Build Hope,
Change Lives,
Work With Weshine
Whether you bring professional skills, lived experience, or both, WeShine offers a place where your strengths genuinely change lives. Join us in creating safe, supportive villages that help our neighbors rebuild stability and move toward long-term housing.
Why Work at WeShine?
We strongly encourage individuals with lived experience to apply.
WeShine operates transitional micro-villages that provide safety, stability, and a caring community for unhoused Portlanders working toward independent housing. Our staff play a vital role in helping villagers feel respected, supported, and empowered as they rebuild their lives.
We especially welcome applicants with lived experience. Your insight and compassion help create deeper trust with villagers and strengthen the quality of care we strive to provide. At WeShine, your experience is valued, your perspective matters, and your work directly contributes to someoneโs path forward.
Community Connections
Work in a collaborative, relationship-centered environment where staff, villagers, volunteers, and neighbors come together to build supportive, welcoming communities.
Small Caseloads
WeShine prioritizes manageable caseloads so staff can offer thoughtful, consistent support and build genuine relationships with villagers.
Create Impact
Your daily work helps villagers build stability and move toward long-term housing, creating meaningful change in their lives and the broader community.
Rich Benefits Package
We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support your health, well-being, and long-term sustainability in this important work.
Great Supervisory Support
Youโll receive consistent guidance, mentorship, and encouragement from experienced supervisors who value collaboration and staff well-being.
Comprehensive Training Program
We provide ongoing training and professional development to help staff build skills, confidence, and alignment with WeShineโs trauma-informed, harm-reduction approach.
What Our Staff Say
We Need More Villages Like This
“People at WeShine can stay for up to two years. That is shown to be working as far as long-term, actually getting someone into housing and a new job. We need more WeShine villages. We need more villages like this.”
Rachael Price
Volunteer
Permanently Moved Into Affordable Housing
“It’s a model that’s shown to work all over the country as far as getting people permanently moved into affordable housing.”
Chris Tanner
Co-Founder and Former Board Member
That’s How Well It’s Gone
“Nobody wanted them there. We went to a meeting. It was terrible. People were yelling, screaming. After two years, it’s amazing. I’d be happy to have 3 or 4 more in my neighborhood. That’s how well it’s gone.”
Jennifer Jackson
WeShine Board Member and Parkrose Village Neighbor
Story From Our Staff
Finding My Purpose at WeShine
My path to WeShine came through a former employee, and the moment I walked into the village, something clicked. I thought, This is what Iโve been waiting for.
Working in sales had drained my spirit. I wanted to support humanity, not quotas. WeShine felt like home. It was small enough to know everyoneโs name and personal stories.
Being part of WeShine has changed me. Itโs taught me perspective. The villagersโ stories, traumas, and triumphs all exist side by side. Itโs taught me to trust the wisdom Iโve gained. Iโve learned how important it is to help villagers build community beyond the village, not just within it. Healing doesnโt stop at the gate. Thatโs why Our VCMs (Village Community Meetings) are everything. Staff and villagers sit together, talk, plan, troubleshoot, and check in. Itโs connection without hierarchy. Itโs the space where real community is built.
WeShine is growing slowly and intentionally, and I appreciate that. But the housing crisis is so severe that I also hope we can expand faster. And while the two-year stay limit is a good guideline, some people need longer – especially those without the support networks I had.
-Ash’s Story
Roles At Weshine
Who Thrives In These Roles At Weshine
People who are compassionate, adaptable, good communicators, and comfortable helping with a wide range of community needs.
Village Roles
Village staff are generalists, meaning everyone helps with whatever the community needs to stay safe, welcoming, and running smoothly. These roles combine direct support for villagers with hands-on tasks that keep the village organized and stable. Staff build trusting relationships, respond to daily needs, and help create an environment where villagers can focus on rebuilding their lives.
Common responsibilities include:
- Assisting villagers with resources, daily needs, and program guidance
- Helping maintain clean and organized community spaces
- Performing light maintenance (changing lightbulbs, simple repairs)
- Supporting community expectations and shared agreements
- Collaborating with teammates and administrative staff to ensure continuity of care
Administrative Roles
Administrative team members ensure that each village has the structure, communication, and support systems it needs to operate effectively. These roles manage scheduling, data, partnerships, and coordination so village staff can focus on direct service and community care.
Examples include:
- Organizational Leadership โ Support WeShineโs mission and long-term growth by helping guide strategy, teams, and organizational priorities.
- Operations Support โ Maintain the systems that keep WeShine running smoothly, including finances, applications, waitlists, and staff training coordination.
- Administrative Supportโ Provide essential organizational support through data entry, communication, and internal process management.
- Communications and Volunteer Managemen โ Support community engagement through social media, website updates, and volunteer coordination and retention.
These roles work closely with village teams to ensure programs remain consistent, organized, and aligned with WeShineโs mission of safety, dignity, and community.
Summary of Our Villages
WeShine operates small, neighborhood-based micro- villages across Portland that provide safe, dignified transitional shelter. Each village includes private sleeping Pods with locking doors, shared community areas, and supportive staff who help villagers build stability and work toward their next step in housing.
Parkrose Village
Parkrose Community Village is WeShine’s first transitional micro-village in Northeast Portland, created to offer safety, privacy, hygiene, and community for neighbors working toward permanent housing. The village providesโจlockable sleeping Pods, shared kitchens and hygiene facilities, and on-site staff seven days a week.
Volunteers play an active role in community life at Parkrose, offering weekly meals, workshops, enrichment activities, and help with gardening, events, and village projects. Staff support villagers in making progress toward their personal housing goals.
Since opening, Parkrose Village has helped residents move forward in meaningful ways-several villagers have successfully transitioned into stable, long-term housing. Parkrose continues to operate in close partnership with its host site, neighborhood groups, and local organizations to maintain a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment.
Avalon Village
Avalon Village is WeShineโs second transitional micro-village in Southeast Portland, designed to provide safe, private, and dignified shelter for Portland neighbors seeking stability on their path to permanent housing. The village includes ten personal sleeping Pods, ADA-accessible units, and shared spaces for hygiene, cooking, meetings, and community activities.
โจAvalon offers secure, heated and cooled Pods with lockable doors, personal porches, lighting, and electrical access. The village is fully fenced and supported by both exterior and interior security features. Local volunteers help strengthen daily community life through engagement, activities, and ongoing support.
Developed in partnership with neighborhood stakeholders and supported by the Joint Office of Homeless Services and pro-bono contributors, Avalon Village reflects a collaborative effort to create safe, structured alternatives to unmanaged camping while helping residents move toward long-term housing.
St. Andrewโs Village
St. Andrewโs Village will be WeShineโs third transitional micro-village, opened in North Portland in mid-2025. Developed in partnership with St. Andrewโs Episcopal Church and supported by community stakeholders, the village will offer private Pods alongside shared amenities including a full kitchen, hygiene facilities, community meeting space, and offices. An ADA lift will ensure accessible entry for both congregants and villagers.
This village grew from a collaboration between WeShine, church leadership, local businesses, and neighborhood partners committed to creating safe, stable alternatives to unsheltered living. Supported by HomeAid Portland and a network of volunteers, St. Andrewโs Village will provide a structured, community-centered environment where residents can work toward long-term housing and increased stability.
Join the WeShine Team
WeShine is growing, and weโre looking for compassionate, community-minded people to join our team. If you believe in dignity, safety, and creating pathways toward stable housing, we invite you to explore our open roles. Each position plays an essential part in supporting villagers and helping our micro-villages run smoothly.
Click a listing below to learn more and submit your application, resume, and cover letter.
Program Specialist
The Program Specialist (PS) is a direct-service role responsible for supporting villagers through case coordination, goal-setting, crisis prevention, documentation, and community engagement. Program Specialists help maintain a safe and supportive environment while assisting villagers in achieving self-identified goals related to housing, health, stability, and personal development. Program Specialists build trusting relationships with villagers while modelingย trauma-informed communication, supporting villager accountability, and contributing to aย healthy, connected village culture.
Click the links below to learn more and apply!
Lead Program Specialist
The Lead Program Specialist (LPS) provides program leadership, coordination, and operational support within the village. This position builds upon the Program Specialist role by functioning as the primary support for the Village Manager, offering staff mentorship, providing accountability coaching to villagers, overseeing program operations, and ensuring consistent documentation and service delivery across the team. The LPS acts as the on-site leader when the Village Manager is off duty, ensuring alignment with WeShineโs principles of trauma-informed care, harm reduction, person-driven planning, and non-oppressive practices.
Click the links below to learn more and apply!
Village Manager
The Village Manager (VM) is responsible for daily operations, staff supervision, documentation oversight, community-building, and service coordination within aย WeShine micro-village housing up to 10 adults.ย The VM ensures that services are delivered in accordance with WeShine values,ย policies, and trauma-informed practices. This role requires strong leadership, highย emotional intelligence, operational stability, and the ability to respond effectively to both
routine and crisis situations.
Click the links below to learn more and apply!
Application Process
Our application process is simple and supportive. Hereโs what to expect:
Submission and Review of Application
Initial Zoom Interview
In Person
Interview
Background + Reference Check
Applying through our website helps us identify mission-aligned candidates who are genuinely interested in working with our villagers and communities.
If you don’t currently see a position that seems right for you, but you would like to be considered for a future role within our organization, please submit your resume to jobs@weshinepdx.org. We will review and keep resumes on file for future consideration, and we encourage you to check back often as new positions are added frequently as our organization grows.
Ready to apply? Weโd love to hear from you.
Send us your resume and cover letter when you apply.โจIf youโre not ready to commit to a role yet, volunteering is a great way to learn more about WeShine and our community.
WeShine has had an amazing 5 years! We are incredibly proud of our three beautiful villages. But here is the hard truth: the public funding environment for homelessness services is under real pressure right now. And like many nonprofits doing this work, weโve had to absorb costs our budget wasnโt built to carry. Weโve done it because the alternative was to slow down work that simply canโt wait, but it has left our administrative reserves thinner than they should be.
Weโre turning to our community because youโve always shown up for us. Check our bio links to find the GoFundMe link!
Your gift today goes directly toward keeping WeShine strong, covering operating needs, protecting the capacity weโve built, and ensuring that when the next opportunity arises to expand or improve our services, weโre ready to seize it. A healthy organization is the foundation everything else rests on.
#homelessservices #gofundme #unhousedneighbors #weshinepdx #microvillageshelters
Click our link in bio to support our GoFundMe for Parkrose Village!
Help WeShine Keep Lighting the Way for Portlandโs Most Vulnerable Neighbors
Right now, in three Portland neighborhoods, people who had nowhere to sleep are waking up safe.
Theyโre making coffee in a shared kitchen. Theyโre feeding a neighborโs dog. Theyโre walking to a health care appointment, maybe for the first time in years. For many of them, this is what healing feels like.
WeShine Initiative makes this possible. Since 2021, weโve operated small, community-centered transitional shelter villages in Portland, places where neighbors know each otherโs names, where staff show up every day with lived experience and genuine care, and where people donโt just survive their housing crisis, they begin to thrive.
The county shelter system is largely built around menโs and womenโs facilities โ leaving nonbinary folks misdirected or without options. And data on LGBTQIA+ homelessness here is still incomplete.
A cityโs reputation for inclusion has to be backed up by real infrastructure.
Thatโs what WeShine is working to build โ one village at a time. ๐ก
#TransRights #NonBinary #Portland #HousingEquity #WeShine Pride2025
Thank you to our besties @gathermakeshelter for this stunning and heartfelt gallery show honoring WeShine villagers and alumni villagers. WeShine does not shine without Gather:Make:Shelter! The work they do to insert art into our spaces and into our souls is invaluable. They are one of the absolute best non profits benefiting our unhoused neighbors in PDX!
Come see the show at the @gathermakeshelter gallery until June 28th Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00-4:00 or by appointment!
1335 NW Kearney St.
Portland, OR 97209
#gathermakeshelter #artsaveslives #communitypartnership #firstthursdays #unhousedneighbors
You know we love a forklift! Two more pods arrived for our new and improved Parkrose Community Village! We also love forklift drivers like Tom, our buddy from @lmcconstruction
We are delighted by this blue sleeping pod from our friends in Seattle @soundfoundationsnw We have 8 pods now! 5 more to go!! Whooo!
#unhousedneighbors #solvinghomelessness #microvillages #alternativeshelters #soundfoundationsnw
Come see us at the @gathermakeshelter First Thursday reception for this fabulous show: Luminous-The story of WeShine and Gather:Make:Shelter on Thursday June 4th from 5:30-7:30 at 1335 NW Kearney St. Portland, Oregon 97209
#community #firstthursday #art #unhousedneighbors #gathermakeshelter
Family rejection, discrimination in employment, and a shelter system that often wasnโt built with them in mind all play a role.
This Pride Month, WeShine is sharing why safe, affirming shelter AND housing are not just housing issues, they are justice issues.
Stay with us all month. ๐ ๐
#PrideMonth #WeShine #Portland #2slgbtqia HomelessnessAwareness
Look what is coming together swimmingly! More new pods arrived last week from @soundfoundationsnw !! And more arriving this week! We love these pods they are sooo homey, roomy and pretty! We enjoy sharing this whole process with you all!
๐๏ธ๐ก๐๏ธ๐ก๐๏ธ๐ก
#unhousedneighbors #tinypodvillages #shelter #weshinepdx #fromseattletoportland
Newsletter
Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter, The Village View. Read the latest edition below, and sign up here to get the next one in your inbox. The Village View highlights recent happenings in our current villages, exciting announcements, articles by staff on homelessness issues in our region, engaging stories about the folks we serve and more. Sign up today!