Are you facing homelessness in the northwest Oregon area? Are you in need of services to secure permanent housing for your family? Portland-based Impact NW programs may be able to help you!
What are the Impact NW programs?
Impact NW is a network that includes comprehensive services to help residents of the greater Portland area avoid homelessness! Their special focus areas include:
- Early Childhood and Family Services
- Youth and Family Services
- Senior Services
- Housing and Safety Net Services
- Slavic Community Services
These services cover communities from birth to senior years – see if you may qualify for one ore more!
Early Childhood and Family Services
The Early Childhood and Family Services component of the Impact NW programs is meant to strengthen parent-child bonds, encourage healthy development, and to prepare kids for school! The programs below are guided by the Early Learning Multnomah Parent Accountability Council:
- Parent-Child Therapeutic Services provides resources to reduce the impact of domestic violence
- Early Childhood Fathering Project includes regular meetings and workshops to empower dads in their parenting
- Healthy Families provides home visits for help with newborn and infant care, screenings, and resources.
- Parent-Child Development Services includes interactive workshops for parents of children aged 3-5 years to encourage parenting skills.
- Safe & Together program works to reunite foster children up to age eight with their families.
Youth and Family Services
Impact NW programs include services for families with school-age children. Their goal is to make sure tools are available to every student to graduate! Impact NW programs that are available to students include:
- AKA Science program provides hands-on experiences and experiments for students up to sixth grade to have fun learning!
- Communities for Safe Kids produces violence and bullying prevention workshops for students, caregivers, and school staff!
- Independent Living Program provides classes and events to help foster kids transition to independence.
- Urban Opportunities provides job-readiness training, career coaching, networking with industry professionals, and more!
- SUN Youth Advocacy Program empowers at risk teens ages 12-17 to stay in school and deal with negative peer pressures.
- SUN Community Schools is the modern-day cool version of after school programs! They offer activities, fun classes, workshops, and an afternoon meal if needed. SUN Community Schools are located at Bonny Slope Elementary, Buckman Elementary, Centennial High School, Creston School, Jackson Middle School, Franklin High School, Markham Elementary, Marysville Elementary, Robert Gray Middle School, Whitman Elementary, and Woodmere Elementary.
Senior Services
Impact NW programs provide assistance to 1,500 local seniors aged 60 plus. Their goal is to support seniors in remaining in their own homes and being part of community activities! Here are a few Impact NW programs that help our seniors stay healthy and connected:
- Senior Guardian Assistance provides money management services to help ensure financial affairs are in order. This can include assistance with organizing mail, paying bills, balancing checkbooks, communicating with creditors and landlords, and associated financial tasks.
- Advocacy & Case Management Services helps families identify needs and resources as well as plan for long-term care. This can include counseling for Medicare and health insurance issues, taxes, wills, guardianship and more.
- Impact NW programs also provide support for caregivers with in-home care, respite care, and adult day care. The Family Caregiver Support Program provides assistance to unpaid caregivers of grandparents who may be caring for minor children. The STAR-C Alzheimer’s Caregiver Consultant Training program partners nursing students with caregivers to develop care plans for those living with Alzheimer’s.
- Congregate Housing Services assists seniors and adults with disabilities live independently in public housing by coordinating in-home care, meal services, finance management, and transportation to medical appointments and shopping. Current affordable housing complexes include Dahlke Manor, Grace Peck Terrace, Rosenbaum Plaza, and Unthank Plaza.
- Transportation Services is one of the busier Impact NW programs with 14,000 rides provided for appointments and errands!
- Activities and Health Promotion program at the Southeast Multicultural Center provides many events and activities including meals, games, boat rides, exercise classes and more!
Housing and Safety Net Services
Impact NW programs have helped 15,000 families every year to remain in their homes! The Housing and Safety Net program is a network to assist families in covering basic needs such as housing, utilities, and food, as well as providing assistance for recovery.
Residents may be linked to emergency housing assistance or rental assistance. They may also receive assistance in paying for utilities such as: electricity, oil, propane, wood, pellets, natural gas, water and sewer.
For help with providing meals for your family, Impact NW programs network with multiple agencies to ensure no one goes hungry!
- Meals 4 Kids (Meals on Wheels People)
- Oregon Food Bank
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- Haute Mealz
- The Turkey Project
- Emergency Food Pantry
Impact NW programs can also assist with forms to apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Recovery Navigation Program
The Recovery Navigation Program allows participants to receive free services to help them be successful in a goal of stability and independence. Participants must be adults residing in Multnomah County meeting income requirements of 20% of Federal poverty level or below. You may be eligible for these free services to aid in recovery:
- Treatment
- Mental health services
- Life skills training
- Transportation
- Short-term housing
- Basic needs
- Job coaching
- Parent education
- and more!
Slavic Community Services
Slavic Community Services became an area of focus for Impact NW programs because of the large local population of over 150,000 Eastern European immigrants and their families.
Impact NW programs work with the Slavic community to assist in bringing families out of poverty by providing employment and education support. Impact NW programs also fund Slavic-specific groups for youth employment and school programs to decrease the drop-out rate.
How do I get help from Impact NW programs?
You can contact Impact NW at 503-721-1740 to be directed to specific programs that may be able to help you! You can find more information on their services at the Impact NW programs website!
What if I need more help?
We have resources for housing help!
We have a benefits guide to help you make ends meet!
Interested in saving money and getting free stuff?
Rachel Grayless
After 27 years in law enforcement and state Veterans Affairs agencies, I found myself working from home and looking for dollar-stretching resources. Government programs can be notoriously difficult to navigate and I'm happy to lend my experiences to make this easier for others!