Thursday, January 31, 2008
Help protect civil rights for people on the streets in Seattle
The City of Seattle is on the verge of creating one of the most anti-homeless environments on the West Coast.
A new policy being created by Seattle officials would extend the city’s parks exclusion ordinance — which was designed to ensure that public parks remain family friendly — to all public property throughout the city, no matter how urban or remote. This policy will make survival outside illegal in a city where the shelters are past capacity and meeting perhaps 60 percent of the demand for emergency shelter.
Read more and take action!
A new policy being created by Seattle officials would extend the city’s parks exclusion ordinance — which was designed to ensure that public parks remain family friendly — to all public property throughout the city, no matter how urban or remote. This policy will make survival outside illegal in a city where the shelters are past capacity and meeting perhaps 60 percent of the demand for emergency shelter.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Washington County's faith-based community is kicking it, Erik Sten and Angela Davis are throwing down and Randy Leonard's got some loo's
The new edition of Street Roots is on the beat. The lead stories this issue are about Washington County's faith-based community joining forces to end homelessness and Erik Sten standing firm on a homeless day access center downtown. Other features this issue include Q & A's with candidate Chris Smith and former Black Panther Angela Davis. We highlight Commissioner Leonard's new design for public restrooms downtown, inform readers on what's happening on the ground in Paris with homeless and housing advocates and Michael Anderson with Affordable Housing Now presents a 'to-do' list for the future leader of the Bureau of Housing and Community Development.
Erik Sten floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, and we give action steps to support activists in New Orleans who were beaten, pepper-sprayed and arrested demanding the halt of 4,500 public housing units from being demolished - all of this and much more in this edition of Street Roots.
Pick one up today and support one of our many great vendors!
Street Roots community resources on services, policy research and criminalization now on-line
Street Roots has put together a community resource page for people experiencing homelessness and poverty, social service providers, journalists, students, policy wonks, advocates and others.
Under the Street Roots section you will find information about the organization ranging from our annual report to the newspapers editorial schedule to our strategic plan.
Under community resources you will find information on the following resources -
Rose City Resource: We have itemized specific sections to download from the Rose City Resources. You can download itemized updated information on services available throughout the Portland region.
Downtown map and services: You can download a map and information on downtown services available for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Research and policy: This section contains a cross-section of updated reports and policy research concerning homelessness, affordable housing and civil rights.
Know your rights: In this section you will find information regarding legal advice, information on laws that target people experiencing homelessness, complaint procedures, and much more.
You can access Street Roots Community Resources through our website and at the wiki pages themselves
Resources you can use
Wiki pages at Street Roots website
Under the Street Roots section you will find information about the organization ranging from our annual report to the newspapers editorial schedule to our strategic plan.
Under community resources you will find information on the following resources -
Rose City Resource: We have itemized specific sections to download from the Rose City Resources. You can download itemized updated information on services available throughout the Portland region.
Downtown map and services: You can download a map and information on downtown services available for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Research and policy: This section contains a cross-section of updated reports and policy research concerning homelessness, affordable housing and civil rights.
Know your rights: In this section you will find information regarding legal advice, information on laws that target people experiencing homelessness, complaint procedures, and much more.
You can access Street Roots Community Resources through our website and at the wiki pages themselves
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Erik Sten: floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee
From the new issue of Street Roots coming out tomorrow...
Erik Sten was dubbed the “Street fighter” back in 2003 by Street Roots for his constant effort to work in favor of the poor. Erik has proven to be more than a city commissioner, or a major influence at City Hall. He’s an individual that has helped craft what Portland is today. And we, along with many others in the city, will miss him tremendously when he retires from the council on April 1.
Newspaper editorial boards around the city are holding up his achievements to obtain — or in many cases simply retain — affordable housing and spearhead local efforts to end homelessness, but Erik is more than just a figurehead for a social movement.
Erik Sten is one of the few individuals in Portland politics that knows many people experiencing homelessness by name. He’s a craftsman for creating an even playing field for grassroots organizations and campaigns made up of the very individuals he represents. His efforts to enhance the lives of individuals from all walks of life, cultures and interests is something that we shouldn’t take for granted. Inside a broken bureaucracy, Erik has found ways to create change and to empower people to believe in the common good.
In fact, less than a week after his announcement to leave City Hall, he found himself standing in front of a jammed Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood meeting – chock full of service providers, housing and homeless activists, city staffers, uneasy neighborhood activists, frustrated business owners, and anxious developers — all there to hear what the commissioner had to say on the now controversial homeless day-access center.
In classic form, Erik spoke to every interest in the room in a way that was attentive, forthcoming and inspiring. Instead of being baited into a debate spurred on by sensationalized media coverage designed to pit one side against the other, the commissioner simply disarmed the tension and broke things down in a way that every interest in the room could understand and respect.
On many occasions, local and national interest groups have taken shots at Erik’s intended to undermine his progressive approach of creating change through innovative strategies, collaboration and respect.
But Erik has always stood tall. His compassion and wisdom, along with his patient demeanor and excellent public speaking skills, have allowed for a political career that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee — like a true street fighter.
And in all of Erik’s praise, from the streets to the ball, we cannot go without mentioning the individuals on Erik’s staff that have shown patience, perseverance and skill to make Portland the best city on the West Coast, bar none – individuals such as Margaret Bax, Marshall Runkel, Rich Rodgers, Bob Durston, Jim Middaugh, Cindy Gaulke, Jamaal Folsom, Angie Harris, and many more. Some of whom have been more than kind to the media and in many ways have helped bring Street Roots into a different class of newspapers in Portland.
Still, with only three months left in Erik’s tenure, we have lots of work to do. Let’s get to it.
Erik Sten was dubbed the “Street fighter” back in 2003 by Street Roots for his constant effort to work in favor of the poor. Erik has proven to be more than a city commissioner, or a major influence at City Hall. He’s an individual that has helped craft what Portland is today. And we, along with many others in the city, will miss him tremendously when he retires from the council on April 1.
Newspaper editorial boards around the city are holding up his achievements to obtain — or in many cases simply retain — affordable housing and spearhead local efforts to end homelessness, but Erik is more than just a figurehead for a social movement.
Erik Sten is one of the few individuals in Portland politics that knows many people experiencing homelessness by name. He’s a craftsman for creating an even playing field for grassroots organizations and campaigns made up of the very individuals he represents. His efforts to enhance the lives of individuals from all walks of life, cultures and interests is something that we shouldn’t take for granted. Inside a broken bureaucracy, Erik has found ways to create change and to empower people to believe in the common good.
In fact, less than a week after his announcement to leave City Hall, he found himself standing in front of a jammed Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood meeting – chock full of service providers, housing and homeless activists, city staffers, uneasy neighborhood activists, frustrated business owners, and anxious developers — all there to hear what the commissioner had to say on the now controversial homeless day-access center.
In classic form, Erik spoke to every interest in the room in a way that was attentive, forthcoming and inspiring. Instead of being baited into a debate spurred on by sensationalized media coverage designed to pit one side against the other, the commissioner simply disarmed the tension and broke things down in a way that every interest in the room could understand and respect.
On many occasions, local and national interest groups have taken shots at Erik’s intended to undermine his progressive approach of creating change through innovative strategies, collaboration and respect.
But Erik has always stood tall. His compassion and wisdom, along with his patient demeanor and excellent public speaking skills, have allowed for a political career that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee — like a true street fighter.
And in all of Erik’s praise, from the streets to the ball, we cannot go without mentioning the individuals on Erik’s staff that have shown patience, perseverance and skill to make Portland the best city on the West Coast, bar none – individuals such as Margaret Bax, Marshall Runkel, Rich Rodgers, Bob Durston, Jim Middaugh, Cindy Gaulke, Jamaal Folsom, Angie Harris, and many more. Some of whom have been more than kind to the media and in many ways have helped bring Street Roots into a different class of newspapers in Portland.
Still, with only three months left in Erik’s tenure, we have lots of work to do. Let’s get to it.
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