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Video: Exploring Poverty & Homelessness in Portland with a Catholic Social Teaching Lens

January 28, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Urban

Tony gives UP students personal tour of Right 2 Dream Too homeless camp

January 13, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

tour of Right 2 Dream Too camp
Back: Meaghan Bradley, Emma Covert, Maddy Gonzalez, Terese Schomogyi, Joseph Lesieutre, Nora Hendricks, Annie Voegele, Samuel Wynter. Front: Tony, R2DToo builder & resident

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?

 

 

– – –
R2DToo Website
R2DToo Facebook Page

Filed Under: Urban

Volunteering together at Oregon Food Bank

January 12, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

collage of urban immersion 2018 participants volunteering at oregon food bank january 18, 2018We 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.

Filed Under: Urban

Special thanks to guest panelists, experts on houselessness & poverty in Portland

January 12, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

image of urban policy immersion panelists
Cole Merkel, Shannon Cogan, Michael Buonocore, DeWanna Harris, Greg Baker

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: 

 

Cole MerkelShannon CoganMichael BuonocoreDeWanna HarrisGreg Baker
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

 

Filed Under: Urban

Volunteering at JOIN reveals great need & limited resources to support homeless

January 11, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

collage of volunteering at and learning about the nonprofit, JOINSorting 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.

Filed Under: Urban

Pope Francis joins Portland Urban Immersion!

January 10, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

first day of urban immersion 2018 at saint andre bessette catholic church (hospitality center room on 2nd floor) in portlandIt’s Day 1 of the Urban Policy Immersion! Yay! Isn’t it wonderful Pope Francis was able to join us?

Filed Under: Urban

Who is homeless & why should I care?

January 10, 2018 By Tshombe Leave a Comment

image of program for urban immersion 2018 and of wall sheet with inquiry questions regarding homelessnessBefore 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? 

Filed Under: Urban

2017 Border Immersion – Day 5 (Thursday, March 16th)

March 17, 2017 By Lindie Leave a Comment

A reflection by Angie Bustos and Dannise Matarlo:

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives” -Audrey Lorde

Today, was really about learning how to transition from being bystanders to begin standing in solidarity with people marginalized by the immigration system of the United States. As we begin to wrap up our learning experience here in Tucson, Arizona we begin to question, what now? We started to embark on different ideas that address this social issue of immigration. When we began this transition we found it very difficult to find a way in which we can have a realistic approach to reforming the current standing of immigration. As conversations continued within the community we have built during our time here, we brought to attention the importance of education and advocacy.

Keeping our conversation of education and advocacy in mind, we defined key ideas that are important to understand and continuing our conversation outside our immersion community to the university and Portland community. As our experiences here in Tuscon begin to conclude, our journey and more importantly our dialogue about this immigration issue is only beginning. With that in mind it is urged that the issue of immigration continues to be seen as an issue and NOT simply a topic of discussion.

Another important aspect that arose from our action planning was the struggle to have the ability to continue being committed to the lifelong issue of immigration. It is understood that tackling social issues like immigration can be discouraging since many times results are not tangible.  The lack of visible policy changes can be frustrating and cause people to burn out. Understanding these different aspects it is important to be reminded why one decided to commit to this issue and focusing on the positives that can be found in the darkness.

One particular story that struck our minds was from Deborah with the Tuscon Water Protectors. She had been an advocate in many immigration solidarity projects and there was a point where she found herself question whether her actions were really making a difference. This really resonated with us since we are only beginning our journey. One of her positions of solidarity, she answered phone calls in a 24/7 Hotline center, she recalled a phone call in which a man was lost in the desert but he was still in Mexico. She told us she was able to find this man rescuers and how moments like these, where a person lives, makes all the handwork worth it.

With stories like Deborah’s and conversations of immigration fueling our thoughts, we have come to the decision that social issues like immigration and others are intersectional. Their ability to interconnect is due to the lack of recognition of basic human rights that accompanies different social issues. With this in mind it is important to address our society’s understanding of human rights. Additionally, we must also keep in mind that there is more than one perspective to all social issues and to keep that in the back of our minds as we begin educating our communities and advocating for those the marginalized.

Itinerary:

Thursday, March 16th

8:30am: Walk to Southside Presbyterian

9:00am: Meeting about Sanctuary Movement with at Southside Presbyterian

12:00pm: Lunch at Borderlinks

1:00pm: Meeting with Florence Project in Tucson

2:30pm: Meeting with Josue

4:00pm: Action Planning Journal Prompt

6:00pm: Dinner with Chukson Water Protectors

***Pack. Fill Out Simple Evaluation. Be ready to walk out the door in the morning

Southside Presbyterian is rooted in the sanctuary movement of the 1980’s and is a leader in the new current sanctuary movement. It started as a mission to the Tohono O’odham people. In the 1980s the congregation became one of the key churches in the Sanctuary Movement, helping refugees fleeing terror in El Salvador and Guatemala. The Southside congregation continues to work with immigrant community members around human right, poverty and food justice.

Florence Project is a nonprofit legal service organization that provides free legal services to men, women and children detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), formerly known as the INS. Although the government assists indigent criminal defendants and civil litigants through public defenders and legal aid attorneys, it does not provide attorneys for people facing deportation charges. As a result, 90 percent of the detained people go unrepresented due to poverty. The Florence Project strives to address this inequity both locally and nationally.

Josue is a community leader who, among his many organizing roles, has worked on the topic of healthcare and undocumented immigration.

Filed Under: Border, Local

2017 Border Immersion – Day 3 (Tuesday, March 14)

March 15, 2017 By Lindie Leave a Comment

By Gabriela

This is a poem we heard while in the desert.

A los Caídos en los Desiertos de la Muerte

En memoria de aquellos que por buscar una mejor
vida,
Lo único que encontraron fue la muerte,
En recuerdo de aquellos que todo lo arriesgaron y
todo lo perdieron,
Se fueron con la esperanza en los ojos
Y el desafío en el alma.
El sol los calcinó, el desierto los devoró,
Y el polvo borró su nombre y su mirada.

En recuerdo de aquellos que nunca más regresarán
Ofrecemos estas flores…
A ellos con respeto los decimos:
Su sed, es  nuestra sed.
Su hambre, es nuestra hambre.
Su dolor es nuestro dolor.
Su angustia, su amargura, y su agonía,
También son nuestras.

Somos un grito que demanda justicia…
Para que nadie, nunca más tenga que abandonar
su tierra,
Sus creencias, sus muertos, sus hijos, sus padres, su
familia,
Sus raíces, su cultura, su identidad…

Somos un silencio que se hace voz…
Para que nadie tenga que ir a buscar un destino en
otras tierras.
Para que nadie tenga que ir al destierro
Y consumirse en soledad.

Somos una vos en el desierto que clama:
¡Educación para todos!
¡Oportunidad para todos!
¡Trabajo para todos!
¡Pan para todos!
¡Libertad para todos!
¡Justicia para todos…

Somos una voz que el desierto no puede ahogar…
Para exigir que la patria les dé por igual a todos su
hijos
La oportunidad de una vida digna y decorosa…

Here is the translation

To The Fallen in the Deserts of Death:

In memory of those who, when seeking a better life,
found only death,
In memory of those who risked risked everything and lost it,
Who went with hope in their eyes and challenge in their souls.

The sun calcified them, the desert devoured them,
and the dust erased their name and their face.

In memory of those who will never return
we offer these flowers . . .
To them, with respect, we say:
Your thirst, is our thirst.
Your hunger, is our hunger.
Your pain, is our pain.
Your discomfort, your bitterness, your agony
Are also ours.

We are a shout that demands justice. . .
In order that No One, ever again, will have to
Abandon their lands, their beliefs, their dead, their children
their parents, their family, their race, their culture, their identity. . .

We are a silence that has a voice . . .
In order that no one will have to look for their destiny in other lands.
In order that no one will have to go to the desert and be consumed by loneliness.

We are a voice in the desert that cries out:
Education for all!
Opportunity for all!
Work for all!
Bread for all!
Liberty for all!
Justice for all!. . .

We are a voice that the desert cannot drown. . .
In order that the country offers equality to all its children
The opportunity for a decorous and dignified life. . .

“For the right to live in Peace”
Mexico, Winter – 2004
Othon Perez (Poet)

 

These are pictures I took during our experience near the border wall. Starting and ending with surveillance towers to show the fact that They are always watching.

 

Today’s Itinerary:

Tuesday, March 14th

Border Militarization and Policies of Death

7:00am: Breakfast

8:00am: Drive to Nogales; Border wall infrastructure and Jose Antonio memorial reflection

10: 00am: Drive to Arivaca

11:30: Picnic Lunch in Arivaca

12:30pm: Chat with People Helping People in the Border Zone

2:00pm: Desert Walk with Tucson Samaritan volunteer and Reflection

4:00pm: Drive to Tucson

7:00pm: Dinner

8:00pm: Reflection

People Helping People in the Border Zone is a rural community organization that was formed in 2012 by a group of Arivaca residents involved in providing humanitarian aid in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. PHPBZ grows community support for borderlands residents giving humanitarian aid to those crossing and dealing with Border Patrol encounters. Arivaca is a small rural community located in the militarized border zone. With a population of about 700, Arivaca is a small yet vibrant rural community. As with many border communities, residential life in Arivaca has been deeply impacted by mass migration and the arrival of thousands of US Border Patrol agents and infrastructure to the area. All residents and visitors to the area must pass through an immigration checkpoint to confirm their citizenship in order to enter and leave town.

Filed Under: Border, Local

2017 Border Immersion – Day 2 (Monday, March 13th)

March 14, 2017 By Lindie Leave a Comment

A reflection by Jacob Tressel:

For me, the experience of witnessing the mass hearings of Operation Streamline was dehumanizing.  It made me feel subhuman to watch other people being treated as subhuman.  The defendants were all in chains and were still wearing the cloths that they had been apprehended in.  Some of the lawyers and border patrol officers would sanitize their hands after touching or shaking hands with the defendants.  It was all very formal and not compassionate.

The primary language spoken by all of today’s defendants is Spanish, so a translator was necessary to translate what the judge was saying, as well as what the defendants were saying.  One thing that really stood out to me as I listened was that the translator would repeat the word “no” after the defendants had used the word “no” to respond to a question.  This stuck out to me because “no” is the same in English and Spanish, and the judge obviously understood that the defendants were saying “no.”

To me, this action illustrated the “us and them” mentality that drove our country to the point of instituting mass hearings to criminalize and more efficiently transition immigrants to private prisons rather than deport large number of undocumented immigrants.  Rather than focus on the commonalities of English and Spanish, the court officials created a divide in something that is shared… the word no.  Which is exactly how we are treating the borderlands; as something that  can be divided but is shared in nature.

Today’s itinerary:

Monday, March 13th

7:30am: Breakfast

8:30am: Talk with Colibri

10:30am: Chat with representative of End Streamline Coalition

11:30am: Operation Stream Line(OSL) Documentation Training

12:00am: Lunch

12:45pm: Walk to OSL

1:30pm: Operation Streamline

3:30pm: Meeting with Immigration Attorney

5:30pm: Dinner

6:30pm: Reflection

The Colibrí Center for Human Rights is a family advocacy nonprofit based in Tucson, Arizona. “We work with families, forensic scientists and humanitarians to end migrant death and related suffering on the U.S.-Mexico border. Our work approaches the crisis on the border through a human rights perspective, focusing on three main program areas: The Missing Migrant Project, DNA Program, Red de Familiares” – www.colibricenter.org

“Every day in the Evo A. DeConcini Federal Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, 70 immigrants are convicted as criminals and sentenced to 30-180 days in federal detention prior to being deported. The End Streamline Coalition is a group of organizations, community groups, and individuals who are working to end this mass criminalization and deportation of our immigrant sisters and brothers.” – https://afscarizona.org/resources/partners/end-streamline-coalition/

Operation Streamline is a federal court preceding that happens every weekday at the Federal District Court in Tucson, where up to 70 immigrants receive prison sentences in Operation Streamline. Charged with the felony of “re-entry after deportation” and the misdemeanor of “illegal entry,” they are offered a plea bargain by which they plead “guilty” and agree to a prison sentence for the misdemeanor, in exchange for dropping the felony charge. Sentences range from 30 to 180 days after which they will be deported and, by having a criminal record, barred from re-entry into the US.

Filed Under: Border, Immersions, Local

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