Ways to support vendors on the streets this summer!

by Israel Bayer

It’s summertime. Time to soak up the sun, and be outdoors. If you’re new to Portland than you’re experiencing what it’s actually like to live in a city where people are abound. For months, Portland feels like a sleepy little city tucked away in the beautiful Willamette Valley — lost somewhere under a cloud that stretches for thousands of miles across the Pacific. In the summer, the town comes alive and you may find yourself thinking aloud, “Where did all of these people come from?” Enjoy it.

Summertime is also a time when SR paper sales dip for vendors. We understand. People’s lives are busy, and the idea of curling up at home and reading a newspaper feels less appealing. It’s also a time when popular sales locations like Portland State are on break, and many family and friends find themselves traveling about and vacationing.

Lecture series celebrates Burnside: A community

The PDX Re-Print Lecture Series will present Burnside: A Community, a book of photographs from the Old Town/ Chinatown area in the 1970s  by self-taught photographer Kathleen Ryan. The event takes place this Thursday, June 30 at 7pm, at Sisters Of The Road Cafe (133 NW 6th Ave.). $10 sliding scale is recommended.

The lecture will begin with the book’s author Kathleen Ryan in conversation with Street Roots Director Israel Bayer. The event will then open to Suenn Ho and Julie McCurdy, who will speak about their respective work with MulvannyG2 Architecture and Sisters Of The Road Cafe. Together, the group will explore the book’s relevance to Portland today, before a Q & A with the audience.

Documented in the book by Ryan are the flophouses, theaters and saloons  of skid row, with attention to the neighborhood’s ethnic and historical origins. The book opens a wider examination of the history of homelessness in Portland as well as current struggles. The book is being republished by The Dill Pickle Club with a new forward from Street Roots’ Executive Director Israel Bayer.

The PDX Re-Print Lecture Series is a series of four publications and free public lectures celebrating obscured and out-of-print books on Portland’s visual culture. Held at roving venues on last Thursdays at 7PM, lectures bring together authors, scholars, activists and community members, who will use the books to discuss how we understand our city. Each book will be reissued for sale by Publication Studio on the night of the lecture.

TriMet Youth Pass: Creating our transit riders of the future

Commentary  from OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and the Multnomah County Youth Commission

by Katherine Westmoreland and Grayce Bentley

Our region prides itself on sustainability, ideally a harmonious balance between economic vitality, environmental health and social equity. In order to meet our sustainability challenges for the coming decades, we need the commitment and innovation to support a permanent Youth Pass transit program for all middle and high school students throughout the tri-county region.

One of the legacies of Sisters in Action for Power, a dynamic nonprofit that empowered young women of color, was the adoption of a transit pass policy in 2000 for Portland Public School students on free- and reduced-lunch programs. By retiring its “yellow bus” fleet, PPS provided free TriMet passes to over 2,500 low-income students at a cost of approximately $800,000 per year. In 2005, the Multnomah Youth Commission advocated for the creation of YouthPass, and both Mayors Potter and Adams supported using the Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program to expand the program to over 13,000 PPS high-school students.

Unfortunately, the BETC is under attack in the Oregon Legislature, and the funding source for YouthPass is almost certain to disappear. OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and the MYC are renewing community efforts to advocate for a permanent YouthPass program, and call upon the Legislature to find a stop-gap solution to ensure that the current program is preserved. From a triple-bottom line perspective, the cost of not supporting YouthPass is too great to ignore.

Extra! Extra!

In this hustle and bustle world, isn’t nice to know there’s one place you can always go and get a smile and a thank you, along with solid information? That’s your neighborhood Street Roots vendor on the job, holding down the corners and holding up the finest independent news source in Portland. The new edition arrives early Friday morning. Here’s what’s headed your way:

Head cases: Screening, tracking and treating traumatic brain injury on the street is possible. Stacy Brownhill continues our in-depth series on traumatic brain injuries and homelessness, and how health care systems networks for the homeless could get involved.

 Interstate and beyond. Jake Thomas gives a historical perspective on the impact urban renewal efforts in North and Northeast Portland, right as the city prepares to take it even further.

 Janet Byrd: Getting the policy ball moving forward begins with how we craft the message. Israel Bayer interviews the executive director of Portland’s Neighborhood Partnerships_.

Diamonds are the poor’s best friend: An interview with environmentalist Saleem Ali about the benefits of a corporate structure, the dynamics of consumerism and the balance between green and greed.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s commentary from the Western States Center, poetry from the streets, letters and art! Don’t forget to tuck a buck in your back pocket on the way out the door tomorrow, and get your copy of Street Roots first thing! Thank you!

It’s … it’s … Courtenay Hameister!

The host of Portland’s own Live Wire! Radio talks the ugly business of comedy, stagefright and mental health  — with a nod to the familiar freak inside us all

By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Writer

Courtenay Hameister has a great job. It just scares her a little.

Most of us know her as the host, head writer and associate producer Live Wire! Radio, on OPB radio Saturday nights. But Hameister is also a prolific essayist, writing humorous pieces for specific events or on random, but important observations, and she is perpetually working on compiling her essays and musings into a book. She helped write the successful and quirky “Road House the Play,” with creator Shelley McClendon, and created, with Marc Acito, the reading series “True Stories.” She has written and produced short films through the film collective Cinema Syndicate, and is a regular on the Cort and Fatboy podcast, on which, she admits, she ends up talking about sex a lot.

See? Great job.

And to listen to her, this font seems to flow effortlessly. Which, of course, is simply the polished veneer of a seasoned professional. Writing, for Hameister, is a kicking and screaming process, she says, and the creativity always needs to be fed. A typical meal is a combination of collaboration, deadlines and a morbid fear of being figuratively naked in front of 400 audience members come Saturday night, when Live Wire! comes to life.

 Joanne Zuhl: Speaking about being in front of 400 people naked, I’ve read about your stage fright. You still struggle with that?

Courtenay Hameister: Oh yeah — absolutely.

Street Blues: Friends on the force are the hardest to leave behind

I’m with Portland Copwatch.  Why are you harassing this man?”

I looked up in disbelief from Mr. Jarmer, an elderly, homeless regular of SE Hawthorne whom I’d gotten to know during my summer patrolling the area on a bicycle.  A former college teacher, malt liquor was guiding his life now.  He usually sported a lucid, good-humored buzz, but today my partner and I discovered him lying on the sidewalk, highly inebriated and unable to walk because of some sort of leg injury.  I was trying to decipher his slurred account of his leg problem when the twenty-something man interrupted me with his demanding tone. 

Part II: Why diagnosing traumatic brain injuries on the streets matters

Street Roots is in the process of running an in-depth series on Brain injuries and homelessness. Read “All in their heads,” our first report on traumatic brain injury. Look for Part III: “Head Cases,” in the up and coming edition of Street Roots where we lay out how other cities are moving forward on the topic. Also read the SR editorial here.

Part II: Why diagnosing traumatic brain injuries on the streets matters

By Stacy Brownhill, Contributing Writer

James Smith is a 53-year-old Portland veteran who used to have a job he loved. After a car accident left him with traumatic brain and neck injuries in 2005, Smith lost his job, ran out of money and wound up on the streets. When Smith tried to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), he was denied three times because he was flagged as violent. He was loud, angry and high-strung — symptoms of traumatic brain injury, or TBI. For years, Smith sunk deeper into despair. This week, with the help of Portland law firm Swanson, Thomas & Coon and Central City Concern’s BEST program, Smith won his second hearing. The benefits he was awarded will give Smith a house, health care and a new life.

If you read the article in our last issue “All in their heads,” (Street Roots, May 27) you’ll remember a similar story of Nick Patton, a homeless Portlander who was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia when he was really having seizures from a TBI that had happened years earlier.

Editorial: TBI research another tool in addressing homelessness

In this edition, we run our second of three installments on traumatic brian injury, or TBI. In the first installment (All in their heads, May 27) Street Roots ran an in-depth feature piece introducing the subject, and Nick Patton, a formerly homeless Portlander who was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia for seven years when he was really having seizures from TBI that happened earlier in his life.

On page 3 of this edition we highlight why diagnosing TBI on the streets matters, in more ways than one. We introduce another individual affected by TBI, Jamie Smith, a veteran who lost his job, ran out of money, and eventually became homeless. Six years later he has finally won his Social Security Disability claim with the help of a local non-profit, Central City Concern, and the law firm Swanson, Thomas and Coon.

Ruth Kovacs — Moving on: Life and family beckon from Chicago

An open letter to friends at Street Roots, KBOO, prisoners and their loved ones, and all the folks who support issues of concern that have become my focus for the more than 20 years that I have lived in Portland:

Early in my days of activism, I heard a story that has stuck with me for many years. It takes place in the days of The Roman Empire, when the rich had slaves, and the poor (or the prisoners taken during conquests) were the slaves. There was no middle class. If you were not rich (and a slave owner) or a slave, you were from the poor working class  — whether it be as farmers, struggling to live off the land, exploited by high taxes, or in a service position where you were overworked and underpaid, and exploited by high taxes.

BTA: Bike sharing could be coming to Portland: Do you believe?

By Margaux Mennesson, Contributing Columnist

Anyone can ride a bike in Portland.

That’s the idea behind the proposal for a new bike sharing program aimed at increasing the number of bicycle trips and providing low-cost access to bikes for residents and visitors in the central city.

Homelessness on the rise in Multnomah County

The City of Portland and Multnomah County are showing an overall increase in people experiencing homelessness.

The latest 2011 Point-in-time count conducted by the city and county showed 2,727 people who were homeless — meaning sleeping in emergency shelter, vouchered into motels or sleeping outdoors. An additional 1,928 people were sleeping in transitional housing on the night of the count, bringing the total number of individuals and families to 4,655.

Levels of homelessness in Multnomah County were 7 to 9 percent higher compared with recent counts in 2009 and 2010.

Several disturbing trends are highlighted in the report, including the number of unsheltered families with children has risen 35 percent.

“I am very concerned about the growing number of families with children on the streets and in shelter,” says County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury.  “While this report shows that we have increased the availability of emergency shelter, we can and must do better for the families in our community.   Our hope is that every family who comes to us in crisis is safe, off the street and back into a home as quickly as possible.”

Another sign that gentrification and the lack of equity across the city is having an effect are that populations of color made up 46% of the homeless population compared to only 29% of the overall population. The report notes that the over-representation is especially high for Native and African Americans.

Twelve percent of the homeless population in Portland and Multnomah County are U.S. Veterans.

The city and county report comes on the heels of statewide cuts to human services, and a recent report from the State of Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services showing an overall increase of homelessness of 29 percent.

The reports are mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and help determine future funding for housing and homeless services dollars.

Read the 2011 Homelessness Count Report.

Posted by Israel Bayer

Shackled by old laws, Oregon’s budget is locked in its prisons

By David Rogers, Contributing Columnist

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California must drastically reduce its prison population to address overcrowding. With a system capacity rated for 80,000 prisoners, California’s system currently holds 140,000 people, which, in the court’s opinion, creates conditions that qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.

Oregon’s prison problem has not yet reached the extreme crisis level of California, but Oregon’s ever-increasing prison growth and spending should not be dismissed. Oregon obviously has a much smaller general population than California, but, proportionally, Oregon has also experienced dramatic prison growth.

Will concerns about public safety help reform the Psychiatric Security Review Board?

By Amanda Waldroupe, Staff Writer

As minimum security patients at the Oregon State Hospital, Matthew Kirby, 22, and a 40-year old man identified as “Emmanuel Goldstein” for this article are allowed to do quite a bit.

They can leave the hospital’s grounds under the supervision of one hospital staff person, and could, for instance, eat at any of Salem’s restaurants. Other higher security patients leave their wards in shackles, if they leave at all.

Kirby and Goldstein can wear their own clothes, have their own cell phone, laptop, and  other possessions with them. They can access the kitchen in the middle of a night for a snack.

One might say their lives are bearable. But Kirby and Goldstein say they are still institutionalized.

SR is hiring a part-time grant writer

Grant Writer: 

This is a 10-hour per week, contracted position, paid at $20.00/hr. for actual hours worked.

The goal of this position is to ensure Street Roots obtains grant funding for its programs, including the Street Roots newspaper, vendor program, Rose City Resource Guide, and social justice efforts.

This position will be responsible for the development and implementation of a grants funding plan, including researching funding opportunities and for developing and submitting grants proposals to a variety of funding sources.  This position will also participate in the development of Street Roots’ annual budget and various program and project budgets.

Inclusionary zoning combines social justice, community health

By Jon Ostar, Contributing Columnist

On May 24, Oregon House Bill 3531 got its first public hearing in Salem. HB 3531 repeals the statewide prohibition on inclusionary zoning. Inclusionary zoning is a practical tool that allows local jurisdictions to require that affordable housing units be built along with market-rate housing. In return, cities and counties can provide developers with variances and benefits, such as density bonuses, fee waivers and permit expedition in order to offset the cost of including housing units at affordable levels. The appeal of inclusionary zoning is that it allows local communities to customize a housing policy that meets the needs of their residents. This tool is an effective response to “exclusionary” development practices, which, combined with urban renewal policies, prioritize market-rate urban development at the expense of affordable housing.

Inclusionary zoning is not a new practice. The tool was first used in 1974 in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the inclusionary zoning ordinance has created over 10,000 affordable housing units over the past thirty years. The use of this tool is also widespread. It is estimated that there are approximately 400 local jurisdictions across the country using some version of inclusionary zoning policies. The popularity of the tool is due to its flexibility: from the number of affordable units required to the income levels which qualify for the housing, jurisdictions can tailor the tool to meet their local needs. It can work for urban, suburban and rural areas alike. The tool is also effective as an alternative housing creation opportunity that relies on a public-private sector partnership rather than on federal dollars or public subsidies.