The Gaps…

If we don’t understand what’s missing (e.g. particular services) how can we expect to adequately address the situation?

What’s the vision?

Everything begins with a plan…. Do we have a plan to address homelessness? Maybe, maybe not. But that’s not the plan I’m talking about. In Oregon, cities and counties are driven by Comprehensive Plans.

Oregon’s statewide goals are achieved through local comprehensive planning. State law requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive plan and the zoning and land-division ordinances needed to put the plan into effect. See https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/op/pages/goals.aspx.

While the high level vision is the Comprehensive Plan, the nitty gritty details, the code itself, is commonly found in the Development Code. This is where, for example, different development zones are described in detail (including outright uses and conditional uses). You might have a great plan to end homelessness but if it doesn’t fit within the scope of the local city/county legal planning documents you might not get very far.

For example, want to build some micro homes? Wonderful. Are they permitted in your jurisdiction?   Here is a letter to the Astoria City Council suggesting an update to their Comprehensive Plan regarding very low income housing. See Astoria City Council re Comprehensive Plan.

Here in Clatsop County we are far from being leaders in updating our Comprehensive Plans to address the unsheltered. I wouldn’t even say we’re followers (since we haven’t even seemed to get started). Lincoln City, similar in size to Astoria, in an exhibit attached to the ordinance amending their Comprehensive Plan the city determined “the need for the amendments was manifest. Information before the Council showed that there is a need for affordable housing for the city’s workforce, and for the homeless. It is essential that the city address these needs.” They did. In 2017.

Who is responsible for ending homelessness?

It’s been my experience that unless someone, or some group, is responsible for a project, it seldom gets done….. See the letter to the Astoria City Council and Clatsop County Board of Commissioners… Who is Responsible for Ending Homelessness.

Built for Zero is a consulting group that for a nominal fee has assisted cities and counties in driving chronic and/or veteran homelessness to functional zero. They have had success across the nation. Essentially they recommend a data-driven cross-agency team responsible for ending homelessness. See Built for Zero.

If solving homelessness was simply a matter of identifying all of the agencies, we shouldn’t have anyone unsheltered. Confused? Here is a link to a the Clatsop County Resource Guide: https://ccaservices.org/information-and-referral/resource-directory/. Note — the Guide is terrific; I’m just advocating for identifying “Who is responsible for ending homelessness?”

Pre-pandemic we drove to Gresham, Oregon, where they have advertised success at significantly reducing homelessness. We drove through downtown Gresham; no signs of homelessness. We went to the park; no signs of homelessness. We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center and asked about homelessness; the response; “What homelessness?” We ended up speaking with the city’s Senior Manager for Neighborhood Prosperity and Youth Engagement, Joe Walsh. He explained that Gresham has two staff who serve as the first point of contact for individuals in need of shelter, housing, or other related services. See https://greshamoregon.gov/homelessness-in-gresham/. This office is responsible.

Social service agencies can’t do it all

…I can tell you a number of people that come into our office and were not able to be receiving services because of lack of funding or lack of opportunity and it’s about 30 percent. —Viviana Matthews

Clatsop Community Action, CCA, is a central player in all of this… and of course, they can’t be expected to solve every problem! For example, in 2019 CCA indicated 30% of the people who “walk through their door” are unable to receive support. See Clatsop Community Action – missing 30%.

The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority, NOHA, “manages the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program… the primary housing assistance program offered by NOHA in Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties. HCV is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.” As of their website on May 22, 2021, the average wait-time is 3 years. See http://www.nwoha.org/hcv.aspx. They manage a total of just over 1,000 vouchers for the entire 3-county region. Let me be clear… NOHA does not get another 1,000 vouchers each year. They work with a total of 1,000 vouchers. Period. A voucher becomes available when, for example, someone dies. Over the past year NOHA reports only 2 homeless admissions.¹ Unfortunately I don’t think this means 2 homeless individuals have been housed. It likely means only 2 have been added to the 3-year waiting list in the three county region in the past year. See https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/dashboard.

Helping Hands ReEntry of course cannot take everyone. For example “Helping Hands serves children and Domestic Violence survivors, and is not able to serve Registered Sex Offenders or those who are not permitted around women or children. Helping Hands’ facilities are all sober campuses, so clients must not be in possession of or under the influence of any intoxicants on-site.” See https://helpinghandsreentry.org/housing-programs.

The Astoria Warming Center, the only low-barrier shelter in the county, operates only 90 nights per season (limitations due to its Conditional Use Permit and the State Fire Marshall).

It takes the entire community… and beyond.

Housing

We can provide all of the support services possible (e.g. addiction recovery, employment assistance) but at the end of the day people are unhoused until they are… housed. Housing solves homelessness.

“Not long ago, providers of housing for the homeless were lamenting the “housing resistant,” those who seemed to prefer the freedom of life on the streets. Nowadays, it is hard to justify such a belief when there is ample evidence that a homeless man or woman—if given the choice of a home—will gladly come indoors.” —Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives by Deborah M.P.H Padgett, Benjamin Ph.D. Henwood, et al.

During the pandemic (summer of 2020) we encountered an individual who had just “graduated” from a recovery program and was living in a tent near the Astoria riverfront. According to our friend his tent had been “tagged” and he had to move. He was out of options and terrified that he would relapse on meth — as a way to keep warm during the upcoming winter. [And yes, we asked him one-by-one if he had tried to get help from the various social service agencies.]

And giving just a nod to mental illness…. Mental illness is both a contributing factor to homelessness and extremely limited housing is also a stumbling block for effective treatment.

Excellent Plans! What are we missing?

Did you know that in 2012 Clatsop County created a ten-year plan to end homelessness? I’m not sure when to start counting but it seems to me homelessness should be solved by the end of 2021. Also… the State of Oregon’s ten-year plan to solve homelessness was published in 2008. See https://friendsoftheunsheltered.org/plans/. Given these plans where do we stand? Oregon is one of the top states in the nation in the rate of homelessness. Clatsop County has the highest rate of homelessness of any county in the state. See Oregon Point in Time Count (PIT).

There were many great ideas is these plans. But the best planning is worthless if the plan is not put into action.