50+ Years of Impact
In 1971, concerned community members opened The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) to provide a safe home for local teens. In those early days, our work was centered around three programs that met children and families where they were to build something better alongside them.
Today, TNDI serves over 13,000 people in a seven-county region throughout the Gorge. Our employees facilitate more than 30 programs in 6 service areas that continue to meet children and families in moments of crisis, transition, and hope.
1971-1998
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Established in a rented farmhouse in HoodRiver, The Next DoorInc. (TNDI) housed, educated, and offered therapy to teenage foster children, both boys and girls.
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In 1984, TNDI’s certified foster homes provided shelter for runaway and homeless youth detained by local law enforcement in Hood River as well as in The Dalles.
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Services for foster youth changed from a residential treatment facility to a co-ed therapeutic foster care program in 1994, with community-based education and mental health treatment.
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Support and education for new parents and their babies became a primary area of service in 1995. Skills training for foster teens learning how to live independently also started at this time.
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In 1998, services began in Washington state, providing therapeutic foster care in partnership with the state's welfare department. The partnership ended in 2008.
2000-2010
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In 2000, TNDI added a youth mentoring program (formerly known as Big Brothers Big Sisters), which became a cornerstone of the current Youth Services department. Now called Gorge Youth Mentoring, it still serves children and teens in Hood River, Wasco, and Klickitat counties.
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Nuestra Comunidad Sana/Our Healthy Community joined TNDI in 2002. This program was one of the first in the country to train and utilize Community Health Workers to provide health and prevention services to Latino families.
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Support services for new parents, called Healthy Families Oregon, earned national accreditation through Prevent Child Abuse America as an evidence-based program in three counties (Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman) in 2007. Court-Appointed Special Advocates of the Columbia Gorge (CASA), which started as a program of TNDI, became an independent nonprofit.
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TNDI made its first real estate purchase on Tucker Road for its office in Hood River in 2010, moving all services there including Klahre House, from its original farmhouse.
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Economic Development Services started the Raíces Cooperative Farm and Promoting Prosperity Program/el Programa Promoviendo Prosperidad.
2015-2020
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After an organizational rebrand in 2015, TNDI’s service areas were organized into five departments: Treatment Services, Family Services, Youth Services, Economic Development Services, and Health Promotion Services.
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TNDI added a sixth department in 2017, Equity & Outreach Training Services (EOTS), to provide the Gorge community and surrounding areas with workshops, focus-group facilitation, and Spanish language interpretation.
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In 2017, Natives Along the Big River (NABR) launched as a volunteer-driven coalition, empowering Native communities through advocacy, leadership, and equitable access to health, education, and community resources.
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TNDI purchased a second office on Kelly Avenue in The Dalles, providing space to enhance and grow services in the eastern Gorge in 2018.
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With increased need in the region for mental and behavioral health services to children and their families, TNDI opened outpatient, or counseling services in 2018.
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TNDI’s Kelly Avenue School in The Dalles welcomed its first students in 2019, providing a therapeutic educational environment where youth receive individualized instruction and therapeutic support to help students succeed academically while building the skills needed for long-term stability and growth.
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The COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the Gorge. Over the next year, TNDI added 15 new programs to meet the unique, growing needs created by the pandemic, including Counseling Services, which provides therapy and substance use treatment to children.
2021-2025
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TNDI launched the Gorge's first culturally specific Native Supports Program in 2021, expanding outreach, advocacy, and resource navigation for Native communities in Hood River, Wasco, Skamania, and Klickitat counties.
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To meet a growing need for youth support, The Next Door opened the Youth Drop-In Center in The Dalles in 2021, creating a safe space where teens can access resources, build connections, and find support.
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The Columbia Gorge Pride Alliance joined TNDI in 2022, expanding support, advocacy, and belonging for LGBTQIA2S+ community members across the Gorge.
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In 2023, with an ongoing shortage of foster homes in our communities, TNDI stepped up to open a group home for youth in behavioral rehabilitation services at the Klahre House.
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The Community Preparedness Team was established in 2025 with Community Health Workers responding to urgent needs of immigrant and LGBTQIA2S+ communities and supporting regional coordination and collaboration.
Interested in learning more about our programs?
Browse a list of over 30 programs and learn more about the work we do!
