Oregon ON News
Cuts May Increase Homelessness, Interfaith Summit Seeks Solutions
Welcome New Member Impact Northwest
2011 Housing Alliance Agenda Preview

Awards
Street Roots Honored by Society of Professional Journalists
Mercy Corps CEO Named Top Entrepreneur for Pacific NW

Member Events
CCC to Unveil Madrona Studios Art Installation – June 26
Oregon Food Bank Waterfront Blues Festival – July 2-5
Grand Re-Opening of the Admiral Apartments – July 8
ROSE CDC Save the Date – Hope on the Horizon Breakfast – Oct 7
Early-Bird Registration for OMEN Entrepreneurship Summit – Oct 15

Member News
Historic Martha Washington Hotel Reopens, CCC to Manage
FHDC, Bienestar Highlighted in Edible Portland Magazine
Proud Ground, Eli Spevak Show New Columbia Green Project
REACH Annual Report Available, Walnut Park Opens
Neighborhood Partnerships Board Adds Beason, Hall
Next Steps in Expanding Minority Homeownership

Action Alerts
Cascadians – Lay in the Sun Immediately Before it Rains Again!

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Oregon ON News

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Cuts May Increase Homelessness, Interfaith Summit Seeks Solutions -top

Today Oregon On published the following press release, entitled, “Budget Cuts Likely to Increase Homelessness; Interfaith Summit Seeks Family homelessness Solutions.” In addition to print media outlets, the story will be broadcast on radio stations around the state.

(Salem, Oregon) This week, Oregon’s Governor Kulongonski approved budget cuts to programs across the state, including housing and human services programs for the elderly, disabled, and families. The cuts come less than two weeks after the state’s one-night homeless count was released, showing that homelessness, most often attributed to unemployment, is on the rise.  State officials are predicting that the cuts will further increase the number of Oregonians becoming homeless.

One of the most disturbing findings of the homeless count by Oregon Housing and Community Services is that the number of homeless children increased 36 percent from the previous year – that’s 5,866 children. Children now make up almost a third of the state’s homeless population. The number of families with children also increased 33 percent from last year.

All told, the statewide count identified 19,207 people experiencing homelessness in January 2010, up from 17,222 people in 2009. More than one-third of households counted – 4,296 households – attributed their homelessness to unemployment.

Today in Salem, a broad coalition of faith-based groups, community nonprofits, government representatives, and advocates are holding an Interfaith Summit on Child and Family Homelessness to find solutions to this crisis.  It is a chance for shelters, congregations, schools, nonprofits and government offices to plan how to best work together to address the crisis in their communities.

“The number of families experiencing homelessness has increased dramatically,” said Rick Crager, deputy director of Oregon Housing and Community Services and a speaker at today’s Interfaith Summit. “Between the 2008 and 2010 one-night homeless count, the number of families with children grew 55 percent.”

“Most distressing,” said Crager, “during the 2010 count, 801 children had been homeless for more than a year and 229 have been homeless for more than two years.”

“Children deserve an opportunity to build better lives, and to do that they need a place to call home,” said Jean DeMaster, Executive Director of Human Solutions. “The Interfaith Summit is our chance to come together and mobilize and strengthen the powerful networks already working in our communities. We aren’t waiting for a bailout – we are making our own solutions.”

To learn more about the Interfaith Summit, visit Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s website at emooregon.org. To read the State’s homeless report, go to ohcs.oregon.gov. To find your local Community Action Agency, visit caporegon.org.

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Welcome New Member Impact Northwest -top

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2011 Housing Alliance Agenda Preview -top

The Housing Alliance is in the process of setting its 2011 legislative priorities. While the budget picture for both the remainder of the biennium and next biennium is bleak, the continuing recession and high unemployment mean the need for affordable housing and other safety net services remain critical. The Housing Alliance has a list of priorities that they’re considering to date.

Click here to see the whole list. They may also vote to support other proposals that improve the financial well-being of low income Oregonians, who are the residents of affordable housing. Stay tuned this summer and in early Fall as they finalize their agenda.

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Awards

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Street Roots Honored by Society of Professional Journalists -top

Street Roots received three first place, and one, second place award from Oregon/Southwest Washington Society of Professional Journalists at their May 22-23 awards event.

Amanda Waldroupe took first place for “Social Issues” reporting for her story, “Return of the Dragon.” The story details the increase of heroin use in Portland. During the reporting of the story, Waldroupe met with a heroin addict named “Joe,” who told her and photographer Ken Hawkins his story, and also allowed them to observe and document him during a disturbing time of day in any drug addict’s life–the moments when he shoots up.

Esteemed photographer Leah Nash took first place in the “Photo Essay” category with “Look at me. I am not invisible.” Nash documented the lives of two Street Roots vendors (Sean and Melissa Walsh, pictured above) for nearly three months— highlighting the trials and tribulations of experiencing poverty and mental health in the Portland region.

Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl took first place for her story on City Commissioner Nick Fish for the “Personalities” category with “Man of the Hour.”

< Commissioner Nick Fish, pictured at left

Zuhl highlighted Fish’s turbulent appearance into Portland politics, and what’s behind the man leading Portland’s Housing Bureau during one of the worst recessions in our history.

Rebecca Robinson took second place in “Social Issues” with “Motel limbo.”

Picture at right >

This story profiles one family’s struggle to exit motel life and secure permanent housing, and places their story in the larger framework of Oregon’s ever-growing homeless population.

Congrats to Street Roots! We’re lucky to have such a high-caliber newspaper in Portland.

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Member Events

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CCC to Unveil Madrona Studios Art Installation – June 26 -top

On Saturday, June 26^th at 10am, Central City Concern (CCC) will be participating in the unveiling of an unusual art installation – a “needle raising” – at the Madrona Studios!  It’s a very interesting project circulating throughout several locations around Portland between now and fall 2010 (picture at right in Old Town Chinatown), and it coincides with a series of public workshops to help steer the Portland Plan. Learn more at http://www.acuportland.org/home.html.

All are welcome – and if you missed the Madrona opening, it’s your chance to check out CCC’s gorgeous new mixed use – affordable housing building at the site of the old Ramada Inn! 10 N Weidler Street, Portland.

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Oregon Food Bank Waterfront Blues Festival – July 2-5 -top

+ Save the Date for the Oregon Harvest Dinner Oct. 16

Now in its 23rd year, the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, is the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi and the second-largest blues festival in the nation.

On the grassy banks of the beautiful Willamette River, Blues fans will enjoy more than 120 stellar performances on five stages, plus artist interviews and workshops, five Delta Music Experience Blues Cruises on the Willamette River, activities for kids, dances, after-hour events, fireworks and more.

Click here to see the great line-up of musicians and learn more!

Also, save the date for the Oregon Harvest Dinner, celebrating local agriculture and winemaking and benefiting the Oregon Food Bank. This special event will be held Saturday, October 16 at the Oregon Food Bank Headquarters, at 7900 NE 33rd Drive in Portland. Look for invitations in August; for information about sponsorship opportunities, call Megan Lewis at 503-419-4167 or email her.

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Grand Re-Opening of the Admiral Apartments – July 8 -top

<Before renovation

Join REACH in celebrating the grand-reopening of the Admiral Apartments, Thursday, July 8th: 4pm – 6pm, at Director Park, SW Park & Taylor! The Admiral houses people 62 years or older and/or with disabilities only. It has 14 Studio and 23 One Bedroom apartments.

from Wikipedia: Built in 1909, the Admiral has a long and colorful history, ranging from upscale apartments to flophouse by the 1970s. Renovations were made in 1980 when Mike Purcell rebuilt the apartments on a government contract and 37 apartments became subsidized housing. In 1990, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rent was protected until 2010, and the apartments occupied by low-income elderly and disabled residents. Starting in 2009, the apartments were completely renovated by Walsh Construction using a SERA Architects design and work by consultants Housing Development Center. The remodeling was paid for by the Portland Development Commission and Oregon Housing and Community Services Department. Portland’s REACH Community Development Corporation is the owner.

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ROSE CDC Save the Date – Hope on the Horizon Breakfast – Oct 7 -top

Please plan to join ROSE Community Development for their donor breakfast on Thursday, October 7 at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave. Coffee and conversation starts at 7:30am, and the program runs 8am-9am. Breakfast is on ROSE – but donations are encouraged! You can always donate to support their great work at www.rosecdc.org. To RSVP, please contact Vivian Satterfield at 503-788-8052 or via email.

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Early-Bird Registration for OMEN Entrepreneurship Summit – Oct 15 -top

Join OMEN on October 15th at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, for a unique networking and training opportunity for microenterprise and small business development professionals.

• Affordable registration fees & member discounts
• 6 expert training sessions
• Networking opportunities throughout the day
• Panel discussion with local and regional economic development experts
• Keynote speaker: Christine Hamilton-Pennell, Founder and President of Growing Local Economies
• Includes breakfast, lunch and a wine reception

Registration is $79 for members and $99 for non-members before September 1st.  (Early bird registration ends September 1st! After September 1st, registration is $99 for members and $119 for non-members.)  Registration includes breakfast, lunch, a wine reception and various training and networking opportunities. To register, please click here.  Discounts are available for OMEN members.

For more information on the event, nearby hotels, directions, sponsorship information, speakers, training sessions and more, please visit OMEN’s Summit website.

Contact Oregon Microenterprise Network:
1220 SW Morrison, Suite #805
Portland OR 97205; Phone: 503.546.9913
Web: www.oregon-microbiz.org; Email

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Member News

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Historic Martha Washington Reopens, CCC to Manage -top

By Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian, Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Photo by Andrew Burton/The Oregonian

After sitting vacant for years, a stately brick building with a lively past — including time as the Hotel Rajneesh — will reopen as one of downtown Portland’s newest affordable housing residences. Through a public-private partnership, the historic Martha Washington Hotel at 1115 S.W. 11th Ave. will provide 108 affordable apartments to low-income Portlanders. Residents will start moving in next month.

“It’s a tremendous asset for the neighborhood and people who are going to be living here,” Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen said at an open house Wednesday. Click here to read the whole Oregonian story.

Portland’s Housing Commisioner Nick Fish was present at the grand re-opening of the Martha Washington, and had this to say in his blog:

Picture at right from the October 28, 2009 Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon >

 

“Staff from the Portland Housing Bureau, the Housing Authority of Portland, the State of Oregon, Central City Concern, and Multnomah County will be on hand to celebrate the grand opening of the Martha Washington building next Wednesday, June 16. After a long and interesting history during which it was, at times, a residential hotel; lodging for young, single women; headquarters of a religious cult; and a Multnomah County restitution center, the Martha Washington building has been renovated so that it can offer 108 affordable studios and one-bedroom apartments. Central City Concern will manage the property and run social service programs for the residents.”

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FHDC, Bienestar Highlighted in Edible Portland Magazine -top

Farmworkers Housing Development Corporation (FHDC) and Bienestar were recently featured in a great Edible Portland article by Kerry Newberry: “A Roof Is Not Enough: Two Oregon nonprofits help to build community by providing safe and affordable in-town housing for farmworkers.”

Click here to read the story: A roof is not enough- Edible Portland.

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Proud Ground, Eli Spevak Show New Columbia Green Project-top

Woolsey Corner is framed up and roofed. Windows and solar panels are in. Siding is climbing up the exterior of the building and insulating and sheet-rocking begin soon.

Homes at this eight unit cohousing-condominium project in North Portland’s New Columbia neighborhood will be priced from $118,000 – $155,000, affordable to low/moderate-income first-time homebuyers earning up to 80% Area Median Income, thanks to funding from the Portland Development Commission. Proud Ground will provide homebuyer education and counseling for Woolsey buyers, and will ensure the homes’ permanent affordability
upon resale.

> View of the
community gardens next door, as seen from the window of one of the condos

On June 17, Proud Ground invited folks to tour the site and see what’s inside the walls before everything gets covered up.

Woolsey Corner is at 4475 N. Trenton St. (intersection of N. Trenton and N. Woolsey). Proud Ground was on hand to provide homebuyer education and counseling for the low/moderate-income first-time home buyers to be served by the project, and will ensure the permanent affordability of the project’s eight units.

Woolsey Corner developer and Oregon ON member Eli Spevak (pictured below, in red hat) and his company Orange Splot LLC are known for green development. In fact, Orange Splot was recently awarded Portland’s top award for business sustainability, the Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Award, in the Sustainable Products and Services category. Woolsey Corner’s green features include:

• R30+ wall system (exterior rigid foam, interior ‘flash and bat’)
• Triple pane u=~.21 windows
• R60 attic insulation
• Mini-split heat pump system
• Pre-cut “Optimized” lumber package
• Solar water panels for all units
• Green-roofed trash enclosure

“At Orange Splot, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Proud Ground and PDC on our first joint project, Woolsey Corner, so that all 8 units will be affordable in perpetuity to first time homebuyers,” says Orange Splot principal Eli Spevak.

Woolsey Corner architect Mark Lakeman, of award-winning Communitecture, Inc., describes some of Woolsey’s green – and other unique – features:

<Woolsey color perspective by Mark Lakeman

“Woolsey Corner is wrapped in external insulation and finished with a rain screen that will help with ventilation and longevity. It also features centralized heating and cooling systems that will maximize efficiency and reduce costs, with roof-top solar hot water systems for each unit.

“Located immediately on a public transit line, Woolsey also features a shared common house that includes a living room for community gatherings, guest room, bathroom, and bike parking room. The units will incorporate numerous recycled and natural features including live edge natural wood trim locally harvested from the urban forest.

“One of the most interesting and unusual features of Woolsey Corner will be the integration of reclaimed brass musical instruments into the railings and other metal work of the project, including gable end details and possibly exterior light fixtures. “We are also scheming to incorporate train car parts into functional artwork, inspired by the project’s proximity to a rail line as well as its location and site history.”

More information about Woolsey Corner and Orange Splot LLC: http://orangesplotllc.blogspot.com/2008/01/woolsey-commons_09.html. Click Here for Woolsey Corner Brochure with Purchasing information, and click her to see pictures of the construction. The Proud Ground news release and other resources can be found at: http://www.proudground.org/about/media-resources/

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REACH Annual Report Available, Walnut Park Opens -top

REACH’s 2009 Annual Report is now available. 2009 was both a challenging and rewarding year for REACH, with many achievements, including: responding to 3,478 resident services requests, decreasing evictions by 31%, graduating 30 residents from adult financial literacy programs, and many more.

Another achievement was the grand re-opening of the Walnut Park Apartments
< pictured at left

Walnut Park is a great example of how REACH and other Oregon ON members are working together to preserve precious affordable housing stock.

Portland’s Housing Commisioner Nick Fish was present at the grand re-opening, and had this to say in his blog:

“Thursday, June 17, the Network for Affordable Housing (NOAH), Portland Housing Bureau, and REACH CDC will host a grand opening celebration for Walnut Park.

Walnut Park residents, all of whom are elderly or disabled, were in danger of losing the rent subsidies that helped make it affordable for them to live in the building. In response, REACH, in partnership with NOAH and PHB, purchased and renovated the 38 unit apartment building, renewing its federal rent subsidy contract and preserving it as affordable housing for the next 20 years.”

Also celebrating the opening of the Martha Washington (see story above), Commissioner Fish said, “These projects are excellent examples of what can happen when community partners and local government agencies work together to increase affordable housing in the Portland area.”

Congratulations REACH! Also, see the story above about the re-opening of the Admiral on July 8.

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Neighborhood Partnerships Board Adds Beason, Hall -top

Neighborhood Partnerships has added two new Board members as part of a planned Board expansion.

Bill Hall, Lincoln County Commissioner (left) and Jesse Beason, Executive Director of Proud Ground (right) have just signed on for three year terms.

“We’re thrilled to have Bill and Jesse join the Board,” said Janet Byrd, Executive Director of Neighborhood Partnerships.  “They both bring such deep experience working on behalf of Oregon’s communities, particularly in the policy arena. They have a lot to offer the Board and staff as we work to create opportunities across Oregon for low income individuals and families.”

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Next Steps in Expanding Minority Homeownership -top

On June 16, fifty people from across the state joined Neighborhood Partnerships in a thoughtful and provocative conversation about minority homeownership. Victor Merced, Director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, began the day by calling on all of us to look carefully at what we are doing now that works and to think about how to do more to close the minority homeownership gap. A review of available data shows us that we need to create 30,000 or more new homeowners from communities of color to close Oregon’s homeownership gap. This task will require creative work to improve our impact, increase the tools we have at our disposal, and increase the resources available to us.

Read more in Neighborhood Partnership’s blog post here.  How do you plan to be part of this ongoing effort?  Email Janet Byrd and let her know!

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Action Alerts

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Cascadians – Lay in the Sun Immediately Before it Rains Again! -top

Seniors, people with disabilities, and hard-working families deserve the opportunity to combat the vitamin D deficiencies and ghostly pallor brought on by seven straight months of rain. To succeed in life, you need a sunbeam to call your own.

Please take this moment to IMMEDIATELY leave your desks and go outside for 10 minutes to catch some rays! If you are fond of them, please contact your elected officials immediately and tell them to do the same.

We must save Oregon’s beleaguered residents from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and the current round of sunshine is answer. Together, we can do it!

[July 2 update: I TOLD YOU SO! Don't forget your rain hat ].