DIRECTOR'S DESK | The bigotry of the Trump administration’s immigration policy is on full display Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door These are the last lines of the poem at the Statue of Liberty, set ...
16 Aug 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR'S DESK | Creating a family where everyone – housed and unhoused – is included has been a priority of Street Roots from the beginning Harry Richards draws people as they dream themselves to be, he explained to me. The longtime Street Roots v ...
9 Aug 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | As the city explores how to pilot Portland Street Response, it’s reaching out to unhoused residents A snoring dog lay at the feet of Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as she leaned back against a table, nodding. A woman described how when she ...
12 Jul 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | Our president, who deplores the visibility of homelessness, doesn't understand the federal government’s role in the housing crisis On Monday, Trump free-associated about homelessness with Fox News’ right-wing provocateur Tucker Carl ...
3 Jul 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | Proposed portable toilets would shift funds used to clean up homeless camps toward facilities that foster dignity and public health If you soon see plaid- and PDX-carpet patterned portable toilets around the city, see, too, the promise o ...
17 May 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | As teachers demanded stability for Oregon’s youths, GOP senators refused to make the investment Wednesday was a day of contrasting walkouts. Brightly visible in red T-shirts, students and teachers across the state walked out into the sun ...
10 May 2019 - Kaia Sand
DIRECTOR’S DESK | While Portland Police Response addresses problems upstream, we're also tackling the barriers downstream I intend to write about hope, but to do that, I’ll start with some bleak moments. Bear with me. Kaia Sand is the executive di ...
26 Apr 2019 - Kaia Sand
Two Street Roots vendors had been living in the camp for months without hassle On Wednesday, Jan. 10, David Samson called the Street Roots office for his fiancé, Bettyjo Griffiths. His message: Come quickly, their camp was being swept. Before Bettyjo left ...
11 Jan 2019 - Kaia Sand
Director’s Desk | The effort needs to go toward listening to and representing unhoused communities Two vendors leaned on the garbage can outside our office, a cloth spread over its lid like a tablecloth as they organized items from their pockets. They wer ...
21 Dec 2018 - Kaia Sand
Justice is often fleeting for people in poverty Dr. Christine Blasey Ford captured the attention of people across the nation with her strength as she educated the country about trauma and memory and courage. Like so many of you – gathered around televisio ...
5 Oct 2018 - Kaia Sand