Housing & Houselessness

Adopting of the HUD mandate to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing, which will de-concentrate poverty and increase integration by creating affordable housing in areas of high opportunity.

Prognosis: In discussion
Timeline: 2021 Legislative Session
Legislative Leads: Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle and Oregon Attorney General

Mortgage Interest Deduction is one of the most clear examples of race neutral policies that have disproportionate negative impacts on Black Oregonians. End the MID for second homes of a certain high value. Direct a significant portion of funds to establish a Black Rental Assistance and Homeownership Fund designed to prevent evictions due to nonpayment with proactive outreach at 72-hour notices; foreclosure prevention, and down-payment & closing costs grant assistance. From Representative Julie Fahey, “We will likely need a legislative workgroup, coupled with a public information effort. My sense is this is gaining momentum, but will still be challenging unless public sentiment on MID moves.” 

Prognosis: Unknown
Timeline: 2021 Legislative Session
Legislative Leads: Rep. Akasha Lawrence-Spence, Revenue Chair Nathanson, Rep. Julie Fahey, (maybe Rep. AKG since she has been an advocate in the past for MID reform)

Simultaneous to demands from the county to increase the number of households served, increases in contract allocations have not increased at a level supportive of both increasing outcomes and living wage jobs; forcing agencies to choose between outcomes/revenue stability and worker justice - an extremely unfair choice which has translated to extreme compression and workers qualifying for the services they provide. Increased salaries for frontline housing caseworkers 4-7% + COLA increase, start with organizations that have a track record of consistently serving Black families of a significant portion and/or that have at least a 20% staff census of Black workers. From Multnomah County, “Beginning a workgroup that will review county-wide contract requirements and compensation for frontline workers among all social services nonprofit partners. In partnership with City of Portland.”

Prognosis: In discussion
Timeline: Fiscal Year 2021 - 2022 Budget
Legislative Lead: Chair Deborah Kafoury’s office (Kim Melton)

Actively seek to build community-based safety and housing/homelessness infrastructure untied to internal county staffing to build deeper trust and expand service networks. From Washington County, “The housing authority utilizes a resident advisory board to help inform on policy and procedures and changes that go to the housing authority board of directors.  In the upcoming year, the housing authority will be looking to expand the resident advisory board’s functions and begin gathering more feedback and increase resident participation in decision making.  As part of our Consolidated Plan/AI planning work, we undertook a substantive community engagement work with culturally specific agencies.  The purpose was to have people from communities of color have a role in informing us of the needs/challenges they are facing (in settings comfortable and convenient to them).  In addition, we incorporated a feedback loop at the end of the engagement process to report back what we heard from them (to make sure we got it right) and to explain how the feedback they provided helped to inform the plans.   We were told many times that this aspect of our approach was not typically part of these processes and was highly valued.   Under the CARES Act, we are working with Community Action to ensure that culturally specific agencies have access to the rent assistance funding meaning that the staff from CSAs work with the populations they serve, do the work to assist the participant in compiling the application/documentation and get them qualified to receive assistance.  While Community Action still cuts the check to the landlord, the participant only needs to work with the CSA.  This relationship is being built/created/supported as we move forward…Additionally we will be working through the Metro SHS bond to fund add'l work in this area.“

Prognosis: Done, more work to come
Timeline: Immediately
Legislative Lead: Unassigned

Housing opportunity is severely limited due to affordable housing shortages, a lack of appropriate regulations on housing investments and maintenance, as well as a lack of low-income homeowner and tenant protections. Unstable families often find themselves moving from couch to couch or on the street. With little to no options, limited shelter that is culturally appropriate and responsive, it is critically important that we support folks’ abilities to find stability on the street. We must immediately cease forcefully removing folks’ camps, forcefully removing their belongings that often place them in a place of starting all over again. From Washington County, “Washington County has a policy of not doing homeless camp sweeps. We do not currently have beds for single adults, which is the first criteria we'd need to meet in order to remove people from encampments. With the new Metro SHS program in place, we will be building out the shelter infrastructure in our county.The advice of County Counsel is that we do not sweep encampments unless there is: 1) a place for people to go – which we do not have shelter beds for homeless adults which is the primary population camping; 2) a public health hazard –which we are currently in the midst of working to create sanctioned tent villages to reduce the number of people in large encampments; and 3) an environmental hazard – at which time we would sweep the encampment for the safety of the persons living there.“

Prognosis: Done, more work to come (R.O. disagrees)
Timeline: Immediately
Legislative Lead: Unassigned