By Brian Oaster, August 24, 2020, Street Roots.
NAYA was successful in renting 51 of 59 new units in Portland to Native households, and a clever financing model made that possible
Nesika Illahee is the first of its kind. The 59-unit affordable-housing complex doubles as off-reservation tribal housing, which serves urban Natives in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The completed building is a finalist for awards from the Urban Land Institute and Affordable Housing Finance Magazine.
But it was a gamble. Nothing like Nesika Illahee has been done in Oregon, if anywhere. But what makes it unique has also enabled it to succeed where another housing complex built to house Native Americans failed.
In February 2017, the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) opened an affordable-housing complex called NAYA Generations. It was meant to gather Native elders together with families fostering Native children to build a community of mutual support.
Comments (0)