Transformation in the Whiteaker: ShelterCare’s New Home Taking Shape
We hope that by now you have heard about ShelterCare’s new Center for Programs and Services in the Whiteaker neighborhood. I thought I would take advantage of our newsletter to share with you why we think this new center will be good for the clients we serve and good for the community as a whole. For our clients, the new building offers a centralized hub of services in which they can meet with housing, employment, and benefit specialists – perhaps all in the same visit, if necessary. Our clinical team and spaces for group and private therapy sessions will be just down the hall; and our Homelessness Prevention Program will have space to meet quietly with parents while their children amuse themselves in a safe play area.
Why does this matter to the community? We are painfully aware of the shortage of resources to address homelessness in Lane County. Increasingly, ShelterCare and other providers are working on a “housing first” model. Rather than investing in shelter systems, we are seeking to help our clients re-establish housing in the community and extending case management to them where they live. The evidence points to the value of this approach, and the new center will enable us to streamline the delivery of these services to clients throughout the metropolitan area.
Secondly, the new center affords ShelterCare the opportunity to offer integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment to the large number of our clients who struggle with both issues. We may also have the opportunity at the new center to house a medical professional, making the facility a one-stop location for all that a client may need. We plan to fully occupy the building in September and will open the doors for any and all to see the transformative change in our programs.
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