We are excited to share that we are continuing our Community Conversation series in 2025. Please subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on our events.
The Urban League of Portland is one of Oregon’s oldest civil rights and social service organizations, empowering African Americans and others to achieve equality in education, employment, health, economic security, and quality of life. We do this by investing in stable housing; workforce development; community health; education and well-being; for our youth, adults, and seniors. Our culturally specific programs and services, combined with our powerful advocacy and civic engagement, empowers Black communities to thrive across Oregon and SW Washington.
In 2022, we started a series of Urban League for All of Us Community Conversations throughout the state that allow us to develop important relationships as well as identify pressing issues and concerns facing our communities. We continued this series in the summer of 2024 with the focus on community staying at the forefront of our conversations. These Community Conversations continue to inform our work and provide the opportunity to make connections between communities across the state. Below are brief summaries of the Community Conversation held in two different cities/regions we visited, the theme of the event, and the Community Champions we honored. Comprised of community organizations and members, our honored Community Champions continually do dynamic work within their respective communities, while embodying the core values of the Urban League of Portland.
Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation – Gresham
March 2024
In March, we kicked off our Community Conversation series in person in Gresham at Mt. Hood Community College. During the Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation – Gresham event, our Advocacy and Public Policy Director, Jennifer Parrish Taylor was joined by panelists Proud Ground’s Executive Director, Dominique Merriweather, Department of Land Conservation and Development’s Senior Housing Planner, Mari Valencia Aguilar, and Northwest Housing Alternatives’ Executive Director, Trell Anderson to discuss Addressing Housing Affordability through Oregon’s Housing Production Strategies. We looked at how past land use, zoning, and planning have led us to a lack of affordable housing options and the impacts this has had on the community. We discussed what mechanisms that need to be put in place now, to have equitable housing development that reflects our values for the future. We shined a light on the housing challenges faced by the Gresham community, explored strategies, and sparked meaningful discussions to drive change. Moderating this event was the Urban League of Portland’s Associate Director of Emergency Services, Kimberly Bacon. During this Community Conversation, we were able to honor four community organizations, Northwest Housing Alternatives, Our Just Future, Path Home, and Proud Ground. Meals 4 Heels catered the event, they are a Black Owned company in Portland, Oregon.
Please visit our platforms to watch our Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation-Gresham:
- Northwest Housing Alternatives - Founded in 1982, Northwest Housing Alternatives is the leading not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in Oregon. Northwest Housing Alternatives’ mission is to create opportunities through housing. Northwest Housing Alternatives develops, builds, and manages rental housing designed for Oregonians with extremely limited incomes; most Northwest Housing Alternatives households earn less than $16,000 per year. These homes help families live healthy and stable lives, allow older adults to age in place, and give people with special needs a dignified residence. Along with providing affordable housing, Northwest Housing Alternatives provides services that connect tenants to critical health and community resources, work to prevent homelessness before it begins, and offer emergency shelter and services for families experiencing homelessness. Northwest Housing Alternatives is also a leader in affordable housing Preservation projects across Oregon.
- Our Just Future - Our Just Future, formerly Human Solutions, has been helping homeless and low-income families build pathways out of poverty since 1988. Our Just Future has a 245-mile service area, in outer East Portland and East Multnomah County, including some of the highest-poverty neighborhoods in Multnomah County. Our Just Future offers services in four interrelated areas: prevention services, employment and economic development programs, direct services to homeless families, and affordable housing. Since 1994, Our Just Future has developed housing in East Portland, Gresham, and Fairview.
- Path Home - Path Home empowers families with children to get back into housing and stay there. Path Home envisions a community where no family experiences homelessness and where every family receives the support and compassion necessary to thrive. Our Family Village Shelter is available to families who are currently experiencing homelessness with children under 18 in their care. Path Home helps families experiencing homelessness move quickly back into homes. Path Home pays back rent and utilities for families during times of emergency. They help families maintain long-term housing.
- Proud Ground - Founded in 1999, Proud Ground pioneered the concept of city-wide, permanently affordable homeownership opportunities. Over the years, Proud Ground’s reach has extended to five counties – Clackamas, Clark, Lincoln, Multnomah, and Washington – where they have assisted more than 600 families in achieving their dream of becoming first-time homeowners. Today, Proud Ground stands as one of the nation's foremost Community Land Trusts. Proud Ground’s commitment lies in safeguarding neighborhoods by guaranteeing that working families can not only reside in their community but also maintain the affordability of their homes for generations to come.
Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation - Pendleton
September 2024
We held our last Community Conversation for 2024 in September in Pendleton for the Pendleton Round-Up festivities. This year we returned to Pendleton and participated more in the Round-Up festivities! We brought special guests from Texas, seniors, youth and families, participants we serve, young professionals, ULPDX members, and ULPDX staff. We participated in Round-Up festivities such as the rodeo and the Westward Ho! Parade. Additionally, we volunteered on the final day of the rodeo as a Golden Circle Champion. Before our main event, we had several site visits. We attended the Technical Regional Universities’ (TRU) Alumni and Friends Social Hour and Oregon State University’s Pendleton Round-Up Celebration. We met with a local community organization and Urban League’s 2023 Community Champion, Neighbor 2 Neighbor Pendleton to tour the Pendleton Warming Station and drop off outreach supplies to support their efforts to help folks experiencing homelessness in Umatilla County.
We hosted our Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation and provided experiential learning for the folks we brought. The theme of our Community Conversation will be Black Cowboys and Cowgirls in the United States, we will highlight our history in Western culture and how important it is for the stories of the generations before us to be told. We made our presence known in Western culture and place make in Oregon for our community. We were joined by special guests this year, Wendell Hearn, Cowboys of Color Rodeo, and Aisha McElroy from Black Cowboy Coalition to be presenters. During our main program, we had presenters share information related to the theme and we honored community champions, Community Action Program of East Central Oregon (CAPECO), Black Cowboy Coalition, and Cowboys of Color Rodeo. These community champions are doing dynamic work to advance our values, which advance our movement forward. We also honored and amplified the work of a local Young Professional, their work embodies the core values of the Urban League’s Young Professional program, City of Pendleton Mayor Elect McKennon McDonald. Ann's Best Creole and Soul Food Truck catered the event, they are a Black Owned company in Kennewick, Washington.
Please visit our platforms to watch our Urban League for All of Us Community Conversation-Pendleton:
- Young Professionals Honoree:
- City of Pendleton Mayor Elect McKennon McDonald - City Councilor and Mayor Elect McDonald is a lifelong Pendleton resident, currently serving my third term as a City Councilor representing Ward 2 and holding the position of City Council President. She is the first woman to be elected as the Mayor of Pendleton and starts her term in January 2025.
- Community Champions:
- Community Action Program of East Central Oregon (CAPECO) - CAPECO’s mission is to assist those in need by combating the causes and conditions of poverty to enhance wellbeing, dignity, and justice through direct delivery of services, partnerships, and advocacy.
- Black Cowboy Coalition - is a groundbreaking organization dedicated to empowering disadvantaged youth and adults nationwide; and forging stronger bonds among Black Cowboys and the broader community.
- Cowboys of Color Rodeo - is the largest multicultural rodeo in the world. They use their platforms to educate further and bring awareness to the multicultural history of the American Cowboy through products, apparel, content, and experiences.
