Homelessness is anything but normal Standing in line waiting for dinner after a long day, a day after returning from vacation, I checked my email. It was a hospital social worker. Simon was in the emergency room again. The fourth time this week. It was a ...
14 Jul 2016 - Israel Bayer
A $258 million city bond will provide housing for thousands of people With the endorsement of the City Council, Portland will see a $258 million affordable housing bond on the ballot in November. It’s a historic moment. The campaign is called Yes for Affo ...
30 Jun 2016 - Israel Bayer
The narrative in some circles that the business community is against the homeless is false Street Roots was honored to receive the Portland Pearl Rotary Club’s Community Vision Award last week. Speaking to a room full of business representatives and Pearl ...
16 Jun 2016 - Israel Bayer
Community is limited by debating why things can’t be achieved instead of how they can I have witnessed people suffering on the streets every day — all day, year after year, for the past 15 years. They are traumatized. I am traumatized. People tell me on ...
26 May 2016 - Israel Bayer
There's no good reason a minor business tax hike should stir controversy Each of the proposed budgets by Multnomah County and Portland invests heavily in housing and homeless services, pledging more than $50 million in additional support toward the h ...
5 May 2016 - Israel Bayer
Many people on the streets are good, common folk, caught out on the wire The stories of people experiencing homelessness are many. Starting Friday, April 29, readers will be able to get a 32-page zine of stories about people’s experience of sleeping outs ...
28 Apr 2016 - Israel Bayer
The progress in Multnomah County and Portland is great. But it's not enough. People ask me if the homeless and housing emergency in Multnomah County is working. The short answer is, yes. The long answer is, we’ve got a long way to go. The most visib ...
2 Apr 2016 - Israel Bayer
From the Legislature to the Portland mayor's office to you It’s a question I get a lot: Israel, can you explain to me what’s going on out there? Let’s start with Salem. Housing legislation is moving forward on important eviction protections, inclusio ...
25 Feb 2016 - Israel Bayer
It’s not easy being homeless. Just imagine. A student asked me this week why some of the homeless camps are so hard to keep clean. I asked the student to imagine: The entire world stepped inside your home at this very moment. Not just anyone, but every ...
11 Feb 2016 - Israel Bayer
People ask: Does my voice matter? Yes, it does. It’s hard to put into words the trauma we see on the streets every day, much less how it has affected my peers and me over the years. It pales in comparison to how it actually affects the people that go thro ...
28 Jan 2016 - Israel Bayer