News
Arantza Peña Popo wants to tell your story right
The Portland State University Collaborative Comics Project aims to change the narrative around homelessness through ethnographic cartooning based on the experiences of PSU students. The project will culminate into the 10 comics published as a booklet and sold by Street Roots vendors. Street Roots spoke with 8 of the artists to learn more about their process.Read all…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile | Marla loves making people smile
Marla Duby loves to see people smile. It’s part of why she likes helping out at the Street Roots’ office in exchange for papers: people there are always smiling. She loves making people smile, too. “I like helping people,” she said. “If someone needs a jacket or a blanket, I usually come to Street Roots…
Opinion
Opinion | Using austerity to fight inflation falls short
There appears to be growing consensus among economists and policymakers that inflation is now the main threat to the US economy and the Federal Reserve Board needs to start ratcheting up interest rates to slow down economic activity. While these so-called inflation-hawks are quick to highlight the cost of higher prices, they rarely, if ever, mention…
Kaia Sand | Unhoused people must have a voice in policy
The Street Roots ambassadors grew animated discussing the topic of ranked-choice voting. They considered how this method of voting could motivate people to vote because they might feel like their vote carried more weight since, even if their top candidate didn’t advance, their next preferences would be considered. The ambassadors — people who have experienced,…
Housing
As eviction crisis looms, tenant unions offer support
Pandemic woes and landlord harassment sparked a surge in tenant unions. Early in the third year of the pandemic, as the omicron variant unravels the small semblance of post-vaccine normalcy we’ve managed to cobble together, many still face unemployment and reduced incomes that make it difficult—sometimes impossible—to get the rent paid. Federal support for renters…
Rose Haven finds a new home
On a damp and dark wintry night, the garbage bins alongside the First Immanuel Lutheran Church had once again been rooted through. Debris was scattered all over the sidewalk. It’s a routine occurrence in this Northwest Portland neighborhood. Help arrives around dawn as volunteers begin picking up the trash and preparing the site for day…
