2
Street roots
Jan. 6, 2012
EDITORIA!,
No time to rest on our laurels, 2012 is here!
I
There is still time to make
the right choice for veterans
braham Flexner, an American educator, said decades
ago, “Nations have recently been led to borrow billions
(now trillions) for war; no nation has ever borrowed
largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay
for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we
cannot have both.”
Having made the choice, we must be prepared to deal with
the consequences. The military industrial complex speaks
volumes to the choices our government has made, and so do
the 135,000 American veterans who are homeless. It’s hard to
comprehend the magnitude of money and lives our country has
sacrificed in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. We have lost so
much.
A
As outlined in the cover
story, “A long way from
There's simply no reason
home,” thousands of
why a veteran returning
combat veterans are
home from war should have
returning to Oregon and the
to sleep in a doorway or be
U .S. to face an economy not
forced into illegal activity
equipped to support them,
because of the lack of jobs.
and a society far removed
" l—
from their needs. At the
same time, it’s that same
war machine’s costs that have contributed to the very
recession and social instability that greet soldiers on their
arrival home.
It is an aggravating churn of consequences: joblessness in
the face of increasing economic pressures, physical and mental
health problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The
results are an increase in homelessness and violence, and an
inordinate number of suicides.
There’s simply no reason why a veteran returning home from
war should have to sleep in a doorway or be forced into illegal
activity because of the lack of jobs. Locally and nationally our
attention should be to secure and develop resources for
veterans, who often times are returning home with fully formed
responsibilities; a family to feed and major bills to pay.
The city and county continue to look for ways to develop
housing resources. It’s time that our local governments put a
housing levy or bond on the ballot. A small levy or bond for
veterans housing would mean a sustained funding sources to
reinforce local housing development and preservation. We
cannot wait any longer.
At the statewide level, the legislature cannot passively watch
our returning men and women fall through the cracks. In
action and message, our state lawmakers need to be pounding
at the gates for improved access to jobs, housing and
education. We have to recognize that military skills do not
always translate to civilian employment, and military values do
not easily adapt to the social service system. It is our
responsibility to our neighbors to prevent the downward spiral
that can fester unnoticed for years in advance of homelessness.
Federally, every Oregon elected official should be fighting
tooth and nail for veteran’s resources, whether or not the word
“veteran” is attached. Because the health and welfare of our
returning soldiers is interlaced with the health and welfare of
our most vulnerable citizens. President Obama has vowed to
end the cycle of homeless veterans. Our representatives should
push the administration and a war hungry Congress to reinvest
in supportive services and replace the lost funding to affordable
housing programs and incentives across the country. Likewise,
more resources must be dedicated to the Veterans Affairs
Supportive Housing program, for veterans returning today, and
those who came home decades ago.
Because every day, every year, we still have a choice. Let’s
make the right one.
ndividuals selling the newspaper
reported back to the organization that
readers were more than generous, and
your support meant the world. Thank you.
We would also like to thank the many
individuals and families who have already
taken the time and
effort to give to the
organization during
the holidays. Street
[ Itm
S fcidw
Ü R C W «ft
T W
Í B I F i&ss
I ì rS
Roots raised more
than $17,000 through
the Willamette Week
Give!Guide and
By Israel Bayer
$25,000 through the
mail and through our
own website. We can’t
thank you enough. Your support means
Street Roots will remain strong going into
2012.
This year is an exciting time for the
organization. In February, Street Roots will
be unveiling a new web platform that will
help the organization compete in a changing
media landscape. We have been working
over the past year with open source
developers to build a fantastic website for
the general public. The new website will
allow us to be more transparent as an
organization, while highlighting the content
of the newspaper, the vendor program and
our advocacy work.
In the next year, we will also be
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach h im a t israel@
streetroots.org
_____
expanding our physical space. For as long
as Street Roots has existed, we have been
operating in a shotgun office with editorial
and vendor services. We will be staying in
the same building, but creating editorial and
development offices around the corner, in
addition to our current space. The
additional space will give us street side
access on both Northwest Second Avenue
and Northwest Davis Street. The move will
allow for both the editorial and vendor
program to grow over time.
Also in 2012, Street Roots will be working
to expand sales locations and working with
local businesses and organizations to serve
the vendor program. We will also continue
to publish more than 100,000 SR Rose City
Resource guides and work with more than
200 organizations and institutions to
distribute the guide.
All of this is a part of a larger strategy to
go weekly in 2013-14. Over the next two
years the organization is working to build
capacity for such a venture. Going weekly
would allow us to increase the income for
people experiencing homelessness and
poverty in Portland, and allow Street Roots
to deliver more timely and important news
that can’t be found anywhere else.
Again, we appreciate the love. Your
support is going directly to supporting
social and individual change. Cheers and
Happy New Year!
Free Rail zone a lifeline for poor, elderly
am outraged at the news that TriMet
plans to end the Free Rail Zone for
I
streetcars and is cracking down on
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.
TriMet vehicles. What a change from seven
years ago, when Portland’s good public
transportation and Fareless Square were
major reasons I moved to this city. Since
then, I’ve seen TriMet services go steadily
down, especially for the poor, elderly and
disabled. Benches have been replaced with
two or three skimpy seats, so most of us
have to stand waiting for buses. Stops have
been moved four blocks apart, a long walk
on old or painful legs. Now, The Oregonian
repots that TriMet’s General Manager Neil
McFarlane considers their recent
“crackdown” a success because of a six-fold
increase in issuing citations to passengers.
The Oregonian terms them “fare cheats.”
Do you assume everyone has the ability
to pay, Mr. McFarlane? If you ride on
TriMet vehicles, you may notice passengers
digging deep in their pockets for change,
many only trying to get to minimum wage
jobs. Thousands of homeless and
unemployed in the city center and outlying
neighborhoods have no money or private
transportation to get to services or a meal;
many rely on buses for grocery shopping. I
volunteer at a women’s drop-in center
where low- or no-income Portlanders come
to get food and diapers for their babies. The
fare-free streetcar is their lifeline. What will
you do if they don’t have the $175 citation
fee? Press them into community service?
Incarcerate them?
I have to ask TriM et officials: What is
your point? According to The Oregonian
article, hiring inspectors to enforce the
“crackdown” is costing more than TriMet
collects. A previous Portland Tribune article
suggested that hotel guests may be
exempted from fare. Is it another case
where the poor pay but the rich ride for
free? Remind us of anything else in society?
Maybe TriM et needs to be “Occupied.”
ANNETTE WHITE-PARKS
Portland
i T im
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St.
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.streetroots.wordpress.com
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Accountant Heather Stadick
Reporters Amanda Waldroupe, Stacy Brownhill,
Jake Thomas
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Jennifer
Jansons, John Ryan Brubaker
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
available online at www.rosecityresource.org.