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2023 “Lights In Lents”

Lights in Lents 2023 Display, viewed from outside and the corner of 92nd and Foster. Purple light fills the window with a foam mural a colorful solar-punk miniature of the building.

Join us during Portland Winter Light Fest in Lents! Every night between Feb 3 – Feb 11th at 9101 SE Foster Road, Suite 1B, Portland, OR 97266 between 5:30 – 7:30 PM to walk through our community art exhibit, enjoy music, neighbors and refreshments!

The Lights in Lents UV/Glow-in-the-Dark Portrait & Mural Exhibit for Portland Winter Light Festival is a free and inclusive collaborative art experience, organized by East Portland Collective for the whole community and designed to bring people together to talk about their futures, aspirations, and dreams.

Sponsored by SE Uplift and the Office of Community & Civic Light. In partnership with Four Forces Inc, and East Portland Resilience Coalition. Generous donations by many community members as well as local businesses Bella’s Italian Bakery and Paper & Twine PDX!

DateLive Entertainment
Fri, Feb 3DJ Chaach (Latin-American Beats)
Sat, Feb 4The Modern Folk (Acoustic Set)
Fri, Feb 10DJ CLRRRTY (Hip-hop, Funk, New Jack, House Beats)
Entertainment Schedule (Music) for Lights in Lents

The Community Art Creation Process

You participated in both in-person and virtual brainstorms to come up with ideas for the content & display, answering questions about the overall theme, the light of stars, as well as our East Portland special spin: What do you see for yourself and the neighborhood in the future? From there, you showed up to help figure out how to set-up and design the exhibit, then came for two full weeks to trace, paint, share your lights, and set up the exhibit. With everyone’s support and hard work, the exhibit is finally up, lit, and ready for our community to enjoy!

By the numbers

  • 720 sq ft of mural painted! (That’s 30 sides of 4’x6’ panels and SO MUCH PAINT!)
  • 92 unique participants joined in the exhibit creation process!
    • You showed up 182 times to help out throughout January
  • Volunteers came from 10 different East Portland Zip Codes
    • 74% of volunteers are neighbors from 97266 and 97206!
  • 500 Hours Volunteered since Jan 1, 2023… and counting!
    • 350 Community Volunteer Hours to date
    • 150 East Portland Collective Project Coordinator Hours to date 
  • 9+ community members collected and lend lights of all varieties
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Community Showers & Foot Care

A teal green flyer depicting graphics of a person under a shower and sitting in a chair while another person washes their feet. Text reads "Community Showers & Foot Care. Free access to hygeine services in a safe and welcoming enviornment.

Starting TODAY until Nov. 28: Community Showers and Foot Care will be EVERY MONDAY, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Lents, brought to the community by a partnership between Portland Street Response, University of Portland School of Nursing, @cultivateinitiatives, @eastpdxcollective, @pdxsaintslove and @drbnwbridge.

Every Monday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.,
at Lents Park, east side, next to the mural on the Pickles Stadium Building.

Can you help us reach the folks who need this the most by spreading the word in the community and sharing this flyer with your channels? 🙏🏽

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Mental Health First Aid Training

Mutual Mental Health First Aid promotional flyer

East Portland Collective has joined forces with Portland Street Response (PSR) to bring our Lents/East Portland community a skills-based training course that teaches every day folks the skills to respond to the signs of mental illness and substance use. At the end of the training, participants will receive a nationally-recognized certification (similarly to the one you’d get from a First Aid training) and will hopefully feel better prepared speaking to and helping a neighbor, friend, or family member in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Read more about the training below.

This training is part of our ongoing joint efforts to decrease the stigma around mental health and houselessness, and increase our community’s resiliency. There is normally a cost associated with obtaining the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certificate; however, that fee will be waived for East Portland Collective participants, thanks to the generosity of Portland Street Response. To further increase accessibility, we will also provide lunch to all participants, as well as childcare and interpretation upon request.

There are 20 spots available for the August 18, 2021 training. To apply, please fill out this form no later than August 2, 2021. We will notify you no later than August 4, 2021 if you’ve been admitted or placed on a waiting list.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches everyday people how to identify the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges (depression, anxiety, etc.) and substance use issues, and then gives people the tools to help someone who needs support or professional help.  

MHFA does not teach people to become the therapist or to provide treatment; it simply teaches someone how to identify a potential problem, how to approach someone and have that conversation, how to assess for risk of harm to self or others, and then what steps they can take to help the person get the help and support they need. 

MHFA training is very interactive.  Participants will also be given a participant handbook with chapters on various mental health disorders and lists of national resources available.  

What you will learn

Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.

En Español

Topics Covered

  • Depression and mood disorders
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Trauma
  • Psychosis
  • Substance Use disorders

Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well. Learn more about this training here.

Sign Up Here!