The exterior of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The courtyard area behind Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Employees speak at the opening of Auntie's Place, a temporary family shelter located from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Bunkbeds in the ADA unit on the first floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A look inside one of the units on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A mural depicting the Rosebud Sioux Tribe on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A look inside one of the units on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The children’s play area on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A mural featuring a mother bear and her cubs is displayed at Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter located from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A mural featuring a mother eagle and her young in a nest is displayed at Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter located from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A mural by native artist Arusha Dittmer representing community and tradition on the first floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, opens in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

A look inside one of the units on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The bathroom of the ADA unit on the first floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The Native American Youth and Family Center on Tuesday celebrated the opening of a shelter designed to support Native families experiencing homelessness.

The Milwaukie shelter — called kʰwat yaka haws, which means “Auntie’s Place” in the Chinook language — can accommodate families of up to seven people in each of the building’s eight bedrooms, which feature private bathrooms and kitchenettes. Hand-painted murals by Native artists line the walls around the building’s communal areas, and the Milwaukie waterfront is only a 10 minute walk from the shelter’s doors.

When the first residents arrive after July 1, they will have access to 24/7 on-site support from Native shelter advocates and professionals, who will be able to help residents with educational and employment needs, traditional healing practices and counseling, NAYA spokesperson Ann Takamoto said.

A mural by native artist Arusha Dittmer representing community and tradition on the first floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Erika Silver, NAYA’s director of housing and stabilization services, said that families who stay at the shelter are expected to live there for about 45 days, until the shelter’s staff helps them find more permanent housing. But families who are unable to find housing within that 45 day window will be able to stay longer if needed, she said.

“Every family situation is going to be different,” she said. “And we’re glad that we’re able to not have a fixed day of ‘Oh it’s 45 days, you have to be out.’”

While NAYA has developed several affordable housing projects in Portland, “Auntie’s Place” is the first shelter the organization will operate to support homeless families — and the first project they have established in Milwaukie.

“A lot of families have moved into Clackamas County because some areas of it are at least slightly more affordable than Multnomah County,” Silver said. “We’re just trying to be responsive to the needs of the community and the opportunity presented itself.”

Barbara Idrogo, a behavioral health peer support specialist at the shelter and a member of the Klamath Tribes, said that having Native professionals on staff is helpful for Native families experiencing homelessness.

“Our people are definitely underserved, and not really understood,” she said. “It’s hard for us to go out and ask for help from people when we feel like they don’t understand who we are or our way of thinking.”

A look inside one of the units on the second floor of Auntie’s Place, a temporary family shelter from Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) and Northwest Housing Alternatives, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The new shelter is made possible by a partnership with nonprofit affordable housing developer Northwest Housing Alternatives, which owns the building, and nearly $2 million in funding from Clackamas County through the Metro Housing Supportive Services Measure that voters approved in 2020.

Trell Anderson, executive director of Northwest Housing Alternatives, said that conversations about a partnership with NAYA began during the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly grew from there.

NAYA’s Silver said that the current county funding will last until June 2025, and will cover the costs of shelter staff salaries, the lease of the building, utilities costs, supplies and even financial assistance to help people apply for permanent housing.

NAYA’s contract with Clackamas County grants the possibility of additional funding until 2028, pending approval, Silver said.

Scott Anderson, a spokesperson for Clackamas County, said funding for each year after 2025 will be decided on a yearly basis in the spring.

For Idrogo, the shelter’s launch will be an opportunity to repay her community. She said that her family has been involved with NAYA for the past 12 years through employment opportunities, youth programs and help for buying a home. Now, she’ll work with others seeking NAYA’s support.

“I get to meet them where they’re at,” she said.

— Tanner Todd covers crime and public safety. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com, or 503-221-4313.

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