By Israel Bayer, Director, Street Roots
Street Roots has existed since 1998. Since then, the organization has put nearly a million dollars into the hands of poor people. It’s simple — individuals experiencing poverty buy the newspaper for 30 cents and sell them to community members for $1.
Street Roots has also helped launch Dignity Village, published more than a dozen books through its Cooperative Press, held umpteen poetry readings, broken stereotypes about people experiencing poverty, developed crucial news stories, helped drive policy making decisions around homelessness and housing, and developed into one of the best street newspapers in the country.
But really what it comes down to is the vendors. Since 1998, we’ve had individuals go from being homeless vendors to hospital interpreters, from living under a bridge to paying for their own apartment at market value, and had individuals going from being completely broken to being a part of the larger community. And for the most part you won’t see our vendors waiting in a food line, nor at a shelter. They are independent and hard working. You will find an SR vendor selling the newspaper 365 days a year — rain or shine, working for what we all long for — dignity.
Anyone who has lived or worked on the streets knows that life is neither easy nor simple for the more than 16,000 people in Multonmah County who fall in and out of homelessness every year. In a time when mental health services, subsidized housing, healthcare, and other safety nets have been gutted by the current administration, street papers and vendors continue to painfully remind people of the troubled times we live in.
As an organization, we pride ourselves on providing a professional newspaper that affects you, the reader, in a way that informs, engages, and spurs action. We are hoping you will take action and give to Street Roots’ summer fund drive. We have set a humble goal of raising $10,000 this summer, less than the amount of money we will generate in Portland this month alone. We are hoping you will come aboard, and join the SR family in making a difference not only for the more than 60 vendors selling the newspaper, but for Portland as a whole.