Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2014)
street roots 2 t i u l ü i X i May 9, 2014 . Knowing you’re not alone makes all the difference Bold moves a good s ta r t to V prioritizing people old. That’s the word We would use to describe Multnomah County right now. B Multnomah County Chair Marissa Madrigal and the County Commissioners are going big. A new $1.4 million mental health program to prevent people experiencing mental health problems from being warehoused in our county jails is just the start. Increased support for housing, backfilling a recession-torn budget, and getting outfront oh after-school programs is all a part of the proposed budget package this year. We like it. The idea of putting people first is an important step to balancing a community on the brink of being overrun with high housing costs and a lack of blue-collar jobs in the It’s region. no secret that Business as usual doesn't get ns there. It doesn't cut , Portland and it. It simply doesn't live sip Multnomah County are changing, in many cases to the dreams we for the better. It’s also a collectively share and cold hard fact that work toward as a common Portlanders community. * continue to struggle. Today, a minimum- wage worker would have to work 71 hours per week in Multnomah County to earn enough to afford a two- bedroom apartment. T hat’s not counting basic health j care, food and utilities. If our elected leaders aren’t seriously considering a $15-art-hour minimum wage, they should be. When we prioritize people, the rest will follow. We commend Mayor Charlie Hales for prioritizing additional money for housing and homeless services, but it’s simply not enough. At times, the direction the city appears to be going baffles* us. The bike share program may be a good idea, but is it really what Portland needs r ig h t now? S h o u ld P o rtla n d fam ilies, a lre a d y b a ttlin g a -risMftg-eost of hvi«g, be saddled wi-th-a-Hew. moHiUny .tax -w.,,, for transportation projects? Meanwhile, people of color and other hard-working Portlanders have begged .for years for signficant, ongoing investments for affordable housing, only to see the issue languish by neglect, here and in Salem. Hard questions still need to be asked and answered. T here’s no question that Portland is bn the rebound. New companies are moving to town, the tourism industry is booming and in the next few years we’re going to see a lot more cranes in the sky. What we need now more than ever is people power. We’re talking about economic development to support working people and housing prices that supports those individuals and families living in our neighborhoods, attending our schools, and creating the diverse community we all deserve. Business as usual doesn’t get us there. It doesn’t cut it. It simply doesn’t live up to the dreams we collectively share and work toward as a community. We commend our elected leaders for a job well done, but ask them to carefully think about how all of our moving parts get us to a place where people of all colors can thrive; where we don’t see thousands of people sleeping on our streets; where both our elders and the young can co-exist; where young families can afford to live and play; where we are proud to be trailblazers on issues that m atter. That’s a Portland we can all work towards r- a Portland that works. T t /T ik e kas kved a vefy kard S S ' | \ / | Challenges with mental health, JL JLaddiction and living with Tourette’s syndrome have for years contributed to a life on and off the streets. Mike has been a regular at Street Roots for quite a while now. We’ve both seen each other at our best, and at times, our worst. y? Proud to call Mike mY friend. “I always feel like I should be doing By Israel Bayer something more than I am’ but the damage that my mind and body has gone through is real,” Mike told me last September: “I’m going to continue on, day-by-day, step-by-step. I may fall down. I’ll have to get back up. My ; , progress isn’t going to happen at the pace I assume it should happen. It certainly isn’t going to happen at the pace that someone wants it to happen. I can’t be rushed. I feel like, right now, as long as I try to be clean and sober and to be a ■ better person, that is all that matters. Instead of walking up to a dope dealer and socking him in the moutii, I’m writing poetry, I watch the Seahawks, I sell Street Roots. I’m doing the only thing I know how to dp to survive and to stay sane. I’m working to find God,” Fast-forward nine months and Mike is still hard at it. Mike spent nearly seven months in local shelters, something he said was one of the biggest challenges of his life due to his fllBlBCTOXl S Isra el B a y er is the execu tive d irector o)p , Street Roots. You can reach h im a t israel@ streetroots.org o r fo llo w h im o n Tw itter@ israelbayer. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send fetters to the editor to the. Street Roots office, 211 NW Davis St., Portland, OR 97209, or e-mail to joanne® streetroots.org impatience with people and living with Tourette’s. ; “I’ve wanted to give up and use every single day,” Mike says to, me. “But I haven’t yet.” Being an avid Seahawks fan,, Mike tells me laughing, “Having the Seahawks win the Super Bowl helped a lot.” Today, with the help of the community and a powerful determination, he is in housing-and going strong. Mike recently told me in front of Street Roots, “I don’t know if I can do this. I have this voice inside my head that’s constantly pulling me back and tugging at me. It has me doubting myself.” I laughed and told Mike that he was an amazing man and no one could ever take that away, and to have faith that he wasn’t alone. I told him I had just had a meeting with some of the smartest people in politics, and to be honest, they were just making it up as they went along. We all wake up hoping to just make it through the day, doing the best we can. The only difference is that some people have a wealth of resources at their disposal and some don’t. Hearing that voice tugging at us, it’s part of the human experience. What matters is community and knowing you’re'not alone. ~“I like that,” Mike says. “I just made that up,” I said, laughing. “I know,” he said with a smile. “One day at a time,” Mike says with a fist bump. True that. Go Hawks! The Why s of Youth by Robert Strandlof Dog ran over the freeway. crying, why? Rolling down mountain roads on bikes passing cars on right, why? Trying to understand fire, . Striking matches behind couch, why? Learning to drive on dirt road Dad sitting on hood shooting beer cans, why? Sitting in boat, waiting for California to fall into ocean, why? Maybe youth can be understood when I am older or maybe youth is just what it is, a time to be a giant, monster or Superman, why? Our mission Staff Board of Directors Vendors Street Roots creates income opportunities for - people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing, a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and soda! change. Executive Director Israel Bayer Bruce Anderson (Chairman), .Michael Anderson (Vice- :- drairm anl Heather Stadrck (Treas.j, Eddy Barbosa (Sec), Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon, Darren Alexander, Amber Bielman Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents each and sell them fopl-1, keeping the 75. cents- in ‘ ' profit for themselves, in order to keep the tost low to our vendors, w e receive additional support from donations and in-kind contributions. Street Roots publishes every two weeks,' launching on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our street vendors or' by subscription. We are proud members of the International Network of Street' Papers. ! 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 Seecroft Program Assistant Grace Badik, Jesuit Volunteer, grace@streetroots.org Development Director Sarah Cloud Office Assistant Amber Bielman Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Gaillot Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher .. Onstott Volunteers Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Ann- Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vmnie Kinsella, Michelle Breslau, Paula Craeas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas Manfield, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedai, Sam Bouman, John Yohe, Isaac Hastings Hauss,. Emily Green, Tom Ray, Sarah Hansell, Alana Kansaku-Su rmiento 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. 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. 1
