Portland's ongoing struggle with its homelessness crisis has prompted city commissioners to call for a major overhaul of the current system. Commissioners Mingus Mapps, Dan Ryan, and Rene Gonzalez believe the existing agreement, the Homelessness Response System Intergovernmental Agreement (HRS IGA), has fallen short of the community's needs, and they are introducing an ordinance to terminate and renegotiate it.
According to the City of Portland, the commissioners have identified several critical issues within the current system, including ambiguous roles, a lack of hard data, unfulfilled promises of housing vouchers, inadequate support for Safe Rest Villages, insufficient oversight, and underspending by the County. They underscore that the partnership between Portland City and Multnomah County needs to be reevaluated for effectiveness, accountability, and efficiency.
The city's leadership has taken a firm stance in the face of these challenges. "For the past eight years, homeless services in Portland have failed to meet our community’s needs," the commissioners expressed, as per the City of Portland. Despite efforts to improve the situation through initiatives like Safe Rest Villages and requesting transparent data and operational consistency, these endeavors have reportedly been met with considerable resistance and inefficacy.
The commissioners argue that Multnomah County did not achieve the milestones set by the Portland City Council by the October 15 deadline, jeopardizing the ability of the new Mayor and City Council to implement vital reforms. They stress the urgency of the situation, saying, as cited by the City of Portland, "This ongoing situation jeopardizes the new Mayor and new City Council’s ability to enact the reforms necessary to address the critical needs of our community." With the proposed ordinance, the commissioners aim to initiate an "orderly wind-down" of the HRS IGA by June 30, 2025, without disrupting current homeless services.
The ordinance will be heard on Thursday and reflects a committed effort by commissioners Mapps, Ryan, and Gonzalez to address a longstanding issue within Portland with renewed vigor and a focus on practical solutions.
