Center for Intercultural Organizing

Community Organizing in 2023, unite Oregon hosted multiple community events, including tenant rights workshops, the power of testimony & storytelling training sessions, discussion events such as the 82nd avenue community conversations event, our climate justice listening tour community forums, our regional transportation plan community engagement event, and the tualatin valley highway community workshop series. All of these events were designed to provide community members with educational opportunities and to gather feedback, ideas, and details on needs from community members. The outreach and content for these events focused on marginalized communities and their needs. We saw nearly 900 participants from our base communities across the 25 community Organizing events that unite Oregon provided statewide. The major priority areas touched on in these events were affordable housing, health equity, economic prosperity, transportation/climate, and education. The events and discussions also gathered information and feedback from community members about the intersectionality of these issues, especially how the disparities in one area increase or directly contribute to those in other areas.

Civic engagement in 2023, unite Oregon hosted our first in-person/hybrid united for action summit with over 160 attendees statewide, and our chapters hosted in-person gatherings. The chapters were united virtually for part online agenda and part in person. Community members, unite organizers, and the policy team at the summit educated members on our six pillar areas. We also presented policy and campaign concepts proposed through our leadership council and community leaders' spaces. This year, we had 15 pitches presented across the state. Each chapter watched all the pitches and then voted on their top five priorities to see unite Oregon focus its work on. Our communities directly influence, decide, and drive our systems to change work. The summit is now an annual event where we can ensure we are current on communities priorities. During the 2023 legislative session, we hosted a legislative launch event and a lobby day event before the second chamber committee deadline. These events combined saw over 150 community participants. Our members, board, and staff met with 25 legislators to advocate for our annual action agenda. The 2023 legislative session highlighted how important community working together is for achieving actual change. We saw members join from chapters throughout the state, including rogue valley, metro area, bend, the coast, and willamette valley. There are many steps to this process, and we saw people participate in listening sessions, testimony training, hearings, lobbying, and advocacy actions.

Leadership development build - unite oregons building undergraduates through inclusive leadership development (build) program extends to roosevelt, franklin, and grant high schools. The program works to foster leadership skills and is a collaborative initiative that works to dismantle systemic barriers hindering educational achievement among students of color. Yield - for the 2023-2024 school year, unite Oregon engaged with 49 students through the youth-led involvement through engagement and leadership development (yield) program. This last years yield program was focused on enhancing bipoc student engagement and learning outcomes through a series of structured activities and lessons focused on leadership building, advocacy, and navigating social challenges. Bold - unite Oregon graduated 14 new community leaders through its 11th cohort of beaverton Organizing & leadership development (bold) program, adding to a network of over 200 bold alumni. The educational topics in 2023 included your city council, beaverton 101, member spotlight, political education & civic engagement, how to give public testimony, meet city councilors, and testimony practice & feedback. Belt - unite oregons black excellence leadership table (belt) program graduated nine community members in 2023. This program is committed to building leadership skills within the black community with long-term effects. The program provided two weekends of training sessions, leadership development resources, and political education.

Public policy unite Oregon continued its advocacy for policy changes to reduce the disparities experienced by bipoc communities and people experiencing poverty. Our priority bills included the following: community resilience hubs (hb 3409, formerly hb 2990) - establishes centralized locations for people and resources to gather before, during, and after natural disasters. Status - passed emergency housing for all (hb 3462). Summary - ensure emergency housing meets fair housing standards. Status - passed stable homes for Oregon families (sb611). Summary - provides tenant rent stabilization protections. Status - passed food for all oregonians (sb610). Summary - creates a state-funded food assistance program for people who currently meet the income threshold to qualify for snap but are excluded solely based on their immigration status. Status - died. Guaranteeing the right to vote (sb579). Summary - restore voting rights / allow incarcerated oregonians to register to vote, update voter registration, and participate in elections based on where they resided before incarceration. Status - died. Housing minimum wage (hb2699). Summary - this was our first session working with rep. gamba on this housing bill. This groundbreaking policy would connect the minimum wage formula to the cost of housing - a working person's wage would be required to equal that of ? The cost of a 1 br apartment in the region. Status - hb 2699 died in its initial house committee.