Big win for battling homelessness in Oregon as Governor Tina Kotek's ambitious targets have been smashed, according to fresh data from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS). Following Kotek's state of emergency declaration on homelessness, the Beaver State has not only hit its marks but soared beyond them, with 1,047 low-barrier shelter beds created, 1,833 households rehoused, and 8,993 households prevented from falling into homelessness.
This isn't just a minor overachievement, folks. We're talking 175% of the initial goal for those shelter beds; those are 447 more than anticipated. As for rehousing? The state managed to exceed the target by 633 households – that's a whopping 153%. Lastly, preserving almost 9,000 homes from the grip of homelessness surpassed their aim by 243 households or 103%. All this according to the final data, which also showed a rise from previous preliminary figures released early January: 15 more shelter beds, 540 more households rehoused, and 107 more households saved from being homeless.
"This work was made possible through an unprecedented collaboration between state leaders, state agencies, local governments, and communities," Governor Kotek said. Her exact words, "It's more evidence that when we set targeted, ambitious goals, and then work together to achieve them, we get results." But she's clear that the fight's far from over. With the creation of regional multi-agency coordination (MAC) groups, there's an established infrastructure ready to tackle the ongoing crisis head-on.
In the wake of these promising results, Governor Kotek isn't resting on her laurels. On January 9, she signed EO 24-02 to keep the momentum going, maintaining the state's shelter capacity, continuing to rehouse those without homes, and preventing further cases of homelessness. Lastly, new measurable outcomes for this order will be developed in collaboration with local entities, and they are expected to be announced by the end of the month, as stated by the State of Oregon.
