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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2017)
Page 10 News Street Roots • May 5-11, 2017 Goodwill hutching How the Alberta Free Hutch went from being ju st an unruly free box to keeping the spirit o f guerilla activism alive BY EMILLY PRADO S T A F F W R IT E R etween the brunch lines and boutique stores that have taken over Alberta Street stands a vivid roofed structure filled to the brim with clothing, tchotchkes, books and more, all open for taking and eager to find their new homes. Known as The Alberta Free Hutch, the entirely pro bono project was founded by Joseph Drushal and Lydia Grijalva in 2014. With the help of a team of volunteers, the Free Hutch houses a rotating selection of donated goods as a form of resistance against the gentrification of the neighborhood and as a means to destigmatize need. When we meet to talk, Drushal and Grijalva are proud to note that the sturdy P H O T O S B Y E M IL L Y P R A D O wooden pillars of the Free Hutch have Above, a customer checks out the wares at recently received a fresh coat of paint. the Alberta Free Hutch, fo r years a “One of the things we did a while ago was com m unity treasure on Alberta Street. A t choosing to use really bright colors to go right, the curators fo r the hutch, Lydia against the minimalist Scandinavian design Grijalva and Joseph Drushal. that has come to be synonymous with gentrification,” said Grijalva, who uses they/ them pronouns. Plus, the lime green and sherbet hues of pink remind them of their building a structure to keep items organized Mexican heritage. and safe from inevitable rain damage. After Although the pair moved here separately gathering the donated materials, designing a in 2013, they both came to Portland ready to layout, and working with a carpenter friend apply their urgent sense of activism - to build it, the Alberta Free Hutch was fully reinvigorated by the nationwide Occupy installed and functioning by July 2014. movement - into their new community. The As it turns out, the set up was only the two became acquainted while living in an beginning. alternative higher education program called “I didn’t consider how much more stuff Community Supported Everything. The would come through [and] how much more CommuniVersity was a self-directed work it would be on a daily basis,” Drushal residency in which mentors guided students said. “Living there (made it) really easy to in moving from ideas to actualization in the maintain because I would leave the house pursuit of community-based endeavors. and fix it up, and come back and fix it up, Grijalva worked on self-publishing a zine and everyone there was actively involved called Fiidizine that compiled resources and too. I didn’t think about how much stuff stories about accessing food for people we’d have to recycle or throw away. It was a experiencing poverty stemming from their learning experience from day one: Like OK, own experiences growing up poor. While now I have to design a recycling program Drushal researched alternative economies and sorting program. Do I have storage like gifting circles and time banking, an capacity? All of these new questions.” exchange based on hours of service in which When the lease at Community Supported everyone’s skills are ranked equally. Everything expired and Grijalva and Drushal “About halfway through the program, (the moved to the St. John’s neighborhood, they mentors) really encouraged me to do simply couldn’t handle the twice-daily something hands on and less conceptual,” commutes necessitated by the Free Hutch’s Drushal said. upkeep. The pair somberly hung up a simple Around the same time, the neighborhood goodbye poster thanking the community for free pile on the corner of their street had their support and announcing that their grown increasingly out of hand, so Drushal time had come to an end. The community, decided to solve the problem head on by however, wouldn’t accept defeat without a B fight. After all, where else could one snag the complete Lord of the Rings audiobook on cassette or a giant stuffed panda at no cost? As neighbors and Free Hutch enthusiasts pleaded for Grijalva and Drushal to reconsider, the pair put out a request for volunteers only half-expecting it to work. Almost overnight, nearly a dozen folks offered their time. A year and half later, they have a team of 10, “people in the neighborhood who are committed to coming once a week or more and cleaning up,” said Grijalva. “It makes me so happy,” said Grijalva, “because we almost closed down and didn’t exist. But people were like ‘No. You cannot do that.’” Like many nonprofits, the Alberta Free Hutch is creating the infrastructure as they go along. They’ve since secured a car, which has significantly helped in simplifying the time-consuming recycling process. It was instrumental when a recent major sorting effort allowed them to donate a total of 500 pounds of clothing to local shelters. They’re now under the umbrella of The City Repair Project and are working on to secure grants to further support their project. See HUTCH, page 11
