Welcome to Sisters, Brenna!
We’d like to welcome to the team, Brenna Fawson!
She comes from a background in community organizing and will be working in our Systemic Change team on research and engagement projects.
Title: Community Organizer - Research & Engagement
Pronouns: she/they
What drew you to work at Sisters of the Road? Which of Sisters’ philosophies do you relate to the most and why?
I resonate with all the Sisters’ philosophies, but if I had to pick one, it’d be Systemic Change. Without systemic change that resolves the root causes of poverty and homelessness, people will continue to experience these cycles. This change happens through uniting the many voices, experiences, and actions of people who have experienced the oppressive conditions of the system we live in to change the structures that profit from and perpetuate this exploitation. Sisters has a rich history of building community and implementing solutions–in the short- and long-term–to homelessness and poverty. Being part of this work is what drew me to Sisters’ Systemic Change team and this position.
What do you think people misunderstand or get wrong about homelessness or poverty?
I think it can sometimes be difficult to see the bigger picture: that homelessness, poverty, and a lack of affordable housing are ultimately caused by capitalism, the economic system we all live in. The orientation of the economy towards profit at all costs means that in the US (and globally), workers are earning lower real wages, corporations are continuing to monopolize whole industries, many jobs have become contractual so employers can avoid spending money on healthcare and meeting labor condition requirements, and affordable housing has become harder to attain for millions of people. In Portland, many of my community members are struggling to make ends meet and find adequate housing, while the city spends more and more money on policing people just trying to survive instead of comprehensive, available, affordable, and safe housing options (did you know that homeless Portlanders make up about 2% of the city’s population and approximately 50% of all Portland arrests?). The structure and implementation of capitalism prioritizes financial gain for the few over social welfare for the many, leading to an unequal distribution of wealth and limited access to basic necessities for many communities, perpetuating the existence of poverty and homelessness here in Portland and around the world.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
I love eating and trying new foods, preferably with loved ones and community members! I am also a member of the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP), an organization in solidarity with the Filipino peoples’ struggle for national liberation and democracy.
What’s one book or film that you recommend?
Book: No Windmills in Basra by Diaa Jubaili
