Safe Blocks Monthly Report – September 2024

What is Safe Blocks?

The Safe Blocks Program supports place-based activities to reduce violent crime's impact on public health, social well-being, and the local economy. Examples of the work include organizing block parties and resource fairs, enhancing green spaces, improving traffic control, and adding lighting to increase safety and decrease opportunities for crime.

Safe Blocks coordinators work directly in areas suffering from historical disinvestment, high rates of social vulnerability, and high rates of gun violence. The team is currently active in the Cully, Eliot, and Hazelwood neighborhoods, with work in Powellhurst-Gilbert scheduled to commence in 2025. Specific activities are determined through engagement with residents, businesses, and other stakeholders in the community.

What is Safe Blocks working on?

Safe Blocks Place-Based Violence Intervention Project (Byrne Grant)

In March 2024, Safe Blocks received a $2 million Federal Byrne Grantto fund place-based community violence intervention programming over four years in Portland's Hazelwood, Eliot, and Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhoods. Residents in these neighborhoods along with Cully, Portsmouth, and Lents are encouraged to take a community safety surveyto help inform the grant's projects.

The Byrne Grant Project Manager, Molly Esteve, joined the Safe Blocks Program on September 26th.

Neighborhood work

Cully

• Safe Blocks is still engaged with Reimagining Justice in Cully, a pilot program between Multnomah County and the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA).
• Safe Blocks participated in a NAYA-lead focus group centered around small business owners in Cully and seeking their input for alternatives to traditional policing for low-level crime.
• The team provided support for an event on September 21 called Cullyfest, including a community street mural project in the Cully 5 Corners area.
• Discussions are happening with Metro and the Portland Bureau of Transportation on corridor improvement efforts (including traffic calming, pedestrian safety, and lighting).
• The Cully team is engaging with hard-to-reach residents in mobile home parks.
  • Safe Blocks is working with Sheridan Food Company to source the food for mobile food pantries.
• The team is tabling at the Cully Farmers Marketevery third Thursday.
• Safe Blocks is finalizing grant opportunities with two youth-lead initiatives: Make It Make Sense and P3 to help communities brainstorm how they can lower crime and gun violence.

Eliot

• Safe Blocks moved up the date of its quarterly housing resource expo at Dawson Parkto October 1st to take advantage of the lovely weather.
• Safe Blocks is engaged with the Eliot Neighborhood Associationand attended their monthly meeting to better understand their concerns when it comes to safety in the Eliot neighborhood and Dawson Park.
• Safe Blocks is working in partnership with the Eliot Neighborhood Association, Cascadia Health, Self Enhancement Inc., and the Street Services Coordination Center to plan events and keep up-to-date with things happening at Dawson Park.
• Final plans are expected soon for the installation of bollards at Dawson Park.
• Safe Blocks is evaluating community-based organizations to partner with in order to keep Dawson Park activated in the coming winter months.

Hazelwood

• Safe Blocks attended Ventura Park Elementary Back to School Night and Ron Russell Middle School Carnival.
• Starting to do preliminary planning with local properties for a potential community dog park along 124th Ave between E Burnside and E Ash.
• Safe Blocks is engaged with the Hazelwood Neighborhood Associationand attended their monthly meeting.
• Safe Blocks provided two Personal Safe Workshops for the Hazelwood community, one for a faith community and one for staff at the Menlo Park Safe Rest Village staff.

At-Large

• Safe Blocks is collaborating with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to host a drug take back event on October 26th at the Penumbra Kelly Building.
• Safe Blocks met with Portland Parks & Recreation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation permitting teams to discuss planning for Party On, Portland! (POP) in 2025.
• Safe Blocks tabled at Sunday Parkways in Gabriel Park.

Security Assessments

Safe Blocks conducted three Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design - known as CPTED - assessments in September. Assessments are labor intensive, involving a team member meeting with the property owner/manager and tenants to walk around the property for about an hour to learn about how the space is used and what the concerns are. After the walkthrough, the Safe Blocks team builds a comprehensive report with photos, recommendations, and resources. Safe Blocks then follows up three months later to check on the work and suggest additional improvements.

For more information or to request an assessment, visit the Safe Blocks website.

Events

• October 1^st - Dawson Park Housing Expo
• October 26^th - Fall Drug Take Back Event

Rose City Self-Defense (RCSD)

Rose City Self-Defenseis an empowerment-based self-defense program that offers community-based classes and workshops for youth and adults. All RCSD programming is free because classes and workshops are taught by volunteer self-defense instructors. Since its start, RCSD has provided self-defense training to more than 45,000 students, and workshops to over 120,000 participants.

In September, Rose City Self-Defense:

• Offered 12 workshops to community members in personal safety, safety and self-defense, and de-escalation, training more than 240 participants;
• Attended resource fairs at Lewis & Clark Law School and Dawson Park, serving over 200 people; and
• Held a community-based self-defense class and youth personal safety workshop training over 30 students.

A highlight of the workshops included working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to train private for-hire drivers (Uber, Lyft, Taxi) on personal safety.

Rose City Self-Defense also trained the Portland State University Women's Softball team to help players feel safer. In addition to safety and self-defense, topics included negotiating consent and understanding healthy and unhealthy relationships for the college age.

Rose City Self-Defense Volunteer Recruitment (Extended to 10/21)

Rose City Self-Defenseis looking for cis and trans women, non-binary people comfortable in women-centered spaces, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC communities to train to become volunteer instructors and teach empowerment-based self-defense skills in our community, youth or LGBTQIA2S+ programs.

Visit the Rose City Self-Defense websitefor more information. The deadline to apply is October 21, 2024.

Questions?

For more information, visit Safe Blocks at https://www.portland.gov/safe-blocks, email us at [email protected], or call 503-823-4064.