Gov. Tina Kotekmet met a single father and his kids at a homeless shelter in Astoria just before a tour of the facility late last month.
After five years of paying rent in the adjacent Seaside, his landlord abruptly ended his lease without providing an explanation. In a rural coastal area of Oregon with the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the state, the father and his kids were homeless. Despite the fact that about one in fifty Clatsop County inhabitants were homeless in 2023, it lacked permanent shelters.
Through Project Turnkey, an Oregon initiative that converted $125 million into nearly 1,400 new shelter beds, primarily by purchasing and transforming existing hotels and other vacant buildings into shelters like the one in Astoria, the father is one of thousands of people statewide who have been temporarily housed.
U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici has proposed congressional legislation to expand Project Turnkey’s cheap housing program nationally, with shelter units offered via the program costing around half as much as the statewide average.
Kotek promoted Project Turnkey in the Legislature while serving as speaker of the House during its initial iteration. Among other things, she continues to support the program.
Her 476-page budget proposal, which was made public on Monday, calls for $217.9 million to maintain current shelters but leaves no money for the construction of new ones. In lieu of this, her proposed budget for 2025–2027 places a higher priority on efforts to permanently rehouse people as well as expanding rent assistance and eviction prevention to keep more Oregonians from becoming homeless.
Kotek told reporters during her visit to Astoria, “We don’t have all the money in the world, so I am still staying focused on (where) we’ve made commitments.” We must keep them alive. Funding must continue until the upcoming biennium. Additionally, I want to expand on the statewide system that we have begun, where our local communities have made a clear financial commitment to say, “You’re going to provide a continuum of care for folks who are experiencing homelessness.” We will accompany you there.
Kotek went to the Columbia Inn in Clatsop County, a 21-room motel that was converted and inaugurated in October 2023 using Project Turnkey financing. It houses between 50 and 60 people every night. She also took a tour of the neighboring Owens Adair apartments, which now have 46 low-income senior housing units and are planning to add 50 more as part of an ongoing development project.
Lawmakers provided $2.8 million to assist Clatsop County in purchasing the Columbia Inn as part of its 2023 Project Turnkey expansion, and this year’s legislative changes that permitted cities to modify parking minimums in order to build more homes are partly responsible for the shelter’s existence as well as the apartment expansion.
Over 300 people are on the waitlist for the Owens Adair apartments, which are located in a historic hospital with a view of the Columbia River. That waitlist will be shortened by the expansion.
The director of the county’s housing authority, Hsu-Feng Andy Shaw, stated that it will undoubtedly be beneficial. It will benefit Astoria’s generations.
The Legislature directed localities to expedite construction permits and provided funding for housing-related infrastructure upgrades in an attempt to reach Kotek’s annual target of 36,000 dwellings. Finding developable land for homes is considerably more difficult in coastal places like Astoria, where the Columbia River and Youngs Bay block growth in three directions.
According to Astoria Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick, there’s a reason why a lot is empty.
Turnkey outcomes
Slightly more than half of those who left Project Turnkey shelters before December 31, 2023, either became homeless again or were left unsheltered, according to a recent Portland State University examination of the initial round of Project Turnkey shelters. Twelve percent of individuals who left such shelters went to interim accommodation, and over a quarter went to permanent residence.
Each site has a different rate. According to Viviana Matthews, executive director of Clatsop Community Action in Astoria, almost half of those who departed the Columbia Inn found permanent residence.
Families with children were twice as likely as single persons to transition from shelters into permanent housing statewide, according to data from Portland State University. With several adults and no children, about half of the sheltered families went back to being homeless without shelter.
Researchers spoke with staff members who mentioned that there was a shortage of reasonably priced housing and that various persons had different needs. Some people require the framework and assistance of nursing homes or controlled shelters. Others may move in with family, especially elderly people.
According to one site director cited in the paper, the Turnkey model is the concept of assisting people in determining where they should go next. It doesn’t always go straight to housing.
According to the report, Project Turnkey locations assisted locals in meeting their fundamental necessities. While 49% of visitors said they frequently had access to restrooms and 58% said they frequently had access to laundry facilities, just 40% of guests said they frequently had access to showers prior to entering the shelter. Over 90% of interviewees reported having access to laundry, bathrooms, and showers after leaving the shelter.
From 27% before shelter to 78% after, the percentage of respondents who felt they had adequate privacy virtually tripled. And fears of going without food or sleep fell.
At other Project Turnkey locations, staff and residents have cited the seclusion of private rooms as a benefit over more conventional crowded shelters. Last year, Ashley Hamilton, the chief program officer for the ARCHES Lodge project in northeast Salem, told the Capital Chronicle that one of the more humane features of a Project Turnkey is the locking doors of that former hotel.
According to her, experiencing homelessness is quite traumatic. Within the first 48 hours of experiencing homelessness, the majority of people will suffer some form of victimization. You just experience heightened worry, fear, and a sense of insecurity.
Researchers from Portland State questioned parents who said that their children’s performance at school improved as a result of staying at shelter sites because they were able to concentrate on their studies rather than worried about where they would sleep or take a shower. Others were free to play, something they weren’t in their prior living arrangements.
According to a mother of four, “the kids feel like they don’t have to be quiet and everything.” They feel as though they may eat whenever they want and have their own place free from other people.
At the Columbia Inn, a Project Turnkey shelter in Astoria, toys are positioned outdoors. (The Oregon Capital Chronicle/Julia Shumway)
Tents on the other side of the road
Bike helmets, knee pads, and a hula hoop are suspended from a rack above a variety of scooters, skateboards, sidewalk chalk, and a toddler foot-powered car with a traditional red frame and yellow canopy at the Columbia Inn in Astoria. Although there are some balls, officials encourage children to utilize a tetherball pole rather than play catch because the play area’s usually deserted parking lot borders a busy road.
However, not everyone can receive assistance from the shelter. A little road leading to the Columbia River was lined with tarps and tents across the street.
Kotek was informed by the local police and community service providers that some of the individuals remaining outside are not prepared for shelter; however, staff members strive to establish connections and trust.
According to Kotek, someone living outside is not okay. We are moving forward, and a system has been established where individuals are aware of where to go, how to conduct outreach, and who is carrying out the task. That is a significant shift that at least gives someone a chance to leave the streets.
Kotek believes that everyone who is now homeless or staying in shelters like the Columbia Inn will eventually find a permanent place to call home.
A rainbow appeared from the skies above the river as she and local officials stood in construction vests and hard hats on the tiny parking lot where the future Owens Adair II will welcome inhabitants in 2026. As a sign, Kotek interpreted it.
You see? “I said,” she said. There will be more houses soon!
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Julia Shumway
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