What kind of a cold, mean, and even sadistic homeless service provider would you need to be to tell a family of three, four or five people living in a single room occupancy hotel or “illegally” sleeping on the floor of a friend’s apartment that is despera ...
12 Aug 2014 - Paul Boden
Street Roots vendors work hard in the summer. It’s not easy. Being homeless in the summertime isn’t any fun. Longer periods of daylight are a welcome sign for many Portlanders, but for many people on the streets it can mean going long stretches of time wi ...
10 Jul 2014 - Israel Bayer
Central City Concern’s Health Services Advisory Council gives consumers the opportunity to express their and peers opinions on how the Old Town Clinic operates, and empowers members to have a voice in the community. Toward this endeavor, I had the opportu ...
17 Jun 2014 - Samm McCrary
A world of Catch-22s. Let’s say, as a homeless person, I decide that I want to change my life. I want to find a job, but I need to wash my clothes, shave and shower. There is a place that I can do all that. I go down to that place. I get there and they te ...
8 May 2014 - Johnny Williams
Last week, on my way home to grab a bite to eat before an event, I noticed 15 or so older women bedding down together in Old Town. Their presence stopped me in my tracks. One elderly woman, homeless for less than a year, only received $700 from Social Sec ...
1 May 2014 - Israel Bayer
My organization, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, works to end homelessness in the United States. As the Law Center’s policy director, most people would expect me to be pounding the pavement here in Washington, D.C. – lobbying the admi ...
16 Apr 2014 - Jeremy Rosen
Health care reform at the federal level and expansion of the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) provide an opportunity to increase access to health care and improve health outcomes for thousands of Oregonians, especially those experiencing homelessness. More than h ...
19 Mar 2014 - Kathy Black
Lawsuits seldom provide the most compelling reads. But the stories told in the recent filing by the Oregon Law Center are personal and disturbing. It tells the story of several Portland men and women experiencing homelessness, who after losing everything ...
26 Dec 2013 - SR editorial board
Imagine for a moment that you were faced with the experience of being homeless and had nowhere else to turn. Where should I go? You find a local shelter, but a woman half your age at the counter lets you know that the shelter tonight is full. She takes yo ...
28 Nov 2013 - Israel Bayer
I was adopted at a young age, yet I still remember my adopted parents telling me they were my new parents. Then asking if it was OK, I answered, “yes.” They were pleased; next they told me I could change my name if I wanted to. They gave me some examples ...
21 Oct 2013 - Leo Rhodes