The paper features alternative news, interviews, and poetry written by local journalists as well as the homeless and those who work with them.

[10] In 2007, it was described as the "most vocal opponent" of a proposed "sit-lie ordinance" championed by the Portland Business Alliance and then-Mayor Tom Potter.

Its acceptance of a $30,000 grant from Street Access For Everyone (SAFE), at a time when its annual budget was $90,000, prompted concerns about editorial influence.

The executive director at the time of Street Roots Israel Bayer asserted the paper would not change its editorial position against the sit-lie ordinance.

Kyle Chisek, a non-voting member of SAFE at the time announced the money wasn't intended to influence newspaper's editorial position.

[11] The Rose City Resource, a guide to local services related to homelessness, began as a four-page section of the paper in 1999, was launched as a separate publication following the SAFE grant.