Our approach to Housing Equality

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Homelessness is something that will not go away.  Cities all over the West coast have been working on solutions for decades.  Recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made it Illegal for cities to criminalize unhoused individuals.  This added more frustration and confusion to an already unstable and unhelpful environment.  Our local municipalities resorted to forcing houseless citizens to move around from place to place creating a hostile and untrusting place to be.  This also created a place where many resources made available for survival ended up in local landfills, many articles of food, clothes, and other personal belongings became rubbish spread along our already littered river fronts.  This level of garbage, along with the noticeable decline in mental health, noticeable drug use  with littered paraphernalia, and public urination and defecation drove local citizens to anger and some to vigilantism.    This also made it very difficult for local supportive service providers to create any kind of consistancy with their clients.  This is where Umpqua Heart comes in by developing a place where people can be in a low-barrier non-congregate living facility.  This is a place where people can choose to  be in an alcohol and drug free environment, be offered the supportive services they need in one location to promote transition, and can stay as long as needed.  This is considered a low-barrier non-congregate shelter that is based on behavior instead of sobriety.  

There are three forms of living situations based on where people choose to be and availability.  The first is a Tent Village.  Every Villager is allowed a 10 foot by 10 foot tent for their personal space, and is offered a numbered tote for storage that will be managed by an Umpqua Heart team member.  Every villager will have access to clean water, hand washing stations, and portable toilets.  They will also have access to local service providers through Connecting Point mobile engagement once a week.  The goal is to make sure basic needs are met by allowing people to obtain safety, security, and rest.

Welcome to your CHU.  This is a Contained Housing Unit for the villagers who have made the decision to transition into a self-sustainable way of life.  Still embracing a low-barrier environment, villagers make the decision to accept a personally tailored system of care plan to transition that is designed by the villager, case management and peer support.  Whether a villager is working on Disability, Social Security, or employment, these villagers will have access to a 8 foot by 10 foot micro-shelter that comes with a door that locks, a window, a twin bed, personal storage, a 200w solar system with inverter to support power to charge devices, light, and a small appliance.  The idea is to fully saturate the villager with all resources necessary to promote sustainable self-sufficiency.  The villager has an all access pass to our case management and peer support teams, trade mentorship from our partnering Douglas County trade contractors, meals, transportation, plumbed bathrooms, daily showers, access to clothing, and access to a full kitchen.   

Tiny Homes are the final stage in the Umpqua Heart Plan.  We know in order to plan for the future a person needs to have the ability and comfortability to create a home.  We plan on doing this through a tiny home program with  tiny home ownership options.  The tiny homes will be outfitted with all the amenities of a traditional home just a wee-bit smaller.  These enviromentally friendly, green tiny homes will have electricity provided mainly through solar, city water, a shower, a two burner propane cook top range, plumbing through self-composting toilets and grey water mitigation, and a ductless heating and cooling system.  Depending on the size of family and personal needs, the two options available will be 8.5 feet by 16 feet and 8.5 feet by 20 feet.  They will be able to fit an individual, couple, or small family.  The villagers will still have a VIP pass to our full peer support and case management team, access to all our community peer mentors, transportation, clothes, and weekly Connecting Point mobile engagement to continue to develop their foundation of self-sustainability, but the most exciting part of the Umpqua Heart plan is that we are going to offer actual home ownership.  We are offering easy, comprehensive ways in order to lease to own their own home.  We will also have permanent housing options for those not interested in home ownership.   Once a  villager obtains home ownership, they will continue to pay a home owner's association fee.  If they choose to sell, Umpqua Heart will offer full compensation for the property that the home owner can use toward their future or forever home, and that home will become available for the next person or family to create their next story.  These tiny homes will also be coordinated with our Douglas County contracting team to offer ownership through sweat equity and mentorship.  Home owners can choose to help building the next homes to help pay theirs off sooner or build the tiny home they want to live in.  

We will also be building Tiny homes in the attempt to prevent families with school aged children from ending up on the streets.  New information suggests that children that experience episodic homelessness three times before they reach the age of 18 have a 90% chance of being homeless as adults.  Umpqua Heart aims to partner with the McKinny Vento homeless liaisons to be Douglas County's relief valve to make sure that these students and their families will have a safe place to obtain appropriate services and create an environment of growth and security.