Hood River Shelter Services and Mid-Columbia Community Action Council Team Up to Provide Warming Shelter This Winter
It gets cold in the gorge during the winter.
From Mid-Columbia Community Action Council:
Hood River Shelter Services (HRSS) and Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) are pleased to announce that they have expanded their partnership to ensure our most vulnerable community members have access to safe shelter for the winter of 2022- 2023.
HRSS and MCCAC have entered a strategic alliance that will allow for the continued operations of the 24-bed Pallet Shelter site located at 1733 Oak St. in Hood River.
A panoramic photo of the Hood River shelter.
HRSS and MCCAC have a history of collaborating together and, over the past few winters, MCCAC has provided HRSS with a lion’s share of the funding needed for warming shelter operations in Hood River. This newly formed strategic alliance will result in MCCAC taking over as lead on operations of the Hood River Shelter while HRSS will continue to play a front and center role in volunteer coordination and providing access to high quality food for the shelter clients.
“With leadership changes at HRSS, and as MCCAC has stepped up as the lead operator of shelter and coordinator of houseless services in our region, it made a lot of sense for us to enter into this strategic alliance,” said Alicia Speidel, Board Chair of HRSS. “This will only result in more robust services being offered to our shelter clients and we are excited to be partnering with MCCAC to help build a better future for our community.”
Karen Schultz, Outreach Coordinator in MCCAC’s Hood River office, gives CCCNews a tour of the shower, restroom, laundry and living facilities at the Hood River shelter site.
MCCAC, as the region’s Community Action Agency, is the lead provider and coordinator of houseless services in Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties. Through a partnership with the City of The Dalles, they have been operator of a year-round Pallet Shelter site in Wasco County since January of 2021. MCCAC has demonstrated success in their shelter operation as they have helped over 50 individuals move from houselessness into permanent housing in 2022.
Not only does MCCAC provide services directly but they also work with many of the region’s service providers, including culturally-specific agencies to ensure that programs equitably provide to the region’s Native and Latinx community members and communities of color. Additionally, MCCAC has teamed up with Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) to develop a Mid-Columbia region-wide strategic plan for addressing houselessness in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Klickitat and Skamania Counties. The Mid-Columbia Houseless Collaborative strategic plan is anticipated to be released later this year.
Kenny LaPoint
“Providing safe shelter options is a critical resource for our most vulnerable community members as we work to stabilize individuals and families and help them move from houselessness into permanent housing,” said Kenny LaPoint, Executive Director of MCCAC. “We are incredibly grateful for our close partnership with HRSS and look forward to continuing to serve the community alongside them.”
The Hood River Pallet Shelter facility also features a sanitation trailer that provides shelter clients with access to restrooms, showers and laundry facilities.
Karen Schultz, Outreach Coordinator in MCCAC’s Hood River office, unloading some laundry from the on-site laundry facilities.
Other on-site social services are made available through partnerships with the Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL), One Community Health and the Bridges to Health Pathways program. It is anticipated that the shelter will be open November 2022-March 2023.
MCCAC is currently hiring Shelter Staff for the 2022- 2023 winter season. More information on these open positions can be found at www.mccac.com.
