Urban

Follow along with us from January 9th-12th, 2019 as we are on our Urban Immersion and publish blog posts here. Look for more soon!

This is my post-immersion project for my Urban Plunge in Portland, OR, from January 10-13, 2018. I explored issues of poverty and homelessness through the eyes of CST during my immersion.

Urban Plunge Portland 2018, by Terese Schomogyi

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/Pm3BjQSsFuM” width=”400″]

On the final day of the Urban Immersion, we were blessed with a tour of Right 2 Dream Too, an intentional camp site (and a nonprofit organization) that provides refuge and a safe space (Tiny Homes) for Portland’s unhoused community to rest or sleep undisturbed.

Our enthusiastic and very knowledgeable tour guide was Tony, the primary builder (and also a resident) of the site.

The tour and conversation with Tony had us pondering ideas about how (segments of) the University of Portland community might serve and work in solidarity with R2DToo:

Could students help design and/or build tiny homes as a volunteer or capstone project?

Does Physical Plant have surplus or unused materials it could donate?

Might students take volunteer shifts at the camp?

 

 

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R2DToo Website
R2DToo Facebook Page

We had so much fun volunteering at Oregon Food Bank sorting potatoes! We had to double-wash our hands, wear gloves, and don hair/beard masks for food safety.

There also was time for a tour.

The Oregon Food Bank has massive impact on addressing both the need for emergency food boxes for people in crisis across Oregon and Southwestern Washington and in specific actions at the legislative level to address the root causes of hunger.

We’re so thankful and grateful to our guest panelists who made time to share with us today.

We were blown away by their generosity, passion, and enthusiasm for addressing the real issues impacting our human family, and how we all have a moral mandate to act in response to these threats.

Click the name of the panelist for more information about them and the nonprofit organization they represent: 

 

[su_tabs vertical=”yes”][su_tab title=”Cole Merkel” disabled=”no” anchor=”” url=”” target=”blank” class=””]Cole Merkel is Vendor Program Director for Street Roots, an organization that creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a weekly street newspaper. The paper is sold by members of the local homeless community and is published on Fridays. Vendors receive 75 cents for every $1 paper they sell.[/su_tab]

[su_tab title=”Shannon Cogan” disabled=”no” anchor=”” url=”” target=”blank” class=””]Shannon Cogan is Community Engagement & Board Liaison for Sisters of the Road, a nonprofit Cafe in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood working to create systemic change that will end poverty and homelessness forever by providing nourishing meals in a safe, dignified space. [/su_tab]

[su_tab title=”Michael Buonocore” disabled=”no” anchor=”” url=”” target=”blank” class=””]Michael Buonocore is the Executive Director of Home Forward (formerly the Housing Authority of Portland), the largest provider of affordable housing in Oregon. Home Forward serves all of Multnomah County, including the cities of Portland and Gresham, since 1992.[/su_tab]

[su_tab title=”DeWanna Harris” disabled=”no” anchor=”” url=”” target=”blank” class=””]DeWanna Harris is a Mentor Program Manager for Transition Projects, a leader in transitioning people from homelessness and living on the streets into housing. It operates and manages nine unique locations as well as facilitates hundreds of apartment placements each year.[/su_tab]

[su_tab title=”Greg Baker” disabled=”no” anchor=”” url=”” target=”blank” class=””]Greg Baker is Executive Director of Blanchet House, the largest meal site in the city of Portland. The agency serves three free hot meals each day, six days a week, to the homeless, low-income, and working poor of Northwest Portland. In addition, it offers transitional housing for men looking for a clean and sober living environment.[/su_tab][/su_tabs]

 

Sorting donations and meeting with Development Director of JOIN Sydney Linden really opened our eyes to what it takes behind the scenes to operate a busy nonprofit with limited resources.

JOIN helps folks transition out of homelessness into permanent housing.

It’s Day 1 of the Urban Policy Immersion! Yay! Isn’t it wonderful Pope Francis was able to join us?

Before heading out to Saint André Bessette where we’d be staying for the next few days, we watched American Winter, a documentary that really challenged our idea of who is homeless!

Swirling in our minds are questions like What does a homeless person look like? Can you even tell? What causes it? What can we do to end homelessness? Is it even possible?