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street roots
Nov. 7, 2014
We’re almost there! Let’s do this together!
EDITORIAL
s
City should swallow the pill o f
additional court oversight
ortland City Council recently voted to appeal
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon’s order
requiring hearings with the judge, advocates
and the city on the progress in maintaining the
police reforms settlement with the Department of
Justice (DOJ).
In voting to appeal Judge Simon’s ruling — Mayor
Charlie Hales and the City Council are more or less
telling the community, “We’ve got this.”
The agreement between the DOJ, advocates and
the city requires that the Portland Police Bureau
change its policies around training, crisis
intervention, officer accountability, community
engagement and oversight, to name a few. The
agreement also
recommends creating
The reality Is the police a mental health center
union Is stronger than
for people
any one mayor or
experiencing crisis.
elected official In the
We commend the
city.
city and police who
h m w « r m h b h h b h
have already begun to
implement many of
these requirements. In some cases, it has resulted in
programs that we support, such as the walking beat
patrols in downtown Portland and along Hawthorne
Boulevard.
But we must not collectively forget why the
settlement was needed in the first place: a pattern
and practice of excessive force against people
experiencing mental health problems, followed by;
the requisite lip service from City Hall.
The reality- is that the police reform the community
seeks will actually never materialize without the DOJ
and the courts mandating the city to do so, and
providing the court the power to enforce those
change is part and parcel with change itself.
When James Chasse, an unarmed mentaUy ill man
was beaten to death at the hands of the Portland
Police, then-Mayor Tom Potter called for reforms. It
was then-Mayor Sam Adams’ turn at the helm. Now
Mayor Charlie Hales says he’s the man. The reality
is the police union is stronger than any one mayor or
elected official in the city.
More so, Mayor Charlie Hales and City Council
should simply pay Multnomah County outright for a
mental health crisis center. The city can’t yell fire for
transportation costs and then balk at the idea of
creating revenue for a mental health center. There’s
really no excuse.
If city officials were serious about making sure the
reforms outlined in the> settlement are cemented into
city policy, they must own up to where they have
failed in the past and swallow the pill of additional
oversight
Without a third-party watchdog we fear we’re
simply just moving policy to policy, chief to chief and
mayor to mayor.
P
O CT
JhiM tL
Israel Bayer is the
executive director of
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
treet Roots is thrilled to announce that
we will be going from a biweekly to a
weekly publication schedule on Friday, y
Jan. 2. Your support this winter is vital in
helping Street Roots set sail.
The goal of going
weekly, first and
foremost, is to support
BISECTOR'S the many vendors
selling the newspaper
throughout the
By Israel Bayer
Portland region.
Ha—H Currently, around 70
percent of newspaper
sales happen in the
first week of each edition. By going weekly,
Street Roots is giving vendors experiencing
homelessness and poverty a hand up through
the sales of the newspaper. In short, going
weekly means giving vendors entrepreneurial
opportunities to be more self-sufficient.
“Street Roots and my customers keep me
going. I wish they knew how much I
appreciate them. They’re my foundation right
now,” says Street Roots vendor Lori Lematta.
; DESK
It also means offering more breaking and
relevant independent news about issues and
perspectives readers are unlikely to find
anywhere else. We take great pride in
providing readers with quality journalism '
along with insights and commentary that
matters most Portlanders.
We’re unafraid to speak truth to power and
to investigate and discuss real causes behind
many of our social ills. It means being a
strong voice on advocacy efforts and
solutions for people experiencing poverty.
We can’t thank you enough for your
support over the past year and look forward
to continuing to partner with you through
this transition to give vendors a hand up in
the community.
“Street Roots means hope. It means being
a part of something bigger than myself.
Helping us go weekly would mean helping
vendors be self-sufficient It would mean
everything,” says Marlon Crump, the 2014
Vendor of the Year.
Let’s do this.
Your support Is vital in making Street Roots weekly in January
■ Giving a hand up for Street Roots vendors by
providing an increase in sales, income and stability,
with most vendors’ incomes doubling
■ Connecting with readers in a timely manner on
social justice issues with award-winning journalism
and voices from the community
■ Facilitating strong relationships between vendors
and readers, giving people experiencing-extreme
poverty social capital to build their lives through
self-worth
Readers can support our weekly efforts by giving a
donation online through the Willamette Week
GivelGuide at www.gtvegutde.org or at www.
streetroots.org. You can also give through the mail
at 211 NW Davis S t. Portland. OR. 97209. You’ll
find a donation envelope in this edition of Street
Roots.
j : .‘ v- -
Thank you.
Our mission
Staff
Board of Directors
Vendors
Street Roots creates income opportunities f o r . ■
people experiencing homelessness and poverty by
producing a newspaper and other media that are
catalysts for individual and social change.
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israef@streetroots.org
Managing Editor loanne Zuhl
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
Street Roots vendors buy the newspapers tor 25 cents
each and sell them for $1, keeping the 75 cents in
Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel
Volunteers
donations and in-kind contributions.
Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching
on Fridays, and is available exclusively through our
street vendors or by subscription. W e are a proud
member o f the International Network of Street
Papers.
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
Street Roots
211 N W Davis St.
Portland, OR 97209
•503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
streetroo1s.org
news.streetropts.org
Reporters Jake Thomas, Alex Zielinski, Nathan
D
Gilles, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick G alliot
Photographers Diego Diaz, Kristina W right,
Christopher Onstott, Adrienne Burkett
our vendors, we receive additional support from
Jan Bayer, Elizabeth Tierney, Rob Shryock, Ann-
Derrick. Gaillot, Stacey Heath, Vinnie Kinsella, M ichelle
Breslau, Paula Cracas, John Barker, M ary Locke, Lucas
Manfield, 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 Roots Rose City Resource
Street Roots publishes the Rose City Resource, a
comprehensive booklet o f services for people'
experiencing homelessness and poverty.
To inquire about getting guides, call 503-228-5657.
Resources are online at www.rosecityresource.org.
75c
goes directly to the vendor
w ho sold you the paper
25c
goes toward
printing costs
Vendor orientations are a t 1 p.m. every Monday,
W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.