and sober lovers For our journey To walk to their application Dumpsters and dandelions To understanding On her city block for housing Masons and musicians Children do not live in metaphors The baby It's always the Retreating in the darkening street They live in a real world Was in his stroller same old song: Or meeting for a dancing beat Where they are hungry Laughing wait till next year A place inviting dancing feet And no one can feed them At the beautiful world but they still keep the faith Night slides like toffee through the Thirsty Around him On 8th Street they darkening fog And cannot find clean water Eleven times each drop four quarters Covering our faces, legs and arms Hiding from drones More school children in a white haired lady's Until we too are night Ubiquitous drones Are killed by guns in America outstretched cup We too become That kill without conscience Than anywhere else and he even tips his A democratic state of mind Or even awareness In the wealthy world Giants cap to her Invisible and indiscriminating Of their destructive More children die which elicits a smile Creatures of a shadow land Robotic power From gunfire from her and a Wrapped gently in a widow’s veil The world asks for solutions Than soldiers fighting rattle of the cup A blackened sail End war Foreign wars A black cat’s tail End greed There are nearly All black End capitalism As many guns While night That creates war As there are people Remembering The Steals softly through That creates greed In the United States Holocaust Our blinded minds Creates a world Half of the world’s Of robots Civilian firearms by Claire J. Baker Extinguishing All thought of sight With no conscience Are here in the USA Nazi guards engraved Extinguishing And no awareness Where twice as many a number on each All thought of light Of their violence Black children Jew's wrist Until we too To children Die from guns like branding hides Become the night Creates a world As in traffic accidents of rounded-up cattle. Until we too Of chemical plants Eight children die Each day Then Become the night And fracturing drills From gunfire long crowded boxcars, And oil spills The poor little air, And cancer Are the most likely no sanitation — War, Homelessness... With no conscience To die from guns the numbers by Claire J. Baker Or awareness Of the death they bring The children of the poor imprisonment, lice, rats, War, homelessness, poverty To all Are the most likely starvation, can be made artistically moving — Not just to children To die sexual abuse, even beautifully rendered in oils, The world asks for solutions Or go to prison inhumane experiments. pastels, acrylics; They are within To be tried as adults on movietown film; in black and white Finally Its own grasp For shooting guns and color photos; in true stories, gas steamed from Opened to give life Or be killed novels, visions; in rows of showerheads — Opened to allow abundance For having toy guns soldier's boots on display on a lawn. bodies incinerated Opened to create Of plastic in round-the-clock ovens But friends, folks, fellow Opened to sustain again As they run and play or naked bodies shoveled countrywomen and men, Bring life again The answer into mass graves — war, homelessness, poverty — Bring joy again They say horrors photographed these scourges of civilization Bring peace again Is more prisons into eternal infamy are humanly, simply To children And more guns while the "outside" world and complicatedly Bring peace again More prisons mostly wore a mask! unacceptable! To everyone And more guns 12 S TREET S PIRIT June 2014 Our Daily Bread

King Vidor’s Depression-era film offered a utopian vision of social justice that championed the rights of workers. The vultures of the con- trolled press condemned it as anti-American. by Mike Marino than willing and able to fund “Our Daily ing Vidor, director of the Bread” from beginning to “The End.” Needless to say, once it was completed 1928 silent film classic, “The and shown, the press attacked Vidor’s Crowd,” turned his insatiable film with the viciousness of a rabid dog, social consciousness loose calling it pinko propaganda that had a Konce again in 1934, with the release of his faint, Soviet-Red tint due in large part to cinematic indictment of the economic its “communal” message of survival, and degradation of the Depression era, “Our the involvement of Charlie Chaplin, who Daily Bread” (originally called “Hell’s had also gained a “pinko” rep. The film Crossroads”). was released through Chaplin’s United “Our Daily Bread” was an updated, non- Artists Company, whose main offices sedated, “go for the jugular” sequel to were in Hollywood — not Moscow! Vidor’s earlier film, “The Crowd,” with dif- The storyline follows the exploits of ferent actors, and this time, with sound, a John and Mary (sounds like check-in time musical score and dialogue. It was the dawn at the No-Tell Motel), who are having a of Hollywood’s “talkies” and Vidor’s film hard time during the hard times keeping had a voice that spoke loud and clear in their heads above water while swimming in describing the plight of Americans in the the high-cost ocean of the high-rise city. richest land on the planet. They take what assets they have, cash out “Our Daily Bread” exposed economic and hit the road, leaving New York far injustice years before Steinbeck’s Grapes behind in the rearview mirror. of Wrath (published in 1939) put Tom As luck would have it, Mary’s uncle Joad on the road, and countless others in has offered them possession of a rough search of work tried to survive by hopping piece of farmland to work and live on. rides like bolsheviks in boxcars, riding the They feel they are up to the challenge, roll “This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is up their proletarian sleeves and take over My Land” Woody Guthrie rails. the abandoned farm with mucho gusto Economic oppression and ruin were and a rush of adrenalin. Remember now, the devastating results of the Great these are born and bred city folks used to Depression that put tremendous pressure concrete canyons and apartments. on the people, while the dust storms and Farming and land stewardship are as for- drought of the Dust Bowl destroyed the eign to them as a conscience was to Sen. ing, soil depletion, regeneration of soil, be auctioned off by the sheriff for non- land and soil, dispossessing families from Joseph McCarthy in the ‘50s during the the common sense of land stewardship, payment of the mortgage. their generations-old heritage of farm life, “red scare” hearings in America. and the importance of irrigation to fill in During the auction, the prospective buy- property and honest labor. It was the Gradually, as the farm takes shape and when Mother Nature cannot comply with ers have to face an angry line of faces of the worst of times, and, unlike Dickens’ A the land itself rejuvenates with new life and ample water, and drought conditions soon-to-be landless, farmless, homeless Tale of Two Cities, there were no best of growth, John and Mary have an epiphany retard the land and hold it hostage. farmers. Intimidated, the buyers back off times this time around. of sorts. They decide to establish a collec- “Our Daily Bread” is not all soil, toil and the farm is sold to one of the collec- “Our Daily Bread” utilized the same tive of others seeking shelter from the storm and trouble. Not by a long shot. You have tive’s members for under two bucks! characters as “The Crowd,” but this time of the Great Depression. They had read all to add a smidgeon of sex as an undertone The team works diligently day and night with a new roster of actors who would about the great Utopian experiments of the in any socially conscious film — an affair to get the irrigation ditch dug and activated reprise the roles in a fresh and unique 19th century, and although these attempts that acts as a diversion from the mission by diverting just enough water for their way. Vidor was a passionate filmmaker were rarely successful, John and Mary feel of its protagonists, in this case, the com- meager needs. Their backbreaking labor is who was excited about exposing condi- they have the communal chutzpah to pull it pletion of the irrigation ditch. The diver- successful and the life-giving water cas- tions that create the indignities suffered off. So they put up signs advertising for sionary “she” is Sally who comes along cades over the soil and saves the crops, when human rights are trampled. men who need work and shelter in and takes John for a short journey away saves the day, and saves the farm. Vidor approached movie mogul Irving exchange for bartering the skills they can from matrimonial sanctity with Mary, and By now, while water is filling the irri- Thalberg, boy genius of MGM studios, in bring to the utopian table, such as carpen- also manages to divert John’s own sexual gation ditch, Sally is water under the an effort to gain his interest and persuade ters, mechanics, or other talented workers irrigation ditch of needs, thereby leading bridge as John, once errant, now embraces him to hand over the gold from the MGM who can help keep the collective machine him to neglect his duties as prime motiva- Mary with all the gusto that a wandering vault to get the film produced and marketed well-oiled and operational. tor of the group farm. His daily dalliance husband can and should summon. While to the public. Thalberg, however, was not Men on the move came across the farm, is now interfering with the daily bread of John and Mary make merry, in the fields interested. He wanted to entertain the public saw the signs posted there, and realized the the commune! the farm workers are celebrating with wild with Marx Brothers comedies and romantic opportunity awaiting them. As it turns out, Once John has his fill of tilling Sally’s abandon, dashing and splashing in the comedies, and was not about to break for- John and Mary had made them an offer fertile soil, he gets back on track and tack- water. In the end, the crops give forth a mula and preach from a cinematic soapbox they couldn’t refuse! It was a chance to les the construction of an irrigation ditch bounty unheard of and the communal about the misery of the miserable who were share in the food and profits generated on with the gusto of a kid at Christmas ripping spirit is alive and well. growing in number in this former land of the farm, while at the same time sharing in open his presents in a frantic frenzy. The film moves as fast as a tornado in plenty while the soupline chorus broke out the workload and helping each other out. Drought has hit the region like writer’s Kansas and is just as powerful with its into a rousing refrain of “Brother Can You Sustainable living through brotherhood as a block and it is imperative that the irrigation message of collectivity and self-sufficien- Spare A Dime.” reality, well before it became a born-again ditch be completed to salvage the farm and cy, hard work and rewards. It is anti-cor- Across the nation, prosperity gave way Facebook buzzword! all the work they have put into it. porate in scope and focuses on what can to handouts at backdoors, tramps and In time, the cadre of comrades grows, At one point, John is fed up with the be attained by a group of hardworking hobos were on the move, and families and the utopian Garden of Eden blossoms, and project and feels it is a disaster. Mary is as individuals in time of need who, instead children were starving to death. It was life it’s all for one, one for all. As the proletar- astute as they come and realizes with her of whining about life, take adversity by without a net. A dazzling, dangerous, ian population grows, families now seek fine-tuned female intuition that Sally is the horns and turn it around through a high-wire act that defied death usually out the farm they had heard about. They responsible for John’s discontent. Her proactive approach. That approach, of ended up in death or, at the very least, are a diverse lot, including an Italian and a instincts prove to be correct and John course, was considered anti-American and broken dreams and spirits. Jewish family who all pitch in. Later, in actually leaves the farm, briefly, with anti-capitalist when it came out. The vul- Vidor, his back literally against the no-room-at-the-inn symbolism — the inn Sally in tow. Her gravitational pull is too tures of the controlled press condemned it, economic wall, decided to produce the being American society and its intoler- strong for him to fight. no doubt at the behest or outright threat film himself, using whatever personal ance for the poor — a Jewish child is born After a few sexual forays with Sally, that radiated from the seat of power in funds he had to funnel into the film pro- on the farm. John gets her out of his system, and Washington, D.C., and its dollar-a-holler ject, but it was not enough to reach the At one point, the cavalry arrives, in the decides that the group has to make the whore — namely, corporate America’s finish line. Vidor then looked to a curious form of a Swedish farmer who has been fields wet and productive. But a new big business and banking institutes. little tramp who walked with an arrogant kicked off his own land and is now dis- wrinkle falls on the wizened face of cir- In the words of the utopian communi- waddle with his trademark hat and cane, a possessed. He joins the community and, cumstance when it’s learned that a few ty: “We live! We love! We fight! We tramp with a social conscience by the with his vast agricultural expertise, begins mortgage payments have been missed and hate! What don’t we do for — OUR name of Charlie Chaplin, who was more to teach the enclave the secrets of farm- things are coming to a head. The land is to DAILY BREAD!”