Multnomah County housing leaders and partners briefed the Board of County Commissioners Thursday, Dec. 2, on the latest developments in the County’s ongoing eviction prevention and rent assistance efforts. The update comes two days after Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that she is calling lawmakers back for a special session Dec. 13 to protect renters across the state.
“One thing we can say is it’s just been a constantly changing landscape,” said Chair Deborah Kafoury. “I think we’re all looking forward to the legislative session coming up.”
The upcoming special session has implications for tenants in Multnomah County and beyond. Lawmakers will consider extending protections for Oregonians who have applied for rent assistance, allocating more money to the State’s rent assistance fund and community action agencies, and budgeting additional dollars to help with administration costs that Oregon Housing and Community Services has incurred in its efforts to respond to a surge in applications.
Representatives from Multnomah County and other jurisdictions have been meeting with legislators to raise awareness about the need for additional funding and an extension of renter protections. With the 60-day safe harbor protections that are activated once a tenant provides proof of their application for rental assistance to their landlord (90 days in Multnomah County) in danger of expiring for many renters across the state, the County and other localities have advocated for a uniform extension, along with other protections.
“We expect it to be a robust, single-day legislative session, and we’re looking forward to it,” said Jeston Black, the County’s director of government relations.
As the Oregon State Legislature prepares to reconvene, Multnomah County and its partners are focused on preventing people from losing their homes. This involves rent assistance delivered through the State’s Allita portal, funding distributed through a coalition of more than 40 community partners, and case worker intervention in eviction cases through a rapid response eviction prevention program.
“Today we’re in a shifting landscape,” said Peggy Samolinski, the County’s Youth and Family Services Division director. “We have been regularly meeting with our partners and we’re having discussions about things we’re seeing in the courts and community, and doing our best to create responses” to fill emerging gaps in our eviction prevention safety net.
Court dockets show eviction cases are on the rise, with more likely going unreported. Between July 1 and Nov. 19, 657 non-payment cases were filed in court, the majority of which were either “set over” for 90 days or dismissed. Calls to 211info from people who have received a notice of eviction for nonpayment, some of whom have had their safe harbor protections expire, are also steadily increasing, reported Ciara Doyle, the chief operating officer of 211info. Callers who have applied for assistance and are within 20 days of their safe harbor protections expiring have their cases escalated to a rapid eviction prevention response team.
“The trend has just been increasing since July through today,” said Doyle. “In addition to the safe harbor expiring, I also think that the increase is coming from community outreach efforts and just getting messaging out to the community.”
211info also refers callers to the County’s Allita team, which works with renters who are having trouble navigating or completing their applications for rent assistance through the State’s Allita portal. Through Nov. 19, the team processed 2,912 total applications, distributing nearly $25 million in rent assistance, according to Stephanie Simmons, who manages the Allita program for the County. More than 99% of applications that could have been at risk of having their 90-day protections expire in November were paid or are in process.
Between July 1 and Nov. 10, the community-based network of more than 40 culturally specific and culturally responsive organizations committed an additional $14.8 million in rent relief to 3,589 households. An additional $31.6 million in emergency rental assistance funding that was allocated to Multnomah County and the City of Portland will be distributed through the organizations.
“It is impressive and it is just a testament to the people doing the work,” added Commissioner Sharon Meieran. “Thank you to all of you.”
Outreach workers have also detected emerging issues. For example, some people who had their court cases declared “set over” in July or August after having applied for rent assistance and received the 90-day protection have not yet received rent assistance. With their second court dates approaching, the County has added focused outreach through Bienestar to connect with these tenants and expedite payment. Bienestar has connected with 61 households in the first two weeks of this effort.
“This is an all-hands-on deck approach,” said Yesenia Delgado, a family system program specialist with the Joint Office of Homeless Services. “We have our legal partners supporting us and getting us the information we need to know in regards to who these households are and how to contact them.”
And while Allita applications are paused for now, the County is exploring temporary access to local rent funds through 211info. This would allow tenants — particularly those who do not have connections to one of the County’s community-based organization partners distributing assistance and those who have not previously applied through Allita — a centralized option to continue to apply for rent assistance. Their cases would be referred to the County’s Bienestar de La Familia program or one of the County’s partner agencies.
“Creating temporary access through 211 — great idea,” said Commissioner Lori Stegmann. “Really excited to hear more about that as that comes along.”
The County has also begun a second phase of communication efforts to reach tenants with helpful information. The campaign includes social media ads in six languages, advertisements in culturally specific newspapers, and information in an upcoming City of Gresham newsletter that is delivered to every Gresham mailbox.
A text message campaign is expected to reach approximately 380,000 Multnomah County residents in mid December. The communication will include a reminder that renters who receive an eviction notice can find financial and legal help by calling 2-1-1, and to check the County’s website for information.
“It really has been wonderful, wonderful work,” said Commissioner Susheela Jayapal. “I do think it’s a model for the State. I’ve been talking to some of our providers recently and they’ve expressed appreciation for how responsive the team has been.”
“I want to say how grateful I am for the partnership with all the folks at Multnomah County who have been working on this so hard, also the 211 people who have been working on this, [and] Bienestar,” said Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. “Thanks to everyone.”