Right 2 Dream Too

Photograph from Street Roots

 by Israel Bayer | 7 Feb 2014

 

"A woman sleeps in a doorway in downtown Portland the morning after the snowstorm

What a week on the homeless front. A partnership between some of the most powerful interests in the city and a group of homeless activist, a snowstorm and the Portland police chief announcing a plan to address homelessness downtown. Wow.

I haven’t even mentioned that there’s a plan in the works to potentially move a prominent downtown shelter to the Eastside, but honestly, that’s a story for another time.

I go on the Internet and see reporters and pundits making fun of the conditions in Sochi during the Russian Olympics and then walk out the door at Street Roots in Old Town to see a 64-year-old man freezing in the doorway. You tell me. First things first, a big kudos should go out to all of the men and women who have been working around the clock to serve people on the streets.

Individuals on the streets endure much, and none more than during the current snowstorm. There’s nothing logical or remotely civilized about watching people struggling without a home during the dead of winter.

I go on the Internet and see reporters and pundits making fun of the conditions in Sochi during the Russian Olympics and then walk out the door at Street Roots in Old Town to see a 64-year-old man freezing in the doorway. You tell me. 

There’s been an army of social workers, do-gooders, police officers, the fire bureau, and many others working around the clock during these cold nights. They have one simple goal — to not let anyone freeze to death. They do it with compassion and heart. They should be saluted.

If you’re interested in volunteering or donating goods during cold spells, or anytime for that matter, holler. 2-1-1. It’s one of the most important numbers you can have in your phone.

Pretty sweet that Right 2 Dream Too continues to navigate, with grace no doubt, in some very complex political waters. I’m very happy they’ve been able to negotiate the next steps of their journey with the city.

Here we have a group of 70 individuals experiencing homelessness, many from the Old Town neighborhood, who have managed to collectively pull themselves up by the bootstraps and achieve some amazing feats.

How about giving hundreds of people on the streets a safe place to rest for pennies on the dollar. I mean, we’re not even talking breadcrumbs here. More so, the group has held its head high, while being ridiculed and undercut, sideswiped and pushed down by some of the most powerful downtown interests in this city. That’s what I call some big-time resilience."
To continue reading the article, please go to Street Roots.