New homelessness report confirms widespread problem
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued its first-ever report to Congress on the scope of the homeless population in the United States. The results reveal that as of two winters ago, when a one-night count was taken in 3,800 cities, about three quarters of a million Americans are living on the streets. That's more than four times the estimate projected in the year 2000 census. And the nation's homelessness problem has a very human face.
“Street Sense, ladies and gentlemen, Street Sense. ' How 'bout it, sir? Copy of Street Sense today?"
August Mr. Mallory is one of the vendors who pays thirty cents a copy for the newspaper by, for, and about the homeless of Washington. Whenever he can coax someone into stopping to listen -- and that's not often, as most people hurry past him -- he has good luck selling the paper for the cover price of a dollar. He keeps the seventy-cent profit.
“Good afternoon, sir. How are you?"
The already raw day turns dark on McPherson Square, a stone's throw from the White House. The skies open, and Mr. Mallory -- who was homeless for several months after losing his job -- scurries under a canopy to escape the deluge.
“Not every homeless person is a drug addict or a mental case. I've found a lot of homeless people to be very heartful and very giving people."
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Street Sense contains first-person stories and poems by the homeless, simple recipes, and a list of shelters and food banks. It's published by volunteers at the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Street Sense's co-editor, Ted Henson, was a longtime volunteer at a homeless shelter in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Henson says the paper will not sugar-coat the realities of life on the street, or duck the perceptions that prompt passersby to snarl, "Hey, buddy, get a job!"
“It's not the fact that they're lazy. It's not the fact that they're on drugs, or they're drunk, or they're just bums. These people are formerly government officials, college graduates, veterans. People just have a fall. Poverty's a cycle. To get a job you need a place to stay. To get a place to stay, you need a job. You need an address. And it's really hard for people to find a way to get back on their feet. "
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Street Sense's other co-editor, twenty-six-year-old Laura Thompson, takes time to tutor homeless kids. “There's a lot of families that are homeless. That's the fastest-growing population of homelessness. People can't afford a place to live. These people that are on the streets or in shelters are real people. And we're trying to humanize the homeless and show their struggles.”
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Forty-seven-year-old George Siletti has lived on the street for the better part of his adult life. He's spoken to school and civic groups about his life -- the chronic depression and sense of worthlessness, the drinking that he says stopped thirteen years ago. “I've been sleeping on the heating grates, under business awning. And then I was under a bridge for awhile, putting cardboard down. You don't know where you're going to sleep the next night. You have to numb yourself to the chill that goes through your bones. And I don't mean numbing it with alcohol and drugs."
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‘We can be scary, yes. But we're not all bad people. We have goals in life. We cry, we laugh, just like everybody else. How 'bout touching a human being's life? Talk to me. Say 'good morning' in the morning. Touch my life."
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In Street Sense, poet Pierre Valdez Lewis writes about a homeless friend:
"As you pass him on your way to work," he writes...
"believe me, he knows that you pretended
as you went upon your merry way
that you didn't see his hand extended."
first-ever -
to coax someone into doing s/th -
cover price -
raw day -
a stone's throw from -
to scurry -
canopy -
deluge -
mental case -
heartful -
giving -
food bank -
longtime –
to sugar-coat -
to duck - уклоняться; уходить
perception -
to snarl -
bum -
to have a fall -
the better part of -
heating grate -
awning -
to put down -
to numb oneself to s/th -
видео на уроке - Gay rights groups push for anti-discrimination laws
George Ramirez and his partner German Roa have lived together for 16 years. Now, they are allowed to marry in Maryland, after voters there endorsed a law legalizing same-sex marriage.
"We want the opportunity to consider marriage for all its purposes for making a public statement, for the legal rights, and we want to be able to consider that just like anybody else."
Gay rights advocates won election victories for same-sex marriage in four states last November. Now there is a driveto push for laws in other states to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Gay Rights groups in Minnesota celebrated after voters rejected a measure to define marriage as between "a man and a woman." The state was the first in the nation to defeat a marriage amendment that has been enshrined in 30 other state constitutions.
Now there is growing support for the legislature to legalize same-sex marriage. Gary Schiff, is a lawmaker in Minneapolis.
"You are going to see gays and lesbians turning their attention to the state capitol and asking for a marriage equality bill to be at the top of the agenda."
Up until last month, Americans had never approved the same-sex marriage measure by popular vote.
Derek McCoy is the president of the Maryland Family Alliance, which opposes same-sex marriage. He says he expects lawsuits challenging the state's new marriage equality law.
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"We now have changed the definition of marriage in our state. It [ same sex marriage ] is going to be taught at the earliest ages, kindergarten, first grade, second grade your kids will not only be taught about this issue but educated and formed and influenced that this is the right thing to do."
But Gay Rights groups also have their eyes set on other issues besides marriage. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian civil rights organization, launched a national television advertisement promoting its victories and calling for more civil rights legislation. Brian Moulton is the group's legal director.
"In a great deal of places marriage really is not the primary issue for our community. It is more basic things like employment protections and housing protections. Right now, it is still perfectly legal to fire somebody based on their sexual orientation in 29 states."
William Galston is a social policy expert with the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"I have rarely seen sentiments shift so quickly on highly charged social issues. It is clear which direction this is evolving and I would expect those pressures to reflect themselves in state level initiatives to protect rights for everyone and more slowly at the federal [ government ] level as well."
Gay Rights advocates say they hope the momentum from same-sex marriage will inspire similar campaigns aimed at ending discrimination.