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04-19-2024 6:08 am • PDX and SEA Weather
MLK Breakfast
Facing a COVID-19 crisis that’s made the connection between health and housing clearer than ever, Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners Thursday unanimously approved a series of measures aimed to provide stability, shelter and housing services both during the pandemic and beyond.
The votes reached across the continuum of services and strategies that Multnomah County leverages to prevent and end homelessness. And they all recognize that people in crisis need housing, and the support services to sustain that housing, so they can stay as healthy as possible.
Through Thursday’s votes, the Board approved:
First, the Board extended Multnomah County’s COVID-19 state of emergency to July 2, 2021.
That decision also extended the County’s moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent — and a six-month grace period for repaying back rent. Under this latest extension, the County’s fourth since its initial emergency declaration in March — back rent won’t be owed until January 2022.
The eviction moratorium and repayment grace period have been critical for another element in the County’s response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout: work to distribute some $12 million in rent relief dollars received through the CARES Act.
The County has partnered with an established network of community-based social service providers — while also bringing in new agencies — to distribute rent relief to thousands of individuals and families who have been most affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Multnomah County renters can rest assured that at the very least, no matter what the State does or doesn’t do, they will be protected from eviction in the new year,” Chair Deborah Kafoury said.
Read more about the eviction moratorium here.
Despite the moratorium and efforts to disburse rent assistance, COVID-19 continues to put people at risk of losing their homes and falling into homelessness.
Multnomah County has used CARES Act funding throughout the year to help the Joint Office of Homeless Services stabilize and transform its shelter system. Today’s vote — allocating an additional $2.5 million to the Joint Office — will add to that work, and help people not just now, but for years after the pandemic has passed.
Pairing that new funding with previously allocated CARES Act funds, the Joint Office will purchase two properties for a combined $6.8 million:
The Joint Office will also use CARES Act funding approved today to pay for two other parts of its COVID-19 response: work winterizing three outdoor shelters and the purchase of survival gear like tents and sleeping bags that can help people living without shelter in the winter.
“This represents some of the best work we do at the County,” Chair Deborah Kafoury said before the vote. “This is a smart and sound investment not just because it allows us to meet an urgent need created by the pandemic, but because it also allows us to provide critical life-saving shelter long after this pandemic has passed.”
In May, a few months into the pandemic, voters in the tri-county region approved Metro’s $2.4 billion Supportive Housing Services Measure — a historic infusion of resources for services meant to tackle chronic homelessness.
On Thursday, after months of work and with feedback from hundreds of community members, the Board approved Multnomah County’s plan for how it would spend its share of the funding, up to $100 million a year.
Three-quarters of those dollars must be spent on chronic homelessness, prioritized for rent assistance, behavioral health services, and also shelter and street outreach. The plan also embraces a mandate to address and work toward eliminating racial disparities in chronic homelessness.
The plan, which must now be approved by Metro, serves as a high-level document ahead of additional work next year to produce a more specific list of program investments.
“Had you told me 10 years ago that we would be in this moment, approving a plan to end homelessness across our community with the strategy and resources to meet that need, I would have had a hard time believing it,” Chair Kafoury said. “There are too many people to thank who have contributed over the years. And in truth, none of them did it for the recognition — they did it because they believe in the fundamental truth that no one in our community should ever be homeless.”
East Multnomah County is on track to gain more than 100 units of affordable housing, part of a new agreement between the County and Home Forward, the region’s public housing authority.
On Thursday, Dec. 17, the Board of County Commissioners said yes to transferring 3.54 acres of vacant land in Troutdale to Home Forward for use as affordable housing. It will be Home Forward’s first project in Troutdale, and it will draw from funding approved through Metro’s 2018 regional affordable housing construction measure.
The County originally purchased the land, located at the north end of Northeast 257th Drive, in 2017 for $1.25 million as a potential site for a new Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office headquarters. But since then, the property was found to no longer reflect the Sheriff’s Office’s priorities and better aligns, instead, with the County’s goal to expand affordable housing.
Work to set the transfer in motion started with Chair Kafoury’s Office, with support from Commissioner Lori Stegmann, whose district covers east County.
“Not only are we building affordable housing for people who desperately need it, but we are also supporting revitalization,” said Commissioner Stegmann. “The fact that we are making sure people have access to all the things we want in a community is really heartwarming and also incredible.”
