Tag: Do Good Multnomah

Community, Construction, Government

1818 SE 82nd Shelter Opens After Delay

The Harrison Community Village at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue opened to residents on September 29th after months of unexpected delays. Multnomah County’s Homeless Service Department (HSD) and site operator Do Good Multnomah held a public preview of the newly completed sober-shelter site on April 24th, expecting residents to soon fill 38 shed-style sleeping quarters arranged on the property. However, issues with the vinyl plank flooring used by the pod-style housing manufacturer delayed intake operations as crews worked to repair the failing flooring adhesive.

Intersection of SE 82nd Ave with visible street sign and green trees in the background; containers are behind a black fence on the right side.

County spokesperson Julia Comnes explained that site operators observed vinyl plank flooring peeling up from the subfloor of the pods before the shelter opened and repairs required “several rounds before the flooring was ready.” Not all shelter pods are ready for habitation, as some units are still undergoing repairs. However, Do Good Multnomah is bringing people into the temporary housing ahead of the cold-weather season. “These delays were unfortunate,” remarked Comnes. “The fact is that pod-style shelters are still relatively new, and the industry is still testing and learning what build style and materials are best suited to this application in our local climate.”

Interior view of a small, empty room with a wooden floor, a single bed with a dark mattress, an air conditioning unit, and a window letting in natural light.
LIT Homes produced 8-by-10.5-foot single room pod-style shelter with original flooring

The sleeping pods, made by Portland-based LIT Homes, offer an 8-by-10.5-foot room with heating and cooling. Wayne Watson explained that the flooring did not fail, but the glue that adhered it to the subfloor did not withstand prolonged disuse without environmental controls. He said that the units were delivered to the County in the beginning of 2026 and sat in the cold and heat for many months without climate controls. That prolonged disuse exceeded the adhesive rating as applied by the factory. “Can you imagine what would happen if you left a home without heating or cooling for seven months?” asked Watson. He said the units are delivered as fully assembled “volumetric” assemblies, ready to occupy as soon as they’re connected to power, and other customers have people moving in within days of delivery.

LIT Homes responded to the County’s concerns and reapplied the Luxury Vinyl Tiles with more adhesive. A small subset requires additional attention to restore the flooring to its delivered condition. County facilities staff and the project’s general contractor, Buildskape, are unsure what caused the flooring issue. However, after working with the subcontractor, LIT Homes, to resolve it, they say the County will replace the flooring altogether. “Given the ongoing issues, we’ve decided to replace the flooring with different materials in all of the units to avoid future challenges,” explained Comnes. The project team has no timeline for the replacement work. Still, they believe the materials are readily available, so the work should be completed quickly, and all guests currently on-site will be able to stay there throughout the replacement process.

Close-up of a metallic plaque on a structure, displaying the text 'LIT HOMES' and a serial number 'G1070-280-025', with yellow directional markings beneath.
LIT Homes plate on one of the pod-style shelters

In addition to environmental controls, sleeping pod residents have a bed, light, and power for personal devices, but use other structures for sanitation and food preparation. Six converted shipping container units provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities. Residents and their pets will have on-site access to modest green spaces.

Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2 million. The County bought this 34,000-square-foot parcel as the second Montavilla location for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February 2025 and is currently operating near full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services—now renamed the Homeless Services Department—has held several community meetings, including one in February where the nonprofit Do Good Multnomah staff elaborated on the site’s sober shelter model that aims for people to stay onsite from 90 days to three months as they work towards stable housing in a recovery-supportive environment. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property. Choosing a sober format meets the community’s stated desires for the county-owned site, which is near two Portland Public Schools. Do Good Multnomah conducts background checks on potential residents looking for past criminal history, and those with a record of abuse of vulnerable populations are directed to another, more appropriate shelter or resource. The site is also a weapons-free zone.

Row of small, modular housing units with metal siding under a clear blue sky.

Do Good Multnomah took control of the site at the end of construction in April to begin setting up the shelter with furniture, technology resources, and other move-in needs. On-site staffing remained limited in the following months because there were no residents. Contractors working with the HSD are paid on a cost-reimbursement basis. As a result, the County says Do Good Multnomah was paid only for reduced staffing at the site until the workforce increases to meet program participant needs.

The site is completely fenced, with a new chain-link barrier on three sides of the property using enhanced privacy slats installed in the fence. Unlike some other installations, these plastic inserts have side wings that better fill the gaps where the wire links connect, providing significant visual obstruction. Site designers also planted greenery along the SE Mill Street frontage to provide additional buffer between the newly updated sidewalk and the shelter space. Because of the visual obstructions, members of the public likely did not know Harrison Community Village was unoccupied this summer. Oak Street Village, north of this site, shows little activity even when fully occupied. If this location follows that pattern, few will notice changes as residents move in. However, people looking for a sober option as they transition to stable housing should be relieved that the Harrison Community Village is finally open.

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Community, New Residence

Harrison Community Village Shelter Public Meeting Feb 26

As the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department (HSD) readies the Harrison Community Village Shelter at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue for future residents, they invite people to attend a Public Meeting on February 26th. Nonprofit provider Do Good Multnomah will operate the alternative shelter under a “clean and sober” model. Interested community members can attend the 6:30 p.m. in-person event this Thursday. Portland Community College will host the meeting in its Community Hall Annex at 7901 SE Division Street.

Shelter operators anticipate opening the facility in spring 2026 and have worked on a Good Neighbor Agreement with community and business stakeholders to lessen the impact of the Harrison Community Village Shelter on surrounding properties. Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2.015 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February 2025 and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services — now renamed the Homeless Services Department — has held several community meetings, including one in April that announced that Do Good Multnomah would operate the site as a sober shelter. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property. Selecting a sober format meets a specific need for people transitioning into stable housing who are in recovery from substance use disorder, and it better matches community desires for the site, which is near two Portland Public Schools.

A labeled diagram of the Harrison Community Village layout, showing various designated areas including sleeping units, community space, staff space, showers, and landscaping. The map highlights entry points and features like a fence and recycling area.
Harrison Community Village Shelter site map courtesy HSD

HSD will contract with the operator to staff the alternative shelter site at all hours of the day. The adult residents will receive one of 38 private sleeping quarters, each with a shed-style pod design. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities. Residents and their pets will have on-site access to green space. The site will receive upgraded fencing with privacy inserts on all street sides and a wood fence between the adjacent residential property to the east. The site intends to offer more than short-term shelter. People in the program will have access to dedicated housing case management and abstinence-based recovery services to help with long-term substance use recovery and housing stability.

The HSD meeting organizers ask that people complete an online form at the Harrison Community Village Shelter website to attend the 90-minute public meeting on February 26th. Attendees can also review the draft Good Neighbor Agreement prior to the meeting to better understand the work created by the Agreement Parties, which include representatives from the 82nd Avenue Business Association, African Youth & Community Organization, APANO, Montavilla Neighborhood Association, Portland Community College, and Portland Public Schools.

By

Jacob Loeb

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Community, Construction, New Residence

Buildings Arrive at Harrison Community Village

On December 2nd, crews working with a crane unloaded prefabricated mobile buildings that will support the residents and site operators of Harrison Community Village at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue. This installation marks a significant milestone as the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department (HSD) prepares the site to house a new sober shelter operated by nonprofit Do Good Multnomah. Principal work on this project began in August, when demolition crews razed the single-story sales office and shop, last used as an RV sales location and later purchased by Multnomah County to become Montavilla’s second shelter site on 82nd Avenue. Work will continue during the 2025-2026 winter season to prepare the site for 38 single-occupancy shed-style shelter units.

A crane unloading prefabricated blue mobile buildings made from shipping containers at the Harrison Community Village construction site, surrounded by a fence and utility poles.

The blue metal buildings, made from shipping containers that specialists recently craned into place, will house sanitation facilities, offices, cooking facilities, and other shared spaces. Previously, electricians and plumbers installed underground utilities to provide services to the temporary buildings on the site. Fencing installers have begun setting posts for a new seven-foot-high chain-link fence with plastic privacy inserts meant to obscure visibility into the property. Further work phases will create an outdoor pet relief area, green space, and covered seating for residents. Crews will also construct a trash enclosure and complete new perimeter barriers, including a new wood fence along the eastern edge of the property to create a buffer between the shelter site and the adjoining single-family residence.

A proposed site design for a new sober shelter, showing the layout of sleeping units, community space, staff areas, and essential facilities like showers and laundry. The design includes labeled areas for vehicle entry, landscaping, and fencing.

Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2.015 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services — now renamed the Homeless Services Department — has held several community meetings, including one in April that announced that Do Good Multnomah would operate the site as a sober shelter. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property. Selecting a sober format meets a specific need for people transitioning into stable housing who are in recovery from substance use disorder, and it better matches community desires for the site, which is near two Portland Public Schools.

Construction workers unloading prefabricated mobile buildings using a crane at the site of Harrison Community Village, with blue shipping container buildings visible in the background.

Homeless Services Department staff will continue to collaborate with community partners on a Good Neighbor Agreement. People can expect to see much more above-ground work at the site, leading up to an early 2026 community tour of the property, followed by the first group of residents beginning to move into the sober housing, where they will receive on-site support every hour of every day, with operators providing wraparound services that aim to move people into stable housing. People interested in knowing more can visit the Harrison Community Village website.

Feb 2025 Design – courtesy HSD

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Jacob Loeb

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Community, Construction, Demolition

Demolition Clears Way for Sober Shelter Site at 1818 SE 82nd

On August 18th, demolition crews began razing the single-story sales office and shop at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue to make room for the second Multnomah County-owned shelter site in Montavilla. After workers remove the 1964-era single-story building, last used as an RV sales location, the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department will begin preparing the site to support a new sober shelter that Do Good Multnomah will operate. That development will take place during the 2025-2026 winter season, creating utility connections for 38 single-occupancy shelters with supporting portable sanitation and cooking facilities.

Construction site featuring a demolition crew working on a single-story building with large windows, surrounded by a fence and equipment.

Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2.015 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services — now renamed the Homeless Services Department — has held several community meetings, with the most recent meeting in April announcing that Do Good Multnomah would operate the site as a sober shelter. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property.

A demolition excavator is actively tearing down a single-story building, while a worker in a red jumpsuit oversees the process. Debris is scattered around the site under a blue sky with some clouds.

Selecting a sober format meets a specific need for people transitioning into stable housing who are in recovery from substance use disorder, and it better matches community desires for the site, which is located near two schools. The project designers will set back the new seven-foot-high chain-link fence on SE Mill Street to allow for more sidewalk-adjacent plantings, providing a buffer space and allowing for greater resident privacy beyond the plastic fence inserts that will obscure sightlines from the street.

A demolition excavator is actively demolishing a single-story building, with debris scattered on the ground. A worker in a safety suit observes from the side, and the sky is partly cloudy.

Demolition work continues at the property for the rest of the week. Early plans intended to salvage portions of the wood roof structure above the glass curtain walls for reuse in covered outdoor amenities on the site. That level of salvage and reuse may prove challenging, but the methodical approach to tearing down this building could indicate the intention to preserve reusable materials.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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Construction, New Business, New Residence

1818 SE 82nd Sober Shelter Construction Starts August

Starting August 4th, demolition crews working with Multnomah County’s Homeless Services Department will begin preparing the site at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue to support a new sober shelter that Do Good Multnomah will operate after construction completes in the 2025-2026 winter season. With the reconstruction of SE Mill Street adjacent to the property complete, and road crews wrapping up repaving on SE 82nd Avenue in this area, contractors will have unobstructed access to the site to install 38 single-occupancy, shed-style shelters with supporting sanitation and cooking facilities.

Street view of the site at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue, featuring a fenced area with construction barrels and traffic signals indicating SE 82nd Avenue.

Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2.015 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services — now renamed the Homeless Services Department — has held several community meetings, with the most recent meeting in April announcing that Do Good Multnomah would operate the site as a sober shelter. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property.

Selecting a sober format meets a specific need for people transitioning into stable housing who are in recovery from substance use disorder, and it better matches community desires for the site, which is located near two schools. The project designers will set back the new seven-foot-high chain-link fence on SE Mill Street to allow for more sidewalk-adjacent plantings, providing a buffer space and allowing for greater resident privacy beyond the plastic fence inserts that will obscure sightlines from the street.

A proposed site design for a new sober shelter, showing the layout of sleeping units, community space, staff areas, and essential facilities like showers and laundry. The design includes labeled areas for vehicle entry, landscaping, and fencing.
Feb 2025 Design – courtesy JOHS

Workers will remove sections of the asphalt pavement in the parking lot to create green spaces and a pet relief area for residents. Portable units that will house showers, bathrooms, a kitchenette space, and a laundry facility for residents are placed along the SE 82nd Avenue frontage to create a sound barrier from the busy street. On-site parking is available for staff and service providers only. This site will not provide space for residents to park personal vehicles. Some neighbors questioned the original placement of the trash enclosure on the property, and updated designs relocated it away from the fence line, but still made it accessible for trash haulers.

As work on the site progresses this summer, Homeless Services Department staff will collaborate with community partners on a Good Neighbor Agreement, a process anticipated to take two months. Demolition work will take place through August with a planned completion date around the 22nd of that month. Electricians, plumbers, and other tradespeople will follow to install the below-ground routed services that will support the installation of the portable sleeping pods and the six support buildings.

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Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The Author of this article servers on the board the 82nd Avenue Business Association which will work with Multnomah County on a Good Neighbor Agreement for the site.

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Montavilla

Sober Shelter Plans for 82nd Ave

At an April 17th community meeting, project planners announced that Do Good Multnomah will open a clean and sober sleeping pod shelter in the Multnomah County-owned property at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue. The 38 single-occupancy shed-style shelters will support people recovering from substance use disorder in an environment where residents and staff receive routine urine testing for compliance with the site’s drug and alcohol-free requirements. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities so the recently unhoused residents can focus on the first steps to finding stable housing.

Nicole Jackson from the Montavilla headquartered nonprofit Do Good Multnomah spoke to the meeting attendees about the plans for the site along SE Mill Street, located between two Portland Public Schools. She explained that they would screen residents before placing them at this shelter to verify sobriety and exclude applicants with sexual offender convictions. Although this site is not low-barrier like the Oak Street Village shelter down the street at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, it still removes obstacles for people transitioning into shelters. The primary difference between most other sleeping pod communities in Portland and this location is its sober requirement and that units are limited to one occupant. Jackson said the group hopes to support residents for around 90 days before finding them sober housing or other placement on the road to stable housing. However, she noted that recovery can sometimes include relapsing. If that happens, residents are not permitted to stay but can transfer to another location until they are ready to return to the program.

Feb 2025 Design – courtesy JOHS

As a safe location for people to recover from addiction, Jackson explained that it is essential for the other residents to follow the rules and not jeopardize others’ recovery efforts with their choices. She said that people they work with have requested a sober shelter option for years, noting it is hard to control an addiction while others around you are using. The site has a single entry and exit point for residents; staff search bags and request people empty pockets on reentry. Three staff will work onsite 24 hours a day, every day. Do Good Multnomah intends to have one of those team positions staffed each shift by a trained peer support person, helping people with recovery challenges from a position of personal experience.

In June or July, Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) –soon to change names to Homeless Services Department (HSD)– intends to begin work on a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Montavilla Neighborhood Association and the 82nd Avenue Business Association among other stakeholders to determine responsibilities and communication practices around the operation of the site. Do Good Multnomah is currently working on finalizing its site rules but noted they have years of experience running these types of shelters to make them safe for residents and the surrounding community. For instance, Nicole Jackson said that all dogs living in the shelter with their owners must be leashed at all times when answering a meeting attendee’s concerns about loose and aggressive dogs. She also explained that they will implement a quiet hours policy from 9 or 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

1818 SE 82n Avenue seen from SE Mill Street with new sidewalk

At the meeting, some residents expressed concern about the lack of parking for residents at the site. Jackson said she anticipates few people living in the shelter will have cars. Staff have onsite parking, and any residents needing to park will need to use street parking, but Do Good Multnomah will make sure they are parked legally in the neighborhood. Others had concerns about camping around the site. JOHS staff at the meeting said that the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) could include an enhanced services Engagement Zone like the Oak Street Village GNA, where City service providers resolve issues with the highest priority allowed by law to clear the zone around the shelter site.

Work on 1818 SE 82nd Avenue has not yet begun. Demolition crews will remove the existing building before other workers install electrical and plumbing underground for the temporary structures. The site will receive new chainlink fencing around the perimeter with plastic privacy slats. On the east edge of the property, crews will build a seven-foot-tall cedar fence set in several feet from the property line to provide extra buffer between the shelter site and an adjacent residential property. The team will construct a new fence line set back five feet from the sidewalk on SE Mill Street to allow a green zone of trees and plantings. The JOHS anticipates residents could move in by November or December 2025.

Article and Photo by

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article servers on the 82nd Avenue Business Association’s board.

Community, Services

Do Good Headquarters on NE Everett

In October 2020, Do Good Multnomah moved into the century-old former Hope Presbyterian Church building at 7809 NE Everett Street, just as the organization expanded beyond its core mission of providing supportive service to unsheltered veterans. With the move to Montavilla and subsequent years of growth supporting a broad range of houseless services, Do Good has expanded its 75-person organization to 300 staff working in various locations across the Portland Metro area. The majority of staff employed at Do Good work from multiple sites and interact directly with program participants, with the Everett Street location facilitating a handful of administrative services and storing donated home goods for people transitioning into housing.

Lisa Horness, Community Partnerships Manager for Do Good Multnomah, explained that during the height of COVID-19, Multnomah County and the City of Portland asked the organization to grow its offerings to meet an expanding need to shelter vulnerable people living outdoors. “As an organization, we were initially serving primarily veterans. When the pandemic happened, the City and the County saw what we were doing, our highly relational approach to the work of serving veterans experiencing houselessness. They asked, ‘Hey, can you do more? We’re going to start operating these motels to support folks who have more of the comorbidities that the pandemic is primarily affecting,'” recalled Horness. Those new programs focus on sheltering older adults, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) community members, and people with medical conditions. “That kicked off a period of rapid growth for Do Good. We moved from having a low-barrier congregate shelter serving male-identifying veterans to growing into these motel programs. We now serve somewhere around 700 folks a night across three counties through about 20 programs. Some of those are wrap-around services, so not necessarily physical sites, but have grown and expanded into supporting folks from all marginalized communities, but still prioritizing veterans experiencing houselessness,” said Horness.

After a year in the NE Everett Street building, the organization identified a community need for a resource center to collect and distribute donated housewares, mattresses, furniture, towels, clothing, and toiletries. People moving into housing from the shelter network often lack basic supplies and resources to furnish an apartment. Through word-of-mouth, they began collecting donations from barrel drives and individual donations, storing the items in the former church’s ample basement and nave. The wide open floor space made it possible to organize the donated items so staff could easily package items for delivery to program participants. They receive corporate contributions, including two recent semi-trucks worth of mattresses with box springs made surplus during a Great Wolf Lodge remodel project and new mattresses gifted by Mor Furniture. However, Horness says most contributions come from household donations. Anyone can arrange to donate needed items by filling out the company’s web form and then dropping off the items during a scheduled time at the NE Everett Street location.

Although Do Good Multnomah expanded support to a broader demographic of marginalized people and to counties beyond its namesake, the staff continues to focus on former military service members facing housing insecurities. “We have programs that are still veteran-specific and veteran-only, like our Wy’East Veterans Shelter. Most of our permanent supportive housing sites and our Veterans Village are veteran-specific,” explained Horness. “As we grew, to maintain our focus on serving veterans, our programs that are civilian-based reserve 15% of the beds for veterans, which is the percentage of veterans experiencing homelessness across the nation relative to the population.”

Do Good’s expansion into serving other populations was not just about meeting the abundant need for shelter across the region. They also recognized they needed to cast a wide net to reach everyone they wanted to serve. “Not every veteran is going to want to be in a veteran-specific community. So by having both veteran-specific and civilian-based programming in the full spectrum of programs, we can meet people where they are at,” said Horness. They now offer everything from low-barrier congregate shelters, motel shelter programs, pod villages, permanent supportive housing, affordable housing, and behavioral health treatment. They recently partnered with the Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon at the County’s Behavioral Health Resource Center to offer bridge housing for people experiencing mental health challenges or substance use disorder. The organization is participating with a new outreach team in North Portland, and the North Portland Day Center is opening at the end of April or early May. In addition to low-barrier shelters that do not require sobriety, Do Good will open the Kenton Motel, which will offer sober housing for veterans.

According to Horness, they see significant movement between programs. “Just because one individual might start in a congregate program doesn’t mean necessarily that they’ll move directly into housing from there. Some do, but others may reach the next positive step for them, like a motel program where they have more independence, personal space, and an opportunity to grow. Or perhaps it’s a pod. Each of our programs have different goals associated with a timeline. We want folks to progress, whatever that means to them, but shelter is not the end goal, housing is the end goal. A place that is one’s own, or maybe it’s assisted living, or maybe it’s into recovery. Again, it’s going to look a little different for every individual because we are all individuals. But the end goal is not one of our programs unless it happens to be permanent supportive housing.”

The organization will celebrate its tenth anniversary this May, recognizing the dramatic transformation into a multi-site service provider from its origins as a 13-bed shelter for veterans in the basement of Rose City Park United Methodist Church. Horness explained that although they have grown Do Good’s reach, they will maintain their purpose. “Our mission is journeying alongside folks as they navigate towards housing. But really, the goal is providing supportive services and partnering with our community and neighbors to provide access to resources. Housing can be really challenging; it’s not always a linear journey, but we are here to support folks wherever they are along that journey. That takes a village.”

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb