United Community Action Network is again operating the Roseburg Warming Center on very cold or poor weather days in partnership with St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and the Housing Authority of Douglas County (HADCO). The Warming Center provides a warm, safe place for community members in need during freezing or severe weather. This important effort is made possible through strong local partnerships and the dedication of volunteers who help ensure no one is left out in the cold.
As food insecurity reaches critical levels, the United Community Action Network (UCAN) is calling on residents, businesses, and community partners across Douglas County to take action. With rising demand and uncertainty surrounding federal SNAP (food stamp) benefits, UCAN’s regional Food Bank network is working to ensure no one in our community goes hungry.
Financial contributions, whether one-time or recurring, make the biggest difference. UCAN can purchase food at subsidized rates through the USDA and Feeding America. Every $10 donated helps UCAN provide up to 30 meals across Douglas County.
Donate online here and select “Food Bank” from the “Apply My Donation To” dropdown list, or a check may be made payable to “UCAN Food Bank” and mailed or delivered to the UCAN Administrative Office at 251 NE Garden Valley Blvd. Suite 205 Roseburg, OR 97470.
Other Ways You Can Help
Host a Food Drive — Download UCAN’s Food Drive Toolkit to get started in your workplace, school, or neighborhood.
Find Food Assistance — We keep an updated list of all Douglas County Pantries and Kitchens on our website here for locations, hours, and contact information.
UCAN’s FY24 Annual Report and 2025 Community Needs Assessment are now available. Together, they tell a story of our organization, and region. Where we’ve been, the impact we’ve made, and the work that still lies ahead.
In the Annual Report, you’ll see how UCAN helped individuals and families find stability, supported children in growing stronger through education and nutrition, and stood beside unhoused neighbors through times of change. Each number represents care in action: meals shared, shelter secured, and opportunities created across Douglas, Josephine, Klamath, and Lake Counties.
The 2025 Community Needs Assessment looks ahead, offering data and insight into the conditions shaping daily life in our communities. It identifies where need remains greatest, including housing, childcare, food access, and health, and where collective action can make the most difference.
We invite you to read both reports, learn more about UCAN’s work, and join us in shaping a stronger, more resilient future for our communities.
On Wednesday, September 10 (10 AM–6 PM), UCAN and Columbia Bank employees were on-site at Sherm’s collecting food donations. Needed items include canned meat, peanut butter, cereal, vegetables, chili, and hearty soups.
Each month, around 12,000 Douglas County residents, 25% of them children, turn to UCAN’s network of emergency pantries for food support. Every contribution helps move us closer to a community where no one goes hungry.
After more than five years of dedicated leadership, UCAN announces the retirement of CEO Shaun Pritchard. Shaun joined UCAN during an exceptionally challenging time and helped guide the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded critical services across our region, and led major efforts to address homelessness and community recovery.
From launching the Gary Leif Navigation Center in Roseburg to expanding shelter and outreach services in Grants Pass, Shaun’s impact has been deeply felt across Douglas and Josephine counties. His vision and leadership helped UCAN grow stronger and more responsive to community needs.
We are grateful for all that Shaun has contributed to UCAN and wish him all the best in his next chapter. UCAN’s Chief Operating Officer, Jordan Jungwirth, will step in as Interim CEO during this leadership transition.
I want to start by thanking my dedicated Homeless and Housing staff for the incredible work they have done, and continue to do, this year. We know that housing and homelessness are still big problems in our community-we explain why in the article on homelessness. But we have been able to help so many people stay housed, find new housing, and as needed, find shelter.
In the past several months, we’ve launched two new initiatives that both address health issues that contribute to poverty. Our new Healthy Homes program will help hundreds of individuals breathe more easily when wildfires send toxic ash and particulates to their homes. We look forward to offering air purifiers and filters to folks qualifying for weatherization services.
In partnership with Umpqua Health, AllCare and the Oregon Health Authority, we are just beginning to provide a range of social services to residents on Medicaid. These services, like those keeping people housed, will reduce both individuals’ needs for health services and chronic health conditions that burden our communities. We are using funds made available to support this effort to integrate all services offered by UCAN and other partners, making it simpler for people to “get the right service at the right time.”
We are offering a great opportunity for partner agencies to increase their capacity by hosting AmeriCorps members. I am an enthusiastic supporter of AmeriCorps, as it develops a workforce that benefits our communities. We have seen many of our AmeriCorps alumni stay in our area after completing their service. We all benefit from the passion they bring to their service.
And we are again hosting a Cheese and Thank You event in Douglas County to raise funds for our regional food bank, Feeding Umpqua. The event runs the entire month of March. While we’ll receive donations for each item purchased, local residents will not only enjoy local eateries’ innovations on grilled cheese and other cheesy treats, but will also have chances to win some great prizes.
We are seeing less outside support for food purchases right now, while the need for emergency food is at record levels. So we’re hoping for a record level of cheese eaters. And if you can’t or don’t eat cheese, please consider a donation to Feeding Umpqua. As our team at Feeding Umpqua says: “You’ll be doing a world of Gouda!”
Once again, Feeding Umpqua has organized a fun, gooey event to help address hunger in Douglas County. You can take part in Cheese and Thank You by purchasing a cheesy creation made special by one of a number of our participating establishments. For every item purchased, our partners will donate $2 to Feeding Umpqua. We also have major sponsors helping to support the event, including Umpqua Bank (our “Sharp Cheddar” sponsor), Keller Lumber (“Mozzarella” sponsor), Umpqua Health (Monterey Jack) and KMTR (media sponsor).
We will kick-off our month of gooey delight on Saturday, March 1st from 10am-2pm at Umpqua Bank’s downtown Roseburg branch (445 SE Main Street). Bring your family and enjoy free cheesy bites. We will also have booths set up for fun activities, including crafts and games for the little ones. You can pick up your Cheese and Thank You passport here as well.
If you can’t make it to the event, no worries. You can pick up a passport at any participating eatery. Gather stamps at each location you purchase a cheesy treat! At the end of the event, you can return your passports to our office at 280 Kenneth Ford Drive in Roseburg or at any participating restaurant, and we will offer prizes to some lucky cheese heads.
Participating locations are found throughout Douglas County and include:
And if you can’t eat dairy, consider donating directly to Feeding Umpqua. Now more than ever, we are depending on local support to purchase foods to address local hunger.
Oregon has received a waiver from the federal government to pilot Medicaid benefits that can address health related social needs (HRSN). HRSN’s, such as housing, shape people’s lives from birth onward, and they wield far-reaching influence over health outcomes, surpassing the significance of clinical care. Through its waiver, Oregon not only is working to innovate ways to better address health issues, but also to ensure that folks whose lives are in transition are eligible for more comprehensive care.
Those on Oregon’s Medicaid program (OHP) may be eligible for the added benefits if they are:
Released from incarceration in the past 12 months
Discharged from an institution for mental disease in the past 12 months
Currently or previously involved in the Oregon child welfare system
Transitioning from Medicaid-only to dual eligibility (Medicaid and Medicare) status within the next three months or has transitioned in the past nine months
Homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Individuals also need to be experiencing a health issue that the benefit will address. Some benefits have additional requirements, e.g., rent assistance is only available to those with a signed lease.
Local Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) (networks of providers serving OHP members) are standing up the new benefit locally by contracting with social service providers. UCAN has entered into contracts with both AllCare in Josephine County and Umpqua Health in Douglas County to receive certain referrals for the new benefit. UCAN has also entered into an agreement with the Oregon Health Authority to serve local residents who are not members of their local CCO.
Individuals must first apply to their CCO or the Oregon Health Authority, as appropriate, and have them authorize the service. Once approved, we receive the referral (we are not authorized to approve applications). We have just started receiving our first HRSN referrals (from Umpqua Health). These initial referrals are for home modification and home remediation services. We are currently able to offer installation of ramps, grab bars, pull-down drawers, window blinds, as well as home cleaning and pest control.
In the near future, we will begin helping local residents complete HRSN applications. We also expect to receive referrals for other services, such as rent and utility assistance and tenancy support. Jordan Jungwirth, UCAN’s Chief Operating Officer applauds the State for moving forward with the expanded Medicaid benefit, sharing that “these benefits are a welcome addition to services we already offer to thousands of local residents.”
Summers have been changing in our part of Oregon. Wildfires are on the increase. Since 2020, our region has experienced four wildfires near or exceeding 100,000 acres, including the Archie Creek (125,000 acres), Slater (157,000 acres), Jack and Devil’s Knob (100,000 acres), and the Smith River North Complex (95,107 acres) conflagrations.
We often think that once flames are out, the danger from these fires is over. But this is not the case. Smoke and residue from these fires, which can last long after fire fighters stop the spread of flames, have components that themselves are dangerous to human health. Fires that simply burn forests still create smoke filled with materials such as formaldehyde. If buildings, cars, and other man-made objects burn, smoke and ash can fill with asbestos, heavy metals and other noxious substances.
Moreover, particles found in smoke, regardless of their nature, worsen health. These particles affect the body’s ability to remove viruses and bacteria from the lungs, leaving us more vulnerable to numerous diseases and infections. Short-term exposure (i.e., days to weeks) to particles from smoke worsen existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and even causes people to die prematurely.
For those of us with A/C units or room air purifiers, much of the ash and residue suspended in smoke can be captured in filters. But folks lacking A/C or air purifiers are left with little choice but to breathe in soot and smoke that fill their home. On days when outdoor air quality indices hit levels at which we are warned to stay indoors, these individuals cannot escape the damage done to their health by smoke. Distressed health in turn deepens poverty, and is one of the more common reasons people become poor.
UCAN has launched a Healthy Homes program to help low-income residents avoid the exposure to indoor smoke and ash and the associated health impacts. UCAN is leveraging our expertise in home weatherization to do so. Those eligible to have their homes weatherized will now also be eligible to receive an air purifier along with high quality air filters. The air filters can reduce indoor air particles by over 90%.
The Oregon Health Authority is providing grant funds for three years to operate our Healthy Homes program. We hope that at the end of this period, we will again be able to obtain funding to enhance this service. Long-time Douglas County resident Heather King, UCAN’s Supportive Services Director, proclaims, “Nobody should have to sit in a smoke-filled home, inhaling toxins and struggling to breathe.”
