Grand Opening of The Annex Transitional Housing and Shelter

By Kenny LaPoint

The Dalles, Oregon October 9, 2023 – Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) is pleased to announce the Grand Opening of The Annex Transitional Housing and Shelter, formerly the Oregon Motor Motel. The formal grand opening event will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 12th at 200 West 2nd St. in The Dalles, in the Annex’s west parking lot.

The Annex, formerly operated as a 54-room motel, has been fully renovated and converted to transitional housing and shelter for families, couples, and individuals in need of stability while they seek long-term permanent housing. MCCAC and its core partner organizations will provide 24/7 oversight and services on the Annex site. These services include housing case management, Veterans services, physical health, behavioral health, youth and family services, and Native and Latinx-specific services. The agencies that will be coordinating services on the site include the Mid-Columbia Center for Living, One Community Health, the Oregon Human Development Corporation, Nch’I Wana Housing, the Department of Human Services, the Youth Empowerment Shelter (YES House), The Next Door, Worksource Oregon, Bridges to Health and the Columbia Gorge Food Bank.

“The Grand Opening of The Annex is such a wonderful moment for our community,” MCCAC Executive Director, Kenny LaPoint said. “We are proud to have been able to turn our entry into downtown from a dilapidated eyesore into a beautiful community asset that will help to stabilize our most vulnerable community members as they search for permanent housing.”

The Annex will provide approximately 50 transitional housing and shelter units with around 75 beds. These beds will serve Veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, young adults aging out of youth programs, families with children, and Native and Latinx community members. It is also worth noting that the opening of The Annex highlights the first family-specific shelter beds in the Mid-Columbia region. The family shelter is located in The Annex’s west property and features a separate building with 13 family-specific shelter rooms along with an outdoor garden and gathering area.

Thanks to the funding and support from many community partners, our wonderful construction team and our many volunteers this project is now ready to serve our community. MCCAC is proud to have been able to hire over 20 local contractors to complete the renovations at The Annex, ensuring that the financial resources used on the project were able to remain in the community, bolstering our local economy. Project funders include the Oregon Community Foundation, the Oregon Legislature, Oregon Housing and Community Services, the Columbia Gorge Health Council, the Roundhouse Foundation, and the Mid-Columbia Center for Living.

The October 12th event will include speakers from many of the project funders and partners with the main highlight being the official grand opening and ribbon cutting for The Annex.

For more information on The Annex, visit www.mccac.com/the-annex.

MCCAC is the Community Action Agency serving Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman Counties. MCCAC’s mission is to build a better future for our community through partnership and equity-centered programs that prevent and eliminate poverty and homelessness.