At our May meeting we were joined by representatives from the City of Portland and Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services and shelter operator Human Solutions to discuss the new family shelter, Lilac Meadows, which is being opened at the Briarwood Suites on SE Powell Blvd and SE 79th Ave. The facility will house 40 families and up to 120 children. See our meeting minutes for a summary of the discussion.
In our recent June meeting, we discussed two topics related to welcoming the families of Lilac Meadows to their new neighborhood:
- Crosswalk at Powell and 79th – the project is funded but seems to be delayed. This would be a critical facility to help the families navigate the neighborhood.
- Welcoming Activities – when asked what the Foster-Powell neighborhood could do to welcome the families, Human Solutions suggested volunteers cooking meals. Their website lists other ways to offer help (see below).
Crosswalk
Portland Bureau of Transportation has plans to add crosswalks to Powell Blvd, including one at 79th Ave. However it seems the construction is delayed, possibly until 2020. Alida Cantor, a concerned Foster-Powell neighbor, is leading the effort to connect with PBOT and other responsible entities to advocate for expediting this project. The safety of the 40 families living at Lilac Meadows would be improved with the lighted crossing and pedestrian refuge island. If needed, we may be reaching out to our Foster-Powell community for help in advocating to PBOT to get this crossing built sooner.
Welcoming Activities
The following is from the Lilac Meadows information page:
How can you help?
Our emergency shelter programs are actively supported by community members – in fact, we couldn’t do what we do without you! If you’d like to be part of this exciting opening and ongoing family program, here are our top needs at the moment (stay tuned, needs change over time!):
Make a gift to our fundraising campaign! We are working hard to raise $50,000 for this new location to complement County funding. Human Solutions is responsible for on-site programming for kids, three meals/day for all residents, staff training, garden beds, and more. Click here to be part of getting this amazing new space off the ground!
Make & serve meals. Human Solutions prides itself on providing nutritious meals for shelter residents three times a day plus an after-school snack for kids. Our amazing Volunteer and Donations Coordinator Christina Newcomb is the right person to contact to learn more and sign up; reach her at 503.278.1637 or volunteer@humansolutions.org.
Shop our Amazon Wish List. This has got to be the most effective way to donate exactly what we need! Shelter staff maintain this Wish List so you know you are donating exactly what is needed. Check it out and send what feels right to you. We’ll put it all to good use!
Lilac Meadows Family Shelter, Human Solutions
If you have an interest in organizing neighbors to make and serve meals, please contact us and we will support you in those efforts!
News Coverage
Here are articles that have been published about Lilac Meadows. If you are aware of any others, please let us know in the comments below and we’ll update this list, as appropriate:
