With fall sun streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, about 60 neighbors nibbled on duck-shaped sugar cookies, as they learned Oct. 12 about what’s next for the 19-acre campus at the north end of Concordia neighborhood.

In June, the University of Oregon acquired the former Concordia University campus, which had been shuttered since 2020. The recent public meeting took place in the library of the new UO campus. At the gathering, community members mingled with a dozen UO staff and listened to remarks from Interim President Patrick Phillips about the University’s intentions.

The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health is seeking to train more professionals in emotional wellness and will occupy the top floor of the library building, he said.

The institute will offer a new degree for undergraduates and aims to ready 200 graduates per year for jobs in schools and healthcare settings. Students participating in that program will occupy two of the campus’ residence halls starting in Fall 2023.

Some UO officials have already started moving into Concordia campus offices and Phillips said that they are keen to get the library building’s first-floor coffee shop up and running.

In order to create a “campus feel,” Phillips said UO has decided to move all of its Portland programs, currently housed in Old Town’s White Stag building, to the new campus. Those programs include graduate level offerings in business administration, architecture, historical preservation, journalism and law.

The “Innovation Space,” a research and maker lab used by several UO Portland graduate programs, is slated to take over what was Luther Hall, the large brick building and adjoining chapel on Holman Street and NE 28th Avenue.

UO Portland Provost Jane Gordon said the university wants to turn the former Concordia University chapel into a commons, an open space for exhibits and gatherings. The building will require significant renovations, and the university is in the process of selecting an architect to assist in the design phase, she said.

Gordon said she is most excited about the on-campus housing UO will now be able to offer UO Portland students, something it can’t in its Old Town site. She said UO intends to use 400 of the 500 current on-campus beds for students.

Gordon said neighbors will be welcome to use the campus in a variety of ways. “We want to be a community-centered campus,” Gordon said. “We will do events that people will be invited to, whether they’re a lecture, conference, music or things the community puts on. We’re open to various ideas.”

Ideas being considered include a weekly farmer’s market, concerts on the lawn and a food cart pod. Gordon says she wants to collaborate with Concordia residents on how to use the campus.

To share your ideas, contact UO by emailing pdxinfo@uoregon.edu.

For more information, visit pdx.uoregon.edu/northeast-pdx-campus

Readers Write! Tell us how you think the Concordia community should interact with, as well as utilize, the University of Oregon’s new campus. We’ll publish your thoughts in an upcoming issue. Email CNews Editor Rob Cullivan at CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

When asked whether her clients at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry hope to get free turkeys for Thanksgiving this year, Catherine Perkins noted that’s not the case. “Most of the people in the population we serve don’t have a large enough oven to cook a turkey or can’t afford to cook a turkey that long.”

Perkins is president of the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 5310 NE 42nd Ave. The conference is part of an international Catholic group devoted to serving the poor and pays a nominal rent of $1 yearly to St. Charles for pantry space.

Perkins said as many as 27 to 30 individuals or families currently visit the pantry weekly. The pantry, located in the same building that houses the church, is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to noon and Mondays 4–6 p.m.

Clients can fill a box monthly with 60 pounds worth of food items from the pantry, and some visit weekly to get snacks, nutritious food bars or soup pouches, including homeless folks who can’t provide an address that shows they live in the pantry’s service area, from Northeast 28th to 82nd avenues.

“You don’t have to be Catholic,” Perkins said, adding that many clients are seniors on fixed incomes with children and grandchildren living with them. “You just have to be a person who needs a little help. We don’t say ‘No’ when people show up.”

Inflation blues

Perkins and others who serve the hungry in Concordia and its neighboring communities said the rising costs of rent, utilities and groceries are some of the reasons folks are seeking food assistance.

The Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez, pastor of Ainsworth United Church of Christ, 2941 NE Ainsworth St., said her church members are feeling the pinch of inflation. “A lot of people aren’t used to asking for help, but I know that with inflation it’s been harder on people,” she said.

The church is home to the HIV Day Services Center, operated by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, an interdenominational organization. Among its services, the center provides breakfasts and lunches to its clientele, says Chautauqua Cabine, program coordinator.

Like Pastor Smouse Lopez and Perkins, Cabine said the spike in food prices has affected the people the center serves. “We have a lot of clients running out of their Food Stamps a lot quicker,” she said. “A lot of our clients can’t afford meat products.”

Both she and Perkins noted their food programs now don’t get as much donated meat products as they once did. Where once her food pantry could provide beef, pork, sausage and fish to clients, now it’s mostly only chicken she can give, Perkins said.

Food bank insights

Jason Stephany serves as director of strategic communications for Oregon Food Bank, which supplies food to such area programs as the pantry at St. Charles, as well as One H.O.P.E. Fellowship, 5425 NE 27th Ave. and Sharon Seventh Day Adventist Church, 5209 NE 22nd Ave. Stephany said economic disruption, starting with the Covid lockdowns coupled with shocks to global supply chains by such events as the Ukraine War, have made the world inside and outside Concordia hungrier.

“Nearly one in four Oregonians experienced income- and job loss over the past two-plus years,” he said. “We saw an unprecedented need for emergency food assistance in rural, urban and suburban communities alike in 2020 and 2021.”

Stephany said these disruptions have made struggling folks suffer even more than usual. “The cost of groceries in our communities is up at least 10% overall, even higher when we look at the cost of meat, fish and dairy,” he said. “And this is happening at a time when lower-income households already spend more than a third of their budgets on food.”

Fortunately, one bright spot amidst the current turmoil is that benefits from SNAP, the federal food assistance program, increased 12% last month. For example, the maximum food benefit for a household of four has increased from $835 to $939. “This will at least ensure most families won’t face a loss of cash to spend on groceries at the same time prices are increasing,” Stephany said.

Giving, receiving

Joann Whitten has seen both sides of the hunger equation, getting help from the Vincentian pantry at St. Charles as well as volunteering there to help others.

A divorced mother who lives with four family members, Whitten wanted folks to know she has always been employed and that she and other food pantry clients are not just “takers.” Currently she works as a kitchen aide at an area school.

“I’ve always had low-paying jobs where the money I made was barely enough to pay the bills,” she said, adding there’s no feeling quite like that of getting a food box when you’ve run out of money to buy groceries. “It feels so good if you get home with food and you haven’t had any.”

Most of the people she serves at the pantry are like her, folks with children and grandchildren who just need help. “Everyone needs help sometimes,” she said, adding her spirit is buoyed by those who give to the pantry. “There’s a lot of good people in this world.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: To find a food program in your area, visit OregonFoodFinder.org.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

St. Charles Catholic Church, 5310 NE 42nd Ave., welcomed a new Pastoral Administrator, Father Tony Galati, this summer.

Galati officially took his position in July and is no stranger to the Concordia neighborhood. He grew up in the Piedmont neighborhood and attended Holy Redeemer Grade School, Central Catholic High School and the University of Portland.

When he was a child, his family would occasionally attend Mass at St. Charles, something he remembers fondly as well as the friendships he made with St. Charles parishioners through the years.

Following graduation from college, he began a 28-year career in international shipping and then served as executive director of Portland’s Catholic Radio station, KBVM, now Mater Dei Radio. Galati noted he became interested in the radio station during his commutes. “I would time my drive so I could pick up certain programs during my workday,” he said.

He eventually joined the station’s board in 2002 and was hired as director in 2005, a position he held till 2014. During his tenure at KBVM, he helped to solidify its financial support and expanded its reach in Oregon, extending the station’s broadcast reach by purchasing two transmitters in the Eugene area.

Previously married, Father Galati has two grown sons and three grandchildren. His marriage was annulled, a Catholic process by which a marriage is considered invalid because it lacks at least one essential element to make it a binding union. Because of this, Galati was able to become an ordained minister in the church.

About a decade ago, he said he felt God’s call to the priesthood and was encouraged by others, including a priest friend, to consider joining the clergy.

“It took me a while to discern, and I did, and I haven’t looked back since,” he said. Galati decided to enter Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict and was accepted in 2016 and ordained in 2021.

Now at age 65, he is new to the priesthood but grateful for his life experiences, which he feels will help him to better do the things a priest is consecrated to do. He noted his age and life story enabled him to give spiritual counsel grounded in the practical challenges all people face.

“Had I not been married and had kids, I could not do this job,” he said. “I come with an instinctive desire to be a spiritual father to people.”

His priorities will be administering the sacraments, serving as celebrant for weekend and daily Masses, visiting the sick and homebound and presiding at funerals and weddings.

“I love it all,” he said when asked what he enjoys about being a priest. “Whether it’s celebrating Mass or anointing the sick or hearing confession or baptisms, for me it’s been wonderful. I feel duty-bound in being generous in offering the sacraments.”

In his first Sunday homily, he told the congregation: “It’s a privilege and blessing for me to be here with you. May God bless you and let’s pray for each other that we may be Christ to one another.”

This story contains additional reporting by Rob Cullivan.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Rowan Dodero, 18, a graduate of Faubion Elementary School as well as Jefferson High, can speak Spanish, paint murals and talk fashion—Roman fashion, from back when the Caesars were emperors, not salads.

A fan of anthropology and history, Dodero is a valedictorian of the Class of 2022 and says she’s fascinated by how folks lived in the past. “I’m interested in the people,” she says. “I really like looking at what they wore and learning about what they believed and why and what they did.”

In addition to the aforementioned subjects, Dodero has also learned about biotechnology as an intern at her high school’s OHSU program, and she enjoys writing as well. The stellar student earned 40 college credits while in high school by attending Portland Community College classes through its Cascadia campus, graduated with a 4.2 weighted GPA and is enrolled at the University of Oregon.

She earned a Pathways Scholarship to the home of the Ducks, which she says will cover her tuition, and plans to pay her housing bill with the help of a $1,000 Stumptown Scholarship. Dodero was one of 16 East Portland high school graduates who won such a grant. Stumptown Scholars are primarily funded by retailer Mattress Lot and local donors. Scholarship awards are based on an essay, academic performance, community leadership and financial need.

For her Stumptown essay, Dodero was asked how she would teach young people 20 years from now about what it was like to be a student during the Covid lockdowns.

“I would start by delving into the effects that quarantine, masking and social distancing had on people,” she wrote. “I would focus on youth because I have first-hand experience being a high schooler during the pandemic, and I could relate it to my students. I would look into the long-term effects this had on my generation, how school etiquette and social skills were hindered.”

“Our scholarship committee was super impressed by Rowan’s essay,” Michael Hanna, a Stumptown spokesperson, said. “Rowan is a creative and thoughtful writer. She writes clearly, in an organized manner. We liked her description of life during the pandemic for high school students and her description of how the pandemic changed our culture and society for years to come.”

Dodero credited her parents, Calley Dodero and Stephen Phillips, for supporting her academic journey, and added that her interests are varied, ranging from volunteering on behalf of the Oregon Food Bank to serving as a Portland Parks and Recreation camp counselor this summer, as well as an art camp counselor the previous three years.

Although she would love to study Spanish abroad, Dodero said she has not yet made up her mind what she wants to pursue as a career after university. “I’m just trying to learn a bunch of stuff and see what I like.”

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

If you haven’t started setting aside supplies for a disaster, or done any other kind of planning, where is the best place to start? This is a common question, and while there’s no one right answer, I’ll give you my priorities to use as a guideline in case you need it.

Remember that you don’t have to tackle everything at once, and I highly advise taking it in small doses. A small amount of planning is better than no planning.

It is important to make sure that everyone in your family knows what your reunification plan is. To learn how to make a plan, visit ConcordiaPDX.org, click on “Concordia News” and read the NET columns in the Oct. and Nov. 2021 editions. A reunification plan doesn’t require any supplies, just thinking and talking things through with your family.

For supplies, I suggest starting with a three-day go-bag for each member of the family, including children, and I’ll cover what you should put in it in next month’s NET column. These are supplies you can use in your home or take with you, depending on the situation.

Once you’ve got that in place, it’s time to start thinking about larger quantities of water, a subject I covered in the July and Aug. 2022 NET columns. You will also need food supplies for a longer period of time. It’s a good idea to have at least two weeks of food and water supplies on hand. If it’s too much to buy all of that at once, add to your supplies gradually—it’s not an all-or-nothing rule. Some is always better than none!

If you feel like you have enough supplies for your family for a couple of weeks or more after a disaster, it’s time to get involved in your community if you haven’t already. Find out about joining your Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) at Portland.gov/pbem/ neighborhood-emergency-teams, or your BEECN (Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node) team at Portland.gov/pbem/about-beecn (and see Concordia News August 2021). Or connect with neighbors to share preparedness duties and develop a disaster response plan for the block on which you live.

A community that plans together survives better and recovers faster from disasters!

Erin E. Cooper is a marine biologist living in Woodlawn. She spends a lot of time thinking about disasters and has been a NET member for many years. Contact her at OceanListener@gmail. com.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

Kenyahta Sikes, co-owner of PDX SuiteSpot, an event space in Chinatown, says Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF-OR), 2828 N.E. Alberta St., is a valuable resource for her and other African American business owners in Portland.

She noted the Concordia-based organization helped her host 40 other Black businesswomen for a workshop titled “Boss Talks: Entrepreneurship for the Black Woman.” Attendees learned about how to use digital marketing and social media as well as access capital, she said.

“I wondered how many other Black business women were struggling with the same things,” she said, adding that a challenge for many Black business women is finding the resources and funding they need to make their companies succeed. “Nine times out of 10, that’s the greatest struggle,” she said.

Sikes’ company can host photo shoots, music videos, house parties with live music, baby showers, exercise classes, birthday parties, small banquets, launch parties and meeting space. She adds that she plans on taking advantage of any business assistance she can find through BUF-OR. “Black United Fund has been influential in my business journey.”

That’s exactly the kind of words Emmanuel Williams, the foundation’s community-justice and equity coordinator, wants to hear. Black United Fund is designed to help folks like Sikes turn their dreams into reality, he said, to help African American entrepreneurs stake their place in the nation’s business landscape. “A lot of the problems we deal with are economic,” he said. “We’re engaging in acts to drive economics in our favor.”

Legacy of uplift

Founded in 1983, Black United Fund of Oregon works to increase post-secondary opportunities for young people, support BIPOC as well as female-led nonprofits through its leadership program as well as by providing them grants, and aims to foster “a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups,” its mission statement reads.

Located in a one-story building, the nonprofit foundation plans to literally enlarge its presence in Concordia over the next few years, aiming to erect a multi-story structure by 2024 that will replace its current building and that will host not just BUF-OR but multiple other nonprofits as well.

The new building will be called the Building United Futures Complex. Anchored by Black United Fund, it will be a consortium of organizations, programs and businesses centered on “equipping, empowering, encouraging and engaging Black and other BIPOC communities to enhance their educational advancement, economic mobility and social liberation,” reads a statement from Adre, the realestate development company overseeing the project.

Dr. LM Alaiyo Foster, BUF-OR president and CEO, says the new building will be designed to be welcoming to all people, with open spaces and lots of windows, and may even feature showers where houseless folks can get off the streets for a moment and take care of their hygiene. “It will be a neighborhood hub and unapologetically Black,” she says.

Scholarship students

Among the foundation’s best-known programs is its Post-Secondary Options, coordinated by Saeeda Wright, which provides educational and financial assistance to young people. Wright has mentored Christine Bynum, a junior at Atlanta’s Spelman College, the nation’s oldest college for African American women. Bynum said she wants to inspire other African Americans because she is planning to become an orthodontist.

“As a future Black dentist, I know there are not that many Black dentists out there,” she said. “I want to be a role model to other students.”

Bynum is also studying Spanish and hopes to work with Spanish speakers as well as folks of any race who are unable to access dental care due to financial challenges. As someone who’s worn braces herself, she said it’s important for people to feel welcome and supported as they get their teeth fixed.

“You are trying to help them smile better, and they never forget their orthodontists.”

She credited Black United Fund for helping her to defray the considerable costs of her college education. “The financial support means that I am able to continue my time at Spellman,” she said. “I am able to reduce the amount of loans that I may need to take out for school.”

For more information on Black United Fund, visit BUFor.org.

For more information on PDX SuiteSpot, visit PDXSuiteSpot.com.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.