What is the CDDC?

The Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center (CDDC) is a 501(c)(3) that has a long history of providing a variety of services to persons who are homeless and/or low income. Initially, the CDDC was a peer-run center known as The Circle of Hope, and was established to provide a socialization place for people with psychiatric disabilities.

As time went on, the CDDC attracted a variety of people including persons with dual diagnosis, individuals who were homeless, and other low-income members of the community. In the last few years, the center has accepted support from recognized community leaders and its organizational structure has been changed to reflect a stable base of community leadership.

The CDDC board has been working to expand the vision of the center to meet the significant mental, physical and social needs of the people who come. The center is staffed by volunteers. Each week approximately 150 hours of community volunteer time is donated to provide the services of the CDDC.

Old News, Stories, and Events

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Wisdom from the Streets 2019

Short Films and Talks about Resilience and the Roots of Homelessness

Thursday, November 21, doors open at 7:00 pm
at the Whiteside Theater in Corvallis
Admission: $5 suggested donation

Wisdom from the Streets 2019 is Sponsored by CorvallisHousingFirst.org, The Resilience Project, the CDDC, Samaritan Health Services, and CHANCE, for Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Benefit Concert for the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center

Wild Hog in the Woods

Friday, April 5, 2019, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St in Corvallis
Admission: $10-$20 suggested donation
(but no one will be turned away for lack of funds!)

Wild Hog in the Woods is "The Valley's Finest Stringband" ... "No one leaves without a smile and a tappin' toe".

The Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center responds to the significant needs of individuals, especially those who are experiencing homelessness, low income, mental health, or co-occurring disorders daily M-F from 9-2 at 530 SW 4th Street, Corvallis. The CDDC prides itself as a place "where needs are met".

Thursday, November 1, 2018

It Takes a Community to Raise a Village

Thursday, November 1, 2018, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church, 114 SW 8th St, Corvallis

Please join us Thursday evening as Dan Bryant from SquareOne Villages presents how Tiny House Villages are being used in Eugene to address transitional and affordable housing needs, and how a similar model could be applied in Corvallis! For more information, please visit www.sustainablecorvallis.org.

September 2018 Status

Contact Us

Mental Health Counseling

One of CDDC's goals is to help improve mental health supports for our guests. For many of the folks we serve, traditional models of counseling can be deeply inequitable and do not suit their unique needs and circumstances. For example, making appointments scheduled far in advance and waiting months to see a professional miss the mark if someone has no or unreliable transportation, an unpredictable life schedule, and more acute mental health needs. Costs for conventional care and medication are out of reach for most of our guests. Current resources in the region cannot meet the massive demand for help and explicit needs of people, many with mental disabilities, living in extreme poverty.

Building Capacity for Confidential Counseling

The Lotus Room

In Memory of Jim Gouveia

One of our Board members, Jim Gouveia, knew that we could help, and he had an innovative vision for how to support our guests and augment overall mental health services at CDDC. The first step is creating a confidential space where people can be heard and witnessed in total privacy. Thus, CDDC is constructing with your support and in Jim's name and vision, a quiet, comfortable, private room called the Lotus Room.

In the Lotus Room, guests can participate in CDDC's culturally relevant, inclusive counseling services tailored to the specific access and equity needs of homeless and low income individuals. Conversations in the Lotus Room will help people improve quality of life, begin to heal trauma and daily stress, and overcome fundamental barriers that keep them from obtaining or maintaining housing, employment, relationships, or other elements of healthy, stable lives.

Jim Gouveia

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS A REALITY

With your support and in Jim's memory, we can make this happen. We can make the Lotus Room a reality and deepen CDDC's ability to support the people we serve, validate their humanity, and honor them with the experience of truly being heard.

Please Donate Today!

Thank you to Ben Slothower of L&S Builders for his time, labor, and generosity of spirit in assisting with this project.

Community Support

As a 501(C)(3) non-profit, the CDDC depends on contributions from people like you. The generosity of our volunteers and doners makes it possible for us to keep our programs going from month to month. We operate on a shoestring budget which covers our building space, one part-time paid staff member, background checks for our HELP workers, and transportation and office expenses. Your generous donation of time or money is always welcome and greatly appreciated.

WAYS TO GIVE

Any financial assistance that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. We accept monetary donations by check, credit card, and PayPal. For other kinds of contributions, conversation with Aleita Hass-Holcombe, CDDC President, is welcomed.

HELP

The purpose of our Homeless Employment Launching Project is to provide work opportunities to our workers by connecting them with (a) area residents who are in need of someone to do small day-labor jobs around their homes such as yard work, painting, gutter and window cleaning, help moving, etc.; or (b) local businesses who need short term help with filing, cleaning, etc.

At HELP, we strive to create an opportunity for individuals in need, to earn money while building a positive work resume. Our work force consists of people who are homeless, near homeless, or food insecure/low income, all of whom are in search of a better life.

HELP does interviews and background screening of our workers, as well as providing liability insurance to protect the homeowner. We also take care of workmens comp insurance and payment of employee taxes through a local accounting firm.

The HELP office is located at 134 B SW 4th Street in downtown Corvallis, at the back of the parking lot between Sinbad Market and Madison Avenue Collective. To discuss the possibility of using a HELP worker, please contact the HELP desk at (541) 368-8568.

Welcome to

The Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center

The CDDC prides itself as a place where needs are met. We provide a variety of services to people in our community who find themselves in need.

We are a crucial resource hub for information, referral, and direct services for individuals experiencing poverty and those who have co-occurring mental health conditions. Beyond just meeting people's basic needs, our mission is to provide dignified assistance and advocacy, offer opportunities for building community and social networks, and support individuals' welfare and rehabilitation across emergency, transitional, and ongoing life circumstances.

Building Capacity for Confidential Counseling

The Lotus Room, in memory of Jim Gouveia

Welcome, Allison!

CDDC has a new Executive Director

Allison Hobgood has been selected as the new Executive Director of the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center.

The CDDC Needs Your Assistance

HELP Project Expenses Fundraiser

The CDDC has started a fundraiser to compensate our two Workforce Coordinators, the critical "behind the scenes" individuals who make our HELP project a success. Please visit our GoFundMe page if you can help us with this important expense.

Local Folks Podcasts on KBOO FM

Helping The Homeless

A series of monthly podcasts by Bob Madar looking at the challenges of homelessness in Corvallis.

Location

Hours

Contact phone

Announcements

February, 2020

Aleita Hass-Holcomb (L) and Allison Hobgood (R)

The CDDC has chosen an Executive Director

Welcome, Allison Hobgood!

Since its beginning, the Drop-in Center has been a volunteer run organization. The CDDC celebrates the reality that our organization has matured and grown past its capacity to "do it all" without professional management.

A generous grant from The Oregon Community Foundation and matching funds from an anonymous donor has allowed us to recruit for a paid Executive Director. From a significant pool of good candidates, one has been selected. Allison Hobgood will be officially hired on June first. Currently, Allison is a professor at Willamette University, lives with her family in Corvallis and is looking forward to focusing her incredible energy on helping the Drop-in Center grow more fully into its potential as a significant resource hub and community center.

Podcasts

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 1

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Oct 1, 2019

This first episode of KBOO's Local Folks Podcast season 3 focuses on the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center and its mission of providing services to people who live in poverty and experience homelessness.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 2

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Nov 1, 2019

In episode 2 of KBOO's Local Folks Podcast season 3, host Bob Madar continues his look into the daily lives of those who are homeless in Corvallis.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 3

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Dec 1, 2019

In the third episode of KBOO's Local Folks Podcast season 3, Aleita, president of the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center, talks about how the CDDC tackles the obstacles and challenges of helping local homeless.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 4

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Jan 1, 2020

Episode 4 of KBOO's Local Folks Podcast season 3 introduces the compassionate and hardworking local volunteers without whom the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center could not exist.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 5

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Feb 1, 2020

Bob Madar interviews Rick, manager of Project Action, a CDDC endeavor that that assists the homeless with their individual needs.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 6

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Mar 1, 2020

In this episode, Bob Madar talks with Delmar about his life on the margin of society, and how the CDDC has helped change his life.

Local Folks Podcast: Helping The Homeless, Episode 7

Bob Madar, KBOO FM, Air date Apr 1, 2020

In the final episode of the series, Bob Madar reflects on lessons learned from those committed to lending a hand and comforting those in need.

Advocates for Pets of the Homeless

If you think about how much you value the emotional support and security that your pet provides you, consider what it means to someone who has no home and is living on the street with his/her pet. During the cold wet months many individuals are faced with the harsh choice between overnighting in a cold weather shelter that doesn't allow pets, or camping out with their pet. If they choose the former, they have to put their pet up for adoption; so most will choose to stay with their animal friend in an uninsulated tent or less. Naturally, the weather takes its toll on both the tent camper and his/her pet.

To meet these needs of persons living on the street or the edge of poverty, the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit program in Corvallis, Oregon offers, as one of its services, its Advocates for Pets of the Homeless project. When funds are available we provide limited financial assistance with veterinary services, including surgery. We also provide dog and cat food, ID tags, help with pet licensing, and pet advocacy. In addition, we work with area pet lovers to find temporary housing for pets of persons who are homeless or near homeless during their hospital stays or while they are searching for new housing.

What We Do

The drop-in center is located at 530 SW 4th Street in downtown Corvallis. Our Project Action office is also located at this location.

The CDDC is open weekdays from 9 AM to 2 PM (summer hours 9 AM to noon). We offer a variety of services to meet immediate needs:

PROJECT ACTION

This program offers assistance to homeless individuals in obtaining or replacing official documents, gaining access to health providers, pursuing a GED, or completing official paperwork.

EMPLOYMENT

Under the umbrella of CDDC is the Homeless Employment Launching Project (HELP). This service connects homeowners and businesses having work to be done, with clients eager to work. Through HELP, clients receive job training, learn good work habits, develop a work history, earn a paycheck and Social Security credit, and most importantly, experience a renewed sense of self-worth.

PRESCRIPTION ASSISTANCE

If funds are available, the CDDC helps many individuals who would otherwise be unable to obtain needed medications.

COUNSELING

The CDDC counseling program provides skilled responses to issues that can impact a person's safety and well-being.

SAFE HAVEN

The CDDC offers a few hours each day during which the homeless can socialize, snack, and receive information from local health and social organizations, receive mail and make phone calls.

BASIC NEEDS

The CDDC helps the homeless with personal hygiene by assisting in the provision of weekly supervised showering at a nearby church. In addition, CDDC also assists the homeless in obtaining funds for emergency transportation to other cities.

PET ASSISTANCE

The CDDCs Advocates for Pets of the Homeless project provides limited veterinary assistance and advocacy for pets of individuals who are homeless or have very low income.