To our colleagues, partners and community members,
Welcome to the Joint Office of Homeless Services monthly newsletter!
Here you will learn more about our collective work and shared commitment to addressing homelessness in Portland and throughout Multnomah County.
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 is the Homelessness Management Information System?
Is it a national registry of people experiencing homelessness?
(scroll to the bottom of the newsletter to see the answer)
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Podcast Episode 4: Using Data to Help End Homelessness
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 The podcast produced by the Joint Office of Homeless Services, 'Out of the Streets of Portland, has released its fourth episode, "Using Data to End Homelessness."
This episode focuses on one of the most important, time-consuming, and altogether under-recognized tasks of the JOHS: the collection and analysis of sets of data to help guide and prioritize the work to end homelessness.
On this episode, we speak with Lori Kelley, the JOHS Planning & Evaluation Program Manager, Beth Sandor with Community Solutions, and Dr. Marisa Zapata, the head of the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative.
And we share the story of Gary, who is in stable housing and receiving much-needed medical care thanks to Street Roots, the Veterans Administration, the JOHS, and the evidence-based Housing First practice.
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Portland Safe Rest Village Data Dashboard
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The City of Portland has shared The Safe Rest Village Data Dashboard, with program data for the Safe Rest Villages for the past three quarters. The dashboard shares things like numbers of people who have been served, where people go when they leave the villages (exit destinations), demographic information and other information.
Example of one of the tables in the data dashboard:
This dashboard is specifically about Safe Rest Village program outcomes. This is just one of several programs funded by the City of Portland’s American Rescue Plan Act grant funds. To see where other funds are going and how the big picture dollars are making an impact, check out the City’s Rescue Plan Open Data portal.
Comments and questions are welcome at saferestvillages@portlandoregon.gov. |
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Provider Spotlight: Transition Projects
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Notices of Funding Availability
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The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) is launching a funding opportunity to increase Outreach Data Collection with a $330k investment.
Deadline: May 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
Click here for more info and application.
 We also have a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) open now for the Frequent User Systems Engagement (FUSE) Program. This funding opportunity represents an investment of over $1M investment to provide permanent supportive housing with wrap-around support services to 50 participants identified in FUSE data.
Deadline: June 4, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
Click here for more info and application.
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Housing Multnomah Now/Oregon All In
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On Jan. 10, 2023, Gov. Tina Kotek issued an Emergency Declaration Due to Homelessness that created a process for new emergency funding to be allocated to local governments across the state. That funding was finalized on April 28th.
And in February 2023, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced a related initiative called Housing Multnomah Now — in full partnership with the City of Portland — to rapidly house hundreds of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in a particular geographic area, starting with a portion of the central city.
The Joint Office is working with community partners to implement these ambitious initiatives to rapidly move hundreds of our most vulnerable neighbors into housing, while providing the needed supports for them to be successful there.
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Preliminary Point-in-Time Data Released
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Leaders from the three Portland-area counties on Wednesday, May 10, released federally required data on people experiencing homelessness on a single night this year — a first step for sharing results from the region’s first-ever fully combined Point in Time Count.
 The number of people counted under the federal definition of chronic homelessness — meaning they reported a long spell of homelessness and a disabling condition — fell 17% across the region, also falling in each county, since last year’s Count.
With increased funding through the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure, and other ongoing investments, Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties have made significant strides toward working with more people experiencing homelessness and increasing shelter and housing solutions for vulnerable community members.
Read the full press release here.
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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) Board Meeting
Thursday, May 18th, 2023 ⋅ 11:00am – 1:00pm.
Click here for Virtual Meeting.
More info about the Continuum of Care Board.
JOHS Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC)
June 14th, 2023 from 11:00am – 1:00pm.
The public can attend via this Virtual Meeting 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 info about CBACs please visit the Office of Community Involvement.
Supportive Housing Services Advisory Committee
Thursday, June 8th, 2023 from 3:00 – 5:00pm.
Click here for Virtual Meeting.
More info about the Supportive Housing Services Advisory committee.
For more info 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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New JOHS Website | Launching June 2023
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Our new site will feature data dashboards, an easy-to-navigate interface, resources and info for people looking for help or interested in our work at the JOHS. Check next month's newsletter for a link to the new site!
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New Permanent Supportive Housing
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Last October, the Joint Office released a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) inviting qualified providers to submit proposals for new tenant and project-based PSH programs.
We are excited to announce that seven providers were selected to open 233 new PSH opportunities in the coming fiscal year.
All of these new programs will serve adults with disabling conditions who are experiencing or at imminent risk of experiencing long-term, literal homelessness.
We are grateful to everyone that participated in this process, from all of the organizations and county departments that submitted proposals to the staff and community members that reviewed proposals and selected the final projects, the Joint Office expresses deep gratitude for your participation.
In the coming year, there will be opportunities to submit housing project proposals. Please review the JOHS webpage for current and upcoming funding opportunities at: https://www.multco.us/johs/current-notices-funding.
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Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness:
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Racial Justice & Equity Resources
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Employment Opportunities
Find current job listing at our Partner Organizations.
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