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Faith-based
community observes
Day of Homelessness
Awareness
STAFF REPORTS
n Tuesday, Nov. 15, civic and
religious leaders will join with
congregations throughout Portland
and Multnomah County to observe the
second annual Day of Homelessness
Awareness.
The Day of Homelessness Awareness
aims to spotlight the challenge of
homelessness in our community, to show
appreciation for the many ways the faith
community is already involved in
supporting homeless people, and to engage
even more congregations and members in
the effort to end homelessness.
Of the nearly 5,000 individuals identified
as homeless by the 2011 Point-in-Time
Homelessness Survey, 1,331 represented
homeless families with children and 458
homeless youth. There are more than 500
congregations in Portland alone, and
almost 1,000 in Multnomah County. The
faith community provides and underwrites
all of the emergéncy shelter capacity for
families in Multnomah County, in addition
to supporting and caring for those who
expérience homelessness.
The day will begin with a “Walk of
Awareness” at 7 a.m. on Nov. 15 at St.
Andre Bessette Roman Catholic Parish
(formerly the Downtown Chapel), West
Burnside and Sixth Avenue. The walk will
proceed to the new 13 Salmon Family Day
Center at First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW
13th Ave., for a light reception.
Stops along the way will include the new
Bud Clark Commons and O’Bryant Square.
Both stops have connections to the faith
O
community’s involvement in homelessness.
'fhe Bud Clark Commons is home to
Transition Projects. O’Bryant Square is the
location of Potluck in the Park, a weekly
meal provided free of charge that is
strongly supported by congregations (
throughout Portland.
The walk will include three key “calls to
action” for participants. The threefold call
to action is structured around the theme of
donate/volunteer/advocate. At three stops
along the way, participants will be
encouraged to donate coats and blankets or
cash; volunteer with organizations that
support people experiencing
homelessness; and advocate on behalf of
people experiencing poverty, hunger, and
homelessness. Information on
organizations and programs of advocacy at
the local, state and national level will be
provided.
Answers to puzzles on page 15
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BY COLE MERKEL
STAFF WRITER
rt is Nathan Roper's outlet to channel
his energy. “It gives me a
perspective,” says Nathan. At times
tumultuous, Nathan’s life has taken him
through addiction, prison and now, recovery.
“That’s what art is supposed to do — pull an
emotion out of you. It may not be good, it
might be disgust. It might be revulsion, but
at least it’s pulling something out of you.”
“I always had an artist’s soul,” says
Roper. “I never had the medium through
which to express it. Because you’re more
sensitive and you’ve got to have an outlet to
S
VENDOR PROFILE
P H Ö T Q B Y C O LE M E R K E L
Nathan Roper
channel that sensitivity, that hurt, that
anguish, that rejection that you feel more
than most people. Because you see the
world differently.”
Nathan was addicted to street heroin for
thirty years and spent two years in prison. It
was behind bars that Nathan discovered the
in it, especially if I’m in a warm surrounding
- a whole day can go by. Looking out a
window I can always look at a landscape and
think, ‘I can draw th a t’ My mind is always
leaning toward th a t”
Growing up in the Bay Area, Roper spent
much of his youth in Redding, Calif., a place,
he says, unwelcoming to homeless
individuals and drug users; “They wouldn’t
power of art as.a-fool. for s^-crgDros^onjA
ey en aflo w m rpthadone theffi b ecause they, ..
fellow inmate offered Nathan hislocker so
long as Nathan drew him a different
envelope every day for eighteen months. In
conjunction with the other inmate’s
envelopes, Roper began to illustrate his
own. “I started sending them home,”
reflects Roper. “My brother hung them on a
wall. I figured next time I’d do one to where
you’d get the whole collage and it would be
one big picture. But, fortunately, I never
went back to that place.”
Drawing and illustration with pencils and
gel pens are Nathan’s preferred media
because he appreciates the freedom and
control it allows through hand-eye
coordination. “They say you should find
something you enjoy and this is probably
the only thing I really do enjoy that I let
hours fly by while I’m drawing. I can get lost
said it added to th e drug problem.”
Upon his release from prison, Nathan had
few places to go, and returned to Street
Roots where he had been a vendor several
years previous.
“That’s one thing I like about Street
Roots,” he says. “You guys gave me a
chance when nobody else would.” In terms
of selling, he says, “I don’t want any favors.
All I want is to just see what I can do. And I
sell papers. That’s why I love this job.”
Selling drugs gave Roper the perspective
to quit “I actually quit dope selling heroin.
Watching people in that constant state of
desperation, coming up to me, needing
something, willing to do anything,” he says.
“That’s sad to be so reduced to that. That’s
what I hated about being strung out; you’re,
so dependent on this thing that has what
VENDOR WORK ADS
Tibor S.: Available for any labor w ork
around a house. 1-201-539-1888.
Cassidy Morse: Looking for w ork. W ill d o
m ost anything, light and heavy. $10 an
hour, four-hour m inim um . References
supplied. Please call 503-224-5398 or Street
Roots at 503-228-5657
CORRECTIONS
Street Roots strives for accuracy, but we're
human. So we also strive to correct errors jn our
paper whenever possible. Please report any errors io
our managing editor, Joanne Zuhl, at 503-228-5657,
or write to joanne@streetroots.org
Nathan Roper sells Street Roots outside the
Starbucks on N W 21st a nd Lovejoy,
Vendor Wish List
Donations keep Street Roots and our vendors
working by keeping our operating costs low.
■
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Socks
LiL H otties
Paper cups
H yg iene item s
To w els
First-aid supplies
. ■ T riM e t bus
tickets/passes
■ P rinter p ap er
■ T o ile t p ap er
Laura Owens: Available fo r domestic-type
w ork, cleaning, dog w alking, etc. Please call
Steet Roots, 503-228-5657 and leave a
message fo r Laura regarding w ork ad.
you need and you’re tore up from the floor
up and you don’t see i t And when I was
selling, I saw i t Finally, that stuff in my
pocket had no pull to me. It was just junk. I
finally understood why they use the word
junk. It’s garbage!”
Of the places he has lived, Roper thinks
that Portland and San Francisco are the
most welcoming. “Being homeless, you
Hnn’f g e t a gnnd d n<^ o f h u m anity- « wwy.ri ay.
You’ve got to reach and look hard to find the
humanity in things.” He finds that humanity
by selling Street Roots; as a vendor,
individuals acknowledge and accept him as
human. “It pulls you into the community,”
he says. “They get used'to you, and you
become part of their lives.”
Roper shows no signs of slowing down.
He is in fact, only looking to create more.
“I’m not done yet. I’ve got something to
contribute to thia community, The final
epitaph hasn’t been written on me yet. I’m
still grpwing, I’m still learning and I’m going
to do something for Portland because it’s
done something for me.”
CENTRAL CITY
concern
Changing Lives
Building Communities
Seeing new faces selling Street Roots?
Each week, more people sign up to
become a Street Roots vendor and It's
great to support new salesmen. Please
make sure you buy from a badged
vendor, confirming that they have
attended the vendor orientation and
are authorized to sell the newspaper
Your vendor will thank you!
Creating Opportunities
www.centralcityconcern.org
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