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street roots
Nov. 23, 2012
Jump on board the Street Roots train!
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So many reasons to
celebrate this year
ost of us will be gathering together with
friends and family this time of year to
celebrate, well, friends and family, above all
else. And even in the manic state the holidays bring,
this is also a time when people give pause for those
who are struggling in their lives, through poverty or
homelessness, isolation and despair.
In this edition, we reflect on the life of someone who
knew all of those trials, and many more. Ted Jack was
a well-loved vendor and volunteer with Street Roots
who passed away earlier this month. Most people in
Portland knew him as
Every day, when the
a smiling, soft-spoken
office is overflowing
man, ready with a
paper and a kind word.
with vendors gathered
Only the tattoos on his
to talk about the news,
hands gave the
you w ill hear of the
slightest hint to
hard times, but you'll
passersby of the
hear more about the
tragedies and pain he
good.
worked so hard to
keep at bay.
Every tragedy is personal, but Ted’s life is a mirror to
so many people who have experienced the streets.
Many who rise above, like Ted, and others who never
find that respite in the storm.
Still, there are so many reasons — and people — to
celebrate.
We celebrate George, Charles and the young couple
who just recently started vending the paper, all of
whom came into the office this year holding the keys
to their new apartments, taking them off the streets.
Right behind them are many vendors who have just
started navigating th e course to getting inside.
_____
We share the joy and pride of vendors who proudly
announce the anniversary of becoming clean and
sober, or any of the countless milestones reached by
the men and women who cross our threshold.
We celebrate this season among people who didn’t
give up on themselves, even though the darkness and
isolation would have made it easy to do so. They didn’t
give up because someone didn’t give up on them,
whether it was family, friends, a fellow vendor across
the office table or a customer who shares a smile and a
laugh through the rain. The power of that connection
can fuel hope and potential after even the worst night.
Every day, when the office is overflowing with
vendors gathered to talk about the news, you will hear
of the hard times, but you’ll hear more about the good.
That’s what Ted Jack was a part of. He would
spontaneously show up some mornings with a hot
plate, pancake batter and a bowl full of sausages to
serve the crew. He volunteered at the front desk with
a gentle voice and a smile, a mentor of sorts to people
going through what he already had. We can never
forget that.
And far beyond our doors, people will remember the
stranger with the smiling eyes who handed them a
fresh sandwich when few others would look them in
the face. That’s worth celebrating every day.
M
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
lsrael@streetroots.org
catalysts for Individual and soda! 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
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
cole@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sara Beecroft
Program Assistant Kara Dimltruk, Jesuit
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, Christopher Onstott
Stay connected with us online
through Facebook and Twitter
house or the extra cup of coffee you will
he rainy season has arrived. We want
buy this week for a friend can go to help get
to thank our brave vendors for being
people off the streets, one corner at a time.
out and about during the stormy
season bringing readers the lastest Street Street Roots is people-powered by folks
just like you, and we need your support this
Roots. We also would
year to maintain the quality content you’ve
like to thank you for
come to expect and to help give more than
taking the time to
400 individuals a hand up on life. It’s for
, (j '
@ jj |
stop and purchase
real.
the newspaper —
We can’t thank you enough for taking the
even if it means
time and for pitching in. We realize how
getting a little wet.
By Israel Bayer
much this means in today’s busy world
We’re asking
when it feels like a million things are
readers to dig deep
coming at you. It really does mean the
this winter and
world to us.
support Street Roots. Donations go directly
Give by going to www.streetroots.org, or
toward supporting the newspaper and
through the GivelGuide at www.wweek.
helping the many vendors experiencing
com/giveguide or at 211 NW Davis,
homelessness and poverty.
Portland, OR. 97209
The loose change you have around your
Heartbreak is prison break
By Marlon Crump
A state of depression
A world of hurt
On God’s Green Earth
What does one do locked inside walls?
Someone enters them to perish you
Not to rescue you
Behind or even outside bars
Patty Smyth, “The Warrior,” sang:
“You run, run, run away!
It’s your heart that you betray!”
How does one heal to hurt others?
Like a temp job for you to perform
With no lifetime career of happiness.
For an unsheltered heart hit with a thunderstorm
Loneliness, a holocaust to the heart
Murderous to the mind, savage to the soul
A spear to the spirit.
Fake heat from a cold heart becomes a blizzard
For misery in a lifetime motion as a social misfit
Love in its truest definition like a high stakes poker game
Only there are no winnings if it was just a bluff
Or a tell for selfish gain.
What does one do when trapped in crap tables?
Choreographed into betrayal built for bondage?
A winning card caught in a deck of demons
Carrying chaos and carnage
A cold climate creating a culture complacent
To isolate self even wider
Self is the provider
Our own demons are the divider
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treasurer), Eddy Barbosa
(Secretary), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes,
Ken Hawkins, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander
Volunteers
Mary Pacios, Leo Rhodes, Jan Bayer, Sue Zalokar,
Robert Britt, Shannon Lattin, Jim Quinlan, Amber
Tyrrell, Ann Ereline, Vinnie Kinsella, Sharron
Thompson, Ann-Derrick Gaillot.
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.
in yj
profit for themselves. In order to keep the cost low to
our vendors, we receive additional support from
donations and in-kind contributions.
« O ‘: TitK
»
» Vi-7' h i t
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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.