Veterans Village: A Transitional Shelter Community for Veterans

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

In 2016, Clackamas County Commissioners resolved to help homeless veterans get off the streets. As part of a strategic plan implemented a couple of years earlier, commissioners codified the goal of sheltering all county veterans by the end of 2019. For Fiscal Year 2016-2017, commissioners allocated a $300,000 investment into a novel idea – a transitional village specifically designed for homeless veterans, where individuals would occupy their own pod structure, use shared common areas, and access resources to become self-sufficient and secure permanent housing. In October 2018, the Clackamas County Veterans Village: A Transitional Shelter Community for Veterans opened. It is the product of intense work by commissioners, staff, and dozens of community partners – including nonprofits, charities, local governments and businesses. One-hundred supporters attended the opening, and 15 veterans moved in shortly thereafter. This village is the first permitted, code compliant one of its kind in Oregon and now serves as a statewide model. This project has seen fast, positive results. In the first 100 days, the village operated at full capacity (even generating a wait list), and has seen five individuals move to permanent housing, three receive lifesaving emergency medical services, two secure employment, and one enroll in community college.