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    • Central City Concern Clean Start, under contract with the City of Gresham, provides paid mentored work experience for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. The Clean Start team cleans up Gresham's trails and open spaces in areas impacted by homelessness.

Homelessness in Gresham

  • Homelessness is a complex, challenging issue and a top priority for the City. The City Council will continue to address homelessness in its Council Work Plan.

    The City works closely with local organizations and other government agencies in response to this growing community issue.

    • Local Efforts to Address Homelessness
    • Services and Assistance
    Local Efforts to Address Homelessness
    City Homeless Services Specialist

    The City's new Homeless Services Specialist serves as a single point of contact for individuals in need. For more information contact Aaron Sando at 503-618-3210 or Aaron.Sando@GreshamOregon.gov.

    Clean Start

    Gresham now provides paid, mentored work experience for individuals transitioning out of homelessness through the Central City Concern (CCC) Clean Start program. Read about the Clean Start program.

    Community Volunteer Corps

    Gresham offers mentored volunteer work experiences for homeless individuals currently accessing services to improve their lives through the Central City Concern Community Volunteer Corps program.

    Cleaning up homeless camps

    Clean-ups occur regularly along the Springwater Trail and other areas. More than 120 camps were posted and cleaned in 2015. Report problem camps and illegal dump sites through My Gresham. 

    Ending veteran homelessness

    The City joined A Home for Everyone to place nearly 700 local veterans into permanent housing.

    Proactive law enforcement

    The City's Neighborhood Enforcement Team proactively works with the community to address livability issues.

    Funding for outreach workers in Gresham

    The City's partner JOIN specifically works directly with the homeless, helping them gain stability and return to housing.

    Protecting sensitive natural areas

    In February the City closed a 60-acre parcel along the Springwater Trail, known as Gresham Woods, to all human activity to allow this area to recover from serious environmental damage. Additionally, JOIN outreach workers are providing low-impact camping education to the homeless to prevent further destruction in other areas.

    Gathering better data

    The City assisted with the 2015 Point-in-Time Count. It provides critical data on homelessness for resource allocation and decision making.

    Pass-through funding for local providers

    The City partners with Human Solutions and other social service providers to bring families out of homelessness using federal Community Development Block Grants.

    Support for homeless students

    The Second Home program provides stable housing for Gresham high school youth in partnership with the Gresham-Barlow School District, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and East Metro Mediation.

    Participation with Home Forward 

    Councilor David Widmark and two Gresham residents serve on the board of directors for Home Forward, which advocates for affordable housing where families are being priced out of the community.

    A Home for Everyone strategies and investments

    The City is participating in a countywide effort to reduce homelessness by 50% by the end of 2017. 

    Dozens of strategies have been approved by A Home for Everyone, and $30 million in new investments for 2016-17 are under consideration by Multnomah County and the City of Portland to implement these strategies.
    If fully funded:

    • $10 million will go to constructing affordable housing in Portland.
    • $12.5 million to help place people into housing.
    • $5 million to increase shelter space.
    • $2.5 million to help prevent 1,000 people from entering homelessness.
    Services and Assistance

    A number of services are available countywide for those seeking homeless services and assistance. 

    Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET)

    Contact the Gresham Police Department's NET tip line at 503-618-2638 to leave neighborhood tips and information. Callers can remain anonymous or leave contact information for officers to follow-up on.

    Read about NET.

    Second Home

    Helps provide housing for homeless students in the Gresham-Barlow School District.  

    Read about Second Home.

    Human Solutions

    Human Solutions provides homeless and other services to people in the area.

    JOIN

    JOIN is a local homeless outreach organization; supports the efforts of the homeless to transition into permanent housing.

    211.org

    Call 2-1-1 for local shelter information or visit 211.org.

    Social Services

    Learn more about local and regional resources for social services.

  • Task force on homelessness

    A citizen task force on homelessness in 2016 investigated issues and solutions from a Gresham perspective to inform the City Council.

    Gresham Task Force on Homelessness Report

    Contact us

    For more information, contact Joe Walsh, Senior Manager for Neighborhood Prosperity and Youth Engagement, at 503-618-2372 or Joe.Walsh@GreshamOregon.gov.