Katrina Holland, Angela Martin and Robert Stoll
Holland is executive director of JOIN and co-chair of the board of the HereTogether coalition. Martin is executive director of HereTogether. Stoll is co-chair of the board and founder of the HereTogether organization.
The recent media blitz of op-eds calling for urgent action on homelessness exemplifies the frustration and sadness most of us feel as we bear witness to the humanitarian homeless crisis on our streets every day. We agree that there’s much work to be done, but the way we channel our frustrations matters because not all quick actions will deliver lasting results. Fortunately, there is reason for hope as the regional Supportive Housing Services measure voters approved last year comes online.
What’s different about this homeless services revenue is that it funds a coordinated strategy and the resources to create long-term results. In the first fiscal year, which started July 2021, the housing measure, managed by Metro regional government, will generate $181 million to fund critical programs across the region like rent assistance and other services people need to stay in housing. Before its passage, two of the three counties in Metro’s jurisdiction had little or no comprehensive homeless program; there was no effective coordination between counties; and Metro had no authority in solving the homeless crisis. This funding that started flowing into our communities in July provides light at the end of the tunnel of this very dark time.
Less than two months after its launch, this groundbreaking program is delivering results ranging from placing families in housing to expanding temporary housing facilities and hiring of new case managers. One incredibly important example of progress is the recent commitment to a Metro-wide database of everyone experiencing homelessness that includes individuals by name. With these better coordinated resources, we will have a person by person understanding of the resources necessary to help individuals secure the housing and services that will end their homelessness.
So, what more can be done now? By far the most important thing is to speed up the creation of permanent housing units because a permanent solution requires permanent housing. We have learned time and again that the only true solution to homelessness is a permanent home. We cannot sweep the problem away--doing so is a disservice to our most vulnerable neighbors.
Last year, Street Roots partnered with Stop the Sweeps PDX, Northwest Pilot Project, Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative to conduct a survey asking unhoused people what they would prefer as a temporary solution. Moving into motels was by far the top choice with 53% support. Other options garnered much lower support: RV/car park with hygiene facilities (13%) and tent villages (3%).
Let’s listen to those experiencing homelessness. There are many innovative, effective ways to provide safe, transitional housing that should be explored and expanded instead of investing millions in tent cities. For example, the state, city and county could use federal pandemic relief funds to expand motel conversion. This has already proven successful with 867 hotel and motel units across the state. Another example is the pending implementation of over 1,000 flexible housing vouchers for permanent housing that are in the process of being assigned to households right now.
The HereTogether Coalition, representing thousands of individuals and more than 100 organizations, believes that working together with a sharp focus on proven solutions, systems change, accountability and regional coordination is how we make homelessness rare and brief throughout the region. We also believe it’s possible to squander this opportunity by chasing expensive, quick fix promises that have failed time and again.
We applaud the call for a quick, compassionate response; it simply needs to be the right response that addresses immediate needs while seeking to repair the broken housing and health systems that created this crisis in the first place.
Let’s do more, let’s do it fast, but let’s make it last.
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September 05, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Opinion: Lasting solutions – not quick fixes – needed for homelessness crisis - OregonLive
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