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Hello Friends and Neighbors,
It is beginning to feel that spring has finally sprung! The cherry blossoms are blooming at the Capitol, and the flowers in my garden in Portland are beginning to bud finally. I hope you are all able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine (when it's not raining) over this coming weekend.
In this newsletter, you will find a list of new resources that the state of Oregon has rolled out, along with upcoming events in the district. I would also like to share that I joined the other Black Oregon Legislators in speaking up about the events in Tennessee.
Oregon Black Legislators Call for the Reinstatement of Tennessee State Representatives
In the wake of the deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, three Democrat State Representatives joined a peaceful protest calling for sensible gun reform. In response, the Tennessee legislature voted to expel the legislators. Representative Gloria Johnson (a white woman) was only reprimanded, while her Black colleagues, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were both expelled.
Earlier this week, the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to reinstate Representative Justin Jones to the Tennessee State House. Ahead of the Shelby County Commissioner's decision on whether to reinstate Representative Justine Pearson, my fellow Black Oregon legislators and I sent a strong statement of support for the Representatives and a condemnation for the virulent, clearly racist actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives. You can read our full statement here.
Recently, Representative Justin Pearson and Representative Justin Jones have been reinstated to their lawfully elected positions. This is a win for democracy, and a warning bell at the same time. Deep-seated racism and prejudice will always seek to silence us, but we will not be silenced. There is work to do, and I am committed to ensuring all of our rights are protected.
First-Time Homebuyer Flex Lending
Oregon Housing & Community Services (OHCS) has developed and launched a first-of-its-kind lending program to expand homeownership opportunities for Oregonians. The Flex Lending Program helps low-income and moderate-income families and individuals with assistance in down payment and closing costs in order to buy a home in partnership with approved mortgage lenders. The program opened last week with the first lenders already offering loans and more to be added in the coming weeks.
Owning a home strengthens our community and the local economy, and provides each home-owning family with greater stability. Unfortunately, rising interest rates and high purchase prices for homes statewide have left many Oregonians unable to even think about buying a home of their own. Down payment is the biggest barrier to owning a home, and the Flex Lending Program is designed to help mitigate that barrier. This program creates an equitable path to affordable homes for our communities that are underrepresented as homeowners in Oregon, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and the LGBTQ+ community.
The Flex Lending Program provides a fixed-rate first mortgage in combination with a second mortgage that takes the form of either a silent, forgivable second lien or an amortizing repayable second lien. The program uses down payment assistance to help low- and moderate-income borrowers obtain the funds necessary for the down payment and closing costs to buy their home. Borrowers will receive 4% or 5% of the first mortgage loan amount as down payment assistance. Homebuyer education will be provided by Oregon Homeownership Centers for first-time homebuyers.
 If you're ready to begin, the first step is to find an approved mortgage lender. For a list of approved lenders and even more information about the program, you can visit the Flex Lending Plan website.
ONE System Dashboards
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have worked together through the Oregon Eligibility (ONE) system to provide benefits and services to one in three Oregonians. These services include medical, service and support for people with disabilities, the aging population, cash and food benefits.
To better serve Oregonians in need, the agencies are rolling out two new dashboards on benefits.oregon.gov. These dashboards will help people:
- Track the state's progress in determining eligibility for medical program applicants and renewing coverage for members.
- Monitor the experience for people calling the ONE customer service center to apply for or ask for help with medical, food, cash and child care benefits.
These dashboards will help all Oregonians have a better sense of how the state is supporting its residents, and how quickly they are able to connect them with the services they need.
Pandemic EBT Benefits
By May 31st of this year, each child in Oregon who is eligible for Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) food benefits will receive a P-EBT card in the mail. The card will have $391 of food benefits loaded on it. These cards will get much-needed food relief into the hands of Oregon's families and children, and help ensure that our children have the nutritional resources they need to remain healthy and active.
The P-EBT call center is available for anyone with questions about the program. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm Pacific Time by calling 844-673-7328. The P-EBT website also has helpful information in English and Spanish.
St. Johns Neighborhood Cleanup Event
The St. Johns Neighborhood Association will host an "Earth Day Cleanup" event on Saturday, April 22nd, from 9am to 1pm. They will be located at Roosevelt High School parking lot (6941 N. Central St.), and all St. Johns residents are welcome to attend. You can check out the list of accepted items in the image below.
Time to dig into the garage and those nooks and crannies for dead light bulbs, batteries, and tech devices!
University Park Neighborhood Cleanup Event
The University Park Neighborhood Association will also be hosting a "Dumpster Day" cleanup event on Saturday, April 29th, from 9am to 2pm. They will be located in the parking lot of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (7611 N. Exeter Ave.).
They will be collecting many items that aren't accepting in residents' gray collection bins, and they suggest a donation of $20 per carload of items.
St. Johns Parade
For the first time in several years, St. Johns Parade is back! The parade will start at 12pm on Saturday, May 13th, this year. It is a free event and all are welcome to attend. The parade will stretch from Roosevelt High School to St. Johns Park, and there will be floats, bands, drill teams, and horses. The St. Johns Parade Committee have created a helpful map of the parade route, which you can view here.
The parade committee is always in need of volunteers for organizing the event and on the big day itself. If you're interested in helping out, you can check out the "Volunteer" page on their website.
The St. Johns Parade is one of my favorite events of the year and I hope to see you there!
NPAC Community Workshop Reminder
Portland Parks & Recreation will be holding the third community workshop to discuss the three locations being considered for the new North Portland Aquatic Center. The community workshop will be on Thursday, April 27th, from 5:30-7:30pm at the cafeteria of César Chávez School (5103 N. Willis Blvd., Portland, OR 97203).
The project team will share a detailed sample design drawing of what a future aquatic center would look like for each of the three prospective sites. The focus of this workshop in the series is to narrow down to one location from the list and to listen to community feedback.
The workshop is free and open to the public and you can register to attend here. Child care will be provided, and pizza will be provided by the César Chávez School PTA. PP&R will also open an online survey on the same day (April 27th) for those unable to attend, and the survey will be open for at least two weeks.
The final three sites (in alphabetical order) are:
- Columbia Park
- Northgate Park
- University Park
I look forward to the continued conversations about the location of this project.
Please feel free to reach out to my office if you have any issues accessing the resources shared in this newsletter. If you ever have issues with a state agency, please reach out to my office and my staff will do what they can to assist. I will be sharing more information from state agencies as I receive them.
I wish you all a sunny and fulfilling weekend!
 Travis Nelson
State Representative
House District 44
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1444
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-275, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.TravisNelson@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/nelson
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