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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2016)
Street Roots • Oct. 7-13, 2016 Page 3 E d ito r ia l II— — « fiM M M Write in a -. If you would ik e to have / - \ / \ L.———\ something . that you’ve written published _ \ ^ x . in our pages, o r would \ ^ x X / like to get involved as a member of bur reporting staff, contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at 503-2285657, joanne@ streetroots.org. We ask that all submissions include the author’s name and contact information, if available. Street Roots 211 NW Davis S t Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 503-227-3117 www.streetroots.org www.news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m.*3 p.m. Mon.-Fri.( 7:30 a.m.~2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-11 a,m. Son. Advertising Interested in advertising in Street Roots? Contact Israel Bayer a t israet@streetroots-org Vote for affordable housing that’s built to last Staff Executive D irecto r Israel Bayer » e are four weeks away from historic opportunity to vote for more affordable housing. It’s taken us "a lot ¿ ; to get to tlp^, historic m om ent. A little more than two years ago, Street Roots — along with a small group of partners COIN, Community ? Alliance of Tenants, Oregon On, Rose B IB IC T O B ^ S Community I Israel Bayer is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach him at israel@streetmots.org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer: Development) set out to create a housing , By Israel Bayer and homeless coalition that would be able to build enough momentum to one day deliver Portland and our region the ability to create more affordable housing in pur community. The Welcome Home Coalition was bom. We collectively hired a director, Jes Larson, and began to work toward identifying long- . term revenue options that would support building affordable housing in our community. The group looked at how different cities are creating more affordable housing across North America. What tools were being used? Could they be used in Portland and in our region and around the state? We did public opinion research. We began to build a case. The coalition also started organizing. We went from a handful of organizations to a dozen, then a few dozen. Today, the coalition includes more than 140 nonprofit . organizations, small businesses and neighborhood associations and growing. We aren’t alone. Other coalitions that Street Roots is a part of have also emerged- arid are. working on important legislation, including inclusionary zoning, tenant protections, and more resources fo r: - affordable housing in Salem and throughout our state. In the past year, the Welcome Home •. Coalition has been able to support its . partners doing important legislative, work • regionally arid statewide, while also workirig to secure several revenue tools to help create more affordable housing. Those tools include a new construction excise tax, a short-terhi rental tax, and helping create more revenue to support more affordable housing in urban renewal areas. All of these policies will go to ■ support giving thousands of people a safe place to call home. In the coming weeks, many Street Roots readers will have a chance to vote for Yes for Affordable Homes, a $258 million general obligation bond that will support getting 3,000 Portlanders into housing in the next five years. The housing being built today will be built to last. It will be housing that we estimate will span generations and give up to 58,000 people a safe and stable home for decades to come. H ere are some ways you, can help. Make sure you are registered to vote. Volunteer for the campaign. The campaign team and volunteers are working literally every single day. Take a day Out of your week to come and help phone bank or canvassWith us on the weekends. You can find out more at yesforaffordablehomes.com. Lastly, vote for Yes for Affordable Homes Measure 26-179 at the ballot The need for more affordable housing in our community has never been greater. We’re hoping that together we can all find a way to collectively rise above the noise and all move in the same direction — a direction 'th at will help give thousands of Portlanders the opportunity at a better life and a safe place to call home. israel@streetoote.org M a n a g in g E d it o r Joanne Zuhl ¡oanne@steeetroote.org Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel cole@sfreefrQrfrs.org . Operations D irecto r Sarah Beecroft Development D ire cto r Sarah Cloud P ro gram A ssista n t M eghann Van Pelt, Jesuit Volunteer Development A ssista n t Patricia Romero R epo rte rs Emily Green, Suzanne Zatokar, Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben, Am anda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke P hotographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode Editorial A ssista n t Monica Kwasnik C a n v a sse r Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chairm an Brad Taylor Vice-Chairm an Rachel Langford T re a su re r Heather Stadick S e cre ta ry Marcus Swift D ire cto rs Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson, Leo Rhodes, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Pan Jo n e s . Volunteers Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Toe Kllngmann, Haven Herrin, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Tom Wright, Judy Taylor, Karen Allen, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jeanie Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoteymani, Jason Cohen, Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Hilary Smith, Diana Richardson, Cherie Manning, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce and Faye Powell. If you're interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can call our volunteer coordinator for more information at 503-228-5657.
