Opinion
Where poverty, race, homelessness intersect – and how we can help
A few years ago, I wrote about race in social work and the structural and interpersonal racism that went undiscussed in Portland. Portland seemed to rely on a problematic narrative about itself that included being “progressive” and “colorblind.” My issues with this approach to race and racism persist, and despite long standing equity initiatives in…
Remembering Cherie Manning, Street Roots’ creative-writing volunteer
Every Wednesday morning for three years, Cherie Manning helped a table of Street Roots vendors express their voices through creative writing. In 2013, when she applied to volunteer at Street Roots, Cherie wanted to be a copy editor. But soon after we learned about her extensive editorial experience and witnessed the gentle, compassionate way she…
News
A global worker uprising: ‘Things are bad enough for enough people’
Inside a crowded café in Tampa, Fla., Annelise Orleck first heard the words that would eventually become the title of the book she was there to research. “We are all fast-food workers now,” said Keegan Shepard, a graduate student at the University of South Florida. Shepard was sitting among a diverse alliance of professors, students,…
Director’s Desk: Trauma of shelter shooting reverberates through homeless community
It has been a hard week at Street Roots. A handful of our vendors witnessed the police shooting Saturday night at Cityteam Shelter. People struggling with homelessness, and the trauma inherent in that existence, now have to contend with this memory of a person gunned down in their proximity. Kaia Sand is the executive director…
Housing
In Central Oregon, the jobs are there; the homes are not
BEND, Ore. – Nearly seven years ago, Preston Callicott, the CEO of Bend-based software company Five Talent Software, offered a job to a software developer. The man moved from out of state to Bend, along with his wife and baby. When Callicott asked the employee how he was settling into life in Central Oregon, Callicott…
As Central Oregon’s population spikes, so does its housing crisis
BEND, Ore. – Sarah Kelley is exponentially busier than she was four years ago. Kelley is the executive director of Thrive Central Oregon, a nonprofit based in Redmond that helps impoverished people access services they need to become more self-sufficient, including free clothing for school-aged children, emergency food boxes to help food stamps stretch, and…
