Operation Rebuild Hope (ORH) is a veteran run, grass roots, non profit organization that works toward fast track housing solutions for homeless veterans across Coos County.
Patrick Wright, a Marine Corp veteran with 14 years of service and three combat deployments to Iraq as an infantry man, started this organization from a true point of empathy. Having been through most of the same things himself, he is able to truly know what these people need.
“I got a four-day class on how to be a civilian,” Wright said, “The transition was not very good and I ended up homeless and using drugs and alcohol as a way to self medicate and try to process all of the things that my mind was going through.”
Angela Archer, a 12-year Air Force combat veteran, is employed by ORH and works with the other staff towards helping homeless veterans. According to Archer, there are three phases that the veterans go through, which hopefully end with home ownership.
“Phase one is emergency housing, called Timberwolf Inn. This is where we get homeless veterans from off of the street and into a bed,” said Archer. “Phase 2 is Bryan’s home which is a transitional housing for homeless veterans of three diverse groups: disabled veterans, female veterans and veteran families. Phase three is the small home community which is affordable housing.”
ORH’s outreach is not limited to housing, though. Homeless veterans can come to Bryan’s Home during the holidays for food baskets, clothes and more.
“Our reach is a lot further in the community than just housing,” said Archer. “We estimate that we help anywhere from 400-1,000 Coos County veterans a year.”
Jason Wood, a formerly homeless veteran with brain cancer and seizures and the second person to be admitted into the program, got in contact with ORH over two years ago while living in Reedsport.
“They got me a roof over my head, food and laundry services and helped me file for disability,” Wood said. “Then they put me in contact with someone at ORCA who moved me into my new apartment.”
According to Wood, in order to get help from ORH, people are required to complete a certain amount of service hours.
“I volunteered here and ended up moving into my own apartment and now I have gotten to the point where they are helping me to figure out my credit and I am now looking to buy a home,” said Wood. “I was the first person to gain alumni status by completing 20 hours of service.”
According to Archer, young adults from around the community are always welcome to volunteer at ORH. If 122 hours of service are completed, they too will receive alumni status as well as a graduation cord.
With the pandemic on the rise, ORH has lost a large amount of money to grants that went toward helping counties that were affected more by the spreading of the virus.
“Normally we have a lot of fundraising opportunities throughout the year, which is generally how we get our funds, but with the pandemic, we have lost about $100,000 in funding opportunities,” said Archer. “We are always looking for help and we love getting the youth involved to show that the youth in the community can help.”
Overall, Operation Rebuild Hope works hard across the community to help homeless veterans to get back on their feet with a stable home and job. According to Wright, people often think that homeless people on the streets
“Everyone says to just go get a job, but you can’t get a job without an ID card and you can’t get an ID card without an address and you can’t get an address without a job so you get stuck in this circle where you need someone to step in and break the chain and that is what we do, said Wright. “We become the address and the personal reference.”
