Clackamas Service Center hosted County Chair Tootie Smith and Oregon Food Bank Executive Director Susannah Morgan on Jan. 26 to celebrate the construction of CSC’s building for laundry services, showers and an Outside In health clinic.
020724-center
Oregon Food Bank Executive Director Susannah Morgan speaks on Jan. 26.
CSC’s new West Annex building, located near the Johnson Creek Fred Meyer, was envisioned for years to augment the nonprofit organization offering basic needs support — including meals, groceries and clothing — to residents of Clackamas and Southeast Portland since 1973.
020724-center
Clackamas Service Center is located on a dead-end street near Southeast 82nd Avenue and the Johnson Creek Fred Meyer.
“We have long dreamed of a bigger space with room for one-on-one meetings between service providers and visitors, and laundry machines and showers that are fully ADA accessible,” said Clackamas Service Center Executive Director Jill Orr. “When the building is complete, people facing housing insecurity will be able to meet more of their needs in just one stop. This new building will give us the opportunity to offer more amenities, privacy, and respect — something everyone deserves.”
Morgan said 1.5 million Oregonians asked for food assistance last year, one out of every three people in the state.
“We are going through the worst rates of hunger since the 1930s,” she said.
Clackamas County provided $950,000 to the project through a federal Community Development Block Grant.
“When we meet these basic needs, we are saving lives and building relationships and paving the way for people to exit homelessness and be prosperous,” Smith said.
Before and after hearing from speakers, attendees toured the building that is under construction, with an expected completion date by early summer. Attendees also wrote well-wishes for the new building that will be concealed within the finished structure.
