PORTLAND, Ore. — On Monday morning, staff from the nonprofit Street Roots walked into glass shattered across their facility. Since the pandemic, they have been working on opening a new facility right on the corner of Southwest Third Avenue and Burnside.
"First, it broke my heart, and then, I remembered the fuel of what it takes," said Cole Reed, the designer hired by Street Works for the new facility. "Portland, in my opinion, is a broken city."
The organization was determined to not let this break-in slow down their opening set early September, so they called in what they say is their flight team, a group of stipend workers with handy work experience who have fallen on tough times.
"Since we have such a tight budget and so many amazing individuals who already have experience in carpentry and other construction work," said Reed. "We are using what we have, and they are getting paid."
The spot is also right at the heart of Portland's homelessness and drug crisis. They said this new facility would be a place for people to shower, do laundry, find work, and even take educational classes.
Charles Wickham has been a vendor with Street Roots for eight years. He spent the day helping them put together a library, which will be a part of the new homeless center. He hopes this new building will help others the same way Street Roots is helping him.
"Now that I do not have a job, I can come here and they still got my back a little bit," said Wickham. "I am still trying to save up for a car, and I am going to school right now, so they are helping me a lot on that."
Street Roots has already raised around $7 million in donations, and they're hoping to raise another million before their grand opening in September.
Street Roots told KGW despite the challenges that come with such a big project, they are grateful they can always depend on the community.
"We are trying to do something really solid and strong for people on the streets," said Kaia Sand, the executive director for Street Roots. "But we do need help."