Yearly Archives: 2018

By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team

The name change from Office of Neighborhood Involvement to Office of Community and Civic Life (OC&CL) reflects the Portland bureau’s mission. It’s to involve all Portlanders to shape their individual communities and affect the policies of the city to reflect their community and neighborhood needs and concerns.

That’s what OC&CL director Suk Rhee told Concordians at the neighborhood association’s quarterly general membership meeting last month.

OC&CL is involved in programs ranging from cannabis and crime prevention to noise and alternative shelter. The neighborhood association system, the director noted, was prompted partially with the defeat of the Mount Hood Freeway in 1974.

“The defeat of the Mount Hood Freeway was a high point,” she said. “A low point might have been the construction of the Interstate MAX line that bifurcated a neighborhood.”

The issue was raised whether neighborhood associations are actually homeowner associations and whether the interests of nonhomeowners are represented. “That’s not unique to Portland,” Suk pointed out. “‘Homeowner’ is not a dirty word but, when homeowner interests are all that’s represented, that’s a problem.”

Garlynn Woodsong, Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board member, reported all the but one of the current board members are homeowners. Until recently CNews was delivered only to houses, not to multi-family dwellings. “We weren’t getting the word out.”

“‘Homeowner’ is not a dirty word but, when homeowner interests are all that’s represented, that’s a problem.”
– Suk Rhee

The need to engage in electronic communications – and the need to update city guidelines to allow them – was also discussed by meeting participants and the director.

For instance, when board member Truls Neal is out of town on business, he could attend board meetings if video conferencing wasn’t prohibited by city guidelines. The director agreed. “We need to change those rules.”

If someone developed the communications software and hardware for online participation in neighborhood association meetings, she suggested, OC&CL would be in the perfect position to share it among all the associations.

Another matter which requires updating to 21st century standards is cannabis. According to Suk, it’s not just an Oregon Liquor Control issue. Cannabis has become a social issue.

It took generations to decriminalize marijuana and set a new reality. “Now it is an industry where entrepreneurs can get a piece of the action,” she said.

Those are just some of the new issues that face a 44-year-old institution of neighborhoods.

And that, she said, is expressed in her bureau’s mission: “Promoting a culture of civic engagement by connecting and supporting all Portlanders working together and with government to build inclusive, safe and livable neighborhoods and communities.”

Steve Elder, East2@ConcordiaPDX.org, is an inactive lawyer, a developer, activist and old grouch.

By Sonia Fornoni | CNA board member

As a Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board member, social committee chair and coordinator of McMenamins Kennedy School Community room… I’m loving my involvement in CNA.

I especially enjoy the synergies we’re identifying between the very active social committee and the community room that McMenamins allows us to use, and to rent out for various uses. Both fulfill the CNA mission to connect Concordia residents and businesses:

So I’m reaching out to people willing to give one-time classes, or series of classes.

• Community room rentals raise dollars that we give back to the neighborhood in community-building and fun activities – the holiday party, spring egg hunt, Fernhill Park Concert Series, workshops, community grants and more.
• The social committee creates many of those community building events.

I want to see the community room become more than a money maker – to become a community builder. Many hours the room sits empty when we could book free activities that fill our mission to connect people by engaging adults and/or children.

So I’m reaching out to people willing to give one-time classes, or series of classes. Perhaps new businesses will offer samples of their wares and/or services.

How about a once-a-week session devoted to art – creating it, viewing it or talking about it? What about a seasonal gardening meeting? Celebrations of ethnic traditions?

I’m also looking for morning “motion” classes – yoga, tai chi and others to offer free to adults. Parents of children with autism plan to gather there. You can pop in and see what it’s all about. Foster parent information sessions are starting. So are craft and other creative sessions to strengthen intergenerational relations.

Some of our current, regular renters may want to open their activities to the public. Sacred Harp is one. It’s a group of people who love to sing – using a shape note system – with no auditions, no performing. This form of music-making traces its origins to New England in the late 1700s.

A monthly game night begins Oct. 19 – for children ages 8-12, accompanied by parents or guardians – to play board games. (Electronics are banned!) CNA has already begun conversational Spanish classes there on Thursday evenings. All levels are welcomed.

We are not allowed to give the room free for political and religious events; otherwise, the opportunities are endless.

If something pops into your mind that you – or someone you know – could offer in the community room, please email me at CNARoomKennedy@gmail.com.

I encourage you to check out our Community Room Calendar column on Page 8.

Sonia Fornoni, born in Bariloche, Argentina, moved 1½ years ago to Concordia. After enduring 36 years of hot humid south Florida, she feels at home in Portland. Sonia is passionate about gardening, cooking/ baking, art, meeting new people and sharing time with the people she loves.

By Vanessa Miali | CNA Media Team

How far are you willing to go to help your community deal with the homelessness crisis? Would you put a 200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on your property and house a homeless family for five years? What if the construction was free, and you could purchase the ADU at the end of your contract for fair market value?

This is the strategy behind an innovative housing project called A Place for You, created by the Multnomah Idea Lab, part of the Multnomah County Department of Human Services. The lab tests new policies and innovations to help people and communities thrive.

“The first and greatest benefit of this program is it directly creates housing for families,” said Tim Miller, Enhabit CEO, the nonprofit that administers the pilot project.

“Secondly, it’s bringing public partners and nonprofits together in a move toward creating a scalable housing solution for those who need it.”

Last spring, four homeowners were selected from 1,100 applicants to test the concept. Concordian John LaMar had decided building an ADU was not within his means. Instead, he applied to take part in the project.

“This program seemed like a good fit for us, plus it’s mutually beneficial for people who need housing,” John said. In late July, the preassembled ADU was installed in his back yard, and the new family moved in.

He sees his connection with the ADU occupants as more than just the landowner. “We have a neighborly relationship, and they are a very nice family.”

The four project locations were chosen based on proximity to key services like transit, public schools, grocery stores and daycares.

“Part of the magic is figuring out how housing can be integrated into the community because housing is what ends homelessness,” said Denis Theriault, county Joint Office of Homeless Services communications coordinator.

During the project, the four families will receive social service support from the county, such as help if a car breaks down, medical bills or job placement assistance. They will also be expected to contribute a small amount to their rent for maintenance and upkeep.

“This program seemed like a good fit for us, plus it’s mutually beneficial for people who need housing.”
– John LaMar

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the vast majority of homeless who transition into supportive housing situations are able to remain housed in the community. They are also less likely to be incarcerated or use costly emergency health care systems.

If the pilot project is successful, the county’s aim is to eventually build 300 tiny homes and promote the program across the country.

Vanessa Miali has lived in Concordia for 18 years. She is a former public relations professional with two kids who cooks every day and gardens occasionally.

By Tamara Anne Fowler | CNA Media Team

Barbara Kelso describes herself as a sleep-deprived mom, writer and amateur paparazzo of her neurodiverse autism spectrum disorder family.

She started her blog, Kelso Kids, 7 1/2 years ago as a journal for her daughter Leonora, now 7, in case something happened during Barbara’s pregnancy with the girl. Barbara had gestational diabetes, and the medical professionals were scaring her about being pregnant.

At only 34 years old, they labeled her pregnancy geriatric. If anything happened, she wanted Leonora to know who she was, and what her hopes and dreams were.

Kelso Kids began to help her feel less alone in her experience as a mom. As time went on, her blog evolved. Barbara included personal observations, her experiences with post partum depression and anxiety. She wanted to piece together why moms can struggle – and come together in a sense of community.

Barbara found she was developing a small but loyal fan base. “However, dogs on Instagram have more followers than me,” she laughed.

Five years into her blog, son Owen was diagnosed with autism at age 18 months. Her daughter was tested last year and Barbara learned Leonora was autistic as well.

Barbara became completely overwhelmed with both kids being autistic. There’s a lot to deal with. Owen’s preferred outfit is naked. “I, Owen,” he will announce proudly. Leonora has a very active fantasy life. She is obsessed with inventing things, coding games and creating things.

Barbara went through the grieving process. Now, she is able to see things more from Owen’s and Leonora’s points of view. She can accept these Kelso Kids are unique.

“The beauty of autism is there is no filter, no hidden agenda, no malice,” Barbara observed.

As Barbara neared 40, she wanted to have a book under her belt. She published “Chimera Lines” in 2015. It’s a darkly humorous fiction about what life might look like if an earthquake was to hit Portland, and how an entire neighborhood of friends and family would react. “Chimera Lines” is available on Smashwords.com and Amazon.com.

She was breast feeding at the time, so a good chunk of her book was written one-handed, using her phone.

Now Barbara has no fewer than four new books she is working on. The one she really wants to finish soon is “Merit Badge,” a wry fiction about a family that is neurodiverse and the wife is leading a double life as an assassin.

The protagonist’s autistic husband is clueless.

Tamara Anne Fowler is a copy/content editor, fiction editor and accountability coach. Visit her at EditKitten.com, email her at Tamara@ editkitten.com or call 310.359.6038. She would love to hear from you.

By Riley O’Boyle CNA Media Team

Nestled in the alley between 27th and 28th avenues, between Killingsworth and Jarrett streets, stands a former pay phone.

There’s just one difference. You can leave your coins at home and call nearly anywhere in North America for free.

Futel, a Portland nonprofit telephone company, announced the installation in January. The first was installed on southeast Clinton Street in 2014, and Concordia’s is one of four additional local phones, the second in northeast Portland. One was installed in 2016 on Ainsworth Street at 8th Avenue.

There’s another on southeast Taylor Street and – thanks to a partnership with Village Coalition and Freewire – there’s a phone in homeless encampment Right 2 Dream 2. The first out-of-town unit was installed in March in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Futel has several volunteers and contributors, including Regional Arts and Culture Council, Precipice Fund and Awesome Foundation.

Installation requires a host – with power and internet service – who is willing to share. The rest is managed by the dedicated network of volunteers who believe in the project. Last year 14,000 calls were made from the company’s phones, according to Karl Anderson, one of two men who created Futel.

The intent is twofold: to provide a social service for anyone who may not have a phone and an artistic mode of engaging with a community space.

“It’s a way of getting art in the community,” Karl explained at a May gathering of hardware aficionados hosted by Crowd Supply.

“It’s a part of the urban landscape that I never saw as disappearing,” he added. “I thought that they [pay phones] would always be there.”

From a social services standpoint, the phones offer more than free outgoing calls: incoming phone service, voice mail accounts and speed dialing to social services resources, TriMet Transit Tracker, weather forecasts, the Portland mayor’s office and an “apology line” patterned after one in New York City for people to unburden themselves to a recording.

Dial “0” and you’ll talk with Karl, fellow Futel founder Elijah St. Clair or another volunteer. “You can call us to answer what questions you might have or talk about whatever you want,” Karl offered.

The nonprofit’s costs are relatively low. Futel repurposes salvaged payphones, thrift store landlines, obsolete IT hardware kept alive with open source firmware and rented cloud computers.

“Then we buy phone service and we give it away free,” Karl said. “It’s not a technologically exciting thing. It’s a socially exciting thing.”

Riley O’Boyle, certified EIT, works in land development and site engineering, and can be reached at RSOboyle13@gmail. com