LISA HOBBS - News Editor
The McMinnville Action to Create Housing (MATCH) will hold a free Homeless Summit on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Park Theater to raise awareness, discuss the issues and garner support for the organization’s effort to end homelessness one individual at a time.
The public is urged to attend. To register for the free event, visit https://homelessummit2026.eventbrite.com
“We seek to collaborate with everyone in McMinnville and Warren County who wish to help end homelessness with permanent supportive housing. This initiative is a marathon, not a sprint, and cannot be accomplished by volunteers alone. We need full-time staff and proper funding to create permanent supportive housing for our homeless neighbors,” stated Brad Durham.
Durham has been lending a helping hand to others since the 1980s when he lived in Boston. Upon returning to Warren County, those efforts continued and now include MATCH, an evidence-based approach that prioritizes providing housing first to improve the person’s overall well-being.
“The principle is that you put people who are homeless rapidly into housing with supportive services. If you don’t have the wrap-around services, which are voluntary, it will not be as successful. About 30 percent of the homeless population can get a job and live temporarily in shelters and transitional housing and secure their own apartment. The other 70 percent need intensive help.”
MATCH has a low-compliance policy, not requiring preconditions, such as sobriety, treatment participation, or employment. MATCH intends to establish a covenant with a someone who is experiencing homelessness to ensure compliance with a lease agreement with a private landlord. When an unhoused person becomes a tenant, they must observe the terms of the rental agreement. Once placed in stable housing, the wrap-around services then address any challenges the person may have such as health, employment and social integration.
Why housing must be priority one.
“People with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues who are living on the street have a very hard time of finding an apartment they can afford. It’s very difficult to tackle a hierarchy of needs when you don’t even know where your next meal is coming from. They can’t get a shower. They don’t know where they’re going to sleep that night. It’s dehumanizing.”
Durham says one of the obstacles to solving homelessness is a societal misconception that the homeless aren't worth helping.
“A large percentage of the population thinks the homeless are moral failures. That they aren’t worthy of our help. Now, we can give them a meal and some clothes, but unless they want to get a job and take care of themselves, it’s a bad investment. I’ve had people who I’ve grown up with debate me for an hour sometimes. Everybody has to appeal to their highest moral authority to decide how they wish to help our homeless neighbors. I just believe that the poorest of the poor are our neighbors and we have a moral obligation to help them.”
According to Jesus, Luke 10:37, your neighbor is anyone in need of compassion, mercy, and help, regardless of social, ethnic, or religious boundaries.
MATCH, with assistance from Homeless of McMinnville Effort (HOME) and 30 generous supporters, helped Crystal Rippy and her 10-year-old son. They were homeless for three months because she didn’t make enough money to afford rent on her own. Rippy now has a two-bedroom apartment and a lease for a year.
“She’s doing really well,” said Durham. "She, to this day, is so grateful that people stepped up to help her."
A highlight of Homeless Summit 2026 will be an 11-minute TED talk by Sam Tsemberis, founder of Pathways to Housing. His influential message has shaped housing policies for the homeless in over 100 cities across the United States and internationally. Tsemberis was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024.
Homeless Summit 2026 lasts one hour and begins at 6 p.m. At 7:15 p.m. there will be a free screening of the film “Beyond the Bridge,” a documentary demonstrating how communities are solving homelessness.