Opinion
Street Biography: Dennis
Dennis was hit by a car at about 2 p.m. on Friday, March 22, while he was in a legal crosswalk. He was thrown to the pavement but not run over by the car, and while he was trying to get up off the ground, the car sped away and ran through a traffic light…
Small step for our bill, giant leap for our human rights
By Eric Ares, Dilara Yarbrough and Paul Boden, Contributing Columnists On April 23, the California State Assembly Judiciary Committee passed Assembly Bill 5, also known as the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, out of committee with a 7-2 vote. More than just a legislative procedure, the vote was the latest victory for…
Why are the district attorneys opposing public safety reform?
By David Rogers, Contributing Columnist Gov. John Kitzhaber convened a diverse set of public safety system stakeholders to examine ways Oregon could improve public safety while also reducing prison spending. The governor’s Commission on Public Safety examined an immense amount of data and research to understand what was and wasn’t working within Oregon’s approach to…
Directors Desk: Team Street Roots is working on many fronts
By Israel Bayer, Staff Writer Street Roots has been very busy on the homeless advocacy and policy front as of late. Street Roots, along with many of our partners are helping lead the, “We are the Safety Net” campaign. The campaign has worked very hard to secure local funding for homeless and housing services. The…
County chair: Community can’t afford cuts to crisis center
By Jeff Cogen, Contributing Columnist Recently, I hosted a screening in the Multnomah County boardroom of “Alien Boy” — the powerful film about the life and death of James Chasse Jr. Watching that incredibly poignant film was a tragic – and all-too-topical – reminder of the potentially deadly conflict that can arise when police encounter…
Death on the streets is cruel, premature and preventable
Street Roots editorial Last year, 56 people died while experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County. In 2011, the figure was 47. In addition to these numbers, we know that even more people on the streets died in local hospitals that were not counted by the medical examiner. Why should we care? On its face, what does…
News
Hungry for Justice: Guantanamo Prison
By Martha Gies, Contributing Writer On Sunday, March 24, in response to an email I’d received the day before, I quit eating. Witness Against Torture (WAT) had proposed a Holy Week fast in solidarity with the detainees at Guantánamo, some of whom had been on a hunger strike for six weeks. I gave away the…
De-bugging the bed
By Jake Thomas, Staff Writer Richard Klosterman had heard about them. The lady across the hallway from his apartment had them. And then he had them. Several years ago, Klosterman remembers waking in the middle of the night and feeling something crawling on his head. Whatever it was would fall into his hands and sometimes…
Rebuilding Oregon’s housing policy
By Joanne Zuhl, Staff writer Oregon’s Housing and Community Services department is arguably not the most glamorous in state government. But it’s definitely an eye catcher: 49 separate programs and 64 funding sources, with myriad compliance and reporting systems that, in essence, are driving the state’s policies around poverty and housing. That’s what it looked…
Street Roots wins first place for investigative, social issues and arts reporting
Street Roots received three first place, and one, second place award this weekend from Oregon/Southwest Washington Society of Professional Journalists. Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl took home first place for “Investigative reporting,” for her reporting on homeless deaths with “Domicile Unknown.” Street Roots has help lead the conversation on homeless deaths in Multnomah County for…
Waxing Americana: Corb Lund
By Sue Zalokar, Staff Writer Corb Lund hails from a long line of cowboys. He grew up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada, went to college to study bass and jazz guitar and found himself playing bass in a hard rock/metal band for over a decade. These days, he fronts his…
Looking back from the ledge: Death on the streets
By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Writer He was one of a kind — the man in the white tuxedo and Mickey Mouse ears, playing his trumpet from a corner perch on the Hawthorne Bridge. But on Nov. 6, “Working” Kirk Reeves became one in a list of Multnomah County’s “domicile unknowns.” In its second annual report…
Needle exchange program loses valuable city dollars
Staff Reports In 1989, Portland’s Outside In, which provides varied services and health care to homeless youth and low-income communities, began a revolutionary needle exchange program. One of the first in the country to offer needle exchange, Outside In has battled through more than two decades of controversy and recessions to continue offering the service.…
Vendor Profiles
Vendor Profile: All optimism, no regrets, keep vendor’s sales pitch genuine
By Ann-Derrick Gaillot, Contributing Writer Glen Hansen sees himself as somewhat of a nomadic person, having lived all over the US, Canada and Europe (he is fluent in Danish) before settling in Portland last August. “I don’t grow roots well, so I migrate a lot,” says Glen, whose travels have taken him far from his…
