Gresham, Ore. (InvestigateTV) — The number of people without shelter in Gresham has dropped from 138 to less than 40 in the last 10 years, a decrease largely credited to a four-person team building trust with those in need.
The city’s homeless services team had its most successful year in the 2024-25 fiscal year, housing 88 households and 156 individuals. As of Oct. 30, the team has housed 35 households and 68 individuals in fiscal year 2025-26.
Willie Shaw is one of four homeless services specialists for the city of Gresham. The first point of contact for anyone experiencing homelessness is a homeless services specialist, not a police officer.
“I see the impact that we have here every single day with people and it’s beautiful, we are giving livability to the city, and we are helping people,” Shaw said.
Building trust and finding housing
The City of Gresham does not allow camping or living in vehicles.
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Shaw said that although the end goal is to get people into housing, they also have to enforce the city code.
“You just move people from one street to the next, and it’s chasing people all day long,” Shaw said. “No, I’m going to get you into housing, help you get stable and back on your feet.”
Ivanna Nellum was one of those people added to the total in November. Even while working six, sometimes seven days a week as a caregiver for autistic children, she was struggling to make ends meet.
“It was definitely a hard time, for me as a mother. Me and my family was sleeping in our car,” Nellum said.
The team connected with her after a resident reported her through My Gresham, the city’s reporting line.
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“I’m happy that somebody reached out to him because I didn’t know where to go,” Nellum said.
The team put her up in a hotel while they found her a women’s shelter to stay at, and she found a safe place for her son in the interim. Less than a month later, she moved into a new apartment.
“I’m just real grateful. You can definitely put your trust in them, they will never steer you wrong. Have faith too,” Nellum said. “As a mother I felt like I was failing, but I was accomplishing something at the same time. Looking at all of this, it’s beautiful, it’s all I could have asked for.”
Nellum will be receiving rent assistance for up to the next six months as she gets back on her feet.
Persistence and case management
Chris Perkins, a homeless services specialist, said trust is part of the team’s success.
“Trust is definitely part of it. We’re out there every morning offering. So maybe not today, hopefully tomorrow, we are going to keep offering,” Perkins said.
Once someone is willing to accept help, the team assists clients in overcoming barriers from criminal backgrounds to past evictions and helps them find jobs and new homes.
“We all do all of it. So, once we get somebody housed, we are not done there. It’s us doing the case management and checking in with those clients and making sure they stay there,” Perkins said.
Elba, a client of the Gresham homeless services, signed papers for housing.
“I thank God for everything we’ve been blessed with, and for Willie over there. He’s such a good person. He just kept saying ‘I got you, I got you,’” Elba said.
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The Gresham homeless services program launched in 2016 with just one outreach worker. At the end of 2025, the county modified its budget for its homeless services department, which could impact funding for future outreach and rent assistance.
In April, a proposed budget was submitted to the Multnomah County Chair with a final budget decision expected in June.
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