WCRS Podcast - What You Care About

Gerald James at Broad and High 7-12-11----Tom Over

Submitted by What You Care About on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 1:55pm

8:42 minutes (7.97 MB)

Gerald James said his health benefits thru the Veteran's Administration is what's important to him.

"I'm having a few problems, but some of them have been resolved."

James said he's been in Columbus about a month and a half.
"I'm OK w/ it. But Dayton was much better...because they (people w/ the VA) cared about me more. Columbus is supposed to be the capital, but they are a bunch of you-know-whats. But I'm dealing w/ it. I'm alright."

He said he was staying at a Volunteers of America shelter here in Columbus but got kicked out for getting drunk the other night. When asked where he planned to sleep that night he said, " I have no idea, but I'll be alright."

He said he gets his meals from soup chickens and shelters and from "different places around town."

For a moment James turned his head to look at a child who was kicking her legs and singing as the adult w/ her waited for a bus.

" I have a daughter. She's 10, in Battle Creek, Michigan."

He said he loves this nation but thinks it's "going to hell." Perhaps it's my own limited comprehension, but I couldn't get much from his explanation about why our nation is heading in the wrong direction. You can try listening to the short audio file if you're interested.

James said he gets along w/ everyone he encounters on the streets, including the police. He agreed w/ me that good relationships are what make life worth living, and that it makes sense to try to find common-ground instead of focusing on things that can divide us.

"I don't give a woof woof if you're Black or White. You're my people. So I care about you...You're just like me. I'm human and you're human."

City of Columbus hasn't followed thru w/ grants, says long time community gardener

Submitted by What You Care About on Fri, 07/08/2011 - 5:43pm

1:26 minutes (1.31 MB)

Daniel Ingwerson
“The city has given a lot of support (for community gardens) vocally… but it’s often been more of a promise than a follow thru. Just this past year there was going to be $60,000 distributed to , I think, 50 gardens.

“I know of over a dozen community gardens that did not receive the grant that was announced on Earth Day by Mayor Coleman at Franklin Park. The got zip as far as money is concerned...that’s kind of disappointing.”

When the city spends $44 million on the new Scioto river way, and they can’t even put $50,000 into community gardens. That’s not saying much for the city’s real support…compared to other big cities Columbus is at the back of the pack (in its support for community gardens.)

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what the city has done so far, but it’s nowhere near enough. Our food supply is not as safe and secure as some of us would like to think.”

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Corner Stone Deli community garden/ Tom Over reports

Submitted by What You Care About on Wed, 07/06/2011 - 3:04am

6:40 minutes (6.1 MB)

7/5/11

Beans, zinnias, Thai chilis, pumpkins, cabbage, basil, sage and flowers are growing in the community garden in the parking lot of the Corner Stone Deli and Café in Clintonville.

“We set these 2 gardens up as an example of what you can do in a truly urban setting.
We’re completely surrounded by traffic, parking, and cement,” said Jean Bird, who coordinates gardens for the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, aka CRC.

“We have lots of volunteers and children. Children have done quite a bit of our planting--children from the Kid’s Club that the CRC also sponsors.”

Bird said the crops were started as seedlings with help from homeless persons and children, as well as help from Jocelyn Smallwood (red shorts) and Hallie Foster, who are with the AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate Program.

Smallwood said she hasn’t worked in gardens before but is enjoying it.
“The garden programs are pretty cool. They’re all over the place. We have this one and a couple more. They need a lot of care. We have a lot of volunteers who work really hard, but it’s a bit of a challenge to get out to all of them and give them the attention they need.”

She and Foster are helping to fill the gaps in person-power for the gardens. But she encourages people interested in volunteering to contact the resource center.