My name is Analy Rendon, and I am a sophomore at Warner Pacific University. I come from a Latino family with parents that immigrated to the United States. My siblings and I were born in Portland and have grown up in the South East part of Portland our whole lives. As of right now I live near Foster and 92nd and this neighborhood has changed drastically in the past couple of years. South East Foster has become more gentrified and because of this my family and I have definitely experienced some challenges. Not too long ago the owner of the apartment my family is living in raised our rent due to the changes going on in my neighborhood. This is the third time that our rent has increased in the past 3 years. My dad pays more than 60 percent of his monthly income on rent, not including bills and other needed expenses. Since our neighborhood keeps getting more and more gentrified my family is living with the fear of or our rent raising more and more until we can not afford it anymore and are forced to move.
A couple of years ago a block down my house someone bought the Chevron gas station, Pantheon Banquet hall, Copper Penny, and the piece of land that the Lents Farmers Market was held at and tore down the buildings that have been there for years. These buildings were turned into what are now four different units of fancy apartments, a gym, a coffee/bakery shop, a bar, a bubble tea place, and a new clinic. Not just that, but down the street from my house the Fred Meyer on 82nd and Foster closed due to the store underperforming and turned it into an Asian store. Fred Meyer had been there for generations and for the people that live around there Fred Meyer had been their go-to daily necessities and grocery store since. The Copper Penny, Pantheon Banquet hall, Farmer's market, Fred Meyer and even the Chevron gas station were big landmarks. However, they are now gone and only a memory.
Gentrification in Portland is leaving thousands of people and families with children homeless and it is destroying our communities. New people who are coming to live in gentrified neighborhoods are primarily white people, pushing out a lot of Latino and people of color and making neighborhoods less diverse.