Grant High School students proudly loaded two picnic tables onto HBF’s truck this spring, knowing they were making lives more comfortable for people transitioning out of homelessness. HBF brought the tables to the Menlo Park Safe Rest Village, along with two others built by students at Beaverton’s Merlo Station High School. The picnic tables will make summer living easier for the people living in “pods” at the village.

HBF's Chris McDowell talks to Benson Students

HBF has determined a great way to connect with local schools is to provide them materials , and encourage these future construction experts to help with Portland’s housing crisis. Two new villages, including the largest outdoor transitional shelters in the city of Portland , will also receive items built for HBF by students. Project Manager Chris McDowell visited Benson High School in April to talk with students about Mayor Ted Wheeler’s proposed mass site in SE Portland. All Portland high school construction programs volunteered to help us with shelter projects, and we will involve as many as possible this school year.

At Glencoe High, a team of students are putting on primer and paint to complete two sheds for their senior project. Teacher Todd Patterson volunteered his students to help us with our work for Project Homeless Connect in Hillsboro, which is very near the Glencoe campus. Glencoe students provided the labor, with HBF donating lumber and paint . The sheds will help PHC store outdoor items behind the shelter, where HBF is working on a remodel of the bungalows that host meals and counseling services. Meantime, students at St. Helens High and Reynolds Learning Academy are also working on sheds for shelters, using materials donated by HBF.

Students at Yamhill Carlton High are excited about the new residents who’ve moved into some very tiny homes they built-homes for bees! Blanchet House Farms in Carlton is a residential facility for men in recovery, and students at the high school volunteered to construct a project for the farm. HBF’s Project Manager McDowell used grant dollars to purchase the unassembled bee houses, picking high quality kits that will hold up for many years. Teacher Trevor DaSilva handed off the project to some of his more experienced students , who put them together this winter. The farm picked them up for delivery to the farm and the honey bees have moved in this spring.

You’ll see one of the school projects at this year’s Street of Dreams. Students at Sherwood High just helped us load up five custom-made slat benches they built, using lumber donated by Builders First Source. The benches will serve as a showcase for HBF’s workforce education outreach program, and will commend these outstanding students. When the show is over, the benches will be donated to one of our shelter partners.

HBF began these efforts with what we called the " Picnic Table Project Pilot one year ago, earning a Career Connections Grant from the National Housing Endowment which has blossomed into nearly half of the area high schools building meaningful item for the shelter community.

This has also led to local companies such as Taylor Morrison , Holt Homes, and Lennar offering to take students on tours of home building sites. We also appreciate grant funding from Bank of America, product donations from International Wood Products and Builders First Source, as well as ongoing support from our donors that provide the necessary resources for HBF to work with local schools. If you’d like to be involved, contact Teresa Spangler, Teresas@hbapdx.org. to learn how you or your company can help.

A+ School Year

Night of Wine and Roses

George Lorance-One of a Kind