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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2016)
February 5, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com 3A PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT Bringing services to those who need them most About 1,000 people in Clatsop County are homeless By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal In recent years, Clatsop County’s homeless popula- tion has remained at about 1,000 people, indicating a systemic issue Clatsop Community Action and other local agencies, orga- nizations and businesses are trying to address. Clatsop Community Action partners with other agencies to gather a census of people who are homeless in the county during the last 10 days of January. It is held in conjunction with the an- nual Project Homeless Con- nect Jessica Maclay Memo- rial, which took place for the seventh year Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center. During the event, more than 0 nonpro¿t, gov- ernmental and faith-based agencies provided services on site — including med- ical screenings, immuni- zations, haircuts, personal care items, clothing vouch- ers and a hot meal — and connected participants to housing, mail service, food stamps, identi¿cation, So- cial Security, mental health services, employment, edu- cation and legal aid. Clatsop County Commu- nity Action Director Elaine Bruce stressed the impor- tance of collecting data on the countywide homeless population according to state and federal standards. The information is reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment and other agencies and affects legislative bud- gets, Bruce said. In 2013, the coun- ty’s homeless population jumped to 1,038 — up 62 percent from the previ- ous year. The number then stabilized. The count was 1,047 in 2014 and 1,005 in 2015. The agency expects the number will be about 1,000 this year, as well. While the count has re- mained nearly stagnant, “the face of homelessness is changing,” said Suzanne Evans, crisis and men- tal health case manager at Helping Hands Re-en- try Outreach Centers. The Seaside-based nonpro¿t agency was a partner at the event and provided cloth- ing, shoes and cold-weather accessories to participants. In particular, seniors and households with children are being more affected. In 2015, the 617 households counted included 278 peo- ple younger than 18. “It used to be, years ago, mostly single men; then it transitioned to women, and then women with children,” Bruce said. Staff member Viviana Matthews agreed, saying JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP Holly Shepherd, from Salon Boheme, cuts Roger McMoubrey’s hair at a station during the Project Homeless Connect event at the Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center Thursday. they still see “the chron- ically homeless,” but have seen more families come through. Evans, who made appointments for people to sign up for health insur- ance, said she believed this year’s event brought in a lot of new faces. Close to 150 households attended this year’s Project Homeless Connect, according to Mat- thews. Overcoming barriers Clatsop County has tight resources and does not have many employment opportu- nities, Bruce said, especial- ly those that provide living wages. Some people move to the area misinformed about the job opportunities or un- aware of how the job market is seasonal, Matthews said. She feels local agencies and the media are doing a good job bringing awareness of homelessness in Clatsop County, but that also may be why some people see it as more of a problem. Housing, personal hab- its, lack of marketable skills and numerous other situa- tions contribute to the issue. As the disabled veteran’s outreach and placement specialist with the Oregon Employment Department, Patrick Preston sees numer- ous barriers affecting veter- ans as they search for jobs. Often they have skills but not always those needed in today’s job market. The same goes for many senior citizens, said Theresa Me- dina, participant assistant for Experience Works. Me- dina and Preston said their agencies, as well as Paci¿c Northwest Works and other JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP Bags of toiletries sit on a table for people to take during the Project Homeless Connect event at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center Thursday. JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP groups, help job candidates receive training, hone skill sets relevant in the local job market and perfect resumes and interview strategies. “The Employment De- partment isn’t going to get you a job,” Preston said. “What we will do is prepare the environment for success.” Medina agreed seniors have become more at-risk for homelessness. Many are not as computer literate and technology savvy as may be required, and they some- times resist change. “You get them out of their comfort zone and they don’t want to be there,” Medina said. It takes a village The Astoria Rescue Mis- sion, which has partnered for the event since its gen- esis, emphasizes building a support system around those in need. The faith- based nonpro¿t provides a homeless shelter, food and clothing — items to meet people’s immediate phys- ical needs. Their mission also includes a six-month discipleship program, daily Bible studies, services and other programs to satisfy spiritual needs, according to of¿ce manager Robert Warriner. “When they ¿nd people to care about them and their needs, it becomes a fam- ily,” House Manager Bill Eckstein said. Alisha /uck, a ¿eld pro- gram assistant with event newcomer Family and Community Together Ore- gon, also sees how import- ant it is for “underserved” community members to network and ¿nd support. The organization assists those with disabilities by providing education and opportunities to network with others in similar cir- cumstances. As the proverb goes, Luck said, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and the “family networking piece is that key.” Speaking from experi- ence, Luck said that when she was homeless and rais- ing a daughter with disabil- Kathleen Idzal, right, a nursing student at Clatsop Communi- ty College, takes Maria Adams’ blood pressure during Project Homeless Connect at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center. ities, she felt cut off from a lot of important infor- mation. Newcomers to the area also may experience a disconnect. Project Homeless Con- nect’s value, she said, is it links people to the services, resources and information they need, or even those they did not realize they needed. According to Evans, “It’s nice to see us all come together” to give people the referrals and resources they need “in one fell swoop.” D EL ’S O .K . 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