Opinion
Stop using the term ‘substance abuse’
"What’s in a name?” Juliet muses from the balcony. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare raises a good point: Most things are not fundamentally altered by changing what we call them. But hate speech has its own rules. What we’re talking about is the widespread use of the term “substance…
Director’s Desk: Together, we are stronger!
Nearly 18 months ago, Street Roots set out to go from a biweekly to a weekly publication schedule. No easy task. The goal was twofold: One was to give vendors selling the newspaper a stable income to support their quality of life every week. The second was to maintain a quality newspaper that gives readers…
News
Dr. David Satcher: Make health a part of all policy
Depending on where a person lives, or if he or she is white, black or another race or ethnicity, or if they are impoverished – their health reflects who they are. People who spend an hour commuting to work may not have time to eat healthy food or may suffer from stress. People who live…
Portland’s low-income clinics pioneer safe health care for transgender patients
Hours after the Obama administration’s May 13 announcement that public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity, the administration announced a second directive making it illegal for insurance companies to deny insurance coverage and services based on their gender identity. The directive will make it easier for transgender people…
John Lozier: ‘Housing is health care’
The fact that safe, stable and affordable housing is an essential factor for a person’s good health is increasingly acknowledged among housing and health care providers, policymakers and advocates. It is a conviction John Lozier has held for decades. Lozier is the founder and executive director of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council,…
Update in Taser complaint against police
The Portland Police Bureau's error in supplying the Citizen Review Committee with the wrong set of protocols may have influenced its decision to exonerate one of the bureau’s officers. The officer was accused of using excessive force in 2014 when he used a Taser multiple times on Matthew Klug, a Portland man with epilepsy, a traumatic brain…
Housing advocate Art Rios fought the system; now he fights within it
Art Rios has long been a visible member of downtown Portland’s homeless population and an outspoken advocate for people experiencing homelessness. In 2008, he was one of the leaders of the Homeless Liberation Front, a group of homeless people who camped, in protest, outside of City Hall for weeks, asking then-Mayor Tom Potter and the…
Where Oregon stands in the drug war
Ellen Flenniken grew up in the small, rural town of Brenham, about halfway between Austin and Houston in the heart of East Texas bluebonnet country. Her parents were criminal defense attorneys, and later her father became a district court judge. When they couldn’t find child care, they brought their gregarious daughter with them to court.…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: Living with honor
Honor is everything for Tina Drake. “It’s just the way I live my life,” Tina said. “(It means) dignity, kindness, keeping yourself honest. It’s a big thing with me.” Tina follows her sense of honor when she sells Street Roots at the Starbucks on Northwest 23rd Avenue and Overton Street. She recently bought a coffee…
