Bright Futures Updates
October 20, 2023 we broke ground on our new 40 bed residential campus in response to the crisis in children’s care in Oregon. This is just the beginning of our journey to be a regional center of excellence for the care and treatment of Oregon’s youth, and though we still have a long road ahead to fully fund and complete this project, Oregon’s kids can’t wait.
The future is bright!
Scroll through our project timeline of key moments below and check back for regular updates.
April 2024
Our project has put trauma informed design at the heart of all our considerations and plans. We are proud to be contributing to the development of these principles with our partners, El Dorado Architecture, for both Oregon youth and youth across America. Two recent articles speak to that vision:
Healing Design: El Dorado’s Trauma-Responsive Approach (Commercial Construction Renovation article)
Tackling a Mental Health Crisis for Children Through Design (Bloomberg article)
March 2024
Parrott Creek was one of the 19 community-initiated projects that passed in the LHHS portion of the final FY24 minibus funding package. Special thanks to Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, and Representative Chavez-DeRemer for being great partners and helping us realize our vision of a regional center of excellence for the care of Oregon’s most vulnerable youth. Click here to learn more
“Parrott Creek plays a vital role in safeguarding our children’s futures and strengthening the bonds that hold families together. I believe it’s our responsibility to ensure child and family service centers like Parrott Creek have the resources needed to provide a first line of defense for those who need it. That’s why I was honored to assist in securing federal funding that will help the facility expand and serve even more Oregon families. By investing in Parrott Creek, we are really investing in the future of our communities.” – Representative Chavez-DeRemer
“Young Oregonians and the wonderful staff at Parrott Creek who care for them are the real winners with this federal investment. I’m gratified the teamwork with Parrott Creek and Senator Merkley has achieved these gains that will help vulnerable youngsters in our state receive the care and treatment they need to get on the right track to happier and healthier lives.” – Senator Ron Wyden
“As I hold a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year, I hear firsthand from folks about what matters most to them, including the need to make significant investments in our education and health care systems, with a particular emphasis on affordable child care and providing more mental and behavioral health resources around the state.” – Senator Merkley
Framing started and current residential program youth toured the site.
February 2024
Local news station KOIN did an extensive feature on Parrott Creek, spotlighting the critical lack of appropriate residential treatment capacity for children and youth here in Oregon, and the vision we are bringing to life to help solve this crisis. We firmly believe that every community-focused development should respond to the immediate need or crisis AND embrace a bold vision of what is truly possible in the long term. It is for these reasons that we embedded cutting-edge, trauma-informed design principles at the heart of our plans, and then further enhanced these with a commitment to a Net Zero campus, stretch targets for women and minority owned business participation, local job creation, and an indigenous “land back” initiative for our 80 acres of forest, wetland and creeks.
January 2024
Two articles highlight Parrott Creek’s project as a response to the youth behavioral health crisis in Oregon.
November 2023
Parrott Creek and El Dorado Architects received an American Institute of Architect’s (AIA) Citation Award for our project’s “exemplary achievement” and “outstanding contributions to the well-being of children and families, its commitment to environmental sustainability, and its dedication to inclusivity and diversity.” AIA is a national architecture organization that provides contract templates, framework guidelines and a stable network system for seasoned and emerging professionals. El Dorado’s Project Architect Sophie Hong explained that, “our AIA Oregon chapter has 5 smaller chapters within the larger cities of the state. So to be recognized within the state and by esteemed jurors from outside of the state is quite an honor!”
Groundbreaking – October 2023
We broke ground on our new 40 bed residential treatment with our promise to deliver a regional center of excellence for Oregon’s children and youth. We are honored to have been joined by:
- State Senator Mark Meek
- State Representative Hoa Nguyen
- Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth
- North Clackamas School Board Member Glenn Wachter
- Clackamas River Water Board Secretary Tessah Danel
- Senior Labor Advisor and Field Representative for Senator Jeff Merkley Dan Mahr
- Senior Field Representative for Congresswoman Lori Chavez DeReamer Colin Swanson
Groundbreaking Media Coverage:
KPTV video
Portland Business Journal (requires subscriber access)
Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce
Clackamas/Milwaukie Review
The Oregonian
October 2023
Ame Manon, Parrott Creek’s Cultural Ecology Program Manager, presented at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in Minneapolis, MN on “Exploring Trauma-Informed Design at Parrott Creek”. She presented alongside Gina Ford from Agency Landscape + Planning, and Josh Shelton from El Dorado, both of whom are leading the design of our new residential treatment site. In the presentation, they shared how the new buildings and landscape will be built through a trauma-informed lens and how this connects to and helps deliver the larger aim of addressing trauma in the youth, the community, and the land at Parrott Creek.
September 5, 2023
Building demolition commences!
September 2023
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust granted $500,000 to the Bright Futures Campaign.
“Organizations like Parrott Creek are providing critical behavioral health services to children and youth, but they have been stretched thin as demand has risen,” said Jill Lemke, vice president for grants management at the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. “This new residential facility will add much-needed space for Parrott Creek’s programs. The Murdock Charitable Trust is honored to help bring the project to fruition.”
August 2023
Youth moved off site to a temporary Residential Program location while we begin the long anticipated renovation project.
June 21st, 2023
Northwest Justice Forum, Portland OR
Trauma Informed & Spatial Justice Building Design Workshop
Simon Fulford, Parrott Creek Executive Director
Anyeley Hallova, Founder of Adre Development
Elisandra Garcia, Director of Engagement & Project Designer, El Dorado Architecture and University of Oregon Design for Spatial Justice Fellow
This workshop explored the concepts of equity-driven, Trauma Informed and Spatial Justice building design, along with techniques for meaningful community engagement in design processes. Parrott Creek’s residential treatment campus was used as a live example of how to align these approaches to physical environments with restorative justice and mindfulness-based treatment modalities.
February 2023
Connie Ballmer gifts $2,500,000 to the Bright Futures Campaign.
October 2022
Comprehensive Schematic Design and revised Master Plan presented to and approved by the Parrott Creek Board of Directors.
March 2022
El Dorado appointed as lead architects to undertake a Master Plan verification and deep-dive community engagement process, the latter of which was led by Elisandra Garcia, a Design for Spatial Justice Fellow at the University of Oregon.
December 2021
Parrott Creek formally engages Adre as our Project Developers. Adre is a real estate development company founded with the purpose of developing buildings that create social and economic benefits for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) through the creation of affordable homes, mixed-use developments, and facilities for mission-driven organizations. Adre developments seek to innovate in the real estate industry by creating pathways for wealth creation and financial stability for BIPOC communities and organizations; being a leader in diverse workforce participation from project conception to completion; and through sustainable building innovation. Adre developments work to create a perfect good for future generations.
August 2021
Parrott Creek Board of Directors approve initial site Master Plan completed by Axis Design Group.
June 2021
Oregon State Legislature and Governor Brown approves $3.5M in lottery bond financing for Parrott Creek campus expansion.
August 2020
Clackamas County deeds to Parrott Creek the 80 acre site where we have been serving children since 1968.
Spring 2019
Then Representative Mark Meek advocated for state investment of $3.5M towards Parrott Creek campus expansion project.
2010-2011
First site assessment, renovation and expansion exploration completed between Clackamas County, Parrott Creek and Scott Edwards Architects.
