Street Roots • September 1 -7, 2017
O p in io n
Page 3
We are making a difference, but it can be hard to see
hinking about solving the issue of
homelessness can feel almost
impossible. For the general public it’s
hard to understand the relationship that
nonprofits and government play in working to
give people a safe place to call home. It’s
understandable. Why, after spending all of
this money, are people
still sleeping on our
streets? It’s a valid
Wi
question.
If you commute into
B y Israel Bayer
downtown every day for
any length of time, it
may be hard to notice a
difference in the
numbers of people that are visibly homeless.
It’s because you’re probably not.
Let me explain.
We do know how to give people a safe place
to call home.
Last year, both Portland and Multnomah
County helped nearly 5,000 individuals and
families find housing placements in the
region. An additional 6,000 people received
prevention services, such as rent assistance,
to help them stay in housing.
What the public doesn’t always see is that
for every person the system finds housing for,
there are more individuals and families
becoming homeless on what feels like a daily
basis. The struggle is real.
In short, you’re not seeing a visible
difference in the homeless population
because we don’t know how to house people,
it’s because we can’t stop the flow of people
hitting our streets.
Of course, any logical human being
understands that when you have the kinds of
rent increases the region and state are
experiencing without any regulations there
are bound to be thousands of people left out
in the cold. Not to mention, funding for
housing itself, which was once a federal
priority, has been cut to the bone.
We all end up paying the price. Don’t let
anyone fool you. The housing crisis that
Portland is experiencing is also being
experienced in communities all over Oregon.
T
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w.
>
L
f :
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach h im a t
israel@streetroots. org
or follow h im on
Tw itter @israelbayer.
I believe the lack of investment in
affordable housing statewide has many more
residents from around the state coming to
Portland to seek services.
The rich may be coming here from
California, Texas and points beyond, but poor
folks are migrating to Portland from small
communities and suburbs across the state.
It’s a perfect storm for Portland.
If the federal government doesn’t prioritize
housing, and the region and the state aren’t
going to prioritize affordable housing, then it
leaves Portland to its own devices.
In many ways, it’s an example of what’s .
happening politically and socially in our
country.
People and communities begin to do more
with less and develop a scarcity mentality that
creates a dynamic that we should only take
care of our own. Unfortunately for the poor,
in some communities, the mentality is that
poverty has become a burden. It’s a sad affair.
These realities are playing out in both local
politics and on the national stage with
devastating impacts to our country. Everyone
begins to point their finger at someone else.
It’s a never-ending cycle, unless we as a
community choose to rise above the noise
and rhetoric.
The reality is, of course, that Portland and
Multnomah County should continue investing
in affordable housing and homeless services.
It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the
smart thing to do.
When we support and invest in affordable
housing, we are not only investing in
Oregonians today, but we are investing in
future generations. Affordable housing, like
our roads and parks and schools, plays a vital
role in maintaining a healthy society for
generations to come.
All of this is to say that it’s true: it is hard
to see how we are collectively making a
difference when we continue to see thousands
of people sleeping on our streets. For the
thousands of people we are supporting with a
safe place to call home, it makes all the
difference in the world.
Executive D irecto r Israel Bayer
israel@streetroots.org
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel
Operations Director Sarah Beecroit
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Reporters Emily Green, Sarah Hansell,
Leonora Ko, Jared Paben, Amanda
Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke, Elizabeth
Buelow, Helen Hill
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode,
Arkady Brown
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nels Johnson and
Alison Hallett
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, Jason Cohen, Doug
Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana
Richardson, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne
Joyce, Del Shawn Davidson, Gillian Floren, Mark
OIDani, Bianca Butler, Alex Cherin, Jenny Farres, Evan
Firsick, Camber Hansen-Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry
Brannan, Megan Smith, Luke Scheuermann, Annie
Aube, Helen Hill, Mark Brown, Lily Krai, Mary
Emerson, Adam Bruns, Brooke Anderson and Megan
Pickerel-Winer. If you're interested in volunteering
with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer
application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can
call for more information at 503-228-5657.