According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Oregon has one of the highest percentages of homelessness in the country. In Portland alone, 3,800 people sleep on the streets, in a shelter, and in temporary housing on any given night. Transition Projects is a non-profit organization that provides individuals with resources to match them with secure and sustainable housing. They assist more than 10,000 people experiencing homelessness each year and on any given day, they help more than 700 people with basic needs, including shelter, food, and clothing. This summer, I will be able to explore issues of homelessness from a development perspective.
My name is Emma Rosenthal, and I am a double major in Chemistry and International Development. I am originally from Portland, Oregon, but have loved exploring New Orleans during my freshman year. On campus, I am involved in Tulane Quidditch, Phi Mu sorority, the Newcomb Scholars program, and the Changemaker Institute. In the fall I will be serving as an Orientation Coordinator and a Service Learning Assistant.
This summer, I will be working in the development department of Transition Projects. I will be assisting in planning the organizations “Veterans Stand Down” event that connects homeless veterans and their families to a variety of services dealing with health, employment, and other support systems. Aside from the event, I will be helping the department with the paperwork to schedule volunteers and match individuals with affordable housing. I have five different goals to guide my learning this summer: 1. Gain exposure to development issues in my hometown, 2. Assist with prospect research, volunteer outreach, management, and data entry, 3. Develop a deeper understanding of the homeless community and techniques to working with them, 4. Test different computer programs to organize the nonprofit’s data and organize the “Veterans Stand Down” event, and 5. Compare this opportunity with other development projects I’ve been involved in.
My internship will give me the opportunity to take leadership roles in the field of development. Moreover, it will be a gateway to learning about the opportunities available in the field. As a woman, a leader, and a member of my community, I am very excited to work for Transition Projects this summer. To prepare for the internship, I am reading news articles about homelessness in Portland and exploring organizations that focus on similar issues. For more information, here is the link to the Transition Projects website: http://www.tprojects.org.