Housing Solutions Shared at Oregon Veteran Housing Network Webinar
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, August 25th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE — (Release from Oregon Housing and Community Services) Veterans, businesses, community-based organizations, and government agencies gathered virtually to share ideas and solutions around veterans experiencing homelessness at the Oregon Veteran Housing Network webinar on innovative housing solutions on Monday.
The event was hosted by the Oregon Veteran Housing Network, which is a partnership with Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA). Over 100 people attended the diverse gathering. About 33% of the participants had served in the armed forces, 50% were from rural communities, and 75% represented unhoused veterans or veterans who are at risk of homelessness.
OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell opened the meeting. “We are continued learners in this work [veteran housing], but we are certainly pursuing solutions based on an intersectional approach with our partners in addressing racial justice and equity,” Bell said. “Our work with partners in addressing racial justice and equity requires both the continued humility of what we do and continuing to engage outside of our own frame of reference.”
OHCS gave updates on several funding programs that provide resources and pathways for veterans toward homeownership or other housing options. Community partners showed what housing solutions for veterans looked like in their communities with affordable housing funding.
Kenny LaPoint, executive director of Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC), highlighted the development of 75 permanent supportive housing units (PSH) with a focus to serve formerly homeless veterans. There will be on-site resources for residents such as social, health, and employment services. PSH is a deeply affordable housing model that serves those on the margins such as people who experience chronic homelessness. MCCAC is also building a navigation center in The Dalles. Multiple service providers will be housed there so people seeking housing services can have a central hub to get connected to the services they need without having to navigate different agency services at various office locations.
Gust Tsiatsosu, GCT Land Management, talked about the La Grande Veterans Homes, a cottage home community for veterans. Their La Grande initiative has been so successful that this concept is being developed in Ontario with nine other counties expressing interest in duplicating this type of solution to provide a scattered site model for veterans specifically.
Chuck Adams, New Media NW, talked about the new YMCA facility being built in Salem and the partnership with the Legislature and elected officials that made it a success. The YMCA is also developing a veterans’ facility in partnership with Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and ARCHES to provide veterans with on-site support services. The veteran’s facility will include 34 apartments consisting of one- and two-bedroom homes. Every person who will be living there will automatically have free membership to the YMCA.
All speakers emphasized the importance and value of partnerships between businesses, community-based organizations, and government agencies in making each project successful. It’s a value shared by OHCS and emphasized by its director. “Homelessness does not have to be a fact of life,” Bell said. “As we engage in this work together, it is really that hope and belief that will help us move forward in a way that is of service to our veterans, who were of service to this country and to us.”
OHCS is grateful to all our partners for their work around solving veteran homelessness and to our veterans for their service. For more information, subscribe to Veteran Housing Network updates.
