6 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
June 2016
River West Village to begin memberships and services in 2017
“An important differentiator is to
ensure safety and transparency so
all vendors are vetted and criminal
backgrounds checked and trained
because they’re often inside people’s
homes. Trust is the success,” she said.
In the vetted vendor program
companies will be nominated by
members. Village volunteers will
s c re e n t h e s e c o m p a n i e s . O n c e
approved, River West volunteers will
refer members to the vendors when
they need a plumber, tree trimming or
other services.
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
Whether we like it or not, we’re all
getting older. Aging brings on many
emotions — confusion, fear, excitement
and a sense of isolation. The truth is
that people have been moving away
from their families for generations in
this country. But there’s a growing
movement to help seniors connect with
who and what they need.
River West Village is a novel model
and part of a hub and spoke grassroots
organization (Villages NW) developed
by community members for seniors
in Southwest Portland and in other
areas of Multnomah, Washington, and
Clackamas counties.
River West will serve seniors in
Southwest Portland. The goal is for
seniors to live wherever they want to
live with a sense of power, a sense of
connectedness, interdependence, and
information on resources.
To learn more about River West the
public is invited to an informational
session on Saturday, June 11, from 10
a.m. to noon, at St. Luke Lutheran
Church, 4595 SW California St. Or
visit: http://riverwestvillage.org/rwx.
River West is just getting off the
ground and expects to start accepting
members and providing services
sometime in 2017. So what have River
West volunteers been doing since 2015
and what’s the plan for 2017?
“We’ve been raising funds, holding
planning meetings, having soup
suppers to spread awareness and
build community,” said volunteer John
Dougherty.
River West established a Wednesday
morning men’s coffee group in 2015.
The group has met every week since
then at 10 a.m. at the Maplewood
Coffee and Tea.
River West Village volunteer John
Dougherty. (Post photo by Jack Rubinger)
They talk mostly about fishing,
interesting life experiences, and,
with restraint, politics. “Everyone is
welcome and appreciated,” said Darl
Kleinbach, outreach team leader. “We
are currently in the process of creating
the village and building our volunteers
corps.”
Villages NW, the “hub”, is a
nonprofit organization which has
worked over the past two years to
organize neighborhood residents into
planning groups and to get seven
grassroots “villages” into development
across Portland — four in Multnomah
County, two in Washington County and
one in Clackamas County.
“I see ‘villages’ as restorative of the
ways we’d naturally look out for one
another through our lifespans, as we
would living in a little village,” said
volunteer Rachel Mohlere. “They’re
a modern, urban model for restoring
natural relationships.”
What kinds of services are provided?
“Things like transportation, food,
picking up prescriptions, walks, pet
care, and computer help — whatever the
community demands,” said Mohlere.
Fees are paid by the member just
as they would if they did their own
research for someone to do these
tasks. The benefit is that River West
volunteers do the screening for them
and will help troubleshoot if needed.
Vi l l a g e s N W i s a n o n - p ro f i t
organization with 501(c)(3) status.
It is registered as an Oregon public
benefit corporation. To learn more
about the Portland metro-area Village
movement and get involved, please
visit Villages NW at www.VillagesNW.
org or email info@VillagesNW.org.
New gas tax proceeds would help pay for
Capitol Highway improvements
NEIGHBORHOOD NOTEBOOK
According to Chris Lyons, who
heads the Multnomah transportation
committee, the new gas tax allocates
$3,310,345 to Southwest Capitol
Highway from Taylors Ferry Road to
Garden Home Road (West Portland to
Multnomah Village).
The project leverages system
development charges. City bureaus are
charged with the mission of planning
and maintaining Portland’s streets,
sidewalks, transit, water service, sanitary
sewer system, and parks.
These services are partially funded
through specific fees.
“There is $5 million in system
development charges [earmarked] for
this project,” Lyons wrote, “so we now
have $8.3 million dedicated.”
However, according to the city, the
total cost for improvements is more likely
in the $12 million range, so more will
be needed. The hope is that the Bureau
of Transportation will grant funds that
would help to close that gap.
Here is a link to the full project list,
with Capitol Highway information on
Page 4: www.fixourstreetsportland.
com.
Multnomah joins coalition to
oppose gentrification
A motion was passed by the
Multnomah Neighborhood Association
last month to join forces with several
other neighborhood associations
(Eastmoreland, Overlook, and Goose
Hollow, to name a few) in opposing
infill projects that destroy the character
of the community, destroying trees and
older affordable homes, and increasing
density without adjusting for parking.
“We’re not opposed to middle
housing—small cottages, tiny homes,
duplexes,” said vice-chair Martie Sucec,
“but we are opposed to the location and
not wherever they want to put it!”
“Well, a whole lot of middle housing
is being destroyed already,” said one
neighbor. There was one person against
joining forces.
– Erik Vidstrand
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20 years in Multnomah Village!
“Call Kenny!”
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