Organization: WASHINGTON GORGE ACTION PROGRAMS
Mission: Washington Gorge Action Programs is a multipurpose human service organization dedicated to helping individuals, families, and communities address basic human needs.
Activities: Food and Nutrition WAGAP is the lead organization and distribution center for the food banks in Klickitat and Skamania counties. Low-income families are eligible for a food box once a month. The food in a box varies but generally there is enough for three to twelve nutritionally balanced meals depending on the size of the family.
Housing Assistance Programs There are four types of housing assistance programs offered by WAGAP: Emergency Shelter, Supportive Housing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and Turning Point Rapid Re-housing. The Emergency Shelter Program offers homeless individuals and families a 3 to 90 day stay. Case management and short term goals assist with locating permanent housing. There are shelters in Bingen 5 rooms (Klickitat County) and Stevenson 5 rooms (Skamania County). Supportive Housing is a two-year housing program for those with some type of disability. Permanent Supportive Housing is a permanent housing for those with some type of disability. Case management and other assistance is available upon tenant request. This project is located in Bingen 8 units, and scattered throughout Klickitat and Skamania counties. In this program, the client holds the contract with the landlord so that at the end of the program they can stay in their unit and WAGAP steps back. Turning Point Rapid Re-housing is for unaccompanied youth ages 18-24 and families with children. Similar to Permanent Supportive Housing it is a two year program where the client holds the lease and pays 30% of their income towards rent. At the end of the two year program WAGAP steps away and they are able to stay in the home. Housing program coordinators are all certified family development specialists. This training provides information on assessing housing barriers and guiding enrollees to employment, transportation, education, life skills, and increased self-sufficiency through goal setting with month-to-month planning.
Family Services This program includes crime victim services (assistance for victims of general crime), domestic violence & sexual assault client services along with community outreach and education. Within this program there are services for individuals and families that help them obtain services and supports based on individual preferences, needs, and capabilities. Also WAGAP has a youth center within this program. The youth center offers children between the ages of six and seventeen, a safe, supervised, and substance free place to hang out. It is an educational, recreational program for at-risk youth providing life skills training, interaction with positive adult role models and an opportunity to bond with the community.
NTEE category: Human Services
Secondary category: Housing & Shelter