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Street roots
Education * Dialogue * Independence
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Monsters and men,
right here in River City!
Giving a hand up, not a hand out
treet Roots is. grateful to the many
to each other’s stories.”
- ^^ind iv id u als who have given to the
Vance Schweigart sells the newspaper
K-Z summer fund drive this year, With
downtown and in the Irvington
your support we’ve raised nearly $12,000.
neighborhood. Schweigart says that selling
Thank you!
Street Roots allows him to-pay for a room
The organization
each night «Street Roots customers are
still needs to raise an
kind to me . They treat m e like a real person
^ l R E C T O B r S ' ad(kti?nal $3,000 this
andnot like a bum.”.
w w ow y
summer to maintain
Street Roots is a hand up, not a hand out.
. >
the vendor program
Selling Street Roots allows for individuals
and newspaper this ,
to gain access to a supplemental income. It
By Israel Bayer
fall. We’re hoping you
also allows for individuals to rebuild their
■■■■■■■ h h i w
can take the time to \
lives in dignity - without having to beg.
give today.
It also allows individuals experiencing
' Your donation goes to support people
homelessness and poverty to give
experiencing homelessness and poverty
something back to the community. With
who sell the newspaper and access
each purchase of a newspaper, you are
resources throughout the Portland region.
helping people improve their quality of life
George-Mayes, who sells at the .
- whether that’s helping them access a roof
Multnomah County Courthouse, says,
over their heads or allowing them to eat
“Street Roots gives me a chance to dialogue
healthy foods not readily available to many
with people and is a model of self-
poor folk. The reader also gets something in
sufficiency.” . g ’
'
, return with a quality community newspaper.
“Street Roots gave us a spark of hope,” s When you"purchase Street Roots you are
says Donna Bacon, who became housed
helping rebuild a person’s life.
while with the organization. “They are there
Saying that, we can’t provide the '
for their vendors and homeless people who
newspaper to individuals on the streets
want to change their lives for something ,
without the broader community support. It I.
better.”
takes money to run the. vendor program and
. Kevin Bynum became homeless nearly a
to publish a quality newspaper. We are
year ago, and Street Roots has helped him
asking for your help.
gain access to housing and stability. “I’m
You can give online at www.streetroots.
grateful to Street Roots because it keeps a
org, or the old fashioned way to Street
roof oyer my head. I alsoget to meet
Roots, 211 New Davis St., Portland, OR,
hundreds of new people each day. We listen
97209.
t s' hard to tell fact from fiction in downtown Portland
these days. The police and business co m m unity have
outdone themselves with a public relations ploy that
aims to make our city seem more like a zoo than a healthy
downtown feeling the repercussions of an unforgiving
recession all because of a sidewalk ordinance.
Where to start? In late June, a Multnomah County judge
Israel B a yer is the executive
director o f Street R oots a n d
ruled the sit-lie ordinance unconstitutional (the second
the cha irm a n o f the N o rth V
time in a seven-year period a judge has made such a
A m e rica n Street N ew spaper
A sso cia tio n . You ca n reach
ruling). Two weeks later the police bring The Oregonian
him a tstr e etr o o ts@ h o tm a il.
on an all-day stakeout on homeless individuals round
Pioneer Square. From a second story window, the police
\ - S
kept watch on targeted
individuals, waiting for them
The police don't get to
to commit low-level crimes
such as littering or
drive policy decisions
jaywalking. Arrests were
and public relations
made.
about homelessness in
One week later, another
Portland, but they're
stakeout operation. More j
sending ont the alarm
arrests.
that without sit-lie,
The police say th a t.
downtown has become
Gotham City.
without the sit-lie
ordinance, a violation
coming with a possible fine
and community service, they
are forced to continue conducting surveillance on people
downtpwn - making petty arrests that come with possible
jail time and a record that could disqualify individuals,
LETTERS
from accessing housing.
Housing Bureau chieft New strategic plan needed in these times
Down the street, elected officials sit on the sidelines,
forgetting that they actually supervise the police, and that
egarding “We’relpsing ground; Time
formerlyhomeless individuals each day.
the police don’t get totirive policy -deGi^ions and. public
to charge” (Editorial in Aug. 10
People who use a Section 8 voucher to
relations about homelessness in Portland; inessence, x
Street Roots):;
pay their rent will have a much easier time
sending out the alarm that without sit-lie, downtown has
I have long admired Street Roots for .its
finding a good apartment thanks to a unique
become Gotham City.
WHAT DO
straightforward approach to covering the
collaboration between the City, the Housing
We’re all tired of wasting time with petty ordinances
issues that most affect Portland’s homeless
Authority of Portland, and area property
YOU THINK?
community. And as the new director of the
about sidewalks when we could be using our collective
owners. One hundred five homeless
Portland Housing Bureau, Twas naturally
veterans will soon have permanent homes,
energy to push for poor folks to have access to health
Street Roots
very interested' in your recent editorial
because housing and VA leaders here have
care and housing. Let’s just state for the record that,
encourages readers
inviting the City to “make the charge,” by
made it a priority to change the way they do
despite the lip service from City Hall, it really doesn’t
tackling our current housing crisis^
business.
matter what Street Roots or any other homeless advocacy - To submit letters
I could not agree more.The time for*
And with the support of our partners, we
and
columns
for
organization or newspaper in town says or reports. And it
bold, new approaches is upon us, and we
are investing our share of stimulus funds
publication.
Send
apparently doesn’t matter what the judicial system thinks
must set about our work with creativity and
into worthy and “shovel-ready” projects,
letters to the editor
an honest, strategic look at what is working
either. And now the Portland Mercury is reporting that
allowing us to stretch our local dollars even
to the’Street Roots
and what is not. I have a personal sense of
the city is working oh crafting another sidewalk
further.
.
urgency
around
trying
to
get
ahead
of
the
office, 211 NW
ordinance: Fantastic. Real progress, City Hall.
Can we do more? Absolutely. Do we need
economic
mess
that
is
wreaking
havoc
on
|
Davis St.-, Portland,
This, in the metropolitan hub of a state that’s now No. 1
a comprehensive new strategic plan that
our old housing strategies. Whafs more, I
OR 97209, or
reflects today’s economic realities, yet
in the nation for homelessness, No. 2 in unemployment
am convinced that my colleagues in city
leaves room for flexibility? Of course. And
e-mailed to
and No. 3 in hunger. Big businesses are laying off workers
government — including ojir elected leaders
can we do more to engage members of our
streetroots
and small businesses are simply failing. High school drop
— absolutely share that sense of urgency.
community who most need a voice on
©email.com. .
Indeed, These factors are what led me to
out rates are alarming and the resources designed to help
issues of poverty? Certainly.
accept
Housing
Commissioner
Fish’s
offer
those in need are choking in this financial drought. And as
I am counting on Street Roots to
of the top job at the new bureau.
all this pressure was building, the city was building high:
continue to watch Portland’s housing
While it’s true that we face greater
income housing, while low-income housing decreased
system closely and offer insightful and
challenges than ever before, I have great
nearly 23 percent in the past three years.
challenging commentary as we move into a
hope. I am hopeful becausein spite of the
And still, homeless people are being blamed and
new era.
recession, tremendous progress is being
punished for the economic woes downtown. It’s that
In the meantime, let there be no doubt:
made in helping those who need it the
we have taken np the charge.
most: Portland will soon break ground on
instinctual scapegoat mentality that pits people against -
MARGARET VAN VLIET
the landmark Resource Access Center that
each other rather than encourages common goals and
Director, Portland Housing Bureau
will help hundreds of homeless and
solutions. But we go on chasing our tail, which is usually
where people at the grassroots level alienate themselves
by saying something out of turn, like who s crazy now?
Addict’s Almanac’s unpleasant honesty prompts call for disclaimer
But that’s where it’s at; punishing homeless people, right
now, in the press and oh the ground, is crazy.
Roots knows too well how bad and
egarding Addicts Almanac (Street
The police stings downtown and the PR spin making
dangerous life on the street is, but we just
Roots, Aug. 7)
monsters out of men and women who are homeless,
want our readers to know we don’t approve
of theft, murder and other illegal activities.”
. I guess addicts have a right to be
blaming them for realities bigger than any one person can
:
NAT LASKER
heard from, same as anyone else, but I just
grasp, is an embarrassment. If the same fever was put
Portland
wanted to point out something ironic.
into asking the public to be patient and to educate people
Bdsed on the demographics of the city,
E
d
itor’
s
note:
Thank
you
fo
r
the
letter,
Nat,
on why people are homeless and how to get involved and
and based on where I see a lot of Street g
and yes, it’s true' we don’t condone theft,
interact with people on the streets — we would be talking
Roots vendors, the people whose bikes T
m urder or sim ilar crim inal acts. TyeDoudy
about truly becoming that extraordinary city on the hill.
were stolen probably supported you. Maybe
I
H
■
STREET ROOTS’ EDITORIAL BOARD *
The views expressed in the editorials in Street Roots are the
consensus of members of the editorial board ana
'
contributing volunteers.
now that they have to. save up for two bikes
they won’t be buying anymore Street Roots
for a while.
Maybe you should think about adding s
some neutral disclaimer at the end of
articles like this, you know, like “Street
doesn’t m ince words about his past, certainly
not the cold realities o f surviving addiction
an d homelessness. A s he has written before,
Tye hopes his experiences can be a lesson to
' others as m uch fo r what not to do as anything
else.