People ask me, why should I invest in Street Roots?
We believe in people. We work to give hundreds of people a hand up on a weekly basis. In fact, each year we give nearly 400 people experiencing homelessness and poverty an alternative income through sales of the newspaper. Vendors make between $200 and $1,600 monthly depending on their individual circumstances. Some are able to climb out of homelessness, while others are able to prevent it. More than anything, Street Roots provides a space to maintain stability and improve people’s quality of life. That’s no joke.
We believe in love. Street Roots believes in nonviolence, understanding that everything about poverty is violent. We meet people where they are at and work from those behaviors. We ask people to treat one another with respect, regardless of people’s individual histories.
We provide quality journalism. Street Roots doesn’t fool around. Our editorial team is committed to delivering readers in-depth news on matters you won’t find anywhere else. Our reporters aren’t chasing press releases, or what’s on the 10 o’clock news. We pride ourselves on building genuine relationships with the community and presenting well-researched material on issues that matter to our region. We are also award-winning members of the Society of Professional Journalists.
We give our community a voice. Since going to a weekly publication schedule in January, Street Roots has highlighted more than 40 community organizations, published more 100 poems from people on the streets, and published the work of vendors, elected officials, civic leaders and more. From start to finish there is no newspaper in the city that gives voice to more Portlanders.
We say what others won’t. Street Roots isn’t afraid to tackle tough subject matters, or to use the newspaper and our network to advocate for better policies effect people experiencing poverty, the environment and social justice causes throughout the Pacific Northwest. We use our voice, but we use our voice with a purpose and strategically. Our goal is to help shape public opinion and create social change in our community.
We believe in social justice. Street Roots is a proud member of the Oregon Housing Alliance, the Welcome Home Coalition (a coalition co-founded by Street Roots), and the Western Regional Advocacy Project. We believe in working to acquire more housing and services for people on the streets, while always defending the civil rights of anyone being discriminated against, including people on the streets.
We believe in information for the people. We publish more than 160,000 Street Roots Rose City Resource booklets annually. The pocket-sized, 104-page guide has the most comprehensive print resources for people experiencing poverty in our community. The guide is distributed by more than 400 community institutions interfacing with people on the streets.
We are a part of a global movement. Street Roots is one of more than 120 street newspapers in 40 countries. Street Roots prides itself on being a leader in the street newspaper movement by providing content and sharing best practices with newspapers from Vancouver, B.C., to Mexico City. Street Roots is a proud member of the International Network of Street Papers based in Glasgow, Scotland.
We believe in you, our readers. We work hard to provide more than 15,000 readers a way to stay engaged. Each day, readers and vendors build genuine relationships on the streets. Out of those relationships come countless conversations and new friendships. We hope to change the way the general public views homelessness.
Street Roots does all of this with a very small team of staff and a tremendous amount of love from volunteers.
We have a modest goal of raising $25,000 this spring to help keep Street Roots strong. A recurring donation made this May will be matched until the end of 2015. You can give a donation by sending a check to 211 NW Davis St, Portland OR 97209, or visiting streetroots.org. Your love is very appreciated. We couldn’t do it without you!
Israel Bayer is the Executive Director of Street Roots. You can reach him at israel (at) streetroots (dot) org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer.
