street roots
2
May 25, 2012
A rally, barbecue and pie - oh my!
S
Staying connected,
we stay on course
t’s easy for the media and the rest of us to get caught
in a cycle of only producing and reflecting on the bad
news surrounding our world — budget cuts, death,
despair, war, etc.
What doesn’t get covered nearly enough in Portland is
the beautiful stories of human connection and the
people that work toward a common good.
Street Roots witnesses the positive connection
between human beings at a very basic level each day.
The relationships built between customers and vendors
are something that
keeps hope alive.
We believe that we
Countless vendors talk
should find a way to
about their regular
have healthy schools
customers and the
and housing, public art many great things they
and libraries, jobs and provide to ensure that
people who are
more. For the most
part, we are a city that struggling are cared for
and receive a hand up.
believes we are all
But really it’s more
interconnected.
than this. We see
people coming together
every day for the betterment of our community. Maybe
it’s donating one’s expertise to a local neighborhood or
government committee. Possibly it’s participating in
Portland’s democracy by donating time and energy. It
could be someone giving a donation to any number of
great nonprofit groups that do amazing work for
Portland. We see all of these combinations and more.
We see it in young people and elders alike, and believe
that together we can build a better community. We see it
in people who have lived here for decades, and others
that have just come to call Portland home.
Regardless of politics or someQne’y o t in life, we^see, _
I
p o s itiv e r e la tio n s h ip s b e tw e e n p e o p le w h o c o m e
21. You can create a team at any time
treet Roots delivers some of the best
between these dates.
grassroots journalism the Pacific
If you don’t want to create a team, but
Northwest has to offer, while giving
want to support one of the many teams that
more than 250 people experiencing poverty
are created, you can still go and give
a hand up.
through the summer rally, or give online to
But he reality is
support our efforts.
™
f r e e speech isn’t free,
Then on Sunday, June 24, Street Roots
and in order to
will be hosting a barbecue at Fremont Park
maintain Street Roots
with team members, and the Street Roots
as a leading voice on
crew. It will be a great chance to get to
social justice issues in
By Israel Bayer
know Street Roots better, plus you’ll have
the Portland region.
the opportunity to throw a pie in my face
We need your help.
and Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl’s.
We’re counting on
You can find out more information by
Portland to help raise $10,000 this spring
visiting rally.streetroots.org, or by checking
and summer with the organization’s first
out the back page of the newspaper.
ever Summer Rally. The idea behind the
We can’t thank you enough for your
Summer Rally is to help raise money online
support. We realize many readers support
by creating your own team and helping raise
the newspaper and vendors every two
money for Street Roots through your own
network. It’s super easy and fun. You can be weeks when purchasing a newspaper. In
order to build toward the future, to maintain
a team of one, or one hundred — organizing
the quality of the newspaper and offer
your friends, family and coworkers to help
people experiencing homelessness
support grassroots journalism and
opportunities for better lives, we need your
economic opportunities for those on the
love more than ever.
skids. The Summer Rally fund raiser will
last from May 25, through Thusday, June
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him a t israel@
streetroots.org
A T rou b led M in d
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
By Leo Rhodes
A troubled mind and yet I’m blessed
For knowing so many
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211 NW
Davis St., Portland,
OR 97209, or by
e-mail to joanne®
A troubled mind for going through what I had to
For fighting for the less fortunate
A troubled mind for seeing what I have seen
The tears, the h u rt and pain in the facial expressions,
streetroots.org. —
T h e lo s s o f h o p e in t h e i r e y e s
together each day to make Portland better. That’s what
we ask of our elected officials and others in power.
It’s very easy to think that during these hard times we
aren’t all on the same page. There will always be the
naysayers and pessimists who believe we are doomed.
By and large, though, the Portland we love and care for
does believe in something more, something better.
We aren’t single-issue beings that care for issues —
such as art, housing, education, public safety, and
transportation, to name a few — in a vacuum. We believe
that we should find a way to have healthy schools and
housing, public art and libraries, jobs and more. For the
most part, we are a city that believes we are all
interconnected.
Street Roots is proud to be among hundreds of local
nonprofits and businesses that believe in positive
change. We know that together, regardless of all the
noise and confusion, we can rise above. That doesn’t
mean we aren’t critical, or that we shy away from very
serious issues, or that injustice doesn’t play out on our
streets. It does mean, however, that we come from the
work we do with respect and the understanding that we
all come from different perspectives. It means that
above all else, good can prevail and together we should
be proud to call Portland our home.
A troubled mind for hearing what I heard
Their mournful cries of why won’t they let us in
Why do they call us baby killers
A trouble mind for knowing what I know
The human aspect of homelessness, and the
Political side of homelessness
B u lly u s H o m e le s s
By Florence Hall
We sleep on the street,
We do business in the neighborhood
You see us all the time
So why are you hollering at us
Early in the morning?
Wake us up for no reason!
You know we could know.
Executive Director Israel Bayer
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
503-228-5557
Fax: 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.streetroots.wordpress.com
:
israel@stfeetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Cole Merkel, Jesuit Volunteer
AmeriCorps Member
cole@streetroots.org
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Accountant Heather Stadick
Reporters Amanda Waldroupe, Jake Thomas,
Devan Schwartz, Robert Britt, Sue Zalokar
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Kristina
Wright
Volunteers
Mary Pacios, Leo Rhodes, Jan Bayer, Eliese Baker,
Sue Zalokar, Michael Moore, Robert Britt, Cynthia
Kiehl, Hannah Schute, Robyn Wirkes
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
n tr (
s'i.vrK A W M im
75
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.