Jackson Street Youth Services

Unfortunately, we got a head start on spook season. Sorry we ghosted you on our incredible social media platforms this week! We promise we're still here, doing the hard work 24/7/365 to support youth and young adults in our region. And wowza are we grateful for YOU (and our social media guru who is on vacation). Wishing a happy Pumpkin Spice season to all who celebrate! 🤷‍♀️

What a wonderful busy Friday we had today! We were recipients of so much generosity at the annual golf benefit with the , we spoke at the Supporting Youth Together Summit, we received a GIANT check at the Walmart Corvallis Market Grand Reopening, and we presented about our work at the Corvallis School District Back to School Health and Resource Fair. We are so grateful to be receiving support from diverse groups across the region, and we are so proud to be able to serve youth in so many ways with our work. Thank you to the caring community that makes our work possible.

See y'all tomorrow at Linus Pauling Middle School!

Mission Central display window got a refresh today! The MC houses our finance, development, Positive Youth Development, and Director’s offices. It’s also the hub for our mental health counselor, peer support groups, and the place where folks drop off donations in Corvallis. Located at 225 SW 4th St, come say hi!

Big thanks to Nick's : Soul Food for catering our Staff vs Youth baseball game! Youth win 10-6 with a heroic effort from the pitcher’s mound by an all-star youth athlete.

Can you help us out? We're looking for opportunities to speak to organizations in our region. This includes businesses, service clubs, churches, other nonprofits, choirs, sewing circles, fraternities, sororities, educational institutions, car clubs, scout troops, you name it!

Our development team works really hard to spread awareness about Youth Homelessness across Linn and Benton counties, to let folks know what we do, and give them a variety of ways to support our youth. We love to present about our work, and our presentations always elicit a response. Some may be surprised at the breadth of our services, dismayed at the extent of the youth homeless population in our region, or excited to plug in and support Jackson Street!

Communications Coordinator Ben (hi!) is at your service. In the last couple years he has presented in almost every setting imaginable, and he would love to tell our story to you and your peers. Please reach out with any ideas, or to schedule an educational, entertaining, and enlightening chat with Ben (me) at [email protected].

Back to school party for youth! Noon-3, Saturday 8/17 at Hackleman Park (by the Albany Skate Park)!!! Come hang out, eat yummy food, sing karaoke, and pick up some brand new school supplies, backpacks, headphones, flash drives and more.

This event is open to all youth ages 10-24 so please tell your friends! If you have any more questions or you need supplies but can’t make it on Saturday, reach out to our outreach page Jackson Street Youth Outreach.

Let's talk about Jackson Street Outreach!

Outreach is a low-barrier, harm reduction program available to all Linn/Benton County youth ages 10-24. Our Outreach team has 2 main parts: Street Outreach and Outreach Case Management. Street Outreach Workers (SOWs) go into the community, talking to folks at encampments, setting up pop-up drop-ins at skate parks, schools, and other public spaces. SOWs often serve as a first line of contact with youth in the community.

SOWs provide food, hygiene supplies, camping supplies, harm reduction supplies like contraceptives and Narcan, and much more. SOWs also table at community events, deliver food boxes directly to youth, and help youth and families navigate the available resources in their area. SOWs serve ALL of Linn and Benton Counties, driving to Harrisburg, Sweet Home, Scio, Lebanon, Monroe, Corvallis, Albany and all points between.

Youth that want more support are encouraged to get involved Outreach Case Management. Case Managers meet regularly with youth to help them navigate services, set realistic goals, and make positive decisions with their lives. They meet with youth in the community, deliver resources to their homes, and provide a 1-on-1 connection that can be a life-saving support. Outreach Case Managers provide educational support, employment assistance, and independent living skills training.

Youth on our Outreach caseload also become eligible to receive mental health services as needed, gain access to our volunteer Academic Coaches, and get referred to our Peer Support groups. Some youth start out receiving Outreach Harm Reduction support, and move on to Outreach Case Management, then move into our Next Steps or 24/7 Shelter programs.

We also have a full-time Education Outreach Coordinator that works to develop our relationship in schools, setting up behavior support groups for at-risk youth, educating with pop-up drop-ins, and even training staff in schools about the population we serve.

Outreach is currently based at our Youth Service Center (YSC) in Albany at 960 Queen Ave SW. We are moving to a new location by the end of the year which we're really excited about. Learn more and contribute to our program expansion at our website www.jacksonstreet.org!

Youth and families needing services should follow Street Youth Outreach for more information.

We're so grateful to the Mennonite Village Foundation! Holly and Sarah and the whole MVF team contributed a generous $2,500 grant to our end of summer school supply drive. Development Director Hannah Miller had a blast giving them a tour of our Albany House, talking about our future plans, and celebrating our partnership. Youth in our community will be able to look forward to getting some really great stuff as they head back into school because of the generosity of folks like Holly and Sarah. Thanks so much, and we look forward to distributing these school supplies in the coming weeks. If you or your family are in need of assistance, please get in touch with our youth-focused social media account Street Youth Outreach.

We had such a magical night with our friends in the local Corvallis music scene! Our hearts are so full. Youth Ambassadors did such a good job educating folks about our programs, connecting with attendees, and creating new relationships for Jackson Street. We had at least 100 attendees over the course of the night and gave away all 60 ice cream scoops in the first couple hours.

Jim Whittemore did wonderful work on the soundboard, Bitter Half Booking put together an awesome lineup, and all the artists were incredible. Huge thanks to Sugar J’s for donating scoops! Gratitude as well to our volunteers Skyla and Ethan for donning teal shirts and being part of our Peacekeeper Squad.

It’s so important to create positive social spaces, provide access to culture, and just have fun in the summer sun. And a huge thanks is due to Corvallis Parks & Recreation for believing in our work and letting us use the Monroe Plaza space for this show.

We 💚 Tim Rist! Along with his awesome team at Discover Oregon Real Estate, Tim has put together some awesome community fundraisers for Jackson Street in the last year, as well as sponsoring our Youth Rising fundraiser. Communications Coordinator Ben got a chance to catch up with Tim and loyal pup Tank last week. What a good doggie! There are so many lovely folks in the Linn/Benton county business community that partner with our organization, and it feels so good to be able to connect 1-on-1, say thanks, and get slobbered on by a munchkin pup. Thanks again for your support, Tim, and thanks to everyone in the community that helps us move our mission forward. Together, we can end youth homelessness.

Thank you to Sugar J’s for donating a bucket of ice cream for our Positive Youth Concert this Tuesday, August 6th at Monroe Plaza on the Corvallis Riverfront! Show up, donate to the artists (any amount) and receive a Scoopon that can be redeemed at Sugar J’s across the street for a free scoop of cherry ice cream! Come hang out, enjoy good music, good people, and good local ice cream! We will be at 1st and Monroe handing out Scoopons at 6:30. Supplies are limited, so don’t be late! The lineup is all woman-led indie rock, and we are so excited to promote positive youth creative and social spaces with our awesome friends at Bitter Half Booking.

As part of our ongoing efforts to explain to the community what exactly we do, let's dive into 24/7 shelters!

24/7 Shelters prevent homelessness by providing support to unaccompanied youth, and respite to families in crisis — mediating and reunifying youth with their families whenever it is safe and appropriate. Corvallis House offers 10 beds, and Albany House has 16, for a combined total 26 beds available in our region for youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.

Stays at our houses isn't the same as the typical drop-in homeless shelter many parents and youth envision.

Our 24/7 Shelters in Albany and Corvallis are safe, structured environments for youth ages 10-17. Spending time at the shelter starts with an “intake” where staff begin learning what kinds of support the youth and/or family need, complete necessary paperwork, and explain the program guidelines. The structured environment of the shelter helps everyone be safe and successful with their individual goals.

During a typical day, a youth attends school, and staff help manage scheduling for other necessary appointments, including program components like case management, mental health, family mediation or specialized skills training. Together, youth and staff manage the house and learn important “life skills” like cooking, laundry, and healthy conversations. Our Positive Youth Development program incorporates volunteers and community partners in special extracurriculars like recreation, music, and art. Volunteers also help with study hall.

Every story is different but youth typically stay between 72-hours and 3 weeks in our program, working on family reunification. However, there is not a time limit for unaccompanied youth needing additional support who continue to follow program guidelines and thrive in shelter.

This program serves youth between the ages of 10-17. Initial approval is for 72 hours but may be extended as long as needed and appropriate for achieving safety and stability. This is a sober program.

Contact us 24/7 with questions or to get help!

Corvallis House: 541-754-2404 ext. 1
Albany House: 541-220-2950 ext. 1

Last night our incredible staff and volunteers got the royal treatment up in the private Omaha Room at Goss Stadium! It was a perfect summer night and so fun to hang out together and see the Knights WIN!! We're deeply grateful to rad Volunteer Mentor Rich who had the idea to celebrate our hardworking crew this way and pulled together the folks at Corvallis Young Pros and sponsor FactoryWiz! We had a blast! ⚾⚔☀️😎

We're hiring! We have openings in our entry-level Youth Advocate position working in our 24/7 shelters, as well as a couple openings for a Facilities Manager and Outreach Assistant Manager. We're also happy to have OSU grad students fulfill their internship and practicum requirements with us! Find out more at https://www.jacksonstreet.org/get-involved/employment/.

Open Streets Corvallis 2024 was a wonderful experience for our team. Thanks to Lindsey Almarode and the whole team at Open Streets for setting us up for success. Big shout out to all of the Youth Ambassadors for going all out for this, especially Autumn for coming up with the initial SPAD design, and Lane for spearheading the painting process at the event. Thousands of people walked, rolled, and frolicked around the pedestrian sanctuary of Open Streets, many of them stopping by to participate in our community painting activity.

Thanks to volunteer Kristi Martens for helping us set up our painting project, as well as emo/math rock band Curse League. Curse League stayed at Communications Coordinator Ben's house during their West Coast tour, and were happy to help him lay out the pencil outline for the two main paintings we did at Open Streets. The paintings came out great, we talked to so many wonderful folks, and it was a great day to be a part of the Corvallis community!

We’re pumped to be co-hosting another all-ages, substance-free concert with our friends at Bitter Half Booking! 6:30pm, August 6th, at Monroe Plaza (the spot on the waterfront in Corvallis with the otter statues and picnic tables).

This fully woman-led bill includes touring LA youth artist Career Woman, Portland band Myriads, local songwriter Andi Beck, and Portland songstress Shrimp! Check them out on SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or YouTube, all of these acts are wonderful musicians and performers.

Please come join us, say hi to our Youth Ambassadors, pick up some educational materials about Jackson Street, and help us create positive social spaces for youth and young adults in the community!

$7-10 donation is encouraged and goes straight to the artists. Thanks so much to Corvallis Parks & Recreation for believing in our vision and supporting our youth. Let’s come together to make a joyful sound on the waterfront 💚💚💚🎸🎸🎸🌈🌈🌈☀️☀️☀️🌊🌊🌊

Lots of new followers on the social media apps! Here's a quick summary of the work that we do at Jackson Street!

We provide 24/7 shelter for youth ages 10-17 and transitional housing for youth 18-24, and our Outreach team serves 10-24 year olds. We serve youth throughout Linn and Benton county.

24/7 shelter for 10-17 year-olds: We have two 24/7 Shelters — Albany House and Corvallis House. We are not a drop-in shelter, but you can come over or call any time of day to get the intake process started. Shelter stays can last a couple nights or a few months, depending on your needs.

Housing for 18-24 year-olds: Next Steps is a transitional housing program with an application process. Youth stay in Next Steps for 18-24 months, generally. We’re happy to help you get started on the application process!

Outreach services for 10-24 year-olds: Our Street Outreach program provides food, clothing, hygiene supplies, case management services, shower + laundry access, and access to peer support groups. We can meet you wherever you’re at in Linn and Benton County.

Please reach out, we are here to help you! Call our toll free, 24/7 number at 800-901-2904. You can also DM us on Facebook at our Youth-focused social media page Street Youth Outreach. We also have a lot more information on our website https://www.jacksonstreet.org/services/

School Supply Drive is go! Running now through August 9! Please spread the word, get involved, and contribute to helping our youth get a positive start to the school year.

You can drop off school supplies at Staples in Albany during their business hours, at our Corvallis office (225 sw 4th st) Tuesday and Wednesday 10am-1pm, or at the YSC (960 queen ave sw) Thursdays 10am-1pm. Thank you!

This year we are doing a quicker drive so that we can focus on getting supplies into the hands of youth before the school year starts. Thank you for your support and get in touch with any questions.

Open Streets!!! This Sunday, 11am-3pm! The event will stretch from Garfield Park to Cloverland Park, mostly on Garfield Avenue. Bring your wheels, your lamborfeeties, your chevrolegs, your longboards, your tall bikes, your unicycles, your roller blades, as our community envisions a more pedestrian-friendly world.

Jackson Street Youth Ambassadors will be out in Cloverland Park with a community painting project (we will be making a big Skate Park After Dark sign!). We'll also be handing out Jackson Street swag and fliers, building community, and we just might be participating in the Open Streets Scavenger Hunt (???). and there will be good food, good music, fun activities, and good vibes for all.

We're so excited to see you there!

Friday! We are hosting a youth-centric Water Fun Day in the courtyard of Faith Lutheran Church, our neighbors at the Youth Service Center in Albany. Between 3-6pm, come to 960 Queen Ave for water balloons, hot dogs, burgers, sprinklers, and more!

This event is being put on by our Outreach Program, it's totally free, and we're so excited to see all of your smiling faces. If you're a youth or family that's interested in our services, make sure you're following our youth social media page: Jackson Street Youth Outreach. You can get in touch with our program staff there, get youth-specific communication, and make sure you're not missing any of our offerings for youth in the community.

This account is our "public-facing page". It's for all of our youth, families, staff, donors, volunteers, program partners, and the general community, so please continue to follow here!

Thanks again to Faith Lutheran for letting us host our party in your lawn!!!

Congratulations to Outreach Program Manager Anna Bontrager, Next Steps Program Manager Kevin Shimomaeda, and Training Coordinator Kevin Grant for celebrating 7 years with Jackson Street this week! We're so glad to have you on our team, and thrilled that we had such a hiring hot streak in July of 2017!!!

We're incredibly grateful to all the members of our 5 (or more) year club at Jackson Street, who hold this organization together every day with their constant care and support.

Pictured: (Bottom Row, L to R) Kevin G, Development Director Hannah Miller, Kevin S, and Anna B. (Top row, L to R) Shelter Assistant Manager Yvonne Russell, Outreach Case Manager Curtis Gaspard, Albany House Case Manager Susan Richey, Mental Health Therapist Tristin Young, Program Director Salvador Maciel, Executive Director Kendra Phillips, and Education Outreach Coordinator Cortney Wetherell.

School Supply Drive 2024 is kicking off NEXT WEEK! Drop items off in the Jackson Street box at Staples in Albany during their open hours, or at our locations during open hours (Corvallis, Tuesday-Wednesday, 10am-1pm at 225 SW 4th st. Albany, Thursday, 10am-1pm at 960 Queen Ave SW).

We will have staff, volunteers, and Youth Ambassadors hanging out at Staples from July 22-August 9 to educate folks about our services and advocate for our youth.

You may notice that this year's Wishlist is a lot smaller than in years previous. Our friends at the Mennonite Village Foundation gave us a generous cash donation that will allow us to shop for a majority of the school supplies we usually ask the community to donate.

However, with the consistent growth in our caseload, we still need your help! So please, donate backpacks, calculators, notebooks, flash drives, planners, sketchbooks, and headphones to support youth in our community.

Thanks to Allen, Ryan, and all the folks at our local Staples for supporting our efforts.

We'll be distributing the supplies at our Back to School Party at Hackleman Park on August 17th, from noon-3pm. Youth and families get in touch with us at Jackson Street Youth Outreach for more info!

On June 28, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grants Pass, making it legal for local governments to pass laws against sleeping outside.

This is a huge loss for our community.
Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t work. Jackson Street stands with our partners and homeless advocates against the Supreme Court’s decision. Oregon enshrined the Johnson v. Grants Pass decision in state law in 2021, so this decision won't be affecting us immediately, but it could have sweeping consequences moving forward.

For more information, head to https://johnsonvgrantspass.com/ and follow some national leaders like Alliance to End Homelessness, Youth Collaboratory, Colors United, National Network For Youth, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Feel free to sound off in the comments with your reflections and expertise about this huge decision.

Quick heatwave slideshow for those that need information: 1) Albany cooling centers 2) heat exhaustion vs heat stroke (heat stroke call 911) 3) Use 211 to find cooling centers close to you (you can call or use https://gethelp.211info.org and search “extreme heat cooling centers”) 4) city of Albany has a GREAT interactive map to help find Linn County Cooling Centers https://albanyoregon.gov/em/heat 5) Benton County also made a slightly less user friendly website to find cooling centers https://health.bentoncountyor.gov/warming-cooling/ . In general, stay hydrated, stay in the shade. Libraries, pools, and many churches and homeless centers in the area will have their doors open. Libraries are all closed for the 4th. Let’s take care of each other, this heat wave could be here into middle of next week.

Congratulations to our newest staff members to hit the 5 year club at Jackson Street!!! Curtis and Cortney, your steadfast commitment to youth in our community is an inspiration to us all, for real!

Curtis has been our 18+ Outreach Case Manager for five years, holding it down and providing a stable presence on our Outreach Team. He's constantly out in the community connecting with youth, helping them meet their goals, and supporting their dreams.

Cortney started out as a Youth Advocate in our shelters, stepping up into the Shelter Case Manager role before finding her current position as our Education Outreach Coordinator. You can find her working in our schools to educate youth about our programs, setting up support groups in schools, and coordinating the Q***r Peers and Q***r Peers Middle School peer support groups at our locations in Corvallis and Albany.

Through Jackson Street, these two have positively impacted hundreds of young people. Drop a heartfelt compliment, zany memory, or just some positivity in the comments y'all!!!

We raised $9,110.10! Our best Community Yard Sale ever!!! Thank you to everyone who volunteered, donated valuable belongings, purchased treasures, and spread the word about the Community Yard Sale. This was a huge win for us, and it was a huge show of support from our friends in the community.

Thank you to Tina and Peter at Kenagy Family Farm for hosting and huge thanks to Tina in particular for working her behind off at the yard sale. Huge respect to the memory of Don Rea, who started this annual tradition 9 years ago when we were just starting out with our journey into Linn County. Special shouts out also to Graham Kislingbury and Connie Lenderman who were part of our pre-planning committee for the Yard Sale and put in dozens of volunteer hours for us last week.

This year we had an amazing crew of volunteers, and it was so cool to see new friends and old bonding in the summer sun, telling their stories about Jackson Street, educating newcomers, and reflecting on how far we've come in the last 20-some years. Did you stop by the yard sale? Feel free to drop a fun memory/ share your rad purchase in the comments!

Our next big events are our Water Fun Day at the YSC in Albany on July 19th, a collaborative art project/ booth at Corvallis Open Streets on July 21, and our Positive Youth Development Concert in Corvallis on August 6.

Thank you for staying involved, following our work, and supporting our community events. We do all of this to spread the word about our mission, bring in more support for our youth, and create healthy community spaces. More to come!

Some cute shots from Albany Pride! Our Youth Ambassadors (Yams) came out in force with good vibes, bead lizard kits, beverages, snacks, and a desire to share Jackson Street’s mission with our community! Huge thanks to Linn Benton NAACP Branch for giving us a grant on the main stage, huge thanks to Albany Pride for being stalwart supporters, and huge thanks to all the folks that stopped by our corner booth to connect. We love this community, we love our LGBTQIA+ family, and we are so happy to shine a light for inclusivity and PRIDE in the mid-willamette valley!!

Community yard sale is CRACKIN! Kenagy family farm 9-4 Friday and 9-2 Saturday!!! Come get some treasures 👑☀️🌟🪴

Last week, our All-Staff Meeting took place at the OSU Ropes Course!!! This experience ranged from being super fun, to utterly terrifying, to totally exhausting, depending on who you ask! We had a blast hanging out (LITERALLY) and we're so grateful to everyone on the OSU team for helping us safely engage with the course!

We frequently ask our youth to trust the process, trust the systems in place at Jackson Street, and take the leap into receiving housing + support services. It was fun to encourage our colleagues to make the leap and trust the system at the ropes course, build some camaraderie between colleagues, and get a little adrenaline-fueled break from our weekly grind.

Big thanks to staff Aaron Yost for getting these great shots of our team! You can check out his work at https://aaronyost.smugmug.com/!