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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2016)
Page 4 August 10, 2016 Advertise with diversity in The Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com Tribal Liaison Appointed The position marks a first for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales disclosed Thursday that Patricia Davis Gib- son will be the first ever Tribal Li- aison for the City of Portland. The Tribal Liaison position will work out of the Mayor’s office on relationship and policy develop- ment with Native American na- tions and governments, as well as Patricia Davis Gibson Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R with internal staff. Davis Gibson will be the leading point person for contact between City officials, bureaus and members of the tribal public. Davis Gibson has immense tribal expertise, having held posi- tions in Indian Country as a tribal attorney, Juvenile Justice Policy Liaison and Chief Judge. She is of the Comanche Tribe of Oklaho- ma, a direct descendant of Chief Ten Bears, and is also of the Sem- inole Nation of Oklahoma and the Muskogee Creek Nation. “This position is long-overdue for the City of Portland, and we could not have found a better can- didate to serve as our first Tribal Liaison,” Mayor Hales stated in a press release. “Ms. Davis Gibson has an in- credible record of representing Native American interests across the state. With her expertise, Port- land will be able to better collab- orate with tribal nations and the tribal public.” Davis Gibson will start as Trib- al Liaison on August 15. Mayor Wants Sanctioned Camps C ontinued from P age 3 Hazelnut Grove from its current site, because the site is extremely difficult for sanitation services to access in order to empty dump- sters, portable toilets, and needle containers,” says Hottman. Officials and housing advo- cates want to identify a more serviceable site, and re-establish Hazelnut Grove under a nonprofit manager, per the city’s “Home for Everyone” framework, she says. Citywide, only one property out of 120 scouted sites has been identified as a potential sanc- tioned camping site that could meet the new requirements and that’s the Kalbrenner property, located at southeast 104th and Reedway. Hoffman says the city is work- ing on preparing the property, in- cluding removing vegetation and contaminated soil, installing wa- ter and electricity infrastructure and establishing a nonprofit site manager. Depending on zoning, it could hold 100 to 200 campers. In addition to existing shelters, like one in Westmoreland that of- fers 150 beds and the new 200-bed Hanson Shelter that just opened with the transfer of sheriff’s offic- es in east Portland, Hottman says about 200 more shelter beds are on the way. For the inevitable hundreds of houseless persons that won’t end up with a shelter bed following the pending camp sweeps, where they will end up is still a question Hott- man can’t answer. “That’s a big question and that’s a tough question. It’ll be up to them to find hopefully a dis- creet place to get by.” Empowered for Disasters C ontinued from f ront really have a concept of it,” Van Keuren says. Despite general apathy, the program has seen an increase in interest. Applications for the program are on the rise but the diversity of those enrolled falls short of reflecting Portland’s pop- ulation. “We’re really trying to im- prove diversity in the program. It’s been challenging,” says Van Keuren. At present, only 10 percent of Portland NET members classify themselves as non-white, which is a stat both Van Keuren and the NET board are hoping to change through reaching out to local or- ganizations that work with com- munities of color. “It makes a huge difference when you’re actually working with those community leaders on an ongoing basis, especially when there’s not a crisis or a problem to solve. Just hanging out with them and getting to know them is very important and frankly I don’t think we’ve done that very well in our bureau,” Van Keuren says the NET teams should see themselves not so much as the people that are going to be responding to every single problem after a disaster happens, but more like a force multiplier to the effort by public safety officials. “We see very consistently in disasters all around the world that people come out of the woodwork and want to help. We call them Spontaneous Unaffil- iated Volunteers (SUVs). They can either very greatly enhance the capacity of your response or they can really diminish it, de- pending on how well you man- age them.” Residents interested in joining a neighborhood NET faction or that have questions or concerns regarding natural disasters, are urged to visit the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management web- site portlandoregon.gov/pbem. “It’s scary, but you can em- power yourself and it does make a difference. You can make a de- cision for yourself of how you’re going to be in the event of an earthquake,” Van Keuren says. “You just have to decide whether you’re going to be the person that’s unprepared and needs help from everybody, or if you’re going to empower your- self and be ready for it. If you empower yourself, which doesn’t really take a lot of effort, you don’t have to be afraid.”
