The Contributor October 08 Final

BY MARK [email protected]

The Nashville HomelessPower Project has un-dergone many signifi-cant changes in thepast few months. After

great turnover in leadership andstaff in a short period of time, proj-ect leaders have determined thatthe organization will benefit fromtaking careful time to restructurebefore moving forward.

NHPP co-founder and presi-dent John Zirker says the organiza-tion "is slowing down for a rebuild."Zirker, along with longtime PowerProject advocate Clemmie Green-lee and organizer Garrett Stark areheading up efforts to strengthenand clarify NHPP's mission. Thatmission will be twofold, Zirker says,"fighting for workers rights and af-fordable housing."

The NHPP began in 2002 inhopes of addressing many of theconcerns of homeless people inNashville. In the following yearsthe group undertook several politi-cal actions to bring public attentionto the situation of Nashville's

homeless population. They gaineda spotlight during the 2007 mayoralrace when they invited candidatesto take an "urban plunge," spendinga night on the streets of Nashville.More recently, the NHPP drew theattention of local media when theytook over a vacant HUD home todemonstrate the available resourcesfor affordable housing.

The process has already begunto rebuild NHPP's board, which,according to the organization’s by-laws, must consist of at least 80 per-cent homeless and formerlyhomeless individuals. Soon theNHPP will begin a national searchfor a new executive director. "We'llbe looking for someone who canconnect the dots and lead thecharge," says Zirker.

Zirker says the organizationwill remain primarily political andwill continue to draw attention toissues important to homeless citi-zens of Nashville. Zirker is hopefulabout the future of the NHPP. "Inthe coming months we will bestronger and much clearer," he says,"fighting injustices to the poor andhomeless locally and nationally".

Who are We? ........2

More Tent City ......3-6

Outreach ................6

Life..........................8

Film Series ............9

Street Interview ....15

Arts ........................16

Hoboscope ............18

Scramble ................18

Crossword..............19

Provider Map ........20

Save the Date ........20

Inside this Issue:

www.nashvillecontributor.org

Vol. 1 • No. 7October ‘08 All Profits

Benefit OurVendors

$1.00

Tent City, TNBY STEVE SAMRAFormerly Homeless [email protected]

Tent City used to be aclosely guarded secretamong those in the knowin Nashville’s homelesscommunity. For many

years, residents at the camp guardedtheir hidden treasure like it was FortKnox; to some, it was infinitely morevaluable. Entry was by invite only andnot just any old “riff raff off the street”could set up home here. You had tobe “referred” and “approved” by campmembers before you could lay claim toa sweet spot along the river or inamong the weeds under the trees.

Life was primitive but pleasant.Shacks sprung up, scrounged and builtfrom materials provided by the cen-tury-old dump this area once was.Recognizable furnishings; chairs,couches, mattresses, woodstoves,were hauled in by bare hand andsturdy back over the years by industri-ous residents who brought traditionalfurniture into their makeshift homes.Wood chips line the main walkway,donated by Metro Public Works andspread with care by residents at thecamp. The population of the campebbed and flowed with the vagaries oftransient wanderlust, but always re-mained under 25, until the summer of2007.

One of the first meetings I at-tended in my official capacity as anOutreach Specialist with Park Centerwas one held by the Downtown Part-nership on their proposed “PleaseHelp, Don’t Give” campaign, a poorlynamed but certainly understandableeffort to raise public awareness aboutthe consequences and ramifications ofacquiescing to aggressive panhandlers’exhortations for spare change.

The meeting itself was con-tentious. The audience was filled withmembers of the business community,residents of the downtown area and a

number of homeless folks, along witha contingent of vociferous membersfrom their primary advocacy group,the Nashville Homeless Power Proj-ect. While the meeting allowed com-munity members to express theiropinions on the proposed new cam-paign, many homeless felt that the de-cision had long since been made toinitiate the effort and the DowntownPartnership, along with Metro PD,were merely addressing the demandfor “public hearings” on controversial

issues.It didn’t help that soon after the

new campaign went into effect in July,2007, homeless residents reported anincrease in “quality of life citations”.“Crimes” such as sleeping on a parkbench, sitting on a sidewalk, standingunder a business awning, walkingdown railroad tracks and tossing ciga-rette butts on the ground seemed to-become a top priority for lawenforcement; although interestingly

Continued on Page 3

Cowboy relaxes on his porch under the interstate in Tent City.Photos by Tasha French. More photos at www.sanshouses.com.

Nashville Homeless Power ProjectRestructuring, Hopeful for Future

Our Mission and Policy:

Tasha French is a photographer and graphic de-signer from Huntsville, Alabama. She became in-terested in homelessness in 2002 upon moving toNashville and working downtown. She has sinceshadowed various outreach workers on the street,photographing and interviewing homeless individ-uals. This project can be found at:www.sanshouses.com.

Steven Samra is a homeless outreach workerwho’s spent much of his life mired in poverty,homelessness and drug addiction. He kicked hisdrug addictions in 2000 went to college and hasbeen able to steadily improve his lifestyle as a re-sult. He runs two local blogs;stonesoupstation.blogspot.com andfindsteve.blogspot.com and spends most of histime wandering the streets of Nashville with hisdogs, Kialai and Kuma, trying to make the lives ofthe less fortunate a little better each day.

Mark Lemley is a frustrated writer, stunted musi-cian, underdeveloped sculptor and successful cof-fee shop manager from Texas, or maybe California,

depending on whom you ask. Mark moved toNashville in 2003 and loves being close to down-town life and culture. Mark is interested in theways that downtown business interacts with thoseexperiencing homelessness and hopes that TheContributor will be a positive voice in the down-town conversation.

TomWills is a local artist, Nashville native and amember of The Downtown Presbyterian Churchwhere he and other artists have studio space. Hehas been volunteering for 13 years at the church'sweekly lunch for the urban poor. He was also afounding member of Belcourt Yes!, a non-profitformed to reopen the Belcourt Theatre in Hills-boro Village. He runs a blog reprinting two devo-tional texts chosen by theologian/poetCharles Williams:tomwills.typepad.com/thenewchristianyear

Ray Ponce de Leon hails in equal parts from De-troit Michigan and Tampa Florida. Since child-hood he's had a passion for telling jokes, drawingcartoons, and writing songs. Ray came to Nashville

to become a country and western songwriter, butupon discovering a great dislike for country andwestern music, he turned his attention to writingan as of yet unstaged rock opera about his like-named predecessor Ponce De Leon. Formerlyhomeless, Ray likes living in Nashville because"hardly a day can go by where you don't make anew friend. There's jerks, like in every town, butthe good people outweigh the jerks."

Will Connelly cut his teeth on the streets as anoutreach worker for MDHA providing informa-tion and services to the homeless. He now assistshomeless individuals in applying for disability ben-efits and housing through Park Center and theMayor’s Homelessness Commission. To his em-barrassment, his mentors are Linda Ronstadt andAaron Neville because they once sang, “I don’tknow much, but I know I love you.”

Editorial Board:

Tasha FrenchPresident

Steve SamraVice President

Mark LemleySecretary

Tom WillsTreasurer;

Director of Vending

Ray Ponce de LeonLead Reporter

Will ConnellyAdministrative Director

Contributors:

“Cowboy” LuttrellVendor Recruiter

Tera CarringerIntern

Jeannie AlexanderJerry AndreasenJohn ChetudoChuck ClinardEmily Connelly

Jenn CrossTodd Derk

Laurie GreenBen Griffith

Timothy HallBrian Huskey

Ken LockeCathy Poole

omas ReevesWayne Walden

Brandie Wooten

e Contributor Inc.P.O. Box 332023

Nashville, Tn 37203nashvillecontributor.org

615-598-0061

e Contributor • October 2008 • Page 2

Our Editorial Board:

BY STEVE SAMRAFormerly Homeless [email protected]

The Contributor’s success depends heavilyupon the efforts and the conduct of our vendors.This code of conduct addresses the manner in whichone can sell the newspaper and it is strictly enforced.Violations of any of the rules can be cause for ter-mination.

In order to become a vendor, one must attendtwo mandatory vendor training sessions and sign acode of conduct. Any problems with vendors caneasily be reported to the Contributor staff.

Once trained, all vendors are required to weara Contributor badge whenever selling the paper. It isto be clearly visible to the public and they are topresent it to anyone who asks to see it. The badgeshows the vendor's name and two contact numbersfor The Contributor.

If you have a concern or complaint about a ven-dor, please do not hesitate to contact us. We areproud of our vendors and want to make certain they

can continue to sell papers in Nashville without anyproblems or restrictions. It is important that wereact quickly to reports from the community so thatwe may investigate and, when warranted, providecorrective action.

Some vendor conduct that isexpressly prohibited:

1. Using aggressive sales tactics. Potential cus-tomers must always feel welcome to say "no" andcontinue on their way.

2. Selling papers inside of or directly in front ofany business without the express, written per-mission of the business owner on file at our of-fice.

3. Offering additional goods or services whileselling the paper.

4. Working while intoxicated or under the influ-ence of drugs or alcohol.

Our goal is to assist individuals in earning anhonest wage without panhandling. We believe thatthe community will unite behind this so long as ourvendors conduct themselves in a manner befitting aconcerned and proud member of our community.

To all our vendors who work so hard and followthe simple rules of conduct, we are immenselyproud of you and we salute you! Please keep up thegreat work!

To our community members who have stoppedand congratulated our vendors for their efforts, wethank and greatly appreciate you, too - we need youall on board in order to make this a success.

To report vendor problems, congratulate a ven-dor for a job well done, or to BECOME A VEN-DOR please contact The Contributor at:615-260-6238 or 615-598-0061,or e-mail us at: [email protected]

Currently Seeking Vendors.

Vendor Conduct: A Critical Component in Paper’s Success

The Contributor's goal is toprovide a diversity of perspec-tives on the condition of home-lessness and to highlight thecontributions of homeless andformerly homeless individualswhile providing a source of in-come. All of the vendors sellingthis paper are either homelessor formerly homeless.

Editorials and features in TheContributor are the perspectivesof the authors. Submissions ofnews, opinion, fiction, art and po-etry are welcomed in hopes ofproviding a diversity of perspec-tives on the issues of homelessnessand poverty. The Contributor re-serves the right to edit any sub-missions.

Submissions and requests to vol-unteer, donate or purchase adspace or subscriptions can beemailed to:[email protected]

Or mailed to:The ContributorP.O. Box 332023Nashville, TN 37203

.TENT CITY.


“Tent City, TN”Continued from Page 1

enough, this enforcement was appliedonly to those who were either knownto be, or appeared to be, homeless.Often a homeless person was receiv-ing a citation while tourists walkedpast or milled nearby, engaged in ex-actly the same behavior.

The aggressive efforts of police,coupled with public pressure fromneighborhood resident associations,area businesses, and concerned citi-zens created the desired effect; manyhomeless people who used to popu-late the downtown area moved on,tired of the harassment and fearful ofarrest.

Unfortunately for current resi-dents, Tent City became a prominentstopping point on the exodus fromdowntown. Initially, it wasn’t terriblynoticeable, since it took people sometime to realize that police were serious– and relentless – in citing those whoviolated quality of life ordinances.Room in the Inn became the safehaven for many as winter arrived, butwhen the program ended April 1st, allthose individuals who had been sleep-

ing in participating area churcheswere cast out once again onto citystreets.

Police were there waiting forthem and it wasn’t long before themessage was loud and clear; hang outdowntown and we’ll make your lifemiserable. The population of TentCity soon exploded.

This population increase did notgo unnoticed by those in our commu-nity who serve the homeless. Mealson Wheels and Loaves and Fishessoon began setting up their food serv-ice trucks at the terminus of the trailleading into Tent City and hungryfolks congregated around the trucksenjoying the delicious meals thesegroups regularly serve.

Word of the availability of regu-lar meals at the camp attracted stillmore people. As crowds at the foodtrucks grew and new campsitessprung up all over the camp, InnerCity Ministry, the camp’s only neigh-bor, began feeling the impact of thisincrease.

Inner City Ministry has enjoyeda long and relatively good relationshipwith the camp’s residents, from pro-viding emergency phone access to

serving coffee and donuts to provid-ing access to water. While the Min-istry’s mission isn’t directly related tocaring for homeless individuals, theydevote considerable time and re-sources to assisting the members atthe camp.

So when Clifton Harris, Home-less Services Coordinator for MDHA,received a phone call from Joe Dill, theFleet Manager at Inner City Ministryasking that the city “do something,”about the new problems at the camp,Clifton was forced to act.

The Ministry was concernedabout the burgeoning population, theimproper use of fire and the toxicsmoke that sometimes wafted fromthe camp as residents burnt the coat-ing on wire to access the copper un-derneath. Ministry members werealso fearful because known sex of-fenders had been seen in the camp onat least two occasions.

Because many women and chil-dren volunteer with Inner City Min-istry, senior staff of the agency felt thesafety of their congregation might attimes be in jeopardy. Agency visitorsand staff were also offended by a pun-gent and at times overpowering odorof raw sewage that seemed to be ema-nating from the camp unabated.

Mr. Harris was no stranger to thecamp. He knows most of the “old-timers” down there by name and hasworked with many of them previouslyto try and address problems, findhousing, provide resources and gener-

ally help in any way he could. In thatinitial phone call with Joe Dill, Mr.Harris recommended that Inner CityMinistry contact Public Works to seeif they could help with some solutionsto the camp’s problems and to InnerCity Ministry’s surprise, it was this callthat set in motion the series of eventsthat led to the decision to close thecamp.

Mr. Harris contacted Park Cen-ter to begin outreach efforts at thecamp after he had received a call fromPublic Works stating that they weregoing to eradicate the camp.

Initially, it was believed thatInner City Ministry had requested thecamp be dismantled, but calls betweenthe Ministry’s Executive Director LytleThomas, Father Charlie Strobel,Clifton Harris and Joe Dill soon deter-mined that this was not the case.

A meeting was set up with InnerCity Ministry staff, Clifton Harris,Jeannie Alexander and myself to tryand resolve the issues raised by theMinistry without closing the camp.During the meeting it became clearthe while Inner City was indeed con-cerned, they did not want the campclosed.

Instead, they hoped that solu-tions could be arrived at that wouldimplement controls on the population,provide dumpsters and porta pottiesfor the residents and institute an in-formal governing board of campmembers and trusted external indi-viduals who could assist in establish-

ing rules and regulations for the camp.Mr. Harris proposed a new style

of camp at this meeting, operating ona permit system that would be utilizedto both regulate the influx of residentswhile providing current residents withcase managers and advocates whocould assist them and keep themabreast of new housing opportunities,resources and services. This newcamp style would also have a “spon-sor” that would help the communitygovern and control themselves.

The idea was a great one and weposed the question at the meeting:“Do we need to destroy this village inorder to save it?” Mr. Harris didn’thave the answer yet, as he stated thatPublic Works was the one who had or-dered the closing and he had littlesway over what this arm of MetroServices did or didn’t do. However, hedid decide that a more formal meetingthat included additional stakeholdersand homeless service workers was inorder to further hammer out the pro-posed approach to the closing of TentCity.

On August 22nd, 2008 a group ofconcerned community members, in-cluding among others Charlie Strobel,Cheri Hancock, Don Beisswenger,Hershell Warren, David "Cowboy"Luttrell, Will Connelly, JeannieAlexander, and Lt. Andrea Swishermet with Mr. Harris at the MDHAbuilding on 6th street in EastNashville.

Continued on Page 4Welcome to our home. Photo by Steve Samra.

Pontiac and Mama Bear display their eviction notices. Photo by Steve Samra.


.TENT CITY.


After serious debate and brain-storming, the decision was made tocontact Public Works with a plea topush back indefinitely the scheduledeviction and demolition. This wouldthen allow residents and volunteers tomake the necessary changes to thecamp requested by Inner City Min-istry. Dumpsters and porta potties forthe location were also to be requestedfrom Public Works.

Almost immediately after thatmeeting ended, camp residents begana massive cleanup of the area, securein their belief that the attendees of thismeeting would be respected and lis-tened to by those who made the initialdecision to close the camp. As theywaited for the arrival of a dumpster,they carefully raked trash, policed thearea, eliminated all burning except forpaper products and wood, and beganrefusing access to any newcomers atthe camp.

A “going away” party that oc-curred Friday evening of Labor Dayweekend for a couple who were plan-ning to move to Louisiana inadver-tently brought potential disaster to thecamp’s chances for survival. A manwho had come to the camp uninvitedjoined in the drinking and ultimatelybegan flirting with a woman who was-n’t interested in the man’s advances.The situation spiraled quickly out ofcontrol, as alcohol-induced fightsoften do, and the man was allegedly

beaten and stabbed by Tent City resi-dent Robert Copeland.

The response from Metro PDwas swift; Commander Damian Hug-gins and Lt. Andrea Swisher madetheir way through the camp over thenext few days, handing out “Where toFind Help” brochures and telling resi-dents they were trespassing. They in-formed the population that the campwould be closing on September 22nd,at 8:00am. Anyone remaining in thecamp after that time would be tres-passing and would be prosecuted.

Perhaps to drive home the pointthat they meant business, police werein the camp more times between Sep-tember 1st and September 9th thanmany believed they had been in theentire previous year combined. Un-fortunately, residents of this homelesscamp know that stabbings of visitorsto any location or camp usually bringheavy police presence shortly there-after. As such, they don’t much ap-preciate those who use knives to settletheir differences, but resign them-selves to the fact that some people stilldon’t know how to resolve conflictwithout resorting to violence.

Meanwhile, homeless advocatesand concerned citizens were scram-bling to bring attention to the plight ofthe camp’s residents. Fortunately, aHomelessness Commission meetingwas scheduled for September 5th,2008.

The topic at the meeting quicklyturned to the events at Tent City andClifton Harris provided an overview

of the issues, events and decisionsmade for Commission members andthe public.

Harris and Lt. Swisher were ag-gressively questioned about who actu-ally initiated the order to close thecamp and Lt Swisher argued that herdepartment was simply responding toa request from Public Works to assistin closing the camp. She then de-fended the new and perilously closedate for camp closure by stating thatMetro PD officials had talked aboutsetting a later date but were concernedthat, because so many structures atthe camp have heat, they did not wantto evict people at the same time theweather had the potential to turn cold.

As such, when Public Worksstated they would be closing the camp,her agency asked that the date bepushed up in order to capitalize on thewarmer weather.

Commissioner Clemmie Green-lee, visibly upset with the decision toclose the camp in just 17 days, told thegroup that she was considering gath-ering a large contingent of homelessindividuals and concerned citizens atthe site on the morning of the 22nd tostand in front of officers and heavyequipment to block the action fromoccurring.

Howard Gentry argued that Ms.Greenlee’s proposed action was “highrisk.” He explained that since theproperty belonged to Metro Govern-ment (a claim vigorously disputed byCommissioner David “Cowboy” Lut-trell), they had a right to do what they

wanted with the property. He addedthat it was his hope that the Commis-sion, although having no legal author-ity, would send a request to MetroGovernment officials that they delaythe closing at least until November1st, in order for Room in the Inn toopen.

Commissioner Eric Cole imme-diately put the matter to a vote and itwas unanimously approved.

Someone then pointed out that acommittee had already met with InnerCity Ministry to address their con-cerns, performed an assessment of thecamp and had drawn up a list of ob-jectives that were currently in theprocess of being fulfilled. Greenleestated that, “shootings and stabbingsoccur all the time in the projects butwe don’t run everyone out of there, sowhy should we do that here?” Shethen argued that the original agree-ment be allowed to stand.

After some additional debate, theresolution was amended to requestthat Metro Government officials allowadvocates and residents time to im-plement the original agreement, andthis passed unanimously.

Because the Homelessness Com-mission had no official power to stopthe closure, camp residents continuedto fear the worst and were makingplans to move when a story broke onSeptember 8th by Tennessean re-porter Kate Howard about the camp’sclosure. This article generated addi-tional coverage by local news crewsand Channel 5 aired a story Septem-ber 9th on the six o’clock news broad-cast that reported the Mayor’s officehad requested the date for closure bepushed back “a couple of months” inorder to allow advocates time to findappropriate housing for the residentsof the camp.

The general mood of camp resi-

dents improved considerably andcleanup efforts have resumed. A localcompany has donated a dumpster anda local landscaping company hasagreed to bring a 12-man crew to thearea to trim back and remove weeds,spread mulch on the trails and “makethe place livable.” A local animal ad-vocacy group has offered tospay/neuter, vaccinate, and provideappropriate records for every animalin the camp. Many in the camp, whilequietly celebrating their reprieve froma hasty exit, are continuing withpreparations to vacate the area by No-vember 1st.

The long-term goal for the campis to stabilize the population and cre-ate a governing body that enforcescamp rules and mediates disputesamong residents; a “Campowners As-sociation”, for lack of a better descrip-tion. Meanwhile efforts to establishan ordinance that makes this camp,and future ones as needed, legally pro-tected and serviced by city agencies,just like any neighborhood might re-ceive, is currently being examined.While there are a number of issues tobe worked out in accomplishing thiseffort, Clifton Harris and Lt. Swisherhave both stated that they are fully be-hind the effort and will work togetherto ensure its success.

Sara Hylton, Program Directorfor Mobile Loaves and Fishes, whosefood trucks service the area, recentlysuggested that if the camp does shutdown on November 1st, perhaps cityofficials could use this time to estab-lish and implement the new campstructure, with priority of admissionto the camp given to current Tent Cityresidents.

Continued on Page 6

Tent City residents share photos of their adventures. Photo by Steve Samra.

Rhonda Lee naps in the home she shares with Cowboy.He built the structure himself in tent city. Photo by Tasha French.

More photos at www.sanshouses.com.


.TENT CITY.

BY JEANNIE [email protected]

Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on usand forgive us for our societal sins ofcontinuing to brutalize the homelessand criminalize the poor. We do notlove our neighbor as we should. Wecurse our brothers, cast them out, anddrive them further and further intothe abyss. Instead of building homes,we tear down shacks. Instead of pro-viding healthcare we build more jails.Instead of extending hands of friend-ship and hearts of love, we cast asper-sion upon those we do not know, butsee fit to judge. We are the Sanhedrin,we are Caesar, we are the Pharisees.And they are the tortured crucifiedbody of the poor Christ broken for you.Crucified not for our sins, but becauseof our sins.~ Kyrie Eleison, Christi Eleison.

If you can judge a society by howit treats its most vulnerable thenwe are damned. This city madethe choice, a choice which canstill be changed, to improve the

quality of life for some through a cam-paign of criminalizing and terrorizingits unhoused citizens; adopting a pol-icy of imprisoning the poor so wedon’t have to look at them. And soover the years some of the homelesshave disappeared into the shadowsand sun dappled groves of trees, awayfrom downtown, down by the river.They sought peace and privacy, andone last attempt at self preservation.Each person, each human being, withtheir own distinct story and set of cir-cumstances, made the rational deci-sion to leave a downtown area wherethey were unwanted, harassed, andeven hunted, to seek a life of coexis-tence through concealment.

Now, due to forces which claimto be propelled by some unnamed“higher power” in government (theseactions are so soaked with sin andcruelty no one wants to own them)my friends, my brothers and sisters,are losing their homes on a piece ofland that is otherwise, and will remainin the future, unused by this city. Apiece of land with a community exist-ing upon it for over eight years. Apiece of land that is out of sight, andup until now, out of mind, of the over-whelming majority of the populationof this fair city.

Every day that I visit my friendsdown by the river, in a place nowknown as tent city, I am asked thesame question, “Why?” A question in-evitably followed by “Where are we

supposed to go?” Today I was asked,“Do they just want us to dig a hole,crawl down in it and pull the dirt upover our heads?” Perhaps. It would,after all, be easier for city officials ifyou and every other person in tentcity did not exist. Nashville, a citywhich can be, and wants to be, theproverbial “City on the Hill” a shiningbeacon of success and happiness,finds itself faced with the very real co-nundrum of what to do now that acommunity existing in third worldconditions has been discovered lessthan a mile away from downtown. Inthe shadow of million dollar townhomes and condos, people live intents, use hand dug latrines, and areforced to get by without sanitationservices. Oh, the shame and embar-rassment.

But from whence does thisshame and embarrassment come?The answer will define what kind ofcity Nashville is evolving into and howfar we are from redemption. Are weashamed because we don’t want the

rest of the world to see our poor; orare we ashamed because we havefailed to act to change, by improving,the conditions in which the very poorlive? Based upon the response fromthe police, I’m not sure.

I will not recount the entire sor-did history of how this has unfolded,(for a fine retelling of the facts seeSteve Samra’s article beginning onpage 1) but suffice to say that the pri-mary reasons given to justify the de-struction of this community havebeen two fold: first, we were told thatit was because tent city was unsafe: “Itcan be a violent place.” When theasininity of that rational became clear,the equally absurd rational of “it’s un-sanitary” became the new talkingpoint. In case the asininity and ab-surdity of such rationales are not ob-vious allow me to elucidate. It isasinine to assert that the solution toviolence in a community is to literallybulldoze it down.

Continued on Page 7

BY LAURIE GREENSouthern Alliance forAnimal WelfareSAAW/NashvilleP. O. Box 23535Nashville, TN 37202

[email protected]

Tent City has been inthe news lately. How-ever, I feel that therewere voices not heard,and I would like for

mine to be.I have been going down to the

camp for 5 years now. At first I wasmotivated by wanting to help theanimals belonging to the residentsliving there. And that has contin-ued, trying to make sure the ani-mals are fixed, vaccinated, haveproper pet food and collars andother necessary items. But regard-less of motivation, I developed a re-lationship with the folks living thereand saw their concern when tran-sients who brought nothing buttrouble tried to move into theirneighborhood.

Before I go any further, let meanswer two common criticisms ofmy work at this camp.

I’ve had my efforts dismissedas negative by those who claim that“the homeless should not havepets”. A point with merit perhaps,but have them they do. Some hadpets when they slid down that slip-pery slope that leads to homeless-ness but refused to abandon themor give them up. Others simplyfound them; one homeless life find-ing another. And in getting to knowthem, I found that the number ofhomeless pet owners who do pro-vide for a quality of life for theirpets is pretty much the same as petowners living in homes made ofbrick or siding. For those living inTent City, trying to do right by theirpet is not dependent on whether ornot we approve of where they live.Whether a pet owner lives in a tentor a brick home, helping them toprovide better for their pet shoulddepend on that individual case. Ifthey are trying and their conditionsdo not rise to the legal definition ofneglect or cruelty, then for God’s

sake let’s help them do better bythat pet.

The other criticism is the oldstandby, “they need to just get a joband pull themselves up by theirbootstraps”. Many homeless peopledo have mental health, drug or al-cohol issues. The point is that noneof us know at what point in ourlives we would just give up. Andonce you give up, it is very hard tomake your way back. I’ve seen thisfirsthand, how difficult it is forsomeone homeless to reenter thisplace called “society”. You wouldnot believe the obstacles; only whenyou get to know someone who haswalked down this path do you everunderstand.

I am going to take liberty hereand hope my friends down at TentCity forgive me. But I am going tocall their home “Camp Road’s End”.Because that is what it is. It is wherethe road ended and they found ahome. Not a perfect home and cer-tainly not a perfect setting, but I’mnot sure that is for you or me tojudge. And I want to say that thereare valid concerns about the condi-tions of Camp Road’s End. Healthand safety issues need to be ad-dressed. I don’t think those callingfor it to be shut down are withoutmerit in their reasoning. I just don’tagree that taking an action so se-vere is the way to go.

Continued on Page 8

Outside and Inside RayRay and Ed’s old house-tent.Photos by Tasha French. More photos at www.sanshouses.com.

RayRay and Kat.Photo by Tasha French.

More photos atwww.sanshouses.com.

A Tale of Two Cities Where the road endsthe pets of Tent City


. OUTREACH.

BY BEN [email protected]

It's time to air out some dirty laundry, to men-tion the unmentionables. When I wrote aboutsocks, it was only footnote. But this topicneeds some airtime. Some fresh air time,where the sun don’t normally shine. All up

under there. Under where? That’sright, I said it. Underwear!

The bums of Nashville need to becovered. We need a superhero to savethe day.

Seriously though, I hear this timeand time again: “Man, I’ve got socks,but what we really need out here, is un-derwear!” There are so many peopleout there who are really generousabout donating used clothes. Problemis, nobody wants used underwear

And, thankfully, with a few verynotable and gross-surprise exceptions(“what have we got here? Oh!, EWW!”), nobody do-nates them.

It’s a fact; underwear has got to be new. Andfor this reason there’s always a shortage in the cloth-ing closets. For people to look and feel their best, to

present well for jobs, or anything for that matter, it’simportant to be able to manage things like sweat andodors. Some of us may take our drawers for granted,but those underwear, under there, are pretty muchour most important clothing item. It’s easy to pointfingers and say “he or she should be doing this orthat.” But put yourself in some week old underwearand odds are you wouldn’t or couldn’t do much ei-

ther.So what are we going to do? The

sock people are busy recruiting sockdonations, and passing them out.They’ve been unable to solve thisproblem. The sandwich fairies arebusy peanut-buttering their bread.Steve is busy, being the amazing-Steve.Nashville needs a hero. Calling on areal-life Captain Underpants, it’s timeto come to our rescue!

So take that extra ten bucks toWal-Mart, call that friend of a friend

that works for Fruit-of-the Loom. Write your localtextile mill, and tell them you can use a truck-load amonth. Tell them you’ve got a secret mission, tellthem the world needs you.

Grab a costume and you’re ready to go, a reallife super-hero. I’m serious. It might be the most im-

portant thing you’ve ever done. Super heroes don’thave to have super powers.

If for some reason you have the hook-up butdon’t want the recognition, call me…I know aboutten places that will be very happy to take the under-wear and pass it out for you.

Hopefully though I won’t hear from anybody,I’ll just start hearing about how everyone’s good andtaken care of. I want to hear rumors of a caped cru-sader with a tightey-whitey mask on stalking thestreets passing out fresh cotton undies to everyonein need.

BY CHUCK CLINARDFormerly Homeless [email protected]

How many times have weseen appeals come fromvarious agencies foritems needed to aid thehomeless here in

Nashville? From The Rescue Missionto Community Care Fellowship to TheSalvation Army all of these organiza-tions need help to meet the needs ofthe ever increasing homeless popula-tion in our city.

Being formerly homeless, I knowfrom experience how valuable theseagencies and organizations are to thehomeless population.

So, what about the homeless andthe formerly homeless? What can wedo to assist those who have been aid-ing our group 365 days a year, with lit-tle or no recognition? I know that wewho are formerly homeless or cur-rently homeless have very little moneyto give. I say we can give the gift ofour time and talents in a small way tosay, “thanks.”

If your health permits, maybegive a pint of blood to the AmericanRed Cross. Or pick up some trasharound the shelters where we have

stayed. By doing this we can showthose who helped us on a regular basisthat they are appreciated and that wedo truly thank them for their efforts.Those volunteers to take time and jobsfrom their families deserve to be rec-ognized and appreciated by those theyserve. Many of these volunteers areon their lunch hour and must hurryback to work after serving a meal atone of the soup kitchens.

Having worked as a volunteer,and having been a guest at The Cathe-dral of the Incarnation for Room inthe Inn on Tuesday nights, I can sayfrom experience how much help it isand how much it means to get a little“help from the guys” the next morn-ing.

Giving a little back to those whoso freely give of themselves is a sure-fire way to show our appreciation fortheir efforts. After all, actions speaklouder than words.

May those who have aided in thepast and continue to help our home-less population receive many blessingsfor their efforts. As one who was per-sonally moved by their dedication, Isay, “God bless you all!”

Calling on a Superhero

BY REV. KENNETH M. LOCKEPastorThe DowntownPresbyterian Church154 5th Ave N,Nashville, TN 37219(615) 254-7584;www.dpchurch.com

[email protected]

Where do you keep your stuff?Is everything you own on your

back or in your pockets?Do you have a locker some-

where, or a hiding place by the river?Are you one of the lucky ones

who have a shopping cart full ofstuff?

Where do you keep your hurtfeelings?

Where do you keep your angerover the abuse you had as a child orover the nasty comment you had toswallow this morning?

Do you keep endless tapes ofangry words running through yourhead?

Is your mind a slide-show ofsad images flashing on your brainlike unwanted commercials in themiddle of your favorite TV show?

The problem with emotions isthat we only have so much room forthem.

Like other stuff, they fill ourhearts to the point ofbursting.

Emotions likeanger and sadness andrage are heavy and big- they push out small,gentle emotions likelove and peace andkindness.

One day Petercame to Jesus andasked how many timeshe had to forgive hisbrother. As many as seven times?Jesus told him not seven times, butseventy-seven times. (Matthew18:21-22).

The point is not about num-bers. The point is about offeringforgiveness as a way of life. Peoplewho keep track of how many timesthey have forgiven have not actuallyforgiven. They are simply bidingtheir time until they get the chanceto explode and unleash their anger.In the meantime, love and peace andkindness have been squeezed out oftheir lives.

Forgiveness cannot besqueezed out of us, like juice froman orange. It has to fall freely, likerain from heaven. Forgiveness is not

carefully measuredout, 1/4 teaspoon at atime. Forgiveness is away of life. It sloshesover the rim of thebucket and gets every-thing and everyonesoaking wet.

No one is evergoing to force us toforgive someone. For-giveness cannot beforced. If we want to,

we can carry it around stuffed in ourpockets, breaking our backs, a shop-ping cart weighing thousands ofpounds. We can do whatever weplease with our emotions.

But Jesus reminds us that thatis a pretty unhappy way of life. Howmuch better it is to simply forgive asa way of life. That way we can makeroom in our lives for things that re-ally matter, such as love, peace,mercy, compassion, joy.

May your day be filled with let-ting go of pain and anger and cling-ing to hope and joy.

Where do you keep your stuff? Give a Little Back


Residents of Tent City are rest-ing a bit easier today, but they believethey’ve seen this kind of “emptypromise” to help in the past and re-main suspicious and somewhat cyni-cal of any discussion related to“reopening or restructuring the camp.Many of Nashville’s homeless believethat the police, business owners anddowntown residents have all con-spired to force them from the down-town area. That they are now beingchased from Tent City is more thanthey can bear and leaves them withfew alternatives. Most will not go tothe Mission and will simply return tothe downtown area, which will un-doubtedly create additional tensionaround an already tightly woundissue.

Perhaps making good on thepromises to assist them with thecamp will be the first step in repairingwhat has become over the years anincreasingly adversarial relationshipwith the police and the homelesscommunity at large.

We’d better decide; winter willbe here before you know it and peo-ple’s live could be at stake.

BY WILL [email protected]

At the end of July, I traveled to Wash-ington D.C. to attend the annual con-ference of the National Alliance to EndHomelessness (NAEH). Conferencesare hit-and-miss. They can be “boon-

doggles,” an old term defined as “schemes that wastetime and money,” or they can be real gems that out-shine the required lines to the bathroom, the $12hotel sandwiches and the incessant hob-knobbing.

This NAEH conference presented practical,compassionate and cost-saving solutions to theseemingly intractable issue of homelessness. Tomake it even better, passionate and innovative peo-ple presented these solutions with confidence andfervor having seen the success of such solutions incommunities dotted across the national map. Onepresenter from Los Angeles asked me how many in-dividuals experiencing homelessness live inNashville. When I responded with an estimate of10,000, she gave me a high-five and said with gleefulseriousness, “That’s it? You’ll knock that out in 2years. You’ll change the face of Nashville!”

Being around people who truly believe they can

end homelessness is renewing, uplifting and com-pletely worth the conference registration fees andtravel costs. Becky Kanis is one of these people. Sheworks for Common Ground, a nonprofit in NewYork City, and probably has one of the coolest pro-fessional titles in the social service world – Directorof Innovation.

Becky spends much of her time trying to repli-cate what Common Ground has done in New York.In the past two years, Common Ground has reducedthe number of homeless persons sleeping in TimesSquare by 87% and has housed over 400 peoplethrough their “Street to Home Initiative” – a strategythat identifies individuals in need of housing andthen places these individuals in permanent housingthat Common Ground either develops directly ornegotiates. Common Ground’s housing comes withservices to help housing retention, and these serv-ices coupled with the hard work of the new tenantsare paying off - Common Ground now boasts a 90%housing retention rate. Formerly homeless individ-uals in New York City are leading longer, more en-joyable lives in housing that is safe and as easy onthe eyes as it is on the pocketbook both to the ten-ant and the community.

After seeing Common Ground’s success first-hand, Mayor Bloomberg of NYC adopted their ap-

proach as a citywide strategy. Now, nonprofits whoconduct street outreach and housing placementmust mimic Common Ground in order to be eligi-ble for support by the city and other stakeholders.After hearing of Common Ground’s success, majorcities like Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and NewOrleans have replicated Common Ground, incitedaction around permanent supportive housing andsubsequently housed hundreds of people.

Fortunately for us, Becky Kanis is coming toNashville on September 23rd to help our commu-nity take the first steps in implementing Nashville’sown “Street to Home” strategy. From 9am to noon,Becky will present their successes and challenges tostakeholders in Nashville. Ideally, those stakehold-ers will leave the meeting with better understand-ings of solutions to homelessness that really work.If we are all on the same page, if we are all on com-mon ground, we can finally work together to houseour neighbors, end homelessness and change theface of Nashville altogether.

For more information onCommon Ground, go to www.commonground.org

Finding Common Ground

BY EMILY NOURSE [email protected]

Domestic Violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness inAmerica. According to the National Coalition Against DomesticViolence, “In some regions of the country, approximately one thirdof all homeless women are homeless due to domestic violence. 92%of homeless women experienced severe physical and/or sexual as-

sault at some point in their lives.”When you think of the typical homeless person you may not think of the

woman who stays at her cousin’s home, unable to leave because her partner isfollowing her. You may not think of the woman staying at the Mission, whosepartner follows her around the premises so that it is not safe for her to leave thebuilding. Perhaps you don’t think of the woman whose partner showed up at herworkplace one too many times making threats and forcing her to lose her job.What about the woman and child staying in a confidential, domestic violenceshelter trying to rebuild their lives without their belongings, safety, and sense ofself worth? What about the young teenager who left her home due to sexualabuse, now forced into prostitution in order to survive?

These may not be the pictures you imagine when you think of homeless-ness in the United States, but these are all too often the stories of women andchildren who are forced to leave their homes because of domestic violence.Homelessness in America is a complex situation and cannot be attributed toone single reason but to many different barriers, which are often cyclical in na-ture. As a cause in and of itself, many of the other causes of homelessness suchas addiction, mental illness, lack of housing, and work history may be a directresult of or exacerbated by domestic violence.

During the month of October, take a moment to remember those affectedby domestic violence, perhaps your mom, brother, daughter, or friend, and re-member that it takes the entire community working together to end domesticviolence and create healthy and safe homes around the world.

Please join us at the following community events hosted in honor of “Do-mestic Violence Awareness Month.”

OOccttoobbeerr 77, Vigil, Davidson County Sherriff ’s Office, www.nashville-sheriff.net

OOccttoobbeerr 77, Clothesline Project, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm @ Women's Center,Vanderbilt University, www.vanderbilt.edu

OOccttoobbeerr 88, Lunch and Learn, St. Thomas Hospital, www.stthomas.org

OOccttoobbeerr 99, These Hands Don't Hurt, Vanderbilt University,www.vanderbilt.edu

OOccttoobbeerr 1133, Take Back the Night, 7:00 pm, Vanderbilt University,www.vanderbilt.edu

OOccttoobbeerr 1144, “The 2nd Annual Law Enforcement Talent Showcase,”6:30 pm @ BB King’s, Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence,www.nashvillecadv.org

OOccttoobbeerr 1166, “25th Anniversary Celebration,” Tennessee Coalition AgainstDomestic and Sexual Violence, www.tcadsv.org

OOccttoobbeerr 1188, “Meet us at the Bridge,” 10:00 am, Pedestrian Bridge, NashvilleCoalition Against Domestic Violence, www.nashvillecadv.org

OOccttoobbeerr 2222, Chapel Service, Baptist Hospital, www.baptisthospital.com

OOccttoobbeerr 2244, Prayer Service, Baptist Hospital, www.baptisthospital.com

If you or someone you know is an abusive relationship, please contact the fol-lowing for immediate assistance. The Domestic Violence Division, MNPD at 880-3000The YWCA Domestic Violence Hotline at 242-1199Morningstar Sanctuary at 860-0003

Emily Nourse Connelly is the chair of the Nashville Coalition Against Domes-tic Violence. To find out more about the coalition, to get involved, or for acomplete listing of community resources, please visit their website atwww.nashvillecadv.org.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month!!!

. OUTREACH.

“Tale of Two Cities”Continued from Page 5

Oh yes, I can just see the cityadopting the policy of razing allneighborhoods where a personis violently attacked. I know myneighborhood would be gone.Second, it is absurd to destroy acommunity because “it smellsbad” and “has dead rats” and “notoilets” when the place you pro-pose the residents go to smellsbad, has dead rats, and no toilets.Welcome to the alleyways andbridges of downtown; which in-cidentally are far more danger-ous than tent city.

If we look beyond the re-sponse of the police and city of-ficials to the response of privatecitizens and church communi-ties however, I begin to havehope. Since the fight to save tentcity has become public, privateindividuals and churches havecontacted those of us workinghomeless outreach, and InnerCity Ministries (the very goodneighbors of tent city) to offertheir help. Despite having beenled to believe the city could pro-vide dumpsters and port-a-potties, it appears privateindividuals and churches will bethe ones to step up to providethese necessities. Many people,people who vote, have contactedus to offer their support andservices. These people all ex-press shock and dismay that thecity would tear down the onlyhomes that my friends in tentcity have.

It is my hope and ferventprayer that, in the end, the citywill change the conditions andcircumstances of tent city by im-proving, not destroying, tentcity. This hope stems not onlyfrom my concern and love formy brothers and sisters in tentcity, but also from a place of con-cern, and hope, and love for thesoul of a city that I call home.

Peace be with us all.

When not hanging out in tentcity or hiding in monasteriesJeannie Alexander can be con-tacted via email [email protected]



.LIFE.

“Where the Road Ends”Continued from Page 5

I would like to see if we can makethis neighborhood better andthereby keep the homes and lives ofthese folks intact.

First of all, the crime rate islower at the camp than in manyother places here in Nashville. I’vehad that fact admitted to by folks onthe police force and in the Mayor’soffice. So if crime is our reasoning inshutting it down, then why don’t westart at the Metro streets with thehighest crime rate and move downto the camp? And is that how weaddress crime? We just bulldozedown areas rather than work withthe law abiding folks living in thatarea in getting rid of those whobring the criminal actions there withthem? I just don’t agree with that ap-proach.

And in moving the people liv-ing in this camp, where do we move

them? As one resident told me,most will just wander aroundtill excitement dies down andthen move back. No one wantsthis piece of property for any-thing and there is nowhere forthese folks to go. For those liv-ing down there with pets, thechances of keeping their familytogether reaches impossiblelevels. So we are pretty muchcondemning these animals tobeing put down. For thosestruggling to make sense oftheir lives, and why they are atCamp Road’s End, taking theirpets away might just also takeaway any reason they have tomake it out again. I think wecan do better.

“TNT”, Cowboy’s best friend and long-time resident of Tent City.Photo by Tasha French. More photos at www.sanshouses.com.

BY JERRY ANDREASENHomeless [email protected]

The Bringer ofFood and Warmth:

Let me say this about this subjectright now: we can do whatever we can- only if we want to take the time outof our own schedule to do so.

There’s this young lady that mywife and I know. She’s only workingpart time, has a small apartment onthe south side, takes the bus back andforth to work. She has this giving spiritwith a giant heart, always smiling. Shealways has time to stop and say, “hi”and always makes sure she brings asandwich with her, not because she’shungry, but to give to someone who is.

If we could only lean on one idealit’s this: It costs us nothing to smileand say, “hi” and maybe (just maybe)all we need to know is that someonecares.

Not only does having this way ofthinking help someone we don’t know,but it helps us feel better. It lifts us upto a higher playing field, and onceagain, it’s free, it costs us nothing but

some time to smile and, who knows,we might just live longer.

To my lady friend of whom Ispeak, I wish you a very long and pros-perous life. May God always shine hisface upon you, because this old andvery tired homeless couple will alwaysremember that cold and rainy nightwhen you came up, smiled, and askedif you could give us something to eat.It meant so very much to us. ThankYou.

Pastor Paul:

Just one pastor in a large metro-plex called Nashville. It’s not oftenthat I’ll speak of men of God becauseI feel that they are just doing whatGod told them to do.

However, this is different. I feelhe goes beyond the call of his ministryevery Saturday when he takes hischurch van downtown, picks uphomeless persons, takes them out tohis church for a meal, some clothes,and a service. He’ll even make twotrips if necessary to get everyone whowishes to come to be fed spirituallyand fleshly.

All of his people smile and wel-

come us in just as if we belong there,as one of their own family. Why is thisso important? Because, he truly isdoing as God commands, going to thehighways and byways to compel themto come in.

He doesn’t look at how we’redressed, if we’re shaved, or even ifwe’ve had a bath. His only concern isour souls and safety. Each week heasks us how we’ve been or how we’redoing, or what we need.

To me, this is above the call ofministry — its more of the love of Godin his hear pouring out on mankind!

He wants nothing in return fromus but to keep on coming to learnabout God’s love for us and to see uscome to the knowledge that Godwould still give us his Son even if Iwere the only one.

Make it personal. Keep it real.Serve Him and serve others, and Godwill bless you in all you do. He’ll say,“You’re special.” “You’re loved.” You’remine.

So I say this with great joy. Welove you and respect you and hope tosee you ever-lasting in heaven.

To Pastor Paul Slanty, his wifeand church family, may God bless youand keep you. May His face shineupon you. Thanks!

Tonya WattsBenefit Rocks3rd and LindsleyBY TOM [email protected]

Tonya Watts, Caddle, The Lovin’44’s, Todd Derk and John Field gath-ered on the famous 3rd and Lindsleystage August 28th to raise money andawareness for The Contributor, andwhat a night it was!

The night was kicked off by Con-tributor Vendors John Field and ToddDerk, who brought their vast musicaltalents to the forefront. For many inthe audience, it was a shock to hearthe talent that both brought to thestage straight from the streets.

Alabama bands Caddle and TheLovin’ 44’s grabbed the mic and keptit smokin’ with original songs from thedepths of country rock until the hostof the night, Tonya Watts, took thestage with a full band. Her signature

song, Cumberland Angels was sungwith the help of our street musiciansand brought the house down.

Vendor Recruiter “Cowboy” Lut-trell danced the night away in hiswheelchair with any lady he couldcharm and former Vice-MayorHoward Gentry came out to show hissupport.

A bevy of Contributor Vendorssold papers and T-shirts that had beendonated to the event by Tonya Wattsand the B-Love Foundation.

So, here’s a mighty thanks to allwho came and to those who do-nated even when they couldn’t.

Along the Waygratitude for those who take the time to love

Top: Jerry and Karren’s young lady friend.Bottom: Karren Andreasen and Pastor Paul.

Photos by Jerry Andreasen

Tonya Watts performs.Photo by Tasha French.

union. Bound for Glory presents

Guthrie as a consummate non-conformist, even to the detrimentof his family and career. He can'tstand to be tied to a place, a per-son or a company so he keepsmoving on, spending time withthe folks and writing more musicthat changes minds.

The 2 1/2 hour film takes along time to tell just a small partof Guthrie's story and it seemsslow at times, but the qualitymusic and Guthrie's unpre-dictability keep things interesting.The first film to utilize thesteadicam, cinematographerHaskell Wexler, takes every op-portunity to show us the goldenhills of California and the slow-churning power of America’s rail-road.

The film is a fascinating por-trait of depression-era homeless-ness in America. History hasmade the poor and homeless ofthat time into heroes, and it wasmen and women like WoodyGuthrie (and his literary counter-part John Steinbeck) who turnedthe eyes of America toward thepoor to offer them dignity, respectand hope.


Sunday - Tuesday,September 21st – 23rd

147 Minutes; Colordirected by Hal Ashby

Playing out like a real-lifecompanion to The Grapes ofWrath, Bound for Glory is a beau-tifully shot, gently paced telling ofWoody Guthrie's California years.

Directed by Hal Ashby(Harold and Maude, Being There)the film unfolds as a meditation onwhat transformed Guthrie from aDust Bowl-era west Texas sign-painter into an influential folksinger, a friend to the poor and op-pressed, and a powerful advocatefor American worker's rights.

The tale begins in Pampa,Texas where the young Guthrie,played by David Carradine (No-tably, the son of The Grapes ofWrath's John Carradine) is discov-ering a disdain for the conventionsof poverty and a desire to explorethe world outside of his family'ssmall farm. Guthrie leaves his townand his family to see if there reallyis a better life down the road, insouthern California. He learns theins and outs of train-jumping,camps with dust-bowl refugees asthey line-up for the opportunity topick fruit for dismal wages, and be-grudgingly gains the humility to ac-cept free food from a churchsoup-kitchen.

Most importantly, this iswhere Guthrie discovers the powerof music to affect change in thelives of the poor and the minds ofthe rich. Guthrie finds inspirationin Ozark Bule, a fictional folk singerwho performs for the workers, en-couraging them to unionize.Guthrie finds something in Bule'smusic that he had been missing: amusic that makes things happen.Guthrie and Bule tour the country-side, playing for workers to enter-tain them and enlighten them as tothe power they could have as a

.FILM SERIES.

Bound for Glory (1976)Review by Mark LemleyEditor

At The Belcourt Theatre2102 Belcourt Ave.Nashville, TN 37212www.belcourt.org

AN INTRODUCTION BYTOM [email protected]

Welcome to From Tramp ToVagabond: A History of Home-lessness and Film a film seriessponsored by The Contributor!As of the printing of this issue, weare half-way through the series andwe hope you are enjoying everyminute of it.

By now we’ve already ex-plored the nooks and crannies ofCharlie Chaplins Short films with agourmet hot-dog reception in-be-tween. We’ve witnessed BouduSaved From Drowning and laughedand cried at the absurdity ofB o u d u ’ st r a m p -n e s s .We’ve sur-vived thedustbowlof TheGrapes ofWrath andl a u g h e dt h r o u g hthe de-p r e s s i o nwith Sulli-van’s Trav-els.

W elistened to each other after flying tonew heights in Miracle In Milanwith a panel discussion talkingabout the real, hard issue of TentCity being closed here in Nashvillejuxtaposed to the fantastic, tall taleof a fictitious homeless camp in1951 Milan.

We’ve held our noses andlaughed at the “B” film That Ten-nessee Beat featuring our ownMinnie Pearl as a preacher in awheelchair. And, we’ve marveledat Dustin Hoffman and JohnVoight in a brand new print of JohnSchlesenger’s classic MidnightCowboy.

And we’re currently singingalong with Woody Guthrie ridingthe rails in Bound For Glory whilepreparing ourselves for the sav-agely realistic portrayal of a home-less woman in Vagabond (a.k.a.Sans toit ni loi).

Next we’ll move into the 21st

Century abandoned subway tun-nels of New York City having con-versations with literal undergroundhomeless squatters in the docu-mentary Dark Days, and thenroaming the streets with a formerR&B legend in Agile, Mobile, Hos-tile: A Year with Andre Williams inmodern day 2008.

The Festival ends with athrowback to the beginning, with arun of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lightsfrom 1931. This new 35MM printis not available until the end of theseries, but it is a fitting ending, withChaplin and his girl who sees himfor who he truly is wanderingdown the road.

Each screening will be aunique opportunity for Nashvilleresidents to both experience anddiscuss important films that ex-plore the issue of homelessness.

A l lt i c k e tsales willb e n e f i tThe Bel-c o u r tTheatre.But, ast h esponsor-ing en-t i t y ,vendorsof TheC o n -tributorwill be

on hand at a table in the lobby tosell papers and to take donations.

Every dollar spent on paperswill solely benefit the homeless andformerly homeless vendors. Whiledonations given will offset paperprinting costs and vendor supplies.

We are also thankful that TheBelcourt has encouraged our ven-dors and contributors to introducefilms throughout the festival, thusadding to the dialogue that bothorganizations seek to facilitate.

And Lastly, we thank YOU forcoming and for supporting us. Weplan to be on a street corner nearyou for a long time to come, hope-fully with a new face selling thepaper, earning dignity and respectalong the way as they contribute tothe greater conversation.

See you at the movies!

from Tramp to Vagabonda history of homelessness in film

Karren Andreasen and Jerry Andreasen.Homeless Vendors of The Contributor at theBelcourt. Photo by Tasha French.

Monday - Wednesday,September 22nd – 24th

105 Minutes; Color;French with English subtitlesdirected by Agnes Varda

Jeannie Alexander is a HomelessOutreach Worker for The ParkCenter in Nashville and the for-mer program director for TheNashville Homeless Power Proj-ect. She authored an article inthe August edition of The Con-tributor on the plight of homelesspregnant women in Nashville.She is also the co-pastor of MercyCommunity Church in Atlanta.

Vagabond (1985)Review by Jeannie AlexanderOutreach Worker

Vagabond: an uncomfort-able and realistic journey.

Vagabond, a 1985 French of-fering by filmmaker Agnes Varda,meanders through the last fewweeks of the life of a young home-less woman called Mona.

This film fits easily within thefamily of other films adopted intothe Criterion Collection; it is dark,moody, peppered with awkwardbits of seemingly inappropriatehumor, and leaves the viewer witha troubling snapshot of life to con-template.

I’ll be honest; I thought thefirst twenty minutes of the filmwere simply awful. The music wasso bad that directors of porn andcommercials would eschew such ascore. I found the scenes to bepoorly shot, and I presumed thatthe editor was fired early on in theproject because evidence of his orher work was nowhere to be seen.

Casting however was for themost part excellent. Mona, playedby Sandrine Bonnaire was brilliant.She reminded me of many of theyoung homeless women I haveknown. She was distrustful and re-signed without being bitter. Herdark shadowy features with wideeyes cast upon fair skin and unrulyhair made her facial expressionsfascinating to watch.

I found that I was often moreinterested in simply observingBonnaire than in following the dis-jointed plot.

While the plot was disjointed,such disjointment was appropriateto the subject. Mona moves,mostly without reserve, from onesituation and one encounter to thenext, never staying at one place forlong.

As a young woman travelingalone she affects a tough, but notoverly crass, exterior. Mona’s eyestake in everything and through herfacial expressions the viewer seesMona filtering her surroundingsthrough past experiences that haveleft her expecting the bad but hop-ing for the good.

Dialogue was sparser than Iwould have liked, and the viewer isleft knowing almost nothing aboutthe protagonist’s past. Several ofthe people Mona meets along theway note how “free” she is, andthey contemplate whether or notthey desire such freedom, some do,while others reject such freedombecause of the loneliness incum-bent upon such a life. Still otherswrite her off as useless and lazy,and a “druggie.”


.FILM SERIES.

While it is true that Monadrinks more than she eats, andsmokes pot when she can, she is fartoo poor to be any sort of chronicor dedicated addict. Still otherstake pity on the “weird” “poor” girland would care for her if circum-stances were different. Mona worksa series of odd jobs like washing acar, stacking pallets of woodencrates, and trimming grape vines,in order to obtain just enough cashto keep her moving and keep heralive.

Mona is usually out of doors.She never stays in a shelter, but in-stead chooses the inadequate com-fort of her own tent that looked asif it had been taken from a gypsycaravan.

The most poignant and un-settling aspect of the film is watch-ing the gradual deterioration ofMona. As the weather becomescolder Mona subtly becomes moredesperate and she seems as thoughshe would allow someone to carefor her.

In watching one characterafter another feel sorry for Monabut ultimately decide they can nothelp her, I was reminded of peoplewho come across a stray dog thatthey find charming or feel sorry for,but ultimately they fail to interveneand act to save the animals life.

That is not to say that home-less people are like stray dogs.From my experience, all to oftenwell meaning people ultimatelylack the courage of their convic-tions intervene because of simpleinconvenience. When touchingthe lives of homeless people andhomeless animals to give a bit ofhope, we often only destroy thepromise of hope when it becomesclear inconvenience is inevitable.

Even though she evidencesdisappointment Mona is used to it,and like the stray dog she tucks herhead against the wind and journeyson. As she travels, her boots grad-ually fall apart, she loses her jacketand replaces it with a blanket, andultimately is left alone in a ditch,cold wet, gasping through tears,too weak to stand, doomed to anunnecessary death.

For me Vagabond hit far tooclose to home to be entertaining. Itleft me in tears, depressed, andangry. Would I have it for my owncollection? Yes. But I wouldn’t rec-ommend it for a casual viewing. Ifinstead you’re looking for some-thing to provoke thought and tounsettle you then Vagabond is yourpick.

Thursday,September 25th

86 Minutes; Colordirected by Tricia Toddand Eric Matthies

The 2008 documentaryAgile Mobile Hostile: A YearWith Andre Williams is a fittingaddition to The Belcourt's His-tory of Homelessness in Film

series, as it explores the real lifestruggle to stay off the streetsby a valiant and vile-mouthedAmerican rock, blues and funklegend.

Andre Williams claims tohave given Stevie Wonder hisstage name, and he co-wroteWonder's first song. Williams’1963 song, "Shake a TailFeather" was a massive hit forboth the Five Du-Tones and Ikeand Tina Turner. In the 1970'she wrote songs for Parliamentand Funkadelic while comedianRedd Foxx dubbed him "Mr.Rhythm".

The film begins withWilliams recounting his spanfrom 1991-1993 begging formoney on the streets of Chicagobefore landing a CD productiondeal for $2,500.00.

Constantly aware of notbeing paid royalties for his life’swork, Williams drifts from thedrug and alcohol fueled rockand roll life of “kicking ass” to

Continued on Page 12

Wednesday - Thursday,September 24th – 25th

94 Minutes; B&Wdirected by Marc Singer

The award-winning DarkDays (2000) is an imploring surveyinto the lives of some dozen peopleliving in and beneath New Yorksubway system in the mid-1990s.This low sympathy, high humanitytrek follows these individualsthrough their daily lives under-

ground as they cook, bathe, gethigh, raise pets, argue and build atight community.

An accidental documentarian,the never-been-homeless MarcSinger, took his lead from hishomeless friends when, sittingaround a campfire, they suggestedthat their lives should be filmed.

He jumped at the idea andthrough trial and error, and lots ofno-money, he learned the ins andouts of basic filmmaking. Renting a16mm camera, having the bulk ofhis film donated, and using theamazing abilities of his subjects ashis film crew, the suggestion be-came reality.

This documentary is perfectfor viewers who would like a lookinto the lives of people living out onthe edge while not being subjectedto sappy narration or heartrendingstatistics. Still, it subversivelymakes a good case for the “Hous-ing First” model of outreach. It iswhat it is - a tight view of a specificculture of human beings that’soften funny, a few times sad andthere’s even a hopeful ending formost.

Dark Days (2000)Review by Tasha FrenchEditor

Agile, Mobile, Hostile:A Year with AndreWilliams (2008)Review by Tom Wills - Editor

Friday - Monday,September 26th – 29th

87 Minutes; B&W;silent with music scoredirected by Charles Chaplin

(Starring: Charlie Chaplin as aTramp, Virginia Cherrill as theBlind Flower Girl, and HarryMyers as the Eccentric Million-aire.)

Ridiculed and teased by streetcorner newsboys (they’d have beenfired by the Contributor), eyed suspi-ciously and chased by cops, impris-oned for a crime he didn’t commit,harassed by the mayor and police forsleeping on a park statue, the Trampalmost seems to be living in 2008, in-stead of 1931. Except for one thing:

even though this film was shot dur-ing the height of the Great Depres-sion, Charlie appears to be the onlyhomeless person in the whole city.

Having just fallen at first sightfor the beautiful blind flower girl onNew Year’s Eve, the Tramp comicallyprevents two suicide attempts by adespondent drunk millionaire. Char-lie’s rescue having given the wealthyeccentric a renewed will-to-live, hedeclares that he and the Tramp willbe friends for life.

The drunk then takes his downand out buddy for a night on thetown, to ring in the New Year hoi pol-loi style. Driving the millionaire backto his mansion, he even gives Charliehis Rolls Royce and $10, which theTramp uses to buy all the blind girl’sflowers.

But at dawn, the now sober mil-lionaire is enraged to see Charliedriving his Rolls, and asking his but-ler, “Who is this man?” he has Chap-lin thrown back into the streets. Thenext time out on a drunk, though, theJeckyl/Hydish rich man again em-braces the now wary Tramp for morepartying.

One gets the impression today’shomelessness situation would be al-leviated if matters were reversed: ifthe affluent kept getting drunk andthe homeless stayed sober.

Only when blinded by alcohol,or in the flower girl’s case, physicalblindness, do these characters see be-yond the outward shabby appearanceto perceive the Tramp as he really is:

an unselfish, golden-hearted knightin tattered armor. Convincing hisdrunken benefactor to fund an oper-ation to restore the girl’s sight, Char-lie is wrongly accused of stealing themoney, so after handing it to the girl,he goes to prison for many months.

Chaplin’s Tramp is a cartoon-character come to life. He uses bal-let-like grace, balance and footworkto weave all the comedic skits into aperfectly orchestrated symphony ofslapstick and mime.

One of the high points of thefilm is the boxing scene whereinChaplin reprises his ring antics fromhis 1915 short, the Champion. Usingevery device imaginable to try toavoid his opponent’s fists, Charlieeven uses the referee as a humanshield while sneaking in a few well-placed blows. Balancing on therazor’s edge between fantasy and re-ality, he thus exposes his opponent’sbasic punch-drunkenness.

At one point, the timekeeper’sstrap gets tangled around Charlie’sneck, so that every time he getsjabbed to the floor, the bell rings andthe Pavlovic opponent heads for hiscorner. Helping Charlie up makes thebell sound again, resuming thefighter’s blows. That the opponentfails to realize that rounds couldn’tpossibly be so short, again reinforcesthe cartoonish nature of the charac-ters.

Always the perfectionist, Chap-lin used over 300 takes to shoot themeeting of the Tramp and Flower

Girl. Reluctantly giving her what wasprobably the only coin he had to payfor the flower, Chaplin used the sim-ple ploy of a limo door slamming shutnearby to make the Blind Girl thinkhe was a wealthy customer: a cha-rade the Tramp had to keep upthroughout the entire film as hecourted the girl he was so smitten by.

In what is called one of thegreatest scenes in cinema history,Charlie, just released from prison, en-counters the now sighted Flower Girlwho now owns her own shop. Vir-ginia at first laughs at the Tramp,telling her grandmother , “I’ve made aconquest!” Only when condescend-ingly trying to give the poor soul ahandout and feeling his touch, doesshe come to the realization that Char-lie was her “wealthy” beau all along.The closing line, “Yes, I can see now!”proved she realized his beautiful soulwas what she loved all along.

Released at a time when thepublic was demanding the new“talkies,” Charlie swam against thetide to continue to do what he didbest: silent pantomime. Yet he uti-lized the film’s soundtrack to his ad-vantage by composing the beautifulmusical score. Even though seventy-seven years have passed since achiev-ing tremendous critical andbox-office success, City Lights is astimeless as Shakespeare orBeethoven.

“Who is this man?” — a little bitof all of us.

City Lights (1931)Review by Ray Ponce de LeonFormerly Homeless Editor


.FILM SERIES.

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Series Calendar:Bound for Glory (1976)

Sunday - Tuesday,September 21st – 23 rd

147 Minutes; Colordirected by Hal Ashbystarring David Carradine35MM print presentation

David Carradine of all actors turns in a solidperformance riding the rails as WoodyGuthrie, in this biography of one of thegreatest musical influences in our nation’shistory.

Vagabond (1985)Sans toit ni loi

Monday - Wednesday,September 22nd – 24th

105 Minutes; Color;French with English subtitlesdirected by Agnes Vardastarring Sandrine Bonnaire35MM print presentation

This hard nosed, near documentary stylefilm from French new wave director, AgnesVarda, captures Sandrine Bonnaire in a stun-ning portrayal of a vagabond woman, Monaand her life before being found frozen in aditch in rural France.

Dark Days (2000)

Wednesday - Thursday,September 24th – 25th

94 Minutes; B&Wdirected by Marc Singer 35MM print presentation

This documentary developed cult followingon the strength of its subjects and 16MMB&W camera style. It features homelessmen and women squatting in the subways ofNew York City with a pulsing soundtrack byDJ Shadow.

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A YearWith Andre Williams (2008)

Thursday, September 25th

86 Minutes; Color; documentarydirected by Tricia Todd

and Eric Matthies/starring Andre Williams as himselfHDcam presentation

This documentary follows Andre Williamsthe hit recording artist behind Berry Gordy,Ike Turner, and Stevie Wonder and docu-ments his life’s struggles with addiction,homelessness and the law.

City Lights (1931)

Friday - Monday,September 26th – 29th

87 Minutes; B&W;silent with music scoredirected by and starringCharles ChaplinNEW 35MM print presentation

This is Charlie Chaplin’s “Comedy Romancein Pantomime” where his homeless Trampfalls in love with a poor, blind flower peddler.He risks revealing his own shameful Trampidentity in his loving attempt to heal herblindness. A NEW 35MM print.

“Agile, Mobile, Hostile”Continued from Page 11

the paranoid realities of hispoverty and fragile health froma life of alcoholism and drugabuse.

While this film is not pri-marily about homelessness, wehave here a snapshot of ahuman being with a history toboth admire and pity, who wewitness struggle with the basicneeds of life including having ahome. After getting off thestreets, he gets removed fromhis retirement home. Then helives in a Motel 6, before hop-ping between low rent apart-ments and friends homes.

If the fictional character ofBoudu in Jean Renoir’s 1932Boudu Saved From Drowninghelps humanize the tramp’scharacter, Andre’s self pro-claimed sexual appetite can im-press or at least gives us hopefor our older years. Williamsspeaks of his sexual appetite asif he’s re-entered puberty. Onecan’t be surprised that his 1998album Silky defined the style ofsleaze-rock.

Thus most poignant mo-ment of the film for this re-

viewer comes when a youngband member brings a newlysober Williams to alcoholsoaked New Orleans MardiGras for a gig. Unable to keephim away from his BacardiRum, his band-mate reels at thefact that Williams also hardlyeats, “No one told me he wouldbe coming without teeth, and itwould be hard to find food forhim.”

This simple fact hits homefor the homeless populationacross the world, not just onthe band stage. Local soupkitchens take this fact into ac-count when preparing theirmeals.

Williams constantlypreaches hell and salvation tothe camera offering advice tothe world from his world-wearypath. Early in the film he touts,“Sex, money and Bacardi Rumare the most beautiful things inthe world”. Towards the end ofthe film in a sober momentWilliams quips, “Do what youshould do and not what you cando. You can do anything, butthe consequences are a bitch.”

“True that”, as Williams wouldsay.


.LIFE.

Mercury Court ReportBY RAY PONCE DE LEONFormerly Homeless [email protected]

As I complete my first month as a resident of Mercury Court, I wish tofill everyone in on goings on there and tips on applying for housing.

MC was built in 1953 by Raybell Construction, two years after the DrakeMotel. It has 100 SROs (single room occupancy), more than any other ofUrban Housing Solutions properties. There are two social workers, a com-puter lab, a community room with TV and mailboxes. There are also occa-sional picnic outings and nighttime movies shown.

If residents of either of the missions are reluctant to seek housing here forfear of not getting fed, guess again. On Sundays, mobile Loaves and Fishesserves a meal courtesy of St. Augustine and Vanderbilt. On Mondays, Sec-ond Harvest brings food. On Thursdays, Nashville’s Table. Other churcheswill occasionally bring meals also.

The types of food residents line up for include: breads of all varieties(from hot dog buns to multi-grain), fruit, canned goods, cottage cheese, yo-gurt, milk (cows, goats milk, soy milk, etc.), cakes and pastries, juice, greentea, pies, etc.

One reason I hear frequently for not applying for housing is, “I don’t havea job.” Well, Urban Housing Solutions and Section 8 have taken steps to makeit much easier for street people to get housing. 1. They recently droppedthe deposit requirement. 2. The minimum rent is $50/month. (But you cansee Maggie at Campus for Human Development about their funding of thefirst month’s rent.) 3. Attend Life University classes at Mercury Court for amonth of Mondays and $50 will be deducted from your rent. 4. Earn toLearn is a program starting in September wherein residents will be assignedodd jobs in exchange for points good for earning furniture, TVs, DVD play-ers, etc.

Most apartments have planters in front of, or nearby so residents can plantgardens. Last year, the Contributor’s own Charles Clinard entered the cu-cumbers he planted in the State Fair competition and won second prize in thePickling Cucumber division. Charles’ crop this year includes several vari-eties of cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, zucchini and fall turnip greens for Oc-tober harvest. The pictured corn stalk is about seven feet high. (I’m notsure how high an elephant’s eye is.)

When applying at the Mercury Court office, it will speed up the process ifyou bring the required paperwork with you. 1. birth certificate 2. picture ID3. social security card 4. TB test results 5. homelessness verification formfrom the Campus or Mission 6. proof of income, if any.

Good luck. Hope to see you soon. Sit a spell, and (unlike the mission)kick yer shoes off!

Mercury Court resident and The Contributor vendor,Charles Clinard, shows off the stalks of corn he is growing

in his vegetable garden. Photo by Ray Ponce de Leon

BY RAY PONCE DE LEONFormerly Homeless [email protected]

Who are these kids?That’s what Evans-ville, Indiana localsare buzzing. Eco-terrorists are what

some call them. I’m speaking withLaura Barnett, Stop I-69 activist andlocal Food Not Bombs volunteer.

Ray: Just what is I-69?

Laura: It’s the latest section ofNAFTA (North American Free TradeAgreement) superhighway slated forconstruction. In May we were suc-cessfully able to deter construction en-deavors. On June 20th, aroundforty-something armed state police,INDOT (Indiana Department ofTransportation) and their cronies sur-rounded our tree-sit as I-69 protesterssat forty feet above ground. Therewere more arrests in the weeks fol-lowing the sit eviction.

R: But exactly why are you protesting?

L: I-69 is detrimental on a lot of lev-els. On the local level, people’s homesand businesses are being destroyed.30,00 jobs have been lost in Evansvillealone and that’s just the beginning.Some of these will be replaced by me-nial minimum wage gas station andfast food jobs that will punctuate thelandscape.

R: What is causing these jobs to belost?

L: NAFTA is yet another attempt bybig business and government to un-dermine the local economies of theU.S., Canada, and Mexico.

R: How did all this start?

L: The history is, Mexico’s cash cropused to be corn. Now they (Mexico)get it cheaper from the U.S.. So farm-ing areas, small farms mostly in ruralareas of Mexico are hit hardest by so-called free trade. This is seldombrought up in politicized immigrationdebates, but is undisputedly a leadingcause of the influx of Mexicans to theU.S. Free trade agreements are noth-ing new, but we’re starting to see themspring up everywhere—squeezing the

local economies of developing coun-tries.

R: Do you feel you’ve made anyprogress?

L: We’ve managed to delay construc-tion endeavors and have helped to getthe word out.

R: I’ve read that the Hoosier Environ-mental Council, Citizens for Appro-priate Rural Roads, and the SassafrasAudubon Society, as well as individualresidents, have taken this to federalcourt; so it’s not just your group.

L: Right. The struggle against thehighway has been ongoing for thirteenyears. Unfortunately, more is neededto prevent this road. A couple ofweeks ago, when I was in Evansville,signs saying “Future I-69 Bypass”made me sad.

R: For the reader, who’s unfamiliarwith NAFTA, can you tell us moreabout it?

L: Propaganda tells us that the pur-pose of NAFTA is to promote an inte-grated continental economy, not tofacilitate trade among separate sover-

eign societies. In reality, it accom-plishes both. NAFTA protects the in-terests of corporate investors whileundercutting workers’ rights and en-vironmental protections. This hasweakened workers’ bargaining powerand citizens’ rights to protectionsfrom unregulated markets. Instead ofcreating new jobs, as NAFTA haspromised, over a million jobs havebeen lost, and wages lowered for non-

college educated workers. Hundredsof thousands of Mexican citizenscome to the U.S. each year becausethey cannot make a living at home.

R: What has made Evansville such acritical location?

L: The south end of I-69 is at I-145 atIndianapolis, where it runs northwardto Ontario. The northern end is at theI-40/I-69/TN-300 interchange inMemphis. The Intermodal SurfaceTransportation Efficiency Act of 1991included two high-priority corridorsto become a proposed extension of I-69. The extension we’re fighting is thecorridor from Indianapolis to Mem-phis via Evansville.

R: How did your organization becomereferred to as Eco-terrorists?

L: Local media, such as FOX and theEvansville Courier and Press havebeen vocal in perpetuating this kind ofmentality. We are radical activists, butsome prefer to call us Eco-terrorists.Our own voice has often been stifleddue to media misreporting. Some lo-cals are obviously uninformed, apa-thetic.

R: Tell me about getting arrested.

L: We were told we had fifteen min-utes to leave the tree-sit, before beingarrested.

R: Were you up in a tree yourself?

L: No, I was ground support with acouple of others, who decided that wewere needed to contact legal supportbecause the crap was hitting the fan.So, we on ground support compliedand left the sit, the whole time tryingto attain contact with the broader ech-elons of our group. (It was 5 a.m.)

Continued on Page 14

“Stop I-69” Protesting Continues

Laura Barnett, Stop I-69 activist and localFood Not Bombs volunteer. Photo by Ray Ponce de Leon


American Homelessnessin the New Millennium

Interested in Leading

Street Newspapers Across the US & Canada?

The North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) is seeking its first executive director who will lead efforts to strengthen and develop street papers. This new position will be located in Washington, DC and pay $36,000 annually, plus benefits.

NASNA is a grassroots association of 25 street newspapers in the United States and Canada that work to raise awareness about poverty issues, while empowering homeless individuals with an income and a voice.

For more information visit www.nasna.org or e-mail [email protected].

.LIFE.

PART 1

BY BRIAN [email protected]

In December 2004, the U.S. Conference of Mayorsreported on a 27-city survey on hunger andhomelessness claiming that 23% of all emergencyshelter requests made by homeless people wentunmet during the preceding year (U.S. Confer-

ence of Mayors, 2004). A few weeks later, PresidentGeorge Bush announced the release of more than $1.4billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development to help in the fight againsthomelessness (U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment [HUD], 2005).

The nation’s populace, wea-ried from a bitter presidential raceand increasing violent insurgenciesin Iraq, barely noticed either an-nouncement.

Homelessness has, after all,been a constant presence on theAmerican landscape despite whatseems like its relatively recent ar-rival on the list of pressing socialconcerns. However new a socio-logical phenomenon homelessnessmay seem to be, it is deeply rootedin the underlying influences of his-toric events and resultant trendsthat comprise the American socialexperience: economic crises andchanges; the decline of family sup-port networks; war; loss of community; addiction; anddeinstitutionalization.

Over the next few months, this column will exam-ine a major thread that connects these various sociolog-ical causes of American homelessness: disaffiliationwrought by both societal change and public policy, par-ticularly as it relates to two major factors associated withhomelessness, addiction and mental illness.

Historical backdrop:America with no social safety netfor the poor

What is the nature of this American homelessnesscharacterized by disaffiliation? To begin, it is not new.

America has never been without the problem.Since colonial times, wave after wave of societal change,upheaval and adjustment has shaped the fate of poor orsuddenly alienated individuals, and it is possible to re-late significant historical factors to the issue of home-lessness as it exists in America today.

Many people arrived in America as indentured ser-vants with no independent source of security. Otherswere intentionally sent from England as undesirables,including paupers, convicts, vagrants, and orphans(Rossi, 1989). Indeed it is likely that displaced misfitswho had difficulty adjusting to the rapidly changingcolonial social order became the first of what we nowcall “chronically homeless” (Brinkley, 2002). As early as1640 such “vagrant persons” regularly vexed peace offi-cers in Boston (Kusmer, 2002).

Throughout the events and forces that destabilizedand dislocated the poor in early America – including in-dustrialization, westward expansion, the Civil War andReconstruction, economic recessions – institutional andgovernmental approaches to the problem were eithernonexistent or sorely inadequate. Almshouses, asylums,

and later, state-run mental institu-tions, were unable to absorb thenumber of destitute beggars whorequired some form of institu-tional care (Baum & Burnes, 1993).

It was not until the GreatDepression, which brought aboutmassive unemployment and dislo-cation, that the federal govern-ment had to address poverty andhomelessness in a centralizedmanner (Baum & Burnes, 1993).

The Federal EmergencyRelief Act passed by Congress in1933 created the Federal TransientBureau, which became the WorksProgress Administration in 1935.Federal policy then shifted to pro-viding employment rather than di-

rect relief. This and other programs of the New Deal, inaddition to federal unemployment insurance and SocialSecurity (predicated on a worker paying into the system)further delineated the “deserving” and the “undeserving.”The federal debate of deciding who would receive helpand under what circumstances had begun in earnest.

In the affluent years that followed World War II,homelessness almost disappeared (Blau, 1992). Post-World War II America developed the confidence to be-lieve it had the capacity to overcome the lingeringpoverty that still plagued the nation. During the 1960s,the federal government set out on an ambitious missionto address poverty, aided by a willing nationwide activistmovement. However, one poorly researched initiativefrom the halcyon days of the Kennedy administrationbecame the single longest-lasting contributing factor tohomelessness: the Community Mental Health CenterConstruction Act of 1963.

Next Month:The beginnings of a “grate society”

“However new a sociologi-cal phenomenon homeless-ness may seem to be, it isdeeply rooted in the under-lying influences of historicevents and resultant trendsthat comprise the Americansocial experience: economiccrises and changes; the de-cline of family support net-works; war; loss ofcommunity; addiction; anddeinstitutionalization.”

“Stop I-69”Continued from Page 13

The police meanwhile, arrested thosein the trees with cherry pickers andclimbing gear. Ground support waswalking on the shoulder of the roadaway from the sit, trying to maintainin at least earshot range of the sit. Wewere worried for the safety of ourfriends. I saw a squad car pass with acouple of other friends who had cometo our rescue. These friends later toldme that they heard a voice from head-quarters over the radio saying, “If theyeven set foot on the white line arrestthem.” Three cars full of our friendswho were to be witnesses with theircameras were pulled over for suppos-edly not wearing seatbelts properly,turn signals, --that kind of thing. Thepolice had a very organized system ofwaiting down the road on all perime-ters around the sit, and were basicallywaiting to identify our cars. They ha-rassed us for the next several weeks ona daily basis. Our houses were undersurveillance and cell phones mysteri-ously quit working.

R: Why were you arrested? You werecomplying with the order to leave thesite. Did you step on the white line?

L: I was walking on the side of theroad- not in the road, not in the grass,which is INDOT property, but on theshoulder.

R: So, they were determined to arrestyou?

L: Yes.

R: What is the next step for Road-block Earth First?

L: Well, lots of actions and protestshappen all the time in Indiana andacross the U.S. Here in Nashville,we’re planning a benefit show on Oct.25 to benefit those people in need oflegal defense. We’ll have live music,food, a free market. Being so close toHalloween, we’ll probably wear cos-tumes, too. Check out the latest go-ings on of RBEF on stopi69.org.

R: Will you be singing at the benefit?

L: We’ll see about that!

I-69 UPDATE:On July 15, 2008, fifteen opponents ofI-69 were arrested for blocking the en-trance of Gohmnann Asphalt. Road-block Earth First demands thatGohmann drop their contract withINDOT or face continued oppositionand work stoppage. They will be heldaccountable for the eviction of farm-ers, the disruption of communitiesand the devastation of the environ-ment caused by I-69. On July 31, al-most 100 people demonstrated inWashington D.C.’s K street in resist-ance to the highway.

.LIFE.

Street Interview: RayRayTent City Resident

Interview by Will Connelly & Tasha French. Photos by Tasha French. Audio and photos available at: www.sanshouses.com.

Shirley Jorjorian, the “Hug Lady”. Photo by Todd Derk.

RayRay: Of course, you notice I got a bathroom. I'm the only one in the whole

camps down here that has a bathroom. I can't go like some people go in thewoods. I like my privacy. This is my privacy. I go in there and think a lot. Siton the pot for no reason, thinking. That's how I do all my thinking lately, whatI'm going to be doing.

Next time you see me, you'll probably want to take a picture of my back.I got three crosses going on my back. Each cross is going to be hooked to aheart, with names on them. Grandpa Russell is going to be the first one. My dadis going to be the second one. The last one is going to have no name on it be-cause it's going to be for me.

My body is going to be cremated and then that is going back to Miami, orsome place, and going in the ocean. The ocean or down there in the river.

Need a Hug?BY TODD DERKHomeless [email protected]

If you’ve been to Hillsboro Village in the last 35 years, you’ve probably seenher and if you are lucky enough maybe even met her. If you know her, you knowher as Shirley The Hug Lady.

Shirley Jorjorian moved to Nashville in 1972. She worked as Dolly Parton’ssecretary for many years and has amazing stories to tell. But what’s even moreamazing than that is her hug list. She has recorded over 38,000 hugs in her timein Nashville.

When asked, “How did you get started?” Her response was, “I don’t re-member exactly the year or the way, but I can tell you that I log every one ofthem. (I’ve) been doing it so long, I still don’t know all of them. I only remem-bered the meaningful ones.” Dolly was her first recorded hug.

We asked her about her hugging strategy, “Is there a strategy on how sheknows you need a hug?” She responded, “Everybody needs hugs!” So next timeyou see her, ask yourself, “Need a hug?” She will be more than glad to lay oneon you.

So remember folks, you can show some live for your brothers and sistersand give a hug, or take one.

Out CentralMoves TowardsCompletionBy CHUCK CLINARDFormerly Homeless [email protected]

Located in the Midtown dis-trict, the new GLBT cul-tural center is slated forcompletion in the near fu-ture. Out Central’s aim is

“to create a cultural center and a hubthat welcomes gay, lesbian, bi-sexual,transgender, queer, questioning andintersex persons into a positive, en-ergy-filled envirornment where recre-ation and education can flourish.”

By serving the whole communityand garnering respect for every indi-vidual and household, it is their aim todevelop positive, healthy relation-ships. The Center also encouragesevery person and every group tocahieve their “fullest potential.”

According to their informationpamphlet, Out Central offers generalservices and aims to provide a widevariety of high quality programmingfor the community.

Out Central is located on ChurchStreet in the block between 17th and18th avenues next door to The OutLoud Bookstore. The physical layoutis quite impressive considering thenarrow width of the building andcloseness in proximity to the otherbusinesses in the block. Upon enter-ing the building, you are greeted by alounge area, a welcome desk and seat-ing area. Next, visitors see the GreatRoom used for meetings and func-tions for community groups and or-ganizations. A conference room andfour office areas will be available forthose groups wishing to acquire officespace. Against the east wall will be anart gallery and library. Behind thebuilding will be a garden, sitting area,and place for outdoor gatherings.

Out Central’s executive directorJim Hawk says that there are “volun-teer opportunities for anyone with adesire to help out.” There are emailupdates and news on upcomingevents. Donations can be made attheir website www.outcentral.org.

In the future plans are for pro-grams and areas of emphasis onGLBT homelessness and homeless is-sues related to GLBT members. Therecognition of homelessness issues byOut Central will help all concerned togrow together through knowledge andunderstanding.



Walking these Streetsby: Chuck ClinardFormerly Homeless Poet

I walk these streets both night and dayHoping and praying to find a better way

Is it the way I dress or comb my hair?Seems like to me no one really cares

Doors once opened are now quickly closedI try to walk with my head up high

I don’t want a hand-out just the means to get byJust give me a chance I’ll show you no lie

As I lay down my head to get a little sleepLord wake me tomorrow to again Walk These Streets

A Knight’s Questby: John ChetudoHomeless Poet

As the thunder rolls in the distant skyAn eagle falls and a child criesA dream that shatters and a hope that fadesAn inward torment an outward rageA scream that echoes throughout the nightFollowed by laughter of sheer delight,Why do some feel pleasure while others feel paidThe kind that causes the eyes to rainThere is no joy in a mad man’s heartFor his soul was lost before the startThe dreamers cry and the poets weepFor a weary soul that can find no peaceFor all he feels is the passion for his questAnd until it is done his soul shall find no rest.

Great Horned Owlby: Wayne WaldenHomeless Poet

Behold the great horned owlwhose talons make wild cats scowl.He dozes by dayin a casual waythen flies forth by night on the prowl.

Ways of the Stormby: Wayne WaldenHomeless Poet

I know well the ways of the storm –its angry frown, bent on harm.

I’ve stood upon the rocky pointwhen surf and sky were out of jointand leaned into the murky wind‘til the sun dare show its face again.

Through such a raging mid-day nightI’ve learned to lean on him whose might Exceeds the blast at its stormiest height.I know well the ways of the storm.

I may be homelessbut I’m not a bad person.by: Cathy PooleHomeless Poet

I am homelessI don’t drinkI don’t do drugsAnd I don’t steal

Because I am homelessYou want to hide meShip me to another town or stateIf you can’t see meI’m no longer a problem

I have problemsThey can be helpedDon’t call me namesAs they do hurtThey can and do hinder my path

Put me on the path to regain my lifeI will not hurt youI just want to talk to you

Please treat me the way you want to be treatedAnd I will do the sameI may be homelessBut I’m not a bad person

.ARTS.


. ARTS.

Illustration and songBY RAY PONCE DE LEONFormerly Homeless [email protected]

Is his trademark out of place where they sing “Amazing Grace?”Does the color of darkness conflict with the light?Is the Man in Black wearing white?

He stopped missing her today/ they lowered him into the graveThanks to June his spirit’s floating higherShe gave him the faith to escape that Ring of Fire

Sodom and Gomorrah Two/ this world today has Boys Named SueLove can be eternal honeymoonJohn lost his reason to stay here when he lost Forever June

Is the Man in Black wearing white?Does the color of darkness conflict with the light?Don’t the twinkling stars bring love to the nightIs the Man in Black wearing white?

White angel robes and the pearly gatesDo all halo wearers meet the same fate?Or will John receive dispensation‘Cause he Walked the Line to entertain the nation?We had to say goodbye to Waylon, Conway and ChetBut John’s loss is the biggest blow to country music yet.

Is the Man in Black wearing white?

IS THE MAN IN BLACK WEARING WHITE?(from the country opera and graphic novel “Twang”)


.FUN.

Created By: Timothy W. Hall Sr., Currently Incarcerated Homeless Contributor

VirgoSo, you took the plunge! They saidyou'd never decide, but you finallywent all-in. You expected them to beimpressed. You expected this mightchange your life forever. You just didn'texpect it to be so much work. "This ishard!" The stars can hear you whiningfrom light-years away. "This is takingup all my introspective, indecisive me-time!" Suck-it-up, Virgo. It's a shock tothe system, but you're going to get usedto this new lifestyle. Stay on course, 6months down the line, you won't re-member how you managed with so lit-tle structure.

LibraI heard they found Big-Foot. Seriously,the Loch Ness Monster, too. Yeah,they're they're gonna lock'em up in azoo in Tampa. Same place they've gotthat bearded-mermaid and the singingdishcloth . . . No, Libra, I'm kidding.The Stars said you'd believe anythingthis month, and I was TRYING toprove them wrong. Really, though,there's a lot of people who aren't asnice as me who are going to try to pullone over on you. Keep your defensesup, and not just because of the ninjaright behind you.

ScorpioTonight I focused my energy, clearedmy mind and looked to The Stars todiscover what might lay in store forthose blessed human travelers bornunder the scorpion. They put me onhold. I mean, sure, from The Stars'nearly-infinite perspective I may justbe a mysterious mote on a tiny blue in-consequential speck, but still, 45 min-utes on the line listening to BarryManilow's "Mandy"? Customer carereally isn't what it used to be. So, Scor-pio, if I get through, I'll let you know.In the mean time, I can recommend agood augury.

SagittariusExperts estimate that the population ofthe earth may double in the next 50years. Double. You think it's hard tofind a parking space now? But seri-ously, Sagittarius, there will never be abetter time to make a difference in thisworld. Sure, right now, you're just oneperson out of 6 billion. But if you wastetoo much time pondering that mys-

tery, you'll be one out of twice thatmany.

CapricornWow, It's like you've been trying to findwhat happens when people stop beingpolite and start getting real. Surely bynow you know, it isn't pretty andmaybe it isn't even as constructive asyou though it would be. Drop the atti-tude, Capricorn, this isn't a realityshow, it's reality.

AquariusThey say you can put eyeliner on anostrich, but it's still just eyeliner. WhatI'm trying to tell you here is that, asmuch as you like to dress up yourphrasing with metaphors and apho-risms, when it comes down to it, no-body is exactly sure what you're talkingabout. It's all about plainspeak thismonth, Aquarius. Just say what youmean mean what you say and try notto put anything else in the way.

PiscesIt followed you home, Pisces? Really? Imight have an easier time believingyou if you weren't still holding theleash. Are you really going to feed it,walk it, wash it and read to it when it'sgot a tummy ache? It isn't that I don'tthink you can, or, for that matter, thatyou will. But The Stars have got mewondering if it's really what you wantin the long-run. You say you thought itover and that's great. Think it overagain.

AriesThis is it, Aries! The most wonderfultime of the year! No, I'm not getting ajump on Christmas, I'm talking aboutHalloween. What other holiday holdsso few obligations over your headwhile offering so many possibilities?Wear whatever you want, bewhomever you want, eat whatever youwant. Take full advantage this year,don't let it pass you by. A break fromthe everydayness of everyday is justwhat you've been needing.

TaurusHenry Ford reportedly once offered,"People can have the Model T in anycolour--so long as it's black." His com-pany got very good at doing one veryspecific thing in one very specific way.

You've got a little bit of that yourself,Taurus, and it's served you well. Butthe key to this month is diversification.It's hard to get out of your comfortzone, especially when your comfortzone has been successful so far. Searchoutside your expertise while the old as-sembly line is still cranking out thehits.

GeminiThere's a five dollar bill in the celestialwallet that says you can't make it to theend of this month without gettingcaught in a lie, Gemini. I'm not goingto bet against The Stars, but I will sug-gest you take preventative measures.Think about the little fibs you tell everyweek. You were stuck in traffic? You'reallergic? It was broken when you gothere? Really? Trim out the little whitelies and you won't be as likely to tossout a whopper.

CancerLets say–as many scientists believe–that the universe is infinite–that is,never-ending. Now, lets assume thatthe forms of matter are limited–that is,there are only so many kinds and com-binations of particles, atoms, mole-cules, etc. If both these assumptionsare true, than the finite combinationsof matter in an infinite universe willeventually repeat and will continue torepeat infinitely. Are you tracking withme here, Cancer? No? I'm saying thatno matter how unique you try to be,there will always be an infinite amountof others exactly like you. So take iteasy on the pink jumpsuits and facialpiercings. Has anyone ever told youyou look exactly like your doppel-gänger?

LeoThey look like good, big, strong hands,don't they? And you've been hangingon so tight. That's why it seems strangewhen, one by one, everything you'vetried so hard not to let go of flies off,leaving you holding a big fat nothing.Listen and listen good, Leo, that "noth-ing" is just what you need. Friends,jobs, food and hobbies have kept youbusy and kept you from knowing your-self. Take this opportunity to search in-side and find what really makes youwho you are. Find it, look it squarein the face and give it a name.

AMERICAANTHEMAPPLE PIEARGENTINAARMYBACKYARDBALLBALLOONSBANDSBARBECUEBASEBALLBLOCKBREECHESBUMPBUNTINGCAPITOLCELEBRATE

CHUKKERCONTESTSDISPLAYSDIVOTSDRUMSENGLANDFASTFIREWORKSFOURGALLOPHANDICAPHELMETHERITAGEHITTINGHOLIDAYINDIAINJURIES

INTERFEREKNEE PADSLEMONADEMARCHERSMEETNOBILITYNUMBEROLD GLORYORIENTALPATRIOTICPERIODSPERSIAPICNICPONIESPRIDEPROTECTREFEREE

REPUBLICRIVALRYROYALTYSADDLESALUTESCRAMBLESIDELINESINGSODASOLDIERSSPARKLERSSPEECHESSPURSTICKSTRIPESSWINGTEAM

By Mr. Mysterio

HOW TO DO:Look up, down, forwards, backwards, diagonal, vertical, and horizontal tofind the words listed below. All unused letters form a hidden clue. Enjoy.

*Send us your completed puzzle (including the two secretwords!) for a really good chance to receive a free subscriptionto: The Contributor! P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, Tn 37203

.CROSSWORD.


Across:

1. e “daddy” figure of 4 down12. Short for Veteran's Hospital13. 1st name of Derek or Jackson14. Harry's class at 4 Down16. HIV - disease18. Sailor's reply at roll-call20. Royal Crown, abbr.22. Rapper Cool J's initials24. Too look at25. Main poll in sports26. Persons of street or village27. Police Department, abbr.28. Precious jewel or rock29. Comes before en31. Prince's wet weather32. Paper container for homeless lunch34. Boost Mobil's slogan: Where you___ ?36. Rock group D.C.'s 1st name38. Fake football grass40. Birth certificate, license, etc.41. Soul or Amtrak43. Computer address that goes with 21down44. Free Willy's species45. Expensive jewelry secretary at 4down47. Carpet is sold by the square48. Air gun ammo50. Wash n _____51. Sunshine St., abbr.53. Knitter's string55. Houseless58. Checked twice daily at 4 down61. Initials for T.V. show when you don'tknow when it's aired62. 13th Greek letter63. Winan sister of 48 across64. Alias initials 66. Scary or spooky68. DUI'ers hate group72. Initials for muted words on T.V.screen73. Long, long time in the past74. Last paper request to family75. Fingerless former outreach worker76. Katrina struck city's abbr.78. 1st name of 127 across80. Blind Kung Fu master on T.V. showKung Fu81. Now mayor of Cashville82. Lancelot's Title83. My Name is _____ (T.V. show)85. Born86. Raven poet's last name87. Spanish yes88. Morris or Doris's name89. Bear arms group90. Having no money94. Eva Marie ____96. South Dakota's abbr.98. Ode to an ____99. Tar Heel's state initials101. Soccer great Hamm102. Female golfer, Michelle103. My gal104. Uncle's wife105. Opec liquid106. City of Angels108. ____ and fro109. Licensed nurse110. Black & white cookie113. Military kitchen duty115. 96 across again

117. Major light bulber118. Lip position for kissing119. Monday Nite wrestling show122. Hospital drip124. Goes with faith, charity125. Not FM on radio126. 45 across's friend or Andress127. Last name of 78 across129. Sibling of bro130. No pain, no ____132. Slang for syringe134. Volunteer St, abbr.135. Military, Overcome & _____139. Cross bred shi-tzu & pug141. 7 points in football143. Road goo145. Blame it on _____146. Band's club work147. Worker at 4 down or Peter Pan's lilhelper152. Pastor of 16 and 27 down155. Either's partner156. 1st partner of 86 down157. Scoop of ice cream158. Wizard's land161. (151?) A classified or want

Down:

2. Former worker at 4 down that wentto Africa3. Mobile camper initials4. 1 across's place of business5. Menu announcer at 15 down6. Rank of cigar at 93 down7. Not road or avenue8. Lung or breathing condition9. Musical ending for Rock n ____10. e A-Team's gold man11. Like Sunday morning15. Serves lunch to homeless on Tues-days, Fridays, and Sundays 17. Opposite of uptown19. Famous Simpson21. Last part of 43 across23. A famous Bruce26. Tiger Woods group27. Denomination of 152 across30. Had a little lamb33. Korean car import35. Van driver at clinic for short31. LA's state, abbr.39. Western Utah indian41. is state, abbr.42. No ___, ands or buts45. Name of paper46. Donation to a charity49. Sonny & Cher song: I Got U ____52. Pie ___ mode54. Well done, medium well, or ____56. Golden Arch's meal cards57. South Carolina's abbr.59. Tree chopper60. Black truck worker of 4 down65. Initials or Royals baseball team67. Bond movie: Golden ___69. Attorney General's abbr.70. Located at 639 Lafayette71. Walkway from 70 down to 4 down74. Ms. Anise's nickname at 4 down75. Famous Jackson, Derek or Peep77. Not off79. Short hello80. Place of retreat in Ashland City forhomeless

84. Egyptian god86. Airborne toss from a QB91. Abbr. for railroad92. Basketball's big Chinese player's 1stname93. Cigar name, or cop's last name with6 down95. To sew, or tit for ___97. Basketball's rim rattling shot100. 21 down again101. Civil righter's initials107. Number of your years111. Mistakes

112. 75 across's former work place114. is equals mc square116. Nike's Just ___ It 120. Slimmer than a bee121. Worker at 4 down or Rod Stewart'sfemale May123. People that sell 45 down are _____125. Creative class at 4 down taught byEdith128. All T.V.'s now have this type defini-tion131. Addams Family cousin with hair133. Bumpy face alcohol

136. Noah's cruise ship137. Piper of Hamlin138. Morrison or Braxton140. Pimp C & Bun B's group act name142. Close or near144. Amateur athletic group148. Not your new wife but old wife'sname149. Prince Charles's 148 down's name153. Old album of music154. Trucker's talk box155. Extra large qts of beer size, 40 ___

*Send us your completed puzzle for a really good chance to receive a freesubscription to: The Contributor! P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, Tn 37203

Currently Incarcerated Homeless Contributor

WHERE TO FIND HELP IN NASHVILLE

Present this coupon for a FREE12oz. brewed coffee!

Serving Coffee, Pastries, Sandwiches and More!6am-6pm Monday-Friday

7am-3pm Saturday8am-3pm Sunday

708 Church Street • Nashville, TN 37203615-493-9089

One per customer. Coupon Expires 10/31/08. Must have original. No copies please.Now Open! Free Coffee!

Save the Date!Homeless Happenings

OOccttoobbeerr• Domestic Violence AwarenessMonth. See article on page 7.

OOccttoobbeerr 11• Galaxy Star Drug Awarenessgrand opening and ribbon cut-ting at the Oasis Center’sNashville Youth OpportunityCenter on 1700 Charlotte Ave.

OOccttoobbeerr 44• Safe Haven Family Shelter’s4th Annual Hike for the Home-less. 9am.www.safehaven.org/hikeinfo

OOccttoobbeerr 1177--1199• The 16th Annual OperationStand Down Event. LocationTBD. Annual, community-sup-ported three-day event thatprovides outreach, informationand social services to this area'sveterans who are homeless. Formore information, please call(615) 321-3919.

NNoovveemmbbeerr 11• Room in the Inn Begins.• Proposed Tent City Closing.• Vulnerability Index Survey(Park Center).

DDeecceemmbbeerr 22• Project Homeless Connect atMunicipal Auditorium (cloth-ing, food, services available tohomeless all day).

DDeecceemmbbeerr 1133• Walk & Annual HomelessMemorial at Riverfront Park.

Please let us know aboutyour events at:[email protected]

Documents

The Contributor October 08 Final