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Covid-19 Response

In response to Oregon’s “Stay at Home” executive order due to concerns over COVID-19, our office is closed to in-person visits at this time and most of our staff is working remotely.

Although our offices are closed to outside visitors, you may continue to contact us via phone or email and we will otherwise be conducting business as usual.

NeighborWorks Umpqua is a rural-focused housing and community development not-for-profit committed to promoting opportunity for all. The pandemic and the State’s declaration of an emergency has required NWU and its subsidiary organizations to modify service provision and the way that the organization responds to community needs.  As responsible community partners and good neighbors, NWU has done the following to ensure the continued health and well-being of our community’s most vulnerable, while striving to maintain the highest levels of service:
  • Heartwood ReSources has been closed since the declaration of the state of emergency. NWU and Heartwood staff could not ensure that proper social distancing would be possible in the current set up of the retail space. In addition, staff did not want compete with essential businesses for PPE, cleaning supplies, or other protective materials. Heartwood has reopened with strict adherence to safety guidelines on May 18, 2020.
  • The offices in Roseburg and in North Bend have been closed to walk-in traffic. Appointments, counseling and coaching sessions are now done by phone, video conference and online. Customer-facing staff have been working from home, coming into the office only when necessary.
  • Umpqua Community Property Management has implemented strict guidelines to turn and show units, ensuring that the shut-down does not create an additional barrier to accessing safe, stable, healthy and affordable housing. UCPM staff and residents collaborate to limit exposure for maintenance requests and residents have been supporting neighbors who need help during this time. Regular well-check calls are made to the properties to check in on residents and ensure that should the need present itself, they are connected to services available.
  • NWU continued to advocate for policy decisions that include the specific needs of Southwestern Oregon.  The organization has been working with its congressional delegation and state agencies to ensure that our communities in rural spaces are not left out of conversations at state and federal tables.
  • The Board, Leadership and staff have continued their commitments to becoming a more equitable organization. The pandemic will hit rural spaces and rural communities of color disproportionately. Income inequality, health, economic and educational disparities are worsening and will continue to grow unless organizations like NWU exemplify the principles of equity. Now more than ever, the principles of race, equity, diversity and inclusion need to inform the way that NWU and its subsidiary organizations carry out its work.