Street Roots: Exploring Issues of Homelessness
Street Roots: Exploring Issues of Homelessness In this Capstone students explore and expose various issues surrounding poverty and homelessness through direct contact with non-profits, businesses, government and the homeless community. Students will report and write stories, complete with original photography, for publication in Street Roots, Portland's homeless newspaper. Students will learn and put into practice the basics of journalistic research, interviewing, writing, photography, and editing. This course will establish familiarity with the basic issues of poverty and homelessness and gain understanding of the factors that contribute to homelessness. http://www.streetroots.org/past_issues/2010/01_01/jan_8_2010.pdf.
The learning objectives for students are:
- Establish familiarity with the basic issues of poverty and homelessness.
- Gain understanding of the factors that contribute to homelessness.
- Gain understanding of the role public policy plays in homelessness.
- Gain understanding of the homeless perspective through direct interview contact.
- Learn and put into practice the basics of journalistic research, interviewing, writing, photography and editing.
This Capstone will challenge the student intellectually, mentally and at times emotionally. Facing issues of homelessness and poverty are tough, and the student will be expected to engage with the homeless themselves, homeless advocates and others during their project work for community partner, Street Roots. This is a writing-heavy Capstone: students write three in-class reflection essays, two book reviews, and the main project will be a polished piece of publishable journalistic writing. This Capstone is also a discussion-heavy course where students will be expected and encouraged to actively participate in class discussions with guest speakers, the professor, and fellow students.
Collectively, students in this course will write and photograph for publication approximately four separate stories for 
Portland’s Street Roots newspaper. This process will group 3-4 students to work together on one large story. Students will be grouped by issue interest and/or educational background. Using journalistic techniques taught by the instructor, students will thoroughly research, write and photograph the stories. Stories will be focused and edited jointly by the instructor and the Editor of Portland’s Street Roots. Each story will require direct contact with members of Portland’s homeless population. During the research and writing process, students will share experiences with other students in the class during regular class meetings. Students will provide edits requested by the instructor and the editor of Street Roots.
