October eNews from Human Solutions
There is so much to share with you this month – about what we’ve been up to and what’s coming down the pike. First and foremost: with Election Day upon us, we encourage you to vote. We know how concerned folks are right now about what’s happening in our area when it comes to housing stability. Human Solutions has endorsed two housing measures and the Portland Clean Energy Initiative. We urge your vote in support of these local and statewide measures that we believe are critical to solving our local housing and homeless crises and to expanding community equity.
Visit From Governor Brown
What an honor it was to host Governor Brown yesterday at Arbor Glen, one of our affordable housing communities. She joined our staff and incredible residents for a dialogue and listening session to hear from people with very low incomes and experiences with homelessness. It really was an amazing opportunity to convey to decision makers what people are facing every day – from barriers to housing like criminal histories and past evictions to childcare affordability struggles and juggling multiple jobs. We were inspired by how hard families work to make ends meet, raise kids and overcome barriers that too often are the outcomes of policies that create and perpetuate poverty and inequality. The morning filled our hearts and sharpened our determination to keep doing the work we do at Human Solutions. What a day! We are grateful to Governor Brown for wanting to hear directly from some of the most vulnerable Oregonians she serves and to take their experiences and thoughts into account as she strategizes solutions.
Be the Solution: Phone Bank for Affordable Housing
Human Solutions has proudly endorsed the Metro Regional Housing Bond (local Measure 26-199) and the constitutional amendment for housing bonds (statewide Measure 102). We did so because together they will make real strides toward adding desperately needed affordable housing in our region. To ensure these measures pass, we have knocked on doors to chat with voters and are hosting a phone bank next week on Tuesday evening, October 30th at our Rockwood office (124 NE 181st – here’s a map). You will want to be there because you’ll know you were part of the solution – PLUS you can see our cool office space and eat candy with us the day before Halloween. Drop in for an hour or two (or three!) between 5:30 and 8:30 PM.
Please spread the word and invite friends on Facebook – here’s the event page.
Join Us @ Our 30TH Anniversary Celebration & Gala Auction
We’re planning a BIG PARTY to celebrate our 30th Anniversary on Saturday, November 17, 2018. We hope you’ll spend the evening with us as we come together as a community to know each other a little better and fuel Human Solutions work into the future. It is so needed right now!
Get event details and register right here; contact Matthew at 503.548.0279 with any questions. See you in a few short weeks for a very fun night! Thanks to all who have already purchased tickets and tables – they are selling fast!
Season of Sharing: It’s Nearly Time for Our Annual Holiday Toy Drive!
The annual Holiday Toy Drive is a joyful tradition at Human Solutions! Every year, we partner with volunteers and organizations in our community to collect gifts for kids who need them and invite their parents to “shop” (for free, of course!) for the holidays. The event serves low-income community members who live in our affordable housing communities or are participating in our programs. Details and volunteer sign-ups are on our web page. We hope you join in this community tradition – we’re pretty sure you’ll be glad you did!
Our New Development in Portland’s Gateway Neighborhood
We are working with experienced local developer Gerding Edlen Development to build a catalytic, mixed-use community next to the new Discovery Park in the heart of the Gateway community in East Portland.
There will be ground-floor retail fronting Halsey Street and the park plaza, as well as a second-floor office and service center for Human Solutions, and 78 units of mixed-income housing adjacent to the park. We are busily pulling all the pieces together so we can break ground in early 2019. If you’ve not yet visited Discovery Park, we can’t recommend it enough. The photo here is a rendering of how the building will look, a product of robust community input. We like it a lot and believe it will be a real asset to east Portland and a wonderful home for Human Solutions, area businesses and 70 families for years to come!.
New Report on Portland Area Homelessness
Earlier this month the Oregon Community Foundation (one of our generous funders) released a report to better understand and solve the area’s growing homelessness problem. We appreciate funders zeroing in on this critical issue in an effort to identify effective solutions to get behind. While we were not surprised by its finding (we need more affordable housing and services), we were glad to know that the credible partners who produced this report validated our approach to ending homelessness – providing deeply affordable housing coupled with services that support the success of residents. We’re including a link to the full report here, but if you’re short on time (as most are these days!), the six-page Executive Summary offers a great summary. Check it out!
Thanks, as always, for reading. We’re glad you’re part of our community and our work and invite you to get in touch with questions anytime.
