In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford continue their conversation with Shawn Collins, Executive Director of Unity Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, diving deep into the realities of homelessness prevention, shelter operations, transitional housing, and what it truly takes to help someone rebuild their life.

- Why prevention is the holy grail of solving homelessness and how Adverse Childhood Experiences directly predict adult housing instability

- The real cost of homelessness across healthcare, law enforcement, and community systems

- How Unity Shelter operates as a low-barrier shelter and what that actually means in practice

- The journey from emergency shelter to micro-shelter transitional housing and why 30 to 50 percent of residents successfully move into permanent housing

- Why getting housed is not the finish line and how isolation after housing placement is one of the most overlooked risks in the entire continuum

- Oregon's housing undersupply crisis and how building 50 percent fewer homes than needed raises the floor for everyone, especially the most vulnerable

- How myths about laziness and handouts distort public understanding of what surviving without housing actually demands

- Concrete ways community members can get involved, from low-barrier food service volunteering to street outreach

Resources and People Mentioned:

- Unity Shelter, Corvallis, Oregon, [email protected], 541-313-8776

- Corvallis Housing First (CHF)

- Community Services Consortium

- St. Vincent de Paul

- We Care (Corvallis)

- Vina Moses organization

- South Corvallis Food Bank

- Compassion Church (micro-shelter site)

- SafeCamp

- ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study

- Housing Opportunity Action Council

- United Way

- HousingVoices.com

- MartyFulford.com and Cynit.net (show partners)

- Music by Karen DeWolf and Adrian Kriz

In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Shawn Collins, Executive Director of Unity Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, to explore what emergency shelter and transitional housing truly look like on the ground, and why the gap between need and resources keeps growing.

- How Shawn went from corporate librarian and HP research manager to leading one of Benton County's most critical homeless services organizations

- What Unity Shelter actually operates, including two 50-bed emergency shelters, a hotel shelter program, and 34 micro-shelter transitional housing units

- How the post-pandemic funding landscape has shifted dramatically, with federal dollars drying up and state funding projected to be cut by 50 percent

- Why Unity Shelter's board has refused certain federal funding tied to requirements that residents be checked against an ICE database

- The 267 percent increase in homelessness in the area between 2016 and 2025, and what that looks like for the people showing up at the door

- The real demographics of homelessness, including the prevalence of traumatic brain injuries, physical disabilities, generational poverty, and people aging out of foster care or exiting incarceration with nothing

- How city and ODOT sweeps destroy identification, job opportunities, and trust, creating cycles that make it harder for people to escape homelessness

- How Unity Shelter serves people for approximately 135 dollars per person per month, beating inflation by a wide margin while growing the number of people served by 65 percent

Resources and People Mentioned:

- Unity Shelter, Corvallis, Oregon

- Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS)

- Corvallis Housing First

- Benton County Health

- Corvallis Downtown Drop-In Center

- Housing Opportunity Action Council (HOAC)

- Hope Board (Housing Opportunity Planning and Equity)

- Jackson Street Youth Services

- MartyFulford.com and Cynit.net (episode sponsors)

- Music by Karen DeWolfe and Adrian Kriz

Housing Voices hosts Marty Fulford and Bre Irish sit down with Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a civil engineer, city planner, and attorney who served as interim city manager of Talent, Oregon following the devastating 2020 Alameda Fire. Drawing on experience ranging from post-war reconstruction in Bosnia to statewide emergency resilience work in Oregon, Jamie shares the hard-won lessons of wildfire recovery and what communities must do now to prepare for the fires ahead.

- What the aftermath of the Alameda Fire actually looked like on the ground, and why the most vulnerable residents were hit hardest

- Why FEMA assistance left entire populations behind and how Oregon's state government attempted to fill that gap

- The four north stars Jamie used to guide Talent's recovery: team building, community engagement, resource development, and housing

- How Jamie expedited permitting, waived zoning restrictions, and secured nearly 30 million dollars in state and federal resources in six months

- The role of community trust, bilingual outreach, and hiring locally-connected staff in reaching farmworker and Latino communities

- What the New Spirit Village affordable homeownership project in Medford grew out of the disaster and how it is progressing

- Why wildfire resilience must now be a baseline standard in all Oregon development, not just rural or high-risk zones

- Specific steps everyday Oregonians and state legislators can take right now to prepare for the next disaster before it arrives

Resources and People Mentioned:

- Jamie McLeod Skinner, housing developer and former interim city manager of Talent, Oregon

- Hector Flores, publisher of Caminos magazine and community liaison during Talent recovery

- Barry and Catherine Thalden, founders of New Spirit Village

- Proud Ground, Portland-based community land trust

- CASA, affordable housing developer involved in Talent recovery

- Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS)

- Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD)

- Oregon Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM)

- Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB)

- Senator Jeff Golden

- Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

- John Viall, former county director and current interim city manager of Medford

- Gold Beach, Oregon, cited for lending planning staff to Talent during recovery

- Fortaleza and Coliseo, organizations involved in mobile home park recovery

Housing Voices hosts Bri and Marty continue their conversation with Jenn Bustamante, a senior care advocate with 33 years of experience in the aging industry. Jenn runs Embrace Age Prepared, a wraparound company that helps families navigate the complex world of senior care and housing options. This episode reveals the harsh realities of long-term care costs, systemic failures, and the challenges facing our aging population.

Key topics discussed:

• Adult foster care costs range from $7,000-$16,000 monthly vs. assisted living at $4,800-$6,500
• In-home 24-hour care can cost $25,000+ per month, making it unaffordable for most families
• The dirty secrets of long-term care: Medicaid covers very little and most facilities don't want Medicaid patients
• The trillion-dollar senior care industry and where the money actually goes
• How cultural differences in family care (Hawaii's tribal mentality vs. American individualism) impact aging
• Problems with transparency and exploitation in the senior care industry
• Issues with state assessment agencies improperly evaluating care needs
• The upcoming "silver tsunami" of baby boomers and Oregon's lack of preparedness

Resources mentioned:

• Jenn Bustamante and Embrace Age Prepared
• Power of Partnership event (September 17th)
• Open Bed Oregon initiative
• Northwest Senior and Disability Services (DHS)

This episode of Housing Voices features Jennifer Bustamante, CEO of Embrace Age Prepared, who has 33 years of experience helping seniors navigate housing transitions and aging complexities. The discussion covers the urgent reality many families face when aging loved ones can no longer safely live independently, often triggered by medical emergencies, falls, or cognitive decline.

Key topics discussed:

• The "Silver Tsunami" - 71 million Americans will be 65+ by 2030, creating massive strain on housing and healthcare systems
• Financial realities: Independent living starts at $4,800/month, assisted living at $6,500+, with many facilities requiring 2-3 years of cash upfront
• Medicaid's five-year lookback period that examines all financial transactions and asset transfers
• The breakdown of generational wealth transfer as care costs consume family assets
• Increased illness at younger ages and prevalence of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson's disease
• Alternative housing options like adult foster homes ranging from $7,000-$16,000/month
• The importance of planning at age 65 with proper legal structures like irrevocable trusts

Resources and people mentioned:

• Jennifer Bustamante, CEO of Embrace Age Prepared
• Elder law attorneys and senior real estate specialists
• Adult foster care homes in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona
• Medicaid spend-down planning and qualification requirements

Housing Voices hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford interview Jake from Hope Community Homes in Eugene, Oregon, discussing their innovative approach to affordable manufactured housing. Hope Homes builds energy-efficient, fire-resistant manufactured homes specifically designed for long-term affordability and durability, while also providing workforce training programs for high school students and employing second-chance workers.

Resources mentioned: Terry McDonald (emeritus director at St. Vincent de Paul), Representative Pam Marsh, Lane County Education School District, Senate Bill 1537, Hope Community Homes website (hopecommunityhomes.org)

This episode Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview guest Nathan Wildfire, CEO of Missing Middle Housing Fund, discussing his innovative approach to solving Oregon's housing crisis. Nathan shares his personal journey from growing up in Pittsburgh to leading workforce training and housing innovation efforts. The conversation explores how missing middle housing fills the gap between subsidized affordable housing and market-rate housing for workers earning 80-120% of area median income.

Key topics discussed:

Resources and people mentioned:

Building housing today isn’t just difficult—it often doesn’t make financial sense anymore.

In Part 2 of our conversation Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview with Ryan McAlister from Gerding Builders, we dig into the real reasons housing projects are stalling across Oregon and beyond. From skyrocketing construction costs to regulatory bottlenecks, this episode breaks down why even well-intentioned projects struggle to move forward.

We explore:

This isn’t just about builders—it’s about a system where cost, policy, and process collide, making it harder to deliver the housing people need.

If we’re serious about solving the housing crisis, we need to understand what’s actually blocking progress—and what it will take to fix it.

Take action: Get involved in local and state housing conversations, especially around land use and development barriers.

Host Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview Ryan McAlister, the first non-Gerding family member to lead Gerding Builders, an employee-owned construction company in Oregon's mid-Willamette Valley. Ryan shares insights on the development process, housing challenges, and solutions from a builder's perspective, discussing everything from market-rate to affordable housing construction.

Resources mentioned: Gerding Builders, Oregon State construction management program, cottage cluster legislation (2023), HB 2001/2100 housing legislation, municipal multi-unit property tax exemption (MUPTE), opportunity zones, census tract designations.

Housing Voices podcast hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford speak with Cassie Wilson, Legislative Manager at 1000 Friends of Oregon, about the critical shortage of accessible housing in Oregon. Wilson, who lives with a disability, shares her personal experiences navigating inaccessible apartments and her recent move to a fully accessible unit, highlighting the vast gap between housing supply and need for disabled residents. 

Resources mentioned: 1000 Friends of Oregon (friends.org), Senator Patterson's accessible housing legislation, National League of Cities disability statistics, Oregon legislative session bills on accessible housing requirements.