Responding to Root Cause of Homelessness

1. Project Teambuild
A COST EFFECTIVE MODEL TO ELIMINATE REGIONAL HOMELESS
January 2015 – Update January 2018
Nextdoor.com Leads from SW Gresham Nextdoor.com

2. Regional Human Development Center Needed to
Address “Root Cause” of Homeliness
The Center would directly
address those in extreme
poverty, lacking housing,
food, employment and
counseling
The Center, a unique
collaboration on the part
of government, business,
social non-profit agencies,
church organizations and
neighborhoods

3. Oregon Work
Source Model
Oregon Work Source Model as developed and
implemented by the State of Oregon
Employment Office and Federal Workforce
Investment Act would be the basis for building a
new model, similar to the successful regional
“Worksystems” organization, but target only
those individuals living on the street
Initial start up would require seed funding and
institutional resources currently available, but
lack the current leadership to act

4. County
Commission
and City of
Portland
Massive
Leadership
Failure
Wapato Center Sold for 10.8
Million
County Commission vote 4 to
1 to sell the 58 Million Dollar
Facility lacking the creativity
and will to seek out better
return on investment options
The County never authorized
funding to operate the Facility
Many leaders suggested that
the facility be converted to
Homeless One Stop Center
The Facility was purchased by
a developer to be utilized as a
distribution center for medical
equipment
Is it possible for regional
leadership to partner with
private and public institutions
to negotiate with the new
owner a major change in the
facility direction and mission?

5. Partner New Owner of Wapato Facility Center
Renovate current facility to remove
detention center image and
establish a human development
institute
Removal of wall and barbwire as
first step and reconfigure interior
as safe, friendly and human
atmosphere
Form regional team of community
leaders to drive cross jurisdictional
collaboration and recruitment of
full service agencies to be housed
in the Center to address both
causes of homelessness and
consequences
Form a second regional team of
leaders to secure seed and
operation funding
All regional jurisdictions agree to
declare a state of emergency and
open the Center by November
2018

6. Promote Regional Facility Campus as a
National Demonstration Center
This Center would be a centralized
collection of all agencies that
currently serve this clientele
Office rent would be paid by those
agencies
Each municipality would be charged a
“placement fee” for all customers
served and the free would be
refunded to the community once
permanent housing is found
Families and Veterans would be
priority one
Regional resources would collaborate
to secure additional facilities which
would focus on mental illness and
substances addiction with funding
coming from State Lottery and
Recreational Drugs and Alcohol Sales
Tax

7. Basic
Registration
and Intake of
Clients
Center provides initial
temporary housing based
on need
Intake Triage to determine
root primary needs
Homelessness due to lost of
employment
Homelessness due mental
illness
Homelessness due to
addiction
Center resources provided
to address rescue for return
of homeless individual to
home community
Outcome measures
established for quarterly
evaluation of progress

8. Center
Service Card
Regional and local
agencies will provide
intake/registration
Service Cards
The Service Cards will
document housing,
food, employment,
health care at the
Center
Personal high touch
counseling upon arrival
at Center to establish
care plan for each
individual
A referral fee will be
paid to agency who
provides intake
information and service
Any clientele from
outside the region and
State will be charge a
fee for service to the
Home State of origin.
Maximum time to
complete the program
is six months, but can
be extend for cause
Service cards are
surrendered once
services are rendered

9. Regional Neighborhood Voice and Action
Utilize regional Neighborhood
Associations and Nextdoor.com
social media platform to drive
public support and in some
cases outrage over the human
suffering caused by
homelessness
Raise citizen concerns over the
destruction to our common
public space, trails, parks, and
neighborhood amenities

10. Fight Homelessness and Provide All Portland
Neighborhoods and Local Businesses a Return on
Tax Dollar Investment
Millions of dollars have been invested
by tax payers throughout the metro
region over the past 25 years
developing these local amenities
These neighborhoods when adding
up taxes paid to multi-jurisdictional
governments need to hold
neighborhood citizen engagement
sessions with elected officials
requiring immediate concrete action
to implement this positive model
Elected Officials are telling us that
legal constraints are severely limiting
the enforcement of local ordinances
because housing is not available to
homeless. The Center would
eliminate this limitation