By Israel Bayer, Staff Writer
Street Roots has been very busy on the homeless advocacy and
policy front as of late.
Street Roots, along with many of our partners are helping
lead the, “We are the Safety Net” campaign. The campaign has worked very hard
to secure local funding for homeless and housing services.
The campaign worked with people experiencing poverty to tell
a broader narrative through social media about obtaining housing and accessing
services. At the same time, the coalition worked very hard with local officials
to help secure funding.
We’re happy to report that the city is prioritizing the
safety net for the most part and funding more than one million dollars in
programs that many thought were lost.
Commissioner Steve Novick told Street Roots, “I’m very
pleased that the safety net programs have been preserved, it reflects our
values in City Hall.” Amazing.
It’s important to also recognize the leadership at Multnomah
County for prioritizing the safety net.
The county has projected a multi-million dollar increase to funding for
human service programs that include rent assistance, programs for runaway youth
and homeless families.
Saying that, we still have work to do. We have numerous
programs that still face an uphill battle, including needle exchange, mental
health services and more. Over the past three decades we’ve seen the federal
government slash funding for poverty programs and the recent recession has
compounded the problem. We still face a massive shortage of affordable rental
and subsidized housing. Street Roots will not rest until we feel like we as a
community have tackled these important priorities.
One of the most important pieces of the puzzle to maintaining
adequate services and giving individuals and families the opportunity to be
successful is identifying a long-term, permanent funding source for homeless
and housing services. Street Roots along with our partners will continue to
explore and work toward this goal. We believe by partnering with a wide-range
of community members and interests we can get there.
Another priority in the housing front is health care reform.
Money for housing should be considered a key strategy in driving down the costs
of health care.
Street Roots has also worked to deter legislation in Salem
that will impact local communities throughout Oregon and allow for local
governments to create stricter sidewalk laws. The legislation appears to be a
runaway train. In the coming months expect a lively debate among advocates for
the poor, business groups and City Hall.
We believe the issue of sidewalks and panhandling detracts
from the larger goal of getting people off the streets. We also believe very
much in the civil rights of people experiencing poverty. Whatever the outcome
of the legislation for stricter sidewalk law — we hope something productive
will come out of the conversations.
Lastly, Street Roots has worked hard to advocate for and
co-author the second annual Domicile Unknown report (See page 3). The report
looks at how many homeless people passed way last year and offers a small
glimpse in the harsh realities of homelessness. We believe by tracking this
data that we will eventually be able to build the political will to create some
real preventive measures to deter the experience of homelessness all together.
Street Roots is a small train that carries a heavy load in
the community. We hope the advocacy work we do reflects this. From our indepth
reporting and platform for people and communities that are underserved, to the
vendor program that helps more than 500 people each year improve their quality
of life, to publishing more than 100,000 Rose City Resource Guides, we are
constant optimists at Street Roots. Even in the face of the some of the
cruelest conditions human beings endure, we believe in the power of people and
community. We believe in the power of love. But just as important, we believe
in working hard and providing solutions to some of the most difficult problems
our city and society face. We are proud to have so many readers on our team.
Thank you.
This article appears in 2013-05-10.