Helping Hands Receives Renovation Capital

7 jobs in high-poverty area
1,130 low-income families assisted annually
$1.3 million other project funds leveraged

If you were to ask Alan Evans why Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers are so important to Oregon’s homeless population, you might be surprised when he replies with “What better job to have than to teach someone to change their life as I’ve changed mine.”

"It’s true. Alan was stuck in a 25-year cycle of homelessness and addiction without the resources to break free - until Police Sergeant Mark Whistler took the time to understand him. Alan says, “we want an opportunity to be somebody, we just don’t know how to do it.” Sergeant Whistler gave Alan that opportunity in 2002 when he connected him to the right resources.

Two years later Alan opened Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Center to give others what he himself had needed: a helping hand to a sustainable life. The center helps homeless men, women and children make sustainable changes to improve their lives from eleven emergency homeless shelter and reentry program facilities, providing a total of 190 beds each night in Clatsop, Tillamook, Yamhill and Lincoln Counties.

After acquiring its 16,000-square-foot Tillamook facility, Alan needed financing to complete the renovations. Although most of the $1.3 million project was funded through grants and donations, he still needed $250,000 for exterior upgrades - preferably before the fall rain hit. Craft3 provided financing to bridge the funding gap, with interest-only payments during the construction period - which began in June!

Helping Hands is building a stronger community on Oregon’s north coast. There will be more beds available for in-need families that are working to get back on their feet. We couldn’t ask for a better reason to invest."