Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis announced Tuesday afternoon their joint pursuit of federal Promise Zone status for Gresham’s Rockwood neighborhood, and committed to working together to make improvements to the community around education, job creation and crime reduction.
The two elected officials gathered at the Rockwood Station of the Gresham Police Department to make the announcement. They were joined by Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel, Gresham City Council President Lori Stegmann, Gresham City Councilor Michael McCormick and a host of community members and partners.
“Rockwood is unique in its strengths and challenges,” Chair Kafoury told a crowd that packed into a conference room at the police station. “What the Promise Zone designation application has done is given us the opportunity to build on the foundation of work by community partners and have real discussions about what it will take to make life better and more prosperous for Rockwood families.”
Communities that win Promise Zone designations do not receive money. Designees instead get tools to help them organize their communities and raise money for themselves. Promise Zone communities receive preference points on competitive grant applications for more than 35 key federal programs, a federal liaison to help navigate the system, and five AmeriCorps VISTA members to help organize volunteers.
Six new urban Promise Zones will be designated in early 2015. Designations last for 10 years. Applications were submitted on Nov. 21 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mayor Bemis said he was happy about the opportunity for the two governments to partner on Promise Zone proposal.
“Chair Kafoury and I have worked closely together to identify partnerships and collaborations between our organizations and the services we provide, with the goal of making global, collective progress on the issues faced by our shared constituents,” Mayor Bemis said. “The Promise Zone application we are celebrating is not an ending point in this endeavor, but is just one example of a growing realization and partnership between our organizations.”
The Rockwood neighborhood, on Gresham’s northeastern edge, is the youngest, poorest, and most diverse area in the Portland metropolitan region. But it’s also on the rise, attracting major new public and private sector investments.
Gresham opened the Rockwood Public Safety Facility in November 2013, and the nonprofit Friends of the Children and Boys and Girls Clubs of Portland are currently building facilities in Rockwood. Nadaka Nature Park, a 12-acre public forest off Glisan Street with community gardens and a natural play area, opens in spring 2015.
Chair Kafoury said such investment is critical when it comes to equity. She is hopeful about getting the Promise Zone designation.
“Through this process we made commitments,” she said. “We made commitments to each other, and to the people of Rockwood. Our children deserve quality education opportunities. Our parents deserve access to healthy food, safe roads, and access to stable, good-paying jobs. We all deserve to be safe in our neighborhoods.”