Street Roots vendor Tina Drake is going back to college. And she wants everyone to know that homelessness doesn’t have to stop anyone from moving forward.
“If you put your mind to it, you can better yourself. Being homeless doesn’t mean you can’t make something of yourself,” she said.
Tina was recently accepted at Portland Community College, Sylvania campus, and with the help of a federal Pell Grant, she will start classes in January. She plans to major in computer information systems, minor in journalism and get a two-year transferable degree. She’s also signed up for a writing class and two beginning Spanish classes.
“Spanish is the No. 2 language in the United States, and I’d like to be able to reach as many people as I can,” she said.
Tina is considering a career in journalism, largely inspired by her experience at Street Roots. She has been involved with Street Roots for the past seven years “through thick and thin.” During that time, she worked steadily as a vendor, wrote poems for the paper and also served as a mentor to new vendors during weekly orientations. In addition, she helped create a cookbook for the “Cook With What You Have” workshops offered at Street Roots by volunteer Katherine Deumling, and she has been a contributor to Street Roots’ strategic planning and visioning workshops over the past year.
“I’m interested in journalism because of Street Roots, from being part of the vendor community and reading new stories. It’s changed my outlook and made a 180-degree difference in how I view journalism and the newspaper world. I was one of those who for years wouldn’t even pick up a paper, I thought it was all trash news, but Street Roots completely changed my outlook. Being part of the paper, the process, understanding in person how the newspaper vending business works, having my poems published, it’s made me interested in journalism and (given me) publishing aspirations,” Tina said.
Tina would like to write and publish very specific types of cookbooks.
“I want to design a food box cookbook. At some time in your life, you may need to go to a food bank or get help, and people don’t know what to do with the food you get in a typical food box. I’d like to include not only recipes but personal stories and ways these recipes have been able to help people eat better on the streets,” she said.
Tina has moved from a shelter to a shared apartment recently, but she estimates she has been homeless for two-thirds of the past three years.
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“I was going to start the application process, registering, taking the placement tests and working on the federal grants even when we were in the shelter,” she said. “I think a person can go to college when you’re on the street. There are scholarships, and lots of campuses have food banks and food boxes you can have access to as a student. I know Portland Community College does.”
But she said having a place to be will be helpful as she goes forward.
“I’ve been wanting to go to college for a long time. I finally decided it was time and I needed to do something to grow and be better for myself and for my family. It was the next logical step,” she said. “I was always on top of school. I was a good student and made good grades. I am even more determined now.”