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In a surprising change of tune May 27, Portland and Multnomah County officials announced an agreement on how to balance short-term shelter and long-term housing for homeless people, using both city and county funds.
A press release from the Joint Office of Homeless Services tonight announced the intentions of City Commissioner Dan Ryan and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury to work together in order to balance their two visions through the joint office.
Earlier this month, Kafoury reacted strongly to news that Mayor Ted Wheeler and Ryan were planning to erect safe sleeping sites using a portion of the city’s available American Rescue Plan funds. She called the mayor’s idea of erecting safe sleeping sites a “back-of-the-napkin sales pitch” and made it clear she was not keen on contributing any of the county’s ARPA funds toward such a plan.
But the statement today from the joint office seemed to present a middle ground between Kafoury and Ryan: “With support from Chair Kafoury, [Ryan’s office] is leading our effort to address the immediate and acute needs of people experiencing houselessness. Ryan is working with Mayor Wheeler and the Portland City Council to direct emergency federal resources to an urgent response that complements the city and county’s shared work to end houselessness.”
Though the mayor and business interests have pushed Kafoury to allocate more funds from a supportive housing services measure approved by voters in May 2020 to short-term shelter, it seems Kafoury will get her way with her proposed budget: “The bulk of the county’s funding from the ballot measure will go toward housing vouchers and case management while Commissioner Ryan, Mayor Wheeler, and the Portland City Council will focus resources on an emergency response to the acute need for basic services,” the statement says.
Earlier this month, Sam Adams told WW that the mayor wanted more of Kafoury’s budget to be allocated toward alternative shelter options (currently, only $3 million of the $52 million of supportive housing measure funds in her proposed budget are allocated toward alternative shelter efforts).
But the press release suggests that both sides have softened to the other’s pleas: Kafoury now supports the city using some of its federal emergency funds for short-term shelter, and the mayor supports the chair putting most of the available supportive housing services funds toward permanent housing.