by Israel Bayer
Street Roots works tirelessly to present Portlanders and all readers with quality journalism coupled with advocacy that works toward solutions for people experiencing poverty.
This past week, Street Roots reporter and advocate Kate Cox visited Toronto, Canada to present our four-part series on Traumatic Brain Injury at a Trauma and Neurosurgery conference. Since the articles ran last year, they have been viewed by leading sports injury experts in North America and are helping contribute to a larger conversation about homelessness and brain injury in the medical field.
You’ll also see in this edition of the paper that Street Roots worked in collaboration with Multnomah County to produce the first-ever homeless deaths report. The report will help guide local nonprofits, health care professionals and local governments into a larger conversation on how to end people’s homelessness. We would like to send a big shout out to everyone at the Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s office, including all of the death investigators for their hard work. Also crucial in creating this report were County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, the Portland Housing Bureau, the county health department and lastly the McKenzie River Gathering. Again, Street Roots thanks them for their support in this effort.
Street Roots continues to collaborate with photographer Leah Nash, who spent an entire year photographing and telling the stories of people living with Asperger’s Syndrome. We believe humanizing people living with autism is one step in having a larger conversation about mental health in our community. On May 4, in partnership with the I Witness Gallery, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and several autism organizations we will be presenting the photo series. The event will be held at the I Witness Gallery, 1028 SE Water Avenue, Suite 50, at 7 p.m.
Beyond the stories highlighted above, Street Roots continues to work to present ongoing coverage on veterans, local political races, budget forecasts, health care reform, and the civil rights of those living in poverty. We’ve also increased our coverage to highlight musicians that work toward the greater good.
Plus, when you read Street Roots you’re getting some of the most gritty poetry and art in the city along with a broad spectrum of community voices and organizations. None of this would be possible without our hard working staff and volunteers, our reporters and Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl. Together, we continue to grow and learn right alongside readers and vendors selling the newspaper. Together, we believe we can change the world, or at least are little part of it.