Kaia Sand | A key piece of legislation could create inroads to addressing the housing crisis with a massive infusion of funding — if it’s passed I recently chatted with a man who worked in downtown Portland in the 1980s. He remembers, he told me, seeing ...
27 Oct 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 | Looking at solutions to the homelessness crisis, which solutions go beyond spectacle and prove effective? The humanitarian crisis of homelessness rightfully ignites a sense of urgency in many people. Some rhetoric around urgency, though, is abou ...
13 Oct 2021 - Kaia Sand
Opinion | Expand the pilot city-wide, 24/7, under Portland Fire and Rescue If you are due for a dose of hope, I recommend you dig into the newly released Portland Street Response six-month evaluation. Yes, Portland Street Response is too small – the city ...
6 Oct 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | Led by Gary Barker, the mobile journalism program forges new paths to education and income The whiteboard is covered in pale red and blue sentences – “I am a living miracle,” and below that, “Good morning all.” I’m in the basement among the boxe ...
22 Sep 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | Portland Street Response can meet people where they are I have tried to write this column many times. In one version, I began by describing a man I’ll call E. as he was last week — peaceful, smiling his sweet smile, sitting on a bench wrapped in ...
15 Sep 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | Wyden has proposed a bill to move toward universal vouchers T his much is clear: the rent’s too damn high and the wages are too low. While people feel these pains in the most local of ways — with widespread homelessness and housing insecurity — ...
8 Sep 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | Most funders of the campaign strategist-led ‘People for Portland’ are anonymous Awash in mystery, there’s a new campaign afoot. Named as if it’s grassroots — People for Portland — all indications are that it’s anything but. Kaia Sand is the exec ...
1 Sep 2021 - Kaia Sand
OPINION | Portland's Street Roots is one of 100 street newspapers in 35 countries “It's been raining ashes for the past couple of days due to the wildfires not too far away from here.” While this could frequently be a sentence uttered in the wes ...
25 Aug 2021 - Kaia Sand
Hard times demand compassionate responses from the community The fatigue is strong. I’m sure many of you feel it. We all keep adapting, doing the best we can given new challenges –and the challenges keep coming. After a year and a half of the pandemic, th ...
10 Aug 2021 - Kaia Sand