Neighborhood Partnerships Conference Seeks Solutions to Housing and Economic Inequities in Oregon
October 24, 2024

Alongside a busy street in Salem, Oregon, a man crouches to avoid the fall drizzle. A green tarp covers his worldly possessions.
That’s where he lives right now.
Less than a mile away, a large group of passionate advocates and leaders are gathered at the city’s convention center to do as much as they can about the housing crisis and other injustices plaguing our communities. Neighborhood Partnerships (NP) hosted its annual RE: Conference2024 last week with “Renewal” as its theme.
NP works with nonprofits, businesses such as credit unions, and other community partners to drive change through policy advocacy and advancement. The Renewal theme for the conference, organizers said, was about “reclaiming and renewing our communities, our identities, and our shared vision for justice.”
Several hundred thought leaders attended, with credit union sponsorship and content support provided by PointWest Credit Union, Unitus Community Credit Union, and OnPoint Community Credit Union.
Jo Davis, OnPoint’s Director of Nonprofit Banking & Community Development, shared an inspired story with attendees about how Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) with some state provided matching funds, are helping low-income households in Oregon to build financial stability.
“Neighborhood Partnerships is an important convenor, working with credit unions and other determined partners to find real solutions to the challenges everyday Oregonians face,” said Pamela Leavitt, SVP, Grassroots/Political Programs and Legislative Affairs for Oregon, GoWest Credit Union Association. “We are proud to work with NP and their partner organizations as our voices are stronger together.”
Snapshot: A Housing Authority’s Advocacy Model
As we know in the Credit Union Movement, the deeper and more inclusive the advocacy engagement strategy is, the more effectively policy advances.
This is also true in housing advocacy. One of the breakout sessions at the Renewal Conference was presented by a team from Home Forward, the Housing Authority in Multnomah County, Oregon. Centering resident voices in policy, advocacy, and leadership makes a difference, panelists said. Their resident-driven committees and advisory boards have recommended good ideas and helped to organize activities.
Their model includes:
- Recognizing the stakeholders, in this case residents. are always experts.
- Meeting residents where they are; offering engagement that fits their schedules and isn’t necessarily labor-intensive
- Respecting stakeholders’ lived experience
- Working towards authentic, not transactional, relationships.
Home Forward often uses written residents’ testimonials when lobbying legislators or other elected officials and has found that once resident advocates become comfortable in their roles, they become leaders and supporters of other residents.
“We are partners,” said one of the panelists. “We share power.”
Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.