The Catholic Charities of Oregon Housing and Community Development are launching an affordable housing development in Happy Valley, Oregon. The 142-home development will be called Good Shepherd Village. It will feature studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 15 units prioritized for veterans and seniors and another eight units prioritized for those who have experienced homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. Residents will have easy access to public transit, grocery stores, schools, a public library, several parks and health care sites.
The project is funded $18.3 million in Metro Affordable Housing Bond funds approved by the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners during the summer of 2020. The property parcel was donated to Catholic Charities of Oregon nearly a decade ago, with the intent that it would be used to provide affordable housing.
Catholic Charities of Oregon has been providing services to address poverty and injustice since 1933. It is a member of Catholic Charities USA and of Caritas International, the global network of agencies that make up the charitable arm of the world-wide Catholic Church. To date, Catholic Charities’ dedicated housing entity, Caritas Housing, has created more than 800 units of affordable housing for more than 1,900 individuals across Western Oregon.
The organization began participating in a national Healthy Housing Initiative in early 2019. That initiative, envisioned by Catholic Charities USA, began at the start of 2020. It set ambitious goals to reduce chronic homelessness, connect newly housed residents with primary health and mental health care, and decrease hospital readmission rates among homeless persons. Catholic Charities of Oregon’s first project in the Healthy Housing Initiative is the 110-unit Cathedral Village apartments in the Cathedral Park neighborhood of North Portland. Construction of Cathedral Village is anticipated to begin soon with occupancy targeted for early 2022.
This was reported by Catholic Sentinel on November 4, 2020.
Contact information: Catholic Charities of Oregon, 2740 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97202; 503-231-4866; Website: https://www.catholiccharitiesoregon.org/
