Moreau Center Social Justice Programs

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FAME: Our hosts for inaugural North Portland Immersion

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FAME Zion ChurchIsn’t this a beautiful image of First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Zion Church in Portland? We think so!

We’re grateful for the generous hospitality of the FAME Zion congregation who is hosting us for our inaugural North Portland Immersion.

We will explore the history and current realities of gentrification, the housing crisis, inequity in representation and education, especially as it adversely and disproportionately affected/affects African Americans and other minorities.

Journey with us here and on our Facebook Page as we undercover our past, encounter our present, and envision how together we can create a just and equitable future.

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

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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?

 

 

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R2DToo Website
R2DToo Facebook Page

Volunteering together at Oregon Food Bank

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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.

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

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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.