Ballroom (upstairs)

Welcome!

Join us in the ballroom upstairs for coffee, breakfast treats, and take a moment to settle in.

Ballroom (upstairs)

We are thrilled to welcome Morella Mora, City Councilor for the City of White Salmon, as our opening speaker.

Ballroom (upstairs)

This session will kick off with a highlight of the Columbia Gorge LEAD program shared by LEAD Program Manager, Rebecca Schilling.

After this program highlight, attendees will be invited to mingle at community partner resource tables.

This goal of this session is to facilitate networking for service providers and provide attendees with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of partner agency’s programs, resources, and teams. 

Please make your way downstairs to the Community Room for the Day in the Life session, which starts promptly at 10am.

Community Room (downstairs by the enterance)

A Day in the Life

Presenters: local service providers and community members with lived experience of houselessness

Take this time to get a snack, use the restroom, and transition to your Morning Breakout Session choice.

Breakouts will be hosted in the Ballroom, Community Room, and Fireside Room.

Aging Along the River: The Housing Crisis in the Columbia Gorge

What happens when the place you have called home for most of your life is no longer affordable—or no longer available? Across the Columbia Gorge, older adults are increasingly navigating rising housing costs, limited affordable options, isolation, and the risk of losing stable housing. This session will shine a light on the often-overlooked connection between aging and houselessness in rural communities. Together, we will explore the unique challenges facing older adults in the Gorge and the partnerships, community responses, and innovative approaches needed to ensure that people can age with dignity, stability, and a place to call home.

• Ballroom (upstairs)

• Presenter: Kai Nichols, GeroSpecialist with Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc.

Civics 101

In this session we will learn about our core values, individually and as a collective. Throughout this workshop, we are hoping to understand how our values and experiences shape the work and engagement we have in our everyday life. We will learn/review a process of how to layout an action plan for local issues and how communities/agencies and individuals can lead the work.

• Community Room (by the entrance)

• Presenter: Christopher Cazares, Education & Engagement Coordinator with Washington Gorge Action Programs

Native American Focus Group Findings

This session will share housing and shelter access barriers identified by Native Americans in our region, along with recommendations for addressing them. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the findings, discuss the recommendations in small groups, and share their perspectives. As part of its evaluation of shelter and housing services, MCCAC contracted Colibri Consulting to facilitate four listening sessions with Native American community members and identify common themes in their feedback. The session will be facilitated by Colibri Consulting, with Dawn LeMieux, a Native Community Health Worker, and two members of the Natives Along the Big River Coalition.

• Fireside Room (next to the Community Room)

• Presenters: Jody O’Connor, Director of Research and Evaluation with Colibri Consulting; Dawn LeMieux, Program Supervisor with The Next Door, Inc. Native Supports Program; Natives Along the Big River (NABR) Coalition members

Take some time to reset after those impactful morning sessions!

Lunch will be served in the Community Room (downstairs by the entrance) at 12:30pm.

Community Room (downstairs by the entrance)

Lunch is from Cobblestone Catering.

A huge thank you to the WAGAP team for providing today’s food and refreshments!

Hope you enjoyed your lunch!

Join us in one of the three spaces for the next set of breakout sessions at 1:45pm.

Protecting Our Communities from State Violence (2-hr session)

Are you concerned about what's happening in the US and interested in learning how to work together to protect our neighbors and communities against the rise of violence from the government? Join us to discuss recent updates, get prepared, share resources, and learn ways to protect our communities in times of crisis. Get ready to learn our Know Your Rights song, it's a bop!

• Ballroom (upstairs)

• Presenter: Amber Rose Orion, Community Organizer and Advocate with Gorge Rapid Response

Fundamentals of Fair Housing: Addressing Discrimination in Housing (2-hr session)

Who will benefit from this training? Jurisdictions, landlords, property management, shelter providers, tribal housing providers, and advocates. This session will cover federal fair housing law, Oregon fair housing law, and common housing barriers for underserved populations. Attendees will learn how to address fair housing discrimination and will review and discuss scenarios pertaining to reasonable accommodation and other fair housing related topics. This session will wrap up with how the Fair Housing Council of Oregon can assist with fair housing questions, enforcement, and training.

• Fireside Room (next to the Community Room)

• Presenter: Glenda Moyer, Eastern Oregon Education and Outreach Coordinator/Enforcement Investigator with Fair Housing Council of Oregon

Cultural Humility (1-hr session)

• Community Room (by the entrance) - 1:45-2:45pm

• Presenters: Rosie Strange, Columbia Gorge Health Council

How We Win: People Power (1-hr session)

Learn how to utilize your story to build power, connect individual experiences to a movement, and learn the movement-building strategies to create effective change in your community.

• Community Room (by the entrance) - 3-4pm

• Presenters: Sienna Kaske, Strategic Partnerships & Campaigns Manager; Matt Newell-Ching, Senior Public Policy Advocate with Oregon Food Bank

Head to the Community Room by the entrance to join us for closing remarks.

Don’t forget to take a moment to provide your feedback for today’s event here.

Thank you for joining us!