Creating Housing Coalition is an Oregon nonprofit with a clear mission: Making housing accessible to all in the Albany area. In fact, the organization will open its first tiny home village in July, opening 27 permanent affordable units.
During the yearslong journey of fundraising for and building the village, outreach teams connected with the unhoused community in the Mid-Willamette Valley, offering supplies and case management.
This is when Community Outreach Assistance Team Program Director Carol Davies learned that harm reduction supplies were critical in building trust.
“We realized that we could build trusting relationships with people so they would come to us and know that they were safe in doing that,” Davies said.
With the help of the Save Lives Oregon Harm Reduction Clearinghouse, outreach workers at CHC provide food, supplies, naloxone and intensive case management four times a week. Through this effort, they’ve been able to find housing for dozens of people and connect many others to detox and treatment. In particular, naloxone makes a big difference.
“Because I think by handing out naloxone, it tells people that we’re not here to judge them. We’re just here to help,” Davies said. “We’ve heard that so many times from people. They’re so relieved to find out we’re not judging and not pushing our agenda on them.”
CHC works closely with the region’s detox and treatment facilities and helps people access services when they’re ready.
Davies said she hopes more organizations partner with the Save Lives Oregon initiative and help make naloxone more available statewide.
“We’ve heard numerous times about how naloxone has saved lives,” Davies said. “That’s what it’s about.”
