A Case Study in Community Deliberation: Housing a Homeless Shelter

A Case Study in Community Deliberation: Housing a Homeless Shelter

Amie Thurber

Abstract

This paper explores a process of community deliberation utilized to engage more than 200 community members in the controversial siting of a new location for a homeless shelter. Through reflecting on best practices from theories of deliberative democracy, restorative justice and the just practice framework and an in-depth analysis of this specific case-study, this paper hopes to inform current social work practitioners in designing, implementing and evaluating processes of community deliberation around divisive issues. 

The History of Latino People in Washington County: Weaving Community

The History of Latino People in Washington County: Weaving Community

Amie Thurber, M.A.Ed

Abstract

This paper explores the pre-conditions which led to the establishment of a vibrant Latino community in Washington County, Oregon, focusing on 1960-1980. In the 1960s migrant agricultural workers from Texas and Mexico began settling in the Tualatin Valley of Northwestern Oregon. In this rural agrarian region grew a vibrant Latino community. A half-dozen founding families were involved in starting dozens of social welfare organizations – from community centers to health clinics, migrant worker unions to gas station co-ops. Today, the Latino population (15% county wide, and nearly 50% in some towns) has helped make Washington County the most ethnically diverse county in the state of Oregon. Through analyzing oral histories and archival documents, this paper explores the legacy of the founding Latino families in Washington County, including the bricks and mortar infrastructure they left behind as well as an ethic of family, industry, interdependence and allyship that informs the community today.