Update from December 30, 2025 Community Advisory Committee Meeting
General Updates
The Emergency Management Office operates the county's severe weather shelters. The county's on-call staffing pool is now better resourced to support these operations.
There is a new intake packet that the shelter made that is more supportive of the neighbors, mostly being clearer about their impact on the neighborhood.
The Arbor Lodge Staff has been coached as to guiding exiting participants so as to make sure they have as much support and resources available, to have minimal impact on them and the community.
Puzzles from the Multnomah County Library have been enjoyed, especially during the cold, rainy days.
The shelter has books that the library donates, and the manager is asking for any community volunteers to build a “free little book library” on the parking strip part of the property to share books with the neighbors as well.
Soon the outdoor light shields will arrive for the Shelter to protect the neighbors from the harsh nighttime lights on the Shelter Property. The shipping date is this week.
The St. Johns day shelter visitors and their issues do get addressed and referred to the Arbor Lodge shelter at times. Arbor lodge Shelter also collaborates with the Thayer Family Foundation Veterans' Recovery and Sober Shelter in Kenton.
The shelter kitchen is understaffed and has applied for approval for funding for more help in the kitchen. Presently, there are two workers making about 1400 meals/week.
An anti-graffiti top coat has been applied to the outside Mural so that graffiti can be removed easily without damaging the mural.
There is a new “Team Lead Supervisor” named Dave.
The latest priority list of shelter needs:
Men's/women's sweatpants: XL, XXL
Coffee
Razors and shaving cream
Toothpaste
Colored pens and pencils, yarn for crafting and knitting
Incontinence depends and pads (M/L, XL, Small)
Towels and washcloths
Shower shoes (XL/L/M/S)
Next Meeting: January 27, 2026
We are happy to report that neighbors have been contributing various items and donations, and if you would like to contribute, you can check the "Give Support" section below for the items the shelter most greatly needs right now. You can drop off donations to the shelter, or contact arbor-lodge-shelter-cac@googlegroups.com to coordinate for a member of the CAC to pick up your items.
This is our first monthly update! The Community Advisory Committee has had two monthly meetings so far. At the meetings, representatives from the shelter, Kenton and Arbor Lodge neighborhoods, Do Good Multnomah, and the County's HSD ( Homeless Services Department) meet over Zoom to discuss how things are going, good or bad, and discuss ideas for improvement.
Updates on the shelter:
Currently housing about 100 participants, and things are maintaining
Student nurses are volunteering from the University of Portland to gain practical experience
Due to budget cuts, the shelter has had to cut back on meal service, so they are now only serving two meals per day: breakfast and dinner, and snacks around lunchtime
We are happy to report that neighbors have been contributing various items and donations, and if you would like to contribute, you can check the "Give Support" section below for the items the shelter most greatly needs right now. You can drop off donations to the shelter, or contact arbor-lodge-shelter-cac@googlegroups.com to coordinate for a member of the CAC to pick up your items.