Roots taking hold in our community
Street Roots editorial goals in 2009 were the same as they are every year: to produce an outstanding newspaper, provide comprehensive coverage on the important issues, and deliver the voices of our community. All of this is done with the aim of ensuring that vendors not only have a paper they’re proud to sell, but also one that Portlanders want to read.
In 2009, we brought you breakthrough coverage on the deaths occurring on our streets and the high likelihood of morbidity among Portland’s homeless. We reported on the rising numbers of veterans falling into homelessness, and the hidden homeless residing in hotels, off the grid, as they work toward an opportunity for stable housing.
Indeed, the past year was filled with hard times, but we have a responsibility to bring you the positives as well; including the story of a small group of people coming together to help one of our vendors get the leg up he needed to secure his own apartment, and our return visit to Dignity Village, the homeless “camp” that has weathered political, social and economic obstacles to become a truly unique success story for Portland and the nation. The story of Melissa and Sean Walsh, told through the remarkable photography of Leah Nash, brought home for many readers the struggles of living with disabilities and poverty, offset only by the love and resilience this young couple share.
Our coverage has broadened to include the city’s diverse and growing cultures, including a story on the experience of African immigrants in their effort to adapt to their new home, and the healing process engaging generations of Cambodian-Americans still scarred from the Khmer Rouge regime.
And we brought you some familiar faces with their own perspectives on what’s happening in the world, including Michael Franti, Bob Dylan, Tony Hawk, Rick Steves, Helen Thomas and Joey Harrington.
And on April 1, we broke the unbelievable story that former president George W. Bush would be moving to Portland, prompting a wave of calls from readers — not to mention the Associated Press — asking for the source. Thank you for indulging in our April Fools — the satire did us some good and gave us a new way to talk about the issues.
Of course, behind every edition of the paper is a volunteer team — housed and homeless — that meets throughout the year to help develop stories and support the production and mission of Street Roots. Our editorial team comes together on their own time and energy to make Street Roots an inspiring collaborative. In these days of newspapers cutting back on news and staff, Street Roots is blessed with a team of talent who are in it for the right reasons — for all the reasons outlined at the beginning of this letter.
We’ve added new writers in our commentary section, lending a fresh voice to topics of our environment, mental health and housing. And brought the best of poetry, essays and artwork the streets produce. We are unlike any other paper in the city in our diversity of expression. And for many of the writers who contribute their work, it is an empowering experience to have their views not only heard, but make an impact.
In 2009, we were honored with three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Oregon Chapter: Mara Grunbaum for her remarkable report on the forgotten graves of residents of the Hawthorne Asylum; Tye Doudy for his stirring diary “The Addicts Almanac;” and for the combined effort that produced our special edition on affordable housing, titled “In need of a new deal.”
This year, we will continue to expand our coverage, drawing in more voices and reaching new neighborhoods, issues and attitudes.
All this work may just mean a vendor talking with a customer about freedom of the press, or the violence against women on the streets, or the twists and turns of Section 8 loopholes and the people trapped in between. Indeed, maybe it just means that two people are gathered at a corner talking about things that are important to them and the community, in ways they’ve never considered before. And one of them happens to be homeless. Maybe it’s just shared opinions, common goals — a renewed and enjoined effort. But it is the foundation of a profound relationship for the community at large. We owe that to you and the vendors, and we look forward to being a part of that community for years to come.
Read the full report here.
Sincerely,
Joanne Zuhl
