Food Desert

Did you know that from 122nd through 180th, between Glisan and Stark, there are no supermarkets or large grocery stores? Rockwood and the west side of Gresham are known to be  the poorest neighborhoods in East county, and there is not close access to affordable food. This area has become known as a "Food Desert".

There are 2 separate meetings being held to discuss and find a solution to this problem.
If you are interested in learning more or helping, please contact Craig Lemay at, craiglemay@gmail.com

Two Free Dental Fairs in East County

"In these tough economic times, dental care can land at the bottom of the health care to-do list.
With that in mind the Multnomah Dental Society and Sleep Dentistry of Portland are hosting two events in February designed to help those who are uninsured get the dental work they need.

The first event is the dental society’s annual free children’s health fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Lynch View Elementary School, 1546 S.E. 169th Place.

A week later, Sleep Dentistry of Portland hosts its local Dentistry from the Heart event from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at its Gresham office, 19265 S.E. Stark St."

full article at the Gresham Outlook
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=132771311834317900

Multnomah County Health Clinics

East County now has three Multnomah County Clinics for health and dental needs. Anyone on the Oregon Health Plan or those who are eligible to sign up for the Oregon Health Plan can visit them. The Rockwood Clinic is brand new and available for the population in the north Gresham area.

Most of the clinics are open for appointments. Please call ahead of time to see if you should visit one of these services or another health center.

If you have not signed up for the Oregon Health Plan, you can visit a clinic and find someone who will assist you.

East County Health Center
600 NE 8th Street, 3rd Floor
Gresham, OR 97030-7318
Phone: (503) 988-5558
Fax: (503) 988-6960
Buses: #1, #4, #9, #25, #26, #80, Max Blue Line to the Gresham Central Transit Center

Rockwood Community Health Center
2020 SE 182nd Ave, Gresham, OR 97233
Phone: 503-988-5400
Fax: 503-988-5668
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8am to 5pm
Bus: #4

Mid-County Health Center
12710 SE Division Street
Portland, OR 97236-3134
Phone: (503) 988-5558
Fax: (503) 988-6960
Buses: #4, #71

To get more information about Multnomah County Clinics, please visit http://www.coalitionclinics.org/mchd1.html

To read an article about the need for the Rockwood Clinic, please visit http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/03/rockwood_health_center.html

East Multnomah County Resource Guide

East Multnomah County Resource Guide Free Download

You can download this resource list HERE:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/73513985/East-Multnomah-County-Resource-Guide

~For more information on resources in East Multnomah County, call 211~

Day Shelters Galore!

Today First Baptist Church of Gresham opens their doors to the homeless and youth that have no place to go for the winter.  First Baptist is one of four churches in the East Multnomah County area that open up for a day shelter.

 A day shelter is a place for those in the community to go who have no place to go.  In our day shelters, we find the homeless, older high school kids, and retirees who don’t have a regular place to go. They come to our day shelters to hang out, to connect with others and to get some basic food and clothes.  

  A day shelter isn’t like a night shelter—it’s much more busy.  There are fewer requirements to begin a day shelter than an overnight shelter:  All we have to do is open our doors and make sure we have trained people to deal with conflict or referrals.

~It provides a safe place for people who have no other place to go.  Many of our folks are not even welcome at public parks.  But now they have  a place to go.

~It provides security for the community.  Rather than having people on the street in family neighborhoods, where  people don’t know why they are there,  the day shelter provides a place to be. Day shelters not only provide a safe place for our guests, but also make the community safer.

~It trains people about community respect.  Because most of the day shelters are in churches, there is a basic understanding of respect for the property.  Violence, threats, theft or blasphemous language is discouraged by the guests of the day shelter.  It also provides people, who are trained in peaceful conflict management, to assist others in their conflict.

~It provides volunteer opportunities for those who otherwise have nothing to do.  Trained volunteers from the street and churches run the day shelters, and provide assistance in cleaning and security, if necessary.

~It provides a focus for other organizations to assist needy populations. Medical and dental clinics, veteran services, services for pets, and churches who want to serve the needy know where they can go to provide services. 

If you'd like to volunteer or donate food or clothes at a day shelter, please contact the following organizations:

Mondays 1-6pm -- First Baptist Church of Gresham, 224 W Powell, (503) 665-2159

Tuesdays 1-6pm-- St. Henry's Catholic Church, 346 NW 1st, Gresham, (503) 665-9129

Wednesdays 1-8pm-- Anawim Christian Community 19626 NE Glisan, Gresham, 503-888-4453

Thursdays 1-6pm-- East Hill Four Square Church 701 NW Main Ave, Gresham, (503) 661-4444

Fridays 2-5pm-- Anawim Christian Community  19626 NE Glisan, Gresham, 503-888-4453

Saturdays 10am-3pm--Anawim Christian Community 19626 NE Glisan, Gresham 503-888-4453

There is also the Daybreak day shelter, specifically for the families of the multi-church Daybreak network. 

It is run by Human Solutions.  If you'd like information about volunteering there, please call HS at (503) 548-0200.

Looking for Seniors to Eat!

(No, we're not talking about cannibalism here :)

The Rockwood Building is the newest center for social services in East County.  One of their new services is a meal for seniors, 60 and over.  As this Outlook article indicates, there's not enough people showing up!

If you know of seniors who need a little help reducing their food budget, let them know about this meal.

It's held at 124 NE 181st in Gresham at lunchtime.  A three dollar donation is suggested, but they'll accept whatever the patron can afford.


All the local senior meals are as follows:

• Ambleside, in the Multnomah County East Building, 600 N.E. Eighth St., Room 155, 503-953-8201

• Rockwood, in The Rockwood Building, 124 N.E. 181st Ave., 503-953-8156

• For door-to-door transportation, call Ride Connection, 503-226-0700

Do you want to volunteer at one of the meals? 

• To volunteer for the lunch program or for Meals on Wheels, call Liz LaPlante at the Rockwood location, 503-953-8156, or Carolyn Williams at the Ambleside location, 503-953-8201

Food Shortage-- Can You Help?

An excellent article recently appeared in the Gresham Outlook about the need of local food pantries. 

We have a number of food pantries in East County, but they are in desperate need of more food to meet the ever-increasing need.  Will you help?  Please donate canned food to the locations below.

Some of the food they could use:

• Vegetables and fruit (fresh and canned)

• Milk, baby formula, baby food and disposable diapers

• Soups

• Chili

• Canned hash or ravioli

• Tuna

• Tuna, Hamburger or Chicken Helper

• Flour, baking mix or pancake mix

• Instant mashed potatoes

• Meats and deli items

• Laundry soap to wash donated clothing

• Toiletries such as bars of soap and toilet paper

• Can openers for the homeless and families living in their cars

• Pet food

Many of our food pantries are below:

Zarapath Pantry:

59 N.W. Ava Ave., Gresham

(503) 667-7932

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri.

St. Henry's Catholic Church:

St. Vincent De Paul

346 NW 1st Ave, Gresham

(503) 235-8431

Tues and Sat, 10-12pm (limit 1 box a month)

Homeless may visit both Tue and Sat every week

Salvation Army:

473 SE 194^th, Portland,

(503) 661-2704

9 to 3pm, Tues through Fri; Closed for lunch noon to 1 Closed the first Wednesday of the month

*http://salvationarmygresham.org/volunteer-opportunities/

The Chapel:

27132 SE Stark St, Troutdale

Bread available Tues, Wed, Thurs., 9-4pm

Salvation Army Harvest Share: (Fresh Produce)

473 SE 194th, Portland,

9:30am, first Wed of the month, first come first serve

(503) 282-0555

Rockwood Seventh-day Adventist Church Harvest Share: (Fresh Produce)

1910 SE 182nd Ave., Gresham

(503) 282-0555

9 a.m. on the fourth Tues of the month

Innovative Housing Harvest Share: (Fresh Produce)

826 S.W. 29th Way, Troutdale

(503) 282-0555

10:30 a.m. on the third Wednesday of the month

Snow Cap Community Charities :

17805 SE Stark (behind Rockwood United Methodist Church) (503) 674-8785

Mon-Fri, 10-2pm, Tues, 10-5:30pm

*http://www.snowcap.org/Volunteer/tabid/6269/Default.aspx

New Beginnings Christian Center:

3300 N.E. 172nd Place, Gresham

(503) 256-6050

12:30 - 2:30pm Sunday; 6:30 - 8:30pm Wednesday

St Anne’s Catholic Church:

1015 S E 182nd Ave, Gresham

Wed 9-11am, 6pm-8pm

Sanctuary Church — A Jesus Community:

3103 S.E. Orient Drive, Gresham

(503) 663-9146

11am to 2pm the first and third Saturday of the month

ajesuscommunity.org.

Overnight Shelter for Homeless Families

Human Solutions operates a winter overnight shelter for homeless families with children and single women at Eastminister Presbyterian Church.  Those who are in need of such shelter should show up at the church-- 125th and Halsey-- at 7pm.  The shelter is open every night from November 1 through March.


Those wishing to volunteer at the shelter should contact Amie Diffenauer  at adiffenauer@humansolutions.org


Human Solutions also has a day/night shelter program for homeless families called Daybreak.  Churches host the families in their facilities overnight and during the day the families are located in a regular space where they can eat, look for work and obtain resources to get back on their feet.  Families can sign up for this program’s waitlist by calling 503-256-2280.


For more information about the Winter Shelter or Daybreak program, call Human Solutions at: 503-256-2280.  To participate in the winter shelter, all you need to do is show up.  For Daybreak, you need to sign up.

For more information about Human Solutions, check out their website:

www.humansolutions.org

Vital Statistics: A Summary of Portland's 2011 Street Count

Some facts from the “2011 Point In Time Count of Homelessness in Portland/ Multnomah County, Oregon”

All statistics reflect the state of homelessness on January 26, 2011. This doesn’t give an accurate overall picture of homelessness in Multnomah County for many reasons, but the three primary reasons are:

-January is one of the lowest counts of homelessness of the year
-It is very difficult to find all the homeless.
-Many homeless ask not to be counted

Even so, this count is important because it gives a general idea of homelessness in the county, it is helpful in comparison to other cities and it helps us see the trends of homelessness.

To read the full report, please go to this link and download the free file

The Statistics:

2,727—People counted who are sleeping on the street or in vehicles or in shelters on the night of January 26.

1,928—People in temporary transitional housing on that night.

35—The percentage of increase of families who became homeless since 2009

751—Homeless children

9—The percentage of increase of homelessness since 2009

12—The percentage of veterans who are homeless

More than half of those living on the street were living on the street two years ago.

The count in East Multnomah County (East of 182nd) increased to 92 from a single individual in 2009. (A personal note: this is because of the participation of the day shelter programs in East County)

11- Percentage of homeless in all of East County (East of 82nd), where services for the homeless are scarce.

46—Percentage of homeless that have been homeless for more than 2 years

69—Percent of homeless that have been homeless for more than 1 year

52—Percentage of the homeless who have lived in Multnomah County for more than 10 years. However, the majority of the general population of Oregon do not originate from Oregon.

101—Increase of beds in shelters from 2009

53—Percentage of the homeless in shelters who are a part of a homeless family

37—Percentage of homeless women

35—Percent of homeless woman affected by domestic abuse

46—Percent of communities of color (non-white) on the street. In the general population, 29 percent are communities of color. African Americans and Native Americans are more represented on the street than other groups.

Hope in East County

East Multnomah County is becoming poorer every year. I’m not trying to depress you, but it is a fact we have to deal with.

The greatest poverty and violence has moved from North Portland to Rockwood, a community in North Gresham. http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/09/07/help-planned-for-aching-rockwood-neighborhood/

Willamette Week recently recognized the issues when they published their lead article about poverty in Portland, focusing on the poverty on 162nd Avenue, the dividing line between Portland and Gresham. http://wweek.com/portland/article-18071-the_other_portland.html

Gresham has been declared the most violent city in Oregon, based on reported violent crimes. This places Gresham at number 72 in the nation for violent crime, just below Los Angeles. http://www.kgw.com/home/Gresham-Tops-State-Crime-List-72188477.html

Part of the reason for this increase in poverty and violence is because of the high apartment prices in all places except for East County. Even the organizations that gain apartments for the homeless in downtown and SE Portland are moving these poorest residents to East County. All the poor who can afford housing move to the cheapest housing, which, currently, is East of 82nd Ave. And yet this is the area of Portland that have the fewest social services for those who are poor. If a family is in need of clothes in East County, they are sent to downtown Portland. If a family is in need of food, they are sent first to Clackamas County.

However, these facts are not the whole of reality in East County. There are more social services than ever before in East County and the community as a whole is stepping up to meet the increasing need. It isn’t just the large organizations that are helping, like Multnomah County or the City of Gresham or Human Solutions. Smaller churches are combining efforts to work to assisting the poor in East County.

But those of us who are helping need the help of the whole community. We cannot end poverty, but we can change the face of poverty, if we all work together. This blog is about providing opportunities for local individuals and groups to help those in need in East Multnomah County. We can help the families, individuals and couples in need. But we have to do it together.