Dan Field, New Director of JOHS

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on June 8 unanimously approved a one-year extension of their agreement with the City of Portland that allows for the continuation of the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

Grand Opening of The Joyce

On June 5th, we celebrated the grand opening of The Joyce Apartment building, with 66 apartments providing permanent supportive housing. On-site services are made possible through the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure, passed by Metro voters in 2020.

Sunderland RV Safe Park Opens

• Anna Plumb joins JOHS team as Deputy Director, and Antoinette Payne joins as Finance Director.
• The Multnomah Board of County Commissioners approves emergency funding to maintain 175 shelter beds at Bybee Lakes Hope Center.
• The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approves additional Supportive Housing Services Measure investments. That included an additional $17.6 million in one-time funding for new shelter sites, workforce supports for service providers, rent assistance, and employment programming and $62.5 million in one-time funding for added shelter capacity, more recovery housing, new sobriety and stabilization services, expanded day services for people without shelter and eviction prevention.

Francis + Clare Groundbreaking

The Joint Office supports the groundbreaking of Francis & Clare Place, a 61-unit Permanent Supportive Housing development from Catholic Charities.

Butterfly House: The Butterfly House Program, a dedicated housing initiative through New Avenues for Youth and the New Day Program, launches. The program, funded and supported by the Joint Office, aims to support youth aged 18-25 who have survived sex trafficking or exploitation in the sex trades.

Joint City / County Hearing

• The Multnomah County Board of Commissioner and the Portland City Council receive recommendations from an outside consultant on their shared work on homelessness. Those recommendations include clarifying the City and County’s roles, and joining together to create a shared strategic vision and map for the region’s homeless response system. (These recommendations are later incorporated into the Homelessness Response Action Plan released in 2024).
• JOHS launches the Community Sheltering Strategy process, which continues meeting weekly through February, with findings presented in March 2024.
• The Joint Office of Homeless Services hosts its first ever Provider Conference. This gathering allowed JOHS and homeless and housing service providers — both JOHS-contracted providers and those not currently contracted — to collaborate and problem-solve on issues of mutual concern.

Supportive Housing Services Annual Report published. Includes new data showing that 99% of the 532 tenants who moved into permanent supportive housing during the Measure’s first year remained stably housed 12 months later.

On December 21st, homeless advocates across the US, including in Portland, commemorate the somber occasion of the longest night of the year by remembering those who have lost their lives while living on the streets

• Transition Projects’ 120-unit Willamette Center shelter reopens.
• The City and County announce a shared framework for extending Portland and Multnomah County’s homeless services Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for another three years, through June 2027

• The Joint Office supports the County’s historic response to an unprecedented severe weather winter event, supporting life-saving supply distribution and outreach across the entire county.
• The Department of County Human Services and the Joint Office share information about rent assistance to the Board of County Commissioners.
• The Joint Office and City of Portland announce they’ve exceeded their goals for the statewide Oregon All In housing and homeless services program.

• The Joint Office announces St. Johns Drop-In Center, which will serve as a centralized daytime space for community members to get out of the weather and access a variety of services in a safe, trauma-informed environment.
• Multnomah County releases Quarter 2 Supportive Housing Services report showing an increase in placements in supportive housing and rapid rehousing, as well as an increase in people served with rent support to avoid homelessness.

• The Joint Office releases its Community Sheltering Strategy.
• Transfer of the Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) database from the City of Portland to Multnomah County
• The Joint Office presents Quarter 3 report to the Board of County commissioners, showing that the department is on track to meet or exceed all of its Supportive Housing Services spending goals for this fiscal year.
• Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative releases a JOHS-commissioned report on alternative shelters, indicating that alternative shelters provide better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness than congregate shelters.
• The Multnomah County County auditor releases a report showing that JOHS housing placement data is 96% reliable.
• The Joint Office deploys $10 million in workforce stabilization grants to 61 homelessness service providers, in partnership with United Way

Multnomah County Board approves design plan, funding for Montavilla tiny home shelter on S.E. 82nd Avenue.

The Montavilla Straightway Services – The Light Community project is moving forward after the JOHS doubled-down on community engagement and built deeper relationships with neighbors and community organizations.

Service provider, Straightway Services, who will be providing 24/7 on-site wraparound services, has worked in Portland since its founding in 1995 providing support to low-income individuals and underserved populations through its partnerships with healthcare providers, food banks, and more.

Avalon Village

WeShine PDX holds a sneak preview event for its new Avalon Village in the Hosford-Abernathy neighborhood in Portland.

Chair Vega Pederson’s FY 2025 Budget completed and presented to County Commission, featuring significant investments in homeless services:

• A significant investment of $285 million — a 24% increase — for housing placements, rental assistance and support services designed to meet those experiencing homelessness where they are, whether that’s on the streets, in vehicles, or in shelter beds, and assist them to successfully move into and retain permanent housing.
• Funding for 3,054 new Permanent Supportive Housing units.
• Funding for additional shelter beds, a step toward the goal of bringing 1,000 additional shelter units online by the end of calendar year 2025, part of the Community Sheltering Strategy and Homelessness Response Action Plan.
• $9.5 million general fund dollars in strategies to provide safety on and off the streets, including alternative shelter, motel-based shelter and vital outreach workers on the ground every day.