street roots
2
Oct 11, 2013
There is much to celebrate — and work toward
S
Let's not sacrifice vision for
vitriol in homeless debate
he true colors of many people who are in charge of
and influence public safety and policy have been
rising to the service.
Lets start with civility. That was the topic of a recent
summit that brought together policy makers, students,
businesses, nonprofits and individuals from law
enforcement community. The presentation was meant to
educate the public and to spur action on a range of issues
related to the issues of livability.
It was disastrous. Presenters from Mercy Corps, Julia
West House, Travel Portland and others spent the better
part of an hour and a half faulting people who are
experiencing
homelessness, going so
far as to say that
It's time for civic
leaders throughout our services offered to
people in Portland
city to recognize that
prolong people’s
decades-old
poverty. One presenter
philosophies around
compared Portland today
urban planning and the to New York City in the
poor don't stand a
1980s — a crime infested
chance unless we work urban environment that
was on the brink of total
together and stop
collapse unless action
demonizing people.
was taken.
This conversation
came only days before a hearing on Right 2 Dream Too at
City Hall, where well-intentioned Portlanders berated the
homeless people working to improve their own living
conditions on the streets. People experiencing
homelessness were referred to in the hearing as being little
more than sex offenders, drug addicts and a complete drain
on society.
It doesn’t help to have policy makers fueling the rhetoric
as they claim to be addressing the lawlessness that is
supposedly our streets, promising to do something about it.
Instead of talking about a public health crisis, compassion
and the need for both traditional and non-traditional
partners to take on the issue of homelessness and housing,
we have individuals with dinosaur-like philosophies working
to create policies that will do nothing more than split our
community and set us back in the fight against poverty.
We aren’t Detroit, or St. Louis, or Memphis, or New York
City in the 1980s. We’re Portland, Oregon, in the early 21st
century. A place that is experiencing overwhelming
economic growth and prosperity. We are experiencing
record numbers of affluent people moving into and visiting
our city. We are experiencing a changing landscape.
It’s time for civic leaders throughout our city to recognize
that decades-old philosophies around urban planning and
the poor don’t stand a chance unless we work together and
stop demonizing people.
We would also caution those leaders not to take us back
to a time when Portland was divided and when ideological
lines in the sand and dogma prevailed over partnerships
and vision.
Street Roots looks forward to working with a wide range
of partners to create a more livable and safe downtown in
Portland, and to offer resources to people experiencing
poverty.
We do not look forward to continuing to watch people
experiencing poverty be publically demonized and used as a
social whipping post simply because they are poor.
treet Roots is currently participating
on a committee convened by Portland
City Commissioner Dan Saltzman and
County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury
determine where $1.7
million should go to
support housing and
homeless services.
It’s great to think
that the city of Portland
By Israel Bayer
may choose to dedicate
this money toward
homeless and housing
services at this time,
especially given that the mayor has signaled
that it’s time to start paying off debt and
saving for a rainy day.
Luckily, we have elected leaders in
Portland who realize that thousands of
nlmùto ofo 1TÌ Q
cloornnff
T
DIRECTOR'S
DESK
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to Street
Roots, 211 NW Davis
St., Portland, OR
97209, or e-mail to
joanne@streetroots.org.
vulnerable state.
Only a few weeks ago, one of our vendors
experienced a domestic violence crisis.
Street Roots spent the afternoon with the
woman, trying to connect her with services.
We know the gauntlet. It’s not an easy one.
After trying for hours to find a place to
sleep that night she was told that she was
number 122 on a waiting list at the local
emergency women’s shelter. “One-hundred
and twenty-two. That’s crazy,” I said to
myself.
After making further inquiries about the
emergency women’s shelter later that week
I was shocked and believe me, nothing is
shocking in my world. There are currently
two emergency women’s shelters available.
The waitlist is a combined 338 women in
crisis. You’ve got to be kidding me.
I suppose I knew it all along. There are
thousands of people sleeping on our streets.
Maybe it was something about that
particular day, or watching our staff try to
help a vendor find a safe place to sleep — to
get away from her perpetrator, only to have
to sleep in a doorway that night. It left me
angry.
Unfortunately, we see this kind of trauma
and tragedy every single day. We become
numb to it at times. It’s a dangerous place
to be.
We haven’t seen that vendor since that
day. We all wonder if she s OK.
The proposed $1.7 million sounds like a
lot of money, but when thinking about how
to to disperse that money, it s apparent that
the system is stretched thin.
Should we allocate funds to just women
and children? Should use the funds to
support mental health programs? Should we
think about how to serve the youth
population? Should we try to make a big
splash in one certain area or spread the
dollars out over the entire continuum? Will
city hall support the recommendations we
come up with? We hope so.
We know that in the coming months and
years that to get back to funding levels seen
before the recession and before a Congress
that has gone absolutely batshit crazy on us,
that we have work to do.
The conversation about homelessness
(see editorial) and public opinion has gone
sideways on us. Instead of hearing smart
and educated people talk about everyone
needing a safe place to call home, or having
compassion for our residents, we hear
words such as lawlessness, the need for
sidewalk laws, and the lack of civility on our
streets. Compassion fatigue looms.
Street Roots, being the constant optimist,
still believes all is not lost. The reality is,
we’re making some great strides and
there’s reason for hope. It may not feel like
it at times, but it’s true.
Just yesterday, one of our vendors got off
the phone and did a little dance. “I’m finally
getting health care. I’m getting health care.
Thank you Mr. President.” Yes!
Watching the vendor stroll through the
office with a new sense of being, it struck
me that while we struggle at a systems level
to get things right, individually and
collectively we are making great strides —
both big and small.
The simple fact that over the next two
years, the majority of people on the streets
will be able to access health care is a
lifetime achievement for all of us. Having a
local government that believes in
prioritizing people is not a given. It’s a
game changer. It’s something we can all
celebrate.
Grateful Dead
By Anonymous
The experience of my life has been a mixed bag.
The small details aren’t so important, as to the message of the lessons learned.
In my reality, there have been times of pain, loneliness, and following others, to nowhere.
At 40 years old, I believe I’m at long last, starting to blaze my own path.
Not too far from you, just far enough to give a sense of myself, and the freedom I feel
when making my own responsible choices, and outcomes.
Now my choices manifest in my kids.
Almost as if I get to start all over.
Executive Director Israel Bayer
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
streetroots.org
news.streetroots.org
israel@streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
cole@streetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer,
grace@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
University of Oregon Intern Jasmine Rockow
Office Assistant Amber Bielman
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher
Onstott
Yahmteers
Mary Pados, Jan Bayer, Ann Ereiine, Vinnie Kinseila,
Ann-Derrick Caillot, Joe Thick, Stacey Heath, Taurin
Skinner-Macginnis, Bethany Hague, Michelle Holbert,
John Lislfka, Raven Cañóles, Michelle Breslau, Paula
Cracas, Sharron Thompson, John Barker, Mary Locke
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 guides, call 503-228-5657.
Resources are also available online at
www.rosecityresource.org.
the
raw »
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.