Sunflower House began as a grass roots effort of volunteers operating from a big, yellow house near 9th and Monroe in Corvallis. After a 31 year history of service to the community, Sunflower House closed its doors August 19, 2003 as offices and programs relocate to the new Community Outreach facility at 8th and Reiman.

Originally known as Youth Outreach, Inc., we opened our doors on June 15, 1971. Designed to meet the needs of young people in the community, House Director Neil Mamberg was quoted by the Gazette-Times in 1971, saying the agency dealt with "everything from hassles between parents and their offspring to drug 'bummers' to assisting people with getting rides out of town."

The first partnership formed was with Oregon State University; a relationship that remains unique to this day. OSU has leased Sunflower House to us for $1 per year. In return, OSU students can volunteer with us and obtain academic credit for practical experience.

During its first two months of operation, Sunflower House helped 27 people with emergency housing, dealt with 13 drug emergencies, provided 70 medical treatments or referrals, and handled 48 other crisis and referral calls. Thirty-one years later, a two month period would find us providing emergency shelter to 40 men and seven families, 790 doctor visits, and over 6,500 crisis intervention and referral calls, along with many other services.

Sunflower House has changed over the years as unmet needs were identified through Crisis Line telephone logs, through working with clients, and through talking with and listening to volunteers, staff, and members of the community. In 1980, Youth Outreach, Inc. became Community Outreach, Inc. (COI), reflecting the changes in agency services. As our programs evolved, the house on 9th Street was remodeled and expanded twice.

1983: the City of Corvallis and the community rally to meet the need for a shelter for homeless men. Donations of materials, labor, and money, coupled with a HUD loan, allowed the "Sunflower House" to build shelter space for nine men.

1985: Health Services expands with the creation of the Dental Program, addressing the growing number of uninsured Linn and Benton county residents needing dental care.

1989: COI is chosen by a community-wide Shelter Task Force to operate the area's first transitional housing program, Families in Transition (FIT).

1991: Health Services adds a weekly medical clinic in Lebanon. Later years see clinics added in Albany and Monroe. COI now offers an average of 20 clinics each month in three locations.

1992: the local volunteer-operated family shelter (FISH Guest House) closes. Because of our success with our existing shelter program, the City of Corvallis and community leaders select COI to replace the closed shelter.

1995: the Multicultural Assistance Program (MCAP) merges with COI, providing information, referral and advocacy to people of other cultures, especially the rapidly growing Latino community.

1997: COI merges with Community Mediation and Dispute Resolution Services to create the Mediation Services program, providing Neighborhood Dispute Resolution and Parent-Adolescent Mediation.

1998: The Alcohol and Drug Recovery Program, a treatment program for homeless men staying in our emergency shelter, is created.

2001: Recovery Services expand to offer Outpatient Treatment.

By the early 90's, the agency was using every inch of the building, including the attic, basement, hallways, and the front porch to provide services. The Community Outreach shelters were full and client service was being limited by lack of space. Sunflower House was bursting at the seams. By 1993, it was clear that a new home must be found, and after almost two years of research, we purchased property at 8th and Reiman in Corvallis, where we would build a new home.

Fundraising to construct the new facility and to build an endowment began in 1995. Once again, individuals, families, businesses, health care providers, churches, service clubs, schools, foundations, and the City of Corvallis banded together to meet the goal of creating a safe, caring, and engaged community, where all families and individuals could grow and prosper. Seven years later, over $5 million had been raised and the new home of Community Outreach was ready to open its doors.

On August 19, 2002, Community Outreach moved from Sunflower House to its new home—the New Sunflower House—at 865 NW Reiman Avenue in Corvallis, Oregon. Our sincere gratitude goes to Corvallis Moving and Storage, Corvallis Firefighters, Corvallis U-Haul, and many other volunteers who helped us move into our new home.