Commentary
Page 12
The streets need help, before it’s too late
Maddy Brown-Clark
is vendor with Street
Roots. She sells the
paper outside Floyds
Coffee in Old Town.
Sÿ > :•£ Î*
BY MADDY BROWN-CLARK
S TR EET R O O T S V E N D O R
he housing situation is a serious
problem in Portland, so many low-
income and no-income people are
homeless. Something must be done to
address this tragedy.
Sure, there are shelters. But there aren’t
enough to house everyone. And they are
only a temporary solution to the problem of
homelessness. One can only stay at a shelter
for a short period of time. As good as
shelters are, they are like a Band-Aid on a
gaping wound.
One of the problems I’ve run into is the
fact that you must have good credit to rent a
house or apartment. It doesn’t matter how
good your rental history is; that’s not good
enough. My brother, who is still homeless,
has run into that problem. In better days, we
shared an apartment for seven years. We
were never late with the rent and took good
care of the apartment. But when we had to
move out, we were denied apartment after
apartment because we didn’t have credit
cards.
Many homeless people are disabled and
mentally ill, like myself. So they have some
income coming in. Yet they are still denied
proper housing. Low-income housing is
almost impossible to get into. There are long
waiting lists. Sometimes it takes up to a year
T
%
*
or two to be housed. What will we do in the
meantime?
When I was homeless, I was in my
wheelchair on the street. No one would help
me and my chair would run out of power -
once in the middle of the street. Yet I had an
income coming in. But I didn’t qualify to rent
a place.
I got very sick living on the street. Many
of us hallucinate, hear voices and talk to
ourselves, yet are harmless. This is because
many run out of medication on the streets
and can’t be hospitalized in mental health
facilities unless they are suicidal.
The sad thing is that there are many
empty buildings around the city. Why can’t
these buildings be turned into low-income
apartments to house the homeless? There
are people out there who do care. Every
year there’s a blues festival. Often the
earnings are used to help the homeless.
In my case, I finally found housing in
assisted living. I am one of the fortunate
ones. But many of my street brothers and
sisters are still homeless. What will become
of them?
Winter isn’t that far away. Some die of
exposure. Now is the time to help so they
don’t lose hope and life. I call for those who
can to help before it’s too late for anyone
else out there on the streets.
•:;>
$ & S :$• :gi
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Street Roots • August 25-31, 2017
Daybreaks
by Avendor
Rock and roll’s
got my mind spinning
my neighbor brought me a bowl
now I’m grinning.
Kiss me by the Birds of Paradise
Mother Nature needs our love
Train me in the warrior clan
these corrupted times need a shove.
I dirty my pant leg
picking up a key
in the red and violet neon light
fogging over the city.
I know these words as numbered
are somewhat unfit to measure
but sometimes to lay out the truth
you must ruffle a few feathers.
And now that the day’s hunger
has been satisfied
I’ll go to sleep beneath the stars
with the rest of my pride.
Should you find me waking up
gazing into the dawn
know that I’ve come here not to fail
but to be loved, and to belong.
Si-
&