Dean’s office staff joined forces last month to support children living in Central City Concern’s family housing in downtown Portland.

Working to provide pathways to self-sufficiency through active intervention in poverty and homelessness, Central City Concern (CCC) programs address substance abuse and dependency issues through health and recovery services, employment services, business enterprises and housing.

CCC currently oversees 93 apartments specifically for families with grade or high-school age children. Staff in the Dean’s office collected backpacks, notebooks, calculators, gift cards, and other school supplies to support 84 children from those apartments who headed back to school this fall. 

“OHSU is part of a larger community. Healthcare provision is one of our primary missions, but community activism is part of our Vision 2020. This is one small example of how we can all participate in making a difference,” said Dean Mark Richardson.

Building strong partnerships is one of the goals of Vision 2020. As well as supporting the Back to School campaign, medical residents rotate through CCC’s Old Town Clinic as part of the School of Medicine's "Social Medicine Curriculum." OHSU was also a founding partner in CCC’s Recuperative Care program, which has served over 150 formerly homeless patients to date.

In a letter of appreciation to the Dean’s office, CCC director Richard Harris wrote: “Your donation allowed dozens of children to start the school year with the supplies they needed. More importantly, your support helped show them that they are not, in fact, forgotten and that there is support and strength to be found in the larger community.  That is a lesson that none of us should ever forget.”

Read more about the School of Medicine's and CCC's ongoing collaboration to improve health care access for the homeless at:  http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/082306access.cfm