The SNACC committee will have our monthly meeting on Thursday March 17th from 6:30-8pm via zoom – here is the zoom link and the agenda. We will be discussing the findings from the needs assessment we had with our guests at the Sunnyside Shower Project between December 2021-March 2022, as well as updates from our trash and shower programs and planning for a possible return to in-person meetings starting next month. We hope you’ll join us!
Last Month’s News. This Month’s Plans.
During February’s Sunnyside Neighborhood Association meeting we discussed advertising updates for the newsletter. Thank you to the folks who have donated. Your support is greatly appreciated. We’ll keep the website donation link live so folks can contribute at any time (sunnysideportland.org/donate-to-our-newsletter).
We hosted Josh Roll from PBOT’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He spoke about the revised endorsement letter on reinstating the traffic calming program within neighborhoods. The SNA voted to endorse revisions that did not include installing speed bumps, but instead allows neighborhoods to initiate projects to build community and offer additional tools to meet safety, climate, and livability goals.
The Board finalized the SNA Public Endorsement Policy and Procedure form that will be on the SNA website. This process outlines how the SNA will consider future endorsements from organizations and the general public. We discussed developing a Community Agreement – a recommendation from the DEIA Committee – which will guide SNA on best practices for communications and interactions between each other.
The Board is extending the General meeting for an additional half hour – now running from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. This time will allow Committee and Officer reports to be shared during the General meeting. A lot of important information is shared during those reports and we want to ensure transparency and awareness with the entire Sunnyside community.
The SNA has two roles that are seeking interested individuals – Land Use & Transportation Chair as well as Newsletter Communications & Advertising Coordinator. To learn more about either of these opportunities, please reach out to the [email protected].
At the March meeting we will host Erik Dorsett from TVA Architects (tvaarchitects.com) to discuss their development project at 4406 SE Belmont St. Erik will provide an in-depth presentation of TVA Architects’ development plans. We will hold a Q&A session after the presentation.
Thank you to the new attendees that showed up at February’s SNA meeting.
It was great to have your input and see fresh faces. We look forward to seeing more folks at our upcoming March meeting on Thursday the 10th. Meeting details and the agenda will be posted on the SNA website (sunnysideportland.org) on Tuesday the 8th. The General meeting is held 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. with the Board meeting to follow directly after from 8:30- 9:00 pm.
The SNA Board is curious about how we can build a stronger community for local residents, business owners, and members of local worship. We encourage you to participate in local civic service and join us in making Sunnyside and Southeast Portland a thriving community.
Sunnyside Neighborhood Community Cares (SNACC) Committee Updates
The SNACC committee began our February meeting picking up where the SNA Board meeting left off – with community agreements. We generated a list of community needs for increased engagement, as well as our own list of agreements to consider adopting in addition to the ones shared at the last meeting (which were adapted from Southeast Uplift). The notes from that activity are available in the SNACC February Update (sunnysideportland.org/category/snacc). We then shared updates for the shower, outreach, and trash programs. In our March meeting we will continue conversations about budgeting, as we recently received generous donations that will allow us to be more responsive to the needs of the community that we serve. Our first priority is investigating a hot water heater for the shower that is within our budget. We will also look at the results of the community needs assessment to decide how to use funds after we have stocked the shower project with plenty of the high-demand supplies.
We encourage anyone who is interested in these efforts to attend our next SNACC meeting on Thursday, March 17th at 6:30 p.m. Meeting details will be posted on the SNA website Monday, March 14th.
Becoming a Kinder Neighbor and Fostering a Sense of Community*
Do you know your neighbors? Like, really know them? Their first names, the types of cars they drive, what holidays they celebrate? If you ever get locked out of your house, could you go to your neighbors to borrow a spare key?
There’s a sense of comfort and safety that can come from knowing them. Building a safe and caring community is a valuable way to stay connected to the place you live. It’s also a major component of being prepared for any disaster that might come our way.
I could offer many tips, but I have offered them generously in the past. So, figure out what works for you and do what you can to become connected to your community, where you live, work, etc. In my regular yoga practice a community, or sangha, is formed whenever we get together to practice, online or in the studio. It’s always the same, becoming part of a greater whole and feeling safer and more rooted.
Already a part of your community? Great, and thanks for all that you do.
Need to do more to feel part of your block and/or the Sunnyside neighborhood? Do that work now…it’s always a great time to begin. Find a buddy or partner to do the work with you.
Want to meet with me and figure out your next step(s)? That can be arranged too. Email me: [email protected].
* with generous help from an NPR “Life Kit” article published December 3, 2021
Sunnyside Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee Update
For folks who might have missed February’s newsletter, the DEIA Committee will now be applying their work directly in the General SNA meetings and no longer meeting separately on the first Tuesday of each month. The committee felt that this work was important enough that a DEIA lens should be applied in all of our neighborhood association’s efforts. The Board is currently working on building a Community Agreement document that will help guide our practices and communication with each other. SNA’s goal is to create a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible environment for the community to participate in and be a part of.