Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2018)
Street Roots • Jan. 12-18, 2018 Page 3 E d ito r ia l Be a part of the solution, support Measure 101 ast week, as the rain fell hard, a group manage one’s health care, from refrigerating of Street Roots vendors held a blue medicine to securing a place to recover after tarp high above their heads. The truck a surgery. The challenges of hygiene had arrived with the bundles of Street Roots compromise wound care, exacerbating newspapers, precious cargo for 170 people infections. Untreated illnesses become who brave conditions of homelessness and chronic. Substance abuse and mental health poverty to sell this paper. From the truck to crises contribute to the early loss of lives on the front door, the streets. The majority of people on the vendors formed a streets report a disability. People suffer from tent with the tarp, domestic violence. Sleep deprivation brings D IR E C T O R 'S the rain pounding but on additional illness. Homelessness is a in v e ir the papers dry. health crisis. The street Here in Oregon, Medicaid expansion has By Kaia Sand newspaper movement made it possible to extend health care to ___ is one big dream many people suffering from homelessness. implemented by a Most of our Street Roots vendors now have whole lot of people in health care through the Oregon Health Plan 34 countries. Here at Street Roots, we - the Medicaid provider - and many through publish our newspaper every week, our the Medicaid expansion, joining more than vendors purchasing the newspaper for a 350,000 people statewide who now depend quarter and selling it for a dollar. Vendors on this insurance. pitch in in other ways, too. On Street Roots has endorsed Fridays, the day when the Measure 101 because we do not truckload of papers arrives, want to lose this. We don’t want vendors, staff and volunteers our vendors to lose Oregon Health People want to unload the newspaper, passing Plan coverage. We don’t want help when the other poor and homeless folks to bundles from person to person, opportunity stacking the bundles onto lose that care. We don’t want shelves, dividing the stacks to children to lose health care: 40 arises. Right then distribute. There are a lot percent of children in our state now, such an of people pitching in to make opportunity has are enrolled in the Oregon Health this dream a reality, sometimes Plan. arisen. by holding a tarp in the rain. A People want to help when the opportunity arises. Right now, lot of people who have very such an opportunity has arisen. little do a whole lot. Please cast your vote to sustain Across Portland, people are funding for the Oregon Health Plan by voting having conversations about how we can yes for Measure 101. come up with solutions to homelessness. There is much work ahead of us. Some of And just like at Street Roots, people want to this work must be visionary and big. help. But just as the vendors grabbed a tarp to Here’s one way you can help right now: collectively protect the newspapers from the Vote yes for Measure 101. rain, some of what we must do is simply Homelessness is brutal to a person’s protect what we already have from health. destruction. People grow sick from sleeping exposed The expansion of the Oregon Health Plan to rain, snow, heat and toxins. In shelters is a precious gain, so let’s make sure we hold and in camps, people are exposed to on to it. communicable diseases. It is difficult to L K aia S a n d is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach her at kaia@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter @ m kaiasand something that you’ve written published in our pages, or would like to get involved as a member of our reporting staff, contact Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl at 503-228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org. We ask that ali submissions include the author’s name and contact information, if available. Street Roots 211 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax:503-227-3117 www.streetroots.org www.news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun. Advertising Interested in advertising in Street Roots? Contact Israel Bayer at israel@streetroots.org Staff Kaia Sand Program Assistant Caelin Miltko, Jesuit Rosemary Wilson Editorial Producer Monica Kwasnik Reporters Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Emilly Prado, Jared Paben, Amaoda Waldroupe, Stephen Quirke, Helen Hill Photographers Diego Diaz, Arkady Brown Canvasser Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chairman Brad Taylor Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford Treasurer Heather Stadick Secretary Dan Jones Directors Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nels Johnson and Alison Hallett Volunteers Street Roots vendor Betty jo Griffiths Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Zoe Klingmann, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Monica McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jason Cohen, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Brooke Anderson, Gillian Floren, Mark Oldani, Bianca Butler, Alex Cherin, Jenny Farres, Evan Firsick, Camber Hansen-Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Megan Smith, Helen Hill, Mary Emerson, Brooke Anderson, Kathleen McFall, Robb Hengerer, Bronwyn Miles, Maile Yeats-Rowe, Erin Parsons, Bridget Brown, Faye Powell, Jon Raymond 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.
