About our Core Strategy and our Work

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East Multnomah County sits outside of Portland. The income disparities are stark. Median Household Income is less than half of what it is in Portland. In just the past eight years, this gap has more than doubled.

We have the worst health outcomes, the youngest population, the worst educational attainment, and the lowest incomes of any other large community in Oregon. We are the most rent-burdened neighborhood in Multnomah County.

To sum it up, the cumulative impact of these factors results in a life expectancy in Rockwood that is a full ten to 15 years less than it is in Portland.

Our core strategy is to coordinate and build the capacity of people, businesses, and groups to make East Multnomah County a place where everyone can earn, learn, and belong.

Our strategy is working. We have banded together into BIPOC-led collaboratives that accomplished the following in the midst of the COVID pandemic:

  • Distributed 480,000 meals
  • Provided $1.5 million worth of PPE
  • Administered 1,200 vaccinations to hesitant people
  • Opened Oregon’s first culturally-specific food bank
  • Began filing rooms and managing a 75-room former hotel that is being used for vulnerable homeless individuals and families
  • Helped 50 new entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses

2021 was a building year for us, and we look forward to a new year developeint for a more sustainable future for our work, neighbors, and our community.