Our United Villages (OUV) is a local non-profit organization founded on the belief that every person can make a positive difference in their neighborhood. We know that communities can reach their full potential when they discover what they have in common and work together.

What is the Mission?

Our United Villages inspires people to value and discover existing resources to strengthen the social and environmental vitality of communities.

Community Outreach envisions neighborhoods that recognize and build on the strengths, talents, and resources of each individual to create a healthier, more vibrant community.

How are you Funded?

Our United Villages is independently funded with proceeds of its project, The ReBuilding Center.

How do you choose what neighborhood you work in?

Our United Villages administrative office and The ReBuilding Center are located in the Boise Neighborhood. In order to give back to the neighborhood, we selected Boise neighborhood first. There was a lot of interest in the organizing work of Our United Villages in the Humbolt neighborhood. Neighbors from Humbolt had come to some of the Neighborhood Conversations in Boise and been inspired. It naturally flowed to go to Humbolt next. The most recent neighborhood, Overlook, was selected because it is the most socio-economically diverse neighborhood in all of Portland. It has the greatest business wealth in all of the 96 neighborhoods; within the same neighborhood, homeless people reside.

Why is OUV invested in neighbors getting to know one another?

OUV recognizes that there are existing networks of people in neighborhoods. We believe that every neighborhood can expand on those networks and build new ones to strengthen the social fabric of the neighborhood. The social fabric of a neighborhood relates to the expectations of trust, reciprocity, and solidarity that arise from those relationships and bonds between neighbors. Our experience is that when people have connections to one another, they experience a deeper sense of meaning and belonging in their neighborhood.

What does a healthy, vibrant neighborhood look like?

The way in which each neighborhood builds community with each other is as unique as the people within that neighborhood. What are the benefits of being in relationship with your neighbors? Is there something we can expect from human existence to have it stronger than it currently is? What can you imagine your neighborhood to look like when strong bonds between neighbors exist? When you reflect on the history of your neighborhood, what stories do you want to be told about your current existence? Imagine if, in your neighborhood, there was a cooperative child care network…a community trust to send every child in the neighborhood to college…a community health care plan…a response system for helping keep elderly folks safe and in their homes…we can achieve far more when we are working together.

What are some of the positive outcomes of OUV Outreach?

One of the greatest outcomes is that neighbors get to know each other better. We have had people at meetings who live on the same block and have never met before. They come and go and live their lives in such close proximity to one another. They were able to meet and discover their common interests. We get to learn about the strengths and resources in neighborhoods and celebrate what is already there. We hear ideas that could change the world come from everyday people. Neighbors sit at a table together and develop plans to enhance their community.

How do you do that?

We provide History Story Telling events, Neighborhood Conversations, and Workshops to the community. All of these events are free and include food, transportation, child care, and interpretation services. We begin by studying the history of the neighborhood in which we are working, getting to know the existing groups and resources. We survey the entire neighborhood to find out what positive activities are already happening in their neighborhood, and what new ideas they would like to see neighbors working on to benefit the entire neighborhood. The topics of the Neighborhood Conversations are selected from the survey results. The Neighborhood Conversations provide a venue for neighbors to get to know each other and explore their common interests. We host Workshops that move dialogue into action. At these workshops, neighbors create Idea Development Plans that include identifying the vision of their project, needed resources, and strategies to sustain their ideas for generations to come.

What happens at the Neighborhood Conversations?

They are a free event that OUV hosts and organizes. The themes that we choose are based on the results of a survey. OUV, along with volunteers from the neighborhood, deliver a survey to every residence within the neighborhood asking about the great things that are happening in the neighborhood and what neighbors would like to see more of. Based on these results, we categorize the responses into themes. Then we host what we call Neighborhood Conversations; every person in this neighborhood is invited to the conversations. People that have a relationship to the neighborhood, for instance people who work, go to school, or go to church, within the neighborhood are invited too. The events are free, and include child care, interpretation services, food, and transportation. We provide meeting facilitation and create a nurturing environment for neighbors to share with each other. We host the events in different areas of the neighborhood and ensure that they are wheel chair accessible. The people that come together often haven’t met each other or haven’t seen each other in years. We inquire about what that group of neighbors would like to see as an outcome of coming together around a theme. When we have consensus, we work together on what we call an Idea Develop Plan. We facilitate the process of coming up with a written plan of action. It is similar to the way you would develop a business plan except is it about people in neighborhood. In the process of putting the plan together, we look at how the project could be sustained for three generations, be an asset to the community, and leave a legacy and positive history.

What happens at a History Storytelling event?

We identify a cross-cultural group of elders and long-term residents in the community and invite them to share their perspectives and experiences of the neighborhood. We send invitations to the entire community to hear the stories and encourage dialogue. One of the most exciting aspects of the history story telling events is when audience members stand up and share their experience or elaborate on the speaker’s perspectives. We have watched how during and after the event, there are informal conversations happening between the neighbors who have just moved in and the long-term residents. People are getting to know each other better. The stories, lessons, and experiences of the speakers remind us that what we are doing today will be history someday. What kind of neighborhood history are we going to leave today?