This has been a year of creating a strong foundation for Street Roots as it enters its 25th year.
Street Roots broke ground on a building to expand its programs on Northwest Third Avenue and Burnside Street in March. Staff, vendors and supporters marked the occasion by rolling a piano down the streets and dancing.
The building, which will open this spring, expands Street Roots’ programming, adding a wellness center with showers, laundry and a beauty parlor at the base of the building. Street Books will have a library on the first floor, and there will be spaces for community partners to have pop-ups connecting Street Roots vendors to housing, employment and other services. As a commitment to public health, Street Roots began distributing naloxone to community members to reverse opiate overdoses, and it will continue this commitment into 2024.
A rooftop classroom — called the “School in the Sky” — creates access to education and training for Street Roots vendors and the community. In the current, overcrowded space, Street Roots vendors meet for weekly poetry workshops, as well as in an editorial group to edit a holiday zine, which you can purchase directly from your vendors. Stay tuned for what’s ahead as we expand education and training at Street Roots.
An expanded newsroom promises more reporting exploring systemic inequities. Earning the runner-up in racial justice reporting from the Region 10 Society of Professional Journalists this past year, Street Roots Indigenous affairs reporter Melanie Henshaw is a reporter to watch. Jeremiah Hayden joined the news team as a reporter — fresh off of winning the ethical reporting award through the Snowden Fellowship — and Etta O’Donnell-King joined as illustrator/designer. Watch for a release of a redesigned, color version in 2024 to celebrate Street Roots’ 25th anniversary.
Street Roots advocacy never flags. Most recently, for the 12th year, advocact released the Domicile Unknown report with Multnomah County, insisting the deaths of people on the streets are recognized and that knowledge of the causes improves policy. This includes recognizing bans and sweeps contribute to the suffering of people who are trying to survive, so Street Roots has joined with a number of other organizations to organize around this. Two Street Roots vendors stepped up as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city. Street Roots advocacy also helped for the Friends of Portland Street Response campaign, which, in its first 10 days of launching a petition to demand the city more fully commit to the novel and nation-leading program to reimagine public safety, gathered more than 10,000 signatures. Drop by Street Roots to pick up a window sign to support Portland Street Response.
Street Roots vendors are out there, day-in, day-out, distributing the news and building relationships. Now Street Roots is moving into its 25th anniversary year. Join us by donating $40 or more and receive a 25th anniversary beanie. There’s a lot ahead — a redesigned newspaper, the grand opening of the Street Roots Burnside Building.
All of this allows Street Roots organization to be grounded and for Street Roots vendors to have more opportunities. We’re thankful to the community for making this happen.
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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