Tag: Jaleel Reed Evaluating Rest Stops and Micro-Villages

Rubber Meets the Road: Taking the Pulse of the Community

Posted on by Julia Havens

Eugene-Micro-VillageRecently, our Community Planning Workshop Team finished collecting upwards of 90 surveys as part of our project to evaluate Eugene’s rest stop policy and micro village programs. Over the span of two weeks, our group administered door-to-door surveys in the areas nearest the rest stops and micro village.

We decided that we would survey addresses, both businesses and residents, within a 500-foot radius of each rest stop and the micro village. The rationale for surveying local business and residents within a 500-foot radius is to capture the perceptions and perspectives most affected by these camps. Capturing these perspectives is important to the program evaluation process because these nearby business owners and residents were expected to be most impacted by the sites.

In addition to splitting ourselves into two groups, with each group consisting of two student members and a representative from the Eugene’s Humans Rights Commission, we split the addresses in two as well. In the instance that a business was closed or a representative wasn’t available to participate in the survey, we left a postcard that included a description of our project and survey, as well as the web address to the survey on-line. Postcards were also left at residences where no one was readily available to take the survey.

As a group, we dialogued about our experience facilitating surveys in the community.  We all agreed that hitting the pavement and walking door-to door for several hours administering survey questions was a humbling experience because we were able to connect with community members in hopes to contribute positive change in their community. It was this process that demonstrated not only the value in accounting for community opinion and perspective, but this process also demonstrated the effort it takes to truly engage the community in a meaningful way.

Eugene-Micro-Village-2While there were individuals that expressed discontent, there were many more that were emphatic in their support for initiatives that provide safe, secure places for the unhoused to sleep. Generally, neighbors agreed with the facilitation of services like the rest-stops and micro villages, but feel as though the City could be doing more to accommodate Eugene’s unhoused population.

The process was taxing at times, but overall proved to be a rewarding and meaningful experience. Being able to share in the gathering and communication of neighbor feedback to decision makers is right at the intersection of community engagement and impact that pushed us to join this team.

About the Authors:

Jaleel Reed Evaluating Rest Stops and Micro-Villages EugeneJaleel Reed is a dual-Master’s student in Environmental Studies as well as Community and Regional Planning. An environmental scientist by degree from Northwestern University, he has re-oriented his interest toward environmental justice and community development. Outside of class, Jaleel doubles as a food and fitness enthusiast.

 

Brody Abbott CPW Community Planning Workshop Eugene Microvillage EvaluationBrody Abbott received his Bachelors of Degree in Criminal Justice from Southern Oregon University in 2013. During his free time he enjoys playing with his dog, Rufus, playing basketball, and enjoying the great outdoors. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Brody is close to his friends and family.

Planning with Empathy

Posted on by Julia Havens

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Whom are we serving? How would they like to be served? Who are we? All these questions of assessment and reflection are necessary in the pursuit of serving the public in meaningful ways that transcend the context of a class assignment. Instead of simply an assignment, our project is a real world endeavor, (with the class as the medium) where the “grades” are in the form of impact on the lives of people in the community.

I am working on Evaluating Rest Stops and Micro-Villages in the City of Eugene
 as a part of one project for this year’s Community Planning Workshop. The specific project is related to developing and identifying strategies toward best practice of providing housing for the unhoused population in Eugene. Our project will provide recommendations as to how the City of Eugene may better facilitate the provision of micro-village programs (like Opportunity Village) that provide safe places of transitional housing for the unhoused.

Recently, in an evaluative checkpoint of the work our group has done thus far, we met with our working committee. The working committee includes two representatives from City of Eugene’s Office of Human Rights Involvement, an Opportunity Village Volunteer, and a representative from both Community Supported Shelters and Nightingale Health Sanctuary.

This meeting was affirmation that, since the beginning of the project, our team has become more informed and well-versed in the issue of there being many unhoused individuals in the City of Eugene; however, it was also a reminder that our understanding has only scratched the surface. The majority of the meeting was set aside for dialoguing with our committee and receiving feedback about our work-to-date as well as our plan for moving forward.

Coincidentally, this meeting followed a class session about the integration of empathy into the planning process. This class in particular was generally relevant to our group and topic of engagement because assessing provisions for the unhoused, as a project in social justice, requires a point of departure firmly situated in empathy. The in-depth feedback received from our working committee, reiterated this necessity. How, as a team, do we integrate empathy into our approach to problem solving and planning? The way to integrate empathy is to start with empathy and the accompanied processes of active listening and welcoming constructive feedback.

It is not until we become listeners, unequivocally so, that we can become empathizers. Then, we can move in that empathy toward making a positive contribution and meaningful impact with/for the people we serve.

 

Jaleel Reed Evaluating Rest Stops and Micro-Villages EugeneAbout the Author: Jaleel Reed is a dual-Master’s student in Environmental Studies as well as Community and Regional Planning. An environmental scientist by degree from Northwestern University, he has re-oriented his interest toward environmental justice and community development. Outside of class, Jaleel doubles as a food and fitness enthusiast.