“The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.”
- Mother Teresa
For the last eight years, I have continued to champion increased resources for East County. It’s bittersweet that this is my last year and last budget but I leave with pride knowing that we have done good work for East County and supported greater investments for the community I call home.
Last week we passed the FY25 County Budget of $3.96 Billion which included significant funding for public safety, homeless response, behavioral health and eviction prevention. There are so many things in this budget that I was proud to vote for in my final term as your county commissioner. Combined with the budgets of the last seven years, I am incredibly proud of the resources I have been able to direct specifically to East County. A few highlights of programs I advocated for and which were included in the budget are:
Vance Vision - $100,000 to continue to build out the Vance Vision project which supports key areas of zoning, development, economic and workforce strategies built from the Vance Vision Master Plan. This project has been a labor of love for me the past eight years and I hope to see ongoing investments in the future for this important East County asset.
Homelessness Response and Capacity - $285 million (a 24% increase from FY2024) for a county-wide response to homelessness. This serves unsheltered residents across the county and those specifically in East County. But in addition to shelter beds, housing efforts, and wrap around supports, this also includes the following strategies I’ll continue to lead in my last six months:
- $300,000 for homeless services specifically for the cities of Troutdale, Fairview and Wood Village along with $50,000 to continue to work collaboratively with them to implement a strategic action plan to build out our homelessness response capacity.
- $600,000 increase to the City of Gresham to provide staffing, rent assistance, outreach, case management, and housing placement. This doubles the annual funding that Multnomah County already provides and does not include rapid rehousing funds deployed to East County residents.
- We are also pleased to see continued funding for our East County Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) Liaison position to meet the critical need for coordination amongst jurisdictions and community partners and to implement our investments.
- And as we house more folks, it’s important that we provide them with the things that most of us take for granted. With $150,000 allocated to the Furniture Bank Program we will expand East County access to such basic necessities like beds, dining room tables and couches for individuals and families to make their new housing a place that they can truly call home.
Eviction Prevention - $580,000 for eviction prevention. With fewer resources for rental assistance, we are seeing an increase in evictions resulting in more people losing their housing. This year’s budget will ensure in-courtroom eviction prevention support and expand it to five days a week. I was also pleased to partner with Commissioner Beason on an amendment for $325,000 for Project Reset, a partnership to help residents remove barriers to housing and employment through fee waivers and expungement services.
Food Assistance for our Youth - $180,000 to continue food assistance to provide fresh and culturally responsive food to ensure that no child in our community goes hungry.
Youth Violence Prevention and Diversion - $330,000 to continue the Community Healing Initiative Early Intervention and Diversion program to address and prevent violence for our youth and families. We know that by going upstream and providing diversion and wrap-around services that are culturally specific our communities can thrive and are more safe.
Flood Safety Benefit Fee - Thank you to the voters of Multnomah County for supporting the Flood Safety Bond Measure that will prevent catastrophic flooding that would jeopardize our economy and endanger lives. With the $50,000 allocation to the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District we are ensuring our obligations for state-mandated expenses by providing necessary flood safety and water quality services for our community.
Environmental, Social and Governmental Standards - I also want to acknowledge what we have heard from our community residents about the importance of being mindful of public investments. Because of these concerns, I have requested that our CFO explore a new policy for Environmental, Social and Governmental Standards (ESG Investing) and to report back to the board no later than the end of the calendar year on how we might adopt more socially responsible investment policies.
Multnomah County Simplifies Access to Vital Services
My office has worked tirelessly to streamline how residents apply for services - piloting the East County Common Application in 2023. I am proud to announce the Common Application expanded last month so all County residents can apply to up to 20 programs at once with one short application!
This program wouldn't be possible without the hard work of East County non-profits who partnered with us in 2023 to launch the pilot aimed at simplifying how people access programs with the goal of building resilience in our community. We understand that visiting multiple websites and filling out multiple applications can be overwhelming, especially if English isn't your first language. This new application takes away that hassle and makes it easier to access vital programs like:
- Support for families and young children
- Meals and services for seniors
- Financial help with utility bills
- And so much more!
The success of the pilot is what inspired us to launch a county-wide solution. If you know anyone who could benefit from this program, please share this information! Together, we can build a Multnomah County where everyone has the support they need to thrive.
Apply and learn more here. If you need help filling out your application, you can call 1-855-582-3973 or email multnomahcommon@forwardplatform.zendesk.com