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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2011)
2 Street roots S ept 30,2011 A simple equation: We all play a part T The alarm has sounded. Are progressives listening? t’s easy to think that in a country as massive as the United States, individuals are alone and isolated from doing anythingto really alter the course of the current state of affairs, here or abroad. The momentum for the progressive movement feels almost nonexistent. That is until you look beyond our own city on a hill to realize that the world today is actually alive with progressive social movements — it’s just a matter of having the right set of circumstances and group of people willing to sustain them. When does enough become enough? No one expected the masses (helped by technology) in Egypt, Syria and Palestine to create non-violent social movements that would turn their own countries and the world upside down. And while it’s true that,, The protests aren't so much a the Outcomes are still response from Wall Street unknown in those directly, bnt a distress call to countries. What is known the rest of the country to is that when people unite respond. ___________________________ behind each other, and support one another’s collective will to say enough is enough, big things can happen. Why not dream big? When you look at the current Occupy Wall Street actions that are taking place, it’s almost as if progressives are collectively holding there breath, hoping something more will happen. Will it amount to anything? What possibly could come of a small group of people waving banners and chanting, “No justice! No peace!” Well, not a lot. Unless that group swells, and enough are willing to carry on. That’s what is happening in New York currently where thousands of people are simply not leaving Wall Street. From faraway Portland, a city that once knew a thing or two about non-violent direct action, it feels like the protests aren’t so much a response from Wall Street directly, but a distress call to the rest of the country to respond. The real question then isn’t what the Wall Street protests mean, or how effective they will be in changing Wall Street, it is are we listening, and moreimportantly, are we willing to stand up and say enough is enough. Other cities and countries have seen a spark — London, Paris and Madison. Nothing has stuck. As of press time, there are scores of cities around the country, including Portland, holding actions in solidarity. Now, we know what you’re thinking. Another protest, . really? Won’t it just be the anarchists and socialists and a bunch of poverty groups like Street Roots? Maybe it will and it will go nowhere. We hope that it would be more. From the photos and videos we’ve all seen in New York, it sure doesn’t look like just the typical riffraff out making a statement. It looks like common everyday folk — the same kind of folk that packed Waterfront Park to see Barack Obama speak three-plus years ago. The protests in New York look like the same people in Portland that are forced to choose between child care, bus transportation and being able to lookfor a job. The same people who have been on the unemployment lines for months, if not years, and have to choose between the water bill and not having a place to live. It’s high time we stood up and made a statement as progressives. Now is as good a time as any, and if we think things are bad now, wait and see what happens if we do nothing. Join in and make your voice heard in Waterfront Park, Oct. 6. Go to occupytogether.org to find out more. I 1 Israel B ayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can " reach h im a t streetroots@ hotm ail.com . e rainy season is upon us, and for people on the streets that means that now becomes a matter of life J . survival SI or death. Thè issue of homelessness for many is an issue of DIRECTOR'S : public safety, but in , \ reality, thousands of' people sleeping outdoors is an issue B y Israel Bayer of public health. Some people who are mentally and physically vulnerable and have no access to health care or a roof Over their head, will- get sick and die this winter. It’s that simple and harsh. It hasn’t always been like this. Over the past three decades urban environments across the U.S. have experienced a massive rise in people experiencing homelessness. Many would have you believe that it’s because of a person’s individual choices, or simply bad luck — an urban myth that has been perpetuated by years of negative campaigns, ignorance and false assumptions against the homeless. In reality, over the past three decades we have gone from a small portion of U.S. citizens sleeping outdoors to millions of people living without a safe and decent home. For years, the eroding of government institutions coupled with an array of social factors and corporate welfare has created a perfect storm for the modern-day downtrodden. Many young people under the age of 35 have been bom into a generation where homelessness is a normal part of society. It’s not normal. When I speak to groups, I often start with trauma itself. When you strip back all of the rhetoric surrounding the issue of homelessness, that’s really what we are talking about trauma. Many people entering homelessness may have already experienced^one or more nervous breakdowns on the way to the streets. Maybe it’s an abusive partner, o r | it’s their experience in Afghanistan. Possibly they lost it all - the home, the wife, the husband, and kids. Maybe the family is still together, but there’s simply no place left to turn and living in the car is what life has come down to. Maybe you are coming out of the pen, or have been Hitting life fast and hard and have burned every bridge from Sellwood to San Antonio. Regardless of how one arrives on the streets, once you’re down on the block, it’s a hard-knock life. Street Roots witnesses some of tiie most beautiful acts of human kindness on one hand, and the cruelest form of survival on the other. Throw in the rain, the rats, the police and private security, the drugs and the endless uphill straggle to access services and housing, and who among us wouldn’t crack, or develop some kind of mental disorder? It’s a living hell that becomes a thin grey line. When logic is found in the form of adequate services and housing, it still takes years to get back what has been lost both physically and mentally, if at all. So the next time you see someone sleeping in a doorway, or a family living in .> their car, remember three things. One, it’s not normal, and we shouldn’t subvert to such a society. Two, it has been a long road for the many who sleep outdoors. And three, everyone deserves a safe and decent home. We all play a p a rt It’s as simple as that. LETTER Reader support helps us stay the course just want to let you know that I love your paper. Hands down one of the best print publications in town, perhaps the best newspaper in town, and the best street paper I have read. Thank you so much for your informative,, balanced and insightful reporting and interviews. It is a real pleasure. I would also like to say that thepoem , “I bought an eighth of smoke” featured in the Äug. 5 issue was really a standout piece. It is hanging on my wall. I only wish the author was known so that I could seek out more of his/her work! Stay the course! DREW I WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send letters to the editor to the Street Roots office, 2 1 T { NW Davis St., Portland, OR 97209, or e-mail to joanne@streetroots. org. Our mission Staff Board of Directors Vendors Street Roots creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are catalysts f a individual and social change. Executive B ire c tw Israel Bayer Bruce Anderson (Chairmahl Michael Anderson (Vice- chairman), Heather Stadick (Treasurer), Eddy Barbosa (Secretary), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Ken Hawkins. Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents each and sell them f o r ll , keeping the 75 cents in ’ profit for themselves. In order tokeepthe cost low to our vendors, we receive additional support from donations and in-kind contributions. Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our street vendors or ty subscription. We are proud members of the North American Street Newspaper Association and the International Network of Street Papers. Street Roots 211 NW Davis S t Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax:503-227-3117 www.streetroots.org www.streetroots.wordpress.com streetroots@hotmail.com M anaging Editor Joanne Zuhl " joanne@streetnxB.org Vendor Coordinator Becky Mullins , becky@streetroots.org Operations D irector Sarah Beecroft Program A ssistant Cole Merkel cole@sfreetroots.org Grant W riter Sarah Cloud Accountant Heather Stadick Reporters Amanda Waldroupe, Stacy Brownhill, Jake Thomas Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Jennifer Jansons, John Ryan Brubaker Volunteers Christine Gadehdt, Mary Patios, Leo Rhodes,-Jan Bayer, Sliese Baker, Liz Fosteer, Sue Zalokar, Tave Drake, Micha Street Roots Rose City Resource Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a comprehensive booklet of services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. * To inquire about getting an order of the Rose City Resource for distribution, please write to pdxrosecityresource@gmail.com. Resources are also availableonline.atwww.rosecityresource.org. goes directly to die vendor who sold you the paper goes toward printing costs Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office'.
