Forum #4: Alternative Shelter RFPI - Request for Public Involvement

Please join us next Tuesday Feb 16th to explore and suggest bold, varied, and practical ideas for new  shelter options in Portland, at an open, online, community forum, 10am-12pm PST. We will pose this question to live panelists, and ahead of time to the community to submit video responses: How can we quickly provide safe, private shelter or housing to all unsheltered residents?  

Register: http://register.pdxshelterforum.org.
More information - event page: http://forum4.pdxshelterforum.org.

(above: artist depiction of St Johns Village, Portland). 

This past week, the city/county Joint Office of Homeless Services issued an official RFI (Request for Information) regarding potential Safe Park sites and an RFPQ (Request For Programmatic Qualifications) on alternative shelter proposals. Both of these calls were actually withdrawn, in order to be reissued with new timeframes and details, but we expect to see them soon, with RFPQ responses due perhaps in March. 

While the core question noted above has been a key focal question for PDX Shelter Forum / Shelter Now coalition since the start, this Forum asks the question specifically to engage with recent calls for proposals issued by City of Portland / Multnomah County, and current debates about the future of Hazelnut Grove village.

In keeping with the goal of complementing official processes, and our general orientation, we seek to center and prioritize in this event the viewpoints of those closest to homelessness. Also, to particularly explore models of shelter/housing that are more self-determining and self-governing. 

We're excited to welcome as special guest speaker/panelist, General Jeff, lead organizer of Los Angeles Skid Row Neighborhood Council Formation Committee. Twitter: @GoSkidRowGo.
Jeff is longtime community organizer in the houseless community of LA and the Skid Row area near downtown, "promoting the Skid Row resident's grass-roots Positive Movement!! (since 2006)". See more at: skidrowneighborhoodcouncil.com:

Also, tentatively confirmed: Dr. Sharon Meieran, Multnomah County Commissioner for District 1. (10:00-10:45am):


Also invited, may be on live panel or submit a video/written response:  

• Dan Ryan, Portland City Councilmember, Commissioner of Housing Bureau and Bureau of Development Services, and city liaison to JOHS
• Hazelnut Grove current residents
• C3PO camp residents (Creating Conscious Communities for People Outside).
• Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) representatives 
  
• and other officials and community leaders

Plus video responses from houseless and other community members. 

Registering and attending
We plan to do ticket registration on Eventbrite like last time, with tickets free or by optional donation, Zoom meeting access for up to 100 registrants, and with options to watch via livestream (YouTube and Facebook) with or without registering. If you'd just like to get the video recording later, or watch livestream, remember to select that option on the registration form so we can conserve our Zoom attendee slots. 

Event page
http://forum4.pdxshelterforum.org.
This is a central and steadily-updated page with all the event info, agenda, notes on how to register and/or watch livestream, how to submit questions or comments by various channels before or during the event, and also live notes.

Donation and sponsorship
The event is suggested donation - you are welcome even if you can't donate financially, but are also welcome to donate/sponsor (and be recognized for it live at the event, by your and/or organization's name, and on the archive video and permanent event/notes page, unless you tell us otherwise). This allows us to offer honoraria to panelists and respondents who may need or request them, and to be able to continue organizing these events.

Everyone welcomed by all means possible
We are seeking to be very flexible in how participants can engage in this event: from panelists engaging live with attendees in main Zoom space, to others submitting responses in advance to the key event questions to be played or read at event, to open publics who can watch via livestream on Facebook or on YouTube which offers closed captioning, rewindability, and immediately archived and shareable video. 

We also welcome comments, questions, proposals via all possible channels before and during the event -- Zoom chat, email, text, voicemail, Facebook comments on livestream, or adding to the public open event document notes.  The event and chat channel will be recorded and made available after the event on our YouTube channel and our Facebook group. After the event, a survey will be sent to all registrants and known attendees, on which you can provide anonymous and open feedback, which we welcome. After the event, a survey will be sent to all registrants and known attendees, on which you can provide anonymous and open feedback, which we welcome. 

Please share!
We encourage you to share this event announcement in your communities, and we particularly invite and urge you to invite all houseless neighbors and residents. Your/their presence, questions, and comments, spoken or written or video-recorded, will be prioritized at the event. You can find a link to post cards that you can print out and distribute on the event page. Share this email, and via social media with hashtag #pdxshelterforum.

We hope to see, hear, and connect with you Tuesday, and before and after, and we invite your brightest and best ideas, and support, for transforming the homelessness situation in Portland. 

the organizers, 
Tim McCormick - PDX Shelter Forum, HousingWiki, Village Collaborative
Sean Green - PDX Shelter Forum, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Shelter Now.