Rose City Self-Defense

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Volunteer instructors needed! Apply by 10/21/2024

Welcome to Rose City Self-Defense!

Rose City Self-Defense empowers girls, women and the LGBTQ+ community, with a focus on engaging communities of color, people with disabilities, folks with unstable housing, as well as safety for sex workers. ALL PROGRAMMING IS FREE!

Community-Based Classes

We welcome all cis and trans women as well as non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers the experiences of women. Classes are open to ages 13 and above. Young women under 16 need to be accompanied by a participating adult.

Please fill out our online registration form on or after the registration date listed for each month.
Please plan to attend all three sessions at the location you select.
Please cancel your registration before the first session if you cannot attend all three sessions.
We want to acknowledge that class material might be activating/triggering to people who have experienced assault, abusive relationships, and/or violence. The content can also bring up emotions even if you haven’t experienced any of these things. You can participate in class activities at your comfort level. If you have questions about specific content, you are welcome to contact us in advance at rosecityself-defense@portlandoregon.gov.

Introductory Class Schedules

October class registration opens Tuesday, September 3^rd @ 6:00 pm

Mondays, October 7th, 14th and 21st from 5:30-8:45 pm in the SW Neighborhood (address given upon registration) - THIS CLASS IS FULL WITH A FULL WAIT LIST

Class for the LGBTQIA2S+ Community

Thursdays, October 10^th, 17^th and 24^th from 6:00-9:00 pm in the Mississippi Neighborhood - THIS CLASS IS FULL WITH A FULL WAIT LIST

November

Registration opens on Tuesday, October 1^st at 6:00 pm

Saturdays, November 9th, 16th and 23rd from 9:30 am - 12:45 pm in the NW neighborhood (address given upon registration) - THIS CLASS IS FULL WITH A FULL WAIT LIST

December

Registration opens on Tuesday, November 5^th @ 6:00pm

Wednesdays, December 4^th, 11^th and 18^th from 6:00-9:00 pm in the east Portland neighborhood (address given upon registration)

Intermediate: Defense Against Weapons Class

RCSD Weapons Class is open to students who have taken our Introductory class. Must be 18 years or older.

September 19th, 24th and 26th from 6:00-9:00 pm in the Foster/Powell Neighborhood (address given upon registration)

Youth-Based Classes

We welcome all cis and trans girls as well as LGBTQIA2S+ and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centers the experiences of girls. Classes are open to ages 11 through 14. Women-identifying or LGBTQIA2S+ / non-binary adult may accompany their child to this event.

Please fill out our online registration form on or after the registration date.
Please plan to attend both sessions during the month and location you select.
Please cancel your registration before the first session if you cannot attend both sessions.

Youth Personal Safety & Self-Defense 2-Part Series (ages 11-14)

(must be able to attend both sessions)

Fall Monday 2-Part Series in Mississippi/Albina Neighborhood:
(exact address given upon registration)

September Series – Mondays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
- Part I - September 16^th
- Part II - September 23^rd
- Registration opens Tuesday, August 6^th @ 6:00 pm
October Series – Mondays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm
- Part I - October 7^th
- Part II - October 14^th
- Registration opens Tuesday, September 3^rd @ 6:00 pm

November 2-Part Series in Hazelwood Neighborhood:
(exact address given upon registration)

Thursdays, November 7^th and 14^th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm
- Registration opens Tuesday, October 1^st @ 6:00 pm

Youth Programming

Rose City Self-Defense offers Youth programming, focused on girl-identifying, non-binary, transgender and LGBTQIA2S+ youth ages 11-14, while the Community program is for women-identifying, non-binary and transgender persons, ages 13 and up. If you are interested in having RCSD set up youth programs for your group, please reach out to toni.fujiwara@portlandoregon.gov.

What types of Youth Programs are offered?

9 week after-school programs

Offered for 4th-8th grade students at elementary and middle schools in Portland.
Classes run after school once a week for 9 weeks; Each session is 90 minutes long.
You can request a program at your school!

Summer Camps

Camps are offered during the summer and last one week.
Classes run Monday through Thursday and are 3 hours each day.
We partner with local community centers and schools to offer these programs across Portland.

Workshops

Offered to students ages 10-18; A great option for high school students!
90 minute and 2 hour self-defense introductory session.
Great for school groups, girl scout troops, church groups and students with special needs. We can tailor the class to your students and their learning goals.
Requester recruits the students and secures the space. Rose City Self-Defense brings materials and runs the workshop!

Request a service

Safety Workshops

Personal Safety Workshops are designed to introduce adults to a variety of self-protective options in a discussion format. The basic workshop covers:

Prevention strategies.
recognizing when one is being targeted for an attack.
the pros and cons of various options for ending an attack.

Discussion is designed to help people identify their risks and evaluate their strengths, and to explore their options for dealing with the threat of violence.

Rose City Self-Defense Workshops for all genders:

90 Minute Personal Safety Workshop which includes:

Trusting and using your intuition.
How bias affects your judgment.
Establishing and setting boundaries.
Assertive communication.
De-escalation strategies.
Benefits and risks of various escape options.

2 hour Safety & Self-Defense Workshop which includes:

All of the skills in the Personal Safety Workshop.
Plus an additional 30 minutes of Physical Strikes and Escapes.

3 hour De-Escalation Workshop which includes

All of the skills in the Personal Safety Workshop.
Plus an additional 90 minutes of de-escalation skill building and practice.

Specific workshops:

1 hour Safety workshop for people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities.
2 hour chair Safety & Self-Defense workshop for seniors and people with disabilities.
2 hour Safety & Self-Defense workshop for women identified people.
Your affinity group! We will tailor a workshop to your specific needs based on the above offerings.

Request a service

Volunteering

Our 2024 new volunteer class is currently in session. If you are interested in volunteering, we encourage you to take our class first. Then you can email rosecityself-defense@portlandoregon.gov and we will let you know when our next new volunteer training will be. We anticipate a training for educators in the summer of 2024 and another winter training in 2025. Thank you for your interest!

Apply to be a Rose City Self-Defense volunteer

History

In July of 2022, The Strength Programs (WomenStrength, GirlStrength and BoyStrength) moved from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB)! We have moved to the Community Safety Division (CSD) under the City of Portland’s Office of Management and Finance. This move was for several reasons: CSD was created to house safety and prevention programs in 2021, and the Strength programs were a natural fit. The other significant reason is that we found in WomenStrength, it was hard to reach some communities with our association with PPB; specifically, communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community. This move to CSD was a positive move and motivated us to rebrand our name and also update our curriculum to focus on equity and inclusion of those who we have been missing.

Since 1979, we have provided free empowerment-based self-defense classes and personal safety workshops to people around the Portland metro area. We have taught self-defense skills to approximately 40,000 women and teenage girls, and personal safety workshops to over 110,000 people. In our self-defense classes we offer just more than just physical self-defense skills. Included are topics such as using your intuition, understanding different escape options, negotiating consent, information about abusive relationships, boundary setting and assertiveness skills. This holistic approach has been successful in teaching our students that physical fighting is our last resort and we have so many options to choose from if faced with the threat of violence.

Finally, please be patient with us during this transition. We anticipate more web content in the upcoming weeks.