Dawson Park resource fair summary - July 1, 2025

View full size image of Dawson Park Resource Fair

On July 1, 2025, Safe Blocks’ Eliot Neighborhood Team, in partnership with Cascadia Health and Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, hosted a resource fair in Portland’s Eliot Neighborhood in Dawson Park. Since the Historic Boulders Project is now complete, July's fair was held directly in the park (you can learn more about how the project helped create an oasis of Black history at https://www.portland.gov/parks/dawson-park#toc-historic-story-boulders-project).

Food security remains an issue of need in the Eliot Neighborhood. The fair addressed this in several ways:

• The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church offered a food pantry to provide grocery staples to community members;
• CeCe's Gyros prepared gyros, fries, and beverages; and
• Portland Fire & Rescue grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with chips and beverages.

Other event highlights:

• Cascadia Behavioral Health assisted with mental health referrals and services;
• Prism Health and Cascade Aids Project provided sexual health education and testing; and
• Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) and the Street Services Coordination Center met with community members experiencing homelessness, offering assessments, shelter referrals, and resources for those seeking shelter.

Safe Blocks continues to host events and bring together the community to help provide resources, food, clothing, and housing, all for the purpose of reducing gun violence and providing a safe place for community members to gather.