Autumn 2022
Shelter Plans
The Drop Anchor Restaurant graciously hosted the first PPR Meet and Greet breakfast in late October. Community members joined the PPR board and staff to hear Board Chair Nancy McAllister announce that PPR plans to build an overnight shelter. This was met with applause and cheers along with questions from the guests.
Why a shelter now? The unsheltered population in our county has grown from a few dozen people 2019 to more than 400 this year. The tight housing market and dramatic increase in rents has forced many people out of their homes and onto the streets. Beacon Trailer Park in the Port of Ilwaco sold this year, and that displaced more than 100 persons. Several families are still looking for places to live as they scrape by in older trailers.
No overnight or day shelter exists for unsheltered families. This results in illegal tent camping in the dunes, and RVs parking on beach approaches, city streets, county roads, and forests. There are limited sanitary services campers, so human waste and gray water is dumped on empty lots, the dunes, and forests. This poses a public health threat for the spread of disease.
As the governor and legislature have become aware of the housing crisis, funding from the state is more available for building shelters. Stay tuned for additional shelter news as PPR’s plans progress.
Welcome, Ally Rose
In late July, PPR welcomed Program Navigator Ally Rose. Ally is PPR’s person on the streets, and she provides direct assistance to people in need. You can find her putting gas in someone’s vehicle, giving out Discover Passes, picking up and delivering food boxes to those in need, and helping people connect to necessary services. Ally graduated from Ilwaco High School in 2017 and attended Clatsop Community College where she earned an associate degree. PPR is delighted to have her on board.
HUB Report October
The Hub assisted 35 people during the month of October. 11 cases were new to PPR. Referrals came from local agencies, churches, and by word of mouth. $1222.51 was spent to provide help and meet needs. The average amount spent per person was $34.93.
Ally Rose, PPR Program Navigator, shared the following story.
A client I have been working with recently became homeless due the sale of the RV park where she had been staying. The client has cancer and is now living in her RV in random parking lots. She has a car as well, but it was completely out of fuel and could not get to the gas station. I picked up a gas can from her, filled it up, and took it back to her so that she could get her car started and meet me at the gas station for the rest of the gas. She often has doctor appointments in Vancouver, so most of her money goes to fuel or food. She does not have money to move into a place or get an RV spot, so I also talked with her about going to Coastal Community Action to have a coordinated entry done so that she can be put on a housing program.
Why do we consider this a success story? Ally was able to help meet the woman’s immediate need which was gas for her car. Ally also gave her guidance on getting into a housing program via Coastal Community Action Programs.
What’s Next?
Giving Tuesday and PPR’s annual giving campaign is almost here. Our goal this year is $50,000 because it takes money to provide help to folks in need in our community. Additional details will be made available as we get closer to the date.