For nearly 25 years, Street Roots has dedicated itself to uplifting the voices of our low-income and unhoused neighbors by respecting the experience of every person who walks through our doors. While we contend with barriers and systems of oppression — at the heart of which is erasure — Street Roots centers voices and storytelling while fostering dignity and relation. We know being seen and heard is a shared human goal, and we all benefit when these stories are told. This special vendor issue of the paper stands as a testament to how Street Roots enfranchises essential voices that are too often unheard or ignored.
About the issue:
Street Roots' annual vendor issue highlights the perspectives, contributions and community shared by its vendors. The 2023 theme, "Around the network and back again," pays homage to Street Roots' membership in and shared mission with the International Network of Street Papers, or INSP, by incorporating vendor-related content from other network papers.
Our doors have stood open at 211 NW Davis St. as a beacon of community connection, economic opportunity and stability for 20 years, and next year, our new building on the beating heart of West Burnside Street — just two blocks from our current location — will elevate and expand Street Roots' mission. Street Roots vendors are at the heart of this movement, and our future home will strengthen and continue building a path toward social belonging, civic engagement, health and well-being. We envision a society where everyone can live and thrive, regardless of income level or housing status. We can make this impact in Portland and beyond when we listen to each other and hold space for one another.
Street Roots’ new building will cultivate an inclusive, supportive space with and for our vendors, maximizing opportunity and realizing possibility. This larger space will allow us to actualize and respond to needs among our vendors that our current building is ill-equipped and woefully inadequate to meet.
We recognize selling the paper only goes so far. Vendors must overcome multiple barriers before successfully and confidently selling the newspaper to readers. It is an incredibly brave and vulnerable experience to be a street paper vendor, to set up on a public sidewalk and to be reliant on passersby. From the basement to the rooftop, Street Roots' future home will display our values of dignity, grace, equity, creativity, relation and integrity.
In the basement, the wellness center will offer showers and laundry; this is an investment in the health and dignity of people living on the streets. Access to hygiene and personal care is foundational to supporting physical and mental health.
As we move up to the main floor, our new vendor office will house a resource center where vendors can pick up newspapers and supplies. The main floor is a space where our vendors can rest, think and simply be. With a coffee bar, library and ample seating, the main office will see thousands of cups of coffee poured, conversations had, pages opened and words written. The larger space will also welcome a growing number of Street Roots vendors, facilitate more visits and increase vendor income.
On the rooftop, we’ve constructed a peaceful place above the streets to be outdoors without stress, and a classroom to house and nurture vendors' expansive creativity and expertise. The rooftop classroom will allow community partners and vendors a space to learn and share knowledge. Our vendors can take journalism classes, write poetry, train to become ambassadors and teach de-escalation classes themselves.
In this vendor edition of the newspaper, you will hear directly from our vendors about what they are most looking forward to as we await the grand opening of our future headquarters. The new building is a space for Street Roots vendors but also a community hub for all of us. The new building will bring together housed and unhoused in an environment of radical hospitality and solidarity across differences. Thank you for being part of the Street Roots community.
Welcome to the vendor edition!
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly investigative publication covering economic, environmental and social inequity. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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