From traffic-stop information to a message of belonging, discover what attendees learned in Hazelwood, in IRCO’s community center …
At the reception desk, volunteer Yuuki Sasao-Ruef — with Kseniia Nesviatypaska, IRCO’s long-serving Community Engagement Liaison and Ukrainian Navigator – welcome guests to the Community Safety & Public Safety Resource Fair for Immigrants and Refugees, at IRCO’s Sokhom Tauch Community Center.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Some 175 people filled the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) Sokhom Tauch Community Center in Hazelwood on Saturday, September 12, for the “Community Safety & Public Safety Resource Fair for Immigrants and Refugees”.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) hosted it as part of the City of Portland’s “Welcoming Week” activities, bringing public safety-related bureaus and agencies together with community members.
In the kitchen, members of IRCO’s Slavic Group prepare food for guests at the fair – which was then served in the community center’s lobby.
Information tables lined the room. In the kitchen, members of IRCO’s Slavic Group prepared the food that was served in the lobby.
As the fair got underway, PPB Deputy Chief Brian Hughes told East Portland News that the Bureau’s participation was part of Welcoming Week, and that this gathering was focused on community safety.
Arts and crafts activities keep children engaged during the Community Safety & Public Safety Resource Fair.
The program included information about traffic-stop safety and awareness. Hughes described the aim as helping people understand what to expect during a traffic stop, and “how we can all be safe together”.
Building trust before a crisis
Hughes said the Police Bureau wanted to make connections before any emergency arises.
“By getting together before that day happens, hopefully that day never happens,” the PPB Deputy Chief remarked. “But on a day like this, when there’s no emergency, we can build a little trust between the police and the community.”
Talking with guests, it’s Portland Police Bureau Deputy Chief Brian Hughes, who discussed the Bureau’s focus on community safety at the fair.
Hughes also recalled a phrase from Chief Day: “It’s not’ the police and the community’; it’s just ‘the community’.”
IRCO Director of Government Relations Sokho Eath welcomed participants and dignitaries as the formal program began. Chief Brian Hughes then addressed the group, followed by District 1 City Councilor Loretta Smith, and finally Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.
Mayor Keith Wilson addresses fair attendees, calling Portland “a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state”.
Mayor Keith Wilson told attendees, “We’re a sanctuary city in a sanctuary state, and all immigrants and refugees are neighbors.
“As Councilor Smith noted, when you’re in Portland, we don’t think in terms of nations, skin color, religion, race, or anything else,” Wilson went on. “We just know you’re a Portlander at that point, and everybody’s welcome. During Welcoming Week, we’re here to welcome you, celebrate what it means to be a Portlander, and value our immigrant and refugee communities – because you are part of the fabric that makes Portland so amazing.”
Attendees listen as speakers share practical community-safety information, including what to expect during a traffic stop, and how residents and police can help keep one another safe.
The fair brought neighbors and public safety providers together around a shared goal: Building trust and helping everyone feel welcome and safe in the City of Roses.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
