SR online auction is live!

Wanting to improve your quality of life and help out Street Roots? Look no further. Street Roots online auction is now live until Sunday Nov. 8 at noon.

Trying to figure out what exactly to get your family and friends this holiday season? You’ve come to the right place. Street Roots has partnered with more than 60 individuals and businesses to put together some fantastic Pacific Northwest tidbits just for you in this auction, both large and small. (And if you’re poor, like us, we have lots of gifts for under $50-$25)

Plus, with your support you’ll be helping empower social justice media and economic development for people experiencing homelessness and poverty throughout the Portland region.

Looking for something affordable? We have it. Want an audio history of a loved one, annual museum passes, technology or a health and wellness package? We have that too. From a satirical front page of Street Roots to a fun weekend getaway, there’s something for you to get while giving to the organization.

We hope you like to eat, because Street Roots has partnered with some great restaurants for the perfect date or night out with the family.

From a new bike and a team autographed 2009-2010 Trail Blazers ball to lunch with County Chair Ted Wheeler at his favorite lunch location to fishing with a vendor and so much more, there’s something unique for everyone.

Extra! Extra!

What do vampires, basketball players and fine food have in common? You guessed it! They’re all part of Street Roots inaugural Online Auction! Peruse the pages of the Oct. 30 edition for the gifts that are sure to please — you or anyone else, for that matter. But first, pass a buck to your hardworking neighborhood vendor, who will have the newest paper — along with a smile — early Friday morning. Here’s what you’ll find inside:

Money to burn? If Measures 66 and 67 go down in flames, Oregon stands to lose more than a few local tax dollars. Amanda Waldroupe reports on what’s at stake.

Lose the banks and get back to the barter. Joanne Zuhl interviews economist Thomas Greco on how we need to trash our monetary system and get back to local trade, old-timey like.

Soldiers accuse Fort Lewis of abuse. A report from Seattle on two soldiers with a laundry list of alleged violations against the military.

And did we mention the online auction? Four pages of goodies, big stuff, little stuff, far away places and familiar faces. It’s all for fun, for Street Roots and your neighborhood vendor. Thank you! And let us know your thoughts. We like to hear from you!

The people behind the paper

Street Roots, the Albina Community Bank in the Pearl and some of Portland’s best photographers are teaming up to present a month long exhibit titled “The people behind the paper.”

You are invited to the opening on First Thursday, Nov.5 at 6 p.m. at 430 NW 10^th Ave. in the Pearl. (You are also invited to stop by during normal business hours anytime in November to see the show.

The exhibit features the work of photographers Leah Nash, Ken Hawkins, John Ryan Brubaker, Elizabeth Schwatrz and Mary Edmeades, shot exclusively for Street Roots.

Dear Amazing Street Roots Staff and Vendors,

I read every single article and poem in each edition of your paper. I love the harmonious blend of honest, courageous coverage of the raw experiences of people we see every day…some of whom are going through some of the worst times in their lives.

You bring a face and a beating heart to what many people would rather turn away from. I like talking to the vendors and making that human connection. I like shaking their hands. I like shooting the breeze with them. I never thought I’d be homeless, but one day I was: with a newborn baby in my arms. It happens. One day you’re earning $55,000 a year as a professional working in a high rise building downtown, and then one day you’re sleeping without a roof. It happens. The bottom line is, we all deserve respect. We all deserve compassion.

Thank you, Street Roots for helping us make the connection. Thank you for keeping our hearts beating with love and not letting us turn a blind eye! Thank you for your devotion to such a noble cause. Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

A.A.W., Portland

Where the grass is always greener with Rick Steves

I’ve been to paradise,” a line from an ’80s pop song goes, “but I’ve never been to me.” In a strange way, travel guru Rick Steves has been to a paradise, too, but he’s found that the best places to visit, the ones where you learn the most about yourself, are those where you connect with the locals.

Steves should know. For decades, he’s been bopping around the globe — Spain, Italy, France, Turkey — having adventures that have led him outside the bubble of resort hotels and into a deeper understanding of the world we inhabit. And while most people know him through his PBS show, “Rick Steves: Europe through the Back Door,” his globetrotting isn’t merely Euro-centric. He’s not afraid to step foot in non-touristy, non-Western locales, such as El Salvador or Nicaragua. He ventures to these destinations — the ones that travel companies rarely recommend — because he believes that within the travel experience, there exists a chance to become politically engaged with the world. It’s a notion reflected on his blog, “Travel as a Political Act.”

His political side extends past the borders of international travel. An unrepentant social activist, Steves, who was born in Edmonds, Wash., has worked to bring attention to homelessness and is an outspoken proponent of marijuana reform. All of which means he’s a busy man with a lot of opinions, Steves, in between travels, spoke about what travel can offer, his observations of some Iranian girls, the rise of the megalopolis, his very first trip and the first time he got high.

Rosette Royale: First question, really basic: Why do people travel?

Rick Steves: Well, the famous quote is: “Living on this planet and not traveling is like having a great book and never turning the page.” Travel carbonates your life; it challenges truths you were raised thinking were God-given; it lets you empathize better with people’s struggles; and it lets you know there are other ways of thinking, so you’re less self-assured in the way you look at life. And I find that humbling and exciting.

R.R.: Do you think it’s the same to travel across town or across the state, as opposed to going to another country?

R.S.: Well, in a sense, traveling is meeting people. So you can travel around the world and not meet people and you haven’t done much traveling. Or you can travel across town and talk to people you wouldn’t otherwise, and you could argue that that’s valuable travel. I just really like the people aspect of travel.

R.R.: I guess it’s a Western perception that you think, “Well, you need money to travel.” So, do you?

R.S.: Well, you need money to go far away. And you need time. Time is often something that’s underestimated. Americans tend to have more money than time, so I think it’s real important that Americans find a way to get more time and use their time smartly, as well as their money. But yeah, to travel to Europe, to Mexico: Unfortunately it’s quite expensive. You can travel domestically pretty cheaply. You can hitchhike to California and travel for the cost of your hamburgers and fries.

Janet Buckmaster works the front lines of women fleeing domestic violence

From the Oct. 16 edition of Street Roots

Janet Buckmaster remembers helping a woman who was a victim of domestic violence while Buckmaster was a paralegal in Northern California 30 years ago. The woman was in her 30s, and her husband was in his 60s. She came to Buckmaster on “this horrible cold December day,” and told Buckmaster that when her husband drank, he started to point his gun at her and her kids. Buckmaster helped the woman get a restraining order, and the office Buckmaster worked for at the time helped the woman with her divorce case.

When Buckmaster returned to work after a vacation in August of the next year, she read the local paper and learned that the husband had shot the woman five times, killing her.

Buckmaster says that when she goes to work every day, she thinks to herself that she might read about one of her clients in the paper a few weeks or months down the line.

“I’ve only experienced that once or twice more since I’ve been here, or at least that I’m aware of, which surprises me,” Buckmaster says.

Rachel Payton talks domestic violence

From the Oct. 16 edition of Street Roots

Now being dubbed “the Gateway Center” by domestic-violence service workers and advocates, because it will be located near 122nd Avenue and East Burnside, the center will offer an array of services, including shelter, emergency food and clothing, child care and legal resources.

“It’s the realization of a long vision,” says Kris Billhardt, the director of Volunteers of America’s Home Free program, which provides emergency and transitional services for victims of domestic violence.

On Oct. 9, during the awarding of the Judge Herrell Award for Outstanding Collaborative Efforts to End Family Violence, Billhardt looked forward to the opening of the Gateway Center in 2010, while also not forgetting the effect the recession has had on people who try to stop domestic violence, as well as those who suffer from it.

“How many stayed in abusive homes because they lost their jobs? How many experienced an escalation of violence because the abuser lost his job?” Billhardt asked during her keynote speech.

According to figures collected by the Portland Police Bureau, the city received 5,378 incident reports related to domestic violence this year. In 2006, there were a total of 6,000. Domestic violence accounts for 49 percent of all simple assaults in Portland.

The Judge Herrell Award is named in honor of Judge Herrell, who was a family-law judge in Multnomah County in the 1980s and an advocate for victims of domestic violence and their children.

This year, the award was given to Rachel Payton, an advocacy coordinator with Volunteer of America’s Home Free program, and Janet Buckmaster, a paralegal at Legal Aid Services of Portland, and the Safe Start Team, a Gresham-based multidisciplinary group working directly with the Gresham Child Welfare Office.

Street Roots talked to Payton and Buckmaster (See page next blog post) about the work they do for victims of domestic violence, the Gateway Center, and whether domestic violence is something that can be ended.

Rachel Payton

Volunteers of America’s Home Free program, which Payton works for as an advocacy coordinator, provides emergency services to victims of domestic violence, including shelter referrals, motel vouchers, children services, and support groups. The program also offers transitional services and rental assistance in an effort to help survivors find permanent housing.

As a child, Payton witnessed domestic violence firsthand. She says that her stepfather abused her mother, who also was abused by two other boyfriends. Payton says her mother was always physically protective of her, but the abuse trickled down emotionally.

Sen. Jeff Merkley joins a crew of senators taking aim at the Patriot Act and the telecom companies it rode in on

From the Oct. 16 edition of Street Roots

For eight years now, nearly all things bad coming out of the federal government were tainted by the jingoistic Patriot Act, that sweeping piece of patchwork legislation that chewed up the U.S. Constitution and spit out a new era of government spying, imprisonment and corporate impunity.

That may sound a bit harsh, but considering it created warrantless wiretapping and secretive investigations on U.S. citizens, bound and gagged federal watchdogs, and subsequently allowed telecommunication companies to spy on us with impunity, it’s tough to pitch it harshly enough.

But there are efforts underway in Washington, D.C. to correct at least parts of the Patriot Act’s most egregious elements. Oregon’s freshman senator, Democrat Jeff Merkley, has signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts, or Justice Act, introduced by Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). The Justice Act would reform the USA Patriot Act, the Federal Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, and other surveillance authorities to help restore judicial oversight.

In addition to the Justice Act, Merkley also has co-authored the Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act to amend the FISA Amendments Act, which shielded companies from liability for illegally violating their customers’ privacy during the Bush administration.

Merkley talked with Street Roots about the need for the legislation and the tough road it faces to a signature from the Obama White House.

Joanne Zuhl: There are three expiring provisions to the Patriot Act that the Justice Act addresses: that includes the government searches of people’s personal records, roving wiretaps and greater government oversight on national security letters, which cleared the way for surveillance on broadly defined targets, including U.S. citizens. Give us your views on what significant changes this bill would make.

Jeff Merkley: The Bush administration went way out of bounds in violating the constitutional privacy of Americans, and we are trying to re-establish that right while setting it in reasonable balance to access to information. The National Security Letters, for example, should be used to obtain records of people who have connections with terrorism or espionage, but not to have a broad authority to obtain basic information without a court order on basically anyone for any reason. In each of these areas it’s really significantly establishing more oversight and tightening the oversight of how these powers can be used.

J.Z.: You say the Bush administration went way out of bounds with the Patriot Act. Give us some examples of what you consider some of the most egregious activities under this act.

J.M.: One was granting immunity to the telecom companies. Americans have every right to know exactly what their companies did and they should be accountable under the law. But that immunity provision means we’ll never know what happened and there will be no accountability, which makes it very hard to make sure that in the future, companies thoroughly respect the constitutional safeguards of Americans. So that’s one example: Use of FISA courts to obtain information without warrants when they could have obtained the warrants with very little trouble. But they just basically wanted to establish their authority that they had the right to anything at any time, rather than demonstrating their case and getting a suitable warrant or doing so within the former appropriate time period.

J.Z.: Is this merely a correction to the checks and balances of the government, or are you looking at rescinding the broad powers that were granted under the previous administration?

J.M.: I think this will put us back much closer to where we were before the Bush administration tore big holes in the privacy protections for American citizens.

Central City Concern celebrates exhibit at the Golden West Building

On Thursday, October 22^nd, Central City Concern will host an “unveiling” celebration for a newly installed permanent exterior exhibit on two sides of the Golden West Building, former center of Portland’s African-American social and business life in the first decades of the twentieth century. The celebration will be free and open to the public, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm, at Carleton Hart Architects, 322 NW 8^th Avenue. The event will feature timeless music from “Sweet Baby James,” a song from the Portland Center Stage production “Ragtime” performed by actors Gavin Gregory  and Rachael Ferrera, and remarks at 5:30 by City of Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard and members of the project advisory committee.

The exhibit tells a social and ethnic story of the vibrant African-American community in Portland in the early 1900s and the successes and challenges of its residents.  “In that early generation of the Black community here…you could find the very powerful strains of what you might call pursuit of the American dream,” said Dr. Darrell Millner, Professor in the Black Studies Department at Portland State University and a consultant on the exhibit.

Street Roots weighs in on Sidewalk Management Plan

Editorial in the current edition of Street Roots (Oct. 16)

Opportunities lie ahead to build up, not down

There are many reasons to have a doom-and-gloom attitude about the economy and homelessness in Portland. We know businesses are hurting. People are hurting. Workers are feeling the brunt of layoffs and uncertainty heading into the holiday season. There are bills to pay and hungry mouths to feed. That comforting sense of security has long since vanished.

Right alongside all those uncertainties are people who sleep in our doorways, under our bridges and along makeshift paths stretched across our city. It all signals a weary and unforgiving winter ahead.

On the street, the buzz is about the new Sidewalk Management Plan. Street Roots has been getting calls from supporters, organizers, politicians and foundations on what our thoughts are on the Sidewalk Management Plan. So, what do we think?

We think a real opportunity exists to change the way Portland messages and works for with individuals on the streets.

On the front end, the plan is fantastic and builds a base for ongoing support for services, such as public restrooms, that are essential not just for people experiencing poverty, but all Portlanders. But concerning homelessness on our sidewalks and neighborhood corners, there are two ways the city can go: the familiar route of antagonism, or a new path of cooperation.

The city could opt for an anti-panhandling campaign that will fire up the engines of advocates for people on the streets and groups such as the ACLU. If the city goes for the anti-panhandling strategy, the plan risks being polarizing and falling into patterns that have failed many times before in cities across the U.S.  And at the end of the day, it doesn’t get to heart of the problem – which isn’t panhandling per se, so much as it aggressive behavior.

Or the city could choose, through a public education campaign, to engage people on the streets through outreach from social-service agencies and support from the broader community.

What if the general community was asked to give to services and support a larger spectrum of goals set out to curb the problem without saying don’t give to panhandlers? In the end, it’s not the city’s responsibility to direct or discourage any particular form of individual charity, but it is entirely appropriate for the city to spread the word on how people can plug in to and support the great programs Portland offers. Services that exist for people experiencing homelessness are strained, just like small and large businesses in this economy, and that strain ripples across the streets.

Why not beef the outreach up and engage people into getting into housing and accessing services? For those who choose to step over the line and commit aggressive acts, there are tools for addressing that behavior. Not everyone is kind, housed or homeless. There has to be personal accountability on the streets and it’s that simple. Why not educate people on the streets to show kindness and respect when facing adversity and survival? Street Roots does it every day with its vendor program, and it works.

If we embrace the approach of what we can do, instead of what we can’t, we might not have to read about police stings and anti-panhandling campaigns anymore. And instead of seeing negative stereotypes reinforced in the daily headlines, we might get some good news about a city that chooses to stand up together, instead of tearing one another down.

Extra! Extra!

Not much you can buy for a buck these days, except for the finest newspaper west of the Rockies! That’s right! Street Roots is a bargain to you and a big deal to our awesome community vendors, who will be stocked with these great stories bright and early Friday morning:

Where the grass is always greener: World travel host Rick Steves talks about traveling as a political act and how it reflects on his views of the country he calls home, including his views on marijuana. Rosette Royale gets an exclusive interview with a man who might surprise you.

Two honored for work to end domestic violence: Amanda Waldroupe talks with two women who are changing the lives of countless others with their work to end domestic violence.

A measure of justice: Joanne Zuhl interviews Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley on his support of a new bill that seeks to correct egregious gaps in oversight in the Bush administration’s notorious Patriot Act. It would also repeal immunity for telecommunication companies in cahoots with the government to spy on U.S. citizens.

“These are normal blue-collar Americans”: Says Papa Roach front man Jacoby Shaddix, whose own experience with homelessness has had a profound impact on his life.

The torture doctors: A growing chorus of experts and investigators have accused physicians working for coalition forces of hiding the effects of torture, colluding with the individuals responsible and even participating in torturous acts.

And so much more than the mere Web can handle! Find out for yourself, with a smart purchase from your friendly neighborhood vendor. Thank you!

Suspension falls short of accountability Chasse deserves

From the Oct. 2 edition of Street Roots

On Sept. 17, the Mental Health Association of Portland delivered a letter to Mayor Sam Adams, Police Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Police Chief Rosie Sizer requesting the release of the internal investigation on the fate of James Chasse on Sept. 17, 2006. This letter joined a petition signed by more than 300 citizens and a status report of the important events which occurred since James died.

Because the district attorney failed to file charges against the officers who brutally beat James and then stood by while he died, Rosie Sizer’s investigation into whether officers violated bureau rules would decide whether the officers kept their jobs.

We had waited for three years.

News of recovery doesn’t mean we’re breathing any easier

“Hello, I saw your ad in the paper, I was calling to inquire about the open position… OK, thank you…. Hi, I saw your ad on craigslist, I was calling to see.. oh, OK, well thank you for your time… Good morning, I was calling to see if your company was currently hiring…”

I so admired Keith. My last month or so working at The Downtown Chapel, he would get on the phone each and every morning and make calls like these. I was often downstairs doing office work, right next to the public phone where Keith would set up base each day. His quiet persistence on the phone with countless potential employers soon became the soundtrack for our mornings together.

If he ever got discouraged, he rarely showed it. After pulling for him from a distance for several weeks, I finally worked up the courage to talk to him about his job search. One morning, as he was refilling his coffee, our eyes met. I took the opportunity to encourage him, “You know, Keith, I couldn’t help but overhear you making some inquiries about jobs last week; I just want you to know that I’m rooting for you.” As I watched him turn my words over in his mind, he smiled so quickly, if I had blinked, I would have missed it. He quietly thanked me, sat to finish his coffee, and then left.

The beggars come to the opera

From the Oct. 2 edition of Street Roots

You could say it was only a matter of time before the sit-lie ordinance, people being spare-changed multiple times per block near Pioneer Square, Portland’s unique political establishment, and Reed College hipsters became the subjects of art.

Inspired “by people who are making it through the night not living with a roof over their heads,” local singer, performing artist and writer Stephen Marc Beaudoin is taking on those topics, and many others he thinks makes Portland great (and not so great) in his musical adaptation of “The Beggar’s Opera.”

Written in 1728 by John Gay, “The Beggar’s Opera” is a satire set to musical theater (the precursor to the modern-day musical) about Polly Peachum, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peachum, who runs off with Macheath, a famous highwayman simultaneously carrying on an affair with Lucy Lockit. Mr. and Mrs. Peachum want to kill Macheath for his money, as does Lucy Lockit.

Through scheming, wheeling and dealing, Lucy Lockit and the Peachums conspire throughout the musical how to kill Macheath and then split his fortune. In the end, Polly winds up marrying Macheath to everyone’s happiness, but not before a jailbreak, a near death-by-poison experience, and four (pregnant) women separately claiming that Macheath is her husband.

In telling Polly’s story, “The Beggar’s Opera” satirizes everything about London culture at that time, including class relationships and warfare, political corruption, sex scandals and poverty.

“The idea that people of means can break the law and get away from it and people not out of means break the law and suffer is very much at the heart of the piece,” Beaudoin says.

The 15 actors in Beaudoin’s musical adaptation are homeless individuals living in a camp together, trying to survive in Portland. Finally feeling like they no longer have any influence over their miserable lives, they decide to work together to put on a production of “The Beggar’s Opera,” playing characters inspired by City Commissioner Randy Leonard, singing diva Storm Large, and set in a city Beaudoin sees as much defined by Voodoo Doughnuts as by its 11.6 percent unemployment rate.

Two weeks before the musical’s October 22 opening at the Someday Lounge, Beaudoin sat down with Street Roots before a rehearsal to talk about what he calls his biggest creative undertaking since moving to Portland three and a half years ago.

Amanda Waldroupe: I understand that you were commissioned by Opera Theater Oregon to write an adaptation of the “Beggar’s Opera.” Why you, and why this particular play?

Stephen Marc Beaudoin: I’ve been dying to do this piece for a long time. It’s existed 300 years and continues to be reinvented and revisited. It’s timely because class warfare, philandering politicians, abuse of power and social inequality still exist in just as pronounced (ways) if not more so than in 1728.

A.W.: Why were you dying to do it?

S.M.B.: The original is a work that grabs you. It’s astonishing to read the original and feel the heat coming off the page as if it were just written yesterday. That aspect of it is really strong to me.

A.W.: Why does a play that satirizes everything from politics, corruption and wealth to poverty and injustice need to be told now?

S.M.B.: Because all of those things are here in abundance, everyday, in and around us all in Portland.

A.W.: So it was easy to adapt “The Beggar’s Opera” to contemporary Portland.

S.M.B.: It seemed to be about this city. All of the disgusting, nasty, glorious, outrageous, ponderous, conflicting elements of this city existed in the original. I just wanted to yank it into today, and make it very markedly inspired by local celebrities and all of the wonderful, awful things that make Portland Portland. Portland is this funny little microcosm of America, isn’t it? In many ways, it’s not at all. In many ways, it is. We’re this utopian, very much talked about desirable city with booming real estate and creativity and major business and rah, rah, rah. And yet, the state of Oregon and Portland lead the county in terms of homelessness, joblessness, and hunger. Some of these issues are much discussed and much written about, but yet nothing really changes, does it?

A.W.: It seems like the air is thick with material for your adaptation in Portland right now.

S.M.B.: Oh, yeah.

A.W.: Does that disturb you?

S.M.B.: What’s going on in this city should disturb everyone living in this city. I don’t mean to disparage Portland. This piece is really a celebration of Portland in its curious and weird way, but it’s very easy to get caught up in all of us and day-to-day living, and the ways that we scrimp and push and kick other people to get what we need, whether it’s a job or whether it’s some other advancement. I lived in Boston for 8 years. That city was nothing like this city in terms of … the seriousness of what I would call social-justice issues, especially homelessness and joblessness, etcetera that make Portland Portland, but that in one sense you can walk on by those things, and become immune to them.

A.W.: Do you think the problems you just highlighted are ones that Portlanders are aware of?

S.M.B.: Yes and no. Do I think that average Portlanders, if there is such a thing, spend their weekends or their non-working hours volunteering or doing some concerted thinking about these issues? Some do. I think people are inherently out for survival. Especially now, as we’re “recovering” from this recession, or whatever the hell it is, people are very concerned with their own survival.

With winter coming, the city explores where people can sleep – legally

From the Oct. 2 edition of Street Roots

Just as the city of Portland, service providers and advocates are seeking ways to allow homeless individuals without access to shelter “get a decent night’s sleep,” a group of individuals has begun camping outside of City Hall, reminiscent of a three-week protest in May 2008.

Gathering outside of Mercy Corps’ Action Center near Skidmore Fountain on Sept. 28, a group of 20 homeless individuals signed a code of conduct, agreeing to not use drugs or alcohol, pick up after themselves and to respect others. Once they were all signed, they took the MAX to City Hall and set up their camping gear to sleep there during the night.

Organized by Art Rios, who was formerly homeless and has been involved with Sisters of the Road’s Civic Action Group, the group is camping outside of City Hall during the night for the same reasons, Rio says, that homeless people protested for three weeks outside of City Hall in 2008.

“Get the anti-camping ordinance suspended,” he says. “It’s about coming to a safe place to sleep for eight hours. We just want a campsite that’s safe.”

A statement released by Rios calls for the creation of safe places for tent cities, campsites and shelter before the weather turns cold.

“They (the city) need to open up more shelters and they know that, but we can show them they need to move it a little quicker,” says Chris Shields, 47, a homeless person who was part of the group sleeping outside of City Hall.

In the last few months, the Portland Housing Bureau and members of the Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness, the committee of Portland Housing Bureau members, advocates, and nonprofit service providers that oversee and implement the City’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness have been considering ways that might address Rios’ and the camper’s concerns.

An informal committee calling itself the Alternative Workgroup, convened by Sally Erickson, the manager of the Portland Housing Bureau’s Ending Homelessness Initiative, has met three times during the past two months, with a narrow focus: think of ways that homeless people who camp outside, either willfully or because they cannot get into shelter, can sleep through the night safely. The work group includes representatives from Sisters of the Road, Street Roots, and several people experiencing homelessness, including Street Roots’ vendor Leo Rhodes.

“It’s in all of our interests that everyone is able to stay warm and healthy,” says Marc Jolin, the executive director of the outreach agency JOIN, who is a member of the Coordinating Committee and the Alternatives Workgroup. “If they can’t get a good night’s sleep, they can’t stay healthy, their ability to help themselves is severely compromised.”

On Sept. 16, the Alternatives Workgroup presented its 13 recommendations to the Coordinating Committee.