By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com
Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer has long harbored hopes of seeing a permanent shelter built somewhere in Lincoln County to help some of the hundreds of people who have nowhere to sleep but on sidewalks, doorways or parks.
An effort now underway, financed by a $1 million grant from the state of Oregon, is the first step in that direction.
“Everyone in the county has the same problems with homelessness, but until now we haven’t had the funds to do much about it,” Sawyer says. “We still have a lot of planning left to do, but we are pretty excited to finally be able to take some really meaningful action.”
The county’s grant is part of a larger, $400 million statewide effort to combat homelessness, support existing affording housing programs and help people buy their first home. The money, along with guidelines addressing how it should be spent, was part of House Bill 2143, which Oregon lawmakers approved in May.
Under terms of the bill, Lincoln County was one of eight counties to receive a $1 million grant. Others involved are Benton, Coos, Umatilla, Tillamook, Deschutes, Polk and Columbia counties.
“Getting this grant starts the clock ticking,” Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall told YachatsNews. “It’s a pretty fast timeline.”
The first mandated orders of business involve establishing a “coordinated homeless response” office and forming an advisory board comprised of the county, its seven cities, non-profit organizations, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and other groups.
Job descriptions have already been written for the two positions, which will be part-time and overseen by Lincoln County, Hall said.
The initial grant provides enough money to begin a two-year planning effort. After that, participating governments and organizations will need to solicit additional funds from private grants and foundations to help meet the state bill’s five-year window.
Hall, who has spent years immersed in issues relating to homelessness, said the primary goal of all participants is ensuring that the final plan, once completed, doesn’t end up gathering dust on a shelf somewhere.
“I’ve heard that phrase many times,” she said, “but I can assure people that none of us want to waste time on a plan that just sits there. What I really hope is that this can be a springboard to much greater work in this area.
“If we just spend down our million and have a plan that doesn’t reduce anything, this entire effort will be a failure,” Hall said.
Searching for shelter
Sawyer and others are already eyeing a potential shelter location in Newport. They are talking with the owners of a motel that they say would make a very suitable permanent shelter.
If mutually agreeable terms can be reached, the next step would involve identifying a non-profit organization to run the shelter, Sawyer said.
“Ideally, we will want to find someone who has experience operating this type of facility,” he said. “I’ve toured a few shelters around the state and all of them are run by non-profits.”
He sees the shelter itself as having two functions.
The first involves transitional housing, where people can get in and have access to services, such as alcohol and drug counseling. County housing specialists would be available to help locate permanent housing. Residents could also get counseling on how to interview for a job, while also receiving laundry, shower and barbering services to make that happen.
“The second aspect would be more of a warming shelter,” Sawyer said. “People could spend the night in a warm, safe location, but then they would have to go somewhere else during the day.”
Hall believes that the county’s successful grant application rested, in part, on the fact that Lincoln County and organizations dealing with homelessness have considerable experience in that territory.
“And going ahead,” she said, “it’s absolutely critical that we maintain the partnerships we have already developed over time.”
Among non-profit organizations looking to participate in long-term planning to combat homelessness in the county is Grace Wins Haven, a Newport resource center for the homeless. Traci Flowers, the group’s executive director, said staff and volunteers plan to hold fundraising events every weekend to help secure the money needed to build out the legislation’s goals.
“Our need is huge right now,” she said. “People tend to associate homelessness with larger metropolitan areas, but we have the same problems here, just on a smaller scale.”
Harsh coastal weather, particularly during winter, almost makes the situation more critical in Lincoln County than in other areas farther inland, she said.
“We all have a goal of helping people make better choices,” Flowers said. “Unfortunately, when you are surviving night to night and just trying to find a place to sleep, you don’t have time for anything else.”
- Dana Tims is an Oregon freelance writer who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. He can be reached at DanaTims24@gmail.com
