News
The wild ride of foster parenting: Portland mother has advice for prospective foster parents
“Signing up for foster care is an invitation to raise your hand and invite heartbreak and suffering into your life.” Hardly the sentiment you might expect from a child advocate who’s taken in numerous foster children during the past 14 years and adopted two of them. In her new book, “No Sugar-Coating, The Coffee Talk…
For anti-nuclear activist Lloyd Marbet, perseverance has been key
It wasn’t long after Lloyd Marbet moved to Portland following his tour of duty in the Vietnam War that he became entrenched in a new battle – one that would last a lifetime. Marbet became exceptionally alarmed with the dangers of nuclear power after reading the book “Perils of the Peaceful Atom.” Around the same…
Life on the Streets: Growing old
The streets are getting grayer. The proportion of elderly people experiencing poverty and homelessness has risen by more than 20% in the past 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development. There are myriad reasons for this increase. Baby boomers are aging. Social Security benefits have fallen far below the poverty…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile: A man and his dog
Stephen and his Chiweenie (Chihuahua and dachshund mix) companion, Molly, make an inseparable pair. Both have stories that intersected at the right time, and the love between them is apparent. Stephen couldn’t resist the charms of Molly. Taking Molly in and caring for her gives Stephen a focus beyond his day-to-day circumstances. Molly’s got quite a…
Culture
Believe in yourself: What Brian May would tell his 16-year-old self
Brian May, of the rock band Queen, penned a letter reflecting on his younger self. His letter is part of a series for Street Roots’ sister paper in the U.K., The Big Issue. I think my main concerns when I was 16 were the same as they are now. I was very passionate about making music. I was entranced by…
Opinion
It takes all of us to to find solutions and keep Street Roots going
The temperature dropped quickly this week, so when we opened the door at 7:30 a.m., people piled in, some wrapped in blankets, rubbing their hands together, bee-lining for the coffee. Immediately, one vendor asked if anyone had seen another man, concerned about his safety. Everyone started cataloging how many days since they’d seen him. The…
