Thirteen years ago, Randy was living in his hometown of Nampa, Idaho, yearning for a change and a new place to call home. His cousin was living in Portland at the time and had a place for him to stay, so Randy made the move without any hesitation. However, his cousin’s housing situation didn’t pan out, and Randy found himself sleeping on the streets of Portland off and on for about 11 years. Randy has been in housing for the past couple years, but still faces challenges.
“I get lonely and I get depressed,” Randy said.
With the many rules and restrictions on having guests that some apartment complexes enforce, Randy’s social life isn’t what it used to be. He doesn’t see his friends as often, and when he does, it’s for much shorter periods of time. Still, he feels thankful to be indoors, especially because he no longer has to deal with rats.
“They tormented me for five years,” Randy said. “Got in our tents, rambled around and got the food. If there were rats indoors, I’d go right back outdoors.”
Looking back now, Randy has been able to find some small amount of appreciation for rats — they were his main source of inspiration for writing poetry. He started writing about rats as a way to cope with the anger they were causing him on top of an already stressful life living on the street. Since he returned to living indoors, his poetry has shifted directions. Instead of writing about the rats in his tent, he now writes about the raccoons he sees playing outside the window of his own apartment.
His success as a poet earned him a spot on this past year’s Street Roots zine committee. The committee consisted of eight Street Roots vendors who reviewed and edited poetry, prose and art submitted by other vendors. Most of the members on the committee also submitted their own work. Randy had two pieces published in this year’s zine. Getting selected to be on the committee was encouraging, and he wants to participate again next year.
“Hopefully I can do it again next year because that was fun,” Randy said. “I had a good time and I enjoyed writing for the zine.”
Being on the committee is just one of the things he enjoys about Street Roots. His favorite part about being a vendor are the connections he’s made with his customers and the employees at his sales post, especially the florist manager.
“She teaches me about flowers and where they come from,” Randy said.
You can find Randy selling the paper and learning about flowers most days from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. outside of New Seasons Market Seven Corners location. You can also send him a tip via @Streetroots Venmo by entering his name and badge number (439) in the notes.
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This article appears in April 9, 2025.