Street Roots Vendor Melissa Hansen is tenacious. Her resilience in the face of adversity is apparent as she recounts the many challenges she has faced in the last year, which required her to pause selling the paper. But she’s back now, and she wants her customers to know it.
“I got sick for two months with pneumonia,” Melissa said. “I was helping to clean up trash, and I think I picked up a bug, and then my tent got two inches of water in it.”
Melissa has sold Street Roots for several years. Before moving to Portland, she sold the street paper Real Change in Seattle. She credits Street Roots for helping her survive the past several months.
“Street Roots stepped in to give me emergency funds for medication and food, and supplied me with another tent because mine was sabotaged from the weather,” Melissa said. “I’m still living in a tent — with the wind and the rain my tent blew down on top of me while I was sleeping and I had to get a different tent from Street Roots.”
Melissa isn’t done battling her health challenges. She’s been diagnosed with breast cancer and has a clot around her heart. She considers herself fortunate to be receiving care and treatment at OHSU.
“I’m a survivor though,” Melissa said. “People look at me and say, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m a survivor and life is about hanging on.”
Melissa’s faith provides her with a source of strength. Although she didn’t go to church with her parents, she went regularly with her grandmother.
“Faith is very important to me,” she said. “My body is broken down — I’m trying to repair it — but I think it’s too late. But I just watch the man above, and He’ll see me through.”
To her fellow vendors and others who are struggling right now, she offers some words of comfort.
“Keep positive and keep your head up,” Melissa said. “Everything will be alright — we’re all in this boat together, we just gotta find the oars.”
Melissa appreciates that Street Roots shares her values of family and community. And even though she is facing major health issues, things have been improving for her.
“My life is slowly getting better,” she said. “My son came down from Alaska and came to see me. I hadn’t seen him since he was eight years old. Now, he’s back in Alaska — he’s a logger.”
She describes the reunion as “big ol’ bear hugs and a lot of crying,” and they have tentative plans to see each other soon.
Street Roots provides her with a supportive community that gives her strength. Her approach is simple.
“I just look for the down-to-earth people, those who won’t look down on me or call me a piece of trash. I look for the good in people and the good people, and the good people are who I make my community,” she said.
Melissa sells Street Roots 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. most weekdays at Case Study Coffee on Southwest 10th Avenue near the Central Library. She also sells papers at the Lincoln Street Methodist Church at Southeast 52nd Avenue and Lincoln Street. You can also support Melissa through @StreetRoots Venmo by entering her name and badge number (384) in the notes.