Housing Multnomah Now and Oregon All In

Multnomah County, the City of Portland, the State of Oregon and community partners have launched a new collaborative effort to house, shelter and expand street outreach to hundreds of people in need.

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. Attached to that funding are specific goals for housing, shelter and outreach.

In March 2023, the Oregon Legislature funded the governor’s emergency order. To receive a share of those funds, local governments had to create Multi-Agency Coordinating (MAC) groups and assemble truly cross-jurisdictional action plans. Kotek’s plan for this funding is called Oregon All In. The funding was finalized April 28.

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.

Multnomah County’s local Multi-Agency Collaborative (MAC) working group, with members from the County, the City of Portland, the City of Gresham, Home Forward, service providers, the healthcare sector and others, will simultaneously oversee, coordinate and implement both Housing Multnomah Now and Oregon All In over the coming months.

Statewide and Local Outcomes

The Governor requested, and the Legislature approved, a statewide $200 million early investment package this spring to prevent households from becoming homeless, add shelter beds, and rehouse unsheltered households.

Multnomah County’s MAC received $18.2 million to achieve housing and shelter outcomes in the City of Portland and Multnomah County. The state expects those funds to help deliver the following goals:

• Housing 275 people, with guidance from culturally specific providers and a mission to address racial disparities in homelessness.
• Creating 140 new shelter beds, by supporting the City of Portland’s S.E. Gideon Street Temporary Alternative Shelter Site.

In addition to the state’s housing goals for its funding, the County, through its Housing Multnomah Now pilot program and local funding, will add its own targeted housing outcomes focused on geographic areas.

• Housing 300 additional people, starting with a portion of the Central City and then adding a second location in east Multnomah County.

The MAC will coordinate this work and build both into a cohesive continuum. All told, the combined efforts guided by the MAC are expected to house 575 people.

Separate from the Oregon All In and MAC process, Multnomah County’s Department of County Human Services will receive $5.4 million for expanding eviction prevention rent assistance and resources.

• Goal: 1,426 evictions prevented.

Plans for a Growing, Evolving MAC Group

A local Multnomah County Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group has been created for interagency management, planning, coordination, and operational leadership to provide strategic coordination, identify resources and manage goals.

Members include representatives from the County, the City of Portland, Home Forward, the City of Gresham, Health Share of Oregon, service providers and more. Expertise ranges from emergency management to outreach to housing placement to eviction prevention.

This group is now hard at work — together — putting our plans for Oregon All In and Housing Multnomah Now into action. As that ongoing planning and operations work continues, new members with additional areas of expertise will be added.