Monday, Jan. 28th
In Washington County, Safe Place Youth Shelter is open to Youth ages 14-17 years:
Safe Place Youth Shelter, 454 SE Washington Street, Hillsboro
Target Population: Youth ages 14 to 17 years ONLY
Intake hours: All day/night
* No pets.
* Tri-Met Bus # 57 and MAX station at 3rd and Washington Street, Hillsboro.
* Evening meal provided.
Winter Shelter Hotline: Dial 503-721-1500 Monday-Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-6pm
The first week of the new Severe Weather Shelter Program:
Forest Grove United Church of Christ - 21 people on the 4th night open - including one family with children
Hillsboro United Church of Christ - 3 people
Tualatin United Methodist Church - 6 people, including one family with a 7 year old. The family traveled from Gresham because all of the shelters in Multnomah County were full.
Many other churches provide volunteers working as hosts, as well as helping with food and provision/serving of hot meals each night.
Current information is through Thursday, Jan. 24th only.
For up to date information about the Severe Weather Shelter Program, when these shelters are open, locations, etc. - call 211 Info. From most locations in the Portland Metro area, dialing the three digit number (211) will be sufficient.
A note from Eric Cannon re: the SWS program in Forest Grove, which was activated last week.
*******
There is an ongoing miracle happening in Forest Grove. It certainly can be called Community Building, but it's more. It's about what happens when fear is put aside and human love takes over along with great faith, courage, and dedication.
Last night there were 21 people who spent the night on the floor at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ. People who have no where to go and who live outside are beginning to hear that, at least when the weather gets really cold, there is a place for them which is warm and safe. They are provided a hot meal served by smiling faces. There is conversation, couches to sit on and light to read by. There are clean rest rooms, and sinks with clean warm water.
But, most important, there are neighbors and fellow human beings who have given of their time to spend an evening or a night at the church so that these people who have no home can be warm and safe. And this is not just members of the FGUCC. The broader community has responded as well. People from other churches are visiting, bringing food and a willingness to pitch in. Students at Pacific University also are willing to lend a hand. Clothing and blankets and gloves and toiletries are coming in to be handed out.
The Shelter at FGUCC will close after Friday night as the weather looks to improve for a spell. A meeting will be called of those who helped out to evaluate peoples feelings and thoughts and suggestions about what has been done. Operational changes will be made based on our experience this past two weeks. Everything will be on the table for discussion and change.
Tim Orr and Tori Eaton have been incredible. Coordinating people, answering calls and emails with the many offers of help has been a huge undertaking. No one could have anticipated the hours and hours these two people have put in to allow this to happen. But the rewards have been great as well. There is something very special about allowing a person who is cold and hopeless, who feels abandoned by the community, to come into a place that is warm and welcoming. And to have so many people step forward to welcome these outcasts, people who will not avert their gaze, but rather give of themselves for their brothers and sisters, this is an incredible reward.
Community building? Absolutely. And so much more.
Let us give praise and thanks to all who are involved and those who spent so much time putting the Severe Weather Plan together. There are too many names to list, and I dare say they have been rewarded. We all have.
From Eric Cannon - a note about the camp out, which took place on January 5th, along with a link to the video filmed by KGW news.
It was very cold out, and Jeane and I and the
other nine people who spent the night outside
last night were very happy to return home this
morning. We were also overwhelmed to think of
those people who were outside with us across the
county who have no home to return to. Come early
to our Town Hall next Saturday morning at the
Tigard United Methodist Church. The round table
discussion starts at 10AM and goes untill noon.
Attached is the poster. Please print it and post
it and tell your friends. But first, watch this
video:
http://tinyurl.com/ytq5y5
http://www.equityatlas.org and/or we can provide you with a copy of the Atlas if you RSVP and commit to participating in a workshop.
These 2-hour workshops are a relatively ambitious attempt to generate rich and robust discussion around innovative solutions. Please come prepared with your ideas so that we can make the most efficient use of our time together. If you know of others who are familiar with the Atlas, immersed in these issues, and/or have good ideas to contribute to our discussion please forward this invitation to them!
The workshop will take place at 5 different locations on 5 different dates ~ choose the one that works best for you:
1. January 15th at The Beaverton Resource Center (12500 SW Allen Blvd), 6:30-8:30pm
2. January 16th at SEIU Local49 (3536 SE 26th Ave.), 2:00-4:00pm
3. January 23rd at Sellwood Community Center (1436 SE Spokane St), 2:00-4:00pm
4. January 29th at Ft. Vancouver Library (1007 E. Mill Plain Blvd.), 6:30-8:30pm
5. February 1st at Gresham Library (385 N.W. Miller Avenue), 2:00-4:00pm
Please RSVP to attend a Solutions Workshop by contacting Emily Hicks via email or 503-294-2889.
I will be attending the round table discussion mentioned above (on January 12, 2008) and hope that we have a great turn out!
The panel members are a great group of people too! Hector Lopez is wonderful, and Ryan Deckert, Tom Hughes and Tom Brian are all political entities who are very much involved in th communities that they serve.
There will be tables available for informational displays if you know of any relevant organizations that would be interested. I will be representing People Helping People, which is an organization that works with extremely low-income and/or disabled community members. PHP is a creative, grassroots non-profit social service organization working to prevent the "fall through the cracks" that devastates so many in our communities.
Also, I hope that you'll seriously consider joining us at the camp out on January 5th. Pacific University will have a film crew there, and will be connected to the internet for a live feed of the event!
Blessings!
Cynthia
By Nancy Townsley 
Forest Grove resident Eric Canon believes that there’s no better way to understand what homeless people go through than to try and experience it himself.
So, on Saturday, Jan. 5, Canon and several others – many from the Washington County Interfaith Committee on Homelessness – plan to bundle up and try to keep warm in Oregon’s chilly January weather.
They’ll gather at the Cedar Hills United Church of Christ, 11695 S.W. Park Way in Beaverton, for a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. before settling down outside for the night, Canon said.
It’s the group’s latest effort to shine a spotlight on the plight of approximately 1,261 people across the county who have no place to live.
“This is an issue that is on people’s minds, and we want to continue to tell this story and inform the public,” Canon wrote in a Dec. 17 e-mail.
On the following Saturday, Jan. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon, the WCICH will host a roundtable discussion on homelessness at Tigard United Methodist Church, 9845 S.W. Walnut Place.
Russ Dondero of Forest Grove, a retired Pacific University political science professor, will moderate the event. Expected to attend are Washington County Commission Chairman Tom Brian, Hillsboro Mayor Tom Hughes, state Rep. David Edwards, Metro Commissioner Kathryn Harrington and Oregon Business Association President Ryan Deckert,
David Leslie, director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and Hector Lopez, retired conference minister of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, will represent the faith community.
For details about the Out In The Cold Camp Out or the round-table discussion, call Canon at 503-357-3282. To learn about the WCICH, visit www.ahomeoftheirown.com.
Pacific University students are organizing a free Thanksgiving dinner for homeless or low-income people Sunday in Forest Grove and hope to make it a monthly soup kitchen.
Caitey Andersen, an anthropology major and Spanish minor at the school, came up with the idea after talking to residents who said there is no such service in the city.
"I think people have done Thanksgiving meals in the past, but no one has established a regular soup kitchen and I'm not sure why," she said.
It's hard to gauge how many homeless people are in the Forest Grove area. Last school year, for example, there were 75 homeless K-12 students in Forest Grove and 387 in Hillsboro, according to school district counts. Adding in the students' parents, homeless people without children and housed but struggling families, the number of Andersen's potential dinner guests rises.
Andersen, who is president of the Anthropology/Sociology Club at the university and its Circle K (the college chapter of Kiwanis), has volunteers from the groups ready to help with Sunday's meal.
The Forest Grove United Church of Christ has offered space for the dinner, which will feature turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, beans, carrots, salad, bread, pie, juice and coffee. Andersen said they expect to serve 50 people but are preparing for 75 to 100.
The 21-year-old senior and a fellow student, Dana Lamonica, have been planning the event since early October and would like to offer a meal monthly if the turnout is good.
The two have volunteered at soup kitchens -- Andersen when she was a member of the Key Club at Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie.
The clubs are using some of their yearly allowance from Pacific University's student government to pay for the dinner and have enough volunteers to pick up the food, as well as cook, serve and clean.
Getting the word out to potential diners has been the most difficult part of the venture, Andersen said. The organizers gave fliers to local schools, churches and the Forest Grove Family Resource Center in hopes of reaching people who might benefit from the meal.
A free Christmas breakfast in Hillsboro, sponsored by the Girl Scouts, draws hundreds of people each year but also features free gifts and clothing.
"From everyone I've talked to, all of the local organizations who are working to fight homelessness have said that there is a need for it," Andersen said of Sunday's dinner and the potential soup kitchen. "But I am a little anxious. We have no idea really what to expect."
Jill Rehkopf Smith: 503-294-5908; jillsmith@news.oregonian.com
Inconvenience and fear
Chuck Conniry, a professor of theology at George Fox University in Newberg, applauds the effort. Serving the poor, he says, fulfills one of the three commitments of the Christian faith, along with glorifying God and building other people's faith.
Some Christians would even argue that "it's in our service to the world that we serve as the best witnesses to Christ," he says.
At the same time, Conniry, a former Baptist pastor for 25 years, understands that church members might have concerns. He recalled a deacon at a church Conniry led in San Diego who refused to support a program that allowed homeless people to sleep over at the church because he didn't want them in the same room where his daughter attended Sunday school.
"In general, people will say they are supportive of these things," he says, "but the real acid test is when they pose some inconvenience."
For the congregation of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Tigard, safety has been a slight concern, but most questions have been logistical, the Rev. Jeff Kallevig says. Although church leaders haven't officially signed on, Kallevig expects them to do that any day.
Christ the King already volunteers to be an emergency site for the American Red Cross. It serves Christmas Eve dinner to the homeless, seniors and others who are alone. Members made two mission trips to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Helping out this winter would be an extension of those efforts, Kallevig says.
"It's kind of like living out our mission," he says. "It's what we're supposed to be about."
Kathleen Gorman: 503-294-5958; kathleengorman@ news.oregonian.com
FOREST GROVE -- Erin Sadewhite used to cook for homeless people in Portland. She never dreamed that she'd be one herself.
But when temperatures plunged last winter, she was pregnant and on the streets, looking for a place to come in from the cold.
"A lot of the time we had to humble ourselves," the 31-year-old says as she shares a meal at Forest Grove United Church of Christ, "and ask people if we could stay with them."
As this winter nears, advocates in Washington County are trying to find a better solution for homeless people living outside. By Jan. 1, if not sooner, they want to have a list of churches that will pledge to keep their doors open when the temperature drops to 32 degrees or colder. The 211info call center -- a social service information center available by calling 2-1-1 -- will maintain the list and make referrals as needed.
The grass-roots effort, with an old-fashioned sentiment of neighbors helping neighbors, is asking churches to put their faith into action and help the poor by putting a roof over their heads.
But good works can be contingent on valid concerns. Those involved say some churches already feel stretched thin by all they do to provide social services. Others harbor fears or uneasiness about opening their doors to the homeless.
Organizers of the Severe Weather Shelter Response Plan hope congregations can get past those obstacles. Nobody, they argue, should risk freezing to death outside.
"We can't close our eyes," says Linda Moholt, volunteer coordinator for the Tualatin School House Pantry and an organizer of the countywide plan.
The effort is unique in the tri-county area. Portland is contracting with the American Red Cross to provide extra beds at a number of locations during severe weather. Clackamas County has no plans to provide extra shelter at churches during frigid times.
Shelter for singles
The idea for the plan started last winter, amid freezing temperatures. The Good Neighbor Center in Tigard allowed 15 to 20 homeless single people to sleep in the shelter for three nights in mid-January, Kim Krohn, a manager at the shelter, says. The Good Neighbor Center, like other shelters in Washington County, is designed to serve families. Single people are mostly out of luck.
During those cold nights, when temperatures dipped into the teens, bedding was inadequate and quarters were cramped, but center staff couldn't turn people away, Krohn says.
"We made a decision that it would be better for people to come in rather than die outside," she says.
Soon after, Krohn and others on a countywide housing committee began talking about a severe-weather effort.
The plan is modeled after the Family Bridge Interfaith Hospitality Network, a group of congregations in Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Beaverton and Aloha that take turns hosting homeless families. The 11 churches provide either a hot meal and a place to sleep at the church building or volunteer help.
"We really rely heavily on the churches for support," says Annie Heart, executive director of Family Bridge, which is based in an old house on the MAX line in downtown Hillsboro. The house also serves as a day shelter for homeless families.
Last week, it was Forest Grove United Church of Christ's turn to host homeless families. Volunteer Tim Orr, a member of the church's outreach commission, arrived early one night to heat up spaghetti and meatballs and green beans. He set out salad, juice, bread and chocolate cake for dessert.
"You don't have to do anything," he says of the people who are served. "You just have to be hungry and need a place to stay."
Orr's church was the first to sign up to be open during severe weather. Organizers hope others will agree to keep their doors open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. At a minimum, churches need to provide a warm place to sleep. A meal and bedding are preferred but not required. If keeping the church building open isn't an option, churches could opt to provide hotel vouchers, Moholt says.
Training will be held this month to answer questions and quiet concerns congregations might have about serving as temporary homeless shelters, Heart says. People knocking on church doors won't be screened as they are before they stay at a church in the Family Bridge network, she says. They might be intoxicated or have drugs in their system. But if they're not a danger to themselves or others, she hopes the church volunteers will let them stay.
"There's that fear of the stranger, that fear of the other," she says. "I don't know if there's a lot of substance to that fear."
Church volunteers would have the right to say no to anyone they considered a threat, she says.
Washington County is asking the community to help
put together a strategic plan for the county
commissioners to adopt that will address
Homelessness and housing insecurity. The
Interfaith Committee on Homelessness applauds
this development.
There will be four groups formed to approach the
issue:
1) Behavioral Health and Support Services
2) Economic Opportunity/Income Support
3) Emergency Services/Homelessness Prevention
4) Permanent Affordable Housing
Save the Date(s) - Be a part of the process to
develop a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in
Washington County.
Washington County will begin working on the
development of our Ten Year Plan and we need your
participation to ensure that the plan is
comprehensive in developing strategies and best
practices that meet the needs of all homeless
populations in our community.
The dates for the four groups are Oct. 30 and 31.
The times are 9AM until noon for the first group,
1:30PM until 4:30PM for the second (both on the
30th), 9AM until noon for the third group and
1:30PM until 4:30 for the forth group (both on
the 31st). All groups meet in the Public Services
Building, 155 N First Ave in room 140 in
Hillsboro. I hope you can attend!
You are invited to come to the meeting
to hear about the research on homelessness
prepared by Technical Assistance Collaborative,
Inc., the consultant who will be working with
our Work Groups to develop the plan.
Please share with others who are interested in
participating in this process. We need voices
from a broad spectrum of perspectives. If this is
you, or if you know someone who would contribute
to this process, identify a group you would like
to join and show up at the appointed time and
place. You will be welcomed and given a place at
the table.
Questions? Call me at (503) 357-3282 or contact
Annette Evans at 503-846-4757.
Thank you!
Eric Canon
Interfaith Committee on Homelessness
