C.O. part of state effort to end veterans’ homelessness
Oregon Housing and Community Services has chosen 10 Oregon communities, including Central Oregon, to take part in Operation Welcome Home, an effort to end homelessness among Oregon veterans.
The agency said Wednesday it will formally announce the 10 communities selected to participate in Operation Welcome Home at an event Thursday afternoon.
OHCS, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, will support communities by providing technical assistance in their initiative to end veterans’ homelessness.
The selected communities will gather for the launch event at Seavey Meadows in Corvallis, a veterans’ affordable housing community funded with state resources.
“It’s unacceptable that any veteran would experience homelessness,” said OHCS Director Margaret Salazar, “but we know that veterans are more likely to face these challenges. Operation Welcome Home centers the goal of ending veterans’ homelessness and uses national best practices and clear goalposts to advance that goal. The 10 communities selected demonstrate a desire and ability to address veterans’ homelessness, and we are proud to support them in this effort.”
Operation Welcome Home is a campaign to address veterans experiencing homelessness that will run from November 2018 to May 2019. This initiative is supported through Measure 96 lottery funds allocated by the 2017 Legislature, and represents the first stage in supporting local communities as they work to end veteran homelessness.
Throughout the course of this campaign, OHCS and ODVA will provide communities the support needed to house 500 veterans across Oregon. This investment will not only support local community efforts, but it will create a lasting infrastructure to make an impact well into the future.
“Veterans and their families deserve stable housing,” said ODVA Director Kelly Fitzpatrick. “This technical assistance will help communities create a by-name list of veterans experiencing homelessness that will allow multiple services providers to coordinate and leverage resources to help each veteran experiencing homelessness. This approach ensures we are looking at the person experiencing homelessness rather than another statistic.”
The selected communities are listed below. Additional details about Operation Welcome Home available online.
NeighborImpact and Central Oregon Veterans Outreach: Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agencies: Marion and Polk counties ACCESS: Jackson County Yamhill Community Action Partnership: Yamhill County Oregon Coast Community Action: Coos and Curry counties United Community Action Network: Douglas and Josephine counties Community Action Partnership of Oregon: Baker, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Sherman, Union and Wasco counties Community Services Consortium: Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties Clackamas County Social Services: Clackamas County Lane County Human Services Commission: Lane County
