Hope in Housing? Nonprofits Doing the Work Say Yes

When J.T. Flowers scans the Portland skyline from the community balcony of the Albina One affordable housing development, he sees what could be:

A whole new zip code reconnected, redeveloped and bracketed by a capped expanse of I-5 and a new waterfront park. Schools, homes and buildings full of thriving Black and working-class families and businesses rebuilding generational wealth in the central city. 

Albina One

This vision is coming to life through the work of Flowers and many more at Albina Vision Trust. Director of Government Relations and Communications for Albina Vision Trust, Flowers is part of a community-driven nonprofit spearheading the largest restorative redevelopment effort in America — to date, the group has brought over $800 million in direct investment to Lower Albina. 

Albina Vision Trust is buying back land, rebuilding community and re-rooting Black, working-class and historically displaced families on 94 acres in the heart of Portland. And the nonprofit is about to open its first 94 new units of affordable family housing on a patch of Willamette River property where the view of the future stretches forever.

Nonprofits Bringing Hope to Housing

Across Oregon, dedicated nonprofits are finding ways to build homes and neighborhoods, shelter and services for people who have been locked out or left out of communities — be they Black families displaced by urban renewal and gentrification, elders and foster children in search of belonging, homeless teens spending their first nights on the street, or families who cannot afford to pay rent.

These organizations are building coalitions, pulling together resources, following research and battling market forces to find hope in housing—with impressive outcomes.

Event and Tours Spotlight Stories of Progress and Success

In 2025, Oregon Community Foundation convened leaders of housing and transitional support organizations at the Hope and Innovation in Housing event, hosted by software company Autodesk with the Missing Middle Fund. Lorelei Juntunen, President and CEO of policy research firm ECONorthwest, moderated.

Hattie Redmond Building

Throughout May and June, OCF and donors toured the sites of transformational housing developments and support programs, including Albina Vision Trust’s project area and sites operated by Urban League of Portland, Cultivate Initiatives and p:ear.

Oregon Community Foundation is proud to support these visionary partners, and to invest in solutions that are making a measurable difference in people’s lives — right now.

“We believe we can be a lever and a catalyst to do more good work in Oregon,” says Megan Loeb, Senior Program Officer at OCF, who focuses on strategic projects to improve economic vitality and housing stability.

This isn’t easy work. But it can be effective. Here are three organizations showing what’s possible when we lead with compassion and follow the findings of the latest research.

Bridge Meadows: Creating Belonging Across Generations

At Bridge Meadows, affordable intergenerational housing brings together elders and families adopting children from foster care.

Bridge Meadows is home to 225 people across the Oregon communities of Beaverton, North Portland and Redmond, including 53 youth. More communities are planned.

Every community member has an apartment or townhome, with access to shared activity spaces, community rooms and courtyards. Clinical staff provide more support.

“Homelessness is not about not having a house. It’s about not having a community,” says Dr. Derenda Schubert, Executive Director.

The outcomes are remarkable.

Each child who finds a forever family and lives at Bridge Meadows saves human services $439,000 annually in foster care payments, according to the organization. And 95% of residents maintain stable housing.

New Avenues for Youth: Intervening Early, Changing Trajectories

For youth facing homelessness, time is everything.

“A young person’s first two weeks on the street are critical. We have the ability to change their trajectory,” says Sean Suib, Executive Director of New Avenues for Youth, a Portland nonprofit that has helped more than 30,000 young people over nearly three decades. “If you can support young people in that critical window and come up with safer alternatives, then the likelihood that you can prevent long-time housing instability goes up.”

New Avenues specializes in prevention and intervention services for young people ages 9 to 24 facing homelessness. To meet their needs, New Avenues offers interconnected programs throughout Multnomah County — including drop-in services, drug and alcohol recovery, mental health support, job training, education, housing and shelter. Staff and mentors create safe spaces where youth feel seen, heard and supported.

New Avenues’ New Meadows program — developed in partnership with Bridge Meadows at the Dorothy Lemelson House — provides transitional housing for youth ages 17–24 who are aging out of foster care.

Suib says 100% of former New Meadows residents move into permanent housing and 73% are employed or enrolled in education within a year.

“Nobody wants to be homeless,” Suib says.

Path Home: Keeping Families Housed and Whole

Path Home's Family Village Shelter, photo by Aaron Leitz

When families are on the brink — just one missed rent payment away from losing their home or newly homeless — Path Home steps in.

Through a mix of eviction prevention, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and long-term support, Path Home serves more than 600 families a year. The results are powerful: 93% of families are still in stable housing after 18 months.

Support includes:

• Finding and moving into housing, including support with back rent, deposits and moving costs
• Up to two years of rental assistance
• Customized case management for about a year, including help finding jobs, accessing child care and balancing budgets

It’s all based on a trauma-informed approach. As Executive Director of Path Home Brandi Tuck describes:

“When we have positive stress, our body releases chemicals that help promote things like critical thinking, emotional regulation and logical thought,” Tuck says. “When we experience distress, the chemicals that are released help us fight that lion or run away. That same distress response is released in response to things like domestic violence, abuse, neglect and homelessness.”

“Losing our homes causes our brains to react in the same way as a wild animal running at us trying to eat us,” Tuck says. “And that's where trauma-informed care comes in. It's understanding that this is happening in the brain. And it's creating certain conditions to help people get through that and back into the healthy stress response.”

“People who are at imminent risk of eviction come to Path Home, and often, that fight, flight, freeze response never happens,” Tuck says. “Kids don’t feel the disruption.”

More Visionary Partners Making a Difference

Urban League of Portland: A civil rights and social service organization investing in stable housing, workforce development, community health, education and well-being for youth, adults and seniors. Urban League of Portland runs the Hattie Redmond Building, which provides 62 private studio apartment units of permanent supporting housing for Black Portlanders, many navigating disability, recovery or re-entry from homelessness.

Hygiene services from Cultivate Inititatives

Cultivate Initiatives: An organization that helps people experiencing homelessness regain stability and reintegrate into the workforce. Cultivate Initiatives operates the Menlo Park Safe Rest Village, with over 50 units, and free mobile showers and laundry trucks. The organization employs graduates of its workforce development programs; in 2024, they removed more than one million pounds of garbage from East Portland streets.

Plans include building a tiny house village, expanding their Safe Rest Village by 25 units, and developing a housing complex.

p:ear: A nonprofit that builds positive relationships with homeless youth ages 15 to 25 through education, art, wilderness recreation and job training. Every year, p:ear serves more than 800 youth through programs including a creative studio, a music space with recording equipment and hands-on work experience through Coffee Works and Bike Works. The organization also engages youth in recreation activities to help them build confidence and connect with nature. 

Reach out to a Philanthropic Advisor to learn more or donate to the Housing Stability and Ending Homelessness in Oregon Fund at OCF.  

Housing Context

• In Multnomah County alone, 14,864 people are experiencing homelessness.   
• Oregon has the 4th highest homeless population per capita in the nation.
• 54% of Oregon renters cannot cover basic living expenses after paying rent.
• Every $100 increase in a region’s median rent correlates to a 9% increase in its rate of homelessness.
• The most important variable in explaining rates of homelessness is the cost of rent.
• Oregon has the 2nd most constrained housing market in the country.

Source: ECONorthwest