Housing
Mayors across U.S. are pushing for a guaranteed income
As a coalition of city leaders around the U.S. gathers to support a guaranteed income, various communities are evaluating how it might work in their hometowns. A guaranteed income is a monthly cash payment made directly to any citizen who qualifies with no strings attached. Though it is similar in concept to a universal basic…
Thanksgiving looks different this year for people on the streets
From birthdays to graduations and even to break-ups, every major event has been squeezed into the confines of digital squares. Thanksgiving this year will be no different, as traditional turkey dinners will now include the electronic din from unmuted microphones in addition to the usual family drama. Though the transition will be difficult for many…
Housing in America: What’s at stake in the 2020 presidential election
Diane Yentel is the president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a membership organization dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes. She is one of America’s leading voices on housing and homelessness. The veteran housing…
Is Forest Park a fire hazard?
Under a blanket of sickly-colored smoke billowing overhead, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Sept. 10 ordered the closure of all city parks, citing the risk of fires starting and unhealthy air quality. For most Portlanders, this order was easy to follow, as spending almost any amount of time outdoors for the last week has come…
Portland’s houseless face health risks amidst toxic air, trouble accessing resources
Historically poor air quality brought increasing health risks to the forefront of the houseless community in Portland this week as local government agencies and nearly 30 different community groups rushed to distribute thousands of KN95 masks and help people sleeping outside secure shelter away from the toxic air. But hold times exceeding an hour for…
Kaia Sand | Housing crisis spreads as people flee fires and toxic air
It wasn’t much, but it was pizza – a small effort at fire prevention. Mike D, a Street Roots vendor who coordinates action team outreach, and I crossed the busy St. Helens Road highway to the edge of Forest Park with his dog, Angel. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. This column represents…
Trump rescinded a fair-housing rule: What that means for Oregon
Last month, President Donald Trump took a moment to type out two character-limited blows to housing advocates across the country. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood,” he wrote…
Community colleges, students grapple with housing insecurity during the pandemic
Attending college classes online and studying at home doesn’t mean long hours in a home office or at the kitchen table for students like Douglas Marler. For the past four years, Marler, 31, has lived in his compact SUV. He just wrapped up his first year at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, where he…
Native artists will soon have a new home in the Cully neighborhood
Portland’s Native American Youth and Family Center broke ground on a 56-unit affordable-housing development Tuesday. The project, called Mamook Tokatee, began just a week after the nonprofit closed on a deal allowing it to turn the parking lot on the corner of Northeast 42nd Avenue and Going Street into an apartment building for Native artists.…
Photos | Generosity, humility and vulnerability inside the camps of Portland
When the coronavirus pandemic hit Portland, the city substantially cut back on camp sweeps to allow people experiencing homelessness to shelter in place. With sweeps on pause, camps have popped up in unusual places, and some have grown. When Street Roots sent me out to photograph them, I was excited with trepidation. Imagine if you were dropping…
FAQ | What you need to know if you cannot pay your rent or mortgage
In June Oregon legislators met during an emergency session aimed, in part, at providing additional relief to Oregonians who are suffering financially during the coronavirus pandemic. Among the 22 bills passed were House Bill 4213, which essentially bans residential and commercial evictions during the pandemic due to inability to pay, and House Bill 4204, which…
Houseless to face imminent heat wave with fewer resources
For the first time in the 130 days since Multnomah County commissioners declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, temperatures are forecast to near or surpass 100 degrees. The heat wave expected this Sunday and Monday will hit at a time when many indoor respites from the heat people experiencing homelessness normally…
Houseless plaintiffs win in lawsuit against Grants Pass
A federal judge on Wednesday issued an opinion in the class-action lawsuit homeless residents brought against the Southern Oregon town of Grants Pass, finding the town’s use of violations and fines to punish people for sleeping outside is unconstitutional. This ruling has implications for other jurisdictions in Oregon that leverage violations and fines against people…
A proposed development in Northwest Portland would displace low-income residents
A newly formed tenants’ collective is speaking out against the possible demolition of an 1890s Alphabet District house that some of the neighborhood’s lower income residents have called home for years. The house, referred to as the “Flanders House” by the North Portland Tenants Collective, has 14 single occupancy units with shared bathrooms. The group…
Homeless advocates welcome new Oregon legislation, hope for more
Life on the street offers few advantages, but Armando Saldivar said one of them is living off the grid. Saldivar lives in a tiny house these day in Right 2 Dream Too off North Thunderbird Way in Portland, but he said the self-managed encampment of some 50 people remains far enough beyond the reach of…
Bills Street Roots is tracking during the emergency session of Oregon Legislature
The Oregon Legislature adjourned its special session late Friday, June 26. Bills specifically addressing homelessness — an issue Speaker of the House Tina Kotek wanted to declare an "emergency" during the even-year short session in March — vanished during the emergency session. Some lawmakers before the session talked about revisiting House Bill 4001 to ease restrictions on…
Oregon legislators grapple with housing insecurity, policing and each other
He went to the hospital in Corvallis with pneumonia, but the physician who saw him thought the 64-year-old quadriplegic man with developmental disabilities would be a waste of masks and gloves. The physician’s recommendation? Quit feeding him and send him home to die. Oregon legislators convened an emergency session June 25 to respond to the…
Housing-related measures on the table when legislators return for special session
Oregon’s moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions expire at the end of the month, and Alison McIntosh of the Oregon Housing Alliance worries what will happen if the Legislature fails to extend them. McIntosh, the policy and communications director of the alliance, told Street Roots she’s confident legislators will extend the moratoriums when they convene…
Police response to protests shakes houseless Portlanders
Loud noises from flashbangs, the roaring of helicopters, and other tactics police are using to control the crowds of demonstrators in Portland are taking an emotional toll on the city’s houseless bystanders. Regina Blakeman, a Street Roots vendor, recently secured housing at the Bud Clark Commons. But this past week, she’s been anxious to make…
Around the world, housing is a prevention and a cure for COVID-19
Public health officials are calling the stay-home policy the sacrifice of our generation. To flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, this call of duty is now emblazoned on T-shirts, in street art and a celebrity hashtag. But for the 1.8 billion people around the world living in homelessness and inadequate shelter, an appeal to “stay…
Survey: Moving into motels, hotels is top choice of unhoused people
Over the past few weeks, the Street Roots vendor-led Coronavirus Action Team fanned out, offering unhoused people something in addition to the usual essential supplies: questions. What would people prefer as a temporary response to their living situation during this pandemic? Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach her at…
Hasty reopenings could put unhoused neighbors at risk
The disconcerting phone calls started coming in this week. Antsy to open up businesses, people were once again complaining about all the tents. My response was to feel a little terrified. A little raw. Having the whole community focus on flattening the curve has had a unifying affect. We can share a commitment to public…
Matthew Desmond: Pandemic brings new mission to ensure housing for everyone
Following the widespread shutdowns caused by the coronavirus, the national conversation around eviction has changed. Nearly 50 million Americans rent their home, and with unemployment claims surging past 30 million, the need to protect renters and prevent further homelessness is finding renewed urgency under the pall of a pandemic. The federal government responded to this…
Learning from past economic crises, we must protect young people from homelessness
We are in a period of incredibly rapid change and ambiguity, and there is a growing recognition that many of the changes experienced in the past month will be long lasting and that there will be many more changes to come. But within the continuum of homeless service provision, it might be more important than…
SR editorial: Vote for a future where people can get out of homelessness and stay housed
Tens of thousands of people are unhoused in this region, and many more are on the brink of homelessness. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Record unemployment levels point to drastic increases in severe poverty ahead. So it is fortunate to have a homeless-services tax measure cued up to vote on right now. Developed over…
Rose City Resource is now online
Update (April 2025): Street Roots is no longer maintaining the online version of the Rose City Resource. For now, we have removed the link to the online guide from our website. While the online platform may still be reached through its unique link, please note this information is not up to date. For the most recent information about the…
Street Roots Podcast | Deborah Kafoury and Cole Merkel on Measure 26-210
On Episode 4 of the Street Roots podcast, host DeVon Pouncey interviews Mulnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Cole Merkel of HereTogether Oregon. The conversation is centered around Measure 26-210, which is aimed at giving supportive services to the unhoused community. “This year we have a really exciting opportunity, and it’s the opportunity to go big,"…
Survey says suspend rent during pandemic, tenant advocacy group finds
A commanding majority of people who responded to a survey by the Community Alliance of Tenants want their rents and mortgages suspended entirely for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of them expressed a willingness to wage a rent strike to enforce such a suspension. Jensi Albright, the community engagement director of CAT, shared…
Motel program launches in Clackamas County
Jeremiah Kelton, an emergency outreach specialist, and Stephanie Billmyre, a social worker for Do Good Multnomah, are running the motel program for the organization, case managing residents to get medical and housing resources. “The aim is to get as many of the at risk and elderly homeless off the streets as fast as possible” said…
Lawsuit: Grants Pass criminalizes homelessness while offering no shelter
GRANTS PASS — Kirt Morrill died from his injuries after a propane tank exploded at his camp in a Grants Pass city park on Nov. 7, 2018. The 65-year-old man was homeless and had been living on the streets of the small town in Southern Oregon with his partner, Kellie Parker, for several years prior…
Homeless residents, advocates in Salem area take issue with government response
Federal dollars might — someday — be directed toward nonprofits in the Mid-Willamette Valley to help people experiencing homelessness. An intergovernmental continuum of care agreement was endorsed by the executive committee of the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments at its April teleconference meeting. If that sounds like official gobbledygook, Jimmy Jones said he understands why. …
PHOTOS: LGBTQ+ camp opens in Portland in response to COVID-19
With Oregon residents ordered to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, houseless communities are at increased risk of infection because of the often close quarters of camps where they live. In response, Portland’s first LGBTQ+-dedicated camp opened Thursday, April 16. Two more camps are due to open within the next few days, one of which will be dedicated to…
Why is Multnomah County sheltering houseless people en masse during COVID-19?
When the novel coronavirus was first confirmed in Oregon, details about its transmission and its symptoms were unclear. Amid school and business closures, followed by a stay-home order from the governor, officials in Multnomah County and the city of Portland had to act fast to find ways to protect the region’s most vulnerable. Guidelines were…
Up against polarization and COVID-19, McMinnville homeless-service providers find a way
McMINNVILLE — When McMinnville’s library closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, people experiencing homelessness in this community had no public building where they could wash their hands or use the toilet. But John Kraemer worries more about where he’s going to sleep, he told Street Roots. The coronavirus he leaves to fate. “We all…
Housing-insecure Oregonians left in the lurch, eager for Legislature to convene
Morgan Florea doesn’t have to worry for three months about being evicted from her Portland apartment because she can’t pay the rent. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a three-month moratorium March 22 on such evictions. However, it’s not the next three months Florea worries about. “Having to still pay back that accruing rent money when…
Renters push for support as uncertainty looms during pandemic
Jonathan was a surgeon and epidemiologist before he fell prey to a series of spinal injuries and cardiac events. Now he also suffers from COVID-19. Rather than fighting for his next breath, Jonathan said, he wishes he could be out in the world helping other victims of the pandemic breathe easier. However, he remains confined…
2 houseless people test positive for COVID-19 in Multnomah County
As of Tuesday morning, two people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County had tested positive for COVID-19, making up less than 1% of local coronavirus cases. The county would not provide any additional information about these two individuals, including their whereabouts or condition, and it declined to answer questions about whether they had stayed at any homeless…
For people on the streets, relief from elements is scarce under stay-home order
Surviving on Portland’s streets was already a daily struggle before the coronavirus pandemic reached Oregon. Now, Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order and the ensuing closures have taken away the few respites that houseless people had from Portland’s damp and frigid springtime weather. During interviews with Street Roots, people living outside and in…
Miracle Messages reunites families with long-lost relatives on the streets
“Everyone is someone’s somebody.” That’s the motto of Miracle Messages, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to reuniting families nationwide with long-lost loved ones living on the streets. The concept is simple: Anyone looking for a family member can call into the hotline and leave a message. Miracle Messages takes it from there. Kevin…
Portland meal program for homeless running short on supplies
Six days a week, three times a day, Blanchet House dishes up close to 1,000 free hot meals at its dining hall on the corner of Northwest Glisan Street and Third Avenue in Old Town Portland. Over the past two weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic has rattled Portland, it has watched demand for the meals…
Hygiene needs increase as homeless resources shrink with COVID-19 closures
Portland city officials have opened up park bathrooms and added 21 handwashing stations around the city to help people experiencing homelessness avoid spreading the coronavirus. But it’s unclear how effective these measures will be because access to showers and clean clothes has shrunk considerably since the virus came to Oregon. “It took me two weeks…
Fear, rumors permeate Portland homeless camps and shelters
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Portland’s houseless communities are grappling with uncertainty and misinformation on many fronts. Street Roots asked people living at Portland area homeless shelters and camps how their communities are processing the spread of COVID-19. Some are wary of contracting the virus, but many fear the pandemic might be used to further criminalize…
Bottle redemption site closures shortchange houseless
Kyle Hair, who spends his nights sleeping in downtown doorways, was earning about $100 a week redeeming recyclable bottles and cans before the COVID-19 social distancing measures prompted a rush on grocery stores. That pushed many to close their bottle return services amid staffing shortages. Among the bottle redemption site closures were the two that Hair,…
Business interests fighting Metro tax for homeless services are short on the facts
Two business associations have filed a legal challenge to Metro’s proposed May 2020 ballot measure to prevent and reduce homelessness. The grocers and manufacturers groups hope to influence the description of the proposal that people will see in the Voters Pamphlet and elsewhere. Their challenge may signal that they will bankroll a campaign against the…
News
Opinion | COVID-19: My experience in prison
Reprinted with permission from All Rise magazine. I sat on the top bunk of my 8-by-10 cell. As a 62-year-old man, I suffered from heart disease, anemia and a worry of possibly having cancer. With COVID-19 in the air, I was the definition of “vulnerable population.” Yes, I am serving a life sentence, but I…
Thanksgiving looks different this year for people on the streets
From birthdays to graduations and even to break-ups, every major event has been squeezed into the confines of digital squares. Thanksgiving this year will be no different, as traditional turkey dinners will now include the electronic din from unmuted microphones in addition to the usual family drama. Though the transition will be difficult for many…
Is Forest Park a fire hazard?
Under a blanket of sickly-colored smoke billowing overhead, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Sept. 10 ordered the closure of all city parks, citing the risk of fires starting and unhealthy air quality. For most Portlanders, this order was easy to follow, as spending almost any amount of time outdoors for the last week has come…
Portland’s houseless face health risks amidst toxic air, trouble accessing resources
Historically poor air quality brought increasing health risks to the forefront of the houseless community in Portland this week as local government agencies and nearly 30 different community groups rushed to distribute thousands of KN95 masks and help people sleeping outside secure shelter away from the toxic air. But hold times exceeding an hour for…
Portland parks officials, advocates aim to make the outdoors more accessible to BIPOC
The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to Portlanders’ heavy reliance on the region’s natural areas this summer as they seek entertainment and an escape. But these outdoor spaces, which also offer physical and mental health benefits, aren’t always easily accessible and welcoming for people of color living in the metro area. Public land managers and outdoor…
Candidates of color are shaking up small-town politics across Oregon
Residents in several Oregon cities — from Ashland to Springfield to Bend — have an opportunity this November to elect the first person of color to ever serve on their city council. It’s part of a national trend in which more people of color are running for office and making history in national, state and local…
New Seasons Market workers want their hazard pay reinstated
When the coronavirus pandemic spurred citywide closures in early March, New Seasons Market provided its employees with “Thank You” bonus pay for nearly four months. Now, workers are asking to have it reinstated, but the grocery chain claims the move would be unsustainable. “While we don’t share our financials, we can confirm that expenses related…
Passerby attacked by police during protest is suing Portland
Adam Allen had just moved back to Portland after spending five years on the East Coast when he decided to meet an old friend for a drink on Aug. 9. He had a couple of rounds of vodka and cranberry juice on the patio of the Kenton Club, then parted ways and headed back to…
Trump rescinded a fair-housing rule: What that means for Oregon
Last month, President Donald Trump took a moment to type out two character-limited blows to housing advocates across the country. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood,” he wrote…
Two months in, Chief Lovell stresses community policing as he grapples with protests, police accountability
Portland’s new chief of police has had no shortage of media attention. Following the police killing of George Floyd, protests calling for justice for Black lives and police defunding have enveloped the nation — and have most consistently sustained in Portland. As the national spotlight illuminates the city and its Police Bureau, which regularly meets…
Multnomah County Elections Office confirms late delivery of ballots
The Multnomah County Elections Office has confirmed earlier reports from letter carriers that some Portland voters received ballots late in this week’s special election. Tim Scott, Multnomah County’s elections director, told Street Roots that two letter carriers had contacted the elections office to say they’d delivered ballots either Tuesday or Wednesday, and one Portland resident…
Kate Brown wanted to close 2 prisons. Legislature said no.
Many prison reform activists wonder if Oregon lawmakers care more about preserving jobs than saving lives in the state’s correctional facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. They can stop wondering, said Jodi Hansen, the founder and executive director of the prison reform organization Remnants Initiative. State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D- Scappoose) revealed the truth during last…
Portland postal workers fight top-down changes at USPS
Lillian Huggins’ salon, Atomic Hair Studio, had been in business just shy of 10 years when she was forced to close it this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic. Huggins didn’t feel comfortable reopening Atomic when Multnomah County gave the OK for salons and barbershops to resume business in mid-June for Phase I reopening. She…
Community colleges, students grapple with housing insecurity during the pandemic
Attending college classes online and studying at home doesn’t mean long hours in a home office or at the kitchen table for students like Douglas Marler. For the past four years, Marler, 31, has lived in his compact SUV. He just wrapped up his first year at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, where he…
An Instagram account posts anonymous claims of Portland restaurant workers
On July 7, Instagram account @86dlistpdx appeared and began exposing allegations of abuse, harassment and mistreatment in Portland’s restaurant industry. More than a month later, the account has shared claims against more than 70 restaurants, restaurant groups and a few other local companies, amassing over 12,000 followers in the process. @86dlistpdx, a platform for Portland service industry workers…
Psychological impacts of this moment are overwhelming, Black mental health care providers say
ZaDora Williams is busier than ever. As a therapist and social worker in Portland who services the African American community, her waitlist has grown exponentially since Portlanders began rallying around the Black Lives Matter uprising. Many people seeking counseling services at Williams’ private practice, Sankofa Center for Healing, are participants in the protests spurred by…
More homelessness expected among K-12 students in Portland
Portland had 1,217 students experiencing some form of homelessness last fall. With the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, Portland Public Schools is expecting that number to increase when classes resume later this year. Now, the district is in the process of figuring out ways to keep those students from falling through the cracks. The district…
Native artists will soon have a new home in the Cully neighborhood
Portland’s Native American Youth and Family Center broke ground on a 56-unit affordable-housing development Tuesday. The project, called Mamook Tokatee, began just a week after the nonprofit closed on a deal allowing it to turn the parking lot on the corner of Northeast 42nd Avenue and Going Street into an apartment building for Native artists.…
The soundtrack to a revolution: Hip-hop plays an important role in Portland protests
A few short months ago, the streets of Portland were eerily quiet, subdued by the uncertainty of COVID-19’s sudden grip on the globe. Now, Portland is marching into its third month of nightly protest, propelled in part by a soundtrack of the city’s music community. While summer is usually a time when things would be…
Portland police are no better than the feds, activists say
As the federal deployment of secretive law enforcement proved violent in the Trump administration’s crackdown on protests, activists stressed that these officers’ behavior was largely familiar. On July 22, as Mayor Ted Wheeler — engaged in tense conversation with protesters — walked from City Hall to the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse, a protester stepped…
Collection of short fiction relives memories of Vietnam and its American war
Author Paul K. Haeder believes that until Americans truly learn from Vietnam, we are doomed to keep repeating the mistakes and abuses that transpired there. At 7 tonight, Cirque Press will officially launch Haeder’s book “Wide Open Eyes: Surfacing from Vietnam,” with a reading from the author, via Zoom web conferencing. Paul K. Haeder is the author…
Whole Foods employee says he was told not to come back to work after refusing to remove anti-racist button
Portland Whole Foods Market workers say they may stage another walkout after a floor support supervisor at the Laurelhurst Whole Foods store was reportedly asked to leave work and not come back for refusing to take off a button that read “racism has no place here.” The employee, Dylan Woodruff, told Street Roots that employees…
Feds sprayed chemicals into the eyes of a retired ER nurse and veteran
Michael Hastie was a Vietnam War medic with the U.S. Army in the early 1970s. Now, at 75, he's on the front lines documenting the Black Lives Matter — and now anti-federal troops — demonstrations in Portland. This week he’s making national news as the Vietnam veteran in Portland who federal officers sprayed directly in the face at close…
Many Oregon families shift from public school to homeschool during pandemic
As Oregon schools scramble to plan a hybrid model for the fall, mixing in-person classes with virtual programming, many parents feel anxious sending their kids back to school and are enrolling them in online schools or homeschooling instead. While it’s not yet clear how many children will be withdrawn from public school this fall, homeschooling…
Pain, arrests and trauma: 4 injured protesters share their stories
For more than 50 days straight, Portland activists have protested against police brutality and systemic racism in a movement toward racial equality centered around Black lives. Every night of those demonstrations, protesters have been met with the brutality they are speaking out against. Flash-bang grenades, tear gas, pepper spray, pepper bullets and other munitions have…
Houseless to face imminent heat wave with fewer resources
For the first time in the 130 days since Multnomah County commissioners declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, temperatures are forecast to near or surpass 100 degrees. The heat wave expected this Sunday and Monday will hit at a time when many indoor respites from the heat people experiencing homelessness normally…
Portland protesters say their city is calm — until the feds sow chaos
The unrest in Portland is “worse than Afghanistan,” President Donald Trump said this week to justify using federal forces against protesters. Julia De Santis has never been to Afghanistan, but she can’t imagine it’s as congenial as Portland, even under current circumstances, she told Street Roots. De Santis, who moved from New Jersey to Portland…
Houseless plaintiffs win in lawsuit against Grants Pass
A federal judge on Wednesday issued an opinion in the class-action lawsuit homeless residents brought against the Southern Oregon town of Grants Pass, finding the town’s use of violations and fines to punish people for sleeping outside is unconstitutional. This ruling has implications for other jurisdictions in Oregon that leverage violations and fines against people…
With the transfer of Yale Union building to Native ownership, a hub for Indigenous artists is born
“How do you reverse-gentrify?” asked Flint Jamison, co-founder and president of the Yale Union contemporary arts center. “Give the fucking land back! Turn the keys over.” Jamison is saying goodbye to the spacious, angelically sunlit contemporary art center he’s helped run for the past 10 years in Southeast Belmont’s historic Yale Union Laundry Building. When…
A proposed development in Northwest Portland would displace low-income residents
A newly formed tenants’ collective is speaking out against the possible demolition of an 1890s Alphabet District house that some of the neighborhood’s lower income residents have called home for years. The house, referred to as the “Flanders House” by the North Portland Tenants Collective, has 14 single occupancy units with shared bathrooms. The group…
Photos | The concerning progression of police response to Portland protests
I am a photojournalist and have lived in Portland for many years. I have covered political events — some turbulent, others not — in Oregon and Washington, Paris, Hong Kong, Greece, Bangladesh and in other American cities, including Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Richmond, and others. I have covered many political protests and events since the 2016…
Employers are requiring COVID-19 testing that workers cannot get
Debbie Lamberger said it’s becoming a regular occurrence: Coworkers arrive in a group of cars at one of Oregon Health & Science University’s mobile testing sites to request COVID-19 testing, all saying someone at their workplace recently tested positive. Now, their boss has directed them to the testing site. That’s what these mobile testing sites…
Violinist transformed hostility into beauty at vigil for Elijah McClain
AURORA, Colo. — For 30 minutes, it looked as if the vigil for Elijah McClain would be remembered as yet another violent altercation between police in riot gear and protesters in T-shirts and shorts. Thousands of demonstrators had gathered in the Aurora, Colo., city center June 27 to honor McClain, a young Black man Aurora…
Lack of resources, support make Oregon challenging for people who are deaf
Jeb Baldridge had a decision to make when he graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in deaf studies. He noticed many deaf people did not go back to their hometowns after college, but instead sought communities where there was an established deaf population. “Imagine if you are in some strange land…
Oregon-raised meat could become more accessible locally
Food and meat processing plants are among workplaces seeing the greatest concentration of COVID-19 cases, both nationally and in Oregon, where an outbreak at Pacific Seafood on the coast led to more than 150 positive tests. Why meat-processing plants in particular garner such large caseloads is not certain, but cold conditions and the close vicinity…
Photos | Art of the uprising
Since the start of nightly Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Portland, many structures, sidewalks and plywood panels protecting windows have been covered in chalk, paint and paste-up posters. Some of the commandeered canvases are tagged skillfully in traditional graffiti styles. Others are covered in rudimentary scrawl. Messaging ranges from anti-police and anti-racist rhetoric to…
Restaurant in Lincoln City under fire for its name
For over 60 years, Lil’ Sambo’s Family Restaurant in Lincoln City has been a self-proclaimed “coastal landmark,” named after a children’s book famous for its racist illustrations. Now, Oregonians are calling for the restaurant to change its name. “During this pivotal time of progression toward racial equality we demand that said restaurant change its name,”…
Racist slurs permeate Oregon geography
Editor’s note: This story contains racist epithets that some readers may find triggering. Watering down the toxicity of these words in the context of this story, we felt, would dilute the racist reality still present in Oregon’s geographic features. Racist monuments have been toppling at the speed of reckoning throughout the country in the wake…
Where Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ pride intersect
In June 1969, police clashed with Black transgender women and other LGBTQ+ groups during the Stonewall uprising, galvanizing generations of activists and inspiring what we now know as Pride Month. Over 50 years later, LGBTQ+ activists are still fighting for their rights amid protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Although the pandemic has prevented Portland’s…
Portland permits for on-street dining leave some BIPOC-owned businesses behind
With a temporary permit from the city, more than 200 restaurants and bars in Portland are expanding their dining areas onto the street to make it possible for customers to social distance while eating out. Similar to efforts in Oakland, New York City and Minneapolis, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) created a Healthy Businesses…
Union rally confronts inequities past and present of the Oregon Convention Center
To confront what it describes as unjust labor practices and the inequitable history of the Oregon Convention Center, the union representing Metro regional government’s public sector workers — including those who work at the center — hosted a demonstration outside the building June 18. The rally came in the wake of mass layoffs at Metro…
Bills Street Roots is tracking during the emergency session of Oregon Legislature
The Oregon Legislature adjourned its special session late Friday, June 26. Bills specifically addressing homelessness — an issue Speaker of the House Tina Kotek wanted to declare an "emergency" during the even-year short session in March — vanished during the emergency session. Some lawmakers before the session talked about revisiting House Bill 4001 to ease restrictions on…
Oregon legislators grapple with housing insecurity, policing and each other
He went to the hospital in Corvallis with pneumonia, but the physician who saw him thought the 64-year-old quadriplegic man with developmental disabilities would be a waste of masks and gloves. The physician’s recommendation? Quit feeding him and send him home to die. Oregon legislators convened an emergency session June 25 to respond to the…
New CenturyLink contract adds communication barriers for Oregon prisoners
After months without personal contact with their families and lawyers, prisoners are struggling to stay connected as Oregon prison officials hand over management of statewide prison communications systems to a company infamous for numerous consumer complaints and deceptive business practices. Despite efforts from state lawmakers to address exorbitant phone charges, Oregon prisoners and their families say…
Far from over: Long-term HIV, AIDS survivors navigate another pandemic
In 1996, Portlander James Cox was teetering on the edge of death with his second terminal AIDS diagnosis. Healthy individuals usually have a T cell count of 500 to 1,600. T cells measure the amount of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that indicates immune system health. Cox had a count of just one.…
Poor and low-income Americans to gather online for a march on Washington
Over 50 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. launched the Poor People’s Campaign and called for a movement that would unite poor communities, the campaign has been revived in the United States. In late 2017, the Rev. Liz Theoharis and the Rev. William Barber II reignited and expanded the 1968 campaign, calling it…
Non-English-speaking patients in Oregon often denied adequate translation services
Communication Breakdown In this two-part series, we examine how the pandemic has exacerbated problems facing Oregon's interpreters. Long-standing deficiencies in state oversight of their industry, which thrives on third-party contracting and low wages, has left interpreters working in health care settings struggling to make ends meet while they serve on the front lines of the pandemic.…
In a time of isolation, mourners are navigating death at a distance
In the four months since biomedical researcher Nikki Walter died of cancer, her husband has had trouble sleeping through the night. Eric Walter has had to contend with his wife’s death while in isolation, due to social distancing measures amid the coronavirus pandemic. “For obvious reasons, this is a bad time,” he said, “but it’s…
Interpreters struggle to make ends meet, stay safe during pandemic
Communication Breakdown In this two-part series, we examine how the pandemic has exacerbated problems facing Oregon's interpreters. Long-standing deficiencies in state oversight of their industry, which thrives on third-party contracting and low wages, has left interpreters working in health care settings struggling to make ends meet while they serve on the front lines of the pandemic.…
Struck by a rubber bullet: My experience as a Black woman at a Portland protest
My first encounter with the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was on June 3, and it was accidental. I went to the Tom McCall Waterfront Park to sit and enjoy a late lunch. Then I walked onto the Burnside Bridge. That was where I saw hundreds, if not a thousand,…
Black Portlanders sound off on George Floyd uprisings
Historic uprisings are sweeping the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. While protests against state-sanctioned violence and racism are taking place in every state, Oregon’s are significant, as they continue to swell well beyond the Portland metro region, and in unprecedented numbers. Now, a state whose constitution once…
Police response to protests shakes houseless Portlanders
Loud noises from flashbangs, the roaring of helicopters, and other tactics police are using to control the crowds of demonstrators in Portland are taking an emotional toll on the city’s houseless bystanders. Regina Blakeman, a Street Roots vendor, recently secured housing at the Bud Clark Commons. But this past week, she’s been anxious to make…
State government struggles to help Oregonians through pandemic
Kelsi Morrison’s livelihood abruptly ended when she closed the doors of Hair Bar 47, the salon she owns on Southeast Belmont Street, 11 weeks ago. She hoped she could weather the coronavirus pandemic with money from unemployment insurance. But her bills keep mounting, and she has yet to receive any money from the state. “It’s…
VIDEO: Unknown assailant strikes houseless man in Old Town following protest
June 6: This story was updated with information from Portland Police Bureau. A livestream video appearing to condone the assault of a houseless person in Portland’s Old Town amid the citywide protest late Saturday has racked up thousands of views on YouTube. In the video, a man standing outside of a row of tents on the…
Oregon prisoners will not see stimulus money from coronavirus relief package
Prisoners in Oregon who received stimulus checks as a result of the CARES Act will never see their payments, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections. On May 6, the Internal Revenue Services updated its Economic Impact Payment webpage to indicate that incarcerated individuals as defined by the Social Security Act are not eligible to…
Clackamas County Jail expands medication-assisted treatment for opioid withdrawals
During the past year, about 1,600 people have been offered medications such as buprenorphine to assist with their opioid use disorder and withdrawal symptoms while they’ve been in the Clackamas County Jail, according to county officials. That’s 11% of the 14,500 intakes during that time frame. This was made possible after Clackamas County won a…
PHOTOS: George Floyd vigil draws a thousand people to North Portland park, hundreds march
Photos by Diego Diaz About a thousand people gathered in North Portland’s Peninsula Park on Friday evening to hold a vigil for George Floyd. The 6 p.m. demonstration was an act of solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis, where a white police officer is charged with killing Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, on Monday by kneeling…
In Oregon, reproductive rights prevail even as pandemic limits some services
As jobless claims in Oregon climbed, newly unemployed individuals across the state sought out health care providers that serve low-income patients. With demand for their services surging, those providers scrambled to figure out how best to provide care during a pandemic. Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, which serves Oregon and Southwest Washington, is one of them.…
Rethinking how America cares for its elderly
Before COVID-19 sent the United States hurdling toward a devastating economic recession, 37 million adults aged 50 and older were already living in poverty — with another 10 million on the brink, according to Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of the AARP Foundation. “What we have seen since the pandemic is that the numbers are on…
Multnomah County looks at waiving probation, parole fees permanently
Multnomah County announced in mid-March that, due to COVID-19, individuals who violate parole without committing a new crime during the pandemic would not be jailed unless there is a public safety risk. Later that month, it announced it was also suspending supervision fees — and county leaders say they’re looking for a way to phase out the fees…
Celilo Wyam activist delivers relief to Indigenous villages of Columbia River
On the banks along a stretch of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, Lana Jack brings supplies to Underwood, Lyle and Lone Pine. These are just a few of the fishing villages that make up homes of the Columbia River Indigenous peoples, who typically make their living fishing — an activity put on pause…
PHOTO STORY: Community resilience carries Native-owned businesses through the pandemic
As businesses shutter and unemployment surges in response to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses owned by people of color are at risk of permanent closure. BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color) communities historically have less access to resources and capital, often with less savings to fall back on in the event of an emergency. On…
Oregon health care policy invites discrimination, civil rights groups allege
Oregon’s crisis health care guidelines leave room for discrimination against people with disabilities, according to a federal civil rights complaint filed by a coalition of organizations on their behalf. Disability Rights Oregon, the state-designated protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities, is leading the statewide effort to ensure that state policies do not discriminate…
How America values its most important workers is painfully clear, expert says
For the second time in less than two decades, the United States is facing a devastating economic recession. Unlike the Great Recession 12 years ago, prompted by the implosion of an inflated housing market, the one ahead is emerging from the death of service-sector jobs — the jobs responsible for nearly 80% of all U.S.…
In Woodburn, Russian and Latinx communities flex their political muscles
Anna Kasachev thought she would spend this spring on the campaign trail, but instead she helps her fellow Russian Old Believers make face masks in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Old Believers in the Woodburn area have made roughly 1,000 masks for first responders and assisted-living centers. More masks are coming. “We’re seamstresses in our…
50 years ago, a wild riot took place in downtown Portland
With downtown businesses closed, busses on infrequent schedules and few cars on the road, a stroll through Portland’s South Park Blocks today could be quiet and idyllic. As you approach the north side of Portland State University, observe the statutes of great presidents Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Surrounded in this setting, close your eyes…
Communities respond to needs of 500 Oregon foster families, but more help is needed
Brandon and Kellie Smith weren’t looking to become foster parents, but the foster care system came to them. In 2015, there was a child in need, and the Smiths answered the call. “We didn’t know a lot about what we were getting into,” said Kellie Smith, “which is probably typical for most people when they…
During pandemic, more Oregonians interested in foster parenting, adoption
The number of families inquiring about becoming foster parents or adopting through the state is soaring during this pandemic. Foster parent inquiries ticked up from March to April and have more than doubled since this time last year. And the number of adoption inquiries have nearly quadrupled since this time last year, according to the…
Medicare for All activists hope to seize this opportunity
For all the tragedy wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, Stephanie Nakajima wishes COVID-19 would claim one specific victim: the bogeyman crafted by the political right to represent “socialized medicine.” It has been haunting American politics as far back as 1915 when the American Association of Labor Legislation drafted a model bill providing health insurance for…
Street Roots is hiring a reporter
Overview Street Roots is hiring a reporter to work 30 hours a week on social and/or environmental justice focused stories for a duration of four months. This position reports directly to the Street Roots newspaper editor and will be housed within the editorial branch of the Street Roots organization. This is a temporary position that…
Portland Whole Foods employee speaks out for those too fearful to come forward
Tim Billado stopped going showing up for work at the Fremont Whole Foods Market in Northeast Portland after April 10. The 35-year-old’s wife is at high risk of suffering serious complications if she contracts COVID-19. Before Billado went on unpaid leave, he went through a ritual at the door of the couple’s apartment after every…
Multnomah County DA race: interviews with Ethan Knight and Mike Schmidt
Street Roots interviewed the candidates for Multnomah County District Attorney with a focus on how the office policies and procedures interface with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Both candidates received three questions specific to their campaigns, along with six common questions they both answered. ETHAN KNIGHT Endorsed by the incumbent, Ethan Knight has put prosecuting right-wing extremists at the…
Meet Multnomah County DA candidate Ethan Knight
Ethan Knight is running against Mike Schmidt for Multnomah County district attorney. Street Roots interviewed both candidates with a focus on how the office policies and procedures interface with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Endorsed by the outgoing incumbent, Ethan Knight is the heir apparent in the race for Multnomah County District Attorney. Knight, 45, joined the DA’s office in 1999 soon…
Meet Multnomah County DA candidate Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt is running against Ethan Knight for Multnomah County district attorney. Street Roots interviewed both candidates with a focus on how the office policies and procedures interface with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Mike Schmidt walked in circles around the outside of the Target on Southeast Powell Boulevard as he answered questions from Street Roots about…
Neighborhood prosecutors: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: In Multnomah County, each neighborhood has a county prosecutor who focuses, in many cases, on prosecuting low-level, quality-of-life misdemeanors. Would you continue that program or make any changes to it? ETHAN KNIGHT: Balance is the key piece. It would be disingenuous to say I don’t think we should prosecute any misdemeanors, or we should…
Prosecuting domestic violence: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: The last time we crunched the numbers, we found that among Oregon’s five largest counties, Multnomah County has the lowest rate of prosecution and conviction in domestic violence cases. What would you do to change this? ETHAN KNIGHT: I’ve done some domestic violence work over the years, and it’s very challenging and very important.…
Community court: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: Do you see any opportunities for improvement in the way Multnomah County’s Community Court functions? It could be shaped many ways, such as the service mall in Clackamas County. Do you have a vision for how this could be reformed or modified? ETHAN KNIGHT: Absolutely. I think if you ask anyone, even in the…
Fines and fees: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: People experiencing homelessness and poverty disproportionately interface with the criminal justice system, producing an additional layer of criminality around fines and fees because people cannot pay. Will you eliminate fines and fees for people who fall below a certain income level? ETHAN KNIGHT: It’s an issue I’ve been focused on for years. By way…
Pretrial release: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: Will you commit during this interview to releasing people who are pretrial for nonviolent offenses without bail, should you win this race? ETHAN KNIGHT: No, because I’ve seen people arrested 10 times for breaking into 10 different houses, and the only reason they’re not breaking into another one is because they’re held. A blanket…
Leadership: Multnomah County DA candidates share their views
QUESTION: What’s the biggest difference we’ll see between the way you would run the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the way Rod Underhill has run it? ETHAN KNIGHT: Two things: One, I want to continue the work that he has done, focusing on the Multnomah County Justice Reinvestment Program and other programs that have…
Prisoners and protesters decry conditions among Oregon state prisons as COVID-19 spreads among facilities
On April 23, a prisoner at Oregon State Penitentiary named Michael Kell published an article on Propeller claiming workers were directed to remove biohazard labels from laundry bags coming into the prison laundry from hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. The same day, it was announced that an incarcerated laundry worker tested positive for the virus 200…
Thinking outside the bars: Does coronavirus make the case for jail reform?
Approximately 3,500 people have been released from California prisons in response to the coronavirus pandemic. If COVID-19 poses a greater threat to public safety than the released inmates, Bernadette Rabuy wants to know why they have to be locked up in the first place. Rabuy, the senior policy analyst for the Prison Policy Initiative in…
If you did not file taxes, these folks can help you get your stimulus payment
The same question is on the minds of many Americans: How and when will I receive my $1,200 economic impact payment from the federal government? And the questions don’t stop there. “People are extremely confused,” said Sarah Lora of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School. Lora, who typically supports low-income…
Guide dogs draw complaints for failing to follow social distancing guidelines
The first complaint came in through the guide dog training school’s main phone line. A caller was angry because a guide dog and its handler had come in close contact with her while walking down a street. “When the dog passed them on the sidewalk, the dog brushed up against the person slightly,” said Michelle…
Rural Oregon school districts shift to outreach, connecting homeless families to services
Butte Falls is written in fine print on the Jackson County map, about 30 miles uphill northeast of Medford. It’s a small community of about 450 people, one gas station, one grocery store and a lot of poverty — above 16%. One out of five students in the Butte Falls School District experienced homelessness in…
Fields of fear: Oregon farmworkers lack safety net as pandemic threatens jobs, health
Beatriz Tapia fears tomorrow. So do billions of other people in a world caught in the grip of a deadly pandemic. Yet Tapia faces a different kind of fear. The virus scares her less than the neglect it breeds toward the day-to-day struggles of people already pushed to the edges of society. “It’s hard for…
Housing-insecure Oregonians left in the lurch, eager for Legislature to convene
Morgan Florea doesn’t have to worry for three months about being evicted from her Portland apartment because she can’t pay the rent. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a three-month moratorium March 22 on such evictions. However, it’s not the next three months Florea worries about. “Having to still pay back that accruing rent money when…
Renters push for support as uncertainty looms during pandemic
Jonathan was a surgeon and epidemiologist before he fell prey to a series of spinal injuries and cardiac events. Now he also suffers from COVID-19. Rather than fighting for his next breath, Jonathan said, he wishes he could be out in the world helping other victims of the pandemic breathe easier. However, he remains confined…
Clam digging continues amid pandemic; Oregon Coast lawmakers demand state action
Lawmakers in Oregon’s two northernmost coastal counties want clamming season closed. They've asked both the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Gov. Kate Brown’s office to shut it down, but thus far, their request has been denied. They fear that later this week, when exceptional minus tides reveal clam beds, their communities will be inundated with commercial clam diggers from…
For people on the streets, relief from elements is scarce under stay-home order
Surviving on Portland’s streets was already a daily struggle before the coronavirus pandemic reached Oregon. Now, Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order and the ensuing closures have taken away the few respites that houseless people had from Portland’s damp and frigid springtime weather. During interviews with Street Roots, people living outside and in…
Making it work: Clackamas Service Center adapts, remains a lifeline to those in need
It’s a marathon, not a sprint, is the way Debra Mason of the Clackamas Service Center describes its response to COVID-19. Mason is the executive director of CSC, a resource for low-income and homeless folks in Clackamas and Multnomah counties. CSC is an island of support in the middle of the busy, commercial corridor of…
Oregon child welfare advocates forced to make difficult decisions about who gets seen
Urgent child abuse cases can’t wait, even in the age of COVID-19. “We always want to be here,” said Dr. Cathy Lang, medical director at Children’s Center of Clackamas County. “You never know when a child is going to disclose something that needs immediate attention.” But that doesn’t mean every child is getting in for…
Miracle Messages reunites families with long-lost relatives on the streets
“Everyone is someone’s somebody.” That’s the motto of Miracle Messages, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to reuniting families nationwide with long-lost loved ones living on the streets. The concept is simple: Anyone looking for a family member can call into the hotline and leave a message. Miracle Messages takes it from there. Kevin…
At Street Roots, we work through tough times with hope and grace
There’s nothing incremental about this moment. At Street Roots, we’ve developed a theory of action: When we solve for one problem, we also solve for something else. In the midst of illness, we must move toward a healthier society. This is a time of transformation — harrowing and hopeful. Kaia Sand is the executive director…
Wyden pushes for vote-by-mail nationwide as coronavirus emergency looms
As the coronavirus crisis upends elections in several states this primary season, Oregon’s U.S. senators want to take the state’s vote-by-mail model nationwide. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has introduced a bill that would make that option a requirement nationwide if 25% of states declare an emergency related to COVID-19, another infectious disease or a natural…
An ER doctor and elected official, Sharon Meiran balances two roles during coronavirus crisis
Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran remembers serving on the front lines of a pandemic, working as an emergency room physician during the H1N1 influenza outbreak 10 years ago. As both a physician and an elected official, Meieran wears two hats through this current crisis, and Street Roots spoke with her online to get her perspective…
Fear, rumors permeate Portland homeless camps and shelters
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Portland’s houseless communities are grappling with uncertainty and misinformation on many fronts. Street Roots asked people living at Portland area homeless shelters and camps how their communities are processing the spread of COVID-19. Some are wary of contracting the virus, but many fear the pandemic might be used to further criminalize…
Portland alternative school brings success stories for Native American youths
Walking through NAYA’s long halls at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday made it pretty clear that the space doubled as a high school. Adolescents mingled and lingered outside of classrooms, laughing and talking before class and on their way to grab breakfast in the cafetorium (the cafeteria serves double duty as the auditorium). This is…
Bottle redemption site closures shortchange houseless
Kyle Hair, who spends his nights sleeping in downtown doorways, was earning about $100 a week redeeming recyclable bottles and cans before the COVID-19 social distancing measures prompted a rush on grocery stores. That pushed many to close their bottle return services amid staffing shortages. Among the bottle redemption site closures were the two that Hair,…
Drug and alcohol recovery in a time of isolation
Amid coronavirus-prompted social distancing measures, in-person meetings that support the sobriety of Americans struggling with substance use disorder have been canceled across many states, including Oregon. “The secret sauce with recovery is personal connection,” Brent Canode, executive director of The Alano Club of Portland, told Street Roots. He said social distancing has “fundamentally altered” this reality. Traditionally, he explained,…
Podcast
Street Roots Podcast | Reporter Chris May on Oregon’s homebuilding lobby and more
On this episode, Street Roots correspondent Chris May joined host DeVon Pouncey to discuss his recent coverage on homebuilder lobbyists and their influence on policymakers in Oregon. "For quite a long time, the homebuilders industry has had a pretty significant influence on how those (Building Coast Division) rules play out and how regulators oversee their operations," May said. May also…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Sen. Ron Wyden
On this episode of the Street Roots Podcast, host DeVon Pouncey is joined by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who shares his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s removal of United States Postal Service mailboxes from American cities, which includes Portland and Eugene. “I think when you take the cumulative effect of what he is doing to…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Sen. Jeff Merkley
On the 10th episode of the Street Roots Podcast, host DeVon Pouncey is joined by U.S. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who discusses his proposed legislation to prevent federal forces from being sent to American cities to intervene in protests. “I introduced the ‘No Secret Police in America Act.’ I have more than 40 sponsors on it. I’m…
Street Roots Podcast | Sharon Meieran on the Black Lives Matter protests
On this episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran discusses the importance of standing in solidarity with Portlanders at Black Lives Matter protests. “I cannot emphasize enough how important that was to go down and bear witness and be there myself to just see with my own eyes what was happening,…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Teressa Raiford of Don’t Shoot Portland
On this episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Don’t Shoot PDX founder Teressa Raiford joins podcast host DeVon Pouncey to discuss her work during the recent uprising after the killing of George Floyd. “We immediately filed a lawsuit after I saw the assault on Portlanders with chemical weapons,” Raiford said. “Those RCA agents that people call…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Cameron Whitten, founder of the Black Resilience Fund
On this episode of the Street Roots podcast, host DeVon Pouncey interviews activist Cameron Whitten, co-founder of the Black Resilience Fund and recent candidate for Metro District 5. In less than a month, the Black Resilience Fund has raised more than $600,000 to assist Black Portlanders in need during the present social climate of our…
Street Roots Podcast | Reflections on the killing of George Floyd
DeVon Pouncey, Street Roots' vendor program manager, used the latest episode of the Street Roots Podcast to share his feelings about watching the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police officers. “For me it brought a lot of anger, it brought a lot of frustration," said Pouncey, who reflected on the events from his perspective as…
Street Roots Podcast | Deborah Kafoury and Cole Merkel on Measure 26-210
On Episode 4 of the Street Roots podcast, host DeVon Pouncey interviews Mulnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Cole Merkel of HereTogether Oregon. The conversation is centered around Measure 26-210, which is aimed at giving supportive services to the unhoused community. “This year we have a really exciting opportunity, and it’s the opportunity to go big,"…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Israel Bayer
On Episode 3 of the Street Roots podcast, host DeVon Pouncey is joined by Israel Bayer, the director of INSP North America, a bureau of the International Network of Street Papers. Bayer discusses the importance of street papers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Street papers have the ability to shape public opinion and public policy. The work that we…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Tina Drake, our newest staffer
On the second episode of the Street Roots Podcast, host DeVon Pouncey interviewed the newest Street Roots staff member, Tina Drake. Drake has taken the role of vendor liaison. "It started with me being a logistics specialist for the outreach team," Drake said. "Getting donation support and needed items to get out to the homeless community.…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Jo Ann Hardesty
On the inaugural episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty joined me to discuss the three-part process in regard to the city's efforts to fight the coronavirus. “Right now our No. 1 priority is keeping people home and safe,” Hardesty said. “It is difficult. This is the worse thing in the world…
Opinion
Opinion | How the climate emergency exacerbates homelessness
The increasing influx of natural disasters is more than a warning of the impending climate crisis. The canary in the coal mine is long dead; the climate crisis has already arrived. Not only are temperatures steadily rising, but every year disasters strike with increasing frequency and intensity. According to data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT),…
Opinion | Housing is going to be an election issue — most Americans want the same thing
We are facing a new stage in our decades-long housing crisis. Over the past few weeks, the president has spread racist fears about the destruction of white suburban neighborhoods. The Republican-led Congress has failed to protect families who can’t pay their rent. And a national grassroots movement to cancel rent and mortgage payments is growing.…
Opinion | SNAP is a blessing for vulnerable Oregonians — if they can use it
I’ve got a dilemma shared by thousands of poor, senior and disabled Oregonians. Like many Oregonians with a disability, I receive SNAP benefits. You may remember them as “food stamps,” but there are no physical coupons anymore. Instead, funds are stored on a debit card. Only the state government can deposit funds into the card,…
Kaia Sand | Housing crisis spreads as people flee fires and toxic air
It wasn’t much, but it was pizza – a small effort at fire prevention. Mike D, a Street Roots vendor who coordinates action team outreach, and I crossed the busy St. Helens Road highway to the edge of Forest Park with his dog, Angel. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. This column represents…
Opinion | Fire. Evacuations. What next?
I’ve covered a few wildfire stories over the years as a newspaperman living and working in Cochise County and Tucson, Ariz.; in El Paso reporting on places like Cloudcroft and Ruidoso, N.M.; and in Spokane, reporting on the panhandles of Idaho, Southern British Columbia and Eastern Washington. Finishing up an urban and regional planning graduate…
Kaia Sand | Back to print, back to our roots
That afternoon in early March when Raven Drake walked me to her tent next to I-5 North created the roadmap for how Street Roots would endure and adapt to the pandemic. We knew sales would be down as we all began to grapple with the gravity of COVID-19, so we created, with Raven, the Coronavirus…
Opinion | With Trump appointing anti-abortion judges, the fight for reproductive freedom is critical
Donald Trump has broken plenty of campaign promises, but this summer, we were reminded of one that he kept. He pledged to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade — and he has been making good on that promise. Trump has spent the past four years pushing policies that threaten our health, our rights…
Kaia Sand | Carry forward nightly demands in the daylight of work and policy
I biked down to the waterfront to take in a key protest gathering space, Salmon Street Springs, in the daylight. Like all over downtown, art remains. A painting of Quanice Hayes on a piece of cardboard was propped against a railing, the river a wall of blue behind it. Hayes was 17 years old when the…
Opinion | We must challenge militarism in efforts to defund police
The excessive use of force and killings of unarmed Black Americans by police has fueled a growing national movement for slashing police budgets, reimagining policing and directing freed funds to community-based programs that provide medical and mental health care, housing and employment support to those in need. Martin Hart-Landsberg is a professor emeritus of economics…
Kaia Sand | Roll the presses! Street Roots is returning, and you can pay with Venmo
Hundreds of Street Roots vendors have weighed in. Nearly 700 of you, our readers, took our survey. We’ve received guidance from the Multnomah County Health Department. We’ve learned from all of the North American street newspapers that have returned to selling. We’ve studied the international models. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots.…
Opinion | Portland has the Wall of Moms. Argentina has Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo.
In 1976, Argentina was on the precipice of a military dictatorship that would result in mass disappearances, murders and violence across the nation. Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla was the man at the helm of this tyranny. He took power following a coup d’état that toppled then-President Isabel Perón. In Latin America, these types of coups…
Opinion | What #NotYourMascot owes #BLM
This article was originally published in Pollen Nation Magazine and is republished here as part of a partnership with Street Roots. Pollen Nation is a Native-led and -edited magazine dedicated to providing North American readers with an in-depth understanding of issues affecting Indigenous people. I don’t feel I — or Native people — accomplished this. I credit Black Lives Matter…
Street Roots Podcast | Sharon Meieran on the Black Lives Matter protests
On this episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran discusses the importance of standing in solidarity with Portlanders at Black Lives Matter protests. “I cannot emphasize enough how important that was to go down and bear witness and be there myself to just see with my own eyes what was happening,…
Kaia Sand | The flywheel has flown off the handle
Daniel Cox handed me a thick packet of paper from a notebook, folded in half. Poems. “I miss people,” he said softly. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach her at kaia@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter @mkaiasand I was inadequate to the moment, my attention fragmented as I eyed the…
Opinion | Betty Kamikawa sees potential where others see lost cause
One caveat for this piece: I have been a substitute teacher in Lincoln County going on a year, spending many days teaching all manner of classes and special education at elementary and high schools in Toledo. I’ve taught at all 11 public schools in Lincoln County and at one charter school. I’ve taught in several…
Kaia Sand | Counting unhoused people in the 2020 Census is crucial
Pops cleaned off a laptop, readying it for the next Census taker. Mask on and wearing a turquoise t-shirt announcing, “We Count Street Roots,” he was running one of three stations at our office. Street Roots is operating as a Census Assistance Center for unhoused people every Monday from 9 to 11 a.m. We call…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Teressa Raiford of Don’t Shoot Portland
On this episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Don’t Shoot PDX founder Teressa Raiford joins podcast host DeVon Pouncey to discuss her work during the recent uprising after the killing of George Floyd. “We immediately filed a lawsuit after I saw the assault on Portlanders with chemical weapons,” Raiford said. “Those RCA agents that people call…
Editorial | We must eradicate racist symbols as we aspire to end white supremacy
In Portland and many other cities, we’ve come to a time where it’s becoming commonplace to recognize the Native tribes whose land we stand on and from which we prosper. It demonstrates the turning of a corner when we open space to remember the truth — rather than the version of American righteousness crafted by…
Opinion | Racism has devastating impacts on public health
Structural racism in the U.S. seeps into many aspects of Black Americans’ lives. As we’re witnessing with the coronavirus pandemic, health is no exception. Evidence has emerged showing Black people in the U.S. have an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with COVID-19, and they are twice as likely to die from the disease, according to…
Opinion | My first gay roommate helped me address my homophobia
I was 38 years old the first time I lived with a gay man. We were roommates in treatment. A counselor had taken me aside and asked if I was OK sharing a room with him. He was originally assigned to another room, but the guy in there was vocally homophobic and threatening. I said…
Opinion | I work at Whole Foods, and I am calling out its hypocrisy
For anyone paying attention, especially during these unprecedented times, you have seen Whole Foods and Amazon’s true colors. I can no longer stay complacent and silenced. This is not OK and not how anyone should be treated, nor should any of this be normalized. Working at Whole Foods for a decade, I have seen the…
Kaia Sand | Oregon should overturn all verdicts delivered by non-unanimous juries
Mike was finishing up paperwork behind the desk in the vendor office to pay vendors on the action team for outreach to camps delivering supplies and COVID-19 information. His pit bull, Angel, the sweetheart of the office, was curled at his feet. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. This column represents her…
Opinion | No coincidence that redlined areas are now heat islands
Outrage over the recent police killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd has sparked ever larger street protests with participants demanding an end to police brutality against Black people and a radical transformation of our criminal justice system. Changes achieved benefit us all. Hopefully this growing popular determination to confront racism and white…
Opinion | An American story of working undocumented
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” — Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus” “Citizenship to me is more than a piece of paper. Citizenship is also about…
We want publicly funded preschool for every child in Multnomah County
Educators — from early childhood to college faculty — and economists support free, universally available, high-quality, play-based preschool for every child whose family wishes to enroll them. Preschool significantly raises high school graduation rates and increases earnings while reducing racial disparities, unemployment and incarceration. Every $1 invested in universal preschool adds $9.45 to the economy,…
Call to remove statue of explorer who brutalized Native Americans ignites firestorm in Tillamook County
On the eastern shoulder of Highway 101, as it runs through the small coastal town of Garibaldi, stands a tall, imposing statue of Capt. Robert Gray. He is dressed in the traditional garb of an 18th-century sea captain, with a tri-cornered hat, big buckle shoes and a spyglass. Gray is depicted standing atop a traditional…
Portland Street Response is funded, and its success is up to all of us
The Portland City Council vote to fund Portland Street Response is a victory for Jim, who told me that when his “brain itches,” he needs a soothing voice — not a badge and a gun. It is a victory for Mark, who when sleep-deprived would lash out if police officers woke him, often eliciting a punitive response. It…
Struck by a rubber bullet: My experience as a Black woman at a Portland protest
My first encounter with the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was on June 3, and it was accidental. I went to the Tom McCall Waterfront Park to sit and enjoy a late lunch. Then I walked onto the Burnside Bridge. That was where I saw hundreds, if not a thousand,…
We must not let up on the call for justice
Portland City Council members will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday to determine how the city’s budget of $4.4 billion will be spent over the next year, beginning on July 1. This comes after 12 days — and counting — that people have turned out in our streets and across the nation, demanding justice for Black…
SR Editorial: The people are speaking – the time to begin dismantling the police is now
There’s a reason protests in Minneapolis following the police killing of George Floyd resonate with residents of cities across America: Police brutality against black people is rampant everywhere in the U.S. It always has been, and under the current system, it always will be. Portland is no exception, and for many, protests in recent days aren’t…
I will challenge my fear with generosity — and peach cobbler
Choices mean power. And responsible choices are the key to connecting with a community. Trauma is stored in the cells of my body and often compromises my ability to make responsible choices. I have struggled to balance trust with survival instincts. On Aug. 22, 2017, I made one of my first prosocial decisions by checking…
As police increase Old Town presence, Street Roots vendors focus on learning their rights
Street Roots vendors were spaced around the office wearing masks, some jotting notes. They were participating in a Know Your Rights seminar conducted by ACLU of Oregon Interim Legal Director Kelly Simon and Paralegal Krystal Bosveld on May 20. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach her at kaia@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter…
Economic devastation from COVID-19 did not have to be this bad
The death toll and suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic has been much worse in the U.S. than elsewhere. It didn’t have to be. Fortunately, we can still follow the examples of many other countries that have fought the pandemic and its economic fallout far more effectively, and we are on track for stronger, more…
Around the world, housing is a prevention and a cure for COVID-19
Public health officials are calling the stay-home policy the sacrifice of our generation. To flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, this call of duty is now emblazoned on T-shirts, in street art and a celebrity hashtag. But for the 1.8 billion people around the world living in homelessness and inadequate shelter, an appeal to “stay…
Survey: Moving into motels, hotels is top choice of unhoused people
Over the past few weeks, the Street Roots vendor-led Coronavirus Action Team fanned out, offering unhoused people something in addition to the usual essential supplies: questions. What would people prefer as a temporary response to their living situation during this pandemic? Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach her at…
Opinion | Against the grain, this coastal man searches for universal human rights
“A country should be defended not by arms, but by ethical behavior.” — Vinoba Bhave Out of the blue, an email: “Paul, I’ve been reading your stuff on the homeless situation, and I wanted to get a hold of you. Here’s my phone number. I have been involved with the homeless community for many…
People who struggle need more direct cash from the federal government
These days, I think about money a lot. Where is it, and how can it get into the pockets of poor folks? An antidote to poverty is, after all, income. While this is always a focus at Street Roots, the stakes were raised on March 20, when we put the print edition of our newspaper…
Hasty reopenings could put unhoused neighbors at risk
The disconcerting phone calls started coming in this week. Antsy to open up businesses, people were once again complaining about all the tents. My response was to feel a little terrified. A little raw. Having the whole community focus on flattening the curve has had a unifying affect. We can share a commitment to public…
Interactive discussion: Our Collective Mental Health and COVID-19
Dr. Karen Hixson will offer a radical mental health perspective in her talk, “Our Collective Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic,” at Rethinking Psychiatry’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. Due to the current pandemic, you can join this meeting online or by phone, but not in person. Hixson is…
Learning from past economic crises, we must protect young people from homelessness
We are in a period of incredibly rapid change and ambiguity, and there is a growing recognition that many of the changes experienced in the past month will be long lasting and that there will be many more changes to come. But within the continuum of homeless service provision, it might be more important than…
SR editorial: Vote for a future where people can get out of homelessness and stay housed
Tens of thousands of people are unhoused in this region, and many more are on the brink of homelessness. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Record unemployment levels point to drastic increases in severe poverty ahead. So it is fortunate to have a homeless-services tax measure cued up to vote on right now. Developed over…
How we launched the digital Rose City Resource
Update (April 2025): Street Roots is no longer maintaining the online version of the Rose City Resource. For now, we have removed the link to the online guide from our website. While the online platform may still be reached through its unique link, please note this information is not up to date. For the most recent information about the…
SR editorial: Open hotel rooms to people on the streets
State and local leaders must create a plan to move all unhoused Oregonians into hotels and motels to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, and it should be a plan that sets the stage for long-term housing. Street Roots is calling for bold yet achievable measures. The state, along with local governments, should move beyond triage and commit resources, now aligned to alleviate the…
Street Roots is well versed in addressing challenges with creativity
A wedding during a pandemic. Unhoused people running an office. A rainbow in a stormy sky. During these undeniably hard times many of us grapple with new experiences of powerlessness. A virus has constrained our everyday options. It has the power to kill us. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can…
How a pandemic divided the haves and have-nots — over 100 years ago
“And does Oregon take rank in this work? Is our state caring for the homeless, friendless and penniless consumptive within its borders?” As we negotiate the current COVID-19 plague that has descended upon our state, it is a worthwhile exercise to consider the above 1908 quote, and the public health strategies we are today extending…
Access and partnership: What immigrants and refugees need during the COVID-19 crisis
I remember fleeing the persecution of my home country and living in a refugee camp for decades. I watched people die without health care and access to vital resources. And yet, this pandemic goes beyond those tragedies I witnessed. The effects of COVID-19 are like nothing I have ever experienced or seen before. I am…
Back to normal is not good enough; we need a new economy
We shouldn’t be satisfied with a return to normalcy. We need a “new normal.” We are now in a recession, one triggered by government-ordered closures of businesses producing nonessential goods and services, an action taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In response, Congress has approved three stimulus measures that legislators hope will keep…
3 temporary campsites to open next week for more unhoused people to shelter in place
After several weeks of intensive planning between city workers, community organizers and organizations, three temporary camp villages are set to open on city land. Forty-five tents are slated for each of the campsites which should begin opening early next week — one in Old Town and two campsite in the Central Eastside. A minimum of 135 people will…
Opinion | COVID-19 through a literary lens
“Look, we have been on the front lines of all sorts of diseases. New strains of TB. Hep C. Even bedbugs are blamed on us. This virus doesn’t scare me. The people out there — the citizens — that’s what scares me, man, all that toilet paper hoarding and shit.” — Brooks, as we talked…
At Street Roots, we work through tough times with hope and grace
There’s nothing incremental about this moment. At Street Roots, we’ve developed a theory of action: When we solve for one problem, we also solve for something else. In the midst of illness, we must move toward a healthier society. This is a time of transformation — harrowing and hopeful. Kaia Sand is the executive director…
Business interests fighting Metro tax for homeless services are short on the facts
Two business associations have filed a legal challenge to Metro’s proposed May 2020 ballot measure to prevent and reduce homelessness. The grocers and manufacturers groups hope to influence the description of the proposal that people will see in the Voters Pamphlet and elsewhere. Their challenge may signal that they will bankroll a campaign against the…
We are suspending our print edition, but our mission still guides us
This morning, there is no truck parked outside with bundles of newspaper. There is no crowd of vendors inside the Street Roots office. Friday is the day that the new edition of our newspaper always hits the streets, but this week, we’ve temporarily gone digital. Street Roots concluded that in these extraordinary times, we would…
Environment
Climate 2020: The good, the bad and the OMG
The water that runs through the canals of Venice is clear, clearer than it has been in decades. It apparently just needed a vacation from everyone else’s vacations. Without a constant stream of pollution from tourism boats, the water started looking like water again after a couple of months into the pandemic. That would be…
Paradise lost? Oregon faces a natural — and political — climate crisis
Oregon schoolchildren once regularly saw a documentary about the growing climate crisis in their state. “Clean water and clear air are imperatives of life itself,” narrator Richard Ross began the documentary. Yet, he warned, Oregon stands in danger. “The days of paradise may be numbered,” Ross said. “The air of Oregon can be as sweet…
Energy lobbyists pose as Tribal Nations to promote Jordan Cove LNG pipeline
A pro-pipeline lobbying group calling itself Western States and Tribal Nations is spreading a message that directly opposes that stance of some Oregon tribes. Over Memorial Day weekend, a full-page ad in The Oregonian declared itself an “Open Letter to Gov. Kate Brown From Western States and Tribal Nations.” The ad presented the Jordan Cove…
Portland restaurants aim to cut waste, but recyclable and compostable take-out containers go to landfills
With restaurants relying on takeout services to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, to-go containers and plastic utensils are piling up in landfills. That includes most of the so-called eco-friendly products many Portland restauranteurs use in place of more traditional disposable items. Vinh Wong, the owner of Pho Van and Pho Van Fresh, said he…
Koala recovery on a badly burned Australian island
We stand at the base of a gum tree looking up into its leafy canopy. Plastic laundry baskets, the type found in most homes, at our feet. It’s early March, and we’re on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island nine weeks after bushfires devastated the community, killing two people, destroying dozens of homes and decimating wildlife. At…
Climate activists pivot amid the pandemic
April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and before the coronavirus pandemic shut down public life as Portlanders knew it, local climate groups had big plans. 350PDX, the local chapter of global climate action network 350.org, envisioned a demonstration similar to the nationwide Climate Strike in September, when large crowds marched over the…
Lawsuit targets shrinkage of Willamette Basin water for salmon
The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a drastic cut to the volume of water stored among its 13 dams and reservoirs in the Willamette River Basin that goes to supporting fish flows. Environmentalists are suing, saying the move violates the Endangered Species Act. The water reallocation, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court…
Culture
History has been about survival of the friendliest, explains Dutch author Rutger Bregman
Rutger Bregman, understands it’s hard to be optimistic about humanity at the moment: We’re in the throes of a global pandemic and an international recession is biting at our heels. The mass protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis underline the existence of systemic racism and the social inequalities experienced…
From a stream to streaming, Kermit tells us about his great leap forward
The world’s most famous frog celebrated the 65th anniversary of his television debut earlier this year. Time flies when you’re having fun, and time’s fun when you’re having flies. In Kermit’s case, it’s both. Since 1955, Kermit the Frog has starred in eight feature films and nine TV series. He has a star on the Hollywood…
The soundtrack to a revolution: Hip-hop plays an important role in Portland protests
A few short months ago, the streets of Portland were eerily quiet, subdued by the uncertainty of COVID-19’s sudden grip on the globe. Now, Portland is marching into its third month of nightly protest, propelled in part by a soundtrack of the city’s music community. While summer is usually a time when things would be…
Collection of short fiction relives memories of Vietnam and its American war
Author Paul K. Haeder believes that until Americans truly learn from Vietnam, we are doomed to keep repeating the mistakes and abuses that transpired there. At 7 tonight, Cirque Press will officially launch Haeder’s book “Wide Open Eyes: Surfacing from Vietnam,” with a reading from the author, via Zoom web conferencing. Paul K. Haeder is the author…
In an era of social distancing, Portland musicians find alternatives to performing live
Months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down most of Oregon, two musicians stood on stage, playing live music. Portland hip hop artists Mic Capes and DJ Drae Slapz held court at the North Portland music venue The Fixin’ To, delivering intense, blistering lyrics (Capes) and smooth, layered beats (Slapz). Their audience wasn’t in the room,…
Kaia Sand | The flywheel has flown off the handle
Daniel Cox handed me a thick packet of paper from a notebook, folded in half. Poems. “I miss people,” he said softly. Kaia Sand is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach her at kaia@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter @mkaiasand I was inadequate to the moment, my attention fragmented as I eyed the…
With the transfer of Yale Union building to Native ownership, a hub for Indigenous artists is born
“How do you reverse-gentrify?” asked Flint Jamison, co-founder and president of the Yale Union contemporary arts center. “Give the fucking land back! Turn the keys over.” Jamison is saying goodbye to the spacious, angelically sunlit contemporary art center he’s helped run for the past 10 years in Southeast Belmont’s historic Yale Union Laundry Building. When…
Violinist transformed hostility into beauty at vigil for Elijah McClain
AURORA, Colo. — For 30 minutes, it looked as if the vigil for Elijah McClain would be remembered as yet another violent altercation between police in riot gear and protesters in T-shirts and shorts. Thousands of demonstrators had gathered in the Aurora, Colo., city center June 27 to honor McClain, a young Black man Aurora…
Photos | Art of the uprising
Since the start of nightly Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Portland, many structures, sidewalks and plywood panels protecting windows have been covered in chalk, paint and paste-up posters. Some of the commandeered canvases are tagged skillfully in traditional graffiti styles. Others are covered in rudimentary scrawl. Messaging ranges from anti-police and anti-racist rhetoric to…
‘Touching the Jaguar’: John Perkins on his new book and envisioning a better future
John Perkins is a well-known author among readers of two seemingly divergent genres. Among his more political-minded readers, he’s known for writing the 2005 bestseller, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” In it, he revealed how for years he worked as a consultant hired to convince developing nations to build unnecessary infrastructure projects. The projects…
Spike Lee on his new movie and the Black experience in America
Two Black men killed by the state 250 years apart. March 5, 1770, Boston: Eight British soldiers fire into a group of protesters. Five fall. The first to die – also the first American to die for the nation’s independence – was Crispus Attucks. In his mid-40s, of African and Native American descent, Attucks became…
As pandemic ravages Portland music industry, what will happen to independent venues?
When the Music Stops Gig workers among Portland’s many independent venues are struggling to secure relief. Many also find themselves at a crossroads as they face the uncertain future of an industry the coronavirus pandemic has decimated. From the availability of jobs to the future ownership of small venues, how much of Portland’s once-thriving local…
For gig workers in the Portland music scene, jobless benefits are elusive
When the Music Stops Gig workers among Portland’s many independent venues are struggling to secure relief. Many also find themselves at a crossroads as they face the uncertain future of an industry the coronavirus pandemic has decimated. From the availability of jobs to the future ownership of small venues, how much of Portland’s once-thriving local…
Adam Rippon: Lessons from his journey of self-discovery
The title of former Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon’s memoir, “Beautiful on the Outside,” is a play on the old adage that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. This is not the case in competitive skating, and he often hid his impoverished reality behind the façade of his pretty face. Rippon recently graced the Music…
Absence of human touch during pandemic devastates some people, businesses
Editor's note: People living alone during the coronavirus pandemic were interviewed for this story. We took the unusual step of granting anonymity upon request in order to obtain authentic opinions and private details on this personal subject matter. In those cases, we’ve altered first names only. No one has been cuddled at Samantha Hess’…
Street Roots vendor writing: Little Richard believed in me
Some memories, though wrapped up in tragedy, are precious. This one is to me. It’s the memory of how I met my friend, the late, great Little Richard. I was homeless in Los Angeles, many years ago. I sat upon Crocker Street all night long, camped out with my acoustic guitar and all my belongings,…
PHOTO STORY: Community resilience carries Native-owned businesses through the pandemic
As businesses shutter and unemployment surges in response to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses owned by people of color are at risk of permanent closure. BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color) communities historically have less access to resources and capital, often with less savings to fall back on in the event of an emergency. On…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Israel Bayer
On Episode 3 of the Street Roots podcast, host DeVon Pouncey is joined by Israel Bayer, the director of INSP North America, a bureau of the International Network of Street Papers. Bayer discusses the importance of street papers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Street papers have the ability to shape public opinion and public policy. The work that we…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Tina Drake, our newest staffer
On the second episode of the Street Roots Podcast, host DeVon Pouncey interviewed the newest Street Roots staff member, Tina Drake. Drake has taken the role of vendor liaison. "It started with me being a logistics specialist for the outreach team," Drake said. "Getting donation support and needed items to get out to the homeless community.…
Street Roots Podcast | Talking with Jo Ann Hardesty
On the inaugural episode of the Street Roots Podcast, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty joined me to discuss the three-part process in regard to the city's efforts to fight the coronavirus. “Right now our No. 1 priority is keeping people home and safe,” Hardesty said. “It is difficult. This is the worse thing in the world…
Vendor Profiles
Street Roots vendor profile | Helping people on the street
Schon Tell wants to help people get housing. An ordained minister of the Universal Life Church, he is passionate about assisting marginalized people who are having trouble getting help in the system. That includes veterans, domestic violence survivors and members of the LGBTQ+ community. “That’s who I want to help,” he said. Schon Tell can’t…
Street Roots vendor profile | You need positivity to see the light
Brian Schmidt has been designing a motivational program, which he explained is a “repetition of ancient thoughts” and is based on the idea that when you have the highest level of motivation, ideas start to make sense. “Today’s world requires every bit of positivity,” he said. “You need positivity to see the light.” Small wonder…
Street Roots vendor profile | The strength to carry on
“Everything hit me all at once,” Josephine Allen said. Josephine had been living with domestic violence for more than 20 years. Through counseling, she finally began to understand her situation. “I finally realized, at a late age, that I can’t change anyone,” she said. “So I chose not to be the person I used to…
Street Roots vendor profile | Missing his customers
Tired of living on the East Coast, Eric “Sarge” Wilson came to Portland five years ago. He’s lived in Portland on and off during that time, trying out other places in Washington and California, but Portland keeps drawing him back. The opportunity for connection is a magnet. About a year and a half ago, he…
Street Roots vendor profile: Plans for an apartment
You might recognize Max McEntire as the friendly Street Roots vendor who sold papers at Northwest 11th Avenue and Couch Street in front of Powell’s City of Books. Max has been with Street Roots since September, when he decided to claim Portland as home. “I wasn’t sure if I could be successful selling,” he said.…
Street Roots vendor profile: It helps to work in the community
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Jamey Mork has seen people come out of the woodwork to help. One of his favorites is a group that he believes is a family, that’s started cooking and distributing meals most nights near the Skidmore Fountain. They make chicken teriyaki, spaghetti, soups — and people gather. “It’s…
Street Roots vendor profile: Bound and determined
Like all of us, Racheal Dulaney is looking forward to the other side of this pandemic. With her paperwork now in place, she plans to get her GED and enroll in Oregon Culinary Institute. “It was always my mother’s wish to see me follow my dream. So, yeah,” she said. “I’m bound and determined.” But for…
Street Roots vendor profile: Uniquely qualified to help today
Raven Drake is busy. Like all of us, she is adjusting to a changed life in the face of a global pandemic. Instead of sheltering in place, however, she is busier than ever — rushing to open three camps in three weeks so that others can practice physical distancing and keep themselves and their families…
Street Roots vendor profile: We are building trust
Alex Rodriguez is new to Portland and new to Street Roots, but he’s not new to being homeless. When he came to Portland in February, he was immediately impressed with the people. “I love the spirit of the Portland streets,” he said. “I see a fertile ground for compassion and creativity, people helping each other,…
A Street Roots wedding
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt on what most would consider the “norm” in today’s society. What it didn't put a halt to was the union of Street Roots vendors Max McEntire and Deanna Handley. “We decided to get married about two and a half weeks ago. I came to Street Roots looking for…
Street Roots vendor profile: My patrons take care of me
Not long ago, before the coronavirus epidemic took hold, Gary Barker was working the games at the Stanford Stadium, selling hot dogs. When Oregon fans were in the stands, he noticed their joy. Game after game, their happiness made him feel happy, too. So he made his way up to Portland. “This was back in…
Street Roots vendor profile: I feel free inside
“We only have what we give,” wrote the Chilean author Isabel Allende. “It’s by spending yourself that you become rich.” It’s that kind of truth that Asonya Hargett has recently discovered. The realization that she wanted to help others is what set Asonya on her path to freedom from dependence on drug use and drug…
