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street roots
March 14, 2014
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Readers play vital role at Street Roots
"X “T ew readers often tell me about
Oregon steps up on food
stamps where feds foil back
I Street Roots, “I had no idea the
X v content was so good. You’re actually.
producing real, in-depth journalism.”
Why yes — yes we are. | 5
Readers then usually follow with, “I wish
more people understood
the concept and read
the newsPaPer-1
T O S S
absolutely love the .
M ESK
vendors.”
_ _
I ga
Here’s a few ways you
By Israel Bayer
can
spread the .
A .t the start of this year, thé nation’s food subsidy for
ZA poor, elderly and disabled Americans amounted to
X A a b o u t $1.50 per meal.
Earlier this year, Congress pushed it even lower, to
about $1.40 a meal, even as food prices continue to rise.
Congress voted a s usual, for pork, further and further
detached from the real needs our friends and neighbors -
face. ;
In Oregon, it would mean tens of millions of dollars
pulled from the mouths of the poor, including children,
during a critical time when good nutrition is vital to
physical and mental development.
Which is why we.. '
commend Gov. John
It was once a common
Kitzhaber and state
sense conclusion that the
officials for working to
welfare of the citizenry
find a short-term
was of national interest,
not a catch-as-catch-can
solution on food stamps
local charity.
for Oregonians. The .
state is looking to tap
its own coffers to fill a portion of, the gap, and continue to
leverage federal food stamp funds. More than 800,000
Oregonians rely on food benefits.' ;
Oregon, joins three other states, New York, Connecticut
and Pennsylvania, in stepping up in the war on poverty
where the federal government refuses to even hold the
ground.
In fact, 50 years after President Lyndon Johnson’s,
“War on Poverty,” was launched to support vulnerable
citizens to overcome hardship in America - nearly 15
percent of the population or roughly 50 million people
now live in poverty. After decades worth of support from
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots.org
or follow him on
Tuiitter @israelbayér.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211
NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209,
ore-mail toJoanne®
streetroots.org ;
housing subsidies for low-income Americans — the war on
poverty in the past 25 years has taken on a whole new :
meaning. ,
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been slashed from a
range of poyerty programs since the Reagan era and
currently Tea Party favorite Paul Ryan and his colleagues
believe that the U.S. should continue to cutfederal
programs to support middle and low-income people in >
favor of smaller government; Of course a smaller
government makes perfect sense, if you intend to serve a
smaller portion of the population — the one that profits,
literally.
It was once a . common sense conclusion that the
welfare of the citizenry was of national interest, not a
catch-as-catch-can local charity. Yet over the past 25 years,
the federal government has shirked its responsibility Us
much because of poor fiscal management as a paralyzing
partisanship that grows more contentious with each
passing election. We watch, year after year, as federal
lawmakers but and run on complex and expanding social
issues, and then blame the victims for their trouble.
Indeed, Oregonians should be proud that we are
stepping up to fill the gap. But we should do so with a
m essage to Washington D.C.: Enough of the cut and run.
Poverty belongs to all of us.
word about Street
Roots?
Purchase additional
copies of the newspaper from a local j
vendor and leave them at your place of
work. Maybe it’s a break room, or an
environment where the public can access
the newspaper.
One of the .most common ways people
find out about Street Roots is stumbling
upon it randomly. And, if you’ve been a g
longtime reader and supporter, you know,
that all i t takes is opening the pages of
Street Roots to understand there’s ;
something special going on. .
Introduce Street Roots to peers or at a
, dinner party. We all have friends that love
to read the news or want to understand
more about the world where they live". For
those friends, don’t be afraid to offer an
additional copy to them for their ,
enjoyment. Some of our most avid
supporters are people who were turned
onto the paper-by a friend saying, “Here,
read this. It’s the real deal.”
Explain to peers how the vendor .
program works, and how one dollar can
mean one step toward new start for a
Street Roots vendor.
Take a fun and creative photo of you or
your friends and family reading Street
Roots and post it on social media. Give an
example of why Street Roots is in your
rotation of reading, and why you might
support the vendor and what the paper
means to you.
Get a bumper sticker and share them far
and wide. Put one on your bike, water
bottle, your car or somewhere (legally) that
offers the public an Opportunity to See that
you’re a Street Roots reader and supporter.
Vendors will be out’ and about with the
new, “I read Street Roots,” stickers. Get
yours today by visiting with a local
neighborhood Vendor,
Street Roots is truly a community
newspaper? It’s a paper all us can use to
-understand and educate ourselves on the
complexities and positive things happening
in our community on the social justice
front. Giving a hand up to people
experiencing homelessness and poverty by
providing the means for an income is at the
heart of what we d o .; „
The reality is that readers are as much a
part of Street Roots as the vendors, '
volunteers and the staff. It’s a newspaper
for the people. Help spread the word.
Your Love is M aybe M ore K in d th an
a Brick in the Teeth (but I am Generous)
by Jeremy Conley -
when lam punch drunk you are not
a calm thought to turn
over and over
in my mind
like a smooth stone in my palm;
you are a baseball bat
pulling through the swing
to greet me in a peal of maim
but never death.
"
?
'
-
-
?
when I am weak you are not a steady branch;
you are the box cutter running
the length of my
strings,
to cut the tune in half and
stalk the radio with
discord, clipping burst eardrums,
you are nothing like,
cool milk
and fresh bread when I am hungry;
only an empty swallow
scratching its way out
behind rusting gates, slouching
into the thicket.
Our mission
Staff
Board of Directors
Venders
Street Roots creates income opportunities for
people experiencing homelessness and poverty by
producing a newspaper and other media that are
cataljsts for individual and social change.
Executive Director Israel Bayer
Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.),
Rich,Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon,
Darren Alexander, Amber Bieiman
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
our vendors, we receive additional supportfrom
donations and in-klndcontribufions.
Street Roots publishes every two weeks, launching
on Fridays, and is available exclusively through pur
street vendors or by subscription. We are proud
members of the International Network o f Street
Papers.
Street Roots
211 NW Davis S t
Portland, OR 9720<
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
streetroots.org
news.streetroots.org
israel®sireetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne 2uhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
. coie@stFeetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Grace Radik, Jesuit Volunteer,
grace@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Office Assistant Amber Bieiman
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Galliot
Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher
Onstott
Volunteers
Jan Bayer, Lisa Waldo, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob
Shryock, Ann-Derrick Galliot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie
Kinsella, Michelle Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker,
Mary Locke, Lucas Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie
Vedal, Sam Bouman, John Yohne, Isaac Hastings
Hauss, Emily Green -
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.roseeityresource.org.
goes directly to the vendor
who sold you the paper
goes toward
printing costs
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office"