Stories From The Winter Weather Shelter At The Hillsboro Civic Center

Press release from the City of Hillsboro:

April 28, 2021

Read client stories from Project Homeless Connect about 3 of the 68 people served at the winter weather shelter.

The winter weather shelter at the Hillsboro Civic Center served 68 people experiencing homelessness in the six weeks that it was open between January 31 and March 15. According to community partners, that only begins to tell the story.

“We had shelters in place throughout Washington County, but having the Civic Center coming online when it did, to open its doors to clients where they were at in Downtown Hillsboro, it was so critical to this severe weather shelter season,” said Kim Marshall, the executive director of Project Homeless Connect.

Making an Impact with Clients

Project Homeless Connect, Community Action, Washington County, and the City of Hillsboro partnered to provide a winter shelter that operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It allowed staff to work directly with clients in a sheltered space to assist them with finding housing, as well as accessing various benefits, such as the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“Because the process to get into housing is significantly longer than the time the shelter was open, we had to move clients into other shelters,” Marshall said. “But 100 percent of them were able to move to other sheltering locations, allowing them to continue the journey towards housing while staying sheltered.”

Client Story: The Struggle to Keep a Steady Job

(as told by staff from Project Homeless Connect)

“A younger gentleman who has a big desire to do more with his life and find housing stayed with us at the Civic Center. He struggled keeping a job while being homeless because he was always worried about where he would sleep when he got off work, or where he would shower so his co-workers didn’t know his struggle.

Within days of arriving at the Civic Center, he was able to connect with our Day Center where he could take a shower and be provided with new, clean clothes. He was able to get a job at a pizza restaurant and quickly began to work full time.

Knowing he didn’t need to worry about where he would sleep or where his next shower would be gave him the confidence that he needed to go forward. We were able to connect him with a housing navigator and he’s saving up to move into his own place. He attributes his success to being able to have a safe place to sleep and leave his things while he went to work.”

Client Story: Battling Diabetes while Homeless

(as told by staff from Project Homeless Connect)

“Another client came into our shelter during the large ice storm we experienced in February. He had severe diabetes and was not being treated for it yet. Just a couple of days into our program, he had a diabetic episode and was rushed to the hospital. Ultimately, he underwent surgery and had to have part of his foot amputated.

We were able to communicate with his family who lived out of state and they arrived and helped care for him for a couple of days. Once they had to go back home, we coordinated his re-entry in our program. We were able to provide him with modifications to his sleeping area so he could safely recover. He is now completely healed and can walk without crutches, which he graciously donated to our program to pass on to someone else who may need them in the future!

He is medically stable as he has a safe place to store his insulin and is able to properly care for himself with access to sanitation. He is now connected with a housing navigator and looking forward to transitioning to the next phase in his life.”

Client Story: A Senior in Need of Medical Care

(as told by staff from Project Homeless Connect)

“One guest came to our shelter very medically fragile. He is an older gentleman who was recently released from the hospital due to having grand mal seizures. His daughter was so worried about his safety, and not having a safe place to be. Since she was also homeless, she was not able to adequately care for her father.

He came into our program and our staff surrounded him with love and support. We were able to complete housing assessments, get him in contact with a housing navigator, and we are currently working with a large team to get him into better housing.

During his time with us at the Civic Center, staff assisted him in getting medical ride shares to and from his appointments, and our site supervisor even walked with him and rode the MAX with him to ensure he saw his doctor. She has been an incredible advocate in getting him more stable medically and helping him to get a wheelchair so he can be mobile without having a fall risk.”

The Work Continues

For more than 10 years, the City of Hillsboro has been involved in many efforts to assist community members experiencing homelessness and houselessness, including funding for community partners working to end homelessness.

“The City of Hillsboro will continue to work with Washington County and other community partners to identify options for the future,” Hillsboro City Manager Robby Hammond said. “While the Civic Center space offered a temporary solution, we were so grateful to all who worked to make it happen and provide shelter to some of our most vulnerable residents.”

This press release was produced by the City of Hillsboro. The views expressed here are the author’s own.