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August 25. 2010
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Sustainability ,
Cully Neighborhood Builds Green
Social, environment activists at work
by J ake
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
The C ully neighborhood in
northeast Portland will be getting a
little bit more energy efficient thanks
to the work o f social and environ­
mental activists.
The “Changing the Climate in
Cully” initiative, sponsored by the
Metropolitan Alliance for the Com­
mon Good- a network o f 17 labor,
faith, and community organizations-
seeks to connect residents o f the
area with a program that will lower
their energy bills while creating de­
cent jobs.
Clean Energy Works Portland, a
pilot program launched by the City
o f Portland, helps homeowners
make upgrades to their houses that
conserve energy, while lowering
their energy bills and impact on the
planet. Since last month, the activ­
ists have been working to connect
residents of the Cully neighborhood
with the program.
“We are not an environmental
organization, we are a social justice
organization,” said Mary Nemmers,
the lead organizer with the alliance.
Nemmers explained that her or­
ganization was particularly inter­
h
ested in Clean Energy Works Port­
land for several reasons. W orkers
who make houses more energy
efficient do so by putting in new
insulation, and better furnaces
and water heaters. They also make
living wages and receive health
benefits while fordoing the work,
which is an aspect o f the program
that the alliance found appealing,
according to Nemmers. The pro­
gram has already created jobs for
17 people and sustained another
16.
Nem mers said that her organi­
zation targeted the neighborhood
1
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C
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¿ran..
Neighborhood Economic Development
Roundtable
Monday September 13, 2010
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Portland State University | Smith Memorial Ballroom | 1 825 SW Broadway
Help shape neighborhood economic development in Portland!
How can PDC and the community be more effective at neighborhood economic development?
Join national and local experts, city decision-makers, and other community leaders
for a day of learning, interaction, and dialogue.
Your input is vital to develop a guiding strategy to:
•
Expand economic opportunity and grow jobs
• Create community/public/private partnerships
•
Develop new resources for neighborhoods
•
Build capacity for local organizations
•
Implement community action projects
Space is limited.
Register today and contribute your expertise and vision.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
For more inform ation, visit us online ot:
pc
or call: 5 0 3 .8 2 3 .2 3 8 4
l e m r i e t te r e t H a e f i f e t e n
PDC
Portland UNIV
State
I tllTV
Event is free. Lunch will be provided. Translation and childcare available upon advanced request.
Jeremy Hays of the group Green for All reaches out to make the
Cully Neighborhood more energy efficient and create new green
jobs. Photo courtesy of Christian Columbres Photography.
because it has m any houses that
were built before 1995, and it also
has m any m iddle-incom e house­
holds. According to a survey con­
ducted by the Cully N eighbor­
hood A ssociation in conjunction
with researchers at Portland State
University, 21 percent o f residents
in the neighborhood make be­
tw e e n $ 3 5 ,0 0 0 to $ 4 9 ,0 0 0 .
M ultnomah County has a w eath­
erization program for low-income
people, leaving little help for
m iddle-incom e people.
“We knew that it was a neigh­
borhood that d id n ’t have a lot o f
targeted benefits,” said Nemmers.
Hom eowners who use the pro­
gram can finance the costs o f the
energy upgrades by adding them
onto their energy bill, which will
decrease because their homes will
use less energy.
Kathy Fuerstenau, the chair o f
the Cully N eighborhood A sso­
ciation, said the program is a great
opportunity for residents, and the
association has helped out by
m entioning it in the association’s
newsletter. The association also
helped sponsor a k ick-off event
for the cam paign late last month
that drew 300 residents.
“ We wanted a neighborhood-
based approach,” said Nemmers.
The M etropolitan Alliance for
the Com mon Good has put door
hangers on every door in the
neighborhood prom oting the pro­
gram , and volunteers regularly
canvass. An inform ational ses­
sion is held every Tuesday from
7-8 p.m. at R iggler Elem entary
School.
Clean Energy W orks Portland
and the Changing the Clim ate in
Cully initiative both had some help
from Green for All, a national or­
ganization seeking to establish a
green economy that will lift people
out o f poverty.
A ccording to Jerem y Hays, di­
rector o f spec ial projects for Green
for All, helped facilitate the stake­
holder process with Clean Energy
W orks Portland, partnering it with
it organizations that w ould help
train and hire m inority and disad­
vantaged people into jo b s retro­
fitting houses.
Hays, who was in town for the
Cully initiative kickoff, said that
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