Law Change Threatens Motel Program

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Back in November, Salem had a decent shot at creating additional shelter space for the chronically homeless through a CARES Act/Project Turnkey grant to acquire a motel/hotel for use as non-congregate shelter.  See Radnovich, C. "Oregon lawmakers approve $35 million for homeless shelters amid pandemic, recession."  (10 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  But, a move to "modernize" the laws governing the allocation of federal anti-poverty funds has all but dashed those hopes to bits. 

The Oregon Community Foundation, which administers Project Turnkey funds through an application and selection process, approved the Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency's application for $7M to purchase a 68-room motel.  But, just as MWVCAA was trying to put together funding for operations,  the state's Housing and Community Services department dropped House Bill 2100, prompting MWVCAA to withdraw its Project Turnkey application.   

Housing Stability Council January 8, 2021 Meeting

As explained to the Housing Stability Council last week, the idea is that OHCS will no longer allocate (by formula) all Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) funds and State Housing Assistance (SHAP) funds to community action agencies (CAAs).  Instead, OHCS will distribute the funds in "established geographic buckets" through a competitive process.  In effect, OHCS is seeking to retain the ability to administer these federal homeless assistance programs, versus allowing local control through CAAs.  It's a controversial proposal that many see as impracticable on a number of fronts.  OHCS and CAAs are still in negotiations over a possible compromise bill.  But the uncertainty alone was enough to kill the motel/shelter project.

We asked MWVCAA Executive Director Jimmy Jones by email if he thought there was any chance the motel/shelter project might be revived in some form.  "Possibly", he told us.  Finding sustainable funding for operations, "without risking funding plans we have for ARCHES or our HYRC program", was already a challenge, he said. 

 

We are still holding meetings with other public and private partners to talk about funding options.  But the “modernization” plan places too many of our resources in jeopardy, and it’s not prudent or in alignment with our fiduciary responsibility to pursue these kinds of long-term commitments until we have resolution on our long-term revenues.  The same set of decisions are being made across Oregon, and other agencies are balking at signing long-term contracts until this matter with OHCS is resolved, in such a way that we can trust that the state will be there to help us support these services.  It’s not just the motel.  Without cost control and long-term revenue assurances, the state’s plans to create infrastructure development to end homelessness are in jeopardy, especially the Navigation Center concept that’s likely to be introduced into session later this month.

We will continue to follow OHCS's "modernization" plans through the legislative session.  Related post:  "New State Policy Pits BLM vs Homeless"  (4 January 2021).