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Blanchet House

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Blanchet House is a non-profit social services organization located in Portland, Oregon. The organization was founded in 1952, and it provides meals, transitional shelter, drug and alcohol recovery programs, and support services to those struggling with homelessness and addiction.[1]

History

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In 1952, a group of University of Portland students moved into the ground-level floor of the former New Meyer Hotel previously managed by S. Yamaguchi until 1931 when it was sold and became the Hotel New Meyer. At the time, the upper floors were used as a brothel.[2] On Feb. 11, the group served its first meal to 227 people. The organization bought the building in 1958. By 2018, Blanchet House has been serving three meals a day, six days a week to an average 1,000 people a day. It is a house of hospitality, inspired by the Catholic Worker’s Movement.[3] Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin created the Catholic Worker newspaper and then opened up houses of hospitality and farms. People across America, like the founders of Blanchet House, were so inspired by their activism that they started their own Catholic Worker communities, each one independent from each other. Now, the Catholic Worker movement can be seen as a dialogue between Catholic social teaching and radical Christian anarchism.[4]

In 1962, a farm in Carlton, Oregon was purchased by Blanchet House which hosts a residential program for men who are rebuilding their lives from drug and alcohol addiction, job loss and other obstacles.[3] Blanchet Farm in Carlton, Yamhill County, Oregon runs a rural program offers a recovery through work. Participants engage in work such as caring for animals and gardens along with learning woodworking and beekeeping.[5]

Blanchet House operated from the same building until 2012 before moving to a newly constructed building nearby[6] at the former site of a gay bar Dirty Duck.[7] The organization acquired the location in which Dirty Duck was located with a land trade deal with Portland Development Commission.[8] The new building is larger and the upper floors are used as transitional housing.[9] Blanchet House demolished the historic Yamaguchi Hotel on March 21, 2023 despite opposition from Restore Oregon. The organization plans on building a health clinic on the site of their old building.[10][11]

Services

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Blanchet House serves three meals a day to anyone in need, Monday through Saturday,[12][13] with capacity to serve 1,500 meals a day.[14] In 2024 it was announced that they'd be opening a shelter for women.[15][16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Blanchet House to open new emergency shelter for women". Biz Journals.
  2. ^ "625-2021 | Portland.gov". www.portland.gov. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  3. ^ a b Belcastro, Dom (November 27, 2017). "Blanchet House and Farm Support the Homeless". Archived from the original on January 5, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Houses of Hospitality - M.F. Byrnes". November 25, 2012.
  5. ^ Pitawanich, Christine (June 20, 2020). "Beekeeping program helping with addiction recovery". kgw.com. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  6. ^ Koffman, Rebecca (September 13, 2012). "Blanchet House in Old Town dedicates its new building serving the needy". oregonlive.
  7. ^ "not found". www.portlandoregon.gov. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  8. ^ Segall, Eli (2009-12-21). "Trouble ahead for the Dirty Duck • Daily Journal of Commerce". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  9. ^ "Blanchet House supporters celebrate 60th anniversary with dinner, awards". 9 March 2012.
  10. ^ De Dios, Austin (2023-03-22). "Historic Yamaguchi hotel building comes down one week after scheduled demolition". oregonlive. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  11. ^ "The fight over Portland's Yamaguchi Hotel, and the future of Japantown". opb. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  12. ^ Hottle, Molly (March 9, 2012). "Blanchet House supporters celebrate 60th anniversary with dinner, awards". oregonlive.
  13. ^ "Blanchet House Helps Feed Those in Need With Over 420,000 Pounds of Leftovers From Portland Restaurants". Willamette Week. 10 July 2019.
  14. ^ Skanner, The. "Greg Baker on Heading Blanchet House". The Skanner News.
  15. ^ "Blanchet House unveils plans for new women's shelter". KPTV.
  16. ^ "Blanchet House aims to open women's shelter in downtown Portland by Spring 2025". MSN.
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