Portland Vet Center

Officially titled "Readjustment Counseling Services", The Vet Centers are a community-based arm of the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).

• Our Mission is to provide a wide range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to veterans and their families. 
• Our Focus is to help the veteran work through issues with readjustment and/or sexual trauma directly related to active duty service. 
• Our Goal is too see that every eligible veteran receives the highest quality service. our veterans have served their country, now it is our job to serve them. 
• Our Hope is to see every one of our veteran clients able to lead more fulfilled, productive lives. 

Services:

• Individual and group counseling for Veterans and their families
• Family counseling for military related issues
• Bereavement counseling for families who experience an active duty death
• Military sexual trauma counseling and referral
• Outreach and education including PDHRA, community events, etc.
• Substance abuse assessment and referral
• Employment assessment & referral
• VBA benefits explanation and referral
• Screening & referral for medical issues including TBI, depression, etc.

Eligibility: War Zone Veterans - All eras

More eligibility information here: http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/Eligibility.asp

Location:
The Portland Vet Center is located at:

1505 NE 122nd Ave. 

Portland, OR 97220

Two TRI-MET bus routes run near the Center. Both connect to the MAX light-rail.

• The #71 (60th Ave/122nd Ave) runs North/South on 122nd Ave.
• The #77 (Broadway/Halsey) runs East/West on Halsey.

Phone:  

(503) 688-5361

Open Monday through Friday: 8am - 4:30pm.

Website:

 http://www.vetcenter.va.gov/index.asp

Downtown Compassion

Day Shelter Volunteer Meeting

If you are involved in the day shelters in any way, we welcome you to come to a meeting Thursday, May 17 from 6 to 8pm.  We will introduce each other, talk about issues in the day shelter and pray for each other.

It will be held at Anawim, 19626 NE Glisan, Gresham.  Please park in the back and enter through the back door.

Animal Shelter Alliance

Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland Receives $180,000 Grant for Special Project

The Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP), of which MCAS is a founding member, recently received a $180,000 grant from the ASPCA. The funds will be used to support The Neighborhood Pet Project, a new ASAP program which provides extra assistance for cat and Pitbull owners in a specifically targeted area of Portland. The type of assistance can vary depending on the pet owner's needs. Cat and Pitbull owners who reside in Portland neighborhoods of Hazelwood and Mill Park (within zip codes 97216, 97220, 97230, and 97233) can receive free spay/neuters, vaccines, licenses, microchips, tags, collars, crates, fences and more. Anyone meeting the conditions can ask for whatever type of help they need in order to be responsible pet owners. ASAP program administrators will work with residents to determine if requests are feasible. Please see the downloadable PDF for complete information about this program or download the flier to pass along to friends and neighbors. To apply, please contact Kelly at 503-802-6738 or kellyp@oregonhumane.org.

http://www.multcopets.org/news/animal-shelter-alliance-portland-receives-180000-grant-special-project

Outgrowing Hunger

Imagine your community with these characteristics:  Complete justice, good relationships between neighbors, creation at peace,  good relationship with God,  and abundance for all.  Sound good?  Christians call that, the Kingdom of God, and we just see glimpses of it now and then.  We may not see it in this life completely, but one small step toward this, is community gardens.

 A community garden is 10 percent garden and 90 percent community.

Everyone should be able to walk to their source of food; there is enough vacant space (especially in church backyards) that every low income apartment should be able to walk to a garden.

If you are thinking: How can I get involved?  Here’s what you can do:

1. Go to the Community Garden Open House Celebration! 

      Saturday, May 12th      

      10am - 1pm 

      600 NE 8th St. Gresham

2. If you want to be a part of a garden community, or if you want to help form a community garden in your community,  contact Adam Kohl  971-231-4191;       adam@outgrowinghunger.org

3. If you want to join Outgrowing Hunger's mailing list or begin a community garden in your community, Adam Kohl will  help at, www.outgrowinghunger.org

Community Gardens!

Yes, it is spring!

A time for planting, a time for growing, a time for color

It is the time of year that many of us itch to get dirty and get gardens started

Is it possible we can take our green thumbs  (no matter how pale) and use them to assist our whole community?  Can we feed the poor,  connect with new friends and have fun?  YES!

Join the KEY group as we invite Adam Kohl, Community Garden Manager of Gresham to speak to us about his plan to fill East County with community gardens for the benefit of everyone, especially to feed the hungry of our communities!

When: April 30 7-8pm

Where: Trinity Lutheran Church

  507 West Powell Gresham

Join us in Portland! Helping Without Hurting Seminar

Join us in Portland!

Dear Friend of the Chalmers Center, Join us for our next Helping Without Hurting Seminar Saturday, May 12th at Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon.  This seminar is based on the paradigm-shifting book When Helping Hurts, and will be presented by co-author of the book Dr. Brian Fikkert. An afternoon break-out session will be led by co-author Steve Corbett.   Register now!    What to Expect Engage with the core principles of When Helping Hurts along with its authors. The morning session of the day gives an overview of the core ideas of the book and the afternoon sessions give you the opportunity to learn more about how you can practically help the poor in North America and the Majority World. Reconsider how you help the poor and be encouraged in how your church or ministry can practically move forward in empowering those whom you help.   Learn More View a 3 minute video about the seminar by Brian and his co-author, Steve Corbett.  View the Helping Without Hurting Seminar webpage.    Who Should Attend Pastors, elders, and deacons Church ministry leaders and volunteers: mercy ministry, benevolence committee leaders, food pantry volunteers Missions committee members Missionaries and short-term missions teams  Relief and development agency staff Christian business people interested in microfinance and microenterprise development Christian donors thinking strategically about their generosity toward agencies helping the poor internationally and locally  Register now!     We hope to see you May 12th in Portland!   In the fellowship of Christ,   Katie Jo Ramsey The Chalmers Center for Economic Development