News
In a society addicted to consumerism, a movement of anti-consumers
Two weeks before Christmas 2007, the Swedish Employers Association launched an advertising campaign to persuade people of the benefits of consumption. The campaign, a response to critics of consumerism, showed a housewife reducing the amount of holiday shopping she did, thus leading to the dismissal of a poor worker on the other side of the…
Portland Water Bureau aims to expand assistance to at-risk renters
In 1995, Portland’s water bureau became one of the first in the nation to offer a low-income discount program to residents. It began with the goal of reaching 10,000 customers. It has never met that goal, in part because of the challenge associated with reaching some of the city’s lowest-income renters. The problem for Portland…
Director’s Desk: Portland’s homeless sweeps echo of WWII-era incarceration
“I can only carry so many backpacks on my back at the same time with my precious items,” Barbara told me. She was tired, upset, exhausted. Standing alongside her possessions on the shoulder of Airport Way, Barbara was among the campers displaced by the police and park rangers earlier this month at the Village of…
Signature gatherers lying to Oregon voters about anti-sanctuary initiative, complaints say
As Robin Fisher walked across Portland State University’s campus, heading to class in the early afternoon of Feb. 5, a man gathering signatures called out. Fisher, a sociology major, walked over to see what his petition was all about. The canvasser, a man working for Ballot Access LLC, explained he was collecting signatures for “a ballot initiative to…
Housing
OneApp Oregon website a promising portal for low-income renters
Since the December soft launch of a website designed to make it easier for renters to find and qualify for housing they can afford, approximately 1,600 people have created accounts, and nearly half have filled out renter applications, according to the company, OneApp Oregon. In September, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and the Portland Housing Bureau…
Portland Water Bureau aims to expand assistance to at-risk renters
In 1995, Portland’s water bureau became one of the first in the nation to offer a low-income discount program to residents. It began with the goal of reaching 10,000 customers. It has never met that goal, in part because of the challenge associated with reaching some of the city’s lowest-income renters. The problem for Portland…
Director’s Desk: Portland’s homeless sweeps echo of WWII-era incarceration
“I can only carry so many backpacks on my back at the same time with my precious items,” Barbara told me. She was tired, upset, exhausted. Standing alongside her possessions on the shoulder of Airport Way, Barbara was among the campers displaced by the police and park rangers earlier this month at the Village of…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: ‘My heart wants to serve’
Debra was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, during the height of the steel industry boom. Her father began working in the mills when he was 17 and eventually progressed to pipe fitter and metal fabricator. Her mother was a homemaker. “My parents had a good marriage,” she said. When the steel industry collapsed in…
Opinion
Director’s Desk: Portland’s homeless sweeps echo of WWII-era incarceration
“I can only carry so many backpacks on my back at the same time with my precious items,” Barbara told me. She was tired, upset, exhausted. Standing alongside her possessions on the shoulder of Airport Way, Barbara was among the campers displaced by the police and park rangers earlier this month at the Village of…
Editorial cartoon: Feb. 16, 2018
Portland native Elizabeth Considine is the creator of Street Roots' editorial cartoon, Sheeptoast. Want to see more Sheeptoast cartoons? VIEW OUR GALLERY Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning…
