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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2015)
Street Roots • Vendors Page 6 the Oregon Health Plan gives her the opportunity to obtain medicine and go to the doctor. In addition to claustrophobia and anxiety, Katie says she has also struggled with her weight However, that problem is also being remedied. She has been approved for BY CHRISTINE MENGES C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R gastric bypass surgery, which she will have O ct 11. atie Amberson is slowly getting her Other plans include marrying her fiancé, life on track. She moved here from Paul, also a Street Roots vendor. The two Phoenix, Ariz., a few years ago with met at Sisters of the Road about a year ago, her mother to help take care of her grand and Katie immediately got a sense that he aunt Since then, her aunt has died, but would become her husband. Last week, Paul Katie stayed here. She decided to become a vendor about four weeks ago. Apart from offering her a sense of community and an income, Street Roots offers Katie something even more essential. “It helps me get out of the house and go and meet people and do things. I don’t usually like going outside,” she said. That’s because Katie suffers from claustrophobia, which makes being in a small room very difficult “I can’t be in a room with more than, like, five people; otherwise I’ll feel like I’m trapped,” she said. Katie developed claustrophobia about six years ago but says she’s luckier than others who have the disorder. Her coverage on VENDOR PROFILE Noises by Eileen Vizenor Katie Amberson When out into the world I go, noise Takes place. Trimet commuters. Construction. People talking. People hailing cabs. People laughing* People Singing; entertaining. Car motors Running; back-firing. Kids playing; Yelling. Dogs barking. Cats fighting. Birds chirping. No, for me, I like quietness. I like The sounds of quiet That pesky fly That will not release itself from Between the window and screen, buzzing. The sounds of Molly May Snoring and dreaming of chasing cats, Squirrels and skateboards. The noises of my quiet home is where I read, write, create. The noises of My quiet home is where I lay my Head, and it is my heart. Answers to puzzles on page 15 ■ o CENTRAL C IT Y proposed to her and gave her an amethyst ring with a silver band that he bought from someone who was selling them on the streets. “It doesn’t matter how much he paid for it or how he got it,” she said. “It came from the h e a rt” Their wedding will not take place until 2017; they want to secure more permanent housing and jobs before tying the knot. Until then, Katie stays in a small apartment with her two cats above the Street Roots office, which she secured through the program Home Forward after being on a waiting list for two years. “I’m hoping, once all this weight’s gone, to get an actual real job and move out of the building upstairs, and having a bigger apartment, ’cause there’s no room up there at all,” she said. If she could choose a dream career for herself, Katie would like to be a video game tester, since gaming has been her passion since she was a child. “I’m amazing at video games. When I’m focused, nobody can get me out of it,” she said. But until then, Katie enjoys the community she’s found at Street Roots. It is somewhere she can call home. Out of Luck? COFFEE Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to benefit programs at Central City Concern. IN STORES Free Counseling for Gambling Problems Call 503-239-5952 ÖSäfiä New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's Produce and Will Leather Goods. 1 3 8 3 9 t p 9 8 9 L 6 L 8 p 8 8 9 L 1. 8 P 3 8 9 6 I. 9 p 3 9 6 L 9 L 9 8 6 8 e p 3 9 k 6 8 9 6 6 8 p L L 3 I. 9 8 3 9 V 6 9 8 3 pL 9 9 9 6 8 8 L 3 P 8 9 8 Ì. P AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Central City Coffee at your office? Get in touch w ith us and we can help you make th a t happen. 503.226.7387 ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have It shipped directly to you or a friend. Follow our Facebook page fo r updates and specials. centraldtycoffee.org facebook.comZCentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcern.org VENDOR WORK ADS Farmer Shaun: If you need gardening, clean-up or any general labor services call Farmer Shaun. 971-222-9938.
