2
street roots
Dec. 9, 2011
Looking forward to an even greater year
EDITORIAL
with joy and apprehension
T
pday. Leo Rhodes moves into his own apartment.
If you’ve been a regular reader of Street Roots,
you know Leo well. He is a columnist, a vendor
and a member of our board of directors. He is a poet,
an advocate and a regular at City Hall. He also has
been homeless for the past 10 years. Leo is not alone.
This past year, Street Roots, with the help of partners
from multiple organizations, has helped house dozens
of individuals who were homeless.
If you’re a regular reader of Street Roots you may
know your own vendor’s story just as well, and
hopefully it has a happy ending too. But we know that
isn’t always
the many
case. to
We’ve
lost too
Knowing that many of
our groups will also be holding forums with
treet Roots is proud partners with the
anyone left standing. Look for on-going
Oregon Opportunity Network, JOIN
coverage from Street Roots on how poverty
and 211info to sponsor the city
candidate forums on homelessness and issues and politics collide in the City of
Roses. It’s true, we do want roses, but we
housing. Last week, the first of a series of
want house keys for thousands of people
candidate forums took place with mayoral
too. You can’t create jobs without housing
candidates offering a
and you can’t have housing without jobs. It’s
range of perspectives
just that simple.
on affordable housing
Streets Roots is hoping that during the
and homeless issues..
holiday season you can find it in your heart
We expect the next
DESK
to give us a push. The organization
mayor to follow suit
. continues to grow and gain influence. We
with Mayor Sam
B y Israel Bayer
believe that this next year will be Street
Adams and be a
Roots’ breakthrough year. We continue to
strong advocate for
plan for the future and want to one day go
housing and
weekly and build a broader advocacy
homelessness. Which reminds me, Mayor
Sam Adams and his team have their plate
network. We can’t get there without you.
Please check out this edition’s editorial to
full right now, knowing that the city is
facing hard times concerning projected
see what we have been up to this year and
revenue streams. Do yoU know who else is.
the many reasons you should consider a
facing hard times? The Portland Housing
donation to Street Roots.
Bureau and people experiencing poverty in
You can give several different ways this
our fair city. We hope that in his last year as
year. In this edition of the newspaper we
Mayor, Sam Adams will do the rightthing
have attached an envelope. All you have to
and make sure that he does everything he
do is drop a check in the mail. I t would
can to make sure that Portland maintains its mean the wórld to us. You can also give ait
the Willamette Week Civé!Guide (see back
commitment to people on the streets. That
means making sure that housing and
page for details) or on-line at streetroots.
homeless service are at the top of the
org. Every little bit helps and we can’t do
priority list when it comes to making hard
what we do without you. We love your
choices.
support and hope you love the newspaper
In January, look for the next candidates’
and having a relationship with a
forum with candidates for city
neighborhood vendor near you. Thanks for
commissioners. After the primary in May,
the love, and have a happy holiday.
S
Looking past and forw ard,
Ö lM C Ä Ä 'S
Israel B ayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You Can
reach h im a t israel@
streetroots.org
the dangerous limbo of
the streets,
As 2011 winds to a
close, Street Roots
reflects on the year
S r® eclual measures of
joy and apprehension.
We are proud of our advocacy, our commitment to
educating people through the Rose City Resource, our
coverage of important stories, and our vendors who
daily change the attitudes of Portland residents about
their neighbors experiencing homelessness and
poverty.
We have seen great strides forward, including the
opening of the Bud Clark Commons and a renewed
commitment by the city to preserve funding for
affordable housing through urban renewal. We are
invigorated by the Occupy movement and Right 2
Dream Too for spotlighting homelessness so intensely
onr readers have the
same commitment,
together we w ill dig in
and pnt onr shoulders to
the wheel.
th a t it could no longer be sw ept under th e rug. We now
have City Hall ana its contenaers^talking about " '
loosening restraints on camping for people on the
streets.
While it shows how far we have come, it also shows
how far we have to go. Many of you know firsthand how
a battered economy and sustained unemployment
weighs on the lives of Portlanders and others around
the country. Regardless of where one falls on the
economic ladder, we have all felt the desperation.
2012, like others of recent memory, is going to be a
hard year. The City of Portland, Multnomah County
and the State of Oregon are facing monumental budget
cuts that will affect middle class Oregonians and people
living on the fringe. Poverty will continue to grow.
Street Roots is committed to working for both
individual and social change to create a more just
society. We are committed to working with a range of
partners across political and philosophical lines to
connect people with housing. We are committed to
covering in-depth and complex issues in order to keep
poverty in the public eye.
Knowing that many of our readers have the same
commitment, together we will dig in and put our
shoulders to the wheél. Together, we will work on a
range of opportunities that should be given to all —
jobs and a safe place to call home.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211
NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209,
or e-mail to joanne®
streetroots.org.
Monster
By Jason Wolf
Sometimes I can’t believe the things that go through my head
I hear my own thoughts and can’t believe what was said
Wherever I go this monster will follow
He is shallow, evil, and ultimately hollow
At times he is in control and won’t go away
Other times I fight him and keep him at bay
He feeds off of darkness, left wanting more
With tricks up his sleeve, I don’t want to see what he has in store
He wants me to fail, that being his goal
There is no success, but it takes a toll
He tries to catch me when I am weak and down
Wouldn’t he love to ju st see me drown
So it’s me versus you, give me your best
You will never win and you can put that to the test!
shosoxsa@gmail.com
Our mission
S ta ff
Board o f Directors
Vendors
Street Roots creates income opportunities for
people experiencing homelessness and poverty by
producing a newspaper and other media that are
catalysts for individual and social change.
Executive Director Israel gayer
Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
chairman}, Heather Stadick (Treasurer), Eddy Barbosa
(Secretary), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes,
Ken Hawkins
■ Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers fo r 25 cents
each and sell them fo r $1, keeping the 75 cents if
p rofit fo r themselves. In order to keep the cost low to
our vendors, we receive additional support from
donations and in-kind contributions.
Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching
on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription, We are proud
members o f the North American Street
Newspaper Association and the International
Network o f 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
israei@streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Becky Mullins
becky@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Cole M erkel
coie@streetroots.org
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Accountant Heather Stadick
Reporters Amanda W aldroupe, Stacy Brownhill,
Jake Thomas
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Jennifer
Jansons, John Ryan Brubaker
Intern Liz Fosteer
Volunteers
Christine Gadeholt, Mary Patios, Leo Rhodes, Jan
Bayer, Eliese Baker, Sue Zaiokar, Tave Drake,
Michael M oore
S treet Roots Rose City Resource
Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a
comprehensive booklet o f services fo r people
experiencing homelessness and poverty.
To inquire about getting an order o f the Rose City
Resource fo r distribution, please write to
pdxrosecityresource@gmail.com. Resources are also
available online at www.rosecityresource.org.
7SC
goes directly to the vendor
w ho sold you the paper
25c ’
goes toward
printing costs
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.