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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2009)
4 CEZ.EBBATXN6 A D EC JUME street r o o t a lB Education * Dialogue * Independence MEWSBR1EFS Street Roots vendor does a check-in on Leonard’s goodwill From an Aug. 19 exchange between Street Roots vendor Darren Alexander and City Commissioner Randy Leonard: * Mr. Leonard, I read the article in today's Willamette Week on your proposal to. regulate panhandlers. Like you, and many others, the more aggressive panhandlers - particularly more able-bodied ones who hold cardboard signs when they could be working to make a decent livinq for themselves - can be a thorn in the backside. While I applaud this, l am I ' concerned about the canvassers and other vendors. I am a vendor for Street Roots, which I'm sure ■ you're familiar with. As the director, Israel Bayer, nimself would state, sellingStreet Roots is a more acceptable alternative to panhandling. The majority of us— 99.99% of us— are courteous, friendly, and y do what we can to build community and contribute to the betterment of society..;. My concern is this regulation could wrongfully target those who are behaving themselves ietyas they canvass for charities and/pr selling SR. What I basically ask for is assurance that you only target those who are overtly aggressive and belligerent. In closing, I want to thank you for your service to the city, and thank you for listening. In kindest regards, I remain, ' . Darren W. Alexander I agree with you, Darren. I have had nothing but • positive experiences with Streets Roots vendors. Thanks for writing....Randy Washington State released felons can vote again More than 150,000 released felons in the state o f Washington got their right to vote back— thanks to a new state law, House Bill 1517, that went into ’ effect the end of July. .. [ once they have finished their prison time and parole. In the past, offenders had to pay off every penny o f, their court debt and restitution, with interest Then, .. they had to prove the debt was paid, petition a judge to restore the right and then hope the county , . i elections auditor got (or didn't lose) the paperwork authorizing him or her To register. "That has simply not been fair," said Washington State Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles, one o f the bill's champions. "It's been the equivalent of a modern- day poll tax.“ Ex-offenders still haveto pay off their legal ? financial obligations,, she said, but voting is one way to give them a stake in the community and in going straight— something that saves everyone tax dollars in reduced recidivism. IL? w I iyPJPi m I Street Roots strives for accuracy, but we're human. So we also strive to correct errors in our paper whenever possible. Please report any errors to our managing editor, Joanne Zuhlr at 503-228-5657, or write to joanne@streetroots.org. Coming to peace Portland’s a long way from Vietnam, but not so fa r fo r Brian Pham BY ELIZABETH SCHWARTZ C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R eing homeless in Portland reminds Brian Pham of when he lived in a refugee camp as a small child. I asked him how the two experiences are different, hoping to hear that our street people live better than Vietnamese refugees did in Malaysian camps in the 1970s. “Its not (any different,)” he told me. “Being homeless, it’s the same situation ... there’s a lot of loneliness. People look at y you' differently, make judgments.” People don’t understand “all the hardships of homelessness.” When Brian was about 4 years old, he and his siblings and two uncles made it onto a fishing boat headed for a refugee camp in Malaysia. His mother was reportedly captured while still on, the beach. His , biological father had been imprisoned earlier during the Vietnam war. Some B TOMBO» FROFIEE. Brian Pham B Y E L IZ A B E T H S C H W A R T Z W W W .P H O T O A D V O C A C Y .C O M available. In the meantime, he camps outside. Brian blames’ “the two wars” in the L— T h i s n a s i w i n t e r - R r ia n w a irn d in lin e to Middle East, fra; dece a s e d .resources, here, jit., get food from Sisters of the Road and home. He wants people to come up with a, eventually moved to O regon w hen his Blanchet House when freywas hungry. What biological parents were allowed to “resolution to the problem, bring our people were once 10-minutewaits in line have immigrate to Portland. home, and focus our resources on our grown to nearly an hour, he says. Waiting in Now 37 years old, Brian has worked a hunger, clothing, health, and shelter problems.” ft variety of jobs in western Oregon. He’s been food lines cuts into the amount of time Brian can spend selling newspapers. His . employed by grocery stores, publishing In addition tb his current difficulties, income goes down. companies, and by the owner of several Brian struggles with'his continued anger apartm ent buildings. He was also a Brian also depends on donations for about the Vietnam War. His father was clothing, but his petite frame makes it supervisor in shipping and receiving at a imprisoned in Vietnam for 15 years. He was difficult to find things that f it “You go into beverage distribution company for a couple tom away from his m other as a very young years. Pham began selling Street Roots in the .place and there are only size 15 shoes,” child and raised by strangers. His January soon after be.ing laid off from his Brian shrugs his shoulders, “and you wear a grandfather participated in the war of size 8...” < y ■ job doing pre-press preparation and bindery independence from France» “Millions of " work at a firm in Medford. I became curious about how he would like civilians were killed.” Brian says he’s given up looking for to dress if money were no object. “If you Given his personal experiences, it is not another job. He told ine he’s gotten tired of * could have any pair of shoes you wanted,” I . surprising that Brian doesn’t like war. asked him, “w hat would they be?” being rejected because of the economy, but “I want to come to peace with myself hefcl iike to get back into shipping and “Nikes. They’re made in Vietnam.” H e . about the war,” Pham told me. receiving some day. smiled. “Keep my people working, even if I Perhaps it will help if he can find a way to You can usually find Brian in fr o n t of can’t get a job.” procure a pair of Nikes. There might be Starbucks on East Burnside and 28th Pham not only waits for food and clothing catharsis in helping a former enemy keep Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or outside donations. He is also waiting for affordable working, even if he can’t get a job for the New Seasons grocery store on housing. He applied at Central City Concern himself. \y •• in January. He’s been told it will be at least Interstate from 5 to 10 p.m., where he sells 60 days more before something will be Street Roots in order to buy groceries. The months after arriving at the, refugee camp,* Catholic Charities brought Pham to the United States and arranged for him to live urith „ family: rm □ ir. Trvuzu H., income isn’t usually big enough to cover his expenses so he relies on donations for the rest of his needs.
