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street roots
Feb. 3, 2012
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l l O
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Stable homes part of city’s infrastructure
People don’t just wake up one day and say, “I
K. I’ll say it. The City of Portland is
want to be a drug-dealer, or a sex worker or
losing a great mayor in Sam Adams.
work 70 plus hours a week and still not be
To be sure, Street Roots and the
able to keep a roof over my family’s head.”
mayor have not always agreed on everything,
It’s a hard-knock life, and you do what you
but more times than
have to do to survive.
■ not, we have. Mayor
As we move forward as a community,
Adams has been an
there’s no question times are going to get
ongoing advocate for
tougher. In order for all of us to weather the
people on the streets
O M la
storm, it’s going to take all of us to give a
and for housing issues
little. That means working to support
By Israel Bayer
<see the mayor’s
innovative ideas, while understanding that
commentary on page
not everyone is going to get a piece of the
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ 12). We continue to
pie. For many years, Portland has been
appreciate his service.
comparatively flush. In order for Portland and
We’re also looking for
the State of Oregon to find the right formula
the mayor’s team and the rest of City Council
for success, we need our current and future
to prioritize human services in the upcoming
leaders to understand that housing and
budget. It’s a must.
human services are just as important as
On the block, it’s desperate times. Good
other valuable infrastructures such as
people are forced every day to do horrible
transportation, jobs and the environment.
things. You can say there’s a choice, but after
Having a safe and stable home should
spending most of my life living and working
continue to be one of the Portland’s top
with people in poverty, I would beg to differ.
The line between right and wrong isn’t
priorities.
always all that clear. It never has been.
O
They're doing the right thing,
now let them succeed
hat happens when a group of 50 homeless people
get together and create a safe place to call home?
The verdict is still out.
In a time when Street Roots can’t buy a positive story
about homeless and housing policy, and local and national
leaders continue to communicate bad news on the budget
front, Right 2 Dream Too is breaking the mold by providing a
refuge for people on the streets.
We could talk about the state and federal governments’
lack of support for housing and human services. We could
concentrate on the hypocricies of the city and other groups
who stand on the sidelines, shoulders shrugged. We could
call out any number of neighborhood and business groups
who patronize Right 2
Dream Too as well
intentioned, but fall back
Imposing fines is short
on the argument that it’s
sided, and sweeping
not the solution, and
the camp and jailing
request that the group be
people isn't an option.
removed from the
neighborhood. But none of
this gets us anywhere, and
has all been said before.
The reality is, Right 2 Dream Too is doing the right thing.
By refusing to make a simple and appropriate gesture —
waiving the fines in this case — the city is passively, but with
calculated intention, closing down Right 2 Dream Too.
Neither code violations nor a bitter history between the city
and the property owners should stand in the way of people
seeking a safe and warm place to sleep.
Right 2 Dream Too isn’t going anywhere. People who have
lost everything have nothing to lose. Imposing fines is short
sighted, and sweeping the camp and jailing people isn’t an
option. So what’s the play, City Hall? We’re all waiting to see.
It’s possible that Right 2 Dream Too, local government and
social service providers can work together to help place
W
p eople into housin g. W hen O ccu p y Portland was swept,
Mayor Adams and Commissioner Fish called on a number of
social-service agencies to do targeted outreach. The city
should offer the same kind of support for Right 2 Dream Too
and be working actively to help the group satisfy code
requirements or find another location.
Dignity Village still houses about 60 people on any given
night. It is low-barrier and low-cost, and it has found a way,
for better or worse, to succeed on its own. Right 2 Dream
Too is building momentum. Many Portlanders support the
groups efforts, just like they support Street Roots efforts to
help foster an environment where homeless people can do
for themselves.
There are many grassroots organizations and groups in this
town that go under the radar day-in and day-out on a
shoestring budget that help people experiencing poverty.
Those groups are not recognized like many of the larger
groups, or celebrated with ceremonies, but they serve a life
saving role in our city nonetheless.
Change is seldom easy. When Street Roots began, many
businesses disapproved, some people in the city were
disinterested or against it altogether. Others saw a good idea.
Thirteen years later, we are still grassroots and have a
positive effect of the City of Portland every day. There’s no
reason to believe that Right 2 Dream Too can’t do the same.
In today’s economic landscape, solutions won’t always look
like they used to, and they will challenge our community to
think differently and work together. Solutions always do.
DIRBCIOlTS
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at israel@
streetroots.org
»
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.
P H O T O B Y L U C IL E N E L IR A
Carey, who stays at Right 2 Dream Too, participates in the demostration
outside City H all Wednesday morning, along with about 100 other
supporters. The group is asking the city to waive the fines against its rest
area at the corner o f Northwest Fourth Avenue and Burnside. Residents
and supporters spoke before the City Council saying their rest area is not a
recreational camp, which the city says it is, and wants to fine $641 a month
for not having the proper permits. The council took no action on the matter.
Our mission
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.
Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching
on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription. We are proud
members of the North American Street
Newspaper Association and the International
Network of Street Papers.
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St.
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax; 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.streetroots.wordpress.com
AmeriCorps Member
coletstreetroots.org
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Accountant Heather Stadick
Reporters Amanda Waldroupe, Jake Thomas,
Devan Schwartz
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Kristina
Wright
Christine Gadeholt, Mary Pacios, Leo Rhodes, Jan
Bayer, Eliese Baker, Sue Zalokar, Tave Drake,
Michael Moore, Malka Davis, Robert Britt, Una
Zakas
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.
goes directly to the vendor
who sold you the paper
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.