During the month of June we’re asking readers and supporters to take photos with their favorite neighborhood vendors, and write a brief description of your experience purchasing the newspaper. We will then run the photos in either the newspaper, or at a photography show at a local gallery later in the year.
Street Roots prides itself on building relationships across class lines, and being able to foster a dialogue about homelessness and poverty in different neighborhoods throughout the region.
Purchasing a Street Roots may be a fleeting moment in your day, but for vendors it’s a constant. Vendors may be living without a home, or dealing with any number of circumstances, but they are professionals. And they are proud. Even when it feels like February in June, and the collective attitudes of Portlanders may not be the most cheerful. A one-minute conversation during a downpour, or during a hot spell, or during rush hour when everyone in the city appears to be too busy to stop, may mean the absolute world to someone selling the newspaper. And like all of us, it only takes that one random act of kindness by someone to make us feel appreciated and worthwhile, and to be on top of our game that day.
Street Roots vendors work hard, and we know that your support goes a long way in both supporting the mission of the organization and supporting individual vendors. We thank you.
Please send photos, and a brief description of your experiences to streetroots@hotmail.com
Posted by Israel Bayer