Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center

About Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center and Rosemary Anderson High School (POIC+RAHS) POIC + RAHS has been a beacon for communities of color, particularly the Black and African American community, for more than 50 years. POIC + RAHS was originally founded to provide culturally specific workforce training and career placement services to counter discriminatory practices keeping people of color unemployed, underemployed, and unable to access wealth building opportunities. Then, viewing education as a critical component of a community's success, POIC + RAHS expanded by founding Rosemary Anderson High School (RAHS), an accredited alternative high school, in 1983 and later an accredited middle school in 2018. Overall, with five school campuses now and more than 100 staff, students are supported with caring educators, culturally specific curricula, and safe spaces. Today, POIC + RAHS provides a continuum of education, career, and family services. From reintroducing houseless teens to the classroom, to pairing gang-affected students with meaningful career opportunities, to helping youth experiencing domestic violence find stability and hope through mentorship - POIC + RAHS helps youth and adults reimagine and rewrite their life stories. In addition to these direct services, POIC + RAHS also works towards systems change - partnering across all sectors towards policies and practices that address root causes of generations-long economic, judicial, academic, and social inequities.