street roots
2
Dec. 5, 2014
Setting sail every week with your support
EDITORIAL
step in affordable housing
ne hundred million dollars: It’s an impressive
I 1 number. Indeed, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s proposed
budget is in some ways a milestone of public
commitment to funding affordable housing for the
state’s impoverished families.
For the first time, the state is considering dedicating
general obligation bonds toward the housing crisis.
Compared to the $7 million or even $7.5 million
dedicated in years past, this is real money that housing
authorities with the state say will create 5,000 new
affordable homes in Oregon.
As impressive as the commitment sounds, the need is
even more so. In
When families are paying Multnomah County
5 0 ,6 0 , np to 8 0 percent alone, authorities
of their monthly
calculate that there are
household income on
23,000 fewer affordable
their rent and utilities,
homes than there are
hard choices are left
households that qualify
when it comes to other
for them. When families
basic needs, not to
are paying 50, 60, up to
mention the overall
80 percent of their
economy and the
monthly household
stability of the next
income on their rent and
generation.
utilities, hard choices
are left when it comes to
other basic needs, not to mention the overall economy
and the stability of the next generation.
And this is about children. Street Roots recently
reported on the latest figures from the state
Department of Education that nearly 20,000 Oregon
students are homeless this school year. It is impossible
to expect children to learn, thrive and succeed when
they are living out of a car, sleeping on a friend’s couch,
constantly moving and struggling to survive.
That means more failure in school, more drop-outs and
lower incomes. It means families choosing between
meals and keeping a roof over their heads. It means
displacement as workers have to move farther and
farther form their jobsites in order to find an apartment
they can afford.
So the governor’s plan isn’t so much a leap forward as
it is one step in catching up. The problem of preserving
affordable housing in a runaway housing market has
been neglected for so long, we are now in a crisis of
affordability and accessibility. The governor’s pledge
that this money will help keep the most vulnerable
famihes from becoming homeless and help those who
have get off the streets, gives us hope that the lowest
income families are the priority, which is where the
greatest need in housing lies. Because homelessness
. doesn’t end in a shelter, it ends with a home.
In fact, there is much to be optimistic about in the
governor’s proposed budget, including priorities in
education, local mental health services and increasing
daycare resources for people getting off of welfare and
reentering the workforce. It’s all tied together, and it
will take all levels of government, businesses and
nonprofits working together to turn lofty goals into
reality. This is one step. There’s a long journey ahead.
Our mission
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach h im a t
israel@streetroots.org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
wr
«
■
Israel Bayer
street Roots creates income q^ortunrties for
people experiencing homelessness and poverty by
Executive
producing
Managing Editor JoanneZuhl
joanneteetR 5ots.org
Street Roots publishes every tw o weeks, launching
on Fridays, a id is available exclusively through our
street vendors dr by subscription, W e are a proud
member o f the Internationa! 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
his is an incredible time at Street
Roots. The dream we laid out five
years ago to become a weekly
publication is about to come true.
Last year at this time Street Roots went
public with the idea
and the hope that the
community would
DIRECTOR'S support the transition
from a biweekly to a
DESK
weekly publication
By Israel Bayer
schedule. The
gratitude and support
that vendors and the
organizations have felt
from the community has been
overwhelming.
With your support, Street Roots will begin
publishing weekly on Friday, Jan. 2.
What exactly does that mean?
Going weekly means increasing our ability
to give people on the fringes a voice through
the newspaper and our website. It will mean
holding government accountable on the
poverty and social justice front It will mean
giving people of color, those less fortunate,
and those with innovative ideas and dreams
a platform to tell their stories and for the
general public to understand how we are all
connected.
At the heart of everything we do is
supporting people experiencing poverty and
homelessness in getting back on their feet
We play a role in facilitating people’s access
to housing and other services with an array
of social-service providers and partners.
This year, Street Roots will have given more
S
Governor's budget promising firs t
than 400 people an opportunity to prevent
or work toward getting out of homelessness.
Going weekly means increasing all of the
vendors’ income to help improve their
quality of life.
“Going weekly will bring more customers,
better dialogues, better relationships and
more money,” says Betty Jo, who sells at the
Alberta Food Cooperative in Northeast
Portland. “Going weekly means I will get to
see my people more often. I love my
customers. They are all so amazing! We
share laughs and we share smiles. In the
end, going weekly will mean good
friendships, good relationships.”
To ensure the success of weekly
publication, this winter fund drive has to be
our best ever. Our community continues to
humble us with donations. We are on track,
but we need your support now more than
ever. Instead of crossing a finish line, in
many ways we are just beginning to set sail.
By going weekly the organization is pushing
away from the docks and headed into the
open sea. It’s your support that will allow us
to stay the course.
You can support the vendors and Street
Roots by giving a gift today to Street Roots
at www.streetroots.org, or by sending a
check to Street Roots, 211 NW Davis S t,
Portland, OR 97209. You can also give a gift
this year through the Willamette Week
GivelGuide (www.giveguide.org).
Your support means giving people a hand
up, literally. Your donations go directly to
support the vendors and the newspaper.
Your support means the world. Thank you!
Board of Directors
Venders
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 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
Vender Coordinator Cote Merkel
. io le t e e t r ix > ts.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Volunteers
Program Assistant Grace Ba di k, Jesuit Volunteer,
grace@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Office Assistant Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Reporters Emily Green, Jake Thomas, Alex
Zielinski, Sue Zalokar, Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Photographers Diego Diaz, Kristina W right,
Adrienne Burkett
Street Roots Rose City Resource
our vendors, we receive additional support from
Jan Bayer, Rob Shyrock, Stacey Heath, John Barker,
Dane Nicklas, Kevin Glasel, Sarah Hansell, Sam
Bournan, Eliese Baker, Tom Ray, Cherie Vedal, Jessie
Carver, M ary Locke, James Yu, Melissa Kahn, Vinnie
Kinsella
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 online at www.rosecityresource.org.
7
5
- 2
goes directly to the vendor
who sold you the paper
5
-
goes tow ard.
printing costs
Vendor orientations are a t 1 p.m. every Monday,
W ednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office.