They're grateful for support, shelter, life and opportunities
Marty Sledge:
I am grateful for being alive and having friends and family that are supportive. It is a blessing to have a place to come and have some soup.
John Smith:
I am grateful to Street Roots. It gives me someplace warm to be and a family.
Sean Sheffield:
I am grateful for the cold weather because my sales went up. I am thankful for the impeachment proceedings because it’s funny to watch.
DWD (and Kephira):
Love your brother as yourself. That’s how we all should live.
Michael Bailey:
I’m grateful to be part of Street Roots. Thanks for being here. I’m glad Union Gospel had a good meal of turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Kerry Anderson:
I’m just glad to be off the street and getting in a shelter with no deadline to leave. It’s warm and safe, and I’ve been assaulted six times this year.
Randy Humphreys:
I’m thankful for the things we have, and I hope next year everybody gets their wish. My wish is to get housing.
David Northcutt:
I’m thankful I’m alive and for all the people who love me. I’ve been outside for two years.
Eileen Vizenor:
I’m grateful to be out of the women’s shelter. I have an apartment now that I can afford. I decorated before Thanksgiving. It’s awesome to have all my stuff under one roof.
Barbie Weber:
I’m grateful for the Christmas gifts I got from Street Roots last year. They are the only gifts I’ve gotten in the past couple years. They were things I needed like a bike light, gloves, movie tickets.
Briana W.:
I’m grateful for friends and family and to wake up each and every morning. I have goals now, a new job and a place to call home!
Eddie Powell:
I’m happy there is a place that allows us to make money and not treat us like homeless bums or miscreants. I’d like to get a job and see my kids more; they are 3 and 6.
Mark Rodriguez:
It’s been wonderful to be a part of Gather:Make:Shelter. I have a one-year apprenticeship working with a professional potter. The beauty of this is I am painting. We are working together, developing what’s inside both of us, learning about the process of making sculpture.
Kristina Loverdi:
I grew up poor and did everything society wanted me to. I went into the military, graduated college, did social work, then hit this world of no opportunities. I’m going to take a chance on myself now, go into a creative outlet.
Echo Chambers:
At this time of year,
most of us would like to find
happiness and cheer.
In the holiday season,
we come up with a reason
to improve ourselves
through a new year’s resolution.
If you fall short or don’t
follow your own advice,
don’t worry too much;
you did more than try.
The important thing is you strive
to do more than survive.
Dan Newth:
This year I will work to find balance, accepting my emotional, physical and mental limitations. I will also work on humility without shame.
Tina Drake:
I am thankful Street Roots has been part of my life through thick and thin, and helped me get through the dark times and see the light in everything.
Chris Drake:
This New Year’s, I want to head out to Slab City, the homeless paradise out in California.
Wendy Mustacci:
I’d like everyone to know that people are not a number. With everything going on, they look at people on the streets as numbers. It makes your confidence go down; you don’t feel like a human being, just someone who sleeps outside.
Scott Atkins:
Street Roots is a little paper with a big message. This paper not only changes lives; it saves lives, a life like mine.
Nettie Johnson:
Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I am grateful for God’s protection and provision. I won’t be forgetting that.
Derrick Mosley:
I do not celebrate Christmas, but I don’t take away any joy from anyone else. It depends on what you believe. You have to have the understanding that holidays are about old stories. My New Year’s resolution is to be situated by the age of 29. If I don’t have a path by 29, I will label myself as another statistic.
Daniel Cox:
I’ve learned a lot from Street Roots. I used to think the answers were violent – my way or the highway. Street Roots opened me up to a new way of thinking. The concept of nonviolence struck me hard. Things don’t have to end in a catastrophe every day.
Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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