Our Just Future

READY TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP YOUR COMMUNITY? Have we got the thing for you! Sat 8/17 and Labor Day, Monday 9/2. Sign up today - it feels good!!
https://conta.cc/4dEO4NA

Cook a Dish for Shelter Residents? We need you, ! Friend Here's a fun way to make a difference in your community! Can you help by cooking for shelter residents? Hello Fundraising & Communications! We are reaching out to our wonderful village of helpers (yes

Hi Awesome community! Please help us provide school supplies for kids in our shelters and affordable housing communities so they can return to school this fall feeling prepared. Shop our Amazon WishList or shop locally and deliver - whatever works best for you!! 🥰
LEARN MORE + SHOP HERE:
https://ourjustfuture.org/shop-for-school-supplies-so-all-kids-have-what-they-need/

If you are looking for a way to support our neighbors experiencing homelessness, look no further! You can shop Our Just Future's Amazon wishlists! Items on our Wish Lists - like snacks, bedding, clothing, and toiletries - go a long way to help folx feel more comfortable and at home while staying in shelter. See what items are currently needed and shop today at

Shop Wish Lists – Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions) At Our Just Future we maintain several Amazon wish lists to help our community know what our programs need most at any given time. While we are very open and actively support shopping local to support local businesses, clicking and shipping has become an important part of making it easy for folks to...

55-year-old Laura was forced into homelessness following the death of her husband, and Amber has received over 30 tickets for just existing. Both are among the 250,000+ people living outside who may be affected by .

Illegal to Sleep: Grants Pass’ Cruel War on Homelessness In this compelling documentary, Invisible People traveled to Grants Pass, Oregon, a picturesque city of about 40,000 residents, which is now at the forefron...

OUR JUST FUTURE IS HIRING! We're looking for people to join our team and help us build a more just community where everyone has a place to call home. Start 2024 in a new career working for change in our community. Check out our current openings at

Work with Us – Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions) Human Solutions counters the forces that keep people and communities in poverty by building relationships and assets that create opportunity - today and for future generations.

Support bipoc-owned businesses, we do! Part of our work becoming an anti-racist organization is investing in BIPOC-owned businesses whenever possible. Check out this great list of local BIPOC-owned businesses:

Directory Black-Owned Businesses | Mercatus Support Black-owned businesses this month and every month. These Mercatus companies all identify as Black, African American, or African.

Each summer, Oregon hosts summer meal sites for children and youth. The Summer Food Service Program, also known as “Summer Meals,” offers free meals and snacks to kids ages 1-18 throughout Oregon. All families are welcome to participate, regardless of income or immigration status.

The only requirement is showing up! Many programs also offer fun activities on-site so kids can stay active and keep learning.

To find a Summer Meals site near you, visit https://ow.ly/H3N050Sjga2

Be sure to check details such as the days and times meals are available.

If you are looking for a way to support our neighbors experiencing homelessness, look no further! You can shop Our Just Future's Amazon wishlists! Items on our Wishlist - like snacks, bedding, clothing, and toiletries - go a long way to help folx feel more comfortable and at home while staying in shelter. See what items are currently needed and shop today!

Shop Wish Lists – Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions) At Our Just Future we maintain several Amazon wish lists to help our community know what our programs need most at any given time. While we are very open and actively support shopping local to support local businesses, clicking and shipping has become an important part of making it easy for folks to...

ATTENTION to our wonderful community- due to an issue with our kitchen A/C, we are asking for YOUR help cooking for a Community Potluck tomorrow 7/10 at Gresham Women's Shelter! If you or a group are able, please consider bringing a dish (or two!) so our residents can have a hearty and healthy meal as we ride out this heat wave!
PLEASE SIGN UP for a dish at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A45A4A62DAAF94-50275371-july . Need more information? Please contact Kyle at (971) 771-5602 or [email protected]. Thank you for your support!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A45A4A62DAAF94-50275371-july

BIG thanks to PGE for another $25,000 grant to Our Just Future this year! We are grateful for your ongoing support that helps us build the just future we know is possible. It takes a village to house a city, and we’re glad that PGE is part of ours.

Our region will be under an Excessive Heat Watch later this week, with current models showing dangerously hot conditions beginning on Thursday and projected to last through the weekend. These conditions increase the risk of heat-related illness for all and especially impact those with pre-existing health conditions and those who do not have access to cooled environments. Watch the forecasts, take needed precautions and reach out in advance to those who may need extra help staying cool and safe this week. More resources, including the availability of community-based cooling stations and resources, can be found at https://www.multco.us/help-when-its-hot We hope you are all able to stay cool and stay safe as our summer heats up!

Help for When It's Hot Information about cool spaces, cooling centers and other resources during the hot weather.

Bookmark this web page provided by Multnomah County with helpful resources for summer heat:

Help for When It's Hot Information about cool spaces, cooling centers and other resources during the hot weather.

At Our Just Future we stand with our partners at the National Alliance to End Homelessness in denouncing this morning’s SCOTUS decision that paves the way for states and localities to further criminalize unsheltered homelessness and traumatize our community’s most vulnerable. Laws that provide criminal penalties levied on people who are forced to sleep outside due to the shortcomings of our housing system do nothing to address the root cause of homelessness – our lack of affordable housing. Criminalization strategies disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities and divert us from the evidence-based solutions our communities need and deserve.

We are fortunate in Oregon that advocates and attorneys have successfully prevented the worst consequences of today's decision by proactively employing a combination of legislation and litigation under our State Constitution to block recent efforts to criminalize homelessness in Oregon. But today’s ruling clears the way for a likely uptick in enforcement activities against people living unsheltered, including coming enforcement of Portland’s scaled back criminalization ordinance that will force people into shelters – whether appropriate for them or not – under threat of jail time. As shelter and housing providers we know that forcing people for whom shelter is a poor choice into our shelters is not the answer and will do harm to those directly impacted and to those who choose to be in shelters while they await safe, decent housing.

At Our Just Future, we remain steadfast in our belief that housing is a human right, that shelter is a component of a path to safety and housing that works for many – but not for all – and that coercive efforts that criminalize those experiencing homelessness will do much more harm than good and distract us as a community from focusing on the only real solution to homelessness – housing our people quickly, compassionately and humanely.

More below on today’s decision from our partners at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

National Alliance to End Homelessness Statement on the Supreme Court's Ruling in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson Washington, D.C., June 28, 2024 — The National Alliance to End Homelessness today condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson. Under the ruling, localities will be able to arrest, ticket, and […]

We are excited to welcome our new Community Engagement Manager, Kyle, to OJF! Kyle brings with him a depth of experience in food systems in the nonprofit sector. He will be focusing his efforts in our 3 emergency shelters, where we provide 3 meals daily for all residents, and support in accepting donations for our shelters such as personal hygiene products, clothing, and snacks. Reach out to him about volunteer opportunities at OJF or to coordinate a donation drop-off at [email protected], and learn more at https://ourjustfuture.org/meet-kyle-ojfs-new-community-engagement-manager/

Our Just Future is hiring! Our housing, shelter and career programs are effective thanks to the wonderful people who staff them. Join a team working for a just future. Check current openings and apply today!

Work with Us – Our Just Future (formerly Human Solutions) Human Solutions counters the forces that keep people and communities in poverty by building relationships and assets that create opportunity - today and for future generations.

Summer Free For All Summer Free For All builds community through free, inclusive, and family-friendly activities that celebrate Portland's diverse cultures and local artists.

"You think it’s never going to happen to you,” Betsy said, but “I became homeless.”

Read Betsy's journey into and out of homelessness and how, while working with Our Just Future, she was able to regain a sense of home, stability, and hope for the future. Stories like Betsy's are just one of many made possible by Metro's supportive housing service fund; thank you to Portland voters for using your voice to make efforts like this possible! Read more of Betsy's story below!

Betsy's story: finding stability with the help of eviction prevention services With the help of case management and emergency rent assistance paid for by Metro's supportive housing services fund, Gresham resident Betsy is living in stable housing after experiencing homelessness.

“Perhaps the best way to consider Juneteenth is not as the moment Black people attained freedom but as a moment in the long-running struggle to realize freedom. When slavery is replaced by a succession of systems — Black Codes, Jim Crow, mass incarceration — that, though diminished in their brutality, oppress on the same principles, a true, comprehensive freedom still eludes."

Opinion | On Juneteenth, Freedom Came With Strings Attached The best way to think of the holiday is not as the moment Black people attained freedom but as a moment in the struggle to realize freedom.

Things to do around Portland for Juneteenth June 19, known as Juneteenth, commemorates the day hundreds of thousands of slaves learned of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation.

"Throughout the past few decades, youth have begun to come out as LGBTQ to their families at younger and younger ages, which has put them in the precarious position of potentially being rejected by their families while they are still minors and reliant upon parents for shelter and support. If they are rejected by their families, they are often left with nowhere else to go and end up in the street, which can be profoundly dangerous."

LGBTQ Homelessness - National Coalition for the Homeless Understanding LGBTQ Homelessness Members of the LGBTQ community often face discrimination in many areas of their lives, but especially regarding housing status. LGBTQ individuals, especially youth, are highly overrepresented in the homeless population. They face difficulty in trying to find support....

Happy Pride Month from Our Just Future! We are proud to stand with the LGBTQN2SIA+ community in celebration of q***r love! While we celebrate, we also acknowledge that human rights for tise community remain under threat. There is much work to be done to create a vibrant, healthy world where all people can share in the security, hopes, and advantages of a thriving, supportive community. Check out the many events planned throughout the month and join us to celebrate, today and every day! https://portlandpride.org/2024-portland-pride-official-events?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR088rA6zyMx-El_6UBuGeh6022Tr_jMtk-nCEWutrZNgUnnMqmKeFJBmTs_aem_Aciz9H9Kvlt1qOMBqWERtO-au6lCcTC3k5WTz54b4itSp_WqvL6XTyfuVVysNKZrjPTCQwag33lKf6HvtkDYo45l

2024 Portland Pride Official Events | Portland Pride | Portland, OR 2024 OFFICIAL PRIDE EVENTS*Official Pride Events are events that are either organized by Pride Northwest itself, together in conjunction with Pride Northwest partners, or for which Pride Northwest is the charitable recipient. Jun 8 TransGame Social: Uniting Communities Over Tables Saturday, June 8,....

Portlanders can now dial 3-1-1 or go online to apply for a free cooling unit in advance of the hot summer months. Click below to learn more!

Portlanders in need can now dial 311 or go online to request free air conditioning units ahead of summer months Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) partnering with PDX 311 to expand the reach of its Cooling Portland program

Mark your calendars!
NAYA’s Native Made Pop Up is back! Join our community June 22 and 23, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. at 4636 NE 42nd Avenue Portland, OR 97218.

This event is open to all! Come out and support local Native artisans and makers! We hope to see you there.

SPECIAL EVENTS SCHEDULE FOR EAST PORTLAND PARKS FROM
SUMMER FREE FOR ALL (SFFA) PROGRAM
AND GATEWAY DISCOVERY PARK SPECIAL EVENTS PROGRAM

Wow! There are a lot of fun events happening this summer in East Portland Parks! And all are free! Please come and have some fun with your friends in East Portland!

Links to:
Summer Free For All Program https://www.portland.gov/parks/arts-culture/summer-free-all/cultural-events
Gateway Discovery Park Programs https://www.portland.gov/parks/gateway-discovery-park

My People's Market returns Saturday and Sunday!

This weekend marks the 14th edition of this outstanding event, which features more than 150 local, BIPOC-owned small businesses along with great music, art, food, and activities for all ages. The festivities start at noon on Saturday at Redd on Salmon Street in Southeast Portland, so make sure to stop by after the Grand Floral Parade.

Special thanks to Prosper Portland and Travel Portland for putting on this unforgettable celebration of community and culture! Details at MyPeoplesMarket.com.

From WIC to Meals on Wheels: New site streamlines application process for Multnomah County residents “We’ve all seen people in need and it’s difficult to know how to best serve them. I think one of the best things we can do is provide people access to the resources that already exist,” said Multno…

This week's member meeting is another Member Spotlight! Join us on Wednesday at The Nick Fish building to learn all about long time member, Our Just Future!

Our Just Future provides emergency shelter, affordable housing, and services in between to counter the forces that keep people in poverty.

RSVP on our website: https://eastportlandchamberofcommerce.com/event-5742410