Supportive Housing Services: Quarter Three Report

May 31, 2022

Nine months after funding became available, Multnomah County and the Joint Office of Homeless Services are delivering on the promise of Metro’s Supportive Housing Services Measure.

While it’s clear that inflow into homelessness continues to grow (the Point in Time Count of people experiencing homelessness on one night increased from 4,015 people in 2019 to 5,228 people in 2022), the services that the Joint Office has been able to support have increased significantly and helped thousands of others leave homelessness or avoid it altogether. The Supportive Housing Services Ballot Measure is a key part of that effort.

Putting this year’s $52 million allocation to use, the Joint Office has moved hundreds of people into permanent homes, added new shelter options, and expanded street outreach, community cleanup and behavioral health services. In all, 2,770 people have been able to move from homelessness into housing (500 who were directly supported by Supportive Housing Services funding).

Metro has required each county receiving funds to present detailed quarterly reports of their progress. Here’s a guide to Multnomah County’s work from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Read more, including current and past reports, at multco.us/johs.

PERMANENT AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING:

500 people housed directly from Supportive Housing Services (SHS) funding
2270 people housed from other funding sources
2770 people housed between July 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022
1 in 5 Housing placements made possible by Supportive Housing Services funds
In Quarter 3 (Q3 - January - March 2022), the Joint Office nearly doubled the number of people moving into permanent housing with Supportive Housing Services funds -- due in large part to foundational work begun in Q1 and Q2 (July - December 2021)

PARTNER SNAPSHOT:

Argyle Gardens Apartments

Transition Projects: Craig came to the Clark Center shelter in July 2021. His struggles with anxiety and depression led him to lose his job and his home. When he would try to find housing on his own, he would often become overwhelmed.

Through Cascadia Behavioral Health, Craig received support with his anxiety and depression. He began meeting with a housing case manager and a wellness support specialist, received support with his job search, and was able to move into affordable housing at Argyle Garden Apartments.

SHELTER EXPANSION:

Interior of Market Street Shelter

This quarter saw expansion of both outreach and shelter capacity, including capacity supported by Supportive Housing Services (SHS) funding. Three community-based organizations hired newly funded navigation workers, including workers who have lived experience with homelessness and behavioral health challenges. This quarter, the Joint Office developed a shelter bed set-aside partnership to help navigation workers and public space management agencies at the City of Portland to connect people to emergency shelter opportunities.

Along with the new navigation workers funded through SHS, a behavioral health community-based organization is adding three additional outreach workers to respond to behavioral health related calls from public space management agencies. Through Q3, the SHS-funded Health Department PATH team, which helps people experiencing homelessness receive treatment for substance use disorders, served 190 people.

SHS funds are allocated to support operations at a number of emergency shelters representing 160 beds, including shelters added this fiscal year such as Beacon Village and Arbor Lodge.

In addition, during this quarter, a newly acquired motel in Gateway opened, offering 137 rooms for emergency shelter.