Most of us have never sat and eaten a meal with a homeless man or woman. But Nina did. She discovered a simple truth — homeless people are people. Not so different than you or me. From Nina, a volunteer at our Burnside Shelter: I have been volunteering at the Portland Rescue Mission the first…
Read MoreFrom the Washington Post article: Out Of The Debris, A Survival Story Photo: Difficult to believe he’s the same man. Danny Glass holds up a photo of him taken just four months ago. He was homeless, living in a tent — and nearly dead. When we first met Danny Glass, he was sitting in a…
Read MoreFrom the Oregonlive.com website: For homeless kids, Portland school and its buses are constants in a world of chaos Traffic is light and the sun still below the horizon as Penny Scrivner eases her yellow school bus to a stop in front of a Clackamas County apartment complex at 6:30 one recent morning. Baby strollers…
Read MoreFrom the Street Roots blog: The Unreality of Urban PlungesDisclaimer: The original post includes quotes of some profane language. Robert chose to be homeless for a short time, just to see what it was like. As I sat on some church steps eating a charity sack dinner, a man on a bicycle screamed at me:…
Read MoreFrom Dallas, a staff member of Portland Rescue Mission: As I was driving recently, I stopped at the light on NE Halsey and 102nd. On my left was a man holding a sign that read “Insult me for $1.00.” That man, Matt* had been a resident in our men’s New Life recovery program at one…
Read MoreWatch this insightful photojournalism piece revealing an unseen side of homelessness — families forced to live in motels to survive. From the Coalition for the Homeless in Central Florida blog: Earlier this week, Robert Cohen of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was honored in the 2010 American Society of News Editors as a finalist for his…
Read MoreIn a recent online poll, we asked people, “Why do you think most people are homeless?” — They are lazy.— They’ve lost a job and/or home due to economic pressure.— They are addicted to drugs or alcohol.— They have a mental disability.— They’ve experienced significant trauma/difficulties. 92% of responders believe that homelessness is generally caused…
Read MoreWhere would you sleep if you were homeless? — A park?— A bench?— A doorway? Leo found out just how difficult–and illegal–it can be for a homeless person to get rest. Exhaustion just makes it that much harder to escape a tough situation. From the Street Roots blog: http://streetroots.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/falling-asleep-unwanted-and-waking-up-a-wanted-man/ So I went looking for a…
Read MoreFrom Street Roots, I feel like a target—assualts on women run through Portland She is neatly dressed, wearing a clean pair of jeans, a sweater, and raincoat. At 47 years, her short hair is streaked white. Homeless for the first time in her life, C moved to Portland three years ago and worked for temping…
Read More“Most of the guys, and women too, who are holding up the signs? They’re not the ones who need help the most. The ones who really need it aren’t going to ask for it … and they’re sure not going to talk to you. They’re the guys you see wandering along the sidewalk, talking to…
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