Shelter grants available
Help is available for local governments, Tribal Nations and public education providers to address shelter needs for:
- Cleaner air shelters during wildfire smoke and other poor air quality events
- Cooling and warming shelters
It's easy to apply
- Get the process started for your community by completing a survey for each location you are considering.
- If you haven't settled on a specific location yet, please complete as much of the survey as you can to let us know of your interest.
Complete the survey
Note: The term “shelter" is used to denote a center, space or other public building held open to the public without charge to provide a safe location for people to shelter from extreme weather conditions. The “shelter" is not required to be held open overnight.
Why apply
Shelter from wildfire smoke, extreme weather and other emergency conditions can save lives.
For cleaner air shelters
- This funding can quickly provide you with mobile air filtration devices, as well as consulting and funding to improve ventilation systems in structures that can be used as cleaner air shelters.
- If your request includes changes to a structure, our contracted industrial hygienist can help you identify how to improve air quality in the spaces you are considering.
For cooling or warming shelters
- Funding and consulting are also available to develop and support these types of emergency shelter.
Eligible entities
The legislation for these resources specifies the following entities eligible to apply for grant funding for cleaner air shelters:
- Local governments
- Public education providers, defined as school districts, public charter schools and education service districts; community colleges; and public universities
- Tribal Nations
Application process and decisions
- Soon after you complete the survey to indicate your interest, you will be contacted by one of our Emergency Coordinators.
- If your request includes changes to a structure, our contracted industrial hygienist can help you identify how to improve air quality in the spaces you are considering.
- Applications for cleaner air shelters will be prioritized based on historic smoke trends identified in the Wildfire Smoke Trends and the Air Quality Index, published by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
- Grants will be distributed equitably, considering county's population and other equity-based factors.
- If your plan qualifies for funds, we'll work with you on an intergovernmental agreement for the funding.
If you think your local government, public school or Tribal Nation has a need that might be met with this grant, please complete the survey.
Background
The Oregon Legislature granted funding to the Oregon Department of Human Services to support emergency shelters for cleaner air, warming and cooling spaces, and made ODHS the lead agency for those types of shelter operations in Oregon.
In our role, ODHS can provide grant funds, and other supports, to help you develop and/or improve cleaner air, warming and cooling shelters in your community.
Read the Shelter Grants flyer for more details
Q and A
To get you the best answers we'd like everyone to
complete at least the first page of
the survey form to
provide basic information.
The statute that provides funding for these grants and other supports requires the spaces must be:
- Public buildings;
- Open to the public at no cost, and;
- The entity receiving the support must inform 211 when the shelters are open.
The Legislature allocated $5 million toward cleaner
air shelters. Some of those funds have been used to purchase portable air
filtration systems that can be quickly deployed. Another $2 million is
available to help support warming and cooling shelters.
We are committed to getting the funding and related
resources to communities as quickly as possible, in advance of the 2022 extreme
weather and wildfire seasons. The funds are available until they run out, or
June 30, 2023, whichever occurs first.
We are committed to deciding as quickly as possible.
Detailed applications can help speed the process.
For cleaner air shelters, we have several hundred portable air
filtration systems that can quickly be sent to locations. For warming and
cooling centers, we are developing standard resources, based on our experience
supporting both types of shelters in the past and input from local
emergency-related organizations.
Yes! ODHS purchased more than 400 smoke filtration devices to help get cleaner air spaces set up quickly. If these devices are what is determined to be the best option for your local needs, we'll get them to you quickly. Then, please follow these step-by-step instructions. We even included photos to demonstrate the instructions.