Think Out Loud

When Oregon wildland firefighter Kevin Conley heard about the wildfires in Los Angeles, he wanted to do something to help. Conley is currently riding his bike from Astoria to Northern California to raise money for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, which provides financial and mental health resources to those fighting the fires. We’ll talk with Conley about his ride and the importance of mental health services for firefighters.

The difficult things we experience in our lives help create who we are. But how do the stories we tell ourselves - and others - about that trauma affect us? Lidia Yuknavitch, the celebrated Oregon writer of fiction, essays and memoirs, has written a new book about how reframing our stories can release us from what she calls “the tyranny of our mistakes, our traumas, and our confusions.” Yuknavitch joins us in the studio to talk about her latest book, “Reading the Waves.”

The MusicOregon Echo Fund provides funding to musicians to support career development, allowing artists to fund non-performance projects like recording in a studio or filming a music video.  BendretheGiant, a Portland-based ensemble, has been working on recording music with help from the fund. The group’s new EP, "Wading In The Deep End" will be released on March 7. BendreTheGiant is also headed on tour with stops in Oregon, California and Washington. The group will play in Eugene at John Henry’s on Feb. 13 and at Alberta Street Pub in Portland on March 1st. They join us for an in-studio performance.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson campaigned on ending unsheltered homelessness in the city. He recently released a detailed “blueprint” for achieving that goal, adding thousands of shelter beds in the coming year. The city is also facing a $100 million budget shortfall. Wilson joins us to share his thoughts on the budget crunch, the details of the expanded shelter capacity, and how he's thinking about the rights and wellbeing of city residents in light of recent executive orders from the president.

Lester Griffin launched The Foundation nearly two years ago in response to his own experiences with the criminal justice system and the support he wished he had as a youth growing up in Vancouver. The nonprofit provides resources for at-risk teens and young adults such as job development skills, mentorship and community service opportunities. It also helps adults recently released from incarceration by providing them free boxes of food, hygiene supplies and access to a team of navigators with lived experience to support their reentry into society.   The Columbian previously wrote about The Foundation and, more recently, about Griffin’s efforts to open a transitional housing complex in Vancouver in the coming weeks for people released from prison. The Restored Transitional Complex will have 14 beds, a communal living area and aims to provide stable housing for occupants for up to a year. Griffin joins us to share more details, along with Ajay Harnage, a formerly incarcerated individual who hopes to move into the new facility.