(This email is being re-sent - the original email had incorrect links for our podcast episode)
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 percentage of people experiencing homelessness are living with a disability?
(scroll to the bottom of the newsletter to see the answer)
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Welcome to Our New Director: Dan Field
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 Dan Field has been selected to serve as the next Director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services. He comes to this position after two decades at Kaiser Permanente, where he played a lead role in founding Health Share of Oregon, the breakthrough collaboration between local healthcare systems and Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties to coordinate healthcare for 400,000 metro-area residents on the Oregon Health Plan. Before that, he served as a staffer for former Gov. John Kitzhaber when Kitzhaber was president of the Oregon Senate, and as chief of staff for former Portland Mayor Vera Katz when she was speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson says, “Dan's years of work at the confluence of health care and housing have shown the promise in this approach, as has his ability to work across our region to connect the dots to address difficult challenges with unique sources of funding and partnership, I also found myself consistently impressed by Dan's commitment to service, both throughout his long career and also in seeking to lead the Joint Office at this time."
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Podcast Episode 3: Housing First, Not Housing Only
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 The podcast produced by the Joint Office of Homeless Services, 'Out of the Streets of Portland, has released its third episode. The topic for this episode is 'Housing First, Not Housing Only' - featuring Portland professor Dr. Marisa Zapata, the President of the Portland Urban League Nkenge Harmon Johnson, and Juha Kahila of the Y-Foundation in Finland, who talks about the effectiveness of the Housing First strategy in Finland.
And we share the story of T., who grew up in St. Louis and Portland before experiencing homelessness for over two years. She’s now back in stable housing thanks to support from the Urban League, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, and the evidence-based Housing First practice.
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New Landlord Incentive Program
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 A NEW landlord incentive program has launched across the region! Fully funded by the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure, this program expands housing opportunities for people who have experienced chronic homelessness. The Regional Risk Mitigation Program (RMP) was established by Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties and modeled after Portland’s Risk Mitigation Pool.
This new program will help increase access to apartments for those with the highest barriers to housing by providing money to landlords for eligible expenses such as excessive damages to a unit or unpaid rent for units that receive subsidies through the Regional Long-term Rent Assistance (RLRA) program. For more information about the RMP, visit: https://www.hdc-nw.org/rlra-rmp. The RMP is administered by Housing Development Center (HDC). If you have questions or need to submit a claim, please contact Jake Kirsch at HDC at jake@hdc-nw.org or 971.386.5595.
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"It's a chance to start a new life"
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Gwyn and Dan have been able to find hope in permanent supportive housing, after twelve years of homelessness and unstable housing, and a difficult struggle with untreated health conditions. Read more of their story here.
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HUD Grant Funding Awarded
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 On Tuesday, 3/28/2023, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted preliminary award announcements for the FY2022 Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition. Multnomah County received preliminary awards in the amount of $31,000,896. This is an increase to our CoC’s overall funding by $2,383,856.
This funding will go to support 21 Permanent Supportive Housing Projects, 9 Rapid Rehousing projects, 3 Transitional Housing/Rapid-Rehousing Projects across 21 different service providers as well as to support our Coordinated Access and Homeless Management Information Systems. This award includes funding for a new culturally-specific Permanent Supportive Housing Project run by NARA NW that will serve 24 households headed by youth, ages 18-24.
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123 New Units Opened in Past Two Months!
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In February and March, the Joint Office supported the opening of three new affordable housing programs funded by the Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) measure. SHS funds will pay for the project-based rental assistance for all 123 apartments. Additional SHS funds will be used to support operational costs, flexible client assistance, and staffing to ensure that residents are successful in their new apartments.
 Emmons Place is a new building with 48 apartments of permanent supportive housing for people 55 and older in inner Northwest Portland’s Historic Alphabet District. The project prioritizes seniors, veterans, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other Communities of Color, and people with disabilities. All residents are served by Northwest Housing Alternative’s onsite resident services coordinator, with additional services provided by Northwest Pilot Project and Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA).
 Hattie Redmond is a new building with 60 studio apartments in the Kenton Neighborhood of North Portland. This neighborhood is part of Albina, the historic center of Portland’s Black/African American community. All units in the building are permanent supportive housing (PSH) targeted to individuals who have experienced homelessness and seek culturally specific services for African Americans, with the goal of reconnecting displaced residents to the Albina community. On-site services are provided by the Urban League of Portland.
 Douglas Fir is a new building with 15 apartments in East Portland for people experiencing serious mental illness symptoms and homelessness. New Narrative (formerly Luke-Dorf) owns and operates the site, and they have partnered with NARA to prioritize people receiving their services. All of these programs will serve our most vulnerable community members who have experienced homelessness, have one or more disabling conditions, and are living with little to no income. The program design of these projects aligns with feedback from our community members, service providers, and people that have experienced homelessness. It also aligns with the goals of the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure, which requires that 75% of funds are devoted to this population.
Read more and find out about applying to these new buildings.
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Upcoming Events and Meetings
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The Joint Office of Homeless Services invites the public to attend our advisory board and committee meetings. 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 April 20, 2023 at 11:00am. 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 will meet on April 12 (Zoom Webinar Link) and April 19, 2023 (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.
Supportive Housing Services Advisory Committee will meet on April 13th, 2023 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm. Zoom link for meeting. More info about the Supportive Housing Services Advisory committee.
For more information on our advisory boards and committees, including meeting links, agendas and other materials, 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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Focus on: Coordinated Access
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What is Coordinated Access?
Coordinated access is the way that organizations, service providers, County & city agencies coordinate the care and support for individuals and households moving out of homelessness into transitional and permanent housing.
Overview of Coordinated Access in Multnomah County
How to connect to a Coordinated Access Housing Specialist for assessment:
Adults: Please contact the Coordinated Housing Access Team (CHAT) Hotline at 844-765-9384. You can also complete an online pre-screening by filling out this form.
For culturally specific assessments for the BIPOC community, you can call/email the BIPOC CHAT Line at 503-280-2600 x 654 or housingreferrals@ulpdx.org.
Veterans: Call the Veteran Services hotline at 855-425-5544.
Families: Call 211 for assessment
Domestic Violence Survivors: Call to Safety 503-235-5333 or, for Spanish, Project UNICA 503-232-4448 (more info and resources for survivors)
Unaccompanied Youth (Under age 25): Contact Janus Youth through their Access Center 635 SW Alder St or 503-432-3986
More info about Coordinated Access in Multnomah County.
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Federal representatives visit Portland
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 Leadership from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the federal agency whose sole focus is solving homelessness nationwide, visited Portland on March 21, 2023, to tour facilities, meet key stakeholders, learn about challenges, and see firsthand some of the region’s innovative solutions to homelessness.
Jeff Olivet, the executive director of USICH, said to participants, “We know what works. It’s not rocket science: housing combined with wraparound services,” Olivet said. But he also highlighted the importance of preventing homelessness in the first place. “It’s not enough to house all the people who are currently homeless, because that doesn’t turn off the faucet. We need upstream solutions.”
Read more about the visit and President Biden's "All In" Initiative to end homelessness nationwide.
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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
JOHS Partner Organization job listings:
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