Oregon Trail Transitional Living Program Finds New Home at Youth Empowerment Shelter
From The Next Door:
by Jordan Flores
For over two decades, The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) has housed the Oregon Trail Transitional Living (OT) program, providing transitional living services to hundreds of houseless youth in the Gorge. During that time, TNDI has been in close partnership with the Youth Empowerment Shelter (YES), whose mission it is to provide youth in crisis a place of physical and emotional safety while assisting them to build positive relationships and develop their individual potential. After careful consideration and collaborative planning between the YES team, the YES Board, and TNDI’s entire Youth Services department, the partnering agencies are pleased to announce that the Oregon Trail Transitional Living program will be operated by YES as of July 1, 2023!
The opportunity to house the Oregon Trail program at YES will only further enhance the longtime partnership between organizations. TNDI and its Youth Services team intend to continue providing resource connection, referrals, and support services to the youth experiencing houselessness that YES serves during the mindful transition of OT and beyond. The program's transfer will simply allow each agency to focus on their respective areas of expertise, strengthening the continuum of care for youth experiencing houselessness in the Gorge.
“I am thrilled for this partnership and transition,” says Livia Christensen, Executive Director at YES. “Even though it can be hard to identify, housing for youth ages 17-23 is a tremendous need in our area.”
YES was founded in 2014 by a group of community members that saw a need and decided to do something about it. In 2016, the shelter known as the “YES House” was opened as a child-caring facility licensed by ODHS. Today, YES is the only non-profit in the Mid-Columbia Gorge region dedicated to serving youth experiencing houselessness, providing services that include a 24/7/365 shelter for ages 10-20, community-based services, and outreach for ages 10-24 and their families, and transitional support services for ages 17-24.
“Youth homelessness is a crisis in our state and those facing homelessness at a young age have increased risks for many poor outcomes, including experiencing violence and attempting suicide. Having both a 24/7 shelter and a transitional housing program within our agency is going to expand the impact that we are able to have on the lives of houseless youth and young adults in our community to help them transition to independence and better outcomes,” says Christensen.
The current Oregon Trail Transitional Living property will continue to be owned and managed by Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation, partners of TNDI since the OT program’s beginning. Youth ages 17-23 that are currently, or at risk of becoming, houseless are eligible to apply for the program with YES. For more information, email information@yeshelter.org or visit the agency's website at www.yeshelter.org.
