“One Person Can Make A Difference” by Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., discusses how ordinary people do extraordinary things: “More and more people are hearing an ‘inner calling,’ a voice from within stating that the way to make a difference in the world is to be helpful to others.”

What can three men who met volunteering at the local St. Vincent de Paul in Port Townsend, WA. do about homelessness, one of whom was a former Fullerton resident, Vince Verneuil? They saw a real need to help the homeless and together created the non-profit, Bayside Housing Services, in 2014. On July 1st of that year, Bayside contracted with Jefferson County and the lower level of the American Legion Post #26 building in downtown Port Townsend to operate the Jefferson County Emergency Shelter (JCES). JCES is a year-round “night-by-night” shelter.

By 2015 they pooled their funds, and the Old Alcohol Plant and the adjacent building were bought by Inn Properties. An inn and restaurant were opened on the property, which provides funding for the homeless projects.

In 2016-17 the first six rooms for housing opened and the partnership with therapeutic courts was launched. The first family was housed in 2018, and a meal program was created. Rooms were modified for families and the number of housing units rose to over 20 in 2019-20.

Combining the Pat’s Place and Peter’s Place shelters created Bayside’s first Tiny Shelter Community in Port Hadlock. This project includes 24 transitional housing units, a computer lab, a kitchen facility, ADA-accessible sanitation units, community gardens, and a case manager/meeting room. The city and county along with a series of partners, including churches, have made this project possible.

Bayside Housing and Services bought the Hadlock Motel which became Woodley Place providing permanent housing for seventeen homeless with disabilities.

Early in 2024 the State of Oregon’s Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund awarded $8.7 million to fund Vince’s Village, a project providing permanent housing and community for some of the most vulnerable. It comprises three stories of 40 housing units of 1-,2- and 3-bedrooms for tenant households for different populations: people who are chronically homeless, have a qualified disability and earn 30% or less of the area’s median income, and tenant households earning 31-50% of the area’s median income.

What does Bayside Housing and Service contribute to their success? Bayside has as its focus to end homelessness. It is based on a Model of Trauma-Informed Care to:
1) provide a safe place for healing;
2) maintain a non-judgmental method of help;
3) empower people to become stable; and
4) listen to and support the homeless.

To provide for this there are:
1) computer labs at four housing locations;
2) a skill center for vocational training and building employment prospects; and
3) access to healthcare, primary care and mental health support in a clinical setting.

Bayside and its staff understand that homeless persons live in a constant state of uncertainty, are unprotected, and art trying to survive day-to-day; they are vulnerable to violence, rape and crime; and experience being socially outcast.

There is a long list of reasons why people become homeless including childhood abuse and neglect, drug-addicted parents, violence within the home, loss of job and income, mental illness and drug addiction.

Today, Bayside has grown from the original 3 directors to 27 staff members and 10 board members. Bayside is proving what works for the homeless, through its unique approach of caring and planning, and with the support of many community organizations and individual donors.

It takes a community!