Neighborhood Partnerships is excited to welcome Rebekah Markillie as our new Housing Justice Organizer! Originally from the high desert in eastern Washington, she moved to Portland in 2013 to attend the University of Portland where she studied rhetoric and graduated in 2017. Rebekah’s work background has primarily been in copywriting and developmental editing for nonfiction […]
Advancing Consumer Justice in Oregon
If there’s anything we’ve witnessed in the last two years, it’s that the systems and structures that we have in place often place families and individuals in situations with difficult financial challenges. We’ve also witnessed the ways in which the pandemic has put an unprecedented strain on these same systems, which many of us rely […]
The Oregon IDA Initiative Awards over $10M for New Individual Development Accounts in 2022-23
The Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative helps Oregonians with low incomes build financial resilience and wealth by providing matched savings , information about financial systems, and coaching that supports savers in reaching their financial goals. Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and Neighborhood Partnerships (NP) are pleased to announce awards totaling $10,330,360 to 11 […]
Using Data to Inform IDA Equity
By Erica Maranowski The Oregon IDA Initiative seeks to understand who we are reaching and who we are not, in terms of program participation and success, with a focus on communities that face barriers to wealth building and economic stability. Because of barriers that public and private institutions have put into place, we often see […]
COVID-19 in 2022 means our systems have failed us
February 29, 2020 was a day of reckoning for the State of Oregon, when the first case of the “novel coronavirus” was detected in Clackamas County. We were all uncertain about what was to come, but few of us assumed COVID-19 would be with us today two years later. For many of us, our stay-at-home […]
Open Mic: End of the 2022 Legislative Session
Last month, the Legislature opened (and five weeks later, adjourned) the 2022 Legislative Session to consider policy and budget proposals concerning a host of issues from agricultural worker overtime pay, reparations, and meaningful investments in promoting safe, stable, and affordable homes. The Legislature brought unique challenges, a few surprises, and as much change that could […]
Open Mic: The 2022 Legislative Session
We are now past the midway point in this year’s legislative session in Oregon, and we’ve lined up our newsletter to give a progress report on housing, economic, and consumer justice related legislation that is pending in the State Capitol Building. This month is enormously important for NP, our partners, and the communities we […]
More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. – Charlie Chaplin
Last month as part of our monthly consciousness-raising activity we centered our conversation around Partners in Diversity’s Diversity Retention Project. We focused on the section entitled “Experiences at Work” and talked about our own experiences of diversity, or lack of, at work. We also reflected on what we have done to improve support and accountability, […]
Support IDAs in the 2022 Legislative Session!
In January 2022, Governor Brown announced a $400 million request to address Oregon’s continuing housing crisis in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this request contains a $35 million request for individual development accounts. The Oregon IDA Initiative is pleased to support this request, and asks for your help in advocating for this important investment […]
Director’s Desk: January 2022
A new year often is a time of optimism and renewal: it can be a chance to start fresh, and to imagine a better future. For many of us, as the COVID-19 pandemic enters another year with another brutal wave, and continued economic inequality and housing instability, it can be difficult to feel optimistic. The […]