street roots
2
April 13, 2012
DITORIAL
A positive message always wins out
Why housing matters
in this election
S
here’s a lot of personality in the upcoming
elections. This is Portland, after all.
T
And in these times, the gravity of this election is
further weighted by the stagnant economy, the city’s
pressing financial straits, and the many directions this
city can go, possibly far afield from where it has been.
Housing, however, seldom breaks the surface on
Portlanders’ voting minds, when it should.
Of course, housing has always been political. Not too
long ago, housing policy meant dead-end tenement
projects that concentrated poverty while tax deductions
encouraged
middle- to
income
homebuyers
Our housing policies are
sprawl into the suburbs.
reflected on our
Today, in Portland
sidewalks, in our school
certainly, the trend is
halls and our emergency
to return to the
rooms.
established urban
cores, where tax breaks
incentivize revitalization by major developers.
Revitalization has given room to gentrification and
displacement as the fallback phrases in this local election
cycle, as low-income families are now getting pushed
further and further to the edge of town, literally and
figuratively.
Meanwhile, families are losing their homes to a
foreclosure pandemic manufactured by the financial
industry. Some of them are joining the ranks of couch
surfers and hotel residents, of car campers and tent
dwellers — becoming homeless. The politics of housing is
about the proliferation of urban renewal districts and the
appropriation of those tax revenues to new development,
including low-income housing. It’s about keeping our
options open for creating future revenue sources as
existing sources run dry. It’s about the definitions we
apply to those in need - often creating square pegs for
round holes. It’s abouka small group of homeless
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him a t israel@
streetroots.org
LETTERS
Portland's veterans housing assistance underutilized
cam pers who survived the winter in peace and safety at
the corner of Fourth Avenue and Burnside, under the
watchful eye of city code enforcers.
On housing pivots so many issues our current slate of
candidates are eagerly talking about: transportation, job
development, public safety and schools. Each and every
one of us has a vested interest in how our government
moves forward on housing concerns, no one more so
than those who are living on or close to the streets. But
the same goes for any family struggling to keep its home,
or any individual who is relying on the small, single-room
apartment that is keeping him clean and sober, and
maybe finally, employed and engaged in our community.
Our housing policies are reflected on our sidewalks, in
our school halls and our emergency rooms. Unstable
housing has been directly linked to lower grades in
school and poorer health. And the Mobius loop of stable
housing and gainful employment leaves one almost
inseparable from the other.
The city needs representatives in office who not only
understand housing’s role in Portland’s social, economic
and environmental fabric, but who will not lose sight of
that relationship to special interests pulling them in one
direction or another.
This is not a call for a vote, but rather a call for
leadership that shares the value of safe, stable and
affordable housing as much as we all do. This is Portland,
after all.
|||g | I I ( I '
. n
» 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
at the Portland VA to immediately lease up
he federally funded Veterans Affairs
all available VASH vouchers. Homeless
Supportive Housing (VASH) program is
"veTerans deserve no less.
designed to help homeless veferans-*
BOBBY WEINSTOCK
nationwide by offering supportive services
Northwest Pilot Project
and a Section 8 voucher to obtain a modest
apartment. The Portland VA Medical Center
started receiving VASH vouchers in May
2008 to serve homeless veterans in our
Vendor's book impresses
region. Until recently, the Portland VA had
I finished reading the book by (Street
never used more than 75 percent of their
Roots vendor) Sam Al-Jondi and enjoyed it
allocated vouchers. Thus far, more than
very much. I was impressed by his
$1 million in rent subsidies intended for
philosophy and by the way he portrayed
homeless veterans in our area has gone
values of virtual importance to humanity in
unutilized.
his work, in a very simple style while
As of April 1, 39 — 16 percent of the 245
VASH vouchers available to the Portland VA displaying a great deal of depth and
— were still not leased up. There is certainly thought.
no shortage of eligible homeless veterans
Please convey my best wishes to Sam
locally. Fully utilizing these VASH vouchers
Al-Jondi, and that I was indeed impressed.
will increase the chances our region will be
SHAHIRA EL SAWY
awarded the maximum number of additional
Dean of Libraries and Learning
Technologies The American University in Cairo
vouchers. Let’s all encourage our colleagues
T
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.
Board of Directors
Our mission
Street Roots creates income opportunities for
people experiencing homelessness and poverty ty
producing a newspaper and other media that are
catalysts for individual and soda! change.
the day, everything we do is built around
treet Roots is happy to announce we
the idea of not only giving people outside of
were honored at Northwest Pilot
the system an income, but also hope.
Projects’ (NWPP) annual event this
year with a Community Service Award for The great Woody Guthrie once said
something to the effect of not letting
outstanding
anyone or anything knock around your hope
achievement and
machine. I would like to believe that all of
service to Portland’s
the sweat and tears that the entire team at
¡7jj
elderly, homeless and
Street Roots puts in to presenting this
poor.
newspaper and the Rose City Resource is
Since 1969, NWPP
ultimately about hope.
B y Israel Bayer
^as been offering
Day in and day out we work with many
housing and service
h ih h h b h m m m m
opportunities for a life individuals that have been to hell and back,
and may be experiencing a high level of
of dignity and hope to
trauma due to the brutal realities of
Portland’s elderly,
homelessness. With a little bit of hope and
disabled, and homeless. Each year, NWPP
self-worth through the sales of the
has successfully housed many Street Roots
newspaper and the relationships we all
vendors, and we are indebted to their
build with vendors, we begin to believe we
services.
can do anything, be it personally or
On another front, I’m humbled to receive
collectively.
the Hilltop award this month from
Together, we refuse to accept that
Multnomah County for my lifelong
poverty is a hand we have been dealt, and
community work with the people
nothing can be done about it. Instead, we
experiencing homelessness in the region
work to create individual and social change
and for my work with Street Roots.
in a way that will make the world we live in
I’ve dedicated my life to the street
a better place. With each sale of the
newspaper movement, for better or worse,
newspaper, readers become part of that
and couldn’t be more proud of all of the
collective movement towards something
vendors, volunteers, staff and board
positive — both in the lives of the vendors
members at Street Roots for helping the
and in the city we live. Together, we fight
newspaper continue to grow and be
back with a positive message of love.
recognized in the community. At the end of
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israel@streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Cole Merkel, Jesuit Volunteer
: AmeriCorps Member
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Accountant Heather Stadick
Reporters Amanda Waidroupe, Jake Thomas,
Devan Schwartz
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Kristina
Wright
Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treasurer), Eddy Barbosa
(Secretary), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes,
Ken Hawkins, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander
■ • . : ■ ........... ...■
each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents in
profit for themselves, in order to keep the cost low to
our vendors, we receive additional support from
«
donations and in-kind contributions.
Mary Pacios, Leo Rhodes, Jan Bayer, Eliese Baker,
Sue Zalokar, Michael Moore, Robert Britt, Cynthia
Kiehl, Hannah Schultz, Eli Richey, Kai Soderberg
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.
75c
goes directly to the vendor
who 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.