Washington County opens winter shelter program

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) - Washington County is opening up their winter shelter program as the weather turns wet and cold, plus winter is right around the corner.

The county’s largest and newest shelter is located at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Open Door HousingWorks staff and volunteers set up bunk beds and the kitchen last week at the Cloverleaf Building.

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There are multiple shelter locations, bringing a total of 320 beds to Washington County as of Tuesday. It will be the second year for the converted building on the fairgrounds.

“We need these beds. We need to provide the shelter for our homeless community,” said Jerry Willey, Washington County Commissioner for District 4. “It went well last year, but as you can imagine, the first time through we hit a few bumps. We’re going to try to fix those this year.”

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The shelters serve both men and women, but in separate areas to live in and will be available for the next six months to get them through the winter.

It’s all a part of regional effort to address homelessness with the immediate life-saving shelter and to eventually get some of them into long-term shelter and housing programs.

The shelters are not walkup sites. Those who will go to the shelters have to go through Community Connect at 503-640-3263 or go to the Washington County’s website to get signed up.

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