Last month Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS), the not-for-profit organization that has operated our Thirteen Salmon Family Center since it opened in the fall of 2009, announced big news that is exciting for them, and bittersweet to our church community: on May 23 they became the owner of a new large shelter in the Lents neighborhood of Southeast Portland. The new shelter will open for families later this summer, at which time our Thirteen Salmon Family Center will close. (Thirteen Salmon has operated as the day shelter for the families that stay overnight at the Goose Hollow Family Center in the First United Methodist Church. The combined shelters provided housing and support for eight families at a time, and many people in our church have volunteered and contributed money and supplies to them.) 
The new Lents property is a wonderful improvement in the lives of homeless families served by PHFS. It consists of a large main building and eight adjacent apartment units. PHFS will be able to house and provide services for 26 families at a time, and the families will have full-time access to their belongings and private living space. Portland-area donors, including many members of our church, helped PHFS to raise $1.5 million in a four-month period to complete the acquisition.
When the opportunity to purchase the Lents property came to PHFS, their Board of Directors and staff hoped that they would be able to continue operating Thirteen Salmon and the Goose Hollow shelter as well as the new facility. They recently learned that the Joint Office of Homeless Services, a partnership of the County and City which provides much of the funding for homeless services, could not support all three shelters. It has been the Joint Office’s goal, shared by PHFS, to house the families in one location instead of in separate day and night shelters. Although our church expressed the desire to remodel so that both day and night services could be offered at Thirteen Salmon, we could only accommodate at most eight to ten families. The Lents facility is much larger and offers much more privacy for the guests.
By providing a welcoming space at Thirteen Salmon since 2009, our church has helped PHFS to move 598 families into permanent housing. The Board of Directors of PHFS and our Committee on Hunger and Homelessness (COHHO) thank the many members of our congregation who have helped to make this possible. Although PHFS is moving, they will continue to need donations and volunteers, and COHHO plans to continue their partnership with PHFS.
The opportunity to host a shelter serving homeless families has been an important part of our church mission. The Executive Team and Board of Trustees is committed to finding a new use for the Thirteen Salmon space that will be as central to our church community as our partnership with Portland Homeless Family Solutions has been. We invite your suggestions.