The Portland metropolitan area, and Oregon overall, have seen one of the nation’s biggest jumps in the rate of homelessness over the past three years, with about 3,900 people in the Portland-area lacking shelter each night. The city also has a high rate of overdose-related deaths. As in other parts of the U.S., Oregon has a shortage of facilities for housing homeless people, particularly with supportive services, plus a shortage of inpatient and outpatient programs to provide substance use disorder and mental health treatment.

Central City Concern (CCC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Portland, is helping to address this challenge by providing comprehensive, evidence-based services that enable individuals to gain long-term housing, recover from substance use disorder, stabilize their health, and become employed. CCC, which  currently serves approximately 14,000 people a year, offers 34 housing sites and 29 FQHC clinic programs located at 17 sites, with about 1,400 employees.

This profile is part of an ongoing Better Care Playbook series, In the Field: Spotlight on Complex Care Interventions, that highlights how organizations are implementing evidence-based and promising innovations to improve care for people with complex health and social needs.

*Author Harris Meyer is a freelance journalist who has been writing about health care delivery and policy since 1986.