Poverty and homelessness continue to be major issues in Portland. We believe it is vital that Havurah continue to educate our community and be an active advocate in the ongoing goal to reduce the hardships, isolation, loneliness, and violence experienced by those who face unaffordable housing, wage inequity, racial/sexual discrimination, and mental and physical disabilities.

The Poverty & Homelessness Committee supports the work of various nonprofit agencies that we believe reflect these values held by the Havurah community. We support organizations through volunteer time, financial donations, and advocacy work. 

Current co-chairs of this committee are Gloria Halper, Steve Rudman, and Jenn Louis.

Currently we are working with the following groups: 

• Havurah has been a longtime supporter of Portland Homeless Family Solutions to empower homeless families with children for their long-term housing needs.  

• Havurah is a partner congregation of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty, a volunteer-driven, advocacy group of 14 Portland faith-based institutions. It offers an opportunity to become informed and involved with systems-change efforts to reduce poverty in our community. Their website offers educational resources and information. Join them for their first Thursday meetings at noon to listen to speakers addressing issues of homelessness and poverty. You must sign up for these virtual meetings through their homepage.

• Havurah supports The Common Good Project (TCGP), a program working under the nonprofit Trash for Peace (TFP). What does this mean? It means that TCGP can get public funding and grants for its projects and have assistance running its programs so that the focus can be on our work on the streets and have the support of TFP when it comes to administrative duties. The Common Good Project is a year-round service organization whose mission is to stabilize, enrich, and transform the lives of Portland’s homeless residents through meaningful city waste removal work that builds self-esteem, personal agency, and community, ultimately creating pathways toward more stable lives. Learn more here. For more on TCGP, please check out the Trash for Peace website in January, 2023, when their website updates should be completed.

• Havurah supports Lift Urban Portland, which provides food and supports low-income residents in northwest and downtown Portland.

• In 2021-22, Havurah added the RoseHaven Day Shelter for women, children, and marginalized genders experiencing homelessness and poverty. RoseHaven is the only day shelter and community center in Multnomah County supporting these vulnerable populations. Of interest to our Havurah community, RoseHaven is physically located in our NW neighborhood, only blocks from our synagogue, and it provides opportunities for our Education Committee for Youth volunteer projects.