2025 Community Report: Imagining new futures

PORTLAND CHILDREN’S LEVY

2025 Community Report: Imagining new futures

Five years after the pandemic started, organizations serving Portland children and families showed they’re more than ready to begin a promising, new era.

Grantee partners of the Portland Children’s Levy continued to work hard to build stable foundations that allow children and families to experience new opportunities and to imagine future possibilities. Many programs succeeded thanks to their ability to respond to community needs, support the health of families, and develop skills and provide experiences that prepare children and families for growth.

Financial assistance to access high-quality childcare, after school academic support, and group visits to college campuses are just some of the activities provided by PCL grantee partners. Services are focused on PCL priority populations, including Black and Indigenous children and children of color, families with low incomes, and other community members who face institutional and systemic barriers to opportunity.

The 2023-24 year saw many grantee organizations continue positive recovery from the pandemic. In fall 2024, PCL launched a competitive funding round for approximately $65 million in three-year large grants, which will begin in July 2025. A competitive funding round for small grants is scheduled to begin in fall 2025.

Photo of about 10 students and adult staff wearing lifejackets while sitting in a canoe. Of the two children in the front row, the one on the right looks through a pair of binoculars. — Above: Participants in ELSO’s Wayfinders camp explored and learned about the Portland Superfund Site at Cathedral Park with partners from the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership. *Photo courtesy of ELSO Inc.*

2023-24 Grants Awarded by Program Area

program grants

grant funds

Early childhood

Supporting children’s early development and kindergarten readiness

Hunger relief

Expanding access to healthy food for children and their families

After school

Supporting children’s well-being and school success

Foster care

Supporting the well-being and development of children in foster care

Child abuse prevention and intervention

Stabilizing families, building resilience and preventing child abuse and neglect

Community childcare initiative

Making quality childcare affordable for working families with low incomes

Mentoring

Connecting children with caring mentors who support their well-being

Small grants

Improving equity of access for smaller organizations

children served by Levy grants*

lived in homes in which the primary language spoken was not English*

lived or went to school east of 82nd Avenue*

identified as Black, Indigenous and people of color*‡

pounds of food distributed at more than 60 sites

* These numbers cover after school, child abuse prevention and intervention, early childhood, foster care, mentoring, small grants funding and the Community Childcare Initiative.

‡ This number includes people who identify as Latino/x/e, African American, Native American/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, or multiracial.

Responding to community needs

Parents and caregivers, along with providers on the front lines of serving children and families, know what is most needed to support healthy, thriving families. Through regular community engagement efforts, most recently in early 2024, PCL staff has worked to respond to emerging community needs, including rising childcare costs, inclusion for children with disabilities, and a continuous community voice in shaping PCL work.

The Levy’s Community Childcare Initiative (CCI) benefits working families with low incomes by covering the gap between the cost of childcare and the subsidy they receive through the state’s Employment Related Day Care program. CCI allows more than 200 children annually who are 6 weeks to 12 years old to access high-quality care with no cost to their families.

The combined subsidies allow families to access high-quality childcare, even when the cost of care rises, and provides stability and continuity of care for children and families.

The subsidies also allow many childcare providers to pay their staff higher wages and to hire more staff, leading to lower adult-to-child ratios.

Above: Three children listen intently during story time at Happy Go Lucky Childcare.

“I can never really express just how grateful I am for CCI. It’s pretty safe to say I owe my career, my independence and my child’s school readiness all to them. The monthly tuition for full-time care at my child’s preschool is the same as my monthly rent. As a single mother of two, there is no way I could possibly afford to cover both, and I would probably still be stuck working part-time hours and boarding with an extra roommate to try to stay afloat. CCI made it possible for me to live on my own with my boys, take a full-time position, and even earn a promotion while giving me the peace of mind that my child’s care was nurturing his growth in a way that I felt at peace with.”

CCI parent

Above: Participants in ELSO’s Wayfinders camp explored and learned about the Portland Superfund Site at Cathedral Park with partners from the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership. Photo courtesy of ELSO Inc.

“Wayfinders has spent the past four years creating a camp that is accessible and inclusive for youth who are interested in outdoor STEAM education. Through the space we’ve created, youth and parents feel welcomed and supported as they embark on Experiencing Life Science Outdoors (ELSO).”

Jamie Newsome
Wayfinders program director

Most small grants recipients incorporate disability inclusion goals in their work to better serve children with disabilities. That’s the case for ELSO Inc. and its Wayfinders summer camp program for kindergarten through 8^th graders, with a focus on teaching kids from economically disadvantaged communities (such as Black and Brown youth) about science, technology, engineering, art, math, environment and design (STEAMED) topics. The grant also supports leadership development and mentoring activities for youth ages 15 to 18.

ELSO staff visit potential field trip destinations months in advance and evaluate accessibility features to ensure programming will be inclusive. ELSO staff receive training to support children with physical and emotional disabilities. They also meet with the parents and caregivers of students with disabilities ahead of camp and conduct evaluation surveys at the end.

Above: Community Council member Karina Bjork (left) talks with fellow member Lisa Wittorff during a Community Council meeting.

“So many decisions that come out of government funding, I was always like, ‘Why are they allocating money to this or to this?’ The decisions are coming from people who live in the community but they’re legislators or politicians. Whereas (with Community Council), you have people who are like, ‘This is my life, this is where I live and work.’ We are not making decisions based on politics, we’re making it based on our personal experiences within our community.”

Karina Bjork
Community Council member

The Community Council advisory body was created in 2022 to respond to longtime requests for community voices to regularly shape PCL decision-making processes. The Community Council advises staff and the Allocation Committee on policies and procedures, including community engagement and funding rounds.

The 13 volunteer council members reflect communities served in PCL-funded programs and have professional and lived experience working with the following communities: Black, Indigenous and people of color, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQIA+, youth with disabilities, houseless families, and families experiencing poverty and food insecurity. “The Community Council provides a space for different experiences and different backgrounds to come together and share individual perspectives,” Community Council member Karina Bjork said.

Supporting the health of families

Supporting the health of families requires regular access to nutritious foods as well as care for children’s social, emotional and mental health.

Thanks to a hunger relief grant, Neighborhood House offers the Free Food Market mobile food delivery program that delivers customized food boxes to the homes of children and families.

Staff deliver food every other week to children and families in eight low-income housing communities in Southwest and Northwest Portland. Annually, the delivery program serves more than 450 children and distributes more than 275,000 pounds of food, helping families who otherwise couldn’t get to the market to shop in person.

To better respond to client needs, Rafael Covanzi, the food delivery service coordinator at Neighborhood House, created custom software that allows families to easily use a Google Form to select from a list of available food items for each delivery. Pet food, diapers, personal hygiene and other household items are also available.

The form is available in multiple languages. On the back end, the program allows Covanzi to print all the order forms in English, so that he and volunteers can assemble the boxes in a bustling building in Multnomah Village. Special dietary restrictions are noted. Afterward, the order form doubles as a delivery label on the outside of each box.

Above: Rafa Covanzi gathers food items on a client’s order list.

“The lists are very personalized to achieve unique needs and flexibility.”

Rafael Covanzi
food delivery service coordinator at Neighborhood House

Above: LuRae Levering enlists the help of a puppet to read to children during circle time. They practiced skills needed for kindergarten, like how to sit during carpet time or stand in line before heading outside to play.

“It’s really important for kids to learn about relationships and how to get along. That’s the foundation for good mental health.”

LuRae Levering
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant at Morrison

Social and emotional development is crucial in the early childhood years to set the stage for long-term mental health. Morrison Child & Family Services provides early childhood mental health consultation services to support children birth through 5 years old.

The PCL grant allows Morrison to provide coaching and trainings for parents and teachers, child observations and screenings, and individual planning and referrals for children to specialized services. Morrison consultants partner with childcare sites, preschools, and home visiting programs to bring these supports to families and teachers. An Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant from Morrison stops by almost weekly at Happy Go Lucky Childcare to support the classroom, and the teacher team has attended monthly trainings, said owner Anna Pickel.

“A lot of the kids here that do have behavioral struggles, it’s helped them learn some of those self-regulation tools,” Pickel said. “How do I calm down? What does it look like to have a calm body? What are ways I can calm myself down?”

The Morrison training led staff to develop solution kit cards based on three overarching rules to be safe, kind and responsible. These child-friendly visuals reinforce positive behavior. For instance, if a child is upset, teachers utilize Tucker the turtle, reminding the children they can go into their shell, take three deep breaths to calm down, then think of a solution.

Preparing for the future

Many PCL-supported programs help children develop the social, emotional, academic, career and life skills needed to succeed in a variety of future pathways. Grantee partners provide a range of services, including visits to college campuses, career exploration opportunities, academic support and more.

More than 80 children in foster care – and nearly 400 youth overall – participate in long-term mentoring offered through Friends of the Children – Portland (FriendsPDX), focusing on social-emotional development, educational success, and collaborative goal setting. The program features culturally responsive and intensive individual professional mentoring, group programming, community engagement, and support for caregivers and families. Services are offered in English and Spanish.

Many FriendsPDX participants face multiple barriers and adverse childhood experiences, such as poverty, unstable housing and lack of basic resources, in addition to encountering systems that aren’t designed for them. Having a committed professional mentor supports youth to develop their own goals for the future.

A key summer activity is the “Is College for Me?” retreat, which allows high school-aged youth to stay on campus at Oregon State University, envision themselves as college students and experience campus life.

Above: Foster care youth and other participants in Friends of the Children mentoring programs visited the Oregon State University campus in June 2024. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Children

“Many of our youth dismiss the idea of going to college, in part because they can’t picture themselves as college students. They are often the first in their family to even consider college! While at OSU, our students created a mock class schedule, met with admissions representatives, checked out several cultural centers and even took a class with an OSU professor! There is no better way to foster interest in college than by having youth spend a few days on a campus.”

Mary Atyemizian
associate director of Future Pathways, FriendsPDX

Above: Students in NAYA’s college and career prep program use pretend money during a spending exercise to build financial skills. Photo courtesy of NAYA

“Staff have incorporated (financial wellness education) into curriculum and coordinate simulations called “Spending Frenzy,” which was developed by the First Nations Development Institute. Students are given an annual income and must purchase a year’s worth of housing, food, transportation, fun items, insurance, pay taxes, and invest, all while keeping track of receipts and purchases. At the end of the simulation, we discuss saving options and introduce NAYA’s IDA (Individual Development Account) programs as well as the different asset accounts you can open. This simulation gets youth excited about saving, and we saw a handful of youth open an IDA account, with most saving for education and others interested in saving for a small business.”

Auna Castellon
NAYA college and career readiness manager

The College and Career Center at the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) provides college and career services mentoring to 125 youths annually in 8^th through 12^th grades, with more focused services for 30 teens youths. Programming includes one-on-one mentoring and coaching sessions, college night workshops, career exploration events, and college and workplace visits. The organization also offers GED and re-engagement programming for youth disconnected from school, as well as Two-Spirit programming that creates affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth.

After being referred to NAYA’s College and Career Center program, one student shared that they loved working with young kids and that they were interested in becoming a preschool or kindergarten teacher. NAYA introduced the student to the Multnomah Educators Rising program for high school youth, which aims to increase the number of K-12 educators who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. Through the program, the student enrolled in an introductory education course at Portland Community College. They also participated in a paid internship with NAYA’s Early Head Start program.

“I’m the first in my family to go to college, and I’m in high school,” the student said. “I didn’t think I’d be going to college before I even graduate!”

Family stability plays a key role in allowing both children and caregivers to imagine new futures where they can all thrive. A child abuse prevention and intervention grant to The Pathfinder Network supports more than 150 parents who are involved with the criminal justice system or returning home after incarceration at their Center for Family Success.

Services are offered in English and Spanish. Programs focus on enhancing parenting skills, promoting healthy child development, interventions to reduce harm, prevention of future risks, and connecting families to resources to build resilience. Parents participate in individual and group parenting skills programming, gender-responsive trauma coping skills groups, case management, peer mentoring, family engagement events and more.

Above: A father working with The Pathfinder Network and his two daughters. Photo courtesy of The Pathfinder Network

“We supported a single father in his journey to reunify with his two young daughters. Initially, he faced challenges in finding a safe and consistent place for visits with his daughters while seeking stable housing. Through collaboration with his child welfare caseworker, his family advocate coordinated a visitation plan using our children’s activity room twice a week. These visits progressed from supervised to unsupervised. Since engaging with services, his visitation frequency has increased significantly, and he is now close to obtaining full custody of his daughters. The father’s primary obstacle remains securing stable housing, but he continues to work closely with his advocate and other service providers to achieve this goal.”

Tasha Edwards
bilingual family advocate and culturally responsive lead (Latinx community)

Above: An IRCO Inspire youth advocate supports immigrant and refugee children at Lincoln Park Elementary School. Photo courtesy of IRCO

“Many of our students are victims of bullying at school. For example, a 4^th grade student attending Gilbert Park Elementary was bullied by his classmates due to his learning disability. In the classroom, other students were making fun of him and giving him a tough time to the point where the student did not feel he belonged. He started to not want to attend school. To support this student, our youth advocate worked with the teacher to provide the youth with individualized support in reading and mathematics. Also, due to the advocate’s presence, she could deter bullying aimed at the student.”

Pau Thang
IRCO INSPIRE program coordinator

Success in school, both academically and socially, can provide a strong foundation for future success. The INSPIRE program from the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) offers after school academic support and case management to more than 150 youth in 1^st through 8^th grades. Students hail from across 10 communities, including Burmese, Karen, Rohingya, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainian, Pacific Islander, Somali, Syrian and Middle Eastern. The program aims to improve literacy and math skills, student behavior and attendance to at least 90% of school days.

During the school year, IRCO youth advocates provide academic advising, after school tutoring, and group activities focused on building math and literacy skills, as well as regular contact with parents/caregivers and school staff. Summer activities include reading, arts, crafts, science, sports and field trips.

Promises made, promises kept

A complete list of current grantee partners can be accessed on the Portland Children’s Levy website.

For more information, view the 2023-24 performance data slide deck and appendix.

Stay tuned for next year’s community report to learn more about how voter investments make a difference in the lives of Portland children and families.