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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2011)
15 street roots July 8, 2011 *■ It’s all out in the open - where it belongs A Downtown Chapel program a breath of fresh air person in public office recently told ZJk me, “Street Roots should start X Xspeaking out more, and stop playing your cards so closely to your chest Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.” The same week a major funder told me that in some circles,, SR is just not going to get the kind of support it will take to B y Israel Bayer move the organization to the next level if we remain so politically charged. “You do want to go weekly some day to support the vendors, right?” Being an organization that focuses on the wellbeing of people experiencing homelessness and poverty through the sales of the newspaper on one hand, and producing journalism and an upstream approach to ending homelessness on the other, is tricky business. By the nature of being a newspaper that publishes news and opinions and having a vendor program that works with scores of businesses throughout the city, everything we do is out in the open. When something goes wrong on the streets, or our reporting challenges the status quo; for better or worse, it’s all on display. It’s easy to be critical of an organization like SR for not being mainstream enough, or for being too radical. We welcome i t If people weren’t being critical of our work I would begin to worry. We know people are reading and paying attention when they are. SR’s first cue always comes from the streets. Both the vendors and the many sources we speak with throughout the city are the organization’s eyes and ears. We work hard to balance the reality of the streets with an understanding of the big picture. We aren’t afraid to push it to the hilt and to challenge or praise the outcomes created by groups and institutions working with poverty. We expect the same in return. Look for an on-line readers survey in August, and please feel free to write a letter to the editor at streetrootsnews@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you. study just over two years ago on the vulnerability of people experiencing homelessness in Portland showed a high rate of people with multiple health problems - combinations of mental and health complications, histories of addiction and simply living at high risk of violence on the streets. We know from our series of reports by Street Roots on Israel Bayer is the executive director o f traumatic brain injuries and homelessness that such Street Roots. You can conditions routinely go undiagnosed, and are often reach him at streetroots@hotmail.com. aggravating factors toward other afflictions. Imagine if first responders (medics, police and fire, etc.) had the ability to know that a person is diabetic, on medication, or has had a serious brain injury in the past? The The Vial of Life chances that person program is not receiving the right health revolutionary in the care are far greater, and the housed world, but when costs associated with applied to people living misdiagnoses are much on the streets, it's a less. LETTERS breakthrough in an It seems so simple, and otherwise catch-as- often some of the best Officer’s snap judgements miss m ark on Copwatch catch-can world of steps forward are: A bright street health care. red pouch containing basic e are not sure who approached issue of brain trauma among long-term health information to give Officer (Robert) Pickett and homeless. Discovery, and getting a true any medic or caregiver accused him of harassing a man on sense of the damage, is difficult without clues to a person’s medical situation when the individual the street, (“Street Blues”, June 10) but records. it When the trauma is sustained in in need is unable to voice it themselves. It’s not was likely not someone who was on an numerous locations around the country and revolutionary in the housed world, but when applied to organized Portland Copwatch patrol nor over an extended period of time, the someone who had taken our “How to problem is even greater. What’s a healthy people living on the streets, it’s a breakthrough in an Copwatch” training. If Pickett’s description brain when the trauma has been the norm otherwise catch-as-catch-can world of street health care. is accurate^ the „person he describes didn’t for years? But awareness by those TheVialofTSeprogram (highlighted on page 1) even wait 10 seconds, got directly involved concerned for the homeless is a critical undertaken by the Archdiocese of Portland’s Downtown in the incident, and potentially escalated the piece and SR has certainly helped with that. Chapel is taking an old-fashioned approach — by today’s incident. Our training instructs people to WHAT DO It’s perverse that the person suffering is come on the scene and observe, not "digital standards - to helping people experiencing often unaware of what they’re experiencing. YOU THINK? interfere, and not to assume who’s right and homelessness improve their health care. It also goes without saying how single who’s wrong. For those interested in The program provides a means for people living on the payer, “Medicare For AU,” would aUeviate Street Roots receiving our training, send an email to much of the problem for homeless suffering streets to keep on hand documentation of their health encourages readers trainings@porflandcopwatch.org. brain trauma- who by definition are obscure conditions, medical requirements, medications, etc. It It is unfortunate that Officer Pickett, who to submit letters and but who nonetheless have as much a right comes with the back-up provision that if that information has a good reputation on the streets, chose columns for to healthcare as anyone. Thanks to Kate his parting article to take a swipe at our is lost, as it often is on the streets through theft, publication. Send Cox and Susan Brownhill for their organization, and to focus mostly on the vandalism and property seizure, it can be replaced, letters to the editor contribution. risks police officers take rather than the because the records are on file at the Downtown Chapel. JAYTHIEMEYER to the Street Roots reality that many officers engage in Portland Simple, but powerful and life saving. office, 211 NW Davis misconduct from rudeness to racial profiling We shine a light on this program in the shadow of to misuse of deadly force- We’ve always held St., Portland, OR government budget cuts, and the widening gap between that the best officers are the ones willing to 97209, or e-mailed Increase in homelessness calls for the rising number of people in poverty and homelessness blow the whistle on the bad ones. The to streetrootsnews® renewed effort on tent cities recent lawsuit by a former recruit in which and the limitations of those programs established to gmaii.com. her claims were not validated by a court is It is disheartening for me to read your provide relief. only the most recent example of how cop Each budget cycle, the social service network of Oregon article on the 8 percent rise in whistleblowers are treated. takes the hit. Services not just for people and families in homelessness. A deeper reading shows they We do appreciate those officers who are admit many time the numbers may be poverty, but the elderly, the disabled and those with willing to talk down potentially suicidal mental and physical health conditions are consistently on higher. people rather than shooting, beating, or » Being homeless, I was interviewed the chopping block. These are systems that keep people hitting them with Tasers, and would suggest living independently, and buoy those through the that an outcome where both the civilian and leaving jail after an unlawful arrest The foUowing week, I interviewed many people the officer can go home at night should be economic and unemployment slump, enabling them to with the first question: Did you sleep the goal for everyone. preserve their housing, find employment, and keep their DAN HANDELMAN outside last night? 75 said yes. Next children safe and healthy and out of the grips of Portland Copwatch question: Did you participate in the homelessness. It’s an argumentative process that pits homeless survey? 15 said yes. This “survey” need against need, and the needy against everyone else missed 80 percent • In this edition, Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) said ickett chose to jab at a Portland The guardians of “public” land, cities, of the recently passed state budget, “We have three basic Copwatch member in his last column. counties, metro, and schools are While the questioning may have things to do as a state. We have to educate our unempathizingly stringy. If land cannot be seemed overzealous, remember that six population. We have to fund public safety, and we have to given, it must be seized in the name of people were killed in 2010 by Portland cops. human dignity. We need land to create 200 care for the most vulnerable among us, who can not care If we want a democratic, just, civil society, it Dignity ViUages. Catch the magnitude? for themselves.” Greenlick went on to say that we now is vital that people hold our police force All over the nation these village birthing provide for our most vulnerable with whatever is left over accountable for their actions. processes have been a fight, including our after other programs are determined, saying „ We are ANNEIAFLEUR Dignity Village and three 100-person Portland basically failing our most vulnerable citizens. villages in Seattle. All seized land. That’s what makes the Downtown Chapel s Vial of Life My goodness, we have 200 villages to Traumatic brain injuries series program such a refreshing change from the no find land for, let’s get it on and get em’ off. S e e s , no capacity” line. U t us all learn by example. ■ K ■ reflects on insurance woes SR’s writers have done a great service by drawing attention to the largely invisible Cooperation o r ...? MIKE O'CALLAGHAN Portland STREET ROOTS’ EDITORIAL BOARD Our blog and our Facebook page are great ways to join the Visit www.streetroots.wordpress.com and friend us on Facebook to chime in.
