6
street roots
* V/
Seattle earmarks
ftinds for camping
pilot program
BY A M Y ROE
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
he Seattle City Council’s proposed
2012 budget contains some good
news for those living in their cars.
The budget package includes $20,000 to
fund case management services for a Safe
Parking Pilot program at Our Redeemer’s
Lutheran Church in Ballard.
The money will pay for an outreach
worker to help car campers get connected
to resources, including permanent housing.
The church has agreed to provide
parking spaces and washroom facilities, but
funding for outreach was the missing piece.
City Councilmember Mike O’Brien
sought the money for outreach for the pilot
program from the city's human services
budget. He said the pilot, modeled after a
program in Eugene, Ore., is a stopgap. A
similar idea has been brought up in
discussions around homeless options in
Portland as well. However, no formal
proposal has been brought forward.
O’Brien said the city of Seattle is
committed to transitioning people out of
homelessness, but there’s not enough
housing to meet the current need.
Not everyone embraced the idea. At a
recent budget hearing, City
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said car
camping is dangerous and complicated, and
the city should focus on other methods to
help the homeless.
“I have tried camping in a car and it is
not comfortable,” Rasmussen said. “Most
cars are not suited for sleeping or living,
unless you’re in a really large car.”
Advocates for the homeless have sought
support for car campers for years. Ballard
a
Homes For All started in 24)07-after state
Rep. .Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle)
called community members together to
address Ballard’s -growing homeless
population. Dickerson secured $10,000 for
a ear camping pilot program but that
money must be used by Spring 2012.
Reprinted from Street Roots sister paper,
Real Change News, Seattle, Wash.
Nov. 25, 2011
A hard worker
with a native
tenacity
BY COLE MERKEL
STAFF W R IT E R
Portlander in every sense of the
word, Frank Hodges has never lived
outside the Portland Metro area. He
grew up in Southeast and now resides in
Southwest His lifetime spent in the same
city has given Frank a window to Portland’s
growth as well as a strong sense of pride
that can only be possessed by a native
Oregonian.
“I’ve seen Portland double in size,” says
Frank. “It’s a great place to live but it’s
cursed. Oregon and Washington always have
the highest unemployment rates, they’re
the last ones to recover and of the 50
biggest cities in America, Portland always
has the hardest time coming back from the
slump and I don’t know why. It’s a great
place to live but it’s a struggle to find
financial security.”
Frank has worked hard his entire life. He
spent 25 years as a mover until 2009 when
B
Frank Hodges
P H O T O BY COLE M ER K EL
he could no longer do it. He also worked as
a janitor for a few years in the 1970s. After
he got out of the moving business, Frank’s
plan had been to return to janitorial work,
but he found a different reality from the
career he left.
“All the janitorial contractors are non-
tell them it’s going for rent, not drugs or
alcohol.”
“The most important thing in my life is
the well-being of my soul,” says Frank. “The
second is my body and the third is to make
a living and being loved and loving as many
benefits, wîrcanTgerâSyTiQiïc^jp^"™
you’re minimum wage, you’ve got to work
three different buildings to get enough
hours... In other words, to make a long \
story short, that doomed my plan.”
Street Roots, Frank says, is the best job
he has ever had. “I like the freedom this
give? me. I’ve always been a bit of an
introvert but this has brought me out a lot
more. I like meeting nice people. I’ve got
some nice regulars. They encourage your
faith in the human race.”
To be a good vendor, Frank says patience
is his virtue. He stands with his papers six
hours a day, seven days a week in order to x
pay his rent. “I appreciate their
.
consideration. I always thank people,” Frank
says of his customers. “I’m very specific, I
Hodges has never been homeless and
never wants to be. “It scares me,” he says.
“I don’t need a Beverly Hills mansion but
I’ve got to have a place to bathe, a place to
sleep at night, I’ve get to have a change of
clothes, use deodorant. I’ve got to b e ,
human.” That is why he dedicates so much
of his time to selling Street Roots.
" “I’m a businessman,” he says. “This is my
living. To me it’s abusiness, that’s why I’m
clean-shaven. I try to be a gentleman out
here. I’m representing the company and a
product. Whether you sell Rolls Royces, real,
estate or a one dollar paper, you’re still
dealing with the public.”
On his turf, Nordstrom at Southwest
Broadway and Yamhill, Frank has had
difficulty with panhandlers infringing upon
his business.
“You pay your dues out here to hang oh
to a spot,” says Frank, whose sales
philosophy is to quietly present up his
papers with a smile, sometimes greeting his
customers with a hello. People downtown,
h e . s ta y s - ¡ a p p ^ p a f ^
donate if they feel moyed to.
Frank neyer plans on moving away from
Oregon. “I love the beauty of thè planet
Earth and I think the Columbia River Gorge
is one of the most beautiful places in the
world. I think it’s prettier than the Grand
Canyon.” .
There are three factors that make him
love the Northwest so much: its scenic .
beauty, the friendly people — especially for a
big city — and the cleanliness of Portland.
“We have some of the best drinking water,
sortie of the most breathable air. We have
every climate in Oregon except tropical. It’s
one of the most beautiful piaces te live in
the world,” Frank says. “I consider myself
blessed to be here.”
I www.streetroots.wordpress.com
Answers to puzzles on page 15
VENDOR WORK ADS
Tibor S.: Available for any labor w o rk,
around a house. 1-201-539-1888.
Cassidy Mojse: Looking for work. W ilf do
most anything, light and heavy. $10 an
hour, foik-h ou r minimum. References
supplied. Please call 503-224-5398 or Street
Roots at 503-228-5657
Vendor Wish List
Donations keep Street Roots and bur vendors
working by keeping our operating costs low.
■ Socks
1
■ Lil H otties
■ 'P a p e r cups
■ H ygiene fe rn s
■ T riM e t bus
tickets/passes
■ Printer paper
■ T o ile t paper,
■ Tow els j
■ First-aid supplies
Laura Owens: Available fo r domestic-type
work, cleaning, dog w alking, etc. Please call
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Steet Roots, 503-228-5657 and leave a
message for Laura regarding w ork ad.
COBRECTIOMS
Street Roots strives for accuracy, but we're
human. So we also strive to correct errors in our
paper whenever possible. Please report any errors to
our managing editor, Joanne Zuhl, at 503-228-5657,
or write to joanne@streetroots.org
CENTRAL CITY
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.centicâcityconœm.org
503-294-1681