A periodic column about the parts of homelessness most people don’t talk about There are many aggravations and indignities people living on the streets endure, especially in the winter months. One persistent hazard is insect parasites, specifically body a ...
8 Feb 2019 - Helen Hill
The parts of homelessness most people don’t talk about 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 homelessn ...
8 Feb 2019 - Helen Hill
Melissa worked on a fishing boat, signed to chimpanzees at the zoo, raised animals, and more “I should write a book about my life,” said Melissa Hansen. Indeed, her life has been a kaleidoscope of adventure, travel, caring for exotic animals, heartache, j ...
25 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
CW has gotten off the street and into the Clark Center, 'an oasis in the middle of a desert' CW is a quiet, steady man, a gentleman who is always polite, well-kept and a joy to have around the Street Roots office. One day last summer, he came in ...
11 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
Daniel says Street Roots inspired him to write poetry The poems arrive on crumpled sheets of scrap paper, folded and refolded, pulled from deep inside the front pocket hoody. With a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile, he passes them across the fro ...
4 Jan 2019 - Helen Hill
William’s passion is to help others stop judging homeless people “This interview is hard for me,” William began, “because I don’t think I’m anyone special. It’s hard for me to talk about myself.” William Weeks grew up in Roseburg in Southern Oregon. He jo ...
28 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
Jim has worked in a number of industries over the years – painting, manufacturing, printing, construction "It is an honor to rise above ground, open my eyes, and take a fresh breath of air,” said Jim McRae. These are the words he lives by. Jim was b ...
7 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
Five Street Roots vendors talk about life on the streets In the 2017 Multnomah County Point In Time homeless count, 1,355 adult women were identified as homeless, making up 36 percent of the total homeless population. This was up more than 16 percent from ...
7 Dec 2018 - Helen Hill
Roger believes in paying it forward In Roger Cavitt’s initial vendor profile, nearly a decade ago, the first sentence of that interview was “Roger is a people person.” After a decade, Roger is still a people person through and through. “I like so many ...
23 Nov 2018 - Helen Hill
Abigail DeVille’s installation at PICA features Street Roots papers, vendor artwork Portland’s Institute for Contemporary Art’s 16,000-square-foot exhibition space in Northeast Portland is the site of Bronx-based artist Abigail DeVille’s massive installat ...
16 Nov 2018 - Helen Hill