Houselessness Monthly Meeting Recap

November A4D Meeting Recap Tackling Complex Issues in Multnomah County A4D was delighted to provide a highly informative forum for Multnomah County Commissioners Sharon Meieran, who represents District 1 on the west side of the Willamette River, and Commissioner Susheela Jayapal from District 2 in North and Northeast Portland at our November monthly meeting. The topic was houselessness. The meeting kicked off with co-chair Roberta Ruimy’s remarks on using activism to cultivate hope and optimism and was followed by steering committee member Melinda Fleming’s update on the COIN Squads project. Melinda encouraged everyone to visit the COIN website for information about forming a COIN Squad and urged members to check out A4D’s website, where graphs displaying the activist work of COIN Squads across the state can be found. A whopping combined total of 1,014 calls to Congress members, 6,266 letters and 3,636 postcards written, and over 147 phone-bank hours logged have been recorded! Following co-chair Mary Chaffin’s introduction, Commissioner Jayapal gave a short presentation on houselessness in Multnomah County, which you can viewhere, and Commissioner Meieran shared her overview of the issue from her perspective as a commissioner and a practicing emergency room physician. They then answered the many questions attendees had and graciously extended their time to do so. Steering committee member Guy Nelson updated the group on the Immigration Action Team’s work to support the resettlement of Afghan refugees in Portland. He asked interested members to join the effort and to make monetary donations to Lutheran Community Services Northwest, which will be matched up to $300 by A4D. To get involved and donate, please go here. No December Meeting See You January 25, 2022 There will be no A4D monthly meeting in December but mark your calendars for January 25, when Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan will be our guest. Until then, enjoy the holiday season!