Street Roots • June 1-7, 2018
O p in io n
Every day at Street Roots, strangers become kin
ix months have passed since I joined
kin. We care about each other, and through
Street Roots as executive director, and I
this, we dismantle a bit of the isolation of
learn each and every day. I will keep
poverty.
sharing what I learn with you, and I am grateful This is why it matters that not only are
when I hear your stories from street comers all vendors earning income with dignity, selling a
around the city.
newspaper they can be proud of, but also, they
I suspect this work
interact with people all over the city for whom
will always feel
their fates matter.
transformative, a bit
This is important on a daily, individual level,
D IR E C T O R 'S
phoenix-like here at
but it also matters when each of us have to
Street Roots. Life is so
DESK
make decisions on how to organize, advocate
difficult for some people,
and vote.
By Kaia Sand
like it has been burnt to
Take the term “livability.’’ Livability for
the ground. But from
whom? People struggling with homelessness
those ashes, hope
are cast as a problem; a homeless camp
sometimes takes flight
described as bringing down the livability of a
People come into Street Roots vendor
neighborhood. In such a case the idea of
orientations on Tuesdays and Fridays trying to
livability is shining favor on people with more
get something going in their lives. There’s
means, and ill-will on those with less. Livability
hope in th a t And we all keep at this - the
policies must not harm the poor. Our city
vendors, board, staff and volunteers, all of you
should be more livable for the poor.
who buy this newspaper - because we know
When we vote to spend money on deeply
that we can build something bigger than any of
affordable housing, we vote for good things to
us individually.
happen for people on the streets and in
Life can feel so big and raw on our comer of
poverty. Think of the Street Roots vendor I
Old Town that some days feel like a week.
described who came to the counter to share
(“Have a good w eekend/1 once said on a
that she finally had housing, and multiply her
Tuesday.) Vendors come to the counter,
by the thousands. That’s the kind of
counting out coins, buying papers for a quarter
imagination we need to pass a regional housing
each before they dispatch to their sales posts.
bond
like the one Metro has proposed for
Sleep deprivation is commonplace. Some pause
$652.8 million, which we will have the
for a respite from the crush of poverty: an
opportunity to vote for in November if Metro
extra sugar in their coffee, a moment to rest
Council
refers it on June 7.
their head on a table.
We need to muster the political power of
But there’s something else I’ve come to
love. <
learn. Street Roots vendors reach out to our
. N e x t y e a r, S tr e e t R o o ts w ill c e le b r a te o u r
office tq share their good riews too.
20th anniversary, and we’ll be telling some of
One man finally got an appointment with
Veteran’s Affairs, something he had been trying the big stories from our journalism and our
Street Roots vendors. But we woii’t just be
for a long time to achieve. He called the Street
looking back. As we strive to care deeply for ,
Roots office to tell us. He wanted to share his
our poorest neighbors, strangers becoming kin,
news with people who cared that good things
we’ll
dream big for the future of Street Roots.
happen in his life.
And finally, a note to thank all of you who
Another woman secured an apartment for
contributed to Street Roots for our spring fund
herself and her family after months in shelters
drive. As of press time, we brought in $16,001
and on the streets. She dropped by to let us
- our most successful spring fund drive to date.
know. She wanted to share her news with
That’s in addition to the $10,000 matching
people who, again, care that good things
donation for the drive. Thank you! If you still
happen in her life.
would like to send a check or make a donation.
Can you think of a person you have called to
at our website, we would be grateful. Individual
share your good news because you knew that
donations are our lifeblood. Please mail checks
for that person, your well-being matters? That’s
to Street Roots, 211 NW Davis St, Portland,
how Street Roots is for some vendors.
Oregon, 97209.
I’ve come to see this as strangers becoming
S
Kaia Sand is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach her at
kaia@streetroots. org.
Follow her on
Twitter @mkaiasand
Page 3
If you would like
to have
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
603-228-5657, panne@streetroots.org.
We ask that all submissions Include the
author’s name and contact information,
if available.
Street Roots
211 NWDavis 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.-FrL, 7:30
a,m.-2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots? Email
Andrew Hogan at andrew@streetroots.org
Staff
Executive Director Kara Sand
kaia@streetroots.org
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel
coie@streetroots.org
D e v e lo p m e n t D i r e c t o r
Andrew H ogan
andrew®streetroc>is. org
S e n io r S t a f f R e p o r t e r E m ily G reen .
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Program Assistant Caelin Mlltko, Jesuit
Volunteer
Vendor Assistant Scott Jackson, Alex
Gillow-Wiles
Development Assistant Rosemary Wilson
Editorial Producer Monica Kwasnik
Reporters Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Emilly
Prado, Eltena Rosenthal, Amanda Waldroupe,
Thacher Schmid, DeVon Pouncey, Helen Hill
Photographers Diego Diaz, Arkady Brown,
Celeste Noche
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chair Rachel Langford
Vice-Chair Dan Jones
Treasurer Heather Sta dick
Secretary Alison Hallett
Directors Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn,
John Brown, Nets Johnson
Volunteers
John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Dennis
Hogan, 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, Camber Hansen-
Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Helen Hill,
Mary Emerson, Brooke Anderson, Kathleen McFall,
Robb Hengerer, Maile Yeats-Rowe, Erin Parsons, Faye
Powell, Jon Raymond, Danny Moran and Megan
Pickerel-Wmer. 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.