Working together to make a difference on the Homeless front

We understand the homeless situation has an impact on many residents and businesses and resolving homelessness is actually a very complex problem for our community, state, and nation. Teamwork, collaborative partnerships, and trust are key. The speakers we’ll hear from at this meeting have many years of experience trying to figure out this puzzle and make progress.  Jim Band, Oregon City’s Chief of Police learned that we can’t arrest our way out of this problem – he’ll speak to what he has learned that does work.  Brandi Johnson, Executive Director of LoveOne, knows that building trust is the key and will tell about her work.  Jennifer Morris, Executive Director of The Father’s Heart, has daily, personal experience with our homeless neighbors and will share what she’s learned that can have a big impact.  Becky Wilkinson, who manages Providence’s Building Outcomes Through Bridges program, focuses on homeless people who face huge challenges. Her experiences will shine a bright light on the situation.  Vahid Brown, who manages Supportive Housing Services programs for Clackamas County will help us understand the efforts to implement tax-supported programs that are making a big difference. Bring your questions to this expert panel. You won’t want to miss this important update. 

Speakers:

Becky Wilkinson, Outreach Program Manager at Providence Oregon Regional Behavioral Health

Becky Wilkinson is a lifelong humanitarian and passionate advocate for social justice and human rights. Becky earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Portland State University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Oregon. For the past thirteen years, she has worked in community outreach within hospital systems. Becky’s work honors individual strengths, while recognizing the impact of social determinants of health. Becky takes a holistic approach to meeting community needs through various partnerships and having profound faith in the power of communities to heal.

Vahid Brown, Housing Policy Coordinator for Clackamas County

Vahid Brown is the Supporting Housing Services Program Manager at Clackamas County. He has worked for the past six years at Health, Housing & Human Services to create policies and programs to more effectively house the people of Clackamas County, in service of the mission of making homelessness rare, brief, and not recurring.

Jennifer Morris, Executive Director of The Father’s Heart

Jennifer has been working at The Father’s Heart for 5 years and in January of this year, she became the Executive Director. During her childhood, her mother was in prison 3 times by the time Jennifer turned 15 years old. Her mother still struggles with addiction and is currently homeless in Clackamas County. In the past, Jennifer has been a drug dealer, a member of a gang, homeless, has had addictions, and became a mother at the age of 16. By the grace of God, Jennifer is a new person today and is a living example of how a life can be transformed by a community of people who care.

Jim Band, Police Chief of Oregon City

Jim Band was born and raised in Montana. He moved to Oregon in 1994 and became a police officer in 1998. Jim has worked up through the ranks at the Oregon City Police Department, where he has been the police chief for almost 9 years. Jim has a bachelor’s degree in human development and has worked on the issues surrounding homelessness in Oregon City since 2013. Jim lives with his wife Malia in Oregon City. They have two adult daughters.

Brandi Johnson, Executive Director of LoveOne

A community advocate, trained mediator, and longtime resident of Oregon City, Brandi Johnson is the Executive Director of LoveOne. Brandi spent fourteen years working as a legal assistant in a local general civil law practice, taking over as Executive Director of LoveOne just before the onset of the pandemic. Brandi considers herself a “Kindness Broker” focused on building relationships, establishing trust, and connecting resources. Brandi has a degree in communication with a focus on advocacy and relational communication from Marylhurst University. She holds a certificate in conflict resolution and serves as a Board member of the Homeless Solutions Coalition of Clackamas County. Brandi is married with two children. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and plans to work on her paddle boarding skills this summer.