Find Help

Find help with basic needs

If you or someone you know is experiencing hunger and homelessness, please feel free to use this list of resources to help. If you do not need help, please consider volunteering or donating supplies or money to nonprofits if you can. Please let us know if there are additional resources to add. (Created March 18. Last updated August 31)

Click here for an updated list of programming changes for regional service providers that serve those experiencing homelessness.

Resources for youth, families, and adults experiencing homelessness

Resources for Portland State University students in need

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Shelter

The city will create three temporary camp villages to provide access to a supportive environment with water, food, hygiene supplies, and other services for vulnerable adults without shelter. The project is led by JOIN in collaboration with several other service agencies.

The plan is to open 3 sites with 45 tents at each site. One site will prioritize LGBTQ+ participants, another will prioritize people of color, and a third will be for the general population. Read more about camps in Street Roots.

Intake Form:

Current In-Person Intake Hub Info:

The city and Multnomah County are working to preserve emergency shelter capacity, even though some shelters are adding space because of social distancing guidance. Winter shelters are staying open, shelter operators have discretion to move some high-risk folks into motel rooms, and county staff are working to open more shelter spaces. But space is still limited, as many beds remain full. Outreach teams also have blankets, tarps, and additional supplies. Read more about county efforts.

Emergency Funds

PSU Student Emergency Funds webpage provides information about emergency funds available to help students during times of financial hardship including due to COVID-19.

SEIU 503 COVID-19 Hardship Fund provides cash assistance to local SEIU 503 union members who have faced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon's (APANO) created the Jade District Covid Relief Fund to serve community members and families in the Jade District who have been affected by the impacts of the coronavirus.

Black Resilience Fund is an emergency fund dedicated to healing and resilience by providing immediate funds and resources to Black Portlanders for basic needs such as food and unpaid bills. 

Oregon Workers Relief Fund Causa, Latino Network, Voz Worker Education Project, and Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) have created this fund to provide cash assistance to Immigrant Oregon workers who are being left out of the Federal Stimulus package.

Food

Feed the Mass and Ecotrust have teamed up to create The Fed Project, serving approx 600 meals/week at the Redd Community Kitchen (831 SE Salmon St) Monday-Tuesday from noon-1pm at the entrance on SE 9th Street.  Anyone who needs a meal is welcome, no questions asked.

Laughing Planet Cafe is providing free meals to students on food assistance programs for the duration of the school closures.

Crisis Kitchen PDX in SE is cooking meals and distributing them to people who need them. Visit the website to place a food order for pick up the next day.

Familias en Accion is offering a webinar in Spanish on food access during COVID-19. For more information and to register, please contact Alejandra Gurrola at alejandra@familiasenaccion.org.

Oregon Food Bank will continue to update its Food Finder interactive map for free groceries, meals, produce and more by area. Or call 211 to find meals near you.

Food boxes can be picked up or delivered by Lift Urban Portland, Snowcap, Sunshine Division, or Salvation Army

Sunshine Division is delivering food boxes five days a week. Households may sign up once per week (limited to the first 1,000 households) - Sign up here.

Salvation Army's Operation Share Hope is now serving food boxes at 3 regional locations as a drive-thru service on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

PSU Food Pantry continues to serve PSU students in their new location at 5th Avenue Cinema and is now shipping food boxes during spring term. Students can shop by appointment or order a food box online.

Many services are switching to to-go options, including:

  • Blanchet House of Hospitality, 310 NW Glisan Street, will serve to-go meals for people experiencing homelessness: Breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Sisters of the Road Cafe, 133 NW Sixth Avenue, will serve to-go meals for people experiencing homelessness: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Meals on Wheels continues service to the homebound elderly with a 'no contact' meal delivery system.

Oregon Schools offer free meals, breakfast and lunch, during school closure to all kids 18 and younger. Find a complete list of Oregon schools to link to hours and locations from Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon or call 211: 

Portland Public Schools serving to-go meals 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary - 620 N Fremont Ave
  • César Chávez Elementary - 5103 N Willis Blvd
  • Franklin High School - 5405 SE Woodward St
  • George Middle School - 10000 N Burr Ave
  • Grout Elementary - 3119 SE Holgate Blvd
  • Harrison Park School - 2225 SE 87th Ave
  • Lent School - 5105 SE 97th Ave
  • Madison at Marshall - 3905 SE 91st Ave
  • Markham Elementary - 10531 SW Capitol Hwy
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary - 4906 NE 6th Ave
  • Rigler Elementary - 5401 NE Prescott St
  • Rosa Parks Elementary - 8960 N Woolsey Ave
  • Scott Elementary - 6700 NE Prescott St
  • Sitton Elementary - 9930 N Smith St
  • Woodmere Elementary - 7900 SE Duke St

Online publication Eater Portland posted a list of local restaurants giving out free food to those in need. It also has an older list of where to find free meals in Portland.

Multnomah County posted resources available to residents and businesses:

WIC serves pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding women and children under 5 years old. Dads, grandparents, foster parents, or other guardians may apply for WIC for their children.

Hygiene Stations

Portland placed portable toilets & hand washing stations at as many as 44 sites across the city for people who don't have regular access to bathrooms. Soon they will open 64 park bathrooms. The need for access becomes even more critical as public spaces close their doors. Check out an interactive map of the sites. We will update this information when the city releases a list of the 64 park bathrooms.

Bathrooms and Handwashing Stations

East
  • SE Division before entrance of the multi-use path
  • SE  92nd and SE Flavel
North
  • N Going and Interstate Ave
  • N Lombard Blvd and N Peninsula Crossing Trail
  • N Oswego and N Lombard
  • Peninsula Crossing Trail at N Columbia
  • Peninsula Crossing Trail at N Fessenden
Northeast
  • NE Cully and NE Prescott
  • NE 82nd Ave and NE Webster St
  • NE 122nd and Sandy Blvd
Northwest
  • Blanchet House - NW Glisan and NW 3rd Ave
  • NW 18th and Pettygrove
  • NW 17th and NW Savier
  • NW 6th and NW Davis
Southeast
  • SE Water and SE Morrison
  • Entrance to Springwater Corridor at SE Ivon
  • SE 40th and SE Woodstock
  • SE 88th and Powell
  • SE Foster Rd and SE Holgate
  • SE Foster Rd and SE 110th Ave
  • SE Foster Rd and SE 162nd Ave
  • SE Powell and SE 122nd Ave
Southwest
  • SW 13th Ave and SW Montgomery Ave
  • SW 18th Ave and SW Market St

Standalone Handwashing Stations
East
  • SE 79th and SE Powell
North
  • Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Union Court near Delta Park
  • N Pittsburgh and N Crawford
  • N Rosa Parks and N Interstate
  • I-5 and Lombard
Northeast
  • NE 13th Ave and NE Holladay St
  • NE Cesar Chavez and NE Halsey
Northwest
  • NW 1st and NW Couch
  • Sisters of the Road Cafe - NW Davis and NW 6th Ave
  • NW 29th and NW Industrial
  • Westside of Steel Bridge near Day Storage facility 
Southeast
  • Grand and Alder
  • SE 3rd and SE Ash
  • SE 11th and SE Oak (near Saint Francis Dining Hall)
  • SE 12th and SE Oak 
  • SE Burnside entrance to the multi-use path
  • Laurelhurst Park at SE 37th and SE Oak
  • SE Powell and SE 122nd Ave
Southwest
  • SW Naito and SW Morrison
  • SW Terwilliger and SW Nebraska

College and University Students

Find help for students at Portland State University, including food pantry hours, emergency funds, and other campus resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m9Nm5dUpazPHuBjcgBGMC2OTW6O0DLKjf0Ydc7tqd7A/edit

The Hope Center at Temple University has created a guide for colleges and universities to help address the needs of students, including information on supporting students experiencing hunger, homelessness, or financial crisis. Download the guide here. 

NEW! Federal Student Aid and Homeless Youth Q&A's document provides answers to questions students' have about their federal financial resources.

Health Services

List pulled from the Sisters of the Road website. 

Portland Fire & Rescue's Meds on Wheels program is a prescription pick-up and delivery service for older adults and individuals with disabilities in the city of Portland.

Homelessness Prevention

Portland, Multnomah County, and now the state of Oregon have halted evictions of tenants who fall behind on rent due to coronavirus-related challenges to prevent additional homelessness. Renters will have up to six months to pay back their rent. Renters do not need to sign supplemental agreements with their landlords. Renters should notify landlords as soon as reasonably possible. There is no language saying you have to provide proof to the landlord.

 If you need assistance with knowing your rental rights, Oregon Community Alliance of Tenants can help. Learn more at oregoncat.org or call (503) 288-0130. You can also find help by calling 211. 

Oregon launches COVID-19 Rent Relief Program to provide rent assistance to people across the state who are at risk of homelessness due to COVID-19. For more info or to apply, contact a Community Action Agency (CAA) for your area (see CAA Map) or call 211. 

Emergency Childcare

If you are an essential worker in need of emergency child care during the COVID-19 crisis, contact 211info to receive a customized referral to emergency child care programs with available openings. 

  • Call 211
  • Text “children” or “niños” to 898211 (txt211)
  • Email children@211info.org
  • Visit the website

Information about Coronavirus

COVID-19 or novel coronavirus has symptoms similar to the flu. People with symptoms have fevers, coughs and also shortness of breath. NEW! CDC added 6 more symptoms associated with COVID-19: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.

The virus spreads mainly from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact, within about 6 feet.

This happens by droplets from an infected person’s coughs or sneezes getting into another person’s mouth, nose, or lungs. If a well person touches a surface, object, or a sick person’s hand that has the virus on it from the sick person’s cough/sneeze droplets, the virus can infect the well person when they touch their own mouth or nose. 

Most people recover without medical intervention and have mild symptoms.

But certain people do face a higher risk of having more severe symptoms, including pneumonia. Those folks tend to be older, have weakened immune systems or have underlying medical conditions (things like heart or lung diseases).

Limit the spread of infections:

  • Hand-washing is important, but we recognize that access to hand-washing facilities is limited for folks living without shelter. Sanitizer is also effective. If someone is sick, it will help them not spread germs from their lungs or nose to other things they touch. If they are well, it will help them not pick up germs from things they touch and spread them to their mouth, nose or eyes.
  • Folks should do what they can to avoid touching their noses, eyes, and mouths. 
  • Cover coughs: Any cough, even if someone otherwise feels well, should be covered — not with someone’s hands but by coughing into an elbow, a mask or a bandana.
  • As much as possible, encourage those you’re working with to limit sharing personal items, particularly cigarettes, food, phones, utensils and other items."

Free COVID-19 Testing Sites

For more information:

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