OAHHS Spring Summer 2019

17 Spring/Summer 2019 individuals are chronically without a home and have been living on the street for more than a year. Portland is one of five cities selected by Catholic Charities USA to be the initial participants in the initiative, which also aims to provide housing and health services in Spokane. Organizers say local Catholic parishes are central to the success of the initiative. “We are working with the Archdiocese of Portland to create an inventory of properties in the area that can help with our goal,” said Deacon Richard Birkel, Catholic Charities of Oregon executive director. The projects will be small buildings with as few as five and as many as 50 units, which can be integrated more easily into parish neighborhoods. The proposals would include a mix of new development and repurposing of existing facilities. The ambitious Catholic Charities plan aims to cut homelessness by 20 percent. “Homelessness is at crisis levels in nearly every community we serve across the western United States,” says Mike Butler, president of operations for Providence St. Joseph Health, the parent organization for Providence Health & Services Oregon. “It will take innovative partnerships like this one to address the growing needs. “We are proud to be part of this important collaboration in the Portland and Spokane communities because we believe safe housing is foundational to the health, healing and dignity of every human being.”