Hlessness to Remain City's #1 Priority

 By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

November 15, 2021 Policy Agenda Work Session

"Addressing Homelessness" will continue to be the No. 1 priority in 2022, Council agreed this week during the work session on the Council Policy Agenda.  Tension continues between the City Manager's need for City programs to be financially sustainable and the Council's need to spend free homeless $$ before spending deadlines expire.  But their wish list* is fiscally breathtaking:  continue and expand organized pallet structure and vehicle camping programs, fund sobering center operations, implement a CAHOOTS-style program and hire dedicated City staff (e.g. social workers, homeless liaison).  Briefly recapping the financial realities:  the $10.5M from 2HB 5006 (2021 Session) must be spent by July 2023. The grant agreement provides the funds shall be used for "sheltering", defined as "site acquisition, preparation, and temporary or permanent shelter purchase" or "operating costs for potential shelter sites, unsheltered site cleanup, sobering center, or crisis response."  The $8.1M set aside from the City's ARPA funds must be spent by December 2024.  Of that $8.1M, $3M was spent to purchase the navigation center, $.5M was spent to purchase the Arches Inn (the name of the 80-room Project Turnkey hotel purchased by the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency), and the remaining $4.6 is designated for "sheltering programs" such as the two on Portland Road that offer pallet structure and vehicle camping.  See the work session staff report.  

Council spent one full hour of the two set aside for the work session in a rambling exchange that revealed unfamiliarity with key terms such as "affordable housing" (generally defined as housing on which the occupant is paying no more than 30% of gross income for housing costs including utilities**) and "Housing First" (contrary to apparent belief, hoping that people will move on to permanent housing from programs that provide, say, safe vehicle camping, a mat indoors on the floor overnight, or a pallet structure does not make those programs Housing First).  In the end, councilors resolved to try and get the word out through neighborhood and other civic associations about all the City is doing to address homelessness.  They really believe if only the public knew how "tirelessly" staff was working on the problem, we would stop being so mean about it.  

The influx of money + spending deadlines have apparently infused in Council (or some of them) a belief that the City has to "do it all" -- prevent, manage and end homelessness -- by any means that might be effective.  Questions of actual effectiveness (requiring metrics) and sustainability (requiring permanent funding sources) must be put to one side, they say, begging the additional question when, then, will these questions be taken up?  Those who donated funds ($250K) to purchase 50 pallet shelters, only to find out there is no place to put them, would probably like to know.  See 11/12/21 CMU Update.   

Council will take up the Policy Agenda again in January.       

* meaning programs not firmly agreed upon, such as the navigation center and the Arches Inn.

**Affordability calculations are pegged to Area Median Income (AMI) -- the income level at which  half the families in an area are earning more and half are earning less.  A housing unit that is "affordable at 80% AMI" is affordable (meaning rent + utilities cost no more than 30% of gross income) for a household earning at least 80% of AMI.  Housing that's affordable at 80% AMI is generally considered "workforce" housing whereas housing that's affordable at 30% AMI is considered "extremely low income" housing.   See Defining Housing Affordability.)