Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 26, 2026 By Michael Kane | Hermiston Herald
Jesalyn Cole is the executive director of the nonprofit Stepping Stones Alliance, of Hermiston, which manages the PATH Sleep Center. The center provided overnight stays to more than 5,000 homeless people in 2025. Overnight stays at the transitional shelter for homeless people between Hermiston and Umatilla increased 25% in 2025.
Practical Assistance through Transitional Housing had more than 5,000 overnight stays last year, an increase of more than 1,000 from 2024. Jesalyn Cole, executive director of Stepping Stones Alliance, presented the annual report for PATH on March 23 to the Hermiston City Council. Stepping Stones Alliance operates the shelter.
PATH averaged between 10 to 20 nightly stays in the Sleep Center in 2025, representing more than 350 individuals. Those staying in the Sleep Center are referred to as guests, who must stay in the Sleep Center for 14 consecutive nights before they are eligible to become “members” and allowed to stay in the individual shelter units. March, October were busiest months The busiest months for the Sleep Center in 2025 were March with 591 overnight stays and October with 580 overnight stays. The two highest months for overnight stays in 2024 were April with 436 and May with 425. “The Sleep Center numbers continue to be high,” Cole said. “Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more new guests. Times are not good for housing or income. So, we’re thankful we are able to give the services that we do give.” The Sleep Center is open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The center has eight staff members as well as contracted overnight security. “Our staff is doing really well,” Cole said. “We have a really diverse group right now that have a lot of lived experience either with homelessness or addiction and are able to give our guests and members a different viewpoint and let them know that hope is out there and you can move beyond your current circumstances.”
Working toward independence Cole said PATH requires members staying in the individual shelter units to take a variety of classes. Some of the classes focus on academics while others focus on finances, building resumes and developing interview skills to help them find a job and transition to permanent housing. “We’re really building that community and that level of trust so that members are sharing with us what their needs are and really growing their independence,” Cole said.
Cole said the primary goal is for PATH’s members to find sustainable, permanent housing, not quick fixes. “We want to see success, so we strive to build a community that creates stability for members while they are here, and independence beyond our campus,” Cole said. “We are working on long-term goals and long-term solutions, and this takes time.” Members work with Carolina Delgato, the director of the Navigation Center, to set goals and develop necessary skills to become fully independent. Getting into permanent housing in the 18 months since the individual shelter units opened, PATH has transitioned 18 people into permanent housing. One success story Cole shared in the annual report involved a senior citizen named John, who moved to the area to live with family after his wife died of cancer. His living situation did not work out and he was left homeless. John is in his 80s and is a veteran. PATH staff helped him get connected to veteran services and he eventually was able to move into his own apartment.
PATH took in $818,055 in revenue in 2025 with $647,820 in total expenses. The bulk of the revenue — $593,000 — comes from state funding with another $146,820 coming from grants. Individual and private donations totaled $35,523. The second annual fund-raising gala took in $42,712, almost triple what it took in during the 2024 gala, which generated $15,000. “We do have a lot of community support,” Cole said, “and it makes a big difference.”
