Portland observer., December 19, 2018, Page Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
December 19, 2018
For your light bulbs
& parts to repair
or make fixtures
Web:
www.sunlanlighting.com
E-mail:
kay@sunlanlighting.com
3901 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
503.281.0453
Fax 503.281.3408
Subscribe ! 503-288-0033
Fill Out & Send To:
Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208
$45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year
(please include check with this subscription form)
Name:
Telephone:
Address:
or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
D. Bora Harris serves up freshly made pasta with beef and marinara sauce, cooked at her home, at
the Walnut Park homeless shelter in northeast Portland. She hopes to make the distribution of hot
meals at the shelter, which does not have a kitchen, a regular event.
Expanding
C ontinueD from f ront
When Harris, an unsuccessful candidate last May
for chair of the Multnomah County Commission,
found out food could not be cooked at the shelter,
she decided a good beginning would be to cook
some meals at home herself and distribute the food
to the homeless seniors, veterans and other disad-
vantaged people who were relying on the shelter to
survive.
“I was excited that there is a temporary shelter in
the Northeast area. Being a part of the community,
it’s the community’s responsibility to help out,” she
told the Portland Observer.
Harris hopes she can enlist the help of differ-
ent faith-based groups, and other organizations, in
the area to increase the distribution of meals into
a weekly event at the shelter. Her Church, Daniels
Memorial Church of God, located a few blocks
away at 1234 N.E. Killingsworth St., has already
committed to help, she said.
Harris said she’s received positive feedback from
other community members and the shelter’s staff
about the meals, as well.
“The guests are so nice. We talk, we have conver-
sations, and they’re so polite. The staff are awesome
also,” she said.
the
Impact
Paul Susi, the shelter’s manager, said Harris’ ef-
forts and the help from other volunteers have been
welcomed warmly.
“Lots of folks have been coming out to volunteer
to donate meals, hot meals, ‘cause we don’t have a
kitchen facility on site so we can’t provide that. This
is a big help to engender a feeling of community
here and to connect folks to our neighbors in a posi-
tive way,” Susi said.
He added that the shelter is at full capacity al-
ready and has received support from many other
community organizations.
“There’s also been a lot of cross coordination
with our neighbors next door at the county with the
aging, disability, and veteran services, WIC, the
health department…they have a lot of regulars in
the area that they want to see housed and they want
to coordinate/care for. We’ve been happy to provide
resources for them,” Susi said.
In addition to the shelter, the Walnut Park build-
ing houses a county health center, multi-cultural se-
nior center, and dental clinic.
For more information on the Walnut Park Shel-
ter, contact 503-280-4700. For anyone interested
in joining Harris in her effort to make weekly hot
meals a reality for the shelter’s guests, you can call
her at 503-936-8020 or email borabora@aol.com.