John Mellencamp Fights Against Homelessness
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SEPTEMBER 2010 VOLUME ONE, ISSUE TWO vendors. Please buy only from badged vendors. Your donation directly benefits the John Mellencamp fights $1 against homelessness with INSIDE words of truth and Groundcover News Taking Root p. 2 songs of reality — page 3 Exclusive Street Newspaper interview with John Mellencamp p. 3 Violinist plays on streets to raise awareness of homeless plight p. 4 Tax credits can mean the difference between housed or homeless p. 5 “On the Corner” with Groundcover Vendor Tony p. 6 A community breakfast celebrates 28 years p. 7 Ann Arbor City Map p. 8 Street Buzz - Reducing carbon footprints the hard way p. 12 www.groundcovernews.com 2 OPINIO N GROUNDCOVER NEWS Groundcover News takes root in Ann Arbor MISSION: Groundcover had found the apartment but it was his job opportunities to our vendors and volun- Groundcover News exists to create some great successes selling papers that enabled him to meet teers. Volunteers are needed to help opportunity and a voice for low- this month. Many of the income requirement. His shelter bed with writing, editing, artwork, fundrais- income people while taking action you read the terrific is now available for someone else who ing, marketing, business administration, to end homelessness and poverty. article about has been living on the street. vendor support and events. We are also Groundcover in the seeking mentors. Community meetings Ann Arbor, Michigan September issue of Several other vendors have found a re- to fill out our organization are scheduled the Ann Arbor Ob- newed sense of purpose and camaraderie for 7:00 pm on September 28 and No- S usan Beckett, Publisher Susan Beckett server and some of through their work and are striving to vember 2. Both will be in the lower Laurie Lounsbury, E ditor Publisher you heard radio inter- improve their situations and prepare for lounge at the First Baptist Church, lo- views about us on the future. Twenty eight people have re- cated on Washington between State and Michigan Radio. Most exciting is the ceived training to sell Groundcover and Division. Please join us if you see a vol- C ontributors: impact we have had on the lives of our sixteen of them are actively selling. unteer job that appeals to you. David KE Dodge vendors. Karen L. Totten Our goals for next month include adding Please email: Marquise Williams Tony, featured in this issue and the Ob- more volunteers to all aspects of our op- [email protected] and Danielle Mack server story, has moved from the shelter eration, securing office space, and offer- indicate your interest so you can be into his own apartment. His caseworker ing mini-classes and socializing kept abreast of new developments. www.groundcovernews.com John Mellencamp walks the walk of people, not money By Ken Leslie suit of "more" goes on as usual. Com- that commitment; wouldn't you? could get to escape. Oh, but ain't this McMerica, you and me mittees come together to create "pop songs," short for "popular songs," which For the cynical – I don't know about That may not be your reason, but no Ain't this McMerica, sidewalks to see baby are then recorded and overdubbed on you, but if I wanted publicity, I would matter the reason, it is hard, hard work 'Cause ain't this McMerica, home of the 100 plus audio tracks. have picked one of the established main- to achieve financial and domestic auton- FEE. stream publications, rather than a bunch omy in McMerica for anyone, housed or Little pink SHELTERS for you and me. Ignoring the critics (people who don't of street papers the masses never see. But unhoused. like what YOU do with YOUR time, Mellencamp isn't about publicity. When America has become an insatiable nation YOUR money, and YOUR effort); there he came to our Homeless Awareness John Mellencamp did this interview here of "more." But "more" is never quite is a small cadre of musicians who don’t Project Tent City in 2007, his visit was for you hoping it just might help you enough. How much money does a com- write those formulaic songs. explicitly preconditioned on no advance achieve both. pany need to make next quarter? More! publicity. Period. He did this interview here because YOU Always "more!" These musicians write about truth, and sometimes the truth about the other side No, Mellencamp doesn't give a rip about do matter. Extrapolate that. Where will it end? of McMerica is really in darkness. Cer- publicity; never has, never will. THIS is our country, because every 1 tainly, this dark truth is the last thing McBusiness has abandoned all moral de- He chose this interview in this venue Matters, don't they? cency, ravaging the American Dream, all McBusiness wants the masses to hear, due to the risk of it becoming "popular." JUST so those of you selling this street in the search for "more." The mentality paper would be able to make enough jin- of McBusiness in the last two decades Throughout John Mellencamp’s entire gle in your front pocket to make some would have sounded something like this, career, he has written about the "injustice folding money for your back pocket. if they had ever dared to say it out loud: for all" wherever he saw it. "Hey boss, I have an idea. Let's give the He did this here so just maybe people masses a ton of money they don't need But this man has not just written about will find the fight inside of them to do and probably cannot repay. We will just injustice, no; he has worked to fight in- the hard work necessary to get into fi- tell them to take our money and buy justice. He has put his time, money and nancial and domestic autonomy. something really nice that they can't af- WORK toward helping those in need. Yes, it's hard work, very hard work; I ford with it. They will have to pay us a He has been doing this since the begin- know all too well. I was one of those monthly fee to use the money. Check ning, from age 13 or 14 with his first who was living in my car because I was a this part out, boss: then we can sell their band, to today. October 3rd will be make "victim" of <insert your own reason loan that they cannot repay to some the 25th year of Farm Aid, in which he here>, NOT because I used all my cash other sucker. We will make money both has long been a participant. I would call last night to buy some "whatever" I ways! Cha-freaking-ching!" Then the whole house of cards (housing) toppled over, and tens of thousands of Letter to the Editor American FAMILIES got chewed up and spit out, losing their domestic autonomy GOP Casts Fear and Doubt Obama and the Democratic Congres- and ending up on the streets and in the for Midterm Election sional majority have been working to shelters. better the lot of the average American, The GOP is desperate to regain its the GOP continues to favor the inter- How many families are on the streets? former Congressional majority. The ests of the wealthy. No party with such party of Joe McCarthy and Watergate Walking distance from the Stadium According to the Department of Hous- a focus is worthy to make economic or ing and Urban Development, because of is now targeting ‘weak’ Democratic “Sober Up” at Roos Roast Retail and seats with blatant fear and smear cam- political policies for our society. As al- foreclosures and job losses, the number ways, America’s better future will be Roasting of families on the streets and in shelters paigns. Just as in the McCarthy era, locations: 1155 Rosewood St., Suite B, rumors and half-truths are considered gotten through the pursuit of greater is up 30%. The unhoused of today is Ann Arbor 734-222-9202 far more important that real facts. The human equality. the same family who lived right next Open M-F, 9 AM Till 5 PM and open at: door to you yesterday. Tea Party ‘movement’ is now used for handy deniability of factual distortions Paul Lambert the Farmer's Market Saturday and Meanwhile, on the other side of town, and fear mongering. While President Ann Arbor Wednesday morning. for the McMusic BUSINESS, the pur- www.groundcovernews.com F E ATURE 3 John Mellencamp talks to Street Newspaper organizations about homelessness By Ken Leslie We first met two years ago or so when KL: How’d you respond? street papers which are carrying your you made an un-promoted stop at the words right now. What are your words of To most people the “homeless” are noth- annual Tent City, Project Homeless Con- JM: Well, there were times that there hope to all of our brothers and sisters ing more than vague faces of poverty re- nect in Toledo. You just wanted them to were fist fights. I remember in a little who are living on the streets of our coun- flected in the mirror of a society afraid to know they matter. Bob Merlis (Mellen- town in Indiana there was a fist fight in try? even look, much less help. camp’s publicist) told me you were between one of our breaks because of his touched by the experience. How so? race. So, ya know. I’m Sisyphus myself; JM: Well, I’ve always, ah, I’ve always had Over a career spanning 25 albums John I’m always the guy who’s rolling the rock a bunch of dumb cliché things that my Mellencamp has written about who he is.