Clatsop Community Action plans to open a micro-shelter project in Seaside by this summer, providing around-the-clock support while helping people transition into permanent housing.

Esperanza Village, which will be built on N. Roosevelt Drive across from the old Seaside High School, will provide 15 units of pallet housing, along with a community room, two bathroom and shower buildings with 24/7 oversight by caseworkers.

The project will be low barrier, meaning that people do not have to be screened or sober to receive services. However, drug use will not be allowed on the premises.

Viviana Matthews, the executive director of Clatsop Community Action, a social services agency that provides food, housing and energy assistance, said the goal is to offer people who want to work toward self-sufficiency shelter for 18 months. During that time, she said, the agency’s caseworkers will help people find permanent housing, along with whatever supports or benefits they need.

Matthews said she began looking for a location for the project a year ago. She eventually found a private property owner who offered to donate the property for the project.

The majority of the $1 million cost to launch the project will come from the Oregon Health Authority’s Behavioral Health Resources Networks grant program, which was formed after voters approved Measure 110 in 2020. The ballot measure decriminalized possession of small amounts of illicit drugs and diverted money toward treatment.

“There is no doubt that Esperanza Village will play an important and critical role in the solutions of the crisis of homelessness,” Matthews said in an email. “Not to mention that it is much more dignified and humane than having individuals sleep in tents or under a tarp. As always, we are so appreciative of the city of Seaside for the support to (Clatsop Community Action) and its community.”

Vann Lovett, the agency’s board president, said, “We are excited for the opportunity to offer more supportive housing to this community and to do what we do best — offering a hand up to those in need.”

Seaside Mayor Steve Wright said he is grateful for Clatsop Community Action’s work.

“I firmly believe this village is a first step, an opportunity to fill a needed gap, in improving the lives of those struggling with homelessness,” Wright said in a statement. “The city of Seaside will continue to be a good partner with (Clatsop Community Action) and I encourage the residents of our city to provide support as well.”

Esperanza Village will add to the patchwork of emergency and transitional shelters in Seaside.

Clatsop Community Action and Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers operate a seasonal warming center on S. Roosevelt Drive.

Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare operates a clinic and five-bedroom emergency shelter on Broadway Street.

Since being appointed executive director of Clatsop Community Action in 2019, Matthews said she has worked to not just be an agency that passes along state and federal funds to address homelessness, but one that can form ideas and develop direct solutions.

The agency, along with The Harbor, an advocacy group for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, will also operate a shelter at the Columbia Inn in Astoria, which was acquired through the state’s Project Turnkey 2.0. The 22-unit motel off Marine Drive could provide housing to 44 people.

Matthews said the micro-shelter model has been successful in other communities, including Vancouver, Washington.

After working with Seaside and other jurisdictions for more than a year to find a property suitable for the shelter, she said a private property owner stepped up and offered the land for $1 a month.

The property is owned by Bill Montero, a Seaside business owner who owns Cornet Properties LLC.

In response to questions from The Astorian, Montero said that because the city is limited financially, he decided to use his own resources to support the project. He said the goal was to try to get people moved out of the encampments at Mill Ponds.

“It takes the business community to really step up and, you know, walk the talk,” he said. “I just decided that I have the resources to make that happen, and found an opportunity in the least objectionable corner of the city to make that work.”

Montero said the nearly half-acre lot is next to the South County Food Bank Pantry and shielded from the highway.

He said he hopes the partnership can create a template that can be repeated by others.