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Joint Office of Homeless Services
The Joint Office of Homeless Services was established in 2016 to oversee the delivery of services to people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County. The office represents a shared commitment between Multnomah County and the City of Portland to making services easier to access for those in need.
The Joint Office of Homeless Services, among other things, administers contracts for services, conducts homeless street counts and one-night shelter counts, manages systems of care, oversees system reporting and evaluation, and writes proposals to and monitor funds issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care program. Please learn more about our community-wide effort to address homelessness, A Home for Everyone, at ahomeforeveryone.net.
IMPORTANT: If you're calling for direct services, please call 211 or go to 211info.org.
Director: Marc Jolin, marc.jolin@multco.us
Main number for general information, comments and questions: (503) 988-2525
Address: 721 SW Oak Street, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97205
Meetings by appointment only.
For media inquiries and public records requests: Denis Theriault, communications coordinator, denis.theriault@multco.us, (503) 893-9430
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Guidance and next steps: COVID-19 and homelessness in Multnomah County
FAQs and the latest information on novel coronavirus COVID-19

Governor’s tour of Laurelwood Center shelter celebrates community relationships at the heart of ending homelessness
At a time when some local voices have joined the Trump administration in demanding massive warehouse-style facilities on the fringes of the community — at the expense of neighborhood-based shelters wh
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Board of County Commissioners authorize tourism dollars for housing and homeless programs
The funds will help the Joint Office of Homeless Services turn almost 300 affordable apartments into supportive housing and services.
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For 2nd year, Eat & Greet party shows possibilities when neighbors embrace shelter residents
Last year’s summery vibes gave way to scenes of autumnal coziness — hay bales, pumpkins and hot chai tea — but once again, the men at Wy’east were invited to join their neighbors for food and music.
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County releases 2018 report of homeless deaths
Methamphetamine overdoses on the rise; while homicide takes the lives of 10
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‘Housing, not Warehousing’: County leaders, businesses, advocates reject Trump’s harsh homelessness rhetoric
Beyond calling for mass shelters far from city centers, the president and his team have urged communities to rely on police more, instead of less, in responding to people in a mental health crisis.
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Board approves plans for Behavioral Health Resource Center
Building design, pre-construction, programming is underway for project slated to open in 2022
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County leaders praise engagement with homeless neighbors as new Portland Street Response program takes shape
Supporters of the effort unveiled survey results from more than 180 people with lived experience who were asked what a new street response program should provide.
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County partnership, including Wapato money and tourism taxes, helps Portland housing bond achieve goals, provide support services
With funding in place for nine new developments and wraparound services — including contributions from the Joint Office, regional tourism taxes and the sale of Wapato — every bond goal has been met.
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Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer says federal government must join local leaders like Chair Deborah Kafoury in homelessness fight
Blumenauer’s report, called “Locked Out: Reversing Federal Housing Failures and Unlocking Opportunity,” lays out policy shifts that would tackle housing affordability and homelessness from all sides.
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‘A dignified space’: Services-focused Laurelwood Center marks milestone in County's evolving shelter system
With a built-in health clinic and commercial kitchen — and a focus on one-on-one engagement — the Laurelwood Center won’t just offer guests a shelter bed. It will offer them a path back to housing.
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Thanks to $100,000 from County and CareOregon, Northwest Pilot Project to help seniors facing eviction downtown
Rents at the Lincoln are low, just $440 to $550 a month. But because most tenants are seniors or have disabilities, they rely on fixed incomes and will struggle to find new homes they can afford.
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‘More than just a safe place’: Public-private Navigation Center adds another services-focused shelter
The 100-bed shelter, built with private-sector donations, will operate with Joint Office funding. Its case management model will help people experiencing chronic homelessness return to housing.
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NEWS RELEASE: Overall homelessness number falls in 2019 despite tough housing market — but most extensive street count yet finds more without shelter
Read about the results of the 2019 Point in Time Count.
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The quiet and relentless work of preventing homelessness
The County and its partners help thousands of households avoid the streets with rent assistance. But without new revenue, or an infusion from the federal government, rent hikes threaten those gains.
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‘No one will be turned away’: As storm bears down, County, Portland leaders share plans for shelter, transportation
During severe weather, anyone seeking shelter should call 211 to learn what shelters are open and when — and to arrange a ride to shelter if needed.
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‘What the County should be doing’: Land donation makes affordable housing possible in neighborhood hit by gentrification
After unanimous votes this month by the Board of Commissioners and the Portland City Council, dozens of deeply affordable, family-size apartments will soon rise on a large North Portland lot.
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2019 Point in Time Count starts Wednesday, Jan. 23, with unprecedented coordination among outreach workers, volunteers
Every day and night through Tuesday, Jan. 29, volunteers and workers will survey as many neighbors experiencing homelessness as possible, asking them where they slept the night of Jan. 23.
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County weighs purchase of downtown Portland building as part of plan for improving mental health services
Board of Commissioners unanimously OKs a purchase and sale agreement, starts 60 days of due diligence; Southwest Park Street site rises to the top for potential resource center with peer-led services
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$12 million from County, Portland, Oregon will add supportive housing, help ease chronic homelessness
Supportive housing is often the most effective answer for chronic homelessness and the visible livability challenges that long-term homelessness presents
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Lighting the way for compassion: Vigil of Remembrance honors those who live, and died, experiencing homelessness
A candlelit walk and vigil on Winter Solstice honors those who live and die on area streets.
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A hand up to hope: Winter after winter, night after night, outreach teams hit the streets with lifesaving gear, housing connections
Outreach workers rely on community donations to do their work. A remarkably mild winter, so far, has left outreach workers with fewer donated blankets, even though the need for gear is just as strong.
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Gov. Kate Brown, Chair Deborah Kafoury call for continued state investment in housing, shelter: ‘It’s the right thing to do. It’s as simple as that’
Gov. Brown toured the shelter — the only one east of César E. Chávez Boulevard just for women — to highlight the record level of homelessness and housing investments in her proposed budget.
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In building donated by developer, nonprofit opens family winter shelter in ‘lightning-fast time’
The shelter will provide nighttime accommodations from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily through April 30, 2019. The Joint Office is funding the shelter as part of its annual commitment to add seasonal beds.
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Winter shelter opens in County's Walnut Park complex; learn how to donate life-saving winter gear
To learn how and where to donate crucial life-saving winter gear — or to train as a volunteer during a severe-weather warming center — go to 211info.org/donations.
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Hoping to add affordable apartments for families, County agrees to change tax program
Changes will emphasize helping families earning no more than 60 percent of median income and expand the pool of eligible development projects.
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County releases 2017 report of homeless deaths
Methamphetamine overdoses on the rise; five died of hypothermia during January storm
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Board declares September “Recovery Month” in an emotional proclamation
Annual "Recovery Month" proclamation honors those in recovery from substance use disorder and raises awareness about treatment options.
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Board approves first supportive housing development from Wapato proceeds
The County will spend $4 million helping the Portland Housing Bureau purchase and renovate the Westwind Apartments —creating supportive housing downtown to help with chronic homelessness.
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“The only thing we lacked was a home": A Place For You pilot project houses four families
Thanks to Multnomah County Department of County Human Services’ A Place For You pilot, Sherry and her niece now have a place to call home for the first time in years.
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Amid record-setting homelessness response, Multnomah County, Portland deliver on pledge to add supportive housing
Overall, more than 35,000 people received some level of housing and wraparound services last year, including nearly 6,000 who were helped off the streets into permanent housing.
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NEWS RELEASE: Long-planned affordable housing development offers path for successful Kenton Women’s Village pilot to find long-term home
Long-planned affordable housing development in Kenton is moving forward; officials are working to find a new home for the Kenton Women’s Village pilot project
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County, Portland and Oregon partner for first-of-its-kind supportive housing project
The Portland Housing Bureau, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, Multnomah County Mental Health & Addiction Services and Oregon Housing and Community Services are offering $12 million.
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‘This is the right thing to do’: Board unites behind design plan for service-enriched Foster shelter
Work on the shelter is part of a strategy to shift beds from temporary spaces opened under the city of Portland’s state of emergency to service-rich facilities designed for long-term success.
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Shelter capacity to increase; dozens of new beds in two County buildings
A winter shelter in the Mead Building has remained open. In addition, a shelter will open in mid-June at the Department of Community Justice East Campus.
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At second budget hearing, concerns over housing stability, equity and immigration loom large
The proposed budget calls for spending even more next year on housing, health and homelessness services -- from resources for renters to new syringe disposal boxes to new housing supports .
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Regional Opioid Summit focuses on recovery housing, prosecution diversion and jail treatment
Implementation committee to focus on six proposals for regional partnerships
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County, Portland welcome collaboration as business leaders announce plans for homeless shelter, services center
Oregon Harbor of Hope announces a $1.5 million contribution from Columbia Sportswear's Tim Boyle toward construction of a 120-bed shelter north of the Broadway Bridge.
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‘Structural racism impacts homelessness’: Community discussion kicks off year of work tackling disparities
SPARC's work in Multnomah County will include data analysis and training sessions, but rely intensely on focus groups and interviews with people of color who have lived experience with homelessness.
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Looking ahead for local rent vouchers: Gift from Meyer Memorial Trust may one day help pilot program for seniors grow
Philanthropic organization invests $150,000 to study how a program helping just 40 households now could one day help hundreds of families instead
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From Budget Lodge to refuge: Leased motel to serve people recovering from mental health crisis
Multnomah County, Central City Concern team up on transitional housing for people leaving Unity, other psychiatric inpatient programs
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Volunteers across Multnomah County help hundreds of people find warm, dry places to sleep during winter storms
On Feb. 22, the busiest night so far this season, 361 people took refuge across four warming centers operated by the Joint Office and its contracted nonprofit partner, Transition Projects.
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Multnomah County suspends operations at family shelter, relocates families
Multnomah County suspended operations at the Human Solutions Family Center on Wednesday night, in response to concerns that damage from a leaking roof might threaten the building’s safety.
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Board of Commissioners approves lease for shelter site on SE Foster Road
The site would serve 100-120 people, with priority for women, couples, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities. Transition Projects would run the shelter, set to open as soon as Fall 2018.
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County to open transitional supportive housing in Southwest Portland
The County will operate the transitional housing at least five years in partnership with Central City Concern.
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Gresham shelter focuses on relationships, responsibility
Chair Kafoury and Commissioner Stegmann tour faith-based, non-profit family shelter in Gresham.
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Home for the Holidays: Successful campaign to help families out of shelter shows power of partnerships
The Home for the Holidays campaign helped 42 families out of shelter and into permanent housing from Nov. 15, 2017, to Jan. 15, 2018. That's more than the goal of 40 families set when it launched.
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Multnomah County releases 2016 Domicile Unknown report on homeless deaths
The Multnomah County Health Department’s annual review of homeless deaths finds that 80 people who were experiencing homelessness died on local streets in 2016.
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'More light to a darkened world': Seasonal shelter for homeless families opens at Congregation Beth Israel
The shelter, operated by Portland Homeless Family Solutions, will provide nighttime accommodations for up to 75 children and their parents from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily through April 30, 2018.
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From homeless shelter to permanent home: one family’s journey
Stephanie Ramirez and Surri Noelle were the first family to move out of shelter and into a permanent home of their own as part of this winter’s Home for the Holidays campaign.
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'A real impact on real human beings': Advocates warn tax bill would gut affordable housing
Home Forward, the public housing authority serving Multnomah County, could lose close to $200 million in funding that would affect close to 1,800 units.
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'This isn’t about me. It’s about him': Home for the Holidays already helping families move from shelter to apartments
Andrea Bunch and her son, Michael, were among the first three families to move from shelter and into apartments this month through Multnomah County and Portland’s Home for the Holidays campaign.
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Winter shelter opens in basement of Multnomah County's Mead Building
The 5th Avenue Shelter, at 421 SW 5th Ave., will provide accommodations for up to 75 men, with priority for veterans, people 55 and older, and those with disabilities.
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Home for the Holidays: Campaign asks community to help families with a hand up from shelter
The goal is to house 40 families by Jan. 15. Property agents with a unit to offer can email home@humansolutions.org.
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“No one who needs shelter is shut out”: Severe weather plan for homeless stresses early preparation
Leaders in Portland, Multnomah County are asking the community to go to 211info.org right now, before a storm hits, to learn how to volunteer at a warming center or donate winter gear
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‘We have to just do it’: Providers, political leaders preparing push to house thousands more chronically homeless neighbors
Supportive housing is sometimes the only effective strategy for people struggling with significant disabilities and long-term homelessness.
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NEWS RELEASE: Record housing placements, shelter access follow investments in homelessness work
Nearly 4,900 people obtained housing in fiscal year 2017 -- hundreds more than the goals partners in A Home for Everyone set before the year began.
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Housing advocates rally against threatened federal cuts: "Housing is a human right"
The rally at McCoy Park, in the heart of New Columbia, was one of a series of events nationwide for National Housing Week of Action, led by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Dozens showed up, including elected leaders, advocates and clients.
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2017 Point in Time count: More neighbors counted as homeless since 2015, but more sleeping off the streets
This year's count of people sleeping without shelter is down nearly 12 percent, including key reductions for populations whose numbers spiked in 2015: women, African Americans and veterans.
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New milestones in homelessness services: Record use of emergency shelter, housing placements ahead of pace
Through the first nine months of fiscal year 2017, which ends June 30, providers say they’ve helped a record 6,733 people, according to a new quarterly outcomes report released this week.
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Kenton Women's Village: ‘This is a great reminder of what we can do when we all work together’
Community event celebrates opening of Kenton Women's Village, a unique collaboration that provides shelter, services and a self-governing community for women experiencing homelessness.
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"It shows what a community can do": Business partners, experienced provider open shelter in Shleifer building
The Shleifer building’s co-owners are offering their space on the Central Eastside before they begin restoring the 111-year-old building for use as a hotel. The shelter will stay open into the fall.
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New shelter to open Monday thanks to partnership with business community
An agreement with Central Eastside development firms extends the life of the Columbia Shelter downtown & shows the power of private-public partnership when it comes to providing safety off the streets
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‘A hard turn to the left’: Multnomah County chair talks Trump, homelessness with LGBT community
Advocates met with Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury at the Q Center for a listening session that waded into some of the most serious issues facing the local LGBT community: Oregon’s housing crisis and potential shifts in LGBT civil rights.
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Talking about "Evicted": East county neighbors share stories from the front lines of our housing crisis
The East County Caring Community discusses "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” this year's Everybody Reads pick by the Multnomah County Library. Some say they could've written it.
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Tight housing market threatens progress in ending homelessness
In a rare combined briefing, commissioners from Multnomah County and Portland hear highlights from the Joint Office of Homeless Services' first seven months.
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Celebrating a milestone in ending veterans homelessness
“If we can do it with veterans," says Joint Office of Homeless Services director Marc Jolin, "we can do it with every population’’
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Homelessness in Multnomah County: Workers, volunteers embark on difficult 'point-in-time' count
The count offers a snapshot of how our most vulnerable people neighbors are faring in a harsh housing market, guiding local leaders as they spend millions of dollars on ending homelessness
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Chair Kafoury and Mayor Wheeler's open letter to landlords
The letter highlights resources available to tenants who are struggling with lost wages because of winter weather and calls upon landlords to work with tenants who may be struggling to pay rent.
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Chair Kafoury throws support behind protecting tenants
Chair Kafoury will testify before the Portland City Council this afternoon in support of a new policy that would require landlords to pay moving expenses for tenants who receive no-cause evictions.
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New winter shelter to opens in Downtown Portland
After one of the most severe winter storms in decades, two Portland businesses have joined with the City of Portland and Multnomah County to reopen a winter shelter Tuesday.
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Businesses come together to help fund and open new winter shelter
A dozen businesses have joined Multnomah County and the City of Portland to open a winter shelter for men ages 55 and older, veterans or men with a disability.
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Year-round shelter for couples opens in Sellwood
The Willamette Center, 5120 S.E. Milwaukie Ave, will serve up to 120 people, including women and 45 couples. It is the largest couples shelter in the area.
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Prevention and permanent housing needed along with shelters, housing experts tell Board
More than 9,000 people at risk of becoming homeless were able to stay in their homes last year, as a result of the efforts of the A Home for Everyone and investments from Multnomah County.
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Multnomah County and City of Portland to open 24-hour shelter in Hansen Building
Later this month, the Joint Office of Homeless Services will open a new 24-hour shelter at the location of former Sheriff’s Office.
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Multnomah County, City of Portland approve joint office to combat homelessness
The Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved an Intergovernmental Agreement between the county and the City of Portland establishing the Joint Office of Homeless Services.
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Distribution of Shelters
This interactive map displays all of the shelters distributed across Multnomah County and the City of Portland.
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Domicile Unknown
Annual medical examiner review of deaths among people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County.
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