Last week, faith-community members gathered to testify before City Hall, asking our commissioners to support a budget that prioritizes truly affordable housing and the support and wrap-around services that help our unhoused neighbors, family members and friends get and stay permanently housed. Members of our congregation submitted testimony on behalf of this shared action with the Leaven Land & Housing Coalition. Below is the testimony of Vivian Childs, followed by the letter from Sarah Loose of the Coalition.
Vivian Childs
My name is Vivian Childs. I am a parishioner at St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal
Church in NE Portland. We are planning, with PCRI, to build The Alcena, an
affordable living community, on our land, providing 75 units of housing for
seniors. Along with NW Pilot Project, we want to provide wrap around services for
residents who move in to The Alcena. These wrap around services are essential
for helping now-houseless people succeed at having their own housing. The
services we want to provide include bilingual information and referral for
resources such as mental health and addiction treatment, moving assistance,
rental deposit help, basic furniture, eviction prevention services, transportation
services to medical appointments and shopping and helping residents connect to
the community (Albina Library and Matt Dishman Community Center are adjacent
to our property).
I am fortunate to have a home of my own – one which would have never been
possible without assistance from my mother-in-law. Many people are not as
fortunate as I am. I live in Kenton and see houseless neighbors on a daily basis.
When I walk early in the morning, I frequently pass someone sleeping on the
sidewalk on Denver Avenue. But even closer to my heart is my sister-in-law, who
is mentally ill. She lived on the streets off and on until a crisis caused her to leave
Portland altogether. She fled to another state and was temporarily jailed for
sleeping on public property. The authorities soon realized that her situation was
caused by mental illness and not criminal intent and she is now in a safe group
setting. How much better it would have been had she been given the kind of
counseling she needed to stay close to family in Portland.
I strongly urge the City Council to continue to use tax dollars to provide
comprehensive wrap around services from information and referral to moving
assistance, from transportation to mental health and addiction services, and from
eviction prevention to retention assistance. We have a crisis in Portland and our
leaders must act quickly and wisely to help all our neighbors.
At City Hall
Coalition Letter from Sarah Loose
Dear Cohort,
Thank you. Thank you to all of you who made the time and effort over these past few weeks to listen to yourselves, listen to one another, listen to your neighbors … and then to translate what you’re hearing and learning into collective action in service of belonging, compassion, truth and justice.
On last week’s Action at City Hall…Last Wednesday, we showed up 50+ strong at City Hall, an unmistakable sea of red, urging Portland’s City Council to pass a budget that reflects our values — a budget that prioritizes truly affordable housing and the support and wrap-around services that help our unhoused neighbors, family members and friends get and stay permanently housed. We were accompanied in spirit and in word by many of you, and many others in our communities, who shared your stories and testimonies online. Whether you could be there or not, I encourage you to look through these photos and videos from the action and to read through these testimonies (overwhelmingly submitted from people connected to our Cohort). What do you notice? What is powerful? What is being unveiled and communicated through these images and stories? How might you share the story of this action and the reality of what’s happening in our City with others in your community?
Continued Unveiling…
On a related note, our Coalition is not the only group organizing around these issues. We just learned that People for Portland is encouraging people to show up and testify at a series of hearings related to the county budget, leading with a very different message from ours – a message that plays on people’s fears and diverts $ away from long-term solutions. We know People for Portland has some big $ backers, and we know they can generate lots of form emails. But just how much power do they have? Who and how many people are they able to turn out to a hearing? How many testimonies can they generate? Let’s find out, so we can be clear-eyed about where things stand. We’d love to get 2-3 volunteers willing to tune into the virtual budget hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, May 18th from 6:00-8:00pm to observe, take notes, and help us unveil the world as it is. If you’re game to help out, email me and I’ll help you get set up!
And ongoing opportunities for Encounter and Pause…
Next Wednesday (May 25th), at our May Cohort gathering, we’ll celebrate and evaluate last week’s action, discuss what’s next, share stories from across our Cohort and Core Teams (there’s a LOT moving right now!), and look ahead to several upcoming opportunities to move and act as a Coalition, as we continue to travel the Sacred Organizing Spiral together. In the meantime, if you live, work, worship or play in East Multnomah County, please join us Thursday evening at 6:30pm for the fourth in our series of regional House Meetings (check out these pics from one last week!), this time via zoom. RSVP here and we’ll email you the link.
With all the recent news of tragedies, hate, and violence – in Buffalo, in Dallas, in Laguna Woods and even closer to home here in Portland – the work to build communities of belonging, rooted in anti-racist commitments and mutual relationship, is as important as ever. Let’s keep weaving, building, and being community, together.
Take care,Sarah
************
Querida cohorte,
Gracias. Gracias a todes les que han dedicado tiempo y esfuerzo durante estas últimas semanas a escucharse a sí mismes, a escucharse unes a otres, a escuchar a sus vecinos… y a traducir lo que están escuchando y aprendiendo en una acción colectiva al servicio de la pertenencia, la compasión, la verdad y la justicia.
La Acción en el City Hall la semana pasada …
El miércoles pasado, nos presentamos con más de 50 personas en el Ayuntamiento, un inconfundible mar de rojo, instando al Ayuntamiento de Portland a aprobar un presupuesto que refleje nuestros valores, un presupuesto que dé prioridad a la vivienda verdaderamente asequible y a los servicios de apoyo que ayuden a nuestros vecinos, familiares y amigues sin vivienda a conseguirla y mantenerla permanentemente. Nos acompañaron en espíritu y en palabra muches de ustedes, y muchos otres en nuestras comunidades, compartiendo sus historias y testimonios en línea. Tanto si pudieras estar allí como si no, te animo a que veas estas fotos y vídeos de la acción y a que leas estos testimonios (enviados en su gran mayoría por personas relacionadas con nuestra cohorte). ¿Qué notas? ¿Qué es poderoso? ¿Qué se revela y comunica a través de estas imágenes e historias? ¿Cómo podrías compartir la historia de esta acción y la realidad de lo que está ocurriendo en nuestra ciudad con otras personas de tu comunidad?
La desvelación continúa…
Nuestra Coalición no es el único grupo que se organiza en torno a estas cuestiones. Acabamos de enterarnos de que People for Portland está animando a la gente a presentarse y testificar en una serie de audiencias relacionadas con el presupuesto del Condado, llevando un mensaje muy diferente al nuestro – un mensaje que juega con los miedos de la gente y desvía $ de las soluciones a largo plazo. Sabemos que People for Portland tiene algunos patrocinadores con mucho dinero, y sabemos que pueden generar muchos correos electrónicos. Pero, ¿cuánto poder tienen? ¿Cuántas personas son capaces de acudir a una audiencia? ¿Cuántos testimonios pueden generar? Averigüémoslo, para poder tener una visión clara de la situación. Nos encantaría contar con 2 ó 3 voluntarios dispuestos a sintonizar la audiencia virtual sobre el presupuesto mañana, miércoles 18 de mayo, de 6 a 8 de la tarde, para observar, tomar notas y ayudarnos a desvelar el mundo tal y como es. Si estás dispuesto a ayudar, envíame un correo electrónico y te ayudaré a prepararte.
Oportunidades para el Encuentro y la Pausa…
El próximo miércoles (25 de mayo), en nuestra reunión de mayo de la Cohorte, celebraremos y evaluaremos la acción de la semana pasada, discutiremos lo que sigue, compartiremos historias de nuestra Cohorte y de los Equipos Centrales (¡hay mucho movimiento en este momento!), y nos dirigiremos a varias oportunidades próximas para movernos y actuar como Coalición, mientras continuamos viajando juntes por la Espiral de Organización Sagrada. Mientras tanto, si vives, trabajas, rindes culto o juegas en el este del condado de Multnomah, por favor únete a nosotres este jueves por la tarde a las 6:30pm para la cuarta de nuestra serie de reuniones regionales (¡mira estas fotos de una de la semana pasada!), esta vez a través del zoom. Confirme su asistencia aquí y le enviaremos el enlace por correo electrónico.
Con todas las noticias recientes de tragedias, odio y violencia – en Buffalo, en Dallas, en Laguna Woods e incluso más cerca de casa, aquí en PortlandYou may unsubscribe to stop receiving our emails. – el trabajo para construir comunidades de pertenencia, enraizadas en compromisos antirracistas y relaciones mutuas, es más importante que nunca. Sigamos tejiendo, construyendo y siendo comunidad, juntes.
Cuídate, Sarah