Who We Are
Gather:Make:Shelter was founded in 2017 to create a collaborative model of engagement connecting people experiencing houselessness and poverty to creative opportunities. Intended as a year-long project by artist and activist Dana Lynn Louis, with the fervent support of the Portland community it quickly took on a life of its own. Today we are a 501(c)3 organization continuing to grow through the combined passion and imagination of our community.
Read more about the origins of Gather:Make:Shelter here.
OUR MISSION
Gather:Make:Shelter creates opportunities for people experiencing houselessness and poverty to engage in collaborative, skill-building projects in creative fields, bringing houseless and housed people together to empower each other.
OUR VISION
We are building a city of neighbors, a connected community where everyone looks out for each other. Bridge City means more to us than a series of structures over the river—we build bridges of hope and trust towards a healthy society where people believe in each other and recognize the value and impact of their neighbors’ lives on theirs. We see a future where decisions about houselessness involve unhoused people. We’re not afraid to dream big because we know the power of creativity and community is on our side. We believe that when people come together and have faith in each other, incredible things become possible.
OUR VALUES
Community is our biggest strength. We listen to each other and the people around us. We take direction from the people directly affected. We do our part to keep our community healthy and strong.
Decolonize yourself. We recognize the harm caused by white supremacy and how it impacts everything we do and everyone we love—especially in regards to houselessness. We actively work to abolish systems of oppression in ourselves, our organization, and our community.
Meet people where they are. We honor the humanity of every person and work to showcase the interests and skills of all. We believe everyone has a special something to share with the world.
Nothing is impossible for artists. We think creatively and call on our artistic ingenuity to solve problems, adapt to changes, and surf the chaos. We know that sometimes all a project needs is a lucky mistake.
Respect our earth. It’s the home we all share.
EQUITY STATEMENT
Due to the effects of long-standing structural racism and colonization, minority groups are disproportionately likely to experience houselessness, and disproportionately vulnerable if they do. As an organization and as individuals we are committed to dismantling racism, colonialism, and discrimination in our communities and ourselves. We are proud to work with a kaleidoscope of people of diverse identities, and grateful for the experience, insight, imagination, and vibrancy of every individual.
We continue to seek equity in our organization by regularly evaluating our staffing and organizational policies; considering our actions in the context of our mission and this statement; committing to attitudes of love, openness, listening, and learning; and addressing issues honestly and in a timely manner.
We won’t always get it right, but we will work to make it right, because we do better together.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A house and a home are not the same. Working alongside people experiencing houselessness, we encounter the pain of displacement every day; to multiply that pain by generations attests to the personal strength of indigenous people and their ancestors. As residents of Portland we occupy traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. Those people endured a combination of virulent disease introduced by colonizers, over a century of aggressive government policies designed to displace and erase Native peoples, and the 1954 termination acts to abolish recognition of Oregon’s tribes and seize their lands. Due to these and other continuing systems of inequity, Native people today experience the highest rates of houselessness, poverty, and unemployment of all ethnic groups.
Despite these attacks, Native people in Oregon persevere and thrive. We celebrate the vibrancy and creativity of the many Native tribes and indigenous people active in Portland today. We especially love and value the indigenous members of our own GMS family. Without them our lives would be much less colorful.