We're HereTogether
The Portland region’s homeless crisis demands our attention. Lives are on the line – families, veterans, women escaping domestic violence, and people with chronic health conditions are among those experiencing homelessness. Many for the first time.
HereTogether is a coalition of service providers, business leaders, elected officials, and advocates who all believe homelessness in the Portland area is not an unsolvable problem. We believe a region-wide response that targets the roots of the problem, and for the first time matches the scale and scope to the crisis is how we get there.
There are proven ways to effectively solve homelessness. We just need the public will and a more effective way to come together. That’s what HereTogether is all about.
Our Board Members
Robert Stoll, Board Chair
Mitch Hornecker, Vice Chair
Brendan Barnicle, St. Stevens Episcopal Parish
Katrina Holland, Community Alliance of Tenants
Marcus Mundy, Coalition of Communities of Color
Patricia Patrón, Outside In
Doug Stamm, Rewired Advisors
Kay Toran, Volunteers of America Oregon
Our Staff
Angela Martin, Interim Executive Director
Cole Merkel, Deputy Director, Outreach and Engagement
Lakeeyscia Griffin, Communications Manager
Equity Statement
Equity is an integral component of HereTogether’s mission and vital to fostering resilient
communities, economies, and housing solutions. Diversity, equity and inclusion are all
essential elements to creating a thriving community that benefits all of its members.
The work of HereTogether acknowledges and must address the historic and systemic
oppression against members of society based on race, gender, class, sexual orientation
and other identities. This means intentionally driving more resources to those who have
not had equitable access in the past. It also means embedding equity, diversity, and
inclusion into every facet of HereTogether’s work to help solve the housing continuum,
homelessness and permanent supportive housing issues facing our region.
This work should challenge each of us to improve our understanding of equity as a
commitment and living practice. All board, staff and volunteers who are working on this
project will adopt an equity lens in everything they do – at the policy, operations, hiring,
spending, programmatic, and relational levels. The goal is to create a shared
understanding of equity from this statement and during conversations, and hold
ourselves accountable to all disenfranchised communities, with a clear focus on
communities of color. HereTogether will create a culture of inclusion both internally and
when engaging externally with the stakeholders and the community.
To accomplish this, HereTogether will:
● Put equity at the center of its work
● Acknowledge the disproportionate impact of historical policies and decisions
● Challenge the status quo that created current systemic inequities
● Collaborate with other institutions and communities with humility
● Remember that place matters when discussing housing and homelessness
● Bring diverse voices to this work and create a culture of inclusion
● Support data driven solutions as a force for good
● Operate with urgency and accountability
● Be open to critical feedback and willing to adjust
There are proven solutions to homelessness, but we won't get there unless we come together.