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If you are already a regular customer of Melissa Walsh, one of Street Roots great vendors, you’ll especially enjoy this edition of Street Roots. It features a story in pictures of Melissa and her husband Sean’s lives, including the obstacles they face and the love between them that carries them through.

And if you’ve never met Melissa or Sean, come and discover this incredible couple that are among so many finding their own path to survival in this city. It’s a compelling piece of photojournalism by Leah Nash that you won’t want to miss.

Street Roots hits the pavement first thing Friday morning, and your vendor will be ready and waiting with this and many other stories to share!

Also in this issue:

“We want to live in peace.” The words of Isdud Al Najjar, who was recently honored for her work with Mercy Corps in Palestine. Joanne Zuhl interviewed Mrs. Al Najjar during her visit to receive the humanitarian award.

The last Republican: Investigative journalist Max Blumenthal looked deep into the heart of the Republican Party. What he found should make the GOP blush. Rosette Royale reports.

Plus, columns by Sally Martin and Ruth Kovacs, an interview on the Street News Service, a biting editorial on what really needs to be done on the housing front, and much more. Thanks, as always, for your tremendous support, and for proving time and time again that Street Roots readers are the finest in town!

Thomas Greco talks economics

Money is the root of all evil, so the saying goes.

It’s not just a tired platitude, says Thomas Greco, who has spent the past 30 years studying that notion, reaching one conclusion. “The money problem” as he calls it, has to go.

Greco is an economist, author and consultant on alternative economic systems that wrest control from multinational corporations and return it to the common man. The titles of his books, “The End of Money” and the “Future of Civilization,” echo his mantra that it’s not just about the little guy getting more money. It’s about the future of our planet, our health and our democracy.

And it’s not just the wishful thinking of a disgruntled academic. The systems Greco supports are in operation around the world, including in the United States. They include the LETS movement — Local Exchange Trading Systems. And the Swiss WIR Bank, a credit-clearing system that has more than 70,000 members, not to mention all the national and international barter exchanges that involve hundreds of thousands of businesses trading in billions of dollars of goods and services.

Joanne Zuhl: At what point in your life did you realize that the current monetary system had to be replaced?

Thomas Greco: That goes back 30 years. I was teaching in the college of business in upstate New York, and essentially money and banking was being taught pretty much to accept the system as it is, with the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund and the money creation process, but I really didn’t understand any of that.

It wasn’t until I had left my academic career behind and got involved in the peace and justice movement that I began to see information that was calling into question the dominant paradigm and the structures of banking and money that we had inherited in the past.

I was trying to get to the basic causes of the world’s problems, like starving amidst plenty, the gaps in income and wealth around the world, why some countries were very affluent while other were economic basket cases, and why we had recurrent wars. And in the process of doing my research, I quickly realized that there were a number of causes at different levels. We have the personal values added to beliefs, cultural factors that dispose us in certain direction, but those all result in some fundamental structures: political, economic and social structures, and institutions that channel those ideas and channel human energy.

J.Z.: With the recent economic crisis, is the time ripe for a new understanding of alternative monetary systems?

T.G.: It is a ripe time because we’re starting to feel the pain right here at home. Before, we were able to export the problem to other countries, Third World countries, I called them economic colonies of the Western economies — Europe, the U.S. and Japan. By dominating markets, both the market and the politics, the Banana Republics have been under the thumbs of the United States for well over a century. The U.S. military has been the enforcement arm of the imperial ambitions of American companies, not just American, these are multinational companies with no allegiance to any one country.

J.Z.: It reminds me of “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” The author’s name escapes me, but it was very simply laid out how the banks and the military operated in vulnerable countries.

T.G.: John Perkins … he makes it very clear how that works. But before the United States, the empire was headed by Great Britain, and other European powers. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, you had many countries dominating other countries as political colonies and later as economic colonies.

We’ve seen a shift from political colonialism to economic colonialism, just as on the micro level we’ve seen a shift from overt slavery to wage slavery, but it sill reflects a shift in balances of power.

J.Z.: You say that your search for social justice led you to conclude that the economic model was the root of the problem. How, then, will a different system correct environmental and social injustice?

T.G.: I quickly came to realize that the fundamental linchpin, the keystone of this structure of power is the money and banking system. Money is the medium of exchange, and whoever controls the allocation of the medium of exchange controls the economy, and whoever controls the economy controls the politics.

The key to understanding all of this is to realize what the substance of money is. It’s just credit. It’s no longer gold or silver. It’s not even any longer bank notes redeemable for gold or silver. What’s behind the money today is a debt obligation. When a bank makes a loan, they create the money in the process of making the loan.

But banks, when they make a loan, they only create the principal and not the interest, the system has a debt imperative, which is a growth imperative. That’s why economists constantly talk about growth. Because we have ever-increasing debt. And this compound-interest formula, it forces growth to accelerate over time.

We’re seeing basically an explosion of the financial system with an explosion of debt. And as debtors try to service what they owe, they have to continually expand their profits, and so we continue to tear up more of our planet, to make more stuff, and we continue to consume more stuff and that’s what’s driving the consumer economy.

Once we realize that money is only credit, then we can take control and allocate it to whomever we want.

J.Z.: How would the alternative economy work?

T.G.: You create a credit-clearing organization, associated with a group of others, who are both producers and consumers. When you sell something into the system, your account is credited and when you buy something, it’s debited.

We’re reinventing money and banking from the bottom up. The banks have been perverse in their actions, and it’s gotten worse and worse over time. We used to have community banks that used to provide credit. Most community banks have been gobbled up by large bank holding companies. And the credit is allocated to big corporations.

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!

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.

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!

Three weeks, eight hours and what a coincidence

We at Street Roots don’t even attempt to compete with the Mighty O, what with their daily circulation and big staff, as it were. We trudge away on our tiny editorial budget, relying on volunteers, freelancers and vendors to cover stories from a perspective often overlooked by other media, including The Oregonian. Which is why it is heartening to see other papers like the O recognize important issues that we’ve brought to light in our pages and web presence.

But what a coincidence to see The Oregonian’s coverage of “Cops” filming at the St. Francis dining hall a mere eight hours after we posted it here on our blog and Facebook profile, along with an editorial and commentary from a St. Frances patron. It was almost immediately picked up by The Mercury, which noted the source and generated an even larger discussion about police judgement and the rights of the homeless.

However, The Oregonian never mentioned our original coverage of the story. Sure, news happens, and we’re often out there talking to the same people and covering the same issues around the same times, but the incident being written about happened three weeks ago. Three weeks.

It serves neither the publishers nor the consumers of news in this town to cannibalize our own.  The cache of news propriety is fleeting compared to the more important issues of journalistic standards and simple respect. Readers already know this. How could the O forget?

Posted by Joanne Zuhl

Editorial: Police tactics undermine city’s work

For years, St. Francis dining hall has been more than a place to gather for a meal. It is that rare plot of serenity and community for people dealing with poverty and homelessness. That was all shattered a few weeks ago when a team of police officers entered, through opposite doors, with a camera crew from the television show “Cops” and began filming as they looked for a suspect whom they were told by staffers was not there.

Recently, people waiting in line for a meal at Blanchet House were confronted by a plain-clothes officer who began asking them to identify a person in a picture. He also asked them for their identification, and ran them through the system. They were checked for criminal activity, and one person was arrested and then released after it was found he had a warrant for failure to appear in court. Staffers there say the questioning and ID check is not uncommon for their customers waiting outside for a warm meal.

And for months, the police have targeted Sisters of the Road Café as a nuisance area, compiling complaint calls from a two-block area, which includes bars, the bus mall, and an environment well documented for drug dealing unrelated to Sisters’ 30-year operation. Police are now in negotiations with Sisters to gain concessions for access to the café and its population.

Homelessness poses special challenges for H1N1 preparations

From the Sept. 18 edition of Street Roots.

Flu season, and perhaps a particularly nasty one, is on the horizon for everyone. On the streets, it looms like a pall.

The network of homeless providers face challenges unlike those for the housed populations, and with the H1N1 (formerly called the Swine Flu) vaccine still weeks away from being delivered to the public, and still then prioritized for distribution, questions remain as to how an outbreak would be managed at the street level. How would a serious outbreak play out in the shelter system, with its dormitories of mats and cots, or the clinics that are working under heavy loads with a vulnerable population, or simply the realities of another rainy season outdoors?

For the answers to those questions, all eyes seem to look to the county.

“There are couple of realities we’re going to face, particularly for those who utilize shelters,” says Gary Oxman, health officer for Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. “There’s a danger there of transmission of disease in those settings. Obviously, vaccination is a part of that strategy.”

Oxman said they anticipate receiving the H1N1 vaccine in the coming weeks, and it will be administered to those priority groups identified by the CDC and adopted by the state.

Those priorities are for pregnant women, children and their caregivers, health care workers and emergency personnel. It would also notably include people with high-risk health conditions.

Portland attorney and former interrogator Travis Hall talks about what interrogation once was, and what it should be again

From the Sept. 18 edition of Street Roots

Earlier this month, a federal appellate court ruled that former U.S. Attorney General John Ashscroft could be held personally responsible for the wrongful detention of detainees in the war against terrorism. The move exposes Ashcroft to civil lawsuits, and comes on the heals of lawsuits filed against former Bush adminstration attorney John Yoo, author of some of the so-called torture memos.

And in August, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder launched a preliminary investigation into the possible illegal use of torture by CIA interrogators.

These actions are the latest course taken by the Obama administration and civil libertarians in their pursuit of accountability in the detention and torture of suspects, and it takes another step closer in finding a resolution in the nation’s tragic exploration into torture.

Travis Hall is a former Army interrogator and an associate with the law firm Bateman Seidel in Portland. He also practices military law, representing active duty, reserve, and National Guard service members in adverse administrative proceedings and courts-martial. Hall also is a member of the Amnesty International Working Group for the Counter Terrorist with Justice Campaign.

Prior to joining Bateman Seidel, Hall was a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the Army. He was a trained interrogator in military intelligence. In his six years with the JAG Corps, Hall represented soldiers with the most complex legal challenges, including one of the soldiers charged in the case that later became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary, “Taxi to the Dark Side. “

After 9/11, the Army assigned Hall as one of the legal planners for the invasion of Iraq, focusing on the reconstitution of the Iraq legal system. He was one of the first judge advocates deployed in Baghdad in 2003, and he conducted the initial surveys of the Iraqi criminal courts, jails, and prisons.

We started the conversation with Hall’s own training and experience as an interrogator.

Travis Hall: When I went through interrogation school, it was just as the Cold War was winding down and counterinsurgency actions were starting to pick up and Bosnia was one of the first modern campaigns that dealt with interrogation for a low intensity conflict that involved cells verses a large organized armies. Initially, interrogation practice deals with training to exploit prisoners of war on the battlefield to provide intelligence to commanders to take action. At the interrogation school, the first week is spent exclusively, eight hours a day, for the first five days, on the Geneva Conventions, and you’re tested before you even conduct a mock interrogation, with regard to interrogating prisoners of war. And anybody who deviated from those rules at the school was kicked out of the program. In fact, I specifically remember that there was a discussion about how torture is counterproductive, principally because during the history of conflict, most individuals willingly cooperate without using any enhanced interrogations techniques. And there are a number of reasons for that. The second reason is that with the right amount of stress, either physical or psychological, a person is going to tell you what it is that they perceive is going to stop the abuse, and that information may or may not be true, and oftentimes is completely inaccurate.

Third, information obtained through coercive techniques, you can’t use on the battlefield. Because you can’t rely on the information, intelligence information has to be corroborated by two sources before you can take any action on it. So information obtained under duress is completely worthless information. Maybe as an interrogator you think you’re getting somewhere. In reality you’re wasting your time. And once you cross that line into using coercive techniques, that individual is not going to willingly cooperate with you, period, or anybody else who wears the uniform.

Will success spoil Michael Franti?*

From the Sept. 4 edition of Street Roots.

The song is infectious. A bouncing celebration of drum-n-strum bliss — and love, the cuddly kind, love between a boy and a girl, shakin’ it on the dance floor.

Michael Franti and Spearhead’s hit song “Say Hey,” isn’t angry; it’s not seething with the venom of a disenfranchised generation. It isn’t about seizing the day and thwarting regret — well, actually, it is — but the other stuff, Franti’s bread and butter, has never made it this far, this fast. Franti has carved a career out of politically charged lyrics and emotionally powerful works that both scold and embrace, if not entrance, the listener, because his activism — on issues of homelessness, war, and climate change — is inseparable from his music, giving him a cult following among throngs in both the hip hop and social justice movements that has never been jeopardized by commercial or corporate interests.

Until now. “Say Hey” is big, getting bigger. Mainstream big, unlike anything he’s done before.

But then, just as the song cracked Billboard’s top 40, perhaps out of rebellion or in an effort to put the man’s feet back on the ground, Franti’s appendix exploded.

Extra! Extra!

They say rain is headed our way, which means bring a plastic bag when you head out to pick up your new copy of Street Roots. These colors don’t run, but the paper gets sticky when wet. Here’s what’s fit to print this week:

Will success spoil Michael Franti? The hip hop/reggae rocker of Spearhead has his first megahit riding up the charts, but he’s keeping his (bare) feet on the ground with his grassroots activism. Joanne Zuhl spoke to Franti in advance of the band’s concert at the Roseland.

Healing lessons: How the U.S. can adopt a health care system that’s fairer and costs less. Adam Hyla interviews “Healing of America” author and researcher T.R. Reid.

Reuse, recycle, respect: Portland re-use artist Taylor Cass Stevenson reports on her travels and the obstacles for urban recyclers in the Third World.

Children of all ages: Portland photographer John Ryan Brubaker stopped by The Circus Project’s rehearsal in advance of their debut – a show o benefit the nonprofit’s work with at-risk and homeless youths.

All this and a crossword puzzle! Yes, you clamored and our vendors delivered the message loud and clear. Each edition of Street Roots will now feature a crossword puzzle on the back page, and we hope to hear from you as we work to put a Street Roots spin on each one. Thanks for your input and your support of our dynamic vendor team!

Who’s raking the muck? Harper’s editor lays out his vision of modern day journalism

From the August 21 edition of Street Roots

Like many people these days, Ken Silverstein has offered up more than a few biting words against America’s corporate media. But Silverstein, unlike a lot of armchair press pundits, has the credentials to know intimately the machinations behind the rise and fall of modern media.

As a former investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Silverstein — who also worked for the Associated Press in Brazil — covered the top echelons of political and corporate manipulation and corruption in the United States and abroad. He has investigated the foreign dealings of U.S. oil companies, prompting a federal grand jury and an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

A few years ago, Silvestein went undercover to see just how far lobbyists would go for their clients, in his case a fake company looking to bolster the image of Turkmenistan. The result is laid out in his book, “Turkmeniscam,” in which lobbyists vie for making the oppressive Stalinist regime palatable to the press, politicians and investers.

Today, Ken Silverstein is the Washington D.C. editor for Harper’s Magazine and writes Washington Babylon for Harper’s online. He is an ardent observer of the newspaper industry and the state of investigative journalism today, which is where we began our conversation.

Ken Silverstein: First of all, I want to say that there is excellent investigative journalism taking place today in the mainstream press. Because I think frequently there’s too much criticism. It’s ironic that often you go to blogs of both the left and right complaining so much about the mainstream press, and yet they’re linking almost exclusively to mainstream news items. That said, there is great reporting taking place and I think every day you can find it, but it’s not nearly as vibrant as it should be or used to be.

Of course, newspapers and the media in general are in crisis. Everybody is losing money. Nobody can figure out how to make money. Investigative reporting is very expensive and so it’s the easiest thing to cut.

I used to work at the L.A. Times, which, of course, has been decimated. I would be able to spend my time pretty freely on investigative reporting. I was on the investigative unit in D.C. and I remember once finding a very good story that involved traveling to Sudan. Well, I went to my boss and I didn’t even have to write her a memo. I laid out the story in a minute, and she said just start planning your trip. That’s becoming less and less frequent because there’s just not that much money and everybody’s cutting back.

Secondly, I do think the press is becoming worse. The Washington press corps in particular is far too close to the people it is supposed to be covering. And you have a very cozy situation where everybody knows each other — members of Congress and the lobbyists and the public relations consultants and journalists. And I think it’s taken a lot of the bite out of journalism. I don’t want to be romantic, because newspapers have always been pretty much a vehicle of propagating elite opinion. There’s no question that that’s always been the role of the newspaper. But even so, there’s been terrific hard-edge reporting from the beginning of the American newspaper industry.

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Thanks to all of you who wrote in about our vendors lately. We’ve known how great they are for years, and it’s good to hear it from their customers, too. So, if you haven’t talked to your vendor lately, you’ve got a great reason to swing by tomorrow morning. The new edition of Street Roots hits the pavement around 9 a.m. Friday. Here’s what’s inside:

Motel limbo: Some of Portland’s motels hide a troubling side to homelessness. Becca Robinson reports.

Loss of low-cost housing routing poor from downtown: Amanda Waldroupe reports on the latest figures on housing in the city’s center, and how services are looking beyond for affordable options for the poor.

Who’s raking the muck? Joanne Zuhl interviews Harper’s editor Ken Silverstein, who lays out his brutal vision of modern-day journalism.

HUD’s hopes for the future: HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan cut his teeth on homeless issues with the National Coalition for the Homeless. Now, homeless advocates want to hear how he will apply what he’s learned.

Plus more news, a new column by vendor Leo Rhodes, letters to the editor, and lots of attitude in between. Let us know your thoughts, and as always, thanks for your support!

Posted by Joanne Zuhl

Update on NW Oregon Families: Families on the fringe go month-to-month unsure of housing assistance

(Jennifer Cherry stands in the doorway of her home, holding the cancellation letter from the housing authority. Photo by Ken Hawkins.)

While hundreds of families in Northwest Oregon continue to live month-to-month in hopes of good news for their housing assistance, relief is trickling down from Washington D.C.
The federal government recently announced it will provide $30 million to people on Section 8 housing assistance, after authorities across the country reported massive shortfalls in funding.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, funds the Section 8 program through local housing authorities. Among them is the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority, which in May notified nearly 300 families in Tillamook, Clatsop and Columbia counties that the authority could no longer afford to provide them housing assistance (Street Roots, “The Letter,” June 12). According to news reports and testimony before Congress, the same was happening to authorities across the country, as the economic downturn overburdened the resources for housing assistance. (Street Roots, “The Perfect Storm,” June26)

For Jeff Crist and Jennifer Cherry, a family in Girabaldi Street Roots has been following throughout this crisis, life has been reduced to a stressful, monthly waiting game. The couple, who have three children, were among the hundreds of families dropped from the Section 8 program as of July. Because of disabilities, neither Jeff nor Jennifer have been able to work, and NOHA was covering about 90 percent of their rent.

Last month, NOHA elected to draw on its other funds to pay rent for families to stay in their homes on an immediate basis. Crist says they’re secure for the month of August with NOHA’s assistance, but he says they probably won’t know about September until late in the month.

“They’re playing the day-to-day-basis thing on us,” Crist says. “Hopefully one of these letters will say we’re going to help you like we were. But from day-to-day, you don’t know if you’re going to be packing or leaving.”

In the meantime, Crist says he continues to look for work wherever he might find it, but, he says, “it’s not looking really good right now. There are no job openings. But there’s a lot of work starting up. I’m keeping my eyes out for any little thing at the employment office.”

Cherry is recovering from surgery on a herniated disc in her neck. She is restricted to lifting no more than 10 pounds right now, which limits her work options. But she and Crist are hopeful that as she recovers that restriction will be lifted, and that as the economy strengthens, Crist can find work.

HUD has already spent $89 million of the $100 million set-aside fund provided annually by Congress to support housing authorities facing increased demand or “unforeseen circumstances.” HUD says the remaining $11 million will go to agencies that are on the verge of terminating families. The additional $30 million will go to agencies that are eligible to receive extraordinary administrative fees for technical assistance to prevent the termination of families. These funds can also be used to fund vouchers, according to HUD. The nation’s 2,400 housing authorities were notified at the start of August that the funds would be available. These agencies now have until Aug. 14 to notify HUD that they need this money to prevent existing voucher terminations.

Carol Snell, the executive director with NOHA, says that they immediately applied for $700,000 out of the $30 million HUD has made available. If they receive all of that, Snell says, NOHA expects to bring everyone who was terminated from the program back on to vouchers. The housing authority has already spent its reserves for housing, and at this time has no money to support those terminated past August, Snell said.

“We’re carrying people for as long as we can, but the housing authority does not have any other pots of money that we can go to to pay rents for September,” Snell said.

According to HUD, the funding shortfalls — revealed in May when HUD notified agencies of their 2009 allocations — have impacted about 15 percent of all public housing authorities. HUD says that if it determines that additional funding is needed, it will work with Congress on legislative changes to adjust allocations.

The Section 8 funding system is the subject of a bill now working it’s way through Congress. SEVRA — the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act, includes provisions that would create more flexibility and stability in funding formulas for housing assistance. Advocates say it’s a good move forward, but not enough to correct the problem of wholesale voucher terminations, the complete scope of which is still not known.

“There’s no doubt that some of the policy changes that are contained in the SEVRA bill would help make it less likely that this year’s type of situation would recur in future years, so we strongly support that bill, it will give HUD and housing authorities more flexibility in dealing with problems in the future,” says Jeremy Rosen, executive director of the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness in Washington D.C. “That said, no amount of flexibility can get around the situation where there isn’t enough money for the program. … The policy changes and SEVRA just by themselves won’t change this problem or fix future problems.”

Rosen was among a group of advocates of affordable housing, including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, National Housing Law Project, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, that met with HUD to talk about solutions to the current Section 8 crisis. Rosen and others say they will be sending a letter to HUD urging it to ask Congress for additional funds to correct the funding shortage. However, Rosen said that such a request from HUD would be politically unpopular.

“The counter argument, of course, is that you have 285 people in Oregon, not to mention the people in all too many other places around the country where the housing authorities have notified them that they may lose vouchers and could eventually become homeless,” Rosen says. “HUD is sincerely looking at ways to make sure no one actually gets terminated, but it remains to be seen if they can actually accomplish it.”

In June, Street Roots led dozens of organizations around the country to demand that HUD save 100’s of families around the country.

By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Reporter

Extra! Extra!

Journalism is the first rough draft of history, a famous publisher once said. Get a leg up on the future and buy a copy of Street Roots first thing tomorrow. Your friendly neighborhood vendor will thank you! Here’s what’s making history on our pages this week:

Living between two worlds: Mara Grunbaum reports on how African refugees battle cultural isolation as they try to adapt to their new home in Portland.

Feds extend $30 million to staunch Section 8 bleeding: The latest in a string of reports about the fallout from housing assistance cuts in Northwest Oregon and beyond. Joanne Zuhl reports.

Street papers lay foundation for stronger movement: Israel Bayer writes on the 2009 conference of the North American Street Newspaper Association and the leadership role Street Roots has taken in this remarkable movement.

Good money after bad: Seattle puts $8 million behind grassroots initiatives to stop youth violence on the streets. This is one of two stories inside this edition that looks at the state of youths on the streets in America.

Addicts Almanac: Tye Doudy continues his series on life on the streets of Portland, living through addiction and learning to survive.

And check out new columns from Leo Rhodes, our vendor in the Northeast, and the Mental Health Association of Portland. Page after page, this issue is just packed! And still just a buck.

Posted by Joanne Zuhl