Community❯Support Groups

The Portland Grief House invites you to join The Lost Table, a welcoming space to gather in community, remember those we’ve lost, and share in the traditions that help us keep them close. Bring a dish, pull up a chair, and make a place at the table for the dead. Grief can be hard to understand, and sometimes what we need most is community, ritual, conversation, and food.

Together, we’ll explore how different cultures and traditions call to, honor, and make offerings to those who have died. In the spirit of Día de Muertos, we’ll create a shared space where the living and the dead can gather around the same table.

We’ll begin with a creative activity led by Mario Mesquita, inviting us to reflect on memory, food, and our relationships with those we’ve lost. Participants will be introduced to the ritual elements that will carry us through the evening.

Laura Green will lead a community conversation about intercultural traditions of Día de Muertos and other ways communities call to and remember their dead. Participants will have an opportunity to share stories, traditions, and memories, and to dedicate an offering to someone they have lost.

Bea Yeh will introduce the tradition of Hungry Ghost and lead us in making an offering to the dead. We’ll set places at our table for those who are no longer with us and share food as an act of remembrance and connection.

Our community offerings and tributes will be gathered at Ximena Morales’s altar, creating a shared space of remembrance that connects the different traditions and offerings brought into the room.

Throughout the evening, we’ll create something together through words, offerings, and remembrance. We’ll dedicate a community poem to the dead and close our gathering with a collective ritual of words, sound, and stillness.

Please bring:

• A dish to share, plus any serving utensils it needs. Consider bringing something that reminds you of a loved one or connects you to a family or cultural tradition.
• Please label your food with a card identifying any allergens or dietary considerations.
• Your own dinnerware (plate, bowl, utensils, napkin).
• A beverage for yourself, if you’d like something other than water.
• A photograph, name, or other small tribute to a loved one for the community altar, if you’d like.
• Please do not bring chips, salsa, or guacamole—Milagro will provide these.

The Portland Grief House is honored to continue this tradition, originally started by Side Yard Farm. El Centro Milagro is excited to partner with Portland Grief House to create a space for English- and Spanish-speaking community members to gather, remember, share traditions, and honor the dead together.

Schedule
4:00–4:30 PM — Opening Ritual & Activity
4:30–5:45 PM — Community Conversation & Offerings
5:45 PM — Dedication & Closing

Estimated Running Time: 3 hours
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+

The Portland SIMposium is a premier event designed for IT leaders, taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Portland, United States. This all-day event brings together CIOs, CISOs, and technology leaders from across the Pacific Northwest, offering a unique opportunity for collaboration, insight, and innovation. Attendees will engage in a series of mainstage panels, breakout sessions, and fireside conversations that delve into key themes reshaping technology leadership today. Topics of discussion will include AI-driven transformation, cybersecurity resilience, workforce evolution, and the human side of digital leadership. Participants will hear from executives who are at the forefront of technology change across various industries, as well as thought leaders from Oregon's vibrant innovation ecosystem. The event also features the prestigious Oregon CIO & CISO of the Year Awards, highlighting exceptional leadership and impact within the region. With the chance to connect with over 150 regional technology and business leaders, attendees can expect to gain actionable insights that will enhance their strategic governance and leadership effectiveness. The Portland SIMposium promises a day filled with knowledge-sharing, networking opportunities, and community engagement.

Imported from: http://calagator.org/events/1250482744

The Portland Grief House invites you to join The Lost Table, a resilient, welcoming space to gather in community and share experiences of loss. Bring a dish, pull up a chair, and share your heart in good company. Grief can be hard to understand, and sometimes what is needed most is community, conversation, and food. During the gathering, each participant will have a few minutes to share their grief in whatever way feels right—whether it's someone who is missed, something that has changed, a loss being carried, or an experience that continues to shape. While one person shares, the rest will listen with care and presence. Save time at the end of the evening to thank one another and connect, but please refrain from interrupting or responding during the sharing portion.

Día de Muertos and the month of November invite you to reflect on and remember loved ones who have passed—a time to celebrate their lives and meet death not with fear, but with love, memory, storytelling, and even humor. Mario Mesquita will lead an opening creative activity exploring memory and the role of cuisine in honoring loved ones, building toward a collective community tribute. Participants are welcome to bring a photograph of a loved one or create an offering featuring their loved one's name.

Bea Ogden will present the Hungry Ghost tradition and make an offering for the community ofrenda, opening a cultural exchange around how different traditions honor and remember the dead. Mario and Bea will also guide participants in writing a community poem, inviting each person to contribute a line or dedication to place on the altar.

Please bring:

• A dish to share, along with any serving utensils it requires. You're welcome to bring something simple—such as a bag of chips or fresh fruit—or a favorite dish that reminds you of a loved one.
• Your own dinnerware (plate, bowl, utensils, and napkin).
• Optional: A beverage for yourself if you would like something other than water.
• Optional: A photograph of a loved one to include in our community tribute

The Portland Grief House is honored to continue this tradition, originally started by Side Yard Farm. El Centro Milagro is excited to partner with Portland Grief House to create a welcoming space for both English- and Spanish-speaking community members to gather, remember, and heal together.

Portland Grief House les invita a unirse a La Mesa Perdida, un espacio resiliente y acogedor para reunirnos en comunidad y compartir nuestras experiencias de pérdida. Traigan un platillo, acerquen una silla y compartan su corazón en buena compañía. El duelo puede ser difícil de comprender y, a veces, lo que más necesitamos es comunidad, conversación y comida. Durante el encuentro, cada participante tendrá unos minutos para compartir su duelo de la manera que le resulte más natural: alguien a quien extrañamos, algo que ha cambiado, una pérdida que llevamos con nosotros, o una experiencia que sigue marcando nuestra vida. Mientras una persona comparte, el resto escucha con atención y presencia. Guardaremos tiempo al final de la noche para agradecer y conectar, pero pedimos que los participantes se abstengan de interrumpir ni de responder durante el momento de compartir.

El Día de Muertos y el mes de noviembre nos invitan a reflexionar y recordar a nuestros seres queridos fallecidos—un tiempo para celebrar sus vidas y enfrentar la muerte no con miedo, sino con amor, memoria, relatos e incluso humor. Mario Mesquita dirigirá una actividad creativa de apertura que explora la memoria y el papel de la cocina para honrar a nuestros seres queridos, construyendo hacia un tributo colectivo. Los participantes pueden traer una fotografía de un ser querido, o crear una ofrenda con el nombre de su ser querido.

Bea Ogden presentará la tradición del Fantasma Hambriento y hará una ofrenda a nuestra ofrenda comunitaria, abriendo un intercambio cultural sobre cómo distintas tradiciones honran y recuerdan a los difuntos. Mario y Bea también guiarán a los participantes en la escritura de un poema comunitario, invitando a cada persona a aportar una línea o dedicatoria para colocar en el altar.

Por favor traigan:

• Un platillo para compartir, junto con los utensilios de servir que necesite. Algo sencillo es bienvenido—como una bolsa de papas fritas o fruta fresca—o un platillo favorito que les recuerde a un ser querido.
• Su propia vajilla (plato, tazón, cubiertos y servilleta).
• Una bebida para ustedes mismos, si desean algo más que agua.
• Una fotografía de un ser querido para incluir en nuestro tributo comunitario (opcional).

Portland Grief House se siente honrado de continuar esta tradición, iniciada originalmente por Side Yard Farm. El Centro Milagro se emociona de asociarse con Portland Grief House para crear un espacio acogedor donde los miembros de las comunidades de habla inglesa y española puedan reunirse, recordar y sanar juntos.

WSU Vancouver MIS club and the Oregon Data Community host a free one-day training event for data professionals and students using the Microsoft Data Platform.

Session topics include SQL Server, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Azure Synapse, data analytics, visualization and more!

Coffee and Beverages will be provided, and lunch will be available for a small fee.

Conference attendance is free, but registration is required. Use the QR code below.

NODES 2026 is Neo4j's free, 24-hour global online conference, running across every time zone on November 12. The program is aimed at developers, data professionals, architects and AI engineers, with sessions on modern application development, multi-agent workflows, graph-backed retrieval and building context-rich systems that hold up in production. Talks are grouped by experience level, so there are introductory sessions for people new to graph databases alongside deeper technical material on knowledge graphs, agent orchestration and graph analytics at scale. Because the event streams continuously for a full day, Pacific-time attendees can join sessions in the morning, over lunch or in the evening, and recordings are typically published afterward. Registration is free through the Neo4j eve https://neo4j.com/event/nodes-2026-engineering-better-intelligence/

Offering recovery services for ages 14-35:

• Peer Mentoring
• Treatment
• Housing
• Mental Health
• Family Support

The National Alliance on Mental Health Southwest Washington offers a Veterans Support Group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of every month at 907 Harney St., Vancouver. Learn more at namiswwa.org.

Portland Fabric User Group It's that magical time of year again where we have our all day FREE technical conference at a local site. This year, we are once again holding our conference at Washington State University Vancouver, up in the Salmon Creek area. As many of you know, the active leadership lives in the Vancouver area, so we've naturally migrated the event to Vancouver due to the availability of high-quality sites with excellent parking. We're in partnership with WSU Vancouver and the WSU

HOPE Dementia Support Group is a weekly support group for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia. Held on Wednesday afternoons at The Camas Community Center, 1718 S.E. Seventh Ave., from 3 to 5 p.m.

Portland Analytics Club Calling all developers, AI engineers, software architects, data scientists, DevOps professionals, and tech enthusiasts — **TechConnect** is your ultimate destination for career growth, project showcasing, and global peer networking in the tech ecosystem.

Hosted in a self-led, Slack-style virtual space, this **virtual tech networking event** invites you to connect, collaborate, and innovate with a diverse community of tech minds and hiring professionals from around the wo

Saving Throw Studio presents G.A.T.H.E.R., previously called Beginner Friendly App Building for Innovators: a three-hour, innovation-focused workshop for people building software without a technical background. No experience is required and the session is structured to be judgment-free -- guided, founder-friendly building rather than a lecture. This edition digs into prompting accuracy, breaking complex features down into plans a non-engineer can actually execute, and the architectural decisions behind front-end design. Bring a laptop and whatever refreshments you want; there is no dress code. Hosted by Ryan Green at North Bank Innovations inside the Vancouver Innovation Center, 18110 SE 34th St, Vancouver, Washington. Park in Lot 1, the red lot. Weekend doors are locked, so latecomers sho https://luma.com/j9rh2whz

HOPE Dementia Support Group is a weekly support group for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia. Held on Monday afternoons at Highgate Senior Living, 9803 NE Hazel Dell Ave., from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

A safe place where ALL are welcome to be themselves. Find support, eat snacks, get creative, discuss favorite books, and more! Bring a friend, or make a new one. For grades 5-8.

Queer Youth Club is a youth-run club for that unites LGBTQIA+ and allied youth from neighboring schools. Email [email protected] for more information.

HOPE Dementia Support presents “Meet Me at the Movies” at the Kiggins Theatre, 1011 Main St., Vancouver. A different musical will start at 1:00 p.m. on the second Friday of every month. Visit kigginstheatre.com to see what musical will be shown next. The cost is $10 per person.

Better Futures Club is a weekly event (alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays) focused on imagining and making better futures. Imagine an artist community, a think tank, and a research center in the same building. People in all of those fields working alongside each other imagining and creating different futures together. Cross pollination and inspiration. Liberal Arts and STEM and R&D. Photographers, physicists, authors, astronomers, musicians, makers, mathematicians, designers, developers, fashionistas, climatologists and all manner of imaginative optimists. All Better Futures Club events are covered by the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct (https://www.contributor-covenant.org)

Tags: ruby, STEM, liberal arts, community, hacking, AI

Imported from: http://calagator.org/events/1250482760

Join us for a Death Café—an open, group-directed conversation about death with no set agenda or themes. This is a space for thoughtful discussion, not a grief support or counseling session. Together, we’ll explore ideas and questions about death and dying in a respectful, welcoming environment.

The Technology Association of Oregon convenes the Agentic AI Summit, a gathering for Oregon technology professionals focused on agentic AI - systems that plan, take actions, and use tools on a persons behalf rather than simply answering prompts. The program is aimed at engineering leaders, product teams, data and platform practitioners, founders, and the operators who have to decide where autonomous agents genuinely earn their keep. Expected themes include practical deployment patterns, evaluation and guardrails, security and data governance for tool-using systems, cost and reliability tradeoffs, and lessons learned from teams already running agents in production. As with other TAO summits, expect a mix of talks, panels, and structured networking with the regional tech community in downtow https://www.techoregon.org/event/agentic-ai-summit

Portland Analytics Club **What is FirstFridayFair Monthly Job Fair?** [FirstFridayFair Monthly Job Fair](https://events.tao.ai/pod/analytics.club/6j382kbpcnvd) is a **global virtual job fair and remote hiring event** hosted by the [Analytics.CLUB](Analytics.CLUB) community. This **online job fair platform** brings together **professionals, employers, recruiters, and career coaches** for an immersive, **self-managed career networking experience**. 🎥 **New to FirstFridayFair? Watch our explainer

1-2:30 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church, 905 N.W. 94th St. No affiliation with the church, this group of caregivers and PD patients is sponsored by Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon and provides support and information in a casual setting that is free. Meets the third Friday of each month. Questions, call 360-314-2737.

• Community members 50 and up
• Aging Solo Seniors
• Anyone who cares for someone age 50 and up
• Businesses and Organizations that work with clients ages 50 and up or caregivers
• Businesses and Organizations that offer products and services for clients age 50 and up or caregivers
• EVERYONE IS WELCOME feel free to share the information, social media posts on Villages Clark County or the attached flyer

Discover how contemporary AI applications can serve as powerful tools for independent living, lifelong learning, and daily problem-solving. This interactive workshop demonstrates practical accessibility functions hidden inside everyday tech, such as instant text-to-speech audio conversion, natural voice-command interactions, and real-time smartphone image recognition (perfect for reading small labels or identifying objects). Moving into deeper research skills, we will outline advanced prompting methods while unpacking the distinct structural limits of large language models. Learn exactly why AI should never replace professional advisory services, and discover specific strategies for spotting online medical misinformation.

For this session, participants are asked to bring smartphones, laptops or tablets with internet access. Hands-on activities will also include more in-depth prompt writing techniques.

Taught by Adult Services Librarian April Younglove of the Lake Oswego Public Library, with one‑on‑one assistance provided by students from the Lake Youth Leadership Council.

For more information and to register for this free class, please call the Adult Community Center at (503) 635-3758. This class will take place at the Adult Community Center, located at 505 G Avenue, Lake Oswego. This event is sponsored by the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center and the Lake Oswego Public Library.

OpenSearch Community & Triage Meetings The Data Prepper team will be triaging issues in the [Data Prepper project](https://github.com/opensearch-project/data-prepper). We meet at 11:00am US Central time.

Please see [our agenda in TRIAGING.md](https://github.com/opensearch-project/data-prepper/blob/main/TRIAGING.md#is-there-an-agenda-for-each-week) for details on our weekly agenda.

[Code of Conduct](https://github.com/opensearch-project/data-prepper/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)

This meeting i

This BIPOC support space is facilitated by Sielo Kaí Solar (he/him/el), a peer support worker who identifies as 2S, trans, disabled, mixed race, and a first-generation Mexican-American. As an artist, abolitionist, and community-centered facilitator, Sielo brings a warm, creative, and welcoming energy to the space.

Participants are invited to gather in a relaxed and flexible environment to snack, make art, chat, and play games as they wish. This space is intended to foster connection, creativity, and community care, allowing everyone to show up as they are and engage in ways that feel most comfortable.

Wacheno Welcome Center Conference Room (WC225) Monday, November 16, 2026, 12 – 1pm Join NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) for our weekly club meetings. We meet on Mondays, from noon – 1 p.m. in the Multicultural Center, room 161, located in the Wacheno Welcome Center, Oregon City Campus. Come for friendship, laughs, and community, because your mental health matters.

The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) affinity group meets on the 2nd Sunday of the month after service. We hope you can join us!

Reach out to Carol to join: [email protected]

Meets in person every Third Monday 12:30pm - 2:25pm in the Library

Offering recovery services for ages 14-35:

• Peer Mentoring
• Treatment
• Housing
• Mental Health
• Family Support

Working with data that's too large, too slow, or too messy for regular CSVs? Join us for an introduction to the {arrow} package in R. We'll explore how Arrow and Parquet files can make large datasets faster to store, read, and analyze, all while using the familiar dplyr workflows you already know and love. Using Portland's Biketown data, we'll convert, query, and visualize millions of rides without breaking a sweat (or our laptops). Bring your laptop if you want to follow along. No need to RSVP via Meetup, but we might share info ahead of time in the event comments!

Tags: data, r, women in tech

Imported from: http://calagator.org/events/1250482764

Join us each month to discuss infant and toddler feeding in a supportive, community environment. Led by International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs), this group covers a wide range of topics, including breast/bodyfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding, introducing solids, and weaning.

Because feeding is deeply connected to daily life, we also welcome open discussions on related parenting topics such as sleep patterns, soothing a crying baby, and navigating the postpartum adjustment. Come connect, share experiences, and get expert guidance on your family's feeding journey.

Villages Clark County Has offers Aging Solo in Clark County, a group for seniors age 50 and up, anyone who cares for someone age 50 and up and businesses and organizations that work with clients age 50 and up. The group meets from 1:30-3 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month at the 40 et 8 Boxcar Room, 2809 N.E. 78th St., Vancouver. A different topic will be explored each month. Attendance is free but donations are welcome. Questions? Contact Christina Keys at [email protected] or call 360-358-5018.

Portland Fabric User Group Explore how the Port of Portland is blending machine learning and AI with traditional BI to support operational and customer experience insights. Using the PDX terminal passenger‑arrival forecasting model and the Customer Experience Scorecard as examples, we’ll trace the end‑to‑end data journey – from raw data to Databricks pipelines to Power BI. The session emphasizes practical design considerations for surfacing AI‑generated data products or advanced analytics in a w

Dementia-Friendly Clark County hosts a Memory Cafe at 10 a.m. on the first Friday of the month at Prairie Tavern, 14925 N.E. Caples Rd., Brush Prairie. Memory Cafe provides a welcoming space for people living with dementia and their caregivers to socialize, enjoy refreshments and participate in activities. Sign up at eventbrite.com or call 360-513-5754.

A safe place where ALL are welcome to be themselves. Find support, eat snacks, get creative, discuss favorite books, and more! Bring a friend, or make a new one. For grades 5-8.

Queer Youth Club is a youth-run club for that unites LGBTQIA+ and allied youth from neighboring schools.

The National Alliance on Mental Health Southwest Washington offers an LGBTQIA+ Support Group at 3 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of the month, via Zoom. Learn more and get Zoom links at namiswwa.org.

The Tech Academy **How can developers use AI effectively without losing sight of the fundamentals?**

AI is changing how software is built and how developers approach everyday problems. For students and early-career engineers, keeping up with new tools and practices can feel overwhelming. Understanding how the industry has evolved and learning to make thoughtful decisions about AI can help you adapt and build skills that last.

Our guest speaker, **Bethany Janos**, is a senior software engineer

Our mission is to provide a safe, compassionate, and inclusive space where individuals experiencing grief can find understanding, connection, and community. Through shared experiences, emotional support, and guided healing resources, we aim to empower each person to navigate their grief at their own pace. We honor every story, validate every emotion, and walk alongside one another as we move toward renewed strength, resilience, and meaning.

Please contact Vishal Nair at 360.823.9208 or [email protected] with any questions!

HOPE Dementia Support Group, 10 a.m. to noon Mondays at Cogir at The Quarry, 415 S.E. 177th Ave., Vancouver, is for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia. Call 360-513-5754 with questions.

Join Adult Services Librarian April Younglove from the Lake Oswego Public Library for a hands-on, four-part series designed to demystify artificial intelligence. Learn how to navigate the digital world, protect your privacy, and use AI tools with confidence and skepticism. Sessions include clear, live demonstrations, interactive discussions, and personalized tech support. Free for all participants.

• Location: Lake Oswego Adult Community Center
• Cost: Free for both residents and non-residents
• Requirements: Please bring a smartphone, laptop, or tablet with internet access for the hands-on practice portions.

Foundations for Everyday Use

Kick off the series by stripping away the tech jargon and discovering how artificial intelligence can simplify your day-to-day life. This foundational session introduces core AI concepts and terminology—including AI summarizers, generative chatbots, and natural prompting—in clear, approachable language. Through live demonstrations of Claude AI, Microsoft Copilot, and ChatGPT, you will learn how to safely use these tools to brainstorm recipes, plan custom travel itineraries, and organize daily tasks. We will introduce the essential "Ask–Tweak–Verify" (ATV) framework alongside critical privacy guidelines to ensure you protect your personal data right from the start.

One-on-one lab assistance is proudly provided by student volunteers from the Lake Youth Leadership Council to help you configure settings on your personal devices.

Date / Time: Tuesday, September 15 | 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Class Number: 34825

Hands-On Skills and Sandbox Practice

Build directly upon your foundational knowledge with a supportive, highly interactive sandbox session dedicated to mastering digital assistants. In Part 2, participants shift from watching demonstrations to writing and refining their own prompts. Under patient guidance, you will practice conversational techniques, discover how subtle shifts in word choices yield dramatically improved answers, and learn how to implement standard internet safety boundaries. A major focus of this workshop will be learning how to cross-reference and fact-check chatbot output to ensure your digital interactions remain secure, accurate, and productive.

Personalized, one-on-one tech support will be provided throughout the hands-on practice intervals by members of the Lake Youth Leadership Council.

Date / Time: Tuesday, October 20 | 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Class Number: 34826

Helping Seniors Navigate Daily Life With Confidence

Discover how contemporary AI applications can serve as powerful tools for independent living, lifelong learning, and daily problem-solving. This interactive workshop demonstrates practical accessibility functions hidden inside everyday tech, such as instant text-to-speech audio conversion, natural voice-command interactions, and real-time smartphone image recognition (perfect for reading small labels or identifying objects). Moving into deeper research skills, we will outline advanced prompting methods while unpacking the distinct structural limits of large language models. Learn exactly why AI should never replace professional advisory services, and discover specific strategies for spotting online medical misinformation.

Personalized, one-on-one tech support will be provided throughout the hands-on practice intervals by members of the Lake Youth Leadership Council.

Date / Time: Tuesday, November 17 | 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Class Number: 34827

Becoming a Confident, Critical AI User

The final installation equips you with an essential digital defense toolkit to evaluate whether online content is authentic, accurate, and trustworthy. We will break down common system errors, reveal how "hallucinations" occur, and introduce quick, library-approved methods for verifying data across independent sources. Crucially, this session helps participants recognize how malicious actors deploy technology for modern fraudulent schemes—including cloning voices for identity scams, fabricating hyper-realistic deepfakes, and pushing complex cryptocurrency traps. Leave with the confidence and critical awareness needed to enjoy modern digital conveniences safely and securely.

Personalized, one-on-one tech support will be provided throughout the hands-on practice intervals by members of the Lake Youth Leadership Council.

Date / Time: Tuesday, December 15 | 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Class Number: 34828

Missed a previous session? Access archived video recordings, interactive presentation slides, and educational handouts from our past technology literacy classes below:

Explore the sophisticated tools and methodologies professional librarians utilize to identify computer-generated texts, altered documents, and artificial imagery. This session provides actionable, real-world clues to help you differentiate between genuine human creations and artificial content in your daily newsfeeds and correspondence.

This class was originally presented at the Lake Oswego Public Library.

• Watch the Presentation Video on YouTube
• View Interactive Presentation Slides
• Download Class Instructional Handout

Navigate the rapidly-evolving digital landscape with clarity and balance. This session pulls back the curtain on automated "content farms," breaking down how social media algorithms, financial pay-per-click incentives, and strategic influence campaigns purposefully accelerate the distribution of false narratives. Learn to evaluate source motivations and protect your digital footprint from predatory content design.

This class was originally presented at the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center.

• Watch the Presentation Video on YouTube
• View Interactive Presentation Slides
• Download Class Instructional Handout

For questions or more information regarding our technology programs, please contact Adult Services Librarian April Younglove at [email protected].

HOPE Dementia Support meets 2:30-4 p.m. Wednesdays at Fairway Village Clubhouse, 15509 S.E. Fernwood Dr., Vancouver. Call 360-513-5754 with questions.

This relaxed evening at the Clubhouse offers moms and caregivers of neurodivergent teens and adults a welcoming space for conversation, snacks, and connection with people who understand. The gathering is grounded in acceptance, understanding, and kindness, and participants are welcome to come as they are and stay for as long as they like. Nonalcoholic beverages will be available, and guests may bring their own drinks. Registered participants will receive an email with options for adding food to a group delivery order. Please register in advance so organizers can prepare a comfortable space.

AI agents dominate current industry discussion, yet clear explanations of what they are, why they fail, and what roles they are creating remain scarce. This session offers a foundational introduction for students and early-career technologists. We’ll examine what distinguishes an agent from a conventional chatbot — tools, memory, and planning loops — and trace an agent through the completion of a realistic task. We then turn to the less-demonstrated half of the problem: the data an agent requires to be useful, and the boundaries it requires to be safe.

A free men’s support group meets from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at Playmakers Sports Bar & Grill, 4327 S. Settler Drive, Suite 100, Ridgefield.

The nonprofit TBI4Life Support Group for Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury and their friends and family meets from 2-4 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month in Conference Room 202 of the Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Office Building. RSVP by calling 564-236-5620. For more details, visit www.tbi4life.com.

Loss of a Child Peer Support Group, hosted by NWCAVE, is a peer-led support group for families navigating the loss of a child for any reason. The group offers a safe space where people can openly share their experiences and support each other. The group meets from 6-7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month and from 2-4 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month at NAMI Southwest Washington, 4201 N.E. 66th Ave., Suite 105, Vancouver. Online attendance is available. For details, call NWCAVE at 360-852-8019 or email [email protected].

NAMI hosts a Family Support Group every other Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

This Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences.

NAMI’s support groups are unique because they follow a structured model, ensuring everyone has an opportunity to be heard and have proper support.

Event is free of cost. No specific medical therapy or treatment is endorsed. Confidential. For more information visit namiswwa.org.

HOPE Dementia Support Group is a weekly support group for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at Columbia Presbyterian Church, 805 S.E. Columbia Ridge Dr., Vancouver.

HOPE Dementia Support Group is a weekly support group for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia. Held virtually Wednesday afternoons via Zoom from 1 to 3 p.m.

Portland Analytics Club Join a global, open-format gathering for those building and questioning AI — from real-world use cases to critical conversations around ethics, bias, and transparency. Every month, we create space for developers, researchers, and policymakers to connect in meaningful, unmoderated dialogue — with flexible chats, peer learning, and 1-on-1 video networking. Watch how it works: **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOYkxBjrAYY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOYkxBjrAYY)** **Wh