Opinion
Opinion | How we know that racism ages Black Americans faster
I’m part of a research team that has been following more than 800 Black American families for almost 25 years. We found that people who had reported experiencing high levels of racial discrimination when they were young teenagers had significantly higher levels of depression in their 20s than those who hadn’t. This elevated depression, in…
Opinion | What do people experiencing homelessness need?
Every two years, homeless service providers and volunteers spread out across their communities to conduct a census of people experiencing homelessness. They ask basic questions about demographics and experiences of people sleeping on the streets or in shelters. For people who are unsheltered, this count may be the only time their stories get reflected in…
Kaia Sand | Today, save motels. Tomorrow, housing.
There’s a kind of optimism that we speak of at Street Roots — a wild optimism — that I’d describe as a commitment to hopeful, bold ideas despite abounding bleak conditions. One keeps trying, and one gets more creative in the process. That’s how I feel about Project Turnkey. Not just in terms of what…
Culture
Ed O’Brien on growing up, answering his calling and his awakening
Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien reflects on his younger self in this series for The Big Issue, Street Roots’ sister paper in the United Kingdom. Music was my main preoccupation at 16. By the time I was 17 I knew everyone in Radiohead and we were putting a band together. For me, it was like a…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile | ‘Wherever LeBron goes, that’s my team’
Four and a half years ago, Anthony Rogers moved to Portland to be with his mom. Today, they sell Street Roots together. At their post at the farmers market near Portland State University, Sandra Hahn sets up a table with flowers, pictures and free honey sticks. Anthony does the sales pitch: “I shout, ‘Extra! Extra!…
Housing
Photos | Personal pods come to Portland’s tent villages
On Nov. 24, tents gave way to more stable, if still temporary, housing in the city-sanctioned C3PO camps for people experiencing homelessness. The camps were created as part of the city’s pandemic response to keep people experiencing homelessness safe and socially distant. Until recently, they’ve been filled entirely with individual tents positioned on wood pallets.…
Amid the pandemic, Community Transitional School faces its biggest challenge
It was a cool, rainy Portland morning when Trisha Olson boarded the small school bus she drives every morning. It’s decorated with cheerful signs and thank-you notes children have made for her. Above each seat there are two names — the names of kids who under normal circumstances take the bus to school every morning.…
Opinion | What do people experiencing homelessness need?
Every two years, homeless service providers and volunteers spread out across their communities to conduct a census of people experiencing homelessness. They ask basic questions about demographics and experiences of people sleeping on the streets or in shelters. For people who are unsheltered, this count may be the only time their stories get reflected in…
After painful sweep of Laurelhurst Park, unhoused residents want a space to exist
For eight months, houseless Portlanders made the large curb strip around Laurelhurst Park home, building community and working together to address the challenges of life on the streets. Then, on Nov. 19, amid Oregon’s biggest COVID-19 surge to date, heavy rains and near-freezing nights, the city cleared it out. “When I got here today, everyone…
Proposal to assist Oregon renters, landlords isn’t enough, critics say
Oregon lawmakers say they want renters to stay in their homes, but advocates on both sides of the threshold — landlords and renters — say what’s on the table today in Salem doesn’t go far enough. Members of the House Interim Committee on Housing discussed proposed legislation on Nov. 23 that would allow landlords to…
Kaia Sand | Today, save motels. Tomorrow, housing.
There’s a kind of optimism that we speak of at Street Roots — a wild optimism — that I’d describe as a commitment to hopeful, bold ideas despite abounding bleak conditions. One keeps trying, and one gets more creative in the process. That’s how I feel about Project Turnkey. Not just in terms of what…
News
Amid the pandemic, Community Transitional School faces its biggest challenge
It was a cool, rainy Portland morning when Trisha Olson boarded the small school bus she drives every morning. It’s decorated with cheerful signs and thank-you notes children have made for her. Above each seat there are two names — the names of kids who under normal circumstances take the bus to school every morning.…
