A new club, Students for Housing Initiatives, is working to reduce the stigma surrounding homelessness and taking action to combat housing insecurity by partnering with the Oregon Food Bank. Though the club only started in mid-February, they already prepared for a major lobbying event in Salem as well as planned community outreach efforts to address local housing challenges.
Junior Audrey Farrimond, the club’s founder and president, started it after noticing a lack of awareness and empathy for the houseless population in downtown Portland.
“We don’t get to hear from them about their own experiences,” Farrimond said.
The club has been focusing on creating opportunities for direct engagement and advocacy. One of their key upcoming events is a dinner with members of the houseless community to discuss policy issues and identify areas where legislative support is needed.
The club also participated in Oregon Food Bank’s Lobby Day on March 18, where students advocated for a bill ensuring access to the Oregon Food Bank’s resources.
“Food insecurity is always going to be a source of housing insecurity in the community,” Farrimond explained, as verified by non-profit organization Move for Hunger. “Getting the food might keep [people] in their house.”
Sophomore Evie Richardson, the club’s vice president, highlighted how important this work feels, especially given the negative attitudes she sees and hears toward the houseless community from some of the students at Lincoln.
“Every single day, you’ll just hear people say the nastiest things about the people who live outside,” Richardson said. “They make a lot of mean jokes and just generally dehumanize houseless people. They don’t really see them as people.”
Richardson emphasized the importance of shifting these perspectives through education and direct interaction.
“At my old middle school, Northwest Academy, we had Outside In come in once a month and talk about their experiences with homelessness,” Richardson said. “That really changed my whole viewpoint on houselessness, and that’s what I’m hoping to bring to Lincoln.”
Farrimond also leads Flock Feast, a student club at Lincoln that partners with a local food pantry tied to the Oregon Food Bank.
“As a high schooler, I feel like I don’t have a lot of sway,” Farrimond said. “But what this opportunity from the Oregon Food Bank has given me, and I think it’s given a lot of other people at the club [Students for Housing Initiatives], is the feeling that we can actually change things. We can actually participate in our local and state communities in an effective and convincing way.”
Sophomore and member of the club, Isabella Tolba feels as though this is an important opportunity
“I’ve never been able to do anything like this before. I’m not close with the [Oregon] representatives and I feel like most people aren’t. I think it’s cool to talk to them face to face about what I personally want to see in the city,” Tolba said.