William Temple House and Thrift Store

09/01/2025

In observance of Labor Day, William Temple House and Thrift Store will be closed today, Monday, September 1st. Today, we honor the able hands and labor - visible and invisible - that build our communities. And we honor the rest and support that labor requires. At William Temple House, anyone can find the food assistance and low-cost counseling they need to rest and thrive.

08/27/2025

Welcome to the neighborhood, Shelly!

Today, Blanchet House and Farm announced Shelly Bancroft as the Director of Bethanie's Room, an overnight women's shelter that will soon provide 75 women a safe place to sleep at night in NW Portland.

Our Executive Director met with Shelly and the Executive Director of Lift Urban Portland, Stephanie Barr, for a warm welcome ceremony last night.

08/26/2025

Say hi to Portland's next generation of Counselors 👋

Over the next academic year, this cohort of kickbutt counselors-in-training will provide low-cost counseling at WTH while getting high-quality training. This includes weekly Seminars from mental health clinicians on vital topics like...
..how to work with suicidal patients..gender-affirming mental health care..Narcan training...delivering culturally appropriate care to the Latinx community
..and more!

This cohort will start seeing their first clients over the next month. Help us welcome them in the comments!

Our training program is possible because of the partnership of dozens of local and national Universities, the partnership of many individual mental health clinicians and educators, and the partnership of generous donors, like you.

This year, our neighbors Congregation Beth Israel kindly donated their beautiful space for our two-day orientation. Thank you Congregation Beth Israel

08/22/2025

Food brings people together and makes us happy!

Facts:
🥫 WTH distributes over 500,000 pounds of shelf-stable and fresh food into the community each year, addressing food insecurity with dignity and warmth.

❤️ Over 70 volunteers support this work!

💭 We provide low-cost counseling in the same building so we can meet emotional and mental needs, as well as physical.

🫶 You can support Portlanders facing food insecurity *right now* by donating to support our mission at williamtemple.org

🍍 Bonus fact: Volunteer Judy was stoked to see our fridge full of pineapples! Us too, Judy.

08/20/2025

We're stronger when we work together 💪

William Temple House has called NW Portland home for the past 60 years. It's where we provide essential food, counseling, and connection to our neighbors--and we do it with the help of neighborhood businesses like the NW Portland International Hostel.

Last week, Britta and Chelsea from the Hostel sorted and prepped our pantry shelves. Our pantry is a choice-based model, where visitors shop for themselves so this behind-the-scenes support is crucial. Thank you, Britta and Chelsea!

Are you a NW Portland business looking for a meaningful and fun employee volunteering opportunity? DM us!

08/14/2025

Thank you to the Deacon Charitable Foundation for awarding William Temple House a generous first-time grant of $4000 for our holistic services! Ian and Kathy from Deacon visited to see the impact first-hand. Generous community support from Foundations like Deacon are why we can continue to provide food, counseling, and connection to Portlanders from all walks of life.

08/12/2025

Join one of the top Counselor training programs in Portland: Apply to be a Clinical Supervisor at William Temple House!

We're looking for an LCSW that is passionate about expanding accessible mental health care in Portland and mentoring Oregon's next generation of Social Workers. If that sounds like you, we want to meet you! Head to our website to apply today at williamtemple.org/get-involved/employment

This position is part-time and will be open until filled.

08/07/2025

UPDATE: Our Food Pantry will be closed today, Thursday August 7th. Our Counseling Program will be open today, however; please reach out to your provider to discuss available telehealth and in-person sessions.

Thank you for your patience, everyone!

CLOSURE ALERT: William Temple House's food pantry and in-person counseling sessions are CLOSED today, Wednesday August 6th. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

Last night, our sprinklers went off and made our space currently unusable. We are working to get our pantry and counseling spaces back up and running to safely welcome our community. We will share - on our website, Facebook, and other social media platforms - when we have re-opened.

Thank you for your understanding.

If you have a counseling appointment today, please reach out to your provider about rescheduling or switching to telehealth. If you are in need of food assistance, please use this map to locate other resources: https://foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org/

08/06/2025

CLOSURE ALERT: William Temple House's food pantry and in-person counseling sessions are CLOSED today, Wednesday August 6th. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

Last night, our sprinklers went off and made our space currently unusable. We are working to get our pantry and counseling spaces back up and running to safely welcome our community. We will share - on our website, Facebook, and other social media platforms - when we have re-opened.

Thank you for your understanding.

If you have a counseling appointment today, please reach out to your provider about rescheduling or switching to telehealth. If you are in need of food assistance, please use this map to locate other resources: https://foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org/

08/04/2025

Donation Need Alert: Egg Cartons needed!

Our pantry ran out of egg cartons last week! We use these to distribute eggs to pantry visitors. The more cartons we get donated, the less we spend on buying them and the more money we have to buy food instead!

Don't throw yours away - recycle your cartons with us: Email development@williamtemple.org to schedule a drop-off.

Do you own a business that can donate cartons in bulk or have a lead on where to get bulk carton donations? Email us, we'd love to talk.

07/31/2025

There are 1000+ ways to support your neighbors—and deep-cleaning a giant pantry freezer is one of them 😎❄️

Big thanks to Katelyn, Rishov, and Marco – summer interns at Siemens in Wilsonville – who donated their time to reset our freezer, which stores thousands of pounds of food for the wider Portland community.

Y’all crushed it and stayed cool in this heat!

Does your employer sponsor employee volunteering? DM us to organize YOUR summer volunteering session.

07/25/2025

Thank you to everyone that came out to the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival this weekend! 😄💜

We loved connecting with you in this joyful celebration of love, identity, and community--and sharing stickers, trinkets handmade by one of our volunteers, Thrift Store gift cards, and information about our services. We even heard from former clients who told us how low-barrier counseling and food assistance impacted their lives positively.

William Temple House is proud to be a safe haven for LGBTQIA+ Portlanders to access food, counseling, and connection: the ingredients of a thriving life we all deserve! 🌈

Connect with us post-Pride:
🌟Volunteer in our food pantry
🧥Swing by our Thrift Store and your purchase will help fund our community services
🌈Tell people you know about our food pantry and counseling services so that these resources can reach the people who could use them.