We have two shelters to serve our community

Churches finish apartment for homeless

LAKE OSWEGO -- A consortium of seven churches expects to welcome a homeless family in early March to the second apartment the group operates in the city. The apartment is in a lower level of the Lake Oswego United Methodist Church, where members left room for the living space when they added a wing to their building a half-dozen years ago. A church task force sought grants and donations to complete the space as an apartment operated by the Lake Oswego Transitional Shelter Ministry, which dedicated the home Sunday.

The consortium's first apartment, at Lake Oswego United Church of Christ, opened in 2002 for a family referred by the Annie Ross House Outreach Program, with case management by the Clackamas County Social Services Department, said Char White, a past president of the shelter ministry board.

In addition to the Methodist Church and United Church of Christ, the nonprofit consortium includes representatives from Our Savior's Lutheran, Christ Episcopal, Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic, Lake Grove Presbyterian and First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Volunteers in the shelter ministry have been aiding families since 1988, when they arranged living space in the basement of the United Church of Christ, White said.

Over time, the basement space became unworkable for a variety of reasons, including inadequate plumbing and the fact that families had to vacate the living room every Saturday night to make room for Sunday school classes.

When United Church of Christ planned an addition, members agreed to include a separate apartment where a family could stay for three to six months while regaining self-sufficiency. The Methodist church followed that example.

However, without money in hand, the church couldn't move ahead with its good intentions, said Suzanne Wardenaar, who offered to head the Methodist congregation's task force for the project.

Decides on group effort

"I don't know anything about building and I don't know anything about finance," Wardenaar, an elementary school teacher, said she told other church members at the time. However, she knew the project would succeed only with a group of people to push it along.

In addition to donations of money and furnishings from individuals, the group sought grants from local and national groups, said Jean Northrup, a volunteer grants writer.

It received $3,500 from the Lake Oswego Junior Women's Club and $2,000 from The Lamb Foundation, established by the local grocery store family. The Metro District of the United Methodist Church provided $1,000. The women's division of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church backed the project, and the full general board provided $20,000, said Northrup.

The global ministries board often provides funds for endeavors it hopes to replicate in other places, Northrup said, and she hopes the Lake Oswego transitional shelter will inspire congregations in other parts of the country.

Four Oregon church groups already have started similar programs, including one in Canby, White said, and a fifth is in Idaho.

Additional support

More than 45 volunteers from the seven Lake Oswego churches take turns, usually in two-week stints, to assist each family at the shelter, said Arline Miller, a former consortium board member. Most need transportation to doctor's appointments and grocery stores because they don't have cars, she said.

Volunteers also help families set up household budgets and save money for deposits on the apartments where they move after leaving the transitional housing, White said. A family counselor is expected to join the volunteers in a few weeks to provide specialized help for families, she said.

This year, the consortium started a mentoring program in which a volunteer maintains contact with a family for a year after leaving the church apartment to make sure the transition remains a smooth one.

"What we found was that after they leave this support system, they suddenly are all alone in Estacada or Hillsboro or wherever they go in the metropolitan area," White said. "They don't have anyone to call, but they might need someone, even if it's just to talk."

Since the program started in 1988, the consortium has provided transitional housing for 43 families, which have included 68 children and 60 adults, White said.

With the second apartment about to open, the consortium board is seeking more volunteers, she said. A training session is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to noon Feb. 26 at Lake Oswego United Methodist Church, 1855 South Shore Blvd.

Janet Goetze, 503-294-5917; janetgoetze@news.oregonian.com.

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