There is a village in the clouds, hovering just above a single block in Old Town.
Local organization Gather:Make:Shelter, with funding from Neighbors West-Northwest, recently adorned a self-governed houseless community’s perimeter fence with serene images of sky and water. The images grant the temporary residents privacy and a visual break from the often harsh urban environment.
“It looked like people were behind cages,” said Dana Lynn Louis, director and founder of Gather:Make:Shelter. Dana’s organization connects neighbors across housing status through skill building, creativity and beautification projects.
The art-enhanced tent village is one of three emergency COVID-19 sites throughout Portland established by the City of Portland, Multnomah County and Creating Conscious Communities with People Outside, or C(3)PO, a collaborative of social service nonprofits aiding houseless people. Residents have access to health services, meals, showers and restrooms, and can appropriately social distance from other campers.
Photos courtesy of Dana Lynn Louis
Village residents voted for sky and water images and received a stipend to hang the prints facing inward, toward the community. Dana said that before the increased privacy, pedestrians regularly heckled and filmed campers in the village. Some residents were surprised–and pleased–to learn their neighborhood coalition had funded the project.
“Somebody said, ‘This doesn’t happen, this is so unusual,’” Dana said. “They get to participate in something that’s a collaboration with the neighborhood.”
Dana plans to bring community gardening to the Old Town and SE villages, as well as programming that aligns with residents’ interests. She is currently working with hired residents to paint the exterior of the fence waves of blue. To support Dana’s efforts and our houseless neighbors, see C(3)PO’s list of needs or visit Gather:Make:Shelter.