MCCAC Launches Capital Campaign to Secure a Permanent Home for the Hood River Shelter
From Mid-Columbia Community Action Council:
By Leslie Naramore
Hood River, Ore., Sept. 21, 2026 — Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) today announced the launch of a capital campaign to secure a true, long-term home for the Hood River Shelter. The campaign marks a major step toward ensuring on-going, stable shelter services for community members experiencing houselessness.
Hood River Shelter Overview
Initially launched as a grassroots community effort, the Hood River Shelter has provided critical support and services since 2010. The shelter is now a program of MCCAC and for the past five years has been open 24/7 during its winter operating season, allowing shelter guests to stabilize, connect with supportive services, and successfully transition from shelter into housing placements.
Hood River Shelter operations are possible through the support of community partners and volunteers, local government and faith communities, local restaurants, and funding from state, local, and private partners. With operational funding now in place through Oregon's Statewide Shelter Program, MCCAC will operate the Hood River Shelter year-round starting fall 2026. Year-round operations will give shelter guests and staff the time needed to stabilize, build trusting relationships, and bridge the gap in housing recovery, working toward a future where everyone in the community has a safe and stable place to call home.
A Two-Phase Capital Campaign
MCCAC is initiating a capital campaign to secure a true long-term location for the Hood River Shelter with supportive services integrated on site. The campaign will be carried out in two phases over the next three years. Phase 1 will focus on site purchase and establishing shelter operations at the new location. Phase 2 will focus on site redevelopment, with plans to accommodate on-site offices for MCCAC staff and community partners, along with space for additional services to support shelter guests, creating a mini-Navigation Center in Hood River.
"For years, our community has come together to make sure the Hood River Shelter could open its doors each winter, but a shelter that is open just part of the year can only do so much," said Leslie Naramore, Executive Director of MCCAC. "This campaign is about giving shelter guests and staff a
stable place to do the deeper work of housing recovery, and giving our community a true, long-term solution instead of a temporary one."
Benefits to Shelter Guests and the Broader Community
The Hood River Shelter provides benefits to both shelter guests and the broader community. For community members experiencing houselessness, the shelter meets basic needs and allows people to stabilize, engage with housing case management and other supportive services, and work toward a transition to long-term, stable housing. For the broader community, everyone is safer when the shelter is open.
Ask For Support
Community members can make a difference and be part of securing a true, long-term home for the Hood River Shelter. Every gift brings the community closer to a future that is safer for everyone, where every person has a safe and stable place to call home. MCCAC invites the community to join in this effort. Learn more and donate here: www.mccac.com/hrshelter4all
Project Partners
Key project partners include Hood River County, the Hood River County Sheriff's Office, the City of Hood River, One Community Health, the Columbia Gorge Health Council and their Bridges to Health Pathways Program, Mid-Columbia Center for Living, and Oregon Housing and Community Services.
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MCCAC is the Community Action Agency serving Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties. MCCAC' mission is to build a better future for our community through partnership and equity-centered programs that prevent and eliminate poverty and houselessness.
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