Co-founder Mary Sue (right) after choir practice
History
Milestones
Meet Father Berg
Our Founder, Father Richard Berg (Psy.D), has always had a different way of looking at the world. As a psychology-trained College of Arts and Sciences Dean at the University of Portland for over 13 years and a Holy Cross pastor, he fused an academic approach with an understanding of the parts of the human spirit that are hard to put into words. His work was driven by deeply held beliefs that every individual is valuable and that humans are social creatures who are inherently interconnected. These beliefs are still essential to our approach and are codified in our organization’s core values today.
Father Berg (left) with Member, Peggy in 2022Our FounderA second job
Father Berg was asked to pastor the Downtown Chapel on 3rd and Burnside in addition to his job at the University of Portland. Who doesn't want two full-time jobs? So, of course, he said, "Yes."
As Father Berg strolled through Old Town, he witnessed evidence of flawed systems and observed how isolation was intensified by stigmas surrounding mental illness and financial poverty. He asked himself, “What can I do amid so much need?” Father Berg answered that question by mobilizing resources he could access: nursing students and parishioners.
Macdonald Center founded
Father Berg and his sister, Mary Sue Richen (our co-founder), started hosting a community room in the basement of the Downtown Chapel. They also began sending parishioners and teams of nursing students from the University of Portland and Clackamas Community College to visit affordable buildings nearby to ease the human isolation experienced most intently by neighbors with mental illness and financial poverty. Father Berg was truly a social health genius. While his expertise in neuropsychology and holistic healing likely contributed, he intuitively understood the importance of deep connection and social health—years before research would confirm how integral it was to our mental and physical health.
Co-founders Father Richard "Dick" Berg and his sister Mary Sue Richen in 20081991Assisted living facility opens
While these visits were helping to meet the social needs of his neighborhood, it quickly became apparent that there was a massive gap in affordable care when neighbors started needing help with daily tasks. Alas, in 1999, Macdonald Residence became the first assisted living facility in the nation to exclusively serve Medicaid-eligible adults, right here in Old Town.
Because the project started with a social health lens, it remains a priority in our assisted living today. It's not just about finding a place to live or getting help with daily tasks; it's about finding a place where you feel like you matter. Our 54-unit 24-hour care facility offers high-quality care that cultivates a sense of belonging while meeting complex behavioral health and assisted living requirements.
Affordable apartments open
To preserve scarce affordable housing downtown, we purchased the adjacent ailing West Hotel (also home of the famous bar, Satyricon). Four years later, we cut the ribbon on 42 affordable studio apartments called Macdonald West.
Our on-site staff provides support services promoting housing stability and working to prevent eviction while actively connecting residents to resources and encouraging participation in Maybelle Center programs to enhance residents’ social health.
In addition, the building's first floor also houses our office space and an expanded Community Room where neighbors from affordable housing buildings throughout downtown can grab coffee and connect five days a week.
DBA launches
We added a DBA and started publicly using "Maybelle Center for Community" to reduce confusion with Ronald McDonald House Charities and to honor our first major donor, Maybelle Clark Macdonald.
If you get the pleasure of meeting Mary Sue, ask her about the time we were mistaken for the fast-food restaurant McDonald’s!
Our first major donor, Maybelle Clark Macdonald, whom our organization is named after2015A new unified brand & legal name change
With the integration of assisted living, almost overnight, we went from an organization of 15 people to nearly 100, most of whom work directly in healthcare. Macdonald Residence and the neighborhood outreach programs (previously known as “Maybelle Center for Community") consolidated under the umbrella of “Maybelle Center.”
Today, we recognize our role as the Community Health Organization in downtown Portland, which has been dedicated to advancing social health for over 30 years.
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