The number of Oregonians experiencing homelessness continues to climb. But state lawmakers slashed funding for affordable housing and eviction prevention, decreasing funding aimed at housing and homelessness by about $1 billion from the last biennium.
Homelessness increased in Oregon last year at a rate higher than any year since 2007, according to Portland State University’s 2024 homelessness report. Between January 2023 and January 2024, the number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness increased by 24%, the report found.
In spite of the overwhelming need, this year’s housing budget bill, House Bill 5011, cuts about $1 billion from the Housing and Community Services Department for the next biennium. Lawmakers passed $2.6 billion in funding towards housing and homelessness, which will pay for shelters, housing stabilization, rental assistance and disaster recovery.
Increasing affordable housing is a top priority for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek. She declared a state of emergency on homelessness on her first day in office and extended the emergency this year, to remain in effect until early 2026.
Eviction protection took one of the bigger cuts in the new budget approved by lawmakers at the June 27 conclusion of the 2025 legislative session. While Kotek asked for $173 million towards those programs, the approved budget gave $33.6 million. This comes during a time of increased eviction filings across the state. In 2019, eviction cases in Oregon averaged 1,556 per month. By 2024, that number had nearly doubled.
The largest chunk of the housing budget will be directed towards temporary shelter programs.
That’s despite evidence that shows prioritizing permanent housing is a more effective way to get people out of homelessness. A study by the National Library of Medicine found that the “housing first model” — which provides safe and permanent housing as the first step for people experiencing homelessness — is the best way to keep people housed. When people have stable housing, they have fewer inpatient and emergency health care services, researchers found.
A 2024 study by Portland State University found that tiny home villages and motel shelters are more cost effective, and result in more people permanently housed, than traditional congregate shelters. Researchers recommended prioritizing the construction of these types of alternative shelters.
Those findings are not new. For decades, researchers have demonstrated similar ideas. A 2008 study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development explored the best ways to help families exit homelessness. The Family Options Study found that rapid re-housing was more effective than transitional housing and emphasized the need for more affordable housing and better access to long-term housing subsidies.
“Sadly, in a tight budget year we were not able to fund housing and homelessness programs to the full extent proposed by the Governor,” Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, told Street Roots in an emailed statement.
While the housing budget underwhelmed homelessness advocates, Marsh said her goal is to allocate more funding to housing programs next year — provided that the budget “feels less dire.”
Legislature passes statewide shelter program
Each region in Oregon faces different challenges regarding homelessness. For example, one community in Central Oregon requested funding for safe parking lots to create space for people living in their cars.
With this in mind, lawmakers partnered with community leaders to create a statewide shelter program that reflects the unique needs of all communities while providing essential state support.
Marsh and Matthew Tschabold, director of the governor’s Housing and Homelessness Initiative, worked with a task force made up of members from across the state to address the homeless crisis. The result was House Bill 3644.
The bill will establish a statewide shelter program through Oregon’s Housing and Community Services Department, or HCSD. Regional coordinators will oversee and administer state funding for community shelter programs. Seventy percent of the funding will go toward low-barrier, 24/7 shelters. The remainder will prioritize recovery-based shelters and culturally specific shelter providers to meet the unique needs of communities, according to the bill.
“We haven’t solved all the problems, but we have created a system that needs to be sustained and maintained and the state has to have a role,” Kotek said during an informational meeting about the bill. “What you see in the bill and the hard work of the work group is systemizing what has been happening, taking a regional approach, taking an approach that says we must get people housed in different types of ways determined by the communities through their consideration of what works best.”
Marsh told Street Roots the plan will “ensure that whatever dollars we put into the shelter network are well spent, transparent, fairly distributed and locally directed.”
The original bill designated $217 million to start the program. In the end, lawmakers approved a little more than $204 million.
HB 3644 declares an emergency and will take effect once the governor signs it. It outlines that the HCSD should adopt rules to administer the program by Jan. 1, 2026. The HCSD will select regional coordinators by May 1, 2026.
The bill passed the House and Senate along party lines. Gov. Kotek is expected to sign the bill into law.
Lawmakers prioritize tenant protections
Throughout the 2025 legislative session, Democratic lawmakers spearheaded bills that will protect tenants, many of which aim to help specific groups of vulnerable people and families.
“In addition to work on the homelessness front,” Marsh said, “we produced a lineup of housing legislation that is pragmatic and focused and that will help us get more housing on the ground.”
While funding for eviction prevention decreased, laws that recognize legal rights of tenants carried through the session.
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This article appears in July 9, 2025.