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Be Prepared, Not Scared!

  • by Muz
  • January 2, 2018January 2, 2018

By: Glenn C. Devitt, Sunnyside NET Team Leader


How well is your family prepared for an emergency like an electrical outage?
Or a winter storm?
Or an earthquake?
In Sunnyside, we share the motto: Be Prepared, Not Scared!

 

 

 

Southeast Uplift has generously offered to include information in this newsletter to help you prepare easily and inexpensively for any event. We want residents to be educated and equipped to help each other when needed. Every small step you take makes a difference. Every gallon of water. Every can of tuna. And believe it or not, it can be fun – and kids enjoy it too!

The most important part of emergency preparedness is getting to know your neighbors before an emergency happens. Say “hello” at the mailbox. Have potluck dinners. And eventually, create a shared supply of emergency equipment.

  • In a widespread disaster, 95% of survivors are rescued by their neighbors because professional first-responders are overwhelmed.
  • For example, there are four Firefighters on duty at Station 09 on César E. Chávez Blvd who serve 138,000 residents in the Southeast Uplift area! To support the professionals, more than 150 Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) volunteers in the area have been trained by Fire & Rescue and the Bureau of Emergency Management. Citywide there are more than 1,600 NETs. More info about the program is at portlandoregon.gov/net

There are many resources to help you begin the process of emergency preparedness, and Southeast Uplift can help you access them. Some of the topics we will cover in upcoming messages:

  • Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) program will train you – for free! – to join the volunteer team in your neighborhood. The next three-Saturday class series is March 3, 10, and 17. Registration is here. Childcare will be provided, and scholarships are available to provide trainees with the materials they need. Cost is not a barrier.
  • A 24-week shopping list for any household to purchase basic supplies on a budget.
  • How to properly store food and water in your house or apartment.
  • Map Your Neighborhood skills and equipment inventory for your block or building.
    Who knows what? Who has what? Who can do what?
  • Volunteers conduct basic preparedness discussions for groups, in your living room or community space. These presentations are not scary, and are kid-friendly – we promise!
  • Familiarize yourself with the closest BEECN (Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Nodes) location in order to access emergency supplies and assistance if phone lines are down.
  • Keep up-to-date with Neighborhood Association Committees that support NET efforts. You can access this information through your Neighborhood Association’s website or by contacting the Neighborhood Association’s Board Members directly.

Thanks for preparing your family and your neighbors!

Glenn C. Devitt

glenn@sunnysideprepared.com
Sunnyside NET Team Leader
Sunnyside Prepared co-chair (A committee of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association)
Friends of Portland NET co-founder
Friends of Portland Fire & Rescue board member

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Alexander McPherson

Alexander is a native of Portland Oregon and currently resides on the inner borders of the Northeast and Southeast Neighborhoods. 

At the core of his life’s mission is co-creating innovative strategies and solutions to deeply rooted inequalities adopted and perpetuated within our social systems. 

 As a social and civic entrepreneur, Alexander co-leads a community development and investment firm focusing its work on leveraging Public/Private partnerships on community wealth building through land ownership and economic agency. 

 

 He currently serves on the Board of Directors at REACH CDC and works as Program Manager/Liaison for SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalitions Neighborhood Planning Program and Land Use/Transportation Committee. 

Eaen Goss

Eaen provides administrative support to the SE Uplift staff and the communities of SE Portland. They’re excited to work to ensure that community involvement is possible for anyone who wants to take part and are invested in creating a community where everyone (especially BIPOC, queer, disabled, and poor folks) has the access and agency to shape their lives and the place they call home.

 

Eaen’s professional background is in higher education administration and non-profit administration. They received a communications degree from Southern Oregon University in 2014 as well as a Master of Education degree in Student Development Administration from Seattle University in 2016. Their initial goal was to pursue college access work after graduation, but their plans changed when they were drawn to disability justice organizing outside the sphere of higher education.

 

On days off, Eaen is likely spending time with their partner and their two rescue dogs. They also enjoy doing art and working with different community groups in the Portland-area. 

Matchu Williams

Matchu feels fortunate to work with the community in advancing the SE Uplift mission of collaborating to build informed, inclusive, and participatory neighborhoods that support our social and ecological well-being. He looks forward to assisting neighborhood and partnering with the community in building capacity in building equity in their programs for civic engagement.

Matchu holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a focus on Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies and Criminal Justice. You may know Matchu from the SE Uplift Board of Directors where he was recently Vice Chair. He brings a wealth of community engagement to SE Uplift having previously served as Chair of Mt. Scott Arleta Neighborhood Association, BikeLoud Memorial Events Coordinator, Arleta Triangle Project Planning Committee, South East in Active Motion Co-Chair, and has volunteered with many groups including Urban Gleaners, Sisters of the Road, SOLVE, Transition Projects, Food Not Bombs, Humane Society of SW Washington, and more.

On his days off he dreams of the next bikepacking (biking + camping) trip. Last year he bikepacked the San Juan Islands and campgrounds in the Cascades. When in town he enjoys cycling, seeing movies on the big screen at the historic Hollywood Theatre, and enjoying food at Portland Mercado with friends.

Matchu is the SE Uplift Liaison for the following neighborhoods: Creston-Kenilworth, Kerns, South Tabor, Foster-Powell, Mt. Scott-Arleta, and Sunnyside.

Leah Fisher

Leah is the SE Uplift Neighborhood Planning Program Manager, and serves as the main point of contact for community members wanting to communicate about Portland’s land use and transportation planning policy and processes. Leah supports SE Uplift’s Land Use and Transportation Committee which meets monthly and represents perspectives of volunteers from each of our twenty neighborhood associations as well as several business associations. Another part of Leah’s multifaceted role is supporting several neighborhood associations.

Leah holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Bachelor’s degree in City and Regional Planning, Minor in Economics. She has worked for state and local government, and is a LEED accredited Professional (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

On any given day, Leah can be found working in her yard or garden, relaxing on the porch with her 2 daughters, playing soccer, jogging, or walking through her Southeast Portland neighborhood.

Leah is the SE Uplift Liaison for the following neighborhoods: Reed, North Tabor, Montavilla, Woodstock, and Brooklyn.

Leroy Eadie

Leroy is the Executive Director for SE Uplift.

He has the wonderful opportunity to work with an outstanding staff and Board to carry out the mission of SE Uplift. He feels very lucky to get to work in such a great community and is excited to his best to make a difference.

Leroy has a bachelors in Urban and Regional Planning from Eastern Washington University. His background has been mostly in local government – working for 25 years for the City of Spokane. Leroy worked for 15 years in the Planning Department and for 10 years as the Parks and Recreation Director.

He loves to be outside on his time off. His favorite outdoor activity is backpacking – in the last five years or so he has been working to complete the Washington Section of the Pacific Crest Trail. He and his wife also love camping in their tear drop trailer with their two dogs Frisky and Charlie.

Leroy is the SE Uplift Liaison for the following neighborhoods: Richmond, Eastmoreland, and HAND.

Paola De La Cruz

Paola is the Communications & Outreach Manager for SE Uplift. Paola’s professional background lies in design and community advocacy. She has worked with non-profits from Boston, MA to the Portland metro area, to campaign for equity and inclusivity.

Paola received a BFA in Illustration under Communication Design. She looks to merge illustration and design with community organizing to bring SE neighbors together.

On her free time, Paola is painting ethereal, powerful women or putting on a 90s R&B concert for her small dog.

Paola is the SE Uplift Liaison for the following neighborhoods: Buckman, Mt. Tabor, SMILE, Laurelhurst, Brentwood-Darlington, and Ardenwald Johnson Creek.