Street Roots • Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2016
Editorial
Affordable housing an asset to the whole community
Page 3
Write in
■you would like
Sydney Linden is the
development manager
with JOIN, which
works to get people
into permanent
housing.
BY SYDNEY LINDEN
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
r | Ahis November, I will be voting yes on measure
26-179 - a historic affordable housing bond
A that will provide thousands of Portland
families and seniors with homes they can afford and
the opportunity to live better lives. In my
professional life, I have witnessed the overwhelming
need for access to more
affordable housing options
in our community through
mY WOrk at a local
nonprofit organization
called JOIN. It’s my own family’s story, however, that
is at the heart of why voting yes for this measure is
deeply personal and fills me with hope.
My mom, Kathleen, was born and raised in
Colorado and worked outside the home from the
time she graduated from high
school until she retired at 62.
She put herself through college
while raising kids and working
full time, built a career, and
made meaningful contributions
to society. Like a lot of women,
she was also the primary
caregiver for several members
of her family. In fact, my
mother’s life is a series of
loving stories about the people
she cared for and nurtured
without much help or reward.
My mom raised my sister and
me by herself. She took care of
my grandmother when she went
blind and could no longer live
alone. She moved across the
country when my sister needed
help getting her master’s
Kathleen Linden
degree, happily taking time off
work to become a “grandma
nanny” to her beloved grandson. And when my aunt
became ill with a chronic and ultimately fatal disease,
my mom moved in and took care of her until my aunt
died at home surrounded by the mountains she
loved.
After my aunt’s death, my mom decided to move
to Portland to be closer to me. Despite having
worked all her adult life, her social security doesn’t
amount to much - definitely not enough to rent an
GUEST COMMENTARY
apartment in Portland. Together we filled out
hundreds of pages of paperwork and signed her up
on every waiting list for subsidized senior housing in
town. A few months later, her name came up and she
had the option of two apartments: one in Northeast
Portland with a great bathtub and one in Southeast
Portland with a balcony. She chose the balcony and
in May of 2012, moved into her little studio
apartment with big windows and a great view of the
west hills.
We were lucky. Four years ago there was far more
availability and the waiting lists for subsidized senior
housing weren’t as long. Today, the mothers, fathers
and grandparents like my mom who apply for this
type of housing might have to wait years before there
is an available apartment For families with children,
wait lists can be even longer, and the hope of ever
having truly stable housing can seem more like a
fantasy.
At JOIN, we see hundreds of people every year
who are homeless for no other reason than the lack
of affordable housing. People who are on a fixed
income or working multiple jobs and taking care of
families simply cannot afford rent and life’s other
expenses in Portland. Too many of our neighbors live
on the edge, paying higher and higher rents every
month until they topple over that edge into
homelessness. The situation is tragic and the need is
staggering, which is why I’m so excited about
Measure 26-179. It’s a big step in the right direction .
of making sure that our community is a place that
everyone can afford.
My mother took care of people for 45 years. And
now Portland takes care of her by guaranteeing she
won’t ever pay more than 30 percent of her income
toward rent. With her affordable apartment, my
mom’s Social Security is enough to have a good
quality of life in Portland. She can pay her rent and
bills, buy decent quality groceries, hit a garage sale
or two, and take her daughter out for a burger. She
can focus on her health, her volunteer work, her
friendships and her family. It also gives my sister and
me the stability and peace we need to meet the
challenges of our own lives, instead of having to
worry if our mother can make the rent next month.
Affordable housing transforms the health, well-being
and happiness of entire families - trust me, I know.
Please, vote Yes for Affordable Homes - Measure
26-179 - by November 8.
Street Roots’endorsement affirmations
Measure 100: Yes
Prohibits purchase or sale of parts or
products from certain wildlife species;
Measure 26-185: Yes
Amends charter review committee
exceptions; civil penalties
convening timelines
support services for Oregon veterans
Multnomah County measures
City of Portland measures
Meme 97: Yes
Measure 26-181: Yes Amends charter;
extends term limits to three consecutive
■easure 26-179: Yes
Bonds to fund affordable housing
terms
Measure 26-180: Yes
Statewide measures
Measure 96: Yes
Amends Constitution: Dedicates 1.5
percent of state lottery net proceeds to
Increases corporate minimum tax when
sales exceed $25 million; funds education,
health care, senior services
Measure 98: Yes
Requires state funding for dropout
prevention, career aid college readiness
programs in Oregon high schools
Measure 99: Yes
Creates Outdoor School Education Fund,
continuously funded through lottery, to
provide outdoor school programs
statewide
Measure 26-182: Yes
Amends charter; commissioners may run
for chair midterm without resigning
Measure 26-183:Yes
Amends charter; changes elected sheriff
position to appointed department head
Measure 26-184: Ycsj
Limits contributions, expenditures; requires
disclosure in county candidate elections
appointment process, sets appointment,
■have
Bmething
/ VK
/
\
A——\
wt you’ve
Bitten published
cS
A
\
JR
/
in our pages» or would
X a /
like to get involved as a
member of our reporting staff,
contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at
503-228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org.
We ask that all submissions include the
author’s name and contact information, W
if available.
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St
Portland,OR97209
503 228 5657
Fax: 503-227-3117 "
.
www.streetroots.org
www.news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7:30
a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. and 7 30-11 am. Sun.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots?
Contact Israel Bayer at israel@$treetroots.org
Staff
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israel@streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel
cofe@streefroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Program Assistant Meghann Van Pelt,
Jesuit Volunteer
Development Assistant Patricia Romero
Reporters Wily Green, Suzanne Zalokar,
Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben,
Amanda Waidroupe, Stephen Quirke
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode
Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Leo Rhodes, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Marcus
Swift
Volunteers
Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali
Rathore, Zoe Klingmann, Haven Herrin, Dan
Jones, Dennis Hogan, Tom Wright, Judy Taylor,
Karen Allen, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe,
Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jeanie
Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoleymani, 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.