Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

The most up-to-date information on COVID-19 in our area is available here:

We have set up a permanent Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates tab in the upper left area of this page where you can access information such as:
Food access
Mutual aid
Income support
…and more.

Governor Kate Brown Announces Statewide School Closure for Students in Oregon from Monday, March 16 through Tuesday, March 31

Students are expected to return on Wednesday, April 1. Read the full press release at MyOregon.gov.

Per the Governor’s directives and with the support of the Oregon Department of Education and the state’s Early Learning Division, during the closure:

  • School districts are directed to develop plans for returning to school that accommodate ongoing impacts of coronavirus.
  • Districts are tasked with developing plans to continue nutrition services during the closure. 
  • The Oregon Department of Education will examine the impact the closure will have on instructional time. 
  • School districts will ensure adequate cleaning supplies for increased cleaning protocols following the closure.
  • The Early Learning Division will support child care programs and will work to identify resources to support child care needs for our most vulnerable families, as well as health care professionals and first responders.

Meals 

Breakfast and lunch will be provided to children in the community ages 1-18. Tuesday, March 17 through Friday, March 20, and Monday, March 30 and Tuesday, March 31. Meals will be available for pickup outside the school from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the following locations:

  • Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary – 620 N Fremont Ave
  • César Chávez Elementary – 5103 N Willis Blvd
  • George Middle School – 10000 N Burr Ave
  • Harrison Park School – 2225 SE 87th Ave
  • Lent School – 5105 SE 97th Ave
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary – 4906 NE 6th Ave
  • Rigler Elementary – 5401 NE Prescott St
  • Rosa Parks Elementary – 8960 N Woolsey Ave
  • Scott Elementary – 6700 NE Prescott St
  • Sitton Elementary – 9930 N Smith St
  • Woodmere Elementary – 7900 SE Duke St
  • Markham Elementary – 10531 SW Capitol Hwy
  • Madison at Marshall – 3905 SE 91st Ave
  • Franklin High School – 5405 SE Woodward St

For more information about access to food for families, please call 211 or visit oregonfoodfinder.org.

Governor Kate Brown has also declared a state of emergency to address the Coronavirus outbreak

The Governor and state health officials have put in place new statewide policies to address the Coronavirus outbreak — including a moratorium on gatherings of more than 250 people in the state for four weeks.

The state of emergency will remain in effect for 60 days starting March 11, 2020, but can be extended until the public health threat of the coronavirus is contained. More details here.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declares state of emergency due to coronavirus

Due to the progression of COVID-19 on the west coast, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has declared a State of Emergency in the City of Portland that will be in effect until March 26, 2020.

The emergency declaration gives the City additional powers to properly address the threat of infection and harm including—but not limited to—limiting mass public gatherings if necessary to stop the potential spread of infection. It also gives the City the tools necessary to support the County, the State and city employees. Portland City Code describes the powers afforded the Mayor in a declared State of Emergency.

Here are the latest actions the City is specifically taking:

• During the State of Emergency, water service will not be disconnected for non-payment of sewer/stormwater/water bills.

• The City will convene a COVID-19 Economic Impact Task Force to generate ideas for a stimulus package to help small and large businesses recoup losses from canceled events and loss of business.

• The City will expand community hygiene stations citywide.

• The City is assisting shelter providers to keep winter shelters open.

• The City is protecting the thousands of city employees and its visitors by postponing or canceling non-essential work gatherings.

• The City is stopping non-essential travel for meetings and conferences and encouraging vulnerable employees to stay home for as long as they need to.

These are just a few of the many actions the City is taking. More information to come.

Coronavirus map: Track new cases in Oregon and U.S.


As new cases of coronavirus are being reported throughout Oregon, across the country and around the world, The Oregonian/OregonLive has built a comprehensive tool to track the illness as it spreads both in the state and in the U.S.

The tool, which is updated in near real-time, tracks the number of confirmed cases as they are reported in Oregon and nationwide. The underlying data comes from state and federal health authorities, as well as private initiatives that track the spread of the disease.

Important message from your neighborhood association

Posted on by Sabina Urdes
LNA Covid-19 Statement 3-14-2020Download

March 14, 2020

Dear Lents community members, 

As our local community and much of the world are now dealing with an unprecedented public health crisis, we want you to know that your neighborhood association board of volunteers cares about your well being and takes very seriously the need to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and keep our community safe.

Following the guidance from our local and state elected officials regarding social distancing, we have decided to proactively cancel all meetings and gatherings for the remainder of this month, including our board meeting and general membership meeting. We will update you about plans for April and beyond in the coming weeks.

At this time, we want to echo our support for the measures taken by our state and local officials and health authorities to slow down the spread of this virus. We encourage everyone in our community to follow recommended best practices:

-Cancel all non-essential in-person meetings and gatherings

-Stay home as much as possible, even if you are not sick

-Wash hands frequently

-Cover mouths when coughing or sneezing

-Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily

Additionally, we encourage you to:

Be mindful of how fear and anxiety can lead to social stigma: don’t join in racism and xenophobia. A person’s ethnicity, language or association with a country or region is not a risk factor for this virus. More on this here. 

Reach out to the members of our community most vulnerable to the virus. The CDC has recommended that people over 60 and folks who have underlying health conditions stay home if possible and avoid crowds.  If you are young and/or relatively healthy, don’t forget to check on relatives and neighbors who have a chronic illness, a disability, and older adults who might be self-isolating at home. We can always check in on loved ones and community members with a message, call, or FaceTime. 

Stay informed — and make sure that your information is coming from trusted sources. 

The most up-to-date information on COVID-19 is available here: 

Look for the help. If you’re feeling the anxiety and stress over the coronavirus, you are not alone. The good news is that we are seeing local communities, businesses, organizations, and agencies come together to help those in need in an unprecedented way, with acts of love and generosity, such as mutual aid groups that are setting up deliveries and childcare. 

Take advantage of our resources. We have set up a dedicated page on our website, lentsneighborhoodassociation.com/coronavirus-covid-19, where we will do our best to link some of these resources, mutual aid, and support as we become aware of them. Our goal is to keep track in one place of news and information that’s pertinent to our local community and that people can access even if they are not on social media. If you come across info that you think would be useful to your community, please send it our way.

Finally, we are calling on all other Lents-area organizations and businesses who are in positions of power to join forces in advocating for policy changes on behalf of those who are the most vulnerable amongst us (medically or financially) and who will likely be the most affected by the coronavirus, such as caregivers, immigrants, refugees, low-income families, folks with disabilities, and those who are housing insecure. If you would like our support with your advocacy, please reach out to us.

We encourage you to think of ways in which we can all cultivate our support network online, while maintaining social distancing in a physical sense.

In solidarity,

Sabina Urdes
President, Lents Neighborhood Association

Robert Schultz
Public Safety Chair, Lents Neighborhood Association

CANCELED: Board Meeting March 12, 2020

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

***Canceled*** Due to the progression of COVID-19 on the west coast, we have received direction from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to postpone or cancel all non-essential work gatherings and face-to-face meetings.*** [Read the state of emergency declaration]

March 12, 2020

9800 SE 91st St.

6:30 PM

Board Meeting Agenda

Action items:

  • Approve minutes 
  • Set agenda & responsibilities for next LNA General Membership Meeting
  • Lents Audit Sign-on Letter — Revised
  • Partnership with Powellhurst-Gilbert NA for upcoming City Council & Mayoral Candidate Forum (August 3, 2020)
  • Partnership with LNLA: SOLVE Cleanup (April 18, 2020)

Updates:

  • Finance Committee Update
  • Partnering with Commissioner Hardesty’s office for Street Response neighborhood event

Partnership with Brentwood-Darlington NA: Commissioner forum recap (March 5, 2020); Next: Mayoral forum (March 31, 2020)

  • Partnership with Mingus Mapps — NA Training (April 4, 2020)

Discussion

  • Announcements 
  • Revisit GM agreements 
  • Unfinished discussion items from last time

Adjourn: 8:15 PM

Agenda: General Membership Meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

February 25, 2020

8815 SE Woodstock Blvd.

General Membership Meeting Agenda

7:00 PM: LNA Meeting Opening

Introductions. Recognition: time-keeper, note taker, childcare provider, food

Territory acknowledgement 

Agreements

7:05 PM: Announcements

Community announcements

7:15 PM Lents Urban Renewal Audit Report: Proposed Sign-on Letter

lents audit sign-on letter 2020-02 with suggested editsDownload
Lents report WEBDownload

Discussion and vote. After a city audit of Lents urban renewal was published earlier this month, local advocacy groups have put forth a letter to City Council/Mayor Ted Wheeler and they are seeking signatures from other groups, including the Lents Neighborhood Association.

7:25 Presentation and Q&A (25 mins)

West Lents Floodplain Restoration Project and the Springwater Wetlands and Floodplain Restoration Project

7:45 Presentation and Q&A (25 mins)

Metro Transportation Investment Measure update from Metro Councilor Bob Stacey

8:10 PM: Public comment

8:15 PM: Meeting Adjourned

Lents Urban Renewal Area Audit Is Released

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

On February 12, 2020, the Portland City Auditor published the audit report of the Lents Urban Renewal Area. The audit contains data about Lents, including urban renewal spending, Census and housing data, and jobs/business data. You can view and download the full report here:

Lents Urban Renewal Area auditDownload
Photo credit: Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

You can also view the report on their website at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditservices/lents. If you would like a printed paper copy of this report, please let us know.

Press coverage:

The Oregonian: More than $200 million spent by Portland in Lents shows mixed results, audit says

Portland Business Journal: Portland’s Lents neighborhood more gentrified after city invested millions, audit says

Updated speed limits on SE Flavel Street

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

This week the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will be updating the speed limit on two segments of SE Flavel Street. The new speed limit will be 25 mph from 52nd to 92nd avenues and from 112th Avenue to Deardorff Road.

According to PBOT, speed is a factor in nearly half of deadly crashes that occur in Portland and lower speeds result in fewer crashes. When crashes occur, lower speeds make it more likely that people will survive.

You can learn more about the City of Portland’s Vision Zero work at http://visionzeroportland.com.

US Census Bureau hiring temporary workers in our area

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

Census day is April 1, 2020.  The U.S. Census Bureau is currently hiring hundreds of thousands of people across the nation — and they are recruiting in our area!

If you are interested in working in our community, you are encouraged to apply at your earliest convenience. They are hiring now. You can apply online from a computer, smartphone, or any other electronic device.  Visit www.2020census.gov/jobs and select the Apply Now button.  If you know anyone who could benefit from a part-time temporary job, please feel free to share this information and link with them. 

Pay rate for Multnomah and Clackamas Counties is $18 per hour.

 Benefits:

-Flexible hours

-Paid Training

-Weekly Paychecks

-Work in your Community

-Reimbursement for Work-Related Mileage and Expenses

For questions, go to www.2020census.gov/jobs/faqs. Or call 503-265-3400.

APPLY TODAY AT http://www.2020census.gov/jobs

Hiring events in the Lents area:
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon – APANO Unite Oregon and Community Alliance of Tenants : Alianza Comunitaria de Inquilinxs are hosting a Census Field hiring event to fill positions for their Census Field Teams. More details: https://secure.everyaction.com/AaRAG8wWk026YZmLi6AZkg2

Agenda: LNA Board Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2019

Posted on by Sabina Urdes
February ’20 Board Meeting Agenda-2-2Download

Please note: we will be meeting at a new location this month:

5800 SE 91st Avenue, Portland, OR 97266 (around the block from our previous location)
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM
If you plan to attend, please come around to the side door inside the courtyard and knock so that one of us can let you in; the front door is locked.

As always, the meeting is open to the public, but public comment on agenda items is by Board invitation only.

Board meetings are meetings in which Board members meet to discuss the agenda for the upcoming General Meeting, conduct informal communications with each other, and ask questions they may have for Board members/Chair before taking action on agenda items at upcoming meetings. The Board typically asks community members observing the Board meetings to hold agenda comments and questions for the general meeting.


Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty visited us to discuss Street Response

Posted on by Sabina Urdes
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty speaking at the Lents Neighborhood Association Meeting on January 28, 2020. (Photo by Danelle Painter)

Approximately 80 people came out Tuesday night (1/28/2020) to participate in a Street Response presentation and Q&A organized and hosted by the Lents Neighborhood Association with guests Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, Street Roots Executive Director Kaia Sand, Portland Fire & Rescue‘s Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT) Manager Tremaine Clayton, and Portland / Multnomah County 911 Bureau Director Bob Cozzie. 

Photo by Danelle Painter

A video recording of the conversation is available here.

Press coverage of the event is available here.

For links to Street Response in the news, scroll to the bottom of this page.

In an effort to continue the conversation beyond that night, the Lents Neighborhood Association is also collecting questions for the Commissioner or any of the other presenters via this form: https://forms.gle/2ZyaKZ14NEajTnxu9 Please submit your questions/feedback. We will publish the answers when they respond — stay tuned!

Got a question for Street Response / Jo Ann Hardesty?

Posted on by Sabina Urdes

Got a question about Street Response for Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, Street Roots Executive Director Kaia Sand, and/or Portland Firefighter Tremaine Clayton? 

Come out to our general membership meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 for a chance to ask them in person!

Additionally, we’ve made this form for you to submit your question(s) or comment(s) to any of them: https://forms.gle/roYDc4FLjQ6i1pYw8

You might hear the answer to your question at the meeting that night or on the LNA website after the meeting, at lentsneighborhoodassociation.com.
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Please note: We can’t guarantee a response from any of them, but we will do our best to get your question(s)/comment(s) to them. Submitting a question via this form doesn’t guarantee that the question will be asked during tonight’s meeting.