The bipartisan Affordable Housing & Emergency Homelessness Response Act continues to make a positive impact across the state. This month, over 40 community organizations received funding to support youth experiencing homelessness.
These investments will help some of Oregon’s most vulnerable youth and families by connecting them with rental assistance, shelter facilities, outreach, culturally-specific services, mental health and substance abuse services, transitional support, and more.
“Preventing youth from experiencing homelessness will stabilize their future opportunities and is a foundational investment in our state’s collective health economy,” said Representative Maxine Dexter (D-Portland), chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. “These preventative measures, coupled with the work we’ve done to increase housing supply, will have a real, sustained impact on ending our housing crisis.”
“The people of Oregon want an end to the humanitarian crisis on our streets, and they know that youth homelessness is a major contributing factor. These programs will make a huge difference for young Oregonians and their communities,” said Senator Kayse Jama (D-Portland), chair of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development.
The organizations that received funding span across the entire state and include Hearts with a Mission of Roseburg, Medford, and Grants Pass; J Bar J Youth Services of Central Oregon; Community in Action of Ontario; Mid Willamette Valley Community Action of Salem; Connected Lane County of Eugene and Springfield; and New Avenues for Youth of Portland. For a full list of organizations, click here.
“Youth homelessness is the number one predictor of adult homelessness, so this is a critical way we can break the cycle and give our youth the support and care they need,” said Representative Lisa Reynolds (D-Washington County), a pediatrician and chair of the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services who helped spearhead this part of the package.
In total, the selected organizations received nearly $20 million in funds successfully distributed by the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS). This investment builds off of previous sessions’ successes, with Democrats and Republicans coming together to take on this pressing issue.
The bipartisan Affordable Housing & Emergency Homelessness Response Act was the first major piece of housing legislation passed and signed into law during the 2023 session.
Democrats finished the session with a long list of additional housing policies and investments that will help get people off the streets, connected to services, and on the path out of homelessness. The Legislature also addressed the root causes of homelessness by funding eviction prevention programs and significant increases in housing production across the state.
