“As a culture, we have bought into a belief system where if we just traumatize people a little bit harder, they’ll snap out of it, that they will decide to fix themselves, that they will decide to go a different route. And it’s just so not supported by any evidence.”

Mike Schmidt, General Counsel for the Urban League of Portland and former Multnomah County DA talks to Kat and Kip about the upcoming Legislative Day of Action in Salem for the Urban League of Portland as well as other important and timely issues. 

Please sign up ASAP at this link or call 503.280.2600 to volunteer. 

*no, really this time. We can math. Kind of.

The post Episode 49*: Mike Schmidt on the ULPDX Legislative Day of Action Feb 11! appeared first on Progress Portland.

“You put two New Yorkers in the same space and it’s like -your momma-“

Kip and new co-host Kat Mahoney  talk about Progress Portland moving into 2026, a little about Kat’s background, and about being rude New Yorkers.

Secret Video link!

*Not really. But whatevs

Kip and Kat…

The post Episode 49*: Kat and Kip talk 2026 appeared first on Progress Portland.

“Home is when you belong to people, to a people”

We’re back after a long and much needed break! In this episode, Kip and Kat talk with Kristle Delihanty of PDX Saints Love about the org’s origins, housing vs. shelter, and the city’s fuckery around grant money.

PDX Saints Love Mission:
At PDX Saints Love, we advance love in Portland by building bridges of compassion to restore our neighborhoods. We remove barriers and create equitable opportunities for everyone.

We focus on addressing social determinants of health in underserved communities, especially those living unsheltered or housing insecure. This includes people with disabilities, mental and emotional health challenges, substance abuse disorders, communities of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and immigrant & refugee families.
Our Care Belongs to Each Other.

Please support their work at https://pdxsaintslove.org/

The post Episode 48: Kristle Delihanty of PDX Saints Love appeared first on Progress Portland.

“… we need to make sure the right responders show up”

Today is a short episode that sprang from a conversation I had with Kip on July 24, the day after a meeting of PCCEP (Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing). PCCEP is a 13-person committee of citizens tasked with monitoring the Portland Police Bureau’s implementation of the DOJ Settlement Agreement, which is an important job. 

In June of this year, a man tragically died in police custody. Kip talks about the case, what we know and what is under investigation. 

https://www.portland.gov/PCCEP

The post Episode 46: Kip Silverman update on police oversight in PDX appeared first on Progress Portland.

“The practice of being thankful, I think, is a huge part of why we’re here”

Prentice Onayemi has carved out a varied and unique place here in Portland. He is a founding partner of Grains of Salt, a consulting form that supports community-driven projects at the intersection of the arts and real estate; he is co-founder of Foglight Farms, a BIPOC-owned and operated farm in Hillsboro; and he applies his rich bass to narrating audio books. Tim and Prentice share a history they only recently discovered, having both served as director of communications for ArtPlace America, a creative placemaking initiative that seeded many interesting projects across the country. Prentice talks about how he sees all of his work as connected, and how he thinks art can thrive in our city. 

http://prenticeonayemi.com/

https://www.grainsofsalt.co

The post Episode 45: Prentice Onayemi appeared first on Progress Portland.

“The status quo in multiple ways is literally killing us”

The unsinkable Steph Routh joins us, fresh from a stint working with Senator Khanh Pham in Salem. Steph ran for City Council last year and was our very first guest, and continues to be a force of nature in local politics and activism. We talk about Electrify Oregon, the Mamdani Effect, the social benefits of biking, and much more.

The post Episode 44: Catching Up With Steph Routh appeared first on Progress Portland.

“Some of the places you see there’s affordable housing or subsidized housing, the closest grocery store is about a half mile (or further) away. And that doesn’t sound like a lot, but (for many people) a half mile just isn’t feasible”

Kip and Tim interview self-proclaimed “local nuisance” Kat Mahoney, attorney, board member of Portland Neighbors Welcome, former executive director of Sisters of the Road, and general rabble rouser. This is officially a “shit-talking” episode, so you’ll hear some dirt. Topics include the Mayor’s shelter-heavy approach to homelessness and protesting past, present and future in Portland. 

Kat Mahoney practices law specializing in Family, Domestic Violence and Animal Law. You can engage with here here: https://kmahoneylaw.com/

The post Episode 43: The Shit-Talking Episode with Kat Mahoney, Portland’s “Anarchist” Attorney appeared first on Progress Portland.

“First of all, being out of office is great, I highly recommend it. There are bittersweet aspects of it, you know. I spent 4 years building some things. And we saw incredible growth in the DA’s office and built programs from scratch. And spent the last two years of my term essentially being put on my back foot… (meanwhile) during my tenure (crime dropped) precipitously. “

Former Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt joins us to talk about his work as General Council at Urban League of Portland and his new podcast, The Schmidt Show PDX. Mike turned lemons into lemonade, turning the expensive negative campaign against him into promotion for a podcast that focuses on the forces for good in Portland. We also shoot the proverbial shit about the Current City Council, Portland Police Bureau, County politics, and more. 

The post Episode 42: Mike Schmidt of Urban League of Portland and “The Schmidt Show PDX” appeared first on Progress Portland.

“(the Outside In model) is a Housing First model. If there were more models like that, that would be incredible. The success rate of transitioning those on-site youth to stable housing out in the community is almost 90%.”

We talk to two insiders providing homeless services downtown to get deeper into what Portland needs to do better. Liz Starke is Development Director of Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center serving women, children and gender non-conforming folks experiencing the trauma of abuse, loss of home and other disruptive life challenges. Justine Ziegler is Development Director at Outside In, helping homeless youth and other marginalized people move towards improved health and self-sufficiency. 

“If I had to choose one thing to pressure people to put resources in, it’s the folks that have the most severe physical and mental disabilities. Because that bogs down our agency. When someone’s having a mental health crisis, how many of our staff members does it take to get that person back down to baseline and keep everybody safe when we could have been working with 5 people inside that were ready to work towards other goals. I think that’s the challenge, because the police don’t have the capacity to deal with it, the jails are full, the hospitals are full. So there’s no where to send these people, and those are the folks that the neighbors are the most upset about.” – Liz Starke, Development Director of Rose Haven

Learn more and support these incredible organizations at:

Rose Haven: https://rosehaven.org/

Outside In: https://outsidein.org/

The post Episode 41: Liz Starke and Justine Ziegler appeared first on Progress Portland.

“Share it (this podcast) with people you don’t like”

No interview this time, just a check-in on what’s happening with the City Council, including the potential ban of algorithmic price fixing of rents and the proposal from Councilors Avalos and Green for creating social housing. Also we attempt to keep our focus on how national politics impact us locally but end up going off on tangents and rants (unavoidable these days). 

Stay focused and don’t forget to keep your joy!

The post Episode 40: City Hall Update and Ramblings on the National Insanity appeared first on Progress Portland.