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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2013)
street roots 2 Oct 25, 2013 W & MM. MSA a weekly Street Roots matters A coordinated effort needed to work with homeless camps t is a sad reality, but it is a reality nonetheless. Homeless camps are no longer an anomaly in our social or economic landscape. They have been decades in the making, the accumulation of job losses, health care crises, financially starved social services and war. All around our city there are groups of people huddled together in an effort to find some semblance of stability. In any definition of the word, these living conditions are abysmal, but they are the home of last resort for hundreds of people in Portland every night. So why then do we continue to address these camps and their residents as deviants and criminals? Why is our best solution a combination of law enforcement, bulldozers and shoulder shrugs? The Oregon We shouldn't throw our Department of hands up in the air Transportation is the because we as latest to step into the ring with a series of individuals have no high-profile sweeps along expedient solution. 1-205, where the What we need to do is relatively remote yet develop a coordinated urban landscape has outlook on ending the become home to driving forces behind multiple homeless such desperation. encampments. One camp in particular along Johnson Creek has become the poster child for all that is wrong with the camps in terms of environmental and social impact, when it is the impact on the people living that should be the first thing addressed. Indeed, this is about people who are homeless, but it isn’t about finding a solution to homelessness. These actions do more tt>‘¿iggfavate the problem, putting vulnerable people in even more vulnerable situations, with devastating consequences. Portland is fortunate to have a dynamic social service network. But it isn’t enough to keep up with the numbers on the streets. Poverty around Portland is on the rise. Most waiting lists for shelter and services are full, and months away from opening up. The Great Recession ended four years ago, but the rate of Oregonians in deep poverty is higher than at any time between 2007 and 2009. This is a state and national problem, and it will take state and national efforts to correct. Until then, people will continue to survive. We shouldn’t throw our hands up in the air because we as individuals have no expedient solution. What we need to do is develop a coordinated outlook on ending the driving forces behind such desperation. Also needed are coordinated harm reduction efforts to help camps maintain an environmentally friendly environment, including help with trash clean up and waste. When thinking about creating jobs for people on the streets - what better way to give people a hand up than to think about helping people experiencing homelessness clean their camps? It can be done. Simply clearing camps does nothing but make the program worse. A more thoughtful and strategic approach is needed with City Hall, Multnomah County and ODOT when enforcing camp sweeps. It can be done. I sk newspaper vendors what can help them be more successful at Street Roots, and the overwhelming response is, “Can we go weekly?” Ask readers what they would like to see from Street Roots and IIC T O IO the response is the A Street Roots By Israel Bayer currently publishes 26 editions of the newspaper annually. Israel Bayer is the That’s a newspaper executive director o f Street Roots. You can every other week. We know the vast reach him a t majority of the sales of the newspaper israel@streetroots. org happen in the first week of publication. We or follow him on also know readers can be confused on when Twitter @israelbayer. the latest edition of the newspaper is actually available due to the biweekly schedule. Can it be done? Going weekly, that is. That’s the big question. There’s no doubt that producing quality WHAT DO content and being able to maintain a weekly production schedule is a tall order for Street YOU THINK? Roots, or any grassroots media outlet. Send letters to the In the past three years, we have worked with a range of partners, including a editor to Street growing individual donor base and local Roots, 211 N W Davis foundations to build capacity to even get to St., Portland, OR a place of asking the question out loud. 97209, or e-mail to The editorial team, led by veteran joanne@streetroots.org. journalist and editor Joanne Zuhl, has helped build Street Roots into a reliable and important news source throughout the region. The newspaper has also become a go-to source for conversations on a range of https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5474/donate_page/sr social-justice issues that are important to all Oregonians. Since joining the Society of Professional Journalists, just four years ago, we’ve brought home numerous awards, including Scan this code with your smart phone to donate to Street Roots through Democracy In Action. offering people on streets a chance to stabilize their lives and to build relationships with readers like you is where the real magic happens. Street Roots is proud to know that 15,000 individuals like you read the newspaper and are connecting vendors with each edition of the newspaper. Being able to contribute to giving people a hand up and building self- confidence in people’s lives is worth its weight in gold. We’ve witnessed the transformation in hundreds of people’s lives at Street Roots. We would like to believe that for many readers, the newspaper has also helped transform your way of thinking and connecting to people that are experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty. On page one, you’ll see we’ve done something unconventional. We’ve asked readers to support a campaign for us to go weekly. Street Roots must maintain its current level of funding, while also raising enough money to support two full-time positions on our editorial team - an assistant editor and reporter. We’re asking new readers to chip in this year and to support Street Roots. We’re asking longtime readers who may have never given to the organization to support us this year. We’re asking longtime supporters to double-down and help bring us into a new era at Street Roots. In this edition of the newspaper you’ll find an envelope to give to Street Roots. We encourage you to take the time to give as much or as little as you can. Your support will help us build the momentum in the next year to go weekly. You’ll also find a QR code on the side of this column. Scan it and donate in a matter of minutes. Lastly, Street Roots is also a proud partner with the Willamette Week s e v e n f ir s t p la c e a w a rd s fo r in v e s tig a tiv e , G iv e lG u id e . S t a r t i n g N o v . 6 , y o t i u b e a b le arts and social reporting. In a time when the media landscape is rapidly changing, Street Roots is playing a critical role in shaping public opinion through the newspaper. Being able to give a real voice to people experiencing poverty is icing on the cake. Saying all of that, we know that by to give to Street Roots through the guide to support our efforts. We can’t thank you enough for your love and support. If there was ever a time we asked for you to double down to support us, this is that time. Your donation will go directly to supporting giving people a hand up. Help make us strong. Vendor experience brings a smile to another satisfied customer My great Street Roots story of the month: A few weeks ago, I picked up the latest issue from my regular (but fairly new) vendor, George, who posts up outside the front door of Powell’s (which I cut through on my way to work). I only had a five dollar bill that day and it was pretty early, so George didn’t have any singles for change yet. I told him that it was no problem, and that $5 is a fine price for Street Roots as far as I’m concerned anyway. Then at the end of last week, as I’m rushing past George while late to a meeting (typical), having all but forgotten about our last exchange, George says as I whiz by, “Hey, do you want change for that $5?” That’s why I love Street Roots. -NATE GULLEY Portland Board o f Directors Executive Director Israel Bayer israe!®streetroo&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 Street Roots 211 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 503-227-3117 streetroots.org news.streetroots.org Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice- chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.) Eddy Barbosa (Sec.) Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Am ber Bielman Volunteers John Lisifka, Raven Canoles, M ichelle Breslau, Paula Cracas, Sharron Thompson, John Barker, M ary Locke Office Assistant Am ber Bielman Street Roots Rose City Resource Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan 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. Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick G aillot Photographers Kristina W right, Christopher Onstott •run ( xn't;n su rcso rA w :. Mary Pados, Jan Bayer, A nn Ereline, Vinnie Kinseila, Ann-Derrick C aillot, Joe Thick, Stacey Heath, Taurin Skinner-Macginnis, Bethany Hague, M ichelle Holbert, 75c goes directly to the vendor w ho sold you the paper 25c goes toward printing costs Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday, W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.
