Housing
‘Not in my backyard’: Neighbors demand a say in homeless solutions
On Jan. 25, when Multnomah County commissioners approved a shelter for 100 to 120 homeless people in Southeast Portland, neighbors’ mixed reactions were emblematic of the conflicts between neighborhood associations and efforts to shelter the city’s homeless population. Dozens of residents from the Foster-Powell and Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhoods attended the Board of Commissioners meeting to…
Director’s Desk: Police sweep of new self-governed camp is opportunity lost
First, they hauled away bag upon bag of garbage. Then, in small clearings, they pitched 10 green tents on platforms atop cement pier blocks. Next, they scattered bark dust on existing paths, determined to leave a light footprint. The underbrush, the downed branches; all was left in place. On Jan. 28, this group of people…
News
Why Philadelphia plans nation’s first safe IV drug consumption site
In a nation under siege by a burgeoning opioid epidemic, Philadelphia is among the areas hardest hit. The crisis there is claiming lives at a higher rate than in any other large U.S. city, with drug overdoses in 2017 resulting in an estimated 1,200 deaths. Behind each fatal overdose is a human being who struggled…
Facing deportation, immigrant-rights activist Maru Mora-Villalpando won’t be silenced
Maru Mora-Villalpando received the notice just before Christmas: a certified letter from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that marked the start of her deportation proceedings. This was a deliberate tactic, Mora-Villalpando said, used to silence her and her years of activism fighting for immigrant rights, particularly working against the Northwest Detention Center, a facility in Tacoma…
Report blasts Measure 11’s ‘harsh sentences’ for Oregon youths
Oregon incarcerates youths at a higher rate than almost any other state in the U.S., according to a new report from the Oregon Council on Civil Rights. The report, “Youth and Measure 11 in Oregon,” found Oregon has the nation’s second-highest rate of sending youths to adult court, with nearly 4,000 juveniles tried as adults…
Opinion
How to flex your democratic muscles for affordable housing
Our democracy – our system of representative government – is like a muscle. We can use it and make it strong, or we can let it atrophy through inattentiveness and inaction. Alison McIntosh is the deputy director of policy and communications at Neighborhood Partnerships, which convenes the Oregon Housing Alliance. Here in Oregon, we have…
Director’s Desk: Police sweep of new self-governed camp is opportunity lost
First, they hauled away bag upon bag of garbage. Then, in small clearings, they pitched 10 green tents on platforms atop cement pier blocks. Next, they scattered bark dust on existing paths, determined to leave a light footprint. The underbrush, the downed branches; all was left in place. On Jan. 28, this group of people…
Editorial cartoon: Feb. 2, 2018
Portland native Elizabeth Considine is the creator of Street Roots' editorial cartoon, Sheeptoast. Want to see more Sheeptoast cartoons? VIEW OUR GALLERY
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: ‘Adapt, improvise and overcome’
Cory McKelvey is a performer in his heart of hearts. He has worked as a professional actor, singer and dancer, and he still speaks of the slow, intricate entwining of a pas de deux with reverence. But imagine all the cherished things of life gradually fading out of reach. Small things like reading a book,…
