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May 9, 2020
Working in collaboration with the other neighborhood associations in the North Portland Neighborhood Services community, the Bridgeton Neighborhood Association has developed the North Portland Joint Statement on Homelessness to help the city move forward in our struggle with the homelessness crisis. As of May 8, Bridgeton, Arbor Lodge, University Park and Overlook NA boards have voted to support this statement. The remaining North Portland boards are still in discussion. Obviously we would all like to see an end to this social blight. Not only does it represent human suffering and despair, it creates conditions that lead to crime, disease and a degradation of humane living for all of us. We cannot wish it away - we cannot demand it take itself elsewhere and leave us to our idyllic ignorance of the crisis - we, as residents of the Portland community need to face the hard question: What, exactly, are we willing to do about it? We can donate to charity, we can demand that the city remove obstacles to getting the Bybee Lakes Hope Center up and running, but these are only partial solutions. While we fix the long-term problems of housing affordability and the gaps in our mental health policy, we need immediate solutions that bring people services and at the same time restore our streets to something resembling law and order. We need more managed camps and we need them throughout the city. The next step in this process is to ask what public spaces within the community could accommodate such a thing? A managed camp should be equipped to handle people safely and with dignity, provide basic services, sanitation, and access to public transportation, and the stable base from which to rebuild their lives. In exchange for creating an environment that respects the needs of the homeless, we gain the moral authority to demand respect for our own lives and livelihood. We will be discussing this topic at the May virtual board meeting on Tuesday 5/12. Please write to me with your thoughts. Tom Hickey 2020 Chair Bridgton Neighborhood Association hickeyt+bna.pdx@gmail.com As you may have suspected, the Bridgeton Neighborhood Association General Meeting, scheduled for April 14, is canceled in response to state-wide restrictions against public gatherings during the Coronavirus emergency.
The topics for discussion at the April 14 meeting, while of interest, were not particularly time sensitive, with the exception of a presentation from the Oregon Department of Transportation regarding the scheduled I-5 Interstate Bridge closure this summer. Beginning with that topic, and moving on to the others, the BNA board will do all that it can to assemble and share the pertinent information on that project using digital media, so please do all that YOU can to stay informed. On the topic of staying connected: As we practice our social distancing, let us not become so isolated that we do lose contact with each other. Please make the effort to check in on your neighbors — Are they healthy? Comfortable and secure? Remember that not everybody has internet access to reach out with or to stay informed. Not everybody has adequate long term savings to weather the coming economic slump without anxiety or worse. We need to support each other. Talk to your neighbor. From six feet away. posted March 19, 2020 Bridgeton, This is a CALL TO ACTION! Please attend one of these meetings and learn what the opportunities are concerning the Levees. We see this as an opportunity to upgrade some things we have dreamed about AND get safer levees at the same time!
Thursday, January 16, 2020 • 6:00 - 8:00 PM • City of Fairview Council Chambers 300 NE Village Street Fairview, OR 97024 Thursday, January 23, 2020 • 6:00 - 8:00 PM • Expo Center 2060 N Marine Drive Portland, OR 97217 If you can't make it to one of these meetings, Levee Ready Columbia will also hold a couple of drop-in sessions later in the month where you can get your questions answered and share your thoughts in a smaller group setting: Saturday, January 25, 2020 • 9:00 AM - Noon • Portland Drop In Café Eleven 435 NE Rosa Parks Way Portland, OR 97211 Saturday, February 1, 2020 • 9:00 AM - Noon • East County Drop In Stomping Ground Coffee 21825 NE Halsey Street Fairview, OR 97024 more info from Levee Ready Columbia An email and survey will be following for your opinions. We hope to have FULL neighborhood participation! If you live on or just off Bridgeton Road, this WILL affect you! A guide to the Corps' feasibility study, from the Multnomah County Drainage District, is here: https://www.leveereadycolumbia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/TSP_ReadersGuide_FINAL_online.pdf |
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