Neighborhood House Celebrates Achievements at New Children’s Center Site for Low Income Families

Portland, September 20th, 2013.  Neighborhood House held its 7th annual Leadership Circle Dinner to honor top supporters including Pamela Kambur of Home Forward, Mari Yerger of Neighborhood House, and Harriet Cormack, Home Forward Board of Commissioners Chair. They toured the construction site of the new Children’s Center the agency is building in conjunction with Home Forward’s new Stephens Creek Crossing affordable housing site in Southwest Portland.  Guests toured the site to view the early construction stages of what will become the Children’s Center and Opportunity Center. (Photo credit, Ann Rogers-Williams) They also had a chance to see a built-out version of both a standard and an ADA-compliant apartment. As one viewer said, “It is so great to see how nice and accessible these apartments will be.” 

After the tour, participants enjoyed a presentation and dinner in the partially-built Opportunity Center, next to the Children’s Center site.  Executive Director Rich Nitti launched the event with highlights of the agency’s work in the last year and an update the Children’s Center Capital Campaign, which has raised more than $350,000 to date toward its goal of $900,000.  

Mark Holloway, the Executive Director of Social Venture Partners, shared remarks on the importance of supporting early childhood education.  Neighborhood House’s new Head Start Manager, Nancy Perin, spoke about how Head Start is addressing the vital educational and social needs of children during their critic first five years of development.   The event wrapped up with Head Start parent Natalie Fisher sharing her first hand experiences and successes with her own child’s participation in the program.  She explained how she had learned the value “of getting down on the floor with your children” and finding new ways to participate in their learning process.  

About Neighborhood House: Across the Community and Across the Life-span Neighborhood House delivers innovative and life-changing programs for low-income people of all ages. Our highly-effective education and social support programs fall into the following core service areas:

• Early Childhood
• School-aged Youth
• Families in Need
• Seniors

Our dedicated staff and volunteers work in schools, community centers and public housing sites, as well as our own facilities, to serve more than 18,000 people each year across the greater Portland area.

Comprehensive Services

Neighborhood House’s wide array of programs provide comprehensive services that effectively meet the needs of our low-income and senior clients, many who struggle with not just one, but multiple challenges. We believe our wrap-around service model is the most efficient and compassionate way to help people in need.

Meeting the Needs of Diverse Communities

Neighborhood House’s clients represent a remarkably diverse mix of ethnicities and cultures. To meet the needs of these diverse communities, Neighborhood House offers culturally specific services for African, Latino, Middle Eastern, and Russian immigrants in various programs and requires cultural competency of all programs and staff. 38% of our program staff are bicultural from cultures served by Neighborhood House; 12% more are bilingual. Neighborhood House staff regularly provide diversity training for other organizations, including Multnomah County, Portland Public Schools and Home Forward (formerly Housing Authority of Portland).