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'.