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.”
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