Your brain doesn’t work the way it appears to. Is this general statement a surprise? Probably not. Behavioral economics and neuroscience is taking over the world. We’re told that understanding our mental foibles is the key to success, happiness and persuasion. You may have imagined, as I have many times, figuring out the brain […]
Two big staffing announcements
Last week we met Omar Carrillo – Neighborhood Partnerships new program coordinator. This week, we’re thrilled to introduce two more staffing changes. First, staff member Jess Junke is the new Director of Economic Opportunity at NP. To quote Jess: “To put it lightly, I am feeling pretty stoked about this opportunity.” We’re stoked too, Jess. You can […]
Meet NP’s New Program Coordinator Omar Carrillo-Tinajero
We’re thrilled to have Omar Carrillo-Tinajero on board. Omar actually worked for NP two legislative sessions ago and now he’s back in a new capacity. Omar will manage NP’s housing policy work and lead efforts to expand and diversify the membership and leadership of the Housing Alliance. I asked Omar a few questions so we could […]
QUIZ: What’s your ideal summer, Oregon? (Question 5 may surprise you)
We all daydream in the summer time. Take a second out of your day to find out what your ideal summer says about you. If your ideal summer includes more Oregonians having enough money for rent, share this post with the hashtag: #idealsummerOregon.
You’ll never see ‘No, Section 8’ again
Imagine you’re looking though the apartment ads in the local paper. You find the perfect place. It’s near your kid’s school, fits within your tight budgetary restrictions and is available right now. In this rental market you know you’ll have to get there early to meet the landlord and compete with a half-dozen other people […]
Despite how it feels, talking about poverty is getting easier
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll shows promising results for those conversations you might be having about poverty. “Now, nearly half of respondents, 47 percent, attribute poverty to factors other than individual initiative,” says the poll. Although opinions still fall along expect political divides we’ve come a long way since 1995. As Topos put in […]
The world’s leading marketing guru shares a valuable lesson on homelessness
I was reading a summary of Seth Godin‘s 2014 HOW conference interview and he shared an anecdote that stood out to me: If you read Patti Smith’s book about her and Robert [Mapplethorpe] called Just Kids … she was homeless for years — HOMELESS! — living on bread from the garbage can, sleeping in the […]
The secret words to fighting income inequality
We believe inequality is a barrier that can be broken if we work together and rally a public response. But that can only happen if we all have the tools to change the public conversation. That’s why we’re hosting our old friend Patrick Bresette from Public Works. During this special evening event on May […]
This is our “secret sauce”
Ever wonder what the common factor is among all of NP’s initiatives? I know I did when I first started working here. Well, it’s based on a really cool, research-backed model that helps people navigate life’s ups and downs on their journey toward financial stability. One part infographic, one part informational one pager and one part organizational […]
There’s no such thing as chance
The other day I was writing something about “weathering the storm” and Janet, our ED, reminded me: we don’t use weather metaphors. Why? Because weather is out of our control. But the policies we put in place, the words we use and the society we create are a byproduct of our actions and thoughts. And […]