Posts Tagged: homeless

Congratulations Pope Francis!

December 12th, 2013
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Yesterday’s news that Time magazine selected Pope Francis as their Person Of The Year surprised me just as much as when the College of Cardinals elected him to become Pope.
I didn’t think it would really happen but I am ecstatic that it did!
I knew Pope Francis was a finalist for the annual honor but I really thought that Time magazine was going to go with former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who this year released hundreds of thousands of classified government documents revealing the depth of the U.S. government’s surveillance on phone and internet communications.
But spiritual … Read More

Love On A Two Way Street

October 15th, 2013
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I went to Trader Joe’s after work the other evening to pick up some up their fabulous pita chips and instead gained some insight into a different part of life in DC: being a homeless vendor. Near the entrance of the store stood a man, who introduced himself to me as David.  He was selling newspapers called Street Sense which I have previously written about.   This vendor was middle-aged and friendly but not in an aggressive way.  He was just talking to people and smiling, letting them know that his newspaper was for sale and that he was a writer.… Read More

Live and Let Live

June 17th, 2013
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Street Sense is a small newspaper which is sold on the streets of Washington, DC by men and women who are working their way out of being homeless.  Some, but not all of the people selling the newspaper, have been to rehabilitation for drugs or alcohol. These are people working hard to develop resilience in themselves, to bounce back from hard times, and put themselves out there once again to start once again to rebuild their lives.  To me, they are all about the spirit of hope. The Street Sense vendors are always friendly and easy to talk to.  They… Read More

Homeless During A Hurricane

October 31st, 2012
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Jose Andres Jose Andres is an internationally recognized celebrity chef who owns and operates several restaurants in the Washington, DC metropolitan area: Jaleo, Zaytinya and Oyamel.  It doesn’t matter which one you choose, all of them serve delicious and innovative menus.  Personally, I love Oyamel and my son loves Jaleo. Andres, born in Spain, is a busy, busy guy running his critically acclaimed and commercially successful business ventures but he also cares about his community and finds time to give back. This weekend, as news reports forecast the arrival of Hurricane Sandy’s on the East Coast, Andres rolled up his… Read More

Street Sense

August 24th, 2012
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Martin Walker While buying produce today at the FRESHFarm market near the White House, I met a homeless man named Martin, who was selling newspapers and waiting to go to a drug and alcohol treatment program in West Virginia. I had seen Martin on previous trips to the market but didn’t say more than “Hi!” or smile at him.  Today, I bought a newspaper from him and we started talking.  Martin told me that as a vendor for Street Sense newspapers he is similiar to a self-employed subcontractor.  That means that when I buy a newspaper I am investing in … Read More