Unique Shelter Projects Ahead for HBF
This spring, the Home Builders Foundation Board of Directors approved two new shelter projects in the outskirts of the Portland metro region. The first project, a transitional overnight shelter called Newberg Harvest House, will serve as the featured charity project for this year’s NW Natural Street of Dreams in Yamhill County. The second project is an emergency shelter and day center for houseless adults in Hillsboro operated by Project Homeless Connect Washington County. Both projects are similar in renovation scope and scale, but unique in how they serve the houseless community on the periphery of metro Portland.
At the Newberg Harvest House, HBF will help upgrade the kitchen and laundry spaces as well as rework bedrooms to accommodate the nearly two dozen men, women and children that stay at the facility each night. Although the building is owned by Yamhill Community Action Partnership (YCAP), the space is managed by a small non-profit called Community Wellness Collective that focuses on mental health and emergency needs for adults and children in Yamhill County. HBF renovated the exterior of the Harvest House with WaterBear Restoration in 2015. Seventy-five percent of the families that stay overnight at Harvest House are employed and most children attend school daily.
Comparatively, Project Homeless Connect’s day center in downtown Hillsboro serves mostly houseless adults looking for a place to get food resources, a shower, or to relax out of the weather. The biggest need at PHC is a new roof, ADA shower facilities, a wheelchair ramp and an extra bathroom for the half-dozen on-site staff and volunteers. In any given week, PHC serves hundreds of people and the wear-and-tear inside the facility is noticeable. HBF is hoping to help PHC in their aspirations to improve conditions of the interior shelter space, but also rehab the exterior appearance of the building. If you are interested in donating time or helping with resources for either facility, contact HBF Project Manager Chris McDowell at chrism@hbapdx.org.