Oregon – United Church of Christ

JOIN (Portland)

Contact: Lizzy Quinones
   1435 NE 81st Ave., Ste. 100
    Portland, OR 97213

Phone: 847.636.8381
Fax:   503.232.4640

Email:  immersion@joinpdx.org
Website: www.joinpdx.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/JOIN-connecting-the-street-to-a-home/

JOIN exists to support the efforts of homeless individuals and families to transition out of homelessness into permanent housing.  Efforts are directed at individuals sleeping outside or in their car in the Portland Metro area.  Service provision is not dependent on age, gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, specific diagnosis, or identifiable issue.

Project/Focus: Participants will go on an intensive immersion focused on learning about homelessness and social injustice in Portland, OR.  This is done through living in solidarity with people on the streets, sharing meals with them, and taking tours to homeless camps.  The nights will be spent reflecting and processing what was experienced during the day.  Participants will leave the weekend with an understanding of the struggles people sleeping outside combat, as well as the knowledge of how to better help the homeless community.

Educational/Advocacy Components: JOIN staff leads the majority of the programming, as well as a few formerly homeless individuals helping with certain aspects of the weekend.  The immersion coordinator has a variety of resources on hand to facilitate large and small group reflection time, including a church service, the two feet of social justice, role playing, and the opportunity for Q&A with people experiencing homelessness.

Time: Any weekend (Friday – Sunday)  January through December  Application deadline – at least 3 months before the requested weekend.

Group Size:  Minimum – 10;  Maximum -14

Minimum Age:  15 years

Adult to Youth Ratio:  1:4

Accommodations: Participants are given 3 meals on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday.  In the spirit of solidarity, participants will sleep on the floor of JOIN’s office.

Cost: $45 per person

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 Sanctuary One (Jacksonville)

Contact:  Contact office at phone number below
  13195 Upper Applegate
  Jacksonville, OR 97530
Phone:  541.899.8627
Email:  info@sanctuaryone.org
Website:  www.sanctuaryone.org 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SanctuaryOneatDoubleOakFarm

Sanctuary One is a “Care Farm” located on 55 acres in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon.  Care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices.  Sanctuary One demonstrates how farming for health can be an inexpensive, natural, and effective means of healing people; how animals can be treated humanely and honored for their intrinsic physical and spiritual value; and how the environment that sustains us all can be steadily improved through organic and permaculture-inspired farming practices.  This is a working farm, involved in the ethics of sustainable living, and providing a safe, loving home to rescued farm animals and house pets.

Project/Focus:  Animal care includes cleaning dog/cat cottages, mucking pastures, exercising, socializing and grooming animals, cleaning water troughs, moving hay, and other animal care activities.  Earth Care Activities  include many aspects of organic gardening: sowing seeds, making soil blocks, prepping beds, transplanting, weeding and bed maintenance, harvesting and processing vegetable, flowers and seeds; making compost, sheet mulching, removing invasive specials, planting shrubs and trees.  Other projects might include collecting materials for natural building projects (rocks, stumps, poles, straw, hay, brush), building construction or maintenance, trail building or maintenance, painting murals. 

Educational/Advocacy Components:  The entire program at Sanctuary One is focused on what it means to take care of each other, to understand and practice taking care of animals and to be good stewards of the land. “Care Farming” (also known as Green Care) is well-established in Europe, but is a relatively new concept in the USA.  The education program promotes environmental literacy (an individuals’ understanding, skills and motivation to make responsible decisions that consider his or her relationships to nature, animals, the community, and future generations.)

Time:  Any time of year.  Opportunities are on-going.  Call or email for application.

Group Size:  One day field trip: 30 people.  Multi-day service learning: 12 people.

Minimum Age:  12 years

Adult to Youth Ratio:  Depends on the group.  Minimum 1:6

Accommodations: Most likely, groups will need to camp at local campgrounds.

Cost:  Contact office staff for details. More information is available at http://sanctuaryone.org/service-learning/

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