Collaborative Members win HUD grants
Houseless Collaborative partners awarded nearly $2M
MCCAC and WAGAP win federal HUD grants
Hood River, OR and Bingen, WA (February 15, 2023) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the winners of a competitive grant program designed to address homelessness.
“Homelessness is a crisis, and it is solvable. Housing with supportive services solves homelessness. That’s why, for the first time the federal government is deploying targeted resources to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered settings or in rural areas,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in a HUD press release on February 2, 2023.
Locally, two members of the Mid-Columbia Houseless Collaborative (MCHC) have been awarded nearly $2 million in support of the effort. Over the next three years, Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) will receive $969,600, and Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) will receive $809,603.
The two awards will align with goals outlined in the Houseless Collaborative’s five-year strategic plan by supporting the enhancement of houseless services in the bi-state 5-county Mid-Columbia region, including Wasco, Sherman, Hood River counties in Oregon, and Klickitat and Skamania counties in Washington.
The focus in Oregon will be the operation of “The Annex,” a newly acquired transitional housing/shelter complex that is being developed through the conversion of the Oregon Motor Motel in The Dalles. MCCAC also plans to provide rehousing assistance to houseless clients who have been placed in transitional housing units so they can move into permanent housing.
In Washington, WAGAP will focus on increasing the availability of short-term emergency lodging by providing more vouchers for motel/hotel stays and providing more robust support services. Emergency assistance for food and clothing, as well as providing more options for habitability repairs, are part of the plan in addition to supporting existing housing operations.
Beneficiary populations may include:
Chronically houseless clients and other houseless clients with behavioral health needs.
Houseless families with children and unaccompanied houseless youth.
Houseless veterans.
Medicaid Eligible Persons.
People actively fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence.
Traditionally underserved populations eligible for Houseless Collaborative partner organizations' programs such as tribal members, Latinx, migrant and seasonal farmworkers, LGBTQ+, jail diversion clients, and houseless clients in need of medical respite care.
Both agencies work to stabilize houseless community members long-term. They work with staff and Collaborative partners to link clients with behavioral and physical health services, culturally specific and responsive resources, and programs to help them ultimately achieve housing stabilization and self-sufficiency.
Collaborative partners are an important part of the supportive services needed to put individuals and families on a healthier, sustainable path forward. Many partners work with both agencies, and some are geographically limited, but all make a difference in the effort to stabilize those experiencing houseless conditions.
MCCAC and WAGAP support each other in this grant effort and also coordinate with other partner organizations, including:
Nch’ i Wana Housing
Mid-Columbia Housing Authority
Oregon Human Development Corporation
The Next Door, Inc.
Columbia Gorge Health Council/Bridges to Health Pathways Program
Mid-Columbia Center for Living
One Community Health
Mid-Columbia Medical Center
Providence Health System
Northshore Medical Group
Skyline Health
Klickitat Valley Health
Klickitat County Health Department
Skamania County Health Department
Bingen/White Salmon Police Department
School Districts within the services areas
Mt. Adams Transportation Services
“Working together, we are better,” said Leslie Naramore, WAGAP’s executive director. “Across the nation, houselessness has become a crisis and doesn’t only happen in large cities. Through this grant, the federal government is acknowledging the real challenges that exist for unsheltered persons, especially those in rural communities.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic came with many challenges, but it also showed us how additional federal resources can enhance our efforts to address houselessness,” said Kelli Horvath, MCCAC’s Director of the Office of Housing Stabilization. “With pandemic relief programs ending, this funding couldn’t be timed more perfectly. It will help us sustain the increased partnerships and houseless services infrastructure we have developed these last few years–and most importantly, help more unhoused people in our diverse communities get a roof over their heads.”
Learn more about the Mid-Columbia Houseless Collaborative online at midcolumbiahouselesscollaborative.org. For questions about the grants or services, contact the agencies directly at info@mccac.com and info@wagap.org.