After a 30-year partnership with the Public Health Division, Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church(link is external) announced exciting changes to their operations. The Episcopal Diocese of Oregon will be repurposing the property to address another long-standing issue: affordable housing.
Multnomah County, and the Public Health Division in particular, is so grateful to Saints Peter and Paul for their partnership and support of public health programming in the Montavilla neighborhood. So much of the division’s work would not have been successful without the collaboration and generosity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Community partnerships enable Public Health programs to provide outreach services, gather client feedback, and so much more. For the County’s Harm Reduction program, Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church has helped them reach communities that need their services most.
Centrally located in the Montavilla neighborhood on S.E. Ash Street and S.E. 82nd Avenue, Saints Peter and Paul has served the community for over 100 years. Over the years the church has offered various services, including providing hot meals, as well as hosting health fairs and COVID-19 vaccine clinics.
“The church has always been a place for people who are suffering to find care,” said Sara Fischer, Saints Peter and Paul’s former rector, speaking about the church’s role in the community.
This mission has lent itself to many social justice issues that align with the mission of the Public Health Division.
Harm Reduction
Thirty years ago, Multnomah County’s Harm Reduction program similarly identified the geographic site of Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church as one that had a great need for syringe exchange services. On Tuesday and Friday nights for several years, the Health Department’s Harm Reduction program van parked on the street near the church and served community members by collecting and safely disposing of used syringes, providing sterile syringes, and offering referrals to withdrawal management and treatment, mental health services, and medical care.
The partnership between Multnomah County and Saints Peter and Paul officially solidified when the church offered their parking lot to the Harm Reduction program van so they could serve even more clients in the space. This also allowed the church to offer meal services that aligned with the exchange’s hours, continuing to build rapport and trust within the community.
This partnership made sense to church leadership: “Harm reduction is a huge value for the church,” Fischer stated. “All life is sacred.” Fischer is also one of the co-founders of Rahab’s Sisters(link is external), an organization that originally was founded to provide hospitality to women marginalized by poverty, homelessness, the sex industry, addiction, or loneliness.
Saints Peter and Paul continues to follow these values as they made the decision to transition their property to affordable housing.
“Even though we will miss their partnership, we are so thankful to Saints Peter and Paul for all they have done over the years, particularly as it relates to our harm reduction efforts,” Chris Hamel, HIV Prevention and Harm Reduction Manager, said. “Because of them, we have been able to reach more clients than would have been possible without them.”
Gratitude for St. Peter and Paul in this new chapter
Since its founding 100 years ago, Saints Peter and Paul has been driven by values of social justice, caring for the most marginalized, and equity. They have continued to do this through their partnership with Multnomah County and remain dedicated to this cause even as they no longer function as a traditional church on the property.
“We applaud Saints Peter and Paul’s decision to provide affordable housing to this neighborhood,” Interim Public Health Director Andrea Hamberg said. “This will ensure an enduring legacy of the church’s commitment to our community.”
Multnomah County Public Health is proud to have partnered with Saints Peter and Paul for several decades and looks forward to seeing how else the church will continue to shelter and support the community as this chapter closes.
“We hold deep gratitude for the decades of partnership and service that Saints Peter and Paul has offered Harm Reduction services,” said Harm Reduction Program Supervisor Kelsi Junge. “The generosity, compassion, and vision of a better future that the members of the church continuously provide to our most vulnerable neighbors exemplifies the best of Multnomah County. We are inspired by the direct action they model, and look forward to the new avenues for partnership and service that are taking root in Montavilla and beyond.”