street roots
2
Aug. 1,2014
Let’s focus on solutions to tackle housing challenges
e Oregonian recently reported that
■ apartment rentals in Portland shot up
6.1 percent last year according to
Axiometrics, a rental industry data firm. The
average rent for an
apartment in Portland
is $1,160.
Yoh know what?
They’re going to
increase even more
B y Israel Bayer
this year. The report
shows that an
estimated 4,000 rental
units will be built in
Portland m the next two years alone.
It won’t be long until the average rent in
Portland is $1,300, possibly even $1,500 in
the next decade. I don’t know about you, but
the majority of people I know aren’t going to
be able to keep up. That’s not even
accounting for low-income individuals and
families that may not even bring that kind of
money home to begin with.
You know what else? Portland doesn’t
have a plan to deal with the demand for
affordable housing.
Street Roots and others have been
harping at the city for more than a decade
to develop more critical tools to deal with
Portland’s boom. Then the recession came
and nothing was done. We did ^everything we
could just to maintain thé status quo.
It’s time for Portland to get red. In the
next two years Portland is going to be asked
to increase our collective support for parks,
transportation and schools. All great tilings,
you say. I think so too. Unfortunately,
affordable housing seems to be just an
afterthought in how we plan the greatest
city west of the Mississippi, an urban
playground of sorts for the affluent and
educated.
The question becomes, why should poor
people buv into supporting these ongoing
efforts if what we are doing in reality is
pricing ourselves out of the community we
JL
Peace sets stage for positive
dialogue around the streets
ortland’s streets are always busy in the summer,
and seem to get busier every year. Each season
brings more travelers to the area. More festivals,
celebrations and events, large and small. More market
stands and food carts carving out their com er of
pavem ent Summer means a little more of everything in
Portland.
And there are more Street Roots vendors with every
week as well. And more people simply “being” on the
streets. It can get crowded out there some days, and
tem pers are always closer to flaring with the heat,
especially among those with little to go around.
But to date, this
summer has been
As long as our
comparably calm. No
sidewalks and streets
doubt it’s a combination
continue to become
of factor^, from the
more crowded, with
more visitors and more improvement in the
economy in some
activity, the peace Is
circles,
to outreach
always going to be
efforts for those left
fragile.
behind. There has also
been a concerted effort
by police to get out of their cars and walk the downtown
corridors to get to know who people are and engage
everyone to keep the peace.
It’s not all wine and roses, of course, but for the most
part, the peace is holding its own. We know our vendors
are a valuable part of that peace. We know that many
businesses and police agree on the stabilizing force of a
regular vendor on a busy street comer.
Still, every year, the specter of the summer boogieman
DIRECTOR'S
DESK
E
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him. at
israel@streetroots.org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
— embodied by bands of travelers and street youths t<^.our
city —'hijacks the discussion of what to do about. .
homelessness and its related issues. It is a tail-chasing
paper tiger that saps all energy from discussions around
progress and solutions.
Sadly this year, the paper tiger has resurfaced in east
Portland where police are conducting an end-run around
civic policy by slapping charges of interfering with a police
officer against homeless people for camping. Talk about
regressive.
We have recovering local budgets, and a City Council
that seems eager to move money around and secure new
funding streams — still, homelessness has yet to draw
those carrots. Perhaps because it’s not the squeaky wheel
this year.
As long as our sidewalks and streets continue to become
more crowded, with more visitors and more activity, the
peace is always going to be fragile. We have good systems
and services that are filling only a fraction of the need
when it comes to homelessness and affordable housing.
This year, we have the breathing room and the potential to
plan for greater access and support for economically
diverse housing options, for improved access to mental
health and addiction services and for employment
opportunities for all. Let’s keep the momentum building
for the positive.
lig n a
Street Roots creates income opportunities tor
people experiencing homelessness and poverty by
producing a newspaper and other media that are
catalysts for individual and social change.
Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching
on Fridays, a id is available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription, W e are proud
members of the International Network of Street
Papers.
J -
8 |1
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St
Portland, OR 97209
503-223-5657
Fax:503-227-3117
streetroots.org
news.streetroots.org
■
Exist, Free, D ance
By Jonathan Bartley
I’ve seen in the stars
What it truly means
to be alive
Each shining star is a survivor
A star is not a constant in every sense,
Not in a person’s sense of i t
What changes?
Our perspectives change them
And if we are vigilant,
Our selves do,
As our cells do
Constant only in our change.
So goes our journeys of self, of soul, of life.
I’ve seen in the pines what it truly means to grow.
Despite the wind, they do not fall,
but find in it freedom to sway to its rhythms.
Survive in change.
—
— —
S ta ff
Our mission
b
love? It’s a question that needs to be
answered.
Instead of piling on to our past woes, how
about talking about some solutions? Here
are a few:
■ Support fees from short-term rental
units to go toward affordable housing.
■ Embrace organizations like Right 2
Dream Too and have j e s t areas for people
experiencing homelessness.
■ Build small homes for people
experiencing homelessness and poverty.
■ Embrace a range of developments for
affordable housing across a broad spectrum
of developers.
■ Build higher. Yep. I said it. To the sky.
And in doing so create a mechanism so that
with each square foot built on the open
market above a certain height, developers
have to pay a fee and provide mixed-income
housing.
■ A local document recording fee on
documents and permits related to building
market-rate housing.
■ A mandatory requirement for mixed-
income housing along all new transportation
projects over a certain price, such as the
new MAX and Streetcar lines
■ I would say a housing levy, but I fear
that by prioritizing all of the other great
Portland things like libraries, parks, schools,
and transportation. Housing doesn’t stand a
chance. That’s too bad.
These are just a few examples of how
local officials could get to work. They
shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
These efforts or efforts like these are being
done in many American cities. It’s actually
pretty common. Why we aren’t doing this in
Portland I haven’t the faintest clue. Well,
that’s not exactly true, but I’m not here to
tear anyone down. I’m simply writing to ask
those in both the public and privatesector
fo'get'to work to
FfiffiBH» "ATiflyTO1
works for all of us.
israel@streetfoots.org
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
Office Assistant Am ber Bielman
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Photographers Kristina Wright, Christopher
Onstott, Adrienne Burkett
■
|j j
Board of Directors
If- v f y ’Z
•
Bruce Anderson (Chairman), Michael Anderson (Vice-
chairman), Heather Stadick (Treas.), Eddy Barbosa (Sec.),
Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo Rhodes, Nora Coon,
Darren Alexander, Amber Bielman
Volunteers
■"
.....
Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers for 25 cents
each and sell them fo r $1, keeping the 75 cents in
profit for themselves. In order to keep the cost low to
our vendors, we receive additional support from
donations and in-kind contributions.
Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Ann-
Derrick Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, Michelle
Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, Mary Locke, Lucas
Manfieid, Jessie Carver, Cherie Vedal, Sam Bouman,
Isaac Hastings Hauss, Emily Green, Tom Ray' Sarah
Hansell, Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento, Kyle Craven,
Audrey Benison, Crystal Elinksi
Street Boots Rose City Resource
Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a
75c " '
goes directly to the vendor
w ho sold you the paper
' 2SC
goes toward
printing costs
comprehensive booklet of services for people
experiencing homelessness and poverty.
To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657.
Resources are online at www.rosecityresource.org.
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office'.