“Business” is booming for Peninsula Poverty Response, the group that assists homeless and low-income residents.

The annual meeting last week learned that the nonprofit group has assisted considerably more people needing help during the past two years.

Peninsula Poverty Response works within an area bordered by the Ocean Beach School District on the south end of Pacific County, providing help to the homeless and other low-income neighbors.

Ally Rose, program navigator, said the group helped 186 people in 2022. This year, that figure has already reached 425 with two months remaining. “Our needs have grown,” she said. Costs have increased from $12,257 spent in 2022 to $18,036 so far this year.

“I can see the need on the peninsula, and Peninsula Poverty Response fills in the cracks that other social services don’t cover,” she said.

Shelter

Nancy McAllister, president, said last year’s focus was on fundraising for a homeless shelter, drawing inspiration from the successful Camp Hope in Yakima.

Pull Quote

‘108 people in our community slept outside, as of January last year.’

Elly Rosaire, Ocean Beach School District

While that is still a goal of the group, the project depends on finding a suitable property. “I haven’t given up on the shelter. It is still a passion of mine,” she said.

She and her board hope to locate a property. It needs to be larger than a duplex, which could only handle a couple of families.

“It could start small and grow into something larger,” she said. “However, what we need is a property. We think we can do the rest of it. It will need electrical, water-sewer set up. That is the boulder that’s stopping us.”

Services

The meeting highlighted partnerships, including Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit whose volunteers repair low-income homeowners’ properties to make them safe, and Coastal Community Action Program, a social services agency operating in Pacific and Grays Harbor counties. The Lions Club and Timberland Regional Libraries also pitched in.

Discussions focused on efforts helping less fortunate neighbors around south Pacific County.

These include:

• Outreach services coordinated by Rose, who can respond to people needing items like tents and backpacks, gas cards for their vehicles, or emergency cash for personal needs such as small medical co-pays;

• A free propane day hosted by Active Enterprises to help Pacific County residents heat their homes or trailers. This year’s event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 6 at 1318 Pacific Ave. in Long Beach;

• Laundry Love is a program where people can benefit from a couple of loads of free laundry and drying with free soap and dryer sheets. It is available Wednesday afternoons at the Long Beach Laundromat, 1607 Pacific Ave. N in Long Beach.

The annual Community Connect day is hosted at the Long Beach Elks Lodge No. 1937 at 110 Pacific Ave. in downtown Long Beach. A “point in time” count of homeless people is taken and reported to state agencies that allocate benefits.

The 2025 event will take place Jan. 30 and feature an array of social services and community partners, plus a free hot lunch at the Elks. Volunteers are on hand to assess needs and help people sign up for benefits. Aid is available to military veterans. Veterinarians offer tips on pet health. Medical, dental and vision screening and haircuts are also available.

‘Little’

Elly Rosaire, family resource coordinator with the Ocean Beach School District, pointed to the need. “We see people homeless or having only $900 to $1,200 a month, but most trailer parks charge $600 a month. That leaves people with very little for gas and groceries.”

She shared other statistics:

• 18% of local students are considered “homeless” under modern definitions;

• “108 people in our community slept outside, as of January last year,” when the Community Connect count was made;

• About 100 people benefited from the free propane project last year.

‘Awesome’

As the meeting concluded, Tara Dockery, a case manager from Willapa Behavioral Health, commended the group. She described the weekly laundry program and Rose’s work providing gas cards as “awesome.”

She noted many of her clients suffer from mental health issues. “Some of these people have a hard time,” Dockery said. “It means everything in the world to have access to stuff, because it is overwhelming.”

Funds to support Peninsula Poverty Response can be mailed to P.O. Box 655, Ocean Park, WA 98640. Last week, Natalie Hanson from the Long Beach Elks presented McAllister with a $2,000 check. “We really appreciate everything that Peninsula Poverty Response does,” Hanson said.