A roundup of news and updates from the Joint Office of Homeless Services since its 2016 formation.
Jump to 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
2023 March 2023:
Federal representatives visit Portland to learn about challenges and strengths of local solutions to homelessness
County announces partnership with Do Good Multnomah to add 52 beds of shelter, housing at downtown Behavioral Health Resource Center
Joint Office of Homeless Services contracts with nonprofit Straightway Services to manage new ‘safe park’
Board approves $4 million in funding for Housing Multnomah Now
October 2022:
Arbor Lodge Shelter closes temporarily for an upgrade
June 2022:
Move-In Multnomah Campaign
September 2022:
Supportive Housing Services: Quarter Four Report
May 2022:
Frequently Asked Questions: 120 S.E. Market St. Shelter
Supportive Housing Services: Quarter Three Report
Key takeaways from the FY 2023 Joint Office of Homeless Services budget
March 2022
With more shelter beds now than pre-COVID, Joint Office announces ongoing work to continue adding shelter capacity
Supportive Housing Services: Quarter Two Report
Built for Zero: Working to End Homelessness
February 2022
'A Time to Listen, A Time to Act': Faith leaders, providers highlight Joint Office partnerships in call for community to address homelessness
January 2022
Supportive Housing Services: Quarter 1 Summary
‘These dollars are making a difference right now:’ Board OKs landmark Supportive Housing Services contract
Growing cadre of outreach teams helping Joint Office better reach people on streets with housing, services
Emergency Shelters Provided in Period of Severe Cold
Nov. 2021 Board OKs plan for first large shelter in North Portland; Joint Office opens interim Arbor Lodge shelter
Oct. 2021 October 2021 Supportive Housing Services update: More shelter, more outreach, more housing all under way
Aug. 2021 NEWS RELEASE: Despite end of federal eviction ban, rent relief, legal protections remain available to help protect tenants locally
‘A crisis within a crisis’: County leaders brief board on preliminary findings of June extreme heat report
Joint Office opens supply center to outreach teams, community groups to help share water during latest heatwave
July 2021 Joint Office will again open supply center to outreach teams, community groups to help share thousands of bottles of water during heatwave
Project Turnkey grant helps Joint Office purchase motel for shelter during COVID-19 and beyond
June 2021 Joint Office supply center works with dozens of groups to distribute nearly 56,000 bottles of water through worst of heatwave, reaching across Multnomah County
FUSE (Frequent Users Systems Engagement) analysis reveals that supportive housing reduces crises response and jail bookings in Multnomah County
Unprecedented Joint Office budget adds new shelter beds, behavioral health services, hygiene access — and an immediate infusion of supportive housing
May 2021 COVID-19 Rent Assistance and Housing Stability Resources
Joint Office’s St. Johns Village shelter celebrates opening: ‘Shining example of what it looks like when a neighborhood opens its arms’
April 2021 Chair Kafoury shares $52 million budget plan for first year of Supportive Housing Services Measure funds
Old Town shelter will remain open through summer — serving as temporary bridge amid ongoing work to give vaccines
Feb. 2021 Multnomah County’s groundbreaking plan for supportive housing clears key hurdle; Chair Kafoury announces work on data tracking
Jan. 2021 It’s about being safe’: Hundreds of shelter workers vaccinated in first-of-its-kind clinic hosted by Public Health
MEDIA RELEASE: Amid ongoing COVID surge concerns, Joint Office joins other West Coast communities in seeking partial Point in Time Count delay
Dec. 2020 News release: Commissioners affirm that ‘Housing is Health’ in votes preventing evictions, adding shelter and creating housing opportunities
Joint Office outlines plan for tackling chronic homelessness with historic infusion of funds from Metro’s supportive housing measure
As COVID-19 surges, Joint Office completes shift to motel shelters for vulnerable people, as sixth site opens
Joint Office opens 24-hour winter shelter in Old Town's former Greyhound Station
Nov. 2020 Work begins to winterize COVID-19 outdoor shelters with installation of personal pods at Old Town location
Oct. 2020 Urban League of Portland works with Joint Office to open historic motel-based shelter designed for Black adults at risk of COVID-19
Joint Office to run three new seasonal shelter spaces, offering COVID-compliant safety off the streets for 275 more people this winter
Sept. 2020 Board of Commissioners protects tens of thousands of renters with local extension of COVID-19 eviction ban
Friday, Sept. 18: Joint Office offers 9th day of smoke shelter
Thursday, Sept. 17: Joint Office of Homeless Services offers eighth day of additional shelter as escape from smoke
Wednesday, Sept. 16: Joint Office of Homeless Services offers 7th day of smoke shelter; supply donations remain welcome
Tuesday, Sept. 15: Joint Office of Homeless Services offers 6th day of smoke shelter; supply donations remain welcome
Monday, Sept. 14: Joint Office of Homeless Services offers 5th day of smoke shelter; extends thanks amid ongoing call for supplies
Sunday, Sept. 13: Joint Office of Homeless Services offering 24-hour smoke shelter for 4th day; request out for supplies
Sept. 12: Joint Office of Homeless Services offering 24-hour smoke shelter for 3rd day, distributing KN95 masks
Joint Office still adding 24-hour smoke shelter, works with community to help distribute KN95 masks
Smoke, dangerous air prompt Joint Office of Homeless Services to open extra shelter capacity, take other protective steps
July 2020 Longer-term plan for COVID-19 moves forward: Joint Office opens three new motel shelters to better protect high-risk guests
June 2020 Amid urgent need to protect highest-risk shelter guests, Joint Office opens motel as shelter for vulnerable people
‘Something that I knew would be helpful’: Volunteers provide thousands of lunches for people without shelter, with help from Joint Office
VIDEO
May 2020 FAQ: COVID-19 physical distancing shelter transition
March 2020 COVID-19 guidance for people experiencing homelessness without shelter
COVID-19 and homelessness in Multnomah County
Governor clarifies 'Stay Home' order with guidance for social services, people experiencing homelessness
Jupiter Hotel steps up, partners with Multnomah County to provide temporary shelter
Beds in Oregon Convention Center and Charles Jordan Community Center help create healthier spacing in County’s shelter system
Jan. 2020 Community wants social services — not stricter law enforcement — to address homelessness, poll results show
Dec. 2019 Governor’s tour of Laurelwood Center shelter celebrates community relationships at the heart of ending homelessness
Board of County Commissioners authorize tourism dollars for housing and homeless programs
Oct. 2019 For 2nd year, Eat & Greet party shows possibilities when neighbors embrace shelter residents
County releases 2018 report of homeless deaths
Sept. 2019 ‘Housing, not Warehousing’: County leaders, businesses, advocates reject Trump’s harsh homelessness rhetoric
Board approves plans for Behavioral Health Resource Center
County leaders praise engagement with homeless neighbors as new Portland Street Response program takes shape
County partnership, including Wapato money and tourism taxes, helps Portland housing bond achieve goals, provide support services
Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer says federal government must join local leaders like Chair Deborah Kafoury in homelessness fight
Aug. 2019 ‘A dignified space’: Services-focused Laurelwood Center marks milestone in County's evolving shelter system
‘More than just a safe place’: Public-private Navigation Center adds another services-focused shelter
March 2019 The quiet and relentless work of preventing homelessness
Feb. 2019 Thanks to $100,000 from County and CareOregon, Northwest Pilot Project to help seniors facing eviction downtown
‘No one will be turned away’: As storm bears down, County, Portland leaders share plans for shelter, transportation
Jan. 2019 ‘What the County should be doing’: Land donation makes affordable housing possible in neighborhood hit by gentrification
2019 Point in Time Count starts Wednesday, Jan. 23, with unprecedented coordination among outreach workers, volunteers
County weighs purchase of downtown Portland building as part of plan for improving mental health services
$12 million from County, Portland, Oregon will add supportive housing, help ease chronic homelessness
Dec. 2018 Lighting the way for compassion: Vigil of Remembrance honors those who live, and died, experiencing homelessness
A hand up to hope: Winter after winter, night after night, outreach teams hit the streets with lifesaving gear, housing connections
Gov. Kate Brown, Chair Deborah Kafoury call for continued state investment in housing, shelter: ‘It’s the right thing to do. It’s as simple as that’
In building donated by developer, nonprofit opens family winter shelter in ‘lightning-fast time’
Nov. 2018 Winter shelter opens in County's Walnut Park complex; learn how to donate
Hoping to add affordable apartments for families, County agrees to change tax program
Oct. 2018 County releases 2017 report of homeless deaths
Sept. 2018
Board approves first supportive housing development from Wapato proceeds
“The only thing we lacked was a home": A Place For You pilot project houses four families
Amid record-setting homelessness response, Multnomah County, Portland deliver on pledge to add supportive housing
Aug. 2018 NEWS RELEASE: Long-planned affordable housing development offers path for successful Kenton Women’s Village pilot to find long-term home
July 2018 County, Portland and Oregon partner for first-of-its-kind supportive housing project
June 2018 ‘This is the right thing to do’: Board unites behind design plan for service-enriched Foster shelter
May 2018 Shelter capacity to increase; dozens of new beds in two County buildings
At second budget hearing, concerns over housing stability, equity and immigration loom large
April 2018 Regional Opioid Summit focuses on recovery housing, prosecution diversion and jail treatment
March 2018 ‘Structural racism impacts homelessness’: Community discussion kicks off year of work tackling disparities
Looking ahead for local rent vouchers: Gift from Meyer Memorial Trust may one day help pilot program for seniors grow
From Budget Lodge to refuge: Leased motel to serve people recovering from mental health crisis
Feb. 2018 Multnomah County suspends operations at family shelter, relocates families
Volunteers across Multnomah County help hundreds of people find warm, dry places to sleep during winter storms
Jan. 2018
Board of Commissioners approves lease for shelter site on SE Foster Road
County to open transitional supportive housing in Southwest Portland
Feb. 2018 Gresham shelter focuses on relationships, responsibility
Dec. 2017 Home for the Holidays: Successful campaign to help families out of shelter shows power of partnerships
Multnomah County releases 2016 Domicile Unknown report on homeless deaths
'More light to a darkened world': Seasonal shelter for homeless families opens at Congregation Beth Israel
From homeless shelter to permanent home: one family’s journey
'A real impact on real human beings': Advocates warn tax bill would gut affordable housing
Nov. 2017 'This isn’t about me. It’s about him': Home for the Holidays already helping families move from shelter to apartment
Winter shelter opens in basement of Multnomah County's Mead Building
Home for the Holidays: Campaign asks community to help families with a hand up from shelter
“No one who needs shelter is shut out”: Severe weather plan for homeless stresses early preparation
Sept. 2017 ‘We have to just do it’: Providers, political leaders preparing push to house thousands more chronically homeless neighbors
Aug. 2017 NEWS RELEASE: Record housing placements, shelter access follow investments in homelessness work
July 2017 Housing advocates rally against threatened federal cuts: "Housing is a human right"
June 2017 2017 Point in Time count: More neighbors counted as homeless since 2015, but more sleeping off the streets
New milestones in homelessness services: Record use of emergency shelter, housing placements ahead of pace
Kenton Women's Village: ‘This is a great reminder of what we can do when we all work together’
April 2017 "It shows what a community can do": Business partners, experienced provider open shelter in Shleifer building
March 2017 ‘A hard turn to the left’: Multnomah County chair talks Trump, homelessness with LGBT community
Feb. 2017 Talking about "Evicted": East county neighbors share stories from the front lines of our housing crisis
Tight housing market threatens progress in ending homelessness
Celebrating a milestone in ending veterans homelessness
Homelessness in Multnomah County: Workers, volunteers embark on difficult 'point-in-time' count
Chair Kafoury and Mayor Wheeler's open letter to landlords
Chair Kafoury throws support behind protecting tenants
Jan. 2017 New winter shelter to opens in Downtown Portland
Nov. 2016 Businesses come together to help fund and open new winter shelter
Year-round shelter for couples opens in Sellwood
Sept. 2016 Prevention and permanent housing needed along with shelters, housing experts tell Board
July 2016 Multnomah County and City of Portland to open 24-hour shelter in Hansen Building
June 2016 Multnomah County, City of Portland approve joint office to combat homelessness
