Past Issues :: 2006 August 18 :: Contents
[Cover Story]
London Calling
It has been nearly six years since a group of eight homeless people, including Rasta poet and activist Jack Tafari, rallied from under Portland's bridges and launched what was to become Dignity Village.
Now Tafari draws on his experience and activism in London, England, helping to start the Homeless Front UK.
[Street Culture]
Living on the edge: One woman talks about hard times
"She was a good-looking woman from the back, holding a sign that I couldn't read because she had it facing the off-ramp traffic, and I was rolling down SE Glisan Street. I turned the car around and went back, parked on a gravel pull-off and walked to where she was perched on a guard rail, with a backpack and a huge purse on the ground."
[News]
Bayer returns as director of Street Roots
Israel Bayer rejoined the crew at Street Roots on Aug. 21, after nearly two years with Real Change News in Seattle. Joanne Zuhl, managing editor for Street Roots, had served as acting director since Bayer's departure in Spring 2004.
[Street Poetry]
Poetry
[Street Culture]
Out Key Road, Part VII
"Before the dead car, I'd stayed at this fleabag mission a few blocks from the law school and, after we were dispatched early in the morning, would slog over to class with the others out of my dorm."
[Street Culture]
Loneliness, homelessness a toxic mix
Mother Teresa once said, "Loneliness has become an epidemic in America." The quote has the poignancy of a social truth that has yet to be proven wrong. A married mother of four can be lonely, but loneliness as experienced by the homeless can be far more complex and infinitely more toxic.
[International News]
Finding love on the streets of Milan, Italy
To love on the streets, some have decided to say enough is enough after disappointments and separation. But others have established new relationships, at times based on need and reciprocal help and at other times based on the desire for a normal life.
[Column: Homeless in Portland]
Making Portland a better city can enrich all of our lives
Pack up a picnic basket and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature at one of our city's beautiful parks. After your fine meal, try to imagine that you just finished your last regular meal and should plan on sleeping right there in the park because you have no place else to go.
[International News]
Modern-day slavery: Illiterate men wanted for exploitation
Unfortunately, slavery in Brazil isn't something that is found only in history books. Even 118 years after the abolition of slavery, the International Labour Organization reports that there are around 25,000 slave workers in the rural areas of Brazil. The world figure for forced labor is estimated at 12.3 million people.
[Editorial]
Remember the minimum wage
[Letters]
Mitchell's story a source of hope
[Book Review]
Putting history's lessons into use
Author Dan Berger was inspired in his own youthful activism by people like David Gilbert, a figure from the Weather Underground. Berger begins his book, "Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity," with a quote from Gilbert about the lessons of history "to fight for a future that affords all people the conditions for survival and the opportunity to make a positive contribution."