When Michone came to Street Roots, he discovered a passion: poetry Michone Nettles was born in Vancouver, Wash., the ninth of 10 children. His mother was a homemaker. His father worked for Alcoa Aluminum for 35 years. “She took care of us all, and he supp ...
10 May 2019 - Helen Hill
Kat is saving money so she can renew her hair license, get an apartment and get her daughter back Kat has moved around a lot. She was born in California and traveled from there to New York, Medford, New Orleans and back again to Portland. She’s always lov ...
5 Apr 2019 - Helen Hill
Street Roots is "like a family," and it helps James put food on the table James McCord was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and raised in Hawaii. He remembers traveling there when he was 3, right after Hawaii became a state in 1959. “Back then, there we ...
1 Mar 2019 - Helen Hill
Melissa worked on a fishing boat, signed to chimpanzees at the zoo, raised animals, and more “I should write a book about my life,” said Melissa Hansen. Indeed, her life has been a kaleidoscope of adventure, travel, caring for exotic animals, heartache, j ...
25 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
CW has gotten off the street and into the Clark Center, 'an oasis in the middle of a desert' CW is a quiet, steady man, a gentleman who is always polite, well-kept and a joy to have around the Street Roots office. One day last summer, he came in ...
11 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
Daniel says Street Roots inspired him to write poetry The poems arrive on crumpled sheets of scrap paper, folded and refolded, pulled from deep inside the front pocket hoody. With a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile, he passes them across the fro ...
4 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
William’s passion is to help others stop judging homeless people “This interview is hard for me,” William began, “because I don’t think I’m anyone special. It’s hard for me to talk about myself.” William Weeks grew up in Roseburg in Southern Oregon. He jo ...
28 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
'Waking up every morning, for me, that’s spiritual,' says Jason The steady presence of a gentle soul is a valuable treasure in the Street Roots vendor office. Jason Scheer is just such a soul. Jason is the first to volunteer if there’s a job th ...
14 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
Jim has worked in a number of industries over the years – painting, manufacturing, printing, construction "It is an honor to rise above ground, open my eyes, and take a fresh breath of air,” said Jim McRae. These are the words he lives by. Jim was b ...
7 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
Roger believes in paying it forward In Roger Cavitt’s initial vendor profile, nearly a decade ago, the first sentence of that interview was “Roger is a people person.” After a decade, Roger is still a people person through and through. “I like so many ...
23 Nov 2018 - Helen Hill