Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) has been awarded $1 million as part of Governor Tina Kotek's new Housing 360 pilot program announced last week. The funding will support innovative approaches to housing individuals experiencing homelessness who face mental health challenges, with a special focus on Tribal communities in the Wasco County region who are disproportionately affected by homelessness. MCCAC’s partners in the Housing 360 pilot program include Nch’i Wana Housing, the Bridges to Health Pathways program of the Columbia Gorge Health Council, and Mid-Columbia Center for Living.
"This critical funding will allow us to expand our work connecting vulnerable community members with stable housing and essential support services," said Leslie Naramore, Interim Executive Director of MCCAC. "By prioritizing Tribal communities who are disparately impacted by homelessness in our region, we're taking meaningful steps toward addressing long-standing inequities in our housing system."
The Housing 360 initiative, launched by Governor Kotek and Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), has awarded a total of $3.4 million to community partners across the state. These pilot projects aim to build a foundation for Oregon to take an informed, data-driven approach to helping residents struggling with mental illness transition from unsheltered homelessness into housing stability.
"To help every Oregonian go from living on the street into stable housing, we need to meet them where they are," Governor Kotek said in announcing the initiative. "We know that mental health challenges can stand in the way of people getting the care and housing they need. These projects will help us save lives now and make sure we get the details right into the future."
MCCAC is one of four organizations receiving Housing 360 grants, along with Benton County ($900,000), Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action ($800,000), and Washington County ($700,000).
“The Housing 360 project will strengthen our collaborative work to support Native community members who are facing housing and mental health challenges,” said Debra Whitefoot, Executive Director of Nch’i Wana Housing. “A future where everyone in our community has a safe and stable place to call home is possible only through working in collaboration and partnership.”
MCCAC is the Community Action Agency serving Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties. MCCAC's mission is to build a better future for our community through partnership and equity-centered programs that prevent and eliminate poverty and houselessness.
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