Street Roots: Creating Opportunities in PDX
Walking around
downtown Portland, you may have seen vendors of these $1 newspapers walking the
streets, unaware of the impact it has made on some vendors' lives. With a tagline like, "Buck the System", it's no wonder Street Roots is turning heads. Street
Roots, a Portland organization, has been addressing homelessness and poverty
since 1998. They strive to create income opportunities, such as selling
newspapers, for people experiencing poverty and homelessness in the Portland
area.
In addition to their vendor program, they also produce resource guides with a
list of current services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in
Multnomah and Washington Counties, with more than 160,000 guides published per
year. These are distributed to organizations working with people experiencing
homelessness and poverty in the Portland region. They are also strong advocates
of efforts related to homelessness and housing in Portland, such as the Welcome
Home Coalition, which works towards creating affordable housing to Portland
Metro area families.
Along with homeless
resources, Street Roots offers the opportunity for anyone to volunteer at their
organization, as well as donate to their wish list, which includes items such
as clothing and toiletries/necessities. One can see from their work, and involvement
in the community that they are making a difference by being an indispensable
resource for the community in Portland.
David Rogers, Executive Director of ACLU of Oregon, stated, "Street
Roots is a journalistic gem. I feel lucky to have access to such high caliber
investigative reporting with a strong community conscience. Combine the
newspaper with Street Roots’ tremendous community organizing presence and the
result is an irreplaceable social change resource."
If you or a loved one would like to support Street Roots, please visit this link: http://www.streetroots.org/support
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