ee = Se a a a a re oe rt ee: AS PASALAG SABA G ANGE NGG a TAOso.] Y.W.C.A. Teen Parent Program Eas z ge Melody Brawn 3-4 Felicia Crawford wanaun Beatrice Davis Darleen Sledge Beatrice Davis Lynette Hardnett Bernadette Hicks 10 14 12 4 15 16 Judy Quinones Dianne Reyes Stan Ferrer Darleen Sledge Wanda Metts Dianne Reyes & Judy Quinones Principal - Richard Organisciak Superintendant - Stephen Phillips Publication by the Waterways Proje funding support from The New Yor! Arts and Con Edison. © 1986, Waterways Project Te 18 20 22 23 Richard Alan Spiegel - Editor Barbara Fisher - Designer Thomas Perry ~ Intern Brenda Giscombe ~ Site Teacher [The young parents and pregnant teens who are students at this Altern- ative High School pro- gram at the YWCA asked that we forward this issue to the Mayor & others who might be helpful. We have done Dianne Reyes Darleen Sledge Tracey Pintard Dianne Reyes Sylvia Winbush Dorothea Zimmerman ct made possible with k State Council on theWHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN A WELFARE HOTEL Melody Brown Living in a welfare hotel is no laughing matter. | know because | live in one. Where | live there's only one bed for me and my daughter. There's no bathroom, and no closet so | have nowhere to put my clothes or to wash in private. The bathroom is in the hallway across from my room. Many people from other floors use this bathroom too. When I give my daughter a bath | have to throw the water on her to put soap on and to take it off. This little room of mine costs $122.44 twice a month. | have a question for Mayor Koch. Where does the money come from to pay for one box going for $244.88 a month. Instead they could give us $400 or $500 a month for a 3 or 4 room apartment that has a bathroom, a closet, and a bedroom for my daughter as well as a livingroom and a kitchen where | can cook or bake whenever my heart desires. To eat out of a restaurant every night is way too expensive and not too many restaurants take food stamps . The policy about welfare hotels and housing should change. Someone must have geared the system this way because if they didn't everyone would have noticed how the money is being spent on boxes that are not worth $122.44 twice a month. As far as housing is concerned ~ all who live in welfare hotels should have been in their own homes a long time ago, The waiting lists are so long that it's a shame. There are plenty of renovated apartments built every day, and every day there are more homeless people, because the people who are owners of these renovations are either prejudiced or just want to put their families in the apartments instead of someone who really needs it. In order for you to get an apartment you have to be in a hotel for 18 months, be in your last trimester of preg- nancy or your child has to be 6 months or younger. I've been the Madison Hotel on 27th Street since Nov. 14, 1985. Now where does this policy leave me? People think because we live in a welfare hotel we can be treated like a dog or non-human. Well, it's not true. As far as I'm concerned we have rights like anyone else. Since the money being spent on these small boxes is coming out of my budget | can speak on anything | want, and complain about anything that needs to be complained about. To find an apartment is almost ridiculous unless you take other drastic steps like going to bed with a landlord so he'll give you a lease and key in your name or getting someone to lie in all kinds of ways for you just to live. Life is really a B---h living in a welfare hotel, and if my daughter could speak, she would tell you how she really feels.THE HARDSHIPS OF BEING A WELFARE RECIPIENT Felicia Crawford | would have liked to have been able to avoid it. But | found it necessary. | went to the Welfare Department to see if | was eligible to receive help. 1 filled out an application. It was a long wait before my name was called. 1 knew | would really appreciate the help they could give me. When the case worker called my name 1 knew it was her business to ask me questions. | was ready to answer them. When we sat down she asked for my application. | said to her, "Good morning." | also said, "How do you like the weather we're having? The temperature has dropped tre- mendously. It's terribly cold out there." The woman was shocked at the fact that | was so polite. In the beginning of my interview 1 gave a good impression. She asked about my child's father and | told her | would like to receive child support. She said she would help me. She gave me some advice as to how to go about getting child support. 1 signed some more papers and | was ac~ cepted as a Welfare Recipient. I left to go home. | had to travel very far. My money was getting scarce. | didn't know whether or not my check would come on time. It was time for the rent, Con Ed, and the telephone bills to be paid. It seems that | was practicing to depend on my check and the food stamps to come. My kids helped add to my frustrations. | felt like getting physical. I was jealous of my next door neighbor because she was an original. She had her life together. She had it all to- gether. Her height and grammar matched her physique. | was getting a headache worrying about my next door neighbor and her perfection. I felt disappointed in my case worker because my check had been delayed. | said, "Let me just check to see if it has come." It was there. My worries were over.SPELLING PUZZLE - Felicia Crawford “7 7 i } \ F | Pd Cy] | Ld i Ls te i PT Tt |_| i DOWN = 1. To speak noisily 2. Weird 4. Cancel 6. A short legend or description 7. To examine closely 8. To leave or be left in a difficult or helpless position ACROSS T- To work ineptly or inefficiently 3. To feel regret for 5. One of the flat surfaces cut on a gemstone 7. A struggle between rivalswe HELPING THE HOMELESS - Beatrice Davis | think the Mayor should build more apartment buildings or projects for the homeless people and the people who are on welfare and can't afford to pay high rents. | know by my own experience that it's hard to find an apart- ment, and when you do find one the rent is too high. That's the reason why there are so many homeless people today. When they do find an apartment welfare is not willing to pay the rent. They say the rent is too high. Sometimes the people take the apartment anyway, and stay in it for a couple of months, paying the rent the best they can. Then sooner or later they're given a dispossess, meaning they have to leave in a month's time. Eventually they are put out into the streets.THE YWCA PROGRAM - Darleen Sledge The G.E.D. program that is offered in the Y is really educational and enjoyable. Unlike a regular high school | students have the opportunity to enhance their weak areas. As a result we are well prepared for the test. There are numerous teen programs around the city aid- ' ing and encouraging young mothers to complete their | high school education. A lot of young mothers complain about not having a baby-sitter at home while they are in | school. They are unaware that the programs provide child care. Sometimes the mother is just lazy and a- voids these opportunities. Well, | feel that all teen par- ents should take advantage of these programs. If not, what kind of future would you and your child expect? In order to compete in today's job market one needs a high school diploma or an equivalency diploma. When you have a child at home, it's extremely: hard to con- | centrate on school work. But one just has to take into | consideration that determination is the key to success.eE—_—_—_—_ THE TEEN PARENT PROGRAM - Beatrice Davis T -Is for teen mothers. E -Is for the evenings. E -ls for even though we have hard times, we still manage to stick together. N -Is for nice times we have together. p -Is for the problems we solve in class. A -ls for all the things we achieve. R -Is for the relationships we have with each other. E -Is for evaluating your own skills. N -Is for the necessary things we need to learn. T -Is for the time childcare spends with our children. P -ls for new people joining the program. R -Is for realizing our mistakes. O -Is for our opportunities. G -Is for graduation. R -Is for our reunion. A -Is for another day of school. M -Is for making our dreams come true.Lynette Hardnett Mother is caring Mother is sharing Mother is always there, bearing her burdens. Mother is there when noone is there, Mother is around when nobody cares. Y f Riedl be StsEEE PROBLEMS WITH WELFARE: FINDING AN APARTMENT Bernadette Hicks There are a lot of problems with welfare and housing. I've been trying to get into some type of housing for the last three years. Welfare would pay a lot of money for a hotel, but they can't pay for an apartment. For those three years I've been going from place to place. I really don't understand why all of these houses they're building won't help get people out of hotels. The city acts like it doesn't realize that they are putting out more money in the long run for the hotels. | finally found a place where I've been living since August. They denied my Security se mow! have to pay out of my ewn pocket. I've also been asking fora furniture grant since August. I've just gotten it, but it's not even enough to buy a really decent bedroom set. I'd have to get something second hand. What it all really boils down to is that Welfare isn't helping people with housing. It's only causing confusion. The only reason | got my place was because my mother owned the house. It's really hard to get a place while on wel- fare because most people don't want welfare people in their buildings and if they would let you rent they charge so much that Welfare won't pay for it. FT rues |THE HOMELESS - Judy Quinones | can really say there isn't enough being done for us poorer peeple. As | walk in the streets | see people who sleep on sidewalks and benches because they have no place to live. Many who lost their homes because | of fires end up in some measly hotel full of rats and 5 roaches and if they have small children it is very | dangerous for them to be there. It's not fair that the city (er whoever) builds all these co-ops and | condo's for all these so-called rich people. We need | homes teo and should be allowed the same benefits as the other people. liistead of making more condo's and co-op's for people who don't need them, you should start making affordable housing for the homeless and and for those of us who can't afferd high priced apart- ments. | know of people who needed emergency housing and never got it or who had to wait a long period of time. Some of these people ended up in the streets with their children. | know of this lady whose daughter had a newborn child. They lived in a hotel which consisted § of various rats and roaches. It was overcrowded, meaning 5 people in a 1}room space. They went to the housing 4 people and filled out an application. The person who they talked to said that it would take some time to get an apartment. While waiting for an apartment and going almost every week to social services and ex- plaining over and over the problem the baby was bitten by a big rat and had to be rushed to the hospital. | feel the city workers should have tried harder to get housing for the sake of that baby. If | was rich | would help all the needy people and would build affordable buildings for my kind.ACROSS 1 summary 2 good-natured 4 loyalty 7 rapacious 9 botch 11 cancel (a law etc.) 12 drive aground 14 cleverness 17 to feel sorry for 18 to prove to be false F = PUZZLE - Dianna Reyes reversal in progress to analyze mysterious to talk in a noisy way 8 quarrel 10 become weak 13 insensible 15 corpulent 16 Aheading creme auwo 19 any aspects (as of a person— ality)2: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X BY ALEX HALEY Stan Ferrer Setting: The story begins with the birth of Malcolm X in Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925. He went to Lansing, Michigan, then in 1941 ran away to Boston and then to New York City. Main Character: Dynamic, articulate, perceptive, cour- ageous, outspoken are just a few of the adjectives that so inadequately describe Malcolm X. Few singular per- sonalities have emerged on the national and international scene to so excite and stimulate interest in the plight of 22,000,000 Afro-Americans in the USA. Not only speaking out the agonies of the 22,000,000 members of the Black masses, but effectively voicing the guarded views and opinions of many of his detractors in the Negro elite. Physically Malcolm has been described as a man of im- pressive bearing: a tall, reddish-brown skinned fellow whose influence even after his death continues to live and grow. |14 Liber hie [Perc Darleen Sledge Once upon a time there were two penguins named Daffy and Dusty. They lived in the North Pole where there was plenty of snow to play in. They also knew Santa Claus. Santa had two helpers - Tic and Tac. One Christmas Eve Daffy and Dusty went along with Santa on his sled to deliver the gifts to all the little girls and boys. It was snowing very hard that night and the kids who were waiting started getting worried about Santa and thought that he was not going to come. But they still went along with the traditions for the Christmas holiday. That night all the children went to bed and fell asleep right away. They left a lot of milk and cookies for Santa Claus. That night Santa went to each and every house filling all the stockings, and leaving lots of presents for all the girls and boys. All the way back home Daffy and Dustry were very scared of the sled ride. The reindeer were going too fast. Fin- ally they reached home, the North Pole. Daffy and Dusty said their experience was one they would never forget. That was an adventure for Daffy and Dusty.ee THE EXCITING MONTH OF DECEMBER - Wanda Metts The excitement in December is caused by Christmas in that month. A lot of people celebrate the Christmas holiday and give out all kinds of gifts. In December we put up trees and decorate them and we also put up wreaths. During the Christmas holidays a lot of people go to dif- ferent places like to a ballet or to a banquet. Some people don't recognize that Christmas is a holiday. Many celebrate Kwanza instead on January Ist. They say that Kwanza is nothing like Christmas but | think it is something like Christmas because they give out presents and visit with their families even though Kwanza has many different principles. On Christmas people give out diamonds or genuine goosedown coats.by Dianna Reyes & Judy Quinones SEARCH FOR ij Once upon a time there were saANTa two young kids. Their names were Johnny and Akisha. They were two very curious little kids who wanted to find out where Santa lived. One day after school they were talking and said they had to plan their journey soon. Well off they went to their homes; but they kept in mind what they had been talking about earl- ier. That same day Johnny called Akisha to tell her that he had set a date for their journey. Akisha asked him where and when was the trip going to take placa. Johnny responded that they would have to wake up early tomorrow as if they were going to school (which they weren't) in order to get there in time for Christmas. Well, morning came and they were prepared for their journ- ey. They.had packed extra clothing, some munchies to eat on the trip, and some money just in case they needed it. They went to catch the train leaving to the North Pole. They dot there just in time, and they were happy they mace it. It was a two-day trip but to them it was worth it. When they got to the North Pole they were tired but they were de- termined to keep going. At the North Pole they met a young man by the name of Tom. He was very friendly and said he'd be happy to take them to Santa's home. They got there by riding a sled; to them this was a thrill. Finally, they got there and were greeted by Mrs. Claus. She was a very happy lady. She gave them milk and cookies and told them to rest, but Johnny and Akisha were anxious to meet Santa. She told them not to worry that he would be out soon. When Santa finally came out to greet them they stood up with joy anci ran to give him a hug. They told him all that they had done just to meet him, and he was very happy. As you can guess Johny and Akisha had an early Cee Christmas end better yet, they got a ride back = with Santa and his reindeer. |! can assure you that this will be a Christmas g Ry they'll never forget. 4G yn 16AN ENJOYABLE MONTH - Dianna Reyes To me December is a time for celebration. It's a month that is recognized for its many holidays. During this month Christmas, Channukah, and Kwanza are cele- brated. Channukah is a Jewish holiday in which Jew- ish people light a candle everyday and give each other gifts. Kwanza is an admirable holiday in which Blacks remember their African cultures. They believe in clean- liness and their principal belief is to make presents for each other. Then on the seventh day they eat an ex- quisite dinner together. Finally, there's Christmas which is said to be the time Christ was born. This is a time of joy. A time of great leisure. | personally believe in Christmas. | decorate the house with a Christmas tree, ornaments, wreath, and wall hangings. It's a time to give and receive gifts. To me all of this is a thrifty idea. Last year for Christmas | received a genuine diamond ring from my father, a bouquet of flowers from my mother, and a set of silk lingerie from my boyfriend. In return | gave my parents a pair of tickets to the ballet, and my boyfriend who's an amateur at tennis, an outfit with rackets and balls. We were all very happy and | hope we'll be like this, this Christmas - especially my son who now has a little understanding about Christmas. | look forward to mak- ing it a memorable one. f=SPELLING PUZZLE - Darleen Sledge 14 an outline of a literary or dramatic composition 16 to blow noisily 17 a fight 18 kind hearted 19 hold down ACROSS T to change away 4 faithfully, loyalty 6 a small face or surface 7 to glance quickly 9 a thread 10 cleverness in designing or contriving 15 clumsy 20 voracious, greedy DOWN 2 withdrawn 3 a fight or quarrel 5 weird, uncanny 8 a heading over an article 11 dignified 12 without feeling 13 to prove false20 THE HOMELESS - Tracey Pintard | think Mayor Koch should find homes for the homeless people. All of the money is being thrown away; tax payers haven't seen anything useful done with their money. If the money was used to build homes, shelters for these people, and to make sure they had food to eat and clothing everyone wouldn't wonder where the money is going. There would be progress and that would be seen by cveryone. It's really a shame to see the homeless treated badly. Most of them out there didn't just decide that one day they'd be homeless. It happened for different reasons. These people are still human beings. | guess people figure that - it's happened, so just forget about them. Don't treat them the way | saw them treated on 20/20. Mental patients are being sent to Arizona according to the program and other places like that. They feel that this is a way to get rid of the problem. 1 think the problem should be taken head on. Solve it or try to come as close to solving it as possible with a little more compassion, love, patience, It can be done.ae THE MAYOR CAN HELP THE HOMELESS - Dianna Reyes There are many things the Mayor can do for the homeless and for housing. For instance, instead of wasting fund- ing for unnecessary things like co-op's or condo!s, he could give money for renovating old buildings, to build new housing projects, or to just build better shelters and make them suitable to live in. There are so many people and families without homes or anywhere to go; many sleep in parks, abandoned cars, and burned out buildings. 1 don't think it's right. Many of these homeless are children and they should not be brought up in this kind of environment. This is one of the reasons why there are many young kids today who are stealing, killing, and getting into other problems. Doing this to them is called 'survival'. So | say that the Mayor should do something right away before our society is completely lost. 2122 IN THE BEGINNING Sylvia Winbush In the beginning, God made knowledge to be likely and vast, for all who desired and yearned for the past, but now that desire has diminished in weight especially in those who have come of late. Our environment is being buried like a vanishing laboratory, lying, crying, crack - self-explanatory Unlike the beginning, things have become so scary, but there's still hope at the local libraryWHAT SHOULD THE MAYOR DO ABOUT THE HOMELESS AND HOUSING - Dorothea Zimmerman | have personal experience in this and can be specific. | see no reason why the Mayor is allowing rent to be paid for people to live in buildings with walls that sound like crickets - we know they are mice. They are not places where you can raise children. 1 don't believe that this is a problem that can be overlooked by developing shelters. They shouldn't tear down good buildings to put up flimsy ones; structures that can be ripped down again 20 years later without a tear.] want to make it clear that | am ready to accept changes. But |-am not at all prepared to accept blind change without competence. 23: