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Stories from Others

How Do Homeless Kids Get To School?

From 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…

73 April 15th, 2010 0
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David Letterman and the Girl Scout Cookies

From the KOIN Local 6 website: Well, David Letterman is nothing if not a man of his word. On the Jan. 20 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, the host bought $2,000 worth of Girl Scout Cookies from an audience member. He said he wanted the cookies delivered to KOIN Local 6 Early traffic…

70 March 26th, 2010 0
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Homelessness Doesn’t Have A Tour Guide

From 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:…

68 March 16th, 2010 0
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A Journey That Ends On A Portland Sidewalk

From the Good News PDX blog: A journey that ends on a Portland sidewalk [James] packed a bag and walked. He walked out on family, friends and the life that he built and headed south. He never really had a destination in mind. Few people in James’ place do. They just have to get away.…

69 January 26th, 2010 0
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When Sleeping Is Illegal

Where 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…

62 January 19th, 2010 0
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Don’t Be Homeless — Get A Job!

Why don’t homeless people just get a job? Steven Samra writes eight significant obstacles homeless people face: 1. Phone access 2. Valid address 3. Decent clothes 4. Transportation 5. Meals 6. Hygiene 7. Personal limitations 8. Background issues Read more of Steven’s article on the Change.org website.

79 April 3rd, 2009 0
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A Barber — Or A Hero?

Ron is just a barber.  But to homeless men and women and Portland, he’s a friend and hero. http://www.katu.com/news/specialreports/40459332.html Ron received help when he couldn’t give anything in return.  For the last 28 years, he’s been paying that gift forward.  What if we followed his example? WHAT YOU CAN DO: Get involved in the life…

78 March 26th, 2009 0
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How Do You Talk To Kids About Homelessness?

Amber’s young son noticed a line of homeless men outside of Portland Rescue Mission.  How should she answer his questions about homelessness? . . . we were stopped at a light just a few feet away from the long line winding around the outside of the Portland Rescue Mission Men’s Shelter on West Burnside. Just…

86 March 11th, 2009 0
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