To aggressively tackle the persistent issue of homelessness, leaders from Multnomah County, Portland, and Gresham are convening for the first Steering and Oversight Committee (SOC) meeting of the year. According to a news release from the City of Portland's official website, this coalition aims to enhance accountability, collaboration, and adaptation in addressing homelessness throughout the region.
Guided by a pact forged last July, the SOC, composed of elected officials, is meeting to shape shared goals and expected outcomes and provide the flexibility to change strategies if the predefined markers aren't met quickly. New faces joining the 2025 lineup include City Councilor Eric Zimmerman and Multnomah County Commissioner Shannon Singleton, who heightened her life's work by moving people off the streets and into housing. "I’m looking forward to getting to work. It’s important that our community can see that we’re pushing as hard as we can for results," Singleton stated, as per Portland's official website.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson joins the initiative, declaring an end to unsheltered homelessness a top priority. "Homelessness across our region is a crisis, and we’re going to treat it like a crisis," Mayor Wilson stated in the city's press release. Meanwhile, Gresham Mayor Travis Stovall, who continues his role from the prior year, emphasized the necessity for targeted response strategies, particularly when addressing racial and geographic disparities.
The regional response demonstrated early results with the joint decision by Chair Vega Pederson and Mayor Wilson to bring Jillian Schoene on as the Homelessness Response System (HRS) leader. With a strong focus on ensuring homelessness becomes a rare and brief experience in the community, the HRS, under Schoene's guidance, endeavors to regularly track and, when needed, swiftly adjust strategies to maximize their impact. "We have never been more focused," stated Schoene, as detailed by Portland's official website. The adaptability of the initiative was also exemplified in the leaders' collaboration with the Salvation Army to open 200 overnight winter shelter beds rapidly.
