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Portland Fire and Rescue Blueprint for Success Fire Management Area 14-

An assessment and recommendations by students in the Masters of Urban and Regional Planning program at Portland State University. This page intentionally left blank. Fire Management Area 14, Alberta Park

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ...... 1

I. Executive Summary ...... 2

II. Existing Conditions ...... 3

Overview ...... 3

Demographics at a Glance ...... 4

History and Assets ...... 9

Urban Form ...... 12

Affordable in FMA 14 ...... 17

III. Key Informant Interviews ...... 33

IV. Strategy Sessions and Recommendations ...... 41

Recommendations ...... 45

V. Evaluation & Monitoring ...... 52

Works Cited ...... 53

Appendix A ...... 56

Blueprint for Success 1 I. Executive Summary

Between 2000 and 2017, the call volume for Portland Fire and Rescue (PF&R) increased by 23%; the majority of this growth came from “medical” and “other” calls rooted in non-fire causes. This increase in non-fire related calls impacts the whole Portland community as firefighters who continually respond to “low acuity calls” have less capacity and availability to respond to fire related calls. The Blueprint for Success project is an initiative from PF&R to understand the reasons behind this increase and to create community-based strategies to reduce call volume. This project was originally based off of initial work done by a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) workshop team in the winter and spring of 2018 and has now been taken on by students in the Qualitative Methods class, a required course for first year MURP students. This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of year one of three in this partnership between the MURP program and PF&R.

Over the relatively short time-frame of ten weeks, students worked in four very different Fire Management Areas (FMAs): Lents, Woodstock, Sandy Blvd, and Alberta Park. Teams conducted assessments of existing conditions with emphasis on understand the demographics, history, community assets, urban form, livability, and equity challenges of the neighborhoods with their assigned FMA. Teams also conducted interviews with fire station staff and community members and held strategy sessions to cultivate community-based solutions to the problem of increased call volumes. Together, the student’s research demonstrates that while each FMA is distinctly unique in geographical area, urban form, assets and community demographics, etc. they each face the same challenges of rising non-fire- related call data. The research shows an overwhelming need for greater social and behavioral health support of the most vulnerable populations in our communities.

Although not an exhaustive process within the communities that surround the FMAs, the strategy sessions generated many recommendations for possible solutions. One common recommendation across all four project teams was to increase funding and staff capacity for teams that address behavioral health and connectivity of services i.e. Community Health Assessment Teams (CHAT), the Meals on Wheels Gatekeeper program and/or a service comparable to Eugene's Crisis Assistance Helping out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) program. Another common recommended strategy was to improve the dispatch model to ensure fire crews are equipped with the right tools and services when they are dispatched. Other common recommendations include: increasing community partnerships to coordinate services and resources; updating the website with information and education on more than just fire-related calls; and establishing a non-emergency number and call center to offer a 911 alternative, i.e. a 311 number. The project teams sincerely hope that the information presented in the following report helps station captains and PF&R administration to create workable solutions that respond to the needs of these communities.

Blueprint for Success 2 II. Existing Conditions

Overview

In examining data from U.S. Census Bureau tracts both within and partially within the boundaries of FMA 14, one can gain an adequate, albeit imperfect, demographic overview of the area. This overview reveals a relatively young, affluent, and highly educated area with low social vulnerability indicators as a whole. Characterized by mostly residential single- family neighborhoods, FMA 14 unsurprisingly exhibits high owner occupancy rates, which typically indicate lower housing cost burden compared to areas with higher renter occupancy rates in the Portland metro. Even among the population in FMA 14, only 19.7% of renter households experience rent burden (>= 30% of income spent on rent) compared to 53.4% in Multnomah County. Although FMA 14 does have some small immigrant communities, namely Somali, the foreign-born population is only 7% compared to 13.7% in the Portland metro. Limited English households are also very low in the area, although there is a significant number of Spanish-speaking households at 8.7% (most also speaking English).

Blueprint for Success 3 Demographics at a Glance

Neighborhoods: Vernon, Alameda, Beaumont-Wilshire, Concordia, Woodlawn, Sabin, King, Sunderland

Total FMA Area: ~8.04 square miles total area ~0.87 square miles of water

Total Population: 40,304 (Data from 2012-2016 American Census Survey via CUPA PF&R Project Working Query Tool unless otherwise specified)

Sex (percentage of total pop):

Female: 52.6%

Male: 47.4%

Age:

Average median age of Census tracts: 37

Under 18 years: 7,483 (18.5% vs 18.3% in Portland

65 years and older: 3,521 (8.7% vs 12% in Portland)

Race:

White (non-Latino): 27,496

Black: 5,638

Hispanic: 3,136

Asian: 1,099

American Indian and Alaskan Natives: 259 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 32 Two+ Races: 2,464

Other Race: 650

Language:

Individuals age 5 and older speaking language other than English at home: 4,445 (11% of FMA Population vs. 18% in Portland) (PF&R 2015 FMA Census Data Sets).

Blueprint for Success 4

Race in FMA 14

AIAN

<1% NHPI Other 1% <1% Asian

3% Two+ Races 6%

Hispanic

8%

Black 14%

White 67%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2012-2016

Blueprint for Success 5 By Household

English only: 12,255 Spanish: 1,068 (140 Limited English Households) Indo European: 463 Asian languages: 328 Other: 21 Foreign Born: 2,837

Education: 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 17,403 (43% of total FMA population vs 35% in Portland)

High School diploma only (all age ranges 18+): 2,904

Income and Poverty:

Persons below poverty level: 6,212 (15% vs 16.9% in Portland)

Median Household Income: $75,258.50 ($16,835 higher than Portland)

Blueprint for Success 6 These maps further contextualize the racial and income demographics thus far presented. Although FMA 14 is one of the wealthier areas in Portland, there is a clear geographic relationship between race and income showing a southeast/northwest disparity with blocks consisting of a higher share of people of color also displaying lower average household incomes.

Household Income by Block Percentage of White Population by Block

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2011-2015 via Justice Map. Retrieved from: justicemap.org

Housing:

Households: 15,259

Average Household Size: 2.59 Total Renter Households: 12,496 Rent Burdened Households: 2,471

Housing units: 16,016 total units Owner occupied: 10,176

Renter Occupied: 5,083

Vacant: 757

Blueprint for Success 7 Occupancy Type

Vacant 5%

Renter 32%

Owner 63%

Analysis & Conclusion

Compared to Portland generally, FMA 14 does not stray markedly outside the demographic composition of the city except for in a couple areas: income, educational attainment, and the share of black population (8.3% higher than Portland). On average, the neighborhoods that make up the FMA fair very well with relatively high household incomes and educational attainment. Although the percentage of non-white individuals in FMA 14 is 10.4% higher than in the rest of Portland, primarily due to its relatively high 14% black population, these populations tend to be distributed somewhat unevenly across the comprising neighborhoods of FMA 14. Woodlawn, Vernon, King, and Sabin (historically black neighborhoods) contain significantly higher percentages of minorities compared to the relatively homogeneously white Alameda, Beaumont-Wilshire, Concordia, and to a lesser extent, Alberta. These whiter neighborhoods also have the highest median incomes of FMA 14 (also see Figures “Household Income by Block” and “White population by block” above). This divide is most notable along Fremont St, showing a very clear north versus south correlation between race and income. As the areas north of Fremont St in FMA 14 underwent some of the most intense displacement (and white replacement) of black communities in Portland’s recent past, one element the Census data cannot reveal is which families

Blueprint for Success 8 survived gentrifying forces and may still be disproportionally housing cost burdened and/or struggling to maintain their place in the community.

History and Assets

The history of FMA 14 is rooted in racial and socio-economic inequities. All were not welcomed into the FMA. Neighborhoods discriminated based on cultural backgrounds and one’s socioeconomic status. From the 1940s until 1990a, neighborhoods in the FMA experienced “” and banks would not finance mortgages for Black seeking homeowners. Redlining existed to control where the Black population could live, buy property, or if they could secure a bank loan. During this time, Black families were focused to live an economically depressing neighborhood called “Albina.” In order to live in some neighborhoods one had to be wealthy. The FMA has served a diverse population. Below is historical information about each neighborhood. Historically, there was a racial and income divide in our FMA and Fremont determined that divide. Neighborhoods south of Fremont housed white and higher income individuals and neighborhoods North of the street was home to people of color and lower income individuals.

Alameda

Alameda was a neighborhood created for white elite males and their families. In 1912, the Oregon Home Builders (OHB) goal was to build as many homes as possible with other people’s money. They had no intentions to sell their property (ies) and only wanted to rent their homes. Oliver King Jeffery at the age of 24 was a primary organizer of the Oregon Home Builders. He is also credited with inventing the Rose Festival Parade, which is one of the most well attended parades in Portland. While OHB was purchasing property and building homes, they were also creating a business district. It is important to note that rich/elite white individuals and families have always lived in the Alameda neighborhood. What may surprise some is Beaumont Middle School was very culturally and socioeconomically diverse in the 90s. We wonder how many students attending the middle school lived in the neighborhood. We tried to research the history of Beaumont Middle School and could not find much. We wonder if students were bussed to Beaumont, which could explain the reasons the school was diverse.

Blueprint for Success 9 Concordia

In 1905, the Concordia neighborhood was at the edge of Portland’s city limits. Portland has grown quite a bit since 1905. Concordia’s neighborhood history is intertwined with Concordia University’s. Concordia University existed before the neighborhood and both have changed drastically. The University began as a high school for young men, then a junior college, and lastly, a co-ed four year private institution in 1977. Concordia became an official neighborhood in the 70s. It was at the far end of the streetcar line, beyond the sewer and water system” In the past, the neighborhood was home to majority African American families, which is not the case today. Concordia Neighborhood was previously named Irvington Park (not to be confused with Irvington), or maybe the Town of Creighton, or the Heidelberg Addition, or even Foxchas A unique treasure in the neighborhood is Ainsworth United Church of Christ, which was a Black and White church joining as a one. The church is very involved in the FMA/city. They may be a good resource for Fire Station 14, especially if the Station would like to host a community invite.

King

King neighborhood is located near Ne Martin Luther King, Jr. and before that the street was called Union Ave. Union Ave was considered Black mecca. An area that Black people lived near or visited often for groceries, night life, hair salons, and much more. Located in the neighborhood is Geneva’s, which is a hair salon owned by Mr. Knual’s (also known as the Black Mayor of Portland) and his belated wife. They also owned a dance club that welcomed and embraced Black culture. While the club no longer exists, Geneva’s still does. King neighborhood was the home of many blacks, as well as, King Elementary School. A treasure in the neighborhood is Saint Andrews Nativity Middle School and Saint Andrews Church. The church is progressive, volunteers in the school and neighborhood, and is known for advocating for justice for all Portlanders and globally. In the 90s and early 2000s, the neighborhood had drug and gang activities, which seems to longer be a problem.

Sabin

Sabin Community Association (SCA) was formed in 1969. The board guides their decisions and actions based on the following goals be accepting, inclusive and fair, engage the community, seek to understand and meet community needs, support diversity, encourage local businesses,

Blueprint for Success 10 prepare for the future and promote sustainable living, are for our natural environment and wildlife, partner with community organizations. In 1993, SCA worked with the Bureau of Planning, now the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to create an action plan for their neighborhood. It was community led and part of a bigger plan, the Albina Community Plan. The plan addressed six policy areas: housing, human services, transportation, economic development, parks & recreation, and public safety. Due to the Vanport Flood and red lining in the Albina neighborhood, African Americans found affordable single-family housing in the Sabin Neighborhood, as well as, other cultures and working class communities. The Sabin neighborhood has a rich and diverse history.

Vernon

Vernon has changed drastically and is one of the most gentrified neighborhoods. In the 90s, it was a predominantly Black neighborhood and Vernon Elementary was a Title 1 school, which it is no longer classified as so. There are many narratives about the conditions and safety of the neighborhood. It has been described as low income, Black, drug affiliated, unsafe, and violent. It was home to many African Americans. A place to be free, attend church, hang out with family and friends, shop at the local black corner store, and create a livable community with one’s neighbors. We do not want to discredit the stories about there being drugs in the community. That is truth. What is questionable is safety. Who didn’t feel safe?

Woodlawn

Woodlawn was a predominantly Black neighborhood with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. It has a similar narrative to the Vernon neighborhood: drugs, violence (gangs), and considered unsafe depending on the person being asked. Prior to being a “Black” neighborhood it was considered a farm area and became a neighborhood during the Civil War.

Community Assets:

Station 14 primarily serves elders, some who are without community, from different cultural backgrounds, and have chronic illness. It is best to share organizations that align with Station 14’s work and has the ability to partner with the goal to increase low-acuity calls.

 Northeast Health Center would be a great partnership with Fire Station 14. The station sees some clients routinely regarding various health concerns. Instead of contacting PF&R, maybe clients could build a relationship with the health clinic and use their services.

Blueprint for Success 11

is a city-recognized encampment of houseless individuals living in the Sunderland neighborhood. They are a peaceful group and could serve a temporarily or permanently model for how to assist individuals who are living on the streets. Having one location where housless people live is very helpful for Tremaine’s work. During an interview, Tremaine shared that they had difficulties following up with houseless individuals because they do not have anaddress. If they are in one location, he can connect with them and share resources that can improve their lives.

 Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit that serves hot and nutritious meals at dozen dining centers in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties and to homebound seniors. Meals on Wheels People was selected as an interviewee because early conversations with Station 14 identified homebound seniors as a higher risk population in the FMA. Meals on Wheels People have the ability to provide meals to homebound seniors in the FMA.

 Self Enhancement Inc. (SEI) is a multiservice agency that primary serves Portland’s African American community through advocacy, support groups, and case management services. The organization could possibly assist Station 14 with cultural trainings and/or connect with the African Americans they serve.

Urban Form

Landscape

FMA 14 has a diverse landscape. Moving south to north in the image to the left, one can see Alameda Ridge forming a step-up to a high plateau, which is where the majority of the residential and commercial activities are. Then one can see a step down to the river developing where the US- 30 Bypass or Lombard Street is. This gentle sloping landscape continues to the Columbia River to the North.

Blueprint for Success 12

Transportation

FMA 14 has a diverse mix of transportation features. The roadway networks include two state routes, US-30B and US -99E, known as Lombard Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd respectively. The bikeway network features two east-west and one north-south neighborhood greenway supported by a grid of bike friendly neighborhood streets. The transit network features four frequent service routes as defined by 15-minute or better service throughout most of the day. Three additional routes running every 30 minutes or better support these routes.

Blueprint for Success 13 Zoning

FMA 14 contains land zoned for a wide range of uses. Again moving south to north, one sees residential zoning leading to a commercial zoning strip at the . Then zoning for more dense residential uses is centered on the commercial and light industrial corridor of Killingsworth. Then to the north, residential zones return until the industrial and recreational zones appear in the low lands toward the river.

Blueprint for Success 14

Blueprint for Success 15 Land Use

The building stock of FMA 14 largely follows the underlying zoning patterns with residential and commercial on the plateau and industrial buildings in the low lands toward the river.

Blueprint for Success 16 in FMA 14

Portland has remained in a Housing State of Emergency, since being declared by Portland City Council in October 2015. Affordable housing is a scarce resource, benefiting some of Portland’s most vulnerable citizens. NE Portland has one of the highest concentration of affordable housing in the Portland metro area, and Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. (PCRI) is the largest provider of permanent affordable housing in FMA 14. PCRI is a nonprofit with a mission of managing and expanding affordable housing, and providing services for economic mobility. PRCI acquired the majority of their housing units

This map depicts the location of affordable housing in FMA 14. The color of dot distinguishes specific affordable housing provider, dot size indicates number of unit on site. Source: Metroscape

Blueprint for Success 17 (pictured in purple dots on map) during the 1990’s, following the collapse for the predatory lender, Dominion Capital Inc.2 PCRI operates primarily a “scattered sites” model, with numerous buildings under 5 units. All residents have access to the organizational support services, such as financial education and asset development (for example, future homeownership).

Home Forward, the City of Portland’s Housing Authority operates the large scale, Humboldt Gardens (5033 N Vancouver Avenue), which a combination of 130 flats, townhomes, and . Human Solutions (a nonprofit), is contracted to provide support services. Albina Head Start provides services targeting early child development in low-income children in the FMA. Additional community development corporations (CDCs) or affordable housing developers/providers in FMA 14 include: REACH CDC (Walnut Park at 5272 NE 6th Ave), Sabin CDC (1488 NE Alberta St), and Hacienda CDC (Villa de Suenos at 6518 NE Killingsworth St.) Collaborating with CDCs could be a direct method of reaching a wide geography of vulnerable community members in the FMA.

Housing Choice Voucher(s) is a federal program that subsidizes the cost of an otherwise market rate unit, to a degree that is affordable (⅓ of renter’s income) for a low-income community member. The voucher travels with the resident, so there is not a reliable method of identifying where program participants are living in the FMA. Multnomah County had 9,013 housing choice vouchers in 2015 or 56 percent of the total 15,978 vouchers in the four county Portland metro.3 In November 2016, the affordable townhomes, Endelea Court, at 2679 NE Killingsworth St. (operated by Sabin CDC) caught fire due to arson. Four of the six townhomes were destroyed. All four families escaped safely.4 This was an illustration for the strongest correlate of fire prediction is the degree of rent burden in a socially vulnerable resident. Nineteen percent of rental households in FMA 14 experience rent burden, compared with 53.4 percent in Multnomah County.

Image of Endelea Court affordable townhomes, which burned due to arson. Image taken during the post-fire reconstruction period.

Blueprint for Success 18 Future affordable housing has a strong probability of being constructed along corridors, opposed to within neighborhoods adjacent to single-family homes. This is in alignment with the City of Portland, Comprehensive Plan, concentrating future growth along corridors. PCRI is in the process of developing a multi-unit project called King + Parks that will be representative of this future growth, located at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Rosa Parks Way. Portland has an inclusionary zoning policy5 that mandates affordable units to be included in any development that exceeds 20 or more units. This will result in low-income tenants interspersed with market rate tenants. Development requirements supporting affordable housing can also be dedicated to a fee in-lieu. The means that funds will be dedicated to building traditional affordable housing off-site like the King + Parks project in the area where the market rate project is also being developed. Similar to the utilization of Housing Choice Vouchers, it is important to be mindful that new construction does not automatically indicate socially vulnerable community member are absent within.

The State of in FMA 14

This chart displays the percentage of people experiencing homelessness by area of Multnomah County, during the 2015 and 2017 Point in Time Counts. FMA 14 is captured in Inner NE Portland and Central NE Portland. Source: Multnomah County Point in Time Count Report 2017; Portland State University

Blueprint for Success 19 Per federal standards, a biannual Point in Time (PIT) Count is conducted of all people in either in a temporary shelter, temporary housing, or completely unsheltered. The geography of the count is the entirety of Multnomah County. The unsheltered Point in Time Count revealed that NE Portland had an increase from 8.2 percent of the total count in 2015 to 11.8 percent in 2017. This was the third highest rate in the county, outside of Downtown/Old Town and SE Portland areas, where is there is a higher concentration of human service providers. Central NE Portland remained nearly unchanged at 2.6 percent in 2015 and 2.5 percent respectively.

As of November 2018, FMA 14 only has one temporary shelter that is based at Native American Youth Authority (NAYA). A new seasonal shelter will open winter 2018 at the Multnomah County owned Walnut Park Complex (5329 NE MLK Jr Blvd). The shelter will serve, men, women, and couples over the age of 18; with a special focus on serving veterans, people with disabilities, and those over 55 years of age. Transition Projects will be contracted to operate the shelter. Participants must be referred to the shelter, and will be able to store belongings; this will diminish the visibility of people queing to receive services.

This chart displays the percentage of key populations, disaggregated during the

Point in Time Unsheltered Count. Note the 50 percent decrease in African Americans counted between 2015 and 2017. Source: Multnomah County Point in Time Count 2017.

Blueprint for Success 20 Reflective of the displacement and neighborhood effects of gentrification in NE Portland, the African American key population percentage of those unsheltered was at 21 percent in the 2015 PIT, far higher than the key populations’ representation in the Portland (6 percent), and even the FMA (14 percent). This number decreased to 10.1 percent in 2017, following increased public resources deployed to meet this inequity. An example of public sector resources deployed in a restorative practice is the N/NE Housing Strategy. Former residents of the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area (such as the area along Alberta) are eligible for public sector financed housing resources (like down payment assistance) to return to the community.

The map displays the One Point of Contact Homeless Campsites in FMA 14 from 9/22/18 - 9/29/18. Data is reported by citizens and frontline professionals. Types of camps are distinguished by a pink dots (vehicle) and black dots (campsite). Source: One Point of Contact Reports

Between July 28, 2018 and October 13, 2018 there where a total of 56 reported campsites in FMA 14. Nineteen of the campsites where conventional tent campsites, and 37 were people living in vehicles. This is a ratio of ⅔ vehicular campsites, compared with ⅓ conventional tent camping associated with homelessness. During the 2017 Point in Time Count (PIT), vehicular camping accounted for 15 percent of those counted. The maps depicts the peak number of camps in a single week at 7 total (during the period of September 23rd through September 29). Campsites were concentrated around green spaces, such as Fernhill Park, large, busy streets like N Lombard, and remote, less populated locations such as

Blueprint for Success 21

Sunderland.

Other West Coast cities with large unhoused populations, such as Seattle and Los Angeles, are also seeing an emerging trend of increased vehicular homelessness. To meet the need, the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles allows Veterans (who are overrepresented among the unhoused population) to stay in their parking lot overnight This provides a safe place to sleep and an efficient location for human services delivery.

This map displays a City Campsite Map from 9/23/2018- 9/30/18. This map displays neighboring FMAs to contrast the number of reported campsites that 11 week. Source: One Point of Contact Reports

The image City Campsite Map from 9/23/2018- 9/30/18 depicts the peak period of FMA 14 (bounded in red lines), in relation to other reported campsites in other FMAs in the City of Portland that same week. This is representative of the proportion of reported camps in FMA 14, which has fewer campers on average compared to other FMAs citywide. Dignity Village, Portland’s original “homeless village,” is located in the Sunderland neighborhood. The Village model provides individualized, transitional shelter, usually in the form of a tiny home. Dignity Village, , and other villages accounted for 6 percent of those counted in the 2017 PIT. This low cost, quickly implementable, village model of temporary shelter, is an innovative response to the Homeless State of Emergency. Station 14 has an establish relationship with members of Dignity Village.

Blueprint for Success 22

Fire Risk Vulnerability & Social Vulnerability

Utilizing Johnathan Jay’s research and data, the below map summarizes the top 10 percentile of properties with the greatest fire risk in Fire Management Area 14 - Alberta Park. The western portion of the FMA is at higher risk of fire according to this model. The most eastern boundary lights up as well. The portion of the FMA south of NE Fremont Street and Sunderland neighborhood to the north appears to be at much lower risk, but we suspect this is due to industrial buildings not being included in Jay’s methodology.

Estimated risk by location

Estimated risk by location: Properties with the highest Fire Prediction in FMA 14 are shown in red. Data source: Johnathan Jay.

Blueprint for Success 23

FMA 14 Summary of Call Types

In summarizing call types, most categories saw a slight increase year over year from FY2016 to FY2017. Medical aid makes up 67 percent of all calls, while fire only comprises seven percent of all calls. This is a consistent trend across all Fire Management Areas in Portland and is the primary driving force for PF&R to revolutionize its approach to addressing threats to health in the community.

Repeat callers

We heard from fire fighters in our FMA that they conduct repeat calls to the same individuals. We wanted to see if this pattern would be discernable in the call data as well. In the graph below are the top 15 callers for FMA 14. The highest caller on the graph below called 60 times, and the lowest caller on the graph called 10 times over the course of two years. Several of the sites are not surprising. For example, FMA 14 has a Kidney Dialysis Center that they assist often. Other sites are simply centers of activity, such as Safeway and the McMenamins Kennedy School. The five bars in blue, however, are personal residences. These five residences represent 43 calls per year.

Top 15 Callers FY2016-17 and FY2017-18

Addressing top 5 chronic residential callers could result in a reduction of 43 calls per year. Data source: Portland Fire & Rescue.

Blueprint for Success 24

FMA 14 Social Vulnerability Index

The Center for Disease Control defines Social Vulnerability as factors that decrease a community’s resiliency in the event of a disaster. CDC states the SVI is a ranking of each tract on 15 social factors, including poverty, lack of vehicle access, and crowded housing, and groups them into four related themes. Tracts then are assigned an overall ranking and a ranking for each theme. The chart below shows Social Vulnerability Index for FMA 14, based on data provided by Portland Fire & Rescue. An SVI z-score that is zero indicates an area is more vulnerable on average than half of the tracts in the study area. As SVI approaches 1.0, an area is the more vulnerable on average than all of the tracts in the study area.

Census tracts in FMA 14 are relatively less social vulnerability compared to other census tracts in Portland. Three census tracts that do not follow this pattern and are more vulnerable include Concordia, Cully, Sunderland, and Woodlawn. Comparing the fire prediction model and SVI, we don’t see a distinct relationship between the two. Cully and Concordia census tracts both appear to have high vulnerability and high fire prediction, but King also appears to be high for fire prediction and has an SVI score of -.36. Sunderland, which has an SVI score of .25 again doesn’t match up with fire prediction because industrial uses are not considered in the model. We might be able to identify a correlation with additional geographic analysis.

Blueprint for Success 25

The Fire Prediction and Social Vulnerability Index are measures that can help Portland Fire & Rescue identify effective potential interventions along the socio-ecological model of community health. As an example, if we identify environmental factors that have a correlation with fire prediction, we could recommend environmental interventions.

Next steps for assessing fire risk and social vulnerability could include additional spatial analysis. By bringing together fire risk, social vulnerability, call volumes, and the built environment, PF&R could gain further insight into patterns of call history and call type. This insight could inform where PF&R – or a partnering service provider – could help provide resources to decrease call volumes.

Blueprint for Success 26

This document intends not only to explore the “existing conditions” of Station 14’s FMA, but how these conditions will effect fire maintenance and safety, as well as future public health outcomes. The data sources were chosen because they are reputable and widely utilized benchmarks or because they are Portland specific.

Livability and Walk, Bike & Transit Scores

Station 14’s FMA serves the King, Sabin, Alameda, Concordia, Sunderland, Woodlawn and Vernon neighborhoods. Understanding the livability benchmarks, gives insight into how cohesive communities are, their overall health and possible risk factors for fire. As John Jay’s research shows, the health of a community gives us key information about fire risk. Walk score, bike score, transit score, crime statistics, and “placemaking” all play roles in making communities livable. Another dimension of livability is tied to gentrification in that the more livable an area gets, the more economic pressures there are pushing out the populations who lived there before.

Portland has a walk score of 65, transit score of 51, “good transit”, and a #2 in the nation bike score of 81, “very bikeable”. Within most of the FMA, the walk score heat map (1) shows that walkability is even higher, suggesting that the FMA as a whole is extremely walkable. In addition, inner northeast Portland was the only area whose livability scores did not go down in the City of Portland’s 2016 survey. (2) There is much bike infrastructure in the FMA, including the “bicycle highway” along Going St., and transit is available and functioning well. This means that as more people move here, they will be attracted by bicycle infrastructure causing there to be more pedestrians and cyclists interacting with cars, and thus more accidents.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation, PBOT, has implemented policy concerned with placemaking and livability in its “Portland Livable Streets” Program which was adopted by city council in 2017. Essentially a response to the fact that our cities are designed around streets for cars, this program acknowledges that it is essential to reclaim for the community, or make multi-purpose, those spaces which have previously been only for cars. The walking, biking and transit scores for the FMA’s neighborhoods do seem to truly reflect the goals set out in the Livable Streets Transportation StrategyPlan, which prioritizes investing first in walking, then biking, then transit and lastly in infrastructure for single occupancy vehicles. For PF&R this means that accommodation for firetrucks will remain low on the priority list. Adapting alternative routes and possibly some form of a smaller responding vehicle may be important to PF&R’s success in the future. Gentrification will probably reduce

Blueprint for Success 27

the risk of fire in Station 14’s FMA. However, the farther out populations are pushed, the less infrastructure is there to serve them and it while it may not be Station 14 who will have to deal with those calls, some other station will. It’s important to be mindful of this so that PF&R can use tactics that don’t simply move problems, but address underlying structural issues.

Placemaking

Placemaking is addressed in the 2035 comprehensive plan which creates goals for “livable streets” that address public rights-of-way, flexible infrastructure design, and repurposing of street space for tree canopy and community recreation. Placemaking activities, which blur the traditional lines between utilitarian and recreational spaces are ultimately healthy for a community, but in the near term may represent a point of collision of interests where human health might be affected. For example, making streets more attractive for people to hang out in may increase the number of pedestrian vs auto incidents.

PBOT’s second goal for Portland Livable Streets program is the “equitable geographic distribution of placemaking projects.” To this end it funds community projects and grants permits for community events in neighborhoods across Portland. The map below shows placemaking activities in the FMA. The Alberta Art’s District hosts one of the most famous Portland Street Fairs, “Last Thursday”, and the map shows considerable block partying and intersection painting. [for visually impaired: the central and northwestern section of the map shows the most placemaking activity, although there are dots throughout the whole FMA] Clearly, there is much placemaking happening in the FMA, suggesting that Station 14 serves an overall very livable section of Portland. If Station 14 is to put effort into improving the conditions of their community, they might want to be aware of current placemaking activities so they can become involved with them. Or alternately, they may want to strategically focus their efforts elsewhere in the FMA, where more change is needed.

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Placemaking Activity in The FMA

From PBOT’s Livable Streets Strategy

Report (4)

Blueprint for Success 29

Sunderland: FMA Outlier

The FMA has one neighborhood, Sunderland,that stands out as different from the rest and where a small food desert does exist. The area between Colombia Blvd and the river, from around 20th – 55th Ave east to west, demarcates the area Fire Station 14 serves.

Here it is much more industrial than the rest of the FMA. It also has a much lower population density than the rest of the FMA and, interestingly, highly unusual sex distribution. The population here is overwhelmingly male, while the rest of the FMA is demographically split around 50/50 between sexes. While mostly industrial, there are residential neighborhoods along Lombard and Colombia Blvd. These corridors are identified as high crash streets. This area is also identified as a low income census tract where a significant number of residents are more than a mile from a supermarket, making it the only food

Blueprint for Success 30 desert in the FMA. [for visually impaired: the food desert is located north of Lombard Blvd.] It’s likely that the majority of medical calls in this area will be for males who are either industrial workers, low income, or both. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are more persistent problems associated with homelessness that will need special attention here, especially in comparison to the rest of the FMA

Food Desert In The FMA

The USDA’s Food Access Research shows Sunderland’s food desert (5).

Rising Rents

The Albina neighborhood in NE Portland historically was home to the most African American residents and is notorious for its history of gentrification. While Station 14’s FMA is close to this historically black neighborhood which is now gentrified, it is mostly east; only one portion of the King neighborhood is actually part of the historic Albina neighborhood. The Woodlawn neighborhood, which is squarely in the FMA, is quite diverse and has a large African American population compared to the rest of Portland. [for visually impaired: the Average Black Household map is totally dark in color, while Average White Household shows variation].

Blueprint for Success 31 The Alberta Arts district (made up of portions of King and Sabin) has, however, suffered “retail gentrification”, in which many black business owners were pushed out, resulting in a change in demographics of business owners along Alberta.

Compared to the rest of Portland, Station 14’s FMA is not currently at risk for gentrification and is not as gentrified as neighborhoods directly to the east and west. However, there is much debate over its gentrification status and we may be seeing signs of gentrification due to the fact that many renters are rent burdened. Housing is considered unaffordable when renters are rent burdened, that is, they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Using the “MLK-Alberta” area from Portland Housing Bureau’s 2017 report as an indicator for the FMA, rent here is affordable for the white and Asian populations while almost every other demographic is rent burdened. Housing for Latinos, Blacks, Native Americans, elders, those foreign born and single mothers, is not considered affordable for almost all units. Importantly, no units- none at all- are considered affordable for Black and Native American residents. This is a key factor which hinders livability for minority, non-traditional and elderly residents.

Again, since we know gentrification will ultimately push these population out, our services directed at them may need to be tailored. If there are hoarders or elderly people unable to maintain their properties, not only could our response attempt to find them resources to help them stay, but could also provide a context for why these individuals show such extreme behaviors. Knowing it is a normal response to loss of community may help put these calls in context so that firefighters can respond with empathy.

Overall, the FMA is mostly residential, and not only that, it is a good place to live. With many amenities, transit and much placemaking activity, much of the FMA is white, educated and well-to-do. Portland is growing, and this FMA will become home to many more people in the coming years. Looking to the future, in an attempt to address these issues, the Residential Infill Project (RIP) will likely be approved by 2020. RIP will change rules that govern what can be built in the FMA’s residential neighborhoods. Focusing on narrow lots, the scale of and more housing options, RIP will allow a smaller ratio of lot size to home size and create more density in neighborhoods. These new shapes, sizes and patterns of growth will be of interest to PF&R and could possibly affect the spread of fire from building to building, the speed of burn, and traditional patterns of burn inside a residence. More density will inevitably add to Station 14’s responsibility, while new construction will also increase the amount of people living in residential buildings that are up to modern fire code. The social issues of added density and rising socioeconomics will continue to increase, while the infrastructure and fire risk issues in the FMA will continue to decline. Persistent issues of elderly residents and homelessness will need to be continually addressed.

Blueprint for Success 32

III. Key Informant Interviews

Our group had the opportunity to interview Clay Veka with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Mary Li with Multnomah County’s Multnomah Idea Lab (MIL) program, a firefighter from Station 14, Tremaine Clayton with PF&R, and a Coordinator with Meals from Wheels People. All interviewees discussed the need for collaboration and services for seniors, which are areas we will discuss further below.

Our goal was to interview as many individuals as possible. We sent several requests to about twenty people working for a governmental agency or organizations in our FMA to interview. Unfortunately, we did not interview a community member and/or someone who has used PF&R services. Thankfully, the majority of us went on a ride-along and had an opportunity to see what some clients in the FMA needed and possible programs that could improve their lives. In the future, we would prioritizing community members to ensure we capture their voices and programs they could use instead of 911 for low-acuity calls.

Overview of interview approach:

Interviewer Interviewee Date Note taker

Matthew Cramer Mary Li, Multnomah 11/5 Sarah Bermudez Idea Lab

Briana Orr Clay Veka, Portland 11/14 N/A - recorded Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)

Tim Martinez *Firefighter at Station 11/17 N/A - recorded 14

Janine Gates Tremaine Clayton, 11/20 N/A recorded

Blueprint for Success 33

PF&R Community Health Manager

Matthew Cramer *Meals on Wheels 11/28 Matthew People, Client Services Coordinator

* Individuals did not want to be identified by name. We will refer to them as Firefighter14 and CSC.

Explanation of the organizations:

We interviewed Clay Veka with PBOT’s Vision Zero team. Vision Zero is PBOT’s goal is to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries, and it was adopted as a program and policy by City Council in 2015. Vision Zero takes a safe systems approach to looking at traffic safety, focusing on reducing speed and other dangerous behaviors. They already work closely with PF&R to ensure emergency routes allow support PF&R’s ability to quickly and safely arrive to clients.

Mary Li with Multnomah County’s Multnomah Idea Lab (MIL) was an amazing person to interview. MIL promotes wealth creation for low income people to advance racial equity. They project manage and provide technical assistance to relevant public sector and nonprofit organizations to advance their mission. We spent over twenty hours with Station 14 and believed it was important to interview a firefighter, who understood the changes and makeup of the FMA and could offer insight. Firefighter14, who is the firefighter we interviewed, has worked at the Station for 13 years.

It was important for us to chat with Tremaine Clayton, who is the Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT) Manager at PF&R. The goal of this program is to decrease 911 utilization, improve health outcomes of clients, connect high-utilizers with social services that are equipped with the resources and knowledge to better serve them.

Lastly, we interviewed CSC, who is the Meals on Wheels People, Client Services Coordinator. Meals on Wheels People is a nonprofit that serves hot and nutritious meals at dozen dining centers in Multnomah, Washington, and Clark counties and to homebound seniors. Meals on Wheels People was selected as an interviewee because early conversations with Station 14 identified homebound seniors as a higher-risk population in the FMA. Meals on Wheels People have the ability to provide meals to homebound seniors in the FMA.

Blueprint for Success 34 Summary of Interviews

Our interviewees had similar things to share with us. Each interviewee discussed the importance of seniors and possible collaborations between Station 14 and organizations located in our FMA. There were no disagreements or misunderstandings of what is needed to improve the health of seniors in our FMA. Each interviewee had a great understanding of the PF&R’s roles were historically and currently. We focused on two themes, which were vulnerable communities and collaboration because those were the themes mentioned during the interviews. There is a section titled “noteworthy” because Firefighter14 offered information that was not expressed by other interviewees.

Vulnerable communities in FMA 14:

Overall, there is a concern for seniors in our FMA, which aligns with the data and PR&F’s beliefs about our station. Station 14 primarily serves seniors, who are lonely and need human connection, experiencing chronic illnesses, and need assistance with their personal needs, such as plumbing, changing batteries in a remote, and other “non-emergency” needs. We gathered this information during our station visits, talking to firefighters, analyzing the call data information, and talking with Tremaine.

Tremaine shared that elderly individuals are a vulnerable population in our FMA and they are not necessarily individuals he assists. He primarily works with houseless individuals. Over and over, we heard that elders in our FMA are without community and Tremaine believes that is “connected to their health outcomes.” A unique comment from Tremaine was, “older people that are living in the FMA are African Americans. They are getting older and starting to suffer from chronic health problems.” He also shared that some elders in the community have difficulty receiving PF&R’s assistance due to the lack of cultural connection. Tremaine offered a valuable solutions, including the importance of firefighters “building community and trying to relate to every client.” This is something that is currently happening at Station 14. Firefighters at the station attends over thirty community events yearly, interact with individuals at Safeway while shopping for their meals, and individuals from the community visits the firefighters often. The purposes of building a relationship with the residents in Station 14 are to assist with reducing calls and understanding clients, which has the ability to reduce low-acuity calls.

CSC primarily serves seniors through Meal on Wheels People and they perfectly captured and explained seniors hoarding, which is a concern of Tremaine’s and Station 14’s. Recently, there was a fire in our FMA at the home of an elderly couple who were hoarders. When PF&R arrived to their home, there were too many boxes and materials for the firefighters to rescue the husband who was home at the time. It was believed that if there was less stuff in the home, the person could have been saved. CSC discussed a

Blueprint for Success 35 hoarder experience with a client vividly: “A woman living in a mobile home was the hoarder. Her mobile home was filled floor to ceiling with just an aisle to reach the bedroom.” As a Gatekeeper, CSC reported the case to Adult Protective Services (APS). APS interacted with the woman before and decided to not further investigate due to their previous inspection. Previously, “Elders in Actions had a program to remove hoarding materials from seniors’ homes. This program has been discontinued. It was an expensive program to deliver, which was cited as a potential reason for it being discontinued (CSC).” This type of initiative is needed to assist hoarders, especially since hoarding can cause life or death for clients. If there is too much stuff in a person’s home that can cause difficulty for firefighters. Maybe the cleanup program could return as a volunteer operated initiative or receiving funding from multiple agencies. The program has the ability to assist PF&R with saving hoarders when entering their homes. Hoarders experiencing fires are not the only concern of Station 14. Station 14 has visited homes for medical needs and had difficulty accessing a client due to hoarding and/or had to assist patients outside of the home, due to safety concerns or lack of space to properly treat the person.

Collaboration:

Mary Li with MIL works closely with seniors and believes PF&R could be “gatekeepers for seniors in the community.” The Gatekeeper Program identifies, refers, and responds to at-risk seniors and people with disabilities to resources in the community. A gatekeeper is the person who comes into contact with a senior in need and connects them to the appropriate resource. This program is operated by Multnomah County. Mary Li and CSC would like PF&R to become gatekeepers and connect seniors in the FMA to the County Helpline for follow-up assessment and service delivery. If PF&R or Station 14 is interested in becoming a gatekeeper, they can take a training with Multnomah County. This would be amazing, especially if PF&R does not have the resources to follow up or provide solutions for additional problems they see in a client’s home. A nonprofit may have the ability to provide the necessary services to ensure the client is safe and protected in their home and understand the resources that are readily available to them. Lastly, Mary also shared, “people on low income are always on the receiving end, but are never at the planning or policy tables. They need to be there. What would make their lived experience better, and then doing what they shared”. This is extremely important, especially when an organization is trying to change systems and/or how they operate. This could benefit Fire Station 14 because they could directly hear from their clients about their needs and this type of partnership has the ability to reduce health related and other non-fire calls.

Clay Veka Vision from Zero, Clay discussed pedestrians as they relate to seniors in our FMA.

Blueprint for Success 36 “This year, we have seen a tremendous spike in the age of pedestrians who are being killed in traffic collisions. I want to say the average age is 65 or 70 on Portland streets this year. Part of it is baby boomers getting older, but it is a lot more than that.” What was surprising to learn is that most pedestrian deaths are at traffic signals and while the driver is making a left turn. Clay suggested we lower traffic speeds because “people can stop more easily before a crash occurs. And older adults move slowly and getting across the street takes more time. By bringing speeds down around the city, that’s a critical part.” During the developing stages of Vision Zero, PBOT started a task force and from the beginning of its creation, PF&R has been an active member. This important that PF&R is on the task force because street designs and changes directly impact their work. If PBOT lowers the speed or add speed bumps that has the potential to create a burden or benefit PF&R. “PF&R has been in particular a really steadfast partner, and I think that has been partly from a directive from Chief Meyers, who has clearly embraced Vision Zero and eliminating traffic deaths.”

Deputy Chief Don Russ serves on the Vision Zero task Force. “With Portland Fire & Rescue, we also coordinated quite a lot on their education and outreach efforts. Some of the specific things we’ve done with PF&R is to develop joint materials that are Vision Zero focused, but with PF&R logos and language embedded that they take to all of their outreach events. They’ve really embraced Vision Zero as one of their talking points with their community members. Whether it’s taking a truck to a neighborhood block party or tabling at a community events – another way we’ve partnered early on ” It is important that partnership exists, especially as pedestrian deaths are increasing in our FMA. “There is tension regarding how to design streets that are beneficial for pedestrians and efficient and easy to navigate for PF&R.” however Clay felt that PF&R and PBOT have a great working relationship.

Firefighter14 did not explicitly mention that PBOT should partner with PF&R. They discussed that there is an increase in bicycle collisions in the FMA. They said, cyclists “don’t stop at the stop sign, they don’t obey those laws, they ride how it’s convenient for them. One minute they follow the rules of the road like an automobile then next minute they want to use the bike lane, the next minute they’re hopping up on the curb and riding on the sidewalk. That being said, I see the same thing with cars. Cars are doing a lot more of the quote-unquote “California” stops. You know, they’re rolling right through.” Education is certainly a part of Vision Zero, but it is unlikely the behavior Firefighter14 is describing is resulting in an increase in serious injuries and fatalities in the FMA. Speeding is the number one cause of serious injuries and fatalities, followed by impaired driving. While Vision Zero mentions PF&R is a great outreach partner, this sentiment shows that there is more opportunity to educate PF&R on the tenants of Vision Zero.

Blueprint for Success 37 Based on our interviews, there was a clear understanding that Firefighters’ jobs are to put out fires. That has changed. They are becoming medical providers and sometimes serving the same individual multiple times. During our interview with Firefighter14, we discussed repeater calls and the callers needed. As you read their thoughts, we hope you will understand how much Station 14 is thankful to be of service to repeated callers, especially ill clients. “Repeat callers, those with ongoing health issues that over time progress that leave them more vulnerable, weaker, less likely to be able to care for themselves. Some folks are lonely. We’ve gotten those calls where it’s just been a while. (Some) frequent callers either can’t do for themselves.” We believe that individuals who repeatedly call regarding their health would greatly benefit from a Tremaine/CHAT program.

In summary, Vision Zero plans to continue to partner with PF&R with the goal to create safe streets for seniors and PF&R’s trucks. Also, Meals on Wheels People and Multnomah Idea Lab are extremely interested in partnering with PF&R and Station 14. They believe that firefighters should serve as gatekeepers and connect their senior clients with resources in the FMA. This could save PF&R and Fire Station 14 time and money, as well as, build stronger connections with nonprofits and clients in the area.

Noteworthy information:

During our interview with Firefighter14, they mentioned important details that we believe are worth sharing. They are directly serving the clients in the FMA and we thought it may be helpful for the administration at PF&R to understand a perspective from a firefighter. It is important to note that this is one opinion out of 11 firefighters opinion. More of firefighters’ thoughts will be mentioned in our workshop sections. Robyn from PF&R expressed interest in the difference between Station 14 and the other stations in the city. Firefighter14 shared the following information about their FMA, “our FMA is very diverse in what it has to offer. We go from, on the south end, NE Fremont to Columbia River. And then about 60 blocks east to west, so it’s a big FMA and we have everything from residential neighborhoods to commercial occupancies, industrial, water, airport, kind of everything pretty much under the sun.” He also shared that they and their colleagues value their community and the people they serve. “The neighborhood was completely different [historically], but no matter what the neighborhood makeup was, we’ve always been treated great by the public. You know, we drive down the road and people will honk and wave and, you know, they’ve always really liked us, and we get to know our neighbors. We get to know the people we go on regularly. Or even if we, you know, somewhat infrequently, we tend to remember addresses or people, so when we meet them we’re like “hey”, you know, like this morning we were on a call to a gentleman, and we kind of recognized it. We realized we hadn’t been there in a few years, but we asked him, we said “haven’t we been here?” and he said “yeah!”,

Blueprint for Success 38 so that kind of brings a sense of security and more comfort to them.” This is really important to note about Station 14. They truly value their clients and the neighborhood they serve. During our visits and ride-alongs, we learned that the Firefighters saw each client as a human and really had a vested interest in providing the best care to every client that needs them. Station 14 feels like home to many of the community members (individuals are always stopping by and bringing treats by) and the firefighters really enjoy working at the station and with one another.

An interesting fact about the Station is that they are known “for the maintenance and the care that we put into our facility – our rig number one. No matter when this was running thousands a calls per year, fires all the time and everything else, the guys always found time to work on the rig, and it was always the showpiece to the point when there are dignitaries or whatever that would come in from out of state, and they wanted to show off the bureau they would bring them here to 14’s.” Each of us heard them discuss inspection day with the Chief and how they take pride in that day and keeping their Station extremely clean. We’ve witnessed them clean the station during every visit. Overall, the firefighters at Station 14 take pride in their work,

Lastly, it is noteworthy to mention that the Firefighters at Station 14 are always trying to relate to their clients, “You try to act professional at first. But, the more you can break it down on a personal level, you know, if someone has children and they keep calling about their children, and they’re worried and you can talk to them more from a parent standpoint as well as being the professional and giving them that information, you calm them down – all the way to the elderly community, you know, treating them like they’re your own.” This speaks volume to the kind of the firefighters serving at Station 14. We cannot stress it enough - that the Firefighters at Station 14 really care about their clients and are part of the community. This is important because they are building trust with their clients and when it is time to implement a new initiative it will be easier to do so because of the bonds they have created.

Interviews and Existing Conditions Analysis:

Interestingly, our interview with the Firefighter14 made very few connections to anything that stood out in our existing conditions. This individual felt as if nothing in particular afflicted the FMA and that conditions that typically affect other stations apply, for instance, specific challenges surrounding the elderly, although this demographic is not particularly highly represented in the FMA. Not once was race mentioned as a factor in the FMA, which is 14% black, nearly 9% higher than in the rest of Portland.

Blueprint for Success 39

Reflections

Our group enjoyed interviewing each interviewee. We learned quite a bit about what is happening in our FMA and possible partnerships or program to decrease low-acuity calls. We agreed that more CHAT Coordinators are needed to serve repeated callers and individuals who call with a non-fire issue. We and the fighters at Station 14 appreciate Tremaine’s work. He is making a big difference for our FMA. While we had a diverse pool of candidates for interviews, we are missing the voices of community members - those who are directly calling the station. Unfortunately, we are not connected to anyone who has used Station 14’s services. In the future, we would seek that connection and try to build more time to connect with the community. With all that was assigned we ran out of time.

Blueprint for Success 40 IV. Strategy Sessions and Recommendations

During the process of developing viable strategies for implementing The Blueprint for Success in FMA 14, our team fully recognized that our existing conditions research could only inform a certain dimension of our approach. The involvement of Station 14 would be crucial both in their feedback, but more importantly in their own ideation and reshaping of our own community-based strategy proposals. We ultimately approached our strategy sessions in this collaborative style, hoping to arrive not only at some sound ideas, but also ideas that Station 14 staff might feel a sense of enthusiasm and ownership over.

In preparation for our strategy sessions across all shifts at Station 14, we performed research on existing or proposed programs and efforts around the nation (not necessarily within fire departments) that might have some relevance to FMA 14. We selected our proposed interventions based on their relevance to existing conditions in the FMA and our qualitatively deduced perspective informed by station visits, interviews, and research on the area. We also considered a variety of different levels of scalability, use of current resources, and time ranges needed. In presenting these strategies to Station 14, we sought to provide tangible, easily consumable visuals rather than exhaustive text to represent our potential strategies. Our aim was to solicit and capture thoughts and reactions to these various strategies in any form, not just binary approval or disapproval, which we felt would limit participation and provide only a superficial evaluation. A one page flyer was shared digitally (see Appendix A) with Captain Kelly the week before the workshops and was printed and shared during roll call. The timeline contained in the flyer was also placed in the presentation materials to ensure opportunities for feedback. We scheduled our strategy sessions at Station 14 in the common room/kitchen area. The design of the station, and the potential need for staff to have meals and easily depart on calls made this an ideal site. We determined that in order to provide sufficient continuity, we needed to schedule strategy sessions across three consecutive days, capturing A, B, and C shifts:

Session 1 (Shift A): Friday, November 16 at 2:00pm-4:00pm

Session 2 (Shift B): Saturday, November 17, 10:00am- 12:00pm

Blueprint for Success 41 Session 3 (Shift C): Sunday, November 18, 10:00am- 12:00pm

Roles:

Strategy session leads: Matthew Cramer, Sarah Bermudez, and Tim Martinez Primary note taker: Briana Orr

To clarify expectations for each two-hour session, we designed a short, easily digestible agenda to be printed off for each shift:

What will we accomplish today?

Agenda:

What is the Blueprint for Success?

Our research into the “Existing Conditions” of the FMA

Strategy ideas

5-10 min reflection

Feedback

Brainstorm!

Blueprint for Success 42

We also prepared an agenda for our own reference to help organize our efforts and provide clarity to all members of the Station 14 group:

1. Revisit central concepts of the Blueprint for Success and describe (visually and verbally) where we are in the process. Emphasize/reiterate concepts and the flow of “Innovate, Advocate, Partner.”

2. Present Social Vulnerability as a concept - how it applies to increases in calls. Interfacing with community is a KPI.

3. Present existing conditions

4. Present/pitch potential interventions

a. Near term low hanging fruit

i. Outreach materials: maximize existing strengths, produce targeted materials to reach vulnerable populations

ii. “More than a meal program”: potential Meals on Wheels partnership leading to wellness checks/relaying info to fire station for follow up, potential connection to services

iii. Safe Lots Program: Overnight car camping at churches/city property

iv. Event hosting: potential for hosting/leading community project events

b. Longer term admin buy-in, institutional change

i. Universal intake system - “one-stop-shop” treating individuals holistically

5. Allow time for processing/reflection/questions (10-15 minutes) Voting: color coded dot

voting/opportunity for sticky note comment to further qualify vote

6. Provide opportunity to co-design/open floor brainstorming

a. Blank sheet for additional ideas/concerns/comments

Blueprint for Success 43

Results: These images were taken during the voting and open-ended brainstorming session. Each proposed strategy was represented on a sheet of paper with a short description. Staff had the option of adding further comment for each specific strategy (seen here on the sticky notes). Next to the dot voting area, we provided one large blank sheet for additional ideas and brainstorming. After each session, we left the results up to provide a sense of continuity, collaboration, and to pique the following shift’s interest before their strategy session took place.

Synthesizing feedback:

We chose color coded dot voting in order to provide democratic, discrete feedback, capturing a variety of data points while producing relatively quantitative information. We tallied up dot votes and created a visual synthesis of the relative interest in the different strategies. We also coded the open-ended feedback and co-design notes we received throughout the strategy sessions, finding common themes, concerns, criticisms, and new ideas across all shifts. Thes eultimately informed our final strategy recommendations. The final results of the dot voting process resulted in the strong preference for two strategies, the Sunderland Safe Lots pilots program and the Wheels on Meals referral program:

Blueprint for Success 44

Recommendations

Based on these results and the overall brainstorming feedback we received, we recommend the following strategies we believe both resonate with Station 14 and are realistically achievable:

Partner & Innovate

Reevaluate and update Dispatch protocols with a lens for services that fall outside of Portland Fire and Rescue to respond to.

Key informant interviews, station level workshops, call analysis, and ride-alongs with Station 14, revealed the expansive diversity calls Portland Fire and Rescue currently responds to. Proximity to geological features such as the Columbia River, and diverse land uses within FMA 14 from the Portland International Airport to commercial Alberta Street, are drivers of diverse calls Station 14 inherently responds to. Portland Fire and Rescue has a mission of meeting emergency needs of

Blueprint for Success 45 the citizens of Portland. We recommend reevaluating, and where appropriate, updating dispatch protocols to create discretion for Dispatch to identify a call as outside of the services of Portland Fire and Rescue. The benefit being, increased availability to respond calls that can only be effectively responded to by Portland Fire and Rescue.

Example non-emergency call to reevaluate

Strategy:

Convene stakeholders to reevaluate and update Dispatch protocols with a lens for services that fall outside of Portland Fire and Rescue to respond to. Explore partnering with 211 to identify services their network of providers may be able to provide as an alternative to PF&R.

Who will lead this?

Portland Fire and Rescue Admin

Who else will help?

211, Station 14, Dispatch, citizens for user feedback

Partner

Establish a partnership with Meals on Wheels People that enables referrals between nutrition support and fire prevention services.

Meals on Wheels People is a nonprofit that serves gratuitous, hot, nutritious meals at dozen of dining centers in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties and Meals on Wheels service to homebound seniors. Meals on Wheels service to homebound seniors is one meal per day, delivered by volunteers. An income qualification criteria is not required to receive meals.

Blueprint for Success 46 Dr. Jay identified those over 65 of age to be at a higher fire risk. Key informant interviews described health issues seniors encounter such as, memory loss, may result in fire safety issues, such as leaving a stove on. A healthy diet may increase cognitive abilities in older adults.

Near term Strategy

Station 14 follows the above process to begin referring homebound, nutrition insecure seniors to Meals on Wheels People services.

Long term Strategy

Explore opportunities for MOWP staff and volunteers to notify Portland Fire and Rescue, when fire and other relevant issues are identified when delivering meals. MOWP staff and volunteers are trained as Gatekeepers, and are familiar with referral processes.

Who will lead this?

Fire Station 14

Who else will help?

Portland Fire and Rescue Admin & Meals on Wheels People

Partner, Advocate, & Innovate

Partner with Multnomah Idea Lab to explore how a

Safe Lots program may be piloted in Sunderland on

Blueprint for Success 47 City of Portland property, utilizing Human Centered

Design methods.

Between July 28, 2018 and October 13, 2018 there where a total of 56 reported homeless campsites in FMA 14. Nineteen of the campsites where tent campsites, and 37 were vehicles. This is a ratio of ⅔ vehicular camps, compared with ⅓ conventional tent camping associated with homelessness. People living out of their vehicles is an emerging trend, especially in west coast cities with rapid housing cost increases. Other communities have developed a response to this issue in the form of a “Safe Lots” program. A Safe Lots program creates a place for people living out of their vehicles to park, and receive services needed to regain stable housing.

During Station 22’s October 2018 Idea Launch, a group of citizens presented their idea for a Safe Lots program in FMA 14. The proposal (see appendix) is called “Sunderland Village” (site plan below). The proposed site is adjacent to Dignity Village, a comparable homeless transition model, and organization that Station 14 has a relationship with.

Strategy

Convene a team of project stakeholders (see below) to explore piloting the Sunderland Village proposal using Human Centered Design methods. If project viability is determined, launch, monitor, and evaluate pilot for replicability in other FMAs.

Who will lead this?

Portland Fire and Rescue Admin & Joint Office of Homeless Services

Blueprint for Success 48 Who else will help?

Multnomah Idea Lab, Station 14, PBOT, citizens who pitched Sunderland Village at Station 22 Idea Launch event, Dignity Village, and JOIN or another homeless services provider

Innovate

Foster relationships within PF&R through Admin Staff participating in ride-alongs with firefighters and CHAT. We recommend this because it is a bottom up approach, which allows Firefighters to feel seen and heard and gives Administrators a field experience from which to view PF&R policy.

Strategy:

PF&R Administrators will go on at least one ride-alongs every quarter.

Who will lead this?:

PF&R Administrative Staff

Who else will help?:

Fire Station 14

Blueprint for Success 49 Advocate

Advocate for Vision Zero

Strategy:

PBOT and PF&R already collaborate to achieve the City’s Vision Zero goals. In interviews with PBOT’s Vision Zero staff, PF&R firefighters could take this partnership a step further by being community advocates for Vision Zero principles. As first responders, PF&R can speak to the impact of speeding from both personal and professional experiences. Advocating for neighbors and residents to slow down when they drive could help PBOT shift the culture around driving to move more slowly and carefully. In addition, we heard a distinct disconnect between PF&R administrative staff -- who support and review PBOT’s traffic calming strategies -- and firefighters, who expressed less support for traffic calming.

Changing street designs and limiting vehicle access to improve safety is controversial. PF&R could play a larger role in voicing support for a changing landscape. Lead: PBOT

Support:PF&R

CHAT Program

Enhance and expand the CHAT Program

“Hire more Tremaines!”, we heard this over and over in our interviews with firefighters.

 In the 18 month CHAT pilot, 911 calls by clients were reduced by 50%.

 People in the High Utilizer Group (three or more calls a month) need a different type of “response time”. They need a length of attention that can not be given by PF&R responding to a 911 call. The pilot proved that CHAT care does ultimately reduce or end their status as “High Utilizers”.

 Having a full CHAT brigade will not only reduce calls, but may help reduce “compassion fatigue”.

Blueprint for Success 50

Strategy:

Create more Community Healthcare Manager positions focused on establishing a Community Health Brigade within PF&R’s Medical Services and Training Division. These crews will develop strategies to increase engagement in and delivery of appropriate healthcare to not only persons experiencing homelessness, but elders, hoarders, and others in the “High Utilizer” group. Crews will help highlight people who need that extra help and the CHAT Brigade will in turn brief the crews on the context of each client’s situation.

Who will lead this?: CHAT

Who else will help?: PF&R

Blueprint for Success 51 V. Evaluation & Monitoring

Portland Fire & Rescue publishes an Annual Performance Report with many Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relative to the basic operation of the Bureau. Many of these could possibly be indicators of success with the prevention of emergencies such as a reduction of all types of fires, a reduction in drug overdoses, a reduction of traffic incidents, or an increase in hours of community outreach/partnership activities. However, these measures are largely specific to the Bureau and may not speak to the health of the neighborhood.

Much of this data should be situated in the context of other data from the broader community. For example, an increase in traffic incidents relative to a dramatic increase in population would paint a different picture than simply an increase in traffic incidents alone. As outlined in the Blueprint for Success, several key factors have direct indication of potential for fire risk. Largely these fall along either the lines of the built environment or the welfare of the community that occupies this environment.

In the context of the built environment, a reduction of all types of fires or fire casualties might be all the more significant if the FMA saw additional trends such as a reduction in the number of serious injuries from traffic collisions as tracked through Vision Zero. Were additional miles of sidewalks, bike facilities, or transit introduced? These indicators measure the success of the Bureau or FMA in the context of the built environment of the community.

In the context of community health, low-acuity calls represent the direct impact to the Bureau of the status of the people of the FMA. However, as with the built environment, additional data about the community and its people may indicate progress on prevention. For many vulnerable groups it would be powerful to track their status. For example, a reduction in low-acuity calls and also an increase in Bureau hours spent on community outreach and partnerships such as Meals on Wheels could be compared against the educational attainment, income, rent burden, and employment of vulnerable groups such as seniors and minorities as available through census data. This also would paint a fuller picture of progress toward prevention.

In Planning theory there exists the concept of the triple bottom line - economy, environment, and equity. Broadening the KPIs of the Bureau or an FMA beyond the direct economic impact will allow the Bureau to recognize successes achieved in the community through strategies enacted by this project.

Blueprint for Success 52

Works Cited

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“2017 Point in Time count: More neighbors counted as homeless since 2015, but more sleeping off the streets,” Multnomah County, June 19, 2017. Accessed October 21, 2018. https://multco.us/multnomah- http://pdx.maps.arcgis.com/apps/TimeAware/index.html?appid=ac6a6abf1092482190984a5df9dfa cb0

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“Living in Portland”. Walk Score, www.walkscore.com/OR/Portland.

“One Point of Contact Campsite Reports,” City of Portland, mapping tool of reported homeless camps

“One Point of Contact Campsite Reports.” City of Portland, mapping tool of reported homeless camp

“PCRI Helps Displaced Residents into Permanent Homes.” PCRI. Last updated January 3, 2017. http://pcrihome.org/archives/4847

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Bodenner, Chris. “Gentrification in Portland: Residents and Readers Debate”. The Atlantic

Magazine. www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/08/albina/493793/. Aug 15th, 2016.

Center for Disease Control. “CDC's Social Vulnerability Index Factsheet.” https://svi.cdc.gov/factsheet.html. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018. Center for Disease Control.

Decker, D. (2018). Ask the historian: What’s in this neighborhood’s name? http://concordiapdx.org/2018/03/ask-the-historian-whats-in-this-neighborhoods-name/

Blueprint for Success 53 Decker, D. (2018). Ask the historian: What’s in this neighborhood’s name? http://concordiapdx.org/2018/03/ask-the-historian-whats-in-this-neighborhoods-name/

Decker, D. (2018). Ask the historian: What’s in this neighborhood’s name? http://concordiapdx.org/2018/03/ask-the-historian-whats-in-this-neighborhoods-name/

Dee Lane and Steve Mayes, “Consumers and state misled,” the Oregonian. Last modified Aug 24, 2014.https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/08/bank_redlining_creates_bluepr i.html

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Economic Research Service Atlas. Department of Agriculture, www.ers.usda.gov/data- products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx#.UUDJLTeyL28.

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Jay, Jonathan. “Predicting Property-Level Fire Risk in Portland, Oregon Using City Data & Machine Learning Methods: A Report to Portland Fire & Rescue Pursuant to Contract 30005931.” Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.

Libby Denkmann, “In LA, Homeless Vets Now Can Sleep In Their Cars At The VA,” KPBS. (June 12, 2018). Accessed October 21, 2018 https://www.kpbs.org/news/2018/jun/12/l-homeless- vets-now-can- sleep-their-cars-va/

Livable Streets Strategy Report. Portland Bureau of Transportation, www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/667260, p.23. Oct 25, 2017.

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Blueprint for Success 54 Sabin Community Association. http://www.sabinpdx.org/about.html

Sabin Neighborhood Planning Committee (1993). Adopted Sabin Neighborhood Plan http://www.sabinpdx.org/uploads/9/8/7/8/9878172/sabin_neighborhood_plan.pdf

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Sullivan, Daniel Monroe and Shaw, Samuel. “Retail Gentrification and Race: The Case of Alberta Street in Portland, Oregon”. Urban Affairs Review, DOI: 10.1177/1078087410393472. 2011.

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Vernal Coleman, “Annual homeless count reveals more people sleeping outside than ever before,” Seattle Times. (May 31, 2018). Accessed October 21, 2018 https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle- news/homeless/new- homeless-count-in-king-county-shows-spike-in-number-of-people-sleeping- outside/

Blueprint for Success 55 Appendix A

Blueprint for Success flier

Blueprint for Success 56 Blueprint for Success 57