U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden supported Beaverton’s
\nhousing goals by setting aside $3 million for the Beaverton Homeless Shelter as
\npart of the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed by Congress in late December.<\/p>\n
The future year-round shelter is set to become the first of
\nits kind available to homeless people across Washington County, another piece
\nin the puzzle of helping get people off the streets and into more stable
\nhousing.<\/p>\n
The Beaverton City Council has been talking for years about
\nhow to set up accessible temporary housing services in the city, and slow
\naccruing the necessary funding through federal spending bills and taxes
\ndedicated to homeless services. <\/p>\n
The $3 million courtesy of Wyden and Merkley will go toward
\npurchase of the building, permits and future renovation costs.<\/p>\n
Additional funding has been set aside through the federal
\nAmerican Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief funds, as well as other public money
\nto address homelessness in the region.<\/p>\n
“This critical funding will enable us to do the good
\nwork of caring for our most vulnerable community members,” said Mayor
\nLacey Beaty in a statement, adding: “I’m so stoked to have another major
\npiece of the funding puzzle in place – thanks to Senators Wyden and
\nMerkley and Congresswoman (Suzanne) Bonamici.”<\/p>\n
As of this year, Bonamici – who has been in Congress since
\n2012 \u2014 will be one of two U.S. representatives serving the Beaverton area. She
\nand Rep.-elect Andrea Salinas, a fellow Democrat, are awaiting swearing-in, as
\nthe U.S. House of Representatives remains deadlocked as of Wednesday afternoon,
\nJan. 4, without having chosen a speaker. By House convention, a speaker must be
\nselected before House members are sworn in.<\/p>\n
Site selected<\/p>\n
With funding falling into place for its year-round shelter,
\nthe Beaverton City Council in April purchased a 12,000-square-foot commercial
\nbuilding in April, off Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway near Highway 217,
\none of the first major steps in moving the project forward.<\/p>\n
The shelter at 11380-11390 S.W. Beaverton-Hillsdale
\nHighway will be open every day, 24\/7, and it will provide beds, meals, showers
\nand a clinic space for about 60 guests. It will be operated by Washington
\nCounty in partnership with a contracted service provider and is anticipated to
\nopen in early 2024.<\/p>\n
Plans for the shelter are entering the design phase,
\naccording to the most recent city newsletter. Ink:Built Architecture, based in
\nPortland, is working with Washington County and local organizations Central
\nCity Concern, Open Door Counseling Center and the Native American
\nRehabilitation Association to determine the architectural needs of the future
\nshelter, according to Beaverton’s most recent newsletter.<\/p>\n
The transitional housing facility is anticipated to be
\n“low-barrier,” meaning there will be minimal requirements for entry.
\nHigh-barrier shelters typically require guests to follow rules restricting
\nsubstance use, work or religious program participation, and more.<\/p>\n
Regional efforts<\/p>\n
The millions heading to Beaverton from the federal
\ngovernment are on top of the more local tax measures that have been used to
\nfund homeless and housing projects around the Portland metro.<\/p>\n
With support from Oregon state legislators, in 2021,
\nBeaverton secured $2.3 million through the American Rescue Act for a permanent
\nshelter.<\/p>\n
In May 2020, voters in the Metro area approved a tax
\nestimated to raise $2.5 billion for homeless services over the next decade.
\nThat came less than two years after Metro voters approved a $652.8 million bond
\nto build more affordable housing across the region.<\/p>\n
While the full-time shelter is in the works, Beaverton has
\nbeen offering a winter shelter through Washington County and nonprofit
\nJust Compassion, at the Beaverton Community Center at 12350 S.W. Fifth St.<\/p>\n
The winter shelter first opened in January 2017, providing
\nspace for 30 adults.<\/p>\n
This year, the winter will be available in case of inclement
\nweather through May 31. It was already open for limited days, from Dec. 16 to
\nDec. 18 and Dec. 21 to Dec. 24, due to cold and wet weather.<\/p>\n
In conjunction with a permanent homeless shelter shelter,
\nBeaverton is working on what city officials call the House Beaverton Project,
\naimed at identifying housing needs and determining what City Hall can do to
\nmeet those needs.<\/p>\n
That works includes a housing analysis for current and
\nfuture needs, as well as a specific strategy via policies, programs and
\nincentives to help Beaverton reach its housing goals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Final reports on the needs analysis and production strategy
\nare scheduled to be published this summer, according to the city website.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden supported Beaverton’s housing goals by setting aside $3 million for the Beaverton Homeless Shelter as part of the $1.7 trillion spending bill passed by Congress in late December. The future year-round shelter is set to become the first of its kind available to homeless people across Washington County, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n