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Frost radio is brought to you by the international media conspiracy. We can watch you through your radios. Radio old. You are listening to frost radio, bringing the crystallization of new ideas to the airwaves. The views expressed in this show are not necessarily those of w, are you w or Case Western Reserve University?

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And you're listening to frost radio today. We have a special guest in the studio. Marsha Rizzo Swanson. Who is the top-selling vendor of a Newspaper in the entire country as well as the top-selling vendor at the homeless Grapevine. She's pretty much you won a contest in San Francisco. I believe at the recent Street vending National Conference and you sold more what? Three times more than anybody else. Yes, I did. So, how many did you sell, actually, I sold 60, Three papers in one hour. We had only one hour. Exactly. When he told us to stop, that's when we stopped. I sold 60, Three papers. And you did that. What was your Technique? Your special technique there? Maya technique, I guess, I had a cow outfit on. I was dressed up as a cow. Brian told me, what was that do for me? I guess it did something. It made me sell the paper. Guess I brought attraction to people. So and you any of you out there in the listening audience, who've ever bought a grapevine, especially if you've bought a grapevine outside of the West Side Market, you've probably met Marsha because she's a pretty well-known person and in the city, so that's who we're talking to today. We're going to I think kind of go into your whole life experience your the how you got involved. In selling the Grapevine and how you got interested in dealing with these sorts of issues related to homelessness. So if as we're talking, you want to join in on the conversation, the phone number is 368 2208 and will be on air until 12 noon. So it seems to me maybe the best place to begin is actually in the beginning. I was born in Buffalo, New York. I was put in a foster home. I had a pretty rough life. I know what it is to have a hard life. So I know how to treat people. I believe that love. I've learned a lot of love from this hard life, I had. So when I grew up, I came to live with my mother. When I was about 12, I was still minor and I lived with her and then I was in an institution for 18 years. She didn't really want me. As my mom, had problems, we made up in our lives. After about five years ago. I had a men's with my mom. She had just passed away and now she's with the Lord and I know that I got to keep going on. I want to write a book about my autobiography, because there was a lot involved in my life that I can give to someone else. This book would be a value to people because life is not an easy. Easy Factor. So we all need something that if I could write this book and get someone to help me with this book. I would appreciate it. If they would call the radio station and Dan Kirk and take their name and they can Dan can give it to me. Whenever if it does not today. It can be any other time. I want to write the book so I can give somebody the opportunity to know that no matter what happens in your life. You could still keep on going. I was on the streets with my first baby pregnant with my child and I know what it is to be homeless. I'm not homeless now, but I'd love to. I love the Grapevine. I saw the Grapevine to the fact that I want people to know really what really truly going on in our lives today in Ohio and Cleveland and they were in the United States knowing that we are the richest nation and don't we should not have a for anybody to be homeless, but they are. And there's a lot of reasons that people are homeless, not from just people saying it's drugs because it's not a factor about drugs. It's a factor that we have a lot of mental illness, lot of handicap mothers that are out there with children on the streets. They need comfort like anybody else and they're not out here, asking you for anything, because if they were, your the doors would be knocked down on every street, wouldn't they? Nobody is asking. For anything people want help. And when they help needs to be given, I think people should give it, right. So you kind of alluded right there to some of the causes of homelessness. What, what do you think are some of the reasons why people, who have mental illnesses have to be on the street today, or people who have handicaps. Well, when Reagan shut, all the buildings down for the mental illness. When they had to Mental Hospitals, Reagan and put Put people to the streets. People have families that have been destroyed families that made people have problems problems come from all different types of works of life. Really even a rich person could have children that they deny when, you know, when I was denied from my family, I am very fortunate that I didn't. Let myself get to the streets. I'm a very much so called the Survivor. And I do have the Lord my heart. So I know that living with my life and my my religion that I know what God is to me and that's why I say honesty is the best policy when you live in life because you know, I love people and I want to keep on helping and supporting myself supporting people in any way I can to do things for them. Right? Well, let's let's get into a maybe if we can go into a little detail. All about you told me off the air that the situation in the foster home was pretty miserable and pretty awful. It was awful. That was now what? What time period are we talking about? I was in there from the time when my mom gave birth to me. They left me in the hospital years ago. If you had a child out of wedlock, they was a very bad disgrace. Today. It's, you know, it's a normal thing of people having children but years ago, Fortunately was a disgrace, so they left me in the hospital and then I went to a foster home and the home I was in was awful. It was terrible. They used to beat me and they used to make me drink and eat bread and coffee in the morning for breakfast. Mmm. They were abusive to me and my life was horrible in there, but that does not mean that I have to be horrible to somebody else. Right now. That was a family or was that As a family, I lived with their names were and Ali knows. Now. They how old what you are? That was until you were 12. And that was in the 60s, or I believe it was in the 50s. And the first, I was born in 44, 40 to 44, so, until about 56, you lived in the in the foster home, right? And then you went to a children's home in Buffalo, New York. I had a social Picked into the house when I was in the foster home and I guess when I was 12, I was smart enough to know that I wanted to run away from there. So I told the social worker, and she came, because she asked if I wanted to go to Camp, because they had camp for people in foster homes. And I told her. Yeah, I did. And the Foster people told me not to go to stay there. Not even go to it. When mrs. Phillips, her name was she? She asked me if I wanted to go. She'll, let me come. Back, she'll come back in a week and let me know if it's okay with me. I shall let me go to the camp and I told her I wanted to go. I says and I don't want to come back here anymore because I'm afraid they beat me up and they're mean to me and they put me in a room all the time. And I had a doll when I was a kid. It was a walking down. I named it Marie, Antoinette and here. That's what my mother's name was. And I didn't even know it. Hmm, and I named my daughter. That and well every morning I used to get up and talk to the dollar was in The Parlor. One day. I got up and I didn't see the doll there and they told me, they said to me, they said that the Dow walked away and I knew it didn't, but I didn't know what to say, because I was scared of those people. They just took everything away from me. That my grandmother used to bring me. Hmm. So the the place was terrible. So what I did is I told mrs. Phillips. I didn't want to go back there and she told me, she's a We got a place for you, and I thought to myself ahead. You got a place that quickly, you know, and, and here they put me in this orphanage. Well, my grandmother used to come and see me there and buffalo, because she lived right there in Buffalo, and she got me to come and live with my mother when I was 12. So I stayed in the orphanage about a year and a half that any better than the Foster. No, it was not, it was definitely not. What was the orphanage like? Well, we had like nuns in theirs. Like nuns men. There wasn't that they were bad. It was just it was not the thing. You would want to be in, okay, years ago. I mean, it was horrible. I mean the things that happened they used to keep me in the infirmary all the time because I used to fight, I guess because I was confused. I was a very confused child. I had a lot of things happened to me that I fought for tension. Hey, could understand any child. That wants help that fight for attention because they there's something bothering Bothering them. I couldn't understand that when I was younger. So that's why I did this. But when I got older, I understand all this. That why I love kids. I really do love children. I believe that a lot of kids that have emotional problems and if they fight and they want attention is because there is some reason why Something's Happened. There's a reason for everything and anything happens. There's always a reason for it. So you move back with your mother then. And at 12 at 12. Years old. And then my stepfather raped me, four months later and then I did run away from home and then my mother put me in the institution. She doesn't know why she did that but see, my mom had mental problems. I found out years later in life. My sister took care of my mother which she had just passed away and we had made amends five years ago. So like I say, it's not anything a bad against my mother. It was that my mother had mental problems and The mental health system. It stinks. It does. It just doesn't work properly years ago. They didn't have that. Did they? They didn't have counselors? They didn't have the things they have today. So, you were a teenager, then when they, when your mom, put you in the Indian Ocean. Oh, really? You were only there for months and my stepfather raped me. And I ran away from home and They put you in the institution and they found you. And that know, I went to jail. They found me. They put me in jail that night. Wow, so, please put me in jail, and then they took me to detention home, downtown here on 22nd Street, and then, I went to court against him. I didn't tell them at first though. I did not tell them that he raped me. I just ran away and I would not tell so they put me in jail and got me for a cordial, but my mother put me in detention home. Umm, from detention home. They put me in girls industrial school from girls industrial school. I went to juvenile Diagnostic Center. I was just an emotional child fighting for for somebody to help me but didn't know how to ask. So I fought and I drew some type of tension in the wrong way because I needed that help. And I couldn't get it like years ago. They didn't have social work, Social Service that really stunk years ago. They didn't have mental health, which they have today. Years ago, if you wanted some, you can get the help. So you were you, I was put in this place and then they put me in Massillon state hospital because I thought there was something wrong with me, but they didn't know. And so I was there for about a year and a half and finally I got a hold of my mother and she said she was going to come and visit me and she came up there and they let me go out on the ground and she took me out of there was like a wi all or some absent without leave, right? And I was home for two and a half years and my stepfather bothered me again, and I would not say nothing for two and a half years to. Finally, one day. I told her because I was afraid of going back again. So what I did I told her finally but they did put me back in there and I spent 18 years in that place. Oh my gosh, you they put you in there because you told her that your father or her your stepfather raped. My mother used to put you in the institution. Yeah, my mother used to Tell everybody that, I ruined her marriage, but she was had mental problems ourselves. So, like, I say, nobody helped nobody my mother. If you told her to go to a counselor should tell me, I don't need no help. You need to help your the one that has a problem, but see cuz you never really had anything years ago. When would they say? You can't teach an old dog new tricks? And then when the first and gets old, they don't want to do nothing right? Wow. Wow, that's incredible story. So you You were in the institution for 18 years. Yes. I was wow. From when how old were you when you first got in? Was in there when I was 12. Like I said, it was four months after I was home with my parents with my stepfather. Raped me. I was considered incorrigible. I went to juvenile Diagnostic Center from there. They put me in masculine because they said, I had problems because I fought all the time. Right, right? And you you but then you you came home for two years or two and a half years. I was home. Yeah, my mom took me home. And so you must have been around 16 or so, when they when you went down 15, 16 when he went back and I was 15 and they got him for statutory rape. They didn't get them for a rape because I didn't tell when that happened, when I was 12, right? And statutory rape is considered rape with consent. How can a child have some? Say sure, come on, you can have me, you know, a child years ago, did not know. I mean, they kept a lot of things away from kids years ago. You didn't know about What a man was about years ago, you know, you didn't know. I mean, I thought I was dirty. That's why I ran away from home. I thought I was dirty. I did something wrong and believe me a lot of kids think this today and they blame their salts for it now and you you ended up going to 18 years. What was this place like that? You went to the hospital? Well, they gave me a shock treatment every day twice. They for punishment because I didn't do what they wanted. I didn't go to their beck and call. Hmm. I wasn't mentally ill. I don't see a psychiatrist today. I don't go into have any problems with that. I had to be put back in are putting on Hospital in the first place. I mean, a lot of people, they are mentally ill. Have relapse has, don't they? Mhm, they fall back and they go back in the hospital. Correct, right? Now exactly. Yeah. No, that's but it seems to me, one of the the arguments. I mean, if was this place, obviously this place wasn't helpful for you, was it? I commended tried to commit suicide. Wow. I tried to kill myself in that place. I broke windows. I try to cut myself up badly. I almost cut my arm off and I was in the institution. They had to sew it back. I wanted to die. That's all I wanted was to die in there. It was a horrible Place. Wow, and so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that they shut those places down. Yes, possibly. It wasn't a good thing. But what good is it doing for the people on the streets? Now if they took those places and shut them down, couldn't they have some kind of support where they have shelters for these people and have mental illness. The mental people that Mental problems. Couldn't they have a place where they can give them structure and give them medication. That's why a lot of them are on drugs and drinking because they're trying to self medicate themselves. And there's not no help out there. So it's not the case that you want them to go back into the situation where you were but we need to improve it all together and use the resources that we have. So people aren't exactly held prisoner, but that that actually have the support that they so that they can take the medications and get the counseling that they need. And then when they yell about these people are nothing but drug addicts. On the street know there's a lot of ill people when I got in the Grapevine, I didn't realize all the homeless people because it's not visible. It is definitely not visible. I mean I could walk down the street and another person could be homeless and they could be right next to me. You would not know this. It is just definitely not visible. But there it is. There it really is. And when I was in San Francisco, it was on every corner. It was on every corner in San Francisco. Wow, well, we're going to take a quick musical interlude here. This is song, marshes chosen. It's called you don't have to be a star to be in My Show by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis jr. You want to tell us a little bit about this song. Yeah, years ago. I was going with the guy and I wanted that record because about this song is you don't have to be a star to be in in your in the show. the thing is, I'm not a star, but I am a person, and I feel that this song is just, it just has a meaning to it. That being a star is being a person, being yourself. You don't have to be a star. You just be yourself be for real, and that's what I think about us. All right. Well, here we go. You don't have to be a star to be on Frost radio. That was Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis jr. You don't have to be a star to be in my show. Well, thanks. I hadn't been aware of that song. Thanks for letting us know. It's out there Marcia. That was, you know, that was that was great. We were going to be here until 12 noon. We're in studio. With Marsha Rizzo Swanson. Who is the top-selling? Or of a street newspaper in the country. She sells the homeless Grapevine here in Cleveland. And if you all probably seen her, so I'm a grapevine behind the West Side Market. And if you want to get involved in this conversation, you can give us a call at three six eight two two zero eight. And if you're out there Ralph, hopefully you'll give us a call back. We had some troubles with a line that you are on wasn't broadcasting, our wasn't playing loud enough to actually be able to get you on the air. So, we were talking, not just before the interlude about some, some of the issues in with regards to actual mental health care in particular, some of the conditions in the institution where you were how really miserable. They were you, you came out in the 70s, then, huh, 73, or 72 or 73 because I got pregnant with my first kid and I had her in some For okay, so it was 70. 74, 73 to and did you get out? Why did they end up letting you out? Well, I had a friend. I guess the guy that raped you when I was younger told this lady because he was married to her sister about me and she called there one day and told them to have her call her Aunt. Betty. Well, I knew I didn't have enhanced Betty but you know, I was pretty shrewd. I It always this my way out of here. So I called her and I said, but I can't call her. She lives in Cleveland. I don't, I don't have money to call Long Distance. They said that she said to reverse the charges. That's as fine. I will never went to almond Hall and I used her phone and called her and started talking to her and she got me, she came to visit me and she got me out. And of course we lied to this to them and told them that I was going to. Get a job. I was going to go to school or I was going to do something just to something, they would want to hear. So I could stay out with her. But even though we lied about it, I didn't do any harm to society, right. I'm not I wasn't mentally ill, but I just had to do something, to make be able to keep myself from being in this place. Hmm. And so, you came out and moved back to Cleveland. Yes, I did. And you became Homeless then, in the 70s. Yeah, when I was pregnant with my first child, I got out. I got in a fight with my hands because her daughter drank a lot and I couldn't handle it because I had enough of it where my family drank so I mean, but you know, drinking is a sickness and that's what you had. I love her today anyway, but the thing was I was on the streets. I didn't have a place to go. I called my mom when she had a restaurant Old. I was hungry. She didn't care. I left myself on the streets and I tried to survive, but my thing is that I worked as a go-go dancer years ago, in a bar, and I slept in, in her bar in the evening with a dog, and I did something to work somewhere, to give myself some shelter. And that was after you had gotten out in the 70s. Yeah, I was living on the East Side in this bar called Jerry's in years ago. Mmm-hmm. Used to let me stay there. I was staying with this one girl, but after she took my money, she threw me on the street. So I had to live at this bar and work for nothing in the daytime as a go-go dancer. Okay. Looks like Ralph's giving us a call back. Let's try and get him on the air. Ralph you're on the air. It's Christopher. Yeah, Chris Chris is here. MRSA is right here. Okay, everybody that's never seen in person. Marsha is worth a market to watch her spread the word about the homeless and that and how tough it is to make it as either Marcia. It's got the word out more than any other well, aside from from that, Dan and Krista. Was and I think finally when the when the plane due to the planes those should be closed at you. See that huge new building that they're putting up down there, right? Yeah, right. All that money is going to go up all the efforts of the plain dealer in the last 15 or 20 years has been to build some billion dollar stadiums for billionaire owners and millionaire of ball players and they've torn down all the old. A cheap houses for the poor about downstairs. I work for the poor downtown rather, right? And that's made it a lot. Difficult, more difficult for people to get housing. Do you have any questions for her? I'm here. Go ahead. Hi, sweetheart. How you been? I sure did and I agree 100%. All these buildings, these new buildings, Jacobs Field and the Brown Stadium that we could put new housing for the homeless and start working with our homeless people and not worry about what they could make money off of. But trying to work with the homeless and get them off the streets. I want to thank the Reverend Martin Luther Church. I ran out of change over to the other one. Now that's capitalism at work. When I run out of change. I couldn't make the call. So he let me use his phone. That was very nice rev that you let him use the phone. Yep. Well and a good morning to everybody out there is a system. They really missing something here. On a cold day, your work to cook down the West Side Market to see. Oh, thank you. If I appreciate this, that's really nice of you. Okay, look at her. I see. I love you. Cindy. Alright. Alright. Thanks for call Ralph. Okay. Bye. Yeah, that's that's a good point. If you're out there and you want to talk more to Marcia at any time, if you want to help her as you could tell, she's had a series of letters were very interesting life and she's interested in writing her life story in a book. If you're interested in working with her on that. You can also not only just call us here at the station. You can go to the West Side Market and meet her in person and talk to her in person. Your they are. What day is it? Week and they're on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Usually, in the morning, sometimes afternoon, later, afternoons. Okay, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. That's when Marcia has her office hours at the West Side Market and you're usually right between the parking lot and actual produce stands, right? Yes. I am so you can meet up with her there. All right, so or you could give Dan a call on the radio at three six. Eight, two, two. 208 and Dan can take the message for me and I can get in touch with him or he can get in touch with me. Exactly. Now, you are just talking about being homeless in the early 70s. And that's something I don't think a lot of people are familiar with what the conditions were like. Not even have shelters. Then if you had to make good shelter, you had to do it on your own. They did not have a lot of that. This is why I'm saying, that's what mental health was like years ago, too. So we don't have all the resources. So what did you do for shelter? Like I says, I worked at this bar in the daytime, and Jerry. Let me sleep in the bar at night on the floor. Okay. So you slept on the floor, mostly then at the bar. Yes. Did you end up staying in the any of those hotels that the cheap hotels, that were demolished that Ralph likes to talk about? Yeah. I was at that one, down by the bus station. That one hotel. That's not there anymore. There was a hotel there. I stayed there. The county put me in there for about maybe a few days. Okay? Okay, and then I stayed in a hallway of apartment buildings. I slept on the floor at night, on the east side, on 72nd and I slept and apartment buildings at night on the floor, and then got up early in the morning went out. And then I just would stay out until night time. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, and you are pregnant at the time to how was pregnant with my first. Out. Yeah, which is now, 27 years old. So you could imagine about 28 29 years ago. They didn't even have shelters. That have anything Called Homeless, even though it wasn't in existence. They didn't have it. What were you? The only one out there? Where? They're quite a few other people eat there? Probably was others. Like I say, homeless is not visible, right? People. Don't tell anybody while I'm homeless, people aren't out there. Giving people problems. They stay to themselves and their on. The streets, like I said, Homeless is not visible, but it is out there and more help is needed. Right? And so, and especially in the early 70s, in the 70s. It wasn't nearly as visible as it is today. Yes, it is. Or as it was in the 80s. And so, how long were you homeless? I was homeless for about three or four months. It would thank God. It was only summer because then I got some help with. I had a social worker that you Work at Mount Sinai Hospital. Help me get some metal, some aid for me for the baby. And then I got I got a place to live and how did you get the place? I got it through a counselor that used to be my husband years ago. He was a counselor at state hospital and matter of fact, he was a teacher at Tri-C. His name was Maury rice died and I was married to him and he before I was married, he helped me get housing. He did a lot for me. Knew that I Was an incredible woman as he used to call me. I love that man so much. And so you, what kind of housing did you move into temporary until regular plays for myself like an apartment on West? 45th Street. And I had my baby there and he met a fact he was there. He was my labor coach. Wow, that's nice and that. And now at the time, your rent was paid for by the city state or. Well, I had the city helped me later, but Maury helped put me in a place for a while until I got some Public Assistance through this worker. Mrs. Stern, that worked over at the hospital. Mhm. I got some help from her and mrs. Stewart. They All helped me meta fact, I stayed out of workers housing. They mrs. Thorne. She was a teacher. I mean, a worker at Cleveland State Hospital. Very nice. Lady manufacturers of God, mother of my children. She took. And when I dedicated my children to the Lord, she came to see him and she came to the church service and everything, and she was a godmother of my children. I still have something to do with her. She lives at Washington to see her husband passed away. She sent me a letter and told me. She was moving to Washington. I call her every so often. She's a good friend of mine. Right. Wow, so you then have been been housed since then? Yes. I have a home ever since and I've been doing whatever I can to survive and believe me, things are well. I'm a married woman. Now my have husband. He's now 64 years old, but I was married to him years ago and well four years ago. Broke up a lot of marriages. You, if you wanted help for your kids. You couldn't be married. So we've lived together on and off for years and we kept with each other on and off. We've been through thick and thin different things. He had happened to him. I've had happen to me, we would be stick, we would stick by each other, and I just got married. It'll be two years in July on. July the 8th. I'll be married two years to him. Wow, congratulations. And you now then get help. Assistance are no, my husband gets Social. And I get SSI. I get only two hundred and one dollars because I got married. So I live on a minimum income, my husband and I we get about 800 all together, but I'm going to tell you, God is there for us to help us out? Okay. Well, we have another caller on the air, on the line. Caller, you're on the air. My name is Joe calling from. Hi. How are you? Doing? Good. What was particularly remarkable as her kind of lack of bitterness in her resilience of her. Her strong, human spirit? Thank you. It's really rare. I'm a psychiatrist myself and I hope you don't take your help, you know, you know, you're not offended by me because I know a lot of my colleagues in the profession are kind of insensitive and don't really understand what you go through on a day-to-day basis. If you are homeless, I know, I'm not, I'm not against you because you're a psychiatrist, you are just doing You have to earn, you sound like a very nice psychiatrist. I'd like to get to meet you. Yeah, well. Voice sounded so much like somebody that I already see. I thought it. Was long time on the phone until I heard your name, and then I realized it wasn't you. But I also want to say that I would be happy to meet with you and even possibly collaborate on. Starting a few chapters. I'm only here until the 1st of May. I'm moving to California. Very nice. Oh, that would be fantastic. Yeah, I'd left my number already just because I have as I mentioned to the person, I talked to before, I volunteered and homeless clinics, and I've worked with a couple of different homeless projects in San Francisco. When I moved there and I really enjoyed that it was really rewarding for me to kind of see what people's day-to-day struggles were. And I think it's a real, inspirational message to hear from someone like you, who can give back to the community after having so many years of hard times. Well, we really appreciate your call and we'll definitely Marcia will get the phone number and I'm sure it sounds like it'll be an exciting process getting those first chapters together. Okay? Well, thank you very much and bless you. I listen to it all the way down from Cleveland. I really enjoyed the show. Thank you. Okay, bye-bye. All right. It looks like we've got collars. All the lines are filling up. If our co-collaborators can help us figure out, which one's should go. The are not then we can go from there. So, yeah, that's great. That's great. If there anyone else is out there who wants to work on the later chapters of the middle chapters. We've definitely got one commitment for the early chapters and Marsh appreciates that. I'm sure I have a lot of appreciation. Anything I get in life. I very much, appreciate, I appreciate what I get and I believe that I am very deserving of anything. I get out. I am not one. I want to help others and do for others too. I don't want to sit back and say, give me give me cuz I really want to be out there helping people. And when I get this book written, I want to be able to publicize it to let people get the benefit of knowing that we could still keep going on. Okay, looks like we have another caller. Caller, you're on the air. Good morning. Good morning, Eunice. And I know Marcia, and I wanted to say something about Marsha years ago. I met, Marsha. I had a little business. It was an in-home care business, and I was looking for some workers and I found, Marsha. She had called me to apply for a position and I used And I want to say that Marcia was the best worker. I had, I had people that, you know, record requested her. She was very good with people elderly people, especially she had a lot of loving her and a lot of care. Everything that she did, she put her whole self into it and and at the time I didn't know that Marcia had went through all that she went through later on over a period of time. I found this out and I'll tell you something for someone that has went through. What she's went through. She has really Came a long ways. Well, we appreciate your comments. I, it seems, you know, it since the short time. I've known her to its, I've she's definitely a wonderful person, very, very wonderful Marcia. Marcia has a lot more knowledge than people give her credit for a lot of people when they meet Marcia. They think that you know, she's Well, she's not all there. But Marcia has and I tell them Marcia has knowledge. You don't even know about. You know, I'm very I'm very, very thankful that God allowed me to meet her and I think you to Eunice much. I thank you guys. Marsha is doing a wonderful job with the homeless a few years back. I used to work on the street with the homeless on Sunday afternoon with a group. And Public Square, we would feed them and minister to them and give close to them. So I know what it is. And those people on the street, like Marcia says, you know, they're not all people who have a drug problem, or alcohol problem. And there are a lot of people on the street that have a mental problem and they're not really bad, but they need some assistance and can't get it and I agree with Marshall. Those people need assistance, and there's nobody there to assist them. So I just wanted to put my two cents in there to, you know, to verify what she's saying about. Thank you, Eunice. I appreciate all this. Yeah. We appreciate your call. Okay. Thank you. All right, we've got another caller caller. You're on the air. Yeah, this is frost radio. Hi. How you doing? A could Grapevine getting the word out and thank you Jerry. Thank you very much. Wow, well, we appreciate your call. This is one of our longest time listeners, who's calling. Now from Chicago. We're glad you're still listening in and, and I keep my phone. I'll tell you what, if you can get someone to help you out. You can listen to us on the internet at www.www.pinesicearena.com and we can keep you in touch and keep you in the loop. But you're out. She's also talking about the website the day laborers, organizing Committee website, which is at Bu w dot, Cleveland the loch, Ard llc.com and that's to Dee's www.clemson.edu/peach c.com., And that's yep. That's.com. So you can check that out and find out what's going on with a day laborers, listeners out there. But any questions or comments for Marcia, all right. And we can get this Wider Circle of people to understand how they can make, that's where we want Jerry. That's when we need. Well. Hey, we really appreciate your calling. Keep keep keep calling in periodically and we'll get you on the air. Okay, let us know how things are going in Chicago. Okay. All right. Hey, thank you. That was Jerry and she's been on the show herself and another longtime activist on these issues. Now, you kind of got into advocacy in part as a result of Jerry's work. Didn't you? Are I met a girl named call? Let one day, and she was telling me to come to this meeting. So I came to the meeting. It was called wro welfare rights organization with the Westside local, so I got into it. I was in there about maybe January and February, I believe they had nominees and I wasn't even there that long. No one, even hardly home New Me. But by my Works, they knew me very well. So they nominated me and I was a vice chairperson, right? The next month in March voted on the on the on the staff and then was able to be a vice chairperson when Jerry Went into Vista. I was the chairperson. I held meetings. I learned a lot from working with the community because my education was very poorly years ago, but now I've learned a great deal and it was self-taught. I taught myself how to read. I used to read signs going down the street, reading signs, and that's how I learned how to do think. Then I went and took some educational classes. I I became a certified welder. Also, I'm a draftsman computer operator. Wow, that's amazing. And so, and you got involved through your advocacy work initially through the welfare rights organization. Yes, which is now known as the Empowerment Center. Yes, and what are some of the things you've been working on? You've been working on the homeless issues, in particular, for how long I've been with them about four years. Now. I didn't realize I was this long with the homeless. What? Niak, matter of fact, I'm a paid member of niak and if I could help with anything. I want to be a volunteer with me arc and do some work for them. I really am pleased with the program, niak is a good program. I'm telling Northeast, Ohio, Coalition for the homeless and we got to really be grateful. We got a good organization organizer. And Dan, I mean, Ryan Davis, he's a very good organizer. We got some nice people Angela's in there and I mean, very nice. And other new girl, the girl we have from Vis Devon. She's a good worker and they're very nice people there and I like working with them. And, you know, I've met a lot of people since I've been with the homeless, I know a lot of people from the West Side Market to and I thank all these that by the great vibe from me. All right, and now as far as selling the Grapevine, how are for those out there who are interested in in selling the Grapevine in? Are those who are homeless or formerly homeless, or close to being homeless, who are interested in selling the Grapevine? How did they do that? What I do is when some of them are homeless and they want to make some money and so they can have some money for personal needs and things like that. I asked them if they wanted to come Grapevine vendors because we are always asking people to be a grapevine vendor. If you need to know about being a grapevine, vendor use my name, I'm Marcia Rizal Swanson and you Get it through knee octants 2411 104. Just mentioned, my name that I told you the number and you can be able to sell the Grapevine. Thank you. Yeah, that's that's that's good. And you might not be able to sell as many grapevines as Marcia here because she is, as we said earlier, the top-selling Street newspaper, vendor in the country, but you can definitely learn a few things. And and maybe who knows, maybe a few. Learn a few things techniques from her you might beat me. You might be here in the future. So she's always open for competition. And if you're interested like she said you can give the northeast Ohio, Coalition for the homeless, a call at 241 1104 and use marshes name Marsha, Rizzo Swanson. So we're reaching towards the end of the hour again and any any That's our closing comments. You'd like to leave the listeners with. Yeah, that I'm very fortunate that I did have Dan career. Let me get on radio and talk to the people and I'm very happy that I found out that the Sakai just had called that he can help me with my book. And if anybody else can, I'm asking again, please to call 368 to 2008 and give Dan Kerr, the phone number and I will get in touch with him as well as he gets in. Touch with me to be able to do the book. Thank You. Rod bless everyone is and Me, let me actually, just add an amendment to that. If you're going to call right now, that would be the time to call 368 2208. And we can get the number immediately to Marsha. But if you want to think about it and get back later, it actually might be better. If you call directly to the Northeast, Ohio, Coalition for the homeless, since I'm not here most of the week, it's probably a little safer in the message will definitely get to her if you leave the number at your Name and number at the northeast Ohio, Coalition for the homeless at 24 1, 1, 1, 0 4, and we are going to close the show with a tune from Diana Ross and The Supremes. This one's called Nothing But heartaches and we will be with you next Tuesday. Stay tuned. Also, we're going to have a show coming up. I'm with Robert Robert Schneider and disability radio. So it was a nice segue. The issues we have been talking about and here's Diana Ross. Why can't you be the same way too?