Alternative Shelter Network
Mission
MISSION: We are an inclusive network that collaborates, advocates, communicates, and learns together to create and foster a wide variety of shelter alternatives across the Portland region.
VISION: That all people have access to a choice of shelter that meets people where they are, offers healing and community, and where they are treated with dignity and humanity.
Shared Beliefs
Shelter alternatives should be fairly distributed across the hearts of our neighborhoods rather than out of sight in service deserts.
Unhoused people need trauma-informed, anti-oppressive and person-centered alternative shelter choices.
There is a place for government action and there is a place for community action. Both are required for a complete set of solutions.
There is an immediate and ongoing need to act responsively and intentionally.
Building a sense of community and mutual engagement between shelter guests and housed neighbors is critically important.
There is a need for ongoing tracking and learning about best practices, and how to address challenges, with regular reports to the public.
There is a need to elevate the voices of BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, those with disabilities or who are neurodivergent, and other marginalized communities and to center the needs and voices of those with lived experience of homelessness.
[ALTERNATIVE SHELTER NETWORK – FINAL MISSION STATEMENT: 7/19/2022]
Mailing List
You can sign up for the list and view postings at: https://groups.google.com/g/alternativeshelternetwork
About, History, Funding
Alternative Shelter Network was launched in March, 2022 by advocates from Portland, Oregon homelessness response initiatives, to "create and foster a wide variety of shelter alternatives across the region."
History / Funding
1. Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran, and staff led a budget amendment of $250,000 to support an "Alternative Shelter Learning Collaborative" that was included in the FY 2023 County budget, allocation to [City/County] Joint Office of Homeless Services.
2. In 2023, Commissioner Meieran convened an ad-hoc committee of advocates, referred to as the "Village People," which developed and led advocacy for a $900,000 budget item included in the Multnomah County FY24 budget, Program #30208C - Micro Villages Project".
See “Microhamlet Advancement Team (the Village People)” document, in which the funding request was developed.
$900,000 was allocated in Multnomah County FY24 budget approved in the Joint Office of Homeless Services budget (PDF) for “Micro Villages Project” (Program 30208C, p.63-64). See also screenshot of that item.
3. On Oct 30, 2023, the (City/County) Joint Office of Homelessness Services issues a Microvillages Professional Services NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) outlining the Micro Villages Expansion Project MVEP:
https://johs.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FY24-Microvillages-Professional-Services.pdf
“Scope of Work:
The funding available for this project is $220,000 in one-time only SHS funding to contract with a limited duration project consultant team to complete the foundational work needed to develop an expanded network for a coordinated microvillage system in Multnomah County that could be replicated across Oregon and beyond.
The proposed project deliverables and estimated timelines are as follows:
Deliverable #1 (Deadline: November 30, 2023): Publish a prospectus, including content generation and graphic design, that provides an overview of microvillages and promotes them as a viable strategy to house people experiencing homelessness that meets their basic needs. The prospectus will be shared with a diversity of stakeholders and prospective investors to facilitate understanding and leverage support of microvillages.
Deliverable #2 (Deadline: June 30, 2024): Formalize the operations of the community-led Alternative Shelter Network (ASN). ASN was formed to support existing and new alternative shelter operators, foster collaboration between the community and the Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS), and improve community understanding of alternative shelters.
The work of the selected contractor will be informed by the members of the ASN and help enhance ASN’s ability to serve as a hub for information and resource sharing and best practices related to the development and operations of alternative shelter, including microvillages. This can serve as a foundation for further community building, an incubator for innovative alternative shelter projects, and collection of the information and data essential to compile an accessible how-to guide for microvillages.
Deliverable #3 (Deadline: April 30, 2024): Publish a “how-to” guide that details best practices for developing and operating microvillages, including content generation and graphic design, and present it to Commissioner Meieran, the County Chair, and The JOHS, with a goal of having a Board of County Commissioners Briefing.
The guide will be a living and iterative information hub, with the initial project deliverable being the baseline “how-to” guide. The process for developing the guide will necessarily involve the Alternative Shelter Network and include robust engagement, interviewing and/or surveying people with lived experience, existing and prospective microvillage developers and operators, public and private partners, and other groups or individuals who can offer relevant perspectives. At minimum, the engagement will help with strengthening understanding of:
● Microvillage development process
● Microvillage operations and service models
● Experiences of people living in microvillages
● Effectiveness of microvillages in moving people along the continuum of
housing
The selected contractor will also review existing literature about microvillages, engage with Portland State University’s Homeless Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC), and perform independent research regarding microvillage models and best practices locally and nationally."
Directory of Portland-area alternatives shelters
Twitter
(tweets are no longer appearing in window here, due to Twitter/X 2023 policy change. Please go to https://twitter.com/altshelternet to view
