Phone: 503-823-2375
fax: 503-823-2387
421 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204
The last two public hearings about the proposed FY 2013-14 budget are coming up. Click here to learn about the Mayor's proposed budget and voice your opinion at a public hearing:
Portland Housing Bureau Director Traci Manning and PHB staff helped welcome the Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES) into its new home yesterday. SAFES staff held a celebration for its return to a beautifully renovated Harbor Light Center. The space provides shelter for more than 50 women each night.
The Portland Housing Bureau is proud to partner with SAFES, which is a critical part of the Safety Net. SAFES operates roughly one third of our city’s emergency shelter for women experiencing homelessness.
Mayor Charlie Hales and the Portland City Council demonstrated their commitment to SAFES. In the face of very difficult City budgeting choices, Mayor Hales has proposed a budget that provides ongoing funding for this and other crucial safety net services.
On any given night, more than 780 women are homeless in Multnomah County and these women are subject to unique risks. Thirty-five percent of homeless women surveyed in our one-night count of homelessness reported being affected by domestic violence. We believe that is a significant undercount. National studies indicate that a significant percentage of homeless women have experienced domestic or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Up to half of homeless women say that domestic or sexual violence was an immediate cause of their homelessness. Women of color are particularly vulnerable. They are over represented on the street.
SAFES is sheltering and providing support services for some of our city’s most vulnerable citizens. Their work, in partnership with the City of Portland, has helped to move SAFES from solely providing shelter—in itself, an important goal—to also preventing and ending homelessness with rapid rehousing.
Living in a home is the foundation to safety and stability for all vulnerable Portlanders. We welcome SAFES into a new home and know it will lead to new homes for the women it serves.
Portland Housing Bureau partnered with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to develop a series of maps that reflect opportunity within Portland. The maps are part of a project called the Portland Housing Growth and Opportunity Analysis. They were designed based on indicators identified by the Coalition for a Livable Future and preliminary feedback from our Technical Advisory Committee.
We recognize that Portland’s communities of color are disproportionately impacted by issues of poverty and access to opportunity. The project helped illustrate a new thinking about public participation in planning projects. In the last six months, the Technical Advisory Committee has brought people from different communities and professional backgrounds to the table. We also engaged the Diversity and Civic Leadership (DCL) program, through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, to facilitate focus groups among communities of color and immigrant communities.
“I really appreciate having the DCL. If we didn’t have an organized partnership, I suspect that our voices would still be overlooked,” said Donita Fry. Donita is a DCL member as the Portland Youth and Elders Council Coordinator for the Native American Youth and Family Center, known as NAYA. “We are the experts because we are the community. Who knows better what our priorities are than our families and community members?”
The DCL program consists of members from The Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), NAYA’s Portland Youth & Elders Council, The Urban League of Portland, Latino Network and Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
"Latino Network uses a cultural lens when presenting the Opportunity Maps to our community. The information sharing and gathering has increased interest and trust for the City's housing work, which is critical in a time of changing demographics for Portland,” said Nancy Ramirez Arriaga, a DCL member and Program Director for Latino Network’s Leadership and Civic Engagement program. “We are confident that when integrated, the voice and contributions of Latinos and other ethnic communities can lead to more sustainable and equitable living conditions for all Portland residents."
The third annual One Year Action Plan is available for viewing and public comments until June 16. Comments on any of the jurisdiction priorities may be made in writing to Portland Housing Bureau, Attn: Con Plan Staff, 421 S.W. Sixth Ave., Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204; by e-mail to Kim.McCarty@portlandoregon.gov; or by phone at 503-823-5312 (TDD 503-823-6868). Comments can be submitted online at www.portlandonline.com/phb/conplan or you can use this comment form. Comments must be received by June 16. Click FY 2013-2014 Action Plans online to view the draft. Paper drafts are available at local library branches or the Portland Housing Bureau. Any submitted comments will be published in the third One-Year Action Plan FY 2013-2014. View this hearing notice for additional dates.
Becky Kempton, 30, is a combat veteran for the Oregon Army National Guard.
Last December, her situation was getting dire. Becky made her son a promise: “We will have a new home by Christmas.”
Thanks to a Veterans Assistance Supportive Housing (VASH) voucher, Becky kept her promise to her eight-year-old, who she calls Nate-O. They are now settled in their new Northeast Portland home, just blocks from his school. They had keys on December 20.
VASH is a federal program funded by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veteran Affairs (VA). The program provides rent assistance for homeless, disabled veterans. The program is administered by Portland’s VA Medical Center and Home Forward. Since the program’s inception in 2008, our community received several allotments of VASH vouchers. By April 2012, our total allotment was 305 veterans housing vouchers. The program has a history of underutilizing these vouchers, intended for homeless veterans, because of hurdles faced by veterans and tight administrative resource.
Staff from Home Forward worked proactively with VA leadership to get the vouchers into the hands of veterans. When they identified a major barrier—no money for security deposits, for example—Home Forward subsidized deposits using flexible rent assistance funds.
Despite their best efforts, by September 2012, the VASH program still had nearly 100 vouchers left. With a charge from Commissioner Nick Fish and Portland Housing Bureau Director Traci Manning, Sally Erickson convened a coalition with a fierce name and an exacting focus. Operation 305, with members from the VA, Home Forward, Multnomah County, and other nonprofits, agreed to get every last voucher in use.
Sally manages the Portland Housing Bureau’s Ending Homelessness team.
Operation 305 quickly identified the remaining barriers to rapidly deploying vouchers. Among them was paying for moving expenses like a bus ticket, an ID card, rental application fees and furnishings. VASH only pays for rent.
In October, the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Home Forward and United Way contributed $10,000 each to cover these small but essential expenses that made a big difference in finding a home. JOIN and Transition Projects administered the funds. The team made a “call to landlords,” to help veterans find willing landlords in a tight rental market. Home Forward even offered a $100 incentive to those who rented to VASH voucher holders.
Without a stable place to call home, Becky couldn't focus on her health and education. “This program is giving me the opportunity to finish schooling and get a career.”
Becky enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school in Central Oregon. She was deployed to Iraq in 2007, where she was a driver for a convoy security unit. She says she’s been dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ever since.
Becky continued her education as a math major at Mt. Hood Community College. As a single mom and student, Becky struggled with her rent and stability. She enjoyed her work study job through the VA, but was overwhelmed by her finances, schoolwork and combat injuries.
“I collapsed and ended up in the hospital with PTSD. I was reliving [combat experiences] every day. Those are things we lock away,” said Becky.
After two weeks in the hospital, Becky could no longer afford her home and moved in with her family.
As a combat veteran, Becky had close ties with a case worker who confirmed that she was eligible for a VASH voucher. Becky wasn’t homeless yet, but she was also not making it on her own.
“There’s a lot of anxiety with PTSD and my case worker made me feel confident that we were going be housed. She was nothing short of amazing in terms of reassuring me,” she said.
When Becky received her VASH voucher, she also got an assist from Home Forward, JOIN and her church, Metro Church in Christ, to get back on her feet. “My case manager checks to see if we need anything and I don’t. It’s a nice feeling to be able to say, ‘I can pay my bills myself’.”
Becky said that she and Nate-O are back on track. She returned to school and keeps up with counseling for PTSD. “We’re doing things we used to enjoy, like jumping on the MAX and wandering around Saturday Market.”
Last month, the very last veteran moved into his new home thanks to a tremendous effort from Operation 305.
Portland Housing Bureau and partners are replenishing the flexible funds that help veterans transition quickly from the street and into homes and our community expects to receive 55 new vouchers this summer.
“We have set the groundwork so that we’re ready to quickly deploy future VASH allocations,” said Sally.
For more information about receiving a VASH voucher, contact The VA’s Community Resource and Referral Center at 308 S.W. First Ave., 503–808-1256 or 1-800-949-1004 Ext. 51256 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For other veteran resources, visit Veterans Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC).
If you are a landlord seeking more information about accepting a veteran with rent assistance, contact Home Forward’s dedicated Landlord Services Team at landlordservices@homeforward.org or 503-802-8333, Option 6.