FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2010
Catholic Charities of Oregon Moves into New Clark Family Center
at SE 28th Avenue and Powell Boulevard
New 60,000 square foot headquarters building, funded through capital campaign,
consolidates programs to better serve more than 20,000 annually at this location
alone; more than 33,000 throughout organization
Portland, Ore. – In spite of a drop in annual donations and an operating budget on par
with last year, Catholic Charities in Oregon is poised to serve even more families and
individuals in fiscal 2010-11 thanks to the organization’s move this month to its new
60,000 square foot Clark Family Center headquarters building. Funded entirely by a $13
million capital campaign that culminated in 2008, Catholic Charities' Clark Family Center
is located at 2740 SE Powell Blvd. in Portland.
“It has long been a dream for Catholic Charities to move all of our services under one roof
in order to more comprehensively serve our clients,” said Dennis Keenan, executive
director. “Just in moving into the building, we are already recognizing a comparative
annual cost savings of more than $100,000 on lease payments. We hope to see additional
savings in energy consumption and maintenance costs now that we’re occupying the
space. Combined with the resulting efficiency of services from the new center, this savings
will allow at least a ten percent increase in the number of individuals and families we
serve in the Greater Portland area."
Catholic Charities previously occupied seven different buildings in and around Portland,
including office space owned and leased by the organization – programs previously
housed by five of those buildings are now under the Clark Family Center roof. The first
record of Catholic Charities service statistics, from 1952, shows Catholic Charities as
having served 1,323 individuals; today, the number of people served annually exceeds
33,000. This fiscal year, more than 20,000 clients are anticipated to be served at Clark
Family Center, with room for growth to accommodate more, and another 15,000 are
expected to be served through the organization’s Gresham and Medford sites.
Donors, parishioners and supporters of Catholic Charities who have recently toured the
Clark Family Center have expressed a newfound awareness of the wide array of services
Catholic Charities provides. Catholic Charities’ professional social services are focused
on more than immediate needs for their clients. “Our goal is to help families achieve
financial security, nurture healthy relationships, and become a resource to neighbors and
the wider community,” says Doug Alles, social services director.
Some of these services are well known such as counseling and assistance to women in
pregnancy, adoption placement services, relationship workshops, assistance with housing
and other needs for mothers and children; refugee services assisting in the relocation of
refugees into Oregon from refugee camps located throughout the world; domestic violence
services providing counseling and outreach to victims of violence and sexual assault
including the operation of Oregon’s first and only Spanish language 24/7 domestic
violence hotline; immigration legal services providing professional legal advice and
representation to low-income immigrants and refugees; housing transitions serving
homeless women with the primary goal of helping them obtain and retain permanent
supportive housing.
The organization’s largest program is Caritas Housing, the affordable housing arm of the
organization providing housing for low-income families, the elderly, disabled, and those
with chronic mental illness. All Catholic Charities programs are represented in Clark
Family Center, although a comprehensive array of services to low-income Latinos in the
Portland metropolitan area is located at the Catholic Charities office in Gresham.
In partnership with Catholic Charities, Clark Family Center is also home to a Loaves and
Fishes meal center for senior citizens, and Grandma’s Place, an early childhood
development and after-care service for preschool through elementary-aged children. By
next year, Clark Family Center will also house a micro-business training program operated
by Catholic Charities in partnership with Mercy Corps Northwest.
Clark Family Center is the cornerstone of the Catholic Charities campus at SE 28th and
Powell Blvd. – three properties adjacent to the new building are also owned and operated
by Catholic Charities. Esperanza Court is an affordable 70-unit apartment complex
completed in 2008, and Howard House is a 12-unit building for chronically homeless
individuals completed in 2007. Just east of the main campus on SE 28th Avenue is Kateri
Park, a 50-unit housing complex and community center for low-income families
completed in 2005.
“The recession is not over,” said Keenan. “As with any recession, our community’s
poorest and most vulnerable citizens are last in line to see their lives improve. With the
Clark Family Center, we are better equipped to serve those who need help the most.”
“With roots dating back to the Great Depression, Catholic Charities has for years been
diligently working to help our community’s poorest citizens regain self-sufficiency, and
their dignity,” said Mary Clark, a member of the Clark family whose generous
philanthropy made the Clark Family Center a reality. “This beautiful new building will
greatly increase Catholic Charities’ ability to help others.”
The project designer for Clark Family Center is Lundin Cole Architects, and the general
contractor is R&H Construction. View a photo of Clark Family Center at this link:
http://www.catholiccharitiesoregon.org/press_room.asp.
About Catholic Charities
Since 1933, Catholic Charities in Oregon has been bringing hope, resources and advocacy
to the poorest and most vulnerable throughout the state, regardless of faith, race, marital
status or condition in life. Headquartered in Portland at 2740 SE Powell Blvd., the
organization serves as the professional social service arm of the Archdiocese of Portland,
yet is funded completely through grants and donations. For more information call (503)
231-4866, or go to www.catholiccharitiesoregon.org.