Homeless Connect

Homelessness in Yamhill County: Everybody's Business

YAMHILL COUNTY, OR: Yamhill County has an ambitious goal: to end homelessness within 10 years and see that every citizen has a decent, safe and affordable place to call home.

"We are very interested in finding out ways to make Yamhill County's Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness reflect local values, ideas and not just address homelessness in general," noted County Commissioner Kathy George. Five community meetings have been held to give citizens the opportunity to share ideas and concerns.  Citizens were encouraged to discuss ways the plan can target Yamhill County's specific conditions.

The need for affordable housing and the growing incidence of homelessness in Yamhill County are increasing issues of importance. Elise Hui, Housing Authority of Yamhill County is concerned that "There is an overall lack of affordable housing available to local residents with commuters coming in from outlying areas increasing the demand for higher-end homes. New developments are putting upward pressure on land costs and making issues of housing affordability more pronounced. While still a leader in the agricultural industry, Yamhill County now is placing an economic focus on the service industry and tourism. This produces high housing costs and low average wages."

Children show up as a predominate category among the homeless. For the 2007-08 school year, the number of homeless school aged children identified by districts around the county rose 23% from the year before. Those 387 children don't include those under 5, or those the schools weren't able to serve.

Others, who live from month to month, are very susceptible to becoming homeless. One medical emergency, job loss, eviction notice, or other calamity and they too, are one paycheck away from becoming homeless. If you currently homeless or at risk of homelessness, a local resource listing is available at Homeless Resources. Specific facts regarding current homeless population demographics in Yamhill County can be found at Homeless Facts 2009.

The mission of the Ten Year Plan is to prevent, and eventually eliminate chronic homelessness by providing permanent housing and coordinated services to help individuals achieve maximum self-sufficiency.

The Plan is available at libraries in Dayton, McMinnville, Newberg and Sheridan. Copies are also available at the City Hall in Amity, Carlton, Dundee, Lafayette, Willamina, Yamhill and the Board of Commissioners office in McMinnville, on the Yamhill County website or on our website at Ten Year Plan. The plan is quite detailed so there is also a plan summary available if you just would like a quick overview of the plan.

The committee that helped develop the plan with comments from the public have remained busy working on activities to implement the plan.  Their First Year Annual Plan Update was released in September 2009 and describes those activities during the past year.

One of the activities that was conducted through the Ten Year Plan was a one-day event in which resources are brought together in one location to provide immediate service for those in need as well as to create ongoing relationships between those in need and service providers. This event in 2009 was called the Homeless Connect Event. On Wednesday, April 14, 2010, this event will be again held at the New Horizons Church located at 2705 Destiny Drive in McMinnville. The event this year will be called the 2010 Community Connect and will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  If you are interested in volunteering for this event or for volunteering for any other opportunity related to ending homelessness, the Volunteer Brochure lists many of these opportunities.