Safe. Dignified. Community-Built Shelter for Portlandβs Unhoused.
WeShine creates safe, supportive micro-villages that help Portlandβs unsheltered adults find stability, community, and a path toward permanent housing. Together, weβre transforming lives and neighborhoodsβone home at a time.
Celebrating 5 Years of WeShine
Events & Announcements
Weshine Snapshot Statistics
WeShine stands forΒ Welcoming, Empowering, Safe Habitation InitiativeΒ withΒ Neighborhood Engagement. Our villages are located in residential neighborhoods, with wraparound services and robust volunteer engagement. In conjunction with other types of shelter, WeShine is an important component of the regionβs shelter ecosystem. And, WeShine villages help reduce the regionβs unmanaged encampments.
3+
Villages
30+
Villagers
$1M+
Donations Raised
15+
Graduations To Housing
30+
Service Provided
15+
Dogs
6+
Cats
Core Functions Overview
Villages
Safe, supportive micro-villages offering transitional housing and wrap-around services that help villagers rebuild their lives with dignity.
Get Involved
Our dedicated WeShine community brings warmth, skills, and compassion β the heart behind every WeShine initiative and success story.
Donations
Your generosity powers WeShineβs mission β every contribution helps provide shelter, safety, and hope to those in need.
Site Partner
Together with Site Partners, WeShine transforms compassion into housing β uplifting Portlandβs most vulnerable communities.
Villages
St. Andrews Community Village
Location:
North Portland
Site partner:
St Andrewβs Episcopal Church
Opened:
April 2025
Capacity:
10 sleeping pods for up to 10 adults
Participants:
Adults who are age 45 or older or adults of any age with a physical disability. Priority for those who also identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, or who have been camping in the nearby area.Β
Avalon Community Village
Location:
SE Portlandβs Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood
Site partner:
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Opened:
August 2024
Capacity:
10 sleeping pods for up to 10 adults
Participants:
Female-identifying adults, with priority for those who are also Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, those who are older or who have disabilities, and those who have been camping nearby.
Parkrose Community Village
Location:
Northeast Portland
Site partner:
Parkrose Community United Church of Christ
Opened:
August 2022
Capacity:
10 sleeping pods for up to 10 adults
Participants:
Adults who identify as LGBTQIA+, priority for those who are also Black, Indigenous, or People of Color or who have disabilities or who have been camping nearby.Β Β
Villager Testimonials
A place to be our true selvesΒ
β WeShine’s acronym stands for Welcoming, Empowering, Safe, Habitation Initiative (with) Neighborhood Engagement β things that WeShine villages strive to provide. While WeShine works hard to serve our unsheltered neighbors, we often forget just how much the villagers give back to WeShine.Β
Fae came to us with a need for the safety, stability and privacy our villages provide, she brought with her an amazing drive for community organizing and outreach. After experiencing deep trauma and homelessness in Los Angeles, in the Spring of 2023, she chose to make the move to Portland, hoping toΒ become, as she describes, βfinally, truly out for the first timeβ as a trans woman.
-Faeβs story
How To Join A Village
WeShine Village Application and Information
The waitlists at all villages are currently closed
If you have questions about our villages or would like to receive an email once our waitlists open back up again, please contact shelter@weshinepdx.org.
Our Vision: A regional network of micro villages that meet the varied and unique needs of unhoused people throughout many Portland neighborhoods.Β
Learn about WeShine
WeShine Villages
- Parkrose Community Village: adults who identify as LGBTQIA2S+.
- Avalon Community Village: female-identifying adults.
- St. Andrews Community Village: Adults who are age 45 or older, or adults of any age with a physical disability.
- All villages prioritize serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, people with disabilities, and those who have been camping in the nearby area.
Volunteer
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are the heartbeat of WeShine. Whether youβre lending a hand at one of our micro-village sites, helping organize supplies, assisting residents as they transition into permanent housing, or contributing your professional skills β your time and compassion make a lasting impact.
Every act of service adds up to something powerful: a brighter, safer, and more connected Portland. At WeShine, volunteers donβt just help β they embody our mission of Welcoming, Empowering, Safe Habitation with Neighborhood Engagement. By working alongside staff, residents, and partners, you help transform compassion into tangible action that changes lives.
Together, we build bridges of dignity and opportunity, one neighbor at a time. Join us in bringing light, safety, and community to Portlandβs unhoused residents and experience firsthand how small acts of kindness ripple into citywide change.
Please emailΒ info@weshinepdx.orgΒ if you are interested in volunteering.
(WeShine is updating its volunteer opportunities and application process.)
What Our Volunteer and Community Partners Say
How To Volunteer
At WeShine, every act of service makes a difference. Whether youβre lending your time, your skills, or simply your presence, volunteering helps create safe, welcoming spaces for Portlanders rebuilding their lives. Explore the ways you can get involved β and be part of a community that shines brighter together.
Join a Community Event
Be part of the movement that brings neighbors together. Attend WeShine events, organize supply drives, or help raise awareness across Portland. Every gathering you join builds connection, compassion, and hope within our community.
Lend a Hand at a Village
We need help in these areas: Any sort of specialty including finances, mental health classes, art classes, cooking classes, budgeting.
Hands on help in the village
Small construction projects, gardening, cooking
Donations
You can make a difference
At WeShine, we believe that everyone in our community deserves access to a place to call home and the opportunity to write their own unique and powerful story.
Today, we invite you to make a donation and become a part of this transformative story. Together, we can overcome the systemic barriers to housing that limit our communityβs potential.
There are many ways to support WeShine:
- Make a one-time donation
- Become a Monthly Sustainer
- Mail a check
- Through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)
- Contribute from an IRA (Required Minimum Distribution)
Please make your check payable toΒ WeShine Initiative Inc.Β and mail it to:
3539 NE Sandy Blvd #525,
Portland, OR 97232
Partner & Sponsor Logos
Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and joyful Fourth of July weekend with the people you love. πΊπΈβ¨
From all of us at WeShine β may this holiday be a reminder of the work we do together, and the community we are building, one village at a time. π π§‘
#declarationofindependence #250years #unhousedneighbors #homelessservices #weshinepdx
WeShine is delighted to be one of the non profits tabling at the awesome Bradley Angle Block Party! Thank you so much to @bradleyanglepdx for inviting us! We know if will be a fun event! Please come! Itβs going to be a very family friendly event!
#bradleyangle #summerblockparty #pdx #nonprofitpartners #weshinepdx
We could not wait to share: Tickets are in our Instagram bio! Come see a very fun and very gay movie with us! But Iβm a Cheerleader! Itβs a young(er) RuPaul and Natasha Lyonne AND Clea DuVall AND Melanie Lynskey! Pride lasts all summer at WeShine and we will be still celebrating on August 29th at the beloved @hollywoodtheatr
#butimacheerleader #fundraiser #natashalyonne #weputthefuninfundraising #hollywoodtheaterpdx
With all the focus on our NEW Parkrose Village lately we keep forgetting to share photos from our Avalon Village Staff! These queens know how to have fun, get stuff done and look adorable while they are doing it! WeShine now has almost 20 staff members across our three locations AND our Central Office. We love each other and we inspire each other everyday!
#workinginhomelessservices #directsupportstaff #unhousedneighborspdx #weshinepdx #microvillageshelters
Hey! We love to read @streetroots at our cozy central office at @westprespdx ESPECIALLY their new Pride Issue!!! Grab a copy and support their June Spring Fund Drive now! Only a few more days left!
Where is your favorite spot to read our treasured local PDX paper? Post a photo and tag @streetroots and @porquenotaqueria for a chance to win a gift card!
We love supporting our sibling organizations β₯οΈ!
#prideissueπ #localnewspaper #streetroots #nonprofitfundraiser #porquenotaqueria
Our hard working staff and amazing contractors are finishing up the final touches for villagers to move back in this afternoon! This has been a phenomenal 2 months of coming together and incredible dedication. We hope the neighborhood loves our new Parkrose Community Village as much as we do. We want to thank again our friends at @soundfoundationsnw @lmcconstruction Christianson Electric, our amazing team at @multco_hsd and as always @parkrosecommunityucc
#microvillageshelter #weshinepdx #homelessservices #parkrosepdx #unhousedneighbors
We center people who are too often pushed to the margins: LGBTQIA+ community members, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, older adults, and people with disabilities.
Because everyone deserves a safe place to land β especially those who have faced the most barriers getting there.
Happy Pride from all of us at WeShine. ππ
#weshinepdx #pride2026π³οΈβπβ€οΈπ§‘ππππ #Portland #2slgbtqia #unhousedneighbors
π€ Today we honor Juneteenth β a day of freedom, resilience, and celebration.
At WeShine, our work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves safety, dignity, and a place to call home β and we recognize that Black communities have long been disproportionately impacted by housing instability and homelessness in our city and beyond.
Today and every day, we celebrate Black joy, Black resilience, and the ongoing work toward true freedom and equity for all. π€βπΏ
#Juneteenth #BlackJoy #HousingJustice #weshinepdx #Portland
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Letβs Connect
Mailing addressΒ
WeShine
3539 NE Sandy Blvd #525,
Portland, OR 97232