DIRECTOR’S DESK | Voters need to turn out in droves to pass this homeless-services measure The green and yellow tent backs up to a concrete piling on Naito Parkway. Behind the piling, more tents are equally spaced, an archipelago of brightly colored dwell ...
28 Feb 2020 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | This isn’t just a Portland problem; it’s an Oregon problem It is too easy to live in Portland and view homelessness as Portland’s problem. But here’s a startling perspective. Despite the fact that the Point in Time Count measured a sligh ...
17 Jan 2020 - Kaia Sand
State tax policy should support real housing needs What does it say about Oregon’s priorities when in the midst of a low-income housing shortage, we, as taxpayers, subsidize people who buy second homes? That is what we do, and have done for decades, by al ...
8 Mar 2019 - SR editorial board
COMMENTARY | Oregon’s new law is nothing compared to efforts in some U.S. cities The new Democratic super-majority in the Oregon Legislature raised hopes for real progress on urgent issues, including affordable housing, climate change, an abysmal lack of ...
1 Mar 2019 - Mary King
Limits on no-cause evictions and rent increases are a necessary first step, but there’s more to be done The Oregon Legislature is already moving on renter protections. That’s a good sign. On Feb. 4, the Senate Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Shemia Fag ...
1 Feb 2019 - SR editorial board
Envision an Oregon where everyone has a right to safe, affordable, stable housing We began the day talking about the ocean, huddled around the coffee station in the Street Roots vendor office, waiting for a new pot to brew, drip by drip. One Street Roots ...
16 Nov 2018 - Kaia Sand
An emphasis on sweeps is an emphasis on making life more difficult for our neighbors who live outside Mark jotted a letter on a sheet of amber-green colored paper that he tucked into a Street Roots newspaper. He did this over and over, writing letters to ...
9 Mar 2018 - Kaia Sand
Legislation that aims to encourage construction in Oregon communities squeezed by a housing shortage is an important step forward Like Portland, rural communities across Oregon are experiencing a shortage of stable, affordable housing, most notably for lo ...
2 Mar 2018 - SR editorial board
Those who have the least are being displaced and forced to downsize – to discard the possessions they hold dear “I can only carry so many backpacks on my back at the same time with my precious items,” Barbara told me. She was tired, upset, exhausted. Stan ...
16 Feb 2018 - Kaia Sand
COMMENTARY | We must demand an action plan from legislators Just a short month ago, the Oregon Legislature adjourned the 2017 session. Legislators had the chance to act during the session to take a bold step forward to address our state’s housing crisis f ...
17 Aug 2017 - Alison McIntosh