91ÊÓƵ

Portland Relief Nursery’s new 16,500-square-foot building in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood is a big change from the cramped church basement in North Portland, where the group had been located since it opened in 2001.
The child abuse prevention organization that serves high-risk children from birth to three and their families will now be able to serve over 100 children at its new facility.
“This is a community we already knew needed us,” said Sheila Hale, executive director at Portland Relief Nursery. “There’s already a long waiting list to get in.”
The organization moved into the building in September and a grand opening celebration was held in mid-October.
The relief nursery will have to bring on more staff before they are at full capacity, added Hale, which may take some time because of the large expense involved.
In the meantime, the children, staff and parents are adjusting to the new surroundings.
Having daylight in the space has made a world of difference, said Hale.
“We even feel a difference with the parents coming in and being able to feel the nurturing sense of the building,” she said.
Located at 8425 N. Lombard St., the building was designed by Robertson Merryman Barnes Architects.
The facility is solid, and shows that the organization is legitimate, said Hale.
Construction first began about a year ago with McCarthy Building Co. as the general contractor. But when the construction company shut down its Northwest division last December, the relief nursery was left without a builder.
“When McCarthy left, we had no roof,” said Hale, which in December equated to having a swimming pool instead of a home. “It was not pleasant to have to dry out the building.”
The project went out for bid again and O’Brien Constructors, formerly OTKM Construction Inc., began working as the project general contractor in March.
“I cannot sing the praises of O’Brien Constructors more,” said Hale.
The firm was able to keep on schedule despite the nonprofit being uncertain about funding.
“They really bought into the mission and you could feel it from every subcontractor that was here,” said Hale. “Every person at O’Brien has given with their heart, talent and time.”
Carpenters, masonry and cement unions donated time and materials during the building’s construction. Other subcontractors made in-kind gifts as well.
The project’s total cost came to $3.2 million.
“It really was a collaborative effort,” said Hale. “We couldn’t have done it without the donations.”
Now Hale calls herself the czarina of the building and says she needs a scooter to get her from point to point in the large new facility.
All of the additional space will allow the relief nursery to expand its programs in several ways.
A room in the new building was designated for an occupational therapy group from Oregon City to offer services to the community and conduct therapy with the children.
Early Head Start and Oregon pre-kindergarten will hold classes in the building as well.
A new conference room will be open for the community to use for meetings or other purposes and two parent facility rooms will be dedicated to doing a parent connection group program through the relief nursery.
Another room has been designated a resource room for parents. It will be home to classes such as quilting and scrapbooking as a way to introduce parents to the relief nursery’s program, explained Hale.
Services provided by the organization at no cost include therapeutic classrooms, play therapy, parenting skills classes, respite care, home visits, mental health services, referrals to drug and alcohol counseling support services, and a crisis telephone hotline.
“Research shows that comprehensive early intervention programs like ours can reduce child abuse by 80 percent,” said Deb McCabe, board chairwoman for the Portland Relief Nursery. “Early intervention is the best social investment we can make.”