Houseless Collaborative partners awarded nearly $2M
MCCAC and WAGAP win federal HUD grants
By Mid-Columbia Houseless Collaborative and Cole Goodwin
Hood River, OR and Bingen, WA (February 15, 2023) -Two members of the Mid-Columbia Houseless Collaborative (MCHC) have been awarded nearly $2 million in federal grants by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) will receive $969,600, and Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) will receive $809,603, to support the effort 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.
The grants, which will be distributed over the next three years, will align with goals outlined in the Houseless Collaborative’s five-year strategic plan.
The focus of the grants 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, providing more robust support services, and emergency assistance for food and clothing, as well as providing more options for habitability repairs.
The grants will support 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.
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
MCCAC and WAGAP work to stabilize houseless community members long-term by linking 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, 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
MCHC says that each partner has an important role in the supportive services needed to put individuals and families on a healthier, sustainable path forward. WAGAP and MCCAC expressed gratitude for the partnerships and the communication and collaboration between local, state, and federal agencies.
“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.”
For more information about the Mid-Columbia Houseless visit midcolumbiahouselesscollaborative.org. For questions about the grants or services, contact the agencies directly at info@mccac.com and info@wagap.org.
