Central City Concern is a Portland, Oregon-based non-profit targeting homelessness at its root causes: addiction, mental health issues, and poverty. Central City Concern is currently engaged in a Portland State University Social Innovation Incubator program working on new projects within the organization.
Central City Concern has been dedicated to cultivating sustainable solutions to ending homelessness and helping individuals achieve self-sufficiency through programs including employment development, addiction treatment and recovery, affordable housing, and more. CCC's Clean & Safe program, for example, sees the inclusion of its recovery patients in a work experience program for 6 months. The Clean & Safe program provides needed services to the 1,500 units of housing it manages.
Central City Concern's new projects incubating with Portland State's Social Innovation Incubator include Central City Coffee, a cafe social enterprise also located in Portland.
Contact Information
Central City Concern website
Central City Concern blog
Central City Concern on Twitter
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Social Enterprise Cafes
- Central City Coffee's incubation with Portland State's Social Innovation Incubator program presents an opportunity for other non-profits to explore cafe social enterprises.
- Innovative Work Experience Programs
- CCC's Clean & Safe program provides a model for other non-profits to provide work experience programs while delivering much-needed services to the community.
- Sustainable Homelessness Solutions
- Central City Concern's dedication to tackling homelessness at its root causes through sustainable programs can inspire other non-profits to develop similar initiatives.
Where This Applies
- Non-profit
- There are opportunities for non-profits to develop social enterprise ventures and innovative work experience programs to address community needs.
- Social Innovation Incubation
- Incubation programs like Portland State's Social Innovation Incubator can inspire and fund innovative programs and ventures to tackle societal issues like homelessness.
- Affordable Housing
- Central City Concern's sustainable solutions to ending homelessness present opportunities for the affordable housing industry to support and develop similar initiatives.
