Why the Bybee Lakes Hope Center matters

Despite the program saving lives there is still resistance in fully funding it

In 2003, Multnomah County built the Wapato Detention facility.  A 155.400 square foot facility meant to hold 510 people. By the time it was completed, the price tag was 58 million dollars. The same year it was completed, Multnomah County’s new sheriff, Bernie Gusto, acknowledged they had just built a jail they could not afford to operate. He estimated it would cost up to ten million dollars to operate but just $300,000 to keep it closed. For sixteen years, the doors remained closed. Over the years, though, there were discussions of repurposing this building and turning it into a shelter. This was repeatedly denied due to zoning issues, but primarily due to local officials that adamantly rejected the thought of repurposing this building and turning it into a shelter. For many, this made no sense. This was a state-of-the-art building in perfect condition that could house hundreds and take a dent out of our current homeless problem.

The two biggest opponents were Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and City Councilor Joann Hardesty. Both strongly resisted this building being repurposed into a shelter despite the grim homeless situation they were elected to solve. City Commissioner Joann Hardesty, a polarizing figure in Portland politics and self-identified activist, said, "We have idiots talking about turning jails into shelters, but yet we cannot maintain people with dignity in the homes they already have." Street Roots, a local non-profit that publishes a homeless newspaper, called the idea of opening Wapato as a shelter “A nightmare scenario.”  In 2018, after years of opposing a Wapato shelter, Chair Kafoury got her wish and sold Wapato to Kehoe Northwest properties for $5 million.

 "We're done with the building and the property; we don't have any use for Wapato anymore," Kafoury said soon after. 

Then, on a fateful day in late 2019. Alan Evans, the founder of Helping Hands, a homeless non-profit on the coast of Oregon, was helping with a project in Clatsop County for United Way, and he met Jordan Schnitzer, the owner of Wapato. He told Alan he was about to sign papers to demolish it, and Alan responded,  "Well, this is too bad because there's a gigantic problem in the state of Oregon, and that gigantic facility would be ideal, with a little bit of work done on it, to serve a purpose." He went on to say that building could become a reentry program for the homeless crisis in Oregon and help end this humanitarian crisis. The next day, Jordan called Alan and asked him if this could really work, “Absolutely,” he said. 

Less than a year later, the Bybee Lakes Hope Center had its grand opening, but not without opposition. Some elected officials called the plan “Idiotic,” “ill-informed,” and “inappropriate on philosophical grounds.” Alan, though, had a vision and never backed down. 

Alan’s story is a powerful one. By age 13, he had gone through severe physical and sexual abuse and had become addicted to meth. He spent the next twenty-five years on the streets. At one of his lowest moments, he contemplated killing himself. He broke into a family’s garage and found a .22 caliber pistol. In that moment, though, he chose to live. He instead broke into a house and printed a fraudulent check. The arresting officer sympathized with his situation and placed Alan in a recovery home. There, he found stability and hope. Once fully recovered, he decided to start an organization that grew into eleven shelters on the Oregon coast. His organization has strict requirements. Daily chores, sobriety, and required community service. Alan founded a program that would empower people to reach their fullest potential.

The Bybee Lakes Hope Center is run the same way. There are program fees, sobriety expectations, and the agreement to take self-improvement classes. It’s not been open for a few years and has saved countless lives. In year one, though, getting the community to place people there was challenging. Even after it opened beds remained empty because some agencies refused to send their clients there. In the first year, I put more people there than all other providers. Most referrals had to happen at odd hours and weekends, and Bybee was more than accommodating. Some of the first clients I sent there are now employees and helping others. I Met Patrick in Seattle a year and a half ago, living in a tent. He came to Bybee as a client and is now a case manager.

Patrick in the community garden

Most communities focus on only building and running lower-barrier programs. These are places that allow drug use and have limited rules or expectations. The problem is that it keeps away all other homeless wanting and ready for change. Many will not go into a chaotic environment where they will most assuredly be triggered. The Bybee Lakes Hope program provides that service to the ones ready for change. It is quiet, safe, and offers real support.

The dorm

I have worked in social services for almost thirty years, and I have had more success with clients who have gone through the Bybee program than all others. The reason for the success is in the approach and the support they offer. Living at the Bybee is a community, and everybody works with each other. They do not give handouts but instead hand-ups. I have seen remarkable transformations in people I have sent there, and today they are thriving.

The Bybee Lakes Hope Center today

The only way we will end this humanitarian crisis is to support high-barrier programs like Bybee that focus on helping homeless people reach their fullest potential. I have worked with thousands of homeless over the last few decades, and a high percentage told me they need to be empowered. Once empowered, hope returns. It was what Bybee is doing every day.

Recently, Bybee received 1.5 million in emergency funding to stay in operation. This is because not everyone is convinced Bybee is working. They have a different model, and some still do not understand it. The only thing to understand is this. The Bybee Lakes Hope Center helps a person reach their fullest potential.

They need though long-term support. Please contact your elected officials and ask them to support the Bybee Lakes Hope Center.

Jessica Vega Pederson, County Chair

Position term ends: December 2026
Phone: 503-988-3308, Fax: 503-988-3093
E-mail: mult.chair@multco.us(link sends e-mail)

Sharon Meieran, District 1

Position term ends: December 2024
Phone: 503-988-5220
E-mail: district1@multco.us(link sends e-mail)

Susheela Jayapal, District 2

Position term ends: December 2026
Phone: 503-988-5219
E-mail: district2@multco.us(link sends e-mail)

Julia Brim-Edwards, District 3

Position term ends: December 2024
Phone: 503-988-5217
E-mail: district3@multco.us(link sends e-mail)

Lori Stegmann, District 4

Position term ends: December 2024
Phone: 503-988-5213, Fax: 503-988-5262
E-mail: district4@multco.us

 Then 

 The angle these these activists primarily used to oppose Wapato was that it was too far away from services. This was their messaging in hopes of changing the minds of more open minded common sense citizens on Portland. The real reason was more devious. 

Why the resistance? Because it goes against the housing first model and Harm Reduction