http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php Daily posts from the RC Blog en aaron.burkhalter@gmail.com Copyright 2011 2011-12-16T01:20:39+00:00 http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6168/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6168/#When:Thursday, December 15 Looking for a quick explanation for our current economic mess? But wait, you’ve only got five minutes? Oh, and you’d like a little something to dance to at the same time? Look no further. Musician Tay Zonday has put together a song breaking down our broken economy over a pretty catchy synthesizer-driven jam in a track called “Mama Economy.” Thursday, December 15 - 6:20pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6095/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6095/#When:Monday, November 28 Think you can do a better job at balancing the state budget than the governor or legislature? The League of Education Voters has an online calculator that helps you visualize the $1.7 billion budget hole and how to fill it. A scale on one side shows apples representing state services tipping the scale to one side. You can either remove the apples by selecting programs to cut or add dollars by approving new revenue sources. Click here to try it out. Here’s one scenario you can try out: Skip everything else and click the option close to the bottom of the list titled “Increase tax for high earners.” Monday, November 28 - 5:49pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6069/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6069/#When:Wednesday, November 23 The following the the poem of 2011 Vendor of the Year, Cat Condeff.  It is featured in the paper this week.  Real Change first ran this 15 years ago, and it is worth revisiting!  Did You Hear That? I’ll never forget it. I was surrounded by cement. And I burst out With a pent-up built-up monstrous scream So loud It echoed off the walls So full of anguish … The echoes lingered in my ears And then I wept bitter tears from an empty heart with a voice that was now, barely there No one came by the walls served as silent sentinels in the war that I had lost … … Or so it seemed I screamed again This time, my jaw yawned wide like a python about to devour the minutes that had to have been hours Yet this scream was a silent scream. It erupted from the basement floor of my soul Angels in heaven were awakened by the agony They heard Even a few of those in hell cocked their heads for a moment and paused to … listen. Then, it was Back to Business (This was nothing new to them) Once, I said to another, I said, “I have two guardian angels — because one has to rest while the other angel is on duty” And then I laughed. Yet, now I know. There must be two. And the one who was sleeping Was paid for overtime later For when that silent scream Was heard by him (or her) He (or she) Had no shoes to grab, Yet He (she) came running. Wednesday, November 23 - 10:29am http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6005/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/6005/#When:Thursday, October 27 Surviving the Streets is a giveaway event aimed at serving those who sleep outside with gear that they need to survive the winter. Three years ago, the husband and wife team of Patti Dunn and Mike Grabham partnered with Real Change to make the event even bigger and gain a greater reach in the homeless community. At a time of ever-decreasing funding for homeless services from both the city and the county, personal donations are needed now more than ever. That’s why we are partnering with over a dozen businesses, community groups, and schools to hold survival gear drives for Surviving the Streets. Last year we served 175 participants from the Real Change, Bread of Life, and Compass Center communities—this year, we aim to serve 250. In addition, we hope to expand the event by offering hot food and flu shots (provided by Public Health nurses) to participants. Please consider donating any of the following items in new or gently used condition for this event: Sleeping bags Mens’ jackets Mens’ socks Mens’ fleece jacket liners Warm blankets Backpacks Duffle bags Tarps Ponchos Gloves Hats Check out www.survivethestreets.org to find out where the nearest donation drop-off is. Donation collection will run until November 20, 2011. All volunteer positions for Surviving the Streets are full at this time. Please call or email Jenn Pearson, Volunteer Coordinator, if you would like to volunteer to hold a gear collection drive in your business, church, or school. Jenn can be contacted at 206-441-3247 ext. 212 or volunteer@realchangenews.org. Thursday, October 27 - 12:28pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5944/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5944/#When:Thursday, October 6 Real Change vendor Reggie Thompson posted on the International Network of Street Papers Blog yesterday. Check it out! Reggie’s Corner Rap-Summertime Summertime…….chimes……..bells are ringing. Uh Huh, my little summer hiatus is about over …..zip…….gone like a toronado. The celebration was great, now back to my writing station.I am inspired to say I had time to recharge my mind and to find a key to increase my sells back to par. I remember my old sales manager’s advise, “Activity increases production, don’t get locked-jaw”.Ask and you will overcome fear of the “no syndrome”.Give a prospect to benefit and feel good about helping a good cause. Well done! Now, let me get back to what little summer I have left to enjoy.I got a few BBQ’s to attend.There is going to be a lot of activity at the grill. I can smell delious steaks, hambugers, and all that. Locked-jaw is to be the last thing at the party and the last thing on my Realchange turf. That’s for REAL. ! Thursday, October 6 - 1:05pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5925/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5925/#When:Tuesday, October 4 The 470 Real Change supporters at our October 4th Breakfast gave a standing ovation this morning to the event’s closing speech, delivered by Real Change Director Timothy Harris.  The 2011 Breakfast raised a record-breaking $102,165 to support our work. Every year, when I stand up here, and look out upon this amazing community of supporters, I feel a bit overwhelmed.  By the depth and breadth of our support, by the importance of what we do, and by the difference that we make. These are very hard times, and what we do is so essential.  Just a few weeks ago I asked at a vendor meeting who hadn’t worked a steady job for three years or more. More than half the room raised their hands. We create the opportunity for our vendors to be valued, to be proud of what they do.  There are people in their lives, lots of people, who affirm who they are.  Who care that they exist. That matters.  It matters a lot. A few weeks ago, I went to a memorial at Seward Park PCC.  The Leaves of Remembrance Project was cementing an engraved bronze leaf onto the sidewalk that read “Robert Hansen, 1951-2010.” I wonder how many people in this room knew Robert? Robert had been a vendor since 1995.  He loved people and people loved him back And when he unexpectedly died, our community’s sense of loss took us all by surprise So sixteen months later, there I was, standing with forty other people outside the Seward Park PCC on a Sunday morning, remembering this man that had so touched our lives.  There were two ministers.  There were his friends from SHARE/WHEEL and his friends from Real Change.  There were his friends from PCC and his friends from downtown.  The City Attorney was there, and two City Councilors, who also live in Seward Park and shop at that PCC. There wasn’t a person there to whom Robert, more than a year later, was not present. This, this thing called Real Change, and the community that we create of it, is a tremendous gift. We live in very mean times, and sometimes, it feels like we’re supposed to just get over it, and accept homelessness, and the human degradation that comes with it, as an unsurprising fact of life.  Last year, I’m not sure, I can’t keep up, the State Legislature changed the name of General Assistance – Unemployable, to Disability Lifeline.  The theory was that maybe they had to cut it. But if they called it Disability Lifeline it would be safe from elimination.  It’s looking like that’s probably not true. We’re supposed to accept hat the economic restructuring that is the end game of nearly forty years of widening inequality — they call it “the New Normal” —  is inevitable. It is not.  And Real Change is a reminder to us all that we’re much better than that. Last year, about this time, I was part of a citizens panel convened by the Mayor to consider the question of homelessness in Seattle and whether we should allow a Tent City.  Like, oh, say, Nickelsville. And this panel, which included institutional heavyweights like the Office of Housing, United Way, the Committee to End Homelessness, DESC, Compass Center, and Archdiocesan Housing Authority, came to an astonishing admission. We’re not doing enough.  Two shelter beds for every three homeless people doesn’t cut it. We agreed that this is no typical recession that we’re in, and that things are likely to get a lot worse before they get better.  That the services upon which poor people depend are going to take some big hits right when they’re needed most. We agreed that we need to support homeless people’s self-organized survival activity, and not hinder it. We said that even with a city-sanctioned encampment, only about one in ten unsheltered homeless people would live there, and that we also need to support car campers and others who exist outside the formal shelter system.  It was a moment of courage and clarity, where we stood together and said we’re not in Kansas anymore and have to do things differently. Where we acknowledged that continually rearranging the deck chairs according to non-profit best practice just isn’t good enough. Not much, really, has changed since then.  But it could.  Given that we find the courage of our convictions and rise to do what is called of us. This is the reminder that I’d like to offer as we close out our breakfast this year.  That the beloved community that Dr. King spoke of, consistently and continually, is real, and it is the essence of Real Change. But that this vision of community demands, especially in these extraordinary times, that we be extraordinary. That we see clearly.  That we speak truth.  That we do justice. And, as our friend Craig Rennebohm would be the first to say, that we walk humbly alongside the poor, to build a new world that has love enough for us all. You believe this too.  That’s why you’re here.  That’s what brings us together this morning.  To celebrate our community, and the possibility that it brings. So thank you for being here, and for your support of our work. Let’s all leave here today, and go do something extraordinary. Tuesday, October 4 - 1:48pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5923/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5923/#When:Wednesday, September 21 This essay was written by 2011 Vendor of the Year Cat Condeff, who attended the August 30th Blessing of the Totem and John T. Williams Memorial. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  The forecast for the day had been for gloomy, old clouds, but the universe and the heavens had other plans, plans of their own.  There were no clouds obstructing the view of the sky, and as I have no doubt that John-John (my nickname for John T.) could look down on all of us just as easily as we could look upward toward him. If I had to pick just one word to describe the ceremony, it would be “somber.”  Sure, there was the celebratory regalia, as Natives from as far away as Alaska came to this event, as well as folks dressed in their finest Indian clothing, as well as people dressed in just plain ordinary garb that you see everyday folks and tourists alike wear all the time.  I was about the only one that I saw who was wearing black.  I thought of The Women In Black as I got dressed that day, as I do every time I wear my black velvet dress. I even wear black underwear as my own small, yet significant way of showing my solidarity with them.  Perhaps the most impressive individual there—to me, anyway—was the tribal dancer, who wore a massive array of eagle feathers and bands of bells on his wrists, arms and ankles.  There was one woman who had a top on the said “police” in large block letters, but it wasn’t a typical Seattle Police Officer uniform, and I don’t know as to what capacity it was that she was there, but the presence of uniformed city servants in blue were noticeably ABSENT.  Perhaps it was just as well.  The mayor showed up about 1/3—1/2 of the way through, but didn’t speak. KOMO news was there, and photographers aplenty. Pier 57 was absolutely packed with people, mostly standing room only.  The chairs that were available were occupied by the elders, mostly—as it should be, and in keeping with the Native American tradition that calls for the utmost respect of those who have come before—and some were occupied by Natives who were visiting from out of state, some of them women with children in their arms.  The area above the Pier 57 setting was filled with onlookers—two or more deep, depending. The ceremony itself lasted about ten minutes.  Most of what went before was honoring John-John’s memory and several different tribal leaders giving speeches about whatever they thought was appropriate for the occasion.  There was no “Birk bashing.”  There was no mention of how unfairly John T. Williams life was cut short at the hands of a trigger-happy pig.  Just that he had had a hand in the making of the Totems posthumously because the design of the kingfisher was his, and was used especially to honor his life—as well as his father’s and grandfather and also his living survivor-brother Rick.  John-John’s other brother was there,but didn’t speak.  Rick spoke about the making of the poles and how the money had been donated by (?) to pay for the raising and the maintenance of the two gorgeous totems.  They lay quietly, side by side during all this, I don’t suppose minding too much the snapping of photos and all the attention.  I’m pretty sure that it was sage that was lit, and after the speeches, and the drumming and the prayers were said, Rick and one or two others (i couldn’t see—), one of whom was an honored drummer, paced slowly around the two poles, chanting prayers and anointing them with the music of the drum and the burning incense. There was a city councilman who spoke—I’d remember his name if you said it—and there was a raffle for the miniature replica totem pole as well as some turquoise jewelry and a few other handmade items—like a beautiful basket—The buy-in was $20.00 a ticket, but these sacred items were/are priceless. After all this, it was made known that the ceremony itself was over, but that the mic would be open to anyone who wanted to share stories /or memories of the late Master Carver, determined by his own grandfather to be the best carver of the bunch.  Part of me wanted to go up there and say something, but it was just too personal of a thing for me to go up and say how I knew him in front of alot of people I didn’t know, who were then starting to disband, and wouldn’t have been much of a captive audience at that point.  They/we were throughout the ceremony, however. I’m still not all that familiar with the camera that I was blessed with, but I did take a short movie during the drumming.  The still shots were kinda disappointing, but I wasn’t gonna go barging around to get a better angle like some of the others with cameras with massive lenses apparently feel they have the right to.  No offense. The main sensation that encompassed me as I made my way up the Pier’s plank walkway was that we did The Master Carver, John T. Williams—John-John—proud.  And I had the distinct and unmistakable feeling that he was watching everything, hearing everything, even smelling the sage, maybe…that he was with us and that he was grateful that we came together not only as a people—family, friends and onlookers—but that it was a serene event, devoid of hatred or malice or revengefull words.  Absent of blame and shame.  A sacred, holy blessing that occurred without any unwarranted incidents, that helped the Totems to rest quietly, until their big day in February, 2012, John T.‘s birthday—the 27th—I think—when they will be raised and set in their permanent place.  Mary Alice—one who has been very devoted to this whole totem pole project, as well as to Rick Williams and other members of the family and the other carvers, etc.,—was there the next day and said that there was an unmistakable sense of the poles “sleeping.” Like I said at the outset of this, the word to describe The Blessing of the Totem Poles was/is somber.  Suitably, painfully so.            Submitted respectfully by Catherine M. Condeff “Cat” to some, including J.T. Vendor #149 Wednesday, September 21 - 5:12pm http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5902/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5902/#When:Monday, September 12 Please join us this Sunday, September 18th at 2 pm to remember inspirational Real Change Vendor Robert Hansen as the Tree of Remembrance Project places a bronze leaf on the sidewalk of Seward Park PCC (5041 Wilson Ave. S.) to memorialize this extraordinary life.  Below is a eulogy that was read at City Hall Plaza memorial event in 2010, and a link to a wonderful remembrance we published on the anniversary of his passing. Robert would have loved this. Seeing you here.  In City Hall Plaza.  Looking like a protest rally. But we’re not here to protest.  We’re here to celebrate our friend, Robert Hansen, and the things he stood for. Robert was always there to support the various poor people’s issues Real Change fights for.  He was driven in this, I think, not by any sophisticated analysis of urban poverty issues or belief that the world would actually one day become more just. He was there because it was the right thing to do.  Robert Hansen was a good man.  An honest man, who was loyal to his friends and kind to everyone. There are things that I know personally that Robert believed in. Robert believed in both Ford and Chevy pick-up trucks, although he preferred Chevy’s.  Robert believed in Econoline vans. Robert believed in hot drip coffee and cigarettes. Robert believed in the power of bad jokes to make people laugh. Robert believed in work, and in making himself useful. Robert believed in fairness, and that everyone should have a shot at a decent life.  Robert saw the value in all of us. And Robert believed that people are good.  I say that Robert believed in work.  He put in more hours than most people selling the paper, and would always be there for us to do what needed to be done. He called Real Change from Swedish a few days before he died to apologize that he wouldn’t be there to help unload the new papers Wednesday morning, like he always was. Not long ago, someone asked me what I though about those who “choose” to be homeless.  Who make the calculation that being a wage slave sucks and drop out of regular work altogether. I said that this struck me, for those who are forever consigned to the worst jobs at the worst pay when they can get them, as entirely rational. I said that the bigger mystery for me, the bigger source of wonder and amazement, are those who, despite the fact that work doesn’t pay — that our social contract of an honest days work for an honest days pay has been long broken — continue on working, or at least trying to work. Robert was one of those people. I remember around six or seven years ago, when Robert thought his ship had finally come in. He’d been working a lot of hours under the table at an auto junk yard.  They liked him and saw that he was good with a wrench and knew his way around cars.  I’d never seen him look better.  He dropped a lot of weight and even got kind of buff. They offered him a regular job.  He was elated.  Twelve bucks an hour.  Vacation benefits.  Health care.  He said he’d still sell the paper sometimes, because he loved his customers, but he wouldn’t be around very much. Then came the background check.  There was a nine year-old felony, expunged from the record in one place but not another.  They said sorry, deal’s off. His desperate attempts to explain went nowhere.  My phone call to vouch for him had no effect.  My recommendation helped get lots of former interns into grad school, but it couldn’t get Robert his dream job at the junkyard. The business was under no obligation to give Robert a chance, so they didn’t.  They just hired someone else. I think this was the only time I ever saw Robert in anything like despair, which, in itself, was kind of amazing. No matter what was going on, whether he was losing a cheap apartment and living in his truck, or sick, or tired, Robert didn’t complain. He was happy.  Robert Hansen was a happy man.  I think maybe he was born that way. Robert never stopped believing in work.  In the months before he died, he’d often show me the ID card he received for completing Washington State road flagger training.  He was really proud of that.  He thought that maybe that would be work a 58 year-old man could do. The last time we talked about it, he’d pretty much figured out that his badge wasn’t going to get him a job.  He was less disappointed this time, but part of him still hoped. Robert never stopped hoping. A few days ago, I was talking with one of Robert’s good friends about the extraordinary community response to Roberts death.  The spontaneous memorial where he worked the Seward Park PCC.  The full obituary in the Seattle Times.  A column from Nicole Brodeur.  The many expressions of condolence and grief we’ve received at Real Change. She reminded me that our work is to love.  She said that if we just love, the change we need to create will follow. She said that this is why her Jesus means so much to her.  That he loved, and he loved unconditionally.  He had one commandment, to love one another, and that if we could do this, we’d create his kingdom here on earth. I’ve never been able to accept my friends Jesus.  That’s my issue.  I certainly have nothing to say to the Jesus who condemns sin and worships material success.  The Jesus of the powerful and the Jesus of the powerless and frustrated. But I believe in the power of love, and I believe we are called especially to love those who aren’t always easy to love.  And I believe in what Robert Hansen believed in.  I believe in people, and in caring for each other.  And in taking the time to share a joke and a smile to let someone know that they mean something to you. I picked the poem for the front of Robert’s memorial flyer.  It’s a nice poem.  It’s a nice thought.  But I don’t know that I believe that either. I’m probably not going to be thinking of Robert every time I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.  If he’s part of the Universal All, that’s great, but it won’t help me much when I stop to remember that he’s gone. But I do think he’s with us.  He’s in the memories of hundreds, if not thousands of people.  He’s there with us on Wednesday mornings, when the new papers come in. He is here, in the faces of all the people I know who knew and loved him. Robert Hansen has inspired me, and reminded me again that universal, unconditional love isn’t some overwhelming burden of which only a few Saints are capable.  It’s in the small, everyday acts of kindness.  It’s in taking the time to smile at someone and say hello.  It’s in knowing that everyone, EVERYONE, is worthy of human dignity and respect, and taking the risk of living that truth into your life. Robert did that.  And if Robert did that, so can we all. — Timothy Harris, Exec. Dir., Real Change http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/5524/   Monday, September 12 - 10:43am http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5899/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5899/#When:Thursday, September 8 Here are February’s volunteer needs at Real Change! Real Change needs dedicated volunteers to help run every aspect of the organization. Check out our FAQ to learn more about the general opportunities we have to get involved and how to sign up for an orientation. Editorial (please note, samples of your work are required before acceptance as a volunteer for all editorial positions) Illustrators: Editorial is looking for 1-2 more illustrators or graphic designers to contribute to the paper on an on-call basis. You would be given an assignment 2-3 weeks in advance and would need to meet strict deadlines. Writers: Interested in reporting on local politics and human interest stories? Real Change is always looking for fresh reporters to submit articles for our weekly paper. Editorial Committee: The Editorial Committee is made up of vendors, staff, volunteers, and community members who discuss current issues that might be good content for the newspaper, decide on poetry and creative submissions, and report meeting notes to the Editor. The EC is open to the public on the last Thursday of the month, at 2:30pm; membership on the EC is determined by existing members. Committee Facilitator: The Editorial Committee is in need of a volunteer who is trained in facilitation to spend their Thursday afternoons with the group to ensure a productive meeting. Vendor Services Vendor Sales Training Facilitators: Deliver a sales training for Real Change Vendors in order to boost circulation and improve vendor retention. The training that we offer was developed by a volunteer at the end of 2011. It is currently in the form of a simple PowerPoint presentation. We are looking for volunteers who are willing to lead at least one training per month for an initial period of three months. Volunteers for this position should have previous sales experience, group facilitation experience, and familiarity with issues of homelessness and poverty. Sales Desk Substitute: Interested in doing some direct service with Real Change vendors? Come volunteer on the paper sales desk! Right now we have a need for Sales Desk substitutes who can come in on an on-call basis for a 3 or 4 hour shift Monday through Saturday. The Sales Desk volunteer assists homeless/low-income Real Change vendors when they come into the office, and acts as receptionist for our Pioneer Square office. Your specific duties would include: interacting with vendors, cashiering, minor data entry, explaining and enforcing vendor rules, and light office tasks such as typing, filing, and filing mail items. This is a chance for you to meet and interact with a variety of people who are poor/homeless, and learn to understand the importance of creating more advocacy and opportunity for the low-income and homeless community. Contact Jenn Pearson, Volunteer Coordinator, if you would like to find out more about one of these available volunteer roles! 206-441-3247 ext. 212 volunteer@realchangenews.org Thursday, September 8 - 10:39am http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5855/ http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives-blog/5855/#When:Thursday, September 1 Our 17th Annual breakfast is coming up soon, and we would love to see you there! Our program this year includes: • Keynote Speaker Rev. Craig Rennebohm, Chaplain with the Mental Health Chaplaincy and author of Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on the Streets. • Real Change’s 2011 Vendors of the Year, Catherine Condeff and Kenneth Chow, who will be honored for their work and will share their Real Change stories. • Presentation of Real Change’s annual Change Agent Award. • Hosted by Rosette Royale, Real Change’s Assistant Editor. When and where? Tuesday October 4, 2011 Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center 7:30am- Check-in and Networking 8am – Program Interested? Register here, or contact us at events@realchangenews.org; 206-441-3247 x206 We look forward to seeing you there! Thursday, September 1 - 10:51am