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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2010)
Street roots 15 ÏOTittOî Jan. 22, 2010 ITOR] Keep working on the big picture Spinning wheels go round and round t’s no secret that Street Roots and fellow grassroots community » organizations have stepped up their focus to organize for additional revenue steams for housing. he camping ordinance, along with a handful of We happen to believe DIRECTORS other ordinances that criminalize people on that a housing levy — DESK Portland’s streets, has a long history of either this year or embattled saga’s between bureaucracies, the business shortly after, is a By Israel Bayer community, people on the streets and advocates. must have for the community. Like the sit-lie ordinance, the camping ordinance is Israel Bayer is the executive In a time when the more or less a tool used by the police and parks director o f Street Roots a n d dismal economy continues to lag on, and the cha irm a n o f the N o rth bureau and private security to minimize the impact of A m erica n Street New spaper more people continue to fall into poverty A ssociation. You can reach more than 1,600 people (after all shelters are full) and homelessness — if Portland and the him a t streetroots@hotmail. from becoming too visible on Portland’s streets, com. , region doesn’t think big, we will continue to specifically downtown, where tourists and business face more and more people sleeping in owners tend to blame their lack of sales on the doorways and under bridges. Beyond being a humanitarian crisis, homeless presence. without adequate resources, the rise in The camping ordinance The new guidelines homelessness leads to more and more ' is a tool used to protect would have been compounded problems that are products of private businesses from homelessness itself; violence, addiction, monumental and people sleeping on public tension. Law enforcement, neighborhoods would decriminalize / property (trespass is used and businesses become frustrated and seek car camping and allow for private property) or to short-term approaches that often times rely a ll churches to host Jess on solutions and more on moving disband larger groups of homeless folks in their people around. It’s a quagmire and one that individuals on the streets parking lots. It would has been playing out on the streets since sleeping in “camps” for also free up public the mid-90s in Portland. We have to get over I ■ any number of reasons — some that are logical and others that are simply cruel. ______________________ The city of Portland has been taking on the most controversial and deadlocked issues on th e homeless front, including both the sidéw alk and cam ping ordinances over the past year. And while Street Roots appreciates their leadership, civil rights attorneys and ? the eourts have probably forced th e ir politics m o re - than their will to take on civil rights. ' | Without these efforts, we. mostf likely would still have a sidewalk law (It was ruled unconstitutional last year) that targets poor people. Nor would the current class- action lawsuit against the camping ordinance be such a priority in City Hall. The city is in negations with lawyers with the Oregon Law Center, which sued the city for violations to the plaintiff’s 8th Amendment protecting against cruel and unusual punishment. For months, the city has chosen to negotiate. That was until January when the negations stalled on the new ordinance that would dictate how law enforcement would engage with people on the streets. The new guidelines have the potential to be monumental and would decriminalize éar camping and allow all churches to host homeless folks in their parking lots, ft would also free up public space in parks and other locations owned by the city. In short, it would make for a much more humane and logical approach to the wprking with folks on the streets. Will it solve the shortfalls our community faces with the lack affordable housing units, or the gross civil rights violations that occur on the streets nightly? Will it stop the violence against women or the influx of hard drugs that lead to addiction on Portland’s streets? No, but it will go a long way in breaking through 30 years of failed policies used by city government to deal with the problem. Will it work? Only time will tell. We hope that under the leadership of City Hall that a more progressive and tolerant approach is adopted soon. A more humane and cost effective approach to working with the homeless would be welcomed by many progressive businesses, nonprofits and others. The timing is right and the chance may not come again. We’re counting on our electives to seize the moment and to do the right thing. the hump, one way or another. We can all agree that we want people off the streets, and the people themselves want off the streets. The reasoning behind why we want people off the streets m atters less than our ability to work toward the goal of getting people housed. A campaign for additional housing dollars in the region offers these diverse groups a chance to come together under one tent to work on solution-based-approaches to ending homelessness. We. may continue to disagree about, specific policies matters, but it should not hinder us from working together on the big picture. In the coming months, that bigger picture will reveal itself and we must move, quickly to capitalize on the momentum to create more affordable housing in the region. After all, housing does equal opportunity. Speaking of the big picture, a^lcast the big picture in Street Roots mind, we have put together ah online Street Roots Readers Survey. You will find the survey at our homepage at www.streetroots.org. We would - m ost appreciate it if you would take the time to fill out the survey. We are all Street Roots, vendors, w riters and readers alike. Your opinion m atters and we thank you for all your support space in parks and other locations owned by the city. STREET ROOTS’ EDITORIAL BOARD The views expressed in the editorials in Street Roots are the consensus of members of the editorial board and contributing volunteers. Portland history project a perfect f it fo r S treet Roots I am so, so grateful for the coverage in Street Roots. (“The persistence of memory,” Jan 22 Street Roots) our consumption of news via machines, Street Roots givesus the opportunity to talk tosom eoneeach time w ebuy the ' The writing is beautiful, clear and lyrical, Cafmel. And Ken, thank you for those lovely photos.... It is meaningful that this support is coming from Street Roots, a newspaper that is so much about relationships and community. At a time when people are alienated in so much of to someone, to a human encounter. This seems exactly right for a project that is about remembering each other, especially when it is difficult to do so. KAIASAND Portland Judgment by Gerald A. McBreen Ignoring the skeleton head crossed bones tattoo / , Mosquitoes spike him Siphon acid blood No cops to cell them No designated flyers Before they jump They think they can fly BY BERNARD PATRICK CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCIL Sam Adams Mayor 1221SW 4th Ave, Room 340,97204 (503) 823-4120 Amanda Fritz 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 220,97204 (503)823-3008 ’ amanda® j ‘ chportland.or.us Dan Saltzman 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 230,97204 (503)823-4151 dsaltzman® • ci.portland.or. us Nick Fish 1221 SW4th Ave, Room 240,97204 (503)823-3589 nick® ci.portland.or.us Randy Leonard 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 210,97204 (503)823-4682 randy® ci.portland.or.us
