Sean Davis for Astoria

Astoria faces real challenges. We have limited affordable housing, and being surrounded by water we really have no land to build on. County, state, and federal budgets have shrunk in the past couple of years. Clatsop County continues to face one of the highest per-capita homelessness rates in Oregon. On top of that, cities like ours are trying to navigate a complicated mix of federal court decisions, state statutes, and local ordinances. For a small rural city, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.

But Astoria is not standing still. In fact, we’ve had several big wins that we can’t overlook.

Across our community, people and organizations are working every day to help move people from crisis toward stability. Helping Hands operates the Uniontown Hope Center in Astoria, providing emergency shelter and long-term transitional housing. Clatsop Community Action operates the Columbia Inn, which provides shelter for families with homeless children, people fleeing domestic violence, youth, veterans, people with disabilities, and others who need support.

Owens Adair II represents another major step forward. The expanded Owens Adair campus will include affordable housing for seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing chronic homelessness. During my ride along with CCA, I was there when Kenny Henson and the outreach team got to tell the very first person that they had been approved to move into the first unit.

That moment stayed with me.

That moment was not about abstract policy. It was not a statistic. It was a person receiving life-changing news. A person who would soon have a safe place to live, a key to door he can lock, and a foundation to begin rebuilding from.

During that same ride along, I also saw the urgency of this work. The team was focused on helping an eight-month pregnant woman get into housing as quickly as possible. That is what good outreach looks like. It is direct. It is human. It is practical. It recognizes that behind every tent, every case file, and every public debate is a person with a story and a future that still matters.

Astoria also benefits from the work of LiFEBoat Services, Filling Empty Bellies, Beacon Peer Support, the Astoria Rescue Mission, Clatsop Behavioral Health, The Harbor, local churches, volunteers, and many others. These organizations provide shelter, meals, recovery support, peer support, emergency beds, navigation services, clothing, showers, counseling, and pathways toward housing.

For a rural town of our size, that matters.

It does not mean we have solved the crisis. We have not. It does not mean people are wrong to be concerned about public spaces, safety, sanitation, or the growing visibility of homelessness. Those concerns are real, and they deserve serious attention.

But we should also recognize the progress already being made. Astoria has built partnerships. Astoria has added shelter capacity. Astoria has supported outreach. Astoria has helped create affordable housing. Astoria has people on the ground every day working to move people indoors and connect them with services.

I believe Astoria can do this.

This town knows how to face difficult moments. Astoria has endured fires, storms, economic hardship, changing industries, and hard seasons when the future was uncertain. Each time, people here found ways to adapt, rebuild, and care for one another.

That same spirit is still here.

We can be honest about the crisis without losing hope. We can insist on safe and clean public spaces while still treating people with dignity. We can support the people doing the work while asking for better coordination and better results. We can recognize the progress already made while still pushing for more.

Astoria’s housing crisis will not be solved overnight. But it can be addressed with focus, partnership, compassion, and steady leadership.

Last Thursday, I saw the difficulty of this work up close.

I also saw the reason to keep going.