Portland, Ore. – May 30, 2023 – Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) announced today four additional awards for Project Turnkey 2.0, the second iteration of the state-funded grant program administered by OCF which aims to increase the state’s supply of emergency and transitional housing. One of the grantees, Klamath Tribes, is focused on providing culturally specific services to vulnerable populations. Additional grantees, Housing Authority of Malheur and Har
In Southern Oregon the Klamath Tribes received a grant of $2,318,532 to acquire and renovate the Melita’s Hotel and RV Park in Chiloquin. The property will be used immediately to provide housing for tribal elders and the old restaurant will be converted into a community gathering space, soup kitchen, and space for on-site services.
“Purchasing the former Melita’s Motel property is only the beginning of a much larger effort by the Klamath Tribes to ensure all of our members have warm, dry places to sleep,” said Clayton Dumont, Klamath Tribes Chairman. “American Indians continue to suffer the highest poverty rates among all Americans. One in four of us live below the federal poverty rate, and we know that the chance to fall into those ranks increases as we grow older. In our Klamath, Modoc, Yahooskin cultures, elders are our most impor