Nearly 5,500 Oregonians have been moved out of homelessness and into housing thanks to persistence from a recently-appointed task force.
This amounts to a 28% increase from the previous year, and the number of housing placements is the most seen in a fiscal year since the task force’s inception.
Located in Multnomah County, one of two counties into which the metropolis of Portland extends, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, set up in 2016, has been hard at work in the city and the surrounding counties addressing what is the largest homeless epidemics in the country.
In a recently compiled dashboard, the Joint Office revealed its gradually growing successes in tackling the problem, which in addition to the figures reported above, included a 35%, amounting to nearly 7,700 people, in the number of residents that “entered shelter” this year over last year.
“These outcomes show what we all know to be true: When we work together, we can create some positive results. These outcomes would not be possible without the providers and front-line staff who have worked tirelessly every day, with deep commitment, to make this progress possible,” said Dan Field, director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services.
Funded by Portlanders in 2020, the Supportive Housing Services Measure which runs a variety of services aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness, allowed for 2,600 additional people to be rehoused—greatly aiding the Joint Office’s efforts.
In adjacent Clackamas County, the rate of homelessness fell by 65% from 2019 to 2023, with 429 people and 223 homeless households being placed in permanent supportive housing, exceeding the stated goal for the period by 20, GNN reported.
Utilizing money from the Supportive Housing Services Measure, Clackamas was able to prevent 1,369 people, and 591 households from being evicted.
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“We work hard to reduce and prevent homelessness early on before it even happens, with rental assistance, and we make sure that we have the resources and the assets up and running to give people housing when they need it,” Ben West, Clackamas County commissioner, told KATU News.
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“Our work this year would not have been possible without us leaning into partnership, both building new connections and strengthening old ones. None of us can do it alone,” said Field. “These outcomes show that we are on an upward trajectory. We are leaving the past in the past, taking the lessons with us into the future, and pushing forward together.”
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