WeShine’s second micro-village — rooted in neighborhood partnership.

Avalon Community Village is where WeShine’s growing model met a community ready to welcome it. Like all WeShine villages, Avalon offers transitional shelter that goes beyond a place to sleep — it’s a structured, supportive environment where villagers can stabilize, connect with services, and work toward permanent housing.

What Avalon Offers

• On-site staff presence 7 days a week
• Lockable, private sleeping pods with heating, air conditioning, and outlets
• ADA-accessible pods and community buildings
• Shared kitchen, hygiene facilities, and community space
• Outdoor garden and gathering areas
• Fully fenced site with security cameras
• Harm reduction support
• Connection to housing resources and services

Village Design

Avalon was thoughtfully designed to balance privacy, community, and accessibility. The village includes:

• 10 personal sleeping pods (8′ x 10′), each with a lockable front door, private porch, two windows, and interior heating, air conditioning, lighting, and outlets
• 2 ADA-accessible pods and ADA-compliant community buildings
• An office pod, hygiene building, kitchenette, and community space for meetings and activities
• Full perimeter fencing with exterior and interior security cameras

The site plan was developed pro bono by Integrus Architecture — a valued WeShine partner whose generosity helped make Avalon a reality.

How Avalon Got Its Start

Avalon’s story begins with a neighborhood looking for a better solution. WeShine was referred by Reach Community Development to the Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood District (HAND) task force, which was seeking ways to address unmanaged camping and make better use of an unpaved PBOT right-of-way at SE 19th and Division.

Over nine months, WeShine met regularly with a coalition of stakeholders — HAND representatives, adjacent businesses, nearby neighbors, and other community members — to develop a shared vision. A Good Neighbor Agreement was approved by HAND in June 2023.

Funding barriers delayed the start of construction, but Avalon broke ground in the winter of 2024 — a testament to the patience and persistence of everyone who believed in the project.

Partners Who Made Avalon Possible

Avalon Community Village was built on the generosity of organizations and agencies committed to real solutions for our unhoused neighbors:

• Joint Office of Homeless Services — Primary funding partner
• Integrus Architecture — Pro bono site planning and design
• Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) — Site access at no lease cost
• Constructing Hope — Free labor on pod interior and exterior finishes
• Reach Community Development — Referral and early partnership

We are grateful to each of these partners for making Avalon not just possible, but exceptional.

Neighborhood Contributions

Avalon’s neighbors show up for the village — and we’re proud of the relationships we’ve built in the Hosford-Abernethy community. Local volunteers help enhance the quality of life within the village in a variety of ways. All volunteers are supervised and supported by WeShine staff.

Interested in getting involved? Visit our Volunteer page to learn more.

Apply to Live at Avalon Community Village

Avalon Community Village accepts guests by referral — including self-referral. All applicants complete an application and interview before moving in. (See WeShine’s guest application process.)

→ Apply to live at Avalon Community Village