Multnomah County is planning a week-long closure of the Behavioral Health Resource Center Day Center and Shelter beginning Monday, May 6 for necessary fire protection upgrades and to support required certification training for staff.
The County is closing the building Monday, May 6 through Sunday, May 12 for focused construction to replace existing elevator smoke curtains. These devices prevent smoke and heat from entering the elevator shaft in the four-story building in the event of a fire. Closure and accelerated construction will allow the County to avoid an estimated five weeks of service disruption if the Day Center, Shelter and Bridge housing were to remain open during maintenance work. The County will also use the closure to address courtyard drainage and other improvements.
The timing of the closure also allows Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon staff who operate the Day Center to earn the continuing education credits that are required to obtain and maintain professional certification, and Do Good Multnomah staff who operate the shelter and bridge housing to connect and train peer staff.
Services will resume on Monday, May 13 after construction is complete.
Day Center staff have begun notifying participants of the May closure, and are helping them plan for and access alternative day spaces. Shelter staff have timed intakes around the closure and the 14 Bridge Housing participants will be relocated during the closure. The Shelter Program will begin a fast-paced referral and acceptance process upon re-opening. The Bridge Program will welcome back participants once construction is complete.
Since opening in December 2022, the Behavioral Health Resource Center has provided 3,750 people who are houseless and experiencing addiction or mental health challenges in downtown Portland a bathroom, shower, laundry, phone charging and internet access.
Participants enter through a ticketed timed-entry system operated by the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon.
The Day Program peer staff serve over 100 people a day, admitting four groups of 25 for a three-hour timeframe to obtain basic services and connect them to behavioral health and housing resources, including the Do Good Multnomah shelters upstairs.
“We’ve built an amazing team of peer professionals who are consistently ready and available to support our community, “ said John Karp-Evans, MHAAO’s senior program and operations director at the Behavioral Health Resource Center. “This time will allow the needed focus on continuing education to maintain certification and expand skill sets in alignment with professional credentialing. Our team will continue to prepare and inform participants regarding other community services where they can get their needs met during this closure.”
Do Good Multnomah runs the 30-day Shelter Program and a 90-day transitional Bridge Housing Program on upper floors. Through this partnership, the Center has sheltered 257 people since opening.
Jason Anderson, Do Good program manager for the 3rd floor shelter and 4th floor bridge housing program, said, “Do Good is excited to build further towards the long-term safety of the BHRC for our participants. Over the last few months, we have been working diligently to minimize the impact of the temporary closure on the individuals currently staying at the BHRC. We have timed intakes to allow everyone to receive the standard 30 days of shelter before exiting on May 5th.”
Throughout the month of April, Do Good staff will be actively working with participants to navigate placement into other shelters in the area that will meet their needs as best we can, Anderson said. “We will be staying in touch with the participants and pre-scheduling intake meetings, beginning with those individuals who left to allow for repairs to begin, so that they can return ASAP on May 13th and continue the journey towards permanent housing.”
Heather Mirasol, Multnomah County’s Interim Behavioral Health Director, said the team has worked diligently to ensure participants receive support before, during and after the closure. “We see this as a well-orchestrated opportunity to enhance and sustain the critical services that are offered at the BHRC,’’ she said. “The planning that MHAAO and Do Good Multnomah have done to ensure that the individuals they serve are effectively cared for during and following this closure is consistent with the outstanding quality of the work they do at the at the Center daily.’’
By the numbers: Day Center December 2022 - December 2023
- 3,750 unique participants
- 7,724 referrals
- 2,078 items of mail picked up
- 56 showers per day
- 23 loads of laundry per day
Shelter & Bridge Housing: Fiscal Year 24 Quarter 1 and Quarter 2
- 257 individuals served
- 54% had a positive exit
- 75% had clinical engagement
- 41% identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color
- 18% identify as trans/non-binary
View Shawn’s story of the Behavioral Health Resource Center here.