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"It's because of people like you that Gov.Wilson is in office".........his tie was large -seemingly larger than his chest - on his tie there was a pink and blue trout held upside down, as though hung from his neck......"if you don't find permanent housing within ten days your benefits will be terminated"...... my tear filled eyes searched for some comfort in the fish, if I could only locate it's fins I would be ok, I could finish my evaluation paperwork and get out of here before this man had me taken out and shot for being a welfare recipient........oh....there they are, hidden under his name tag, John Lutz,eligibility worker . "Well, I'll see you in three weeks", he stood up abruptly, emitting a light wind of sweat, aftershave and scattered spittle. I tried to walk normally out of his cubicle into the outer office, the
light from every florescent bulb cooked the dry air, the sea of green,
yellow and blue plastic chairs swayed in the large room. |
I sat down to try and think. What was wrong? There had been countless humiliating evaluation appointments with scores of eligibility workers in my last eight months on welfare......and yet this was different...........his flagrant disgust..... for what?.....I had been trying to get a job.....desperately........it's not that easy.......I'm homeless.......I've got three kids ...
I'm under-educated in the desirable fields and over-trained in the
downsized fields, "chronically unemployed" the social workers
call me, aka loser, bum, deadbeat, good for nothing......and then there's
the "handouts" i.e.,that extremely small amount of money that
I get -which doesn't even cover the cost of laundry detergent, not
to mention rent or utilities, which I am supposed to feel guilty for -
and I do....I always have.......excerpt by Lisa Gray-Garcia from Welfare
to What?, POOR magazine ©1998 |
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Joes' Reform recommendations; 1) Higher education (B.A., M.A,etc) approved as a welfare to work activity - this might span into two or four year college degree programs. 2) Microeconomic savings programs to increase the recipient's access to equity and credit (similar to model program we have launched at POOR ) matching funds provided by City and County Welfare to Work dollars. 3) Workfare apprentice programs, such as those being proposed by People Organized to Win Employment Rights ( POWER) Roxanne Trade, POOR staff writer: I recently attended a conference sponsored by Coalition
for Ethical Welfare Reform; "Is welfare reform working?" which
in and of itself is a positive step towards true reform - This forum was
created to bring the Department of Human Services (DHS) welfare workers
and the welfare recipients together to discuss how they can improve the
current, often badly reformed, systems. |
2) My second reform recommendation is summed up in a statement by Garth Ferguson, a welfare recipient, and member of POWER, "Apprenticeship programs for workfare workers and welfare recipients are key to getting them permanent jobs, at union wages with health and safety protection." 3) My third recommendation would be addressed to the way welfare reform is instituted. People on welfare have been let down so many times, constant disappointments combined with the disrespectful way the majority of workers have treated welfare recipients, leaves them with very little self worth or dignity. To counter this, workers need to establish a dignified relationship with their clients, reveal something about themselves, build trust, and finally, encourage and support their client's inherent interests, talent or dreams..... e-mail comments to: poormag@sirius.com |
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An Insider Report by Ken Moshesh, writer/facilitator Jennifer Harris, TINY, and graphic artist Michelle Bates.UpUnder and Streetthings logos created by Ken Moshesh and Michelle Bates.
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by Ken Moshesh ****Life before homelessness***** I was born the oldest boy of 11 children in the poverty areas of Oakland.
I attended various Oakland schools, as my family moved frequently attempting
to make ends meet. I was required to work at home at my fathers unsuccessful
appliance business, but was also able to obtain excellent grades, acquire
outstanding baseball skills, and stay out of jail long enough to earn
a full scholarship to a private business school in Southern California.
My first 'arrest' occurred when I was 10. I was taken to the
Emeryville police station for "being smart" by telling my playmates
that they did not have to answer a policeman's questions.
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After I graduated from Oakland Tech High School with honors, I went to business college. I began to adjust to being the only black freshman at a conservative business school, I received fair grades. It resulted in my being selected to an all-star baseball team that toured and taught baseball in Europe. However, the real experience was the contrast between my treatment as a person overseas versus at home and the negative racial stereotypical behavior from my fellow travelers at home and abroad so much so that i eventually changed sports from baseball to boxing; and after a particularly negative academic decision ( when i got sick during finals) by a visiting professor who left for uc berk, i left for the bay area While I was enrolled in UC extension, I got accepted for a foreman's job by the neighborhood youth corps, a neighborhood self help clean up crew under the direction of a minister- the other North Oakland nyc foreman was Bobby Seale. {in west oakland the foremen were, Paul Cobb and, Huey P. Newton according to my recollection} One of my early activities as a panther functionario resulted in my
arrest along with several companions for alleged. curfew violation in
San Francisco. |
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Ongoing Interview with Ken Moshesh and Jennifer Harris JH: Tell us about your history as an artist and/or writer KM: [My] history as an artist began at the back of one of my family廣 dilapidated living abodes. We would use empty Quaker Oats boxes to beat out drum rhythms until being told to shut up by our parents. There was an old guitar which always had strings missing. .Couldn廠 afford much of anything else during those days. I tried forming a singing group in sixth grade patterned after what we sang along with on the radio, and actually sang my social science report. I painted two things I liked in required high school art. One was a desert watercolor and the other a picture of (what I realized later in life) was the UC Berkeley campanile with a red rose in front of it. Things began in earnest during the covert political
days at the pioneering UC Berkeley conga drum circle (which was
to continue for over 30 years) simultaneously with a five-conga
drum set-up off and on at home. The development was exponentially
elevated and inspired by working with the legendary musical genius
Sun RA and his Space Arkestra as an instructor at UC and as a musician
on one of his European tours. During this time the world-developing
power of enlightened art via music was clearly demonstrated. Paralleling
the musical development during the covert days was a strong saturation
into the White Crane martial arts system. I was sanctioned to teach
a course on the philosophy and practice of the White Crane Chinese
martial arts system at UC Berkeley, initially for political and
philosophical reasons. But eventually the artistic elements of the
system became just as important. Accordingly, when I added my course
in elementary education to the UC curriculum, it was entitled "Education
as a Performing Art." |
The artistic strains developed during the construction-working days when, much to my displeasure, [many] of the artistic concerns surrounding the finishing of the construction jobs by too many other crew members [were] dismissed with a platitude that essentially meant "not for people in the ghetto"; as though our people in the ghettoes did not deserve a good-looking finished job like customers in "the hills" because of their respective images. Consequently, I took great pains to reverse that negative ghetto attitude and develop the techniques to turn all of my jobs into practical artistic works, no matter what the location. However, the almost inexplicable experiences of homelessness, combined with the realization that the resolution would have to involve a positive change in the current media-fed images of homeless folks (poor folks) is what fused these various artistic strains into a coherent personal and social mission, altering old artistic styles as well as creating new ones. JH: How has your experience with poverty affected/inspired your artistic process? KM: The homeless experience causes an almost daily reassessment of what life used to be about. The past standard activities --personal, social, sexual, family, occupational, etc. -- parade past you in a surreal, numbing collage of inaccessible splashes of color. You are suspended in a black and white quagmire of eternal don廠s, endless involuntary lines, omnipresent self-righteous, punitive harassment (and frequently condoned assaults and harassment) while attempting to obtain the barest of daily necessities. The situation is further compounded by the fact that the exceptional program personnel created for your benefit cannot be with you once their hours are over, as well as the infiltration by persons who use their paid or volunteer positions to further inflict poverty punishments on their clients. |
For me, the main soul-saving activities (especially while in homelessness) [were] my musical, movement and written art. And combined with my assessment of the need for positive art-media- image change for poverty resolution in this country --since the economics are already in place -- media art thereby evolved into a major personal and political therapeutic mission. JH: How has your experience with POOR magazine changed/impacted your life and art? How has it empowered you as a person? KM: I was made aware of POOR by a suitcase clinic member that was aware
of my attempt to use media art in a political and personal way. I immediately
recognized kindred souls seeking to positively impact the poverty maze,
especially in this country, with implications worldwide. In addition
to adding rare encouragement to continue in this area, the POOR staff
provided me with a forum to seriously discuss and clarify the complicated
issues associated with poverty in a way fit for public consumption via
media, in-house and outreach experiences, and discussions around the
Bay Area. Not only does misery love company, but creative, constructive media art to combat it does too, especially on behalf of a part of the population that is very rarely heard nor listened to at this level; usually having to resort to cruder, less effective methods of expression as we near the Millennium. Because of the added strength in numbers, resources and listeners, I feel more motivated to acquire the additional skills to further extend my personal political mission to the media world. I find myself seeking computer, journalistic, video, musical, movement, advertising, business, production skills and the like. And, because of increased visibility in POOR, I am better able to combat the sabotaging comments and activities that would make it more difficult for me to conduct my artistic and support activities in predominantly hostile, non-artistic environments The POOR option gives me an additional avenue for personal, meaningful
fulfillment and development as an artistic advocate for the poor in
an area of society where there are precious few opportunities. |
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BY THE TIME I FLASHED MY" VISA' BUS PASS 0N
THE NEXT BUS, AMIDST A GREYING GREEN ARMY DUFFLE BAG IN ONE HAND, A
PREGNANT, BLACK BRIEFCASE IN THE OTHER, AND A SUSPECT KNAP SACK ON MY
BACK, IT WAS OBVIOUS SHE (WHO I SHALL NOW CALL NOSTALGIA AFTER MY CONVERSATION
WITH REMY AT THE BERKELEY FREE CLINIC DROP-IN) WOULDN'T " JUST
MAKE IT" THIS TIME. OR ANY OTHER TIME SOON. DING...DING...DING...
DING...EACH STOP STRANGELY INCREASED THE SLIGHT WARM SMILE WHICH FOR
SOME REASON WOULD NOT SUBSIDE.
I LAUGHED ALOUD WHEN I NOTICED MY PREVIOUS DIMLY LIT, LINCOLN LOG, OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM BRIGHTLY ILLUMINATED UNDERNEATH THE HEALTHY GREEN, TALL, TREE COLUMNS STRETCHING TO THE DARK BLUE , NON- ACOUSTIC, CEILINGS. { I GUESS THEY WANTED TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR ME TO SEE.}.... AND AT LEAST I WOULD NOT HAVE TO SLEEP ON CONCRETE! THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE KIND OF COLD AT NIGHT,
WITH ITS ACOMPANING WIND CHILL AND PRECIPITATION INVADING EVERY OPENING,
THAT EMANATES FROM SOMEWHERE DEEP WITHIN THE PORES OF CONCRETE AND PERMEATES
THE VERY CELLS OF YOUR BEING THAT CAUSES YOU TO QUESTION THE FACT AND
PURPOSE OF YOUR EXISTENCE IN A SLOWED DOWN MANNER THAT DISTORTS THE
NORMAL HUMAN PHYSICS TO THE POINT THAT YOU ARE DEFINED BY COLD....YOU
FREEZE, THEREFORE YOU ARE.... |
ASSUMING THE OUTDOOR SLEEPING POSITION IN MY BRIGHT
RED, SEMI-MUMMY SLEEPING BAG {ONE EYE OPEN, ONE EYE CLOSED} , I TURNED
AWAY FROM THE BEAMING LIGHTS, AS THE WONDEROUSLY FRESH AIR DROWNED OUT
THE "FINAL STRAW"蝆 " N0 , NEITHER WE THE MANAGEMENT NOR
THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES WILL TAKE SERIOUSly YOUR OFFICIAL REPORTS ABOUT
ILLEGAL INTRUSIONS INTO YOUR MAIL, PHONE ACTIVITIES, ROOM, AND PERSONAL
AND COMMERCIAL BELONGINGS", RESOUNDED ALL TOO CLEARLY. *******************
to be continued *********************
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* * *
* * * David: Here comes the General. He gave me the hat yesterday. He's another Vietnam vet. An older man with a mustache and thick glasses stops and stands in front of us; the morning sun makes a halo behind his head. I shuffle closer to David so that we both fall within the General's shadow. I squint up at him and see that he's wearing the same hat as David, with the same badges: "POW MIA You Are Not Forgotten," "Paratrooper", and "In Memory: from 1959-1975: 58,479 brothers and sisters who never returned from the Vietnam War." Susanna: So you were in Vietnam too? |
General: Lost half their men. And some of the guys you see in the street
with the shopping carts, with the aluminum cans, they don't drink
and they don't talk to anybody-they were in the 173rd. David: He's a stout Republican, service all his life, retired from the civil job he took after he got out, and here he is. [pause] When people get to know me, they know that I'm not out here drinking-I do work and I'm a decent guy. Then they trust me. And, like I said, if you show them kindness and love, it's going to come back. It might take a while, but it's going to come back. * * * Two days after this conversation took place, a police officer drove up to David's work site and told him he was obstructing the sidewalk. David protested that he was practically on the curb and asked what he had done wrong. The officer barked, "As far as I can see, you're obstructing the sidewalk. Now, let's see some I.D." David gave the officer his Veteran Card, the only identification he has, and the officer instantly refused it, saying "No, I mean real I.D."
END *The POOR Magazine writer-facilitation project brings POOR's pre-publishing
workshops to outdoor locations (for writers and artists who, like David,
are unable to participate in structured or conventional workshops) in
an attempt to bring the voices and expertise of severely underserved
populations into the media. |
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On the day of "the big fire" i.e., the one that actually successfully ignited a large enough fire to justify evacuation of the entire building ( even though only the 6th floor was partially damaged) The Bird-man, heard nothing on the sixth floor, no alarm, no siren, he only knew when the fire department knocked on his door, by then it was too late, he had to leave all his belongings behind. Over the surreal din of The Arthur Murray swing dancers
entertaining the Hartland fire victims at the Red Cross shelter, several
burned-out residents sat down with the POOR magazine staff, (themselves,
SRO veterans ) to discuss their crisis. Jennifer, a one year resident
of the Hartland, believed that the management wanted the long term residents
out at any cost, which was a similar situation to the pre-fire conditions
at the Delta Hotel (where she had lived before). |
They all agreed that the conditions of the hotels follow a pattern before the fires are set. Another resident, named Jack, added, that trash piles up in the hall six feet high, only one shower works in the entire building and all the fire exits are blocked, while oddly enough a known arsonist is repeatedly admitted into the building as a tenant, until we the tenants prevented his entry. Another long-term resident, Melissa, a member of the
Larkin street Youth Center Aftercare program, wonders why the management
left so many lighted cigarette butts all over the hotel on the day of
the fire - yet an "electrical" fire is being investigated as
the cause. for more on Gentrification see: Design assistance by |
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