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Permalink Reply by Sara Hitzig on March 18, 2009 at 12:03pm

Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of Washington have announced plans to close Model Cities Child Development Center located at Holy Name Church in Ward 5 as of July 1, 2009. This center is the only licensed facility in a neighborhood that all too often receives news coverage only for violence. Also, David Klatt has recently reported on the substantial need for the kind of quality child care services that the Center provides. The plans to close the center coincide with an offer by Center City Charter School (the same charter school that in 2008 took over 7 previously Catholic schools) to apply for additional funding for Pre-K classes to be housed in the building located at 1125 Neal St. NE.

The Center provides substantial service to the community beyond child care. Parents of children at the center are meeting this evening with Catholic Charities to be officially informed of the immenent closure of the center. We hope to fight this closure and keep open an accredited child care center that has served its community for 40 years.

Additional Facts about the Center

The Center currently serves 64 children between the ages of 16 weeks and 4 years of age and has plans to expand during the upcoming school year.

The Center is the only licensed facility in Ward 5 that provides infant care.

The Center has provided a valuable and necessary service to many families in the Trinidad neighborhood and surrounding community, leasing its current location from Holy Name Parish for almost 40 years.

The Center is the only childcare facility that serves the deaf community in the Trinidad/Ivy City neighborhood, serving more than 10 deaf families in the last 5 years alone.

The Center has maintained the property and made all necessary repairs at its own expense for the entire time it has occupied the space at Holy Name.

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on March 18, 2009 at 12:14pm

Dear Sara,

Would you kindly contact me directly at meymo@wamu.org. I am interested in doing this story.

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence_n_DC on March 20, 2009 at 6:35pm

Morning Meymo,

I had to think long and hard about telling this story. I guess you you could start with me. I couldn't get a job because of student loan debt.

I was terminated from a government contractor in 2006. I've been looking for work ever since. While unemployed, I was living off savings. I went back to school to retool. I thought that while I'm in school, with a updated knowledge and skills, that along with my existing experience, I should find a job. I was half right.

Around the holidays, I got a nibble from another contractor who say my profile on FaceBook. The fact that I hadn't finished my dual master's degree was not a bar. After a few initial conversations and e-mails with the recruiter, and inerview was arranged. The interview was a smoooth as silk on glass. The inteviewer's questions focused mainly on my previous experience, and I gave him straight, factual answers. Before too long we were laughing and talking like old friends. At the conclusion of the interview, we walked over to the office responsible for credit checks. I signed a release form and held my breath. Which ever service this company used repsonded quickly. I had two dings on my credit. The woman doing the credit report was reassuring. She said I should work these issues asap and get back to her.

The first one was a $40.00 fee on a credit card I wasn't really using. That problem was solved by a phone call. I had the company fax over a clearance to the "Credit-Check" woman. She said that was great, but she asked how long it would take to solve the other issue. She had spoken to the hiring manager and they really wanted me.

I called the U.S. Department of Education. I told them what was going on. They told me first of all, the only way they could do anything is if I paid the entire amount off in full. I was unemployed and the debt was greater than $100,000. There was no way I could oay it all off. The second piece of this was that the Department of Education had sold the loan off to a debt collector. I called them. They were intent on selling me onto some type of program. I agreed. I didn't care. This debt was standing between me and a six-figure job. So I make the agreement to enter into a repayment program. I fax a copu of the agreement to the employer. It was a not go. The fact that I was in a repayment program didn't matter. Because of the debt, and the amount of the debt. They couldn;t offer me the job.

Again, they were encouraging. I was told that if there was any way I could get this off my credit, to call them immediately, they really wanted me. I wanted them. The salary was slightly over $100,000.

It's March now. I still can't find a job. What's worse is if I do, it will probably be a repeat of the same experience.

The other problem is this. When I apply for lower level jobs, I'm cancelled out because of education and experience. Perspective employers assume that I won't be happy, and that I'll quit the minute I find a better job. If I apply for something for which I'm qualified, I lose out either because of the amount of time I've been unemployed, or because of the student loan debt. Education is my only real debt. The irony of it all is that if I had a job, I could begin the process of paying it off.

So...there's my story.

Lawrence



Meymo Lyons said:

Dear Lawrence,

Really interesting issue. I should think that any potential employer would be pretty forgiving at this point in time. I would love to do this story with a job seeker. Do you know anyone ?

Best,

Meymo

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Permalink Reply by Amy Moreno on March 25, 2009 at 8:13pm

How about this http://tinyurl.com/cfr-james-l-jones (link redirects to long CFR URL)

"Remarks by National Security Adviser Jones at 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy

Published February 8, 2009

Speaker:
James L. Jones

U.S. National Security Adviser Jones gave these remarks at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 8, 2009.

"Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I take my daily orders from Dr. Kissinger, filtered down through Generaal Brent Scowcroft and Sandy Berger, who is also here. We have a chain of command in the National Security Council that exists today."

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence_n_DC on March 30, 2009 at 3:24pm

LOL! Trust me, I don't even get THOSE offers!

Erin Sarah Cannan said:

Hang in there Lawrence, and take a job that you previously thought was beneath you. I did. Preferably in a busy place with lots of new friends to make like a food place or something.

E

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Permalink Reply by Robert P. Coffey on March 31, 2009 at 9:33am

I'm a clinical pharmacist at a hosptal in Battle Creek Michigan. Most folks don't even know what a clinical pharmacist is, or what we do every day to reduce costs and save lives. As drug costs continue to escalate, regulatory agencies, and payors remain focused on reducing med errors and improving safety and quality. Clinical pharmacists are becoming fully engaged, and rising to the occasion in their respective settings, but our numbers are smaller, and there are obstacles still to overcome, mostly within our own profession. Stakeholders who thought that spending dollars on gadgets and safety technology would allow them to get rid of pharmacists are learning a very imortant safety lesson regarding the limits of many technologies, and process analysis as it really happens in hospitals from the bedside-back. Almost like a special forces team, clinical pharmacists tackle complex assignments with limited resources. We have provided a lot of high quality stealth care over the years. the contribution clinical pharmacists make has for the most part been overlooked or dismissed, but that is changing as the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accredication for Hospitals, and CMS expand their patient safety goals, and medication reconciliation becomes increasingly important. To date, doctors, nurses and technology advancements seem to get most of the press. They are notable, but we also need some help telling our story too. In the US, there are about 700K (very vocal) physicians, 2 million (also very vocal) nurses. In contrast, there are only about 200K phamacists in the US, and only a fraction of them work as clinical pharmacists in hospitals or clinics. Pharmacists also do many great things in the interest of safety and cost in retail, but their work environment is more difficult to navigate for structural reasons usually beyond the pharmacist's immediate control. MAny independent community pharmacy's are on financial life-support in this economy and this precious healhcare resource, especially in small rural communities may soon perish acoss many parts of the US. Can we get some help telling our story?

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Permalink Reply by Joel Cornell on March 31, 2009 at 10:10am

How about talking about how the governmental regulation of currently illegal drugs in America can end cartels, generate billions for health care and education (drug education included, of course) and our failing economy, save billions of dollars and thousands of lives wasted in a fool-hearty boondoggle of a drug war anually, save millions of dollars in prison reform, get them out of the hands of our teenagers, and create job for millions in the manufacturing, regulation, monitoring, and sale of these drugs. Drugs (both legal and illegal ones) are of course very dangerous, but making them illegal is certainly not stopping them from entering the country. There's a whole discussion (quite heated, as you may see [hi, John A.!! :-) ]) on this forum where many different viewpoints have been expressed. I'm not saying begin regulation today, just start talking about it already!!

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Permalink Reply by John Antonelli on March 31, 2009 at 10:43am

:) Joel I want to hear how it will keep drugs out of the hands of kids probably back wherever we are so as not to clog up Meymo's thread but yes a good news piece for her or you and I do a commentary for Jim.
Joel Cornell said:

How about talking about how the governmental regulation of currently illegal drugs in America can end cartels, generate billions for health care and education (drug education included, of course) and our failing economy, save billions of dollars and thousands of lives wasted in a fool-hearty boondoggle of a drug war anually, save millions of dollars in prison reform, get them out of the hands of our teenagers, and create job for millions in the manufacturing, regulation, monitoring, and sale of these drugs. Drugs (both legal and illegal ones) are of course very dangerous, but making them illegal is certainly not stopping them from entering the country. There's a whole discussion (quite heated, as you may see [hi, John A.!! :-) ]) on this forum where many different viewpoints have been expressed. I'm not saying begin regulation today, just start talking about it already!!

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Permalink Reply by Joel Cornell on March 31, 2009 at 12:09pm

Dear NPR: Hire me and John to do this story, I think we got both sides covered quite well. :P

PS: I'm answering John's question on that thread right now...

John Antonelli said:

:) Joel I want to hear how it will keep drugs out of the hands of kids probably back wherever we are so as not to clog up Meymo's thread but yes a good news piece for her or you and I do a commentary for Jim.
Joel Cornell said:

How about talking about how the governmental regulation of currently illegal drugs in America can end cartels, generate billions for health care and education (drug education included, of course) and our failing economy, save billions of dollars and thousands of lives wasted in a fool-hearty boondoggle of a drug war anually, save millions of dollars in prison reform, get them out of the hands of our teenagers, and create job for millions in the manufacturing, regulation, monitoring, and sale of these drugs. Drugs (both legal and illegal ones) are of course very dangerous, but making them illegal is certainly not stopping them from entering the country. There's a whole discussion (quite heated, as you may see [hi, John A.!! :-) ]) on this forum where many different viewpoints have been expressed. I'm not saying begin regulation today, just start talking about it already!!

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Permalink Reply by Amber Harding on March 31, 2009 at 1:27pm

President Obama said last week:
"I'm heartbroken that any child in America is homeless. Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours." March 24, 2009

We got a call from a woman last week with two sons, 13 and 16, who left the DC seasonal family shelter in February because she was told it would close on March 31st. She moved her family into a one-room apartment where she was told she would share the kitchen and living spaces with other people. She soon learned that the "landlord" may not actually own the property, that he was using drugs in the apartment, and that the family wasn't allowed to use the kitchen after all. Last Thursday, she became scared for her kids' safety, so she tried to go back into shelter. She was told there wasn't any space. That night she returned to the apartment, only to find that the locks had been changed. She wandered the city with her kids, trying to stay out of the rain. The next day, she brought the police to help her get back in to the apartment to retrieve their belongings, but her belongings had been rifled through and some of them were missing, including her son's school uniforms, causing him to miss school. She tried again last Friday (and yesterday and today) to get into shelter, but the Department of Human Services told her there still wasn't any space. She stayed with a friend for a few days, but she has been asked to leave now and has NOWHERE to stay tonight. (The family is willing to speak to press.)

This family isn't alone, unfortunately. We know of at least five families who were denied shelter last week due to lack of space, and about 200 other families remain on the waiting list for emergency family shelter. I met a woman last night who lost her home in a foreclosure and slept in her car for 5 nights before she could get into a woman's shelter. As the economy worsens, homelessness continues to increase. DC government's emergency shelters are full every night. In the winter, there is a right to shelter and DC government opens seasonal shelters and adds more beds to its already full shelters. But now-- as the weather warms and perhaps as early as April 1st-- DC will be closing seasonal shelters and capping the numbers at emergency shelters, forcing hundreds of DC residents to leave shelters or get turned away at the door-- and to sleep in cars, on the street, or in other unsafe settings.

Despite recent Point in Time numbers showing a 25% increase in family homelessness, all shelters remaining at or over capacity, and DC's unemployment rate nearing 10%, DC does not seem to have an immediate plan to respond to the real crisis of shelter and housing shortages.

Amber W. Harding
Staff Attorney
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
(202)328-5503

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on March 31, 2009 at 2:09pm

Dear John,

You guys never clog my thread !! I love to know what our listeners are thinking about .

Best,

Mem

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Permalink Reply by Meymo Lyons on March 31, 2009 at 2:13pm

Dear Ms Harding,

I am very interested in speaking with this family. This is an important story to tell ! Please contact me at meymo@wamu.org or call the news room @ 202 885-1233.

Thank you.

Best,

Meymo

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