Housing
Divisions continue around Medford’s anti-camping ordinances
Southern Oregon is known for its relatively mild weather. But, in mid-December, an unusual cold snap in Medford left one unhoused person dead. Manuel “Manny” Barboza-Valerio, 29, was found deceased on a section of the Bear Creek Greenway on Dec. 15, 2021. Though investigations are still underway, and Medford police say multiple underlying conditions could…
News
Cartoonist McKensi Payne embraces comics’ unique ability to tell a complicated story
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 the…
LaQuida Landford’s innovative vision for her community
In 2018, LaQuida Landford returned from a trip to her father’s home country, Belize, with a clear mission in mind: to build a tiny village for Black folks in Portland. That vision has since evolved into the AfroVillage movement. One of the components involves retired MAX trains — TriMet is giving the AfroVillage team two…
Long-term effects of Oregon’s early COVID-19 response
Black and Indigenous Oregonians have been infected, hospitalized and killed by COVID-19 at rates about two-to-three times higher than white Oregonians. Hispanic/Latino Oregonians are twice as likely to contract COVID-19 compared to non-Hispanic Oregonians. Advocates say disparities caused by a culturally incompetent early response to COVID-19 were compounded by disproportionate exposure in the workplace, rates…
Opinion
Kaia Sand | Imagining a right to housing for all
What if people had a right to housing in the way that they have a right to a K-12 public education? That’s a question Andy Nelson, executive director of Impact NW, posed to me. Impact NW provides services with the aim of preventing homelessness — rent and utility assistance, job coaching, after-school care – and…
