Street Roots • Jan. 6-12, 2017
E d it o r ia l
Page 3
You can be the difference between life and death
or people experiencing homelessness, 2017
started just like 2016 ended: Survival.
B
Israel B a yer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach h im a t
israel@streetroots. org
o r follow h im on
Tw itter ®israelbayer.
worried about people on the streets.
Every night during the winter there is a small
army of volunteers, including the fire bureau and
nonprofit workers on the streets to make sure people
experiencing homelessness are safe. It’s not easy for
anyone.
So what can you do?
Don t hesitate to offer a Street Roots vendor or
people on the streets a hot cup of tea or coffee. It’s a
small gesture, but one that allows people to connect
and make sure they are actually doing OK given the
circumstances.
You can also donate blankets, socks and gloves to
organizations throughout the region. For more
information, visit 211info to find an organization near
you.
Warming centers are open in Portland and
Gresham during day and night, including Multnomah
County Libraries. To assist someone in locating
shelter and transportation to shelter, please call 211.
Calls can be answered in more than 150 languages.
If you see someone outside, unsheltered, whose
life appears to be in danger or is in an apparent
medical crisis, call 9-1-1. Otherwise, if you see
someone about whom you are concerned, such as
not being dressed for the conditions, call police non
emergency 503-823-3333 and request a welfare check
for that person.
Don’t hesitate. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
You might just save a life - literally.
More so, homelessness isn’t a seasonal
experience. Surviving a Portland w inter, r eg a r d less
On Jan. 2, Mark Elliot Johnson was found
dead of hypothermia in East Portland after
temperatures dipped below freezing. According to
police, they found the Johnson in a doorway with a
pillow and blanket. He died
cold and alone, without a
safe place to call home.
D IR E C T O R 'S
The reality is people
experiencing homelessness
DESK
know firsthand that the
By Israel Bayer
chance of dying on the
streets is very real.
Some people wonder,
“How could anyone stay
outside given the cold spell?”
IPs hard,” said Sean, a Street Roots vendor who
t sleeps outside. “We do look out for one another on
the streets. You have to make a judgment call on if
you should get into a shelter or not. Shelters can be
a traumatic experience for some people. It typically
doesn’t stay cold for too long and if you have the
right gear you should be fine. That doesn’t mean it
isn’t dangerous, regardless of the weather. Being
homeless isn’t easy by any means. It’s all so grueling
on your mind and body.”
It’s true. Homelessness is grueling on your mind
and body.
From 2011 to 2015, 279 individuals passed away
homeless on the streets of Multnomah County. That
doesn’t include those who were homeless but died in
hospitals or under medical care.
o f th e tem p eratu re, c o m e s w ith its ow n s e t o f
The number of deaths among people experiencing
complicaflons.ByJthe_time:thew inter:en^^jTnajn^^
homelessness in Multnomah County in .^QlS wasJfrgM., ^ e p p le oii th e s tr e e ts w ill have livetf th rou gh tji« flu
h ig h e s t it h a s b e e n s in c e w e b e g a n co u n tin g fiv e’
m u ltiple tim e s or e x p e rien ce d , pn eu m on ia. It’s h ell.
years ago: Eighty-eight people. There’s no reason to
The homeless and housing crisis is real. It’s an
think that last year in 2016, those numbers won t be
ongoing emergency that should be treated as such -
in the dozens. It’s simply unacceptable.
an emergency that could be avoided with more
Since 2011, hypothermia has contributed to three
affordable housing production and better tenant
deaths, but was not the immediate cause of death. In
protections. Until then, people shouldn’t be shacked
2013, hypothermia caused one death.
that someone froze to death on our streets. In fact,
Portland Police Bureau spokesman Pete Simpson
dozens more are in peril right now throughout
told Street Roots that they have been responding to
Multnomah County. Every day is life or death.
dozens of calls this week from the community
Write in
-If you would tike
to have
- something
that you’ve
written published
in our pages, or would
Oketo get involved as a
member of our reporting staff, '
. contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at
. 503-228-5657, joanne^streetroots.org.
I
author’s name and contact information,
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St.
Portland, O R 9 7 20 9
503-228-5657
Fax:503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 pjn. Mon.-Fri., 7:30
am -2 p.m. Sat and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots?
Contact Israel Bayer at israeiestreetroots.org
Staff
E xe cu tiv e D ir e c to r Israel Bayer
isra^ ^ streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cote Merkel
cole@sfreerroofs.org
O p e r a tio n s D ir e c t o r
Sarah Beecroft
D evelop m ent D i r e c t o r Sarah Cloud
P ro g ra m A s s is ta n t M eghann Van Pelt,
Jesuit V olunteer
Development A ssista n t Patricia Romero
Reporters Emily Green, Suzanne Zaiokar,
Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Jared Paben,
Amanda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Giode
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, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Monica
McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas
Buell Jr, Jeanie Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoleymani,
Jason Cohen, Tom Ray, Doug Spangle, Susannah
Kamaia, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Cherie
Manning, PauLand Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne
Joyce, Anne Reif, Gillian Horen, Mark Oldani, Meg
Holden, Bridget Brown, Cody Travels, Bianca Butler,
Robb Hengerer, Alex Cherin, Tom Vandel and Grace
Gallagher. If you're interested in volunteering with
Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at
streetroots.org/volunteerj.
Or you can call for more information at
P H O T O B Y ISR AEL B À Ÿ E R '