motherjones--2020-03-09--A Charity for Disabled Veterans Raised Nearly $300 Million. Why Did Most of the Money Barely Reach T

A Charity for Disabled Veterans Raised Nearly $300 Million. Why Did Most of the Money Barely Reach Them?

In the summer of 2014 , the Disabled Veterans National Foundation was in dire straits .
Only seven years after setting up shop , DVNF had raised more money than all but a handful of other veterans groups , but only 15 percent of its revenue in that time directly reached veterans .
The rest was owed , almost entirely , to a single contractor—an outcome that had already sparked a congressional probe and investigations by Florida and New York ’ s top prosecutors .
Like other groups , DVNF used sappy solicitations to raise money , often centered around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in combat .
But many of these characters were completely made up .
By the time New York authorities announced a settlement with DVNF that summer , the charity was spending 90 cents of every dollar it raised to pay Quadriga Art , the direct mail firm that coordinated its fundraising campaign , and Convergence Direct Marketing , a firm that designed the direct-mail solicitations .
As part of the agreement , Quadriga was ordered to forgive DVNF ’ s massive debt and pay the state nearly $ 10 million , the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the US for deceptive charitable fundraising , ” according to the New York attorney general ’ s office .
The AG ’ s punishment laid most of the blame on Quadriga for misleading an “ unsophisticated start-up charity ” like DVNF .
With the settlement , DVNF had an “ opportunity to make a fresh start.
” That ’ s not what happened .
Instead of cutting ties with Quadriga , DVNF has continued fundraising at near record levels while using most of its revenue to offset exorbitant direct mail costs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same fundraising arrangement with Quadriga or any of its “ successors ” for three years , it did not say anything about restricting DVNF ’ s fundraising costs .
And it still permitted the charity to work with Quadriga in a limited capacity if the firm won a “ competitive bidding process.
” Months after the settlement , Quadriga signed a new contract with DVNF and quietly reorganized under a different name .
Now known as Innovairre Communications , the firm received more than $ 101 million from DVNF between 2014 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which the charity ’ s financials are available .
Over that period , only 11 percent of the money raised by DVNF went to goods and services for veterans , an even more dismal result than the one preceding the settlement .
To industry experts like Daniel Borochoff , founder of nonprofit watchdog CharityWatch , that sounds awfully similar to the setup DVNF had in the past , when most donations were used to offset its high fundraising costs .
Since his group began monitoring DVNF in 2010 , the charity has received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible rating , because so little of the charity ’ s money directly goes to veterans .
It ’ s still an F-rated charity today .
“ Nothing has changed , ” Borochoff told me .
“ Based on the results , they ’ ve gone back to what they ’ ve been doing in the past that got them into trouble.
” Before it rocketed to infamy , DVNF started as an experiment .
Five Department of Veterans Affairs staffers in Louisiana had come together in 2005 to form a nonprofit mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each year .
That organization , the National Association of State Women Veterans Coordinators , had humble ambitions before its founders came into contact with Larry Rivers , a retired Marine officer with a wealth of contacts within the veterans charity movement .
He connected them to Brick Mill Studios , a subsidiary of the firm that owned Quadriga , in 2007 and eventually the founders were pitched on setting up a nationwide , direct mail campaign to raise money .
To test-run the venture , the founders set up another nonprofit and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Throughout this process , Rivers and Quadriga ’ s leaders neglected to disclose to DVNF ’ s founders a crucial conflict of interest underpinning the arrangement : Rivers was a paid sales agent for Quadriga , even while informally advising DVNF .
Lacking relevant experience , DVNF founders signed off on a laughably expensive fundraising campaign whose scale took even them by surprise .
One DVNF board member apparently thought it would only raise $ 50,000 , according to a report compiled by the New York AG ’ s office .
Within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15.6 million on fundraising to raise more than $ 10 million in revenue .
By 2012 , it had raised more than $ 21 million—and DVNF accrued $ 16.5 million in debt to its fundraising vendors .
Rivers pocketed millions in commissions from the arrangement while boosting his own influence within DVNF .
His daughter Raegan was named DVNF ’ s chief administrative officer in March 2010 after a search process that included “ no job announcement ” for the position and zero interviews with any other candidates before her hire , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( Larry and Raegan Rivers did not respond to repeated requests for comment . )
Two years later , reporters from CNN who had been investigating the charity ’ s finances discovered that DVNF had made a series of payments to an organization with a similar name , the Disabled Veterans Life Memorial Foundation .
In early 2008 , Memorial Foundation leaders realized that DVNF ’ s solicitations bore such a “ striking resemblance ” to their own mailings that it seemed their “ proprietary information and intellectual property rights had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from its executive director to a Florida state official looking into DVNF .
As part of a settlement with the Memorial Foundation , DVNF agreed to pay the other charity $ 325,000 over three years , writing the installments off in its filings to the IRS as grants .
Attorneys general in California and New York opened investigations into Quadriga in response to CNN ’ s reporting .
Congress announced its own probe into DVNF ’ s ties with the firm .
DVNF ’ s problems were mounting even as Quadriga continued to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the charity ’ s entire operation .
It was not entirely unusual that a new charity like DVNF invested so heavily in direct mail .
Quadriga ’ s idea was to send its tug-at-your-heartstrings solicitations along with unsolicited and somewhat pricey gifts like tote bags , which lent DVNF credibility to unsuspecting donors who might have been unaware they were giving money to an organization that , at the time , had no employees , staff , or a phone line .
For a new organization attempting to find its footing , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail was ambitious and clearly lucrative .
But many of the ads put out by DVNF blatantly misled donors .
Often these advertisements would falsely suggest the bulk of the donor ’ s money was going to disabled vets , though it mostly just filled Quadriga ’ s coffers .
One of DVNF ’ s appeals for help described an Afghanistan veteran named Arnie who “ suffered severe brain and leg injuries ” after his vehicle was hit by a bomb .
“ We found Arnie through a shelter for homeless veterans , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urgently important gift of $ 10… $ 15…or $ 20 today can lay that blanket of security and concern over a hero like Arnie.
” The New York AG ’ s office later determined that Arnie , and DVNF ’ s story of helping him , were made up .
“ A lot of people are very sympathetic , so they give unknowingly , ” Borochoff says .
“ A fundraiser can take advantage of that fact.
” The expensive campaign was DVNF ’ s way of making a name for itself in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ DVNF has found that including small items of minimal value in mailings are useful attention-getters , ” charity spokesperson Timothy Gilles told me .
“ They add to the cost of the mailing but increase the net proceeds .
Other organizations that do not use this technique would have lower costs.
” As a newer charity , DVNF is much more reliant on donations than its older , more established competitors , which tend to wield more influence with Congress and rely more on government grants .
Veterans organizations founded after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their revenue from donations , compared to just 46 percent for older groups , according to a 2018 report from the Center for a New American Security .
“ The high cost of fundraising is a reality when you are a newer organization and particularly for an organization like DVNF that depends upon grassroots support , ” DVNF chief executive Joseph VanFonda said as part of an unlisted YouTube video that the charity ’ s spokesperson sent me .
The Wounded Warrior Project , which was founded only four years before DVNF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annually , but that is largely an outlier .
Of the roughly 8,000 charities nationwide that cater to veterans , most receive less than $ 1 million a year in donations or grants .
Only 16 percent raise more than $ 1 million per year , according to a 2015 report from GuideStar .
After the settlement , DVNF replaced half of its board members and installed VanFonda—a retired Marine who had maintained his position on the board—as chief executive .
DVNF was barred from working with Rivers or his daughter again but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favorite vendor .
Quadriga , which had battled a different investigation in California while negotiating with New York authorities , saw its reputation tarnished by the media attention lavished on DVNF and its other clients .
Innovairre offered a fresh start , if only a cosmetic one .
Mark Schulhof , Quadriga ’ s chief executive , started the transition in 2013 by hiring a new CEO for Innovairre , Don McKenzie , who consolidated Quadriga ’ s various subsidiaries into one company .
In December 2014 , McKenzie told the Chronicle of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the management team that runs Innovairre day to day but remains chief executive of RBS , ” previously the parent company of Quadriga .
It ’ s not entirely clear how Schulhof ’ s role changed , but he remained a central part of Innovairre .
In an article on its website from February 2018 , Schulhof was described as Innovairre ’ s CEO .
When I called the company ’ s main phone line last month , a staffer who picked up said Schulhof was still Innovairre ’ s chief executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unattributed statement it sent me in response to several questions for this article .
“ Mark Schulhof is a member of the Board , ” the statement said , adding that Dean Wimer , a former Innovairre executive who was appointed CEO of a packaging company in 2017 , was now chief executive officer .
Innovairre would not say when Wimer replaced Schulhof , only noting that he “ has been a member of the senior leadership team and/or a board member since 2013.
” Despite the new name , Innovairre maintains many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Quadriga .
McKenzie told the Chronicle in 2014 that Innovairre “ no longer covers up-front costs for charities ” and was “ winding down the relationship ” with DVNF , but the relationship never really ended .
DVNF has paid either Quadriga or Innovairre every year for over a decade .
Other former Quadriga clients have shown the same loyalty , including animal charity SPCA International and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States , one of the most prestigious veterans organizations in the country .
Both groups were severely criticized for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or another of Schulhof ’ s firms , but chose to hire Innovairre anyway .
As of 2018 , they are both still working with Innovairre , but spending far less money to do so than DVNF .
( Neither organization responded requests for comment . )
That year , DVNF used 77 percent of its revenue to pay Innovairre , compared to only 35 percent for SPCA International and a negligible amount for VFW National , which spent 32 percent of its revenue on fundraising overall .
“ DVNF continues to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most satisfactory responses and cost-effective solutions in response to DVNF ’ s Requests for Proposal , ” Gilles told me .
The charity would not identify which vendors were considered , but said it solicited bids from six organizations in Canada , China , Singapore , and the United States and only received three completed proposals before awarding its most recent contract for direct mail services to Innovairre .
The charity uses other vendors like Vera Data and Direct Mail Processors , Inc. , but by far Innovairre remains its most expensive vendor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expenses .
“ The Foundation ’ s direct mail campaign costs is the major contributing factor to its increasing net asset ( deficit ) , ” a May 2018 audit concluded .
Gilles says that the New York attorney general ’ s office had conducted two compliance checks since the settlement and found no violation .
The New York AG ’ s office did not respond to a request for comment .
The audit noted that DVNF had implemented a three-year plan to reduce its deficits , but progress has been slow .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 3 million in 2017 , nearly double its deficit the prior year , finally earning a small profit in 2018 .
However , its total liabilities still exceed its total assets by $ 6.7 million .
The charity has professionalized its operation in other ways and , on its website , champions a series of grant programs to benefit homeless shelters and other veterans centers with cash or gifts .
The report compiled by New York authorities had criticized DVNF ’ s gift “ in-kind ” ( GIK ) program in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ somewhat baffling items .
In one example cited by CNN , DVNF shipped “ 11,520 bags of coconut M & M ’ s ” to a small veterans charity in Birmingham , Alabama .
Gilles told me that DVNF has replaced its policy for this program , now known as “ Health and Comfort grants , ” and assigned a committee of its governing board to oversee it .
“ DVNF staff visit approximately half of the GIK-related events every year to ensure compliance with the policy , ” he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the settlement ‘ to increase the level of donated goods and services directed specifically to disabled veterans . '
” Several recipients of DVNF grants told me they had a wonderful experience working with the charity in recent years .
But since the settlement , DVNF is spending less of its revenue proportionally on services for veterans than it did before 2014 .
Gilles disputes this assessment , noting that the charity ’ s direct mail campaign has “ funded more than $ 22.2 million in program service expenses over the period 2016-2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” This calculation counts overhead costs like staff salaries and office space as part of the money DVNF spends on veterans , and some industry watchdogs , including Charity Navigator , use this method of calculation to determine a charity ’ s financial health .
But it has been criticized by evaluators like Borochoff , whose organization factors out those expenses when calculating how much of a charity ’ s revenue goes toward actually achieving its mission .
“ If people actually knew what ’ s going on with these groups , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t give to them.
” Either way , DVNF is still viewed unfavorably by almost all watchdog groups .
Charity Navigator gives DVNF a 28.93 out of 100 .

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In the summer of 2014, the Disabled Veterans National Foundation was in dire straits. Only seven years after setting up shop, DVNF had raised more money than all but a handful of other veterans groups, but only 15 percent of its revenue in that time directly reached veterans. The rest was owed, almost entirely, to a single contractor—an outcome that had already sparked a congressional probe and investigations by Florida and New York’s top prosecutors.
Like other groups, DVNF used sappy solicitations to raise money, often centered around veterans with heartbreaking stories of injuries suffered in combat. But many of these characters were completely made up. By the time New York authorities announced a settlement with DVNF that summer, the charity was spending 90 cents of every dollar it raised to pay Quadriga Art, the direct mail firm that coordinated its fundraising campaign, and Convergence Direct Marketing, a firm that designed the direct-mail solicitations. As part of the agreement, Quadriga was ordered to forgive DVNF’s massive debt and pay the state nearly $10 million, the “largest amount of financial relief ever obtained in the US for deceptive charitable fundraising,” according to the New York attorney general’s office.
The AG’s punishment laid most of the blame on Quadriga for misleading an “unsophisticated start-up charity” like DVNF. With the settlement, DVNF had an “opportunity to make a fresh start.”
That’s not what happened. Instead of cutting ties with Quadriga, DVNF has continued fundraising at near record levels while using most of its revenue to offset exorbitant direct mail costs. While the settlement barred DVNF from resuming the same fundraising arrangement with Quadriga or any of its “successors” for three years, it did not say anything about restricting DVNF’s fundraising costs. And it still permitted the charity to work with Quadriga in a limited capacity if the firm won a “competitive bidding process.”
Months after the settlement, Quadriga signed a new contract with DVNF and quietly reorganized under a different name. Now known as Innovairre Communications, the firm received more than $101 million from DVNF between 2014 and 2018, the most recent year for which the charity’s financials are available. Over that period, only 11 percent of the money raised by DVNF went to goods and services for veterans, an even more dismal result than the one preceding the settlement.
To industry experts like Daniel Borochoff, founder of nonprofit watchdog CharityWatch, that sounds awfully similar to the setup DVNF had in the past, when most donations were used to offset its high fundraising costs. Since his group began monitoring DVNF in 2010, the charity has received an F every year, the lowest possible rating, because so little of the charity’s money directly goes to veterans. It’s still an F-rated charity today.
“Nothing has changed,” Borochoff told me. “Based on the results, they’ve gone back to what they’ve been doing in the past that got them into trouble.”
Before it rocketed to infamy, DVNF started as an experiment. Five Department of Veterans Affairs staffers in Louisiana had come together in 2005 to form a nonprofit mostly known for a small conference it organized each year. That organization, the National Association of State Women Veterans Coordinators, had humble ambitions before its founders came into contact with Larry Rivers, a retired Marine officer with a wealth of contacts within the veterans charity movement. He connected them to Brick Mill Studios, a subsidiary of the firm that owned Quadriga, in 2007 and eventually the founders were pitched on setting up a nationwide, direct mail campaign to raise money. To test-run the venture, the founders set up another nonprofit and named it the Disabled Veterans National Foundation.
Throughout this process, Rivers and Quadriga’s leaders neglected to disclose to DVNF’s founders a crucial conflict of interest underpinning the arrangement: Rivers was a paid sales agent for Quadriga, even while informally advising DVNF. Lacking relevant experience, DVNF founders signed off on a laughably expensive fundraising campaign whose scale took even them by surprise. One DVNF board member apparently thought it would only raise $50,000, according to a report compiled by the New York AG’s office. Within a year, DVNF was spending $15.6 million on fundraising to raise more than $10 million in revenue. By 2012, it had raised more than $21 million—and DVNF accrued $16.5 million in debt to its fundraising vendors.
“A lot of people are very sympathetic, so they give unknowingly. A fundraiser can take advantage of that fact.”
Rivers pocketed millions in commissions from the arrangement while boosting his own influence within DVNF. His daughter Raegan was named DVNF’s chief administrative officer in March 2010 after a search process that included “no job announcement” for the position and zero interviews with any other candidates before her hire, the New York AG’s report found. (Larry and Raegan Rivers did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)
Two years later, reporters from CNN who had been investigating the charity’s finances discovered that DVNF had made a series of payments to an organization with a similar name, the Disabled Veterans Life Memorial Foundation. In early 2008, Memorial Foundation leaders realized that DVNF’s solicitations bore such a “striking resemblance” to their own mailings that it seemed their “proprietary information and intellectual property rights had been violated,” according to a letter from its executive director to a Florida state official looking into DVNF. As part of a settlement with the Memorial Foundation, DVNF agreed to pay the other charity $325,000 over three years, writing the installments off in its filings to the IRS as grants.
Attorneys general in California and New York opened investigations into Quadriga in response to CNN’s reporting. Congress announced its own probe into DVNF’s ties with the firm. DVNF’s problems were mounting even as Quadriga continued to wield a significant level of influence over the charity’s entire operation.
It was not entirely unusual that a new charity like DVNF invested so heavily in direct mail. Quadriga’s idea was to send its tug-at-your-heartstrings solicitations along with unsolicited and somewhat pricey gifts like tote bags, which lent DVNF credibility to unsuspecting donors who might have been unaware they were giving money to an organization that, at the time, had no employees, staff, or a phone line. For a new organization attempting to find its footing, the strategy of going all in on direct mail was ambitious and clearly lucrative. But many of the ads put out by DVNF blatantly misled donors.
Often these advertisements would falsely suggest the bulk of the donor’s money was going to disabled vets, though it mostly just filled Quadriga’s coffers. One of DVNF’s appeals for help described an Afghanistan veteran named Arnie who “suffered severe brain and leg injuries” after his vehicle was hit by a bomb. “We found Arnie through a shelter for homeless veterans,” the solicitation said. “Another urgently important gift of $10…$15…or $20 today can lay that blanket of security and concern over a hero like Arnie.” The New York AG’s office later determined that Arnie, and DVNF’s story of helping him, were made up.
“A lot of people are very sympathetic, so they give unknowingly,” Borochoff says. “A fundraiser can take advantage of that fact.”
The expensive campaign was DVNF’s way of making a name for itself in the increasingly competitive veterans charity space. “DVNF has found that including small items of minimal value in mailings are useful attention-getters,” charity spokesperson Timothy Gilles told me. “They add to the cost of the mailing but increase the net proceeds. Other organizations that do not use this technique would have lower costs.”
As a newer charity, DVNF is much more reliant on donations than its older, more established competitors, which tend to wield more influence with Congress and rely more on government grants. Veterans organizations founded after the September 11 attacks brought in 87 percent of their revenue from donations, compared to just 46 percent for older groups, according to a 2018 report from the Center for a New American Security. “The high cost of fundraising is a reality when you are a newer organization and particularly for an organization like DVNF that depends upon grassroots support,” DVNF chief executive Joseph VanFonda said as part of an unlisted YouTube video that the charity’s spokesperson sent me.
The Wounded Warrior Project, which was founded only four years before DVNF, raises hundreds of millions of dollars annually, but that is largely an outlier. Of the roughly 8,000 charities nationwide that cater to veterans, most receive less than $1 million a year in donations or grants. Only 16 percent raise more than $1 million per year, according to a 2015 report from GuideStar.
VanFonda, a retired Marine who had previously consulted for the group, took over as chief executive during talks about the settlement*. After the settlement, DVNF cut ties with four board members and was barred from working with Rivers or his daughter again, but wasted no time enlisting work from its favorite vendor.
Quadriga, which had battled a different investigation in California while negotiating with New York authorities, saw its reputation tarnished by the media attention lavished on DVNF and its other clients. Innovairre offered a fresh start, if only a cosmetic one. Mark Schulhof, Quadriga’s chief executive, started the transition in 2013 by hiring a new CEO for Innovairre, Don McKenzie, who consolidated Quadriga’s various subsidiaries into one company. In December 2014, McKenzie told the Chronicle of Philanthropy that Schulhof “is not part of the management team that runs Innovairre day to day but remains chief executive of RBS,” previously the parent company of Quadriga.
It’s not entirely clear how Schulhof’s role changed, but he remained a central part of Innovairre. In an article on its website from February 2018, Schulhof was described as Innovairre’s CEO. When I called the company’s main phone line last month, a staffer who picked up said Schulhof was still Innovairre’s chief executive. The company disputed this in an unattributed statement it sent me in response to several questions for this article. “Mark Schulhof is a member of the Board,” the statement said, adding that Dean Wimer, a former Innovairre executive who was appointed CEO of a packaging company in 2017, was now chief executive officer. Innovairre would not say when Wimer replaced Schulhof, only noting that he “has been a member of the senior leadership team and/or a board member since 2013.”
Despite the new name, Innovairre maintains many of the same contacts it did as Quadriga. McKenzie told the Chronicle in 2014 that Innovairre “no longer covers up-front costs for charities” and was “winding down the relationship” with DVNF, but the relationship never really ended. DVNF has paid either Quadriga or Innovairre every year for over a decade. Other former Quadriga clients have shown the same loyalty, including animal charity SPCA International and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, one of the most prestigious veterans organizations in the country. Both groups were severely criticized for piling up huge fundraising costs with Quadriga or another of Schulhof’s firms, but chose to hire Innovairre anyway. As of 2018, they are both still working with Innovairre, but spending far less money to do so than DVNF. (Neither organization responded requests for comment.) That year, DVNF used 77 percent of its revenue to pay Innovairre, compared to only 35 percent for SPCA International and a negligible amount for VFW National, which spent 32 percent of its revenue on fundraising overall.
“DVNF continues to work with Innovairre because they have submitted the most satisfactory responses and cost-effective solutions in response to DVNF’s Requests for Proposal,” Gilles told me. The charity would not identify which vendors were considered, but said it solicited bids from six organizations in Canada, China, Singapore, and the United States and only received three completed proposals before awarding its most recent contract for direct mail services to Innovairre. The charity uses other vendors like Vera Data and Direct Mail Processors, Inc., but by far Innovairre remains its most expensive vendor and a key reason for its rising expenses. “The Foundation’s direct mail campaign costs is the major contributing factor to its increasing net asset (deficit),” a May 2018 audit concluded.
Gilles says that the New York attorney general’s office had conducted two compliance checks since the settlement and found no violation. The New York AG’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The audit noted that DVNF had implemented a three-year plan to reduce its deficits, but progress has been slow. The charity ran a deficit of nearly $3 million in 2017, nearly double its deficit the prior year, finally earning a small profit in 2018. However, its total liabilities still exceed its total assets by $6.7 million.
The charity has professionalized its operation in other ways and, on its website, champions a series of grant programs to benefit homeless shelters and other veterans centers with cash or gifts. The report compiled by New York authorities had criticized DVNF’s gift “in-kind” (GIK) program in the past for overvaluing its gifts and supplying somewhat baffling items. In one example cited by CNN, DVNF shipped “11,520 bags of coconut M&M’s” to a small veterans charity in Birmingham, Alabama. Gilles told me that DVNF has replaced its policy for this program, now known as “Health and Comfort grants,” and assigned a committee of its governing board to oversee it. “DVNF staff visit approximately half of the GIK-related events every year to ensure compliance with the policy,” he said. “These measures have achieved the goal of the settlement ‘to increase the level of donated goods and services directed specifically to disabled veterans.'”
Several recipients of DVNF grants told me they had a wonderful experience working with the charity in recent years. But since the settlement, DVNF is spending less of its revenue proportionally on services for veterans than it did before 2014. Gilles disputes this assessment, noting that the charity’s direct mail campaign has “funded more than $22.2 million in program service expenses over the period 2016-2018, representing 26.5 percent of total revenue.” This calculation counts overhead costs like staff salaries and office space as part of the money DVNF spends on veterans, and some industry watchdogs, including Charity Navigator, use this method of calculation to determine a charity’s financial health. But it has been criticized by evaluators like Borochoff, whose organization factors out those expenses when calculating how much of a charity’s revenue goes toward actually achieving its mission.
“If people actually knew what’s going on with these groups,” Borochoff says, “they wouldn’t give to them.”
Either way, DVNF is still viewed unfavorably by almost all watchdog groups. Charity Navigator gives DVNF a 28.93 out of 100.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Joseph VanFonda as a member of DVNF’s board.


motherjones--2020-03-09--Mental Health Professionals Are Preparing for an Epidemic of Anxiety Around the Coronavirus

When psychologist Dr. Mary Alvord speaks with her patients about their coronavirus concerns at her practice in Rockville , Maryland—where the governor confirmed a state of emergency after three cases were reported—or when she scrolls through social media with posts often filled with misinformation , she keeps thinking back to another time when she experienced a similar level of widespread fear .
Not during the SARS epidemic in 2003 , but in 2002 during a three-week stretch when a series random shootings across the Washington , DC , metro area killed ten people and left the capital and surrounding communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sniper .
Worry about the random attacks was widespread , but Alvord , whose practice specializes in anxiety disorders , recalls that it was her “ anxious patients [ who ] were reacting in the most extreme ways.
” Some patients would begin to spiral , making irrational , ultimately self-defeating decisions .
“ They would run out of gas because they were afraid of going to gas stations , ” threatened by the prospect of momentary exposure to sniper attacks , she recalls .
Those with the most severe anxiety disorders wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , she sees some of the same extreme symptoms among other patients .
Though a sniper attack and the coronavirus might appear to have little in common , Alvord sees a number of similarities in the reactions of some of her patients and in the sensationalist tone on social media .
The overwhelming message is that everyone is powerless in the face of an ominous and invisible threat that could arbitrarily strike anywhere or anyone .
That powerlessness morphs into a set of common symptoms : imaging worst outcomes or “ catastrophizing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or , at the other extreme , blocking it out completely , which means ignoring even basic precautions like hand washing .
“ This mass anxiety spiral limits what you do , ” she says .
People may try to negotiate with their fears , but feelings of panic can be difficult to ward off .
“ You can worry about things and reason with them , but when you start avoiding—and avoidance is the hallmark of anxiety–then you start isolating , and when you start isolating you ’ re missing information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear that Alvord describes aren ’ t limited to anecdotes from her office or her Twitter feed .
Newly available data reveals that Americans suffering from anxiety disorders are experiencing more and often debilitating symptoms in response to news about the coronavirus pandemic .
Interestingly , for other disorders , such as bi-polar disorder or PTSD , the data does not show a similar spike in symptoms .
In 2014 , Mental Health America , a non-profit devoted to increasing awareness of mental illness , posted on its website nine questionnaires that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professionals when they screen for a diagnosis .
They wanted to give those who took the survey an opportunity to see if they exhibited symptoms of various mental disorders , like anxiety , PTSD , and bipolar disorder .
Since then , more than 5 million individuals have taken the test , averaging close to three thousand per day .
And while the screens are anonymous , MHA tracks the answers and volume of submissions , along with volunteer demographic data .
The result is a six-year data set on the nation ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group MHA president Paul Gionfriddo defines as “ people who are concerned about a particular mental health condition.
” When Gionfriddo and his colleagues isolated data from February of this year , the period during which the coronavirus caught the world ’ s attention , they were shocked .
The rate of anxiety screens taken increased significantly between the beginning and end of the month—from 4,213 to 5,013 , a 19 percent increase .
Even after combing through past years of data , “ We struggled to find any event that would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were still variables that needed to be ruled out—for example the volatility of the financial sector .
MHA staff looked at their data from November and December of 2018 , the last time the market tumbled .
They found that screen rates , the number of people who took the tests , remained the same or dropped .
“ The worry of the virus became real for everyone in the second half of the month , ” he says .
“ When it wasn ’ t real in the first half.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that saw an increase in traffic in February .
The screening rate for other disorders like PTSD , psychosis , and bipolar disorder remained consistent with previous time periods .
Significantly , according to demographic data , two thirds of screen takers have never sought out a medical professional for a diagnosis .
That means a considerable amount of the mental health fallout of coronavirus may be suffered entirely outside of clinical settings , where healthcare professionals like Dr. Alvord can ’ t reach them .
Even if mental health experts aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re aware of the debilitating effects they could be experiencing .
According to Dr. Andrew Kuller , a clinical psychologist at Boston ’ s Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital , severe OCD and anxiety symptoms can be “ very debilitating.
” With some OCD cases , he says “ People have trouble doing anything but washing hands every minute they ’ re awake , ” putting a stop to all other activities crucial to maintaining their daily lives .
As for the patients Kuller does see , he acknowledges that those with OCD and anxiety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the actual threat [ for them ] is still kind of remote at this point.
” But for those who aren ’ t receiving services , who may be concerned about their mental health , Kuller notes , “ If you ’ re not sure if you can cope with the coronavirus or your symptoms , seek help.
” Dawn Brown is the helpline director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness , an organization that functions as a switchboard operator at the nexus of mental health resources and individuals seeking help .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls to the organization .
Line operators have expected higher volume , Brown says , which occurs with every natural disaster or celebrity death .
“ It ’ s not going to get better before it gets worse , ” she says .
I asked Brown about who might be most vulnerable to more intense symptoms during this time .
Those with OCD and anxiety , she said , and also those who suffer from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder .
“ They are at greater risk of acquiring the virus , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
“ They ’ re often over-represented in the homeless population or have unstable housing .
Also incarcerated people because they lack treatment facilitates.
” ( My colleague Nathalie Baptiste recently reported on this . )
The close proximity those populations find themselves in make a “ perfect storm ” for coronavirus spread .
When it comes to immediate steps to address severe vulnerability , Brown echoes Kuller : Seek help .
This is a time when general anxiety is heightened , and one key in addressing it is to be clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staying informed with updates from verifiable sources , like the CDC , can help contextualize individual vulnerability .
“ Let ’ s stay reasonable , ” Alvord says .
“ Take precautions as we can , but we have to manage uncertainty .
There ’ s a lot of uncertainty in life in general .
The more we can tolerate , the better off we ’ ll be .
”

When psychologist Dr. Mary Alvord speaks with her patients about their coronavirus concerns at her practice in Rockville, Maryland—where the governor confirmed a state of emergency after three cases were reported—or when she scrolls through social media with posts often filled with misinformation, she keeps thinking back to another time when she experienced a similar level of widespread fear. Not during the SARS epidemic in 2003, but in 2002 during a three-week stretch when a series random shootings across the Washington, DC, metro area killed ten people and left the capital and surrounding communities in paralyzed by concerns over the DC sniper.
Worry about the random attacks was widespread, but Alvord, whose practice specializes in anxiety disorders, recalls that it was her “anxious patients [who] were reacting in the most extreme ways.” Some patients would begin to spiral, making irrational, ultimately self-defeating decisions. “They would run out of gas because they were afraid of going to gas stations,” threatened by the prospect of momentary exposure to sniper attacks, she recalls. Those with the most severe anxiety disorders wouldn’t even leave their homes. Now, she sees some of the same extreme symptoms among other patients.
Though a sniper attack and the coronavirus might appear to have little in common, Alvord sees a number of similarities in the reactions of some of her patients and in the sensationalist tone on social media. The overwhelming message is that everyone is powerless in the face of an ominous and invisible threat that could arbitrarily strike anywhere or anyone. That powerlessness morphs into a set of common symptoms: imaging worst outcomes or “catastrophizing,” helplessly fixating on the coronavirus, or, at the other extreme, blocking it out completely, which means ignoring even basic precautions like hand washing.
“This mass anxiety spiral limits what you do,” she says. People may try to negotiate with their fears, but feelings of panic can be difficult to ward off. “You can worry about things and reason with them, but when you start avoiding—and avoidance is the hallmark of anxiety–then you start isolating, and when you start isolating you’re missing information as well.”
The many versions of fear that Alvord describes aren’t limited to anecdotes from her office or her Twitter feed. Newly available data reveals that Americans suffering from anxiety disorders are experiencing more and often debilitating symptoms in response to news about the coronavirus pandemic. Interestingly, for other disorders, such as bi-polar disorder or PTSD, the data does not show a similar spike in symptoms.
In 2014, Mental Health America, a non-profit devoted to increasing awareness of mental illness, posted on its website nine questionnaires that are identical to the ones used by medical professionals when they screen for a diagnosis. They wanted to give those who took the survey an opportunity to see if they exhibited symptoms of various mental disorders, like anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Since then, more than 5 million individuals have taken the test, averaging close to three thousand per day. And while the screens are anonymous, MHA tracks the answers and volume of submissions, along with volunteer demographic data. The result is a six-year data set on the nation’s mental health seeking population, a group MHA president Paul Gionfriddo defines as “people who are concerned about a particular mental health condition.”
When Gionfriddo and his colleagues isolated data from February of this year, the period during which the coronavirus caught the world’s attention, they were shocked. The rate of anxiety screens taken increased significantly between the beginning and end of the month—from 4,213 to 5,013, a 19 percent increase. Even after combing through past years of data, “We struggled to find any event that would be comparable,” he says.
“The worry of the virus became real for everyone in the second half of the month.”
There were still variables that needed to be ruled out—for example the volatility of the financial sector. MHA staff looked at their data from November and December of 2018, the last time the market tumbled. They found that screen rates, the number of people who took the tests, remained the same or dropped. “The worry of the virus became real for everyone in the second half of the month,” he says. “When it wasn’t real in the first half.” The anxiety screen is the only MHA test that saw an increase in traffic in February. The screening rate for other disorders like PTSD, psychosis, and bipolar disorder remained consistent with previous time periods.
Significantly, according to demographic data, two thirds of screen takers have never sought out a medical professional for a diagnosis. That means a considerable amount of the mental health fallout of coronavirus may be suffered entirely outside of clinical settings, where healthcare professionals like Dr. Alvord can’t reach them. Even if mental health experts aren’t seeing these patients, they’re aware of the debilitating effects they could be experiencing. According to Dr. Andrew Kuller, a clinical psychologist at Boston’s Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, severe OCD and anxiety symptoms can be “very debilitating.” With some OCD cases, he says “People have trouble doing anything but washing hands every minute they’re awake,” putting a stop to all other activities crucial to maintaining their daily lives.
As for the patients Kuller does see, he acknowledges that those with OCD and anxiety are expressing concerns, but fortunately “the actual threat [for them] is still kind of remote at this point.” But for those who aren’t receiving services, who may be concerned about their mental health, Kuller notes, “If you’re not sure if you can cope with the coronavirus or your symptoms, seek help.”
Dawn Brown is the helpline director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization that functions as a switchboard operator at the nexus of mental health resources and individuals seeking help. She has seen a spike in phone calls to the organization. Line operators have expected higher volume, Brown says, which occurs with every natural disaster or celebrity death. “It’s not going to get better before it gets worse,” she says.
I asked Brown about who might be most vulnerable to more intense symptoms during this time. Those with OCD and anxiety, she said, and also those who suffer from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. “They are at greater risk of acquiring the virus, as well as having poor outcomes,” Brown says. “They’re often over-represented in the homeless population or have unstable housing. Also incarcerated people because they lack treatment facilitates.” (My colleague Nathalie Baptiste recently reported on this.) The close proximity those populations find themselves in make a “perfect storm” for coronavirus spread. When it comes to immediate steps to address severe vulnerability, Brown echoes Kuller: Seek help.
This is a time when general anxiety is heightened, and one key in addressing it is to be clear about the nature of the danger; staying informed with updates from verifiable sources, like the CDC, can help contextualize individual vulnerability. “Let’s stay reasonable,” Alvord says. “Take precautions as we can, but we have to manage uncertainty. There’s a lot of uncertainty in life in general. The more we can tolerate, the better off we’ll be.”


motherjones--2020-03-09--Trump’s Media Attacks Are Always Shameful. But in the Middle of the Coronavirus Crisis, They’re Dang

Trump’s Media Attacks Are Always Shameful. But in the Middle of the Coronavirus Crisis, They’re Dangerous.

During an epidemic , a crucial function of leadership—governmental , scientific , and medical leadership—is to provide citizens with important and accurate information .
Panic needs to be averted .
Fears need to be addressed .
Risks need to be assessed .
And necessary action must be taken , collectively and individually , to save lives and prevent or reduce other damage to society .
All of this is predicated on the dissemination of solid information .
And the main transmission mechanism for such information is , of course , the media—news outlets that broadcast and publish what knowledgable government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crisis .
Yet Donald Trump , the person in charge of the government ’ s response to the fast-spreading coronavirus , has ramped up his effort to discredit the media at the very moment it ’ s most vital .
And his reelection campaign has decided to place his political interests over the health and safety of the nation , disseminating a message that could threaten the lives of Americans .
On Monday morning , as the coronavirus crisis intensified , the Trump campaign zapped out an email to thousands , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the subject : “ It ’ s all FAKE NEWS all the time.
” The letter—sent jointly by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee—was a full-throated screed against the “ mainstream media.
” It decried the media as “ UNHINGED , ” and exclaimed , “ They are deceiving the public and knowingly making up their ‘ facts ’ and ‘ sources ’ in order to protect their partners , the Democrats .
They are so corrupt and have gone totally insane.
” It continued : “ They are truly the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t accept the fact that America wants FOUR MORE YEARS of President Trump and now they ’ re spiraling out of control.
” Trumpworld slamming the media is nothing new , but what makes this email different from similar missives is that this one doesn ’ t focus on any particular subject of the media ’ s supposed wrongdoing .
In the past , the president and his campaign have tended to excoriate the media for reporting on the Russia scandal , the Ukraine scandal , impeachment , and other matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lies , conspiracies , political attacks .
But this time around , the campaign is declaring the major media outlets can not be believed on anything .
These journalists peddle only “ constant lies and attacks , ” and their sole desire is to destroy Trump : “ They ’ ve spent YEARS spewing LIES about OUR President to try and take him down , ” the email proclaims .
“ They no longer care about accurate reporting and it ’ s time we do something about it.
” The email does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asks the recipient to take the “ Official Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.
” This is the sort of device that campaign marketers use to capture information from potential contributors .
And if you click on the “ Take the Survey Now ” button , you are transported to a website with a series of loaded questions : “ Do you believe the mainstream media is biased against President Trump ?
” ; “ Do you believe the mainstream media wants America to fail under President Trump ’ s leadership ?
” ; “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exaggerates stories in order to make President Trump and Republicans look bad ?
” ; “ Do you believe the media hates President Trump ?
” The whole point is to encourage people to view the media as the enemy within and consider news outlets as nothing but anti-Trump deception machines .
For years , this strategy has helped Trump rouse and solidify his base , as he has convinced his loyal supporters there was nothing to the Russia scandal , the Ukraine scandal , the pay-off-the-porn-star scandal , the obstruction-of-justice scandal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the difference now is that this tactic places the nation in direct danger .
The Trump campaign is telling the public it should disregard whatever the media puts forward—especially when that reporting suggests the Trump administration is not adequately managing the crisis .
This could well lead to Americans ignoring sound advice and taking actions that place them at risk and worsen the situation .
Just a few days ago , for instance , Trump , who has looked to downplay the crisis , suggested that infected people could go to work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-powerful Twitter feed to attack the media during the coronavirus outbreak .
Hours before his campaign sent its do-not-ever-believe-the-media email , he tweeted : “ The Fake News Media and their partner , the Democrat Party , is doing everything within its semi-considerable power ( it used to be greater ! )
to inflame the CoronaVirus situation , far beyond what the facts would warrant.
” Later in the day , he insisted that “ Fake News ” was the reason for the dramatic decline in the stock market ( that is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And on Monday afternoon , he shot out this simply put tweet : “ So much FAKE NEWS !
” Trump ’ s long assault on the press has always been reprehensible .
In the midst of a public health crisis , it is…well , what ’ s beyond reprehensible ?
Horrendous ?
Disgraceful ?
Reckless ?
Irresponsible ?
Disgracefully horrendous and recklessly irresponsible ?
Whatever the adjective , Trump and his campaign have opted to smear and vilify the organizations that are needed to keep the public informed about a national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a national disaster .
By now , Trump whacking the media has become a running joke—a fan favorite at his rallies .
In front of his adoring crowds , he denounces the press and claims that the TV cameras are being turned off at this moment ( to censor his censure ) , even as the networks broadcast the spectacle .
Many Americans have become inured to these sort of attacks .
But with the country engaged in a full-on crisis that threatens individuals , communities , and the entire economy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media has become a grave threat .
But Trump ’ s remarks and this campaign email prove that the commander in chief cares about only one particular threat , and that is the political threat he faces .
He realizes the truth is not on his side .
And in the middle of this crisis , that makes Trump an immediate menace and a risk for everyone .

During an epidemic, a crucial function of leadership—governmental, scientific, and medical leadership—is to provide citizens with important and accurate information. Panic needs to be averted. Fears need to be addressed. Risks need to be assessed. And necessary action must be taken, collectively and individually, to save lives and prevent or reduce other damage to society. All of this is predicated on the dissemination of solid information. And the main transmission mechanism for such information is, of course, the media—news outlets that broadcast and publish what knowledgable government officials and experts have to say about the crisis. Yet Donald Trump, the person in charge of the government’s response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, has ramped up his effort to discredit the media at the very moment it’s most vital. And his reelection campaign has decided to place his political interests over the health and safety of the nation, disseminating a message that could threaten the lives of Americans.
On Monday morning, as the coronavirus crisis intensified, the Trump campaign zapped out an email to thousands, if not millions, of people, with the subject: “It’s all FAKE NEWS all the time.” The letter—sent jointly by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee—was a full-throated screed against the “mainstream media.” It decried the media as “UNHINGED,” and exclaimed, “They are deceiving the public and knowingly making up their ‘facts’ and ‘sources’ in order to protect their partners, the Democrats. They are so corrupt and have gone totally insane.” It continued: “ They are truly the Enemy of the People! Liberal reporters can’t accept the fact that America wants FOUR MORE YEARS of President Trump and now they’re spiraling out of control.”
Trumpworld slamming the media is nothing new, but what makes this email different from similar missives is that this one doesn’t focus on any particular subject of the media’s supposed wrongdoing. In the past, the president and his campaign have tended to excoriate the media for reporting on the Russia scandal, the Ukraine scandal, impeachment, and other matters. You know, the usual—hoaxes, lies, conspiracies, political attacks. But this time around, the campaign is declaring the major media outlets cannot be believed on anything. These journalists peddle only “constant lies and attacks,” and their sole desire is to destroy Trump: “They’ve spent YEARS spewing LIES about OUR President to try and take him down,” the email proclaims. “They no longer care about accurate reporting and it’s time we do something about it.”
The email does not request a donation. Instead, it asks the recipient to take the “Official Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.” This is the sort of device that campaign marketers use to capture information from potential contributors. And if you click on the “Take the Survey Now” button, you are transported to a website with a series of loaded questions: “Do you believe the mainstream media is biased against President Trump?”; “Do you believe the mainstream media wants America to fail under President Trump’s leadership?”; “Do you believe the media sensationalizes and exaggerates stories in order to make President Trump and Republicans look bad?”; “Do you believe the media hates President Trump?”
Get the picture?
The whole point is to encourage people to view the media as the enemy within and consider news outlets as nothing but anti-Trump deception machines. For years, this strategy has helped Trump rouse and solidify his base, as he has convinced his loyal supporters there was nothing to the Russia scandal, the Ukraine scandal, the pay-off-the-porn-star scandal, the obstruction-of-justice scandal, and so many other scandals. But the difference now is that this tactic places the nation in direct danger.
What makes this email different is that it does not focus on any particular subject of the media’s supposed wrongdoing. This time around, the campaign is literally declaring the major media outlets cannot be believed on anything.
The Trump campaign is telling the public it should disregard whatever the media puts forward—especially when that reporting suggests the Trump administration is not adequately managing the crisis. This could well lead to Americans ignoring sound advice and taking actions that place them at risk and worsen the situation. Just a few days ago, for instance, Trump, who has looked to downplay the crisis, suggested that infected people could go to work.
Not surprisingly, Trump is employing his all-powerful Twitter feed to attack the media during the coronavirus outbreak. Hours before his campaign sent its do-not-ever-believe-the-media email, he tweeted: “The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant.” Later in the day, he insisted that “Fake News” was the reason for the dramatic decline in the stock market (that is, not his response to the crisis). And on Monday afternoon, he shot out this simply put tweet: “So much FAKE NEWS!”
Trump’s long assault on the press has always been reprehensible. In the midst of a public health crisis, it is…well, what’s beyond reprehensible? Horrendous? Disgraceful? Reckless? Irresponsible? Disgracefully horrendous and recklessly irresponsible? Whatever the adjective, Trump and his campaign have opted to smear and vilify the organizations that are needed to keep the public informed about a national emergency that has the potential to turn into a national disaster.
By now, Trump whacking the media has become a running joke—a fan favorite at his rallies. In front of his adoring crowds, he denounces the press and claims that the TV cameras are being turned off at this moment (to censor his censure), even as the networks broadcast the spectacle. Many Americans have become inured to these sort of attacks. But with the country engaged in a full-on crisis that threatens individuals, communities, and the entire economy, Trump’s crusade to torpedo the media has become a grave threat.
But Trump’s remarks and this campaign email prove that the commander in chief cares about only one particular threat, and that is the political threat he faces. He realizes the truth is not on his side. And in the middle of this crisis, that makes Trump an immediate menace and a risk for everyone.


motherjones--2020-03-09--The Coronavirus Is Spreading and Reportedly There’s No Soap at This Federal Jail in Brooklyn

On Saturday , MSNBC host Chris Hayes tweeted that he ’ d received word that there is no soap or hand sanitizer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn , New York , a federal jail that is operated by the US Bureau of Prisons .
“ We ’ ve been begging [ the Department of Justice ] for weeks for hand sanitizer and they won ’ t give it to us , ” a facility guard reportedly told Hayes ’ source .
The Bureau of Prisons has not responded to a request for comment about the situation in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from COVID-19 , a disease caused by a new coronavirus , spread globally , officials from the World Health Organization , the Centers for Disease Control , and other public health experts are recommending that one of the most effective strategies for containing the epidemic that has killed more than 3,800 people worldwide is for everyone to conscientiously wash their hands with soap and warm water .
Those simple steps can be close to impossible for many of the most vulnerable populations , like people who experience homelessness or those who are currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris ( D-Calif. ) requested that the US Bureau of Prisons , which is part of the Department of Justice , provide Congress with information on how the agency intends to keep the people who are behind bars in federal facilities safe .
“ Our incarcerated population faces severe threats to their health and safety every day , and BOP must prioritize and work diligently to improve prison conditions nationwide , ” Harris wrote .
“ As the country prepares for coronavirus , it is also incumbent upon BOP…to prevent outbreaks and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Infectious disease spreads rapidly in detention facilities because of close living quarters and unhygienic conditions—inmates , visitors , and guards may not have what they need to protect themselves .
Last week , when I spoke to Leah Pope , a senior research fellow at the Vera Institute , who specializes in expanding access to health care for people in the criminal justice system .
She explained that compared to prisons , which are also dangerous , “ jails are particularly more frightening because of massive turnover.
” MDC Brooklyn holds about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of whom are awaiting federal trial while others are serving shorter sentences .
The constant turnover of jail inmates makes the facilities more susceptible to the spread of infectious diseases .
This is not the first time that MDC Brooklyn has faced criticism for its treatment of inmates .
In February 2019 , during a polar vortex weather event , the facility lost power and subsequently heating , according to inmates and their lawyers .
On Twitter , videos circulated of inmates banging on windows and shouting down to local politicians that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dipped below freezing outside .
MDC Brooklyn officials insisted that the power outage didn ’ t affect heating .
A report from the Department of Justice found that some inmate areas were , in fact , too cold and that the jail and BOP failed the communicate with inmates and other stakeholders about the situation .
The report recommended that the jail take steps in the future to minimize inmate impact when further issues arise .
In an attempt to address the shortage of hand sanitizing material in the New York , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of at least 142 cases of the virus that have been reported , Gov .
Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that the state would be producing high-quality hand sanitizer to meet general demand .
Who was going to produce it ?
Prisoners who resided in New York state run facilities .
As my colleague Samantha Michaels reports , that doesn ’ t mean they will actually benefit from their work .

On Saturday, MSNBC host Chris Hayes tweeted that he’d received word that there is no soap or hand sanitizer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, a federal jail that is operated by the US Bureau of Prisons. “We’ve been begging [the Department of Justice] for weeks for hand sanitizer and they won’t give it to us,” a facility guard reportedly told Hayes’ source.
The Bureau of Prisons has not responded to a request for comment about the situation in the Brooklyn facility.
As infections and death from COVID-19, a disease caused by a new coronavirus, spread globally, officials from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and other public health experts are recommending that one of the most effective strategies for containing the epidemic that has killed more than 3,800 people worldwide is for everyone to conscientiously wash their hands with soap and warm water.
Those simple steps can be close to impossible for many of the most vulnerable populations, like people who experience homelessness or those who are currently incarcerated. Last week, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) requested that the US Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Department of Justice, provide Congress with information on how the agency intends to keep the people who are behind bars in federal facilities safe. “Our incarcerated population faces severe threats to their health and safety every day, and BOP must prioritize and work diligently to improve prison conditions nationwide,” Harris wrote. “As the country prepares for coronavirus, it is also incumbent upon BOP…to prevent outbreaks and to safely and humanely treat all affected individuals.”
Sen. Kamala Harris requests the Bureau of Prisons provide information about coronavirus preparation in prisons.
“The risk of community spread poses a critical and unique threat to vulnerable populations, including those in our prisons and jails." pic.twitter.com/B7JpFHxKl4 — Kadia Goba (@kadiagoba) March 5, 2020
Infectious disease spreads rapidly in detention facilities because of close living quarters and unhygienic conditions—inmates, visitors, and guards may not have what they need to protect themselves. Last week, when I spoke to Leah Pope, a senior research fellow at the Vera Institute, who specializes in expanding access to health care for people in the criminal justice system. She explained that compared to prisons, which are also dangerous, “jails are particularly more frightening because of massive turnover.” MDC Brooklyn holds about 1,600 inmates at a time, some of whom are awaiting federal trial while others are serving shorter sentences. The constant turnover of jail inmates makes the facilities more susceptible to the spread of infectious diseases.
This is not the first time that MDC Brooklyn has faced criticism for its treatment of inmates. In February 2019, during a polar vortex weather event, the facility lost power and subsequently heating, according to inmates and their lawyers. On Twitter, videos circulated of inmates banging on windows and shouting down to local politicians that there was no heat inside as temperatures outside dipped below freezing outside. MDC Brooklyn officials insisted that the power outage didn’t affect heating. A report from the Department of Justice found that some inmate areas were, in fact, too cold and that the jail and BOP failed the communicate with inmates and other stakeholders about the situation. The report recommended that the jail take steps in the future to minimize inmate impact when further issues arise.
In an attempt to address the shortage of hand sanitizing material in the New York, which has declared a state of emergency because of at least 142 cases of the virus that have been reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that the state would be producing high-quality hand sanitizer to meet general demand. Who was going to produce it? Prisoners who resided in New York state run facilities. As my colleague Samantha Michaels reports, that doesn’t mean they will actually benefit from their work.


motherjones--2020-03-09--Matt Gaetz Wore a Gas Mask to Mock Coronavirus Concerns. Now He’s in Quarantine.

Last week , Rep. Matt Gaetz ( R-Fla. ) wore a gas mask on the House floor while voting on emergency funding in response to the coronavirus , apparently making light of the near-pandemic that has shaken the stock market and killed thousands of people worldwide .
Now , Gaetz is under self-quarantine after having come in contact with an infected individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference .
One of Gaetz ’ s constituents died of the virus , according to the Washington Post .
In response to criticism , Gaetz denied that he wore the mask to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But after the vote last week , he took to Twitter to explain that he didn ’ t like the bill , despite voting for it in the end .
Gaetz is not experiencing symptoms , but he has been tested for the virus .
He was in close contact with President Trump over the weekend , the New York Times reports .
Gaetz learned that he had been in contact with an infected person when he was on board Air Force One , the Times reports , “ then essentially quarantined himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plane alone.
” That usually does the trick !

Last week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wore a gas mask on the House floor while voting on emergency funding in response to the coronavirus, apparently making light of the near-pandemic that has shaken the stock market and killed thousands of people worldwide. Now, Gaetz is under self-quarantine after having come in contact with an infected individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote. pic.twitter.com/wjJ4YY4VZz — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 4, 2020
One of Gaetz’s constituents died of the virus, according to the Washington Post. In response to criticism, Gaetz denied that he wore the mask to “make light” of the coronavirus. But after the vote last week, he took to Twitter to explain that he didn’t like the bill, despite voting for it in the end.
I voted for the Coronavirus legislation because we must have resources now to prevent further spread. But I didn’t feel good about it. $8Billion+ in spending without offsets. The next generation will have to pay for their own pandemics….and ours too…with interest. — Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 4, 2020
Gaetz is not experiencing symptoms, but he has been tested for the virus. He was in close contact with President Trump over the weekend, the New York Times reports. Gaetz learned that he had been in contact with an infected person when he was on board Air Force One, the Times reports, “then essentially quarantined himself, sitting in a section of the plane alone.” That usually does the trick!


motherjones--2020-03-09--Tell Us Your Story: How Is the Spread of Coronavirus Already Disrupting Your Everyday Life?

For this week ’ s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast , we want to hear from you : How has the spread of the coronavirus across the United States already disrupted your everyday life—and how are you coping ?
You ’ ll hear our host Jamilah King give you instructions on how to introduce yourself and leave your story on our voicemail .
We may air your story on this week ’ s episode of the podcast .
We want to hear your stories about how you ’ ve been coping with disrupted or reduced work or class schedules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporting each other , what you ’ ve been doing to help others cope , and how you ’ ve been navigating guidance from health officials and other leaders .
Perhaps you are caring for someone with health problems and trying to be extra vigilant while doing your best to keep up with the demands ?
Maybe your work meetings have been cancelled and the next three months have been thrown into disarray ?
Maybe you ’ re a shift worker or in the casual workforce , and you ’ re making plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @

For this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, we want to hear from you: How has the spread of the coronavirus across the United States already disrupted your everyday life—and how are you coping?
Call (510) 519-MOJO. That’s (510) 519-6656.
You’ll hear our host Jamilah King give you instructions on how to introduce yourself and leave your story on our voicemail. We may air your story on this week’s episode of the podcast.
We want to hear your stories about how you’ve been coping with disrupted or reduced work or class schedules, how people in your community are supporting each other, what you’ve been doing to help others cope, and how you’ve been navigating guidance from health officials and other leaders.
Perhaps you are caring for someone with health problems and trying to be extra vigilant while doing your best to keep up with the demands? Maybe your work meetings have been cancelled and the next three months have been thrown into disarray? Maybe you’re a shift worker or in the casual workforce, and you’re making plans for how to make ends meet?
That number again: (510) 519-MOJO.


motherjones--2020-03-09--Stock Markets Plunge Across the World as Coronavirus Sparks Oil Price War

Global stock markets , already reeling from intense panic over the spread of the novel coronavirus , plunged on Monday as oil prices nose-dived by more than 30 percent—the biggest daily drop since the Gulf War in 1991—after Saudi Arabia shocked the world by launching a price war against Russia .
The drop comes as the number of confirmed cases of the virus reached nearly 110,000 worldwide .
Economists in the United States and Europe are now bracing for what could be the largest decline in the stock market since the 2008 global recession .
Even before US markets opened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sunday triggered a system to pause futures after contracts fell 5 percent .
The first of three so-called “ circuit breaker ” levels , which kicks in after stocks fall 7 percent , went into effect on Monday , halting trading for 15 minutes .
CNBC with more on Monday ’ s dramatic fall-out : Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening drop of more than 1,300 points .
The S & P 500 futures indicated a 5 % drop at Monday ’ s open .
The S & P @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The sharp declines in the futures market signaled more turbulence ahead after a roller-coaster week that saw the S & P 500 swing up or down more than 2.5 % for four days straight .
Saudi Arabia on Saturday slashed official crude selling prices for April , in a sudden U-turn from previous attempts to support the oil market as the coronavirus hammers global demand .
The move came after OPEC talks collapsed Friday , prompting some strategists to see oil prices crater to $ 20 this year .
As outbreaks of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including the United Kingdom and Germany , are considering enacting quarantines similar to the one Italy placed on 16 million people living in the country ’ s northern region , which includes the financial hub of Milan .
The new lockdowns would likely seek to limit movement , prohibit large public gatherings such as sporting events , and close schools across regions .
Amid the free-fall Monday morning , President Trump , who has been known to politicize the performance of the stock market , focused on attacking Democrats and Barack Obama .
@ @ @ @ @ @

Global stock markets, already reeling from intense panic over the spread of the novel coronavirus, plunged on Monday as oil prices nose-dived by more than 30 percent—the biggest daily drop since the Gulf War in 1991—after Saudi Arabia shocked the world by launching a price war against Russia. The drop comes as the number of confirmed cases of the virus reached nearly 110,000 worldwide.
Economists in the United States and Europe are now bracing for what could be the largest decline in the stock market since the 2008 global recession. Even before US markets opened, the S&P 500 on Sunday triggered a system to pause futures after contracts fell 5 percent. The first of three so-called “circuit breaker” levels, which kicks in after stocks fall 7 percent, went into effect on Monday, halting trading for 15 minutes.
CNBC with more on Monday’s dramatic fall-out:
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening drop of more than 1,300 points. The S&P 500 futures indicated a 5% drop at Monday’s open. The S&P futures trading was briefly halted overnight. The sharp declines in the futures market signaled more turbulence ahead after a roller-coaster week that saw the S&P 500 swing up or down more than 2.5% for four days straight. […] Saudi Arabia on Saturday slashed official crude selling prices for April, in a sudden U-turn from previous attempts to support the oil market as the coronavirus hammers global demand. The move came after OPEC talks collapsed Friday, prompting some strategists to see oil prices crater to $20 this year.
As outbreaks of the virus in Europe worsen, governments, including the United Kingdom and Germany, are considering enacting quarantines similar to the one Italy placed on 16 million people living in the country’s northern region, which includes the financial hub of Milan. The new lockdowns would likely seek to limit movement, prohibit large public gatherings such as sporting events, and close schools across regions.
Amid the free-fall Monday morning, President Trump, who has been known to politicize the performance of the stock market, focused on attacking Democrats and Barack Obama.
The Obama/Biden Administration is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our Country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren singlehandedly destroyed the Bernie Sanders campaign by stripping voters away from his count on Super T. He lost states that he easily would have won if she had dropped out 3 days earlier. The DNC is doing it to Bernie again! Will he ever get angry? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
This post has been updated.


motherjones--2020-03-10--Let’s Make Dog Parks Less Racist

Let’s Make Dog Parks Less Racist

It was the least casual thing I ’ d done in a while and , for better or worse , not one I ’ ll probably do again .
Just a few weeks ago , terrified by a recent experience in which my scared dog ran into the street , I enlisted the help of a professional dog whisperer .
His name is Anthony , and he came highly recommended .
“ He moves like a dog , ” I ’ d been told , and sure enough , there he was on the floor of my apartment , coaxing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , into something called a safety collar with a series of physical undulations and verbal cues , then whisking her down the five flights of stairs of my Brooklyn building .
We were on our way to the dog run for a few lessons in socialization .
Except there are no enclosed dog runs ( or “ official ” dog parks ) in my neighborhood , a fact that has never bothered me before .
I live in Crown Heights , on the border of Brownsville .
Deep enough for gentrification to produce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep enough that nearly every single business is an immigrant-owned establishment .
The closest park to me sits right on a busy street , and it ’ s one of my favorite places .
It ’ s where Zora learned how to play fetch , and it ’ s where we walk every morning to meet up with our crew of dogs and their humans .
The thing that makes this place so special ?
It ’ s Black .
Very Black .
There ’ s Miss Vicky , the retired city worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8 and 9 with her two dogs , Snickers and Biscuit .
( Miss Vicky is the only human ’ s name I know , because in Doglandia , the dogs are the only ones who matter . )
There ’ s Queenie , an energetic pitfall mix who never misses a chance to steal Zora ’ s ball .
There ’ s Sundae , whose owner found her abandoned in that very park on a Sunday .
There ’ s Missy , the Maltese mix who sadly had to miss Zora ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad bought of kennel cough .
Ivana , the 18-year-old schnauzer , rocks a mean red neckerchief .
Chloe ’ s human loves her pink Adidog hoodie , but would honestly prefer it in yellow .
We don ’ t see every dog every time , but every so often , when we ’ re lucky , maybe five of us are in the park with our pups all at once .
Everyone is friendly .
And we all spoil our pets .
But Anthony insisted that we needed a place with more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walked .
The particular dog park where we landed was like so many I ’ d been to in the past .
It was about a 20 minute walk from my home , nestled between the arch of public housing buildings and artisanal bread shops .
It wasn ’ t a dog park per se , meaning there was no enclosed dog run , but there was a large dirt field where dogs were allowed to run around off leash before 9 am on weekdays .
Anthony led Zora and I in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zora—my anxious baby who is nevertheless perfect— “ to and through ” the pack of 15 or so other dogs .
Left to her own devices , Zora stood shaking in the middle of it all , ears glued to the sides of head , eyes furrowed in a look that said , Do I have to ?
But with Anthony leading the way , she started to pick up a little confidence .
She sniffed a few butts .
Earned a few strangers ’ treats .
She was unsteady , but , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was to help her face her fears .
Lead her to them and show her through them .
If she skitters past the loud bang of sidewalk construction , walk her calmly past it a few times to show her that the jack hammer isn ’ t an imminent threat .
Earn her trust .
I learned a lot over the course of the next hour .
I learned that playing fetch with my dog every morning actually does her more harm than good , because she ’ s not socializing with other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll stop ignoring my commands when I start mixing them up a bit , signaling that “ come ” doesn ’ t mean the end of fun time .
I learned that harnesses encourage dogs to lead their humans , and that a dog like mine , who craves accountability and structure , wants to be led and should just wear a collar .
“ She loves you , ” Anthony told me in his most gentle way possible .
“ But she doesn ’ t trust you to keep her or yourself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Useful ?
Definitely . )
One critical lesson , though , didn ’ t come from Anthony .
It came from a complete stranger who reminded me why I hate most dog parks : They ’ re so unbearably , unapologetically white .
In the middle of Anthony helping me put a finer touch on one of my commands , a woman approached .
You know the type .
Maybe you are the type .
She was a white woman who ’ d come to the park that morning , toting her dog @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s call her Dog Park Debbie .
Even though Anthony , who is white , stood by my side , Dog Park Debbie directed her attention toward me .
What I was doing , she said , was all wrong .
She demonstrated her preferred way to do all the things .
She spoke softly and slowly , as if I might have trouble understanding .
And then , the final insult : Did my dog have a coat ?
I should really get her a coat .
It ’ s Brooklyn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what felt like way too long , Anthony and I politely walked away from the woman , him fuming at someone so fearlessly questioning his expertise .
But I couldn ’ t get past the coat .
Does my dog have a coat ?
Why , yes .
In fact , she has several .
She has seasonal attire .
It matches .
Accentuates her eyes .
She has looks—lewks !
—that I replenish often , and as a thirysomething divorced lesbian who spends about 90 percent of my disposable income on my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , I come from a family that has long loved and doted on any number of pets , including cats , dogs , guinea pigs , hamsters , and once , oddly , a monkey .
We love our littles .
And we ’ re not new to this .
We ’ re also , unfortunately , not new to Dog Park Debbies .
I had largely pushed them from my mind , but they are common .
Sometimes they ’ re loud and vocal .
Sometimes they ’ re quiet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dog shows the slightest growl .
They have Lots of Opinions about what you ’ re doing wrong .
Or sometimes they have no opinions whatsoever , and try very hard to not be around you and your dog at all .
They make the meaningless and surprisingly refreshing dog park banter—What ’ s your dog ’ s name ?
How old ?
Is she nice ?
—suddenly charged .
As I left the dog park that day , I looked around to see if there were any other Black people there with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nodded , that silent acknowledgement Black people give one another that says , I see you , good morning , or , more often , Do you believe this shit ?
Informally , I started asking friends of mine with dogs if they went to dog parks .
Two were Black , one was Puerto Rican .
Every single person said they just didn ’ t feel comfortable .
It was always too white .
As I wrapped up my session with Anthony that day , he reassuringly told me that if I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning , within a week she ’ d be more social .
He wanted to see her stealing other dogs ’ balls and wrestling with them to the ground .
My fear was creeping into her , he said .
And that was true .
Maybe she could use a good hour every morning at a park filled with these dogs .
But I ’ m not sure I could .

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It was the least casual thing I’d done in a while and, for better or worse, not one I’ll probably do again.
Just a few weeks ago, terrified by a recent experience in which my scared dog ran into the street, I enlisted the help of a professional dog whisperer. His name is Anthony, and he came highly recommended. “He moves like a dog,” I’d been told, and sure enough, there he was on the floor of my apartment, coaxing my 5-year-old Jack Russell terrier, Zora, into something called a safety collar with a series of physical undulations and verbal cues, then whisking her down the five flights of stairs of my Brooklyn building. We were on our way to the dog run for a few lessons in socialization.
The closest park to me is one of my favorite places. It’s where where we walk every morning to meet up with our crew of dogs and their humans. The thing that makes this place so special? It’s Black. Very Black.
Except there are no enclosed dog runs (or “official” dog parks) in my neighborhood, a fact that has never bothered me before. I live in Crown Heights, on the border of Brownsville. Deep enough for gentrification to produce the occasional white neighbor, but also deep enough that nearly every single business is an immigrant-owned establishment. The closest park to me sits right on a busy street, and it’s one of my favorite places. It’s where Zora learned how to play fetch, and it’s where we walk every morning to meet up with our crew of dogs and their humans. The thing that makes this place so special? It’s Black. Very Black. There’s Miss Vicky, the retired city worker, who shows up every morning between 8 and 9 with her two dogs, Snickers and Biscuit. (Miss Vicky is the only human’s name I know, because in Doglandia, the dogs are the only ones who matter.) There’s Queenie, an energetic pitfall mix who never misses a chance to steal Zora’s ball. There’s Sundae, whose owner found her abandoned in that very park on a Sunday. There’s Missy, the Maltese mix who sadly had to miss Zora’s most recent birthday due to a bad bout of kennel cough. Ivana, the 18-year-old schnauzer, rocks a mean red neckerchief. Chloe’s human loves her pink Adidog hoodie, but would honestly prefer it in yellow. We don’t see every dog every time, but every so often, when we’re lucky, maybe five of us are in the park with our pups all at once. Everyone is friendly. And we all spoil our pets.
But Anthony insisted that we needed a place with more than a few dogs. So we walked.
The particular dog park where we landed was like so many I’d been to in the past. It was about a 20 minute walk from my home, nestled between the arch of public housing buildings and artisanal bread shops. It wasn’t a dog park per se, meaning there was no enclosed dog run, but there was a large dirt field where dogs were allowed to run around off leash before 9 am on weekdays. Anthony led Zora and I in a series of exercises, meant to take Zora—my anxious baby who is nevertheless perfect—“to and through” the pack of 15 or so other dogs.
Left to her own devices, Zora stood shaking in the middle of it all, ears glued to the sides of head, eyes furrowed in a look that said, Do I have to? But with Anthony leading the way, she started to pick up a little confidence. She sniffed a few butts. Earned a few strangers’ treats. She was unsteady, but, as Anthony told me, my job was to help her face her fears. Lead her to them and show her through them. If she skitters past the loud bang of sidewalk construction, walk her calmly past it a few times to show her that the jack hammer isn’t an imminent threat. Earn her trust.
I learned a lot over the course of the next hour. I learned that playing fetch with my dog every morning actually does her more harm than good, because she’s not socializing with other animals. I learned that she’ll stop ignoring my commands when I start mixing them up a bit, signaling that “come” doesn’t mean the end of fun time. I learned that harnesses encourage dogs to lead their humans, and that a dog like mine, who craves accountability and structure, wants to be led and should just wear a collar. “She loves you,” Anthony told me in his most gentle way possible. “But she doesn’t trust you to keep her or yourself alive.” (Harsh? Yes. Useful? Definitely.)
One critical lesson, though, didn’t come from Anthony. It came from a complete stranger who reminded me why I hate most dog parks: They’re so unbearably, unapologetically white.
In the middle of Anthony helping me put a finer touch on one of my commands, a woman approached. You know the type. Maybe you are the type. She was a white woman who’d come to the park that morning, toting her dog and lots of good intentions. Let’s call her Dog Park Debbie.
She spoke softly and slowly, as if I might have trouble understanding. And then, the final insult: Did my dog have a coat? I should really get her a coat. It’s Brooklyn and it’s cold.
Even though Anthony, who is white, stood by my side, Dog Park Debbie directed her attention toward me. What I was doing, she said, was all wrong. She demonstrated her preferred way to do all the things. She spoke softly and slowly, as if I might have trouble understanding. And then, the final insult: Did my dog have a coat? I should really get her a coat. It’s Brooklyn and it’s cold.
After what felt like way too long, Anthony and I politely walked away from the woman, him fuming at someone so fearlessly questioning his expertise. But I couldn’t get past the coat. Does my dog have a coat? Why, yes. In fact, she has several. She has seasonal attire. It matches. Accentuates her eyes. She has looks—lewks!—that I replenish often, and as a thirysomething divorced lesbian who spends about 90 percent of my disposable income on my dog, I am not ashamed. In fact, I come from a family that has long loved and doted on any number of pets, including cats, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, and once, oddly, a monkey. We love our littles. And we’re not new to this.
We’re also, unfortunately, not new to Dog Park Debbies. I had largely pushed them from my mind, but they are common. Sometimes they’re loud and vocal. Sometimes they’re quiet and suspicious, side-eyeing you when your dog shows the slightest growl. They have Lots of Opinions about what you’re doing wrong. Or sometimes they have no opinions whatsoever, and try very hard to not be around you and your dog at all. They make the meaningless and surprisingly refreshing dog park banter—What’s your dog’s name? How old? Is she nice?—suddenly charged.
As I left the dog park that day, I looked around to see if there were any other Black people there with dogs. There was one. We nodded, that silent acknowledgement Black people give one another that says, I see you, good morning, or, more often, Do you believe this shit? Informally, I started asking friends of mine with dogs if they went to dog parks. Two were Black, one was Puerto Rican. Every single person said they just didn’t feel comfortable. It was always too white.
As I wrapped up my session with Anthony that day, he reassuringly told me that if I took Zora to that dog park every morning, within a week she’d be more social. He wanted to see her stealing other dogs’ balls and wrestling with them to the ground. My fear was creeping into her, he said. And that was true. Maybe she could use a good hour every morning at a park filled with these dogs. But I’m not sure I could.