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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2017)
Street Roots • Jan. 6-12, 2017 Vendors Page 6 I f A& b C Everly BY LEONORA KO STAFF W R IT E R ason Everly came to Portland more than 17 years ago to do service with AmeriCorps. a 3 i 3 1 ] 1 ) 1 r ) r J It was one of the hardest, but one of the best, things that I ever did tor myself,” Jason said. “I was on what they called an EnviroCorps Team,” he said. “We were kind of an offshoot of the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was an 11-member team, and we did everything from disconnecting downspouts to riparian zone repair. The riparian zone is this area between the bank of the creek and 10 to 12 feet inland.” His team also built trails and six bridges in Forest Park. “There are two miles that I know intimately, like the back of my hand: from Fire Lane 51 to Old Germantown Road,” he said. After his AmeriCorps stint, Jason was an instructor for a job training program at Sisters ofthe Road, a nonprofit café that provides meals plus opportunities for the homeless: “Before I went to Am eriCorps, I was a cook They would wash dishes for a week, they’d help prep for a week and they would plan menus with me for a week - just to give them some experience.” After his instructor job, Jason hit some rough patches in life and summed it up this way: “I go through cycles of kind of getting it together and things falling apart.” Through Central City Concern, a nonprofit that serves the homeless, he found jobs from managing a catering office at PGE Park to working as an employment assistant helping others find jobs. He complimented Central City Concern: “They provide treatment, jobs and housing in this community, and they’re the best at providing all three of those. It’s kind of a holistic thing, you know? All three of those things are really important to j g f integrate and try and get somebody’s act together.” Jason started selling the Street Roots newspaper two months ago, and his usual turf is at Next Adventure, a sporting goods store at Southeast Grand j Avenue and Stark Street. j| “It’s given me the ability to offer something in. return, rather than just a l panhandling,” he said. “The biggest thing is that when people finally do come and buy a paper, is that they start to see you. Believe me, 90 percent of the people are walking right on by - they don’t see you, and they don’t want to.They don’t want to face the fact that someone’s suffering, regardless of whether it’s by their own hand or not. But the ones that do buy the paper, they see you.” Jason also finds that the Street Roots office is a respite from the street “Every day I go in, and there are certain things that I do,” he said. “I get coffee and do a chore if I need to earn some papers. It helps knowing that there’s a place that I can go. I don’t have to get a receipt to use the bathroom. I can . have some dignity.” L “And I can be myself,” Jason said. “Nobody’s really judging me.” » people A lp i iWr aid~ who didn’t have any work history or experience and trained them in different sections. CENTRAL C ITY COFFEE . SMnh well. g)o. good. h i ^ n a u c a r t s , Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to benefit programs at Central City Concern, IN STORES New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra', Chuck's;s: ' Produce and Will Leather-Goods. ' AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Centra» City Coffee at your office? Get in touch w ith us and we can help y o tt itiake tha t happen. 503.226.7387 \ ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have It shipped directly fo you dr’a friend. SISTERS OFTHE ROAD access to nourishing food IS A HUMAN RIGHT AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE »cal. food Get your espresso favorites at Old Town's' newest spot (201 NW Davis Street), featuring •Central City Coffee! Follow our Facebook page fo r updates and specials. centraldtycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffeecoffee@ccconcern.ore 133 NW Sixth Ave 503-222-5694 Open: Tu e s-Sa t, 10-2:30 All Are Welcome!
