Dear Editor,
I am a regular reader of Street Sense and especially enjoy reading vendor Jeffery McNeil, from whom I used to regularly purchase issues of the papers when I saw him selling them near 19th and L Street. I am no longer employed in the area, so now I buy the papers from various other vendors whom I happen to see hawking downtown.
I commend Jeffery on his inspiring article “A Dry Year…” in the August 4 issue of Street Sense, and also congratulate him on his anniversary of one year of sobriety.
Street Sense is an extremely valuable publication, and the poems and essays written by the homeless confirm that although many of them are caught in unfortunate circumstances, they are also blessed with God-given talent.
Editorial intern Adam Sirgany’s article about Mitch Snyder went straight to my heart. I had the opportunity to meet Mitch and Carol Fennelly when I was a strong supporter of affordable housing in the District, and began volunteering periodically with CCNV, during the 1980s. One of the highlights of my brief service with CCNV occurred on Thanksgiving Day, when alongside numerous other advocates and volunteers, I served Thanksgiving dinner to countless homeless people gathered for the occasion on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
What I clearly remember is that although that was a frigid winter day, it was a heartwarming experience to be able to do my small part to help feed the homeless who lined up on one side of long folding tables, waiting their turn for volunteers on the opposite side to fill their paper plates with turkey, ham, green vegetables, yams, corn, rolls, pies and just about every other Thanksgiving menu item you can think of. Much of the food was donated by empathetic residents in the Washington Metropolitan area, and I believe that some restaurants and churches also contributed to the event.
Mitch, like all of us, was imperfect. However, were he alive and pursuing his fight to help the homeless, I feel sure that some would describe him in the contemporary vernacular as a “cultural icon.” He was also a Godsend, and may be remembered by others among his supporters as well as myself whenever we hear these words of a popular song, “Like a comet blazing ‘cross the evening sky, gone too soon.
Sincerely,
Loretta Parker-Brown
