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11-29-2024 12:34 am • PDX and SEA Weather
MLK Breakfast
Forest Grove, Ore. – Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) today announced Centro Cultural de Washington County (Centro) has been selected to receive a Project Turnkey grant of $2.2 million for the acquisition and conversion of a 20-room motel in Forest Grove, Oregon. The property will serve as a COVID-respite shelter for displaced, low-income Latino/a/x families, seasonal and migrant workers and others needing safe shelter. Centro provides programs, services and referrals that are culturally relevant to meet the specific needs of the underserved Latino/a/x population of Washington County.
“The pandemic – and the disproportionate impact it has had on the Latino/a/x community – has challenged Centro like no other time in our organization’s history,” says, Maria Caballero Rubio, Executive Director, Centro. “This grant helps us to rise to the challenge and continue to advance our mission. We take pride in assisting and serving our community members to become sheltered, receive culturally competent services, stabilize and, ultimately, achieve the wellbeing and prosperity that they each deserve.”
The property is located at 4433 Pacific Avenue in Forest Grove, Oregon, and is already being used as an active shelter for people experiencing chronic homelessness, with plans to open the remaining rooms to the most vulnerable community members through the pandemic. Longer term, Centro Cultural de Washington County will renovate the property to provide culturally specific transitional housing, with a grand re-opening planned for January 2022.
“Centro is on the front lines serving some of the most disproportionately impacted community members in western Washington County,”
said Megan Loeb, OCF Program Officer, Housing. “The Project Turnkey Advisory Committee enthusiastically supported funding for Centro Cultural because of their expertise in serving the Latino/a/x community with culturally-specific programming. The broad community support for this project is inspiring.”
Oregon Community Foundation offers support for Oregon’s housing needs along a continuum—from shelter to supportive housing to affordable housing to equitable home ownership—through a variety of tools, including research, grants, advocacy, and low-interest loans. OCF’s administration of Project Turnkey is one example of the innovative, collaborative approaches underway to help more Oregonians find stable, affordable housing.
For a complete list of Project Trunkey grant awardees, please visit Project Turnkey online.
The Oregon Legislature allocated a total of $65 million for Project Turnkey for the purpose of acquiring motels/hotels for use as non-congregate shelter for people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. Two discrete funds were provided by the state: one totaling $30 million to be awarded in counties and tribal communities impacted by the 2020 wildfires; and one totaling $35 million for the remaining 28 counties in the state. Oregon Community Foundation is administering both funds through an application and selection process, with guidance from an Advisory Committee of state, local, and community stakeholders. For more information, please visit Project Turnkey online.
For nearly 50 years, Centro Cultural de Washington County (Centro) has served low-income Latino/a/x families with programs to create self-sufficiency and economic mobility. Centro serves more than 9,000 people annually. For more information, please visit: centrocultural.org.
Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) puts donated money to work in Oregon – more than $100 million in grants and scholarships annually. Since 1973, OCF grantmaking, research, advocacy and community-advised solutions have helped individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds to improve lives for all Oregonians. Impactful giving–time, talent, and resources from many generous Oregonians–creates measurable change. For more information about OCF, visit: oregoncf.org.
