In these extraordinary times, we’re working to stop the spread of coronavirus
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 suspend publication of our print newspaper to protect the well-being of the vendors and you, the Street Roots readers.
Our organization has withstood many economic and social challenges, but this is the first time in Street Roots’ 20-year history we have suspended print publishing. These are extraordinary times indeed.
All of us are working to halt the spread of this deadly virus, including our vendors — the people you have come to know — the familiar faces you greet on your way to work, the new friends you say hello to on the corner outside your favorite coffee shop. It would be irresponsible to burden them and you with a social interaction that could jeopardize anyone’s health.
That vital interaction is the business model our vendors have built, day by day, week by week, making it all the more upsetting to us as an organization to suspend that essential relationship that is the heart and soul of Street Roots. It is even more disturbing to grapple with the income lost to vendors who rely on their sales.
But while this is the new reality around us, it does not have to stop us. We are an organization formed by people who know hardship and embody resilience. The streets continue to guide us and reinforce us.
And we have our mission as a guidepost: “Street Roots creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and social change.”
We will keep producing our newspaper and other media. Starting this week, Street Roots will be publishing stories online at news.streetroots.org and getting the word out through social media on the stories as they happen. We’ll also share videos and updates from vendors to keep you connected.
And we will continue creating income opportunities. As we moved into this crisis, our vendors formed an action team, taking accurate COVID-19 information and supplies to camps. Now, in this new phase of social distancing, we are unrolling a Vendor Assistance Fund to get at least some money to every single vendor. You can support this fund. And please commit to supporting them when they return to their posts.
And that part in our mission about being catalysts for individual and social change? You can bet that we are focused on that. There’s nothing incremental about this moment, and Street Roots will never lose its focus on advocating for the people for whom “sheltering in place” is an impossibility because they lack a house, access to hygiene, food and income. We are here for them and trust you will be too. All of us at Street Roots, vendors, staff and volunteers, thank you for your continued support as we get through this together.
Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
© 2020 Street Roots. All rights reserved. | To request permission to reuse content, email editor@streetroots.org or call 503-228-5657, ext. 404.
