In This Edition:

• October community events.

• The Bulletin Editorial Board weighs in to support flexible zoning for affordable housing.

• What are the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates planning for the nation's housing crisis?

• The Bulletin reports on Deschutes County hiring an additional officer in response to increase in number of code complaints.

• Sleeping bags still needed! Cascade Youth & Family Center's Street Outreach Team needs your help to get winter gear to homeless youth.

• The Continuum of Care Consolidated Application, including the CoC Application attachments and the Priority Listing will be available on the HLC website by 5pm on Friday, September 27th.

• Did you miss the last newsletter? Click here for important changes to laws affecting undocumented Oregonians, October's Community Resource Huddle meeting, Blumenauer's demand for federal action to address the housing shortage, and Governing Magazine's feature of Bend's housing climate.

Community Events

• The next HLC meeting is Friday, October 4th at 8am in the downtown Bend library. Ari Halpern SS Disabiliy Attorney and Theresa Quade, the Bend SSA Director will be presenting as well as Mara Stephens Bend-LaPine Homeless Liaison

• The Community Baby Shower is coming to your community Oct 18 & 19th! Please see the attached flyers in both Spanish and English. If you would like to get involved as a volunteer or if your organization would like to participate, please contact Erin Hoar.

• The next Pacific Source Resource Huddle is happening on October 17th from 9:30-11 at Pacific Source in Bend. If you would like to be added to their e-mail list, please reach out to Molly Taroli.

Editorial: Keep code flexible for affordable housing
The Bulletin Editorial Board - September 14, 2019

"The Bend City Council announced this year an aggressive goal for creating new housing in Bend. It wants 3,000 new units, including apartments and homes, by July 2021.

Next month, councilors are scheduled to get an update on what city staff has called “the road to 3,000.” One of the fronts in the fight is making changes in city code to enable more housing to be built. Bend’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee rightly pushed this week city staff to allow greater flexibility.

For instance, does the city need to dictate that a porch needs to be 80 square feet in front of a cottage? No, it should not. Porches are nice, of course. The city should allow wiggle room." Continue Reading

David J. Phillip/AP

The Question the Presidential Candidates Don’t Get Asked

Affordable housing is an urgent crisis, and 11 candidates have presented plans for solving it. But you wouldn’t know this by watching the TV debates.

DIANE YENTEL - President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for CityLab. September 13, 2019.

"So far, 11 presidential candidates have put forward housing plans or proposals that include some or all of these solutions. After decades of federal disinvestment, it’s remarkable to have candidates using their platforms to elevate the housing crisis and advance solutions of a size and scope not seen in generations. In these first early months of the 2020 election season, we’ve seen more sustained attention on affordable housing policy than we have in entire presidential campaigns in history." Continue Reading

Spike in code complaints prompts officer hire

Number of complaints in Deschutes County up 44% from last year

Brenna Visser for The Bulletin, September 23, 2019

"...Part of the backlog is due to the fact that code enforcement cases are more complicated than they used to be, said Nick LeLack, the county’s Community Development Director. More cases involve people with mental illness, requiring more behavioral health staff to become involved.

And finding ways to help a growing number of people living in RVs find resources is also a difficult task." Continue Reading

The Cascade Youth & Family Center Street Outreach team is gearing up for the cold weather of fall and winter and could use your help!

Our Street Outreach team provides basic supplies and case management to homeless and runaway youth in the community. We're in need of camping supplies, including sleeping bags, tents, tarps, and propane. If anyone has any new or used camping gear they are looking to donate, please email Breanne Barrett or drop donations at 19 SW Century Drive in Bend.

Thanks for reading! Next issue will be out Tuesday, September 24th.

Did you miss last week's newsletter? Catch up on previous issues here.

The HLC would like to share information related to housing, homeless, marginalized individuals, and opportunities for engagement in our community. If you have an announcement to share, please email a brief (50 words) description and a URL link to Newsletter@COHomeless.org. The HLC reserves the right to edit or decline any submission.

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