A meal, a shower, a familiar face. At Catholic Charities of Oregon’s Housing Transitions Program, everyday moments of care help women experiencing homelessness find connection and support. Now, we’re excited to plan an expansion that will make room for more women, even as funding cuts force other local services to scale back.
A place to come inside and exhale
When you don’t have a home, finding somewhere to simply sit down can be difficult. Somewhere to get warm, wash your clothes, charge your phone or talk with someone who has time to listen.
Our Housing Transitions Program offers that welcome. Women can meet immediate needs while building relationships with people who will help them navigate what comes next, whether that means replacing identification, completing a housing application or working through a setback.
HTP serves self-identified women age 25 and older who do not have children in their care. Women in this group have relatively few services designed specifically for them, and housing resources often prioritize families with children. Their need for safety, stability and a place to belong is just as urgent.
“Sometimes the first thing someone needs is a shower, a meal and a chance to catch their breath,” said Victoria Waldrep, director of the housing and homeless services program. “Having a place where you feel welcome can make it easier to come back, get to know people and ask for help. Those relationships are at the heart of what we do.”
Why that welcome matters
There is evidence behind this approach. A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, based on interviews with 22 women attending a women’s day center, found that participants described greater control over their lives, less isolation and better access to practical resources. Acceptance, caring relationships and a safe environment were central to their experiences.
Those findings help explain why a welcoming space matters. A woman may come in to do laundry and find someone who can help with a housing application. A shared meal can become an opportunity to connect. Returning to a familiar place can make asking for support feel more possible.
At HTP, that daily connection sits alongside housing navigation, advocacy and help removing barriers to a permanent home.
Making room when options are shrinking
Across our community, providers are making painful decisions about how much help they can continue to offer. Multnomah County’s fiscal year 2027 budget calls for the phased closure of 605 adult shelter units. Its Homeless Services Department reports that Laurelwood Center, River District Navigation Center and Walnut Park have closed, while Bybee Lakes Hope Center has reduced capacity.
Behind every reduction are people seeking somewhere safe to go, and staff and volunteers working hard to help them find it.
That makes the opportunity to expand HTP especially meaningful. We’re excited to create more room for women who need support and to strengthen a place they can count on.
“We know how hard our partners are working to keep their doors open and how much our community needs these services,” said Kaleen Deatherage, Catholic Charities of Oregon CEO. “Being able to plan for an expansion fills us with hope. We want more women to have somewhere they feel welcome, where someone will listen and help them take their next step toward housing.”
More space for everyday dignity
Plans would grow the drop-in center from about 2,000 to 6,000 square feet, with the goal of roughly doubling the number of women it can serve.
For the women who come through our doors, that would mean more opportunities to shower and do laundry. Space to come inside, have coffee and charge a phone. Greater privacy for a call or time at a computer. Room for classes, peer activities, quiet moments and conversations.
These are the everyday comforts many of us rely on without having to think about where we will find them. We’re thrilled at the prospect of making them available to more women.
Help bring this welcome to life
Bringing this vision to life will take community support. But we’re eager to share that we’re working toward more women welcomed inside, more opportunities to connect and more support on the path to a stable home.
If you’d like to help make the HTP expansion possible, please consider a gift to support the program. Together, we can make room for more of our neighbors.