PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC) has operated in Portland for more than 60 years. Currently located at Rosemary Anderson High School in North Portland, POIC offers a free 12-week construction pre-apprenticeship program for people of color and others historically underrepresented in the trade. The program is comprised mostly of young adults 18 or older.
"Most of these folks have never picked up a hammer or tape measure before starting the class," said Torre Santhrum, head instructor of the summer program. "We are three days into a build here. On Monday morning, we had a gravel parking lot with nothing in it. By the end of today, we should have four walls and a roof."
The group is working on a prototype for a village that will include up to 26 sleeping pods. They are collaborating with Cultivate Initiatives, which is creating tiny homes as part of their intern program, where they employ homeless individuals to pick up trash and remove graffiti. They're still working on a timeline, but say the first spots for the tiny homes will be in East Portland.
"We have 15 to 20 people working in our workforce program every day," said Matthew McCarl, director of development and relationships at Cultivate Initiatives. "They need a place to live to build stability. We desperately need these pods here at Cultivate Initiatives, but the city as a whole needs them. We hope this can be part of a broader continuum of shelter and housing units."
Emoni Williams, 19, born and raised in Oregon, said she was heading down the wrong path after high school until her mentor introduced her to POIC.
"When I got this chance to turn things around," Williams said, "it was actually really good, and that's why I really appreciate POIC. Any time I need anything, POIC is most definitely there."