street roots
2
Nov. 8, 2013
Support your community through the GivelGuide
rn iT A itv s T
S
Real change starts by
changing the rhetoric
anguage is a powerful thing. And the rhetoric of
late around issues of national and local
importance is at its typical fevered pitch — for all
the wrong reasons.
The federal food stamp program, known formally as
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or
SNAP, is defending itself against a proposed $40 billion
cut from House Republicans. The conversation, in
Washington and at home, is tainted by speculative
allegations of abuse and overuse, fraught with
ideological rights and wrongs and far removed from the
lives of real people. It’s the hubris of the deserving
versus the undeserving
poor, and the politics of
It's not a crime to be
shaming people into
poor, but the
getting jobs and
conversations around
starving them into self-
sufficiency.
poverty are too often
In fact, food stamps
hijacked by fear
are considered by both
mongering and social
federal and state
distain.
agencies as one of the
most effective
programs in alleviating the impact of poverty among
families. Indeed, the number of food stamp recipients is
at an all-time high — 47 million Americans rely on the
monthly stipend to feed themselves, including more
than 800,000 in Oregon. The numbers are high because
the Great Recession never ended in their world. Their
well-paid jobs and 40-hour workweeks are gone, along
with their savings, health care and all the other anchors
of stability. People are still struggling and losing ground,
and they need help.
Across the state, the demand for safety net programs,
treet Roots is a proud partner again
this year with the Willamette Week s
2013 GivelGuide and more than 100
community organizations. These
organizations work day-
in and day-out to make
Portland a better city -
a city that we can all be
proud to call home.
Giving to the
By Israel Bayer
GivelGuide is easy. It s
as simple as going to
www.giveguide.org and
choosing from a range
of amazing and diverse organizations. From
animal and food justice to tackling poverty,
to giving young people and elders an
opportunity to be successful — the
GivelGuide gives our region a platform to
give back.
Last year more than 5,500 people gave
to an organization highlighted in the guide
and helped raise nearly $2 million. That’s
amazing. This year, collectively we’re trying
to raise $2.7 million. You can help.
There are a lot of different reasons to
give a donation to your favorite
organization. First, it makes you feel good.
Second, there’s nothing better than
knowing that when you give directly to an
organization you are helping create long-
lasting change in the lives of people, the
environment and those furry little creature
friends of ours. Lastly, when you give,
you’re able to establish a relationship
between the organizations you support and
your own world — possibly that’s helping
introduce friends or family to new and
creative ways to help and get involved.
Maybe that’s being able to offer your own
L
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel @streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
including assistance to pay utility and energy bills, rent,
medical needs, food and child care. The state’s call
center for these services, 211info, received more than
275,000 calls last year, and the numbers are rising.
In Portland, the homeless organization Right 2 Dream
Too has sparked stereotypes that run the gamut from
uninformed to slanderous, for a group of people with
next to nothing doing something amazing.
It’s time to change the dialogue. It’s not a crime to be
poor, but the conversations around poverty are too
often hijacked by fear mongering and social distain. It’s
not illegal to be homeless, but our best and brightest
automatically revert to aggressive police action to clear
people out of the way. Needing a helping hand is not
something to be ashamed of, but some people are so
stigmatized that they forego assistance they need and
qualify for to avoid being labeled a freeloader.
This rhetoric needs to be recognized for what it is - a
major obstacle to any meaningful discussion toward real
solutions. And it’s being constantly reinforced as long
as we let it continue. Programs do restore people’s
lives, people do return to housing, the workforce and
stability, and it happens because people stopped
blaming the poor and engaged in frank discussions
about the real economic and social problems shaping
our landscape. Let’s fan the flames of progress, and let
the others die out altogether.
LETTERS
Solutions require dollars and a change in attitude
want to comment on the articles, “Four
days after major ODOT sweep” and
“State DOJ to look into reports ...” from the
Oct. 25 edition of Street Roots.
In 2003,1 attended a meeting of the East
County Caring Community where
Rockwood Police explained their policy
towards both people experiencing
homelessness and at risk youth. That
policy was “move on.” They explained that
they try to make life so uncomfortable for
people considered “undesirable” that they
will go somewhere else. They added, and I
believe this is still true today, that the
increase in both people experiencing
homelessness and gang violence in East
County was that this is also the attitude of
the Portland police who had encouraged
“undesirables” to relocate out of Portland
and encouraged them to go to East County
or really anywhere but Portland. Ten years
later we still have a nationwide policy of
I
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211
NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209,
or e-mail to joanne®
streetroots.org
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription. W e are proud
cole@streetroots.org
Operations Birector Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer,
members of the North American Street
Newspaper Association and the International
grace@streetroots.org
Network of Street Papers.
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
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Vendors
grace Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents
each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents in
profit for themselves. In order to keep the cost low to
Darren Alexander, Am ber Biel man
Mary Pados, Jan Bayer, Ann Ereline, Vinnie Kinsella,
Ann-Derrick C aillot, Joe Thick, Stacey Heath, Taurin
Skinner-Macginnis, Bethany Hague, M ichelle Holbert,
John Lisifka, Raven Canoles, M ichelle Breslau, Paula
Cracas, Sharron Thompson, John Barker, M ary Locke
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.
Onstott
our vendors, we receive additional support from
donations and in-kind contributions.
Volunteers
Office Assistant Am ber Bielman
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick G aillot
Photographers Kristina W right, Christopher
“move on.” People don’t have a clue how
their quality of living could improve if we
actually looked at the complicated problems
of homelessness and poverty. These are
issues with no simple solutions. When we
as a nation see how these issues are making
us all miserable and decide to make the
changes necessary to eliminate
homelessness and poverty, all of us will
have an improved quality of life.
All the solutions will require both dollars
and a change in attitude. Somehow we need
a national ethic that practices that “an
injury to one is an injury to all,” and that
gives more than lip service to the notion
that our children are our most important
resource.
Again thanks to Street Roots for helping
us understand these complicated issues and
urging us to look for and implement
solutions.
ROBIN CASH
Portland
Board o f Directors
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas,), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.),
Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon,
Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching
expertise or experience.
Whatever the reason, giving through the
GivelGuide is one of the best ways you can
create real change in your own community.
This year, the guide is accessible for the
first time on mobile devices and allows the
public to give freely on the go. Part of the
goal is getting young people to give. We
know that when younger people begin
donating to local organizations they are
more invested in their community and will
continue to give throughout their lifetime.
Luckily, the GivelGuide is for everyone,
regardless of your age. Saying that, it’s a
real opportunity to engage younger people
in giving. Having your kids home for
Thanksgiving and/or Christmas break?
Trying to teach your children about giving?
It’s a great opportunity for a group activity
and a teachable moment for the family to
engage in learning about important issues
and giving to causes they believe in. It’s
also a great opportunity to engage your
peer network to challenge them to give
back to the community.
Obviously, we would love to have your
donation to Street Roots. It means the
world to us and we are embarking on an
important campaign to go weekly in the fall
of 2014. A donation to Street Roots will go
directly to improving vendor income and
stability. It also means giving you important
journalism and highlighting under
represented voices throughout our region.
We believe in giving people a hand up. We
believe in giving people the tools they need
to be successful. We also believe very much
in the GivelGuide. Give today at www.
giveguide.org or at www.streetroots.org.
Thank you for the love!
goes directly to the vendor
w ho sold you the paper
goes toward
printing costs
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.