street roots
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Oct. 26, 2012
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Street Roots proud partners with vets group
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We need the region to step
up on the poverty front
The rainy season is settling in. For people experiencing
poverty that means hard times. For many hard working
individuals and families struggling it can be stressful just
trying to make the bills each month. Throw in the holidays
and life can become overwhelming.
For people sleeping without a safe place to call home,
survival becomes a daily grind. Catching something as
simple as the common cold or flu for someone
experiencing homelessness can be a matter of life and
death. The vast majority of people sleeping outdoors that
Street Roots serves will develop walking pneumonia over
__________________ ______ the course of the winter.
More than 1,700 people
4/
For people sleeping
sleep outdoors every
without a place to call
night, with thousands
more in shelters and in
home (in the rainy
transitional housing.
season) survival
One of the biggest
becomes a daily grind.
challenges we face is what
we call compassion
fatigue. People born after the mid-1970s grew up in an
environment where homelessness is normal. It’s not
uncommon to see one, two, hundreds of people lined up in
soup lines or sleeping in doorways or under bridges in
urban settings. That’s just the way it is.
It wasn’t always that way. Prior to the late 70s the
Federal government prioritized housing for people
experiencing poverty. Housing was seen as an essential
component in stabilizing local communities. Unfortunately,
many of the housing programs at that time (some still
today) were set up as profiteering ventures and filled with
discrimination. Still, there was money allocated for
housing from the Feds.
Three decades later, and local governments, for the most
part, have become the sole foundation for maintaining
many of the social problems urban environments face —
homelessness, mental health, gang outreach, etc.
In response, local governments, including Portland have
patched together different funding opportunities to combat
poverty. The problem is there are only enough resources
to prevent the system from collapsing in on itself, but not
enough to actually get ahead of the problem.
Who then is responsible for helping curb homelessness?
Right now, it’s us. Foundations, private citizens and the
business community are helping through philanthropy and
creative innovation.
According to Mayor Sam Adams, 40 percent of the
population in Multnomah County and the City of Portland
are spending 80 percent of funds (twice the number of
local dollars than we should be based on population) on
housing and homeless services.
It’s time for the rest of the region to step up. That means
figuring out ways to partner with private businesses in
real and meaningful ways, holding suburban governments
responsible and looking at poverty through a regional and
statewide lens.
Metro has to be at the point. Advocacy groups have to
figure out better ways to build more inroads and
relationships with politicians outside of Portland. Business
groups have to help facilitate conversations about ways to
tackle poverty around the region. We, as in all of us, have
to be more vocal on Oregon’s responsibility on the poverty
front.
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
Street Roots is proud to start a new
partnership with journalist Robert Britt and
The Mission Continues, a nationwide
veterans organization out of St. Louis,
Missouri.
The Mission
Continues works with
returning vets and
Il
partners with non
profit organizations
around the U.S. —
By Israel Bayer
giving veterans the
opportunity to give
back to the
community while
transitioning back into civilian life.
Robert has been volunteering and writing
on veterans issues for Street Roots for
nearly a year. Robert is a nine-year veteran
who served two tours in Iraq. His
knowledge and insight of veterans issues is
something that translates both through the
newspaper and in the vendor program.
In the next six-months you will see a
heavy dose of veterans coverage in Street
Roots through the program. We will be
highlighting in-depth news stories on
veterans issues and poverty, while soliciting
veterans to give their opinions through the
newspaper. Robert will also be leading a
service project with veterans and offering
vets on the streets a place to offer their
poetry and artwork.
If you are a returning veteran or someone
who works on the poverty front or is
experiencing homelessness and would like
to get involved, please contact Robert at
robert@streetroots.org.
We couldn’t be happier with the project
and hope readers will enjoy.
T iìtó t
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.streetroots.wordpress.com
Volunteer AmeriCorps Member
kara@streetroots.org
Grant Writer Sarah Cloud
Development Assistant Cynthia Kiehl
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Robert
Britt, Sue Zalokar
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Kristina
Wright
Stay connected with us online
through Facebook and Twitter
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» JB m J
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.
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office