Community Cares Committee (SNACC)

Next Meeting Monday December 28, 2020 6:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada

November 17, 2020 6:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

• 10-15 Minutes Lucas from HUCIRP – brief overview of team HUCIRP
• Further discussion on houseless relief efforts in Sunnyside
• Assistance we can offer neighboring Laurelhurst NA and Oak Street Camp
• Action items from the Community First Strategy
• Propose alliances and seek holistic, fair, humanitarian responses to the community from City of Portland
• Have extended an invitation to a representative from HUCIRP

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November 10, 2020 Meeting Notes

At this past meeting, we discussed the ongoing crisis on Oak street by Laurelhurst park, deciding that we need to inquire of the city what their plans are for services to the camp. At this point there’s discussion of a sweep rather than an assistance and sanitation effort. While the City claims there is a public health issue with the manner in which people are living, the CDC is crystal clear on not moving people regardless of ability to social distance. The City secondarily claims a “verified nexus of criminal activity.”

We proposed getting a written commitment from the City of their intention to do a deep clean, allowing people to return. The City has been doing that throughout COVID19, and we agree that the messaging doesn’t seem to indicate a humanitarian action.

My personal perspective is that if there’s criminal activity, then the Police should do law enforcement and leave the rest of the camp alone. The logic behind the “sweep because crime” narrative baffles me. Using this methodology, if I went on a crime spree, the city then shows up in the form of its various agencies, and rather than arrest me, evicts not only me but all my neighbors and bulldozes our building. The loss of human life is unacceptable and the enormous has to outweigh the cost of law enforcement. If this is because of the “catch and release” program alleged to be going on at the County level, then we need to start addressing that.

We discussed the existence of disconnected “information silos” being an issue between city agencies, NAs, residents, activists, and service providers. A motion was unanimously approved for the following action items:

• Liaison with Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association to understand their plan of action and feelings.
• Reach out to the City to ask for a mediator to begin a conversation with campers and surrounding neighborsWe welcomed Vahid Brown, a founder of Agape Village and Hazelnut Grove, who’s expertise and experience with managed service providers and shelter is invaluable. We continued discussion on acquiring land use for both sanctioned tent camps, parking space for community members who are vehicle camping and more permanent structures such as tiny houses, services, et al. Vahid noted that there was a statement released by the Village Coalition underscoring the harmfulness of sweeps.

Working to get the Sunnyside Methodist Church Emergency Warming Shelter available for Freezing nights, we discussed how to get an inspection. The church can provide 10 beds and multiple sources have good lists of volunteers. For properly managed service, they would need 2 volunteers per shift (2-3, 4-6 hour shifts). Emergency shelters usually would operate 6pm to 6am.

In the upcoming meeting this Tuesday November 17, we hope to welcome a member of HUCIRP ( Homelessness/Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program, https://www.portlandoregon.gov/toolkit/article/562211), get some answers and learn what policies are in effect during the COVID19 pandemic.

October 20, 2020 – Community Safety & Livability Meeting Notes

Only the members attended this meeting, specific areas of interests were assigned to each of us. We are reaching out to successful programs in the Portland and the county seeking guidance on what works and the challenges they faced getting them going. We’ll sync up at the November 10th meeting and share notes.

October 6, 2020 – Community Safety & Livability Meeting Notes

A quick recap on this past Community Safety & Livability: We discussed the Community First Strategy to Address Houselessness in Portland, Oregon DRAFT, and shared it with members of the neighborhood who attended the meeting to get their thoughts and feedback on it. We started the process of brainstorming on how we might take actionable steps to help houseless neighbors in our community immediately and voted unanimously to do so.

We like the Community First Strategy as a high-level, inclusive guideline to work from, as it attempts to address many perspectives. Of particular interest is the Action Plan, the section that begins “There must be programs for short, medium and long term solutions.”

We are reaching out to adjoining Neighborhood Associations to get their thoughts and examine plans already in action to address the emergency of houselessness as winter approaches, and we’re seeking strategic alliances with other organizations who can help.

If you’d like to look it over, it can be found on the Current Topics Section at https://sunnysideportland.org.

The Houseless emergency will likely encompass most of the discussion at the next meeting which has been moved to the 10th of November to provide everyone undivided attention to vote in the Tuesday, November 3rd election.

Here is a link to the Community First Statement: https://sunnysideportland.org/comfirst-draft/

Please join us at the next Community Safety & Livability Meeting Tuesday after Election Night, discussions have remained collaborative and solution focused with all perspectives shared and  respected.