A Facebook group, gaps in service and the death of a young man: How a battle about homelessness is enveloping a Southern Oregon town Southern Oregon is known for its relatively mild weather. But, in mid-December, an unusual cold snap in Medford left one u ...
26 Jan 2022 - Hanna Merzbach
Oregon rental aid program flounders while clock on eviction protections for renters runs down, putting thousands at risk of eviction When Rae Bloodgood applied for the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP) in June, she knew she wasn’t going t ...
11 Aug 2021 - Aurora Biggers
Despite the often life-altering consequences of eviction proceedings, tenants secured legal representation in just 3% of the nearly 6000 eviction cases filed in Multnomah County in 2019. Attorneys say the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the issue more sev ...
28 Jul 2021 - Chris May
Tenants who can't pay when the eviction moratorium ends can apply for assistance, but it likely won't arrive soon enough June 22 update: The Senate on Tuesday repassed Senate Bill 278. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Kate Brown's desk, w ...
16 Jun 2021 - Tom Henderson
Under the bipartisan legislation, a nonprofit would verify that a person was experiencing homelessness, and the state would waive the fee to obtain photo identification P hoto identification is required for everything from opening a bank account to cashin ...
31 Mar 2021 - Hanna Merzbach
Inside, Oregon lawmakers and special interests wrestle with homelessness. Outside, on the streets of Salem, people experience it. As Oregon legislators grapple with homelessness, a woman living on the streets outside the state Capitol in Salem grapples wi ...
31 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson
The Aloha representative, who brings lived experience with poverty to her leadership role on a housing committee, speaks for young people who demand action on the housing and climate crises they’ve inherited W hen Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, 7 ...
3 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson
A roundup of legislation in the House Committee on Housing The House Committee on Housing is grappling with housing for Oregon’s farmworkers — an estimated 178,758 workers and their family members, according to Oregon State University. House Bill 2096, wh ...
3 Mar 2021 - Tom Henderson
Legislative housing committees begin the 2021 session with an overview of the state’s crisis M ore than 4,000 Oregonians lost their homes in last summer’s wildfires. One of them was the aunt of state Rep. Lily Morgan (R-Grants Pass). Morgan’s aunt lived i ...
27 Jan 2021 - Tom Henderson
A slate of new bills could change the future of housing in Oregon I n the distant past, 12 months ago to be precise, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) called for declaring a state of emergency on homelessness and beseeched legislators to approv ...
20 Jan 2021 - Tom Henderson