Happy Holidays Sunnyside! I hope you are finding the joy in the season with your family and friends. This is such a wonderful time of year – the streets filled with colorful lights, the children anticipating winter break and perhaps a visit from Santa, and evenings full of cheer as we come together to celebrate.
Onto the news…
At our November General Meeting, I gave a briefing on disaster preparedness and helping our neighbors in times of great need. I’m not an expert, but unfortunately, Sunnyside doesn’t have an active Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) right now. Trained NET volunteers are not only involved in actual disaster response, but in helping neighbors prepare themselves by engaging with the community through meetings with groups like the SNA. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please visit portland.gov/pbem/neighborhood-emergency-teams to learn more and to get tips to help your family when disaster strikes.
We also talked about caring for our neighbors. As of this writing, the threat of federal troops being deployed in Portland has not gone away. If federal agents come to our neighborhood, there are a number of ways that you can help protect yourself and your community.
• Talk to your neighbors so that you can know who is at risk so that you can
help out.
• Carry a whistle to alert the community that something is happening.
• Take a cellphone video, from a distance.
• Know your rights so that if you encounter agents, you can protect yourself.
Visit aclu.org/know-your-rights to learn more.
• Please, DO NOT ENGAGE OR INTERFERE with federal agents. You
will only get yourself in trouble, rather than helping the community.
Another great way to support your neighbors through the cold winter months ahead is to participate in the Sunnyside Shower Project’s Winter Gear Drive! Through December 21st, the SSP will partner with local businesses to accept donations of adult winter clothing and cold weather gear at various stores throughout Sunnyside. For a complete list of participating businesses, please visit sunnysideshowerproject.org or their Instagram, @sunnysideshowerproject.
That’s it for now. We will see you in 2026 for the next General Meeting. Until then, have a wonderful holiday season. Here’s to a prosperous, safe and community-filled New Year for all of us in this neighborhood, city, country, and world.