2
street roots
May 10, 2013
BDIIOBiat
Team Street Roots is working on many fronts
Death on the streets is cruel,
S
premature and preventable
ast year, 56 people died while experiencing
homelessness in Multnomah County. In 2011, the
figure was 47. In addition to these numbers, we know
th a t even more people on the streets died in local hospitals
that were not counted by the medical examiner.
Why should we care?
On its face, what does the number 56 even mean? In an
age when we are overwhelmed with the number of people
dying for any number of poverty-related issues, it’s hard to
give context to what the numbers mean.
What we know:
Research shows that people experiencing homelessness
age prematurely. We know that homelessness takes a toll,
mentally and physically, on the human body. We also know
that homelessness contributes to death at far too young an
age. This year the average age of death was 46.
in many cases, the
manner of death was
These individuals were not
horrendous.
only someone's family, or
Someone burned to
friend, they were human
beings that conld have gone death, one froze to
on to do great things in
death, and another
their lives given the chance. drowned. Seven people
died of heart and
vascular disease. Ten
people committed suicide, possibly due to the lack of hope.
Twenty individuals suffered of drug- or alcohol-related
deaths. The list goes on.
When you begin to think of it in term s of how many people
are dying each year while homeless, across the United
States, the number may be in the thousands.
We as a community should pause and understand that
each one of these individuals were human beings and passed
away far to early in life.
What should we do?
Housing is not only the safest way to provide people
adequate health care, it’s also the most cost effective.
Housing should be a key component in Oregon’s strategy for
health care reform, period. We know that by providing
people a safe and stable home that we can give people the
opportunity to live long and successful lives.
Suicide prevention must also be a focus among people
experiencing poverty, whether someone is actually homeless
or about to fall into homelessness. Among the biggest keys
to suicide prevention is education, an adequate health care
network and a strong social safety net.
Opiate overdoses continue to be an overall public health
problem throughout Oregon. We must do better to explore
harm reduction models that let health care providers engage
and work with I.V. drug users. That includes education,
needle exchange programs and thinking about out-of-the-box
methods used in other parts of the world, such as injection
sites. We know harm reduction models of health care work
when given the chance.
Moving forward, Street Roots, Multnomah County and the
city of Portland will continue to track the outcomes of
people on the streets and advocate for the social safety net.
These individuals were not only someone’s family, or
friend, they were human beings that could have gone on to
do great things in their lives given the chance. Creating and
maintaining safe and stable housing for people in distress is
one way we can honor those who have passed, and prevent
thousands more from having the same fate.
treet Roots has been very busy on the
believe by partnering with a wide-range of
homeless advocacy and policy front as
community members and interests we can
of late.
get there.
Street Roots, along
Another priority in the housing front is
with many of our
health care reform. Money for housing
partners are helping lead should be considered a key strategy in
the, “We are the Safety
driving down the costs of health care.
Net” campaign. The
Street Roots has also worked to deter
campaign has worked
legislation in Salem that will impact local
very hard to secure local
communities throughout Oregon and allow
B y Israel Bayer
funding for homeless
for local governments to create stricter
and housing services.
sidewalk laws. The legislation appears to be a
The campaign worked
runaway train. In the coming months expect
with people experiencing a lively debate among advocates for the poor,
poverty to tell a broader narrative through
business groups and City Hall.
social media about obtaining housing and
We believe the issue of sidewalks and
accessing services. At the same time, the
panhandling detracts from the larger goal of
coalition worked very hard with local officials
getting people off the streets. We also believe
to help secure funding.
very much in the civil rights of people
We’re happy to report that the city is
experiencing poverty. Whatever the outcome
prioritizing the safety net for the most part
of the legislation for stricter sidewalk law —
and funding more than one million dollars in
we hope something productive will come out
programs that many thought were lost.
of the conversations.
Commissioner Steve Novick told Street
Lastly, Street Roots has worked hard to
Roots, “I’m very pleased that the safety net
advocate for and co-author the second annual
programs have been preserved, it reflects
Domicile Unknown report (See page 3), The
our values in City Hall.” Amazing.
report looks at how many homeless people
It’s important to also recognize the
passed way last year and offers a small
leadership at Multnomah County for
glimpse in the harsh realities of
prioritizing the safety net. The county has
homelessness.
We believe by tracking this
projected a multi-million dollar increase to
data that we will eventually be able to build
funding for human service programs that
the political will to create some real
include rent assistance, programs for
preventive measures to deter the experience
runaway youth and homeless families.
of homelessness all together.
Saying that, we still have work to do. We
Street Roots is a small train that carries a
have numerous programs that still face an
heavy load in the community. We hope the
uphill battle, including needle exchange,
advocacy work we do reflects this. From our
mental health services and more. ,Over the
ihdepth reporting and platform for people
past three decades we’ve seen the federal
and communities that are underserved, to
government slash funding: for poverty
the vendor program that helps more than
programs and the recent recession has
500 people each year improve their quality of
compounded the problem. We still face a
life, to publishing more than 100,000 Rose
massive shortage of affordable rental and
City Resource Guides, we are constant
subsidized housing. Street Roots will not rest
optimists at Street Roots. Even in the face of
until we feel like we as a community have
the some of the crudest conditions human
tackled these important priorities.
beings endure, we believe in the power of
One of the most important pieces of the
people and community. We believe in the
puzzle to maintaining adequate services and
power of love. But just as important, we
giving individuals and families the
believe in working hard and providing
opportunity to be successful is identifying a
solutions to some of the most difficult
long-term, permanent funding source for
problems our city and society face. We are
homeless and housing services. Street Roots
along with our partners will continue to
proud to have so many readers on bur team.
Thank you.
explore and work toward this goal. We
&
MSK
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
Caution
By Anonymous
Enter a world of possibilities
Where the mind’s imagination
Is never ending, where your brain
Can become consumed
By images of naked pixels,
Where the numbers 0 & 1
Can make your eyes run
From one end of the screen
To the other.
Behold the Internet.
Our mission
Street Roots creates incorre oppoftuniiies f o r '
people experiencing homelessness end poverty by
producing a newspaper end other media that are
catalysts for individual and sodal change.
Street Roots publishes every tw o 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.news.streetroots.org
Vendors
Executive Director Israe Bayer
H
isRBeWtreetroots.org
. •■ ’
*
r-
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl -
jo3nne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
cole@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Kara Dimitruk, J e su it’
Volunteer AmeriCorps Member
kara@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Development Assistant Cynthia Kieht
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
Gilles, Robert Britt, Sue Zalokar, Erin Fenner
Photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, Kristina
Wright, Christopher Onstott
Stay connected with us online
through Facebook and Twitter
Bruce Arderson (Cha/manj, Michael Anderson (Vre-
cnairr’ani, Heathe’ Stadick (Treasurer». Eddy Barbosa
(Secretaiy), Rich Rodgers, Brad Tayfor, h o Rhodtes, ‘ I
Ken Hawkins,
Amber
Volunteers
<
1
Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents \
fechardsel :nem for Si, keeping the 7Scen‘s in ''
o u f vendors, we receive additional support t o n " :
donations and In-kind contributions.
Mary Pacios, 3an8ayer,ArifiErelinei\^nn»eKfn$etla, :
Sharron Thompson, Ann-Derrick Gailfot, A rt Garcia,
Joe Thick, Stacey Heath, Taurin Skinner-Macginnis,
Bethany Hague, Michelle Holbert, John Lisifka,
Raven CaRC.es
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 o f the Rose City
Resource for distribution, please write to
pdxrosecityresource@gmail.com. Resources are also
available online at www.rosecityresource.org.
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.