[15] In 2015 a petition was created online to refit the facility to house the homeless[16] and in August 2016 Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith also further supported the effort.

[17] After the sale of the jail to Jordan Schnitzer he also received offers to convert Wapato to a homeless shelter and rejected them because of "cost and distance from other public services".

[18] In April 2019, a proposal was made by Kay Toran, who has been the president of Oregon Volunteers of America since 1999, to create a residential treatment program at the facility for adults experiencing addiction and mental health problems.

[11] In October 2019, Schnitzer announced that the plans to convert the facility into a community wellness center to serve the local homeless population had fallen flat.

He cited low funding for renovation and a lack of support from elected officials and homeless advocacy organizations in drawing this conclusion.

[25] Oregon state senators Lew Frederick, Betsy Johnson, Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, and Portland Police Union president Daryl Turner sit on the advisory board of Bybee Lakes Hope Center.