Author Archive
By Hannah Traverse
Editorial Intern
Summer in D.C. can be brutal; the days are hot, sunny and so humid that it sometimes feels like doing the backstroke might be more effective than walking. When late June and July brought many days with temperatures above 100 F, we inevitably became concerned about the wellbeing of our vendors.
Spending all day outside in extreme heat can be life-threatening without proper hydration. Many of our vendors are currently experiencing homelessness and others are living in very tenuous situations, making it difficult for them to access drinking water. Robert Weaver, our vendor and volunteer manager, began working with intern Helen West to find businesses to donate bottled water for Street Sense vendors to take with them on their sales routes.
Helen contacted a large range of potential donors: beverage companies, grocery store chains, major retailers. Some companies were unresponsive, some companies sent Helen through loops, but two companies, Whole Foods Market and DC Water, stood out in the way they willingly jumped to our aid. With over 260 bottles of water donated by Whole Foods and 300 reusable water bottles donated by DC Water, Street Sense vendors are now better prepared to head out in the heat.
“I greatly appreciate Whole Foods and DC Water for joining the large community of those who care about the men and women experiencing homelessness,” said Robert. “It’s important to provide our vendors with the tools to stay safe in this dangerous weather.”
Street Sense would like to thank Whole Foods and DC Water for their support. We also appreciate DC Water’s commitment to TapIt, a program that allows people to refill their water bottles for free at participating restaurants and cafés.
Daniel Thaler, Marketing Team leader at Whole Foods commented upon the importance of helping out our vendors.
“The reason we’re donating the sports cap water bottles is because we’re hoping they (the homeless) can fill them up, reuse them, and save on plastic,” said Daniel Thaler from Whole Foods. “This is part of our community outreach, we sympathize with people who live in this heat and are trying to stay hydrated.
And Helen West would like to thank Whole Foods and DC Water for making her efforts as an intern a little bit easier.
“Some of the larger businesses I talked with were just unhelpful,” said Helen. “Whole Foods and DC Water were very receptive and wanted to help…they’re a part of this community, too.”
Aug
by Zachary Davidson
Editorial Intern
Gary J. Minter has the look of a professor and speaks in the cadence of an academic. As a former counselor for people afflicted by HIV, he has great respect for the mission and core values of Street Sense and journalism.
Minter is Vendor 389. He started selling the paper in April 2011 after he moved from Raleigh to the D.C. area with just a few cents in his pocket.
Minter was formerly the editor in chief at his high school newspaper in the Chicago suburbs, where he grew up. After graduating from Duke University, class of 1972, with a degree in zoology and a strong interest in religions, Minter married and had a son who is now nearly 40. Life was ideal when he began selling insurance in the Durham area, until he moved his family to Raleigh to be near his wife’s family. There Minter worked for the state government for 12 years. His role evolved over time: part researcher and part counselor. Minter sought out recent self-aware HIV patients.
Often traveling into crack houses, strip clubs and dangerous neighborhoods, Minter interviewed people who had recently been diagnosed with HIV in order to determine how they where exposed and whom they might have infected. Minter said that though the job was difficult, he found the experience very fulfilling: “The experience was really difficult at times. Confidentiality was really important, but it was noble what we were doing.”
In 1988, Minter’s marriage to his first wife ended. He remarried in 1990, but the marriage dissolved several years later. Minter became a jack-of-all-trades in the white-collar world, running for political office engaging the business community and campaigning for social justice.
In 2006, Minter had the opportunity to live in Beijing teaching English to MBA students. He is modest in admitting that he mastered only some conversational Mandarin. He described one incident when he needed to find a restroom but couldn’t ask due to an issue with dialect. “I was frantic, running around the street, and I kept pointing down there and yelling [something Mandarin]. No one was understanding me. Finally, I found someone who helped me.”
In March 2007, Minter returned to the United States to say goodbye to his mother as she passed away. This traumatic event, followed by a mysterious illness that left him feeling feverish, confused, weak and at times bleeding, put him in a deep depression. He became so confused that at times he questioned whether or not he had AIDS. Minter moved into a Raleigh Super 8 motel for $60 a night. His only human contact became the television, the clerks at the front desk and the staff at the local Mexican restaurant where he ate every day. Minter said, “I remember feeling that I was losing a sense of self, feeling depressed and like a hermit.” For the next 2 years, he used up all of his savings and his mother’s life insurance and cashed in his 401(k).
“At some point, I realized I was running out of money,” said Minter. “I had 38 cents to my name. So I called my cousin Beth in Bethesda, Maryland, October 2010. I stayed with her a couple of months and moved into Bethesda Cares, because I didn’t want to be a burden. I had a couple of interviews, but I probably didn’t make a good impression. I was feeling down and sorry for myself.
“Whenever I had extra money, I would come down to D.C. to explore and have fun. One event was the Chinese New Year Celebration. You know, I get restless and like to wander. One time I was in D.C., I met a Street Sense vendor and bought a paper from them, because I talked with them and liked the cause.”
Minter kept coming into D.C., because he believed there were more opportunities and services available to people like him. He found a shelter where the beds were drawn by lottery, but as winter approached, his chances of getting a bed became slimmer. “I thought, ‘You know, I’m in poor health, and I’m not a young guy; I could die out here,’” he said.
Minter now lives at St. Elizabeth’s, where he is grateful for the stability. He is currently on food stamps and working on getting Medicaid.
Aug
By Hannah Traverse
Editorial Intern
When a significant portion of your day is spent trying to find a meal, a place to shower and a place to sleep, when do you find time to relax and have some fun? On September 24, 2011, the homeless of D.C. will have an opportunity to let down their hair for an evening at the Sundown Soulfest.
The Soulfest, which will be held in the parking lot behind the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter at 425 2nd Street N.W., will feature a live jazz band, barbecued food and a DJ playing ‘80s and ‘90s dance music. Organizers expect about 1,500 homeless individuals to attend. The event, scheduled for the day after the fall equinox, will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and end just as the sun goes down. As flyers for the event say, the idea behind the Soulfest is to celebrate fall “as the season for the homeless to rise up and move out of their plight.”
The event itself, more than just as a venue at which to dance, sing and mingle, will help empower homeless people to overcome adversity. The Soulfest marks the launch of Project MASON (Ministering, Assisting, Serving Outcast Neighbors), a venture that seeks to increase the effectiveness of homeless service providers.
D.C. government employee Gregory Wragg, founder of STREATS, an organization of homeless and formerly homeless individuals “Striving To Reach, Educate And Transform Self,” also created Project MASON and the concept of the Soulfest. Part of Wragg’s inspiration to pursue Project MASON came from watching the organizations and churches that stop by Franklin Park on the weekend to serve food to the homeless. As Wragg said, the goal of Project MASON is to bring such organizations “to a higher level of service.” He sees the friendly, personable mingling at the Soulfest as a way to jump-start a new kind of relationship between service providers and homeless individuals.
Wragg said that service providers that attend the Soulfest will not necessarily be there to administer their services in a formal sense. He is looking for churches and businesses to donate and serve food, but more importantly he hopes service providers will also quite literally step out from behind their buffet tables and interact with the homeless in a more profound manner. The idea is that members of service organizations might meet homeless individuals at the Soulfest with whom they develop relationships and can help in a personalized nature.
The Soulfest is just the beginning for Project MASON. Within a few weeks of the event, service providers that attended the Soulfest will begin attending workshops, conducted by homeless and previously homeless individuals, to help their organizations approach homelessness in a more holistic manner.Wragg envisions organizations that previously limited their service to food and clothing donations learning to use their resources to help homeless individuals earn degrees, find jobs and find places to live.
To turn the Soulfest and Project MASON into reality, STREATS hopes to raise more than $15,000 in donations. About 75 percent of this money will help pay for the event, including the cost of food, plus fees for the live music, the DJ and rented tables and chairs. The remaining 25 percent of the money will go directly towards helping homeless individuals, hopefully paying the transportation and daycare expenses for a group of 10 women from the DC General Shelter who are attempting to get their GEDs.
Aside from serious matters surrounding the plight of the homeless, the Soulfest is still on its surface a chance to celebrate. “The intention is for the homeless to drift away for those four hours,” said Wragg. “To not even worry, to not even think about being homeless.”
Retina Christian, an advocate for the homeless who is working to find churches and service providers to participate in Project MASON, believes that if nothing else, the Soulfest can be immensely successful in merely giving the homeless a chance to relax for an evening. “Rejoicing or celebrating is a requirement for abundant living for everyone,” said Christian. “Those who are considered society’s outcasts are invited even more to celebrate…. Embracing the spirit of celebration can contribute to happiness; a smile and can renew a broken spirit.”
By Patricia Jefferson
Vendor
Burgers galore, and I have tried them. There are burger places in town that are on the rise that have similarities to fast-food chains, but what make them distinct is style. They may be a little pricier than the fast-food places, yet sometimes they are worth the extra cost. While their service is not as quick, their environment is more stylish with comfortable seating and a relaxing atmosphere.
Over the last two years, I have experienced eating at Rogue States (now known as Black and Orange) and the Burger Joint, both on Connecticut Avenue off Dupont Circle. I found them both to be a cut above McDonald’s or Burger King. Their burgers cost more, but their taste is also more intense and spicy, and the fixings have flair. Also, both places have sweet potato fries on the menu, which sets them apart from fast food places.
The Laughing Man Tavern on G Street near Metro Center has intriguing burgers that are juicy. The Alps Burger is my favorite, covered with mushrooms and bourbon sauce. The Laughing Man is also reasonably priced.
The Greene Turtle near the Verizon Center is my favorite restaurant. I have tried all the burgers on their menu. They are thick with a distinct mild taste, and they all have character and interesting toppings. I particularly enjoyed the Californian, with avocado spread over bacon and pepper jack cheese. The friendly host, the pleasant atmosphere and the array of television sets covering the walls made the atmosphere enjoyable. Because it is a sports bar, the lighting is dim.
Of all the burgers that I have experienced, however, I give my highest recommendation to the ones at Black and Orange. With their spicy fixings, the burgers there are enlightening. I especially like the way the orders are placed for the enticing and invigorating burgers at the Burger Joint. A box is given to you, and when your order is ready, a red alarm buzzes and nearly scares you to death.
Take a break from McDonald’s this summer and try one of these burger restaurants. Experience one of these unique burgers and intensify your day!
By Jeffery McNeil
Vendor, Board Member
I would like to talk about the blessings I have received this August. The day this newspaper comes out I will celebrate two years of sobriety. I also just published my first book. I went to my family reunion and got a chance to see my 95-year-old grandfather. Further, my father’s health is improving and I hope to go to the Jersey shore to see my brother to do some offshore fishing. The blessings God has given me should make me joyful.
Unfortunately, a feeling of rage that is boiling deep in my soul. Seeing the obstructionism and vindictiveness of a group of jackasses who are trying to stage a coup d’état to overthrow our president and torpedo our government infuriates me to the point that I see red. (I’ve been taught by good writers that before you write a letter laced with profanity and insults to wait a couple of days before you print it. MARY–THIS SENTENCE IS OUT OF SYNC WITH ITS PREDECESSOR AND ITS FOLLOWER. I SAY WE SPIKE IT.) I have waited two months and cannot wait any longer.
This rag tag group of anarchists who call themselves patriots are pissing off Americans and making us the stooges of the world. They are intent on destroying what was once considered the greatest innovation of human civilization–democracy–by pulling their pants down and urinating on it. This act of buffoonery is spilling over to people who don’t want to be involved in a political chicken fight; they want to live in peace and be removed from the power struggles going on in Washington.
I blame the American people for this. Countries like Libya and Egypt riot in the streets to remove leaders who govern contrary to the people’s interest. Theoretically, we have free and civilized elections. Yet, we still end up with extremists in office.
The disgraceful display in Washington reminds me of a scene from the movie “Armageddon” where Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Billy Bob Thornton try to save the world from an asteroid wiping out human civilization. But that was fiction. This is real life, a disaster where Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, and John Boehner have to sacrifice themselves to stop the tea party from destroying democracy.
The only difference between the fictional disaster and the real life disaster is the outcome. In “Armageddon,” the heroes found a way to destroy the asteroid. In real life, America has a group of terrestrial asteroids headed straight for democracy without a plan to destroy them
America has always had extremists among its elected officials. However, like tumors, they are identified and removed from office. But America now has a mutant strand of insanity that will be hard to get rid of. This is sending civilization back to the days of Caligula, who once named one ass as a senator. However, our country didn’t want to be outdone, so, it elected 80 asses to Congress.
It’s hard not to cringe when hearing yahoos like Michele Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh muck up the Constitution and distort history. But even more frightening is that people listen to and believe these Teavangelicals.
No wonder that America has one of the world’s highest illiteracy rates.
By Mary Clare Fischer
Editorial Intern
When summer arrives each year, children celebrate the break from textbooks and teachers. Yet the knowledge lost over those three months adds up, especially for children from low-income families, according to a study released in June by RAND Corporation.
Enter Horizons Greater Washington, an innovative program that brings low-income students to the campuses of elite private schools for summers filled with academics, arts, field trips and swimming lessons. Last summer, middle schoolers who attended Horizons Greater Washington gained an average of 5 months’ worth of reading and 9 months of mathematics, school test results showed.
Executive Director Elizabeth Johnson thinks the secret to Horizons Greater Washington’s success is the sustained involvement required of families and the strict attendance policy. “Kids join our program the summer after kindergarten,” she said. “They make a commitment for at least 5 years. That way, they know the building; they know the teachers; and the first day, they just jump right into learning.”
The children know that they must put the program first. “They need to come every day,” Johnson said. “If they miss for a week of vacation, they know that’s not productive; and if they miss more than a week, they know they might not be asked back for next summer.”
In exchange for their dedication and a $25-per-family fee each summer, children benefit from a 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio and a curriculum tailored specifically to their weaknesses, determined by an assessment test at the beginning of the session.
Students in fourth-grade teacher Danielle Cifelli’s class needed to work on writing. Cifelli started the Horizons Gazette, Horizons Greater Washington’s very own newspaper, designed to help participants increase their skills by letting them choose the topics of their articles.
“I’d have to say my favorite memory was seeing the excitement of the students’ faces when they came in the classroom the day our first issue was to hit stands,” Cifelli said. “They were so happy to be able to hand-deliver it to the classrooms and show off all of their hard work. It built a lot of confidence in my class, which is always something I want for my students.”
Horizons Greater Washington works with partner public schools in enrolling students in the program. “We meet with the kindergarten teachers to explain that we are looking for students who need a little extra to reach their potential,” explained Johnson. That little extra may be the extended 6 of learning, the small group instruction or something else that Horizons Greater Washington can offer. The teachers recommend students. Horizons selects qualifying low-income children and invites their families to register them.
Over the years, parents and teachers remain involved, helping the program to continue to meet the changing needs of the students. Ninety-five percent of students return for successive summers, most with a genuine love of learning.
Third-grader Mary said her favorite subject at Horizons Greater Washington is math. “You use numbers, and they give you hard problems, and you just keep trying,” she said earnestly. “And you can’t use pen.”
Fourth-grade teacher Josh West, who is new at Horizons Greater Washington and teaches in the Northeast neighborhood during the school year, was amazed at the level of enthusiasm. “They all came in so excited,” West said. “And when that happens, it’s just child’s play.”
For those few who are shyer, the program’s signature element, swimming lessons, is seen as a quick way to boost self-confidence. But there’s another, more significant reason for its presence: Drowning is a leading cause of inner-city minority death.
“We’re teaching those skills they haven’t had access to,” Johnson said. “Even in a week, a child can get comfortable putting their head under the water and blowing bubbles. They can swim in the morning and come back in the afternoon and feel that sense of achievement and do better in the classroom.”
Yet Horizons Greater Washington extends academics far beyond the classroom. Art teacher Elaine Edwards, a 5-year veteran at Horizons Greater Washington, said she takes her students to the Phillips Collection, an art gallery on 21st Street, every year. Through a partnership with Glen Echo Park, younger children learn how to make their own puppets. Seventh- and eighth-graders visit local universities such as Georgetown, an event that helps them realize their true potential.
“Us talking about college to these kids is sometimes the first time,” Johnson said. “Saying, ‘You guys could go here’—they can understand that and embrace that concept by being there and actually seeing it, especially if it’s just a few miles from where they live.”
Though Horizons Greater Washington ends with eighth-graders, Johnson said they are in talks to see if they can help graduates as well as expanding their sites—currently only three: Maret School, St. Patrick’s Day Episcopal School and Norwood School—to allow more children to participate in the program. Currently, there is a waiting list of children who hope to enroll. But the highest priority will always be maintaining the high quality of the experience for the students they already have.
“Our rising eighth-graders go on a camping trip to West Virginia for two nights,” Johnson said. “For a lot of these kids, they’ve never done that before. One student a few years ago looked up and said, ‘What’s that?’ It was the Milky Way, all of the stars, and he had never seen so many stars. Knowing that we exposed that child to something like that is just a fabulous feeling.”
Aug
Susan Koch’s award-winning documentary “The Other City,” which was shown July 12 at the GALA Hispanic Theatre, explores this hidden part of DC through the stories of two local organizations and three infected victims: Joseph’s House, a hospice for dying AIDS patients; The Courage to Change Men’s Group, a support group for HIV positive men who have spent time in prison; J’mia Edwards, a 28-year-old single mother, who, when facing eviction, must navigate the world of HIV/AIDS housing; Ron Daniels, a former drug addict who starts a clean needle exchange program ; and Jose Ramirez, a gay Latino man who advocates condom use and testing everywhere from schools to his job at La Clinica del Pueblo, the Hispanic health care clinic that sponsored the screening.
All work to spread awareness of the disease throughout DC, where the infection rate is now higher than that of several West African countries and far surpasses the one percent baseline that the Centers for Disease Control designates as a “generalized and severe epidemic.”
“I don’t think people recognize how vicious this disease is,” Joseph’s House resident Donald said in the film. “It hurts in so many ways.”
The two-hour documentary examines all of these cruel side effects, from the threat of homelessness to the pain of watching loved ones suffer through their last days, helplessly, if the disease resists their complicated drug cocktails. Yet viewers leave feeling hopeful. Edwards finds housing. The needle exchange program is funded, with Ron at the forefront of the campaign. And one of the most poignant moments: The Courage to Change Men’s Group shares its members’stories at an open mic night, complete with a prayer said at every meeting.
Ramirez, who contracted HIV from a boyfriend he didn’t know was positive, embodies the movie’s message of optimism, as he chooses to actively campaign for prevention and testing despite his diagnosis.
“I knew if I was positive about being positive that I could live without worries,” Ramirez said in an interview with Street Sense. “My story is my therapy, and it helps me to help other people.”
La Clinica Executive Director Alicia Wilson said getting tested should be the first step on the path to controlling HIV.
“The most important thing is to know your status,” Wilson said. “The number of patients who are diagnosed with AIDS soon after they’re diagnosed with HIV is very high, which means they’ve been walking around not knowing they have it.”
In fact, 63 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases are “new testers,” people who have never checked to see whether they have the disease.
To combat this high statistic, La Clinica offers free, anonymous HIV testing Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friend of the Board Olympia Sulla spoke highly of La Clinica, which prides itself on providing services to the Latino community regardless of patients’ abilities to pay.
“I’m of the belief that health care is a human right,” Sulla said. “Some of us are lucky enough to have health care, but if we didn’t, we would be left on the streets. People shouldn’t be dying because they can’t pay.”
La Clinica extends this idea to teenagers and young adults through the Mpoderate Youth Center, which gives gay Latino immigrants access to legal counsel, health care, therapists and, of course, HIV testing services.
Denny Ventura, who is involved with Mpoderate but is HIV negative, says that becoming “positive” shouldn’t change one’s outlook on life.
“You’re still part of the community,” Ventura said. “It’s just another extension of your life, like that your hair is blonde or your hair is black. You can still be successful in life and have a family. You’re still a person with feelings, and someone will love you.”
Editorial Intern
While the rest of the city sleeps, others are preparing for a night of work. Some might put on a pair of glittered heels, while others cover a lock of bubblegum pink hair with hairspray, fit themselves into a skintight dress and step out onto the sidewalk—a place where most of their business transactions take place.
The idea of sex work often provokes extreme reactions. Some people cringe, others express interest or shock. Most have preconceived notions that all sex workers have pimps or generally don’t deserve respect. 
Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, or HIPS, works with those in the sex business to provide them more opportunities. The organization takes a special interest in HIV/AIDS prevention, providing HIV testing and handing out free condoms to sex workers. HIPS also works to break the stereotypes of the sex business. The first step is changing names.
On a recent night, the HIPS outreach team, three young women, boarded their van after midnight and made the rounds of city neighborhoods distributing condoms, sex lubricant, clean drug paraphernalia, candy and glasses of water or Tang. When they introduced themselves to the sex workers they met, they would say, “We’re from Helping Individual People Survive.”
“The word ‘prostitute’ has such a loaded negative connotation,” said Jenna Mellor, team leader of the outreach van. “By calling them ‘sex workers,’ people recognize that they are working people like everyone else.”
Mellor, a warm friendly woman known for her smile, is described as a “sex-positive leader.” Sex-positivity, an adjective that usually describes those open and understanding about sexual issues, is just one of many terms I would learn that night, along with the cheer, “HIPS, HIPS, hooray!”
Meredith Zoltick, a volunteer at HIPS who distributed condoms to many clients explained the wide variety of offerings: “Magnums,” she said, holding up a gold square wrapper with the well-known Trojan seal. “These are the most sought out condom because they are bigger and, quite frankly, Trojan has the best advertising.” Then there are Lifestyles Extra Large condoms individually wrapped in blue. “These are actually bigger than Magnums, but they aren’t as well known,” she said.
Her collection also contained flavored condoms and sexual lubricants with flavors such as mint, passion fruit, peach, wild cherry, chocolate and vanilla. “We have to tell everybody that the flavored things can’t be used for vaginal sex, since they can cause infection,” Mellor said.
As they rode through the dark city streets, seeking sex workers out on their strolls, volunteer Alyssa Ballentine sat in what they called “the hot seat.”
“Only the person in the hot seat can talk to the clients,” said Mellor. “They must keep their whole attention on them, because this can double as counseling.”
As the van pulled up to two men sitting on a bus bench, one called out, “Hey, it’s the condom truck.” They leaned forward in the window and requested certain types of condoms in the same manner one would order fast food. “Give me some of them Magnums and Lifestyles,” one said. Zoltick packed a lunch bag full of condoms and handed it up front as Ballentine began explaining the benefits of lube. “If you put some in the tip of the condom, it can make it really pleasurable for you, and it can be pleasurable for your partner,” she said.
According to Mellor, lube can make condoms more appealing and this will help prevent the spread of disease. “It makes them sexier!” she said. Zoltick added, “We like keeping things wet!”
For most of the night, a large portion of the sex workers they encountered were transgendered, meaning their gender identity differed from their assigned sex. For example, most of the transgender women I met that night were born with male anatomies but identify with the female gender.
Many transgender people still face discrimination in the every day world of work, Mellor said, and sometimes, they turn to sex work to survive. “Transgender people may turn to sex work because it is a way for them form strong communities that can keep them safe and make them money,” Mellor said. Research supports her assertion. A 2007 study done by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, “Bias in the Workplace: Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination,” found that 22 to 64 percent of transgender people nationally made less than $25,000 at their jobs. The large variation in numbers is due to the limited amount of research that has gone into transgender discrimination.
At one stop, a group of girls flocked to the van to say hello and receive candy and condoms. One girl complained to a companion that her cell phone was almost out of charge. “You can charge it at the bus station,” said her friend. “They’re good to our kind.”
To help reduce discrimination, workers and volunteers at HIPS use terms such as “cisgender” to compliment the use of the term transgender. Cisgenders are individuals whose gender identity matches their assigned sex. “When everyone has a label, no one is an outcast. So it isn’t transgender and everyone else,” Mellor said.
Ballentine explained some of the things she has learned about this after-dark world: how the strolls, or areas walked by the sex workers, tend to be segregated among the cisgender and transgender community. How the pimps are more common on the cisgender strolls, whereas transgender sex workers tend to look out for one another.
Mellor said pimps also suffer from stereotypes as being violent and malicious. However, she said most of the pimps she has encountered don’t seem to be.
“There are a lot of pimps who refer their girls to us for HIV tests or counseling,” she said.
While HIPS does focus on sex workers in the D.C. area, the outreach van serves anybody who approaches it. The van is known not only for free condoms but also as a place to exchange old needles and receive fresh cookers.
In the back of the van, the volunteers keep a box full of different kinds of needles. “There are needles in here for hormone injections and drug injections,” Mellor said. “We also give out diabetic needles in packs of 10.”
Mellor said they give out cookers and packs of sterile water if they are going to use drugs, they can use them as safely as possible. “We don’t want them using water from the Potomac,” she said.
When a client comes to the van for a needle exchange, the volunteers keep a sign that shows how dirty and dull a needle can get after one to three uses. The pictures feature a needle blown up so one can see the bent tip of the needle after the third use.
As the night sky took on a purple hue, the young women in the van maintained their energy and excitement about helping people. “It is so important to make them feel like this is a safe place,” said Mellor.
In the early morning light, the van still served as a warm place for sex workers who needed a break or a drink of water. For some, sex work is a long term career. For others, it is a last resort, something to do when they don’t have any other options.
“People do this to pay rent and feed their children,” said Mellor. “They do this to survive.”
Reusable water bottles seem to have become ubiquitous. They do make sense, being environmentally responsible and a healthy and logical thing to have around on a hot summer day. But to be useful, a water bottle needs to be filled with water.
Now, with the TapIt program, D.C. residents never need to worry about being caught in the city with an empty water bottle. TapIt, which started in New York City in 2008, is now a nationwide network of about 800 cafes and restaurants that offer people a chance to fill their reusable water bottles for free. The District launched a local TapIt network on June 1, joining 23 states involved in the program. In the ensuing two months, seventy-seven eateries have leaped aboard.
“This is one way to get water when you’re out and about as opposed to buying bottled water,” said Sarah Neiderer, water communications coordinator at D.C. Water. “It’s good if you like exercising. It’s a way to get water if you’re out running, biking, walking…. It’s a very public-friendly program.”
D.C. Water partnered with TapIt in 2010 to begin examining ways to extend the TapIt network into the District.
“We were pursuing options to improve access to tap water. We know that there aren’t very many water fountains in D.C.,” said Neiderer. “This was also a way to promote and improve public trust in tap water.”
On the TapIt Web site, www.tapitwater.com, people can use an interactive map to see the locations of participating restaurants. The Web site shows whether the locations distribute filtered or nonfiltered tap water and tells users whether they need to ask for water refills at the counter or just use a soda fountain. The site even mentions whether the refill will be chilled or at room temperature. People with Smartphones can also download the TapIt app to find participating locations on the go.
For those without easy access to the Internet, finding a TapIt location is still fairly simple: Participating locations display a TapIt decal in their windows, and the TapIt Web site provides a printable D.C. map that marks TapIt partners. D.C. Water and TapIt also work together to distribute TapIt marketing materials. D.C. Water includes TapIt flyers in its customer bills and both organizations send representatives to restaurants and cafes to solicit interest in the program. D.C. Water is also distributing reusable water bottles at public outreach events. “We have to provide the tools to help people to make behavioral changes and start using the TapIt network,” said Naiderer.
TapIt’s main objective is promoting the environmental sustainability of using reusable bottles. “The goal was always to target people who would otherwise be buying bottled water,” said William Schwartz, TapIt’s Campaign Director.
Though Schwartz said that TapIt seems to be most popular among Smartphone users with the TapIt app, the program has proved useful to low income and homeless individuals. A May radio broadcast by Salt Lake City’s KCPW included an interview with an at-risk youth who uses the TapIt program. The interviewee said that he was frustrated with restaurants that charge for a glass of tap water. But TapIt locations help users avoid that feeling by guaranteeing a free refill and having employees who will not question refilling a water bottle for a passerby. Further, advocates hope that seeing TapIt logos on the side of restaurants will remind people who spend much of their day on the streets to keep hydrated on hot days.
One of D.C.’s first TapIt partners is Commissary, a cafe and lounge at 1443 P Street N.W. Manager Josh Hahn said that when the restaurant opened in 2008, it decided not to sell bottled water. “Most fancy bottled water doesn’t even come from this country,” Hahn said. “That’s not very green.”
Hahn added that in addition to being the environmentally right thing to do, joining TapIt seemed to make good business sense. He hopes that people who come in for a free water refill might like the atmosphere of the restaurant and come back for a meal. Hahn also supports TapIt’s convenience and efficiency.
“We try to be accommodating to everybody,” he said. “This falls in line with being a good neighborhood place…Convenience is what makes a neighborhood. This is another reminder that there are easy, inexpensive ways to be a good steward of the environment.”
According to Schwartz, TapIt is growing quickly in D.C and spreading to Philadelphia and Baltimore. The group hopes soon to have street-corner maps that will point out participating D.C. locations.
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“I’ve heard horrible stories about shelters, but I can’t relate to that,” Lisa said. “Here, all of that gets thrown out the window. I have a great case manager, and I come to her for everything, even stupid little things. She takes care of me. Now I’ve just finished culinary school, and I’m starting two jobs. And in five years, I’d like to have a large bank account.”
And her message to the homeless community? “…stay focused, stay determined, stick to [your] goals and never be too proud to ask for help,” she said.
With programs that stress a low worker-to-client ratio and successful housing placements, nonprofit Calvary Women’s Services has been leasing space at 5th & K St NW for 15 years. But soon, the staff will follow so many of Calvary’s clients into a lasting home. A $3 million renovation project will convert an abandoned building in Ward 8 into a new state-of-the-art facility.
The larger accommodations will allow Calvary to expand its services, creating space for 15 additional beds, private bedrooms, a bigger kitchen and more rooms for life skills classes, which range from mental health counseling to art therapy.
“When you take calls every day from women looking for help and you know you’re maxed out and all you can do is put people on a waitlist, the opportunity to offer more services is amazing,” executive director Kris Thompson said in an interview with Street Sense. “It’s also a fantastic opportunity to go into a new neighborhood where the need is very great and there’s a bunch of service providers over there, like the United Planning Organization and Covenant House and Samaritan Ministry, so we’re excited to join with some of those organizations.”
Several local businesses have come out in support of the project, such as United Bank, which gave Calvary $1 million toward the purchase of the 14,000-square foot building that should be move-in ready by the end of the year. Other donors include Mark G. Anderson Consultants, OTJ Architects, Clark Construction group, Shapiro & Duncan, CS Consulting Engineers Inc., Walter L. Phillips Inc., Goulston & Storrs and the ever-munificent Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, which contributed $175,000.
“The women of Calvary appreciate the tremendous support that this grant from the Cafritz Foundation represents,” said Ann M. Hilpert, President of Calvary’s Board of Directors. “This funding is incredibly important to providing hope and a new home to homeless women in the District.”
Mark G. Anderson, President of Mark G. Anderson Consulting, enunciated the faith the community has in Calvary’s programs based on its glowing reputation.
“MGAC supports Calvary Women’s Services for the vital work it does for the city,” Anderson said. “Why Calvary? Frankly the quality and longevity of its very devoted professional staff, the use of paid mental health counseling on a low counselor to resident ratio, Calvary’s track record of success returning women to productive, independent living, and the knowledge that every dollar we use to support Calvary provides vital benefit. There is no fat on this organization. Dollar for dollar, supporting Calvary is pure muscle.”
And Calvary has the statistics to back up the reputation. Every five days, Calvary residents move into their own homes, a turnover rate so high that Calvary’s waitlist tends to be weeks, not months.
The application process does take some effort though. Prospective residents must come to Calvary between 3 and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and ask if the waitlist is open as it closes after 10 people. Once on the waitlist, women must call within every three days to stay there, or risk losing the chance to turn their lives around.
“We are committed to the client as long as they’re committed to us,” Life Skills coordinator Mary McGregor said in an interview with Street Sense.
Calvary residents receive case management, life skills classes, mental health and addiction recovery services, supported employment and even a savings program, where they learn how to manage their money responsibly.
Any additional help the women need is available through Calvary’s referral system, which gives access to agencies in spheres such as health care and GED training.
“There’s a lot of support, a lot of assistance and a lot of oversight, and I think that makes a difference because you have the opportunity to build relationships and a certain sort of trust that you don’t have in programs with a large number of people,” Thompson said.
In addition to short-term housing, Calvary also offers Pathways, a transitional housing program, and Sister Circle, a permanent housing program for those recovering from substance abuse.
But no matter the program, Calvary changes lives of both staff and clients every day. These changes will extend even farther in a new home with new possibilities.
“It’s opened my eyes to humanity,” McGregor said, “and how we’re all connected. In the end, we all want the same things in life.”
