To our colleagues, partners and community members,
Welcome to the Joint Office of Homeless Services monthly newsletter!
The purpose of this newsletter is to help you learn more about our collective work and shared commitment to addressing homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County.
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If you are experiencing homelessness and need assistance, please call 211 or go to 211info.org.
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Question of the month:
What are the root causes of homelessness in our area?
(scroll to the bottom of the newsletter to see the answer)
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Grand Opening of Las Adelitas!
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Las Adelitas brings 141 affordable homes, 70% of which can be for families with children, to the Cully neighborhood with funding from the Portland Housing Bond and Metro's Supportive Housing Services measure. The Portland Housing Bond is now at the halfway mark with 900 units open — housing for nearly 2000 Portlanders in need.
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Groundbreaking for Arbor Lodge Shelter Renovation
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Wondering about the plan for renovation of the Arbor Lodge Shelter at N. Denver and Lombard? Join our groundbreaking event to hear from provider Do Good Multnomah and elected officials, and see the plan for the site.
3:30 - 5 pm this Thursday March 16th at 1952 North Lombard.
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Thank You Point-in-Time Count Volunteers!
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 A big thank you so much to all of the Outreach Workers and Volunteers who spent their time surveying individuals who were unsheltered on the night of the Point-in-Time (PIT) during the last week of January. This was the first ever tri-county PIT Count and we had a large group of amazing individuals who canvassed the entire tri-county region to reach as many neighbors experiencing homelessness. Thank you again to all staff, partners and volunteers. We appreciate your generosity and compassion around this work. More info about this year's Point-in-Time Count.
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Provider Spotlight: TPI's Compass Program
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Leah transitioned from Jean's Place into Transition Projects’ Compass program, which offers permanent housing to trans and non-binary individuals. While homeless, she encountered bigotry and was so relieved to find a shelter where she felt safe. "This is our last, best hope."
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Statewide Funding Opportunity
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 Oregon Housing and Community Services released two requests for proposals (RFP) this past month, one aimed at preserving naturally occurring affordable housing through the Acquisition of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (ANOAH) program and the other supporting the development of childcare facilities in affordable housing developments (CARE).
Both RFP opportunities are open to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) to apply for an initial funding amount of $10M. These pilot programs aim to explore innovative ways to preserve affordable housing and integrate early childcare and education with affordable housing developments.
For more information about these RFPs, go to the Procurement webpage. There will be more funding opportunities made available in the next few months. Please sign up for our Affordable Rental Housing technical advisories to stay up to date.
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Upcoming Events and Meetings
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The Joint Office of Homeless Services has advisory boards and committees that give community input to Joint Office leadership and to the Portland City Council and the Board of County Commissioners. These advisory groups provide opportunities for community members to learn about the Joint Office's work, bring a community perspective to our decision-making, and make recommendations on programs, services and policies.
Continuum of Care (CoC) Advisory Committee: The Continuum of Care Board meets March 16, 2023 at 11:00am. This meeting will focus on important updates and a presentation by the a CoC provider. The latter half of the meeting will be used as a working session for CoC planning. The public is welcome to attend the meeting via this Zoom webinar link.
More info about the Continuum of Care Advisory committee.
Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC) for the Joint Office of Homeless Services: March meeting was held on March 8, 2023 from 11:00am to 1:00pm. There will be a SPECIAL March 21, 2023 Meeting, at 4:00pm-6:00pm (Zoom Webinar Link). This committee reviews and makes recommendations on county departmental budgets and operations. CBAC meetings are posted on the Office of Community Involvement Website. For more information about CBACs please visit the Office of Community Involvement.
For more information on our advisory boards and committees, including how to attend a meeting, please visit https://www.multco.us/johs/johs-community-advisory-bodies. Please email us at johscommunityadvisory@multco.us with any questions.
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Request for Programmatic Qualifications
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The Joint Office of Homeless Services, along with Clackamas County, Washington County and Metro Regional Government, are currently recruiting new organizations that work in homeless services to be eligible to apply for funding. Applications due March 17th. More info at https://multco.us/shs
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State and Federal Updates
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Fair Housing Training
 During the past few months, Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Fair Housing Council partnered to offer a series of Fair Housing trainings. These were free webinars for anyone interested in learning more about fair housing issues statewide and how to prevent illegal housing discrimination in Oregon. These sessions are now available online for anyone who either missed the training or would like to review. Watch the recorded trainings.
OHCS hosts overview of "All In" Federal Plan
The Biden administration announced a comprehensive plan to cut homelessness by 25% by 2025. All In, the new Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, was developed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) as a blueprint for localities to create their own plans to prevent and end homelessness and set their own ambitious goals for 2025. Katy Miller, senior regional adviser for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, provided a virtual overview of the federal plan. Watch the recording.
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Check out our newly-updated shelter map on the Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) website. The map shows the location of all JOHS-supported shelters, including how to reserve a bed, population served and services provided at each shelter. You can also scroll backwards in time to 2015, to see the number and locations of shelters added each year since then.
If you have trouble viewing the map, you can also view the list of shelters.
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Montavilla Safe Park Provider Selected
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 Portland-based Straightway Services has been selected to operate the soon-to-be-under-construction site located at 333 S.E. 82nd Ave. (a former RV sales lot). The shelter will be a "safe park" village providing a place for people who live in passenger vehicles (not RVs) to park their vehicles, sleep and access services on their path to securing permanent housing. The site will open in 2023, with an exact date to be determined.
Straightway Services, which is calling the shelter The Light Community, will provide on-site, 24/7 services. The site will be fenced and will be available through reservations. Participants will have on-site access to trash service, showers, restrooms, laundry, a kitchenette and housing services and supports.
Straightway Services, founded by Pastor Dwight Minnieweather, has been serving the community for 22 years with programs focused on youth, workforce development, and homeless services.
“It means the world to us to operate this shelter and support an alternative way of helping people who sleep in vehicles,” Minnieweather said. “This will give them a location to stay and pull the cars off the road. And, we’ll make it a community with educational opportunities, employment opportunities and connection to peer mentors.
“This will be more than just a place to sleep. It will be a holistic community where people can become self-sufficient,” Minnieweather said.
More information about the Montavilla Safe Park Village: The Light Community
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NEW Mobile Intake Team for Elders, Veterans and Disabled People
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A new program, funded by the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure, has been launched through a partnership between the Joint Office of Homeless Services and the Department of County Human Services to deploy a mobile intake team to shelters to complete Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) screenings and eligibility determination. The Multnomah County Aging, Disability, and Veteran Services (ADVSD) Office has hired a team of 4 full-time case managers to outreach to people that may be eligible for ADVSD services including food stamps, health insurance, home care workers, and community based placements in care settings.
Additionally, there is a Housing Support Specialist who assists with finding and or keeping housing. This team is prioritizing COVID-19 shelters, culturally specific shelters, and day spaces where people experiencing homelessness go to receive other services including the Mead Building, the Behavioral Health Resource Center, and temporary severe weather shelters, and accepting referrals from community partners.
This is the first time the Joint Office and the County Human Services Department have teamed up to offer a mobile intake team. This is in response to feedback from our community of providers and people that have experienced homelessness.
Email for referral or information:
- Jody Michaelson, ADVSD Homeless Mobile Intake and Transition and Diversion Branch Manager, jody.l.michaelson@multco.us
- Cristal Otero, JOHS Program Specialist Sr., cristal.otero@multco.us
- Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) Helpline: 503-988-3646
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Eviction prevention: legal representation keeps low-income tenants housed
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Becky Straus and Emily Rena-Dozier launched the Eviction Defense Project in early 2021, securing additional support from Metro’s supportive housing services fund in July 2021 when the first funding was released. This investment reflects two of the SHS fund’s strategies and priorities, as outlined in the measure voters approved in 2020.
Read more in this story from Metro Regional News.
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News reports about the work of the Joint Office of Homeless Services and our providers:
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Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness:
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Racial Justice/Equity Resources
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Employment Opportunities
Current openings in the Joint Office of Homeless Services:
JOHS Partner Organization job listings:
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