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| Memo Pad (cont'd) ... Diverse citizen participation sought The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization is partnering with the city of Portland on the visionPDX Project. The goal is to engage African, Asian-Pacific Islander, Eastern European and Caribbean immigrant and refugee ethnic communities as well as mid-county residents into the process of shaping the future of the city for the next 30 years. According to one report, one in 22 residents was originally a refugee. And according to the 2000 Census, Portland’s immigrant growth is double the national average. Of that population, 69% is made up of Asians, Eastern Europeans, Africans and people from the Caribbean, all populations that IRCO serves and that are not typically engaged in civic planning. visionPDX is truly an all-community effort and a way for IRCO to assist the city in creating a vision that represents the spectrum of cultural, social, economic, political and career perspectives. visionPDX enables everyone to participate in a wide variety of activities that harness the city’s diverse creativity to create an emboldened, prosperous, strategic city of the future, connecting residents and giving them opportunities to contribute their vision for Portland. The city has funded IRCO to bring non-native English-speaking ethnic communities into this process. It is expected that by-products will be the participation of mid-county residents, the emergence of new voices and leaders in the participating refugee immigrant communities, expansion of joint community development work between IRCO and the city with the refugee immigrant communities, and developing goals around which to build and integrate these communities for years to come. “IRCO has over 30 years of experience working with refugee and immigrant populations and helping them become self-sufficient,” said Phyllis Laners, coordinator of IRCO’s Envisioning the Future for Portland’s Immi-grants and Refugees project and a lifelong resident of Parkrose. “Since 1976, IRCO has developed strong networks and partnerships that enable us to actively engage refugee and immigrant community members of all ages and walks of life in civic processes like visionPDX. We encourage everyone to take ownership of the city through this important process.” For more information on IRCO’s visionPDX activities, call Laners at 503-234-1541, ext. 181. To learn more about the city of Portland’s visionPDX project or to communicate your vision, go to www.portlandonline.com/mayor/vision. To learn more about IRCO, visit www.irco.org. IRCO’s visioning project will host a town hall-style meeting to which all local residents as well as immigrant and refugee communities are invited. It will be held in IRCO’s Community Center, Thursday, June 22 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Transformation continues at former dairy
It was 1998 when the community took the first steps to acquire the land from Multnomah County. A groundbreaking ceremony for the park took place in 2001. Since then volunteers have planted bulbs, native trees and shrubs, and a lawn area. Parkrose High School students created and installed decorative markers that identify the native plants. On a recent weekend, Emerson-Peters and a handful of others were found pruning shrubs and pulling weeds. She said students from Parkrose Middle School had been recruited to spread mulch in all the planting beds and added that she feels getting kids involved will provide them with a sense of ownership. The next push will be to acquire and install playground equipment. A group from the nearby St. Matthews Episcopal Church has expressed interest in helping with maintenance, but Portland Parks & Recreation must first approve that idea. Last summer the PNA held a National Night Out celebration at the park. As this park evolves and becomes the center of the neighborhood, it will surely be the sight of more parties. |
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