People ask me if the homeless and housing emergency in Multnomah County is working. The short answer is, yes. The long answer is, we’ve got a long way to go.
The most visible aspect of the homeless emergency is having the mayor’s office more or less legalize tent camping. A lot of people have doubted the mayor’s efforts. It’s my opinion that the policy is creating an atmosphere where, regardless of how you feel about it, people understand the issue at a much deeper level.
Weather you support homeless campers in your neighborhood or hate having homeless people in your neighborhood — the answer is still housing. It’s the humane thing to do.
The reality is for people of color and poor people, there has been a housing crisis occurring in our community for decades. But the homeless emergency is creating an atmosphere in both government and in the private sector to act swiftly on important housing policies.
Rental increases and evictions coupled with a shortage of thousands of affordable-housing units are creating a nightmare scenario in our community. Amid the backdrop of a thriving city, people are struggling. That struggle is real.
Both Mayor Charlie Hales and the City Council, along with the County Commission led by Deborah Kafoury, have prioritized housing and homelessness. They’ve worked hard to create new shelters and enact new tenant laws to protect renters and have supported legislation in Salem to support more affordable housing in our community.
They are also promising to give additional support in next year’s budget cycle.
These are all great steps, but they’re not enough. Not even close.
Think about this: Our region is short an estimated 40,000 affordable-housing units and growing. Some people say that the private housing market will sort itself out if we’re just able to build more housing units. Wrong.
One: Landlords continue to raise rents.
Two: Of the nearly 22,000 new housing units built in the Portland region in the past five years, only an estimated 3,000 are affordable to low-income Portlanders. An estimated 85 percent of those units are luxury units. It’s a train wreck.
Kafoury recently said in her State of the County address, “The real question we face as a community is the same one we struggle with at the county: What are our priorities?”
Kafoury goes on to say: “The greatest challenge we face, in my view, is how to address the housing crisis in Multnomah County. Over the last year, rents countywide have jumped by double digits and the number of vacant apartments is hovering at 3 percent.
“The cheapest two-bedroom apartment is more than the take-home pay of a minimum-wage worker and more than the benefits of a single parent with two children on temporary cash assistance. That’s why people increasingly need rent assistance and help finding a home. But providing these services is getting harder.
“We must find ways to include affordable units in the multimillion-dollar developments that are rapidly changing our neighborhoods. We need to work with private developers to increase the supply of affordable housing for renters and buyers. We also must keep rent affordable; otherwise sky-high rent increases and no-cause evictions will push more people to need help.”
True that.
We are looking to our city and county leaders to continue to be bold and to dream big.
Housing advocates and the larger community are looking forward to helping make the dream of giving people a safe place to call home a reality. That dream isn’t just for the privileged and elite, but instead one that gives poor and working people a fighting chance to have a better life. We've got a long road to go.
We need our elected officials to be bold and courageous on housing and poverty. People's lives are depending on it.
Israel Bayer is the executive director of Street Roots. You can reach him at israel@streetroots.org or follow him on Twitter @israelbayer.