2001

by Tiny

I was living in my car at the time -as I had been on and off for many years. It was almost midnight. I was trying to inconspicuously park in a light industrial zone near 22nd and 3rd Streets… the late hour silence was filled with the cacophony of urban nature, the clicking of small waves hitting the Bay shore danced with the 2-2 rythem of a baritone foghorn… And then suddenly… a canon shaped beam of light tore through the black fabric of night. Three shimmering white vehicles circled first and then stopped. There was a heavy click-click of door handles..followed by the crunch of heels hitting asphalt, the deep wumph of doors slamming, faint police band radio yelps grew louder until a pair of thighs appeared at my window swathed in too-tight khaki polyester. Bits of arrest sounds came through a shoulder radio as the thighs slowly squatted to reveal a white mustachioed face - facial pores glistening in the pale moonlight." Can I see your driver's license and current registration? - and you are going to need to step out of the vehicle..NOW," the officer demanded, his voice had serrated steel edges that sliced through the air

Thirty terrifying minutes later the car which had acted as a "house" for my mother and myself off and on for the last several years was being towed because the registration was not current and we had too many tickets.

The mouth of the tow truck opened wide, consuming its late night snack of our beat up 1986 Ford Fairmont - starting its meal with the hind portion - the tired wheels refusing to spin, even in midair, just sat in place resigned to their seizure, bouncing one last goodbye to me before the car was dragged away to its own form of vehicular hell.

I stood there in the black night, illuminated by one lone street lamp, the distant ships providing accompaniment to my streaming tears. unsure of where to go - unsure of how to put one foot in front of the other, and think up another form of survival in a long list of survival strategies

Poor folks who are evicted from their homes due to gentrification, and/or become homeless because of other circumstances related to poverty are often forced to live in their vehicles, if they are lucky enough to have one. Often people are afraid of shelters and would choose living in their car over unsafe group living situations, such as many of the Bay Area shelters.

Vehicularily housed Bay Area residents are constantly harassed by the police - but in most cases the police harassment stems from continuous "nimbyism" from both businesses and residents, i.e., in neighborhoods - urban and suburban- the cops are swiftly summoned when anyone even appears to be homeless or vehicularily housed. And in most industrial or light industrial zones businesses will constantly call on local officials and cops to ticket, harass and/or change the existing parking laws to make sure that no one is allowed to stay and interfere with their " business"
The reality is that people in this situation are very conscious of their hygiene, their trash and their belongings and never interfere with people or businesses, rather they try to keep to themselves so as not to be noticed

The coalition on homelessness and POOR Magazine are working on this issue with the goal of addressing the unjust laws that criminalize homeless folks, and as well, we are drafting a vehicularily housed bill of rights -which will be presented before the board of supervisors in San Francisco.

We never got our "house" (car) back, even though I attempted to go through the very arbitrary tow "hearing" which people lose most of the time, based on how the man running the "hearing" is feeling that day. That experience led to a chain of events that sunk my mother and I deeper into the vicious cycle of poverty. And it also wasn't the last time that I would be confronted by the police for what I call "driving while Poor" (DWP).

POOR Magazine and The Coalition on Homelessness will be presenting a Vehicularily Housed Bill of Rights at an Art-Action-Rally on Wednesday, May 30 at 12:00 noon at City Hall in San Francisco- To get involved with the Action please call POOR at (415) 863-6306

To report Driving While Black or Brown harassment call
1-877-DWB-STOP toll free 24 hrs

by Joseph Bolden

April 16, 2001 was supposed to be Mr. Timothy McVeigh’s last day on Earth. "Oops, uh-oh, dang it!" The Federal Government didn’t give all the evidence to his defense attorneys. It turns out Mr. McVeigh may not have been properly defended, even though he confessed to the April 19,1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Attorney General John Ashcroft, because of the possible breach the of law, changed Mr. McVeigh’s execution date to May 16, 2001.

The feds say, "Oops," Attorney General Ashcroft goes, "Uh-oh," and the poor surviving citizens off this tragedy, who are in mental and physical anguish, say, "Dang friggin’ feds screwed up again!" They’re saying, "We want this guy’s ass gassed, burning in Hades forever." To many Oklahomans, execution by lethal gas chamber is too quick and merciful a death for McVeigh.

And McVeigh’s reaction? "See I told you they’re incompetent." This public bloodlust is unsettling even if it serves Oklahoma’s victims. We have had public executions before–they were called "hangings" and many of its victims were more innocent than guilty. Are we headed back to this?

Here’s a better idea. We could use our vaunted technology and disconnect McVeigh ‘s brain from his body, keeping both intact by using virtual simulation. With his body still connected virtually to his brain, his body could be made to feel the pain of different kinds of burning by using virtual reality technology. His body could burn from virtual fires and could be continuously regenerated as it endures Hell-on-Earth burning sensations. Or we could stimulate only the pain centers in his brain and he would go insane from the constant torture and die.

There is a bright side to this and that is that Muslims in the Middle East might end their Jihad {Holy War} after witnessing the Waco and Oklahoma city slaughters in America. They may rethink their ambitions with the thought, "These murderers are already cursed, joining with them we might condemn them further and we might also be cursed." That’s my twisted bright side.

Please donate what can to:
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Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by Terry Messman

When autumn winds blew the roof off Kendra Wilson's apartment last October,
followed by a five-day rainstorm that ruined all her belongings and flooded
her out of her home, she thought she had weathered the worst of the storm.
She soon found that the hard rains had only begun to fall in Oakland, a city
where tenants forced out of apartments closed due to uninhabitable
conditions or natural disasters have virtually no rights, no protection from
becoming homeless, and often no relocation assistance.

Apartment buildings can be repaired and belongings replaced, but Wilson has
not been able to recover from the final blow: her landlord evicted her from
her rain-damaged apartment after she and other tenants spoke out about their
losses on a KRON TV news broadcast.

In an interview with Street Spirit, Kendra Wilson charged that after she
exercised her First Amendment rights to speak to the press about the
intolerable conditions she faced after the roof blew off her apartment, she
was subjected to a retaliatory eviction by her landlord, Jerry Curtis, a
Deputy Attorney General for the State of California.

After huge chunks of the apartment building's roof landed on the walkway
below her second-story unit, the rain poured in through 30 leaks in her
ceiling, soaked her bed, ruined her furniture and stereo, and destroyed a
closetful of books for her college courses. Finally, the ceiling began to
buckle and sag and the rain began streaming in through all the electrical
fixtures, forcing the Oakland Fire Department to cut the power off as an
electrocution hazard and shut down the building.

Then her real troubles began. Cold, tired, exhausted from the ordeal, the
shell-shocked tenants were ignored by their landlord, by Oakland officials,
and even by the Red Cross. Finally, Wilson and other tenants spoke out to
the press about these unendurable conditions in a desperate attempt to get
help. After the tenants described their plight on a KRON news broadcast, the
Red Cross responded by providing temporary motel vouchers. But her landlord,
Jerry Curtis, responded by locking Wilson and other tenants out of their
apartments for criticizing his inaction.

It was a one-two punch for Wilson - a disaster followed by an eviction that
left the 26-year-old college student homeless. Wilson and at least two of
her fellow tenants were reduced to sleeping in their cars or living with
relatives. As of April 1, more than four months after being ousted from her
apartment, Wilson has not been able to find or afford housing, and has been
forced to move out of Oakland to live with relatives.
The morning after the Fire Department cut the power off, Wilson said Curtis
finally returned his tenants' calls, and "he said we should pack up
immediately and look for apartments in the city of Richmond where he said it
was a little cheaper."

Wilson said she was stunned and disheartened by the landlord's refusal to
help beyond an offer to pay for moving trucks and return their security
deposit. "His response was extremely cold," she said. "When we first called,
we asked him if he could just put us up in a hotel or somewhere dry because
we were cold, we were wet, we were extremely exhausted. He told us he could
not because he didn't have the money. I told him I'm a starving student and
I don't have money to pack up and move anywhere. I told him it was the end
of the month and I didn't even have the money for a hotel room."

Wilson was left homeless by the disaster in the middle of her senior year in
college at Cal State Hayward, where she is majoring in English and pre-law.
"It's extremely hard because I'm going to school and I'm exhausted by this,"
she said. "I've been looking for housing for four months. I can't find
anything I can afford. This delays my graduation by six months."

Wilson was finally forced to move out of Oakland altogether, part of an
exodus of low-income tenants who have been squeezed out of the city in
recent months due to rising rents and no-cause evictions. She is now
bouncing back and forth between her mother's house in Hayward and an aunt's
home in Vallejo, while commuting to school.

Curtis told Street Spirit that he bore no blame for locking Wilson out of
the eight-unit apartment building he owns at 3474 Boston Avenue in Oakland,
nor any responsibility to pay for her damaged possessions or relocation
expenses. Curtis said that the City of Oakland's legal codes do not require
landlords to pay tenants for any relocation expenses or even grant them the
right to move back into an apartment after a natural disaster unless it was
caused by the owner's actions or negligence.

Asked why he had refused to let Kendra Wilson and two other tenants move
back after repairs had been completed, Curtis said, "If not for them
speaking out against me on television, all three could still be living in
their apartments."

Curtis said that he was so upset that the tenants had spoken out on KRON
about the conditions in their uninhabitable apartments, that he had written
to them that they would not be invited back if they had taken part in what
he called "slanderous attacks against me in the media." Curtis added, "This
in effect precluded them from moving back."

Asked if this was a retaliatory eviction for speaking to the press, Curtis
said that he was justified because the tenants had "slandered and libeled"
him by telling the press he had failed to fix the roof.

Curtis said he especially resented the tenants' complaints because they
could cast a cloud on his professional work as a Deputy Attorney General.
"In essence," he said, "judges who hear me in court in future cases might
think: there's a problem with his integrity because he lets his tenants
suffer unjustly." Curtis emphasized, "There is no relationship with what I
do for [State Attorney General] Bill Lockyer, and what I do with my
tenants."

In a letter to Ira Jones, one of three tenants he expelled and locked out
after the roof blew off the building, Curtis described the damage he
believed had been done to his professional reputation: "Every judge who
knows me may now question everything I represent to him because I have been
characterized as someone who is taking advantage of poor tenants."
Curtis wrote to the tenants that those who spoke to the press criticizing
his actions would be evicted: "Assuming that you may return under the
provisions of the City codes, you are informed that I will file a notice to
evict against anyone who defamed me. I am thinking about filing a defamation
suit against each person who appeared on the KRON broadcast.É My daughter
told me that her mother's priest told her that he had seen a broadcast about
me, and that I was a bad landlord."

Wilson said that, simply by speaking to the media, she suffered the hardship
of losing her home, and said she feels intimidated that a Deputy Attorney
General, a state official with so much legal status and prosecutorial power,
would issue threats to her warning that the mere act of speaking out about
unendurable housing conditions could result in a defamation suit. But Wilson
vowed that she would not be silenced by the threats of her landlord.
"These types of malicious acts are happening all around the Bay Area,"

Wilson said, "and most tenants are afraid or they simply do not know their
rights. Hopefully, the fact that we are standing up to a man such as Jerry
Curtis with his status will encourage others to speak up and fight back.
Other tenants are cowed by Jerry Curtis' high status. For me, my personal
feeling is that if I don't voice or stand up for my rights, there's really
no reason for me to be on this earth. I just refuse to be intimidated."
Wilson said she turned to the media only because she and other tenants were
exposed to health-threatening conditions in the building, and no one would
help - not their unresponsive landlord, not the City, and, at first, not
even the Red Cross.

"Our intentions were not to defame him," Wilson said. "Our intentions were
to seek help. For neither he nor the Red Cross would assist us. The Red
Cross only assisted us after the media came out. We were desperate, cold,
wet, exhausted, and the only thing we stated to the press were the facts of
what had happened. We didn't say anything about his character or family."
Anne Omura, managing attorney of the Eviction Defense Center in Oakland,
said, "I think the conduct of Jerry Curtis is reprehensible. I think it's
really ironic, since he's a Deputy Attorney General and works in the
California Department of Justice, that he's doing things to oppress people
and make these women homeless. To lock them out is illegal. You can't just
lock tenants out of their house. It's retaliatory because he did it after
they went to Channel 4."

Omura said that the tenants have a legally protected right to go to the
media and expose the hardships and hazardous conditions they endured. "You
can't get angry when people go to the media, and call it slander when it's
the truth," Omura said. "Truth is 100 percent defense in cases of slander.
Curtis just doesn't want the public to know how dirty his hands are. All
that matters to him is this public perception as an official who works for
the Department of Justice when actually he's a perpetrator of injustice."
Before being expelled, Wilson said the monthly rent for her one-bedroom
apartment was $625, an amount that was raised to $681 in May, 2000. "He knew
by law in Oakland he couldn't raise the rent more than 3 percent, but he was
able to use banking and stick it to me," she said. "I remember him making a
comment to me then about raising the rent and how he hoped we would just
move out - that was his intent."

After the building was closed and repaired following the rainstorm, Wilson
said that one of the displaced tenants learned that one apartment would be
rented out for $950 a month. Curtis told Street Spirit that he had always
charged Kendra Wilson and other tenants a very fair rent. After repairs,
Curtis said, he has rented one of the vacated apartments to a woman for $900
a month, and had rented another unit to one of his friends for $800 a month,
both significantly higher rents than charged to the dislocated tenants prior
to their eviction.

The Oakland City Council voted last summer to make it more difficult for
landlords to evict tenants simply to raise rents by imposing a two-year
freeze on rent increases on rental units that are emptied through "no-cause
evictions." Tenant activists warned at the time that the measure had no
teeth and would not be enforced because Oakland landlords are not required
to register their rental units and thus escape detection if they raise rents
after no-cause evictions. These warnings appear to have proven prophetic in
Kendra Wilson's case.

"Isn't that the most disgusting thing, that he's capitalizing on locking
these women out by raising rents?" asked Omura. "That's 100 percent illegal.
I think it's gross to profiteer off what he did in locking them out. The
terrible thing is that these women are now homeless with no place to live.
And he's not in any trouble with city officials at all. He's making more
money because of their tragedy!"

Letter from Kendra Wilson

On October 22, 2000, the roof of our apartment building at 3474 Boston Avenue, Oakland, CA blew off during a windstorm. After notifying the owner, Jerry Curtis, Deputy Attorney General for the State Justice Department, nothing was done. Mr. Curtis left town, leaving us without a roof and exposed to the elements. On October 25, 2000, rain poured into our apartments, seeped into our walls, floors, and light fixtures, along with ruining our personal property. We were later evacuated by the Oakland Fire Department, and the building blue tagged, due to an electrocution hazard. Unable to obtain aid from Mr. Curtis or the City of Oakland, and in our desperate quest for help, we contacted Channel 4 news to cover the story. Because of the news broadcast, we were finally able to obtain help from Red Cross, who had previously denied us because it was a tenant/ landlord issue. The City of Oakland cited our landlord and required he correct the violations. On November 19, 2000 Andria Crosby, Ira Jones, and myself, Kendra Wilson received notices from Mr.Curtis stating that we were to vacate immediately so the repairs could be done. We voiced that we had no place to go, or the financial resources to do so with. This did not matter to him. He said he was not required to help us, and nevertheless, we still needed to leave. Approximately a month later we received a letter stating that we were not welcome back to our apartments, after the repairs were completed, because we brought shame to he and his family by airing the news broadcast.

As of January, and the first of February 2001, the locks to our apartments have been changed and they have been re-rented for $280 - $325 more than the rent we were paying. We never received an eviction notice, only a letter stating his embarrassment and his disgust with our exercising our First Amendment rights. We were not shocked by this behavior, especially since he attempted to raise our rents several times in one year and openly informed us of how much more money he could get for our apartments as opposed to what he was charging us.

We are still homeless, but we are fighting back! We are holding a peaceful demonstration on Thursday, April 26th, 2001 at 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA (Oakland’s State Building). It will be held from 12:00 p.m. noon until 2:00 p.m. We are asking that your organization attend, sponsor, and/or speak at our demonstration. This is important to us because we are everyday people and feel we represent many people in our community. We desperately want to stand up to Mr. Curtis to let him know what he did was not only illegal, but malicious and moral less. Our hopes are that our opposition to Mr. Curtis, despite his position in society, will encourage other displaced, oppressed, or fearful tenants to do the same.

If you choose to join us, please feel free to contact Kendra Wilson at (510) 915-3434. Any assistance, no matter how large or small, will be greatly appreciated. We are in need of speakers, donations of food, and amplification for the demonstration. Most of all, your attendance and support will be cherished. There will be a press release, and we anticipate this to be a great forum for all those who are interested in voicing their housing issues. We are also interested in introducing and supporting any housing remedies your organization may have. Enclosed is a flyer that further details the support we have successfully acquired, and other pertinent information about the demonstration.

It is clear that housing is a huge concern for numerous renters in the Bay Area. Silence is a form of acceptance, and we refuse to permit our voices to be smothered. Please assist us in allowing our voices to be heard. Thanks for your time and we hope to see you there!

Sincerely, Kendra M. Wilson

by DEE

Dear W:

Since you have been in office, your administration has done nothing but cause chaos in our country. “Unite the Country,” was that not your slogan? You have done more to divide this country than any other administration I have known. You are attempting to isolate California with your assaults, as if we are not a part of the United States! Subtle messages in the press like “California is taking all your energy!” from Republican administrations in other states further your crusade to alienate California.

What a difference in the United States between now and a few months ago, when Clinton was president. Chaos reigns now. This chaos of rolling blackouts, stock market dips and confusion, disinformation about the economy and jobs. And the worst of it, of course, is in California.

Perhaps California to you is just too powerful a place, filled with terrible people you and your right wingers disdain, like Hollywood whores and pimps, hippies, protesters, queers, potheads, leftist talk show hosts, and last but not least, Democrats. What was it you used to call them, Commie Pinko Queers?

If you’ve read the recent census report, you should know that California is no longer “White.” Latinos are now outnumbering all other ethnic groups in California. You claim to be so caring of Latinos- or are those just Latinos in Texas? Do they have some unique quality that California Latinos do not possess? Perhaps when it comes to the vote?

The energy crisis exploded when you took office. Your idea is to force California to spend all of its money on energy, and force Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to relocate or go out of business. You hope is to weaken California even more than the rest of the country, force us to our knees until we cry “uncle” and beg you to drill for oil in Alaska and along the California coast. You weaken EPA regulations for air pollution but you do nothing to develop and promote alternative and renewable energies. You negotiate with the Arabs to produce less oil so that you can further put the squeeze on this country to destroy wildlife habitats and the natural beauty of these environments. Why should you have interest in wildlife? Your interest is in keeping us dependent on oil. That’s where the money is!

Mr. Cheney and the oil interests have used California as a guinea pig. With such a successful energy crisis, why would they stop now? Think of the profit that may be gained by putting the same pressure on the rest of the country, as Mr. Cheney has predicted! You, Dick, and your oil buddies must be salivating at this prospect. You needn’t be bothered with Arab nations when you exploit this crisis and expand oil drilling here at home. You can raise and lower prices of energy at will in the true spirit of capitalism, justified by Cheney’s staggeringly ridiculous claim that we are not technologically advanced enough to utilize wind and solar energy. Will the whole nation following California into such third-world status?

In fact, I’m beginning to see startling similarities between the Bush Administration and the oppressive Taliban in Afghanistan. After the Taliban destroyed all the statues of Buddha in their country, they said they knew that they had done the right thing because badly needed rains began to fall in Afghanistan. In the end, what will be your justification for the chaos you are creating in California and our nation?

Sincerely, Dee,

An American in California,

still one of the states in this union.

A Californian who will vote for a president

in a state where Latinos outnumber whites

and where citizens also care about

Little League Baseball.

by Tiny

I'm not sure

when I stopped..

grievin'

or see-ing

or believ-ing

that the pain of poverty would not

STOP..

un-til

I could

Start

talkin'

and fightin'

and rightin'

what's

NOT..

by Chance Martin-Coalition on Homelessness

4/7/01 -- 12:15 p.m.

I just got off the phone with Anita (not her real name), who called us
collect from jail.

When you receive a collect call from jail here in SF, you get one of those
female robot (fembot?) voices: "THIS IS A COLLECT CALL FROM

*** (real voice)
'Anita' *** AN INMATE AT THE SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY JAIL. TO ACCEPT

THE CALL

PRESS '0' NOW. TO BLOCK FURTHER CALLS FROM THIS FACILITY PRESS '1' NOW"

(which blocks your phone from EVER receiving a collect call from the jail
facility).

Being mostly human (even five minutes after walking into the office on a
Saturday, and I hadn't had any coffee yet), I press '0'.

Then the voice comes on and says: "YOU HAVE JUST ACCEPTED A CALL FROM AN INMATE AT THE SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY JAIL."

The caller gets to hear all of this too.

We know Anita. She's struggling with homelessness along with her partner
Brian (not his real name). We had helped them help themselves to the point
where they were going to move into an SRO hotel room, which is a pretty
sorry accomplishment, but the rains have been cold and regular lately. They
were supposed to move in last Friday, but then Anita got picked up by SFPD
on an old petty theft beef she walked away from five or six years ago.
Because she never took care of the charge, she can't be "cited out" or
released on her own recognizance. We were trying to help by getting her
mom's number so her mom could bail her out, then she could find her Brian
somewhere on these fabled streets of San Francisco, and they could see if
their room was still available. Not too hard, right? Well hang on, 'cause
here's where it gets difficult.

Anita has Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Not exactly what one
might consider to be the kind of disability that lends itself easily to
enforced confinement. Exercise and cannabis are what she usually uses to
manage this situation, having successfully kicked drugs and alcohol for some
years now. But there's no room to run or play hacky-sack with a paper wad in
the new jail, and pot is pretty much out of the question. You can't even
smoke cigarettes in the state-of the-art facility behind 850 Bryant Street
in San Francisco.

When Anita comes on the phone, she's ping-ponging between panic and
hysteria. Seems a few days ago she was so feeling so frustrated and defeated
and alone she was sitting on the floor of her cell, weeping uncontrollably.
But here in San Francisco, this shining beacon of enlightenment, our jails
are equipped to accommodate prisoners with disabilities. She was placed in a
suicide watch "tank" or cell, better known to the City and County of San
Francisco's women prisoners as the "naked cell." It's called that because
they strip you of your clothing and then place you in five-point restraints
in a cell with a window behind which a guard sits to watch you and whoever
else has merited such special attention 24 unending hours a day.

While Anita was there, one guard, a white male guard named Allen (his real
name), became so moved (or aroused) by Anita's helpless state that he became
especially interested in her. He stood inside the naked cell with Anita for
some considerable length of time and teased her about her remarkable lack of
body hair (Anita is Native American).

Anita was finally released from the naked cell, and placed in a tank where
all the other women are detoxing cold-turkey from heroin. This is only a
very small step down from the naked cell -- the women in this tank are all
sick and miserable as hell, and there is not one scrap of anything that
isn't a bare wall or mattress: no sheets, no books or magazines, no cards or
checkerboard, no paper or pencils, no tv, no toiletries, not even
toothbrushes. The toilet is starkly exposed to any guard who happens by, and
dirt and garbage accumulates in the filthy cell’s corners.

Rita (not her real name), one of the other women in the "kick tank" with
Anita, has diabetes and epilepsy, and no medication. She's been suffering
seizures with hellish regularity, but her pleas for medical treatment are
ignored by the guards. The condition the jail staff places on Anita if she
doesn't want to return to the naked cell is that she is to do nothing
without a guard's permission except sit still on her mattress.

Here’s the inevitable dilemma: while I'm trying to support Anita’s effort to
regain some precious little bit of composure so I can give her mom's phone
number to her, she realizes she has nothing to write it down with. She has
nothing she can even use to scratch it on the surface of the walls or floor.
She has come so close to getting the seven digits that represent her ticket
out of the beast's belly (she's been there since before last Friday) and now
she's stymied once more. She starts getting really shaky again; the little
voice in the back of my head is telling me if she gets too animated behind
her frustration the guard is going to put her back in the naked cell and she
won't have another opportunity to arrange bail until next week.

I listen to Anita. I tell her that we're going to stay on the line together
until the panic passes, no matter how long that takes. I tell her I think we
can figure this one out between us. The storm begins to ebb -- I know we're
making real progress when Anita manages a rueful, shaky laugh at the insane
irony of this inhumane, screwed-up situation. We talk about Brian: had we
seen him? We talk about how she's going to find him when she's finally
released.

We talk about preparing a deposition about what happened in the naked cell.

Then Anita says: "Hey! There's a metal mirror here, and I think I can smear
the number in the soap scum on it!" (I knew you had it in ya, sis!) We share
a hearty, victorious laugh. I give her the number. I ask her to repeat it
back to me. That's correct! We share a few words of relieved, relaxed,
normal conversation. I ask her to read the number back to me again. She's
got it. Anita won.

I tell Anita that she'd better call her mom before they finally clean the
metal mirror in the women's detox tank (yeah, fat chance). We laugh about
that for a moment. I ask her to come to the Coalition's office after she
gets out so we can document the many violations she has been victim to --
let's fight these guys, ok?

More words of encouragement, then Anita and I disconnect.

Now I'm sitting here trying to figure out why I'm setting all this down,
other than for documentation purposes. It's because this is a very real look
into San Francisco's "homeless policy" that is rarely considered by anyone
who hasn't been homeless. It describes a very small part of the terrible and
relentless violation of the civil and human rights of poor people that is
standard operational procedure in this city.

It's because Anita would have been off the streets and safe with her partner
this past week if the "status crime" of her homelessness didn't give some
zealous "quality of life" enforcer probable cause to detain her and imprison
her because of a five year old bench warrant.

It's because if we are ever going to organize together for justice, then we
must organize with people like Anita, and me, and every other luckless soul
who ever got drafted into America's War on the Poor.

It's because an injury to one is an injury to all.

--

Not to know is bad.

Not to want to know is worse.

Not to hope is unthinkable.

Not to care is unforgivable.

-Nigerian saying

by Don Eli

The Beast of Empire patrols

a silent Latin American night.

Another poet is disappeared.

A union organizer's dismembered body

floats quietly down the polluted stream.
Villagers cower behind curtains

drawn in dismayed isolation

as the palpable spell of fear grows.

And peace without justice prevails.

The midnight sky of South Central Los Angeles
is floodlit by circling helicopters

as police gun down a resisting citizen

caught driving while black.

Trembling children cling in terror

to skirts of mortified mothers.

And peace without justice prevails

The Whore of Empire proudly displays

her lit up Las Vegas, glittering with promise
as the glamour of lust is aroused.

Hapless citizens dream of their lucky night.
Entranced for a glorious moment

before humbly retreating

to their feathered cells.

TVs light up suburban living rooms

where fat gluttons are seduced

with visions of grandeur

while they struggle to catch their breath
after a hard day of slavery

disguised as the American dream.

Enthralled by images of a better tomorrow
they vote with their silence

And peace without justice prevails.

by Kaponda

While the oath of office was being administered to the statesman during his inaugural ceremony at Yerba Buena Gardens, I was initiated into a notorious institution by his secret drug force agents. They continued to mangle each of my arms until I buckled over like still water contorted by a vicious current. As the president of the United States had ended his long-distance congratulatory speech to the first-ever African-American Mayor of the City and County San Francisco, I was being hoisted from the ground by Sergeant Miller and hustled to the Hall of Justice by Sergeant Lofton to a cell in which I had been selected to spend the next year of my life.

"You are gone forever!" stated an irascible Sergeant Lofton, watching blood trickle from one of his two arms used in his heavy-handed assault on me as I walked down Sixth Street on that January 8, 1996 I could sense his consolation from having bent my left thumb until it almost touched my elbow, as I wore handcuffs. The civil rights of many people were trampled upon by the Willie Brown Sweep, as it was later dubbed, since it appeared to have been coordinated to occur durin his inaugural ceremony.

Aware of the Three Strikes initiative approved in 1994 to create fixed determinate prison sentences for people who re-offend, Sergeant Lofton knew that his threat to cast me into perpetual oblivion was supported by a mandate by voters of California and upheld as constitutional by the courts of California. The authority to make sentencing decisions have devolved from the courts and juries to cops and district attorneys as a result.

Now the District Attorney of San Francisco has decided to preclude a man who was recently convicted of receiving stolen goods from ever seeing the light of day by exercising the power vested in him to invoke "Three strikes and you’re out." This decision by Terence Hallinan confounded many people because he has expressed strong opposition to imposing three strikes to nonviolent offenses. In one of the first cases presented to Hallinan involving Freddie Lee Williams, Hallinan is quoted in an article by Reynolds Holding of the San Francisco Chronicle, dated Sunday, November 3, 1996. In this article, Hallinan expresses his attitude concerning three strikes by stating that, "If we did the three strikes, that would be the same as a sentence for murder. But the jury had just made a decision that it (Williams’ crime) was manslaughter."

But in the case decided Friday, Troy Hayles, who had earlier been acquitted of murder, was convicted only of receiving stolen property. Those goods had belonged to 70-year-old Joyce Ruger, who was murdered more than two and one half-years ago at 719 Webster Street in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, a murder that has remained indelibly fastened in the memories of many Fillmore residents.

"I didn't know the late Joyce Ruger personally," stated Bishop Valentine of the New Christian Fellowship Church, located two doors from the fourplex Ruger owned and lived in. "As I understood it, she was like a neighborhood watch person trying to take care of her community. But the stuff that is going on in the neighborhood is so rough and tough that it takes more than just one person to fight this thing."

In my case, Sgt. Lofton had been aware that I had no violent cases on my record when he taunted and interrogated me in an effort to get me to cooperate with him. He wanted me to inform him how the transaction of a $10 rock of cocaine happened between me and the person from whom he claimed I had purchased it.

I asked Bishop Valentine what he thought about the District Attorney's decision to invoke the Three-Strike statute in the case of Troy Hayle, and did he think that the decision was imposed, in part, because of Hayles refusal to cooperate with the police?

"If the District Attorney said that he would only invoke the Three-Strikes sentence for violent offenders, and this individual had nothing to do with it, then there should be an alternative other than the third strike. But if there is more to the case that they are concealing, then light needs to be cast on the the facts. The District Attorney has to justify the harsh sentence that is being imposed upon this man."

"Three Strikes should not be imposed because of the decision of a person not to cooperate, because we are protected by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. If that is the case, and Hallinan's decision was based on Hayles' refusal to cooperate, then that is like retaliation because he will not speak to what is going on," concluded Bishop Valentine.

Opponents of charging a nonviolent offense as a third strike cannot understand why the District Attorney had elected to use Three Strikes against Troy Hayles.

"They were unable to get language that would make it a third strike only if it was a violent felony," stated Stephen Bingham of the National Lawyers' Guild.

Having vowed publicly and throughout his campaign never to use the Three Strikes statute in cases that involved nonviolent offenses and acknowledging the draconian language, and that it could not be applied fairly, why did Terence Hallinan backdown on his promises to the people of San Francisco by imposing the three-strikes statue in the case of Troy Hayle, the man who was charged with receiving stolen goods? During the weekly Community Newsroom at POOR Magazine, the Director of Families with a Future, Ida McCray, talked about her reasons why she thought the District Attorney elected to relegate Hayle to the house of jackals.

"This case is politically charged because Joyce Ruger was a wealthy woman who had several houses one of which was on Webster Street! This is very reminiscence of the antebellum laws in the South where some black man had to hang from some tree because some white person got killed. The jury found that there was no evidence that linked Troy Hayle to the murder of Joyce Ruger...," stated McCray.

Sergeant Lofton knew that I would take the high ground and preserve the one quality that I had never in life compromised -- my honor. Conversely, I knew that Sergeant Lofton would also manufacture a statement that would satisfy the "three strikes and you’re out" sentencing guidelines. He did not disappoint me, as he charged me with assault on two police officers because of the injury to his partners that resulted after they had barreled into and mauled me.

According to McCray, Hallinan had attempted to jostle Hayle into renouncing his principles by giving him a "testify or else" ultimatum which was probably the reason Hallinan was compelled to apply three strikes in the case of Hayle.

"He [Terence Halliinan] decided to use his ‘discretion’ in this case. And using his discretion is to convict Troy Hayles, who did not cooperate with police and was unable to testify, and who was unable to be uaed. He was not the murderer, and the office of the District Attorney knows that he was not the murderer. But he is being used as a scapegoat by that office. ‘We are going to hang some,’" stated Ida McCray.

Have the political winds in San Francisco shifted so drastically that the ethics of extrajudcial decisions are the issues around which interest revolves. I asked Matt Gonzales of he San Francisco Board of Supervisor about the Troy Hayle matter and whether there has been a major shift of attitudes around three strikes?

"I am opposed to the use of three strikes in any nonviolent case," Gonzales stated with absolute resolve.

DeShawn (DeFresh) Blake, a rapper, and resident of the Fillmore district in 1998 and was just released from San Quentin Penitentiary, provided a personal perspective to arbitrary sentencing.

"I feel that if he did not go out and commit a violent felony, then he should not be given that much time. That is a long time to be away from your family and the people who care about you." The mother of Troy Hayle had passed away during his time awaiting trial, and his wife and sister attended his trial.

Had I known the magnitude of authority at the disposal of undercover cops like Miller and Lofton and the push to fill the growing prison industrial complex with my body and your money, I would have struggled even harder to avoid the one year of jail time to which I was sentenced.

According to the latest statistics released by Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, "the California Department of Corrections projects that the second- and third-strike prison population will exceed 55,000 by 2002; nearly 75 percent of second and third strikes are for nonviolent and non-serious offenses; the most common "strike" charges are drugs, theft and burglary."

According to Ida McCray, "To convict someone who is nonviolent sends the wrong message. I think what has happened to San Franciscans is that they have been placed in jeopardy because as soon as that news hits the community, for those who are criminal minded -- we are dealing with the heart when we see someone one-on-one. When these men who receive their third strike go to prison -- and this is what a lot of people don't want to know -- they will have to learn to kill. They will have to learn to kill because Troy Hayle will go to a Level-4 institution. People with that amount of time go to a Level-4 institution. So we are going to send people who are nonviolent in the first place to institutions where they are going to have to either kill for their life or become subject to something else."

by Staff Writer

Its been running through my mind for months; if I ever left "The City" of San Francisco where would I go?

There is New York, where I was born; Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, Los Angeles, Lovely, rustic Fairfield, or Arizona.

All these places have an allure and history but I’m thinking of Nevada, where land is weirdly inexpensive and transplants like me are willing to seek isolation, for the sake of creative fire –just might be my last chance to live free.

Gambling in Reno does not interest me, quiet lonesome mountains, trees, big sky where stars are seen in all their brilliance, and the best asset near absolute quiet.

Careers-jobs as telephone line-workers, "walking Iron" on high rise building sites welders, glassblowing, painters, sculpture, or writers.

Open land, a large home, garage, swimming pool, gym, basement and extra room to get away from future wife, children, when myself or anyone else needs a break.

What would do you do with four or five thousand acres of pristine, untouched, undeveloped land?

Not that I own any land yet but if one did; what to do with it?

I am a city guy, grown up with technology, its part of me until death or rejuvenation; hopefully the latter gets me before old Grim does.

A student of arcane mysteries, mind-traveler.
I do believe people need to have a least "one great quest" in their life.

Attainment of it or not isn't the test staying stead fast is the test and failure is an option not defeat.

Whatever happens as this new century unfolds; I want a place away, a sanctuary for thinking contemplative, theoretical, or unusual thoughts, or rest, have friends and family gathered.

Could it be all I want is my own space where peace of mind reigns supreme.
Where are other places less expensive, a slower pace of life?

Any Ideas out there? Right now I’m trying to ease into the House-sitting
Business, where do you begin this process? Bye.

PS My email has changed,[AGAIN]I do not know if this is the correct one – please bare with me folks:/
Send m/o or checks c/o Joe to Poor Magazine 255 9th St. San Francisco, Ca. 94103 USA
WWW.Poormagazine.org
www.AskJoe@poormagazine.org

Or Snail Mail to Joe at
1230 Market St. PO Box #645
S.F. Ca., 94102

by Jewnbug

Thirstin fo affection

cradle me next 2 mi momas womb

punches came like tremors

hard moving

hard restin

momas cryin

daddy almost killed me

young lady, no longer a baby

datin n matin

he’s beatin me daily

my child & me escapin

2 b beat bi another man

we r outkast in a land

runned bi vessels dat posses demons

dat justify me & mi child

livin on da streets

eatin scraps

washin up wit paypatowels in public baths

mi only means of livin

u call trash

Hey I ain’t no garbage!

but u r a garbage man

robbin me

rapin me

Why do u hate me?

Flesh&Bone&Sprit

me & mi child growin

without sunlight

without spring water

growin as one with eachother

child and mother.

by Jordan Fletcher, PNN intern

What words can adequately convey a cry for help? Which episodes, what details do you choose to describe your ongoing struggle for justice when every event of every day is a shivering reminder that the odds, paperwork and government bureaucrats are lined up against you?

Debbie Gilman wrings her hands together over and over and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Her chest is forced out, her shoulders back and her head are held straight as she tries to piece together the details of her situation. For the past four years, she has been the victim of systematic discrimination and abuse by housing and social service authorities in two counties. For four years she has struggled fruitlessly to obtain social services and housing accommodations for herself and her son. Just listening, I feel overwhelmed.

Ms. Gillman’s presence at the office of POOR Magazine is her latest effort in an ongoing struggle to obtain the proper care for her son, William Jackson. In 1997, William, who is schizophrenic, was released from a care facility in Berkeley after one month despite the recognition by his doctors that he was not fit to be at home; there just wasn’t space for him anymore.

With her son out of the hospital, Debbie was forced to provide the constant care and supervision he required. However, some days the task of caring for herself, much-less her son, was too much for her. She sought a full time in-home care provider for William. She sought a housing upgrade from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom in order to accommodate the care provider. Both requests were denied. Debbie and William were barely surviving on Debbie’s own general assistance--just $200 a month. With the mounting pressures and responsibilities Debbie became unable to work herself. She was forced out of her home San Leandro by her landlord and moved up to Fairfield. There she continued to apply for care providers and a housing upgrade. Solano county has cut its funding for public legal defense, however, and Debbie was forced to pursue her mental disability and housing discrimination suit unaided.

Ultimately, Fairfield approved William for 195 hours of care per month and gave 64 to Debbie. The County tried to appeal Debbie’s allotment, however, arguing that her panic attacks were caused by asthma, not psychological problems. "We should both be getting the maximum allowance of 283 care hours per month," Debbie said. Indeed, in the past two years she has been involved in 2 car accidents, one of which left her in a body cast. Her list of ailments includes back problems, asthma, stress, panic attacks and major depression. Social service regulation say that an applicant must have psychological disabilities in order to be eligible for the full home care allotment.

Despite receiving some money for home care, Debbie has made little progress in her housing application. "I think HUD messed up and now they’re trying to cover themselves," she said.The Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Francisco said her case was closed in September after it found no evidence of discrimination. But Debbie says she provided them with ample proof to obtain Reasonable Accommodation. HUD argued that unless she had documents proving that she needed 24 hour care she was ineligible for a housing upgrade. Debbie responded by providing several boxes full of evidence. The HUD investigator said he’d look into it when he got the chance. He said he would get back to her.He still has not

Often, Debbie went to argue her case unassisted. But her disorganized thinking and tendency towards panic attacks proved a great impediment.An administrative law Judge once asked her directly, "Do you understand how insane you are?" She clearly needed help advocating for herself, but Solano County recently cut all funding for public legal aid. Ultimately, Debbie’s persistence in pursuing her case had frustrated county bureaucrats. They didn’t want to talk to her any more, and they tried to push the matter aside.

Another failure in social service provision in Solano county is that patients must find their own care providers. Having been robbed by the last four providers she’d found for herself and her son, Debbie is understandably wary at the prospect of a new stranger entering her life. Luckily she has Russ.

Russ accompanied Debbie to the POOR offices. He had been Debbie’s care provider at one point, but now he appears mostly as a friend. A calm man, he has a decidedly stabilizing effect on her, and knows the details of her discrimination suits against the Hayward and Fairfield housing authorities. "we found out that they [Alameda County] discriminated against her too. They hid old documents...we had all the originals, and the investigator would look in their files and then look at ours--we had three times as much documentation as them."

Yet the availablity of a close ally such as Russ exposes Debbie to the catch-22 of home care support, because support agencies refuse to pay for care providers who are "friends." Such regulations serve only to undermine the most stabilizing relationship in Debbie's life.

Over the past four years, others have tried to help Debbie. ECHO Housing in Hayward helped her file the lawsuit. The Center for Independent Living tried to help as well, but as she stated, "they dropped the ball." She has had several sympathetic doctors who understand her situation and have written letters on her behalf. She has been granted a care provider for a limited duration, but must to reapply for that allotment whenever given notice. Mostly, Debbie is alone in her day-to-day struggle for adequate housing and care for herself and her son. Just relating this story to us has gotten her worked up into a anxious state. "I’m in the middle of all these different emergencies, and its just me. And they want me to get everything together...you can’t come take on my life because you don’t realize, you don’t live it."

Home care aside, to this day William still receives few social services. Social Service officials have been to the house for repeated psychological assessments, and Debbie fears they want to discontinue what little support he does receive. She suffers with a mother’s knowledge that her son lives with severe depression. "He’s schizophrenic now. I think my son could be so much more, if only he were getting services.

Postscript; As of March 5, 2001, Debbie’s son has lost all of his care provider hours due to the fact that Debbie has still recieved no legal representation from the county and has to represent herself in court.

by Richard Dvorak

I just cannot believe it! It seems so surreal, I am a handicapped man, I
reside just outside of Washington, DC. and through my business I became
unwittingly involved in a government scandal involving a large number of
individuals at the D.E.A (Drug Enforcement Administration). The incident
that I am describing has been tagged the second largest internal embezzlement
scheme in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice! This story until
now has been kept quiet. I am absolutely, totally innocent, and yet have
been made a scapegoat for the government's failure to police it's own people.

I was able to achieve and lead an honest and productive life and now
everything that I worked so long and hard for has all been taken away. Soon I
will be incarcerated for 3+ years in a prison medical facility. In addition
to going to prison, I was ordered to pay $1million dollars in restitution!
And no my friend It doesn't end there...After my criminal trial the
government then proceeded to file a civil suit against me, forcing me to
surrender ownership and leave my business as a condition to avoid yet an
additional $4-5 million dollar judgement against me.

I became successful in spite of my disabilities and now my life has been
destroyed for something that I did not do. Marc Rich gets a pardon... If I
survive prison how will I ever find another job.

I am appealing to all disability organizations in the hope that their members will read my letter, vist my website that friends and supporters have helped me create, examine my story and sign my petition. I need exposure and
grassroots backing to help me in my fight for clemency. I think everyone in
America should be aware of my story because what happened to me could easily
happen to anyone. God bless you all.

My website link is:"http://www.willfulblindness.com/">http://www.willfulblindness.com/

Thank you so very much

Sincerely,

Robert Dvorak

by Tiny

Crazy...Crazy for feeling..

so lonely

I think it was the shiny

green plastic of the hefty
bag that held the contents
of what used to be our

apartment.....and the soft
way it felt to my fingers-
or maybe it was the thick

black boots of the


marshals- they always have
the thickest, blackest

boots.. or the clanking of
the locksmith and the

salivating of the landlord
holding our 22nd unlawful
detainer in his hands

or maybe it was the “shit”
inside the bags that used to
be memoirs, family photos,
clothing, and ...furniture
before it was thrown out of
a side window into an abyss
of sidewalk, back of car

and trashcan- divorced from
its lofty “status” of

things-now lucky to be

called, “:shit”

Crazy....crazy....for feeling...

or maybe it was the inside

of your mouth as my tongue
tried to reach for a

yes.....
.
..a yes that you would

help with my rent when we

were on the brink of

eviction,

...a yes that you would

bail me out of jail

...for serving my time

for crimes

of pover...ty

or a yes that you wouldn’t
be like my father...

who left my poor mother

and me for dead

But you wouldn’t.shouldn’t couldn’t.didn’t...

cause I had to learn my

lesson

learn that poverty caused

me to drop out of school in
the sixth grade

learn that we were

homeless,

learn that I had no access,
no privelege

and learn it good

Crazy....Crazy...for feeling.....

So when did I start to understand what was wrong...

Perhaps when you stood there
looking at me...

Sexually attracted to my

incarceration...

Perhaps when the Ca-chunk

of fresh paint from your

2000 jeep cherokee

Slammed in my face as you

said no- just NO...I’m not
helping you

EVER

Or Perhaps..it was the five
women..my cellmates, who

knew like me, the absolute

pain of never being

comfortable-

To always live behind the

bars of poverty

and its extended

family...domestic

violence,fear

substance abuse and crisis

Bars so thick they can’t

ever be overcome

or overpaid.....

Crazy...Crazy....Crazy.....For
loving you....

by Tiny and Ronnie Stevens

He was standing there, his swollen fingers holding onto the wrought iron grate in front of the building. As he opened his chapped lips into smile - one proud tooth glistened out of a dark mouth

"Join us" I yelled into him while clutching my banner.

"Stop the Unfair Evictions" The group of several hundred marchers yelled in unison behind me.

I was part of a march against evictions organized by Just Cause Oakland. We had stopped in front of 1918 San Pablo, The Westener Hotel - one of several locations slated for "renovation" (read gentrification) i.e., the destruction of a community in the name of improvement.

The building was the color of soiled egg cream with dark brown trim. The Westerner - Daily..Weekly..Monthly was hastily painted in chocolate letters on the side...

"What’s your name?," I called in to the man at the gate.

"Ronnie" He answered slowly

"You know, the city is planning to tear this building down" I whispered to him.

He shook his head slowly from side to side- "I know", he mouthed the words silently.." I know..."

"Come in to POOR Magazine- tell your own story - fight back...you are not powerless in all of this..."

As the march continued on and I waved goodbye to Ronnie, I remembered Boona Cheena's (from B.O.S.S.) words to me at the rally that proceeded the march, " We have to organize immediately to prevent this (The Westener) eviction - rally's are great but that's not enough, we can't let these kinds of evictions happen at all- we can't let more poor folks be swept out of Oakland."

Ronnie

I don't have many friends, in fact, I don’t have any.. excepting John. He doesn't say much and he moves very slowly, I think he is getting older and each day it shows more and more- even his antennas move slower than usual. John is a cockroach, and my roommate at the Westerner Hotel - the same hotel that the city of Oakland plans to demolish which will make the quality of my already meager life even worse.

Since I lost my job several years ago due to a disability, I have been addicted to heroin on and off for the last ten years. Somewhere in all of this I lost my nerve to keep trying.

And yet, I wake up every day and buy food, cigarettes, paper towels and toilet tissue, and with a rigid regularity, pay my rent. In other words, in some way, I contribute to society.

This place (The Westener) isn’t much to look at but it’s mine- a roof- that I can afford. A bed that is inside and a toilet, that I am allowed to use. I have been homeless, and I don’t want to be homeless again. If I am evicted, I really have nowhere else to go.

Mayor Jerry Brown wants to revitalize Oakland’s downtown by building housing for 10,000 new residents. This "10k plan is designed to attract new retail and entertainment to create a bustling urban atmosphere. But who will be bustling? While the new housing is targeted to households with incomes of $75,000 to $100,000 and more, low income people are being evicted and displaced from their long-time homes. Nonprofit organizations and social service agencies serving the homeless and very low income are being told they are no longer welcome downtown. And the city refuses to enact a Just Cause Eviction ordinance that would protect tenants citywide from unfair evictions.

The centerpiece of the 10k effort is a proposal from Forest City Enterprises, a major national developer from Cleveland, to build 2,000 new housing units in an area the city has termed "Uptown," the triangle between Telegraph and San Pablo Avenues, 17th and 20th Streets. Yes, there are vacant and underutilized parcels of land in this area, but there is also a
community of residents and the businesses and agencies that serve them. The Downtown Foodmart at 20th and Telegraph housing pizza, Mexican food, and donut shops, was closed several months ago. Tenants of the 34 residentential hotel rooms at the Westerner Hotel on San Pablo Avenue recently got notice that their evictions are coming soon.

The Just Cause Oakland coalition supports bringing new residents, new businesses and entertainment venues to downtown Oakland. But that process can and must be done in a way that maintains opportunities for low income residents, downtown workers, artists, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, and neighborhood-serving businesses to preserve Oakland’s unique cultural and economic diversity.

The following are a list of the stops on the eviction tour.

The Just Cause Eviction Tour;

First Step

First Step provided shelter, meals, employment assistance, housing assistance, and substance abuse treatment to approximately 234 Oakland residents per year. Licensed by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, First received referrals from hospitals, social service agencies, the police department and others. On September 25, 2000, this facility was forced to close when the new owners increased monthly rent by $1,000. To date, the gap created by the loss of First Step’s to the substance abusing homeless population, and the community has not been filled.

Oakland Homeless Project

Oakland Homeless Project provides emergency housing for severely and persistently mentally disabled clients. It can accommodate up to 25 people for an average of 60 days. Operated by Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS), the program’s services include safe, clean short-term housing, meals, access to showers and laundry facilities, crisis counseling and interventions, case management and mental health services.

More Public Radio

More Public Radio is a nonprofit broadcast organization that provides alternative programming and access to broadcast media. As a community-based station focused on the needs and growth of its listeners, More Public Radio provides exposure to portions of community who normally have no outlet on the airwaves. More Public Radio airs Jazzbeat Music (a combin- nation of modern and traditional jazz), as well as elements of R&B, soul, new jack swing, world rhythm, blues and gospel.

Westerner Hotel

The City of Oakland purchased the Westerner Hotel last summer as part of a group of parcels they are assembling for Forest City Enterprises’ "Uptown" development. City Council authorized the purchase and relocation of existing tenants, using Oakland Redevelopment Agency funds, with the caveat that replacement units would have to be provided. Thus far, no new residential hotel units, have been provided, yet tenants have been notified that they are about to be evicted. The City has promised some relocation benefits, but tenants are concerned that the funds will not be enough to afford even other substandard hotel rooms. Tenants are searching through the City’s list of recommended residential hotels, but so far there are no vacancies to be found.

St. Mary’s Center

The St. Mary’s Center provides an incredible array of social services for downtown Oakland’s older homeless residents. Their daily senior drop-in center serves more than 100 people a day with varied programs; assistance with money management and dealing with government red-tape; and general case management. St. Mary’s operates a pre-school with an enroll- ment of 18-20 students. During the winter, St. Mary’s operates an emergency shelter for approximately 25 people over 55 years old. In the past few months, as local rents have skyrocketed, St. Mary’s reports seeing dramatic increases in the number of people using its services, particularly elderly homeless women. The Center is threatened, as their site is being considered as the location for a new Cathedral.

SAN PABLO HOTEL

With 144 studio apartments and a service, the San Pablo is one of a handful of programs nationally the provide both housing and medical/social services is one location for seniors with incomes under $25,000. East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) and Eden Housing, two nonprofit housing developers, rehabilitated the earthquake-damaged hotel and open the San Pablo in 1994. A third nonprofit - Center for Elders Independence-leases ground floor space for us its program of all-inclusive care for the elderly, providing medical care, home care, social services, rehabili
-tation, transportation, recreational therapy, and case management on-site.

GREYHOUND STATION

Originally called "The Union Stage Depot," the building has served as Oakland’s main bus station since 1926. California Transit was headed by Westly Elgin Trivis, described as "one of the major figures in the develop- ment of stage and bus transportation in the west." Originally a beaux Arts design with an octagonal dome painted with stars, the dome is now concealed by a drop ceiling. The building was remodeled in 1946 and again in 1951, closing off seven storefronts, adding signs and a speed-line canopy. Some of the original dome is visible through a few gaps in the dropped ceiling. The Greyhound station is included in the City’s "Uptown" area and may be part of the Forest City development.

The Samaritan Neighborhood Center

Located in the education building of the Oakland First Baptist Church, this after-school program benefits about 100 children from the area. These youth benefit from tutorial classes, gender-and age-specific peer groups, recreational programs, computer clubs, summer camps, choir, and a teen leadership program. Although the Center itself is not threatened by the proposed new development, many of the families served by its programs are at risk of being displaced. We see again how the children of the poor remain un-represented by those in the seats of power.

Hamilton Apartments

The former YMCA building was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earth- quake, and rehabilitated by Mercy Charities Housing California as 92 units of service-enriched housing for formerly homeless individuals. All units are subsidized through a project-based Section 8 program, which enables residents to pay 30 percent of their incomes for housing. Support services, coordinated by Mercy and by Corporation for Supportive Housing, include free health care, case management, peer counseling and employment training. Some residents have been hired as desk clerks at the Hamilton, providing them with job training and building their employment history.

Local 2850 and SEIU Local 250

The East Bay is part of a region that ranks as the wealthiest consumer market in the world. What kind of jobs would new downtown retail and entertainment development create for Oakland? How many hours would those employees have to work to afford a one-bedroom apartment?

To contact Just Cause Oakland or B.O.S.S. check the POOR's on-line Resource Page

by Joseph Bolden

Even if this didn’t happen, shouldn’t we earthlings have ways of avoiding this ever-looming threat? As I wrote before, there are some ideas that may help prevent asteroids from zipping into our atmosphere and crash landing on our planet. Avoiding this threat is vital because it ensures our species’ survival.

I truly believe God in Her/His wisdom endowed us with enough intelligence to protect ourselves from immediate extinction, although the Honorable Reverend Pat Robertson thought it stupid to send nuclear missiles to blast a hurtling meteor heading toward earth. Earthlings, groundhogs, planet-bound, that’s us. Some attempts at long-term survival have proved effective, especially the joint ventures in space, from asteroid mining to zero gravity nurseries.

By exploring the dangers of space, our curiosity will be fueled and we will see that there is land floating around us and room to live, grow, and expand. Mining and living on or in asteroids can be what first gets us into space. As for those dangerous slow or fast-moving asteroids, they’ll be mined for mineral or hollowed out for permanent or temporary living quarters. Some will be way stations or beacons with guiding fluorescent lights. We will find out which ones are valuable, mine them for excess minerals and energy, while huge so-called worthless ones can be hollowed out for homes, rest stations, libraries, schools, hotels, gambling casinos, resorts, or factories, or just used for pure research and development centers.

Nations, multinational corporations, and individuals in clubs or other organizations can make space living commercially viable. With government and civilian work-training programs for the working poor, homeless people and others would be able to venture into new frontiers. It could be an intensive 12-month to 2-year program, depending on the rate at which each student- worker progressed in learning a new skill or task. Students would be matched with companies depending on which skills and psychological profiles worked best for both the students and the companies. Folks would learn how to mine asteroids, pilot shuttles, or be mission specialists. There will be fun times. When work’s done or an hour or two before that time, people who are bored with drilling or chipping ore will play leapfrog on the asteroids.

Pioneering space is a hazardous business where one error cannot only cost your own life but many others’, too. Besides risks like loss of bone density, there are benefits: slower aging, being away from the dangers on Earth, getting to visit Earth, and living in new space habitats. For the brave few who attempt space living before it becomes routine, fame and fortune and possibly even an animated cartoon tie-in may be one of the rewards .

For formerly homeless, working poor and adventurous people, being trained and paid for this enduring unique program will be the chance of a lifetime. Pay could be from $30,000 to $50,000 annually, and would be saved on Earth or on a hollowed out planetoid and invested for the space workers quarterly, with monthly or annual tax/dividend updates. Some will want to stay in space to raise families, some won’t.

After intense training, hands-on instruction, and evaluations, some students will find they have innate skills. Then the true adventure of working and living in space will begin!
Women, men, boys, girls, everyone who made it through the first weeks in space, will be "Fledgling Spaces", "Jet-Puke", or "Ground Hogs", or just "Dogs" if they are veterans of two or more years. Some veterans will return to teach other "Ground-lings" the ropes of how to acquire "space-legs."

We as a species do take risks, and surviving or dying in our pursuits will always better our "questing" spirits, minds, and souls. Space: enchanting, vast, silent, ancient, new, romantic, mysterious, tempting, always dangerous, a deadly beauty, but our human dream.
Have I forgotten our most wondrous adventure of All.. Inside our own minds; now that’s one adventure besides space, or time travel, explorers will need immortality for.

I’ll do the donation drag again hoping that Poor Magazine, it's staff writers, including myself, get some kind of funding. If not, I’ll keep writing though, because I know people young and mature have similar thoughts to mine. Questions, opinions, here it comes. If I cannot be a spacer in this timeline-uh, lifetime, I’m going to have to put my hopes in life extension, cryobiology, hibernation, or suspended animation to get me there.

Please send donations to Poor Magazine
C/0 Ask Joe at 255 9th St. Street,
San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail mail:
PO Box 1230 #645
Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by S.H.A.C.

San Francisco, CA-Members of the Senior Housing Action Collaborative (SHAC) joined up with members of the SF Tenant’s Union to spread a holiday message: STOP EVICTING SENIORS!

They chose the Law Offices of Wiegel and Fried to kick off their carol tour. Wigel and Fried are the attorneys who represented to John Hickey Brokerage in their much publicized eviction of 84 year old Lola McKay last year. They are at it again. This time two seniors are on the chopping block; Norma Morgan and Alma Augueles.

Alma Augueles is being evicted from her flower shop in the Mission. Alma is 55 years old and a native of San Francisco. Her landlord, Kaushik Dattani has hired Wiegel and Fried for their expertise in evicting seniors in order to displace Alma from her shop where she lives and works.

According to Ted Gullicksen from the SF Tenants Union, "Unlike dot.coms who go unpunished for violating the planning code, Alma is being evicted.The irony is that she is actually adhering to the LIVE/WORK philosophy while many dot.coms do not."

Weigel and Fried’s services have also been retained by the WCW Corporation in order to evict Norma Morgan and the other tenants from their four unit building in the Inner Sun -set. Norma is also a senior and she is disabled. She is a member of the Senior Action Net-work and she is fighting mad. "I have lived in San Francisco for 55 years. Weigel and Fried have been hired to assist this out of town corporation to maneuver through San Fran-cisco’s rent control ordinance in order to evict me. They are using the Ellis Act to sweep us all out. Thanks to John Burton’s Lola Mckay amendment I have one year to look for a place. However, six months have already gone by and I am not one step closer to finding an affordable roof over my head. I am simply asking for Wiegel and Fried to stay the evic-tion until I find affordable housing to move into."

>p>The seniors and tenants from the Senior Housing Action Collaborative and the SF Ten-ants Union serenaded Weigel and Fried with revised holiday carols such as "I’ll be home-less for Christmas" and "Here Comes the Landlord" and presented them with stockings full of coal as well as their demands. Wiegel and Fried, however, were not the only recipients of these seniors mock-carols. The SF Association of Realtors and Mayor Willie Brown also received stokings full of coal.

by Joseph Perryman

1/24/2001

THEY SAY THAT I AM FREE

BUT THEY WON’T LET MY HANDS GO

THEY TRY TO KEPT ME WITH AH BLIND FOLD

AND SAY DON’T GO WHERE THEY GO

TRUTH BE HOLD IS THE TRUTH REALLY BEING TOLD

NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY BE

YOU TOOK SOMETHING FROM THE PEOPLE NOW GIVE

IT BACK THREE TIMES FOLD

I’M SO HOT I COULD SCOLD

I’M FEELIN BIG THAN BOLD

YOU SAY WO WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

BUT IT'S NOT LIKE THE FIRST

THE MATTER HAS GOTTEN WORSE

WE NEED TO DO MORE THAN CURSE

WE GOTTA HIT’EM WHERE IT HURTS

WE NOT STEPPIN ASIDE

WE STEPPIN N STRIDE

WE CAN NOT HIDE FROM THE FACT

WE THEY AIN’T TO HAPPY CAUSE WE BLACK

THEY WANNA SEE US ON OUR BACKS

YOU CAN BE STRAPED

BUT IS THAT REALLY THE WAY TO GO ABOUT IT

YOU CAN SCREAM AND SHOUT ABOUT IT

BUT DO THEY HEAR IT

OR FEAR IT IF YOU GET NEAR IT

by pnn

ALABAMA

ARISE

P.O. Box 612 Montgomery, AL

36101

Phone: 334-832-9060

Fax: 334-832-9061

Birmingham Health Care for the Homeless Program

712 - 25th Street,

North Birmingham,

AL 35203

Phone: 205-439-7201

Fax: 205-458-3383

Email: judunning@cs.com

ARIZONA

Phoenix Consortium for the Homeless

902 West Culver Phoenix,

AZ 85007-1907

Phone: 602-253-6905

Fax: 602-253-6972

Primavera Foundation, Inc.

3232 E. Third Street Tucson,

AZ 85716-5545

Home: 520-325-5876

Fax: 520-881-6818

Email: gpackard@azstarnet.com

ARKANSAS

Women's Project

2224 Main St. Little Rock,

AR Phone: 501-372-5113

Northern CALIFORNIA

Listed/Ulisisted In 2001 Phone Book

Alternative Family Services

(L) 25 Division Phone: 415-626-2700

American Indian Child Resource Center

(UL) 522 Grand Ave.

Oakland, CA 94610

Phone: 510-208-1870 Email: aicrc@aicrc.org

Applied Research Center

(UL) 3781 Broadway

Oakland, CA 94611

Phone: 510-653-3415 Fax: 510-653-3427

Ella Baker Center For Hunman Rights

(L) Samantha R.ext.24 Bay Area Police Watch Project Jazzman De La Rosa
ext.26

- The 3rd Eye Movement)

- Judie Appel ext.23 (Names, Extentions contiue on Phone message)

1230 Market St. P.M.B.409

San Francisco, Ca. 94102

415-951-4844

Fax: 415- 951-4813

Website HumanRTS@Ellabakercenter.org e-mail HumanRTS@Ellabakercenter.org

Back On Track Tutorial

(L) 1399 Mcallister Phone: 415-346-9316

Bay Area Legal Aid Foundation

(415)982-8399

Bay Area Literacy (BALit)

A consortium of library-based literacy programs in the Bay Area. Our programs, which you may know as Project Read, Berkeley Reads, Project Second Chance, Write to Read, and more, all offer free, confidential tutoring for adults wishing to improve their reading and writing skills. Programs are located in communities throughout the Bay Area, and operate out of public libraries. Millions of Bay Area residents could benefit from these services that enable them to realize their professional and personal goals, and participate more fully in their communities (voting!).

The toll-free hotline is 1-888-740-READ, and our web site is www.literacynet.org/balit.

BOSS - Community Organizing Team Third Floor

(L) 685 - 14th Street

Oakland, CA 94612

Phone: 510-663-6580

Fax: 510-663-6584

Bread, Work and Justice(Johna/othan?) Community of Correspondence


(UL) Phone: 510-465-9914

California Child, Youth, and Family Coalition

Youth Crisis Line: 1-800-843-5200 (L)

Californians for Justice

(L) 1611 Telegraph Ave. Suite 206

Oakland, CA 94612

Phone: 510-452-2728

Fax: 510-452-3552

Center for Young Women's Development

695 Market St. Mission(L)

San Francisco, CA

Phone: 415-977-1980

Central YMCA of San Francisco

220 Golden Gate Ave.(L)

Phone: 415-855-0460

Child Care Inclusion Challenge Project

Phone: 415-343-3334(L)

Children's Council of San Francisco

Phone: 415-243-0700 (L)

575 Sutter Street. San Francisco CA.

Child Care Referral: 415-243-0111

Coalition for Ethical Welfare Reform

459 Vienna Street (L)

San Francisco, CA 415-239-5099

Community Action Now (CAN)

1581 - 20th Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94107

Phone: 415-759-7669 Web: www.cansf.org

*CopWatch

Phone: 510-548-0425

CTWO

1218 E. 21st Street

Oakland, CA 94606

Phone: 510-533-0923

Fax: 510-533-0923

Email: mtoney@ctwo.org

Disabled Advocates of Minorities Organization (DAMO)

(L) 415-695-0153

DrawBridge (L)

PO Box 2698

San Rafael, CA 94912

Phone: 415-456-1269

Fax: 415-456-3284

Email: arts4home@aol.com

East Bay Community Law Center

Phone: 510-540-4848

Family Rights and Dignity

415-346-3740

Family Self-Sufficiency Program

Phone: 415-345-0126

Families With A Future

100 McAllister Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

Phone: 415-255-7036, ext. 320

Fax: 415-552-3150

Web: www.fwaf.net

Haight Ashbury Free Clinic

1440 Chinook Ct Treas Is

San Francisco, CA

Phone: 415-487-5638

Haight Ashbury Food Program

1525 Waller

San Francisco, CA

Phone: 415-566-0366

Holy Family Day Home
299 Dolores Street
San Francisco, Ca 94103
Free Childcare spaces available now for children age 2-5 years old.Must be toilet trained.To qualify: family must be certified homeless and be working towards employment or educational goals.For more information, call (415) 861-5361.

Homebase (Senter For Common Conserns)

870 Market St. (L)

San Francisco, Ca. 94102

Phone. 415-788-7961

Homeless Prenatal Program

Phone: 415-546-6756

Just Cause

Oakland 1-510 464-1011

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

100 McAllister Street

Phone: 415-255-7036

Email: lspc@igc..org

Lifetime

2065 Kittredge Street Suite E

Berkeley, CA 94704

Phone: 510-452-5192

Fax: 510-452-5193

Email: dspatz@hotmail.com

Living Wage Coalition

955 Market St. 11th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: 415-243-8133

Fax: 415-243-8628

Mission Agenda

2940 - 16th Street Suite 204

San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: 415-436-9707

Fax: 415-436-9170

Email: magenda@energy.net.org

Media Alliance/Raising Our Voices

(415) 546-6334

Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition

Phone: 415-431-4210

Mildly Ill Childcare Program

Phone: 415-821-0411

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of The National Lawyers' Guild

Phone: 415-285-1055

Parents United for the Needs of Children (PUNCH)

Phone: 415-357-4674 (?)

People Organized to Demand Economic Right

Phone: 415-431-4210

POWER 32 -

7th Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: 415-864-8372

Fax: 415-864-8373

Prison Activist Resource Center (PARC)

PO Box 339

Berkeley, CA 94701

Phone: 510-893-4648

PUEBLO(?)

1920 Park Blvd.

Oakland, CA 94606

Phone: 510-452-2010

Fax: 510-452-2017

Email: peopleunited@igc.org

Respite Care Program & Infant Care Program

Phone: 415-821-1300

Salvation Army Adult Women's Shelter

Phone: 415-292-2585

San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness

468 Turk Street

San Francisco, CA 94102-3606

Phone: 415-346-3740 x306

Fax: 415-775-5639

Email: coh@sfo.com

SHAC (Senior Housing Action Network)(L)

Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco

1370 Mission Street, 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA. 94103

Phone: 415-398-0527

Fax: 415-703-0186/

shac9@hotmail.com

Single Parent Network

Phone: 415-387-3684

Supportive Parents Idependent Network

4069 30th Street

San Diego, CA 92104

Phone: 619-285-1003

Fax: 619-285-1019

Talk Line

Phone: 415-387-3684

(For Emergency: 24-hour Hotline)

The California Association for Health, Education, Employment, and Dignity,
Inc.

Phone: 415-642-9886

Email: caheed@caheed.org

Third Eye Movement

Phone: 510-632-1195

Vineyard Workers Services

PO Box 166

Glen Allen, CA 95422

1-707 933-0897

Email: vws@vom.com

Whitney Young Child Development Center

Phone: 415-821-7550

Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP)

Phone: 406-543-2530

Fax: 510-986-8628

Email: weel@montana.com

Young Women's Work Project

Phone: 415-974-6296

Southern CALIFORNIA

Acorn

Suite 25 1010 S. Flower

Los Angeles, CA 90015

Phone: 213-747-4211

Fax: 213-747-4221

Email: caacornia@acorn.org

Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness

Suite 339 548 S. Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Phone: 1-213-439-1070

Home: 626-577-5615

Fax: 213-439-1080

Email: HN1674@handsnet.org

COLORADO

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless 2

100 Broadway

Denver, CO 80205

Phone: 1- 303-293-2217

Fax: 303-293-2309

Email: JP@coloradocoalition.org

Denver Grassroots Leadership

Denver, Colorado

1-303-753-1370 (Denver Leadership Conference)

CONNECTICUT

Mothers for Justice(not) Some Christian Org.

168 Davenport

New Haven, CT 06519

Phone: 1-203-777-7848

Fax: 203-777-7923

Vencinos Unidos

PO Box 260 268

Hartford, CT 06126

Phone: 860-236-1295

Fax: 860-236-8071

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Center for Community Change (CCC)

1000 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Washington DC 20007

Phone: 202-342-0567

Fax: 202-342-1815

National Low Income Housing Coalition

Suite 610 1012 - 14th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005-3406

Phone: 202-662-1530

Home: 703-683-8639

Fax: 202-393-1973

Email: sheila@nlihc.org

National Partnership for Women and Families

Phone: 202-986-2600

Fax: 202-986-2539

FLORIDA

Florida Coalition for the Homeless c/o Office of Justice and Peace

134 E. Church Street

Jacksonville, FL 32202-3130

Phone: 904-358-7410

Fax: 904-358-7302

Email: peace@cxp.com

Miami Workers Center

16375 NE 18th Ave. #315

North Miami, FL 33162

Phone: 305-919-7222

Fax: 305-919-7665

Email: miamiproject@hotmail.com

Minority Families Fighting Wages

6020 NW 13th Ave. #9

Miami, FL 33147

Phone: 305-919-7222

Fax: 305-919-7665

Email: miamiproject@hotmail.com

GEORGIA

Center for Human Rights Education

Phone: 404-344-9629

Empty the Shelters

Atlanta, GA 404-589-1333

GA Citizens Commitee

on Hunger Nine Gammon Ave. SW

Atlanta, GA 30315

Phone: 404-622-7778

Fax: 404-622-7992

Email: hungercoalition@mindspring.com

Georgia Human Rights Union

Phone: 404-622-7778

Project South NIne Gammon

Avenue SW Atlanta, GA 30315

Phone: 404-622-0602

Fax: 404-622-7992

Southerners for Economic Justice (SEJ)

Nine Gammon Ave.

Atlanta, GA 30315

Phone: 919-682-6800

Fax: 919-682-6502

Task Force for the Homeless

Second Floor 363 Georgia Avenue, S.E.

Atlanta, GA 30312-3139

Phone: 404-230-5007 x118

Home: 404-659-2590

Fax: 404-589-8251

Email: abeaty@mail.homelesstaskforce.org

Union of the Homeless c/o Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless

363 George Avenue, SE

Atlanta, GA 30312-3139

Phone: 404-230-5000

Home: 404-688-1755

Fax: 404-589-8251

by Irma Jean Lewis-Epps

Micro- economics. I don't want or need this word to be defined
for me by a dictionary. I live this everyday on the money I recieve
from San Francisco's Dept. of Human, Services (D.H.S.) also known
as WELFARE. I am defined by D.H.S. , along with my daughter, as
a single-parent head of household, plus one. Technically we represent
a unit of two, therefore we are entitled to the micro-economically
deprived sum total of $493.50 per month. We spend every waking hour
(as the parent this is my task) attempting to make this amount last
from momth to month. This can only be done on paper as a matter
of theorectical application. On my block we smilingly refer to it
as a waste of paper.

Tonight my child and I are once again in search of someway to
survive another day. We are part of a fortunate few being given
the opportunity to participate in government subsidized program
that will ,eventually help us transistion off welfare to work. This
particular program is the Bay are IDA collaborative program. The
East Bay Asian Local Develpoment Corporation is comprised of thirteen
different organizations that serve low-income individuals . The
main idea is to help all of us low-income and close to no-income
set up a savings program. The way the system is set up now you can
easily be penalized for having any savings, IDA's are attempting
to change that way of thinking.

George Loew was the E.B.A.L.D.C. representative at the orientation.
Along with the basic information he was dispensing he also intimated
that there may be cause to plant seeds of hope. IDA's can be used
for job training or education, business start-ups, up to $600 and
first-time home ownership (not all participants will qualify), up
to $1,920. At this meeting we get information as well as applications
to be filled out in order to determine eligibility. Now of course
all of us low slash maybe no-incomes know about forms and the absolute
need to first determine eligibility, after which if we meet the
necessary requirements we proceed to the next step which is to make
an appointment. If we make it to the next appointment, we bring
along with us the filled out forms to a one on one meeting with
E.B.A.L.D.C. If accepted into the program you attend five weekly
sessions on money management, attend other training specifically
related to your individual goal. For those of us trying to stretch
our meager monthly income the concept of savings is so strange and
alien that we truly need the assistance of others to familiarize
us with something left over to be "saved". At this point we are
then shown how to open an Individual Development Account at a designated
financial institution ,make monthly deposits and attend monthly
"peer savers" club meetings. This is a good idea.

As we all know by virtue of it's being a good idea, it does not
have a snowballs chance in hell of being actualized. They are presently
compiling the statistical data necessary to present to government
(on the Federal level)the need for this program, a.k.a. enough numbers
to get funded. Now back to reality, word on the street is that knowledge
is power. I say power is an action , Knowledge is only power if
you use it. What happens if not only you don't use it cause you
don't know it, but you are having trouble confirming it cause you
never heard it. In order to have acess to this program you must
be referred through one of the thirteen organizations comprising
E.B.A. L. D. C. As soon as I get a list of them all you will be
the first to know. I am presently a part of Poor magazines WE WILL
BE HEARD NEW MEDIA JOURNALISM STUDIES PROGRAM. If I were not a part
of this program I would not have ever heard of IDA's. In my particular
class there are less than a dozen students , fortunately for us
chosen few Poor Magazine is enpowered to allow us entrance into
the hallowed halls of participation (if we meet the eligibility
requirements) . If you don't have acess to the knowledge, you sure
as heck won't be using it, and you can trust me on this one , you
will lose out on a lot by not knowing. In this program your personal
savings held in an IDA account are matched by the Bay Area IDA Collaborative
Program, two dollars to every one dollar you save. Your matched
savings are kept in a parallel account managed by the IDA Program.
You will recieve monthly statements from your banking institution,showing
your personal savings & fromthe program showing your earned match.
You will also recieve matching funds for savings used towards your
designated savings goal. If you have any questions pertaining to
IDA's contact George Loew at (510)287-5353 ext.436, or e-mail Gloew@ebaldc.com.

As I sat there listening small rays of hope began to tinge the
edges of my reality. Not those big rays you may associate with sunshine,
but tiny tingles along the edges because along with them came the
realization that only a hand full of us will be able to take advantage
of this cause only a few of us know. So my real contribution to
the cause will be to let you know that in order to get info on how
to get a referal , reach out to Poor Magazine attn. Lisa Gray-Garcia.
CAll (415) 863-6306 and ask Lisa about IDA's . It has been my experience
that it costs a lot to be "poor" in San Francisco and now thanks
to Poor Magazine I have taken another step away from low-income.