Center For Intercultural Organizing

CENTER FOR INTERCULTURAL ORGANIZING DBA UNITE OREGON IS A DIVERSE, GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION WORKING TO BUILD A MULTICULTURAL MOVEMENT FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS THROUGH EDUCATION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND MOBILIZATION, AND INTERGENERATIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING 2021 HAS BEEN A HUGELY SUCCESFUL AND BUSY YEAR FOR UNITE OREGON'S COMMUNITY ORGANIZING TO FOLLOW IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: UO LAUNCHED A DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGN TO INFORM MOST-IMPACTED COMMUNITIES ABOUT A VARIETY OF ISSUES INCLUDING ACCESSING DIRECT SERVICES, NAVIGATING ONGOING ECONOMIC AND HEALTH CRISES RELATED TO COVID19 AND THE IMPACTS OF LOCAL POLICIES. UNITE ORGANIZED AND HOSTED MORE THAN 20 INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOPS FEATURING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM IR-BIPOC COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VACCINE, CONCERNS, AND FACILITATE REGISTRATION. BY UPLIFTING THE LEADERSHIP AND EXPERTISE OF IR-BIPOC MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, DOZENS OF FOLKS FROM VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE NOT HAVE RECIEVED CARE DUE TO A RANGE OF FACTORS (SUCH AS IMMIGRATION STATUS AND DISTRUST OF INSTITUTIONS BASED ON EXPERIENCES OF RACISM) WERE CONNECTED WITH THE INFORMATION AND SERVICES NEEDED TO KEEP THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES SAFE AND HEALTHY. UNITE OREGON ALSO PROVIDED FREE LEGAL AID AND RENT ASSISTANCE FOR BIPOC OREGONIANS FACING EVICTION AND/OR OTHER THREATS TO SECURE HOUSING. OUR ROGUE VALLEY CHAPTER PROVIDING DIRECT SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY-LED ORGANIZING TO PREPARE FOR COMING CLIMATE DISASTERS. THE CENTRAL STRATEGY UTILIZED IS EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR LOCAL FOLKS WHO CAN CONNECT WITH PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO AADDRESS URGENT COMMUNITY NEEDS - NAMELY, THE NEED FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND ATTENTION TO THE NEGATIVE HEALTH IMPACTS FROM WILDFIRES. THE RESULT IS DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST, INCREASED ADVOCACY AND ORGANIZING SKILLS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES, AND SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERING SERVICES FOR CLIMATE DISASTERS WHERE/WHEN IT IS MOST CRITICALLY NEEDED. UNITE LAUNCHED REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LISTENING SESSIONS WHICH FOCUSED ON EDUCATING YOUTH ON THE MEANING OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. BY FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON COMMUNITIES THAT LACK ACCESS TO TRUSTWORTHY MEDICAL INFORMATION AND SERVICES REGARDING THE FULL RANGE OF REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES, THIS PROGRAM MEANINGFULLY ADDRESSES THE CURRENT INEQUITIES THAT PERSIST FOR MANY WHEN IT COMES TO ACCESSING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, NAMELY BLACK, INDIGENOUS, IMMIGRANT, ECONOMICALLY DISENFRANCHIZED, RURAL AND GENDER EXPANSIVE OREGONIANS. THESE LISTENING SESSIONS, BUILT ON TRUSTING PERSON- TO-PERSON DIALOGUE HAS BEEN PROVEN THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY IN COMBATTING STIGMA AND DISINFORMATION AROUND REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES. UO CONTINUES TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES STAY HEALTHIER THROUGHOUT THE ONGOING COVID 19 PANDEMIC BY DISTRIBUTING MASKS AND HAND SANITIZERS IN LITHIA PARK IN ASHLAND, EL GALLO IN MEDFORD AND LAS TARASCAS IN WHITE CITY, OREGON. UNITE OREGON'S ORGANIZING TEAM IS ESPECIALLY PROUD TO HAVE RECRUITED A MULTICULTURAL AND INTERGENERATIONAL COHORT OF PARTICIPANTS, INCLUDING SEVERAL YOUTH FROM THE OREGON ISLAMIC ACADEMY, TO BUILD ADVOCACY AND ORGANIZING SKILLS. THIS INITIATIVE IS AN EXPANSION TO FURTHER BUILD COMMUNITY CAPACITY AFTER THE SUCCESS OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM IN DEVELOPING THE COHORT'S SKILLS.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT UNITE OREGON CONTINUED INNOVATIVE, CULTURALLY INFORMED LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE STATE WITH OUR INVESTMENTS IN UNDER-SERVED YOUTH AND IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS THROUGH THREE CORE PROGRAMS: BUILD, YIELD, AND PILOT. BUILD DURING THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR, WE ARE WORKED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 43 FAMILIES ON ISSUES SUCH AS COMMUNICATING WITH TEACHERS, NAVIGATING HIGH SCHOOL, AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION. FAMILIES IN THE BUILD PROGRAM ARE BETTER ABLE TO ENSURE THEIR STUDENTS ARE RECEIVING THE EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE USING THE SKILLS AND TOOLS ACQUIRED THROUGH THEIR SHARED WORK. YIELD THIS NEW PROGRAM SERVES STUDENTS AT 3 PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN UNDER-SERVED COMMUNITIES. THROUGH YIELD, UNITE OREGON PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES CENTERED ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, ORGANIZING, ADVOCACY, AND PUBLIC SPEAKING IN ORDER TO EQUIP STUDENTS WITH THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO COLLECTIVELY ADDRESS EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES THEY FACE WITHIN THEIR SCHOOLS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES. WE GRADUATED OUR FIRST COHORT OF STUDENTS IN JUNE 2021 HAVING SUCCESSFULLY SUPPORTED STUDENTS THROUGH A YEAR OF DISTANCE LEARNING AND ISOLATION. THE PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW WITH POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES. PILOT UNITE OREGON IS DELIGHTED TO SHARE THAT WE SECURED BOTH FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND A PHYSICAL SITE TO LAUNCH OUR PAN-IMMIGRANT LEADERSHIP ORGANIZING TRAINING (PILOT) LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COHORT. THIS GROUP OF EMERGING ADVOCATES WILL LEAD A COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT IN EAST PORTLAND TO PROMOTE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, RETAIN INDIGENOUS SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES, AND PROVIDE ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS/REFUGEES TO GROW, PRODUCE, AND SELL FOOD TO GENERATE INCOME.

PUBLIC POLICY UNITE OREGON CONTINUED ITS ADVOCACY FOR POLICY CHANGES TO REDUCE THE DISPARITIES EXPERIENCED BY BIPOC COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY. WE MOBILIZED SUPPORT TO PASS THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION: SENATE BILL 282 SENATE BILL 778 SENATE BILL 755 HOUSE BILL 2935 HOUSE BILL 3073 PART OF THAT MOBILIZATION INCLUDED A LOBBY DAY IN MID-MARCH, WHERE WE TURNED OUT 151 COMMUNITY MEMBERS SPEAKING 5 LANGUAGES TO MEETINGS WITH LEGISLATORS TO ADVOCATE FOR THE ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THEM.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT UNITE OREGON IS PROUD TO SHARE SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE. IN 2021, UO HELD STATE OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE TO CARRY OUT THE WILL OF THE VOTERS BY ALLOCATING MORE THAN 300 MILLION TO ADDRESS THE ADDICTION CRISIS IN THE STATE. UNITE OREGON ORGANIZED A SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGNS, AND COLLABORATED WITH THE OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY TO PLAN AN INFORMED IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. UO ALSO LED A SERIES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FROM APRIL TO JUNE 2021 TO IDENTIFY THE NEEDS AND ISSUES OF EAST PORTLAND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THOSE ACTIVITIES WERE DESIGNED TO EDUCATE SERVICE PROVIDERS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES HOW TO BETTER SERVE THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF EAST PORTLAND. AS AN ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF THIS WORK, UNITE OREGON EDUCATED AND ACTIVATED 156 LEADERS AROUND HOUSING POLICY. IN MAY 2021, UNITE OREGON CONTRIBUTED TO THE STATEWIDE CLIMATE RESILIENCE VIRTUAL WORKSHOP ATTENDED BY 47 LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY LEADERS FROM ACROSS OUR FOUR CHAPTERS. THOSE WORKSHOPS FOCUSED ON REGIONAL CLIMATE POLICIES, HOW TO GET CIVICALLY ENGAGED AROUND CLIMATE JUSTICE ISSUES, AND BEST PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. UNITE ORGANIZERS ALSO LAUNCHED AND LED A SERIES OF WEBINARS ON ANTI- BLACKNESS, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE), DEFUNDING AND ABOLISHING POLICE, AND INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES. WEBINARS WERE ATTENDED BY 295 COMMUNITY MEMBERS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNITE OREGON'S COMMITMENT TO CROSS-CULTURAL ORGANIZING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, WE IMPLEMENTED OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS SPECIFIC TO THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. POLICY UPDATES AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ACCESS TO SERVICES AND POLICY IMPACTS WERE TRANSLATED INTO MANY LANGUAGES INCLUDING: ENGLISH, SPANISH, BURMESE, ARABIC, NEPALI, AMHARIC, SWAHILI, AND SOMALI, AND THAI. FINALLY, WE LAUNCHED COMMUNITY-LED CLIMATE JUSTICE COMMITTEES IN OUR ROGUE VALLEY AND CLACKAMAS COUNTY CHAPTERS. THESE COMMITTEES WILL INFORM AND IDENTIFY COMMUNITY-DRIVEN CLIMATE POLICY SOLUTIONS.