Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: A new start in Portland
Wendy and Jeremiah’s stories intertwined at the peak of tragedy. Both were living in Rockport, Texas, when Hurricane Harvey blasted through the beachfront community of 10,000 in August 2017. The losses sustained in the community, including the devastation of affordable housing, rendered many in the struggling community permanently displaced. Wendy recounts the days and months…
News
Life on the Streets: Foot health, a never-ending struggle
People experiencing extreme poverty and homelessness often suffer from foot problems caused by ill-fitting or worn out shoes, wet shoes, shelter showers shared by hundreds and often teeming with contagious skin diseases, abscesses and infections, long hours spent selling papers and standing in lines and, finally, the need to walk miles every day for survival,…
Street Roots vendor writing: Reflections on work, life and racial justice
When I first encountered Street Roots, I was living on the streets in downtown Portland. It was 2003. The building and logo haven’t changed much. I received a badge and a few papers to help me earn income. I was too chemically addicted to heroin and cocaine to fully comprehend what the paper and organization…
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus to pay tribute to Stonewall anniversary
Fifty years ago this month, the struggle for gay rights in the U.S. changed course forever, thanks to a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patrons who fought back when police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City, setting off two days of protests and galvanizing LGBTQ+ activism across the country. Fifty years…
Aging in America: Dr. Louise Aronson redefines what it means to grow old
With improvements to health care and quality of life in the 20th century, the American life expectancy lengthened. Now most people can expect to spend decades in life’s final stage. But society hasn’t adapted to this new reality, and neither has medicine, argues Louise Aronson, an award-winning author and physician, in her new book, “Elderhood:…
Pride endures 50 years after Stonewall
At the heart of the story of the Stonewall Rebellion are homeless LGBTQ+ youths, transgender people of color and a threatened place of refuge: a gay bar that welcomed the outcasts of society. New York City’s Stonewall Inn in 1969. The Stonewall Inn was a community center of sorts for drag queens and queer youths…
Opinion
At Street Roots, old materials have a new purpose
Timothy Kennedy gathered a circle of volunteers in the Street Roots office to launch a second day of renovation. He explained that as a natural builder, he draws from what is abundant in the region. Maybe it’s rocks or mud or fallen timber. In a city with wealth, it’s our refuse, the windows and doors…
