Bewildered by the Numbers
Your paper is very well written and interesting for a community newspaper. I am a public policy grad student at GW and was really blow away by some of the Council of Mayor’s statistics presented in your most recent issue. I cannot believe that 17% of homeless individuals are employed in full or part time jobs. This is a staggering (and depressing) statistic and testament to woeful wages and lack of affordable housing. I recommend pushing this statistic front and center – it might wake up politicians reluctant to tinkers with the minimum wage and raise popular consciousness about the need for health care, housing, and other reforms.
Sincerely,
Elia Cholakis
Hitting Close to Home
Thank you for giving people some way to connect with homeless people in a non-threatening way. I’ve even been able to talk with some Street Sense vendors about their experiences. Laid off last winter, and unemployed for a couple months (a long-term assignment is on the horizon), I know that if and when my savings run out I won’t be able to maintain housing payments and I too may become homeless. Street Sense is a good way to learn about what’s going on. The “Ownershsip Society” is a disgrace. Let’s hope homeless advocate can squawk loud enough to stop it. We don’t need more upscale purchased housing. We need SROs and boarding house, like it or not. Anyhow, enough screed, Just wanted to say thanks for doing something about the homeless situation.
By Yvonne Farrell
Pleasantly Surprised
Dear Street Sense,
I read your paper during our short time in Washington, D.C. We were organized by the Church of the Pilgrims and talked with homeless men and women while offering them a goodie bag of things they could use and eat.
Mr. George Siletti is right in his “How to” column. The homeless are well informed and enjoy conversation.
One gentleman made this comment after he was offered a 2nd good bag by another member of our team. “Give to the needy, not the greedy. I already have one of these bags.”
We shared this story with others in our group and friends back at our church in Harrisonburg, VA.
By Arvid Van Dyke
