What is Neighborhood Resilience?

Neighborhood resilience is built one person and one family at a time. Before long, an entire block may benefit.

Here are some ideas:
Share a garden space anywhere you can find one. Share knowledge, labor, cost (including a tool sharing agreement), produce and seeds.
Create a kitchen tool sharing plan for larger items that are only used a few times a year. Examples include food dehydrators, canning equipment, sealing equipment, commercial grade mixing bowls and pans.
Plant themed flower or herb gardens on the entire block. It shows neighborhood pride.
Exchange gently used toys or children's clothing to save money.
Hold a neighborhood jobs club.
Have a neighborhood clothes and accessory sharing clothes closet to help job seekers land the perfect job.
Trade services such as cleaning gutters in exchange for sewing alterations. Build the neighbor a fence, or chicken coop in exchange for work on your car.
Consider a monthly book club, book exchange, or book sale.
Teach a variety of skills at a neighborhood craft fair.
Teach basic home or auto repair classes to your neighbors.
Start a neighborhood choir.
Host neighborhood celebrations.

Food Pantry Partnership in SE Portland

Hamilton Darnall, LLC recently partnered with a church in SE Portland to help launch a community food pantry. They intend to partner with Oregon Food Bank, which requires demonstrating operational sustainability.

Our role is to help engage community partners, identify funding opportunities and help position them for funding.

Even before the first meeting they had received their first grant.
Small businesses have begun sending donations.
Within two days they managed to leverage volunteers to help collect food.

This is an exciting project and we are pleased they are stepping up to meet needs in this under served Portland neighborhood.

Neighborhood Engagement

See pictures under our "Abolish Hunger Now" post.

We are believers in neighborhood engagement. Our interests range from fitness and recreation, to leisure and hobbies, to caring for neighbors through relationship-based resources at the neighborhood level coupled with coordinated sustainability efforts. Last night two members of our team drove to a church in NE Portland to watch "Life of Pi". There we had comfortable seating, ample space, heavenly refreshments, enjoyed talking to people we know and didn't know. In late August, a professional opera singer is bringing her talents to a church in our own neighborhood. We have a neighbor that sings popular music in a quartet and we attend two or three performances a year. Another neighbor invited us to attend a Greek history class. One of our team accepted the invitation, not because of a desire to learn about Greek history, but to develop a good relationship with our neighbor. In turn she accepted the invitation to go to a six week nutrition class nearby.

We envision neighborhoods as a place with organized bicycle rides, local hikes, book clubs, nutrition classes, ball games, and movies. A couple months ago our consulting manager visited Rahab's Sisters. This organization meets in Portland near 82nd avenue and reaches out to women affected by prostitution and homelessness. We value this organization because services are provided on the front porch of where these things take place. Access is everything whether people are marginalized by society, lack financial resources or transportation. Bringing services down to the neighborhood level improves access and helps build relationships. In our post "Abolish Hunger Now" there is a sign listing community partners. This concept can be used at the neighborhood level, by inviting businesses, churches, nonprofits, the neighborhood association and others together.

First describe strengths of your neighborhood. Second, dare to envision a vibrant neighborhood characterized by neighbors that know each other, make good use of public parks and other public spaces, and offer a wealth of free activities for all to enjoy. Engagement needs to happen at all levels. Think about hosting a MOM's group, indoor play park, after school program, sports camp, day camps, art drop in center, teen drop in center. For families consider potlucks in the park or a progressive dinner (one course at each of several homes), family basketball or swim, camp outs, scavenger hunts and guided bike tours. The possibilities are endless. Seniors need to belong too. Many are able to read to children, serve as surrogate grand parents, teach a young person a trade or skill.

Rather than churches, businesses and special interest completing, invite representatives to the table. Work together to develop a composite talent pool and times of availability. Once the calendar is fleshed out and meets diverse neighborhood needs, ask community partners to provide resources. Resources may include facilities, equipment, personnel or finances. Try marketing activities with a neighborhood calendar. Use EventBrite to manage signups and track interest and attendance. Track volunteer hours and services provided to aid in securing additional funding. Simple statistics can be used to measure and communicate the value of neighborhood engagement.  

Neighborhood Safety - Part 3

The first two posts focuses on encouraging businesses to participate with crime prevention and local neighborhoods to increase neighborhood patrols. The second post, focused on how businesses could partner with local neighborhoods to decrease the impact of homeless persons and vagrants on the neighborhood and local businesses. This post focuses on prevention. Many youth have no supervision, sense of direction in life, no positive role models or lack financial resources to focus in youth programs. Businesses can help prevent future social problems, decrease delinquency, increase graduation rates by providing resources for youth. Examples include employee sponsored mentoring programs, and youth engagement days to expose youth to the work world. Community service days would encourage a mentor from a local business to work on community service projects with a youth from the neighborhood. For safety, consider a group of three mentors and three youth on each project. This helps youth by teaching work skills, allowing them to work on a project at their neighborhood school, community center, church or synagogue. It can be graffiti removal, planting flowers in public places, helping the elderly or those with handicaps with yard work or working on an art mural for neighborhood enjoyment. To improve graduation rates, send speakers to the neighborhood school. Offer fourth graders college scholarships, start a tutoring center at neighborhood schools and coordinate the staffing. TO help vulnerable or low income youth, offer enrichment scholarships for bringing up grades, improving behavior or decreasing truancy. Enrichment scholarships allow youth to participate in scouting programs, go to Summer camp, obtain private music lessons, pay athletic fees and more. Again, keep statistics to measure outcomes. By demonstrating successful outcomes, other businesses may decide to participate. This has the potential to lives, decrease what can become life long social problems, break the cycle of poverty, help a youth become the first in the family to graduate from high school or college. It also helps prepare young people to make a positive contribution, and become employable. Businesses that provide mentors may also find it easier to recruit new employees who come recommended by the mentor.