Shining Bright
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church pews filled with well-wishers and volunteers, as Governor Tina Kotek celebrated its new transitional village for people leaving homelessness. “The way we make progress is when I see other people doing really great things together”.
This North Portland facility is the third “micro- village” developed by the nonprofit organization WeShine. Co-Founder Janet McManus explains “We aim to serve some of those who tend to fall through the cracks or not feel welcome or safe at larger village or congregate shelter settings.” St. Andrew’s Village will house people 45 and older, with a preference for people with disabilities. This Village is unique because of its partnership with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Reverend Jennifer Casswell says her congregation has operated a food pantry at the Portsmouth area church for more than 30 years, yet she noticed changes. “Our neighbor was often sleeping on the porch of the church, and we hoped that our church could be the answer to our neighbor’s prayers”. St. Andrew’s provided the use of part of its parking lot for sleeping pods, and its underused basement for common areas like a kitchen and bathrooms.
The Joint Office for Homeless Services granted funding to design the village, and to prepare the parking lot. The nonprofit Portland Shed was provided materials for the ten pods, which cost just $6,000 each by using volunteer labor. When WeShine was running short of money to open the village, McManus asked HBF for help “Home Builders Foundation is truly a lifesaver for this project, and they brought so much more than we could have ever expected to enrich it and make it better.” HBF donated $30,000 in cash. McManus praises HBF Project Manager Chris McDowell for his guidance and ingenuity as he recruited the home building industry to get involved.
For example, Taylor Morrison and Rick’s Custom Fencing worked tirelessly last fall to build a secure fence around the perimeter, and to build decking to serve the future residents with disabilities. The fence alone is valued at more than $50,000. Sherwin Williams provided discounts on paint that was used throughout the village. Donations of flooring helped finish out some of the pods.
As a part of our Workforce Development outreach, HBF coordinated involvement from construction training programs for additional helping hands. Students from the Jewish gap-year program Tivnu finished a long punch list of tasks, such as painting and repairs. Students enrolled in the training program POIC put up towel bars in bathrooms, and installed built- in desks in the pods. Planter boxes were built by construction students from Reynolds Learning Academy, and solid storage benches for the front porches were supplied by Grant, Gresham and Mountainside High Schools.
A final push also came from members of HBA and HBF’s board of directors and other industry professionals, who gathered together right before the opening to tackle last minute sprucing up such as planting flowers in the boxes, patching up the floors, and other cleaning. The new kitchen was set up with $5,000 worth of donated stoves, refrigerators and microwaves from Eastbank Appliances. McManus was blown away by the HBF’s volunteer recruitment. “They come and they descend on the village, and they get huge jobs done in three or four hours. It was just amazing to watch.”
One of the most popular amenities HBF brought to the St. Andrew’s Village is the dog run. Taylor Morrison volunteers helped built the run for HBF, a project requested by future Village Manager Favoure Miller and her dog Remy. Miller once was homeless herself, and she says allowing pets is key “You’re not going to give up your baby- what will you do? You’ll stay homeless right? Not the answer. “
Governor Kotek’s told supporters projects like St. Andrew’s micro-village gives her hope that Oregon can end its homeless crisis. ‘We want a place where we can feel human and can get our lives back together, and have a place where we get everything in one place, but then move on to further permanency”. WeShine credits the Home Building Foundation for helping St. Andrew’s villagers feel at home while they are on that path.