Family Forward Oregon

Mission

At Family Forward, we envision an Oregon where the unpaid and underpaid labor of caregiving is seen and valued. We build collective power and amplify the voices of parents and caregivers. In community, we pass policies for our families as we create more racial, gender and economic justice.

Bottom Line for Portland

Over the past 15 years, we have led the fight for policies that support women, mothers, caregivers and families in Oregon. Because of our work, Oregonians now have state-wide paid sick days, the most inclusive and equitable paid family and medical leave program in the country, historical increases to state funding for child care, increased access to affordable child care, as well as policies that support pay equity, reproductive health, a higher minimum wage, and more.

Quote

"It’s no secret that living in Oregon for the average family is unaffordable. Like every other state in this country, Oregon depends on folks showing up to work each and every day. As such, it is not unreasonable for us to expect our state to assure us we will have affordable and safe places to send our children while we work. We NEED and deserve affordable childcare, homes, utilities, and food. 

I have lived the struggle of juggling it all first hand. It was unreasonable then and it’s even more unreasonable now. My experience is certainly something I am proud of for overcoming, and it should be a source of embarrassment for the State of Oregon. We should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing families to continue to struggle, especially when we acknowledge how much harder things have become in the years since I got my family through our homelessness. Our current way of living is simply not sustainable for our childcare providers OR working parents needing childcare. We have to do something, and now.

Caregiving is hard, serious work. Our children are a valuable and vulnerable population. Oregon has a responsibility to look out for all of us, caregivers and children alike. In my personal capacity, I partner with Family Forward so other families have the ability to meet their most basic needs. Our shared goal to bring fully-funded childcare to Oregon is one incredible step to ensuring they can do that, and all of us—parents/caregivers or not—will benefit from it."

— Lisa Ebony, Mother of 5, Community Organizer

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Family Forward believes in a comprehensive approach to equity where people from all races, genders, classes, languages, sexual orientations, abilities, religions and non-religions have the tools to access power so that just outcomes are possible. Equity to us means not leaving behind any segment of the population for short term gain. Historically oppressed voices must be amplified and we must work together to remove barriers, create systems change and change the dominant culture.

Incentives

All donors who contribute $25 or more throughout the Give!Guide campaign will be entered to win a garden starter plant package from Peoria Gardens! 

The package will consist of 20 plants to start your choice of a pollinator garden or vegetable garden. Plants will be delivered to the winner at the start of the spring planting season.

Partner(s)

Peoria Gardens is a second-generation, family-owned greenhouse committed to growing the highest quality plants and have been a longtime supporter of Family Forward Oregon as vocal advocates alongside us in the movement for paid family and medical leave.

Our nonprofit partner, Adelante Mujeres, builds a more just society by empowering Latinas to lead, focusing on the needs of marginalized immigrant Latina women.