Spare Changer 10-12 Sherman

7/31/2019 Spare Changer 10-12 Sherman

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Vol.2 No. 2 October 2012

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The Spare Changer

Our mission is simple: To inform the uninformed, to entertain, and most importantlyto foster pride and self- respect within and among the unsheltered homeless here and throughoutthe country. We do this by proffering something to you, our valued reader. Your donation, in this

time of increased budget cuts to social services, narrows the gap between basic needs you and I

may take for granted, but which remain unmet by social service agency funding and the truly

courageous efforts of the sheltered and un-sheltered poor. It is better to give than to receive,

says The Bible. We say it is even better when we can give something back. Enjoy The Spange

Political Platforms & PovertyWhat Can We Do to Really Make a Difference?

One Vote One

DifferenceBy Lawson

Contributing Editor

To the chronically

homeless, Im not sure thata Democratic Party win will make

much difference to this

community of singles and families

that should have voted in their

own best interest as a voting

bloc, but did not. I am sure that

budget cuts, government

spending curbs and machinationsin legislation and public policy

were the cornerstone on both

parties vote for me campaigns.

When you are down so low, it

seems like up to you, you cannot

recognize opportunity to rise

above your station, often with

opportunities and resources

staring you in the face. You spend

your waking time figuring where

to get food for free, where to

sleep where you are safe or

simply not seen, where to keep

your belongings, how t stay neat

and cleanall the while trying tokeep your spirits up and of course

how to avoid being stereotyped,

looking the homeless look.

Cuts from everything

from public education tonon-profits serving the sheltered

and unsheltered poor are still on

the chopping block..at least still

on the table, but when you arehomeless you dont have the

presence of mind to think about

these things. But just because you

dont think about them, it

certainly doesnt mean the

outcome of this election didnt

affect you. The political parties

have rarely in history been so

diametrically opposed: Each

understands the problems we

have, and there are many across

the board, but in terms of social

justice and reform, the problems

are seen and defined quite

differently, depending onfundamental beliefs and values

In this Issue: Localhomeless tell a little about

survival in winter and what you

can do as a volunteer helping to

staff homeless shelters including

the Interfaith rotating Winter

Shelter of Davis and Davis

Community Meals Winter Shelte

Claire Shermans compassion an

greater teaching experience

illustrates why she has earned m

vote for School Board and why

her unfunded grass roots

campaign has not asked for your

money inThe Vote for Children


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Sarah Zacharias, advocate for the

homeless disabled returns with

some thought provoking satire.

Oh, and some very, very moving

poetry, My Spirit Splashes!

Richard Cipian, Student

Advocate, appeals for the

opening ofLockers for the

Homeless, a long-time TSC project

still on the shelf.

Parick Giri reprises My One Rant,

Robert Selman is TellinIt Like it

Stillis, teen-aged Jessica shares

the Homeless Realities, and Kevin

describes the art and science ofDumpster Diving Hot and Cold.

Associate Pastor Bill Habicht of

Davis Community Church

describes his outreach ministry to

Youth Volunteers for the IRWS!

This country has

seen painful cuts ineducation and social services for

years, and the only difference

between what will be and what

could have been for the

homeless, particularly homeless

families with children is who is

considered sacrifice-able; who is

consideredexpendable. I for one

am not prepared to say I cannot

afford to live, therefore I do not

deserve to or If my childrencant afford an education they

dont deserve one. The new GOP

of today is prepared to say just

that, and a re-elected President

Barak Obama is not. I ask you:

Where in the middle do you stand

in this Civil War II?

People have to eat.

People have tohave viablehealth care opportunities. Those

are facts. Denying these truths is

to say just die out. People dont

just die out, because when you

are starving, there really is no

morality; people do what they

have to do to survive. Some will

turn to crime, a double hit on

society since the victim loses and

the tax payer loses; taxes have to

be levied to house and feed and

correct the behavior of prisoners.

Some people have a moral

structureor dont have thecouragethat allow them to

commit crimes to live. I see

dumpster divers scavenging and

using or selling recyclables others

dont want, often recycled cans

and bottles, just as often other

household goods, some even re-

sellable on Craigs list. Some

people panhandle on our streets.

Heck, some even make crafts, ly

music, hustle odd jobs or just

panhandle outside our

restaurants, convenience stores,

shopping center super market or

thoroughfare medians. Youve

seen them

If you are asked for

whom you voted for and why,will you be able to say you votedfor Romney because he will

reduce my taxes? Will you be able

to say you voted to re-elect

President Obama because he is in

the mold of FDR, of Truman, of

Kennedy, of Bill Clinton? At least

you will be able to say, perhaps,

you voted on the basis of a single

issue, like Abortion, or Gay

Marriage, or oil drilling or

domestic job creation. You can at

least say you took a stand for

whatever reasonI do not believ

the chronic homeless can say

that. When you vote for your

family, for your business for the

preservation of you idea of

America, you vote for the

homeless as well. You vote for

the elderly, for the imprisoned,

for the disenfranchised, for the

future of all, not just yourself.

And therein lay the bugaboo.

Therein lay the dilemma. What to

do when one seems to come inconflict with the other. Thats a

lot of weight (two-thirds of

eligible voters not voting) on a

third of the voting population.

You go to the streets

and ask homeless-lookingpeople, or people you know to be

homeless first hand if they voted

and they will tell you no, for

every excuse you can dream off:

I dont have an address. It

doesnt make any difference;

politicians are all alike. Ive

encouraged homeless people I

know locally to vote. I even went

online to a larger audience, many

of who were in a position to

round up the homeless in their

communities, get them registereand give them a non-profit

resource center address to

receive ballot information and

polling locations. Ill never know

how successful I was in this effor

of course, but the effort

underscores my dismay if no

disgust at the failure of this


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demographic to rise up and be

counted in a social-economic

struggle I like to call Civil War II.

These people may be

ignorant, but they are notstupid. Outreach was the key to

simply handing the win to

President Barak Obama: The

chronically homeless poor, the

elderly, women and college

student demographics could have

made this election a landslide

victory.

Does your householdearn $250K yearly? You areprobably closer to the estimated

median of $47,000. So I ask you,

when you heard you would have

your taxes, these same taxes tht

help to support our losers in The

Game of Life survive without

committing crimes or just dying

out for want of the ability to

support themselves without

welfare, reduced by 20%, did

that sound good to you? Did you

think what that would mean in

terms of social services? Not only

by the government, but also by

non-profits and faith

communities that pick up the

slack, that narrows the gap

between what people basically

need and what they can earnwithout help? Did you think

about how you and your children,

and their children, and what kind

of a society they would grow up

in? Did you think about what I

said earlier, that there is no

morality when you are starving.

The homeless think about that

everyday. Or dont, but behave

that way. You would too, or die of

terminal moral conviction Aside

from whackos, poverty cause

crime. That simple people

Make no mistake, an

Obama re-election doesnot mean social-economic

collapse will be thwarted in 4

more years. We may still collapse.

We certainly had begun to after

the Bush years, especially

compared to the Bill Clinton

years. The most fiscal of

conservatives will tell you that.(He wasnt even invited to the

Republican National Convention,

remember? A Congress that

didnt want to work with him in

compromise has slowed our

recovery every step of the way.

Today, even the most moderate

of conservatives will admit such

was the plan the day he first took

office. Today, nobody on either

side disputes our countrys

recovery was stilted by the very

forces that claimed--all campaign-

long--that President Obama

failed to come through with his

promises for Change.

Just like people who

dont vote though I thinkthey should, you have to admitits been hard to know which

direction to go. The math of one

of the candidates seems to have

said we can make it if we let

those that cannot survive just die

outand the other says no, we

dont have to do that. We just

have to charge people who can

afford it more. Simplistic? Sure,

but inaccurate? NopePeople

want to work! People certainly

want to do something that earns

them a living and also has some

value. That value is greatest if the

job allows some self-worth. So

with cheap labor continually

outsourced to developing

countries, the prospects grow

slimmer and slimmer; for people

who are poor now, the hope

grows dimmer and dimmer. Vote

for this, do you? Not I!

Editors Comment:A question

really: Did you watch the Final2012 Presidential Debate

between Mitt Romney and Barak

Obama? I saw a clear win on both

style and substance...Barak's

steak sizzled. Couldn't help but

laugh at the smug of a fake smile

Romney presented while Obama

drove home key reasons to re-

elect him. You saw it

As I predicted, Mitt

Romney's only play (aftergoing for the Queens Gambit,

gaining power but losing position

the old Rope- a Dope, the

straight- up Okie Doke) was to

try to out-Obama, Obama. He

parroted d Obamas vision for th

future of this country expressed

in 2008 and continued with

consistency for the past year. The

guy, again, was forced to sound

like a Born Again Democrat.

Moderator did well...format was

perfect for Barak, and he spoke

last on key issues... needless to

say he called Romney on his flip

flopping ways. Truth is, he went


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for the jugular as predicted;

although it looks to me the

debaters had an agreement to

not hit each other hard on jobs...

Obama could have driven

Obstructionism in Congress home

like a Giant home run with the

bases loaded... He also made it

clear to the American people the

Romney we all know now is no

*ahem* "champion," of the

middle nor other working classes.

I make no bones

about my personal biases or

my reasons for them; I have beensaying this for several months

now, lamenting the Shrinking of

the Middle Class, of all the

working classes. I dont want to

see your grandchildren begetting

grandchildren repaying loans for

their education on the hourly

salaries earned by working for the

Wal-marts of today. No upward

mobility. No American Dream for

them. I do not want to see this

emergence of 21st

Century

Feudalism. Do you?

The Vote for

Children

By Claire Sherman Mother and

School Board Candidate

While contemplating

writing for The SpareChanger, my thoughts

immediately turned to a viral

posting my husbands former

classmate recently shared on

Facebook. It read: The Food

Stamp Program, administered by

the U.S. Department of

Agriculture, is proud to be

distributing the greatest amount

of free meals and food stamps

ever. Meanwhile, the National

Park Service, administered by the

U.S. Department of the Interior,

asks us to Please do not feed the

animals. Their stated reason for

the policy is because the animals

will grow dependent on handouts

and will not learn to take care of

themselves. This ends todays

lesson.

My husbands

revulsion of this, to whichhe immediately posted in

response, was met with equal

and swift condemnation of him,

not just from his classmate but

others writing in who said there

was nothing in the posting

implicitly tying animals to people.

Apparently intolerance doesnt

look good when you wear it on

your sleeve (or post it on your

Facebookpage).

It is a sad commentary

that the primarybeneficiaries of the Food Stamp

Program are mothers and

children. It would be much easier,and much more politically

correct, if we could just let the

men who dont pay income taxes

starve on the streets. But the

easier way to ingratiate the

wildlife nutritionists among us is

to let Mr. Romneys budget

proposals become law. Although

the equal opportunity curtain wi

then fall on all of us dependent

victims, the one sub-cabal of

those 47% who believe they are

entitled to health care, to food,

to housing, to you name it that

will be most impacted will be

children.

Thats right, folks:

Children.

Nobody likes to talk

about this inconvenient

truth. Maybe because they dontwant other people to know that

they see this as the natural

evolution of an increasingly

socially Darwinist society. Maybe

its because they dont want to

contemplate how to act locally if

the government gives itself

absolution from thinking globally

(or at least nationally). And

maybe its because the Davis

School Board aint seen nothin

yetand doesnt want to.

Well, guess what? I

want to talk about it.

In reality, we dont

really know what

maelstrom is coming our waynext. Hurricane Romney?

Possibly. Typhoon NIMBY?

Present and accounted for. The

defeat of Proposition 30 and

Measure E? Unknown.


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What I do know is that

while we deferentially focusour attention on turning the top

2% of students based on a

culturally biased exam into 25%

of the students, we leave 75%

behind. When a Davis school is

designated as Program

Improvement, parents exercise

their right to pull their kids and

place them in a higher achieving

school (too bad for the ones that

stayed) otherwise known as

white flight. We rightfully pride

ourselves on our children who are

high achieving and go on touniversities, but with limited

resources weve turned our back

on kids whose aspirations may

not be as lofty in societalterms

but deserve just as much out of

life as everyone else. And what

of the children whose parents

dont have stable residences, and

sometimes get pulled from

schools mid-stream to return to

their home countries?

Why arent these

issues being discussedmore in public? Is it because the

people with the money and the

power are risk-averse or that they

just dont want to rock the

indigenous boat?

Look closely at the

financial disclosures forthe School Board Race: three

candidates have spent close to

(or more than) $10,000, while

two (including yours truly) have

scarcely spent anything. Davis

School Board for sale get your

School Board here! Is it any

wonder that the heavyweight

endorsers in town: the

Enterprise, the Davis Teachers

Association, and the Davis

Democratic Club have all

endorsed one of these three

candidates? Are you surprised to

know that the local politicians

proffered their endorsements

before the filing date for all

candidates?

Isnt it rather ironic

how the two candidates (JoseGrande and I) who lack both thefinancial resources and power

endorsements have by farthe

most experience teaching from

elementary/secondary schools to

universities. In a parallel

universe, one might think that

nobody knows more about

education than educators, that

nobody knows better what

children in a classroom need than

educators, and that nobody

knows more about running a

school district than educators.

But thats in a universe far, far

away.

Heck, even the on-line

Davis Vanguard, whichpurports to be The InvestigativeEye of Davis, has one of these

top three candidates as a

Featured Sponsor.

Like it or not, we can

run but we cant hidefrom these pressing issues. I

want to see a School Board that

pays more attention to and seeks

advice from people in their own

neighborhoods, and not just

those who have the time and

energy to show up at chambers i

the evenings (which is exactly

when many working parents get

home and need time with their

children). I want to learn more

about the challenges facing

families with children who are

living precariously on the

margins. If the powers that be

(or, by proxy, voters) decide to

further exsanguinate public

schools, then I want to see howwe can work with some of the

thirty thousand-plus students at

UC Davis to help out in our

classrooms.

If we have to increase

class sizes, let it be in thehigh schools in classes for college

bound students theyll be

getting used to it soon enough;

this way more personal attention

can be given to the students at

the elementary school who really

need itor, better yet, what about

college-bound high school

students taking courses at the

community college or UC Davis?

the high schools cant provide fo

all their needs, then why not?

No Child Left Behind hasbecome bureaucrat-speak for

assessment, but if my campaign

means anything at all, its that

we have to be cognizant of every

childs needs. This recognition

isnt happening now.

http://goo.gl/ndwFw
http://goo.gl/ndwFwhttp://goo.gl/ndwFwhttp://goo.gl/ndwFw


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*Editors Comment:Education and Upward Mobility

go hand in hand even as poverty

among our children breaks that

bond. Below is an excerpted

November 2011 submission from

Richard Sequest and erstwhile

amateur videographer for and

benefactor of The Spare Changer

for those of us that like statistics. I

submit you will not like these..

By Richard Sequest(Excerpt November 2011, TSC)

If you are born into poverty

you will probably end up in

poverty. And if you end up in

poverty you stand a better

chance of becoming homeless.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

spent two decades studying

childhood poverty in the United

States and concludes:

Children who grow up in low

income families are less likely to

successfully navigate lifes

challenges and achieve future

success.Kids Count, 2011

There are several alarming

trends contributing to child

development delays and thegeneral steady decline in

economic well-being for children

and families at the lower half of

the income distribution.

Three trends in particular stand

out:

8% Increase in number of low

birth weight babies

From 2000 to 2008 the

percentage of low birth weight

babies born in the United States

increased

by 8%, from 7.6 percent to 8.2

percent.

Babies weighing less than 5.5

pounds at birth, according to the

study, have a high probability of

experiencing developmental

problems and short and long

term disabilities and are at

greater risk of dying within the

first year of life.

\

10% more children are

being born to single-parent

families.

Children growing up in single

parent families, says the study,

typically do not have the same

economic or human resources

available as those growing up in

two parent families.

About 23.8 million children lived

in single parent families in 2009.

Of these children, 5.2 million live

with cohabitating partners.

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

% children born to

single parents

Positive Trends

They are far and few between,

but yes, there were some

glimmers of positivity in the

statistics I have been covering

this past year. Again, referring to

the Annie B. Casey Foundation

study, here are a few areas of

progress:

The infant mortality ratedecreased by 1% between

2000 and 2007.

The child death ratedecreased by 14% from

2000 to 2007.

The teen death ratedecreased by 7% from2000 to 2007.

The teen birth ratedecreased by 15% from

2000 to 2008.

The percentage of teensnot in school and not high

school graduates decreas


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by 45% from 2007 to

2009.

To end on another positive but

somewhat contradictory note,

chronic homelessness appears to

have stabilized in the UnitedStates.

According to federal statistics the

number of chronic homeless in

the U.S. has decreased by 11%

from 2007 to 2010.

Why, in the face of the Great

Recession and all the other

negative homeless trends this

should be the case, is an openquestion. Maybe it is because

people who are chronically

homeless eventually find their

way to shelter, or maybe they just

know how to hide better.

Whatever the case, this is

certainly the best homeless

trend I have come across this past

year.

Chronic Homelessness in the US

Solutions

The increase in childhood poverty

and povertys correlation with

homelessness is cause for alarm.

Organizations like the Casey

Foundation are working out

strategies to address the long-

term problem and it is

worthwhile to note two main

points they emphasize :

The Two Generation

Strategy

If youre born in poverty, you will

probably end up in poverty.

3rd

Grade Reading Ability

If a child doesnt have a reading

ability by the 3rd

grade, they will

probably fall behind.

What have others said about

poverty?

Famous Quotes

In a country well governed,

poverty is something to be

ashamed of. In a country badly

governed, wealth is something to

be ashamed of.

Confucius

551-470 BC

In poverty and other

misfortunes of life, true friends

are a sure refuge.

Aristotle

384-322 BC

There is something about

poverty thatsmells like death.

Zora Hurston

1891-1960

My favorite:

I thank fate for having made

me born poor. Poverty taught

me the true value of the gifts

useful to life.

Anatole France

1884-1924

*Editors Comment:Likeanalogies, I dont know that

statistics ever prove anything;

they are always subject tointerpretation, but they do serve

to illustrate quite nicely, dont

they? I believe in fresh ideas and

creative funding approaches and

a responsible accountable and,

compassionate school board.

Claire Shannon has my vote.

HS Student Leaders o

Tomorrow TODAY!By Pastor Bill

(Reprint Nov 2011 TSC)

Hello. My name is Bill

Habicht. Im a pastor at DavisCommunity Church and a

volunteer at the Interfaith

Rotating Winter Shelter of Davis

(www.interfaith-shelter.org).

Over the last several

years, I have workedalongside and learned from many

great leaders in the Homeless

Services sector. Ive stood in awe

as I watched Bill Pride and his

amazing staff at Davis CommunitMeals develop programs that

move individuals out of a state of

homelessness. Ive witnessed th

transformation of lives through

the ministry of Cindy Burger,

Robb Davis and the volunteers at

Grace-in-Action. And Ive seen

how a community can come
http://www.interfaith-shelter.org/http://www.interfaith-shelter.org/http://www.interfaith-shelter.org/http://www.interfaith-shelter.org/


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together, thanks to the leadership

of Andrea Gero, Julie Harlow,

Willa Pettygrove, Linda Scott and

others, to provide shelter and

hospitality to anyone in need

during the winter months at the

Interfaith Rotating Winter

Shelter. Without a doubt, the

Davis community cares (and cares

deeply) about those living

homeless!

While I have seen

many great adult leaderstackle the issue of homelessness

and poverty, what continues toastound me are the Youth that

are making a very real impact. I

often think ofZoe Bock who

worked almost every evening at

the IRWS check-in table; and

Kalley Thompson who did

everything in her power to help a

mother and her three young

daughters at a local shelter; and

Tayler Stone who, once again, led

a gift tree project for low-income

children. There are countless

other high school students who

have given in ways that often go

unrecognized.

I believe these high

school students arepoised to become serious and

impactful community leadersnot of tomorrow, but of TODAY.

They have shown, through

ingenuity and dedication, the

ability to become powerful

agents of change in Davis,

particularly in the area of

homelessness. The only thing

that is missing, in my opinion, is a

dedicated program focused on

developing their innate

leadership abilities; a program

that is more than just a

presentation in school, or a

charity event.

I believe our high school students

are ready for an intensive

experience that equips them with

the skills and knowledge to

actually LEAD programs like the

Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter.

In January of this last

year, a high school studentapproached me and said, Isntthere something more I could be

doing? I mean, I work at the

shelter regularly, but I think I can

do something more. Out of that

conversation, the idea surfaced

that maybe whats needed is a

leadership institute. Six months

later, I found myself sitting in a

circle with a group of high school

students and watched as they

actually designed a leadership

program for themselves!

These students have

come together to formthe Youth Leadership Institute

(http://bit.ly/YouthLeadership), a

year-long program that equipsthem to become community

leaders through hands-on

experience and education.

Theyve set up a High School

Internship program with the

Interfaith Rotating Winter

Shelter, scheduled guest

speakers, participated in Mental

Health First Aid certification

through the Yolo County Dept. of

Mental Health, and have begun

intensive training in preparation

for the shelter. If thats not an

accomplishment, I dont know

what is! Adults from the wider

Davis community have been

invited to help develop these

students gifts as and serve as

mentors.

At this point, Im

serving as a resource for thehigh school students and helping

to support their vision of theprogram. But I know that there

are other adults out there with

greater skill and expertise than I

in leadership development. So,

Im extending an invitation to TSC

readers to join the youth in this

venture. There are multiple

points for involvement; from

serving as part of the leadership

team to teaching a single class to

becoming shelter teammate with

1-2 high school students during

their internship at the IRWS. The

job of an adult leader is to

resource and to teach and to hel

the high school students develop

their leadership gifts.

See the presentation

this group has put togetherhttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadership.

You can join the studentsat anymeeting!

Join us and consider

how you might help form oufuture leaders!! Wednesdays @
http://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadershiphttp://bit.ly/YouthLeadership


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6:00pm, in the Davis Community

Church and Sundays @ 4:30pm

at DCC.

If you would like additional

information, please feel free to

contact me: Bill Habicht at

[email protected](530) 753-2894

x105

Jennys 10 Most

Wanted

By Sarah Zacharias

Alright folks, I want

you to do me a favor. Nexttime a nutty right-winger says

that they actually know or have

seen any of the following

mythological creatures, or if you

yourself believe that you have,

please help me verify this by

contacting me immediately.

Please remember that everystipulation of each creature must

be met.

I don't want to see

any jack rabbits withantelope horns duct taped to

their heads. I don't want to hear

about a finding that you think

meets the qualifications for #2unless that creature meets ALL

the stipulations either, so check

your facts carefully. That said, a

serious Jenny reward is offered

for the capture and presentation

of any of these mythological right

wing creatures:

1) A woman who had an abortion

in her 3rd trimester to fit into a

particular dress OR to go on a

cruise OR because she got tired of

being pregnant.

2) A person legally living on

welfare (defined as the program

TANF - Temporary Aid for Needy

Families) for more than 5 years,

who does so without performing

any mandated work search AND

has no disability AND who

somehow affords at least two of

the following: recreational drugs,

acrylic nails, vacations, ORexpensive property.

(To be fair, I will also accept an

individual who uses the Food

Stamp portion of their state

issued EBT benefit card to

actually purchase alcohol or

cigarettes at the counter of an

established business in the United

States - to verify this I will need a

receipt.)

3) An accredited scientist who

can refute the fact that the glass

in windows on our cars or

greenhouses act like carbon

dioxide and react to infrared

radiation.

4) A gay person who threatened

the sanctity of the institution of

marriage solely by seeking to be

married to the person they love.

5) A single enlisted person

responsible for the ability of our

nation to be at war or not at war

6) A rich person who runs a

business in America who got rich

without using any of the

following: public roads, public

schools, the internet, anything

invented by NASA (yes this

includes Velcro), a bank loan

backed by the FDIC, or paper

money. (*Special note: For a

bonus prize bring me a creature

that fits the previous

qualifications for #6 AND runs a

business that pays their workers

such that NONE of them use food

stamps.)

7) A parent who had 10 or 12

children SOLELY for the purpose

of receiving a huge tax return in

April of every year.

8) A person who purposely

committed a crime AND

purposely got caught specifically

to go to college while in prison,

and for no other reason. This

must be the declared motive in a

court of law, or in a notarized

deposition from the offender for

me to accept this creature.

9) A fisherperson who tells and

has always told the truth about

every fish they've ever caught inpublic AND in private setting. Thi

includes, but is not limited to:

size/species of fish, bait used to

catch fish, date, time, and other

pertinent details.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


10/20


10

10) Jackalopesmust be brought

in alive as it is difficult to

determine if they are real when

taxidermied. Photos and other

representation of the creature,

including specimens of canned

Jackalope milk will not be

accepted as evidence. To qualify

as aJackalope the creature must

be a jack rabbit with naturally

occurring horns or antlers. Two

antlers must be present to make

positive identification.

IF you can positively

identify any of thesemythological creatures, please

contact me immediately. I will

help you document them so that

the rest of the world will

understand that the right-wing,

and your friendly neighborhood

fisherman, are not ALL

compulsive liars. In the meantime

I suggest we try living our lives in

a reality where these 10 myths

remain understood to be myths

and conduct ourselves

accordingly; except maybe in the

case ofJackalopes and half

honest fisherman, because I kinda

like them.

Winter Wear and

Tear

By Lawson

Ever wonder what

homeless people dowhen the rain starts? Where

homeless families go? Where

homeless men and women go?

Where their children sleep? Or

how they manage to? Where they

keep their belongings? How they

decide how they supplement

whatever legal means they have

to eat, travel, communicatehw

they stay clean and dry? Ever

wonder where they are when you

dont see them? Ever wish you

didnt see them when you do?

Ever think what The United States

President now will do? Or what

you can do? What you can do

Today.

The Interfaith Rotating

Winter Shelterof Davisbegins its 6

thseason in November

as thousands of Winter Shelters

throughout the country will also

do. No matter where you are,

now is the time to get on board

for this particular much needed

community effort.

Budget cuts for non-

profits are deep and theywill grow even deeper, placing

the care of the homeless even

more squarely on the shoulders

of our faith communities

everywhere. This means an even

greater need for volunteers from

the community. This meanscollege and High school students,

their parents and friends. This

means our civic leaders and

businessmen and women. This

means their staff and the friends

and colleagues of their staffs.

means you and your friends,

your neighbors and theirs. This

means us working together

regardless of our Faiths or our

perceived differences.

This is really about

Compassion. And this isabout Community Responsibility

This is about Homelessness in a

community, in a country, so rich

there just shouldnt be any

homeless, not in winter, that

dont wantto be, that dont

choose to be, and even these

people are either saving money

so they can afford housing one

day or are so disenfranchisedthey dont want any more of

organized society than realities o

life on this planet forces upon

them. (There was a time when

that statement would have read

and even these people are

either saving money so they can

afford housing one day, or they

are so hopelessly disenfranchised

they dont want any more of

organized society than realities

of life on this planet forces upon

them. I know this first hand...)

So what would you be

doing as an IRWSvolunteer? What if you

volunteered as a family? As a

staff? As a congregation? As a

college student or service club ocivic organization? What would

you do as a scout troop or

volleyball team or middle school

class? What would you do? How

could you help if only for one

evening between now and the

end of the cold weather season?


11/20


11

You could do lots! And you will

get as much as you give.

From a Volunteer

perspective, you would firstsign up on line for attend an

orientation and training with

emphasis on guest interaction.

Depending on the duties you

select, you would soon meet for

more specific orientation and

training. (You cant really teach

compassion, you either have it or

you dont. You got that far, so you

arepre-qualified!) Just remember

homeless people are nodifferent from you in that the

homeless need respect,

compassion for their struggles

and emotional support for their

efforts in meeting lifes

challenges and everything else

will fall into place, I promise.

Some of the volunteer

needs include assistingfood preparation and service,

which also includes sitting down

and sharing meals and

conversation, if you have the

time, energy and compassion.

You have so much to offer;

expressed interest and a

reminder their homelessness is

temporary; encouraging guests

to keep the faith, to keep hopealive and, frankly, that

mainstream society still has its

rewards; stillhas something

worth returning to. You will soon

question and perhaps see many

have forgotten this little

something you and I take for

granted. Mostly you have a kind

earYou can offer understanding

as well. This helps the homeless

feel like home.

You may volunteer as

a Shuttle Driver, a veryimportant responsibility because

although the guests make their

own way to The Friends Meeting

House on the corner of 5th

and L

at 5:00 p.m., as a matter of olicy

they are driven to the host site

for that particular week, whether

it be close (Davis Community

Church for example) or far (The

Unitarians Church or first Baptist.)

The guests are also

returned to this samelocation, although Jack-in-the Box

is often an alternate because it is

often on the way, always close

by, and the only homeless

friendly location that is open, dry

and sells affordably priced coffee

in the rain. You will have a special

coordinator for this very critical

volunteer group. The size of your

vehicle is not critical though

obviously a van is helpful, as this

shuttle service requires two or

three Drivers on any given

(early!) morning or (early!)

evening for which you can spar

the time and gas. You will need

insurance of course, though IRWS

has its own of course. PleaseVolunteer as a Driver.

Do you enjoy cooking?

How about food prep, orwilling to just help with serving

(and sharing) the hot meals

provided by host sites for a given

week or evening? Then you are

needed, and likely you will have

the most fun! I say this because

ypu will be faceto-face with

tired, often wet, and always

hungry and appreciative people

who always have a smile on their

face. Guests are now face-to-face

with you, and they know you are

here because you want to be,

because you care, and you

because you know they know

without you, there could be now

Rotating Shelter. Guests depend

on you. No greater reward for a

volunteer than to see the smile

you put on the faces of theguests, save maybe the

dinnertime conversation

While perhaps not as

essential as setting up cotshanding out sleeping bags or

answering a question or providin

a routine service request, just

talking, engaging with the guest

in ways that affirm the homeless

community is in fact a part of

your community is vitally

important in making your own

commitment s valuable as it it

valued. The Interfaith Winter

Shelter of Davis system is all

about harm reduction, safe

harbor, a feeling of belong, not

belonging. It is all about, again,

community.

Over-nightIRWS

Volunteers will be thegreatest need at the Interfaith

Rotating Winter Shelter of Davis

of Davis, and so I urge you to put

in a few over-nighters as well.


12/20


12

This duty is particularly suited to

students who can just as well

study, read, or otherwise quietly

occupy yourselves. Singles and

couples, even groups are strongly

urged to join. As with all the

duties, you will not be alone,

since someone remains awake at

all times. As with all the different

duties, the ones Ive tried to recall

and describe here, there will be

additional service-specific

training, there will be a supervisor

from that particular host site

Congregation. After meals, a

movie and lights out @ 10:00p,

there is really little to do beyondlistening to people snore, seeing

to it no one goes out for a smoke

break after lights out. Guests are

bone tired by now. Remember

what their days are like, and you

see right now what I mean.

Volunteer as one of

the over-nighters? I makethis a personal plea, because not

everyone can be away from their

families during these hours and

this is no less true for that weeks

host site volunteer staff. This is

no less true for IRWS Core

Members (the work horses of

IRWS). It is no less true for its

Board of Directors who every

year must otherwise do more

than their share of over-nightersas this duty is the most

problematic. Remember, you can

volunteer for as many or as few

as you like. Oh, and you are up

and at em, too; reveille, coffee,

chores and Snack-to-go, because

Morning Drivers will be there

soon after to return your guest to

the Intake Center back at 4th

and

L., The (Quaker) Friends Meeting

House.

The Intake Center

needs you too! There isspecial additional training for this

role as well, of course; your

duties there are just that: Intake.

You meet and greet, sign them in,

do behavioral assessment and

confirm their suitability for

shelter at the host site. When we

(The founding Board of Directors)

considered the merits of Host Site

Intake vs. a Central Intake, wethought everyone would be best

served if the guest arrived to the

same place each night.

The Friends Meeting

House of Davis offered to bea Central Intake Facility, and we

knew this would be much better

than giving the major

responsibility of determining

whether a guests behavior is

acceptable to staff (and other

guests) afterthey arrive to the

shelter host site for that week.

Behavioral Screening for

unacceptable substance abuse

and/or mental health disabilities

that might be expected t cause

problems for staff and guest are

identified at Intake each eveningon night by night, case by case

bases.

Join us!Editors Note:The SpareChanger of Davis would very

much like to hear from you; just a

quick note with questions,

concerns or interest you may

have. Well see if we can point

you in the right direction for you.

[email protected]

Editors Comment: So whatsit really like to be homeless in

winter? How cold is poverty? As I

see it there are two kinds of

affordable housing: The kind the

un-sheltered poor can afford, and

the kind they cannot. Clearly, the

affordable variety for the

sheltered poor is a daunting

predicament, as it involves a long

and lengthy waiting list, say for asection 8, or for a similarly priced

community subsidized

development; these are few and

far between for a variety of

reasons. There are many barriers

to housing for the homeless

including the minimum income

requirements, the credit check

fees, the qualification that the

applicants rent not exceed anarbitrary percentage mandated

by the median income of the

neighborhood. Since the number

of available units of this kind far i

far exceeded by the number of

applicants, not to mention the

number of individuals and

families that need the units, just

the thought of paying the fee for

each application to rent (@ 30

dollars) is daunting if not

impossible. Sheltered poor in

Davis are living in a transitional

program, beautifully custom

tailored to the needs and goals of

each individual, and coordinated

by a case manager. These

people have an opportunity to

save whatever income they


13/20


13

receive, SSI, unemployment

benefits, disability payments,

recycling cans, you name it, and

can take as long as 18 months.

Waiting lists can take longer than

that.

I view starving

students as shelteredpoor also, and although their

situation is unique in that they are

not homeless in the classic sense,

we know they are compromised

nevertheless; they often study at

night and sleep where they can

(like dorm lounges) and go toclass on campus during the day.

At the very least, they are living

two, four or six to a dwelling.

Often two to a room.

While The University

pretty much takes care ofits own, those students that fall

through the crack may not have

fallen if housing more suitable to

their goals and lifestyle, if you can

call the life of a starving student a

life

And then there are the

families with two, but moreoften only one, provider, living

paycheck to paycheck with no

room for the unexpected. Theseare sheltered poor who struggle

daily to putthe A in affordable.

Wait out the waiting list. Save for

first anddeposit, and hustle in

every imaginative way to keep a

roof over the heads of their

children.

Idlike to see monies

made available to thesepeople, set aside until their name

comes up on the waiting list, and

distributed only then..And Id like

to see it without raising taxes, but

by raising the consciousness and

sense of community responsibility

in the subsidized housing

neighborhoods. We must take

care of our own, too.

The un-sheltered poor

are my gravestconcern.

They are the most vulnerable.They are the teens, particularly

the females. They are the singles

with mental health issues that

prevent them from seeing their

way through the maze of the

government benefit application

process, and the waiting time for

that. They are the homeless that

have taken the easy way out:

drugs and alcohol and

panhandling for change to get

them through the day. And they

are the ones, single and families,

that are Homeless The Hard Way,

living day to day, an apparent

normal life by taking advantage

of The DCM Resource Center by

day, and sleeping outdoorsin

places that have become all but

an open secret by now.

I am proud to see our

churches and Synagoguesopen their doors to the

unsheltered poor during the

winter months, and a 24hr drop in

center during the summer, as well

as official Unsheltered homeless

zones on church and private

property. Yes, the legalities,

hygiene maintenance and securit

problems may seem un workable

by Ive every confidence that a

community, especially one as

progressive and Davis, and

woodland AND West Sacramento

could see this done.

Editors Note: For the winter,we got this, but what about for

the rest of the year? Poverty and

homelessness are not seasonal, s

compassion cannot be.

Tellin It Like It

Still IsBy Robert

I can tell you first

hand the church shelters area lucky place to be. With the

recent cold weather, and the rain

its a blessing; you know to have place every night that is warm

and friendly, ahh, and safe place

to lay my head down at night. Th

services I receive every night star

at intake at 5 oclock.

By the time I get to

the shelter at night, all the

staff and the volunteers make mefeel 100% welcome. Ahh, and the

meals there? They actually spoil

me. There hasnt been one night

where we had a bad meal. Last

night we had, at the Davis

Community Church where well

be for a week, for dinner that

night, they made us tacos, fresh,


14/20


14

with all the fixins. For dessert we

had hot peach cobbler fresh from

the oven, with whip cream put on

top. Theres nuthin bad I can say

about the Interfaith Rotating

shelter Program. I say its all

goodbecause its been all good.

It has given me somewhat of

appositive structure in my life,

uhh that bein from sleepin on

the streets and sometimes not

knowing where Im gonna sleep

that nightand all the stress

entailed with that.

After the meal, after

having my stomach full withall of the delicious food they

serve, I usually go back to my cot,

and I usually fall asleep early.

Bein my age, uhh, I tend to get

tired morethan young people.

Uhh, I usually crawl into my warm

sleeping bagonto my cot, and I

usually go to sleep before lights

out at ten oclock. But there are

a few around me that watch a

video which they show every

night there, before the lights go

out.

The atmosphere

there is real calm andpeaceful, and we dont normally

have that many problems

between us; everybody normallygets along with each other when

were in there and, bottom line,

we usually have a good time. I

would say most people there are

real grateful for this program we

have in Davis, and all the services

they provide.

Wake-up time is 5:30

in the a.m. I get out of mysleeping bag to start another

brand new day. I say its a brand

new day because it is. We have a

little chore which isnt nuthin

compared to what they are givin

us. They make us fresh hot coffee

in the morning, which Ill drink

about three cups gotta have my

wake-up and caffeine. It is

what it is, I like to say and thats

allit is these days Im happy to

say. And they always have

pastries in the morning before

leave, which we get after we getchecked off on our chores. And

sometimes by surprise, uhh, we

get a complete hot breakfast. Like

this morning; an egg casserole!

Usually though, there

isnt time for a hot breakfastmeal, because theres usually

something going on at the church

that morning. About 6:30, we are

transported back to Intake, the

Quakers Friends house at 4th

and

L or Jack-in-the Box, which is my

final destination. Ill sit and

drink more coffee and plan out

my day

About 8 oclock I

normally go over toStarbucks on F Streetdowntownto distribute The Spare Changer...

The Spare Changeris a monthly

publication, uhh, given to me, so

I dont feel like Im begging

because Im giving something

back. To me, its very educational

and informative and and

basically, its lettin the

community know whats going o

in the homeless community and

the community as a whole, the

way we see it. I usually put in

about three or four hours a day

interacting with people in the

community. Theres one or two

people that will buy me another

cup of coffee (ha! Ha!) and

theres usually one or two that

pass me by and say Good

morning Robert! And that make

me feel good. And it makes me

feel like Im doing something

good here in the community

distributing this publication

This winter shelter

programis gives me achance to get my feet back on th

ground and to do some positive

things in my life. This doesnt

mean I gonna conquer the whole

world, but really speakin, Im

now settin small-time goals, like

savin a little bit of the donations

get each day so I can get into a

place by the time the program

ends in March.

Editors Note: Chances are youreceived this copy of the Spange

from Robert himself, and you can

see how he is just a great human

being. He loves his community,

loves the role he has taken upon

himself to play in it and, above al

you can see the love he has for

you. To see him, you wouldnt

think he was homeless at all,

would you? Hopefully, this time

next year he wont be, although I

do hope he will continue to

distributeand write more


15/20


15

oftenfor The Spare Changer of

Davis.

Editors Note:My friend RobertSelman is housed now, in

Woodland, living clean and sober.

Thank you for everything, Robert!

Dumpster Diving

Hot and Cold

By Kevin

Dumpster diving forme, ok, is something thathelps me in many, many ways.

One way is when I cant afford

clothing. When the students

graduate school, they throw out

clothing which is good; not too

worn out. I wash them when I

can. Another way is I find

electronics and things. Like CDs

and movies that I can sell atArmadillo or Tower Records and

make a little money for food, bus

tickets to get around, and be able

to go find work. Another reason is

to go and do recycling, collecting

aluminum cans, plastic and glass.

I ride my bicycle

around apartmentdumpsters. I go anytime I havetime, when Im not doing other

things to better my life, such as

day labor, canvassing door to

door if they have things I can do

around their house or yard;

anything I can do to make money.

I am homeless in Davis

unsheltered, except for mymedium sized two man tent. Im

staying with a friend in it right

now, until I can afford to buy my

own, or until October, when I

have a chance to stay at the H

Street Shelter (Davis Community

Meals) Transitional Housing

Program. It is a 18 month stay,

and will give me more stability.

Its hot in Davis, but even in the

cold season, one of the down

sides is how people look at me.

They just look at melike, well, you know, theymake me feel like Im not a

person. They say its private

property and tell me to get out,

and I do. They ask why dont you

get a job?theyve never been

homeless, and they dont know

how hard it is to get back on your

feet once you get down so far. I

leave if they tell me to leave, of

course. I dont see how they

could be saying that, when

theyve never been homeless.

One of the best things

Ive found while dumpsterdiving is a real expensive jade

necklace. It had jade stones all

around, with a carved out jadefigure of an Inca Indian. I found it

last August in a dumpster on

Sycamore Lane. I sold it to female

friend of mine that collects

jewelry. She sells those at swap

meets in Sacramento, Rancho

Cordova, and Folsom. And there

was this really good coat; it was

black, thigh level, and very, very

warm. Not very good for summe

but I needed it that winter. The

jacket is gone now; it got ripped

when I caught it on something

while working.

I usually start between

seven and eight a.m. If Istart in the evening, itll be about

6.pm., for about two hours. I

dont want to wake people in the

morning, or disturb people who

may be tired from work or have

to go to bed early. I dont feel lik

its a bad thing that Im doingthough; Im doing it t help me ge

by until I find work or go out on

day labor assignment.

When I collect

recyclable goods, Iborrow a bike cart from a friend

I can, or I grab a few plastic bags,

fill them up and ride on my bike

with them to the recycling cente

on Covell and Anderson at the

outer edge of the Sav-Mart

parking lot. There I separate the

glass, plastic and cans and put

them into separate large blue

recycling buckets. The man

working there weighs them, puts

the weight number into his

computer and it prints out a

recycling check that at take to thcashier in the supermarket who

cashes it.

Depending on how

long I recycled, or howmuch recycling there is on that

day, I make anywhere from ten t


16/20


16

twenty dollars. This is in the

course of about four hours

usually. Theres a reason for that:

I dont hog it all, so that other

homeless people can have a

chance to get some, and buy

what they need also. Thats what

Ive been hearing on the street

lately; that other people are not

getting anything and that some

are getting it all. I try to make

what I need for the day, and if I

make twenty bucks Im happy. I

try to make at least enough for

breakfast and dinner, and if I

need my cosmetics like too the

paste, shampoo and deodorant.Something I really need in the

summer time; anytime really.

One of the drawbacks

though is when you go torecycle and open up a plastic bag;

you often get one with cat litter,

dirty diapers or spoiled food. You

get it on your hands if you dont

have gloves. I havent always

used gloves but I finally got some.

You dont smell too good when

you get some of that stuff on

parts of your body or clothing.

Get one that is leaking and it can

spill on your shirt and all down

your pants. Theres not always a

place to take a shower when that

happens, but you can go into a

public bathroom and wash yourhands and parts of your body;

and maybe change clothes. The

Davis Community

Meals Resource Center at1111 H Street has showers, and

they come in handy, but they

close on the weekends and at

2pm during the week. This means

that if I get dirty or get odors

from things that are in the

dumpster at night, or when the

Resource Center is not open, I can

only clean up so much until the

next day it is open. One other

drawback is that you may find

dirty diabetic needles, or needles

used by people who use drugs. If

it sticks me or pokes me I have to

go to the hospital, because

whoever used it may have some

kind of disease. Also, broken glass

or sharp pieces of metal have cut

me in the past. Thats why I finallygot me a thick pair of leather

gloves. I have to be careful.

Open the Homeless

Lockers!

By Richard Cipian

Lockers for thehomeless have alreadybeen built, let's use them. I

believe everyone in our society

has either been affected by social

judging or judges others. Poverty

contributes to a cycle of poor life

choices which cut off

employment opportunities for

some and can lead to

homelessness for others.

The stigma that our

homeless face from jobinterviewers makes securing

employment a challenge.

Providing lockers for our

homeless is a simple, humane

and an effective step to help the

homeless help themselves.

Looking neat and clean makes

finding and keeping a job a lot

easier! What is wonderful about

this very publication that you are

reading is that it attempts to

educate different population

strata's on the phenomenon of

homelessness. True to all age

groups who are reading this issue

ofThe Spare Changeris the

phenomenon of adolescence. We

can all recall when we were 13

and first beginning Junior High

School. We all wanted to fit in

and be with the in group ofstudents.

Some students were

classified as athletes, somewere the smart nerds, and others

were the outcasts. The group we

were in was based on our

clothing and our hair styles; we

begged our parents to get us the

clothing that would allow us to

avoid being described as an

outcast and to be described as

one of the cool kids sporting the

new Adidas. We worked hard in

high school to earn high enough

grades and high scores on the

Scholastic Achievement Test to

gain admission to prestigious

universities.

My senior year, I was

judged competent as astudent and high achiever when

shared my University of

California admission results with

other members of the senior

class who also had been admitte


17/20


17

to good schools. For some reason

dressing nice and getting into a

top to middle tier University of

California campus was a ticket to

high school popularity or at least

social acceptance by middleclass

peers- whatever that means.

Social judging holds true for

students in university and those

in the work force. Extracurricular

opportunities open up to the

students who show themselves as

competent, cleanattractive

looking and motivated and the

same hold true for employment

opportunities.

A child in poverty lives

ina household where theparents are working minimum

wage type jobs and struggling to

make ends meet for the

household unit. Poverty creates

stress in the household unit

between the parents. The child of

a poor household may not have

good role models who promote

attending universities- the ticket

to social mobility in our society.

A youth who has to

deal with living in achaotic household unit may rebel

from the social structure and turn

to alcohol and drug use to numb

the pain. A child who has to livein a single parent household with

a drug addicted mother and a

social identification at school as a

poor social outcast may motivate

the child to fit in with other social

outcasts at school who also turn

to drugs and alcohol as a way out

of the pain. These students face

many challenges to shaping up

and getting into Advanced

Placement Programs.

Our public schools

have poor teacher tostudent ratios which only leads to

the students from the middle

class and perhaps a few highly

motivated poor kids to be pushed

by teachers to attend college. For

the other social outcasts, the

focus may be to get these

students to graduate and

sometimes this is a challenge.

And If we throw foster kids intothe equation, the odds of these

kids going to college and

becoming full participants in a

democratic society are reduced.

20% of academically

qualified foster youthattended some sort of college--

compared to 60% of high school

students not in foster care

(Wolanin, T. (2005). Higher

Education Opportunities for

Foster Youth: A Primer for

Policymakers. Washington, DC:

Institute for Higher Education

Policy). Disability and mental

illness can also perpetuate

homelessness.

The homeless facechallenges to employment.What food establishment

anywhere in America hire would

hire a homeless person as an

employee who had to store their

belongings in the restaurant? The

restaurant would fear a loss of

business if they would hire such a

homeless person. Managers of

the restaurant would wonder if a

homeless person would be a

dependable employee. Manager

for other job opportunities may

wonder if homeless people really

have skills that can be applied on

the job. Looking homeless in fron

of a job interviewer can eliminat

any chance the homeless or even

housed but poor person has to

getting the job. Homeless people

may not have the clothing

required to impress an

interviewer or for the job itself.

There are a few local

social services like theShort Term Emergency Action

Committee in Davis that help the

poor trying to become employed

by providing a limited supply of

clothing vouchers through Right

and Relevant. The demand

however for the assistance

provided far exceeds the

resources available.

Hiring a homeless

person is a way to help,but too many employers are put

off by the homeless concept. We

as a society acknowledge the

need to help but we often run

from the uncomfortable.Homeless people want to work

and some of them are the

hardest working, dependable and

intelligent people I know. To den

a population that has dealt with

struggle a gateway to

employment is inhumane.


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18

Providing lockers for

our homeless is a simple,humane and an effective step to

help the homeless help

themselves. Those people who

initially stood in the way of a

wonderful locker program for the

homeless of Davis should be

ashamed of themselves. The

homeless will be forced to carry

their belongings with them all

over town and be questioned by

police for appearing homeless.

A group of people

congregated in a publicpark with sleeping bags and

bicycles by their sides are an

open target for surveillance by

law enforcement and nearby

NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard).

When a police say they do not

profile a homeless person prior to

an officer questioning a homeless

person before an act of crime has

been committed, they maybe

lying. Police officers are human

and do judge even if it is implicit

in nature.

Officers patrol areas

known for high rates ofcrime and check for warrants on

homeless people that are

congregated in public parksduring daylight hours out of no

provocation. I have seen this first

hand many times in Sacramento

and once in Davis.

If we provide lockers

for our homeless,

homeless people can drop off

their sleeping bags and personal

belongings into a locker and walk

around clean if they grab a

shower at the Davis Community

Meals Resource Center.

Homeless people can apply for

jobs and actually do well at

getting an interview and passing

it because they are qualified.

Then a homeless person can get

an apartment or at least get into

a transitional housing program

using the job as evidence to show

that the client is motivated. I

have seen homeless people who

have been fortunate to gainemployment, actually finding an

apartment and stay employed. It

can be done.

But by refusing them

lockers for the homeless, wejust perpetuate the cycles of

discrimination and stigma for the

homeless. As a result homeless

people with no jobs and

economic opportunity may be

forced to drink away the pain that

being homeless brings forth- only

to be arrested by law

enforcement and incarcerated for

some Open Container infraction. I

say Open the Lockers for the

Homeless instead!

Editors Comment:I couldntagree with you more, RC.

Unfortunately, even after the

MOU was rescinded, DCC was

forced to capitulate to a very few

number of neighbors and agreed

not to open them on their

property.

*Editors Note: TSC has notgiven up hope for its Lockers for

the Homeless Project. Stay tuned

*These last two submissions are

both reprints from June 2005, our

third issue. It was eight pages

then The first from 17yr. old

Jessica,a troubled teen who

wrote and distributed as a TSC

Client Vendor, and only wanted a

new Cruiser bicycle. She got it!

The other from Patrick. Each has

long since moved on to better

things. I like to think The Spare

Changer had a little something to

do with helping do that.

Homeless Realities

By Jessica

I am not homeless

anymore because I workedhard to get myself back on my

feet.

I thank God every

single day for helping me dothis. I dont really know what

religion I should be; all I know is

that I stayed at a church for man

months until I met my boyfriend

They were really nice to welcome

me while I was staying there, andI appreciate it. There are

homeless people still on the

streets living at the same church

that I stayed at, and they wish

that they could get into a shelter


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19

The problem is that thehomeless shelter in this area is

full, and overwhelmed with the

number of people popping up

homeless. It could happen to

anybody. They could lose theirjob, get kicked out of their house,

or just come to Davis in hopes of

finding a better life. A lot of

homeless people stay clean and

sober because they know that

there is something better out

there for them, and its only a few

homeless people that give us a

bad reputation. The way I was

raised I would walk right past a

homeless person and pretend

that they didnt exist because

they were dangerous, dirty

people.

I definitely learned a

hard life lesson when Iactually started becoming friends

with the homeless people

because I was now one of them.They embraced me like I was a

part of their family; made sure

that I ate even though they were

low on food.

There were a lot of

people helping when I wason the streets, people who knew

that I was the youngest one andwanted to do whatever they

could for me. I had a VERY

interesting experience while I was

on the streets and I know from

experience now that a homeless

person is completely harmless,

there are a lot of them with

gentle hearts and yes, some of

them are people that you stay

away from because they are so

stuck on their misery of

homelessness that they want to

make everyone around them

miserable. Thats only, like, one in

ten people.

They stay mostly in

good spirits, and from whatI saw, a lot of homeless people

only drink to numb their pain

because its the only thing that

hasnt thrown them away yet.

They literally give up on life and

want to drink themselves todeath. That is a sad, sad way to

live life.

My One RantBy Patrick Giri

I only have one rant.Just one, I promise. I grew up

here and housing used to besemi-affordable back in the late

60s and early 70s. Now, the

housing scene is completely

different. It seems that you

cannot find a one-bedroom

apartment under $750! This is, in

my humble opinion, a lot to pay

for one bedroom. Need I

mention two or three bedrooms?

These prices may be cheaper than

those in the Bay Area, but one

needs to have a well paying job,

preferably well above minimum

wage, in order to make ends

meet. This is fine for those who

do.

But what about those

who don't? What aboutthose who are working a job

that pays only the minimum

wage? What about people whoare on State/Federal Disability?

What if you are not a student an

are not getting grants and loans?

Sure, there is low-

income housing butonly acertain amount, definitely not

enough to meet the high

demand. How can the needs

of these folks be met?

There is a solution out

there, but how to find it?Housing has always been my one

rant about Davis. Don't gt me

wrong, I like this town...it's very

nice and quiet. The crime rate is

low. 99.9% of the folks I see are

nice and polite. Housing though,

has been very, very expensive

since the late 70s...I pray for

those who are making minimum

wage. I pray for those on Disability:

May God Bless them with abundant

housing!

Homeward BoundBy Rayshell

The kind of place where All I

right.

A shadow in the day of Nigh

No more tears just

Continuance throughout Al

Of these years.


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20

The rain may fall and The

Sun will shine and Shadows

Will always Reflect the Times

The sake of righteous Trust

We see.

The contrast of belief ThatShelters our minds In depth

of Moral value.

Let us believe to partake In

The chance that let us

portray what we see.

Life as we perceive.

To behave in practice of

Actual measures that we

Conceive.

Let us be comforted.

Let us be free.

Let us find home.

So we can believe

My Spirit Splashes!By Sarah Zacharias

My spirit bathes in

rivers

oceans

still ponds

little tidal eddies

and the grace

of rain on sage

carried by prairie winds

Godly waters leak inside medrip

by

drip

hollowing out the caverns of

my soul with something holy

the spiritual promise

in sulfur spray that shoots

from

faithful geysers

and the soothing calm of

cool running mountain

watersClinging

like little wisps of moss

growing slowly

on unmoving river stones

I remember that

time and water always

all ways

find a way to flow

Reaching

with all ten fingertips,

grasping for a taste of

heaven

and I see myself in

the lips of trout that break

surface

reaching for low buzzing

insects

kissing the unknown above

Scrambling

awkward in my humanity

like misty bouncing water

droplets

springing off of heavy

boulders

and fragile ferns alike

as they tumble the waterfall

Like every drip of rain,

and every snowflake that

ever fell

my being wants nothing

but the soothing saltiness o

the ocean

to wash my sins away

my spirit splashes

in the grace of rain on sagecarried by prairie winds

Next Issue: Enrollingmembers of our Homeless

Communities:

(Courtesy Political Humor By Daryl Cagle W/

Thanks to Gary McCoy)

Hosted By Davis

Community Network

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