Taking the Streets

Just when I'm trying to wind down for the night, often Fresh Air on NPR from 10-11pm will derail me. Tonight, I heard the 'street doc' on Fresh Air and I was inspired. Jim Withers, an internal medicine physician in Philadelphia, started practicing medicine on the street in 1992, dressed as a homeless person accompanied by a formerly homeless assistant. His work grew into Operation Safety Net, hosting an international conference on street medicine this year.

Withers said he decided to start his project after reading 52 Ways to Help the Homeless (the cover has a hearty endorsement from jimmy carter).

Highlights of the interview

Withers started a wall with names of the homeless who had died in Philadelphia, to remember them and also to make a political statement. He wanted the plaque to go on the sidewalk in the places where people had died, but found that it was illegal. He negotiated with the city and eventually found a spot.

He said that homeless people are often the victims of attack, not from other homeless, but from non-homeless.

In places like Bangalore, he said the line between homeless and non-homeless is not as clearly drawn as it is here. He said that the stigma of homelessness is akin to leprosy in India. In Europe, access to health services means a smaller homeless population.

It's getting cold here in Chicago.

We need healthcare for everyone in the United States!

Note: you can read policy recommendations for 2008 from the national coalition for the homeless here.

One of the most interesting:

Enact the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act. The Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act (H.R. 2216) compels law enforcement authorities to monitor incidents of crimes against people experiencing homelessness. Since 1999 there have been 774 documented acts of violence against homeless persons, including 217 deaths. 2006 saw a 65 percent increase in the number of hate crimes over the prior year. Incidents have included: setting a man on fire, pushing a sleeping woman into a river, and pummeling a woman’s face with a tire-iron. Including homeless persons as a protected class within federal hate crime laws will help stop violence targeted toward persons experiencing homelessness.

Someone give this woman a Pulitzer, or at least a "Harumph!"

I love Gail Collins. Some day I'm gonna have me a love sandwich with her and Nina Totenberg.

So, can we finally kick Joe Lieberman to the curb?

Wool

You are ambitious. You want to create gifts this year using only two wooden sticks and some wool. For inspiration, check out the Brooklyn Tweed blog. This man is (sigh) probably the most incredible knitter blowing up the blogosphere.

For your stash-check out the Beaverslide yarns from Montana.

Grant Park in Chicago on Election Night, 2008

As soon as we reached Michigan Avenue on foot, we could see the crowd swelling near the lions at the entrance of the Art Institute. It was a warm night for November that left us thinking, Is this global warming? The crowd looked liked the voters nationally who supported Obama--all ethnicities with a large youth presence. The rally was no place for senior citizens with standing room only for the huge crowd, although I saw some who took the risk and joined us that historic night.

In the park, we had to go through at least two checkpoints, or was it three? We waited about 30 minutes at each checkpoint but the checks were less thorough than we expected. In any case, the crowds were peaceful and the event well-organized, making Chicago a front-runner for the Olympics in 2016, some say.

There were ten people in our group and our leader Scarlett held up a red hat for us to follow since it's not so easy to keep ten people together in a huge crowd. We decided on a spot on the hill which meant sitting in the grass during commercials on the jumbotron. We were a little far from the stage but the screen brought us the show.

A few girls sitting behind us starting a little campaign to get everyone to sit down on the hill so everyone could see the screen. They called it "community organizing", calling those in front to sit down with the chant "Take a seat, save your feet". Around fifty people did sit down for part of the evening in our section which gave it a peaceful easy feeling.

We heard Obama won Pennsylvania while waiting at checkpoints so it seemed like a matter of time before the election was called. Around 10pm, the Virginia results were announced with an Obama win and a few seconds after the announcement, CNN announced "BARACK OBAMA WINS PRESIDENCY". Honestly I was in shock in that moment and I didn't really know how to react (probably just overstimulated). I saw people around me crying and the audience was ecstatic.

A guy I work with who lives in a dorm near the park said: "You people were very loud last night". Indeed.

During the McCain concession speech, the crowd was respectful although there was one gentleman irking me by flipping off the screen during McCain's speech. Overall, McCain's gracious speech was well-received by the crowd.

Obama finally appeared around 11PM as planned, charming his audience as he always does. The line about his daughters getting a dog for the White House really got us. I was happy to hear him include "gay and straight" in his inclusive remarks as well as mentioning the international community in this election.

I remember the first time I was really impressed with Obama as statesman. It was late in 2006 when I was organizing the Sudan Freedom Walk with some friends in Chicago. Scorecards had just been published for Congress on their Darfur voting record and both Obama and Durbin received "A+". I checked Darfur Scores today and found the scores to be the same. Unfortunately Rahm Emmanuel was given a "C+" (said to be the new Chief of Staff for Obama).

Back in the Loop walking to the El, you could hear cheers bouncing off the building and see lines forming at every late night deli.

We were all exhausted that night of the election, but going home on the train, you couldn't help but notice the unabashed grins of passengers on Chicago's proudest night.

Photo credit: Rebecca Moore

November 4, 2008

by Patrick Moberg

I'll post my report from the Obama rally in Grant Park soon.

Zen Chef

Zen Master Chef Edward Espe Brown shows us that food is much more than a meal in the new documentary How to Cook Your Life. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm planning on it. Thanks to Emily for the tip.