Housing & Health for People of Color in Portland

“Creating safe and decent places to live can have incredibly positive effects on a family's health, on study habits of students, and on a neighborhood's overall attractiveness and stability.”-Jimmy Carter, Decent Housing is not Just a Wish, it is a Human Right

The Oregon Humanities brown bag discussion on June 23, 2011 brought together three scholars to discuss, among other issues, the impact of poverty and housing discrimination on the health and vitality of children of color. According to the presenters, housing discrimination remains a key mechanism for maintaining racial segregation, and along with it, a host of other deleterious social ills. Their conclusion: discrimination in housing affects children’s health because it typically means that impoverished people of color live in dense urban areas with higher levels of social stress and environmental pollution.

To the point, Portland Metro area’s history of housing and wage discrimination has resulted in significantly lower levels of income and wealth for people of color. With reduced access and little left in stretched budgets for health care, people of color in the Metro area experience higher rates of infant mortality and teen birth, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and prostate cancer deaths. According to the Multnomah County, Racial & Ethnic Disparities, 2011 Update, intervention strategies related to health and access to economic, educational, employment, and housing opportunities will be necessary to address the 22 health disparities for people of color in the Metro area.

At United Way of the Columbia-Willamette we realize that many of the problems facing our community are complex and interconnected. Through our Community Impact Fund we research and identify the most effective projects and collaborations that address issues of education, income and health, providing funds, and technical assistance, and promoting system change. Through efficient use of donor dollars we encourage collaborative relationships and leverage resources for use in addressing some of the most challenging social issues in our community.

United Way funds innovative projects that promote healthy environments and assist individuals and families in maintaining financial stability. Programs like Project Access NOW provide health care resources for those without, and a variety of income projects promote financial stability. United Way’s funding support not only addresses the current needs of the community but work to promote lasting change. Learn more about this work and other ways United Way seeks to advance the common good on our website.

So, what is your experience? We invite you to join in the conversation; send us your comments and feedback.

Pride Month

United Way's Internal Diversity and Inclusion committee makes efforts to inform our staff of notable diversity topics and with June being Pride Month, here is a little background on the history and importance of the movement that we thought we'd share:

June is the month for Pride events here in Oregon and across the nation. Pride can mean many things: satisfaction in an achievement, a sense of dignity or value, a family of lions...and tigers and bears...oh my!

With regard to June, Pride refers to gatherings and parades held to recognize and celebrate the history, contributions and diversity of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) citizens. In this context, the word pride is used as an affirmation of LGBTQ identity and community.

The modern Pride movement began in 1969 after the Stonewall riots in New York City, when a group of gay people fought back against unconstitutional police raids of local gay bars. Stonewall gave a sense of pride to a previously underground community and parades were held to commemorate the significance of the riots, eventually seeding the grassroots movement of today’s LGBTQ community.

Learn more about United Way's diversity efforts and we'll see you at the Portland Pride Parade on June 19th.

United Way's Commitment to Being Good Stewards of Your Donor Dollars

Many Oregonians may have heard of State Senate Bill 40, initiated by Attorney General Kroger, which targets "bad" charities or those non profits that spend less than 30% of funds they raise on programs and revoking their tax-exempt status. Not long ago AG Kroger also released the list of the 20 Worst Charities of 2010 that were registered to raise funds in Oregon (not to worry, United Way is no where near that list!).

While it seems as though the bill is stalled in the Senate (http://bit.ly/lGQCSr) it does bring up an opportunity to consider how your philanthropy dollars are being spent. United Way would like to make sure our supporters are well aware of all the many steps we take to be good stewards of your donation and that, with your support, we're having a direct and significant impact on improving lives of thousands of people locally.

1. The United Way Cornerstone Partners program ensures that 100% of the dollars you generously donate to United Way help people improve their education, income and health. We're able to do that thanks to 16 local companies that have chosen to designate their corporate gifts to the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, to help underwrite operating costs. Because of their support, 100% of contributions received will be invested in local programs to help people in need.

2. United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is proud to say our fiscal efficiency rating exceeds industry standards for non profit organizations. But you don't have to just take our word for it, information is available on GuideStar and Charity Navigator.

3. United Way does the research. We conduct extensive community assessments to understand the needs of the community and fund programs designed to create system-wide improvements in education, income (economic stability and poverty) and health. By conducting the research, we know where best to use your dollars. Read these extensive United Way Community Needs Assessment and other reports.

4. Our innovative grant funding model includes requirements that all our projects conduct rigorous and regular outcome reports to make sure the dollars that are spent, your dollars, are put to maximum use to benefit the community.

5. We take considerable care to be transparent about our financial reporting and make our financial documents readily available on our website for our donors and the public to review.

6. We communicate with our supporters about what results we have achieved as a result of your generous donation. United Way's Community Impact Results Report showcases the measurable results we were able to achieve over the past five years. Each year we were able to improve the lives of 100,000 people right here in our local community with your help.

To learn more about the results United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is able to achieve, consider signing up for our United Way e-newsletter and we'll keep you well informed of how we're being good stewards of your donor dollars.

Thank you for your support.