In the last 6 months, the City of Portland has uncovered millions in unspent housing funds. After months of deliberation, an allocation of these funds successfully passed at Portland City Hall.
Dozens of Welcome Home Members and aligned community advocates used their voices to demand the council move forward with a funding package so that this money isn’t held from the community another day.
Every month in Multnomah County, more people fall into homelessness than our system can help. Our coalition is excited that this funding package includes both upstream investments and emergency assistance to prevent homelessness.
This funding package will go before the Portland City Council one more time before being amended to the City’s budget. But we are hopeful that the investments that help Portlanders who need it most are preserved in the funding package.
Among other allocations, the Council passed the following:
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$17.5 million to purchase property for Social Housing
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$9 million on rental assistance for tenants facing eviction or experiencing homelessness
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$8.8 million for ‘Debt Buy Downs’ to bring down the rents for affordable units
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$2 million to pay for legal services for renters facing eviction
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$200,000 to improve renter and landlord education on tenant rights
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$800,000 to help prospective homeowners cover downpayment costs
These dollars will make an impact for Portlanders struggling to stabilize in their housing. But we are excited to build a future where our region stops homelessness in the first place by creating a diverse, affordable stock of housing for every Portlander.
Thank you for uplifting this vision!