Sean Davis is a writer, a veteran and a wildland firefighter. He lives in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. In the summer of 2020, the McKenzie River Valley was devastated by a forest fire that quickly burned 174,000 acres and destroyed more than 500 homes. Sean says he has been to the apocalypse four times. He has seen difficult things and you will find that he shares … Continue reading Sean Davis
Zachary Pierce is a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. At three weeks old, he was adopted by an English and German mother and an Irish father. Zachary spent more than a decade on the streets of Corvallis but viewed COVID as an opportunity to reset. He used it as a filter that allowed him to keep what he wanted and discard the things that … Continue reading Zachary Pierce
Things are going to get complicated. It’s all good, but it’s going to be an adjustment. For the past 18 months, programming has been non-existent. We have done some virtual engagements. We have led some distanced learning, but for the most part, on March 16 and 17 of 2020, everything on our plate cancelled and the world came to a screeching halt. After scratching our … Continue reading Logistics
We spent a few days with the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center, a resource hub to help connect people with services and resources around housing security. We set up our studio and asked, “What do you want people to know?” The goal is to craft an answer that is 25 words or less, so that the text fits on the person’s portrait. But of course there … Continue reading listen
We camped along a wild and rugged stretch of the Oregon coast last week. Cape Blanco is the westernmost tip of the state and if you head directly west from there, the next land you hit will be somewhere near the northern islands of Japan. The wind comes in hard and fast with nothing to slow it down for 5,000 miles. There’s a meteorological phenomenon … Continue reading How’s the weather?
Andrea Cano trained to be a hospital chaplain in Portland, Oregon after working in journalism and nonprofit administration. She followed her passion to be with people when they are at their most vulnerable, to help them deal with their own suffering and healing. “We become so much about human doings, we forget to be human beings.” We’ve got to stop drawing lines in the sand … Continue reading Andrea Cano
Benita Alioth moved back to her childhood home just before Christmas 2007 to care for her aging mother. On October 22, 2008, she woke to her mother’s call for help. The house was on fire. When Benita tried to pick up her mom, they both fell to the floor and were engulfed in flames. She wasn’t able to save her mother. Benita was in a … Continue reading Benita Alioth
RaShad Arnold is a social worker for a nonprofit agency in Portland, Oregon. In his free time, he writes and records rap music he describes it as “music you can play in front of the entire family.” RaShad remembers having “the talk” with his parents about what to do if he were ever pulled over by a police officer. Although he has never been cited for more than a parking ticket, Rashad has been pulled over multiple times for what he calls “driving while black.” Continue reading RaShad Arnold
