Cole Merkel moved to Oak Grove with his partner Nathan in 2016 riding in on the Orange Line. A long time advocate for affordable housing and homeless rights, he spent nearly a decade working directly with people experiencing homelessness, primarily as Vendor Program Director at Street Roots.

Currently, he is Deputy Director—Outreach and Engagement at HereTogether, which spearheaded and now supports implementation of the regional Supportive Housing Services program. From 2018-2019 he served on the Clackamas County Commission’s Task Force on Housing Affordability and Homelessness.

Read about Cole’s motivation for volunteering with OLGP in the Clackamas Review.