If Catholic Charities of Oregon had to turn in a “What I Did This Summer” essay, we’d have plenty to write about. From food and school supplies to utility assistance, legal services, housing support and a whole lot of community showing up for community, it was a busy summer. Here are just a few of the ways our staff, volunteers, donors and partners helped our neighbors find greater stability.
Remember that first assignment back to school? What did you do over summer vacation?
At Catholic Charities of Oregon, we might need a few extra pages. Summer brought long days, warm weather and plenty of opportunities to gather. But for many of our neighbors, it also brought very real challenges. Food budgets stretched further when school meals disappeared. Hot weather was especially difficult for people without stable housing. Families prepared for another school year while already juggling rising costs. Newcomers continued the complicated work of building lives in Oregon.
And through it all, our staff kept showing up every day.
We Filled Tables
In June, we held our first-ever Pop-Up Food Pantry, welcoming 117 households representing more than 400 people.
Families left with groceries. But the event also offered something less easily counted – neighbors connecting with people who wanted them to know they weren’t navigating hard times alone.
Food remained a constant need throughout the summer. Community members stepped up to provide meals for women visiting our Housing Transitions Program, where hot lunches are served several days a week. Staff continued distributing basic necessities through HTP and Street Outreach as well.
When summer temperatures climbed, HTP also offered women experiencing homelessness a place to cool down, along with water, cooling towels and information for staying safe in extreme heat.
We Packed Backpacks
Going back to school comes with a list.
Backpacks. Notebooks. Pencils. Markers. Folders. All the things kids need to walk into a classroom ready to learn. Those costs add up quickly for families already trying to cover rent, groceries, utilities and other essentials.
This summer, our communities stepped up to help. Back-to-school supply events in Happy Valley, Salem and Portland helped equip children and families for the year ahead. Behind every backpack was a collection of small acts of generosity, from people who donated supplies and funding to the staff and volunteers who sorted, packed and distributed them.
We Helped Keep the Lights On
In August, CCO and El Programa Hispano Catolico hosted an Energy Assistance event at our Clark Family Center.
More than 70 people received help with past-due utility bills through available assistance from Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and NW Natural.
Utility assistance might not sound dramatic. But keeping the electricity or gas on can mean being able to cook dinner, take a hot shoer, keep food refrigerated or safely cool a home on a hot day.
Sometimes stability looks exactly like that.
We Built Things — Including Community
Our friends and partners also rolled up their sleeves this summer.
For the fourth year, volunteers from Deloitte spent a Day of Service at Kenton Women’s Village, painting, deep-cleaning and tackling projects to make the village more welcoming.
Later in the summer, Tivnu returned with participants from Camp Tawonga’s Teen Leadership Institute. At Kenton Women’s Village, volunteers extended fencing made from recycled cedar, painted, built shelving and completed repairs.
Community members also donated summer clothing, meals and other everyday necessities.
These projects improve physical spaces. But they do something else too. They remind residents that there is a much larger community invested in their well-being and rooting for what comes next.
We Made Room for Joy
Stability isn’t only about meeting urgent needs. Sometimes it looks like bingo under the canopy at HTP, complete with prizes and laughter. Sometimes it’s residents of Francis + Clare Place heading to the Japanese Garden to practice navigating the city together, or spending a summer day at the Oregon Zoo.
These outings offer opportunities to build confidence using public transportation, navigate unfamiliar places, get some exercise and spend time together. They are also a reminder that joy, connect and belonging matter.
And We Kept Showing Up
Of course, most of CCO’s work doesn’t happen at a special event. It happens on an ordinary Tuesday morning.
Throughout the summer, our Immigration Legal Services team continued helping people understand their rights, navigate complicated legal processes and determine their next steps. Our Refugee Services staff helped families find housing, navigate transportation, look for work, access services and begin building lives in their community. This summer, that work expanded to include asylum seekers through our Extended Case Management Program.
Across our Housing and Homelessness Services, staff continued welcoming women to HTP, supporting residents at Kenton Women’s Village and our permanent supportive housing communities, helping people obtain basic necessities and working alongside clients toward greater stability.
Case managers answered phones. Attorneys reviewed documents. Outreach workers met people where they were. Staff helped with housing applications, transportation, work authorization, clothing, furnishings and countless other needs that rarely make headlines.
That work happened yesterday. It is happening today. And it will continue tomorrow.