PDX ID Assistance: A Life-Saving Resource
(Above) Paul Susi greets visitors to a recent PDX ID Assistance shift
Greetings, everybody:
Every third Tuesday afternoon at the Street Books’ office, Street Books’ Board member Paul Susi, offers PDX ID Assistance, a free resource for individuals needing to replace critical identification documents (IDs, birth certificates, driver’s licenses). At Street Books, we start building a waiting list at noon for the clinic that starts at 1:30pm, offering tea or water, a shady place to sit and wait and of course, a choice of good books. No appointments are necessary, and no one is turned away for any reason.
Street Books is proud to provide space and support for the clinic at our location. Each day we witness the devastating impacts of sweeps of encampments where houseless people are trying to survive. This includes the loss of personal belongings such as documents and IDs which are necessary to get housing, food, transportation and more.
PDX ID Assistance is an entirely community-funded project, with Paul paying the fees for new IDs out of his own pocket. If you’d like to support this work, please consider sending funds to @Paul-J-Susi on Venmo, or sending a check to: PO Box 3072, Portland, OR 97208
Paul writes about each of his clinics to help recognize individual people and the stories and to share the impact of this focused service. One recent letter told this story:
I’m at a resource center in Gresham, offering ID assistance. I arrive ½ an hour early, and there are already 4 people waiting for me. In the next three hours, I see more than 30 people. Resource center staff have to cut off the list since it’s a holiday, and they need to close early.
The last three women waiting for me have several small children. They each see me one at a time. The mothers take turns watching the children while one of them talks to me. Altogether, they’re asking for my help to obtain 10 birth certificates from three states, for themselves and for each of their young ones.
I’m aghast at what few resources are available to help these young mothers. Most people assume that single moms are the most supported and cared for of the poor, to the point that Reagan cruelly, falsely accused Black “welfare queens” of taking advantage of the compassion of ‘bleeding heart liberals.’ The reality is that the struggles of mothers of all kinds—single, married, or otherwise coupled; housed or houseless; young or elder, poor or wealthy—these struggles are unknown and mysterious to the white male policymakers largely responsible for our incredibly complex and pitifully meager social safety net, whose tattered remnants we live with now.
These moms described to me the contradictory directives they’ve received, the closed offices they’ve encountered, the hours-long wait in phone queues, the denials of service for incomprehensibly petty deficits in their paperwork.
(In May Paul wrote) Since 2022, I've helped 510 people replace their ID documents and birth certificates. This year alone, I've written over 134 checks! The need is vast, and everyone's anxiety and urgency are only escalating. On average, a replacement ID card in Oregon is $40, plus $30 for the "REAL ID" qualifications. Birth certificates are $25 in Oregon, $32 in California (plus needing a notarization), $30 in Alaska, $15 in New York... you get the idea. The plethora of different fees and requirements are one reason people aren't able to access these essential documents. And, now more than ever, there's an increasing risk of deportation and other federal outrages... blech.
You are invited to Street Books’ 3rd annual Book Lovers Bike Ride! Bring a book to exchange, meet other readers and learn more about the work Street Books is doing on the streets of your city! Join fellow book lovers and Street Books on Thursday, July 31 for a joyful evening to connect with other book lovers.
The route is just over 7 miles and will take about 1-1.5 hours. We will gather at Irving Park at 6:00 pm and end at Peninsula Park. Join us for the ride, or meet us at the end for the book exchange. Find more information at the Pedalpalooza Calendar.
Thank You for Supporting Street Books!
Artist Jodi Darby shows off the Book Divinator!
Thank you for a very fine summer event! Over 75 (donated!) pizzas were served to around 250 people, and it was all the revelry and community celebration you could ask for. We had dynamite readings from patron Stephen and board member Karen Russell, and songs from musician and Street Books supporter, Laura Gibson. Artist Jodi Darby unveiled her 15th Anniversary Book Divinator, operated by her shiny assistant, Mo. Thank you to everybody who came out to celebrate. Being together in a community is how we get through rough times, and we are so glad to call you our Street Books community. Keep scrolling for some of the great pictures we caught from this fun day. Thanks for your support!
