Refining Presentation and Overall Concept

Tackling the Presentation

Photo by Laura DeVito

Tackling through Art Collective

After mapping out the system we agreed that somehow making an art collective would be a stupendous idea. Get the grant, fund the art collective, art collective would choose the artist, artist would volunteer at specific soft services that demonstrated hospitality, artwork would be produced (on agree vision, guidelines, etc.) and artwork would be sold &/or tickets would be sold at event that art collective would create. The art collective is creating a 2 for 1 for the funders: funding soft services and art. Therefore, creating a reinforcing funding loop when the funders attend the event an experience empathy for the project.

Strong thoughts of mine during this time was that food and shelter are definitely necessities in life, but hospitality (just being) is as important, and indeed is a sustenance for the soul. Moreover, in order to increase the success of the homeless, one must get a well-rounded individual, and that means food, shelter and a place to just be. All of these facilities help in the healing process regarding trauma.

Walking Around Old Town

After going to Sisters of the Road, we (KM, LS & myself) took a walk around Old Town Portland. We stopped by Bud Clark Commons. It was AMAZING. Again, there was wonderful light, high ceilings, and punches of color. It also had a nice balance of practicality for its more minimalist design and use of materials like stained concrete. We spoke to a worker there and she was generous with her time for us and highly knowledgable.

Bud Clark Commons was recently relocated (within the last year) and is for single occupants and has storage areas outside for pet crates, and long-term/short term locker space. It also provides a media lab, library, laundry facilities (in which jumpsuits are offered in order for someone to clean all of their clothing) and showers.

After Bud Clark Commons, we walked around downtown and saw Street Roots, where Bud Clark was before (quite stark and uninviting), and SAFES. I was commenting on the overall ecosystem of the area and LS made an interesting remark about how the SAFES was right next to a strip club. Then, we all got into a discussion about environment and ecosystems, along with the idea of the 20-minute walk neighborhood idea.

Pippa Arend

Pippa Arend, P:EAR
http://www.pearmentor.org/
Pippa spoke at Software Ecosystems class.
LDV: Pippa spoke about how when they relocated their organization they decided to rid the place of computers altogether since that was the ONLY place where 3 fights had been in 10 years.

Mapping Out the System

After all of this exploration, we started mapping out different systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operation Nightwatch

After thinking about the actual ecosystem surrounding these services, we decided to begin focusing on Soft Services. We all thought how important it was to have the hospitality demonstrated at Sisters of the Road and the architectural elements of Bud Clark Commons.

This led us to volunteering at Operation Nightwatch. Operation Nightwatch has been running since 1981, but was recently kicked out of their place of residence and is now located off 13th at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. They operate Wednesday through Saturday from 7-11:00pm. During this time sandwiches, cookies, and coffee/tea are offered and board games are available. People also bring in their computers and smart phones. People can choose to eat, drink, play board games, use electronics that they have brought or just hang out on the sofa and rest.

I played Scrabble with a few people, served up sandwiches and was the key master for the bathroom. Overall, it was a good experience, although I was pretty tired on that Friday night.

Idea Development & Sisters of the Road

The next step was to begin forming a more solid vision of what KM was thinking about – tackling the problem of homelessness and focusing on the Rose City Resource published by Street Roots. The first thing the group did was go have lunch at Sisters of the Road (SOTR). KM had past work experience at SOTR, so it seemed like a natural step.

I discovered a place in which people in need could have delicious and nutritious food for $1.25 or barter. The awesome part was that the 1st meal is free. We all enjoyed rice, beans, fruit and some other things. The place was really welcoming and inviting. It completely obliterated my idea of how a place for homeless people is usually stark and uninviting.

What made it inviting was that there were huge windows, bright colors and the staff.

Software Ecosystems 1st Proposal

The first proposal encompassed education. I literally had stopped working on Friday and started classes on Monday. So, my brain was still heavily involved in my work, and I realized that although I love it, I needed to explore other avenues to strengthen my knowledge base. Also, in all honesty, I needed a break from that mind-set. Thus, I joined with classmates KM & LS soon thereafter.