At this year’s Discovery Forum, we learned about organizations that came together to address some of the toughest issues facing our region: homelessness, access to mental health resources, and gun control. This idea of building alliances across organizations ties directly to our annual learning question: How do we collaborate as communities to address issues in our region?

The panelists represented Portland Street Response, Lift Every Voice Oregon and Leaven Community Land & Housing Coalition. In the discussion, they talked about how disparate groups can find common ground and work on important issues and how, by working collectively, they can magnify their impact.

As Jake Bailey from Leaven said, “Why are we competing for resources when we could be nourishing the space in between us?”

At the end of the session, we asked audience members to tell us, in one word, how they felt after listening to the panelists. The top responses were “hopeful” “inspired” and “informed”.

Want to be inspired and learn more? Check out the recording (LINK)

Events like this are a team effort. Special thanks to Nancy Cheverton, Karen Healey, Jody Feldman, Barbara Hilyer, Tammy Wilhoite, Kathie Masarie, and Jody Scheer of your Member Education Committee for putting this together.