FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2025
City of Portland Expands Day Center Capacity with Two New Partnerships, Including Innovative Outdoor Site
The City of Portland is expanding access to day centers, vital spaces that provide safety, stability, and connection to services for Portlanders experiencing homelessness. Today, the City announced two major partnerships that will significantly increase day center capacity and availability.
Day centers offer critical amenities such as restrooms and showers, as well as access to housing, health, and employment services. With these new partnerships, Portland is advancing a holistic approach that complements the City’s overnight emergency shelter system and expands pathways to stability for people experiencing homelessness.
The first partnership is with Urban Alchemy, a national leader in compassionate, trauma-informed outreach and operations. Together, the City and Urban Alchemy will open NW Glisan Oasis Day Center, Portland’s first outdoor day center, located at 6th Avenue and NW Glisan. This innovative site will provide a welcoming space for rest, resources, and connection during daytime hours. The “Oasis” model has proven effective in other cities at engaging vulnerable neighbors in connecting them to the next step in their journey.
The second announced partnership is with JOIN, a Portland-based nonprofit and “Housing First” pioneer with more than 30 years of experience in working with individuals experiencing homelessness. This partnership will greatly expand the days and hours of JOIN’s existing day center at 81st Avenue and NE Halsey, allowing the site to serve more community members and provide greater continuity between daytime services and overnight shelter options.
“These new partnerships show how day centers are a key piece of our broader strategy,” said Mayor Keith Wilson. “Everyone should feel like they have a place they belong. Overnight shelters provide a safe place to sleep, but we know our neighbors need more – they need a place to find refuge, connect to services, and plan their next steps. The Oasis model has worked in other cities, and I’m excited to bring that same promise and innovation to Portland.”
“Portland and Urban Alchemy are both dedicated to revolutionizing our response to the worst problems facing American cities. Developed in partnership with the City, this Oasis will create a space where anyone, housed or unhoused, can feel safe, seen, and supported,” said Dr. Lena Miller, co-founder and CEO of Urban Alchemy. “Our Oasis model provides guests with the resources, empathy, and trauma-informed care they need, while restoring dignity and calm to local neighborhoods. With proven results in San Francisco and Austin, this evidence-based model of healing has already helped thousands.”
“We are incredibly grateful to the City of Portland for investing in real, tangible solutions for our houseless neighbors. Our new day space expansion represents a critical piece of the continuum of care offering safety, dignity, and connection to the essential resources people need to stabilize and take their next steps forward,” said Monta Knudson, Executive Director of JOIN. “JOIN is proud to partner in this effort and committed to creating welcoming, trauma-informed spaces where people can access support without judgment. This is what progress looks like, and we’re thrilled to be part of it.”
“The City of Portland is deeply committed to working alongside long-established and trusted service providers like JOIN and Urban Alchemy to expand both the capacity and quality of support available,” said Skyler Brocker-Knapp, Director of Portland Solutions. “Our approach centers our participants. We ensure that the spaces we develop are not just functional, but truly welcoming, empowering, and focused on helping people move toward stability.”
More about the NW Glisan Oasis Day Center
The Oasis model is named after the sites along the Silk Road, where people of all cultures and backgrounds would come together in peace, and the goal is to create a similar place of refuge for the Portland community. The NW Glisan Oasis will be located on the site of the former Old Town Village, honoring its history of innovation, and will serve as a daytime refuge designed to complement the City’s growing network of overnight emergency shelters. Staffed by Urban Alchemy Practitioners – team members with lived experience of incarceration, homelessness, or addiction – the Oasis will provide coffee, water, snacks, bathrooms, showers, and other amenities that enable people to feel valued and safe. They also connect guests to resource providers who focus on housing, health, and other priorities. The NW Glisan Oasis site will open later this summer.
Read more about the new NW Glisan Oasis Day Center.
More About the JOIN Dayspace
JOIN has been supporting individuals and families transitioning from houselessness into stable housing since 1992 and is widely recognized as a regional leader of the “Housing First” model. Its seven programs and nearly 50 staff deliver culturally responsive, trauma-informed services that uplift dignity, resilience, and self-determination for Portland’s most vulnerable neighbors. At JOIN’s Dayspace, a daily average of 100 individuals receive access to meals, showers, hygiene supplies, a mailing address, and weekly onsite medical care, along with guidance navigating housing, health, and social service systems. This expansion will allow JOIN to extend its hours and services, increasing the number of Portlanders that can make use of their site. Extended hours are to begin in early Fall 2025.
About Urban Alchemy
Urban Alchemy operates community-serving spaces across the country, transforming neglected areas into safe and welcoming places for vulnerable populations, including people experiencing homelessness. Visit their website: https://urban-alchemy.us/
About JOIN
JOIN is a Portland-based nonprofit organization with over 30 years of experience helping individuals and families transition from homelessness into permanent housing through its “Housing First” philosophy. Visit their website: https://joinpdx.org/
Media Contact:
Robert Layne
Senior Communication Strategist
City of Portland
971-438-7943 | rob.layne@portlandoregon.gov
Images:
View full size image of Artist rendering of the NW Glisan Oasis Day Center.
View full size image of Site rendering for the NW Glisan Oasis Day Center.
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