Yesterday, Multnomah County, the City of Portland and the many partners involved in the “A Home for Every Veteran” initiative announced a final push to end Veteran homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County.
Tremendous progress is being made housing an estimated 690 local homeless Veterans but local leaders reiterated the need for more private rental units to fulfill the promise.
“We have the resources and capacity to end Veteran homelessness. Already this year we’ve housed 430 vets,” said Chair Kafoury.
“What we don’t have is apartments. Over the last year demand for rental housing has skyrocketed in the Portland Region. Only 2.4 percent of rental units are vacant. And this shortage is driving up costs. Rents have jumped 16 percent countywide.”
Despite the challenges many local landlords and property management companies have answered the call to give a homeless Veteran a first shot at a vacant unit.
BedMart, Cascade Management Inc., Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI) and Income Management Properties (IPM) were also praised for their diligence in helping the men and women who have served our country.
HUD regional director Bill Block presented an award to Home Forward’s Executive Director Michael Buonocore for covering security deposits for hundreds of vash-eligible Veterans who lacked the income to pay for them themselves.
“Home Forward has not only offered 50 housing choice vouchers to Veterans who aren’t eligible for vash vouchers,” said Commissioner Dan Saltzman. “But also committed 50 units of housing across their portfolio for Veterans and another five units of permanent supportive housing are available at the Bud Clark Commons for Veterans needing long-term, on-site supportive services.”
A Home for Every Veteran aims to house the remaining 260 homeless Veteran by the end of this year. Achieving the goal means there are no Veterans sleeping on the streets and that every Veteran who becomes homeless will have access to permanent housing by the end of December 2015.
The goal, which coincides with a nationwide priority established by the White House in 2009, also means that resources and systems are in place so that when a Veteran becomes homeless after 2015, it's brief, rare and non-recurring.
"I’m happy about the progress and I can see the goal in site," said Mayor Hales. " I know we can do this as a community, do the right thing for our Veterans and prove that we can actually make a difference in homelessness."
"With your help we can reach our goal by the end of this year," said Chair Kafoury. "And when we do, we can apply the lessons we've learned in housing Veterans to housing families and children."