| Central Northeast Neighbors Building Livable Communities Since 1985 in Portland, Oregon |
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OTHER CNN ACTIVITIES
Communications & Outreach, Workshops, Special Events and Forums
Community Advocacy &
Diversity Outreach
Liaison to Public Agencies & Community Groups
Assistance with Neighborhood Clean-ups
& Block Parties
Assistance with Neighborhood Business District Development
Fiscal Agent
Crime Prevention
Good Neighbor Agreements
Neighborhood Watch
National Night Out
CNN Connections Making a difference in your neighborhood
CNN WORKSHOP SERIES  Arriving to Portland: Story Sharing & Listening Stories bring us closer together. We all have an experience about how we got here.
On December 9th, 2009 workshop participants shared their personal journey and listened to diverse stories of new and long time neighbors at CNN. We converted our community room into a living room and allowed the conversation to be guided by passion, compassion, openness, respect, and thoughtfulness. As a result a new found connection between people was created which inspired more dialogue to continue in 2010. Building Community through Cross-Cultural Organizing  The community-building workshop on June 8th, 2009 was about how culturally diverse communities organize to improve livability. Close to 50 CNN area community members, youth and organizers discussed opportunities to work together in CNN neighborhoods. Following brief presentations of community projects, participants exchanged ideas and community resources around 3 action areas of the Cully-Concordia Plan: #1 Engage Youth and Parents in the Community; #2 Link to Underutilized Sites for Community Activities; and #3 Explore Transportation Alternatives for Underrepresented Communities. Local cultural groups performed to promote intercultural awareness.Click here to see the full report. Click here for the DRAFT Cully-Concordia Community Action Plan. Panel Presentation: Intercultural Understanding and Community Engagement  Photos of workshop participants Somali & Latino Cultural Awareness Workshop Part I and II  The Somali community is the fastest growing refugee population in Portland while Latinos are the largest immigrant population. In November 2007 and May 2008 over 60 community members learned about Portland's Somali & Latino Community at Central NE Neighbors. The cultural awareness workshops were led by Lul Abdulle of the Somali Women's Association (SWA) and Marco Mejia of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). These community leaders provided presentations on aspects of Somali & Latino culture followed by a discussion. Photos SWA and AFSC projects  Somali Cultural Awareness Power Point Presentations Part I Part II Latino Cultural Awareness Power Point Presentation Part I (large file) SOMALI OUTREACH PROJECT  Lul Abdulle of the Somali Women's Association has been working on Somali family outreach for Central NE Neighbors as part of our Community Engagement activities. Somali neighbors expressed the desire to connect to their community and to have a voice. Through conversations with neighbors in 2007-08, we learned that the connection to schools, neighborhood safety, youth involvement, and culturally specific communications are key community issues. Portland's Inter-Bureau Task Force committed funds to continue Somali outreach and leadership in our neighborhoods.Lul worked until November 2009 to engage Somali families in youth development activities and leadership. Also, this new position helped strengthen intercultural ties by involving Somali neighbors in community events including National Night Out. Building Somali leadership is key to foster self-reliance. For more information please contact Sandra Lefrancois, Project Manager sandral@cnncoalition.org 503-823-2780. Lul expressed: "The majority of the community emphasized to get a free space to meet in order to educate themselves about the City of Portland and the way the system in this country works. For them it was great news the offer CNN made about using its building during the weekend for community support group and leadership education. Plus CNN offered to bring speakers from the City of Portland especially ONI to talk about their programs and other community projects taking place within the City." Community Engagement with NAYA  The "Together We Solve Community Awareness" Cross-Training project is a collaboration of the Native American Youth & Family Center (NAYA) and Central NE Neighbors (CNN). The project consisted of cross-cultural focus groups led by local Native American youth. The youth were guided by NAYA's Youth and Elders Council and partners. The goal is to build ties between community groups using engagement tools such as the listening circle and cultural dance. The idea is to share methods of community organizing and problem solving that build community capacity.
We engaged in a dialogue about the place and role of youth in the community with an emphasis on social responsibility. One student expressed: "The reason why I get involved is to put myself in the shoes of others less fortunate" . Different perspectives were heard that ranged from the need for more community involvement to overcome issues such as gang violence to starting with being engaged in their school.
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