OPINION | Supported by Project Turnkey these shelters brough stability to those seeking safety The clear light of Umpqua Valley streamed through the Douglas firs and the cedar trees. This view surrounds people who seek to escape violence through motel-bas ...
8 Dec 2021 - Kaia Sand
Kaia Sand | ‘This neighborhood beats as one of Portland’s strong hearts, and its people who live their lives in public are people to love’ I have been at a loss for words as I listen to fearsome descriptions of Old Town on some media outlets and from the ...
20 Oct 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | The city deserves praise for placing portable toilets around town, but it's drawn ire — with one police officer reportedly assisting in a sabotage effort Hand washing and hygiene are essential to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Bo ...
4 Nov 2020 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | ACLU of Oregon provided Know Your Rights training in response to concerns from unhoused people Street Roots vendors were spaced around the office wearing masks, some jotting notes. They were participating in a Know Your Rights seminar co ...
29 May 2020 - Kaia Sand
A compassionate approach to first response is popular, and we need that compassion to spill over to more areas The Portland Street Response pilot is a reality. This is a big opportunity, Portland. Now, let us take this will toward compassion, and extend i ...
22 Nov 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | It’s only appropriate that the people who have a key stake in the new Portland Street Response are asked to participate in the process of designing it Clipboards in hand, the teams dispatched to survey people on the streets about their e ...
26 Jul 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | Proposed portable toilets would shift funds used to clean up homeless camps toward facilities that foster dignity and public health If you soon see plaid- and PDX-carpet patterned portable toilets around the city, see, too, the promise o ...
17 May 2019 - Kaia Sand
COMMENTARY | The 9th Circuit ruling prevents cities from criminalizing homelessness Americans have a powerful and unique urge to blame homeless people for their own circumstances. This common misperception — that people choose to be homeless — is too ofte ...
12 Apr 2019 - Sara K. Rankin
Two Street Roots vendors had been living in the camp for months without hassle On Wednesday, Jan. 10, David Samson called the Street Roots office for his fiancé, Bettyjo Griffiths. His message: Come quickly, their camp was being swept. Before Bettyjo left ...
11 Jan 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | Criminalizing people for being homeless is cruel and inhumane, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled A lot gets written in a day, and on Tuesday, Sept. 4, Donald Trump managed to punch out 16 wild and furious tweets. But among this frenzy, it’s ...
7 Sep 2018 - Kaia Sand